Thomas Miller | Dec. 12, 2010
 |
| Photo by Thomas Miller |
| Students keep WIUX on the air every day, all week. News director A.D. Quig (center) checked in at the studio on a recent work day. |
WIUX, at 99.1 FM, IU’s student-run radio station, depends on volunteers to keep its news, music and online programs running all day, every day. The board of directors, on-air staff and committees all consist of student volunteers.
This fall, many journalism students have taken their classroom learning to the real-world by working on news for WIUX.
“Our goal is quality over quantity,” said news director A.D. Quig, a junior journalism major. “We take things slower. We take our time to talk about things.”
Weekly planning sessions for Friday and Sunday news casts constitute a lot of that time and talk. Students collaborate and learn from one another, but also rely on skills they’ve learned in classes. Quig’s love of radio news flowered during J360 Audio Storytelling with adjunct lecturer Sarah Neal-Estes.
“She opened my eyes to NPR,” Quig said.
Assistant news director and journalism master’s degree student Liz Leslie said the experience and freedom she gets at WIUX makes volunteering a good decision.
“We’re the biggest student organization on campus,” Leslie said. “It’s a great way to build your resume, and you get to interact with a wide range of people.”
And, WIUX gives students experience in crisis management. Volunteers don’t show up? Bad weather hits Bloomington? Technical problems?
“We’re going on the air no matter what,” Leslie said.
Journalism students interested in radio also volunteer at WFHB, Bloomington’s community radio station. Both Quig and Leslie said journalism professor Mike Conway’s J460 Community Journalism students work with that station to produce long-form audio pieces.
“WFHB is actually going to be a media partner of ours next semester,” Quig said when describing the positive relationship between WIUX and WFHB.
“You see a lot of grad students working at WFHB because of that class,” Leslie added.
Quig and the rest of her news committee have spent this past semester re-establishing WIUX’s news reporting after several years of disarray. Quig said WIUX has been making news a priority.
“It’s hard for us because we’re all volunteer,” Quig said. “We’re trying to engage faculty, but not being able to pay is one of the biggest challenges we face in getting students involved.”
 |
| Photo by Thomas Miller |
| A.D. Quig is the news director at WIUX. She said volunteering at the student-run station gives experience and a place to practice what students learn in class. |
“Those four years at WIUS were the most important thing I did,” Conway said. “I still love the energy. The students there have ideas.”
The opportunities to learn new skills and polish news ones haven’t changed since Conway’s day. Quig said journalism students get first-hand experience using the software and hardware necessary to put a show on the radio.
“You get training with the zooms and using Audacity and Soundslides,” she said. “That really helps.”
Junior Michele Funk is a member of the news committee, putting together pieces about celebrity news or cultural topics.
“I like the lighter side of news,” Funk said.
Beyond that, her concentration is in music, so WIUX offers her a great opportunity to mix the both of her interest, she said.
The journalism students share their news judgment and nuts-and-bolts processes with non-majors, too. Most of all, they have fun working in their chosen area.
“We do accurate reporting, but we like to keep things loose,” Quig said. “All of us are here because we enjoy being here.”
More:
- Check out the WIUX website, where you also can stream the broadcasts. E-mail the station or stop by the headquarters at Eighth and Woodlawn to find out how to get involved.
Questions? Comments? Email the Web editor.
