General News

August 2006

8/2/06 Some FM listeners may have wondered where we were early this morning. WWUH was off the air for the first time in well over a decade. We shut down our FM transmitter on Avon Mountain at around 11:50 pm on Tuesday evening and stayed off until about 5:30 am the following morning so that major work could be performed on our FM antenna. Technicians from Northeast Towers of Farmington, Ct were on the tower while engineers from WTIC-FM and from E.R.I., the manufacturer of our antenna, were on the ground taking measurements and directing the tower crew. This difficult work necessitated that WTIC-FM and Channel 3 both go off the air at the same time! The result of the late night work is an antenna that is now a perfect match to our transmitter (for those readers who might be technically inclined, our VSWR is now 1.00:1!). What means that our stereo signal will be cleaner and that our coverage should be a bit better. WWUH continued to broadcast on the Internet during this time, but listeners to 91.3 (and our other frequencies) heard just static. We pride ourselves on staying of the air 24/7, no easy feat with an all volunteer staff, but we've been able to do it for close to twenty years. We'd like to thank CBS Radio's Jeff Hugabone, Chief Engineer of WTIC and all the folks at CBS in Farmington for making this possible. In addition, we couldn't have done it without the cooperation of WFSB, Channel 3. And of course we have to thank those daredevil steeplejacks from Northeast Towers (imagine working at night 330 feet above the top of Avon Mountain, in 85 degree weather to book).

July 2006

7/21/06 Don't forget that you can catch up on area concerts by calling the WWUH Listener Line at 860-768-5913. This will get you to the WWUH Folkfone, the Jazzline and many other listener services. Give it a try.

7/15/06 Our engineering staff has been working hard improving the signals of WWUH's sister stations, WAPJ, 89.9 and 105.1 in Torrington, WDJW, 89.7 in Somers and WWEB, 89.9 in Wallingford.

June 2006

6/22/06 We have just surpassed 275,000 hits to the station web site since we started keeping track four years ago! There aren't many college stations that get this kind of traffic, and it is a testament to the people who work behind the scenes on the web site that it is so popular. I am of course referring to our Webmaster Kevin Lynch and our IT Manager Chris Larsen.

6/10/06 With summer approaching with its occasional severe weather, it is probably a good time to remind our listeners that WWUH is a Primary station in the Connecticut Emergency Alert System. EAS allows WWUH to automatically deliver important weather advisories and other emergency information directly to you radio. If you have noticed those strange squawking sounds that we air for a few seconds every week, or caught one of the monthly state-wide tests, than you know a lilttle bit about EAS. Those tones are packets of digital information and are used to alert listeners that an important message is to follow. Message could originate from the Ct. Office of Emergency Management (OEM), The Ct. State Police (CSP) and/or from the NOAA National Weather Service Alerting offices in either Brookhaven, NY or Tauton, MA. NOAA is responsible for issuing weather alerts, the CTP issue Amber Child Abduction Alerts and OEM is responsible for everything else, which included Hazmat Events, 911 Outages, Police/Civil Emergencies, Nuclear Power Plant Events and Radiological Hazards. Summertime bring the threat of severe weather, and you can count on WWUH and the EAS system to bring you important messages about such things as flash flood and tornado alerts. (While on the subject of weather alerts, lots of people call confused about the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch means that conditions are favorable for the event to occur and that listeners should monitor the situation via Broadcast, VHF Weather Radio or the Internet, and be prepared to take action. A warning means that the event could be imminent and that preparation should be taken immediately.)

You can find more information about the National Weather Service and about the weather at: http://www.noaa.gov/wx.html

Information about EAS is available at: http://www.fcc.gov/eb/eas

May 2005

5/15/06 It won't be long before most of our student volunteers leave for the summer. As sorry was we are to see them go, it is always thrilling to hear some new voices come on the air to fill in for the summer.
Don't forget to call the host on the 860-768-4701 studio line if you like what you hear. You can also email them at wwuh@hartford.edu.

5/11/05 We just finished upgrading our webcast system which should result in much higher fidelity on our webcasts, both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player. If you are a regular listener to our webcast, you may have already noticed the change. Let us know if you hear the difference by emailing wwuh@hartford.edu.

5/9/05 If you pledged to Marathon 2005 and have not yet sent in your payment, please do so at your earliest convenience. We will be sending out second reminders in the next couple of weeks, and your support is urgently needed. Make your check out to "WWUH/University of Hartford" and mail it to: WWUH Marathon, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117.

  We had a glitch in our mailing system for the first time ever. Several reminders did not get sent, or did not reach some of our listeners. Please accept our apology. We will send a second mailing soon and, those listeners who did not receive the first reminder, should receive one this time around. Thank you for your patience. Special thanks to those who called and sent their pledges regardless. We sincerely appreciate your dedication to our -- your -- radio station.

5/8/05 Former WWUH announcers Mike Crispino and Roger Stauss were on WWUH last month as part of an April Fools day broadcast that took the station back to the year 1979. I've just found out that Mike is going to be involved with a sports broadcasting camp right here on the University of Hartford campus this summer. The camp will allow students, male and female 14 years and older to learn about sports broadcasting. We're thrilled to have Mike back in the area. Don't be surprised if you hear him on WWUH from time to time. If you are interested in finding out more about his summer camp, the number is 203-952-7719.

