WUOG in Athens Turns 50

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Alumni from the legendary college radio station WUOG “90.5 FM” in Athens, GA, have announced events surrounding the station’s 50th anniversary.

Check out the WUOG Alumni Facebook page HERE.

Public radio WUOG launched on October 22nd, 1972 and has been operated by UGA students for its entirety. WUOG returned from a university shut down in 1981 with a focus on playing local bands from the burgeoning Athens music scene. The new “90.5 FM, Athens’ Rock Alternative” was at the epicenter of the national 1980s college radio movement that first played Athens’ own B-52s and R.E.M., U2, The Police, Talking Heads, Pretenders, Depeche Mode, and many others that led to the birth of the commercial radio Alternative format. 90.5 FM students continue to blaze new trails with a progressive mix of independent and local music, news, sports, and public affairs programs.

Many current and former media professionals started their careers at WUOG, including TBS sportscaster Ernie Johnson Jr., musician Danger Mouse (Brian Burton), Atlanta Braves TV sportscaster Chip Carey, Oscar winning Sound Editor Don Sylvester, Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network Announcer Neil “Hondo” Williamson, long-time Georgia TV and radio broadcaster Richard Warner, and many others.

According to Richard Warner, “UOG has launched the broadcasting careers of many over the years, but beyond that, it was the heart of our college experience. We made lifelong friendships and some of our most precious memories. Station alum are flying in from all over the country to see each other. It’s been a long time…but in other ways, it was yesterday.”

A private concert from Pylon Reenactment Society will be held on Friday, October 21st, in the former 40 Watt Club performance room that is now part of Sister Louisa’s Church in Athens.

Also on Friday, October 21st at 3:00 p.m. in Studio 100, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will feature WUOG alumni Richard Warner, Mike Henry, Val Carolin, and Condace Pressley for a panel discussion, “Talk about the Passion – WUOG at 50: Looking Back and Looking Ahead.” Dr. Jennifer Griffith, WUOG alumna and Senior Lecturer in Advertising in the Grady College, will moderate this conversation.

Sister Louisa’s Church will then host the alumni group for a happy hour and cutting of a WUOG birthday cake later Friday afternoon, followed by an hour of old school karaoke before the Pylon Reenactment Society event. Rounding out the weekend’s activities will be a pub crawl on Saturday, October 22nd.

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