Students go live on the radio

Music is cued, the microphone faders are at the ready and the on-air light shines brightly. This is the regular nightly routine for disc jockeys for 89.5 WFCI, Franklin College’s radio station.

Students run the station every night, with two programs playing, one from 7-9 p.m. and the other from 9-11 p.m., with the exception of Sundays and Fridays when only one program airs.
 
“We basically run the show and it’s all about picking a topic to talk about and it can be from that to picking an awesome song to play,” said freshman Aaron Hommell.

The station is entirely student-ran and those who work as DJs receive an activity credit for the time put into it. Each DJ has a different radio personality that allows for variety in the shows and the music played each night.

“We kind of just come up with topics off the cuff. I usually bring in a magazine and pull stuff from it,” Hommell said.

 Sophomore Tasha Harden goes on-air with Hommell on Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. and said topics that are common on air consist of weird news, sports and anything that might produce an opinion from a listener.

Air-time for student DJs allows them to have a recording that they can actually use to send in with their resume, giving them a boost in the broadcast world. In addition, it is a way to spread information and news throughout Franklin’s campus.
   
“Not every freshman is going to get the opportunities that we have here at Franklin, said Hommell.

“That’s probably because we are smaller and probably because our journalism department is second-to-none,” Hommel said.

Being able to get air-time and experience is something Harden and others who work at the radio station value.

From arranging the sequence of songs, commercials and public service announcements to learning how to carry conversation while on air, the lessons that media students learn are endless.

The show plays not only for Franklin students but also for the local communities and requests can be made nightly. Requests and call-ins during the shows are scarce, but Hommell and Harden urge listeners to do so.