On average, WSOU gets more than a 900 e-mails a week with questions of all sorts. We try to respond when we can, but since everyone but Mr. Maben, our chief engineer, and our faculty advisor Dr. Buckner is a fulltime student, we simply can’t reply to all the e-mail we receive. So before sending us a question, please see if your question is answered in our FAQ. We’ve group our FAQs based on the common questions we get from listeners, bands and others. Read them all or jump to the topic that interests you.
Thank you for being curious about WSOU!
- How do I make requests?
973-761-9768 (WSOU)
- Do you take e-mail requests?
No, we cannot check our general e-mail box minute-by-minute, so it is best to call in your request .
- Do you take instant message requests?
Yes. Our AIM address is WSOUrequests.
- When can I make a request?
The request lines are open 24 hours a day.
- Your signal does not come in so clear, can I listen online?
Yes, at www.nj.com/wsou. Real Player is needed to listen to the live feed.
- Why don’t you use Media Player for your live stream?
We stream through nj.com and it is their decision as to whether to use Real Player or Media Player. We know that the lack of Media Player is a drag for some of our listeners and we are sorry about that.
- Can I view your playlists online?
Not at the moment. Because we don’t let a computer program make our playlists for us, all playlists are done by hand and would have to be scanned and posted as PDF files. We simply don’t have the resources to do this. However, we are working on solutions to this problem and we will keep you posted on our progress.
- How do I get a Public Service Announcement on WSOU?
If you’re a nonprofit organization, please send your PSA to watermke@shu.edu. Please understand that we cannot air all the PSA requests we receive, but we do our best to help local organizations
- Is it true that WSOU isn’t a typical college radio station?
We are a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seton Hall University. Unlike many other college radio stations, WSOU plays one kind of music, loud rock, instead of having blocks of different kinds of music. It also takes much longer to become a DJ on WSOU than it does at most college stations.
- I thought you were a Modern Active Rock station. Why does the music change at certain times during the week?
WSOU’s core format is Modern Active Rock; we do not have block formatting like most college radio stations. WSOU airs Modern Active Rock from midnight to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. on Sunday. That’s 119 hours of metal and loud rock each week!
The changes in programming you hear at certain times and days are either a specialty show such as No Man’s Land or a community program such as Polka Party. Please see our program schedule for details.
- Seton Hall is a Catholic University, does WSOU have any Catholic programming?
Yes, we do. In partnership with the Office of Campus Ministry, WSOU airs Out of Babylon, a program of Christian hard rock and conversations about faith. It airs on Wednesday‘s, 8-10 p.m. WSOU airs Mass live from Our Lady of Sorrows Church in South Orange every Sunday at 11 a.m. Father Frizzell, Director of our Institute of Judeo-Christian Studies hosts The Kinship of Catholics and Jews on Sundays at 10 a.m. And 89.5 FM carries a number of programs produced by the Catholic Communications Campaign, including Catholic Radio Weekly on Sunday’s at 10:30 a.m.; Personally Speaking on Saturday’s at 6 a.m.; Catholic Bookmarks on Saturday’s at 6:30 a.m. and Lino at Large on Saturday’s at 9:30 a.m.
- Why does the radio station at a Catholic University play heavy metal music? Isn’t it anti-religious?
We know that our music might sound scary to some, but the music played on WSOU is actually much more family-values friendly than the sexually-charged lyrics you’ll hear on a hit radio station or the misogynistic lyrics coming out of your radio from a hip-hop station. Many non-WSOU listeners are surprised to learn that 89.5 FM regulars such as Demon Hunter, Norma Jean, As I Lay Dying and Underoath are Christian bands. All songs on WSOU are screened for content to ensure that lyrics do not undermine the mission and values of Seton Hall University or the Catholic Church. If a band or song isn’t appropriate for WSOU, we don’t play it.
Band Demos, Airplay, Interviews & New Music
- Can I send my demo to WSOU?
Part of WSOU’s mission is to nurture new music. To that end, if you are an unsigned band, please send your demo to Street Patrol, WSOU’s program dedicated to local and unsigned artists:
Street Patrol
WSOU-FM
Seton Hall University
400 South Orange Ave
South Orange, NJ 07079
You can also send your CD to our music department:
WSOU-FM
Attn: Music Dept.
Seton Hall University
400 South Orange Ave
South Orange, NJ 07079
All incoming CDs go through the music department, and are forwarded to the proper show producer/host. If your CD isn’t accepted for our new music rotation, the most likely place it will go is the show for local and unsigned bands known as Street Patrol. However, if appropriate, your demo might go to a specialty like Punk University or Under The Stars.
- Does WSOU accept demos via mp3 files or links to MySpace?
No. We’ve had too many problems with bad and infected files to mess with opening up attachments of any kind. As for links, we are flooded with e-mails everyday and often do not have time to follow every link sent to our music staff. If you want your music to be heard, it is best to send a CD.
- What should I send along with my CD?
Please remember to send a press kit or “one sheet”, as well as your contact information and what genre you consider the band to be. If you have a lyrics sheet, you should send that as well.
- How do I get my band an on-air interview?
All interview requests must go through our music department. You can make your pitch to wsoumusic@hotmail.com
- What drives the music department the most nuts?
Bands and representative who have no clue about our format and what we air. It simply makes no sense to pitch WSOU, a loud rock station, a solo acoustic artist or a jazz band. When pitching yourself or a band to 89.5 FM, please do your homework and tell us why the band’s sound fits our sound. Please don’t assume that because we are a college station we will air just about anything.
- How can I become a staff member of WSOU?
You have to be a member of the Seton Hall University community. Students, faculty and administrators can apply at the beginning of each semester and then candidates will be interviewed. Accepted candidates will take a course teaching the standards set forth by WSOU, Seton Hall University, and the FCC. After the course is over, candidates will take a test and must pass it in order to be a fully accepted member of WSOU.
- Can people not affiliated with Seton Hall University be part of the station’s membership staff?
No, only members of the Seton Hall University community
- Can individuals not affiliated with Seton Hall University get shows on WSOU?
On Saturday mornings and for most of Sunday, WSOU airs a number of public affairs, religious and community programming shows. These are hosted, in many cases, by community volunteers. WSOU’s community programs, such as The Armenian Program, Arab Caravan and Quest, are designed to serve “under-served” audiences. If you want to propose a public affairs show or community program to WSOU, please contact Mark Maben, General Manager, WSOU-FM, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Ave., South Orange, NJ, 07079.
