Osprey Radio

Osprey Radio began in 1993 as the University of North Florida Broadcasting Association, a club under the supervision of communications Professor Joe Lesem. The station quickly expanded when Continental Cablevision, the cable provider for Jacksonville at the time, donated equipment and allowed WOSP to provide the background music for the programming guide on channel 4. This arrangement ended when Continental Cablevision was brought out by MediaOne. After that, WOSP broadcast its signal on two closed-circuit cable channels on campus: channel 12, the Housing channel, and channel 58, the Osprey TV channel (which was switched in summer 2003 from channel 56). Osprey TV has subsequently been moved to channel 118 and provides its own 24-hour programming, so Osprey Radio broadcasts solely on the internet at www.ospreyradio.com.
    

Osprey Radio was given space in Building 2, an old teachers’ lounge about 150 square feet in area with an attached outdoor balcony. In summer 2000, Osprey Radio was elevated from club status and included in a new umbrella organization called the Center for Student Media along with the student newspaper, the Spinnaker, and Osprey TV. Under Senate legislation SB-00SA-1342A, each student media outlet was transferred from Student Government and Club Alliance to the Office of Student Development (now Student Affairs) under the Division of Student Affairs. CSM has an advisory board that has the duties of providing support, critiquing performances and, most importantly, selecting leadership for each of the three student-run organizations.

In January 2001,Osprey Radio coordinated with Computer Services (now Information Technology Services) on a venture that would change the path of Osprey Radio forever. The formation of a university Web stream allowed Osprey Radio to simultaneously broadcast its signal to millions of potential listeners on the Internet, with a maximum of 200 concurrent listeners. The existence of Osprey Radio on the Web was endangered in 2002 when legislation passed in Congress granting the Library of Congress the ability to collect royalties on copyright music broadcast online. It seemed the proposed fees would destroy Osprey Radio’s Web stream for good, but an exception was made for noncommercial and educational broadcasters. This made Web streaming affordable for Osprey  Radio and other college radio stations.

Osprey Radio has a history of diverse programming, ranging from College Top 30 to hip hop to jazz to sports and talk radio. As at any other college radio station, Osprey Radio will continue to broadcast in the interest of providing a diverse alternative to commercial radio far into the future. The University of North Florida and its Student Government recognize that Osprey Radio is autonomous in its programming, owing to its Constitutionally protected First Amendment rights and regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission.  Osprey Radio adheres to the principles established in the Federal Communications Act of 1934, which, in part, states that broadcast station shall operate in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.”