5/7/05 I am pleased to announce that WWUH will be broadcasting live from the site of the New England Fiddle Contest which will be held in Bushnell Park in Hartford on Saturday, May 28. When most stations say "broadcasting live" they mean that their announcers will be on location. When WWUH broadcasts "on location", we broadcast that actual event or performance. See the difference? In this case, we will air the Fiddle Contest in its entirety, starting a 10 am and going until at least 7 pm. Sure, our announcers will be on hand and there will be a WWUH booth adjacent to the stage, but if you can't come to the park (and I encourage you to do so to witness this extraordinary event in person) than you can hear the entire thing on 91.3.

5/6/05 West Hartford's other broadcast station, WTMI, became the third station in the state to install HD Radio technology today (the others are WHCN and WKCI). HD is an exciting new technology and many local broadcasters have made the commitment to convert their signal so that listeners with HD receivers can benefit from higher audio quality and a clearer signal in the station's primary coverage area. HD AM gives AM stations "near FM" quality in stereo, and HD FM provides "near CD" quality according to the manufacturer of the technology, Ibiquity ("ibiquity.com"). In addition to the higher fidelity, listeners with HD equipped radios will be able to see song and artist information and in the near future will be able to receiver additional programming broadcast by some stations. NPR's Tomorrow Radio is an example of an excellent use for this new technology.

  WFCR in Amherst is another station that has converted to HD technology, and here in Hartford WWYZ and WCCC will soon be on with HD as well.

April 2005

4/12/05 Don't forget that WWUH will be having an Open House this Saturday, 4/16 as part of the University of Hartford Community Day. Our open house runs from 8am to 1pm. The "Community Day" events start at 10am. This will be a great opportunity for you to stop by the station, meet some of the people you hear on the air every day, and see our facilities.

4/11/05 Today we passed the Connecticut Broadcasters Association "mock" FCC-type inspection which is conducted through the CBA's Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program. The inspector looked at all of the things a representative from the Commission would look at during a regulatory inspection and gave us a 100% passing grade. We take part in these inspections every few years and have passed every time. Some listeners with keen ears called this morning to say that they were hearing distortion on our signal. Our engineering staff was already working on the problem when the first listener called and we were able to correct the problem by early afternoon.

4/8/05 On April 7th the station featured its second annual It's All Live broadcast, which consisted of twelve hours of live music. In fact, all of the programming between 6 am and 6 pm was live with no prerecorded material allowed on the air! Performers included Jim Mercik, Hugh Blumenfeld, David Goldman, Dan Stevens, Anais Mitchell, Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters in the folk and acoustic genre.
  Our Jazz programmers presented the Ray McMorrin Group, the Kenny Reed Quartet, RAM III Trio, and the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz Ensemble.
  In the Synthesis slot, we aired percussion trio Loop 2.4.3, Saturnine made up of University of Hartford students, Eschellon; South Indian Classical singer, Bhooma Nambirajan, Specimen 37, Fred Pedemonti - solo guitar.
  Our Classical staff presented Michael Nix - solo guitar; Hyperion String Quartet featuring Hartt School of Music students, Michael Nix - solo guitar, the Biava Quartet, Prism Trio and the Robert Black Bass Ensemble featuring eight bass viols!
  In addition to thanking all of the above performers who donated their time to this marathon broadcast, I'd also like to thank the WWUH volunteers who made it possible: Eugene Hazanov, David Buddington, Bob Celmer, Mary Dowst, Chris Larsen, Kevin Lynch, 'Jazz Officer' Spaak, Walter Mayo, Kevin O'Toole, Pat Stevens, Monica Suneja, Chris Heerema, Dean Hildebrandt, Kate Horrigan, Marissa Lindgren, Ed McKeon, Bill Measom, Chuck Obuchowski, Mike DeRosa, Professor George Michael Evica, Jim Christensen, Peter Rost and Terry Weichand.
  This was the first time we had used a live web cam on our web site, and since user reaction was very positive you could expect that we will try this again. And you can be sure that It's All Live 3 is already in the works.

4/1/05 Most listeners figured out what was going on this morning. It was the first April Fools joke we had played on our listeners in years, and this one involved two announcers who hadn’t been on the air in close to 25 years. Mike Crispino (MSG Sports Network) and Roger Stauss (Noteworthy Recording Studios and Shiretown Records), FM On Toast hosts in the late seventies, took the station back to 1979 for a few hours of fun and nostalgia.

