{"id":17672,"date":"2024-01-21T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?p=17672"},"modified":"2024-12-13T16:32:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T21:32:38","slug":"wfsu-radio-milestones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/2024-01-21\/wfsu-radio-milestones\/","title":{"rendered":"WFSU Radio Milestones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cGood evening, this is Station WFSU, the Seminole Broadcasting Association, signing on at 660 on your dial. For the next two and half hours your campus radio station will bring you programs by FSU, for FSU.  Stand by for the Voice of the Seminole.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nFirst words said on WFSU Radio, January 21, 1949, at 8:30 pm.<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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One of the first photos of WFSU-AM shown in the 1949 FSU Student Handbook. WFSU radio began as an AM station in the Longmire Building run by students. (FSU Heritage Protocol)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

April 5, 1948<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Florida State University Men\u2019s Government Association held a forum about what to do with the remaining $2,700 in their Tallahassee Branch of the University of Florida Recreation Fund. Afterward, 49 voted for a radio station and 26 voted for a roller-skating rink. A campus referendum is held on the issue in May. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 9, 1948<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The decision between a radio station and a roller-skating rink is put to a vote among the men at Florida State University.  The breakdown of the 617 votes was as follows: 439 chose the radio station, 106 wanted a skating rink, and 72 didn\u2019t want either. Work begins on creating a radio station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first student officers of WFSU-AM are shown in the 1950 FSU Tally Ho Yearbook. Advisor Roy Flynn is in the top row center. (Florida State University)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

December 1, 1948<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

FSU appoints Roy Flynn as WFSU Radio\u2019s Public Relations Director and Student Advisor.  Flynn had been the former educational director for WAPI in Birmingham, Alabama.  Other than Flynn, the rest of the staff of WFSU radio was made up entirely of students. When the call went out to staff the station, Roy Flynn said 720 students applied. A total of 55 students were selected. The Seminole Broadcasting Association was the governing body of the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 21, 1949<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU 660 AM broadcasts on the air for the first time.  The \u201cwired-wireless\u201d station started with three watts and was initially on each night from 8:30 to 11 pm. The first studio was built in room 404 of the Rowena Longmire Alumnae Building by an associate professor and two students from the Physics department. The “Voice of the Seminole” was broadcast to the FSU campus only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1951<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first remote broadcast is done from Florida State University\u2019s Suwannee dining room. WFSU carried the music of Georgia Bee and his orchestra.  The mobile unit was called \u201cThe Little Red Wagon\u201d and used a child\u2019s red wagon to transport the equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n

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WFSU’s first mobile radio unit in 1951. They called it “The Little Red Wagon.” <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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Student playing records at the WFSU radio board in Longmire Building. (FSU Heritage Protocol)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

1952<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU radio became a member of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 30, 1953<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An official with the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates broadcast signals, entered the WFSU radio studios and ordered the station to stop broadcasting.  The FCC said that the low-wattage station was operating beyond its assigned borders which at the time was the campus of Florida State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter written by Roy Flynn to Susan Law in November 1982, Flynn described what happened that day:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got an urgent message to go quickly to the station. I found an
FCC man there threatening a student DJ, saying “Go off now!” And
the kid was saying, “Can’t I at least let the record end and tell
the audience what’s happening?” And the FCC man said, “It will go
hard on you if you do.” So the boy faded out the record. End of
campus station.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n

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WFSU Back On the Air as an FM station<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

October 9, 1953<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

FSU received notice that the FCC has approved the University\u2019s application to become a low-power FM Educational license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 19, 1954<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU Radio returns to the air on 91.5 FM.  Now a ten-watt FM station, it operated out of room 115 in the Music building. In 1988, the Music Building was named the Kursteiner Music Building after the former Dean Karl Kursteiner. According to Roy Flynn, at the time the new and improved WFSU radio was the only FM station broadcasting in north Florida and South Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1954<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Roy Flynn, Director of Radio and Television at FSU (FSU Heritage Protocol)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

FSU Music Associate Professor Tommy Wright, who had co-created the FSU Fight Song in 1950, was named the Music Director at WFSU-FM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 1954<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

FSU named Roy Flynn the Director of Radio and Television at Florida State University. The addition of television to Flynn\u2019s title came 5 years before the WFSU television station went on the air, but they did work with Tallahassee station WCTV and WMBR-TV in Jacksonville. Flynn and other FSU personnel had already produced a TV program called \u201cThe Professor and the Problem\u201d for those stations for several years.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Schedule for the 1954 Football Season. WFSU-FM broadcast the games starting with Abilene Christian.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

