Vice President/General Manager; WMPH FM Radio (Jan 1993 - Jun 2010)
Hired to reinstate the defunct station by ordering and installing new equipment and obtaining FCC license in 1993 (worked with architect and construction company to design new facilities during entire building renovation in 1995)
Develop curriculum and teach student workshops for communications theory, broadcast technology, and journalism
Train, supervise and schedule both students and adult community volunteers at WMPH 91.7 FM
Obtain funding and sponsors, recruit staff, and maintain office records and FCC logs
Coordinate on-air programming (radio shows, announcements, music) and special events (dances, festivals, media events, remote broadcasts, field trips)
Provide audio/video recording and editing service for school concerts, sporting events, and educational presentations
Founder and Executive Director; Broadcast Learning Center of the Brandywine School District at Mount Pleasant High School
Founded the Broadcast Learning Center incorporating radio, television, film club, recording studio, puppets, newspaper, and web team at Mount Pleasant High School
Instructor, technical adviser, alumni liaison, historian, and public information officer (webmaster) at Mount Pleasant High School
Director of Communications and Media Technology within school district c/o State of Delaware
Founder and Chairperson; Mount Pleasant Historical Society
Founder of the Mount Pleasant Historical Society and chairperson for the 175th anniversary celebration Oct 2005, historical marker dedication May 2007, and high school building 50th anniversary ceremony Oct 2008
I resurrected this defunct radio station, built the studios, and taught hundreds of students. I acted in multiple capacities influencing programming, music, talk & sports shows, educational features, remote broadcasts, and special events.
Clint Dantinne
Clint Dantinne founded the Broadcast Learning Center
The WMPH Story (1969-2010)
as told by Clint Dantinne employed 1993-2010
Listen to a 5 minute 30 second SAMPLE of WMPH archived voices during the era of manager Clint Dantinne. From 1993-2010, many thousands of announcements were recorded for WMPH with a variety of voices.
Radio Station Background
WMPH 91.7 FM radio station serves the three high school of the Brandywine School District; Brandywine, Concord, and Mount Pleasant.Unrelated to the conception of WMPH radio station, Mount Pleasant had a radio and TV club according to the 1956 Green Leaf yearbook. This club focused more on the engineering aspects of broadcast technology.The idea for a high school radio station at Mount Pleasant High School was conceived by the student council Class of 1968.
Note: Until 1978, this was the Mount Pleasant Special School District. With desegregation, the New Castle County School District was formed. This new district was just too large. As a result, four smaller school districts were born in 1981. Mount Pleasant High School now resides within the Brandywine School District.After much hard work and approval from the Federal Communications Commission, WMPH at Mount Pleasant High became a reality in October 1969.During the formative years of the radio station, it was mainly utilized as an after school club. Many students benefited from this unique club; the only high school radio station in the State of Delaware.As the culture of our community changed, so did the radio station. Due to unsupervised activities in the radio studios, deviant behavior resulted. The Brandywine School District Board of Education, established in 1981, became the owner of the radio station FCC license. Several years later in 1990, the decision of the school was to shut down the radio station.During the years WMPH was dark (meaning off the air), the school district forfeited the rights of the broadcast license. As an alumnus with radio experience, I gave a written proposal to the superintendent of the Brandywine School District. The school board voted favorably on my proposal to reinstate the station as phase one of the Broadcast Learning Center. The school district hired me during my senior year of college to resurrect the defunct radio station.
Click HERE for Clint Dantinne's adventures in radio blog.
Note: I was on the radio station from July 1987 through January 1988 while in high school. Then a student DJ myself, I hosted as Colonel C. I imagined taking WMPH to new heights even then. After graduating Mount Pleasant High School in 1988, I visited a year later.
