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Studio at college radio station KCR. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Radio Station Visit #160: KCR at San Diego State University

During my full day of radio station tours in the San Diego area in June, 2019, I visited college radio station KCR at San Diego State University. On a sprawling campus with a student population of more than 36,000, the station was a bit tricky to find. After a few missed turns, I parked atop an 8-floor garage and made my way the KCR studio in the school’s Communication building.

Palm trees and mission-style building with red-tiled roof and bells at San Diego State University. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
San Diego State University. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

KCR’s General Manager Ahmad Dixon greeted me, giving me the grand tour of the main KCR studio and also led me on a quick jaunt to see a satellite building that serves as a production studio and social hub for the station.

Sign for SDSU KCR College Radio AM 1610 Live Studio. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
Sign for college radio station KCR’s live studio. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Dating back to 1969, KCR is in the midst of its 50th anniversary celebrations this year. KCR has never had an FCC-licensed over-the-air terrestrial signal; but it does have a very interesting, interrelated relationship with a long-time public radio station on campus.

Back of KCR T-shirt reads "Killing Commercial Radio Since 1969." Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
Back of KCR T-shirt. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Radio activity began in 1960 at the then-named San Diego State College, when educational radio station KEBS launched as part of the school’s speech department. A 2009 obituary for founder Ken Jones, recounts that,

Jones was the brain behind KEBS-FM (Educational Broadcasting in San Diego) which later became KPBS. It was the first radio station licensed to a California State University campus. In the mid-1950s, as a speech communications professor at San Diego State College (now SDSU), Jones began his work toward starting an educational radio station on campus. KEBS began broadcasting on Sept. 12, 1960 from the Speech Arts Building. The original schedule was only two-and-a-half hours, five days a week.”

Retro KCR College Radio photo on T-shirt. Photo on T-shirt shows man in radio studio, wearing headphones in front of sound board. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
Retro KCR College Radio photo on T-shirt. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Although students were involved in educational radio station KEBS, it was not a student envisioned or student-led program, which ultimately prompted the eventual founding of student radio station KCR. On the KCR Alumni website, Jerry Zullo shares the story of how KCR came to be:

The story starts in 1966.  At that time, Radio-TV majors (later called Telecommunications & Film) were required to complete a Senior Project in order to graduate.  A student named Martin Gienke decided to do a feasibility study, complete with recommendations, on setting up a student radio station at San Diego State…

At that time, KEBS-FM (later KPBS-FM) was considered a ‘student station;’ that is, it was operated by students who were forced to work there as part of their Radio-TV curriculum.  KEBS broadcast with 780 watts with an antenna on the roof of the Speech Arts Building. We were on the air Monday through Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., playing classical music and boring taped ‘educational’ programs.  Hardly anybody’s real idea of a student station.

Martin roped me into the project.  He’d do the study, and then my Senior Project would be to get the station on the air.  The ideal solution would have been to take over KEBS and turn it into a real student station, but after discussion with faculty we knew that wasn’t going to happen.”

In KCR engineering room, lettering on cabinet reads: "AM 1610 college radio" and a nearby upside down sign partially reads: "we are the sound of state." Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
In KCR engineering room. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

I was especially intrigued to read that in the 1960s, Martin Gienke and Jerry Zullo embarked on tours of “every college radio station in California.” Zullo explains:

We did interviews, found out what worked, what didn’t work, how the stations were set up, formats, funding, pitfalls to be careful of, etc.  In the end, we ended up with a report about three inches thick. The final recommendation was to make San Diego State’s student station a carrier current station, using electrical wiring in the buildings to carry the signal.”

Shelves packed with vinyl LP records at college radio station KCR in 2019. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
Vinyl records at college radio station KCR in 2019. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

A few years later, in 1969, the dreams of a student-run carrier current station were realized, with transmitters in dorms all over campus and the AM broadcasts even leaking into the nearby community. Zullo writes,

We started engineering tests and found that not only did we cover all the dorms, but the signal sort of leaked (kind of on purpose) and we covered the entire campus.  In fact, if you were driving, you could listen to KCR on Interstate 8 between San Diego Stadium and College Avenue.  On Montezuma Road and over to El Cajon Boulevard, you could hear the station from about 54th Street to 63rd Street.”

1981 KCR airplay survey housed in a small frame. Reads in part: "KCR the Live Wire 99FM/550 AM long play survey as of Oct. 5, 1981." Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
1981 KCR airplay survey. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Meanwhile, educational radio station KEBS-FM transitioned to a public radio station and was one of the charter members of NPR, even changing its call letters to KPBS in 1970.

