Thanks to the Valley's status as home to numerous institutions of higher learning, there is a treasure trove of college radio stations just waiting to be discovered deep in the far reaches of your FM radio dial.
Serving the Springfield area is WSCB (89.9 FM). This student-run station is the on-campus radio voice of Springfield College and treats listeners to entertainment, news, sports and events for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Its signal reaches as far as Northampton and Westfield.
Glad to finally be active again after a long summer of dormancy, station manager and president Greg Cameron sees this school year as one of great potential for the station.
Foremost on his agenda is nailing down exactly where the station will reside in the spring. In their current headquarters at the very top of the elevator-less Judd Gymnasium, the station's staff members have been eagerly awaiting word on whether they will be moved into the new campus union (still under construction).
The station's second entry on its big wish list for this school year is online broadcasting.
"Our administration, and I'm trying to say this in the most politically correct way that I can, is [worried] about the idea of having media on the Internet because they don't know exactly how to control it," said Cameron. "It's a fair point. On the radio it's free speech, and we're dealing with college kids."
That's not all, though. In the coming months, even if he can't accomplish his two biggest projects, Cameron has several more ideas in the can that he'd like to get in place before he graduates in May.
"We've always kicked around the idea of 'Let's do a 24-hour radio show.' I'm not scared to do it," he said. Also, "I kind of wish that we hit a lot more of the local music from around here, had more of a local spotlight. It's something maybe we'll phase in at some point."
"Working in radio has opened my eyes to a lot of different music," Cameron adds. "I thought I was knowledgeable before as a little freshman, and then I see this record collection that we have, and—wow!" He adds, "My parents say they listen to my show [in Westfield]. That's always nice."
For more information and updates on 89.9 FM, check www.spfldcol.edu and follow the Student Activities link to WSCB.
