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Music to Our Ears

WRTI FM to Start New Season

By Meryl Matkoff

Reporter-in-training

WRTI-FM, the student-operated campus radio station will go on-the-air Oct. 14 with a new, expanded schedule.

WRTI-FM is officially under the School of Communications and receives its funds from the school.

"It is important for a School of Communications to have a functioning radio station," said Sue Ellis, '69, promotion director.

The Radio, Television and Film Department is immediately responsible for the station. A board of professors of the department appoints students to the staff positions, and helps them with their problems, but the station is completely independent and student-operated. Robert Kassi, a full-time faculty member, is assigned to the station as supervisor to assist the students.

The daily station is housed in its new, modernly-equipped offices in Annenberg Hall (WRTI-FM originally shared the basement of Thomas Hall with WRTI-AM.)

Their schedule for the new season is also greatly expanded: Monday to Thursday 1-11 p.m., Friday 1 p.m. to Midnight, Saturday 9 a.m. to Midnight, and Sunday 1-11 p.m.

All executive positions are filled by students. Jerry Klein, the student station manager, is the head of all directors and is responsible for the efficient operation of the station.

Bill Koshelnyk, the program director, is second in command, and has charge of all programs, program schedules, and activity coordination.

Miss Ellis, promotion director, takes care of all publicity and public relations for the station, while John Feldman, technical director, is in charge of the electronic systems.

The traffic director, Steve Medoff, and the continuity director, Lois Rubin, work together to help the station run smoothly. They are in charge of scheduling and announcements.

The station has the most modern RCA equipment possible. There are three recording studios, one containing a piano, another an electric organ, and the third the apparatus for a combo show.

The master control center operates all the recording studios and is equipped with a ten channel board, 5 tape cartridge play-back machines, tape recorders, turntables, and microphone channels. All equipment is stereo, and there are two control rooms, one for production work off their air and one for disc-jockey work on-the-air.

WRTI has had FM standing since 1953. They hold a Federal Communications Commission license as an educational FM station, which means they are a non-commercial station sponsoring only public service announcements.

WRTI-FM has a formidable program for their new season. Ed Cunningham, the music director, will have folk and classical music, opera, jazz, and a new soul show; something for everyone's taste in music.

There will be news casts every hour of local, national and international news and every evening a major news show is planned with commentary and a news "wrap-up." The station will also give detailed election coverage featuring experts in politics, and on election night the station will remain on until all the results are in. WRTI will be at the headquarters of each candidate in order to get first hand news. Miss Ellis said, "We're all looking forward to election night."

An occasional documentary will also be featured and the station hopes to become more involved in campus news than in previous years.

A sports program will have coverage of all major games, and Fred Woskoff, the sports director, will also interview coaches of the different teams.

Other shows of special interest will include performing arts programs, community involvement shows and feature spots.

"The station wants people from every academic field to staff the station," Miss Ellis said. "Auditions are held and anyone interested may try out."

The students are chosen by the quality of their voice and their interests, but all people working on the air must pass a test and obtain a third-class radio operator's license from the Federal Communications Commission. The station has its own training program to prepare the students for the test.

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