Things have changed for University radio since 1947, when WUVA was launched in the basement of Madison Hall using electrical wiring in dormitories to pass along its AM signals.
"It was very much amateur, but we became a big success quickly," outgoing WUVA-FM President Robert Powell said. This popularity led the station to apply for a full-service commercial license from the FCC in 1973. After six years of efforts, WUVA won an FM assignment on 92.7, and broadcasts began June 22, 1979. The station, which now broadcasts from Alumni Hall, is independent from the University and generates all of its funding through advertisement sales, Powell said.
George Wilson, professor of speech and drama, founded WUVA. Ten years later, in 1957, he founded WTJU-FM, the University's non-commercial station. WTJU currently receives 40 percent of its funding from the University, WTJU Business Manager Jane McDonald said in an email. She explained that the station is a regular department at the University, directly overseen by the Office of Public Affairs.
The University used to have a third station, WIRE, which last broadcasted in 1994. Originally called Cavalier Communications, the station came into being around 1989 as a student-led carrier-current station. Carrier-current stations do not require a license to operate, and they cover a very limited range - WIRE's range did not extend beyond dorms.
"Carrier current was very popular during the '70s and '80s," former WTJU General Manager Chuck Taylor said. "There were quite a few stations like them, so they would broadcast and people would have to be in the dorms to be able to listen to it."
After an unsuccessful effort in 1998 to revitalize WIRE as Internet broadcast station, the station has remained largely inactive, he said.
Although music dominates the programming of both active stations, WUVA and WTJU were founded for "two distinctly different reasons," Taylor said.
Wilson intended WUVA to be a commercial station, while WTJU was meant to be a "more non-commercial, artsy-fartsy type station," Taylor said. "All of these contributed to the engagement of the students and a broader community ultimately and featured lots of interesting news and public affairs that were going on at the University."
WTJU started as a student-operated station, but began recruiting community members in the late 1970s to extend broadcasting to 24 hours a day. Taylor was among these recruits. He joined the station in the summer of 1979.
Currently, students make up roughly one-third of WTJU's volunteer staff, McDonald said. In comparison, WUVA is entirely student-run, Powell said, apart from an alumni board of directors and three regular employees who provide continuity and expertise.
Taylor said he discovered WTJU while working in Charlottesville after graduating from Elon University.
"I had a couple of low-end jobs, as everyone does when they first come to Charlottesville," he said. His co-workers, at a now-defunct year-round ski area called Ski Land, introduced him to the station.
Taylor soon traded in his skis for dials and served as the station's general manager from 1993 until stepping down last year.
Nathan Moore will become the station's new general manager April 5. Underwriting Manager Rob Nowicki has filled the position in much of the interim. Moore comes from a position as an executive administrator at Free Speech Radio News in Madison, WI.
"We are so looking forward to his arrival," McDonald said. "I really appreciated his energy and enthusiasm in the interview process."
"He's gonna have a lot of ideas of his own," Nowicki added.
University radio stations are experiencing more than just changes in leadership, however.
"Broadcast and media in general is changing a lot," Powell said. In response to these changes, he said, WUVA launched an online supplement to its FM frequency, WUVAonline.
WUVA Sports Director Dominique Madison said the online service - launched March 22 - included "U.Va. happenings, sports, news and online games."
Powell said incorporating video is another focus.
"We're hoping to be on the cutting edge at U.Va. and we think that we are," he said.
WUVA demonstrated its flexibility in another way by switching to an urban contemporary format in an effort "to appeal to as many in the Charlottesville community as possible," Powell added. "We not only serve the U.Va. community, but we also serve the Charlottesville area, and that's different from your typical college radio station."
Taylor also commented on the importance of radio adjusting to shifting times.
"Any radio station at this point that does not use social media is not very smart," he said. "These types of stations in general have to reinvent themselves and use social media to enable that, or it's going to become harder and harder."
These challenges, as well as the demands of a 24-hour broadcast, keep things busy at WUVA, Madison said.
"The vibe of the radio station, I would say, is constantly on the go," she said. "There's always something going on; there's always something to get your hands in."
She said training recruits is her favorite part of working at the station.
"I love being able to provide that helping hand to those who show an interest in media and broadcasting but don't know how to channel it," she said. "It's our responsibility to help funnel that enthusiasm and interest through WUVA. I just love being there for the new recruits - they turn into regulars, and then they turn into veterans."
Throughout the years University radio stations have adjusted to both frequent changes and changes in frequency, but the mission remains the same.
"We educate, without being dull, the community about music," McDonald said.
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