There have been two radio stations on the BGSU campus since the late 1960s but the lines between the two have often been blurred. And while the WBGU call letters have endured in Northwest Ohio (and online), the WFAL call letters have left the 419 permanently.
The January 18, 1948 edition of the Bee Gee News (yes, that’s what it was called then) announced – Campus ‘Radio Station’ Opens Tonight. The birth of WBGU, right? Well, sort of. The station was known as WRS and Professor Sidney Stone of the speech department let the campus know they could access programming “at 600 kilocycles from 5 to 7 p.m.” Yes, it ran through wiring in university buildings.
Just a few years later, the March 30, 1951 edition of the newspaper announced that as soon as a new station was constructed, WBGU would launch on 88.1 FM, which happened just a year later.
The 60s were a time of change and campus radio was no different. In the latter part of the decade, undergraduate students were replaced by three employees, which led to the birth of WFAL. While WBGU-FM moved toward “an era professionalism that raised the prominence of the station in the community” (according to the WBGU training manual), students ran the show – or shows – at WFAL.
But by the 1970s, both stations were led by students and when classes ended in spring of 1985, WBGU signed off for the last time from South Hall. Trivia – “See Me, Feel Me” by The Who was the last record played.
An article in the 1987 Key yearbook attributes WFAL programming director Dale Stead as saying the station was in its 16th year and the larges AOR (album-oriented rock) station in the Midwest.
While a lot changed over the next couple of decades (reel-to-reel tape and carts were used until 1997 and the station when digital in 2001), the really big changes would coincide with the move to the new, state-of-the-art Kuhlin Center.
You see, BG never really had the right to use the WFAL call letters. You see, School of Media and Communication Chief Broadcast Engineer & Manager of Technology Services Jim Barnes points out, call letters are actually licensed through the FCC. And BGSU never had that license.
The call letters have been owned by stations in Mashpee, Mass., Falmouth, Va., and Frostproof, Fla. An FM station in Milner, Ga. currently uses WFAL.
So when the time came to move into the shiny new Kuhlin Center digs, WFAL disappeared from the BG landscape and Falcon Radio was born.
What’s going on now? Here’s how radio faculty adviser Phil Beskid explains the current situation:
Since moving to the Michael and Sara Kuhlin Center WBGU and Falcon Radio (formerly WFAL) have taken on slightly different identities. WBGU-FM is “Northwest Ohio’s Community Radio Station” and is staffed by community volunteers and students alike. Anchored by The Morning Show presented by the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce, WBGU is focused on the local Wood County community and offers a diverse range of programming including local news, sports, and niche music shows. Falcon Radio which is now exclusively streaming online on the BG Falcon Media website is a sandbox of sorts, exclusively for students. On Falcon Radio students can feel free to experiment with any type of programming they wish while they learn how to operate the state-of-the-art studio equipment. Students from any discipline are encouraged to participate and can often get trained and scheduled for their own show in twenty minutes or less! Often the student produced content takes shape as podcasts, but Falcon Radio also has monthly music programming events sponsored by local businesses in addition to daily “legacy programs” that run at specific times each day.
– Phil Beskid, BG Falcon Media radio adviser
The monthly programming events include ’90s November and March Sadness (if you love emo music) with weekly legacy programs such as Kickin’ Country and Pride Rock. The Falcon Media Sports Network broadcasts football, men’s basketball, and softball on Falcon Radio as well.
Bottom line: Student radio is alive and well on the BGSU campus!
Falcon Radio: For Falcons, By Falcons
Do you have any WFAL memories you’d like to share? Drop us an email!