January 2005

1/22/05 Former WWUH announcer Mort Fega passed away on January 21. Mort Fega, radio broadcaster, jazz record producer, journalist and teacher, died Friday, January 21 at Hospice of Palm Beach in Bethesda Memorial Hospital, Boyton Beach, Florida. Mr. Fega was born on July 4th, 1921 in New Rochelle, NY. He began his career in broadcasting in his hometown at radio station WNRC, where his Saturday afternoon jazz program garnered a loyal following. In 1962, he moved to WEVD, the radio voice of The Forward Newspaper, where he broadcast his program of modern jazz and spoken word six evenings a week. At the time, radio stations were permitted to broadcast the same content on both AM and FM frequencies. Consequently, Fega had listeners as far north as Canada and throughout New England. The show was called "Jazz Unlimited" and was one of the few radio programs that featured modern jazz. A typical show included big bands and bebop, comedy and the word jazz of Lord Buckley and Ken Nordine and vocalists like Blossom Dearie and Joe Williams. He produced and emceed concerts at Newport, Carnegie Hall, Randall's Island and the Apollo Theatre. After leaving WEVD, he continued broadcasting jazz from on various stations before landing at WWUH where he hosted the Tuesday Evening Jazz and the Saturday Focus on Jazz programs from 1977 trough 1983. He retired to Florida where he had a five-hour Saturday evening program at NPR station WXEL and taught a History of Jazz course at Palm Beach Community College. In addition, he wrote a weekly column for the Palm Beach Post. Fega began Focus Records to recognize under-appreciated talents like guitarist Chuck Wayne and singer/pianist Bob Dorough, and to record musicians he favored such as Carmen McRae and Earl 'Fatha' Hines. During World War II, Mr. Fega captained a B-17 Flying Fortress. He and his crew flew 29 missions over Germany and occupied France, and were part of the first daylight bombings of Berlin. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts.

