WMEB-FM
{{short description|Radio station in Orono, Maine}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = WMEB-FM
| logo =
| city = Orono, Maine | country = US
| area = Penobscot County, Maine
| branding =
| airdate = {{start date|1962|10|1}}
| frequency = 91.9 FM
| facility_id = 69267
| format = College radio
| licensing_authority = FCC
| erp = 10,000 watts
| haat = 52 meters
| class = B1
| callsign_meaning = "Maine Educational Broadcasting"{{r|calls}}
| owner = University of Maine
| website =
| webcast =
| coordinates = {{Coord|44.919|N|68.666|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC}}
}}
WMEB-FM is a non-commercial radio station owned and operated by the University of Maine, broadcasting on 91.9 FM from its campus in Orono and a transmitter located in Old Town. The station is run by university students and programs an alternative rock music format.
History
=Early years=
In October 1961, the University of Maine applied for a construction permit to build a new FM station in Orono, which would broadcast with an effective radiated power of 375 watts; this was granted by the Federal Communications Commission on January 10, 1962.{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=70623 |title= History Cards for WMEB-FM|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards) Going on the air as WMEB-FM from studios in Stevens Hall,{{cite news|title=News from Our Maine Colleges|work=Bangor Daily News|date=February 22, 1962|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77942386/|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193416/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77942386/news-from-our-maine-colleges/|url-status=live}} the station began broadcasts on October 1, 1962.{{cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1264&context=mainecampus|work=The Maine Campus|page=1|title=Campus Radio Again; WMEB Back Oct. 1st|date=September 27, 1962|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519022446/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1264&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}}
WMEB-FM represented the third generation of broadcasting at UMO. The first station on the campus, WGBX, broadcast from 1926 to 1928 and featured programming mostly presented by faculty.{{cite book|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1048&context=univ_publications|pages=56, 57|chapter=At 91.9: Easy Listening|first=Linda|last=Carr|title=University of Maine 1865-1965: Special Centennial Edition, The Maine Campus|date=1965|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519022446/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1048&context=univ_publications|url-status=live}} In 1953, after three years of technical and funding setbacks, WORO, a carrier current station, was established,{{cite news|title=Radio Station Expands - Installs FM Transmitter|first=Robert|last=MacLauchlin|page=7|work=The Maine Campus|date=October 18, 1962|accessdate=May 18, 2021|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1267&context=mainecampus|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519064223/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1267&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} but this proved impractical to maintain as more students and faculty lived off campus.{{r|easy}} The format, typical of 1960s college radio stations, featured a mix of talk and music shows;{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77944198/|accessdate=May 18, 2021|date=September 25, 1965|title=U-M To Start Radio Season|work=Bangor Daily News|page=26|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193416/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77944198/u-m-to-start-radio-season/|url-status=live}} in 1964, the music played on WMEB-FM consisted of an hour of easy listening programming and three hours a day of classical music, supplemented by an hour of campus and local news.{{Cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1320&context=mainecampus|title=WMEB Adopts New Program Schedule|page=1|work=The Maine Campus|date=September 17, 1964|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519063722/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1320&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} In 1968, WMEB-FM broadcast a 15-week radio course, "Understanding Music", from the university's continuing education division.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77944383/|accessdate=May 18, 2021|date=August 12, 1968|work=Bangor Daily News|title=Airwaves Will Carry Classes This Autumn|page=15|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193402/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77944383/airwaves-will-carry-classes-this-autumn/|url-status=live}}
=Increasing student involvement=
The University of Maine started a second radio station on September 14, 1970: WMEH, the first transmitter in today's Maine Public Radio network.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77944548/|accessdate=May 18, 2021|date=September 14, 1970|title=WMEH-FM Radio Now On The Air|page=W2|work=Bangor Daily News|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193402/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77944548/wmeh-fm-radio-now-on-the-air/|url-status=live}} The introduction of a public radio service led to the specialization of WMEB as a student-run station. In 1971, it began overnight broadcasting on the weekends,{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77945125/|work=Bangor Daily News|date=February 12, 1971|page=28|accessdate=May 18, 2021|title=WMEB-FM To Broadcast All Night|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193405/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77945125/wmeb-fm-to-broadcast-all-night/|url-status=live}} and all but two of its programs that fall were student-produced.{{cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1559&context=mainecampus|date=October 1, 1971|title=WMEB is ready to go on the air tonight at 5:30|page=5|work=The Maine Campus|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519022447/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1559&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} Alongside a steady expansion of the station's broadcasting hours and of the Stevens Hall studios came a weekend block of progressive rock music, which was starting to displace the existing easy listening programming.{{cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1595&context=mainecampus|page=9|title=WMEB expands progressively|date=September 22, 1972|work=The Maine Campus|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519022449/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1595&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}}
