Live from the TECH Center, WHIP goes online

Tania Torres, a senior public relations major and WHIP’s marketing manager, waits for her cue as she steps up to the mic for her first radio broadcast in more than two years. The station — whose call letters stand for We Have Infinite Potential — is one of the first university stations to go digital by streaming its sounds over the Internet.

(Photo by Ryan S. Brandenberg / Temple University)

Leaning toward the microphone in a soundproof booth, public relations senior Tania Torres exudes potential.

Torres is getting some hands-on experience voicing her talents as she broadcasts as an “on-air personality” for WHIP, Temple’s student-run online radio station. 

After two years of planning, the station — whose call letters stand for We Have Infinite Potential — is broadcasting from a new studio in the TECH Center’s first floor. 

“The station has slowly been maturing along for the past two years, gaining new perspectives and ideas,” said WHIP’s general manager, Andy Katowitz, a junior international business administration and marketing major. 

Until 2003, the station had broadcast out of a small room in the Student Center on a low-frequency radio channel, and it could be heard only the building that housed it.

The revamped station is now being broadcast to listeners worldwide over the station’s Web site, www.temple.edu/whip. 

Although the format of the station and the programming schedule is still undergoing an experimental phase, several on-air personalities are already streaming their shows over the station’s site. 

“We're going to be a technologically advanced radio station,” Katowitz said. “At first, we will start small, but eventually we will take steps to take advantage of all the technology we have access to.”

WHIP is one of the first university stations to go digital by streaming its sounds over the Internet. But in order to make the leap from traditional broadcasting to the World Wide Web, the staff had to enlist the help of a few experts.

Enter Computer Services.

As assistant director of Computer Services, Karl Horvath took on the responsibility of meshing the students’ needs with the current technological capabilities of the university. Ryan Saunders, a senior media developer in Computer Services, went to work on making the actual streaming interaction between the students and the listeners a reality.

Horvath said his team met with the students to design the station’s headquarters. The team researched the look and layout of successful “real world” radio stations to ensure that the students would have access to the most-up-to-date equipment the field uses.

Thanks to substantial technology grants from Computer Services and the Division of Student Affairs, the station was able to fund the construction of the studio, Horvath said. The funds were used toward building a broadcasting studio, an engineering room, a news room/office and a production studio to create a professional broadcasting atmosphere.

“I don’t think a lot of institutions are doing anything like this, so these students will have an edge over all the other college students entering the broadcasting field,” he said. “We have state-of-the-art equipment and the latest streaming software, so we’ll be very interactive.”

Katowitz, who will host his own show featuring reggae, soca and other island-inspired music, said the station will aim to accommodate the musical tastes of all students.

“We want to play a variety of music,” he said. “We want to have a whole lot of people hosting programs that will feature different styles of music so we can service the entire student body.” 

Plans include shows highlighting the best gospel, hard rock, hip-hop and jazz musicians, and Torres said she believes there really will be something for everyone. 

While some members of the station are new, there are still those who remember the days when the station was a small production broadcast from the Student Center — including Torres.

“I’ve been anticipating this launch for such a long time that this seems too good to be true,” she said. “Our goal is to make the station resemble a real station in every way, and I think people will be surprised to see what we have already put into place.”

Katowitz agreed. 

“We want this station to express the interests of all Temple students,” he said. “We would also like to start a community outreach program, so we can spread our message further than just Temple’s campus. We want to be a voice for the young people of Philadelphia.”

How to listen or get involved: Visit www.temple.edu/whip

By Karen Shuey

For the Temple Times

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