WSBF 88.1
From ClemsonWiki
WSBF 88.1 is Clemson University's radio station. WSBF is fully managed by students, and is open to all undergraduate students, graduate students, and community members to join and host shows. The station's office is located on the third floor of the Hendrix Student Center. WSBF currently broadcasts at 3000 watts across the Upstate, reaching into Greenville, Pickens, Anderson, and Oconee counties. WSBF puts on a few free concerts every semester, featuring regional and national artists. The shows are open to all ages. Past shows have been held on Bowman Field, Amphitheater, Edgar's, Explorer's, and Nick's. For the past three years, WSBF and WUSC have held a joint show the Friday night before the Clemson vs. USC football game.
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[edit] History
WSBF-FM began as a closed-circuit broadcasting facility on May 1, 1958, and made its first broadcast on April Fool's Day of 1960. The original transmitter unit that powered the station via the electrical system in the dormitories (primarily Johnstone Hall) still exists, and has been preserved. The station quickly became known as "wizz-bif," and in the early days broadcast such shows as Bob Mattison's (the "Voice of Clemson") agricultural shows, which were also broadcast on AM stations in Anderson, Spartanburg, and Columbia. Other early shows included a show broadcast from Harcombe in the mornings, a "Late, Late" show featuring old standards, and a "Concert Hall" show featuring the classics. By 1965, WSBF had changed format to include "The Frank Howard Show," "Pigskin Preview," "Night Beat," and "East of Midnight." The purpose was to provide students with educational entertainment, news, and music. Music format ran to the Top 40 model in the mid to late 1960s. The studios were located on the eighth level of the Johnstone Hall complex, two floors above the Loggia.
The next major format change occurred under Woody Culp, changing to "progressive," in the spring semester of 1972. An article in The Tiger on November 12, 1971, states that the decision to change followed a telephone survey of listeners several weeks before, and that the response was favorable. This coincided with the national rise of previously under-valued FM stations all across the dial as a source of "underground" and alternative formats. The strategy at that time was to give heavy airplay to new groups. Off-beat news stories and non-Top 40 music was emphasized.
In the late 1970s, the primary studio on the 8th level of Johnstone Hall, featured two turntables to the right of the control panel, a stack of 8-track-style cart machines for PSA announcements, the board, and, to the left, record bins. An indestructible Crown reel-to-reel 12-inch recording deck was located behind the announcer's chair to the right.
WSBF officially went stereo on November 6, 1978 although the signal was still not actually channel separated, a dark secret that the engineers snickeringly kept to themselves.
The current format has evolved from "progressive" to "alternative," a shift taking place in the mid 1980's. The alternative format included progressive, but also includes other genres of music such as classical, rap, jazz, punk, industrial, indie, talk, and many others. The "alternative" name implies alternative in any genre, not just "alternative rock". The current stated goal of WSBF is: "We educate the listener by exposing him/her/shim to new genres and to the leading edge of more familiar genres, such as rock. We play what other stations cannot and do not." (from WSBF Disc Jockey Handbook)
[edit] Famous Alumni
- David Dondero
- Craig Mobley, first African American Clemson University athlete on a full athletic scholarship
- Gary Parsons, Chairman of the Board for XM Satellite Radio
- Jane Robelot
- Jim Stevenson, Sports reporter for Voice of America, Washington, D.C.
[edit] Fiftieth anniversary
On the weekend of March 7-March 8, 2008, the station celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a concert in the Hendrix Center on Friday night, and a banquet for alumni and current WSBF staff on Saturday night. David Suggs and Van Fair, the "S" and the "F" in the station callsign, both addressed the reunion dinner. Van emphasized the need for the station to consider the changing nature of FM radio to survive into the future in his remarks. His comments led a number of alumni from the 90s to walk out. Alumni jocks did fifteen minute shows throughout Saturday's programming. A de facto WSBF reunion took place at Nick's on Friday night, and was continued on Saturday night, and after the constituents were thrown out on Sloan Street at midnight, the WSBF meeting adjourned to The snake pit, where a keg of the finest Pabst Blue Ribbon awaited. Here is an image of WSBF's fifitieth anniversary sticker that was designed by Lee Simmons.
[edit] House Shows
Members of WSBF have been known to host a number of House Shows throughout the years.
Super Taco is an official friend of WSBF.
