BY JAMES BONNEAU // OCT. 19, 2015 // 

WMLN-FM is an important asset on campus that offers much more than just music. WMLN airs breaking news, covers Curry and professional sports teams and hosts 17 unique specialty shows.

Specialty shows offer students the opportunity to take their radio shifts into their own hands. A student with a specialty show must be enrolled in Radio Practicum and earn approval for their show.

Show themes range from sports coverage to talk radio to variety. In the past, there was even specialty show that exclusively played polka music to a surprisingly large audience.

Specialty shows are something radio students work hard for. These shows give hosts the freedom to explore and play outside of a scheduled format. Unlike having a shift with a scheduled format, hosts aren’t restricted to playing only the Oldies or only Death Metal music.

MOLLY FANIKOS AND JAMES BONNEAU. // PHOTO COURTESY OF WMLN-FM.

Sophomore Sal Lopez uses this freedom to go above and beyond the standard format. After graduating, Lopez aspires to work in radio as an on-air personality. Lopez hopes to use his specialty show, Paco’s Picks, as a launching platform.

Paco’s Picks, which broadcasts 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdays, is jam packed with different segments. Lopez plays a variety of music and covers the news, weather and local traffic. No other WMLN DJ covers the local traffic and it’s something that makes his show stand out from the others.

Lopez enjoys playing around with his music segments, “There is Hot Riser which is where I play an upcoming song, Throwback Tuesday and Double Play Tuesday, which is where I plays two songs back to back with the same title.”

Lopez prepares for each show with a great amount of love and dedication.

“I have 18 liners and a 14 page script for my show,” said Lopez.

Paco’s Picks isn’t all serious. Lopez keeps things fun and interesting by giving listeners a monthly prize; in September, Lopez gave away a Little Cesar’s gift card.

Lopez earned his show by working hard and being present in the station. As a freshman, he covered many people’s on-air shifts and helped at events like Accepted Students Day and Late Night Breakfast.

Even if a student is not concentrating in Radio Broadcasting, he or she can still pursue a specialty show.

Juniors Shelbi Chandler and Matt Simonelli are Communication majors concentrating in film. Their specialty show, the Amibros Show, airs Tuesdays 7-9 p.m.

Matt Simonelli and Shelbi Chandler. // PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMA SULLIVAN

The Amibros Show is a variety show, so there is something new every week. As second semester freshmen, the co-hosts started the show to air their radio drama series, Detective Obvious. Detective Obvious is on hiatus, but previously aired episodes are available on iTunes.

This semester, the Amibros Show has weekly themes that range from playing concept albums and rock operas to talking about online trends.

The Amibros had their five seconds of fame last semester when they were featured on the popular social media site, Yik Yak, for playing music from SpongeBob SquarePants.

Chandler said, “We try to keep our awkward personas… we like going in not knowing what to talk about.”

Here is a list of other specialty shows and their times. Make sure to listen to them, only on WMLN 91.5.

B&B (Mondays 1-4 p.m.) – Brandon Enroth and Brendon Wedekind

Latin Late Night (Mondays 7-9 p.m.) – Mayilee Mercedes

Tech Corner (Mondays 9-11 p.m.) – Paul Finn and Jack Iten

Paco’s Picks (Tuesdays 1-4 p.m.) – Sal Lopez

The Amibos Show (Tuesdays 7-9 p.m.) – Shelbi Chandler and Matt Simonelli

The Rant (Tuesdays 9-11 p.m.) – Allan Plaunt and Skyler Wack

The Indie 500 (Wednesdays 5-7 p.m) – Jimmy Bonneau and Molly Fanikos

Sports Corner (Wednesdays 7-9 p.m.) – Sports Department

Jazz Hands (Wednesdays 9-11 p.m.) – Justin Paolino

Just Tryin to Jam (Thursdays (1-4 p.m.) – Chris Montesi

Dance.Dub.Jamz (Thursdays 4-7 p.m.) – Jamie Casagrande

SamC Underground (Thursdays 7-9 p.m.) – Samantha Castro

The Setlist (Thursdays 9-11 p.m.) – Kendall Graham

The Rush Hour (Fridays 4-7 p.m) – Andrew Trofimow

Friday Night Flava (Fridays 7-9 p.m.) – Derrell Wyche

SEES Today (Saturdays 7-9 p.m.) – Joe Capozzo

Table Talk (Sundays 7-9 p.m.) – Brittany Berg and Lindsey Mason