Last Friday I stopped by KCSB-FM, the college radio station at University of California, Santa Barbara. Even though I’ve probably visited 100 stations by now, I continue to be delighted and inspired every time I step into another station. You can take a look at my station tour and learn more about the wide range of activities happening at KCSB.
IBS Award Winners Announced, Including One for US/UK Collaboration
In other college radio news, IBS held its annual conference last week and announced its award-winning stations on March 7th. One of the winning entries (for Most Innovative Program) featured a collaboration between student radio practitioners in the U.K. and in the U.S. According to an article in the Derby Telegraph, a student from Birmingham City University’s Scratch Radio in the UK created a program comparing Chicago to Birmingham and in the course of that she worked with students at Radio DePaul. Scratch Radio winner Sophie Sparham told the Derby Telegraph, “We both interviewed people and then swapped our audio to make the programme.”
Here’s a quick run-down of a selection of some of the winners:
Best Overall Station & Best Station at School with Less than 10,000 Students: WONC-FM (North Central College, Naperville, IL)
Best College Radio Station Online-Only: KCR (San Diego State University, San Diego, CA)
Best College Radio Station at School with More Than 10,000 Students: KCWU (Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA)
Best Community College Radio Station: KKSM (Palomar College, San Marcos, CA)
Best Specialty Show: KKJZ – Food-ology Radio (K-Beach Radio at Cal State Long Beach, CA)
Best Radio Drama: WNYU – Underground (New York University)
Best Sports Talk Program: WMUL – Collier Sports Zone Live (Marshall University, Huntington, WV)
Best News Interview – KUR Radio (Kutztown University Radio, PA)
Best Public Affairs Program – KMSC – 2014 Election Night Coverage (Morningside College, Sioux City, IA)
View all of the IBS Awards finalists and winners here.
Boise State’s Online Radio Station’s Campus Takeover
The Arbiter writes that Boise State University’s online radio station, the University Pulse, will be getting a bit more exposure during a campus-takeover event today from noon until midnight. According to the Arbiter, “For the first time the University Pulse will have its station aired on campus for the Radio Takeover, a 12-hour event hosted by the Games Center with free and discount bowling.” The first radio club apparently started on campus in 1935.
KRNU Celebrates 45th Anniversary
According to a report in the Daily Nebraskan, University of Nebraska’s college radio station KRNU-FM just celebrated its 45th anniversary. Even more interesting to me, though, is that the article describes the early days of radio on campus, with the first station, WFAV, launching in the 1920s, followed by the campus-only carrier current station KNUS. The Daily Nebraskan writes, “Prior to KNUS, the university had another radio station in the 1920s called WFAV. According to the UNL yearbook archive of 1925, the junior and senior members of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in the College of Engineering ‘entertained freshmen and sophomores at an open house of the electrical laboratory of radio station WFAV.'” It looks like WFAV lasted from 1922 to 1927.
Students Win Awards from Indiana Association of School Broadcasters & Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
A couple of recent state competitions highlighted the work of student broadcasters. Indiana State University announced that “Senior Kurt Darling of Brownsburg, who works for campus radio station WZIS, won two awards” at the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters conference. Additionally, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh writes that its students won 10 media awards from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association’s student media conference. Students and participants in UW Wisconsin’s WRST-FM took home awards for sports programming, long-form programming (including a supernatural drama), radio documentary, and public affairs programming.
Henry Ford College Radio Station Hosts Holistic Fair to Benefit Station
College radio stations throw all sorts of events in order to generate needed funds, including record fairs, concerts, and DJ nights. WHFR-FM at Henry Ford College is doing something a little different, holding its third “Festival of Enlightenment” on March 21st in Dearborn, Michigan. The holistic fair will feature psychics, numerologists, bodyworkers, and other vendors. According to Press and Guide, “Mike Holloway, host of the monthly WHFR talk show Metaphysically Speaking, conceived the idea for the holistic fair to provide much-needed funds to support WHFR’s operational costs, as well as bring the top holistic vendors to the area for all to experience.”
KURE-FM’s 26-Hour Kaleidoquiz
Iowa State’s college radio station KURE-FM held an unusual 26-hour event this week. The Iowa State Daily writes that last weekend’s Kaleidoquiz featured “trivia, games, montages, physical puzzles, scavenger hunts and prizes. Officially beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, teams stationed at their own disclosed locations across campus began to get organized and tune into KURE’s radio station for trivia and instructions.”
WSOU Starts Reporting its Charts to Billboard
Seton Hall University announced that its student radio station WSOU-FM “is now the only radio station in the New York radio market reporting to Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Indicator new music chart. This also makes WSOU the only student-run college radio station in the nation to submit its weekly new music spins to the Billboard tally.”
WMUC DJ Shares His Love of College Radio
I was lucky to get to visit University of Maryland’s college radio station WMUC in College Park last year. One of the students who I met there just published a piece in the Diamondback extolling the virtues of college radio, explaining that it’s a great place to learn about music, learn about radio, and make friends. Sun-Min Kim writes, “When I first joined WMUC, I was still finding my own place in college. I thought being a DJ was going to be a side hobby, but within a week or two I made close friends. I used to go to my friends’ shows late at night just to hang out with them.”
Rebel Radio as Hidden Gem
Hotty Dotty profiles student media managers at University of Mississippi, including Rebel Radio‘s Station Manager. According to the piece, the Station Manager sees Rebel Radio as a “hidden gem” and says she will likely go into radio after graduation.
KALX Nominated for mtvU College Radio Woodie
The online voting period ended on March 10, but earlier this week, the Daily Californian profiled University of California, Berkeley’s KALX-FM, which has been nominated for a mtvU College Radio Woodie once again this year. The winner will be announced during SXSW.
We cover the culture of college radio every Friday in our College Radio Watch feature. If you have college radio news to share, please drop us a note at EDITORS at RADIOSURVIVOR dot COM.
