Students interested in journalism, writing, art, film and almost any other major can find a home in Georgia State’s student media.
In addition to The Signal, there are four other student-led media organizations on campus: Album 88, Neo Network, New South and Underground.
Album 88 stands out from the rest as a radio station dedicated to giving a voice to new artists and students alike.
The radio station debuted on Jan. 18, 1971 as a space for student-operated programming of diverse music genres. For Katherine Flores, Album 88’s program director and DJ, it was an attractive organization to join on campus because of the station’s dedication to playing diverse, indie music. She’s been working there since the spring semester of 2017 when she was a freshman.
“I started because I saw them tabling at OrgFair and saw that they were looking for DJs, and I thought it would be cool to work for a college radio [station],” Flores said. “I never thought it would be something that would connect to my major at all; it was just music, and I figured it would be cool to work with diverse music for four years.”
Flores focuses on giving orientations to the new DJs so that they do their legal sessions, training for the graveyard shifts, creating the schedule each semester and approving show ideas for broadcast. Flores began as a DJ.
“I still DJ for special shows every once in a while,” she said.
The specialty shows consist of a wide variety of genres, including “Moshi Moshi,” a show dedicated to Japanese artists, and shows like “Jew Jams,” which showcase Jewish artists.
“[Students] basically pitch ideas, and most of these shows stay for a while. But the DJ can pitch a show and once they graduate, they can teach someone else how to DJ the show and pick the music,” Flores said.
Students have to pitch Flores a one to two-hour playlist of songs, and an explanation of the theme or genre that they’re going for. Then, they have to do a second legal session to ensure that they know what can and cannot go on air, which Flores says is the biggest challenge.
“We have to make sure that there is no profanity, and DJs know what they can and cannot say on air.”
The types of music that is played depends on if DJs would like to run the show, which allows Album 88’s landscape for what they broadcast to change many times since the 1970s.
“There’s been a shift in what we play just because there’s been a change in the music industry from the 90s to now, for example,” Flores said. “Back in the day, we had a long-lasting R&B show but for a little while no one wanted to pick it up. Or we used to have a lot of like post-punk or metal shows that never got picked up, but now we have DJs that are interested in that again.”
Album 88 has also contributed to introducing bands and now-famous artists to the public like Outkast and R.E.M. They also played popular alternative artists like Deerhunter.
The radio station also went through a controversial transition in 2014, when Georgia State University President Mark Becker announced a deal with Georgia Public Broadcasting, allowing them to take over daytime programming on the radio station for NPR from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. This left Album 88 to only operate on the physical station for a much shorter period of time.
A petition created by a listener in 2014 described the change as something that would jeopardize the “truly unique voice on a station that remains untainted by corporate interest and steadfast in its mission to be a source of musical exploration for Atlanta.”
Kenleigh Watkins was the General Manager of Album 88 for two years. Like Flores, she began as a DJ at the radio station. Watkins said that the partnership with GPB caused confusion for listeners.
“Many people thought that GPB had completely purchased the station and that we were no longer on the airwaves. Some also would call or email thinking we were them and it was a giant mess. Even after five years people don’t know that we’re still here anymore,” Watkins said.
Although the change occurred before Watkins was general manager, it still created challenges for her job, like regularly updating the Album 88 website.
Watkins also felt the transition between GPB and Album 88 everyday was problematic.
“The way that [the partnership] is portrayed is GPB is the only one on the station until three minutes before the airwaves switch to [Album 88] at 7 p.m. when they say a little something about [the students] at Georgia State. It’s like we weren’t taken seriously,” Watkins said.
The announcement received press from local and national publications alike including The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Atlanta Business Chronicle.
But this change also affected how the graveyard shifts work at the radio station. All graveyard shifts are two to three hours and students have to go through a graveyard shift in order to become an official member at Album 88.
“It’s how our process works,” Flores said. “This is the easiest time for someone to train because it’s early in the day so students can learn and make mistakes then.”
Album 88 also holds their annual WRAS Fest, which is a music festival showcasing local artists in Atlanta. In past years, some artists who have performed include Janelle Monáe and Ringo Deathstarr.
Most of their funding from the Student Activity Fee goes to this event. Flores says that the turnout each year is impressive; last year, the venue got pretty packed towards the end of the night. WRAS Fest is often held at local venues like The Bakery.
Students can also submit their own music to be broadcast.
“From the point of a student, this station is great because much like GSU campus; it’s incredibly diverse and it gives you the opportunity to meet like-minded people who are those different from you with a commonality of your love of music,” Watkins said.
You can listen to Album 88’s shows on WRAS-FM (88.5 FM) from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. or online at WRAS HD-1 24/7 on TuneIn.