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December 2004

12/1/04 FM on Toast host Ed McKeon celebrated twenty years on the air on WWUH this year. I encouraged him to write a history of his experiences at WWUH, and he provided the following valuable glimpse into the past. Here are some random thoughts that I hope will help fill in the blanks...
  When I came to the station for training in 1984, every FM on Toast show with the exception of Wednesday was Folk music. Wednesday's show was rock and called "Folk Off." I trained just behind Ed Savage, and when the Tuesday show came open, Ed turned it into a Celtic show (he was followed by Maureen Brennan and then Steve Dieterich). The Wednesday show opened in 1985 and I stepped in. I don't think the rock show had many listeners, because I didn't get many complaints when it became a folk show. In fact I got a lot of calls from listeners happy to hear that folk was being played every weekday. Then I got a lot of calls from listeners complaining that what I was playing wasn't "folk." I played a lot of folk-rock, electric protest music (Billy Bragg, in particular), and raucous Celtic music. I also played a bunch of blues, zydeco, Cajun and world music. Edgy stuff for folk listeners. Obviously, all those genres are now pretty well represented on other shows. And I named my show "Fringe Folk" so I didn't have to defend myself against the folk police. Bill Domler brought me to the station. I used to buy some of the wildest folk albums at his shop on New Britain Ave in Elmwood. I first visited his shop to find a copy of a song I heard while driving West on I-84. I can remember the precise location, just past West Farms, and he played Kate Wolf singing "Give Yourself to Love," followed by Andrew Calhoun singing "The Gates of Love." I thought, "What's this?" And I was hooked. We chatted frequently at his shop. Then I let him borrow some albums by Billy Bragg, the Pogues, the Men They Couldn't Hang and others. I had bought these albums at Capitol Records where I first met Susan Mullis, Mark Santini, Michael Clare, Mark Delorenzo and Andy Taylor. The music I was listening to didn't appeal to Bill but he asked me to appear as a guest on his show to play some of them and to talk about them, and I did. Then he convinced me to go through training. He didn't have to twist my arm. Bill started his show because he listened to Susan Forbes Hansen on WHUS and WFCR, and figured he could do that. His was the first non-rock show in the FM on Toast slot (though not the first folk show on WWUH - there had been folk many years before, as old program guides attest). As he always told me, he didn't know a lot about folk music when he started the Sounding Board, and then the radio show, but he learned as he went. He loved really traditional folk music, and didn't care too much for the progressive stuff. But occasionally his ears would settle on a newcomer (Nanci Griffith for example), and he would play the album relentlessly. He was also a big fan of old, old jazz (The New Black Eagles, the Cheap Suit Serenaders) and of Sir Harry Lauder, a Scottish balladeer from early in the century. Bill owned some amazing audiophile stereo equipment, but the irony was that he was deaf in one ear. For the longest time he was an analog defender, and wouldn't play CDs. He left the Sounding Board, and started the Roaring Brook Concert series, and then the Print Shop Concert series in his shop when it was on South Whitney. Though he was the Speediest Printer in Town, his little shop within a shop was called Music Vale. Bill was also a relentless concert taper. I wish I knew where his collection of cassettes, dats and mini-CDs are because he taped (including one great Silly Wizard show which has reached legendary status - - Bill played it often on the air) nearly every concert he produced, or helped produce and he likely had some amazing early performances by some great musicians. If we could put our hands on them, we'd have a treasure trove. Prior to, and certainly after, the Folk Next Door, I produced several concerts at the station. To be honest, my recollection of who performed is pretty hazy. I was usually going for the unknown artist. Most of the files I had concerning those shows were lost in my divorce. I do remember Dar Williams, The Nields, John Gorka, Eileen Weiss, Dick Gaughan, Rory McLeod, Richard Shindell, the Five Chinese Brothers, Susan McKeown and Chanting House, Eddy Lawrence, Kila, and…and…I think the station has taped copies of some of these. Bill produced one big show at Lincoln Theater with Nanci Griffith and Eddy Lawrence opening. He also produced Nowell Sing We Clear as a Christmas show at least twice in the Wilde. John Chapin produced a number of shows at the Wilde and Lincoln in his Lloyds Series, including Alison Krauss and Union Station, and a Winter's Night tour with Cheryl Wheeler, Patty Larkin, John Gorka and Cliff Eberhardt. The Folk Next Door was an idea that emerged in a phone conversation between Bruce Pratt and myself. We wanted to do something that would bring money into WWUH, expose our listening audience to new artists, and create a permanent record of the event. CDs were pretty new, especially in the folk world, at that point, and we wanted to make one. So we came up with the scheme to charge a good ticket price, give each audience member a copy of the CD, ask the artists to perform for free and use the funds from the concert to press the CD (and cassettes, of course). The rest is history, and I think, documented in the Folk Next Door history I wrote at one point. The second FND was a near disaster, as you likely remember. The daytime, outdoor, free show was scuttled and brought indoors. It put us hours behind, and brought noisy children into the Wilde, which made taping nearly impossible. I remember the Nields, Hugh Blumenfeld and Bruce Pratt holding an impromptu concert under the eaves of the Harry Gray Center while we set-up inside. Folk Next Door concerts, especially at the beginning, were always long, but the second one was way behind schedule. I had band members from Last Fair Deal screaming at me, and the Five Chinese Brothers, who had rented a car to drive down from NYC, left at 2 a.m. without having performed (we later mended fences). I remember getting out of there sometime around 3 a.m., and as I remember, my son Colin and your twins had used the elevator so much it broke down. The star that emerged from that concert was Dar Williams. When the selection committee met to listen to prospects, her tape was rejected, but in my capacity as FND executive, I put her back into the show. She was the first performer in the evening ticketed session, and she floored the audience. The Folk Next Door side project, At Home For the Holidays with the Folk Next Door was a successful concert we held in a hall at the Village For Families and Children, who also were beneficiaries of the concert. We convinced the Nields and Dar Williams to record their holiday songs in advance to use as promos on the air prior to the event. Nerissa Nields was a quick writer and she wrote "Merry Christmas, Mr. Jones," but when she asked Dar to write a song, Dar was aghast. She wrote her songs methodically over the course of several weeks, and she didn't think she'd come up with something in a matter of days. She wrote, "The Christians and the Pagans" which has become a Dar Williams classic. The original version has one slightly different verse. The CD is still very popular with listeners during the holidays. The Nields have always been friends of the station. As you know, Katryna had a show for a while. They visited my show frequently when they lived in Windsor. And Nerissa wrote, "Ash Wednesday" for an Ash Wednesday appearance after I complained that as a Cajun and Zydeco fan, it was often difficult to do a show the day after Mardi Gras. Nerissa wrote the song while at a conference, and Katryna didn't have time to learn the hell-bent lyrics, so Nerissa performed it on the show. The Nields, Hugh Blumenfeld, Stan Sullivan, Dar Williams, Steve Nystrup, Mad Agnes and others appeared live on various Marathon shows, which often ended with hootenannies. Hugh also wrote a song about Wednesday FM on Toast, and often composed impromptu songs for supporters who pledge to the station. I still recall one called "Rockadundee Road" based on an address on a pledge form. For me, the highlights of the show have been the interviews with musicians that I've conducted, either at shows or during visits to the station. Here's a partial list, from memory. Billy Bragg, Michelle Shocked, the Horse Flies, Dewey Balfa, Leon Rosselson, Eliza Gilkyson, the Pogues, Shawn Colvin, Patty Larkin, Robbie Fulks, Dar Williams, the Nields, Mad Agnes, Madwoman in the Attic, Rod Picott, Eddie Reader, Peter Case, Richard Thompson, Dave Moore, David Mallett, Mojo Nixon, Michael Doucet, Steve Riley, the Oyster Band. Very occasionally, I've played some on-air jokes, often around April 1. For instance, I've pretended that the show is pre-recorded at an earlier date, usually from several years prior. The joke is that I insert current songs and concert listings with ancient ones. I do a fake announcement, something like: "this is a rebroadcast of a Caterwaul show recorded July 14, 1988". Most listeners don't catch on. The phones go silent, and later in the week I bump into people who ask me where I was on that day. I've also used an alter ego, and an alter-voice. I disguise my voice as a gravelly, Southern slur and call myself Tom Flighs (I haven't done this one in awhile). I sound like a cross between Lightnin' Hopkins and Tom Waits. I used to do this for a very practical reason - I used this voice when I was filling in for another folk show, having already done mine that week, and I didn't want my bosses or co-workers to know that I was coming in late because I was doing another show at the radio station. One morning when I was using this voice the studio line rang, and on the other end was Joe Hoke, who at that time was president of Mintz and Hoke Advertising, Connecticut's largest agency. He wanted to hire Tom Flighs to do some voiceover work for a commercial his agency was preparing. I tried to convince Joe that Tom Flighs was really me, and that I couldn't do the voice for a commercial, because Tom Waits had just successfully sued someone who had done an imitation of his voice on a national commercial. My most successful sound effect gag was one you'll remember, John. During one horrendous flu season I was talking, on air, about how the foam microphone windscreen probably was full of spittle that had flown from dozens of announcers' mouths and that, as such, it was probably the repository for some really potent bacteria. So I told the listener I was going to wring out the foam windscreen into the wastebasket, I pulled it off, on-air, and then slowly poured a cup of water into one of the metal wastebaskets. It sounded gross, as many listeners called to tell me. Finally, one Marathon a few years back, I knew I was going to be in Omaha Nebraska during my day for fundraising, so I convinced Steve Theaker to sub for me, but I left almost three hours of Marathon programming behind on CD. Steve did a great job, answering questions that I asked on the recording, like: "What's the total now?" With some basic cue sheets, he handled them all with aplomb. As I recall, we raised a record amount, and no one knew I wasn't there. I also used to do a feature called "Keeping Up with the Smiths," based on the group the Smiths (I used the song "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now") as a theme, and each week I'd play a piece of a cut from an alterative rock group with an odd name so parents would know what their kids were listening to. After about a year, I abandoned the feature by breaking an actual LP record on air. One other feature of the show has been the Visit to the Library, a short, three-minute book review feature, first with Mike Donohue, who was an avid reader, and President of the Boothe and Dimmock library in Coventry, and later with Andrea Gaines, aka The Bibliobabe.