It was a struggle to again obtain a broadcast license from the Federal Communications Commission. West Chester University, about 12 miles away, had applied for the frequency of 91.7 FM during the time WMPH was dark. I negotiated on behalf of the school district between the university and FCC for the sovereign broadcast rights in our region.WMPH returned to the air on March 1, 1993.Only two years later, the entire building of Mount Pleasant High School was completely renovated. For the 1995-1996 school year, the operation of the school was moved to an alternate location. WMPH was relocated to a trailer four miles away in Claymont. A dedicated line sent our broadcast audio from the WMPH temporary location to the original transmitter site. I personally was responsible for moving then reinstalling all broadcast equipment.The new radio facilities at the high school were designed by me after meeting with an architect. I also supervised the construction project throughout the year. I later moved then again reinstalled all broadcast equipment to the new studios. In the summer of 1996, WMPH returned to Mount Pleasant High School and a modern studio.In 2003, another minor renovation took place as new windows were installed throughout the school. The radio station remained on-air during this construction project. In the summer of 1996, WMPH returned to Mount Pleasant High School and a modern studio.
Radio Station Programming
The programming of WMPH has always been source of debate since its inception. In the early 1970s, WMPH was primarily a rock station. It later became an open format. The station remained an open format when I reinstated the station in 1993. After careful consideration to resolve content and personnel problems, the programming on WMPH was changed to a dance music format.When we say ‘open format’, we are referring to an anything goes station. Provided the content is free of obscenities, the disc jockey has total control of the music choice. The student DJs like freedom to play whatever they wish, but the station as a whole would have few regular listeners.During this time, WMPH allowed adults in the community to have shows late nights and weekends. Variety shows consisted of Latin (salsa & merengue), Christian modern rock & ska, jazz, reggae, world music, oldies, heavy metal, rap, punk, talk, and sports.With a dedicated music format such as dance, listeners know what to expect. An actual identity is created and many more people listen regularly.It is important that a radio station establish an identity with its community and prospective listening audience. No single radio station can effectively be ‘all things to all people’ as proven by broadcast ratings and radio advertising sales.Why dance music? Dance music is radio friendly, meaning clean lyrics. Dance music is known for ‘feel good’ socially positive messages. And, the dance music industry is growing substantially in the U.S. and worldwide. The largest high school radio station in the United States, based in Seattle, adopts the dance music format.
Note: Clint Dantinne wrote a blueprint for growth within the dance music industry in 2007 titled the Declaration of Dance.
Today’s dance music is combination of original music from both aspiring and established industry artists, remixes of retro dance songs, and remixes of current popular hit music.Dance music reaches a very large demographic which includes a mixed sampling of all cultures, races, and ages. Dance music almost equally appeals to men and women.Dance music is commonly played by disc jockeys at nightclubs, radio stations, raves, and parties. Mobile DJs play dance music to entertain at wedding receptions and other special events.WMPH does all of our own programming each day. Everything you hear, each song and announcement, is generated at the WMPH studios.
Broadcast Learning Center
WMPH was a catalyst for the Broadcast Learning Center of the Brandywine School District. As the Broadcast Learning Center founder and educator, I supervise all forms of communication at the school including radio, television, film, recording, puppets, and the radio and school web sites.I am also responsible for collaborating with the Afterschool Alliance, an advocacy group of public, private, and nonprofit organizations committed to raising awareness and expanding resources for afterschool programs.WMPH 91.7 FM radio station is the primary component of the Broadcast Learning Center. The radio station operates 24 hours each day year-round. Being themanager and designated chief operator, I was on call 24/7.
Listen to this of WMPH archived voices during my administration. From 1993-2010, many thousands of announcements were recorded for WMPH with a variety of voices including personal drops from the artists themselves.The purpose of our radio station is about people. We teach our students the importance of public service and interaction with diverse aspects of our community.Our students are trained in a professional environment with the latest resources in broadcast technology.Guests are frequently interviewed by our student radio hosts either live in the studios or via telephone.Students learn not only the technical skills to succeed, but what to say on the air and how to say it.Many well recognized personalities have visited our radio studios including politicians, Miss Delaware USA……sports stars including the Harlem Globetrotters, and numerous musicians.We teach the art of radio voice tracking and……non-linear recording and editing.WMPH broadcasts live from many community events. We have a 100 square foot customized canopy for remote broadcasts.The radio students often remotely DJ from school dances and other special events.We have participated in many community expos including this one for the annual New Castle County Chamber of Commerce Women's Expo at the Dupont Country Club.Our students have gathered news from press conferences and regional events such as the Delaware State Fair.We broadcast from local carnivals and festivals……and, of course, our school functions including homecoming.Although a not-for-profit organization, WMPH is a member of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.We have hosted our own concerts with performers of the dance music industry and organized special live events.Since its’ conception in the late 1960s, WMPH is no stranger to local news.
