WSIE to present on-air fund drive starting this Friday, May 18

WSIE (88.7 FM) will air another fund-raising drive this weekend, starting at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 18 and continuing through Sunday night.

The station, which broadcasts from the campus of Southern Illinois Edwardsville and is the St. Louis area's only over-the-air radio station specializing in jazz, will be offering a variety of premiums to listeners who call in and pledge a financial contribution. The available "thank you" gifts include including a chance for a listener to to do his or her own two-hour jazz show or newscast on the station; a day of free underwriting announcements; and items including CDs, desk clocks, wine/bottle openers, insulated beverage glasses, and more.

During the weekend, a number of special guests are scheduled to chat live with WSIE hosts, including guitarist Rick Haydon, head of the SIUE Jazz Studies Program; guitarist Tom Byrne; Delano Redmond, head of the jazz music program at East St. Louis High School; and Dean Christopher, singer and impressionist who will appear on the station's new "Rat Pack" program that starts airing at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, May 19.

WSIE station manager Greg Conroy said proceeds will benefit the station’s equipment and operating funds. “The first on-air fund-raiser the station had conducted in two decades aired in December,” Conroy said in a news release, “and it was fairly successful, but we need to air these twice annually.” Some of the needs of the station include a transmitter generator, additional studio soundproofing, replacement audio system components, and music library enhancements.

In addition to its over-the-air signal, WSIE also streams its programming online via the station's website and can be heard using the smartphone app TuneIn Radio. You can read more about the station's rebirth as a locally focused outlet for jazz in this story I wrote back in February for the Riverfront Times.