WMSV-FM 91.1 implements major upgrades
As it enters the 23rd year of public service to listeners at Mississippi State and a 70-mile radius, university radio station WMSV is benefiting from key upgrades.
A 24/7 non-commercial operation, the professionally managed station at 91.1 on the FM dial has replaced the original broadcast transmitter in use since 1994.
“This represents a generational upgrade of the university’s basic radio broadcast equipment,” said MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter, who is the administrator of the station. “We’re grateful to MSU President Mark Keenum for his support. I also appreciate Anthony Craven, David Garraway, Mike Godwin and Barry Hughes for their hard work and leadership in this project.”
Salter said WMSV also owes a debt of gratitude to MSU Campus Services for their support and assistance in bringing the station’s upgrade forward.
In addition to being more reliable, the essential piece of equipment should require little or no maintenance and, as a result, save significant operational time and money, said Craven, general manager. “It is like replacing a tube television with a new flat-screen,” he added.
Also upgraded is the studio-transmitter link that sends audio from WMSV’s studio on Tracy Drive to the transmitter and tower.
Craven said the new transmitter and STL “create an all-digital sound and ensure we are reaching 100 percent of our broadcast coverage area at all times.”
As they positively impact costs and energy use, Craven said the upgrades also are making the station “more environmentally friendly.”
He said other recent changes include:
-- A new digital modulation monitor for improved, more consistent sound quality; and
-- An update to the website www.wmsv.msstate.edu.
Craven is the station’s former news director who succeeded founding manager Steve Ellis in 2015 when Ellis retired.
A Mississippi State graduate who joined WMSV in 2007, Craven holds a bachelor’s degree in communication/broadcasting and a master of arts degree in teaching. He currently supervises about a dozen paid staff members, all students at the university.
As for musical programming, Craven said he and the staff have been “tweaking the number of live cuts played each hour, and we are featuring a few more alternative-rock songs.”
Additionally, a special new show titled “Music Makers Presents” has joined the weekend schedule.
A collaboration with MSU Music Maker Productions, the student group that books entertainment acts, and MSU-TV, operator of the campus’ high-definition channel, “Music Makers Presents” features local musicians performing acoustic sets of original compositions. It airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 8 a.m.
WMSV is classified under the Federal Communication Commission format definition as an adult album alternative station. This means its musical selections tend toward the fringes of mainstream pop and rock, but also include indie and alternative rock, alternative country, jazz, folk, world music, and blues.
Beyond the Starkville campus and Oktibbeha County, WMSV’s primary audience is the entire Greater Golden Triangle area. For complete station information, visit its above-listed website.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Addison Arledge | Public Affairs
