WVCR-FM
| City | Loudonville, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Capital District |
| Branding | 88.3 The Saint |
| Slogan | We Play Anything |
| Frequency | 88.3fm |
| First air date | 1960 |
| Format | Variety hits |
| ERP | 35,000 watts |
| HAAT | 256.0 meters |
| Class | B1 |
| Facility ID | 60295 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°38′13.00″N 74°0′5.00″W / 42.6369444°N 74.0013889°W |
| Callsign meaning |
W Voice of College Radio W Voice of the Capital Region |
| Former frequencies | 89.1 MHz (1960–1970) |
| Owner | Siena College |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.wvcr.com |
WVCR-FM (88.3 The Saint) is a variety hits radio station owned by, and primarily staffed by students from, Siena College, located in Loudonville, New York. The station broadcasts on 88.3fm at a 35,000 Watts from the Heldeberg Mountains in the Town of New Scotland. In addition to simulcast programming at www.wvcr.com
WVCR is perhaps the only non-commercial licensee to emulate the Variety hits format made popular by the Jack FM approach in the Capital Region. The format is very popular in the region with a very diverse selection from classic 1960s hits to current hits of today—something of a 35,000 Watt iPod for Baby Boomers.
Unlike many Variety Hits stations, WVCR's Variety Hits format contains DJs that interact with listeners, and identify songs played on the station.
In addition, the station frequently makes uses of jingles to identify themselves. This is a somewhat uncommon practice among stations with this format.
On Sundays, WVCR breaks its format for a day of block programming known as Saint Sundays. the programming during this period includes Power & Praise, The Catholic Chorale, Polka Spotlight (19 years in 2008...however a polish music program has been a continuous music staple on WVCR since February 1975), The Proud to be Irish Show (17 years in 2008), Smitty & Friends (Sinatra Era) and DeSelecciones, which just celebrated its 22nd year on the station in May 2009. The station also broadcasts Siena women's basketball games.
During the Fall semester of 1959, three Siena students envisioned a college radio station that would serve the resident students and faculty. Carrier current transmitters were built and installed in the faculty residence and the student residence. The station began broadcasting, using the call sign WVCR (Voice of Collegiate Radio). Although the station only broadcast for six to twelve hours a day, until the end of the spring semester, it was so well received by both students and faculty, that Siena College formally approved the station concept, supported extending its broadcast area to the surrounding community, and provided new broadcast studios in Plassmann Hall.
During the spring semester of 1960, WVCR-FM started broadcasting on 89.1 MHz with the purpose of bringing campus news and sports to the off-campus student body (in those days, about 80% of the student body). The station operated with a Class D license from a tower on the Siena campus. The station broadcast a mixed format. The carrier current AM station continued broadcasting, mostly simulcasting the FM signal, but at times broadcasting material that was not intended for the FM outlet. Basketball games, the basis for continued funding by the college, were always broadcast over both AM and FM outlets.
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