ATLANTA ― The staff at Georgia State University’s student-run radio station has a go-to April Fool’s joke. They dream up a buyer for the university’s FCC license—a New Age station or maybe talk radio.
On May 6, the joke didn’t seem as funny.
Joint statements from GSU and Georgia Public Broadcasting announced a deal replacing student shows on 88.5 FM with GPB programs from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. and moving the student DJs online. Student shows would broadcast on the FM channel overnight, and Georgia State would still own the license.
Both entities said the change would be good for everyone involved, giving students opportunities for internships and GPB a coveted spot on metro Atlanta airwaves. Students, alumni and supporters reacted quickly and loudly, upset they hadn’t been informed until the deal was done.
Fray DeVore, the station’s outgoing music director who graduated this spring from GSU, flashed back to those April Fool’s jokes when he learned about the changes. The outcry was validation for a group of students passionate about WRAS but never certain whether anyone else cared, DeVore said.
“Having complete strangers come to our aid makes it feel like more than a fun thing we do,” he said.
GSU announced Friday that it would push the launch back to June 29 instead of Monday. But backers of the station remain uncertain about its future, and fear losing an outlet they say is part of Atlanta’s music culture and an icon in college radio.
