WRGP ("The Roar") is the
student-run radio station of
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, United States. WRGP broadcasts on 88.1
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 ...
from a transmitter site in
rural Miami-Dade County at 17107 SW 248 Street and from rebroadcasters on the two largest FIU campuses: W237CP (95.3 MHz) at the main
Modesto A. Maidique Campus (formerly the University Park campus), where the station's studios are located in the Graham Center, and W245BF (96.9 MHz) on the
Biscayne Bay Campus
The Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC), located in North Miami, Florida, is a branch campus of Florida International University. With a student body of more than 7,000, it is the largest branch campus in Florida's State University System.
FIU's nation ...
in
North Miami
North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University, and the North Miami campu ...
.
History
The first student radio station at FIU was established in 1988 as a
carrier current station on 540
KHz
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 on ...
at the University Park campus, known as WUFI and primarily airing
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
. It emerged as a student government project.
In 1993, FIU applied to build an FM station on 88.1 MHz to transmit from Homestead. A construction permit was approved in 1995, and the station began airing in 1999 as WRGP "Radiate 88", having been delayed by paperwork with
WTVJ
WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (ch ...
(channel 6), which owned the tower from which the station broadcast; at launch, the station aired a more conventional
contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
format.
In 2004, the primary branding was changed by management to "Radio Golden Panther" (the original intended name, as it was the reason WRGP was selected as the call sign); in 2005, it reverted to Radiate FM. In early 2015, it was changed to "WRGP, FIU Student Radio" in an attempt to increase student awareness of the station. In 2017, the station adopted its current branding as "The Roar".
Due to power limitations associated with the Homestead transmitter, WRGP was unable to provide effective coverage of the University Park campus or Miami area on 88.1 MHz. This was remedied in 2006 with the installation of an
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
at University Park, rebroadcasting the station on 95.3 MHz. In February 2008, the reach of the station was further expanded when another translator on 96.9 MHz was installed at FIU's
Biscayne Bay Campus
The Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC), located in North Miami, Florida, is a branch campus of Florida International University. With a student body of more than 7,000, it is the largest branch campus in Florida's State University System.
FIU's nation ...
of FIU in North Miami, providing improved coverage of the major FIU campuses and the metropolitan area.
Programming
WRGP's programming focuses on
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
artists from across all genres of music. Dedicated exclusively to this format and style, commercial and mainstream music receive no airplay on WRGP.
The music for non-specialty day-parts is furnished by the Entertainment Director at the behest of his or herself. As many as 300 unique artists and four times as many tracks make up the regular rotation of music played during non-specialty programming hours. This rotation of music is updated weekly and will often include older albums selected by the staff from the station archives for regular airplay. The format is designed to be flexible enough to allow DJs to
pick their own music and to fill listener requests whenever possible. Unlike other stations, where rotation libraries are exclusively digitized, WRGP still relies on CDs and CD decks in the studio.
Specialty programming
Each night of the week is dedicated to a particular genre of music, although constantly changing, is produced entirely by specialty DJs who operate independently. These DJs furnish their own music for these programs and are not bound by the formatics of other day-parts.
Community service
As a
non-commercial educational
A non-commercial educational station (NCE station) is a radio station or television station that does not accept on-air advertisements (TV ads or radio ads), as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and was or ...
radio station, WRGP airs public service announcements in lieu of commercial advertising and carries locally produced news updates provided by its in-house news department. In the event of a
Hurricane Warning
Tropical cyclone warnings and watches are alerts issued by national weather forecasting bodies to coastal areas threatened by the imminent approach of a tropical cyclone of tropical storm or hurricane intensity. They are notices to the local popul ...
, the station switches over to
NOAA Weather Radio
NOAA Weather Radio NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States (U.S.) that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Serv ...
station
KHB34 during the duration of the storm until it has passed over.
Sports
WRGP also carries extensive live coverage of
FIU Golden Panthers
The FIU Panthers (also known as Florida INT Panthers) are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Westchester, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athl ...
athletics with its own staff of announcers and analysts. The station has covered both several Sun Belt tournaments across varying sports as well as both of FIU's Bowl game appearances. As of 2012, WRGP is the only station on terrestrial radio that carries FIU football, basketball and baseball.
Structure
The content aired on WRGP is done so entirely at the discretion of the station staff. While licensed to the FIU Board of Trustees, funded by the Student Government Association and overseen by a media adviser, the radio station operates as an autonomous entity within the university. The station staff is made up entirely of FIU students. At any time, WRGP may have as many as 80 live DJs filling the day-parts in shifts that range from 1 to 3 hours of airtime.
A General Manager is voted upon yearly by the FIU Media Board, which is a committee made up of university staff and local media professionals. The GM is ultimately responsible for all station operations including staffing and budgetary matters. The GM appoints and oversees an immediate staff of directors who administer the music, programming, training, promotions, news, sports and engineering departments.
Translators
In addition to the main station, 88.1, WRGP is relayed by additional translators to widen its broadcast area.
References
External links
*
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Florida International University
RGP
Radio stations established in 1988
Homestead, Florida
1988 establishments in Florida