Tune in to WSKB 89.5 FM in the early morning, and you’re apt to hear “Community Connections” with Diana McLean, who spotlights the good works of community-based organizations, or “WOW! It’s Tuesday!” with hosts Bob Plasse and Jay Pagluica. The two feature interviews, timely topic discussions and snappy banter.
Thursday mornings begin with “The Westfield News Radio Show” with Patrick Berry, owner of the Westfield News Group, reviewing the recent news items and current events with spirited conversations and opinions.
These are just a sampling of the new programs that blend local community broadcasting with regional and national performers on the collegiate music scene and allow WSKB to serve as a creative bridge between the University and local community. They are made possible thanks to a gift from Noble Hospital that funded the purchase of an antenna that provides increased frequency and an expanded listening base. WSKB now broadcasts from Otis to Wilbraham on the turnpike to just south of Northampton and down to Windsor, Conn.
“It’s exciting to see Westfield State adding community radio programming to its radio lineup of music and talk radio shows,” says Michael Filas, Ph.D., faculty advisor for WSKB. “It is great to see the upgraded station become a locus for interaction and shared interests between students and Westfield community members.”
Later in the day, WSKB broadcasts “Owl Sports Weekly” with host Deven Bates ’18. Bates, a sports enthusiast, talks all things sports with players and fans. Music also hits the waves with “Making the List,” where a fun panel of students and community members debates great music across the decades. This unique take on the “Top Forty” features songs and artists worthy of the list.
Come nightfall, University students hit the 89.5 airwaves with contemporary music that you can’t hear on commercial radio. Working in partnership with the Radio Club, WSKB blends local community broadcasting with regional and national performers on the collegiate music scene.
Signs that the community appreciates the programming are evident in the financial support the station has received.
“Noble Hospital, Westfield Gas & Electric and United Bank are a few key local underwriters that have provided strong support to WSKB,” says Michael Knapik, executive director for University Advancement. “It’s great to have such strong community backing.”
Knapik says future plans for WSKB include adding sports, news, and traffic and construction updates to the programming, in addition to broadcasts of Owl athletic events, the Westfield High School Bombers Thanksgiving football game and other community events.
“We have commercial radio in Springfield, but it doesn’t provide small-town, local content,” says Knapik. “We are pleased that our partnership with the city of Westfield has ushered in a new era of communication for the greater community.”
WSKB has a long history at the University—typically, it’s the largest student club on campus. Operated by an executive board elected by the students, the board members design the programming, schedule the shows for student disc jockeys, run all the promotions, comply with the FCC regulations for broadcasting, maintain an active operations handbook and put on live musical performances and events both on and off campus.
“I’ve been a DJ/host since fall 2012,” says Sam Doe ’16. “A friend, who has since graduated, had a late-night show called Monkey’s Banana Patch, and I saw how much fun he had running it, so I decided to do a show with a couple of friends last year.”
Doe, a business management, marketing concentration student from Northampton, says, “All three of us are now on the WSKB executive board.”
