About Us
Spinnaker Radio got its start in 1993, when Todd Hardie, a Communication major, asked Professor Joe Lesem to help him start a student media club. The club — the UNF Broadcasting Association — kicked off with music programs and talk shows such as Hardie’s sports show, The Bullpen.
The radio station quickly expanded when Continental Cablevision, the cable provider for Jacksonville at the time, donated equipment and allowed what was then called Osprey Radio to provide the background music for the programming guide on channel 4. This arrangement ended when MediaOne bought out Continental Cablevision. After that, the station broadcast its signal on two closed-circuit cable channels on campus: Ch. 12, the Housing channel, and Ch. 58, the Osprey TV channel.
In 2000, Osprey Radio was elevated from club status and placed in the newly formed Center for Student Media formed within the Office of Student Development. The Center for Student Media served as a an umbrella organization for Spinnaker, Osprey Radio and Osprey TV. In January 2001, Osprey Radio coordinated with UNF Computer Services to begin streaming over the Internet.
In 2011 the media outlets within the Center for Student Media adopted a hub-and-spoke model, where reporters gather news in multimedia formats which are then used in print, radio, and TV. In July 2013, Osprey TV and Osprey Radio adopted the Spinnaker branding.
Spinnaker Radio launched its broadcast on 95.5FM WSKR on April 13th, 2015. Spinnaker radio continues to broadcast on 95.5FM WSKR, on its website, and on the TuneIn App.