Students seeking an eclectic array of music and talk may find 91.7 FM-WSUM, the student-run radio station 'in tune' with their interests. Besides unique content, equally distinctive to the station is the devotion and passion of the student staff, consisting of hundreds of volunteers dedicated to free speech and non-commercial networking.
First broadcasted Feb. 22, 2002, this relatively young student radio station has an estimated 6,900 listeners a week and an additional average of 122 listeners daily via webcasts, available on their website, WSUM.org. However, WSUM does not measure its success by numbers.
According to General Manager Dave Black, the station does not pay much attention to ratings. 'We're successful when we're providing content that is not readily available on the more commercial stations,' he said.
Members of the staff at WSUM stress the station's alternative and innovative programming. 'You won't find anything like us anywhere else,' station manager and UW-Madison junior Michelle Koffel explained.
'Some people say that when they listen to the station, they never know what they are going to hear because it's always something new, something different,' she added.
Music director and UW-Madison sophomore Ashley Watkins conveyed similar sentiment.
'We play what we like, not what [College Music Journal] or what the charts are saying for the week,' she said.
WSUM offers a wide range of programming, such as talk shows, sports shows and news updates at noon and 6 p.m. daily, as well as a half hour wrap-up news show at the end of the week. According to their website, some of these shows include 'Mighty Real,' which is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning talk show, and 'The Literary Literal,' an hour-long literature talk sometimes featuring interviews with poets and authors.
Designated time slots for featured shows are selected based on a 'mixture of seniority, experience and quality of the show,' said programming director and UW-Madison senior Celeste Heule.
Visiting the station for training, which is currently in progress, will prepare those interested in being on the radio with the necessary skills to submit a proposal and an air-track tape for review.
'Most people who come to this station have never been on radio before,' Koffel said.
Applying for one of the 10 executive paid positions at the station, which include music director, talk director, promotions director, community outreach, production director and traffic directors, is also a great way to become more extensively involved in the field of radio.
Explaining an immediate benefit of working in media, Black said when you teach people how to make media, they become more critical consumers of it. The more critical your consumers are, Black said, the better your media content is going to be.
Michelle Koffel added an additional advantage to working at WSUM is the local feel.
'I am talking to people in my community,' she said. 'I have a connection [with them].'
