WSRU Seahawk radio history
From dream to reality, from death to rebirth, Salve's radio station has been through the worst of times and hopes the better times are on their way.
Amy Saramago
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Entertainment
Although the radio station might seem new to most students it has actually been around for many years. WSRU was first officially recognized as a student organization by Salve Regina University in 1998, but the studio was only completed in the newly renovated garden level of Wakehurst in 2000. However, because of the battles between radio college stations and bigger consumer radio stations for FFC licenses, Salve wasn't able to secure a FCC radio and couldn't broadcast.
After a few years of somewhat successful broadcasting the radio station seemed to die in 2002. Over the years, attempts were made to revive this fallen media outlet on campus, but those attempts were all fruitless. "Long story short, there were technical problems with the connections between the Wakehurst Student Center and Monroe (IT Department), insufficient equipment and a lack of interest on the part of students," said WSRU advisor Bart Carithers. "This is a student radio station and without significant student input the station cannot survive. We're fortunate to have a very motivated staff this year. I'm hopeful that trend will continue."
Finally in fall of 2006, a few students resurrected the radio station by successfully acquiring new needed equipment in the station and by purchasing a license for Live365, which is the program that allows them to broadcast online as they now do. "We couldn't afford a FCC license to broadcast over the airwaves. As a result, we're limited to online broadcasting. By broadcasting online we reach a broader audience: the world," said Carithers. The first online broadcast at Salve Regina took place on Monday, February 26, 2007 and got the ball rolling on WSRU radio once again.
Besides an FCC license costing a lot of money, Ryan Caranci, Programming Director, believes, "I think this online version of the radio station is better for Salve because every freshman has a laptop and internet so they have the capability to listen, while most students don't have radios in their room." He thinks it's unfortunate that students can't listen to the station in the car and that we aren't reaching Newport residents (unless they know about us), but that this station is for the students of Salve and this is what works best for this campus right now.
After a few years of somewhat successful broadcasting the radio station seemed to die in 2002. Over the years, attempts were made to revive this fallen media outlet on campus, but those attempts were all fruitless. "Long story short, there were technical problems with the connections between the Wakehurst Student Center and Monroe (IT Department), insufficient equipment and a lack of interest on the part of students," said WSRU advisor Bart Carithers. "This is a student radio station and without significant student input the station cannot survive. We're fortunate to have a very motivated staff this year. I'm hopeful that trend will continue."
Finally in fall of 2006, a few students resurrected the radio station by successfully acquiring new needed equipment in the station and by purchasing a license for Live365, which is the program that allows them to broadcast online as they now do. "We couldn't afford a FCC license to broadcast over the airwaves. As a result, we're limited to online broadcasting. By broadcasting online we reach a broader audience: the world," said Carithers. The first online broadcast at Salve Regina took place on Monday, February 26, 2007 and got the ball rolling on WSRU radio once again.
Besides an FCC license costing a lot of money, Ryan Caranci, Programming Director, believes, "I think this online version of the radio station is better for Salve because every freshman has a laptop and internet so they have the capability to listen, while most students don't have radios in their room." He thinks it's unfortunate that students can't listen to the station in the car and that we aren't reaching Newport residents (unless they know about us), but that this station is for the students of Salve and this is what works best for this campus right now.
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