Students work to put college radio station back on the air after semester-long hiatus

Eva Giatas/The Pleiad

Feel like something has been missing from Albion this year? It may very well be the absence of Albion’s own radio station, WLBN. Absent, that is, until very recently.

"I used to listen to WLBN last year, and I was wondering what had happened to it," said Sarah Morris, Grass Lake junior.

Due to equipment being either damaged or broken last year, WLBN was off the air for most of this semester. Through the efforts of two dedicated music lovers, Brian Cameron, Fort Worth, Texas senior and Scott Lemons, Portage senior, WBLN is ready to once again be the sound of Albion College.

"We’re just getting back in the groove and are really excited about it," Cameron, station manager of WLBN, said. With the help of Lemons, music director of WLBN, Cameron has been able to purchase, replace and update much of the studio’s equipment with financial support from Student Senate.

Microphones, headphones, and chairs are only a few of the items which required replacing due to irreversible damage. Also, WLBN has now been updated with digital deejay equipment, allowing students and even community members to listen from their own computers.

"We’re 100 percent digital now; it’s a lot easier and now people can listen to us anywhere in the country," Lemons said. "We’re really hoping the community starts to listen as well."

According to Cameron, WLBN is now focusing its efforts mainly on promotion and exposure.

"Right now I’d say our listening audience is about zero, due to us being off the air for so long," Cameron said.

However, both Cameron and Lemons are hoping that, with the re-launch of a new and improved WLBN, an entirely new deejay line-up, and a largely-updated system, interest in the station will be renewed.

As of right now, Cameron and Lemons say they have about 15 to 16 deejays lined up for the upcoming season. Shows are highly varied and a full line-up can currently be seen on WLBN’s Web site, www.albion.edu/wlbn.

Now, thanks to WLBN, there will no longer be silence on Albion’s airwaves. According to the WLBN web site, deejays have been scheduled so all the prime hours, Monday through Thursday from 7-11 p.m., are covered. Cameron says that anything not labeled as "Mega Mix" on the listed schedule of the WLBN web site will be a live show.

Cameron and Lemons are not only the managerial team, but also practicing deejays themselves. Their show, "The New Show," airs every Tuesday and Thursday from 8-10 p.m.

Cameron and Lemons welcome anyone interested in radio or just music in general.

"We’re always looking for people to get involved," Lemons said.