Press Releases

July 8, 2002
Southampton College Public Radio Station Becomes WLIU 88.3 FM

Contact:
Patricia Conway (PR@southampton.liu.edu)
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

Dr. David Steinberg, President of Long Island University announced on Friday, July 5th that the call letters for WPBX-FM at Southampton College would change to WLIU-FM at 12:01 AM on Saturday July 6th, 2002. Dr. Steinberg made the announcement to the crowd gathered at the radio station's first annual Jazz Lifetime Achievement Awards benefit. He said, "We now proudly carry the name of both Long Island and Long Island University in our call letters and will become the radio voice of Long Island and as far into the rest of the world as we can be heard."

The opportunity to assign the call letters WLIU to the radio station licensed to Long Island University is a long-time dream of Dr. Steinberg's. It is part of his ambition for the University to be the foundation of a Long Island based public radio network offering programming that originates from the Brooklyn, C.W. Post, and Southampton campuses of the University to citizens of Long Island from Brooklyn to Montauk. The change in call letters was made possible through an arrangement with Lincoln University in Lincoln, Pennsylvania, licensee of a non-commercial radio station using the WLIU call sign.

Dr. Wallace Smith, General Manager of WLIU and Director of The Long Island University Public Radio Network stated that, "This is more than just a change of call letters…it reinforces the

commitment of Long Island University and its public radio station to all the people of Long Island. We will build our local programming on the strengths of the University's teaching programs in writing, journalism, media arts, communications, and jazz studies. We will reach into our community to draw upon the rich treasure of distinguished writers, artists, musicians, journalists, and business people who call Long Island home. We will embrace the diverse ethnic and cultural communities of Long Island and represent them in our programming. We believe that Long Island deserves its own public radio station and that Long Island University is the right institution to provide it."

"A large audience for WLIU resides in Connecticut. Because the shores of Long Island Sound connect the southern shore of Connecticut to Long Island, we claim it as part of the territory served by WLIU and will create programming that originates from the abundant intellectual, artistic, and jazz tradition of Connecticut as well," stated Dr. Smith.

WLIU 88.3 FM is located at Southampton College. The Long Island University Public Radio Network includes WLIU-88.3 FM, Southampton and WCWP 88.1 FM in Brookville, New York.