Here is the latest news from Middle Tennessee State University.
Middle Tennessee State University’s WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 has opened a new satellite studio in Nashville, putting the station where the artists are and expanding its live radio and video programming as the largest Americana radio station in the United States.
A grand opening celebration was recently held at the Riverside Revival venue’s new 800-square-foot satellite studio on Porter Road in East Nashville. The event included music and an in-studio interview with country artist Sunny Sweeney, which was live-streamed and televised.
“This is a new chapter for WMOT. This satellite studio will allow artists touring Nashville to stop by our studio and have important conversations about their music,” said Beverly Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment. “I am so proud of everything WMOT has accomplished. It is a national success story in the world of public radio, and this new studio will allow that good work to continue.”
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee praised the new satellite studio as an expansion of the station’s ability to provide MTSU students with hands-on training opportunities and internships in a dynamic industry that demands practical skills from its professionals.
“WMOT’s presence in a music hub like Nashville allows our students to gain live production experience in the Music City while maintaining programming capabilities at the station’s headquarters on our campus,” said McPhee. “The nature of the radio industry requires stations to be flexible and innovative in their approaches, and this satellite studio fulfills that goal.”
The Nashville satellite site will be used as a remote studio for live performances, for producing shows that require artists to be in the studio, and as a base of operations for WMOT’s exclusive “Wired In” performance series, said Val Hoeppner, the station’s general manager.
“The Nashville location is critical to WMOT’s future success as the largest Americana radio station in the United States,” Hoeppner said. “The satellite broadcast and production studio will allow us to better serve our music community by providing a base in Nashville for studio performances. … It will allow us to be where the artists are.”
A partnership with the Boedecker Foundation has contributed in part to the opening of the new satellite studio on the foundation’s community campus. Opened in 2020 and anchored by the Riverside Revival venue, the campus serves as a modern, affordable space for nonprofits to connect and build community.
Hoeppner said the new studio will also allow WMOT to produce “higher quality audio and video” without having to rent space or transport equipment. The studio will provide space for interviews and long-form broadcast production.
“The new remote studio provides our radio production, video production, events and audio interns the opportunity to collaborate on live in-studio performances and record staff shows featuring performances or interviews,” said Hoeppner.
Founded in 1969, WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 is MTSU’s primary public radio station, committed to an all-American music format. The station will continue to operate from its location on the MTSU campus and will be programmed as a “daily trip” with no repeat songs within a 24-hour period. It will continue to play 16 songs per hour, as opposed to nine songs on commercial radio in Nashville.
MTSU celebrates 774 graduates at summer graduation ceremony
Middle Tennessee State University recognized the 774 newest graduates who received their degrees during the summer commencement ceremony on August 10 at the Murphy Center.
The summer class of 2024 consisted of 542 bachelor’s and 232 master’s students, including 184 master’s graduates, nine education students and 38 doctoral students. Five master’s students received graduation certificates.
With graduation in summer 2024, MTSU will have awarded more than 186,100 degrees, including associate, bachelor’s, master’s, education specialist and doctoral degrees, to its students since its founding in 1911 and completed its 113th academic year this summer.
The university’s 2024-25 academic year will begin on August 26 with the first official day of fall 2024 classes. For complete coverage of the summer graduation ceremony and a video summary, visit mtsunews.com.
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