Radio WTBU-FM

WTBU is Boston University's student radio station under College of Communication, broadcasting online on www.WTBUradio.org, on the BU cable TV system channel 6 and in selected buildings on campus on either 640 AM or 89.3 FM. WTBU offers listeners unique music programming along with local and national news and live sport broadcasts. We're entirely staffed by volunteer students under the supervision of a faculty advisor.

The WTBU sports department broadcasts all home hockey games (and the annual Beanpot), men's and women's basketball, soccer, field hockey, and other games throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. All games can be heard online, anywhere in the world.

We began broadcasting online in October 1999. WTBU serves the immediate Boston University community, University alumni, and numerous other listeners across the country and the world.

In the later 1950’s, the Boston University School of Public Relations (SPC) (now the College of Communication - COM) began WTBU radio. WTBU was the training ground for students who wanted to go on the air on WBUR 90.9FM, which had been previously established in March 1950. The two stations ran side-by-side with different sets of student management until the early ‘70s, when WBUR became professionally staffed and managed and a National Public Radio affiliate. WTBU remains entirely student staffed and managed, and serves as an excellent training platform for students wishing to go into professional radio.

WTBU, originally held a small studio and office space in the George Sherman Union. In 1969, WTBU moved to the first floor of Myles Standish Hall (now the Computer Lab). In the summer of 1982, WTBU moved to the basement of Myles Standish Annex, taking over the studio space left behind by Graham Junior College, a now-defunct two-year broadcasting school. While the move represented a major milestone in WTBU's development, it would prove a difficult start as the station was flooded out by a broken sprinkler main September 16th, 1982 and WTBU's Annex debut was postponed by several weeks.

In 1988, the Annex station underwent a complete renovation and upgraded much of its aging equipment. In 1997, WTBU moved to its current location on the third floor of the COM building (640 Commonwealth Ave) in the former studios of WBUR. Ironically, WTBU completed the move soon after being flooded out once again, this time due to prolonged heavy rains during the fall of 1996.

WTBU has often been a central focus point for important events; in 1980 WTBU led a boycott of Arista Records when Arista implemented a service charge on stations who received Arista releases. Several stations, including WZBC, WBRS, WMFO, WERS, WHRB, WUNH, WNEC, WMEB, and WHSN all joined WTBU in defeating the measure after a month-long boycott of all Arista music.

In 1981 WTBU began the first of several artist spotlights in the station with "The Who". WTBU has hosted countless local bands over the years as well.

In 1983 WTBU, through a controversy with the Daily Free Press (BU's independent student newspaper), helped expose questionable election practices used by the Student Union that year. And, of course, WTBU's most famous alumni, Howard Stern, was a DJ beginning in 1973 with a show called the King Schmaltz Bagel Hour. While Howard went on to graduate in 1976 from the College of Communication (with an impressive 3.8 GPA), WTBU claims the rights as the first station to fire Howard, after he ran a segment called "Making the Bishop Blush". Howard's movie, Private Parts, does show Howard in his BU days in WTBU, although the station depicted in the movie does not match the real-life counterpart. The "Welcome to WTBU" sign shown is a near-exact copy, though.

Throughout the sixties and seventies, the station was affiliated with the Student Activities Office (SAO), which granted its supplemental budget as a student organization. In an unprecedented move, WTBU management resigned from SAO in October of 1985. The station is now funded solely by The College of Communication, fundraising events and limited advertising revenue.

In January 1986), WTBU began a long stint of broadcasting 24 hours per day, every day the dormitories were open. WTBU scaled this back to broadcasting from 6am to 2am every day in 1991 due to a lack of staff. Today WTBU broadcasts from 7am to 1am and includes a staff of students operating 10 departments in addition to DJs and Interns. All positions at WTBU are unpaid and on a volunteer basis.

When WTBU began webcasting on Halloween 1999, it was one of the first college radio station in the country to webcast, and our web debut was written up in the New York Times. Thanks to the web, we now hear from listeners all over the world.