November 2004

11/22/04 We are excited about opening our tenth women's basketball broadcasting season. Join us for the first Women Hawks game of the season, which will air on WWUH 91.3 FM and on wwuh.org Tuesday evening, 11/23 at 7pm. Tune in for the pre-game show with Jon Easterbrook, followed by the Hawks vs. Miami in West Hartford from the Chase Family Arena.

11/20/04 Thirty six (36) years ago today, WWUH was dedicated as the "Louis K. Roth Memorial Station". Without the help of the family of Lewis K. Roth, WWUH would not exist. However, the station had lost touch with Mr. Roth's family recently and we are anxious to get in touch with his family. Much is known about our benefactor, and people who knew him say that the bronze plaque that had hung on the wall next to the WWUH Air Studio since Day One says it all: "WWUH was dedicated on November 20, 1968 to the memory of Louis K. Roth. His encouragement and generosity, and that of his family, helped make possible the creation, expansion and continued operation of WWUH." Through research, we discovered an obituary written by Rabbi Silverman, c 1970, (reprinted courtesy of The Connecticut Historical Society) that provided us with some new information about Mr. Roth. "Born in 1896, Mr. Roth was educated at NY and Columbia universities. He began his career in 1924 as an independent distributor of radios. In 1935 he joined Radio Corporation, Victor Division as production manager of their electronic division. In 1944, he set up, with two partners, Radio and Appliance Distributors in Hartford. This firm eventually became one of the largest radio wholesalers in Connecticut. "Mr. Roth was involved in many civic and community organizations. In addition to being a trustee of the Connecticut Opera Association, Mr. Roth was a trustee of the Julius Hart Musical Foundation here at the University of Hartford. He also served on various university committees and served on the Board of Regents of the University of Hartford from 1961 to 1967." The Hartford Times, in a May 1967 editorial said: "In the brief span of 23 years Louis K. Roth made an indelible mark on the civic, cultural and business life of this community. He was a man of diverse interests, unbounded energy and willingness to give uncounted hours to non-business activities in which he had a special interest. "The list of the social and civic agencies with which he was identified in lengthy. They range from those formed to help needy persons to societies of a musical or other artistic or cultural nature. "Mr. Roth took his community responsibilities seriously. He was generous with his money, time and counsel whenever the call came for assistance. Hartford will recall Louis Roth with the warmest recollection as a civic-minded citizen of the highest quality."

11/16/04 Several of the student volunteers who graduated from our Membership Training Program last month have been on the air this month. Each of them brings to the airwaves their own unique musical perspective on alternative programming.

11/15/04 All of the WWUH long sleeve T-shirts we had on hand have been sent out to those who have paid their pledges. However the demand for our special shirt has been so great that we have had to place a second order with the supplier. There will then be a delay of a week or two before we can continue sending out shirts.

 If you pledged, but have not paid your pledge, please send your payment to: WWUH, 200 Bloomfield Ave, W. Hartford, CT 06117.

11/11/04 WAPJ, our sister station in Torrington, has added a second frequency, 105.1 to cover the downtown Torrington area.

11/10/04 Community Affairs Director Mike DeRosa announced today that the station will be increasing the amount of locally produced pubic affairs programming in the months ahead.

11/3/04 We will be offering three hours of live music programming this afternoon, starting at 1pm as part of Eugene's Synthesis show. All of the programming will originate from the WWUH studios. We have starting mailing out our long sleeve t-shirt premium to those listeners who pledged for them.

11/1/04 Tonight's 8:00 pm broadcast of the "Hartford Circus Fire Documentary," produced by Brandon Kampe, will be the last time this incredible program is aired until next summer.

October 2004

10/30/04 Our Fall Fundraiser was a huge success with over $40,000 pledged by close to nine hundred listeners. This was $20,000, or 100% over our goal of $20,000! A million thanks to those of you who donated to the station. Your generosity will allow the station to grow and prosper.

