WRVS-FM
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WRVS-FM, "Eighty-Nine-Nine ECSU" or "WRVS Eighty-Nine-Nine", is an
Urban Contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
radio station run from
Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is a public historically black university in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It enrolls nearly 2,500 students in 28 undergraduate programs and 4 graduate programs and is a member-school of the Thurgood Mars ...
in
Elizabeth City, North Carolina Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It ...
. The staff of the station mentors students of the university's Department of Language, Literature & Communication, as well as volunteers/students interested in broadcasting. It has 41 kilo
watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s (kW) power.


History

The station originally began broadcasting on Tuesday March 18, 1986 with 10 kW at 90.7 MHz from a little white house-like building that currently houses other offices of the university. WRVS became Northeastern NC's first Public Radio Station. Edgard "Eddie" Oakley was the first student to broadcast on the station. Aerek Stephens the first student sports announcer. The station later moved to its current location in Williams Hall. The original slogan for WRVS-FM was "Wonderful Radio Viking Style". WRVS-FM at one point used the slogan "The Rhythm of the River City" and currently uses the tagline "Your Community Voice". The station was the brainchild of former
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Jimmy Jenkins. He hired David C. Linton, from WSHA-FM at Shaw University to help the University realize his dream. Linton was brought in as Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Media Development. Linton, worked with the FCC, engineers and others to get the station on the air. Linton, who served as the stations first General Manager & Program Director also coined the slogan, as well as, the station call letters. The original staff consisted of Paula Sutton, Public Affairs Director, Andre Smith, Sports Director, Gospel announcer Dorothy Keith and a group of talented students. It was David Linton and Paula Sutton who shared the on-air debut honors by playing the song "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" by McFadden and Whitehead. The station call letters stand for Wonderful Radio Viking Style. In 1990 the station received several upgrades, including a new transmitter allowing 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 41 kW (the old transmitter now serves as a backup transmitter) as well as a new frequency of 89.9 MHz. On July 3, 1996 the station went dark for weeks due to water and smoke damage to equipment due to an electrical fire that occurred upstairs in Williams Hall. The station signed back on in October and later went to a Jazz-based format as "Jazzy 89-Nine". In 2003, the station reverted to its original and current Urban/Urban AC based format, and began broadcasting 24 hours a day. In the 1990s WRVS-FM was one of the best programmed student operated stations of its kind. WRVS-FM is Public Supported NPR Affiliated Radio Station. Its 280-foot (85 m) transmitter and studios are located on the campus of Elizabeth City State University. WRVS-FM is currently the only station in Elizabeth City that broadcasts in
HD radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
and is currently streaming online. The station is credited for developing and starring such talents as the legendary Greg "Sampson" Lange, DJ Fountz, KD Bowe & Traci LaTrelle.


External links


WRVS-FM
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RVS A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...
Elizabeth City State University RVS-FM NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1986 1986 establishments in North Carolina