Introduction
What Defines College Radio?
Illustration by Michelle Sullivan
College radio. Commercial radio. Alternative radio. Student radio.
For over seventy years, radio at Brown has redefined these categories, creating a range of broadcasting opportunities not found at most schools.
Beginning in 1936, students with the Brown Network, later renamed WBRU, strung wires over rooftops, through ivy, along gas pipes, and also used low-power transmitters to deliver sports, music, and talk to the Brown and Pembroke campuses.
Then radio at Brown took a unique turn, becoming commercial and student-run. With the University's help, a student/alumni corporation acquired a commercial FM license. WBRU 95.5 went on the air in February 1966 and now has listeners across New England. More than 100 Brown students run WBRU, but it's not what many people consider a "college station." Playing alternative rock, WBRU has become a fully commercialized station, with major advertisements, promotional concerts and contests, and professional staff hired by students.
In 1995, Brown students founded a more "traditional" college station. BSR 88.1 FM operates in a free-form style and shares a frequency with The Wheeler School. Its signal doesn't extend much beyond Brown, but through its outreach efforts, online streaming, and focus on local news and music, BSR has become essential listening for many in the Providence community.
Today, staffers at WBRU and BSR grapple with how to remain "local" as new technology makes media global, and with how to bridge campus and community. Brown's stations, both commercial and non-profit, have always been student-conceived and student-run. What makes radio at Brown unique is that these two, very different, stations began as one and are run by students on the same campus.