By Joseph Frescott, Co-Editor-In-Chief
“WCWP FM is on the air.”
On March 16, 1965, at 4:00 p.m. Hank Neimark uttered those words and WCWP was born. Sixty years later, the first voice of WCWP returned and recited the phrase that will forever be tied to the rich history of WCWP.
WCWP celebrated its 60th birthday with a jam-packed weekend of events designed for alumni and current students to congregate and appreciate the work that each brought to the public radio station.
The events started on Friday, March 14 with a reception that took place inside of the newly renovated Abrams Communication Center located just outside of the Hillwood Commons.
The station held their 2024 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony the next day. Hosted by the current Station Director, Dan Cox, two of the accomplished WCWP alumni joined the growing list that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The first to be announced was Jeannie Moon, who worked in the sports department during her time as a student. Moon is a USA Today Best Selling author, writing nineteen romance novels following her time at Post.
“I just want to say that every single thing I did at Post in the radio station contributed to my career. There is not one skill that I acquired in that radio station that I did not apply. So really what you’re gaining here is a toolkit. And I don’t think that can be overlooked,” Moon said in her speech.
Moon was inducted by Daniel Reagan, who served as the Sports Director during his student years and worked closely with Moon during their time as students. Graduating in 1981, Reagan had a successful career working in the sports industry covering all the major Atlanta professional franchises with Turner Sports and working for major networks such as ESPN, CBS, and NBC. He was named to the WCWP Hall of Fame in 2022.
Reagan holds deep admiration for his Hall of Fame inductee.
“Jeannie [Moon] really had it inside her, she was a writer dying to break out, but she had this love of sports and her main focus was sports. She took a lot of people under her wing and helped them develop to be better writers because even at that age, even in her early twenties, she knew that she wanted to write and she was able to really hone those skills and become a better writer, presenter, and communicator through perseverance. She learned a lot of very valuable tools as did I from, from working in those, the hallowed halls of WCWP,” Reagan said.
Like Moon and many others, Reagan credits his time at WCWP for building the foundation to his career.
“I learned so much about what it took to be a professional in the broadcasting field at WCWP. It’s hard to quantify what a firm foundation I got by being at WCWP. I learned about writing, editing, being concise, deadlines, never giving up, the teamwork concept… There’s just so much that I learned about in college about being professional, being on time, being committed and I learned all of that at WCWP,” Reagan admitted.
The next alumni to be inducted was Laurie White, who was the first female Sports Director in the history of WCWP. An eight-time Emmy winner, White worked on the PGA Tour early in her career before doing freelance for ABC and NBC in their coverage of the Olympics.
Fred Gaudelli, a 1982 graduate, former Sports Director at WCWP, and 2019 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee, had the honor of inducting White. He admires her work at a time when women working in sports were uncommon.
“A lot of times people only view something in the lens that we’re in. So we’re in 2025. Women are finally equal to men in all fields, or at least have the same opportunities as men do in all fields. But that wasn’t the case in 1980… It wasn’t like Laurie White had all these role models and said, ‘Okay, yeah, I want to be like her.’ And the sports department was all men, she was the first then Jeannie [Moon] joined, but she and Jeannie were like the only two women, you know, like in the sports department,” Gaudelli said. They had to prove to men that ‘we’re sports fans, just like you. We know sports, just like you. And we want to do what you’re doing, just like you.’ And they were able to do that. It took a great deal of courage, it took a great deal of self-belief.”
White didn’t see her venture into the sports industry as a woman through the same lens.
“I don’t think [being a female working in sports] meant a whole lot to me. I don’t feel like I was necessarily breaking glass ceilings or anything like that. I was doing what I wanted to do, and it was such a welcoming atmosphere in the sports department that [gender] never really ever factored in,” White said. “I never felt held back being a woman, whether it was at the station or with my career and television, because I’ve just always kind of believe that you put the right people in place to do a job and if they could do the job then that’s great. It doesn’t really matter race or gender, any of that stuff never really mattered to me.”
White reminisces on her time at WCWP and expresses gratitude for the entry into the Hall of Fame.
