ROANOKE -- There are almost 20 new shows on Roanoke College's WRKE-FM and more people are tuning in.

Through its Web site, the student-run station is even gaining listeners from as far as Iraq and Washington state.

It's been only a year since the station first went on air, but so far so good.

Roanoke College's WRKE-FM 100.3, "The Wreck," had humble beginnings. According to the Roanoke College Web site, in 1998 Jim Goodwin, who has since graduated, was allowed to form a student organization to broadcast music. While the club awaited license approval from the Federal Communications Commission, it was broadcast over the college's closed-circuit television station, WRCR.

A radio studio was included in the plans for the Colket Center, which opened in 2000. Radio equipment was donated or purchased by the college. Then in May 2005, when most students were away for summer break, songs were automatically shuffled and played by a computer.

Since then, the station has added student-hosted radio shows, and it has played everything from Elvis to electronica and gospel for Salem residents or anyone within a three-mile radius of the campus.

"There's always something for everyone on our station," said station manager Adam Croft, a student who is one of about 40 people who keep the station going.

The students have to conform to FCC standards and those of the college, but in some ways they have more freedom than student radio stations at larger colleges, said Mark Petersen, director of the Colket Center.

Students select the music played on the station, some of which comes straight from their iPods or personal computers. Many of the songs aren't played on larger FM radio stations. Student disc jockeys are required to edit profanity from songs and anything obscene. So far students haven't had any serious problems conforming to those rules, Petersen said.

The station gives students an outlet for sharing music they love, Croft said. "That's something I've always wanted to do," said Croft, who started as a disc jockey last year and became the WRKE station manager in January.

"Now I'm running a radio station," he said Croft. In his spare time, he promotes local bands and features them on his show, "Not Important Radio."

The Wreck is broadcast 24 hours a day. There are neither commercials nor corporate sponsors -- yet. Station expenses are covered, in part, by student activity fees.

Running the station is "an evolutionary process," said Media Services Director David Mulford, who was instrumental in setting up the WRKE studio. Students, particularly those new to the station, have to get used to the equipment and talking to an unseen audience.

"We're still learning what it takes and the best way to operate the station," Petersen said. He has visited other college radio stations to learn from what they are doing.

The college community is still learning about the station. Bands whose music is played on the station list WRKE on their MySpace.com pages. Others find the station by browsing FM stations. "When they find it, it's a really hidden gem," Croft said.

Mulford said it's difficult to know how many people tune in to WRKE, but there definitely is an audience, particularly through the station's Web site. Alumni outside Salem and Virginia have e-mailed the station, praising the music and broadcasts of sporting events. The station also gets a lot of positive feedback from the Roanoke County-Salem Jail, including letters saying that the inmates enjoy the show and that the students even inspired one to clean up his act and pursue a career in music, Croft said.

In the future, Croft wants to do more promotions of the station. He also would like for the station to be able to broadcast live band performances, but the studio is too small. Right now, several students have expressed interest in hosting radio shows and have created new programs, including a news show and a talk show about Salem football. Many of the current DJs are freshmen and sophomores, so they'll be able to keep the station going for a few years and build an audience, Croft said.

"This year looks really strong," he said.

More information about The Wreck and live broadcast of the station is available online at www.wrke.org.