10/24/04 We kicked off our Fall Fund Drive this evening at 6 pm with "Rock and Roll Memory Machine". On the air, WWUH General Manager John Ramsey spoke with the show's host, Wild Wayne, about the importance of listener support: "While we are thankful for the generous support given to us by the University of Hartford, the Community Service nature of WWUH's programming makes it imperative that we receive at least a portion of our funding from our listeners. This week we are asking our listeners to step forward to show their support for alternative media in general and WWUH in particular." Four new WWUH volunteers, all UH freshmen, have been "approved for air" this week! Several of these new programmers have already been on the air doing fill-ins. Expect some exciting new shows this fall. WAPJ in Torrington will start airing some of their own programming next month, once their move into their new home is completed. This means that they will cut back on the number of hours they rebroadcast WWUH, but this is fine as they will be providing the Torrington area with much needed local programming. They will be firing up their new 105.1 MHz signal at the same time which should help improve their coverage in downtown buildings.

10/23/04 The start of the Women's basketball season is almost upon us, and WWUH is proud to one again to be airing the Hawks games, both home and away. Check the most recent copy of the WWUH Program Guide for the schedule, or listen on air for promos starting a week before the first game.

10/18/04 A pledge form has been added to this web page to allow listeners who do not wish to call during next week's Fall Fund Drive to pledge via fax or the US mail.

September 2004

9/22/04 We have a whole bunch of new students who have joined our staff and are currently involved in membership training classes. We are all looking forward to hearing some new voices and new sounds on the air later this fall. They have also been helping catch up on the huge backlog of CDs that arrived this past summer. Our "new" CD shelves are starting to overflow, the result being much more new music available to our hosts.

9/8/04 Things are kicking into gear on campus, and three of our key managers have returned from summer vacation. Our management team now consists of Jim Christensen, At Large Member; Mary Dowst, Business Manager; Mike DeRosa, Acting Community Affairs Director; Chris Heerema, Program Director; Kate Horrigan, Operations Director; Marissa Lindgren, At Large Member, Susan Mullis, Development Director and John Ramsey, General Manger and Chief Engineer.

9/6/04 Our student staff members have returned to campus and this means that you will hear some changes in our programming slots as our summer fill-ins make way for returning students. Keeping a station with an all-volunteer air staff on-the-air 24/7 isn't an easy task, but we came through the summer honoring our committment to never go off the air. In fact, have had zero off-air time thus far in 2004, and there was only one sixty minute outage in all of 2003.

August 2004

8/14/04 We have installed RDS (Radio Data System) on our signal. This means that RDS equipped radios will display "WWUH" when tuned to 91.3. I'm sure some listeners have RDS radios and don't even know it.
  Please let us know at wwuh@hartford.edu if you are receiving WWUH 91.3
on your RDS radio.

8/12/04 We have heard from a number of listeners who would like to purchase a copy of the "Hartford Circus Fire Documentary". At the present time, we are not able to offer copies of this program since it contains copywrited material and the copywrite holder will not allow us to release recordings. At a later date, we may be able to offer copies of the program with the copyrighted material deleted.

8/11/04 Getting alternative viewpoints on the radio is difficult these days with all of the syndication and consolidation of the broadcast media. That's one of the reasons that WWUH offers public affairs programming during the week in two prime time slots, 12noon to 1:00pm, and 8:00 - 9:00pm. The "Programming" page on our web site will give you summaries of our various community affairs programs.

8/6/04 We recently purchased new software that allows us to track how many people listen to our webcast. Preliminary results show that 1,700 individual users accessed our webcast in the month of July, and that there was a total of 3,000 user hours! When I say individual users, I am referring to 1,700 unique user IDs who used the stream last month. For instance, if I listened to the WWUH webcast ten times in July it would only count as one user. The 3,000 hour figure is that total amount of hours accumulated by all users during one month. These figures show that our webcast is providing an important service, a service that was used by 1,700 people in July. I'll post more statistics as soon as they become available.
   One more note about the WWUH webcast: We believe that WWUH was the first station in Connecticut to start webcasting 24/7 (in 1996). I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who might recall another station broadcasting online any earlier than 1996.

8/5/04 WWUH can still be heard in the Torrington, CT area on 89.9 MHz 24/7 on a temporary basis while our sister station, WAPJ, moves their studios from Main Street to Water Street. WAPJ will resume local programming sometime later this fall, although they do still plan on carrying our programming for portions of their broadcast day.
   WAPJ recently received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to put an FM translator station in downtown Torrington in order to fill some coverage gaps. This means that you'll be able to hear WAPJ on both 89.9 FM and on 105.1 FM, with the latter frequency going on the air sometime this fall. WWUH played an important role in getting WAPJ on the air for the first time in 1997, We're proud of the relationship that has developed between these two stations.

8/4/04 After over ten years of producing the WWUH Folkfone, Ed McKeon has turned the job over to Susan Forbes Hansen! We are lucky to have Susan performing this important job for us. The 768-5000 Folkfone number is updated weekly and provides concert listings for the entire area. We also have concert lines for Polka, Celtic, Bluegrass and Jazz, all of which can be accessed via the WWUH Listener Line at 768-5913. If you would like to have information included on any of these lines, please email the information to wwuh@hartford.edu with the name of the line in the subject line ("Jazzline" for instance).

8/2/04 We have recently added approximately 100 square feet of space to our LP and CD library. This new space will be used to group our Jazz and Reggae CD collections in one area.

