WJHU
Encyclopedia
WJHU is a radio station
based in Baltimore
, Maryland
. The Johns Hopkins University
owns the station, a Community radio
station with student volunteers, who are mainly on-air deejay
s and other program hosts. Programming blocks are divided into formats, dealing mostly with music, sports and cultural life: classical, dance
, folk
, jazz
, public affairs, sports, rap, and rock formats — along with a few specialty shows outside any of the formats. Its studios are located on the Homewood campus.
station moved into the basement of the Alumni Memorial Residences II (the newer of two dormitory buildings), where it would stay for the next thirty years. It transmitted on the 830 AM
frequency in the dormitories via carrier current
(a low-wattage transmission using the wiring in buildings).
By the mid-1970s, the station operated with students running 3-hour shows on a 24/7 programming schedule. The station also carried away lacrosse
games with student announcers. A long-time goal of the station was to transition to being an actual broadcast station on FM
(which was the ostensible reason for requiring all staff to obtain a Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) 3rd class operator's license).
Technical issues in 1975 led to suspension of broadcasting for much of the academic year and to questions among the staff concerning management. This in turn led in early 1976 to changes in management, programming, and use of facilities, as well as to increased attention from the university administration.
In 1977, the manager and chief engineer for the station, finding that 88.1 was the last FM frequency available in Baltimore, decided to push for an FCC upgrade. Official and budgetary support from the university administration made this possible, and final approval for WJHU 88.1-FM came from the FCC in 1978. Starting professional operations in 1979, the station had a mixed format, jazz in the early morning, classical during the day, rock in the evenings, and its signature NAR ("Not Available Radio") progressive programming at night. The signal extended off campus and the students hired for the first time a non-student to oversee the station full-time and insure compliance with FCC rules and university expectations. The station operated twenty-four hours a day, broadcasting a variety of music, a half-hour daily news program, as well as several five-minute news updates throughout the day.
The student managers decided to apply for a 25,000 watt license in the 1980s to protect the frequency, extending the audience throughout Baltimore and Washington DC area. This became the largest radio station power increase on record. The station became less forward-looking and more professional. Over the years it progressively added more content from National Public Radio and its partners, shifting to the format of news/talk in the daytime and overnight weekday hours, and music (mainly jazz) programming during evenings and nights.
In the fall of 1998, WJHU added overnight coverage of World Radio Network
(WRN), which provides English-language news programs from broadcasters around the world. The station and the spectrum were sold by the university in early 2002 to Your Public Radio Corp., a locally based group of station talk hosts and listeners, and became WYPR
.
However, before it was sold, students founded in the early 90s the alternative on-campus WHAT radio. Its name was later changed to WHSR, standing for Hopkins Student Radio. This was an unregulated, dorms-only station that operated on a carrier current
, transmitting within the dorms, Levering Hall, and the Charles apartments. During the summer of 2002, after the WJHU spectrum was sold, Hopkins students with the assistance of the Dean of Student Life, got the radio back to broadcast and its original name and frequency.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
based in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
owns the station, a Community radio
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
station with student volunteers, who are mainly on-air deejay
Deejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
s and other program hosts. Programming blocks are divided into formats, dealing mostly with music, sports and cultural life: classical, dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, public affairs, sports, rap, and rock formats — along with a few specialty shows outside any of the formats. Its studios are located on the Homewood campus.
History
WJHU was founded in the mid-1940s and began as an informal broadcast from Levering Hall in the Homewood campus. In the early 1950s the Campus radioCampus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
station moved into the basement of the Alumni Memorial Residences II (the newer of two dormitory buildings), where it would stay for the next thirty years. It transmitted on the 830 AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
frequency in the dormitories via carrier current
Carrier current
Carrier current is a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses the AC electrical system of a building to propagate a medium frequency, AM signal to a relatively small area, such as a building or a group of buildings...
(a low-wattage transmission using the wiring in buildings).
By the mid-1970s, the station operated with students running 3-hour shows on a 24/7 programming schedule. The station also carried away lacrosse
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays lacrosse
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse team represents Johns Hopkins University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college lacrosse. The team was founded in 1883 and is the school's most prominent sports team...
games with student announcers. A long-time goal of the station was to transition to being an actual broadcast station on FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
(which was the ostensible reason for requiring all staff to obtain a Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) 3rd class operator's license).
Technical issues in 1975 led to suspension of broadcasting for much of the academic year and to questions among the staff concerning management. This in turn led in early 1976 to changes in management, programming, and use of facilities, as well as to increased attention from the university administration.
In 1977, the manager and chief engineer for the station, finding that 88.1 was the last FM frequency available in Baltimore, decided to push for an FCC upgrade. Official and budgetary support from the university administration made this possible, and final approval for WJHU 88.1-FM came from the FCC in 1978. Starting professional operations in 1979, the station had a mixed format, jazz in the early morning, classical during the day, rock in the evenings, and its signature NAR ("Not Available Radio") progressive programming at night. The signal extended off campus and the students hired for the first time a non-student to oversee the station full-time and insure compliance with FCC rules and university expectations. The station operated twenty-four hours a day, broadcasting a variety of music, a half-hour daily news program, as well as several five-minute news updates throughout the day.
The student managers decided to apply for a 25,000 watt license in the 1980s to protect the frequency, extending the audience throughout Baltimore and Washington DC area. This became the largest radio station power increase on record. The station became less forward-looking and more professional. Over the years it progressively added more content from National Public Radio and its partners, shifting to the format of news/talk in the daytime and overnight weekday hours, and music (mainly jazz) programming during evenings and nights.
In the fall of 1998, WJHU added overnight coverage of World Radio Network
WRN Broadcast
WRN Broadcast, formerly known as WRN, is an international broadcast services company that works with television channels and radio broadcasters, media owners and brands enabling them to deliver content to target audiences worldwide....
(WRN), which provides English-language news programs from broadcasters around the world. The station and the spectrum were sold by the university in early 2002 to Your Public Radio Corp., a locally based group of station talk hosts and listeners, and became WYPR
WYPR
WYPR is a public radio station that services the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area. The station broadcasts on 88.1 MHz on the FM band. Its studio is in the Charles Village section of Baltimore and its transmitter is westward in the Park Heights section...
.
However, before it was sold, students founded in the early 90s the alternative on-campus WHAT radio. Its name was later changed to WHSR, standing for Hopkins Student Radio. This was an unregulated, dorms-only station that operated on a carrier current
Carrier current
Carrier current is a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses the AC electrical system of a building to propagate a medium frequency, AM signal to a relatively small area, such as a building or a group of buildings...
, transmitting within the dorms, Levering Hall, and the Charles apartments. During the summer of 2002, after the WJHU spectrum was sold, Hopkins students with the assistance of the Dean of Student Life, got the radio back to broadcast and its original name and frequency.