The podcast phenomenon is the new new thing on the Internet and several CAS alums have jumped into the fray with the Spartan Podcast series. Billed as “communication, new media and technology from a Spartan perspective, the weekly topics cover everything from pop-culture to what’s new at Impact 89 FM.
It was the ideal honor for one of the Windy City’s most well known Spartans. When Chuck Goudie ascended to the podium in the historic D.A.R. Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, he raised his right hand to acknowledge the standing ovation from nearly 200 Spartan faithful. And there on his ring finger was the symbol of his 1977 telecommunications degree from the MSU College of Communications Arts and Sciences. “I hold the microphone with this hand,” he told the crowd, “and for almost 30 years every time I’ve been on television, viewers have seen my class ring.” MORE>>
Some people wake up every morning facing the dread of a job they dislike. Ryan Field gives thanks each day for the opportunity to cover the world of sports he grew to love as a kid growing up in suburban Detroit and later as a student broadcaster at Michigan State University. MORE>>
WDBM is the first student station in the nation to deploy the IBOC digital radio platform. Read all about it in this Lansing State Journal story.
Another gem from 1968 is this WBRS Perspective interview with comedian and activist Dick Gregory. Taped on the eve of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, it’s a glimpse into the attitudes and issues that swirled across campus and across the nation during that pivotal year.
Marty Lambros was finishing up his senior year and needed an aircheck to make the jump to the real world. His All-Campus program on WEAK from the Spring of ’68 gives a good feel for MSUCR in the late 60s. Hear it here.
When Steve and Laurie Schram went to Ritters Custard stand in suburban Detroit for some ice cream, Steve was drawn to the unique license plate he noticed in the parking lot. The letters were as familiar as an old friend and his eyes were scanning the lot for it’s owner. It turned out to be MSUCR alum Darrell Fecho. For those of us who bleed Green blood, nothing is better than a vanity license plate with a Spartan S on it. And for Darrell , it’s also his special way of keeping the WMSN legend alive.
In the beginning, there was WBRS, followed by WKME at Shaw Hall and WEAK in the basement of North Wonders. By 1967, there was a movement to create an all-campus radio station to cover the rest of the Spartan dormitory footprint and provide news and programming for what would soon become the Michigan State Network. Ken Gimbel was WKME’s chief announcer when WMSN was born.
WKME was off the air when Gerry Stanley first walked into the studios. He rebuilt the transmitter and designed a home-brew mixing console that made it possible for the station to become a reliable voice at Shaw Hall. He also went on to become one of the foremost design engineers of our time. Here’s our MSUCR interview.
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In the early 80s, Phil Turner was a broadcast journalist at WMSN. Rising to News Director in 83-84, he covered a variety of local and national stories, leveraging his MSUCR experience he currently works for a Southfield public relations firm. Read his MSUCR recollections and hear Phil Turner on the air.
