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WAVM (91.7 FM) is a
high school radio High school radio are radio stations located at high schools and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision. The oldest extant high school AM radio station is AM 1450 KBPS in Portland, Oregon. Portland radio station KBPS, first li ...
station broadcasting from Maynard High School in
Maynard, Massachusetts Maynard is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 22 miles west of Boston, in the MetroWest and Greater Boston region of Massachusetts and borders Acton, Concord, Stow and Sudbury. The town's populatio ...
. Station programming provides the local area with news and church service broadcasts among other types of programming. Founded in
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
, WAVM has aided the careers of several of the school's successful alumni.


Controversy

Long-time faculty administrator and station founder, teacher Joseph Magno, was arrested and charged with
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
in January 2006. Magno died in January 2007 of an apparent heart attack, just before his trial could begin.


FCC licensing of frequency 91.7

For several years WAVM petitioned the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
to increase the power of its signal from 10 watts to 500 watts. Per FCC regulations, and a tentative decision, the station's frequency had become available for bidding from other broadcasting companies, one of those companies being Living Proof Inc., a Christian broadcasting network headquartered in California that distributes programming to its affiliates via
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
, with minimal local programming. Another interested party was
University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...
, operator of the
WUMB WUMB-FM (91.9 FM broadcasting, FM) in Boston, Massachusetts, is the radio station of the University of Massachusetts Boston. It broadcasts a mix of Americana (music), Americana, blues, American folk music, roots, and Folk music, folk hosted by ...
network of radio stations. WAVM entered into an agreement with WUMB to jointly own the frequency and their partnership had appealed the FCC's decision.
Congressional Representative A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
Marty Meehan Martin Thomas Meehan (born December 30, 1956) is an American academic administrator, politician, and attorney. Since July 2015, Meehan has served as the President of the University of Massachusetts after serving as Chancellor of the Universi ...
and Senators
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
and
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
all contributed their support to WAVM in the form of letters to the FCC, and the station's plight attracted national attention. Eventually, the FCC reached a decision involving all parties, having asked them to come to an agreement. WAVM increased power from 10 to 500 watts and maintains its partnership with WUMB under a share-time agreement. WUMB's license for 91.7 was assigned the call sign WUMG. Both stations use the same transmitter facilities located behind Maynard High School, however each have their own license. Living Proof Inc. of California assigned their permit for 91.7 to Horizon Christian Fellowship on June 30, 2010. Their competing application, while still on 91.7, employs a very directional transmitting antenna to protect the signal from WAVM and WUMG's. The competing station, WTYN, signed in January 2012.


Telethon

Every year WAVM hosts a
telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...
which donates money to those in need in the areas getting the ''
Beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...
'' newspaper. Taking place over one weekend in December, this is a 40-hour event, meaning that there are students working every hour of the night and day. There are normally six- seven telethon hosts, who stay up for the full forty hours. Tech crew: The tech crew in the Beacon Santa Telethon are hand selected by captains and the administration in WAVM. The tech crew is a group of highly trained individuals who coordinate the technical setup of the telethon, often getting more in-depth and intricate with the inner workings in the studio and auditorium. The group consists of 20-30 members varying on the year and is led by Trained Captains and a Head Tech. Hosts: The hosts are the on-air talent during the Telethon. Several students apply to be hosts but only a select few will get the position. The selection is based on involvement in WAVM and their ability to be professional during the Telethon. The Hosts do a majority of their work before the telethon. This work includes gathering monetary donations from businesses in the area, collecting auction items, and scheduling acts to help fill the air-time. This telethon earns money for the poor and needy in many ways. Each staff member must raise at least 100 dollars in donations and pledges in order to stay overnight. Every donation of 25 dollars or more goes up on the Donor Board. An auction takes place up until one hour before the end of the telethon, with hundreds of items being bid on. Along with auctions, local bands and other talents perform. Popular acts that tend to reappear The Maynard Community Band, Christmas Carol singing, and Mrs. Clause reading a story to children, Mr.Vic singing to children, Hosts vs Tech Crew, various food challenges. The Grand Finale takes place at noon on Sunday, where the hosts thank the sponsors, donors, and parent volunteers, and reveal the grand total, which they are always striving to get higher than the previous year. The Telethon raises anywhere between $28,000 and $40,000 depending on the economy for needy families of surrounding communities so that they can have a proper Christmas.


Television

WAVM airs original student content once to three times a week. Broadcasts often air for one hour during 6-9p.m. ET. Student Television includes Manly Cooking and Dining Divas. Manly cooking is normally hosted by 4 male talent where they either do crazy food challenges such as Ghost Pepper Pasta, and Mystery Burgers. Dining Divas is a cooking show involving four on-air female talent, where they make food such as grilled cheese, French toast, eggs, and more edible creations then Manly Cooking. Previously aired Television shows in WAVM include The Elusive Moose and Arcade. These shows have been discontinued by the students and have no further plans of being revitalized. The programs air on Channel 8 on
Comcast Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless servic ...
, and Channel 28 on Verizon Fios.


Radio

WAVM broadcasts stereo radio from 2-9p.m. ET on 91.7 FM for five days a week during the Maynard High School school year. The radio shows are run by students for an hour once a week. The students choose music and topics and have fun on the air. Radio shows are offered to students in the 6th-12th grades in the Maynard school systems. In addition, WAVM also offers live radio recordings of church services.


Fundraising

WAVM offers a wide range of fundraising for the students in the club. Fundraising opportunities include The Mother son Luao, The Father-Daughter Dance, and selling raffle tickets. Each event is widely popular in Maynard and garners a significant amount of revenue that awards several seniors hundreds of dollars in scholarships, the scholarships are for dedicated seniors in the program. Fundraising money also goes to the general upkeep of the station and additional technical equipment.


References


External links


WAVM official site

Living Proof, Inc. - The California-based broadcaster that challenged WAVM's license
; WAVM data {{Boston Radio AVM High school radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1974 Mass media in Middlesex County, Massachusetts 1974 establishments in Massachusetts Maynard, Massachusetts