Posters and photos on wall at KCR College Radio. Poster in center reads: "KCR College Radio at its best. Fresh. Creative. Alternative. Diverse. KCR Radio 98.9 Cox Cable 96.1 Southwestern Cable." Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
Posters and photos on wall at KCR College Radio. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Today, KCR still has an AM signal, broadcasting at 1610 AM for about a mile around campus (the AM location has changed over the years) and can also be heard on Cox Cable. Most listeners tune in to the station’s internet stream, however. Additionally, KCR has a strong video presence, with web cameras in the studio and a thriving YouTube channel.

Framed vintage ad for KCR's cable signals. Copy reads in part: "this cable means true progressive rock. KCR 550 AM 98.9 FM cable. plug us in! Cable 98.9 FM 24 hours a day. requests 286-6982." Ad is framed with names of artists, including Genesis, Supertramp, Sparks, Kansas and more. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
Vintage ad for KCR’s cable signals. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

I began my tour in KCR’s on-air studio in the Communication building. General Manager Ahmad Dixon pointed out various highlights, including the brand new, bright red fabric soundproofing material lining the walls. The station was DJ-less during the visit and “QC” (aka quality control) was playing in place of a live human. Curated by the music director, QC is the name for the mix of music, including indie and local material, that runs on automation.

Photo of studio at college radio station KCR. On the left is a red wall with a SDSU KCR sign. A desk and chair are positioned near a hanging microphone, with computer monitor and other audio equipment above and a shelf of microphone-shaped trophies above that. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
KCR College Radio studio. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Student-run live shows at KCR are “totally freeform,” according to Dixon. While DJs have creative license to play what they’d like from the station’s library or from their own collections, they are encouraged to play “odd, esoteric, non-mainstream” material, Dixon explained. The station also airs a mix of talk shows and sports programming (with a “hyperfocus” on San Diego State sports).

Photo of studio of college radio station KCR. Pictured: computer monitor that reads "KCR On Demand. The Sound of State. Wherever. Whenever," sound board, computer keyboard, headphones, and microphone. Overhead is a shelf lined with trophies in the shape of microphones. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
KCR College Radio’s live studio. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

A talk show fanatic, Dixon joined KCR as a freshman (he’s a senior in Fall 2019) and relished the opportunities to experiment on the air. He reminisced a bit, telling me that he’d spun Kids Bop records, played vinyl backwards, and improvised a song while on-air.

KCR College Radio General Manager Ahmad Dixon in the studio, with KCR labeled microphone to his right. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
KCR College Radio General Manager Ahmad Dixon in the studio. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

These days it’s a bit more challenging to play vinyl on KCR, although some DJs bring in their own turntables to do so. The station still has an extensive vinyl collection, housed in lockers along with some older CDs.

Photo of packed shelf of CDs at college radio station KCR. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
CDs at KCR. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Interestingly, KCR has two distinct locations on campus- the main studio in the Communications building and an additional studio across campus. As Dixon led me to the second space, he explained that the station has been wanting to beef up its podcasting efforts and the additional production-focused studio is helping with that.

KCR On Demand podcast request form at KCR. Form has lines for "podcast name," "host names" and "brief description of podcast." Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
KCR On Demand podcast request form. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

KCR was able to take over an unused Daily Aztec student newspaper office when the publication reduced its space in the building. Today, it serves as an office, hang-out space and production facility for KCR. The main room is spacious, with seating, desks, computers, filing cabinets, and lots of historical items, including photos, and old KCR publications. Behind a door is a studio stocked with audio equipment.

Black vintage decorated boombox, with "Forget the rest of the dial, we got the style" written on white tape and "KCR AM 1620" drawn with puffy colorful paint on the speaker. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
Old decorated boombox at KCR. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

With about 150 members of KCR, the station is busy both on-air and off-air, with radio shows, an active blog, and video content. In the past it also produced a magazine called “Dead Air,” which I caught glimpses of on the station’s walls.

Framed copy of KCR college radio's magazine "Dead Air" on wall of station. Cover image is collage of station photos, including a piece of spinning white vinyl, sound board photos, photo of LPs, and a vintage studio photo. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
“Dead Air” magazine at KCR. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

It was gratifying to see that KCR has an active alumni network documenting the station’s 50 year history. Its alumni page is full of goodies, including scans of archival photos, program guides, vintage ephemera, and audio. Alumni still grace the KCR airwaves; with one DJ, Joe Shrin, a 40+ year veteran of the station. At KCR since 1976, he’s said to be the show host who has been there the longest.

KCR College Radio studio in 2019. Pictured: computer monitors, polaroid photos on the wall, "Sound of State" sign, microphones, and "KCR 50 Years" on one of the screens. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor
KCR College Radio studio in 2019. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Thanks so much to Ahmad Dixon for the summer tour of KCR! This is my 160th radio station tour report and my 105th college radio station tour. Read all of my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. I also share tidbits about my San Diego-area college radio travels on Radio Survivor Podcast #202.

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