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Show 5gn-o7-Tuesday, May 22, 1984 17A 0 O KWCR Stereo Weber State College Ogden. UT V i lit i r?-vf ' ! - . Iff t I ' : 1 by Stephanie DeGraw Staff Reporter As I push the heavy door open, my senses are confronted with a wall of intense energy, sound and smells. My toes vibrate to the steady beat blaring from the speakers. As 1 adjust to my surroundings, I notice the clatter of the UP1 machine spewing the news. Frantically it punches the pale yellow paper. Mounds and piles of paper with black dots lay by its side. My stomach tightens as I resolve to remind the new DJ to "rip" the news. The aroma of fresh pizza beckons me into my office. One remaining piece lays in the box. I stare. The laughter from the crowded room interrupts my thoughts. "Yes, 'hungry eyes', you can have the last bite," smirks Linda Petrich, the music director. A warm, soft feeling of unconditional friendship settles over the cluttered room. Posters cover every inch of the walls. Papers, old typewriters and the remains of a cigarette litter the desks. "The smoke is so thick you could cut it with a knife," I mutter. "Somebody open a window." I plop down in my chair. Winter air creeps in through the slightly cracked window. Shivering, I jump up and head out into the hall. Waves of sound wash over me as I enter the air studio. The DJ sits posed at the board. His back is like a taut rope as he waits for the song to fade. He opens the mike and nervously stutters, "Th-that was the Rolling Stones and this here's the F-f-fixx." My heart is in my throat as I suggest, "Try talking a little slower and clearer. Remember to say who we are on the air, like 'We're FM88, the alternative' or 'KWCR brings you the newest music'." The rookie smiles and says he'll try harder. I tell him it has taken me a year to feel comfortable on the air and 1 still need improvement. Assuming the mode of mentor for an aspiring DJ, I gamble on another suggestion. "Oh, by the way," I proffer, "the UP1 is flooding the station. You forgot to rip the news." Later I sift through the news marked world, national and local that has been speared with the nails on the wall. Deciding which news stories will be interesting for my newscast is tricky. Hopefully, the stories I choose will appeal to my listening audience. "One minute," yells the DJ. I rush back into the air studio and land on the stool. Headphones in place, the music fades in my ears. 1 push the Intro Hews Cart and flinch as it blares too loud. Clearing my dry throat, I manage to make it through the day's latest headlines. Afterwards, Dan Dolezal, the sports director, comes in and announces the basketball game will be broadcast live tonight. The new DJ looks frightened. Dan assures him running it through the phone lines won't be very difficult. The walls of the small studio seem to close in as another person enters the room. Linda brings in an armful of new records. Smiling, she says, "These new records will really fit with our new format." Music once again wraps itself around everyone in the studio. Time to move on. As I reach the heavy metal door, I pivot on my heel and shout, "Don't forget to rip the newsl" I " .V" ss m .''--- .- . W " 4 "... : ; - 4 Svi-f V' 4r 'f lis F ? ' v ' i ' v, I s" - ' ' v i Weber State's total radio station, FN 88 KWCR, came out with a new sound this year "The Alternative Music Format" KWCR was heard every Wednesday when passing through the Union Building and is broadcast on the air from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. everyday. KWCR listeners can continue to hear their favorite variety of sounds on FII 88. The KWCR crew includes (front row left to right): Chris Owens, Linda Signpost photoGrove Pashley Petrich, Dave Arciaga, John Kristy, Stephanie DeGraw, Tom Colter, Jill Knight and an unidentified student Second row (left to right): Chris Loftus, Ron Bowman, Ron Thinnes, Betty Edmundson, Dale Bachman, Raymond Grella and Travelin' John. Back Row: Nike Montague, Chris Larsen, Mike Allred, Bob Bergason, Kelly Anderson, Brian West, Jon Hewitt, Kirk Bitten and Ken Bair. Weber Prepares For Air Time Weber State College has entered the television age. In April, the FCC granted the college a license to begin construction of a broadcasting station. This culminates ten years of effort on the part of the college. The first stage of the project will be the production of a cable system. A satellite receiving dish, already in place atop the Stewart Library, will feed a signal to public access Channel nine of the Ogden City cable system. The college also has a transmitter set up and ready to operate for the broadcast system. The cable system is being developed to allow the college time to prepare for an actual broadcast station. Linda Walcott of instructional development will be supervising the cable station. She said that the cable channel will be operational by early summer and will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. "We are starting off slow so we can do what we do well," Walcott explained.The college doesn't have the resources to do a lot of origional programing; therefore, most of the programing will come from outside sources. "Most of our programing will come from The Learning Channel," Walcott explained. The Learning Channel is a company based in Washington D.C. that provides educational programing for many cable stations throughout the country. Walcott said that the cost for one year of programing will be $10,000. An additional $10,000 is budgeted for operational expenses. In approximately 18 months, the second stage of the college's television facility will go into effect. This stage is a low power broadcast channel. The signal for the station will be broadcast from the Occqirrh Mountains east of Salt Lake City. Dr. Sherwin W. Howard, dean of Arts and Humanities, said, "We will not do any original programing other than local news and an Ogden magazine format." Although students won't have the opportunity to do much original programing on either the cable channel or the television station, both will provide hands on experience. Students will be involved in the day-to-day operating duties of the station. Theseday-today experiences will give Weber State students an advantage over broadcast students who merely learn theory. This will make Weber State more credible in the television field. Communications instructor John Peterson, who will oversee the broadcast end of the station, said that in the future he would like to see the college branch out into localized programing such as concerts, college ball games, a coaches show and a high school game of the week. The Weber State television system will provide many opportunities for the college, students and community. The station will help set Ogden apart from other northern Utah communities. It is an exciting educational development for Weber State students and a promising addition to the community. |