WRKC is a 440 watt student operated college radio station in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...

, in northeastern Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. The station's signal is best listened to within inner Luzerne County

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...

 (Wilkes-Barre, Kingston

Kingston, Pennsylvania

Kingston is a municipality located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, on the Susquehanna River opposite Wilkes Barre. Kingston was incorporated as a borough in 1857. Kingston has adopted a home rule charter which became effective in January 1976. It is part of the greater metropolitan...

, Swoyersville

Swoyersville, Pennsylvania

Swoyersville is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,157 at the 2000 census. Swoyersville is located within the Wyoming Valley West School District.-History:...

), but can also be heard in outer Luzerne County (Pittston

Pittston, Pennsylvania

Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. It gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal mining city, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. The population was...

, Nanticoke

Nanticoke, Pennsylvania

Nanticoke is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,465 at the 2010 census.-History:The name Nanticoke was derived from Nantego, the Indian tidewater people who moved here when their Maryland lands were spoiled for hunting by the colonial settlement in...

, Dallas

Dallas, Pennsylvania

Dallas is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,557 at the 2000 census. It was created by a charter granted April 21, 1879 from land entirely within Dallas Township. The township had been formed in 1817 and was named for Alexander J. Dallas, who was the 6th...

).

Format

Like many college radio stations, WRKC is run completely by students at King's College

King's College, Pennsylvania

King's College is a liberal arts college located in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. Accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, King's has been ranked among the best colleges in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for 16 straight years...

, except for the general manager. The station's radio format

Radio format

A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...

 has a fair mixture of contemporary rock, indie rock, punk rock and other assorted genres. Students must play at least 40% of their music from rotation, but sometimes this rule is voided if the genre of a show is unique (i.e., a reggae show would not require rotation to be played since there is very little reggae in rotation). In 2010, a completely student written and performed radio noir show began broadcasting on the station, making it one of the only non-music programs available on the station. WRKC was formerly a mixed news, talk and music station but in the last fifteen years went to a complete radio format, save for the aforementioned radio noir show and the station's anchor program, the Radio Home Visitor

Radio Home Visitor

The Radio Home Visitor is a local radio program in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, broadcast by 88.5 WRKC, King's College Radio. It is a daily reading of Wyoming Valley newspapers and is constantly cited as one of the most listened-to news programs in the Wyoming Valley. RHV reaches the elderly, blind...

, a news program that reads the day's local newspapers to the blind for the past 35 years. While a mixed radio format, the station aired some infamous segments such as a student interview with the Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...

.
The station is webcast. The station airs 24-hours a day on a 440 watt signal, playing a jukebox of CDs when student DJs do not do shows.

Bands

The general practice of WRKC, like many other college radio stations, is to play non-mainstream and underground bands. In recent years, bands like Fallout Boy

Fallout Boy

Fall Out Boy may refer to:*Fall Out Boy, a band from Illinois, United States*Fallout Boy, a fictional character from The Simpsons and Bongo Comics.* Vault-Tec's mascot, properly called "Vault Boy", from the Fallout series of games....

, Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....

 and My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...

 were played heavily on WRKC before they achieved mainstream attention. Many popular bands in previous decades have been played on WRKC before they reached mainstream popularity.

Sports

The station also airs broadcasts of football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 and basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

games for King's College, and is planning on airing baseball and lacrosse in the future.

External links

• WRKC Website
• WRKC Alumni website (photos and info about the station's history)