WHRB
Encyclopedia
WHRB is a commercial FM radio station in Cambridge
, Massachusetts
. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz and is operated by students at Harvard College
.
station on December 2, 1940. After acquiring funding from The Harvard Crimson
the station's first call sign
was WHCN (Harvard Crimson Network). It broke from the Crimson in 1943 and adopted the call sign WHRV (Harvard Radio Voice). Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., Inc., the non-profit corporation
that owns the station, was formed February 1, 1951, and the current call sign adopted.
In order to reach audiences beyond Harvard's campus, the corporation acquired a commercial FM broadcast
license from the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and began regular broadcasting on May 17, 1957 at 107.1 MHz (at that time called "megacycles"). A few years later, the station changed frequency to 95.3 MHz, where it has remained since. The broadcast area expanded considerably in 1995 when the transmitter was relocated from atop Holyoke Center in Harvard Square
to its present location atop One Financial Center
in downtown Boston
. Broadcasts went global when internet retransmission of its programs began on November 18, 1999.
Orgies (the term is a registered trademark of the station) are consecutive presentations of the entire musical output of composers, record labels, or genres, sometimes running 24 hours a day for a solid week or more. Station legend has it that these began when an exuberant undergraduate in 1943 decided to celebrate his passing a difficult exam by broadcasting all nine Beethoven symphonies in order. Orgies continue to take place during exam periods, allowing the station to be run with a reduced on-air staff at these busy times. "Orgies" are broadcast each year throughout the month of January, and again from the beginning of May through Harvard's commencement ceremony near the end of that month.
Some of WHRB's regular programs have long histories of their own. For example, the country music
program Hillbilly at Harvard dates back to 1948, and Sunday Night at the Opera is one of the longest-running programs in its genre in the United States. The station's underground rock department, Record Hospital
, began in 1984 and hosts an annual music "fest".
WHRB also broadcasts live play-by-play coverage of Harvard University football and men's hockey games, and is the Boston area home, in season, for the weekly broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera
.
(voice of the New York Philharmonic
), Steve Curwood (host of Living on Earth
on NPR), Bruce Morton
(CNN
), Dan Raviv
(CBS
), Scott Horsley (NPR
), and Chris Wallace
(Fox News). Harpsichord
ist Igor Kipnis
, New York Times critics John Rockwell
and Kelefa Sanneh
, New Yorker
critic Alex Ross
, pianist and composer Robert D. Levin
, ZDNet
founder Michael Kolowich
, Justin Rice
and Christian Rudder
of Bishop Allen
, Karl Rove
's personal attorney Robert Luskin
, visual artist Alex Kahn
, record producers Thomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. and Jim Barber, and the members of the chimp rock
band Fat Day
have been on the station's staff. David Mays, the founder of The Source
magazine, hosted a popular show, Street Beat.
WHRB alumni are called ghosts in the elaborate and idiosyncratic lingo
which has developed at the station; the term refers to their tendency to "haunt" the station after "death" (graduation).
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz and is operated by students at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
.
History
WHRB was one of America's first college radio stations, initially signing on as a carrier currentCarrier 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...
station on December 2, 1940. After acquiring funding from The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873. It is the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates...
the station's first call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
was WHCN (Harvard Crimson Network). It broke from the Crimson in 1943 and adopted the call sign WHRV (Harvard Radio Voice). Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., Inc., the non-profit corporation
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that owns the station, was formed February 1, 1951, and the current call sign adopted.
In order to reach audiences beyond Harvard's campus, the corporation acquired a commercial FM broadcast
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
license from the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) and began regular broadcasting on May 17, 1957 at 107.1 MHz (at that time called "megacycles"). A few years later, the station changed frequency to 95.3 MHz, where it has remained since. The broadcast area expanded considerably in 1995 when the transmitter was relocated from atop Holyoke Center in Harvard Square
Harvard Square
Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...
to its present location atop One Financial Center
One Financial Center
One Financial Center is a modern skyscraper adjacent to Dewey Square in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1983, it is Boston's 7th-tallest building, standing 590 feet tall, and housing 46 floors. An unusual 90 ft tall glass-roofed lobby, known as the atrium,...
in downtown Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Broadcasts went global when internet retransmission of its programs began on November 18, 1999.
Programming
WHRB is a confederacy of on-air departments, each with its own staff, training requirements, and allocation of airtime. During the academic year, the station publishes detailed bimonthly program guides, describing its regular programming as well as the Orgy periods that end each semester.Orgies (the term is a registered trademark of the station) are consecutive presentations of the entire musical output of composers, record labels, or genres, sometimes running 24 hours a day for a solid week or more. Station legend has it that these began when an exuberant undergraduate in 1943 decided to celebrate his passing a difficult exam by broadcasting all nine Beethoven symphonies in order. Orgies continue to take place during exam periods, allowing the station to be run with a reduced on-air staff at these busy times. "Orgies" are broadcast each year throughout the month of January, and again from the beginning of May through Harvard's commencement ceremony near the end of that month.
Some of WHRB's regular programs have long histories of their own. For example, the country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
program Hillbilly at Harvard dates back to 1948, and Sunday Night at the Opera is one of the longest-running programs in its genre in the United States. The station's underground rock department, Record Hospital
Record Hospital
Record Hospital is the underground rock department on the Boston-area radio station, WHRB 95.3 FM. Harvard undergraduates and alums serve as the department's DJs and hold administrative positions within the department such as Music Director. "Departments" at WHRB refer to a group of members who...
