WSIA 88.9 FM

Any presently enrolled student, full-time or part-time, can be a member of WSIA.

WSIA is operated by a student board of directors, a full-time professional engineer and a large team of general student members to keep the station up and running.

Board of Directors
 

• Programming Director:  Responsible for all on-air activities at WSIA.  Such as program structure, on-air elements and features.
• Music Director:  Oversees all activities related to music on WSIA.  Communicates with record companies and other agencies to obtain music to be played on air.
• Personnel Director:  Oversees all activities related to the recruitment of new personnel.  Oversees disciplinary action regarding station policy and procedures.
• News Director: Responsible for all on-air programs related to the local and college community.  This includes periodic short-form and long-form news stories, overseeing weekly interview programs, covering local news stories, announcement requests from local non-profit agencies.  The News Director has the power to interrupt programming if he or she feels a breaking news situation warrants.
• Technical Operations Director: Works with the Engineering Staff to ensure all of WSIA’s equipment is functioning, and to instruct WSIA student members in its proper use.  They also work to record and edit all material for airing on WSIA, including public service announcements, station promotional announcements, live bands, and pre-recorded interviews.
• Business Operations Director:  Responsible for promoting WSIA to listeners, both on and off campus.  Including, coordinating station events and contests, coordination with local venues and events as well as raising money from outside sources through donations.

It is the mission of WSIA radio to facilitate the training of students in broadcasting, promote education and air entertainment to the College of Staten Island, the borough of Staten Island, and to our listeners worldwide. Through membership students will gain confidence, a greater sense of self, career direction and experience personal growth through teamwork and hands on experience. In order to meet this mission, the goals of WSIA are as follows. 
 
In the Community 
 

• To provide unique and diverse programming for our listeners; to give a platform to local and for underrepresented artists to present original work.
• Collaborate with the College community to promote the College of Staten Island and its programs.
• To inform our listeners and to encourage participation in community events including concerts, parades, and charitable functions.

 
On Campus / In the Station 
 

• To provide students with a safe and fun working environment; to offer students constructive activities outside of class time.
• To train the next generation of communications industry professionals by providing professional experience in a broadcast environment.
• To develop leadership skills including decision-making, conflict resolution, budgeting, event planning.

In the mid-1970s, a group of students interested in radio gathered in a broom closet in the C Building of The College of Staten Island. They ran some wire to the cafeteria and started spinning records. These students worked with the College and applied for an FM license; they were later granted a construction permit. Not much more progress was made until the late 1970’s when a new group of students applied to the Student Government and Association for money to start construction. In 1980, a General Manager was hired to get the station on the air. It took a year to work out an agreement with The Archdiocese of New York for an antenna site, install phone lines to the site for the transmitter, and to complete construction of the studios in the basement of the E building on the Sunnyside campus. On August 31, 1981, WSIA began regularly scheduled programming. It was the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work by members of the College and students. Still it was only the beginning. Since that time, a great number of students have been trained to become staff members. Some have gone on to careers in radio. Others look back on WSIA as an important part of their student life. A number of changes have happened since 1981. Since moving to the Willowbrook campus the station’s offices and studios have been enlarged and improved. The operating budget has increased from $8,800 to over $130,000 per year. The programming has also undergone a number of changes. Throughout all the transitions our students have always been committed to two things: to be new and innovative and to serve the College and Staten Island community. 
 
Thanks to many years of hard work by our staff, we enjoy an excellent relationship with many components of the broadcast industry– record companies, musicians, artists, independent producers, clubs, and promoters.

WSIA broadcasts online at www.wsia.fm making our programming available anywhere in the world!  In August 2021, WSIA will celebrate the milestone of 40 years of broadcasting on 88.9 FM.