WVFI makes official switch to global broadcasting
By MIKE CONNOLLY
News Writer
For 20 years, WVFI has existed only within the Notre Dame bubble. But on Oct. 11, after two years of negotiation with Student Activities, the "Voice of the Fighting Irish" began global Internet broadcasts and, for the first time, reached the entire Notre Dame nation.
"It's not simply a student community or an alumni community, it is an international community," Adam Frick, WVFI station manager, said at a press conference Wednesday, officially announcing the station's switch to global broadcasting. "To truly be the `Voice of the Fighting Irish,' we had to be international."
People with access to the Internet and Real Player installed on their computer can listen to WVFI by logging on to wvfi.nd.edu.
Global Internet broadcasts for its campus radio station puts Notre Dame on the same level as most of the top 25 schools in the country, according to Nicole Detorie, promotions director. She said all of the top 25 schools in the country, with the exception of MIT, have globally-broadcast student radio stations.
The large number of college Internet radio stations was an important factor in convincing the University to allow WVFI to broadcast globally, Frick said.
"It just seemed glaringly obvious that Internet radio was not just a fad," Frick said.
Although October marks the first month WVFI has officially broadcast globally, international listeners have occasionally been permitted to hear the station.
When WVFI first started Internet broadcasting in August 1999, the station could be heard by anyone with an Internet connection. WVFI's contract with the University, however, prohibited WVFI from broadcasting globally. After just three weeks of global broadcasting, the signal was restricted to campus Internet connections only.
Frick said the University was concerned that student disk jockeys did not conduct themselves professionally enough to merit global broadcasting. The station worked hard to gain the trust of the administration and earn the right to broadcast globally, Frick said.
"It was a matter of proving to the Notre Dame administration that we were a responsible group," he said.
The switch to global broadcasting has greatly improved staff morale, according to assistant station manager Danny Goodwin.
"When we weren't global and we were just feeding to campus, the morale was down," Goodwin said. "Now that we are global, everyone is up beat and everyone is early for the shows."
The quality of the station has improved greatly, according to Frick.
"We are light years ahead of where we were last year now that we are global," he said.
With its new global status, WVFI expects to expand its coverage of Notre Dame athletics. Currently the station broadcasts every home and away football game. Sports programming director CJ Murray hopes to add home men's and women's basketball games, home men's and women's lacrosse games and home baseball games.
All News Stories for Thursday, November 2, 2000
