by Ken Stomski, Contributor
This month marks the third year of Westfield community radio on WSKB 89.5 FM. What started off as an experiment with only a few shows in June of 2014 has grown to programming every weekday morning between 6am and 10AM. Westfield community radio officially launched in August of 2014.
It all started when Westfield State University and the City of Westfield joined forces to update the radio transmitter and tower of WSKB as a final step to the Ely Hall renovation, which made sense because the public access cable TV channel 15 studios were relocated to Ely a decade ago. The transmitter was upgraded and the antenna was raised. And then, nothing happened.
Members of the Westfield State Foundation decided that with the improvements at the station, it would be an excellent opportunity to bring in members of the community to host programs that would spotlight local events and talent within the community. Doing that also brought the possibility of recruiting underwriters to help support the operations of the radio station.
Although WSKB is a student run radio station at Westfield State University, the community radio portion is not directly related to the radio club at the university. At first the students were worried that local people were going to take over, as WSKB was always a student-run radio station, but it was soon realized that the community radio side and the radio club side of the station complimented each other. In fact, Westfield State University students are involved with some of the programming on community radio.
Former Westfield Mayor Dan Knapik, who was a driving force behind getting community radio started, but left in 2015, said “no one could imagine that our WSKB community radio experiment would result in a robust alternative to big radio and has been nimble enough to be a force on location to keep the audience connected to its city happenings.”
Many of the hosts that were present at the beginning still have shows to this day
“Wake Up Wednesday!” host Tina Gorman
Tina Gorman, who hosts “Wake Up Wednesday” started off by co-hosting with then mayor Knapik, and quickly went on to host her own show. The focus of the 6 to 8AM show is health and wellness. Monthly regulars include Chiropractor Dr. Gary Gorman; Primary Care Physician Dr. Akinyele Lovelace; City Health Department Director Joe Rouse; and Registered Dietitian Jennifer Giffune. During her three years behind the microphone, Tina has interviewed numerous physicians and surgeons, therapists, hospital, medical, and program administrators, as well as alternative practitioners. Guests’ stories have been thought-provoking, heartfelt, emotional, as well as humorous.
Michael “Buster” McMahon hosts the Monday 8AM show “Owls On Air”.
Michael “Buster” McMahon hosts the Monday 8AM show “Owls On Air.” Asked to describe the format of his show, McMahon said ” Let’s face it, there just isn’t anything better than songs that bring you back to your young days. Dreaming of your future, falling in love…. you know the days before real life bowled you over with responsibilities and harsh wake up calls.” McMahon’s show is music centric, more so than the other programs on community radio. “Usually you end up hearing songs from the 50s-80s. But we’ve honored requests for newer and older tunes as well. I also enjoy telling people the stories behind the songs and artists that they can use to impress or bore their friends with”, McMahon said.
Bob Plasse hosts “WOW! It’s Tuesday” at 6AM.
Bob Plasse, who retired from the Westfield State Foundation last year, hosts “WOW! It’s Tuesday” at 6AM. WOW refers to Westfield on Weekends, and Plasse was the president of WOW when he started his show at WSKB. ” For me, the station has provided the gift of great friends and colleagues, the chance to learn from experts and to craft a program that is hopefully both ‘Seinfeld-like’ entertaining, yet informative,” Plasse said. His show has routine monthly guests, and he often ends his show with a skit called “as nitwits match wits” which is a game played with whomever is in the studio, and the guest of the week always wins, regardless of how they fared. Plasse’s musical choices on the show can be quite diverse. Plasse said “Surprisingly, in preparing the musical selections for the show, I have developed an appreciation for so many artists I really never knew. Imagine… I have gone from being a “Broadway baby” to a grateful “Deadhead!”
PATRICK BERRY
Patrick Berry hosts “The Westfield News Show” on Thursdays at 6AM. Instead of being broadcast from the studio at Ely Hall at the university, Berry’s show is broadcast from The Press Room, a coffee and pastry shop in the front of the Westfield News building on School Street. Originally Berry went up to the studio for his weekly show, but when the new shop opened, a decision had to be made – stop the show, or do it via remote from The Press Room. You can routinely see a small audience at The Press Room watching the broadcast. Berry’s guests often include local officials.
Ken Stomski (right) hosts “Ken’s Den” on Tuesday mornings at 8AM. On the left is WSKB Community Radio producer, Peter Cowles.
“Ken’s Den” on Tuesday mornings at 8AM is hosted by Ken Stomski. Originally a side kick to Dan Knapik when Tina Gorman went on to her own time slot, Stomski assumed Knapik’s time slot when he left community radio. “Ken’s Den” is one of the more light-hearted shows of the week, with routine guests like Dan Paquette, executive director of the Athenaeum, and Westfield historian extraordinaire Kathi Palmer, who is also filling in as interim side kick whilst regular side kick Steve Dondley is on hiatus during the election season in town. Stomski’s shows can take a serious tone, or they can end up being two hours of nonsense. You never know what will be going on.
Jay Pagluica hosts “JP’s Talk About Town” on Friday mornings at 6AM.
Jay Pagluica hosts “JP’s Talk About Town” on Friday mornings at 6AM. Pagluica is the current president of Westfield on Weekends, and you have probably seen him “running the show” at the concerts on the green. Pagluica likes to have musical guests on his show, often performing live. Pagluica also likes to highlight live music performances that will be happening in the area. A popular segment on Pagluica’s show is “the golden age of radio”, where old radio shows like “Superman” are played. Pagluica is also the “trusty, rusty, crusty” side kick to Bob Plasse on Tuesday mornings.
Peter Cowles is the producer of the radio programs on community radio. Cowles comes from a broadcasting background and there isn’t a situation or topic that comes up on any of the programs that he cannot handle. Cowles is responsible for getting all of the many remotes up and running, including the weekend long non-stop broadcast live from the International Airshow last weekend. Cowles is also responsible for ensuring that all of the underwriter’s messages are heard.
There are many other programs and hosts on community radio – some seasonal, and some monthly. Westfield Technical Academy and superintendant of schools Stefan Czaporowski both have shows on Thursday mornings when school is in session. An example of some of the monthly programs are “About Town”, with mayor Brian Sullivan, with co-hosts Dennis Akins and Amber Danahey, where they broadcast live from the gazebo on the green when the weather is fair, and “Rock About Town” with Harry Rock.
Not only can WSKB’s broadcasts be heard on traditional terrestrial radio, but the audio is also streamed at www.wskb.org. Shortly after community radio started broadcasting, a video camera was put into the studio, and the programming was simulcast on local cable channel 15, so you could “watch us on the radio”. This past year a link was put on the city of Westfield’s website to stream cable channel 15, and it can be found at www.westfieldtv.org.
Schedules for community radio programming can be found in the Westfield News. Community radio will be broadcasting live throughout the Rotary’s Food Fest later this week.
