MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
), known as Rowan Radio, is a
college radio
Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
licensed to
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents.
...
. The studios are located in the College of Communication on the campus of Rowan University in
Glassboro, New Jersey
Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 18,579,call letters for WGLS hearken back to the former name of the institution: W GLassboro State College.
The station has won numerous local and national awards, including being named "College Station of the Year" by the National Association of College Broadcasters in 1997.
History
Glassboro State College was granted a construction permit by the FCC to build a low watt FM radio station on the campus on May 17, 1963 and a broadcast license was issued the following year on April 9, 1964. 89.7 WGLS-FM went on the air with funding provided by the college's Library Department. The library's Educational Media Director William McCavitt served as the first faculty supervisor of the 10-watt mono radio station until 1966. He left Glassboro State and went on to establish two more college stations, WIUP-FM for Indiana University of Pennsylvania and WCUC-FM at Clarion University located in Clarion, Pennsylvania.
Other faculty members continued to advise the students of WGLS, including 1967 supervisor George Reinfeld, who would eventually help establish the college's Department of Communication. Joe Salviuolo was the station's advisor in 1968, but ultimately left academia to become a songwriter, producer and manager. Under the stage name "Sal Joseph", he collaborated with popular folk artist Jim Croce on the hit, "Thursday". Dr. Gregory Potter, from the GSC Library Department, took over management of WGLS in 1969, and successfully led the effort to update the college's radio studio in the campus’ Bole Hall building, as well as correcting various engineering and transmission issues.
By 1970, the school's Library Department relinquished control of WGLS to the Department of Fine and Performing Arts. Dean Armand Vorce and advisor Bob Blake kept WGLS broadcasting until 1973, when it was decided that the radio station's broadcast license would be released back to the FCC due to management and operational concerns. Student Station Manager Jim Servino successfully petitioned Glassboro State's then president Dr. Mark Chamberlain to keep the license, and to allow the students to manage WGLS on their own.
Servino and students enlisted the help of Communications professor Mike Donovan to help consult the radio station. WGLS then lobbied for an estimated $70,000 in funding from the school's Student Government Association for technical upgrades. The station moved across campus to Savitz Library, a new 50-foot tower was erected, and the transmitter power increased from 10 watts to 440 watts. By 1977, WGLS moved to larger studio space within Savitz Library and began to broadcast in stereo.
Following the tenure of station advisors Mike Donovan (1973 to 1988) and Phylis Johnson (1988 to 1990), the college decided that a dedicated full-time Station Manager was needed in order for WGLS-FM to grow. Former WFIL-AM broadcaster Frank Hogan assumed the newly created role in 1991. At the time, Hogan was serving Glassboro State College as a ¾ time radio professor, having previously worked as the engineering consultant on the station's 1977 stereo and studio upgrades.
With the 1992 name change of Glassboro State College to Rowan University due to a $100 million donation from industrialist Henry Rowan, WGLS-FM re-branded itself as "
Rowan Radio
WGLS-FM (89.7 Hertz, MHz), known as Rowan Radio, is a college radio radio station, station licensed to Rowan University. The studios are located in the College of Communication on the campus of Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. WGLS-FM is ...
". The station's antenna moved to the Glassboro city water tower in 1993, and the increased height boosted the station's power to an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
of 640 watts. In 1995, Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM evolved from a student radio club into a permanently incorporated aspect of the newly created College of Communication and Creative Arts. WGLS-FM moved again into its fourth studio home on campus inside the then recently expanded Bozorth Hall building January 1996.
Rowan Radio began streaming over the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
in 2000. In January 2001, the station's transmitter was relocated 9 miles off campus to a 500-foot tower in South Harrison Twp., NJ, again increasing its signal strength to an ERP of 750 watts. Sports broadcaster and college instructor Derek Jones and former commercial radio producer Leo Kirschner succeeded Frank Hogan upon his retirement in 2012.
Programming
Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM since its inception in 1964 has maintained a "variety" format in its programming choices, which reflect FCC guidelines regarding the need for licensed radio stations to operate in the public interest and serve their communities. The mixed variety format also allows WGLS’ student broadcasters to experience all kinds of radio programming as part of their studies.
WGLS-FM's broadcast schedule employs the theories of "horizontal programming" and "
dayparting
In broadcast programming, dayparting is the practice of dividing the broadcast day into several parts, in which a different type of radio programming or television show appropriate for that time period is aired. Television programs are most of ...
". Implemented by station manager Frank Hogan in 1991, Rowan Radio's programming schedule consists of daily music and talk shows airing at the same time weekdays with specialized niche programming on the weekends. Regular programming is sometimes pre-empted for the station's seasonal coverage of Rowan University Division III athletic games.
Rowan Radio's current weekday programming schedule includes:
* 7a-9a The Early Bird Special Morning Show
* 9a-5p The Music That Matters (
Classic Hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
Progressive Rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
Format)
Weekend Programming consists of more niche programming selections highlighting music from genres such as Broadway, Classical,
Oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
, and
Metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
. Weekend shows include "The 80s Arcade", "The Icon Rock Show", "Satin Nights", "Saturday Night At The Oldies", "Sunday Sounds Of Music", "The Sunday Matinee" and more.
Public Affairs programming is produced by university students, instructors and civic leaders discussing a variety of local and national topics. Shows and podcasts include:
* "A Community Affair"
* "The African American Profile"
* "The American Dream"
* "Your Health Matters"
* "Studio 89.7"
* "The ARC Report" (produced in association with The ARC of Gloucester County, NJ)
* "Everything Special Needs"
* "Career Talk"
* "Writers Roundtable"
* "The Rowan Sport Review"
* "The Rowan Report"
* "Offsides"
* "Third and Long"
Awards
Since its incorporation with Rowan University's College of Communication in 1995, 89.7 WGLS-FM has won over 300 broadcasting awards in local and national contests. WGLS won "College Station of the Year" in 1997 from the National Association of College Broadcasters.
The college station has won numerous accolades for its various programming including honors from the Gracie Awards, The
Broadcast Education Association
The Broadcast Education Association (BEA) is an international academic organization originating and operating mainly out of the United States. The BEA is devoted to multimedia research and teaching, and retains the historical purpose to prepare col ...
, The Communicator Awards, College Broadcasters, Inc., The Philadelphia Press Association and The New Jersey Broadcasters Association.