99 Rock Brings Modern Rock and Student Voices to the Upper Valley
If you walk up to the third floor of Robinson Hall and continue down the hall, you’ll reach a glass door branded with the words “Dartmouth Broadcasting Global Operations”. This door marks the home of Dartmouth Broadcasting’s studios and is a new installment as part of the studio’s recent renovations. Here, the radio station WFRD, better known as 99 Rock, and its sister station WCDR broadcast music and a variety of shows to the Upper Valley. WDCR is entirely online and makes up the AM portion of Dartmouth Broadcasting, while 99 Rock is the FM station.
For more than 30 years, 99 Rock has brought rock music and student shows to its relatively large and loyal fan base. The station itself is run entirely by students, with the exception of industry professional Heath Cole, who is the current Operations Manager.
99 Rock “offers amazing opportunities for Dartmouth students” and is “much more” than just a rock station, Cole said. Student disc jockeys, or “jocks,” rotate through a daily schedule that tends to be more structured than WCDR, as WDCR has more of a traditional, free-form college radio feel. WFRD also broadcasts Valley Voices, a weekly half-hour segment that highlights different arts and cultural events in the Upper Valley through interviews with guests ranging from politicians to professors.
99 Rock prides itself on being an independent station and not being a part of the Clear Channel company, though the station does operate on iHeart Radio, one of Clear Channel’s services. In fact, there are only 23 college radio stations on iHeart Radio according to the iHeart Radio website, and 99 Rock seems to be the most popular.
Former General Manager Christopher Zhao ’13 described WFRD as “a modern rock-formatted station,” adding that “recently it’s been playing more alternative types of music.” Zhao got his start with the Dartmouth Sports Network where he provided commentary for hockey games, and from there he decided to take on a few shifts as a 99 Rock “jock.” He then went on to become WFRD Program Director and, finally, General Manager. According to Zhao, the station took home a few awards at the ceremony held by the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters last year.
General Manager Shane O’Neal ’14 succeeded Zhao’s position this spring. O’Neal, who also started out with the station’s sports program, said that increased involvement with different aspects of Dartmouth Broadcasting led him to 99 Rock. “My favorite part of the station is probably the ability to do things you don’t normally get to do in college radio,” O’Neal said, adding that the station has been able to build up “a pretty big following”.
As WFRD’s Program Director, Geanette Foster ’14 is in charge of running the station and making sure everything goes smoothly. 99 Rock is a commercial station that sells advertisement slots to local businesses, and it benefits from the good relations it has with advertisers. The first thing Foster did for 99 Rock was go to a remote, which is when advertisers sponsor the station to set up a tent, play some music, “and basically get people out there,” she said. WFRD has also recently paired up with Atlantic Records to sponsor a contest for fans to win tickets to either a Shinedown or Halestorm concert.
While both Zhao and O’Neal joined Dartmouth Broadcasting during their freshman years, Foster became involved with 99 Rock last year as a sophomore, and she claims that “it’s really easy to get involved.” If a student is interested, “I will make sure you get trained, and I can give you a show,” Foster said, reflecting the excitement 99 Rock’s directors appear to have for their station. With the ease and extent of student involvement, every student that broadcasts over the air are able to bring their own perspective to WFDR. As Zhao said, “There’s like a certain adrenaline that comes to you when you’re on air that I can’t really describe, but it’s a good feeling.”