With or without Yale, WYBC rocks on

By Laura Horak

WYB-what? is perhaps the most common response heard from students asked their opinion on Yale's college radio stations. Yet, as Yale's two schizophrenic sister stations, WYBC 94.3 FM and 1340 AM, strive to widen these audiences and define their niches, the question plaguing them seems to have become where? Through spring semester, the music will play from the booths in Hendrie Hall, in the same place it has for 53 years. After that, no one knows for sure. Yale is kicking WYBC out of its headquarters on Elm Street and is letting the organization forge out on its own for a new locale. As WYBC scrambles to find somewhere new to house "the rhythm of the city," station heads are reminded of the often antagonistic relationship between Yale and the students who rule the radio waves.

The two current manifestations of WYBC are quite distinct. WYBC-FM, the more professionally organized of the two stations and the second-most popular station in the city, spins the temperate sounds of the chart toppers for its 50,000-plus listeners. More in the genre of typical college radio, WYBC-AM puts its emphasis on DJ creativity and showcasing new and progressive music that doesn't make it to your local Sam Goody. WYBC, as an organization, draws income from a joint-sale agreement with a local radio station for commercial advertising on the FM station, which distances it from its peers. Few undergraduate organizations can boast independent incomes or full-time employees from the surrounding community. Yet the sudden move imposed on the station nevertheless presents a considerable financial burden, according to Leslie Kane, WYBC training director. "Yale owns much of the property surrounding campus, and our first priority for WYBC is to be located in a convenient and safe location," she said. "Without Yale's support, convenient and safe locations are costly and near-impossible to find."

Yale seems to view the station as more of a financial enterprise than a student endeavor, which explains its often lackluster efforts to help the organization monetarily or—as in this case—with figuring out organizational issues. Kane complains that such distancing compounds itself since "only with university support will students continue to get involved at the station and strengthen student presence at WYBC." Otherwise, she said, the lack of support forces students to rely more heavily on earned income and outside managers. Andrew Goodwillie, WYBC station manager, regards the situation cynically. "WYBC is just a thorn in the university's foot," he said.

Yet the station is still optimistic about the move. After more than five decades of Hendrie Hall, WYBC has physically outgrown its space. A new location offers several opportunities for better studios, equipment and, ideally, accessibility, as well as the chance to strengthen the sense of community between the disparate FM and AM departments. The move may even open "a new `cleansing chapter'" in the relationship between Yale and WYBC, according to Goodwillie.

Tuning the dial

The impending move from Hendrie also marks a new transition for a station that has undergone myriad evolutions throughout its often controversial history. Breaking radio silence for the first time in 1941 on the eve of World War II, WYBC was soon ordered by the Yale College Dean to maintain a full broadcasting schedule despite severe war shortages that all but shut down the Yale Daily News and other organizations. Broadcasts carried the war news along with nightly Morse code classes. In 1958, WYBC became the first college station to broadcast 24 hours a day, and for the first time extended its service beyond the Yale campus. As the tides of political and social upheaval swept across college campuses in the late sixties, WYBC became a haven for what an inter-station memo described as "members who subscribed to the values and lifestyles of the Counterculture." After producing award-winning coverage of such controversial events such as the Black Panther trial protests, WYBC went to the U.S. Supreme Court several times challenging the FCC rulings against obscenity and drug-related lyrics on the air. The station, soon targeted as a hotbed for liberalism, was wire-tapped by the New Haven mayor's office—which exploded into a political scandal and ended up netting a generous settlement for the station.

The hopes of indie music enthusiasts and DJs savoring their independence rose when WYBC, which was solely an FM station at the time, made a bid to buy a local AM station, WNHC 1340 in 1998. Although facing bankruptcy, the proprietors of WNHC, New Haven's only minority-owned community station, did not give up without a fight. Enflaming town-gown relations, local community members castigated Yale for heedlessly overstepping its boundaries yet again. One protest featured rebukes such as "You Can't Expand the Plantation, Yale" and "Silence the Bulldog." Community leader Rev. Bosie Kimber condemned WYBC's move to buy the AM station, saying "This station is for the masses, not the classes. You've got all the land, why do you want the voice of the people?" Despite these adamant protests, WYBC acquired 1340 AM in February of 1998 as an outlet for progressive music and news programming. The furor has died down over the past few years, in part because WYBC-AM allows several of its core shows, such as CityKids, to be run by people outside Yale.

Variety creates the radio star

Though this infant AM station burst forth with an anti-climactic lack of recognition, WYBC-AM has been steadily developing. The station was initially plagued with a miniscule listener base and an unimpressive library, but early doubts have given way to increasing optimism. Receiving around 30 new CDs a week from music promoters, current music directors Sam Frank, MC '02, and Hannah Whitaker, PC '02, have been hard at work this semester keeping the rotation of music up-to-date. Complaints from last year about the redundant music mix and lack of identifiable songs have given way to praise for the increased musical variety and for the artist identifications that now accompany each song. Michelle Chen, CC '03, said, "at least now you can tell what they're playing." Though much of Yale campus remains oblivious to the airwaves, audiences do seem to be on the increase and DJs who once pitifully scoured silent phone lines for callers are now receiving several calls and e-mails a show. One sophomore who preferred not to be identified admitted, "The DJs sounded so suicidal last year that I used to make up different names and call the radio shows so they knew that someone was listening." Now callers from as far away as California, taking advantage of WYBC-AM broadcasting on the web, fill air time and force the DJs to actually give away some of the concert tickets and promo CDs they offer up on the air.

Frank, the current music director of the AM station, hopes to have programming 24 hours a day by the end of the year. His goal is to translate Yale's artistic resources into "a station that is on the air all the time, plays interesting stuff, and that people listen to." Though Yale is often criticized for failing to support its rock music scene, Frank has confidence in Yale's artistic student body and the resources offered by each year's new crop of student DJs. Over 80 students embarked on the training process during the past weeks, promising diverse music programming in the year to come. Although the station is currently heavy on indie rock with infusions of hip-hop, electronica, and punk, proposed future programs range from Delta Blues to Contemporary Classical and even the college staple of late-late-night shows featuring an over-caffeinated DJ spouting off 4 a.m. rants. The station is planning to acquire connoisseurs of hip-hop and electronica to act as specialized music directors and expand the quality and quantity of musical offerings. Ultimately, Frank envisions the station as an outlet for people to "indulge their obscure passions."

By next fall WYBC-AM hopes to create a real presence by solidifying a fall line-up and promoting aggressively enough to make WYBC a household name. The FM station, constantly competing with WNLR (KC101) for the title of the No. 1 radio station in New Haven, is experiencing unparalleled success. With the opportunities presented by the move from Hendrie Hall and the maturation of the AM station, WYBC's future looks bright. Maybe by next year, people will even know who (and where) they are.

Graphic by Sarah England. Photos by Livia DeMarchis.

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