On Nov. 21, Jess Cleary-Reuning gave a presentation entitled “Between the Static” about the history and cultural impact of WMEB 91.9 FM, the University of Maine student-run radio station. Cleary-Reuning has been the station manager for WMEB for the last two semesters. With her graduation at the end of this semester bringing an end to her time as an undergraduate student, she gave the presentation in order to look back on her experience, as well as what WMEB means to her and the campus community.
Cleary-Reuning started the presentation with a brief introduction to the station, talking about the original antenna that was placed on top of Stevens Hall in 1962, which was eventually moved and replaced by a stronger antenna. In the summer of 1980, the station moved to the recently-demolished East Annex. It was not until 2003 that it moved to the basement of the Memorial Union. This allows the station to use the tagline “We’re underground… literally!” Playing on the fact that the station has played primarily smaller or “underground” artists for most of its history.
The Presentation then focused more on the station’s recent history, starting with Cleary-Reuning’s start at the station. She stated that she came to the University of Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forbade students from going in and doing their shows. Despite that, WMEB still had music playing on the airways throughout the pandemic thanks to the station’s Robo DJ, which shuffles music inputted by the student staff and advisor. Cleary-Reuning expressed her gratitude to the Robo DJ for its tireless efforts in keeping the station in line with FCC regulations.
Because of the pandemic, the station was short of shows that were coming out of the quarantine period. Cleary-Reuning shared that all the station jobs were open when she first arrived, as all staff were graduating. At the start of the fall semester in 2023, there were only 25 shows on the air, which has grown to over 50 shows. Taking the station from the brink of ending to where it is now is a massive undertaking, and it is clear through this presentation how much this station means to her. She views WMEB as an outlet for students to explore their own ideas and grow their taste in music and their listeners.
Cleary-Reuning used the end of her presentation to play a short interview segment, where she spliced up interviews with station staff and DJs. This segment was incredibly informative on the impact WMEB has on student lives, as each of the interviewees stated something along the lines of how they met most of their friends there, or how they use the station as a place to explore themselves through music and ideas. When the presentation ended, she opened up to questions from the audience and was asked what had brought her to make this presentation. She stated that a fellow staff member told her to write a book about it when she asked how she should process her time there as she knew it was ending.
Throughout the presentation, it was clear the importance of WMEB not only to Cleary-Reuning, but also to all of campus. This idea was the clearest when she was asked what some of her favorite shows are, listing, “Fast Pistols and Flash” with DJ Zeke from 10 p.m to midnight on Wednesdays, “CinemaScapes” with DJ Benji from 5 to 7 p.m on Tuesdays and finally, “Southern Hospitality” with DJ Ryan on Sundays noon to 2 p.m. What she had to say about DJ Ryan’s show stuck with me the most. She expressed it was really cool to see him play queer country artists and really reclaim the South from what it is known for, as DJ Ryan is from Georgia. This sums up what WMEB is all about: expressing student ideas and telling the stories they want to tell.
