Creating a new kind of status quo in WV's capital city
WTSQ serves as a forum for connection, localism, and lots of good music
WTSQ’s slogan, with a tongue planted firmly in its cheek, is “The Status Quo.”
“I wanted to come in like an atomic bomb and blow shit up,” said Chris Long, founder of WTSQ 88.1 in Charleston, WV. “Nothing around here was changing. On the radio, you didn’t feel invited unless you were into classic rock, country, or Christian contemporary.”
Since 2015, WTSQ has broken that mold with multiple broad flavors of rock. Their digital music library tags songs into seven categories: Folk/Americana, pop-oriented EDM, modern alt-rock, punk & new wave, etc. They ask their daytime DJs to pick from those broad categories and keep the cycle going. Evenings and weekends are programmed with specialty shows — Grateful Dead to reggae, metal to classic county. The station also leans hard into the resurgence of vinyl records, participating in Vinylthon and advertising Vinyl Wednesdays on the station.
“It’s been like a bat signal to everybody in town who’s on the level,” said Chris. “We thought filling up the schedule with good content would be a challenge but it’s been the least of our issues. People showed up who had great taste in music and willingness to volunteer and share it.”
Almost every day, sometimes 2-3 times per day, DJs bring in artists, musicians, nonprofits, shop owners, and other locals as studio guests. WTSQ also maintains a robust local events calendar at its website, and hosts deliver an on-air version about once per hour.
There are also on-air public affairs shows in the mix: Democracy Now airs weekdays at 9 a.m. On Sundays, Tailgate Sports Show (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) focuses on local men’s & women’s sports coverage, followed by Mountain State Update (1 - 2 p.m.) and its special focus on undercovered issues in Charleston.
“When you travel around the country, you come across really cool stations. I was in Salt Lake City and found KRCL, and here are these DJs telling us what to get into this weekend,” said Damon Cater, WTSQ Board President. “It’s this cool forum keeping you informed and playing music you like.
“I got back to Charleston and realized it’s a need. It being missing sucks. A town that doesn’t have a forum like college or community radio is really missing something important for connection.”
Damon and Chris bemoan the homogenization of American culture. While far from perfect, radio back in the day was more locally responsive than it is today. After the Telecommunications Act of 1996, station ownership consolidated into a few huge corporations. Now it’s the same script and the same playlists everywhere, and it dumbs us down as a culture.
Chris says WTSQ airs music that you actually listen to and think about why it’s interesting. There’s variety and intellectual curiosity involved. When we experience music that way with curiosity, we approach information more engaged and more critically.
WTSQ’s studio decor and graphic design aesthetics reflect its bold programming. Bright colors, cool graphics, and a comfy space on the 7th floor of The People’s Building in downtown Charleston.
Honestly, I was surprised to learn that the station runs an annual budget of just $70-90k. Last fall, WTSQ did a bangup job hosting ~150 attendees for the 2023 Grassroots Radio Conference, a big undertaking with multiple venues, workshop tracks, and keynotes. Damon and Chris share their hopes to eventually open a WTSQ music venue — a listening room for a couple hundred people to enjoy local and touring acts, doubling as a community venue at other times.
Keeping the money coming in is an ongoing task for every community radio station. Chris says that what’s been successful for WTSQ is being genuine, of building a relationship with their audience. “As a listener, it feels like you’ve got a friend in this town.”
Damon adds that as humans, we have a biological need to be in relationships. “If you’re not able to do that, your organism is failing. Some DJs have said that if not for this station, they’d be dead.”
So informative! I am learning so much from postings. They continue to open up new worlds !