When working at a radio station, choosing new songs for a format can be fun but challenging. For over forty years, Vol State’s 88.5 WVCP has served the Sumner County community with the greatest hits of the ‘60s through the early 2000s. Recently, the music mix has featured a balance of up-tempo songs with timeless power ballads.
Station manager Dianna Monk has over four decades of experience in the radio field. “When I first walked through the door of a radio station in college, I looked around and said, this is what I wanted to do,” Monk says. “My first job as a music director was at WJPZ where I babysat the college station in the summer and picked records that fit our format.” Monk adds that the music content was always fun because of the messages it would send to listeners and the mood it delivered. Her first experience working with music at a commercial station was in Oklahoma where she helped put in songs and tweak the place. “Nothing makes me get out of a blue mood than to put on a good up-tempo song,” Monk says.
WVCP has two formats - 88.5 FM, or HD1, plays classic hits, and HD2 plays fresh country. “For HD1, we had to choose what songs were hits based on the Billboard Hot 100 and MTV charts,” Monk says. “The criteria is it had to be in the top 8 on the charts and has to be recognizable.”
With HD2, however, the music mix is contemporary. “We wanted to find up-and-coming artists in addition to mainstream ones,” Monk explains. “This helps students learn how to pick hits.” HD2 is one of the first to play Beyonce’s new single “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which has been blowing up on the country charts. Monk feels the music should grab the ear of the public. “If it fits what we’re looking for, we’ll add it.”
