About
Welcome to WHAT Radio!
WHAT Radio is a non-commercial, educational radio station licensed to the Board of Trustees of Stetson University. As you begin working at WHAT, you will find every effort has been made to create a professional and creative working environment. Radio can be a lot of fun, as well as a learning experience, that will provide you with the skills necessary to enter the professional workforce, no matter your area of study or career goals. This handbook is your guide to everything WHAT related, so keep it close for reference as you embark on your journey as an artist!
Each WHAT Team member is responsible for being familiar with all of the information in this handbook; this book is the final word on station policy. If anyone on staff tells you something different from what’s in the handbook, check with the Executive Station Manager for clarification.
Being part of the WHAT Team takes hard work and dedication. However, if you put in the effort, it will be an extremely rewarding part of your college experience.
The WHAT Radio Mission Statement
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the power of passionate words spoken aloud is a force to be reckoned with. Our work blends the best of art and media – the duties of entertainment, revelation, creation, perspective, integrity, education, and inspiration, all rolled into one. It is our responsibility to use our platform to make voices heard. Not just the voices that bring excitement and good news, but also the voices that express frustration and pain. From the oppressed to the ally, it is crucial that we, as an organization dedicated to oral tradition, reverberate the voices of revolution with resounding conviction, and we pledge to amplify them for the world. It is also our responsibility to immortalize the performing and recorded arts in our era of modern technology, so that our aural art is accessible to those far from home and to those we have not yet known. We aim to captivate the student body and the community beyond with galvanizing content, from live events to electrifying broadcasts. It is our privilege and our honor to be the conductors of change, and through our efforts, we will reinvent the art of radio. As always, stay tuned – you won’t want to miss a moment.
History of WHAT
In 1949, Stetson University founded a radio station called WJBS (for John B. Stetson), where listeners could tune in to 1490 on the AM dial. The college later sold the AM station. When Peter Brockway came to Stetson University, there was no radio station. He realized that most colleges have a radio station, and he decided to start WHAT Radio in 1975. Every radio station on the East Coast starts with a W, and Brockway’s brother came up with the idea using H-A-T for Hatter, and it stuck. He started WHAT Radio on the second floor of the CUB’s South Wing in a room about the size of an oversized janitorial closet. The station started out on a closed-circuit, broadcasting to just the small campus area. Brockway served as the first Executive Station Manager. He also hosted a show, playing Top 40 tunes of the ’70s, including the Eagles, the Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd. From the start, WHAT Radio has always been student managed. Brockway and his wife have made many donations to WHAT Radio, including significant contributions to the new Station on the second floor of the CUB and the WHAT sign in front of the station. Brockway and other WHAT Radio alumni come by the station during Stetson’s homecoming, and it’s always a pleasure to show how we’ve chosen to perpetuate their legacy.