WUGA-FM turns 10 this August, logging some 87,000 hours of broadcasting since 1987.
The station has provided Northeast Georgia the best in public radio--classical and jazz music, news and opinion, information, opera, comedy, folk music, and much more. Operated by the Georgia Center and established with support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, WUGA-FM has earned a reputation for innovative local programming, in addition to airing programs from the public radio world.
What follows is a brief history of the station's beginnings (it was more than just flipping a switch). Also presented are a few programming highlights of WUGA-FM's award-winning 10 years.
Just before 6:00 a.m. on the morning of August 28, 1987, WUGA-FM signed on for its first day of broadcasting to Athens and the surrounding area.
And scarcely 20 minutes later--it happens in broadcasting--the station experienced its first transmitter power outage. Quickly fixed, but "Ouch!"
To its listeners, WUGA-FM's history begins at that moment (the first sign-on), but for the many people who played a part in bringing the radio station to life, the story began much earlier.
As an idea, a hope, an aspiration, WUGA-FM is as old as the Georgia Center itself, and was part of the 1953 W. K. Kellogg Foundation grant that established the Center on The University of Georgia campus. The Center's Annual Report, 1953-1954 (p. 7), states "The Georgia Center was conceived as one of the first programs in the United States to make full use of radio, television, documentary films and printed materials, supported by face-to-face conferences."
The earliest floor plans for the Center show a radio studio in room 151, which is now WUGA-FM's on-air control room. However, plans for the radio station were set aside during the Center's early years, as other efforts took priority.
By the early 1980s, public radio had become an important part of the American cultural scene. Established in 1971, National Public Radio was a presence in most major metropolitan areas and at institutions of learning and research. Its absence at UGA was becoming increasingly conspicuous, and was sometimes cited as an obstacle to faculty recruitment.
The Georgia Center sought to address the UGA community's need for a public radio station, and a second Kellogg grant to UGA in 1984 (which involved the Georgia Center, UGA's Department of Adult Education and Cooperative Extension Service, Fort Valley State College Extension Service, and a series of Faculty Interdisciplinary Task Forces) provided the means toward that end, by specifically designating funds for a public radio station.
In 1985, the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission created Peach State Public Radio, with the mission of bringing public radio to as many Georgians as possible. Later the same year, the Georgia Center formed a committee to study the logistics of putting a radio station on the air.
On September 1, 1986, WUGA-FM became an "entity." As a unit within the Georgia Center's Division of Communication Services, WUGA-FM at that point consisted of two people and one office. The process of becoming a radio station would take almost an entire year -- 361 days--to be exact.
In 1986, officials from the Center and the University negotiated with the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission (GPTC) for a unique partnership. Under this agreement, GPTC holds the station's license and provides access to most nationally distributed programs, while the Georgia Center operates the station and provides a slate of programs specifically for the local audience, including the University community.
And then there was the task of deciding the name, the call letters. The original license application had requested the call letters "WLLL," a reference to the Georgia Center's long-time concept, and sometimes slogan, of "Life-Long Learning." Radio staffers were not unhappy to learn that those call letters were already assigned to another station. Try saying "WLLL" rapidly. The call letters WUGA (which had been in use elsewhere in 1972, when the campus student station signed on) turned out to be available, and proved satisfactory to all.
By late July of 1987, final preparations were underway--office cubicles and control room equipment installed, a small but serviceable music library assembled, announcers/operators hired and in training.
WUGA-FM's first day on the air was similar to the days that followed. It began with "Morning Edition," the middle of the day was devoted to the station's music programs, and the late afternoon brought "All Things Considered" and WUGA-FM's local newsmagazine, then called "Centerlines." Being Friday, the night was filled with jazz (weeknights were devoted to more classical music).
One of WUGA-FM's most persistent problems was solved in 1995. Very soon after the station signed on, it was discovered that the signal was difficult to receive in many parts of Athens, and especially on the UGA campus! There appeared to be no solution, but after a great deal of research, a way was found to double the station's power and to switch to a non-directional antenna. With support from the University and the Athens community, a more powerful WUGA-FM became reality. However, some listeners in the downtown area still have difficulty receiving the main channel because of topography; these listeners can now tune to the low-power translator at 97.9 FM.
WUGA-FM built its present-day audience, some 28,000 listeners per week, by consistently offering quality. Programming covers the spectrum, including news and public affairs; music of all kinds; live variety/entertainment; and selections from the state, national, and international public radio organizations.
From the beginning, WUGA-FM's own programs have set the station apart, garnering more than 30 awards in the station's 10 years, most featuring people, places, events, and issues of the local communities. Many have been distributed nationally. A partial list:
"Off-the-air" projects have also kept the station staff busy. Of international note, WUGA-FM took part in a unique exchange program in 1994-1995 with radio stations from the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union, in conjunction with The University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. WUGA-FM often supports UGA and Athens/Clarke County and the surrounding communities by participating in many annual events--concerts and performances for various UGA colleges and departments, the Athens' Twilight Criterium (an international bicycle race and connected events), the Athens Jazz Festival (in its many configurations), and the North Georgia Folk Festival, among others.
Announcers:
Anita Ammons, Claire Burke, Elizabeth Curtis, Pat Flanagan, John Gaither, Patricia Ready Mullen, Madelyn Powell, Mike Reynolds, Bud Rick, John Tougas, Matthew White
WUGA-FM is a member of National Public Radio and the Peach State Public Radio Network and an affiliate of Public Radio International. Information for this article was gathered from a variety of sources--back issues of the Georgia Center Quarterly and the Georgia Center Annual Report, and the staff of WUGA-FM, in particular, the four "oldtimers" of the station, who have been on board, and on-the-air, since Day One--David Bryant, Robb Holmes (who reminisced and provided the facts/copy about the early days for some of this article and for WUGA-FM's August 1997 Program Guide, a special 10th anniversary edition), Mary Kay Mitchell, and Abbie Thaxton.
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