Walk down the halls of the Ramer Building and you will find a magical place! WVCP 88.5 FM, the college radio station, is on your left. Since 1979, WVCP has provided listeners in the Sumner County area with a blend of music and community news and information. The analog station can also be heard in HD and has had a subchannel since 2011. 88.5 FM, or HD1, has a classic hits format, while the HD2 station plays modern country tunes or “Fresh Country”.
Station manager Dianna Monk has over 40 years of experience and has won several awards. She is also a faculty member and has been with Vol State since 2020. Monk says the number one thing that is important for a radio station is listener interest. “Your content has to be engaging and has to directly affect them,” Monk adds. Outside of working at WVCP, Monk most recently worked for two stations in Cookeville as well as Lawrence, KS as a music director. “We feel the program is growing. Radio and podcasting go hand in hand because podcasting is radio on-demand. If you have a radio personality, you should be doing a podcast.”
Student Samuel Park is working on making that dream come true. Park has been attending Vol State since 2022 and currently has two podcasts. “I heard about the program from my cousin and always wanted to do something in entertainment,” Park says. “I would love to do commentary for high school sports until I work my way up to the big stuff”, he adds.
Another volunteer, Phillip Walker, has been with the station since 2021. Walker has been hosting a specialty show devoted to ‘80s music. “I grew up in the ‘80s,” Walker says. “I remember the songs and figured other people would too.” Walker is majoring in electrical engineering and aims to help fix transmitters after graduating.
Monk feels students who want to pursue broadcasting should have completed an internship in the industry by the time they graduate. “Then they can say they’ve done commercial work and have it on their resume.”
