WJSC, 90.7 FM, based at Johnson State College, is a community-operated radio station, meaning that not only do students run and deejay the station, but members of the community can and are welcome to contribute, from producing content like music or other audio media, to hosting talk shows.
Recently, however, the Johnson State College radio station has undergone some changes with hopes of increasing the quality of their programming, as well as updating the behind-the-scenes of the radio station and evolving with the changing trends in radio.
This is a year of change for WJSC, and one of the biggest changes was changing the licensure over from a student-only program, to what it was originally, namely that of a free-form, community radio station.
“We are one of the few remaining free-form community radio stations and it’s important to preserve that,” said Station Manager Amanda Bolduc, “DJ Red.” “We hope to be completely functioning with student body and community involvement.”
Bolduc’s role, with Willey Library Circulation Coordinator Jeff Angione, is to handle paperwork behind the scenes.
“We do a lot of work that people don’t realize happens,” Bolduc said. “I help the DJs get in the studio, get trained, and get on the air so we can have the best shows and ultimately an awesome station.”
Community interaction is a key to the station’s success.
“That’s why I’ve taken liberties to bring in community members, which have actually been the stalwart of our broadcasting calendar,” said Angione. “They make up at least 50% to 75% of the people broadcasting, or deejaying. And they are diligent.”
Angione is in charge of the JSC radio station, and he is one of the main forces behind all of the recent changes.
WJSC recently got a hard drive allowing the station to run programming from Pacifica, an outside radio network. With the ability to run Pacifica, WJSC will be able to air additional information like hourly news broadcasts and poetry readings. This is vital given the limitations of the number of student DJs and the number of hours of airtime available.
“After you tune in to dead air a few times, you aren’t going to tune in again,” said Angione.
For listeners who might be interested in JSC-created content or who want to listen to the shows of the student DJs, WJSC is also now providing a streaming option for the public.
After some previous complications, WJSC experienced a long period of dead air and infrequent programming. However, thanks to the efforts of the Student Government Association, Angione and eager-to-broadcast students, the radio station is up and running again with plans to continue improving the station in the future. Angione and Associate Professor of Writing & Literature Tyrone Shaw look forward to WJSC partnering with the new communications major. These plans are several years from fruition, but it will give those students experience in a medium that they might consider once they graduate. While it might be in the planning stages now, communication majors might have to take part in radio broadcasts. This will mean a packed programming schedule and a lot more content for their audience.
“I can see hugely constructive possibilities for exemplary community radio, emanating right from this campus. And focus not only on the campus, but on the wider community, and for the radio station to become integral to the wider area, as a community resource, and a community forum,” said Shaw.
If you would like to listen to the Johnson State College Radio station, turn your radios to 90.7 FM, or if you can’t receive the signal, listen to the streaming link at http://www.jsc.edu/StudentLife/WJSCFM/default.aspx and click the button to start streaming.
Any member of the local community that might want to get radio-time should get in touch with Jeff Angione (contact information is available on the JSC website), to schedule possible times.
