A Long, Rich History

WIDB signed on the air on Sunday April 12, 1970 as a completely student-run operation housed in the basement of the Wright Hall dormotories. (We were supposed to be in the basement of Boomer Hall, but there were protests over having a bunch of hippies down there, so we went to Wright instead.) WIDB’s early years are a window into the changing landscape of the 60s and 70s – a rising of adolecent views in contrast to those in power – both on a national and university level.  Though it was only carrier current, WIDB changed the landscape of SIU.

After 17 years in Wright Hall, WIDB moved to the Student Center in 1987.  From our offices on the 4th floor, we continue to bring Southern Illinois University Carbondale a center for student voice, cutting edge music, and student-oriented news and sports programming. In our years, we’ve done Cable FM,  and now webstreaming. Sadly, a lightning strike removed our carrier current signal, and despite efforts to go to low power FM, WIDB has not quite been able to make the transition to full-power broadcasting. But this suits the spirit of WIDB just fine – the freedom of the internet allows us to reach out of SIU and into the world!

On Wednesday January 26, 2005, WIDB made history again with the launch of our second station: The Remedy – our 24-7 hip-hop station. Alongside our Alt-rock original, the Revolution, we can now provide a bigger outlet than ever for the students of SIU. True to our roots, we’re still completely student-run, from the DJs all the way to the General Manager. Who knows what the future holds for WIDB? If our past is any indicator, it’ll be a wild ride!

For more information about WIDB, you can see a more thorough history at widbnetwork.org. If you have any questions, you can contact our General Manager at genmanager@widb.net , call 536-2361 or come and visit us on the 4th floor of the Student Center… we love visitors!