91.5 WMHW-FM changes name to ‘Moore Rock’

If your radio station is tuned to 91.5 WHMW-FM you may have noticed a change last week.

The Central Michigan University radio station changed its name to Moore Rock 91.5 from Modern Rock 91.5 on Oct. 1, said WMHW-FM Program Director and California senior Evan Hodgens said.

Hodgens said the change, which was decided at the beginning of the calendar year and by the whole staff, is not just in name but also includes re-configuring some of the station’s content.

“Pushing specialty shows to the weekends,” he said. “During the week will be for DJs on-air and giving people experience.”

Specialty shows include hip-hop showcase Urban Exchange, as well as shows which cover sports, Hodgens said.

The station will be broadening the range of rock music it plays, going back to the mid-1990s and early 2000s to include different music other than current songs in rotation on major radio stations, said Dillon Stanco, WMHW station manager.

“We want more consistency out of the station,” Stanco said. “If someone wants to listen to music at 6 p.m., we’ll play the same thing at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday,” he said.

Stanco said the shows won’t change format and the only thing that should change is the time when the shows air on the station.

He said the idea of refocusing the station’s content came after a meeting in fall of 2011.

“We met with a group on the east coast and they suggested broadening the rock music spectrum,” he said.

He said about eight hours a week are devoted to non-format specialty shows, including sports and genre-specific music shows.

“Other than that, it’s all rock music,” he said.

The name Moore Rock, is a play on the hall’s name where the station is located in Moore Hall, but it’s also indicative of the changes in the station’s schedule and philosophy, Hodgens said.

“We’re (also) broadcasting more rock music,” he said.

He said the changes will make the station grow, in total listeners and the type of music it plays.

“We want to make our listeners hear the same thing everyday,” he said. “We want to grow; bring a bigger audience.”