Alana Mullaly, Staff Writer
November 11, 2023
Do you love music, announcements, talking and good laughs, and need a place to take your mind off of school? Well, Griffin Radio has you covered.
The Griffin Radio, a class here at Grossmont College, gives students the chance to develop leadership skills, “on air” personalities, and their overall maturity.
Dr. Evan Wirig, audio-video professor in the Media Communications Department, has been teaching for 30 years, and 27 of those have been in radio.
“It’s my favorite class to teach. I’ve always liked the aspect of the mystery of radio,” said Wirig, who called radio the “theater of the mind.”
Wirig said his goal is to allow students to create the illusion of what people sound like to how they are. He lets his students take control and mentors them along the way.
Students Aaron Luna, Zach Braunwarth, Anthony Adams and Zeravan Ali are all part of the MCOM 119: Radio Station Operations class. Along with other classmates, they are the masterminds behind the college’s Griffin Radio. They run the show, playing music and reporting on news, weather, local events and PSA promos.
“We also do a bunch of events for the school,” Ali said. “We go out, we make announcements, we do interviews, playing music for all sorts of events.”
Luna said his favorite part about the radio is all of it, including the freedom you have on air.
Right now Griffin Radio has a low enrollment rate. At one point, there were 30 students enrolled in the class consistently; now it’s less than half of that.
The radio staff says this could be due to Covid and low enrollment rates overall. But the reality is that a lot of Grossmont students don’t know about this program.
Ali said the radio needs to be more active by having a stronger social media presence and doing more events to spread the word about what Griffin Radio is all about.
To learn more about Griffin Radio, check out its Instagram, @griffinradiosd, or catch them on air Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the TuneIn app.