In the second half of the 1970s, WMEB-FM was hit by financial woes. The university's department of broadcasting and the student senate both thought the other should be primarily responsible for funding the station.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77950589/|accessdate=May 18, 2021|date=October 29, 1977|title=Student sports announcers fouled by money problems|page=ME 15|work=Bangor Daily News|first=Chris|last=Palmer|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193438/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77950589/student-sports-announcers-fouled-by/|url-status=live}} In October 1979, students staged an 86-hour "Beggar's Banquet" radiothon to raise money for station operations.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77946928/|accessdate=May 18, 2021|date=October 27, 1979|title=WMEB-FM plans lengthy fund-raiser|page=ME 4|work=Bangor Daily News|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193405/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77946928/wmeb-fm-plans-lengthy-fund-raiser/|url-status=live}} The "Banquet" was not even the only marathon broadcast that WMEB aired that semester: in December, one disc jockey pulled a 100-hour shift that raised more than $5,000 for starving Cambodians.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77950754/|accessdate=May 18, 2021|pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77950797/ 4]|work=Bangor Daily News|title=UMO disc jockey raises $5,000 for Cambodians|first=Dave|last=Cheever|date=December 17, 1979|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193405/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77950754/umo-disc-jockey-raises-5000-for/|url-status=live}} In the late 1970s, the station also had trouble keeping itself on the right side of the law: in the days when radio stations needed licensed operators, a shortage of them caused the station to be in violation of FCC rules for 15 hours a week.{{Cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1913&context=mainecampus|first=Douglas|last=Bailey|work=The Maine Campus|title=WMEB: Lack of licensed disc jockeys forces station to broadcast illegally about 15 hours a week|page=3|date=February 7, 1978|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519052610/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1913&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} A report in The Maine Campus, the student newspaper at UMO, was sent to the FCC, leading to a surprise inspection of the station, a reprimand and a temporary cutback in broadcasting.{{cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1920&context=mainecampus|first=Deborah|last=Strumello|title=FCC plans to reprimand WMEB|page=1|date=March 5, 1978|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519052611/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1920&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} In the 1980s and 1990s, WMEB organized a college hockey rankings poll, having taken it over from WDOM at Providence College in Rhode Island.{{cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2763&context=mainecampus|first=Chuck|last=Morris|title=WMEB lands college hockey poll|page=8|work=The Daily Maine Campus|date=November 12, 1985|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519052610/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2763&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}}
By the 1990s, WMEB was firmly established as an alternative music outlet with specialty programming in other genres. During the alternative music blocks, DJs played music from three different colored bins, featuring new releases and local artists; moderately successful songs; and popular mainstream artists in the alternative genre.{{cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5231&context=mainecampus|work=The Maine Campus|title=WMEB offers musical alternative for local listeners|first=Brian S.|last=Thompson|date=December 1, 1993|page=5|access-date=June 10, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519062840/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5231&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} In 1995, the station shut down for five days and removed one student DJ who was dismissed for making provocative racist and homophobic remarks.{{Cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5349&context=mainecampus|accessdate=May 18, 2021|pages=1, 5|work=The Maine Campus|title=Deviant deejay fired|first=Jason|last=McIntosh|date=April 12, 1995|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519062840/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5349&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}}
=Transmitter relocations and power increase=
The original 1962 transmitter was replaced in 1997, at a time when there was concern for the station's future because the University of Maine had dropped its broadcasting major.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77953083/|accessdate=May 18, 2021|date=March 22, 1997|title=Campus radio station reaches new audience|page=D3|first=Pat|last=Spekhardt|work=Bangor Daily News|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610193441/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77953083/campus-radio-station-reaches-new/|url-status=live}} However, despite already having moved the transmitter, university laboratories were receiving interference from the station; signal leakage into Bennett Hall caused frequency measuring equipment in physics labs to be unable to pick up any other signals.{{cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5568&context=mainecampus|pages=1, 3|first=Henrique|last=Fontes|title=WMEB to go back on air|work=The Maine Campus|date=October 5, 1998|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519054617/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5568&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} The next year, to rectify the interference issue, WMEB moved to a new and taller tower, which came alongside a slight power increase.{{cite news|work=The Maine Campus|first=Kate|last=Williams|title=WMEB prepares for new tower|pages=1, 5|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5643&context=mainecampus|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519054617/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5643&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} The studios moved from the East Annex, where they had been moved initially on a temporary basis in 1981, to the Student Union in 2003.{{Cite web |date=2019-05-01 |title=Genre DJ of the Month: Michael A. Murphy, WMEB Bangor, Maine |url=https://naccchart.com/community/genre-dj-michael-murphy-wmeb-bangor-maine/ |access-date=2021-05-19 |website=NACC Chart |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519054619/https://naccchart.com/community/genre-dj-michael-murphy-wmeb-bangor-maine/ |url-status=live }}
In 2009, the station boosted its power to 10,000 watts from a new transmitter site at the university-owned Witter Farm in Old Town; the increase filled coverage gaps in Bangor and extended coverage.{{cite news|url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=mainecampus|accessdate=May 18, 2021|work=The Maine Campus|pages=1, 3|first=Jamison|last=Cocklin|title=WMEB upgrade held up by UM|date=November 12, 2009|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519054617/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=mainecampus|url-status=live}} The station suffered a fire at its transmitter site in January 2018,{{cite news|first=Emily|last=Burnham|date=February 7, 2018|title=UMaine's college radio station has been off-air for over a month|url=https://bangordailynews.com/2018/02/07/news/bangor/umaines-college-radio-station-has-been-off-air-for-over-a-month/|work=Bangor Daily News|accessdate=May 18, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519054618/https://bangordailynews.com/2018/02/07/news/bangor/umaines-college-radio-station-has-been-off-air-for-over-a-month/|url-status=live}} which would keep the station off the air for more than three months until it returned at reduced power in April.{{cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101783856&formid=910&fac_num=69267|title=Resumption of Operations|date=April 26, 2018|accessdate=May 18, 2021|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519062841/https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101783856&formid=910&fac_num=69267|url-status=live}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{FM station data|69267|WMEB-FM}}
{{University of Maine}}
{{Bangor Radio}}
{{Maine college radio}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Mass media in Penobscot County, Maine