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July 2004

7/31/04 WWUH made history (of sorts) last May when we broadcast completely live for twelve hours straight! Our "Its All Live" broadcast was very popular and featured over a dozen local bands and performers from many different genres. We have decided to do an outside concert on campus this fall to showcase local music. We'll have details on the air and on our web page as soon as they are available.

7/30/04 The Hartford Circus Fire: An Audio Recollection documentary we aired on July 6th was so popular that we have decided to rebroadcast it on Monday, August 16th at 12noon. The 60-minute special was produced by WWUH volunteer Brandon Kampe. Go back to the wwuh.org home page for more details and related links of interest.

7/29/04 WWUH has a fairly complex technical plant, one that is very well equipped. On 7/29/04 we switched over to a fiber optic transmission path to send our audio from the WWUH studio in the Gray Center, to our microwave system atop the Gengras Student Union. This system uses infrared laser light to send our signal over a glass fiber between the buildings and replaces the copper wires that we have used since 1988. The result is much better fidelity on the air.

36 Years of WWUH Radio!
July 15, 2004
 This day marks the station's 36th anniversary. Without the help of the family of Lewis K. Roth, WWUH would not exist. However, the station has lost touch with Mr. Roth’s family. If anyone knows how we can get in touch with members of the Lewis K. Roth family, please call or email me at the station:
Phone 860-768-4703; or email ramsey@hartford.edu

 A plaque that hangs on the wall next to the WWUH Air Studio reads: “WWUH was dedicated on November 20, 1968 to the memory of Louis K. Roth. His encouragement and generosity, and that of his family, helped make possible the creation, expansion and continued operation of WWUH.”

 Through research, we discovered an obituary written by Rabbi Silverman, c 1970, (reprinted courtesy of The Connecticut Historical Society) that provided us with some new information about Mr. Roth. “Born in 1896, Mr. Roth was educated at NY and Columbia universities. He began his career in 1924 as an independent distributor of radios. In 1935 he joined Radio Corporation, Victor Division as production manager of their electronic division. In 1944, he set up, with two partners, Radio and Appliance Distributors in Hartford. This firm eventually became one of the largest radio wholesalers in Connecticut. Mr. Roth was involved in many civic and community organizations. In addition to being a trustee of the Connecticut Opera Association, Mr. Roth was a trustee of the Julius Hart Musical Foundation here at the University of Hartford. He also served on various university committees and served on the Board of Regents of the University of Hartford from 1961 to 1967."
 The Hartford Times, in a May 1967 editorial said: “In the brief span of 23 years Louis K. Roth made an indelible mark on the civic, cultural and business life of this community. He was a man of diverse interests, unbounded energy and willingness to give uncounted hours to non-business activities in which he had a special interest. The list of the social and civic agencies with which he was identified in lengthy. They range from those formed to help needy persons to societies of a musical or other artistic or cultural nature. Mr. Roth took his community responsibilities seriously. He was generous with his money, time and counsel whenever the call came for assistance. Hartford will recall Louis Roth with the warmest recollection as a civic-minded citizen of the highest quality.”

May 2, 2004

   When WWUH Director of Development Susan Mullis suggested last year that we do a special program consisting of twelve hours of live programming, I loved the idea, but at the same time I had some concerns about whether or not we would be able to pull off such a complex event. Don't get me wrong, I don't for a second underestimate the talents and energy of our volunteer staff. But while we had produced literally hundreds of live shows over the years, most of them were four hours long at most. This event would be three times longer, and would tax even a seasoned professional staff. Not surprisingly, the staff got behind the idea in a big way.
   The station's programmers pooled their resources and made the arrangements for booking the dozen or so artists and performers who would be on-the-air during the marathon event. Eugene Hazanov, who is a relatively new WWUH volunteer and host of Wednesday Synthesis, stepped forward to produce the event. Eugene worked along side such key behind-the-scenes players as Chris Larsen, Kevin Lynch and Kevin O'Toole.
  This unprecedented event took place on Wednesday, April 28 from 6am to 6pm. Everything on-the-air during that time period was live (we did not use tapes, CDs, or any prerecorded material). The event came off without a hitch. Our listeners were able to hear radio the way it was done in the days before recordings were in common use. This was probably one of the first times in many years that a station aired only live programming for this length of time, with the possible exception of stations doing charity telethons. If you missed it, don't worry, we are talking about doing another one sometime in the next 6-12 months. I'll keep you posted.
- -John Ramsey

March 2004

3/08/04  Thanks to the support of our listeners, we just closed-out our week long 'Marathon' fund raiser with $68,250 in pledges! Close to 1,500 listeners made pledges of financial support to keep WWUH on the air, and many took advantage of the great premiums (T-shirts and CDs) that were offered during the week. The success of Marathon means that the station can continue to offer some of the best in alternative programming throughout the year.
   I want to thank everyone who made a pledge during the week. If you made a pledge using your charge card you should receive your premium(s) within the next three weeks. If you are paying by check, we will send you a reminder and will send out the premium(s) as soon as we receive your check. If you haven't had a chance to make a donation, it's not too late to do so. A pledge form is available on the lower right hand corner of our home page which you can print it out and mail to:
WWUH Radio, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, CT 06117. Or you can simply mail a check made payable to: WWUH Marathon.
-- John Ramsey

3/01/04  WWUH is thrilled to lend it's support to the New England Fiddle Contest which will be returning to Bushnell Park in Hartford after a long absence. The event, which used to be one of Hartford's most popular attractions, will be held on Saturday, May 29 from 10 am to 7 dusk. Stay tuned for details.

