91.7 WMSE | WMSE's History

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WMSE's History

The Early Years

• 1897 Marconi takes out patents on his system of wireless telegraphy.
• 1903 Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is founded. Students build crystal sets which receive messages from all over the country. The strength of those receivers is augmented by a Marconi wireless station installed near the school. The station's antenna links two small chimneys of the Pabst Brewery.
• 1911 MSOE students build a radio-controlled 25-foot model zeppelin and fly it around the city auditorium.
• 1918 MSOE owns and operates a complete spark sending and receiving station.

The Twenties and Thirties: the Music, the People, the Split

• 1922 On September 22, one of Milwaukee's first stations, WIAO goes on the air. Transmission is at a wavelength of 360 meters (833.3 Khz) with 100 watts of power.
• 1924 In January of 1924, The Wisconsin News, a local daily evening newspaper, owned by the Hearst Corporation, began programming the station on a part- time basis. At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 9, 1924, the station shifted to a wavelength of 246 meters (1220 kHz). On August 18 of that year, WIAO changed its call letters to WSOE. On Dec. 31, the school announced that it had purchased all of the equipment of WCBD in Zion, Ill. (one of the first religious stations, which also preached "flat earth" information). The purchase included a new, more powerful transmitter and twin towers, which were mounted atop the school's Oneida (now Wells) Street building. Student members of the MSOE's Radio Broadcasters Club develop and obtain a license for an alternative amateur station, W9SO, later changed to W9HHX.
• 1925 The station and the school gain recognition by national figures taking part in the programs, including Col. Charles Lindberg, Lieu. Maitland, Vice President Dawes and President Hoover. The station begins its history of satisfying eclectic musical tastes with Monday evenings devoted to popular music; Tuesday evenings to classical; Wednesday evenings to talks by school faculty members and other prominent engineers; Thursday evenings to popular ballad and 'old fashioned' music; Friday evenings to diversified music; with Saturdays and Sundays devoted to a week-end review and religious services broadcast from Milwaukee churches, respectively.
• 1927 At 3:00 a.m. eastern time on June 15, 1927, the first of two major reassignments of radio frequencies made by the new Federal Radio Commission (FRC) took effect. The reassignment affected almost 600 of the nation's 694 radio stations. WSOE was shifted to a wavelength of 270 meters (1110 kHz). In September of that year, the FRC ordered WSOE to share time with WHAD, Marquette University's station. The following month, the FRC cut the station's power from 500 to 250 Watts.In November 1927, WSOE was purchased by The Wisconsin News.
• 1928 The call letters were changed to WISN on January 23, 1928. On Nov. 11 of that year, the FRC shifted WISN to a wavelength of 267 meters (1120 kHz). Although Hearst owned the station, the studios, transmitter and towers were still located at the School of Engineering, which continued to operate the station for the newspaper.
• 1932 Things changed in 1932. Hearst also owned the morning newspaper, The Milwaukee Sentinel, and the radio station offices and studio were relocated to its building on Michigan Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. That same year, the School of Engineering reorganized itself as a non-profit corporation, and changed its name to the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). It moved from the Oneida Street building after purchasing the German-English Academy on North Broadway. As a consequence, the WISN transmitter and tower were relocated to the top of the Public Service Building, and the newspaper took over operational responsibility for WISN.

The Sixties: Rocket Science and Radio...Prepare for Liftoff>

• 1960 The school's station and WISN join forces to present a weekly broadcast called "Sounds of Science," featuring school staff and faculty members.
• 1969 Students sign yet another station on the air with the call letters WSOE, a carrier current AM station that broadcast from the basement of the MSOE bookstore to the dormitories on campus.

The Seventies: WSOE Gains Popularity

• Throughout the 1970s, WSOE begins to broadcast on FM frequency 91.7. By the late 1970s, members of MSOE's Radio Broadcasters Club begin to develop bigger plans to broadcast leagally at the frequency of 91.7 FM.

The Eighties: Well-Behaved Radio Rarely Makes History

• 1980 WSOE shuts down in order to construct new studios in the Margaret Loock Residence Hall. Later, in October of that same year, Everett "Jerry" Cobb donates $30,000 to the radio station. Everett Cobb, an alumnus of MSOE, had worked at the original WSOE, then WISN and WTMJ and later owned radio station KNEV in Reno, Nevada. This donation was used to purchase an FM transmitter and to apply to the FCC for a non-commercial broadcast license.
• 1981 Twelve years after becoming WSOE on the AM band, the radio station begins "test engineering" at 91.7 MHz on the FM dial at 1/10 of a watt. The station changes its call letters to WMSE and begins operation as a 1000-watt FM station. WMSE is born. Programming consists of an eclectic mix of free-form musical expression from a diverse group of volunteer DJs. The new station is praised by the press. Milwaukee finally has an alternative to the commercial radio stations which had dominated the air waves. "Turn your radio on again" becomes the anthem of the tiny station that gives the big guys a run for their money.
• 1982 A poll run in the Milwaukee Journal shows WMSE as the second most popular radio station in town, and WMSE begins to show up on ratings figures gathered by commercial radio stations. Program directors at said stations begin copying WMSE play lists. Local record stores find their sales affected by WMSE broadcasts. The station is, in other words, doing what most commercial radio stations sweat blood trying to do, and doing it with a handful of student volunteers and no corporate sponsorship. However, WMSE does not present the kind of image the MSOE administration wants.
• 1982 The Radio Broadcasters Club is abolished and VP of Administration for the MSOE enlists a commercial radio veteran, Doug Geren, becomes general manager. Disagreement over proposed format changes triggers a dispute which leads to the dismissal of several staff members (and to the birth of pirate station WTPS). However, since public support for WMSE's free-form music format is overwhelming, very few changes are actually implemented.
• 1983 Long time radio personality and Milwaukee Brewers announcer, Bob Betts, replaces Doug Geren as general manager. Under Betts, MSOE administration's concerns are addressed while maintaining the unique character of the station.
• 1987 WMSE wins its first Wisconsin Area Musicians Industry (WAMI) award as Best Radio Station in the state of Wisconsin.

