News

How William Paterson's Brave New Radio Found Its Voice

Allan Simon, sports director for WPSC, and Allyssa Hamade, promotions director and music director for WPSC

By Theresa E. Ross '80

“Students involved in college radio have one thing in abundance that you won’t find in commercial radio, and that’s their sheer, authentic passion,” says Robert Quicke, general manager of the University’s campus radio station, WP 88.7 FM.

“Most students are young and music has a huge significance in their life. They’re zealous about getting on the air and saying,‘Hey, you’ve got to hear this song. This song is amazing. It changed my life!’”

That passion is abuzz at WP 88.7, the University’s 260-watt, non-commercial FM station where nearly seventy-five students fill the roles of DJ, sports and news anchors, technicians, and program directors. The station serves an area with more than two million listeners from its studios in Hobart Hall.

Dana Schaeffer, a sophomore majoring in communication and DJ for the daytime “Braveology” show, loves playing classic rock like Queen’s We Are the Champions, as well as alternative, local music. Schaeffer grew up listening to groups like the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Billy Joel, and the Allman Brothers because it was the music her father played in the car.

While on the air, she also takes song requests from listeners. “Callers will sometimes strike up a conversation with me, and I have no idea who they are but it’s nice because we can relate on something. Music really does bring everyone together,” she says.

Schaeffer enjoys the experience so much that she can now imagine herself working as a DJ or intern on one of her favorite radio stations. “I love what I’m doing,” she says. “College would be completely different if I wasn’t part of the radio station.”

Schaeffer’s comments are reminiscent of what students in radio have been saying for years. The voice of Paterson State College officially debuted in 1966 as WPSC 590 AM, a low-current, carriercurrent station transmitted via telephone lines to five buildings on campus. After years of effort to obtain an FM license, the frequency WPSC 88.7 FM was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1983, and has been functioning ever since.

“The students were the ones who wanted a radio station,” emphasizes Quicke. “They were the ones who asked, cajoled, organized, and worked hard to make it happen. And truth is, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the efforts of previous generations. The series of hurdles they overcame, now long forgotten, were the bricks that built the campus radio station and made it what it is today: Brave New Radio.”

Quicke, a native of Great Britain, joined the University in 2007 as station manager and assistant professor of communication. He teaches courses in radio journalism and audio production. Under his guidance, the radio station has become an integral part of the Communication Department.

Within his first year, Quicke helped to rebrand the station, changing its moniker from “North Jersey’s Independent Rock” to “Brave New Radio,” complete with a snappy new logo and clever theme. “The idea is that we are brave in what we play. We play music that no one else will,” he explains. The rebranding campaign itself culminated in a major event. Alumni came back to campus. Students were involved. Even the University president gave a speech to wish the station well.

The following year, in 2009, the station achieved another milestone, something students had been requesting for more than ten years: streaming Web radio. Now the station could be heard twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, anywhere in the world on www. gobrave.org.

Several successive improvements in equipment followed. The station now uses Audio Vault, the state-of-the-art industry automated system that allows DJs to line up hours and hours of music. For students, it means they can take a break and do things—like eat or go to the restroom. “Before, it was like, you only have three minutes, so you’d better be fast,” says Quicke with a laugh. And now, the station is upgrading to an HD-ready transmitter, which will allow it to obtain an HD license and someday broadcast in HD—a pure, digital signal without static. “A few college stations have already gone HD, and of course we want to be among the best,”Quicke adds.

All of the upgrades help provide an environment that is the same as the professional world of radio, so when students leave William Paterson, they won’t be surprised or intimidated by the technology. “We’re actually putting together a station that, as much as possible, mirrors the real world. That will prepare them,” says Quicke.

While college radio is a great training ground for any student, it may also be in danger of extinction. In a trend that industry observers say started in the 1990s, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that colleges and universities have begun to sell off their radio station licenses, often valued in the millions, for much-needed cash.

“This is pretty bad because colleges and universities pride themselves on encouraging students to find their voice, and radio stations are one way to do that,” says Quicke. “College radio deserves to be recognized as a vitally important medium in its own right.”

Inspired by the movie The Social Network, Quicke wanted to come up with an idea that would instantly build support for college radio. He woke up the next morning and the idea crystallized in his head: College Radio Day—a day when all high school and college radio stations come together and celebrate the importance of college radio. Quicke set the date as October 11. When he launched the website, www.collegeradioday.com, Quicke said he felt like Mark Zuckerberg. Two days went by and nothing happened. But suddenly, ding, ding, ding, the emails started rolling in. Ten stations signed up, then fifty.

Open to all college and high school radio stations at no cost, participating stations in College Radio Day will be encouraged to offer a showcase of their best programming on that day.

Quicke co-founded College Radio Day with Peter Kreten, general manager, WXAV FM, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, and they are promoting it with social networking. Their primary goal is to get people to tune in to their local area college radio stations to hear unique programming that they cannot hear anywhere else.

“Here at William Paterson University, we’re the national headquarters for College Radio Day. We’re trying to raise awareness of college radio, and remind college administrators that college radio is valuable,” says Quicke. And as he speaks, his computer dings and another station, WECB at Emerson College in Boston, has just registered. “So now we’re at 120 stations in just over four weeks,” he says. “We have momentum.”

