WDSO

Infobox Broadcast
call_letters = WDSO-FM
station_
station_slogan = "The Rock of Chesterton"
analog = 88.3 (FM)
digital =
affiliations =
founded = August 1976
location = Chesterton, Indiana
owner = Duneland School Organization
callsign_meaning = "W-Duneland School Organization"
former_affiliations =
homepage = [http://www.wdso.org wdso.org]

WDSO (88.3 FM, "The Rock") is a radio station located at Chesterton High School, in Chesterton, Indiana. The transmitter is located at Chesterton Middle School . WDSO is a non-profit high school station. All of the disc jockeys are high school students, ranging from freshmen to seniors. To be apart of the radio station, students must take the semester long Introduction to Radio/Video class .

Format

WDSO's format is variety. Ranging from The Beatles to AC/DC to new rock and pop. WDSO also broadcast most CHS Basketball, Football, and Baseball games.

Full-time staff

WDSO has two full-time staff members:
*Station Manager and Teacher- Matthew Waters
*Secretary/Operations Manager- Michelle Stipanovich

Student staff

Every year the student staff changes at the end of the third nine weeks of the school year. The current WDSO staff includes:
*Program Director - Bob Johnson
*Music Directors - Chuck Cook and Bob Johnson
*News Director - Tim Young
*Training Directors - Tyler Devitte and Nate Waltz
*PSA Director - Jeff Tucker
*Promotions Director - Eric Kolvek
*Sports Director - Jordan Hoover

Station managers

*Jim Cavallo - 1976 - 1984
*Stephen Walker - 1985 - 1986
*Lenny Dessauer - 1986 - 1989
*Brent Barber - 1989 - 2005
*Matthew Waters - 2005 - Current

History

During the summer of 2000, WDSO moved to new facilities at the new Chesterton High School. The new station includes the main broadcast studio, three production studios as well as an Engineering room and Music Library which also contains WDSO’s Archives. Included in the area is a TV production studio and control room. The WDSO transmitter remains at the old high school building (now Chesterton Middle School). WDSO became one of the first radio stations to utilize fiber optic cable to transport the radio signal over a mile-and-a-half from the studio to the transmitter. WDSO celebrated its 25th year of broadcasting with a Reunion/Celebration on November 17, 2001. Over 100 former and current students attended. The evening included a short program in the CHS Auditorium, refreshments and tours of the new WDSO facilities. On February 19, 2002, WDSO was honored at the Indiana General Assembly in Indianapolis. House Resolution 38 recognized WDSO for its 25 years of broadcasting. Author of the Resolution was State Representative Ralph Ayres from Chesterton also a Social Studies teacher at Chesterton High School. State Representatives Duane Cheney from Portage and Charlie Brown from Gary were also sponsors the bill. All three legislators represent the Duneland School area. In the Senate, sponsors of the bill were Senators Rose Ann Antich from Merrillville and Bill Alexa from Valparaiso. A copy of the Resolution can be found here (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). March 2004 marked the start of WDSO broadcasting on the internet. In 2005 WDSO obtained their new Station Manager/Instructor; former WDSO student Matthew Waters helps current students run the station along with Operations Manager Michele Stipanovich. In the fall of 2006 WDSO celebrated 30 years on the air. [http://www.duneland.k12.in.us/chs/wdso/history.htm] , additional text.]

External links

* [http://www.duneland.k12.in.us/chs/wdso/listen.htm LISTEN LIVE!]
*FMQ|WDSO
*FML|WDSO
*FMARB|WDSO
* [http://www.duneland.k12.in.us Duneland School Corporation's Homepage]
* [http://www.duneland.k12.in.us/chs Chesterton High School's Website]
* [http://www.iasbonline.org Indiana Association of School Broadcasters]
* [http://www.myspace.com/wdsofm WDSO's myspace]