On a recent Friday morning, a 91制片厂 student DJ spun tunes like Bob Seger
and the Silver Bullet Band鈥檚 鈥淣ight Moves鈥� and Chuck Berry鈥檚 鈥淩oute 66鈥� amidst sharing
historical tidbits (Did you know The New Yorker first published 95 years ago?). It
was all part of the 鈥淔riday Morning Flashback鈥檚鈥� Road Trip Edition on 91制片厂 Radio
WHCM 88.3 FM.
Just about all DJs on WHCM are students, and they have been for the award-winning station鈥檚 nearly 50-year history. For the last 20 years, listeners have been able to find the station on their radios. Before then, WHCM broadcast on 91制片厂鈥檚 campus only.
To celebrate its 20th anniversary as an FM station, WHCM is holding its second annual Alumni and Friends Membership Drive through March 15. Funds raised will support WHCM students and expanding college radio.
In the Beginning
The documentation isn鈥檛 so great, so there鈥檚 some debate over when WHCM began. Tom Schnecke, a 91制片厂 alum and the vice president and director of engineering at CBS 2 in Chicago, started at 91制片厂 a few years after the station began. He estimated WHCM first hit 91制片厂 the airwaves between 1970 and 鈥�73.
In those early days, WHCM was housed in the Student Activities office, he said. The station broadcast across the college courtesy of the physical wires that ran from building to building. Students could listen on the cafeteria鈥檚 speakers, and the station boasted the best radio technology of the day: a few turntables and some tape cartridges.
鈥淢ostly, you played vinyl,鈥� Schnecke said.
When he took over as advisor in the 1980s, he brought in equipment from other media outlets, running turntables, cassettes and reel-to-reel tape.
In the 1990s, the college began to explore broadcasting off campus, a complicated process that would take years. Schnecke helped even after he left as advisor, assuring the application was filled out correctly, all the filing fees were in place and consultants could sign off on the forms.
For most of the station鈥檚 history, WHCM wasn鈥檛 connected to any academic program,
and students did not receive credit for participating, said Brian Shelton, assistant
professor of mass communication and the station鈥檚 current advisor. About six years
ago, the program moved into the mass communications department. Now, students take
radio courses and use the station as a lab space.
Erik Bonilla, who is planning to graduate from 91制片厂 this spring, started at the radio station in fall 2017. Since then, he鈥檚 worked his way up to program director. He checks equipment, reviews shows and adds new music. He鈥檚 the one who ensures the station provides quality content.
Thanks to his time at the station, Bonilla said, he鈥檚 realized that his future is in the technical aspects of broadcasting 鈥� not teaching high school geography, as he originally thought. When he graduates from 91制片厂, he plans to get an internship at a local studio, station or firm.
鈥�91制片厂 radio has dramatically improved my time at 91制片厂,鈥� Bonilla said. 鈥淭he radio station began as a place for me to spend my time and pursue a hobby but resulted in a realization of, 鈥榃ow, I really like the work I do here. I would love to do this professionally.鈥欌��
91制片厂 on the Map
Today, it鈥檚 not uncommon for a college to have a radio station, Shelton said, though it鈥檚 more prevalent at universities than two-year colleges. As of 2018, at least 600 college radio stations broadcast in the United States, according to Radio Survivor, a college radio resource. The first college stations began in the 1920s, or earlier, on AM frequencies.
For most of its time at 88.3, WHCM was a part-time radio station, airing Mondays through Thursdays and sharing the station with another group 鈥� most recently, until 2017, the Educational Media Foundation, Shelton said. The college offered to buy out the foundation鈥檚 contract so 91制片厂 could broadcast full-time, seven days a week.
鈥�91制片厂 sees the value of its student radio station and has been very supportive and very respectful of students鈥� work,鈥� he said.
Today, listeners tune in from all over the world. Yes, the 100-watt FM station reaches a rough circle with 91制片厂 as its center 鈥� from Arlington Heights to Barrington, from Wauconda to just shy of Roselle 鈥� but . Outside the United States, Shelton said, the most WHCM listeners are in Dublin, followed closely by Moscow.
When listeners tune in, they might find any number of shows. Student DJs are free to create their own formatting, Shelton said, from sports shows to talk shows. On 鈥淕lobal Tunes,鈥� a DJ will feature the music of a different country each week. On 鈥淢otor Tea,鈥� a student host discusses automotive issues geared toward college students. It鈥檚 not 鈥淗ow can I buy a Mercedes?鈥� but 鈥淗ow do I get a reliable $3,000 Corolla?鈥�
During WHCM's early days, Schnecke said, he remembered fewer talk shows and more music 鈥� primarily Top 40 tunes. When Schnecke started as a student in fall 1976, that meant Wild Cherry鈥檚 鈥淧lay that Funky Music,鈥� which was No. 1 on Billboard鈥檚 Hot 100 for three weeks that fall, or Rod Stewart鈥檚 鈥淭onight鈥檚 the Night (Gonna Be Alright),鈥� which was No. 1 for the last seven weeks of the year.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great how the station is still viable [while] the media landscape has changed,鈥� Schnecke said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great that the facility is still flourishing as a place for students to get a first experience in the media.鈥