Outgoing music director Izzy Fradin (left) with David Black, the station’s general manager.
At the student radio station on East Campus Mall, DJs spin tunes, gather up news of the day, gab about sports and chop it up with talk-show invitees. Production staff, traffic directors and off-duty DJs bustle or lounge about the memorabilia-adorned space.
And things are looking up for the 15-year-old station, which broadcasts a wildly diverse slate of programs at 91.7 FM — everything from Ag Chat (a talk show from UW’s Association of Women in Agriculture) to Sounds for the Higher Society, a show that promises synesthesia for its listeners. Fall semester of 2016 was the first time in history the station had to refuse slots to incoming DJs. Izzy Fradin, who served as WSUM’s music director for the last year, says it was hard for the staff to turn people away. But it was also a “wow moment” that served as a push for WSUM to put a second stream in motion, an addition long coveted by the station’s general manager David Black. The second stream, which the station is hoping to launch in January, will broadcast original content online in tandem with the station’s FM stream, which is also online. It will also join an online sports stream.
Fradin says the additional stream will allow WSUM to further its alternative programming. Madison Boombox, an old school hip-hop program playing on Sun Prairie’s 103.5, is programmed to run. And now WSUM will provide a home for genres that often face FCC censorship during the daytime, including rap and hardcore rock.
“For so many years we had had to figure out what the station was and who we were,” says Fradin. “Now’s the fun part where we get to determine what we can be.”
This growth didn’t come easy. In 1993, the effort to start the station began with a group of students who teamed up with Black, a UW-Madison graduate student at the time, and James A. Hoyt, who is now a professor emeritus in journalism. The founders wanted to create a station with alternative programming that gave students opportunities to learn and experiment with radio.
They lobbied the Associated Students of Madison for $480,000 to construct an antenna. The station began broadcasting on FM in 2002, taking up residence in cramped offices at the Towers on State Street. And, says Black, they had to establish a culture of cooperation. “We’ve tried to create systems where people who want to do constructive, community-based things want to stay,” Black wrote in an email. “And, people who are selfish, self-centered or can’t be team players, leave.”
Black credits the founding students with laying the groundwork for success. “There were two full generations — eight years — of students who put the work in even though they didn’t get the chance to be on air,” Black says. “I tell the students today that we knew you were coming; we just didn’t know your names.”
Fradin believes these past efforts have created a rich culture and identity for the station. The stability and reputation helps pull local and national artists into the station for Live @ WSUM sessions. Local bands, like Greenhaus, which played last March, and touring bands, like Forth Wanderers, view the show as a good opportunity to gain exposure to college audiences and promote their shows in town.
Emily Massey, who fronts the local bands Slow Pulp and Melkweed, recalls being asked by WSUM to do Live @ WSUM with her former band, Modern Mod.
“It definitely gave us a nice boost of exposure,” Massey says. “And it was pretty cool doing stuff for the college kids at the time.”
Sophomore DJ Allison Hartwig, who joined the station in spring 2016 and hosted the show Curtain Call, notes that older members, both paid staff members and volunteer DJs, make newbies feel welcome.
“WSUM is definitely one big family,” Hartwig says. “That’s something I noticed right away, that everyone knew each other’s name. And if you introduce yourself a few times, people will remember it.”
For Fradin, who is originally from Chicago, the station provided a second home as well as a career path. “It was WSUM or Greek life,” says Fradin.
The inclusive attitude spans musical tastes, interests and racial and economic boundaries, says production manager Aleesa Kuznetsov. “I think our diversity really shines when it comes to our programming,” Kuznetsov says. These efforts at inclusion also extend to fostering diversity within WSUM’s staff. Kuznetsov says the station has also formed clubs, such as the Moth Storyslam club, for those looking to hone their storytelling prowess, and the Music Appreciation Club, for people looking to chat about music.
The station is focused on expanding events like Snake on the Lake and Battle of the Bands while making sure the second stream is off and running. Black says the staff has considered expanding its visual content online, but wants to maintain the core mission. “The bread and butter is always going to be audio,” says Black. “With video you’re going to be competing with people who can do it better.”
Editor's note: Although the staff was hoping for a Jan. 1 launch, WSUM has not yet launched its second music stream. This article was corrected to reflect that fact.
