WRSU
Encyclopedia
WRSU-FM is a noncommercial college radio station
serving Rutgers University
, broadcasting at 88.7 MHz FM from New Brunswick, New Jersey
. It is a faculty-run public radio station that has a variety of shows hosted by students and community members. Its main offices are located on the College Avenue Campus
.
WRSU first went on the air on April 26, 1948. In its earliest inception, WRSU was an AM
Carrier Current
Station that broadcast from the basements of several Rutgers dormitory buildings. During this period, WRSU ran on the 630 AM band. The station's first General Manager and Founder was Charles Brookwell, Class of '49.
Beginning in the 1950s, the station changed frequencies and changed operating facilities, eventually leaving WRSU on the 680 AM band, with offices in the attic of a building located at 12 College Avenue; the carrier current transmitters remained in the dormitory basements. The current offices of the station began to be utilized in 1971, and are located at 126 College Avenue located in the Rutgers Student Center.
WRSU-AM ceased operation in 1976, two years after the inception of WRSU-FM
WRSU-FM
WRSU-FM went on the air at 88.7 megahertz with 1365 watts ERP on January 27, 1974. During the 50s and 60s, the station played current popular music, but starting in the 70s, the station underwent a conscious effort to introduce album oriented progressive/free form movement with a heavy concentration on Community Affairs. The first song ever played was Crosby, Stills, and Nash's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
"
, but it generally consists of several hundred entire albums, and individual DJs have a large amount of control over the format of their shows. The station is strictly non-commercial, and aims for a somewhat freeform style of broadcasting.
The station is under the management of Rutgers University, and while operations are on a strictly volunteer level, and no course credit is involved, the station does seek to develop the skills of their student personnel for eventual use in the professional field.
from local businesses and record stores. Usually, this underwriting takes the form of a credit for the station at said record store in exchange for hourly notices broadcast on the station.
(such as indie
and metal
), electronic music
, reggae
, hip-hop, gospel
, and Latin American music
.
Knightline has served as WRSU's men's basketball and football postgame call-in show since 1974.
The shows have featured interviews with the most important people surrounding Rutgers athletics, including top football players such as OL Anthony Davis, LB Manny Abreu, and FB Jourdon Brooks. The shows invite listeners to call in or submit their comments via AOL Instant Messenger to the username WRSUSports.
WRSU is the flagship station
for Rutgers Women's Basketball. WRSU is the only radio station to broadcast each and every Rutgers Women's Basketball game.
The news department also produces KnightBeat, airing every Tuesday at 10 PM. Knight Beat is a news-talk show featuring interviews with campus organizations and leaders, discussions of the latest news headlines, and detailed profiles and discussions of Rutgers issues.
WRSU News is in the process of becoming a fully multimedia equipped operation. The department will focus not only on terrestrial radio broadcasts, but also providing special content like blogs, podcasts, print-form stories, and video. Their multimedia-based blog was launched in April, and features news and opinion on issues both at Rutgers and around the world.
The WRSU news department also provides live coverage of Rutgers events, as well as annual election coverage. In recent years WRSU has played host to both Democratic
and Republican
Presidential Conventions Headquarters.
WRSU provided live coverage of the 2008 Presidential election on November 4, featuring live reports from the New Jersey Democratic and Republican headquarters, analysis by Rutgers political commentators, up-to-the-minute results, and live reports from College Avenue during student celebrations.
, Israel
, Greece
, Pakistan
, India
, Ireland
, Hungary
and the African Diaspora, which is also covered on Wednesday nights followed by music and news from Jamaica. Spanish programming can be heard Thursdays 10 PM-Midnight and Fridays 6-10 PM.
On Tuesday afternoons a Community Affairs show geared towards the lesbian, gay, bi, transgender community is presented in the talk/ music show Generation Q. Human rights issues are also discussed on this program.
feed off of their website. This has dramatically increased the profile of all of the station's shows.
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...
serving Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, broadcasting at 88.7 MHz FM from New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
. It is a faculty-run public radio station that has a variety of shows hosted by students and community members. Its main offices are located on the College Avenue Campus
Rutgers-New Brunswick
Rutgers–New Brunswick is the largest campus of Rutgers University . It is chiefly located in the City of New Brunswick and Piscataway Township...
.
History
WRSU-AMWRSU first went on the air on April 26, 1948. In its earliest inception, WRSU was an 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...
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...
Station that broadcast from the basements of several Rutgers dormitory buildings. During this period, WRSU ran on the 630 AM band. The station's first General Manager and Founder was Charles Brookwell, Class of '49.
Beginning in the 1950s, the station changed frequencies and changed operating facilities, eventually leaving WRSU on the 680 AM band, with offices in the attic of a building located at 12 College Avenue; the carrier current transmitters remained in the dormitory basements. The current offices of the station began to be utilized in 1971, and are located at 126 College Avenue located in the Rutgers Student Center.
WRSU-AM ceased operation in 1976, two years after the inception of WRSU-FM
WRSU-FM
WRSU-FM went on the air at 88.7 megahertz with 1365 watts ERP on January 27, 1974. During the 50s and 60s, the station played current popular music, but starting in the 70s, the station underwent a conscious effort to introduce album oriented progressive/free form movement with a heavy concentration on Community Affairs. The first song ever played was Crosby, Stills, and Nash's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" is a suite of short songs written by Stephen Stills and performed by Crosby, Stills and Nash. It appeared on the group's self-titled debut album in 1969. It was also released as a single , going to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart...
"
Philosophy
WRSU has a station playlistPlaylist
In its most general form, a playlist is simply a list of songs. They can be played in sequential or shuffled order. The term has several specialized meanings in the realms of radio broadcasting and personal computers.-In radio:...
