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WSRU
WSRU is the college radio station of Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Student Government Association. It is operated at a "rocking" 100 watts of power (according to the station's legal sign-off for DJs), serving SRU and the surrounding community. WSRU is run entirely by SRU students.
In the first semester of 1960, a closed-circuit radio station operated on a nightly schedule in Patterson Hall with a power output of less than 1/10 of one watt. This station originated in room 38 of Patterson Hall and broadcast an hour of recorded music and campus news each evening to the three hundred men living in the dorm. The call letters chosen for the station came from the four initial letters of "News from Thirty-Eight." Hence, the call letters "NFTE" and its nickname "Nifty" were adopted. Near the end of the Fall 1960, the transmitting equipment was damaged, and Patterson Hall's radio station went off the air. Several attempts were made to repair the equipment, but the semester came to an end along with the enthusiasm for "NFTE".
Slippery Rock State College became a member of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (I.B.S.) in 1961, and it remains a member of today. The college officially requests and is granted an FCC license for a 10-watt broadcast at 640 kHz with the callsign WNFT. WNFT operated on a shoestring budget before its launch, reporting a total balance of $110 with no transmission or sound equipment or records. The original transmitter and console were hand-built by engineering professors and students. In addition to equipment, they were also procuring records and tapping all free sources known. These sources included 10 to 30-minute spots of music from the armed services. In December 1961, WNFT staff sold "Tag Day" tickets for $0.25 each to students to continue to raise the funds needed.
After two years of cooperative student and faculty efforts, WNFT holds an open house in North Hall. Everyone was invited to view and to hear the new 600 kHz., 25-watt Slippery Rock radio station. The broadcast radius covered 3 dormitories. The first official broadcast was at 6:00 p.m., a tape of light classical music performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Despite successfully finding resources to launch, WNFT continues to operate on a shoestring budget and will do so for many years afterward.
Slippery Rock State College opened a new student union building known as the College Union (later renamed University Union) in 1970, and WNFT relocated to a custom-built studio in C-211, where it remained until 2021. University Union was replaced by the Robert M. Smith Student Center in 2013, leaving WSRU as one of the last occupants of University Union. By 1970, WNFT broadcast from 7 am to 2 am, 7 days a week, utilizing a top 40 rock format mixed with other common radio features (weather, local news, and public affairs programs). WNFT solicited advertisers to move away from their former shoestring budget.
WNFT launched the Slippery Rock Radio Network in 1971, broadcasting college sports (both at home and away) live to WNFT, as well as local Butler County and New Castle radio stations. This lasted until the early 1980s, although the station continues to broadcast home football & basketball games live to this day.
In 1974, WNFT's news department interviewed Democratic primary candidates Pete Flaherty and Herb Denenberg for Pennsylvania's US Senate election that year. Ironically, the Republican candidate and incumbent Senator in that election, Richard Schweiker, was a two-year attendee of Slippery Rock State College. Schweiker was not invited for an interview. Schweiker went on to win that election and became Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1981.
In 1980, WNFT became WRCK to better reflect the modern campus.
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WSRU
WSRU is the college radio station of Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Student Government Association. It is operated at a "rocking" 100 watts of power (according to the station's legal sign-off for DJs), serving SRU and the surrounding community. WSRU is run entirely by SRU students.
In the first semester of 1960, a closed-circuit radio station operated on a nightly schedule in Patterson Hall with a power output of less than 1/10 of one watt. This station originated in room 38 of Patterson Hall and broadcast an hour of recorded music and campus news each evening to the three hundred men living in the dorm. The call letters chosen for the station came from the four initial letters of "News from Thirty-Eight." Hence, the call letters "NFTE" and its nickname "Nifty" were adopted. Near the end of the Fall 1960, the transmitting equipment was damaged, and Patterson Hall's radio station went off the air. Several attempts were made to repair the equipment, but the semester came to an end along with the enthusiasm for "NFTE".
Slippery Rock State College became a member of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (I.B.S.) in 1961, and it remains a member of today. The college officially requests and is granted an FCC license for a 10-watt broadcast at 640 kHz with the callsign WNFT. WNFT operated on a shoestring budget before its launch, reporting a total balance of $110 with no transmission or sound equipment or records. The original transmitter and console were hand-built by engineering professors and students. In addition to equipment, they were also procuring records and tapping all free sources known. These sources included 10 to 30-minute spots of music from the armed services. In December 1961, WNFT staff sold "Tag Day" tickets for $0.25 each to students to continue to raise the funds needed.
After two years of cooperative student and faculty efforts, WNFT holds an open house in North Hall. Everyone was invited to view and to hear the new 600 kHz., 25-watt Slippery Rock radio station. The broadcast radius covered 3 dormitories. The first official broadcast was at 6:00 p.m., a tape of light classical music performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Despite successfully finding resources to launch, WNFT continues to operate on a shoestring budget and will do so for many years afterward.
Slippery Rock State College opened a new student union building known as the College Union (later renamed University Union) in 1970, and WNFT relocated to a custom-built studio in C-211, where it remained until 2021. University Union was replaced by the Robert M. Smith Student Center in 2013, leaving WSRU as one of the last occupants of University Union. By 1970, WNFT broadcast from 7 am to 2 am, 7 days a week, utilizing a top 40 rock format mixed with other common radio features (weather, local news, and public affairs programs). WNFT solicited advertisers to move away from their former shoestring budget.
WNFT launched the Slippery Rock Radio Network in 1971, broadcasting college sports (both at home and away) live to WNFT, as well as local Butler County and New Castle radio stations. This lasted until the early 1980s, although the station continues to broadcast home football & basketball games live to this day.
In 1974, WNFT's news department interviewed Democratic primary candidates Pete Flaherty and Herb Denenberg for Pennsylvania's US Senate election that year. Ironically, the Republican candidate and incumbent Senator in that election, Richard Schweiker, was a two-year attendee of Slippery Rock State College. Schweiker was not invited for an interview. Schweiker went on to win that election and became Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1981.
In 1980, WNFT became WRCK to better reflect the modern campus.
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