WMSV

This article is about the Mississippi radio station. For the retrovirus, see WMSV (virus).

WMSV (91.1 FM) is a radio station in Starkville, Mississippi located on the campus of Mississippi State University.

WMSV

Starkville, Mississippi
Broadcast area	Golden Triangle (Starkville, Columbus, West Point)
Frequency	91.1 MHz
Branding	91.1 The Junction
Programming
Format	College radio
Ownership
Owner	Mississippi State University
History
First air date	March 21, 1994
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	43173
Class	C2
ERP	14,000 watts
HAAT	139 meters (456 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	33°25′56″N 88°45′00″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	wmsv.msstate.edu

History

Prior to WMSV, Mississippi State had a student-run radio station, WMSB, which went off the air permanently at the end of the spring semester of 1986. WMSB was a low-power FM station with studios on the top floor of Lee Hall. Marketed as "The Radio," the station's 10-watt, FM signal barely extended past the boundaries of the campus.

The station's album oriented rock (AOR) format was augmented with an hourly ten-to-fifteen minute jazz block. Additionally, weekend formatting was African-American oriented beginning in 1979. WORJ's News Blimp program was also broadcast.

WMSB was started during the fall semester of 1971 in a freshman dorm room on the third floor of Critz Hall, utilizing an FM stereo transmitter that was designed and built as a high school science fair project by one of the station's founders. The station's original call letters were RHOM. It was on air from 8:00-midnight each evening. Later, funding was solicited from the Student Association. With funding approved, the low-power RCA FM transmitter was ordered and the call letters WMSB were issued by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The station was moved to studios on the top floor of Lee Hall that had been occupied by a student-run AM station, and 10-watt WMSB hit the air in 1974^[2] on 89.1 MHz.

WMSV - Radio With a Vision

Radio With a Vision logo (1994–1999)

On March 21, 1994, the campus radio station went back on the air after an eight-year absence, and on a new license. The station's new call letters were WMSV. The 14,000-watt station broadcast across a 50-60 mile radius around the campus and used the slogan "Radio With a Vision" (playing off the V in the station call letters, but also alluding to its format). When it began operations, the station played a blend of alternative rock and album oriented rock (AOR). The station also broadcast many specialty shows such as blues, jazz, new age, urban and a number of public affairs programs.^[3]

In the beginning, the station was run by more than 75 student volunteers with a paid general manager, Steve Ellis, on staff with the university.

WMSV quickly garnered two first place awards from the National Association of College Broadcasters in its first year of operations and numerous Gold Awards from the Mississippi Association of College Broadcasters. It was recognized as one of the College Music Journal's most influential college stations in the country.^[3]

By 1996, an assistant station manager, Scott Wilson, had been hired, but volunteers still worked in the capacity of DJs, music staffers, news reporters, anchors, specialty program hosts, public affairs program hosts and office staff.^[4]

WMSV - World Class Radio

World Class Radio logo (1999–2004)

In January 1999, WMSV changed its slogan to "World Class Radio". The decision to change the identifying logo/slogan of the station was due to the change in the music format to more of an Adult album alternative blend.^[5]

WMSV - 91.1 The Junction

On August 15, 2024, WMSV rebranded as "91.1 The Junction".^[6]