Drive around campus after dark, and you are sure to see it. The blue and green neon image in the window glows brightly against the red brick facade on Tracy Drive, drawing attention to itself and to the large maroon awning that stretches out above it.
It is the home of Mississippi State’s own WMSV, a radio station that has been serving the university and the surrounding area for a decade.
WMSV station manager Steve Ellis said it all started about 12 years ago. Mississippi State wanted another station in addition to the station in operation at the time.
The Federal Communica-tions Commission granted the university a license to broadcast on 91.1 FM. Ellis was recruited from University Relations to help get things started.
“We moved into the present location six months before going on the air for the first time, and there was nothing in there,” Ellis said. “We did surveys to figure out what kind of format we wanted, and we decided that we wanted an alternative format.”
At first, Ellis was the only paid professional on staff, with 82 volunteers helping manage the broadcasts. The volunteer approach worked well at first, but Ellis decided the station needed more structured programming in order to succeed.
“Our goal from day one was to be as professional as possible, and we decided that the best way to sound as professional as other stations was to have the same DJs on every day,” Ellis said.
Ellis and others conducted interviews and implemented training to find the “articulate and energetic” employees they were looking for. They began paying employees, which Ellis said worked well because it gave the station more consistency in its sound.
After WMSV went on the air, Ellis said, a large number of the rock stations in the area followed suit and began playing alternative music-something they had not done in the past.
The station shifted from what Ellis called a “hybrid format” to an adult album alternative, or AAA, format after realizing that changing with the times would not succeed.
“Every couple of years there’s a new fad in music, and it was getting to the point that with every new crop of students, they wanted us to change the format,” Ellis said. “We knew we had to come up with our format and stick with, and hopefully the students and everyone else in the area would make it the station they listened to.”
Ellis said students suggested making WMSV a country station or hip-hop station, but since those formats were already prominent in the area, he decided being a true triple-A station was the smartest move.
Ellis said World Caf, piped in every day from a station in Philadelphia, Pa., is easily the station’s most popular program because it appeals to the student population. The Sunday blues and jazz programs, which have been running since the station’s first day, draw in an older audience, which is necessary considering the reach of the station’s broadcast.
Daniel Melder, host of “Melder in the Mornings” during the week and the
WMSV Weekly Top Ten on Saturday, said the AAA format makes WMSV a station that appeals to the broad base of people it reaches.
“We broadcast to about 60-70 miles around the campus,” Melder said. “I think part of our appeal is that we offer a true alternative to other stations in the area. We play music that you’re not going to hear anywhere else”
He said the station appeals to students because they like to be on the cutting edge of music, and WMSV offers them that opportunity.
MSU senior Ginna Sudduth, a WMSV listener, said she likes the station for exactly that reason.
“I like it because you hear stuff that other stations don’t play and it’s just a totally different kind of music,” Sudduth said. “I think people like it because of the uniqueness it has.”
Ellis said: “The main way to be a success in non-commercial radio is to have an identity and be true to it. You’ve got to be there when your listeners need you, and you have to be consistent. Not everybody is a fan of our identity, but there’s no station in the world that anyone can say is their favorite station all of the time.”
Ellis said he also feels it is important to stay connected to the community and provide news and information to those in the listening area.
Melder said he feels the same way about keeping the listeners informed.
“It’s very important because people need to know what’s going on around them, not just what’s happening in New York and Washington and Nashville.”
Melder said. “People want to know what’s going on with their neighbors or what’s happening down the street, and we offer that to our listeners.”
Being a non-commercial station-one that cannot sell commercials, provide pricing information, or have calls to action-also allows WMSV to focus on the music, which Ellis said is what radio is really all about.
“That’s what is neat about our station,” Ellis said. “You’ll hear people who have an awful lot of talent who just haven’t made it big yet.”
Although Ellis said nothing jumps to mind right away about future plans for the station, he said he wants to stay on top of technological changes and continue to improve the ever-evolving family that is WMSV.
“We want to maintain the status quo and keep WMSV’s identity at the forefront,” Ellis said. “We just want to continue to do well what we’ve always done.”