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December 2003

WWUH Staff Awards Ceremony
    The following volunteers were honored and received certificates for their service to the station. Five Years of Service: Alan St. Laurent and Rob Turner; Ten Years of Service: Larry Bilansky, Greg Laxer, Chris Marti, and Chuck Obuchowski; Special Plaques were presented for Fifteen Years of Service: Bob Celmer, Ted Neihay, John Prytko, Kevin O'Toole, and John Scott; Special Plaques were presented for Twenty Years of Service: Gary Levin and Phillip Mitchell; Special Plaques were presented for Twenty Five Years of Service: Doug Maine and Peter Michaelson. "Above and Beyond" Awards to:
Mark DeLorenzo for outstanding assistance in training staff members to use our new Digital Audio Workstation; Dave Nagel for his dedication and service over the last decade in the WWUH Training Department. Justin Rockafello and Ben Young for their unending efforts to keep our huge LP and CD library organized. Andy Zelden for his help in the jazz and rock departments.

12/5/03
    We have fine-tuned our RealAudio streaming Encoder to allow up to 500 simultaneous listeners. Audio quality has been improved as well.

12/1/03
    Listeners can now, for the first time, get information about the song that is currently being played on the air (and on the web) on WWUH on the station's web page. The "Now Playing" block at the top of the home page displays the name of the selection, album title, artists and label along with the name of the show and the host of the program.
In addition, listeners can research what was played on WWUH during the last 30 days by clicking on the "MUSIC LOG" button on the left side of the home page. This link brings up a list of music played, listed by day and time.

WWUH 35th Anniversary Party
    On Saturday evening, November 15, 2003, over one hundred people got
together to celebrate WWUH's 35th Anniversary. The party was held in the
University of Hartford's 1877 Club, directly above the WWUH studios in the
Harry Jack Gray Center on the university's West Hartford campus.
The evening festivities kicked off when WWUH founder Clark Schmidt took
the podium. Clark, who is now a radio programming consultant, was a student
in 1968 when WWUH first went on the air and was the person responsible for
spearheading the radio station project at U of H. He was able to pull together a large group of students who would become the people who actually put WWUH on the air.
Clark, who was the station's first General Manager, spoke for twenty
minutes about what it was like to be involved with the "birth" of a radio
station, and mentioned how proud he was with the way the station had turned out.
The night's next speaker was WWUH's current station manager and Chief
Engineer, John Ramsey. John spoke about WWUH's history of excellence and
the wonderful legacy that Clark and the thousands of volunteers who have
kept the station on the air over the years have left. "Who would have
thought in 1968, when the station first went on the air, that localism
would be all but gone from the radio dial 35 years later, and the
public's trust of the electronic media would be at an all time low."
Steve Berian (class of 1979) followed John at the lectern and, along
with Clark Schmidt, announced the creation of a WWUH Scholarship Fund
that will help ensure the future of the station.
Susan Mullis, the station's current Development Director, presented John Ramsey
with a plaque honoring him for 25 years of service as WWUH's Chief Engineer.
No less than four former WWUH General Managers were in attendance at the
reunion, Clark Schmidt ('69), Judy Corcoran ('73), Patty Kurlychek ('80) and
Dale Maine ('81).

Paperless Playlists!
On November 1, 2003, WWUH announcers started beta testing a new paperless playlist system in the air studio. This system, when fully implemented,
will allow us to publish the name of the song currently being played on the air, along with the artists name, album title, and record label on our wwuh.org web page -- and in real time! Listeners will soon be able to go to our web site playlist archives to research songs played on WWUH within the preceeding two weeks.

Open House
On the evening of October 29, 2003, over seventy listeners took advantage
of a WWUH Open House. These folks were able to meet the staff,
tour the station and partake in refreshments in the station's offices. By all accounts, the event was a huge success. We hope you'll accept our future invitations and join us for this annual event.

New Students Join Radio Staff
In September, 2003, the students returned to campus and along with them
came lots of enthusiasm and new ideas for WWUH. These students are
currently in the process of being trained and you should start hearing some
of them on the air by mid-fall.

Management Changes
September 2003 also saw some changes in the station's management team, the
Executive Committee (ECOM). Two key members of the ECOM Colin Tipton,
Program Director, and Bonnie Hast, Operations Director, graduated last May,
and student volunteers Chris Heerema and Kris Powell took over their
respective positions. The rest of the ECOM consists of the following
individuals: Jim Christensen, At-Large Member; Mike DeRosa, Community
Affairs Director; Mary Dowst, Business Manager; Susan Mullis, Director of
Development; and John Ramsey, General Manager.

WWUH is also broadcast live on these FM stations:

WAPJ (89.9 and 105.1) Torrington, CT
Torrington Community Radio is currently broadcasting our signal 24 hours a day.

WWEB (89.9) Wallingford, CT
Choate School carries our signal 24 hours a day during the summer, and during the school year whenever they are not producing local programming.

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