The Nineties: New Beginnings at Century's End

• 1991 Efforts begin to raise the funds required to upgrade the transmitter and increase the power of WMSE's signal. An advisory committee is formed to plan the future of WMSE. The committee is made up of community leaders, MSOE faculty and staff and WMSE volunteers. WMSE celebrates its 10th anniversary.
• 1992 WMSE wins another WAMI as Best Radio Station in the state.
• 1993 MSOE hires a promotions and funding director. WMSE wins another WAMI as Best Radio Station in the state.
• 1994 Plans are made to raise WMSE's power from 1,000 watts to 3,200 watts. WMSE applies for a construction permit to FCC and the construction permit is granted. WMSE begins it's fund raising campaign dubbed The Push for Power. Betts retires after serving more than 11 years general manager of WMSE. Tom Crawford is promoted to station manager. WMSE wins another WAMI as Best Radio Station in the state.
• 1995 March 17, 1995 is WMSE 's first day at 3,200 watts. WMSE completes a success fundraising campaign to purchase a state-of-the-art digital transmitter. WMSE extends its broadcast radius to now reach the entire Milwaukee metro area, 28 miles to be exact.
• 1997 Is a landmark year of the growth for WMSE. WMSE holds its first-ever pledge drive. Support from the community is spectacular. Plans begin for the next stage in WMSE's development. WMSE introduces the Club Card program. Listeners become a member by purchasing WMSE Club Cards. Area establishments show their support by offering discounts to WMSE Club Card holders. WMSE prepares to vacate its MSOE MLH dormitory location of 342 E. Juneau Ave. Krueger Hall, 820 N. Milwaukee St., is to become the new location of the WMSE Studios. WMSE wins another WAMI as Best Radio Station in the state.
• 1999 WMSE begins planning for a new cutting edge facility in a historic Milwaukee building. At the same time, WMSE begins streaming its signal to the Internet so that the world can hear what the people of Milwaukee have enjoyed for nearly two decades.

Turn of the Century: WMSE, World Class!

• 2000 During WMSE"s Spring Membership Drive, more than twenty area bands play in the WMSE studios. This makes the beginning of WMSE live music capabilities. WMSE wins another WAMI as Best Radio Station in the state. Tom Crawford, station manager, is chosen by the WAMI as Music Person of the Year. 2000 marks the first year that WMSE is a financially self-sufficient department of MSOE.
• 2001 WMSE turns 20 years old. On March 17, WMSE celebrates with a one-day 24-hour party opening the new studios to the public. WMSE wins the Shepherd Express Readers Poll as Best Non-Commercial Radio Station.
• 2002 WMSE wins another WAMI as Best Radio Station in the state. WMSE wins another Shepherd Express Readers Poll as Best Non-Commercial Radio Station. WMSE plans to release a series of recorded performances in the WMSE studios.
• 2003 WMSE releases its first "Live at WMSE" CD. The CD features live performances recorded at the WMSE studios. WMSE then decides to release a new "Live at WMSE" volume will be released every six months. WMSE receives the President's Award from WAMI. WMSE wins the Shepherd Express Readers Poll as Best Non-Commercial Radio Station.
• 2004 WMSE again wins the Shepherd Express Readers Poll as Best Non-Commercial Radio Station. WMSE launches the Milwaukee Sound Environment (M.S.E.) Project, a music resource for Milwaukee area artists and listeners. Established with a grant from the Milwaukee Arts Board and the Wisconsin Arts Board, The M.S.E. Project website includes music news, Mp3's from local artists, and FAQs for bands interested in getting their music heard on the station. The project also establishes a dedicated time-slot for live in-studio performances called "Local/Live." A corresponding website is also launched www.mseproject.org.
• 2005 WMSE wins the Shepherd Express Readers Poll as Best Non-Commercial Radio Station.
• 2006 WMSE celebrates 25 years of broadcasting on March 17 and 18. WMSE releases the three-CD set called "play/pause/stop." The compilation is complied from songs recorded to cassette and then dropped off at WMSE for airplay. "play/pause/stop" contains songs celebrating Milwaukee"s and Southeastern Wisconsin"s cassette culture from 1981-1995.
• 2007 WMSE wins another WAMI as Best Radio Station in the state.
• 2008 WMSE brings the Rockabilly Chili Contest home to MSOE's Kern Center and sets record attendance and exceeds fundraising goals for the event. In August, the WMSE transmitter is severely damaged during an electrical event. WMSE purchases a new transmitter and antenna. The new transmitter allows WMSE the capability to broadcast in Hybrid Digital, or HD. WMSE, with a grant from the Milwaukee Arts Board, hold its first annual MSE Fest/Radio Summer Camp.
• 2009 WMSE releases the 10th volume of "Live at WMSE."