WDSW-LP is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...

Adult Album Alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

, Blues, and

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

format. WDSW-LP licensed to

Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. 61. Clevelan ...

and Cleveland, Renova, and Boyle in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. WDSW-LP is owned and operated by

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi, a city in the Mississippi Delta. History The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricult ...

. It broadcasts from the Nowell Student Union Building on the third floor.

History

WDSW-LP signed on as Delta State Radio in 2015 through a combination of donations, fundraising along with community and University support. The station's mission at the time was to serve the diversity of our communities by being an inclusive outlet for all the voices in the Delta. Programming during these early years included a block format which catered to mostly pop, adult hits, some alternative with occasional live programming provided by student, university and community members along with Delta State President William LaForge. There was also a short stint with a country format along with religious content.

"88.1 WDSW The Trail, A Broadcast Service Of Delta State University"

WDSW-LP's mission changed in 2019 with the vision to integrate the station into Delta State's academic mission, thus reframing WDSW-LP as a learning lab for students as part of a broadcast curriculum. WDSW-LP ceased the majority of block programming in December 2019 with the removal of the 10pm - 5am jazz block and instituted an adult album alternative/roots/blues/select Southern-leaning classic rock format 24/7 to provide Cleveland and the surrounding communities with a format that is unserved by other broadcasters in the Delta. Select specialty programs (traditional blues, roots, Mississippi heritage showcases and student produced music and community features) are planned for the future on weekends. WDSW-LP shifted programming slightly starting in late March 2020 with the addition of Community Information Bulletins to relay hyper-local information to the surrounding communities about how the Delta was adapting to the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

Coverage Area

WDSW-LP can be heard reliably for a 8-10 mile radius around Delta State University. On good days, the station can be received as far north as Alligator (23 miles), Benoit (18 miles) to the southwest, Drew (12 miles) to the northeast and Doddsville (13 miles) to the southeast. In communities such as Ruleville, Shaw and cities around the 10 mile mark distant from WDSW-LP, WDSW-LP suffers from

attenuation In physics, attenuation (in some contexts, extinction) is the gradual loss of flux intensity through a medium. For instance, dark glasses attenuate sunlight, lead attenuates X-rays, and water and air attenuate both light and sound at variabl ...

from trees and buildings in addition to multipath due to WDSW-LP's single bay antenna being HAAT.

Tropospheric propagation Tropospheric propagation describes electromagnetic propagation in relation to the troposphere. The service area from a VHF or UHF radio transmitter extends to just beyond the optical horizon, at which point signals start to rapidly reduce in str ...

when in active phases can reduce WDSW-LP's signal coverage to 3–5 miles.

Migration To Full-Power Signal

On April 27, 2022,

was awarded a construction permit by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

to build a new 50,000 watt FM station on 89.5mhz.

References

External links

88.1 WDSW The Trail Online

88.1 WDSW The Trail on ''Facebook''
* {{Clarksdale MS Radio

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

2015 establishments in Mississippi Adult album alternative radio stations in the United States Blues radio stations Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 2015 DSW-LP DSW-LP DSW-LP