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Summer break is rapidly drawing to a close and college campuses will soon be a buzz of activity as students return for the fall semester. I’ve been on my own break, traveling to the Pacific Northwest (which also allowed me to record last week’s Radio Survivor Podcast live in the studio in Portland, Oregon!), so […]
A few months ago I wrote about an amazing collection of vintage college radio playlists that were recently sent to me. From the 1970s and 1980s, these playlists were mostly handwritten and typed affairs that were compiled by college radio station music directors. (more…)
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 […]
We are always writing about North Carolina State University campus station WKNC-FM around here, and now they’ve gone and done something fun and creative again. This time it’s the WKNC “Radio Ride,” billed as an “alleycat” bicycle race and scavenger hunt fundraiser through Raleigh for the station. On August 29, contestants will meet at the […]
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 […]
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). […]
