WJPZ-FM
WJPZ is a radio station operated entirely by students at Syracuse University in New York. It broadcasts at 89.1 FM at a power level of 100 watts. It can be heard around the Syracuse University campus, downtown Syracuse, and immediate surrounding neighborhoods, with an effective broadcasting radius of up to 10 miles. Although operated by students, it is an independent organization which is incorporated and licensed by the FCC as a corporate owner. It is neither owned nor controlled by Syracuse University, but it does lease studio and transmitter facilities on Syracuse University property.
History
The station was established in 1974 as an alternative to the Syracuse University owned FM station, WAER, though that station did at that time program a free-form music format and was operated by students. WJPZ first broadcast on a carrier current AM frequency which could reach only the University campus. The station's format was Top 40 music, and served a dual purpose of providing programming to the student community and giving vocational training in the radio broadcasting field to students at the University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The station later also broadcast its audio over campus television monitors through the facilities of CitrusTV, then UUTV, as well as a channel on the citywide cable television system with a blank screen. This arrangement continued for some time after WJPZ went on FM.
In 1983, after operations of WAER were taken over by the University administration and the format was changed to jazz and NPR News, the management of WJPZ endeavored to move the station to the FM band, where it could broadcast with more power. On February 2, 1985, WJPZ began broadcasting at 89.1 FM. At that time the format was Top 40 with a heavy emphasis on imported and domestic dance music. Since that time, the station has experimented with playing different genres of music. The station played "modern rock" for a few years in the 1990s as 89.1 the Pulse, which began in December 1995. During the Pulse period, WJPZ stayed within a Top 40 format of a limited playlist of frequently rotated songs. It also produces frequent news and sports broadcasts and several specialty programs that air on weekends.
Today, the station continues the "#1 for Today's Hit Music" / Top-40 format as Z89. They have recently expanded their programming schedule to include shows such as "90's at Noon," "The MyPod Playlist Playback," and their weekly top 40 countdown "The Weekend Spectacular" hosted by B-Ryce McFly, DJ Tanner, and the Human Highlight Reel.