In the mid 1970s, a group of students interested in radio gathered in a broom closet in the C Building of The College of Staten Island. They ran some wire to the cafeteria and started spinning records. These students worked with the College and applied for an FM license; they were later granted a construction permit. Not much more progress was made until the late 1970’s when a new group of students applied to the Student Government and Association for money to start construction. In 1980, a General Manager was hired to get the
station on the air. It took a year to work out an agreement with The Archdiocese of New York for an antenna site, install phone lines to the site for the transmitter, and to complete construction of the studios in the basement of the E building on the Sunnyside campus. On August 31, 1981, WSIA began regularly scheduled programming. It was the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work by members of the College and students. Yet, it was only the beginning. Since that time, a great number of students have been trained to
become staff members. Some have gone on to careers in radio. Others look back on WSIA as an important part of their student life. A number of changes have happened since 1981. The station’s offices and studios have been enlarged and improved. Our operating budget has increased from $8,800 to over $100,000 per year. In 1985, the College showed its commitment to WSIA by picking up the salary of the General Manager. Previously, this had been paid out of student fees. The programming has also undergone a number of changes. Yet, students have always been committed to two things:
1) To be new and innovative
2) To serve the Staten Island community
Thanks to many years of hard work by our staff, we enjoy an excellent relationship with many components of the broadcast industry– record companies, musicians, artists, independent producers, clubs, and promoters.
In August 2011, WSIA celebrated 30 years of broadcasting on 88.9 FM. WSIA also broadcasts online at www.wsia.fm, making our programming available anywhere in the world!