“It meant a lot because I just loved my time at the station.. It is somewhat of a validation for the last 40 years of my career… I remember being a student, and I knew I had to get involved with the station because I knew that was where I was gonna get all my good experience. You don’t get that stuff out of a book anyway. Being a sports nut, I immediately gravitated towards the sports department… I was totally green, not knowing anything… I worked my way on air and just gradually got more and more involved… When I became Sports Director, I learned a lot of things in broadcasting, budgeting, and other skills that at the time I didn’t really realize but were important to my career,” White said.
Serving as Sports Director prior to White, Gaudelli is widely regarded as one of the greatest sports broadcasting producers to ever live, winning 24 Emmy Awards and spending thirty-three seasons as a lead producer for NFL primetime games. WCWP isn’t the only Hall of Fame he is a part of; in 2023, he was awarded the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His incredible career started inside the four walls of WCWP.
“The one thing I learned when I was [at WCWP] was the value of preparation and organization and the role that those two things played in having a successful show. That’s something that really set me up for the remainder of my career, that I worked really hard to be prepared. I made sure that I was organized because if I was organized, then whatever team I would be playing on or be leading, they would be organized,” Gaudelli said. “When you’re working in the media, whether it’s radio or television, that it takes a lot of people in a lot of different areas for the show to be successful… I think you learn that when you’re in a position of leadership, as I was in, especially in my senior year at WCWP, that it’s going to take a lot of people in a lot of different areas. And no one area is any more or less important than the other. So it’s the respect for your teammates and the acknowledgment of their importance to the overall success of the show…You’re only as strong as the weakest link.”
The induction ceremony concluded with the last Hall of Fame inductee, Benjamin Abrams. Accepting the award on her father’s behalf was Marjorie Hyman, his oldest daughter. Giving a remarkable recollection of her father’s life and legacy in the acceptance speech, this was undoubtedly one of the key moments of the weekend.
“The biggest highlight for me was meeting Marjorie Hyman. She’s 97 and a half years old. She wrote an unbelievable acceptance speech on behalf of her father, who was also inducted… I won the Benjamin Abrams award my senior year of college. But I really didn’t know much about Benjamin Abrams… He was the American dream personified… When she told his story, about where he came from, and what he came from, and then what he did in his life here in America, I was blown away, but I was equally blown away by a woman who’s 97 and a half years old, who was as lovely as you can be and incredibly intelligent,” Gaudelli expressed. “She gave a really heartfelt speech about her dad, and I got to speak with her as well… Marjorie just left an incredible impression on me, and I was so grateful to have met her.”
Abrams was a Romanian immigrant who escaped religious persecution and came to the United States at the age of 12. Abrams had an incredible work ethic and made the biggest move of his career by purchasing Emerson Records and Phonography Company in 1922. He became a pioneer in early radio, inventing numerous devices such as the “Pee Wee” pocket-sized radio, self-powered radio, and clock radios. His connection to WCWP began as a result of his connection with Chancellor Gordon Hoxie, who invited him to become a trustee. Upon finding out about the financial struggles facing WCWP in its early years, Abrams generously donated the funds used to build the station in 1964. Hyman recently funded the complete renovation of the Abrams Communication Center, giving students and public volunteers brand new equipment to produce quality content and grow their skills.
To see the full speech and the entire ceremony, click this link.
Saturday’s festivities concluded with a celebration dinner at the Roosevelt School on campus, connecting alumni old and new.
“Aside from the award, the nicest part of the weekend was seeing all the people gathered together who really have a deep caring of the station and knowing that it is in good hands,” White said. “I met a few recent alumni, and it was very enjoyable listening to what they were doing now, what they hoped to do and a few of their WCWP experiences. It seemed like they benefitted as much from their time at the station as did I.”
The grand finale of the celebration was 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 16 with the live recreation of the WCWP-FM sign on and a discussion hosted by 1975 marketing alumni and WCWP’s own Jeff Kroll.
“Sunday was the anniversary show. Three straight hours. Anybody from any era could get on. We had a lot of people here. It was great. It was just the right number of people. All different generations. I talked to people that I did not know well… Everybody has their stories of the place. It was really good,” Kroll said.
At 4:00 p.m., one of the four founders, Hank Neimark joined virtually to recreate the infamous sign on. During his time at WCWP from 1961 to 1965, Neimark laid the foundation (organizationally AND physically!) for what the public radio station is today. The groundwork was laid a few years prior when Neimark was an undergraduate student studying biology.