, began in 1984 and hosts an annual music "fest".
WHRB also broadcasts live play-by-play coverage of Harvard University football and men's hockey games, and is the Boston area home, in season, for the weekly broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
.
Notable alumni
Prominent broadcasters who began their careers at WHRB include Martin BookspanMartin Bookspan
Martin Bookspan is an announcer, commentator and author. He was the announcer on the PBS series Live from Lincoln Center from its beginnings in 1976 until 2006, when he retired and was replaced by Fred Child...
(voice of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
), Steve Curwood (host of Living on Earth
Living on Earth
Living on Earth is a weekly, hour-long and award-winning environmental news program distributed by Public Radio International.Hosted by Steve Curwood, the program features interviews and commentary on a broad range of ecological issues, exploring how humans interact with their landscape. The show...
on NPR), Bruce Morton
Bruce Morton
Bruce Morton was a television news correspondent for both CBS News and CNN in a career which spanned over 40 years....
(CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
), Dan Raviv
Dan Raviv
Dan Raviv is an American journalist. He is a national correspondent for CBS News, heard regularly on the CBS Radio Network. He has also done TV reports from Washington, D.C...
(CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
), Scott Horsley (NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
), and Chris Wallace
Chris Wallace (journalist)
Christopher "Chris" Wallace is an American journalist, currently the host of the Fox Network program, Fox News Sunday. Wallace has won three Emmy Awards, the Dupont-Columbia Silver Baton Award, and a Peabody Award. Wallace has been with Fox News since 2003...
(Fox News). Harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
ist Igor Kipnis
Igor Kipnis
Igor Kipnis was a well-known American harpsichordist and pianist.-Biography:Born in Berlin, the son of Russian bass Alexander Kipnis, Igor Kipnis moved to the United States with his family in 1938. He learned the piano with his maternal grandfather, Heniot Levy; attended the Westport School of...
, New York Times critics John Rockwell
John Rockwell
John Rockwell is a music critic, editor, and dance critic. He studied at Phillips Academy, Harvard, the University of Munich, and the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in German culture....
and Kelefa Sanneh
Kelefa Sanneh
Kelefa T. Sanneh is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for the New York Times, covering the rock 'n' roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes...
, New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
critic Alex Ross
Alex Ross (New Yorker critic)
Alex Ross is an American music critic. He has been on the staff of The New Yorker magazine since 1996 and published a critically acclaimed book on 20th-century classical music in 2007, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century....
, pianist and composer Robert D. Levin
Robert D. Levin
Robert D. Levin is a classical performer, musicologist, and composer, and is the Artistic Director of the Sarasota Music Festival.-Education:...
, ZDNet
ZDNet
ZDNet is a business technology news website published by CBS Interactive, along with TechRepublic and SmartPlanet. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991 as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication owned by CNET...
founder Michael Kolowich
Michael Kolowich
Michael Edmund Kolowich is an entrepreneur, new media and internet content entrepreneur, and documentary filmmaker. He is founder and CEO of KnowledgeVision Systems Incorporated, is executive producer of DigiNovations, a multimedia production company which he founded in Concord, Massachusetts,...
, Justin Rice
Justin Rice
-Music career:Since 2001, he has played guitar for indie rock band Bishop Allen. He also co-wrote the music for the documentary The Bully Project with band-mate Christian Rudder.-Movie career:...
and Christian Rudder
Christian Rudder
Christian Rudder is an American musician, humorist, and entrepreneur.Rudder is primarily known as the creative voice of TheSpark.com, which was the viral content arm of SparkNotes during the site's early rise to popularity...
of Bishop Allen
Bishop Allen
Bishop Allen is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The band's core members are Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, who are supported both on stage and in the studio by a rotating cast of musical collaborators...
, Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
's personal attorney Robert Luskin
Robert Luskin
Robert D. Luskin is an attorney and partner in the law firm of Patton Boggs LLP, specializing in White-collar crime and federal and state government investigations...
, visual artist Alex Kahn
Alex Kahn
Alex Kahn is an American visual and performance artist, best known for his creation of the large-scale puppet performance works that lead New York's Village Halloween Parade each year.-Pageant Puppetry and Processional Art:...
, record producers Thomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. and Jim Barber, and the members of the chimp rock
Chimp rock
Chimp rock is a term coined in the early 1990s by members of the Boston-based band Kudgel, and "popularly" applied to various bands at a time when lo-fi recording was gaining credibility in the independent music industry.The word "Chimp" implies a primitive or unschooled approach...
band Fat Day
Fat Day
Fat Day is a Boston-based noisecore band. Formed in Cambridge, MA in 1992 , they were associated with bands like Swirlies, Kudgel, and Trollin Withdrawal who formed the core of the Boston chimp rock scene. Fat Day released three LPs and several EPs on their own 100% Breakfast! label, as well as an...
have been on the station's staff. David Mays, the founder of The Source
The Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...
magazine, hosted a popular show, Street Beat.
WHRB alumni are called ghosts in the elaborate and idiosyncratic lingo
Speech community
Speech community is a group of people who share a set of norms and expectations regarding the use of language. Speech communities can be members of a profession with a specialized jargon, distinct social groups like high school students or hip hop fans , or even tight-knit groups like families and...
which has developed at the station; the term refers to their tendency to "haunt" the station after "death" (graduation).