WDBM
Encyclopedia
WDBM East Lansing, Michigan
, is a 2,000 watt, Class A, student-run college radio station at Michigan State University
that broadcasts to listeners in the Lansing
, Michigan
, metropolitan area. The station is the successor to the Michigan State Network, which in the 1970s was the nation's largest college carrier current
radio network, and had studios in several MSU dormitories. The network was eventually consolidated to one carrier current station, WLFT ('Turn to the Left'), which broadcast from the former WKAR
studios in the MSU Auditorium Building.
WDBM began broadcasting in 1989 with the moniker Impact 89FM, a name it still uses today. It is one of the few student-run college radio stations to broadcast 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year. WDBM has been named "College Station of the Year" by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters more than any other station. In 2004, it was the nation's first college station to broadcast in HD Radio
and streams its programming on its website.
Its staff began recording and podcasting Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm
's weekly radio address in 2005.
The station is licensed to the MSU Board of Trustees, financed by a student fee, and operates separately from the University's other media outlets, which include WKAR
, WKAR-FM
, WKAR-TV
, and the State News. Impact 89FM broadcasts from the basement of the Holden Hall dormitory on south campus.
On Tuesday February 24, The IMPACT turned 20 and celebrated 20 years of broadcasting by holding a Birthday Bash at the local East Lansing Buffalo Wild Wings, where alumni came back to do a special hour of on-air programing.
, alternative country
, blues
, metal
, indie
, local music, retro, and hip hop
. The Lansing City Pulse magazine credited WDBM's Progressive Torch and Twang program for igniting and sustaining the alternative country
scene in mid-Michigan. Progressive Torch and Twang has also been cited in the seminal book Modern Twang.
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...
, is a 2,000 watt, Class A, student-run college radio station at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
that broadcasts to listeners in the Lansing
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, metropolitan area. The station is the successor to the Michigan State Network, which in the 1970s was the nation's largest college carrier current
Carrier current
Carrier current is a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses the AC electrical system of a building to propagate a medium frequency, AM signal to a relatively small area, such as a building or a group of buildings...
radio network, and had studios in several MSU dormitories. The network was eventually consolidated to one carrier current station, WLFT ('Turn to the Left'), which broadcast from the former WKAR
WKAR
WKAR may refer to:*WKAR , a radio station licensed to East Lansing, Michigan, United States*WKAR-FM, a radio station licensed to East Lansing, Michigan, United States...
studios in the MSU Auditorium Building.
WDBM began broadcasting in 1989 with the moniker Impact 89FM, a name it still uses today. It is one of the few student-run college radio stations to broadcast 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year. WDBM has been named "College Station of the Year" by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters more than any other station. In 2004, it was the nation's first college station to broadcast in HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
and streams its programming on its website.
Its staff began recording and podcasting Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...
's weekly radio address in 2005.
The station is licensed to the MSU Board of Trustees, financed by a student fee, and operates separately from the University's other media outlets, which include WKAR
WKAR (AM)
WKAR is a National Public Radio member station in East Lansing, Michigan; broadcasting at 870 kHz. It is owned by Michigan State University, and carries news and talk shows from NPR. It is part of MSU's Broadcasting Services Division, and is a sister station to the FM radio and television...
, WKAR-FM
WKAR-FM
WKAR-FM is a public radio station in East Lansing, Michigan; broadcasting on the FM dial at 90.5 MHz. It is owned by Michigan State University, and is sister station to the AM radio and television stations with the same call letters....
, WKAR-TV
WKAR-TV
WKAR-TV is a PBS-member station serving the Lansing, Michigan area. It is owned by Michigan State University. The station broadcasts on digital channel 40, which redirects to its former analog channel 23 via PSIP). Its studios are located on MSU's campus in East Lansing, its city of license...
, and the State News. Impact 89FM broadcasts from the basement of the Holden Hall dormitory on south campus.
On Tuesday February 24, The IMPACT turned 20 and celebrated 20 years of broadcasting by holding a Birthday Bash at the local East Lansing Buffalo Wild Wings, where alumni came back to do a special hour of on-air programing.
Programming
Weekdays, WDBM broadcasts mainly alternative music. At night, block programming features an hour of talk, then jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
, local music, retro, and hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
. The Lansing City Pulse magazine credited WDBM's Progressive Torch and Twang program for igniting and sustaining the alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
scene in mid-Michigan. Progressive Torch and Twang has also been cited in the seminal book Modern Twang.