RIC Radio – 90.7 WXIN FM – Your Station, Your Music

RIC’s radio station is not just a haunt for future DJs, WXIN functions as an educational tool and creative outlet for all RIC students.

WXIN, which is 90.7 FM on your dial, broadcasts local, national and international news, as well as events, weather and traffic. It features live game broadcasts of RIC Anchormen and Anchorwomen and college sports talk. The station’s music genres are alternative rock, metal, country/top 40, RPM (electronica) and urban.

Moreover, RIC’s radio station is entirely student run. Robert Smith, a senior and president of Student Community Government, Inc., is WXIN general manager. He said the station’s mission is to teach RIC students about the music and radio industries through hands-on experience.

“Students who want to DJ wander into the office all the time,” he said. “Most come with a friend as their co-host.” In fact, that’s how Smith got his start, acting as co-host for a friend who wanted to DJ his own show.

“People feel most comfortable with someone else in the studio,” he explained. “Having someone there makes it feel as if they’re not just talking to themselves. But there are also people who have no trouble talking to an empty room. I prefer someone to talk to. My friend and I played alternative rock music and talked back and forth.”

The only training required to be a DJ is to shadow one of the DJs on staff for six hours of on-air time and to learn how to use the equipment. New DJs are also schooled in FCC and WXIN rules and regulations.

“At first most people are intimidated,” said Smith, “but then they’re surprised at how easy it is.” Even mistakes made on air can be remedied.

DJ equipment comes with a “dump” button and a “cough” button. The dump button will dump the last seven seconds of the DJ’s dialogue and the cough button will delete the last two seconds. (There is a seven-second delay between air time and real time.)

Aside from teaching newcomers about the business, WXIN engages in fundraising for Rhode Island charitable organizations.

This year the station held a radiothon for Operation Stand Down Rhode Island, a charity for homeless at-risk veterans. WXIN raised more than $700. Last year’s radiothon for the March of Dimes brought in more than one thousand dollars.

WXIN also holds an annual statewide event called the Rock Hunt, in which 16 local bands engage in a battle-of-the-bands competition. The event was originated by WXIN in the 80s.

This year, for promoting locally based, up-and-coming artists, RIC’s radio station received the Biggest Champions of the Local Music Scene Award by the College Music Journal (CMJ). CMJ is an organization of college radio stations, record labels and marketing companies that keep track of what college radio stations are playing and what’s hot on college campuses. This was also the first time in the history of WXIN that the station received a CMJ award, said Smith.

Overall, the soon-to-be graduate credited his work at WXIN for making a “huge” difference in his college experience. From his start as a co-host in his sophomore year, he became a DJ of his own show, later he became news talk director, then business manager and finally general manager.

“By getting involved at WXIN, I’ve had the opportunity to lead a team of people, network with outside organizations and groups, and give back through charity work,” he said. He encourages other RIC students to get involved. “If I just showed up on campus, went to class and left, I wouldn’t have had any of these opportunities,” he said.

When Smith graduates in May 2016, he hopes to enter a graduate program in public policy/public service.

RIC Radio – 90.7 WXIN FM – is the broadcast service of students at Rhode Island College, located in the Ducey Media Center and funded by Student Community Government, Inc.