How WRTI-FM Went Jazz

As told by Professor John B. Roberts
to Gerry Wilkinson

The following is written by Gerry Wilkinson from notes and information supplied by Professor John B. Roberts, the Founder of WRTI Radio.

The death of WRTI as we knew it started in September of 1968. It was a dream come true. Not the death of a great radio station, but the birth of a fantastic, new communications center called, "Annenberg Hall." Though Annenberg was in use for the Spring 1968 semester, it was not officially dedicated until September of 1968. It was at that time that WRTI-FM moved out of Thomas Hall and into the newly completed facilities in "the new building." WRTI-AM, soon to meet its death in December of 1968, stayed in Thomas Hall for a little while. It seems that John Wright never got the word to "tie in" the AM dorm transmitters to the console in Annenberg.

At the same time as WRTI moved across the street, it got a new faculty advisor with a new title as Faculty Station Manager. Jerry Klein was named Student Station Manager, although sometimes the title "Operations Manager" was used. Laurence Blenheim who had been the station's advisor for six years, moved up upon receiving his Ph.D. and the new low man on the totem pole was a fellow by the name of "Bob Kassi." This was the beginning of the end of both WRTI stations, or at least the finale of collegiate Temple radio as we had come to know it.

Kassi was placed in charge of both WRTI stations. However, with the new building now open, the faculty wanted to "play" with the new equipment and really didn't pay much attention to what was going on at WRTI. Kassi, with no one paying any attention to what he was doing started making changes. With each change, no one said anything, so Bob Kassi kept modifying WRTI into his concept of what a campus radio station should be. He started talking about "dial habit" and "serving the community." These phrases in late 1968 and early 1969, did not strike the terror in the hearts of WRTI people like it should have. We knew that Blenheim, Roberts, Dusenbury and Seibel would never let anything change WRTI for the worst. After all, Roberts was the founder. Seibel and Blenheim were both at one time or another faculty advisors and Dr. D loved the fact that WRTI was still airing original radio dramas. We were safe. Well, we were wrong.

Dr. Kenneth Harwood was brought on board to be the first permanent Dean of the School of Communications and Theater (SCAT) with J. Douglas Perry retiring. Dr. Gordon Gray had joined the staff as Chairman of the RTF Department. They had their work cut out for them and couldn't possibly have seen where WRTI was headed.

There were new men and new equipment everywhere. Kassi kept making his changes and by the end of the Spring 1969 semester he had decided, on his own, with no approval from anyone else, to totally change the direction that WRTI had been traveling for the last 20 years. It was to have a format. It happened to be jazz, but could have been anything. Kassi researched the Philadelphia market and with the promise of increased power to 5,000 watts thought that a "format"was needed. Jazz just happened to be an available format with WHAT-FM changing directions and dropping most of its jazz. WDAS-FM was experimenting with a new direction of rock with Stevie Leon (My Father's Son). He arrived with that title by being the owner's son. The jazz market was wide open. Kassi saw it as an opportunity to "help" the station. Instead of it being a learning laboratory, it became geared to attract listeners. If the students "got" less out of it, so be it. Here was Kassi's chance to program a major market radio station.

The faculty never noticed that every time they tuned in to 90.1 (AM was killed off in December of 1968), they heard jazz. They just thought it was a jazz program. It was months before they started saying, "You know, WRTI is playing a lot of jazz." They just thought they were listening to individual jazz programs. All the other shows, they thought, just happened to be elsewhere. The format caught on and the University never considered seriously a plan to reverse the station's direction. None of the faculty thought that the jazz format was a good thing.

Slowly, student involvement in the facilities was phased out. As a student, you were lucky to get a newscast. Over the years, it became more and more professional. With a paid staff, the station became more of a PR arm of the University with less input by students.

It was the beginning of the end of a great college radio station. At least the end of WRTI as we knew it.

However, some people feel that Bob Kassi is a great man and did a fabulous thing. He gave Philadelphia a jazz station for more than a quarter of a century. History will have to be the judge.

The beginning of the "end" started with the first ever WRTI programming schedule during the summer. It was summer 1969 and jazz was heavy in the schedule. In fact the schedule was 71% jazz. This was certainly a heavy departure from anything previously broadcast over either of the WRTI stations. HTML and uploading of the summer schedule by Jerry Klein.