TWiRT Ep. 749 - 5-Studio Upgrade at WJOU-FM

Oakwood University, located in Huntsville, Alabama, is renowned for its significant contributions to gospel and Christian music, particularly through its alumni who have achieved fame in these genres. Groups like Take 6 and soloists such as Brian McNight are alumni of Oakwood, along with many, many more. Oakwood is also home to WJOU-FM, and we all know that university-owned radio stations often go a couple decades between serious studio upgrades. WJOU is overdue for new equipment, and not just for the sake of newness. Indeed, the station’s leadership staff recognizes the need for more diverse music and talk programming, but one signal isn’t enough. So, WJOU-FM is remodeling and building new studios to accommodate four different formats, and finishing an HD Radio transmission system to accommodate them. Good leadership and big upgrades go hand-in-hand, so on this episode we’re meeting with Dawna Baker and Dammeon Malone from WJOU, and with broadcast system integrator, Josh Bohn and field engineer Mike Hutchens from MaxxKonnect. Together they’re give us a worthy overview of this major upgrade process from the perspectives of management, operations, and engineering.