Records of WNYU
1949-1996, bulk
; 1949-1996, 2013-ongoing, inclusive
WNYU (Radio station : New York, N.Y.)
Materials primarily in English.
This collection documents WNYU's history from 1949-1992, from its inception as an educational AM radio station to its acquisition of an FM frequency and emergence as innovative music programming. Administrative files, audio recordings of broadcasts, publications, and architectural drawings situate WNYU's growth and impact within NYU, New York City, and music history.
The administrative files in this collection date from 1949-1969 and include correspondence, minutes, legal documents, memoranda, and subject files that portray the efforts of WNYU's staff to build up an AM-FM radio station and maintain educational programming in the New York metropolitan area. Correspondence is predominantly between WNYU's staff and other constituent parts of the University, including Joseph Steinberg, the station's manager during the 1960s with University offices; the Inter-Colligiate Broadcasting System; Miller, Montgomery and Spanding concerning construction for WNYU facilities; and Larry J. Hollander, the faculty advisor to the WYNU staff, with Steinberg. Other correspondence relates to the broader media and metropolitan community, such as correspondence of the staff with fellow radio stations including the Columbia University station, concerning such topics as the election of 1964, Ray Nelson, and a Senator Claiborne Pell interview about youth legislation; letters from The New York Times to Arnold Rosner, Director of Classical Music at WNYU; letters from the Police Department of New York City; and letters from United Press International. Also included are minutes of meetings of the WNYU Board of Directors, budget reports and operating expense estimates of WNYU members, log forms, schedules, applications, architectural drawings, certificates from Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, advertising brochures, programs, newsletters, printed promotional material, newspapers published from 1957-1973, and Static programs published from 1986-1988.
The audio recordings in this collection document WNYU's FM programming from 1973-1992, which highlighted music of various genres from the 1960s-1990s with an emphasis on punk and underground scenes. Shows included the New Afternoon Show, Crucial Chaos, Club 89, Music View, Rap This!, and Unheard, among others. Live performances and interviews with musicians and groups such as Sonic Youth, the Dead Kennedys, the Smashing Pumpkins, K.D. Lang, LL Cool J, Band of Susans, Butthole Surfers, Frank Zappa, and Sarah McLaughlin were showcased between DJ sets. The New Midnight Society provided a platform for NYU students and faculty to read their written works and showcase musical compositions. A few recordings in this collection also highlight NYU events and lecture series.
University Archives staff in 2000. Revised by Katie Senft in 2003.
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-31 15:28:40 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English
New York University Archives