Throughout my own tenure with the school, our radio station has appeared many times in the local press. I have been interviewed on local television and news radio stations.
I was also a guest on the WPVI-6 ABC weekly television show Puerto Rican Panorama, hosted by Diego Castellanos, discussing Latino radio issues. At the time, WMPH had several hours each weekend dedicated to Hispanic programming. Separately, I had appeared as a guest on local community access television shows. WMPH was also featured on First State News televised broadcast.
Not just local news, but I even made the Associated Press national news!
In June of 2009, WMPH was recognized nationally for standing up against a proposed performance tax. We boycotted the artists that unfairly demand radio stations pay them for playing their music. On June 10, this Associated Press story went all over the United States in every major newspaper. Notice the line "A Delaware radio station boycotted all artists affiliated with musicFIRST for an entire month." This refers directly to the WMPH 91.7 FM boycott of 2007.
On June 16 of 2009, the News Journal ran a front page story on the WMPH boycott of 2007 and our ongoing stand against a performance tax. Then on June 28, Philadelphia’s channel 6 Action News featured WMPH on their televised news for leading a protest against a music performance tax.
Like any other radio station, the WMPH brand appears on T-shirts, bumper stickers, and other merchandise. We have also been listed in the Yellow Pages.WMPH has appeared on billboards, magazine and newspaper ads, and community access television.The technology powering the operation of WMPH is first-rate. We have a sophisticated automation and computer network, RDS input to our transmitter, and remote broadcasting system. Our satellite antenna is capable of receiving syndicated network feeds. In addition to our FM stereo broadcast, WMPH was heard for several years on the second audio program of Comcast channel 8.WMPH has always been independent of the school district’s technology support system. We build our own computers and servers, supply our own broadband internet, and utilize our own video surveillance system.** During the summer of 2010, WMPH will be running new audio and video cables to various remote locations on the property of Mount Pleasant High School. We will then have the opportunity to not only broadcast live events on our radio station, but on television as well.On our FM frequency of 91.7 megahertz, WMPH reaches over a half million potential listeners in northern Delaware including portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.Listeners are informed of weather, traffic, local news, and school closings. WMPH airs a series of educational features, public service announcements, and community updates.
According to the Dale Carnegie quote, “There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say and how we say it.”We teach our student disc jockeys how to prepare content for their weekly scheduled radio shift.WMPH gives great experience for students interested in being a DJ, radio host, television personality, public speaker, news journalist, sports announcer, or music promoter. Some of our students have pursued a career in teaching. They later remarked the valuable communication skills learned at our radio station.Our radio students learn how to operate all broadcast equipment, communicate to a LIVE radio audience, develop a weekly radio show, and follow the rules and regulations of the (FCC) Federal Communications Commission.Our radio workshops have definitive Goals, Action Plans, Vision, Purpose, and Strategies.
After approval by the Delaware Department of Education, a new career pathway of courses was introduced at the school based on the radio and TV program. Mount Pleasant High School wrote the standards for these classes.Students following this pathway have a series of courses pertaining to communications technology, mass media, and broadcast journalism.Many hundreds of students have participated with the radio station since its’ first broadcast day in 1969. We are proud of our many alumni that have pursued broadcasting, public relations, and mass media communications as their career choice.WMPH celebrated our 40th anniversary of broadcasting in October 2009. The founders of WMPH were students, not faculty or administrators. Jess Morris, student council president for the Class of 1968, had the vision for a high school radio station. His fellow classmate, Bob Huber, performed most of the logistical work to make this dream a reality.WMPH radio station serves three vital roles in our community: the educational development of students, the promotional needs of our school district, and the entertaining and informative desires of our listening audience.Clint Dantinne, General Manager - WMPH 91.7 FM - Business Card (2008)
Internet Radio - WMPH 2
WMPH was the catalyst for the Broadcast Learning Center of the Brandywine School District. We also have a completely separate radio facility broadcasting on the internet.
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