“It was 1961. What people don’t realize is the prevailing feeling was that actually radio was dead because TV had come in and it had made such a huge impact… The location of the studio is still around, it was like a walk-in closet divided in three… The station, at the very, very beginning, there was something about WCWP, it was beyond just the idea of establishing a radio station, just beyond the idea of having a carrier current station. It was an idea, a kind of a feeling that there’s something monumental about it,”
When the station was originally founded on October 18, 1961, WCWP broadcast on an AM carrier current that could only be heard on campus. The station was led by the first Station Manager, Art Beltron, who worked closely with Neimark to grow the station in it’s infancy. Working closely together, Beltron and Neimark were led by a prominent advisor that was fundamental in the creation of the station.
“We were basically training ourselves… As students, what did we know about going FM? We were between 18 and 21 years old. Enter Dr. [Herbert] Coston. Now, Coston was not there at the beginning. He worked in the theater department, and [the University] had no idea what they had done [by putting him in charge] because Coston was a force. He was so full of enthusiasm and so supportive. We moved lock, stock and barrel from that little studio,” Neimark exclaimed. “Coston took the reins and he went ahead and pushed the college. He got Senator Keating involved. He got the FCC involved. He got people to start donating brick and mortar and so forth… Because of Coston, we had a purpose. We knew that we had something that was going to be bigger than all of us.”
Dr. Herbert Coston was the successor to Virgil Jackson Lee, who are both two faculty considered founders of the station along with Neimark and Beltron. The group worked diligently to build the station and acquire the FM license. Their dream came true in 1965, when Neimark, now the Station Director after graduating from C.W. Post in 1964, got the licensing and began broadcasting on 88.1 FM.
Like many broadcasters whose voices have echoed through the airways of WCWP, Neimark went on to have an illustrious career in broadcasting, working as a television stage manager and producer across numerous networks, with ABC and NBC being the most notable, and covering major events such as the Olympics and New Year’s Eve.
Although there have been various physical changes over the sixty years, WCWP continues to be a place for students to get real-world experience in broadcasting. Starting his career at WCWP, Station Director Dan Cox was the Student Program Director during his days as a student, and with the help of colleague and friend Mark Snider, created the most successful live broadcast in the history of WCWP, “Rock and Roll Weekend.” With television experience at NBC and over two decades as the Station Director, Cox stresses the importance of college radio stations, even in today’s digital age.
“FM radio saves lives, in my opinion, because when we look at today and we see students, teenagers in particular who have many problems like depression, bullying, that kind of stuff, their outlet is almost impossible. There’s really no outlet for them to kind of go home, kind of when they go home, they’ll go back on the Internet, and the cycle continues… In many ways, I think the social aspect of radio saved a lot of lives, including my own, I would argue, because they were my friends, they were the people I could talk to when I was having difficulty either in school or with my peers,” Cox said. “We’ve had female sports directors, we’ve had every race creed in collar here, every religion, all working together towards the same goal, doing what we do… College radio stations are where diversity inclusion and equity are organic, not forced. Because in a place like this, you make friends for life. There are so many marriages and relationships that come out of places like this. College radio stations are elevated beyond just doing radio. I think they’re great places for people to learn about themselves… They set up a space where creative people have an opportunity to get better at what they what they really want to do regardless of their major… In the end, I think radio stations at colleges now are even more important than they used to be from that level. They may not be making the impact over the air that they used to with the music and all that stuff, but I think they make an incredible impact on the people who come to the college, come to the station and work here.”
The Wave is the student club developing aspiring broadcasters on 88.1 FM WCWP and over their web station. The club gives students opportunities to make their own music and talk shows on the air and hosts numerous events across campus. To learn more, attend one of the weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. at the Abrams Communication Center, contact the President, Avery Cochikas avyerini.cochikas@my.liu.edu and/or follow @thesoundofliu on Instagram.
WCWP is also the home of student sports broadcasting, known as LIU Sports Radio, which covers sports across both LIU campuses. LIU Sports Radio hosts a sports talk show, “The Sports Shark Tank,” which airs on 88.1 FM and streams on both WCWP.org and the WCWP mobile app from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Click the link to learn more!
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