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HISTORY:
WFIU GROWS WITH INDIANA
WFIU began
broadcasting September 30, 1950. During its first nine months
of operation, the station averaged 37.5 hours of programming
per week. The following highlights illustrate WFIU's growth
into its present status as a proponent of excellence in
the arts and education.
50th
Anniversary Materials | Time
Capsules
1922
On January 5, IU
physics professor Rolla Roy Ramsey conducts a demonstration
of "wireless telephony" for a group of 75 students
and faculty. Ramsey’s experiments spark the first calls
for a radio station on campus.
1937
Professor Lee Norvelle
of the Department of Speech and Theater contracts with WIRE
of Indianapolis to produce IU’s first regular radio programs,
a series of eclectic 15 minute music and discussion segments.
1942
Professor H.J. Skornia
comes to IU as director of radio programs (then a part of
the Department of Speech). He begins a massive push for
a campus radio station.
1944
The IU Board of Trustees
issues a proclamation that "it would be desirable and
practicable for Indiana University to own and operate a
frequency modulation [fm] noncommercial educational broadcast
station."
1947
The first regular season
of The Indiana School of the Sky begins on October
6. The 15 minute program airs every weekday as an educational
supplement for elementary and high school classrooms around
the state. In its first season, 12 stations carry the program
and an estimated 23.5% of Indiana’s high schools tune in
during the year.
1950
The IU Department of Radio
is created.
The FCC approves application for
construction for an fm broadcast station licensed to the
trustees of Indiana University with call letters "WFIU"
and a frequency of 90.9 fm. Construction is commenced in
the late spring and completed on September 26.
WFIU’s first broadcast takes place
on September 30, 1950. During its first nine months of operation,
the station averages 37.5 hours of programming per week.
Residents of nearby dorms occasionally report picking up
the station on dental fillings, eyeglasses and electric
shavers.
Almost immediately, Bloomington television
viewers begin complaining that the WFIU signal interferes
with WFBM-TV out of Indianapolis, which had been reaching
Bloomington by a freak of the land. WFIU restricts its broadcast
to hours when TV is not broadcasting and works with RCA
to install local TV sets with "wave traps" to
block the far stronger WFIU signal.
1951
WFIU moves on the FM band
from 90.9 to 103.7 to eliminate local TV interference problems.
1953
The broadcast day extends
from 12:55 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.
Ross Allen joins us as host of Your
Sunday Opera.
1955
There are 2,500 discs in
the WFIU library.
1957
The WFIU library has grown
to 7,500 discs.
1958
The Indiana University
Sports Network is launched in September just in time for
the football opener, an 18-0 loss to Notre Dame in South
Bend. The brain child of professor Dick Yoakam, the IUSN
originates broadcasts that are then relayed by partner stations
all over the state. The program aims to give aspiring announcers
broadcasting opportunity, and for its first three years,
HPER graduate student Dick Enberg is student announcer.
1959
The broadcast day is extended
by one hour, 12:55 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.
In March, the station carries its
first Metropolitan Opera broadcast. (WHAS in Louisville
tapes the live Saturday production and sends it to WFIU
for broadcast on Tuesday evenings.)
In May, WFIU initiates Jazz Review,
a scripted 15_minute program produced by two IU students,
Phillip Jones and Richard Bishop. The appearance of this
program marks the beginning of WFIU's continuing commitment
to jazz programming.
1960
WFIU receives permission
to broadcast Met Opera productions live on Saturday afternoons
during the 1960_ 61 season. This makes WFIU the only Met
broadcast in the state of Indiana, and one of only two university
stations to have carried the Met up to this point in time.
1962
In October, WFIU carries
its first broadcast live from Recital Hall in the IU School
of Music. (We believe this to have been a piano recital
by faculty member Menachem Pressler.)
1963
WFIU moves into the new
Indiana University Radio_TV Center, its present home.
1971
WFIU becomes one
of 90 charter members of National Public Radio. On May 3,
the station carries the first broadcast of All Things
Considered, featuring Susan Stamberg as the first woman
to anchor a daily national broadcast.
Ether Game is created
by Special Projects Director, Don Glass.
WFIU’s first call-in show, Rap
Line, created.
1973
On March 18, WFIU begins
broadcasting eighteen hours a day, 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.
1974
Elizabeth Burnham of Burnham
Unlimited becomes WFIU's first commercial underwriter when
she offers support for Library of Congress Chamber Music
Series.
1976
In April, WFIU approaches
its public with the question of financial support. The appeal
is made with a low_key suggestion in the station's program
guide, Directions in Sound, and is linked to the
station's desire to obtain new equipment for stereo broadcasts.
1977
WFIU holds its first fund
drive (Nov. 7-13), which raises $9326 from 519 contributors.
The average contribution is $17.97.
1978
In July, WFIU begins broadcasting
a stereo signal. The conversion involves 6,200 feet of wire,
3,700 solder connections and 1,100 connectors, as well as
a great deal of other equipment.
In October, WFIU announces to its
listeners that it will begin distributing its monthly program
guide, Directions in Sound, to listeners who join
the "Friends of WFIU."
1979
WFIU provides live coverage
of IU Swimming Coach Doc Counsilman's historic swim across
the English Channel. At 58, Counsilman was the oldest person
to date to accomplish the feat.
