Press Release
August 29, 2017

WBRU-FM license to be sold; income from proceeds will endow workshop

Providence, RI – August 29, 2017 — An advanced media workshop with extensive offerings in music, news and community service is being launched by students at Brown University. The workshop has begun a major buildout of the wbru.com web site with two 24/7 music streams going online this week, plus expanded coverage of local news and the local music scene planned for the near future. With a dedicated Research & Development team, the workshop will explore new concepts in content creation and delivery with possible commercial applications.

The workshop will be the successor to WBRU-FM, the student-run commercial radio station that has been a leader in rock music and community service for 50 years.

“WBRU is not going away,” said the station’s general manager, Kishanee Haththotuwegama. “We are moving to a 21^st century platform with greater potential for creative expression and community service. As an organization of young people, we want to lead in platforms that we’re passionate about and future generations are passionate about.”

Brown Broadcasting Service, Inc., (BBS), the station’s non-profit corporate owner, has agreed to sell the broadcasting license and transmitter of WBRU-FM to the Educational Media Foundation (EMF). Robert J. Maccini of Media Services Group acted as the exclusive broker and represented Brown Broadcasting Service, Inc. in the sale of the station.

An application for approval of the transfer was filed with the Federal Communications Commission today. Under the terms of an agreement between the parties, WBRU-FM will cease its current programming on 95.5 at 11:59 pm on August 31 and will begin broadcasting programming provided by EMF immediately thereafter.

Proceeds from the sale will form an endowment for the new workshop. Income from the endowment will support its operations.

“WBRU has always been about independence and innovation, and we’re excited to continue that legacy,” said WBRU member Kai Salem. “Our content will be broad, deep and widely accessible. We’ll start off with two 24/7 streams broadcasting our alt and 360 content. We’ll be engaging with local music and news through audio stories, video, and online journalism. We’ve also decided to formally build innovation into our brand by launching our first ever research and development department.

“The new WBRU will be more innovative, accessible, flexible, and independent than ever before.”

WBRU will be launching a weekly news roundup podcast with exclusive and in-depth stories,” said News Director Andie Corban. “From there we’ll move onto a panel discussion where a group of activists and experts will break down one of the biggest stories of the week and what it means to our listeners. We’ll also be launching a daily email newsletter.”

“WBRU has always been a supporter of quality music both from the Rhode Island community and beyond, and with a larger online presence we intend to broaden our regular programming as well as expand our role in the local music community” said producer Matt Haronian. “We aspire to become a digital hub for the best in local music and events.”

“We’re already in the process of planning Sound Wave: Rhode Island, a podcast that will explore the rich past and present of the music community in Rhode Island with in-depth interviews, exclusive new music, and interviews to illuminate New England’s musical history,” said producer Sam McKinney. “This will be just the first of a new collection of content that is artist-centric and tells interesting stories about a place with an incredible arts community.”

“WBRU’s long-running Sunday program ‘The 360 Degree Experience in Sound’ is steadfast in its commitment to the greater Providence and RI black and incarcerated communities,” said Kyle Tildon, 360 co-director. “We plan on continuing that on-air tradition by finding another station to carry our Sunday programming and are currently in search of that new signal.

“But with the new 24/7 stream, we have the amazing opportunity to not only expand our 360 programming from one day a week to seven, we also have the bandwidth to do more. Already in the works is a show called the Amplifier that will highlight the amazing work of existing Providence organizations that work with Black, Brown and marginalized people.”

“WBRU will create a Research and Development department for the first time in its history,” said WBRU general manager Kishanee Haththotuwegama. “In creating this, we hope to ensure a focused opportunity for students from Brown and other area colleges to experiment at the intersections of media, music, information and technology. The vision at work in Research and Development will retain the core principles of WBRU for years to come.”

“WBRU has always been about innovation and that is at the core of the decision to sell the FM license and move to the digital platform of tomorrow,” said Peter Litman, president of BBS and a WBRU alumnus. “This move is the logical next step in a series of innovations that have shaped WBRU’s history. In 1936, two experimenters strung a network of transmission wires through Brown University dorms and created one of the country’s first college radio stations; in the 60s, visionary students made WBRU one of the first college radio stations with a commercial FM license. More recently, in the 90s WBRU became one of the first radio stations to stream on the internet.”

The WBRU students and BBS Board of Directors see the move as a way to empower students at Brown University and other local colleges to be leaders in producing and distributing local music, news and community information.