Back to Z89 (and Receivership) with Dena and Harry, Class of 1999

Back to Z89 (and Receivership) with Dena and Harry, Class of 1999

Author: WJPZ January 20, 2023 Duration: 47:17

Simply put, Harry Wareing and Dena (Giacobbe) Laupheimer are two people the radio station wouldn't have survived without. Both members of the Class of 1999, Harry first came to the station as a freshman and became a "utility player" for Jeff Wade and Dan Austin when they launched The Pulse in 1995.  Dena joined later. working her way through the promotions department and up into management.

In 1997, Harry and Dena decided to restore the Z89 brand.  They explained what went into that decision (a lot of it over Burger King in the Kimmel Food Court), and taking the risk to upend the station for the second time in less than two years.   As with the change to The Pulse, some were in favor of the idea and some were not.

In the Fall of 1997, for several different reasons, the station was placed into receivership and had to fight for its survival.  Harry and Dena explain the confluence of events that led to this, and the immense pressure they felt to keep the institution alive.  Harry was recruiting every freshman on campus to supplement the skeleton crew of the radio station, while Dena was handling the business side of things and fielding calls from well-meaning but concerned alumni.

The station survived - and then some.   What Harry learned in recruiting freshmen like Marty Dundics in 1997, he "perfected" in 1998, bringing in a new class, empowering them, and getting them excited about the radio station.   Folks like Jag, Beth (Berlin) Cohen, Jana Fiorello, and the station's next GM, Matt DelSignore.

In fact, we close the episode with one of Dena's favorite Matt stories.

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The WJPZ at 50 Podcast is produced by Jon Gay '02 and JAG in Detroit Podcasts

Want to be on the show? Email JAG at jag@jagpodcastproductions.com

Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/


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For fifty years, the student-run airwaves of Syracuse University's WJPZ at 50 have been more than a radio station; they've been a launchpad. This oral history project captures that legacy not through dry facts, but through the voices that built it. Each episode is a conversation with a different alumnus, from the pioneers of the 1970s to recent graduates, tracing how their hands-on experience in what's called the "world's greatest media classroom" shaped careers in broadcasting and far beyond. You'll hear personal stories of late-night broadcasts, technical mishaps turned into triumphs, and the forging of lifelong bonds that created a unique professional family spanning generations. This podcast digs into the real, often messy, work of learning by doing, revealing how a campus station became an enduring institution. Tune in for a collection of fifty interviews that together form a living archive, celebrating the people, not just the programming, behind five decades of student-led radio.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

WJPZ at 50
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