The station begins broadcast of NPR’s
Morning Edition, a two hour news and information program.
1980
WFIU goes "on line"
with the new NPR satellite system in late February.
In September, WFIU begins airing
Music from Indiana, a series of concerts and recitals
from the Indiana University School of Music. Produced by
WFIU and the IU Center for Music Broadcasting in conjunction
with the IU School of Music, the series is distributed to
nine stations in a three_state area (Indiana, Illinois,
and Michigan).
1981
WFIU produces its first
live satellite broadcast when it presents the IU Philharmonic
conducted by IU SOM professor Thomas Baldner at Avery Fisher
Hall in New York City in April. The program is carried by
thirteen stations coast to coast.
Programs from Music from Indiana
are chosen to air on National Public Radio's NPR Recital
Hall.
1982
American Public Radio (APR)
selects Music from Indiana for national distribution.
Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, at the time APR is responsible
for the distribution of such programs as A Prairie Home
Companion and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
1983
Approximately 600 WFIU
listeners donate approximately $15,000 as part of a national
effort to help save a NPR from bankruptcy.
Music from Indiana is distributed
to 60 public radio stations throughout the station.
1985
WFIU announces that Music
from Indiana will be made available through NPR's Extended
Program Service, making the series available to all NPR
affiliates regardless of secondary affiliation status.
NPR begins distributing Weekend
Edition Saturday with Scott Simon.
1987
NPR begins distributing
Weekend Edition Sunday, Performance Today,
Fresh Air and Car Talk.
WFIU sponsors the Carmichael Competition
for original compositions by Indiana composers in classical,
jazz and traditional music.
1988
A Moment of Science,
a two-minute science module produced in the studios of WFIU,
is syndicated nationally.
Why You Can Never Get to the End
of the Rainbow, an A Moment of Science book,
is published by IU Press.
1989
WFIU invites all of its
listeners over its own airwaves to its first annual "Listener
Reception" — an event at which listeners can meet and
socialize with the station staff and on-air personalities.
1990
WFIU begins broadcasting
twenty-four hours a day. The Beethoven Satellite Network
is programmed from midnight until 6am each day.
1991
WFIU’s fund drive garners
$100,000 in pledges.
Harmonia and Earthnote
introduced.
1992
WFIU brings one of radio’s
greatest cult figures to Bloomington: Garrison Keillor.
WFIU members purchase tickets to see a live performance
of Keillor’s American Radio Company (renamed A
Prairie Home Companion a year later) and attend a post-performance
benefit reception. Proceeds from the reception help the
station establish a fund for a working student interested
in radio broadcasting—a dream far beyond the resources generated
by WFIU’s annual fund drive.
1993
WFIU implements a computer
database to store its CD and recording inventory.
1994
Harmonia’s National
Women's History Month Special, "Women's Voices, Yesterday
and Today," is distributed by Public Radio International
and carried by over sixty stations nationally.
1995
From $100,000 in 1991,
listener pledges during fund drive double to over $214,000.
Harmonia is syndicated by
satellite. Over sixty stations carry the program in a matter
of weeks.
WFIU provides information on-line
via the World Wide Web.
Terre Haute (now Hometown
with Tom Roznowski), is created by singer-songwriter
Tom Roznowski and broadcast by WFIU.
1996
WFIU adds sound capability
to the World Wide Web site. Program samples are available
on-line.
Ask the Mayor begins in March.
How Can You Tell if a Spider is
Dead?, a second A Moment of Science book, is
published by IU Press.
In cooperation with Indiana State
University and with support from the Oakley Foundation,
WFIU installs a translator (a remote station that receives
and rebroadcasts a signal) on top of the ISU School of Education
Building. WFIU can now be heard on 95.1 FM in Terre Haute.
1997
An additional translator
is installed in Indiana, giving birth to 100.7 FM in Columbus.
1998
Indiana University Kokomo
and WFIU install a translator on the IUK campus. Kokomo
can now receive the signal on 106.1 FM.
1999
WFIU expands its public
service on the internet to include, among other things,
archived audio interviews of world-renowned artists and
interactive musical games and puzzles.
In October, WFIU begins streaming
its live broadcast over the internet, becoming one of only
27 public radio stations to offer such a service. With the
appropriate computer applications, WFIU’s broadcast service
can now be accessed anywhere in the world.
WFIU coordinates with the public
radio stations of IPBS-Radio to produce Hoagy!, an
hour-long special commemorating the 100th Anniversary
of the birth of Bloomington native and IU grad Hoagy Carmichael.
TODAY
Harmonia is now syndicated
to over 140 stations nationally.
A Moment of Science is carried
by around 70 stations in the U.S. and on several international
networks.
Many WFIU programs are available
on several platforms, including HD (digital) radio, streaming
(listen online!), online archives, and podcasts. And there
will be more to come.
The WFIU library now houses over
20,000 recordings, a quarter of which are on CD. This collection
grows daily.
WFIU broadcasts 24 hours a day, with
a signal strength from Bloomington that covers south_central
Indiana, and reaches an average of about 40,000 listeners
weekly. Together with the distribution capabilities of national
syndication, and its presence on the world wide web, WFIU's
listeners potentially number in the millions.
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