September 25, 1954<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM\u2019s first broadcast of FSU football home games started with the Abeline-Christian game on this day. The station had the exclusive rights to carry the game and brought listeners to the channel. Director Roy Flynn said the purchase of FM radio receivers in the area increased because of the games on WFSU-FM.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Jim Kirk’s Tally Ho Yearbook photo in 1951 as a Junior at Florida Sate Univerity.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u00a0Jim Kirk was the announcer of these initial games. Kirk was a 1952 FSU graduate who had received the University\u2019s first degree in speech with a specialty in broadcasting. Decades later, Kirk became a radio station owner in central Florida and in 1996 he donated his large collection of almost 300 antique radios and TVs to WFSU to create a museum at the Public Broadcast Center located near the FSU Golf Course)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 1958<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU’s FM power increased from 10 to 1000 watts.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Student timing audio on a tape at WFSU-FM.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

December 1, 1962<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM began broadcasting the Metropolitan Opera live from New York.  The first performance was Guiseppe Verdi\u2019s \u201cErnani.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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On the air at WFSU-FM in the 1950s. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

1966<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM broadcasts in stereo for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

November 7, 1967<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act, creating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 26, 1970<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting established National Public Radio. WFSU-FM was one of the 90 charter member stations.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ad in the Tallahassee Democrat May 2, 1971.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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April 19, 1971<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

National Public Radio broadcast its first program: live coverage of U.S. Senate deliberations on the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 3, 1971<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NPR broadcasts the first episode of their long-running program, “All Things Considered.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 1972<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM moves into new, modern facilities on the 4th<\/sup> floor of the Diffenbaugh building on Florida State University Campus. The cost of this studio was $250,000.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Tallahassee Democrat article March 29, 1974<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

March 29, 1974<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first WFSU-FM pledge drive took place over four days. They raised $1500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 6, 1974<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM broadcasts the Florida Board of Regents meeting for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 1, 1974<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM implemented a 24-hour per day schedule for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1975<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM begins to air the Tallahassee City Commission meetings. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Recording booth at WFSU-FM<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

1975-1978<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Florida State University\u2019s Diffenbaugh Building is gutted and reconstructed.  However, because WFSU-FM\u2019s studio was still new, that area continued to operate during the construction.   WFSU staff, students, and other volunteers had to climb exposed outside steel steps to reach the studio during the rehabilitation of the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 18, 1975<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Second on-air fundraising campaign for WFSU-FM.  It lasted seven days and raised $4900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 1976<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Education gave WFSU-FM the contract to reactivate and operate the Florida Public Radio Network for the 1976 Legislative session. Formerly in Jacksonville, FPRN provided statewide coverage of the Florida Legislature and State Government. FPRN\u2019s Capital Report aired Monday-Friday during the session and all 11 Florida public radio stations at the time carried it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 1976<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM boosts its power to 50,000 watts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 21, 1978<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 15-member Corporation for Public Broadcasting board held its meeting in Tallahassee as part of a series of meetings at cities around the country.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting meets at the Capitol on March 21, 1978. (FSU Heritage Protocol)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

November 5, 1979<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Morning Edition, with first host Bob Edwards, debuts on National Public Radio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1980<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM became the only state-owned station linked to the NPR Interconnection System which allowed satellite transmissions throughout the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Red Barber in 1987 (NPR, Beverly Frick)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

January 2, 1981<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sports Announcer Red Barber began weekly conversations on National Public Radio\u2019s \u201cMorning Edition\u201d with host Bob Edwards.  Barber broadcast from his Tallahassee home in Waverly Hills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 6, 1981<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM begins to air National Public Radio\u2019s Morning Edition program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FSU President Bernie Sliger (far left) and LeRoy Collins (right of drawing) with others at the Groundbreaking ceremony for the new Public Broadcast Center <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

March 30, 1981<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Public Broadcast Center. The new WFSU-FM and WFSU-TV buildings were to be located near the FSU Golf Course.  Florida State University President Dr. Bernie Sliger was the Master of Ceremonies for the groundbreaking. Former Florida Governor LeRoy Collins provided the Keynote address. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 1, 1982<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM converts to a mostly all-classical music format, dropping other musical programs that from its schedule including the local long-running progressive rock program \u201cFreeform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 24, 1982<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first WFSU-FM Benefit Concert is held at Opperman Music Hall.  Instructors from the FSU School of Music performed at the concert including pianists Carolyn Bridger, Leonidas Lipovetsky, and Alan Thomas.  Also performing were bassoonist William Winstead, organist Michael Corzine, cellist Roger Drinkall, soprano Janice Harsanyi, clarinetist Fred Ormand, harpsichordist Karyl Louwenaar, and violinist Gerardo Ribeiro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1982<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-91.5 FM became the nation’s number one public radio station based on the percentage of available audience listening to the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 1983<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WFSU-FM moves into the newly completed FSU Public Broadcast Center. The new facility cost $5.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Gallery of Construction at WFSU’s new Public Broadcast Center:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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