This month, WFUV will have a new voice—longtime station manager Ralph Jennings will hand the microphone to Chuck Singleton, the station’s program director. Jennings will assume the role of director of internal and external relations on June 30, when Singleton will be named interim general manager.
“These past 25 years at WFUV have allowed me to realize a dream,” Jennings said. “From the time I was a boy, I’ve believed in the power of radio to entertain and inform. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and grateful to all the staff, students, and colleagues, at Fordham and in the public radio system, who have contributed to our achievements.”
He took over WFUV (90.7 FM, www.wfuv.org) in 1985, and turned the student-run operation into the thriving public radio station it is today. Licensed to Fordham for more than 60 years, the station now mixes a professional staff of 27 with over 90 paid interns. On Jennings’ watch, the station has grown from a weekly audience of 80,000 to more than 300,000 listeners and more than 20,000 members. Jennings also saw WFUV’s physical plant updated to include state-of-the-art studio facilities, and upgraded WFUV’s transmission facilities, so that its signal is heard much more widely throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Singleton likewise has a long history with WFUV, having joined the station in 1987 as its first director of news and public affairs. He developed WFUV’s coverage of community issues and its student training programs, and created and hosted the program Cityscape. In the past year, Singleton has served on WFUV’s strategic planning committee, and was recently named its chair. The process already has resulted in a unified vision for the station, and will serve in further moving WFUV toward its goals, including increased listeners and membership.
“I’m honored and humbled to be asked to step in as interim general manager,” Singleton said. “It’s been a real privilege to work with Ralph in charting the direction of the station. I have great faith in the future of WFUV as it reshapes itself as a public media organization for the 21st century.”
Photos Courtesy of WFUV
– John Platt
