Oswego State’s student-run radio station began in 1968 as WOCR and, 50 years later, now named WNYO, is celebrating its golden jubilee.

Amna Sadique, the current general manager, joined WNYO the end of her first year at Oswego when she helped with concerts. She moved on to having her own show with her roommate and became music director before reaching her current position.

“I’m really surprised that we have been around for so long,” Sadique said.  “I’m definitely excited that we are here during the 50th anniversary because that’s a big milestone.”

Sadique said what really drew her in was the welcoming executive board at the time and the feeling of family that came with the members of the station. She has made many friendships that she said she never would have made if she did not join. Once in the organization, Sadique said resumé-boosting positions were made more accessible to her.

“If it wasn’t for WNYO, I probably wouldn’t have gotten any of the internships that I had gotten because I have so much from WNYO that added to my resume, and it definitely made me a well-rounded student,” Sadique said.

Sophomore Jenn Robilotto is the programming director for the radio station and joined the first semester of her first year because of the love she developed for college radio in her hometown in Albany. She served as a DJ for one semester and used her skills as a then-information science major to become the web director. At the end of the spring semester last year, the program director at the time prepared Robilotto to take over for this academic year.

“I wasn’t even a broadcast major at the time, and now I am because of WNYO, so it helped mold me as a person,” Robilotto said. “It brought me to a new path in life.”

Robilotto said one of the perks of being part of the radio station is being able to meet bands and make connections from professional companies that come in to help with large concerts, such as OzFest.

Sadique said since she joined, WNYO has gone through different e-boards, a brand-new system upgrade, a new door with an ID scanner and rearrangements in the office. She also said it was very easy-going when she started, and while it retains the feeling of fun and casual, it is more professional now. The station has also increased its podcast department, gaining more momentum toward mobile material.

“We’ve tried to take it from being a friendly club hangout place to also someplace you can go for building your resume and making connections with people,” Sadique said.

Robilotto said WNYO’s coverage of the 14th annual Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit – which is named after the station’s advisor in the ’70s and ’80s – increased this year from what it was last year, which she said helped members expand their resume from interviewing professionals in the media industry. Sadique added that, when she first joined, events were scarce with a low turnout, but WNYO has since expanded to larger events in the past few years.

“We’ve been able to survive and thrive being a terrestrial radio station, and I think that’s a big accomplishment for a college radio station, especially in a market like Oswego where our transmitter only reaches to briefly after Fulton,” Robilotto said. “To be able to thrive with what we have is phenomenal.”

Sadique said in the years after she graduates, she hopes WNYO expands more, reaches more horizons, sees more involvement and keeps the fun, friendly environment. Robilotto said that, even though WNYO is accessible worldwide through its app and online, she would love for the radio station to be transmitted farther than Fulton to gain more name recognition.

“There are a lot of staple names that have been part of WNYO, and it’s so cool that it’s been 50 years with people coming in and going,” Sadique said. “We hope that in the future, one of us at WNYO will be the next Al Roker.”

Kathy Contino-Turner, who graduated in 1980, was the first woman general manager for the college radio station, beginning her term April 1, 1979.

At the time, it was not known as WNYO, but rather WOCR, and did not stretch its transmission beyond the residence and dining halls. Contino-Turner said the call letters changed when the station changed from carrier currency.

“We had a transmitter in every dorm, and at the end of the school year, my chief engineer would have to go turn those off because you could only get the station if you were in the dining hall or in the dorm, and you might be able to get it if you parked outside of the buildings, but it was not an over-the-air signal,” Contino-Turner said.

Contino-Turner said she was able to learn how to put together budgets, how to manage a group of people from different backgrounds and the radio skills that helped her after she graduated.

Contino-Turner said when she was there, all of the student media organizations – WOCR, WTOP-10 and The Oswegonian – were all in Hewitt Hall with the college tavern. Upon joining, she came in not knowing much about broadcasting but quickly learned through the instruction of the upperclassmen and work at WRVO.

“You became almost part of a family while you worked there; we all supported one another,” Contino-Turner said. “We kept it on a professional level, but we all hung out together.”

She said working at WOCR was good for students because it allowed for more mistakes without fear of being fired while they honed the craft.

“I always tell people, if you went through college at Oswego as a communications broadcast major, and you didn’t get involved in either WTOP, The Oswegonian or the radio station, then you missed out,” Contino-Turner said.

Photo Provided by: Amna Sadique