Not every student who works at WP 88.7 FM wants a radio career. And not every one is a communication major. Some just do it for the fun of it. And while their passion and enthusiasm may be at an all-time high, Quicke says the trick is in finding the balance. “What they have is raw talent. Let’s work on that. Refine it. Make it better.”

Every student who wants to work for the radio station goes through a rigorous training session for half a semester, complete with a written test. About forty students have their own radio shows. Another twenty or thirty are producers. In all, about seventy to eighty students are involved. And for the first time in years, says Quicke, there’s a waiting list.

Some students put in so much time at the station that Quicke has to literally order them to go home. “I will have to ask them, ‘When’s the last time you took a shower? Had a decent meal?’” If they could, he says, they would live at the station.

“College radio is kind of rough. It’s not perfect. It’s scruffy around the edges. Mistakes happen.” But that, says Quicke, adds to its authenticity and unique charm.

It has its funny moments too. There was the time, around 1970, when Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons performed at Shea Auditorium. Anthony Maltese, professor emeritus of communication and the station’s advisor at the time, personally knew Valli and arranged for a radio interview after the performance. The student programming director, an ardent fan, was supposed to do the interview. “But before the session, he completely froze. He couldn’t speak coherently. So I did the one-hour interview,” recalls Maltese. The next day, through the magic of editing, Maltese’s voice was deleted and all the questions and comments, provided by the student.“Needless to say, we were pleased with the result, but there was a lot of joking and teasing over that episode,” laughs Maltese.

“WPSC is full of people like myself—too funky for TV and too outgoing for print media,” says Risa Pappas, who graduated in 2008 with a B.A. degree in communication. “Radio is an industry that thrives on creativity and self expression.”

As a student, Pappas had her own show called “The Good Stuff with DJ Risa.” She played anything she thought was mood-altering—anything that could make you feel a different emotion by the time the song was over. Pappas has since been hired as the station’s assistant general manager and helps Quicke with the
day-to-day operations.

During the day, the station has a format of college rock, local music, and news that caters to the community. Things really let loose and go wild after 6:00 p.m., says Quicke, when the station airs its specialty shows in genres such as hip hop, rap, metal, jazz, country, and more. It’s all there, the whole gamut.

DJs can be as innovative and creative as they want. They can play unique, niche forms of music, like Swedish 1970s death metal that’s never been heard outside of Sweden, or the B side of a Russian 1980s techno single that has never been heard in this country. “We will literally play anything as long as it doesn’t violate FCC standards,” says Quicke.

Student Tarick Qasem, program director and DJ, wants to bring back music that people used to bop to, and sneak in some new stuff that never makes it to airplay on commercial stations.

“These days, most people are quick to write off rap or hip hop because pop culture has chosen poor ambassadors for the genre,” he says. Qasem, a communication major, started his hiphop show during the “zombie hours,” midnight to 3:00 a.m., and even at those hours, he noticed success. Guests were showing up and contributing, and people were listening from all over the country with the help of the online Web stream.

In addition to students, nearly ten alumni and community volunteers help fill the station’s airtime on the weekends. Web streaming has also benefited Marc Medley ’84, M.Ed. ’04, an alumnus who hosts “The Reading Circle,” a show about books and authors that airs every Saturday at 6:00 a.m. Medley, the principal of Paterson School No. 28, has been doing the show for ten years and promotes it via Facebook and his own “Reading Circle” website. “It combines two of my great passions: reading and education,” he says. Since the station started webcasting, Medley’s audience has grown and he’s attracting more notable
authors as guests. “I now have fans as far away as Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Southern California,” he says.

“I’m a great believer in college radio,” says Quicke. “When it’s done well, and when it’s done right, with the right people involved, it can compete with the big boys.” And by “big boys,” means professional radio.

Right now, Quicke is pleased that the station is achieving recognition among its peers. WP 88.7 FM was named among the top 25 college stations nationwide that competed for MTVu’s 2011 Woodie Award for College Radio Station of the Year, and took the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System’s (IBS) Golden Microphone Award for Programming Excellence, and Bronze Microphone for Programming Operations, among other awards.

Since 2009, the radio station has gained notoriety by giving out its own Bravery in Radio award to professionals who exemplify groundbreaking programming. In March 2011, Quicke presented the award to legendary radio personality Howard Stern and his co-host Robin Quivers on their Sirius XM Radio show. After much on-air ribbing, Stern accepted the honor graciously, saying, “Thank you very much for this beautiful award. I do appreciate it.” “Cousin Brucie” Morrow and the late guitarist Les Paul won the award in prior years.

“College radio is one of the last remaining bastions of creative radio programming, free from the constrictions of having to be commercially viable,” says Quicke.

“Many successful bands today owe their initial break to being played on college radio. At a time when some colleges are choosing to sell off their student stations, now more than ever, we need to remind people how important college radio is.”

Go to www.wpunj.edu/WPSC to view the history of campus radio by Anthony Maltese, professor emeritus of communication.