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CAMPUS RADIO STATION RECIEVES GRANT

By Justine Benzen
UW-RF University Communications

OCT. 21, 2005-- WRFW FM, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus radio station and a Wisconsin Public Radio affiliate, received a Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation Educational Support Grant for the 2005 academic school year in the amount of $6,135.

The funds provided the radio station with one portable Comrex Matrix Codec and one rack mountable Comrex Matrix Codec.

"These units are used to carry our signal from a remote broadcast to our studio," said Rick Burgsteiner, station manager and journalism instructor. "The new equipment will primarily be used for our sportscasts."

The journalism department is replacing the old equipment that it had received from Wisconsin Public Radio in the late 1990s. The old equipment was already used before the university even received it; this created uncertainty and hesitation regarding the life span of the old equipment.

"We're very fortunate to have received this grant," said Burgsteiner. "If we had not, it may have been quite some time before we could have found the funding to update the used equipment."

The new equipment is lighter and easier to use. It also provides a much clearer signal and is much more likely the station will be able to continue bringing live coverage of local college and high school sporting events throughout each academic year.

The WBA Foundation has awarded grants totaling around $57,525 within the last five years. Students interested in making a career related to broadcast journalism have the opportunity to apply for scholarships within the association. Each year four $2,000 scholarships are awarded to broadcast-driven students.

Burgsteiner applied for the grant last spring and was awarded the largest WBA Foundation Educational Support Grant in the state for the year 2005.

For more information, contact Burgsteiner at richard.burgsteiner@uwrf.edu or 715-425-3169.

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