Posted by chicagomedia.org on March 12, 2008 at 10:53:10:
WIIT is the radio station of Illinois Institute of Technology. WIIT has 31 shows a week, which vary from one to four hours each. They broadcast from MTCC, and are accessible at 88.9 FM or at http://radio.iit.edu.
In order to get an up-close look at what radio broadcasting is like, I interviewed Lory Mishra and Adam Kadzban, co-hosts of the show Indie Snobs, during their show. A little bit about Indie Snobs – the name comes from the fact that the show intends to play independent music, which might often be associated with being snobbishness. "We're not really that snobbish about it, though." said Lory. While broadcasting, DJs sitting in the WIIT office (which is in MTCC near the ping-pong tables) often have friends sitting in the broadcasting room with them, and wave to friends walking by outside. Several of the radio shows have formed Facebook groups to recruit listeners. Listener statistics are publicly available through the group's webpage at http://wiit.iit.edu/stats/. DJs can track how many people are listening during their shows.
Some of WIIT's equipment was donated by various companies, and some was purchased with SAF funds. Before it moved into MTCC, WIIT was housed on the 4th floor of Main building. At that time, the group possessed full equipment for recording as well as broadcasting sound – mixing boards, the works. There was too much equipment to move into the smaller space of the MTCC office. WIIT's main piece of equipment is the mixing board. Hooked into this are turntables, CD players, a computer, a automation system, and some tape decks. The station uses fiber optic lines to connect to the transmitter and web streamer in the 5th floor of Main Building. Playlists have to be burned to CDs, as the piece of equipment that uses playlists from iPods is currently nonfunctional. There is an automated system that plays music 24/7 when there are no DJs in the office. When equipment breaks, either Adam Jenkins, the Station Manager, or Alon Friedman, WIIT's faculty advisor, fixes it.
Among other things, the Station Manager makes sure that fees are paid, directs DJ meetings, keeps WIIT's registration with the FCC current, and trains new DJs. Brian Kibbe is the Program Director, and he trains DJs, manages the WIIT email account, and schedules shows.
What are the rules? – In order to get a show, an applicant fills out an "Airspace Request Form" from the webpage (http://radio.iit.edu). After this, the DJ goes through two short training sessions to familiarize themselves with equipment and regulations. A time slot is agreed upon and the DJ can start doing their thing. – The shows are not allowed to use swear words, either by the DJ or in the music that they play. – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that DJs must always sign the log sheet with time in, out, and their name so that complaints (about cursing on air or other things) can be directed to the correct person. – Every show must play two Public Service announcements per hour. The announcements come on CDs from govt. agencies, and vary widely, from being kind to animals to getting counseling for depression to how to take care of your car.
While some DJs are brand new, some have been around for much longer. For instance, Alon has had a show playing primarily world music for over five years. One non-IIT DJ, Earl Hall of the Weds 6-10 pm show "El Tornado Tropical con El Caobo" got his show about four years ago when a WIIT host at the time asked Earl to co-host. Eventually Earl applied for and got his own show. El Tornado plays primarily dance salsa music. The show has two weekly callers who talk about Chicago-area salsa happenings. Because of WIIT's low signal range, shows are advertised primarily on the internet. Earl promotes his show partially through the 33 Yahoo groups about salsa with which he is involved. His main listener recruitment arena is a website called Salsaforums.com. Because of this, he says, "During the show, the number of [page] views skyrocket; which is a clear indication that many people are listening. I have never left the station with less than 500 views to my playlists." Earl also DJs at The Excalibur Nightclub and will also do so at the Chicago International Salsa Congress and the Chicago Salsa Festival. WIIT has been a help on his path to great things, and WIIT is glad to have him.
In Earl's words, WIIT's purpose is to give "the IIT community, affiliates, and community the opportunity to experience broadcasting in whatever form they want that to be." For more information, please contact wiit@iit.edu