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Busy Being Born
Party celebrates the birth of a new radio station
Connie Newbauer
Special to Whatzup
January 31, 2002
It’s a BOI! Due February 2, public radio in northeast Indiana will double in size when WBOI officially signs on at 88.7-FM and 91.3-FM with smooth jazz sounds every mother will love. WBOI-FM, born from on-air renegades who slid a jazz line up into the wee hours of the night at WBNI-FM, now takes jazz prime time to the benefit of jazz and classical music buffs.
Fans of jazz can celebrate at a birthday party February 1 in the Embassy Centre and the adjacent Indiana Hotel lobby. The merrymaking begins at 6:30 p.m. with local talents such as The Free Time Trio, Nostalgia, Francie Zucco, and Fort Wayne native Jack Patton. As the jazz bash continues, party-goers will be treated to the duo of guitarist Joe Beck and flautist Ali Ryerson. The excitement will be spiked early by micro-brews from the Oyster Bar and the Mad Anthony Brewing Co., and accented with a cure for the munchies provided by Club Soda.
Art connoisseurs can score big with pieces by local artists and with items from retailers during the silent auction. Tickets, $20, are available by calling the Embassy box office. Students and WBNI members can buy tickets by calling 260-452-1189. Family rates are also available.
Amidst the classical strains of WBNI-FM, I recently spoke with general manager Bruce Haines about the road to a station in which jazz will be featured prominently with additional news and feature programming. He explained the history of the two stations.
In the beginning, there was WIPU-FM. Signing on in June 1978 for only five hours a day, five days a week; the university-run station gave classical music fans a beat they could relish. A scant five months later. The Friends of WIPU organized to support expanded airtime with on-air talent and enthusiasm, which have been a key element in the station’s survival and growth. Two years later the Friends put together their first “Telafriend” on-air drive in response to a decline in university funding, but the writing was on the wall. Faced with complete dissolution in 1981, the Friends incorporated as PBNI, Inc. and with a little help from their friends, were able to keep the station’s unique sound on the air.
In a spate of rapid growth, the FCC granted a license to PBNI and WIPU became WBNI-FM. into each life a little rain must fall, however, on the same day WBNI signed on under its new call letters, the basement of IPFW’s Helmke Library was flooded. Two hours after signing on, WBNI signed off. Haines said he was sure this little mishap constituted the shortest life span of a radio station in broadcast history. Volunteers moved the station to new digs at the YWCA Villa on Wells Street. Able to spread out into the 1,600 square feet, the result was sheer ecstasy for staff and volunteers alike.
In dry times and wet, the staff and volunteers continued to ask the same question: “How do we best use this airtime?” Interestingly, the answers led the station in an on-going evolution, always dependent on the almost-heroic backing of volunteers. In the spring of 1985, the station’s advisory board approved the first long-range plan and WBNI qualified shortly thereafter for funding, allowing the station to join National Public Radio stations across the United States. At that time, “All things Considered” and “A Prairie Home Companion, “two WBNI staples, were added to the lineup.
In January 1986, the station was able to distribute its first national program: “Echoes of the People’s Lincoln.” During 1987, sign-on came at an earlier hour, the board expanded and “Morning Edition” was added. The station, like all adolescents, had growing pains. The dynamic creature called public radio grows, spurred on by hard work and a cornucopia of “robust discussion,” according to Haines.
In 1988, following one of these discussions, a second long-range plan was approved. The results? WBNI/WBOI now occupies a 6,400 square-foot facility in an industrial park off Goshen Road at 3204 Clairmont Ct. – a building Haines eyes with glee as he contemplates the possibilities of knocking out a wall here or there to expand a room to house the ever-growing music collection. The facility includes a sound-proofed studio used for live performances.
