WGTB
Encyclopedia
WGTB is a student-run internet radio station at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C.
The station was originally founded as an AM station in 1946 by Rev. Francis Layden, SJ, moving to FM in 1960. In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, the station attracted attention in the Washington, DC area for its blend of alternative rock
. Its tag line was WGTB, one nation underground. Strong left-wing sentiments, especially ads for the Washington Free Clinic, caused significant friction between the station's staff and the school's administration. Ultimately, Fr. Timothy Healy, SJ, Georgetown's president, donated the 6700-watt signal, broadcasting at 90.1 FM, to the University of the District of Columbia
in 1979 for the sum of one dollar. UDC sold the signal to C-SPAN
in 1997 for $25 million.
A new student staff resurrected the College radio station in 1982 as WROX-AM, a album-oriented rock
format broadcasting to individual campus buildings over carrier current at 690 AM. The station reverted to its WGTB call sign in 1985, moving to an alternative format. After the move from studios in the Copley dormitory basement to the Leavey Center in 1996, the station broadcast via a "leaky cable" FM system at 92.3 MHz, also intended to ensure that the station could only broadcast around the campus and its immediate environs. Since 2001, WGTB's content has been available exclusively over the web. Broadcasts can be heard every day from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m at georgetownradio.com.
Recorded programming from WGTB, mostly in the 1970s can be heard Wednesdays on internet-radio station, WGAY (found at wgay.fm) Fortunately, hundreds of hours of WGTB were recorded by various listeners, several of whom have allowed WGAY to borrow and digitally dub these historical tapes, so that the sound of WGTB will continue to be heard.
GT Wrobel (COL '11) is the current general manager.
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The station was originally founded as an AM station in 1946 by Rev. Francis Layden, SJ, moving to FM in 1960. In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, the station attracted attention in the Washington, DC area for its blend of alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
. Its tag line was WGTB, one nation underground. Strong left-wing sentiments, especially ads for the Washington Free Clinic, caused significant friction between the station's staff and the school's administration. Ultimately, Fr. Timothy Healy, SJ, Georgetown's president, donated the 6700-watt signal, broadcasting at 90.1 FM, to the University of the District of Columbia
University of the District of Columbia
The University of the District of Columbia is a historically black, public university located in Washington, D.C. UDC is one of only a few urban land-grant universities in the country and a member of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
in 1979 for the sum of one dollar. UDC sold the signal to C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
in 1997 for $25 million.
A new student staff resurrected the College radio station in 1982 as WROX-AM, a album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
format broadcasting to individual campus buildings over carrier current at 690 AM. The station reverted to its WGTB call sign in 1985, moving to an alternative format. After the move from studios in the Copley dormitory basement to the Leavey Center in 1996, the station broadcast via a "leaky cable" FM system at 92.3 MHz, also intended to ensure that the station could only broadcast around the campus and its immediate environs. Since 2001, WGTB's content has been available exclusively over the web. Broadcasts can be heard every day from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m at georgetownradio.com.
Recorded programming from WGTB, mostly in the 1970s can be heard Wednesdays on internet-radio station, WGAY (found at wgay.fm) Fortunately, hundreds of hours of WGTB were recorded by various listeners, several of whom have allowed WGAY to borrow and digitally dub these historical tapes, so that the sound of WGTB will continue to be heard.
GT Wrobel (COL '11) is the current general manager.