Most people assume that college radio is by definition non-commercial, but that hasn’t always been the case historically and commercial college radio stations still exist today. Back in the early days of AM radio in the 1920s, the very first college radio stations were commercial endeavors. Fast-forward to the 1940s, when the growth of campus-only […]
Once again it’s time for the Princeton Review’s annual college survey results (registration required), including the deceptively titled “Best College Radio Station” list, which is based on student surveys. I’ve been scrutinizing these lists for years and it always drives me nuts that the rankings are listed as “Best College Radio Station,” when the results […]
While my family slept, I snuck out of our Washington, D.C. hotel room early in the morning on (Good) Friday, April 3rd, 2015 in order to feed my desire to see more college radio stations. After carefully mapping out the journey on public transit, I headed for the Metro station and grabbed the Orange line […]
I was just reading about the loss of some music clubs in Boston and within the same article there’s discussion about how the independent music scene is supported and fostered by not only an active live music culture, but also by the presence of college radio. In a piece for WBUR’s Radio Boston, Musician Peter […]
Class D FM radio licenses are a dying breed. Low power and subject to getting shuffled around the dial in order to make way for bigger broadcasters, it can be tough for many non-commercial educational FM class D stations (mostly college and high school stations) to be heard. In recent years we’ve seen a number […]
It’s fascinating to learn more about the roots of low power FM and earlier this week, Brian Fauteux published his interview with author Christina Dunbar-Hester, whose book, Low Power to the People: Pirates, Protest, and Politics in FM Radio Activism, looks into the history of low power radio. Dunbar-Hester recounts the important role that activists […]
On this week’s Radio Survivor Podcast I discuss the recent changes at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s college radio station KCPR. Tune in starting at around the 16 minute mark to hear my College Radio Watch segment. KCPR was one of the first college radio stations that I visited for my field trip series. Speaking […]
This week a handful of low power FM (LPFM) construction permits were issued. It’s been a slow few months, so four grants on one day is a bit unusual. Two grants were in Texas and went to Iglesia Jesucristo es mi Refugio de Mexia TX, Inc. (Mexia, TX) and 94.9 Media Foundation, Inc. (Harlingen, TX). […]
While visiting Washington, D.C. this Spring, I made some time to visit a few college radio stations. My first stop was to see the student-run streaming radio/HD 3 station at Howard University, WHBC. When I arrived on campus on the morning of Thursday, April 2, things were pretty quiet, as it was right before Easter […]
Earlier this week, Greg Barman wrote a guest post (part one of two) for Radio Survivor, The WIUS Reunions: Why We Keep Hearing the Voices in Our Heads, Part 1, about the lengthy college radio history at Indiana University. Prompted in part by an upcoming reunion, he outlines the trajectory of numerous student-run stations, beginning […]