, but it generally consists of several hundred entire albums, and individual DJs have a large amount of control over the format of their shows. The station is strictly non-commercial, and aims for a somewhat freeform style of broadcasting.
The station is under the management of Rutgers University, and while operations are on a strictly volunteer level, and no course credit is involved, the station does seek to develop the skills of their student personnel for eventual use in the professional field.
Broadcast range
WRSU has an effective radiated power of 1365 watts, and can be heard about 15 to 20 miles North and over 20 miles South of New Brunswick.Funding and operations
WRSU receives funding from Rutgers University, and is a strictly non-commercial radio station. However, WRSU goes receive grants and underwritingUnderwriting
Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products . The name derives from the Lloyd's of London insurance market...
from local businesses and record stores. Usually, this underwriting takes the form of a credit for the station at said record store in exchange for hourly notices broadcast on the station.
Programming
WRSU's programming is varied and constantly changing, with new shows being added each semester and some longtime mainstays having been on the station for several decades.The Morning Stretch
WRSU added a new morning show titled "RU Awake" in September 2008, which airs for two hours every weekday from 8 AM to 10 AM. In 2009, the show was renamed "The Morning Stretch", a reference to a 70's morning show at WRSU. The program showcases the many departments of WRSU, featuring a wide variety of music, news updates, and sports talk. The hosts are three different members of the aforementioned departments, and rotate each day.Music and Entertainment
WRSU requires most DJs to dedicate a certain percentage of their shows to station playlists, but said playlist is considerably long and well represented by most forms and genre of music. Genres represented on WRSU include various forms of rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
(such as indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
), electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, hip-hop, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, and Latin American music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
.
Sports
WRSU has a long history of sports coverage. The station broadcasts play-by-play coverage for all games, home and away, for Rutgers Football, Rutgers Men's Basketball, and Rutgers Women's Basketball. Also, selected Rutgers Baseball, Soccer, and Lacrosse games are broadcast.Knightline has served as WRSU's men's basketball and football postgame call-in show since 1974.
The shows have featured interviews with the most important people surrounding Rutgers athletics, including top football players such as OL Anthony Davis, LB Manny Abreu, and FB Jourdon Brooks. The shows invite listeners to call in or submit their comments via AOL Instant Messenger to the username WRSUSports.
WRSU is the flagship station
Flagship station
In broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast which originates a television network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls...
for Rutgers Women's Basketball. WRSU is the only radio station to broadcast each and every Rutgers Women's Basketball game.
News
WRSU broadcasts 15-minute "WRSU News at Ten" updates Monday-Thursday nights at 10 PM, and a 15-minute "WRSU News at Noon" update Fridays at 12 Noon. The newscasts cover events, issues, and trends happening at Rutgers, with national and local headline reports and weather forecasts.The news department also produces KnightBeat, airing every Tuesday at 10 PM. Knight Beat is a news-talk show featuring interviews with campus organizations and leaders, discussions of the latest news headlines, and detailed profiles and discussions of Rutgers issues.
WRSU News is in the process of becoming a fully multimedia equipped operation. The department will focus not only on terrestrial radio broadcasts, but also providing special content like blogs, podcasts, print-form stories, and video. Their multimedia-based blog was launched in April, and features news and opinion on issues both at Rutgers and around the world.
The WRSU news department also provides live coverage of Rutgers events, as well as annual election coverage. In recent years WRSU has played host to both Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Presidential Conventions Headquarters.
WRSU provided live coverage of the 2008 Presidential election on November 4, featuring live reports from the New Jersey Democratic and Republican headquarters, analysis by Rutgers political commentators, up-to-the-minute results, and live reports from College Avenue during student celebrations.
Community Affairs
WRSU broadcasts cultural and Community Affairs programming on Sundays from 12-9 PM. Currently, the station features programs showcasing the music and culture of TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and the African Diaspora, which is also covered on Wednesday nights followed by music and news from Jamaica. Spanish programming can be heard Thursdays 10 PM-Midnight and Fridays 6-10 PM.
On Tuesday afternoons a Community Affairs show geared towards the lesbian, gay, bi, transgender community is presented in the talk/ music show Generation Q. Human rights issues are also discussed on this program.
Notable alumni
- Mike EmanuelMike EmanuelMike Emanuel is the Chief Congressional Correspondent and a former White House Correspondent for Fox News Channel. He has worked for the network since July 1997...
, former sports reporter, now a White House Correspondent for Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
. - Bernard GoldbergBernard GoldbergBernard Richard Goldberg , also known as Bernie Goldberg, is an eleven-time Emmy Award-winning American writer, journalist, and political commentator...
, former WRSU news director, reported for CBS News and currently reports for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel - Matt PinfieldMatt PinfieldMatt Pinfield is a music personality and TV host, best known for being a video deejay on MTV and VH1. He currently lives in Harrison, New Jersey having previously resided in East Brunswick Township...
, former WRSU DJ and music director. He was the music director for WHTG-FMWHTG-FMWBBO is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Hit Radio format. Licensed to Ocean Acres, New Jersey, it serves Ocean & Burlington counties in New Jersey as well as the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia. It first began broadcasting in 1993 under the call sign WQNJ, but more recently operated...
, hosted shows on MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and VH1VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, was Vice President of A & R and Artist Development at Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, and currently is a DJ on WRXP and Sirius Satellite RadioSirius Satellite RadioSirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
.
Online broadcasting
WRSU's broadcast can now be obtained through a streamingStreaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
feed off of their website. This has dramatically increased the profile of all of the station's shows.