Over the next few days, the station where I volunteer, Foothill College radio station KFJC-FM is broadcasting live from a music festival several thousand miles from home. With a fixation on underground music and a growing obsession with undertaking ambitious remote broadcasts from afar; my KFJC cohorts continue to amaze me (see my tech-heavy account […]
On this week’s Radio Survivor Podcast/radio show, I’m pleased to share two of my most recent college radio station tour reports. In the episode, Paul Riismandel and I chat about my visits to WIIT at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and WKCR at Columbia University in New York City. Both stations are super interesting, […]
Jennifer Waits takes us on tours of two storied college stations, with deep roots in their communities. WIIT-FM is the student station at the Illinois Institute of Technology, housed in the modern Rem Koolhaas designed McCormick Tribune Campus Center situated at the intersection of Chicago’s Bronzeville and Bridgeport neighborhoods. WKCR is Columbia University’s station, with […]
College radio history is near and dear to my heart and I appreciate it when stations celebrate their origin stories. With many stations purporting to be the “first” at this or that, I’m always eager to dive into long-lost documents in order to sleuth out the veracity of station lore. As any historian or journalist […]
While touring through the “On the Radio” radio history exhibit at SFO Museum on Monday, I was reminded of a couple of college radio connections. Curator Daniel Calderon pointed out to me his “nod” to college radio in the FM radio portion of the exhibit. According to the exhibit notes, “As FM searched for its […]
While I’m full of guilt over some of my delayed college radio station field trip reports; I’m elated that my colleague Paul Riismandel just shared tales from his recent visit to a community radio station in Hawaii. For intrepid radio travelers, there’s nothing quite like setting foot into an unknown station, taking in the sights […]
Yesterday was International Women’s Day and in light of that, this week’s Radio Survivor Podcast raises important issues about how we listen: not only to women, but also to people who come from different backgrounds from our own. Our guest, Jennifer Stoever, is the editor-in-chief of the Sounding Out! blog, which focuses on sound studies […]
A couple of university-held radio station license sales are in the works, although student involvement seems to be minimal at both college radio stations. YourErie reports that the oldies station WMCE-FM at Mercyhurst University is going to maintain its format when the license transitions to the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM). According to […]
I’m so inspired by radio historians and this week I highlighted the work being done for Northwestern University’s college radio station WNUR. While a student, Brock Stuessi started the WNUR Underground Archive Project to help preserve the unique materials in the WNUR music library. Although he’s since graduated, he’s still working on the project as […]
College radio history is near and dear to me; so I am thrilled to learn about the WNUR Underground Archive Project. Launched initially as a student project by WNUR (see my 2008 station tour) participant Brock Stuessi, the website features a glimpse into the Northwestern University radio station’s rock music collection. Featuring scans of album […]
