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WFIT Collection

 Collection
Identifier: UA_WFIT012

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the WFIT radio station’s materials from the start of broadcast in 1975 to the present. The station is based at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida and the collection covers the stations external communications (e.g. newspapers, photos, event items, marketing materials), station programming (e.g. programming guides, audio recordings), operations (e.g. correspondence, FCC filings), and station memorabilia (e.g. awards, textiles, albums). There are oversized items in the collection including promotional posters, station history displays and awards. Significant persons within the collection are Jack Simpson, long time DJ and host of Jazz on the Beach; and station managers such as Jon Pernick, Doug Taylor and Terri Wright. The collection houses materials covering multiple pop and alternative bands from the 1980’s and early 1990’s, as well as coving Jazz and adult contemporary artist from the mid 90’s to the present day.

Dates

  • 1974-present

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research, with the exception of records that need to be redacted or kept confidential to protect personal confidentiality. See the university archivist for additional restriction information.

Conditions Governing Use

Photocopies, photographs, and scans of items in this collection may be made by users or by library staff on behalf of users for the following purposes: personal, research, scholarly, educational, and other nonprofit use. It is the responsibility of the user to abide by any and all applicable copyright laws in their use of material from the Harry P. Weber University Archives. Florida Tech is not responsible for any copyright infringement resulting from improper use of research copies or scans created by or provided to users. See Reproductions and Use Policy (http://lib.fit.edu/about/policies.php).

Biographical / Historical

&nbsp WFIT is a radio station on the Florida Institute of Technology’s campus. The station began broadcasting as a student run station in 1975 with a 10-watt transmitter. Gary Bowie was the first general manager, and the station was run exclusively by volunteers who donated their time. Others such as Sonny Marble (a long serving DJ) donated their music collections1. The station continued to grow and obtained paid staff and started defining itself as an alternative station run by students until 1993 when it shifted to a largely jazz format2. In 1980 the station had upgraded to a 3,000-watt transmitter coving a 25-mile radius and the station continued to increase its power and coverage area. In 1981 WFIT covered the first shuttle launches3. Under general manager Jon Pernick, who started volunteering with the station in 1985, the station capitalized on its alternative credentials and became a major force in the alternative scene hosting events, and generating partnerships with local businesses. The station received recognition from the Gavin Report, and Billboard Magazine recognized the station as one of the top 11 college alternative stations in the nation. In 1989 Pernik was recruited by Spin Magazine, and according to the Florida Toady he “helped propel WFIT from small-time status to the college radio big leagues.” 4

&nbsp The period of 1990-1993 was a period of change for WFIT. The station moved from a largely volunteer-run station to a more NPR affiliate model under the leadership of general manager David Kershaw and station manager Rob Selkow. The changes were met with resistance, which led to a movement called Keep the Freedom. The movement attempted to keep the alternative student run format but the station did transition to a new jazz focused format in early 1993. Despite the conflict, the station continued to receive recognition and advance technologically. In May of 1992, the station acquired a satellite dish to carry more nationally syndicated APM/NPR programs and on August 1994, the station became a full NPR member station. The station participated in outreach programs including refurbished instrument drives for local schools which started in 1996. In 1998, David Kershaw departed after 10 years as general manager and Terri Wright took over.

&nbsp Under Wright’s leadership the station started broadcasting a 24-7 lineup in July of 2000. WFIT continued its community outreach work promoting events and fundraisers for groups such as the food bank, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and animal welfare groups. The station also received recognition in 2002 from the Brevard County Commissioners “as a community resource serving the Spanish speaking citizens of Brevard County.” In 2005, WFIT was one of the first in the nation to switch to digital transmission 5 and in 2012 WFIT moved from its old home in Roberts Hall to a new broadcast facility. The new facility has been used to record albums by artist such as Christian Tamburr, who was FIT’s music artist in residence, in 20146 . WFIT celebrated serving the students of the Florida Institute of Technology and the public for 40 years in 2015.

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1Jenny Henke, “Music Man Wants to Share,” Florida Today, March 31, 1977, 1D. http://floridatoday.newspapers.com/image/125123701

2Catherine Hinman "RADIO WAVES," ORLANDO SENTINEL, June 26, 1993: E2. http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0EB4F122E947BE76?p=AWNB.
3Beth Dickey, “Radio interferes with TV picture.” Florida Today, June 1, 1980, 3B. http://floridatoday.newspapers.com/image/124732844

4Colleen Moore, “Spin recruits WFIT manager.” Florida Today, February 24 1989, 1D. http://floridatoday.newspapers.com/image/177629731



5Brian Monroe, “WFIT-FM Switches to Digital.” Florida Today, Wed, Sep 21, 2005, 1C. https://www.newspapers.com/image/178738952

6"Florida Institute of Technology; Christian Tamburr to Record Album at Florida Tech." Journal of Engineering (Jul 30, 2014): 446.

Extent

12.3 Cubic Feet (Archival boxes legal: 13, Archival boxes letter: 4, Oversized Boxes: 3, Albums: 4, Oversized items: 6 )

8.27GB Gigabytes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

WFIT is a radio station that is based on the Florida Institute of Technology’s Campus. It began broadcasting in 1975 as a student run station and continues to operate as an NPR affiliate station. The collection volume is 12.3 cubic feet and includes items generated from WFIT’s operations and events including, photos, sound recordings, correspondence, promotional posters and program guides.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically by title and then chronologically with the exception of Series 2, Subseries 2 which is arranged chronologically. The series order is based on descending order of bulk of content. Boxes are numbered at the series level and folders are numbered at the sub-series level. Oversized boxes are numbered consecutively throughtout the collection.

Series 1: Communications

&nbsp Subseries 1: Community Outreach

&nbsp Subseries 2: Events

&nbsp Subseries 3: Marketing

&nbsp Subseries 4: Publicity

&nbsp Subseries 5: Photos

Series 2: Programming

&nbsp Subseries 1: General

&nbsp Subseries 2: Programming Guides

Series 3: Operations

&nbsp Subseries 1: Internal

&nbsp Subseries 2: FCC

Series 4: Memorabilia

Series 5: FIT Publications

Accruals

Further accruals are expected

Existence and Location of Copies

Online copies of the FIT publication the Pelican are available at http://research.fit.edu/emeritus/pelican.php.

Related Materials

Additional resources:

See http://wfit.org/people and http://wfit.org/about-wfit-895-fm#stream/0 for history and bios for staff and volunteers.

See http://newsroom.fit.edu/2015/04/07/wfit-celebrates-40-years-on-the-space-coast/ for the 40th anniversary article.

Related Archival Materials:

Please see FIT archival collections for the Crimson Collection.

Creator

Title
Finding Aid of the WFIT Collection.
Status
Completed
Author
Adam E. Chalmers
Date
11/4/2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Harry P. Weber University Archives Repository

Contact:
Evans Library
Florida Institute of Technology
150 West University Blvd.
Melbourne FL 32901-6975 USA
(321)-674-7632
(321) 724-2559 (Fax)