Campus radio prepares students for careers
Nate Packard
Malvin Massey Jr., DJ at the university radio station
WUMR, has been working there since 1988. The station plays strictly
Jazz music both old and new.
With 50,000 watts of power, WUMR is Memphis’ only variety jazz station and it operates on campus in the Theater and Communications Building.
John Hardin, the radio station’s production manager and a senior journalism major, began as a volunteer in 2010. When a student graduated and the manager position became available last year, 30-year-old Hardin said he gladly accepted the job.
“The radio is just flat-out fun,” Hardin said.
With animated gestures, Hardin described his experiences at the only jazz-format station in Memphis that boasts about 40,000 listeners.
“The best part of working for the station is exposure to everyone in journalism and broadcasting,” he said. “ It has opened up a lot of doors and opportunities for me. You get to know the movers and the shakers of the business.”
WUMR’s satellite reaches across Memphis to Hernando County, and citizens in roughly 25 countries in Europe tune in every day.
The station has relatively few employees though, relying mostly on volunteers and students for on-air shifts and other daily tasks for the past three decades.
Opportunities are available for disc jockeys, sports reporters, news reporters, editors and copywriters and vacant positions change constantly, Hardin said.
Melvin Massey, Jr., the station’s general manager, coordinates with the staff members on the new software for disc playing and equipment maintenance, a program he said is “cool.”
He mentioned that there are 40 DJs, five sports commentators and six paid students. The DJs are trained and meet twice a month to practice real-world scenarios and feel the “flow of the radio,” Massey said.
The history of Memphis’s signature jazz station, one of a handful of college jazz formats in the country, began in 1979. Since The University purchased the station from Rhodes College, WUMR 91.7 has been broadcasting a variety of jazz programs.
“When I founded the station, we chose the all-jazz format for three reasons. We didn’t want to compete with the programming of commercial radio in Memphis and none of the stations were playing jazz regularly, we wanted a musical style that appealed to a multiracial audience, and, finally, the format fit in nicely with the jazz curriculum in our music department,” said Richard Ranta, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts.
Being a nonprofit organization, the station relies on money from companies who sponsor specific programs and radiothons. Hardin described how in a previous year, the station “broke the bank,” raising over $22,000. These fundraisers take place in June and November. During this time, there are extra opportunities for student volunteers. About 130 universities participate with The University of Memphis in the radiothons.
Currently, WUMR, the “Jazz Lover,” provides 24-hour jazz music ranging from contemporary to classical. Listeners can also tune in to hear coverage of University sports and news. Hardin said the station prides itself in being the only Jazz radio station in Memphis.
The station offers a variety of jazz programs, from Blues to Latin by local and international artists. The station’s most popular segment, Beale Street Caravan, features a variety of local jazz musicians on Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m.
Chris Davis, the station’s program director, hosts the morning show every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:30 a.m. A segment called Drive Time is set for 4 - 6 p.m., and the station also hosts sports segments, plays local bands and streams service announcements.
The service messages are called “underwriting” because they are not advertisements or commercials, “but they benefit The University,” Hardin said.
WUMR is now available to listeners through online streaming that can be accessed through the station’s link on The University of Memphis website.
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