Brown Student Radio, the self-described "Providence student and community radio that serves the curious listener," is expanding its radio broadcasting hours on 88.1 FM and will now air from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m., seven days a week, including during all academic breaks at the University.
Station Manager Michael Dupuis '08 said the expanded hours should enhance the station's reputation in Providence.
"It's important for us to have a presence on-air in Providence," Dupuis said.
Rhode Island College and the Wheeler School, the latter of which owns the transmitter used by BSR, previously held the two evening time slots taken over by BSR.
Because of the weakness of the Seekonk, Mass.-based transmitter's signal, most Brown students tune in to BSR online at BSRLive.com, where the station and its archives have been broadcast since October 2006.
The new expansion will not affect the 24-hour online programming, but the station's new FM hours are expected to attract more local listeners.
Since BSR will be broadcast on the radio until 5 a.m., General Manager Jason Sigal '07 said the station should gain more late-night listeners after Providence clubs close. "They'll want the party to keep going, and now it can on BSR," Sigal said.
By extending its hours, BSR will be consistently available to listeners who might previously have been confused by the station's varying schedule, said former station manager Josh Siegle '07 and programming director Shauna Duffy '04. BSR had previously broadcast at non-uniform times and, until this summer, only during the academic semester.
Duffy said BSR had been losing listeners during academic breaks and confusing them with erratic hours during the school year.
With the new changes, "listeners understand when we're on the air better," Duffy said. "We can just say 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., always." Adding broadcast hours on Sundays, when the station had not previously broadcast, was the most significant change, she said.
BSR, which inaugurated its remodeled studio last week, involves the work of about 120 students and receives funding from the University as well as outside donors.
New programs accompany the expanded hours. The student-run Brown Journal of World Affairs will introduce a biweekly show on Mondays at 7 p.m., Chris Duffy '09 will collaborate with Providence arts center AS220 to air their live poetry slam and Charlie Hunter '08 and Bremen Donovan '08 will present "Roots and Shoots," a country and folk music show that will air Thursdays at 11 p.m.
Duffy said the station's eclectic mix of music, features, news and sports programming is in the tradition of a college radio station that must acknowledge its diverse online audience and its local relevance.
Sigal said BSR's online listeners come from around the world. "People call in from Providence and write in instant messages from Germany and Tanzania," he said.
The station's varied programming will improve as the station expands, Duffy said.
"It's by far the best group of programmers and group of shows we've ever had," Duffy said. "This is the best we've ever been and we're just going to keep getting better."
