WOCR/WNYO and WRVO alumni reconnected during special 50th Anniversary events throughout Reunion Weekend.
During Reunion Weekend 2019, June 6-9, WNYO/WOCR and WRVO alumni celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the three icons of campus media.
WOCR-WNYO Reunion Planning Committee members Dee McGowan Perkins ’85, Mike Frazer ’79, Larry Rubinstein ’81 and Dana Segall Murphy ’99 helped organize a station takeover during which alumni hosted live broadcasts from the WNYO studio in Marano Campus Center on Saturday morning. Alumni were invited to tour facilities and reconnect with each other during a 50th Anniversary reception later that day.
Alumni visit the WRVO Public Media studios in the Penfield Library building
WRVO-FM opened the doors to its studios in the Penfield Library building Saturday afternoon for a special 50th anniversary open house. WRVO listeners, members, friends, alumni and more were invited to share memories, mingle and celebrate this important milestone with former and current hosts, reporters and staff members. Visitors commemorated the anniversary with their own recorded testimonials and toured the offices and studios.
Several alumni talked about their experiences with the stations, and their stories bridged together the evolution of the station as new technologies were introduced.
Hank Volpe ’73 joined WOCR in 1969, right after students started the organization. During his time there, the radio station was much smaller than it is now, as the students were trying to build it up. Volpe hosted the “Rise and Shine Show” in the mornings and even stayed during academic breaks to keep the station running.
Kathy Contino-Turner ’80 was the first woman general manager at WOCR and helped organize the first Communication Studies dinner for the 10-year anniversary of the college radio station. She started in 1976 and became general manager April 1, 1979.
Larry Rubinstein ’81 was the chief engineer for WOCR, at the same time as Contino-Turner. During his time, the station only transmitted on-campus in the residence halls and Hewitt Union, where it was based along with WTOP, The Oswegonian and the college tavern.
WOCR/WNYO alumni took to the airwaves to reminisce about 50 years of radio from the studio in Marano Campus Center during Reunion Weekend 2019
WOCR changed its call letters in the early 90s when it expanded beyond just the campus. WNYO now reaches just past Fulton, New York.
Dana Segall Murphy ’99 ran WNYO as general manager from 1998 to 1999, and at this point, the station had stopped using vinyl and moved to CDs. It also began the transition to using computers, which could only be used by a few people because of the high costs that came with it.
Rufaro Matombo ’12 started his WNYO career in 2009 when he was a DJ and an on-air personality. At this time, social media began to make an impact on marketing for the radio station.
Since its beginning days as WOCR, WNYO 88.9FM has moved locations to the Marano Campus Center, in the same hallway as SUNY Oswego’s other student media organizations, WTOP-10 and The Oswegonian. It has recently received a brand new sound board and now has an ID access-based door to get into the office. If one is around Oswego or Fulton, they can tune in to listen to the radio channel, or they listen online or on the cell phone application “Radio Box.”
Students involved in the early years of WOCR laid the foundation for today’s campus radio station, now called WNYO. Today, its broadcast strength reaches just past Fulton, N.Y
• Sound bites of alumni reminiscing about the role the station played in their time as students
• Recording of alumni’s live broadcast during Reunion Weekend 2019
• Recording of WRVO Public Media’s 50th Year Commemoration
Don’t Miss an Upcoming Reunion…
| REUNION 2020 June 4 to 7 1995 – 25th ’89, ’90, ’91 – 30th 1980 – 40th 1970 – 50th 1965 – 55th 1960 – 60th 1955 – 65th 1950 – 70th 1945 – 75th Alpha Delta Eta – 95th Anniversary Blackfriars – 40th Reunion Anniversary Omega Delta Phi – 40th Anniversary Psi Phi Gamma – 95th Anniversary | REUNION 2021 June 10 to 13 ’00, ’01, ’02 – 20th 1996 – 25th 1981 – 40th ’75, ’76, ’77 – 45th 1971 – 50th 1966 – 55th 1961 – 60th 1956 – 65th 1951 – 70th 1946 – 75th | REUNION 2022 June 9 to 12 ’06, ’07, ’08 – 15th 1997 – 25th ’86, ’87, ’88 – 35th 1982 – 40th 1972 – 50th 1967 – 55th 1962 – 60th 1957 – 65th 1952 – 70th 1947 – 75th | REUNION 2023 June 8 to 11 1998 – 25th ’92, ’93, ’94 – 30th 1983 – 40th 1973 – 50th 1968 – 55th 1963 – 60th 1958 – 65th 1953 – 70th 1948 – 75th | REUNION 2024 June 6 to 9 ’03, ’04, ’05 – 20th 1999 – 25th 1984 – 40th ’78, ’79, ’80 – 45th 1974 – 50th 1969 – 55th 1964 – 60th 1959 – 65th 1954 – 70th 1949 – 75th |
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