WJPZ Celebrates Half-Century Of Service
• The WJPZ Alumni Association, which unites alumni of Syracuse University’s student-operated Top 40 station WJPZ (Z89) will hold its 38th Annual Birthday Banquet on Saturday, March 4 on campus.
More than 150 alumni and students will attend the evening celebration, which marks the 38th year of WJPZ on the FM band, and, more significantly, 50 years since WJPZ launched in 1973 as an AM station with a blazing 1/10 of a watt, designed to simulate interest in professional radio. Over the ensuing five decades, WJPZ has grown its legacy as the “Greatest Media Classroom.”
The evening’s speaking program will feature a keynote speech from Noah Sheer, Executive Vice President of Promotion at Def Jam Recording and a 1996 graduate of Syracuse University. The event will be hosted by Stephen Donovan (Class of ’95), most recently morning host at WWLI/Providence. During the Banquet weekend, the WJPZ Alumni Association will formally induct its 13th class into the WJPZ Hall of Fame. Your new members are: Matt DelSignore (’02), longtime radio news anchor and reporter at major market stations including KDKA/Pittsburgh and WNEW/New York; Dave Dwyer (’86), Paulist Father and host of SiriusXM’s Busted Halo show; and Scott Meach (’90), entrepreneur, and longtime WJPZ Alumni Association President and multi-year GM.
The Association is also regularly posting new episodes of its podcast WJPZ at 50, featuring interviews with a wide range of alumni who have influenced the station and the communications industry over 50 years and is available on all popular podcast platforms.
“For 50 years, WJPZ has stood apart among collegiate broadcasters. That is worthy of celebration as this weekend brings together students, alumni, and leaders in the industry to prove why the station is one-of-a-kind in the nation,” said Kevin Rich (’07), President of the WJPZ Alumni Association and VP of Operations for Beasley Broadcast Group. Interested alumni can register for the Banquet online here.
