Waynesburg University’s radio station, WCYJ-FM, has undergone changes since the 2024 Spring semester. Richard Krause, chairperson and assistant professor of communication for the Department of Communication, spoke on what led to these changes.
“Years and years ago before I was even a faculty member here, the radio station used to be tucked into a corner on the fourth floor,” Krause said. When speaking to the location of the station, with the station, located on the third floor of Buhl Hall and is the first thing a student sees when they enter the building, Krause continued, “In the late 90’s, we moved it downstairs because we wanted it to be a visible identification of the department. It’s always been important, but we really have heavily invested in the radio station. I don’t know if there’s ever been a time in my entire tenure at Waynesburg where the radio station has received so much attention.”
“The exterior was done at the end of last year, and the interior was done over Christmas break, so we changed the inside and the outside because we want it to be fun when you walk by,” Krause added.
Douglas Wilson, FCC compliance specialist for the radio station and part-time instructor of communication at Waynesburg University, also mentioned the makeover the station went through.
“We had the opportunity, thanks to some very generous donations, to do a cosmetic overhaul of the outside and it’s fantastic,” Wilson said. “The inside of the studio had not been overhauled in several years and that is still a work in progress, but sometimes it’s just little things that make the students realize ‘They really do care about this program and if they care about it then I should care about it’.”
Daniel Flynn, sophomore general manager of the radio station, talked about changes that he has already made, as well as changes he is looking to make in the future.
“The first change I made was finding out how to record specialty shows and sporting events,” Flynn said. “But, I’m the type of person that’s never satisfied with things. I have a list of things from last semester that I want completed by this semester. One thing I’m very ambitious about is the chapel services being broadcasted. Another thing I was wanting to do is have our social media aspect back up. I want to start a YouTube channel and have the radio play-by-play for the games we do, as well as any specialty shows that would want to be recorded and put on the channel.”
Flynn also talked about ideas that the radio has done in the past that he is looking to bring back, such as 24-hour broadcasts.
“I want to bring these back once a semester for breast cancer awareness or suicide awareness,” Flynn said. “24-hour broadcasts would have all the specialty shows and everyone with a shift would pick a time from 7 a.m. of that day to 7 a.m. the next day. They used to do them here, and I think it’d be a great thing to bring back to bring some liveliness to the station.”
When asked about his opinion on what improvements can be made in the station, Wilson mentioned his curiosity about what the students want to see done differently.
“The wonderful thing that I’ve always appreciated about the Communications Department is the open lines of communication between the students, the faculty and the advisors,” Wilson said.
Wilson and Flynn began working together last semester, when Flynn was hired as the Director of Music for WCYJ-FM.
“Danny’s enthusiasm is contagious,” Wilson said. “He is an individual who is task oriented, so when he is given something to take care of, he does it. His enthusiasm is starting to catch fire in other students. It’s a domino effect and Danny is that first domino.”
WCYJ-FM’s staff has altered over time, but the content that is put out is expected to be consistent each year and continuously growing as the station does.
“We have such a support system in play and that’s what our strength is,” Krause said. “Our challenge now is making sure that content is up to standards because students are getting so much support here. We want the kids to have the best radio experience they can have.”
Waynesburg’s radio station includes hourly shifts led by students and specialty shows that are run daily. Tune into WCYJ-FM 99.5, “The Hive” with the following link below in order to keep up with the progressions of the station as well as the new shows added each school year.