Radio Survivor: Recent Episodes
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We travel back to the 1980s, when the show, The Famous Computer Cafe, initially launched over the radio in southern California. With a focus on home computers, computer news, and more, the program had a fascinating roster of guests, including Timothy Leary, Donny Osmond, Bill Gates, and so many others. Although it was assumed that all the recordings of the show were lost; recently 53 episodes were found and digitized. Computer historian and archivist Kay Savetz spearheaded this project and joins us on Radio Survivor, alongside one of the creators and hosts of The Famous Computer Cafe, Ellen Fields.
Show Notes:* Listen to The Famous Computer Cafe on Archive.org * The Famous Computer Cafe ads and ephemera on Archive.org * Interviews with The Famous Computer Cafe founders on ANTIC: The Atari 8-bit Podcast * Digitizing “The Famous Computer Cafe” Radio Show (GoFundMe) * The PBS television show The Computer Chronicles (Wikipedia) * Episode of “The Famous Computer Cafe” that mentions computer ads (at about the 4 minute mark) in New York taxi cabs * Timothy Leary episode of “The Famous Computer Cafe” * COMDEX was a computer trade show in Las Vegas from 1979 to 2003 (Wikipedia) * “Resurfacing Women’s Contributions in Podcasting History” (Radio Survivor #135) * The Famous Computer Cafe collection at Stanford University Libraries
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits * Hosted by Jennifer Waits and Eric Klein * Edited by Eric Klein
The post Podcast #342 – The Famous Computer Cafe appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Journalist Marc Masters joins us to discuss his book, High Bias: the Distorted History of the Cassette Tape. We dive into how the oft-maligned cassette influenced the music industry and our culture by inspiring musicians, taking music to the streets and returning power back to listeners.
Show Notes* High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape at UNC Press * High Bias: Music from the Book * The Music Book Podcast * The Spindle: A Podcast About 7-inch Records * Minoy * Shrimper Records and Tapes * Aaron Dilloway * Howard Steltzer
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Paul Riismandel * Hosted by Jennifer Waits and Paul Riismandel * Edited by Eric Klein
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Williams College student Josh Picoult arrived on campus with a fascination for both history and radio. Four years later, he’s about to graduate after completing his undergraduate thesis on the history of college radio station WCFM, where he’s also the general manager. On this edition of Radio Survivor, we are joined by Josh, who talks us through some of the big ideas from his thesis: Gas Pipes, Gigahertz, and Grunge: Broadcasting at Williams College, 1940-1998. Josh also shares details about the current state of radio on campus.
Show Notes:* Williams College radio station WCFM 91.9 FM in Williamstown, Massachusetts * Podcast #89 – How to Preserve Radio History (guest Laura Schnitker) * Podcast #158 – Surveying Community Radio’s Deep Archives (guest Laura Schnitker) * Jennifer’s radio station tours * Radio Station Field Trip #100 – WPRB at Princeton University
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits * Hosted by Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein and Paul Riismandel * Edited by Eric Klein
The post Podcast #340 – College Radio History at Williams College appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Matthew Lasar talks with Brian Edwards-Tiekert, host of KPFA’s Upfront to commemorate the Birthday of Pacifica Radio.
The post Podcast #339- 75 Years of Listener Supported Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
In the last few years YouTube has become one of the most popular platforms for consuming podcasts, even though it’s a primarily a video platform, and podcasts have traditionally been an audio-first medium. This fact has raised both questions and concerns with podcasters. Paul has worked on research studies intended to better understand why and how people use YouTube to consume podcasts. He shares that data along with analyses and thoughts on how podcasters might think about YouTube and video.
Show Notes:* Sounds Profitable’s Sound You Can See study * The Download on Podcasts, Fall 2023 * YouTube and Video Will Grow Podcasting in 2024 * Podcasting on YouTube
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Paul Riismandel * Hosted by Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein and Paul Riismandel * Edited by Eric Klein
The post Podcast #338 – YouTube, Video and Podcasting appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The Radio Survivor team returns for a new episode, during which Jennifer, Eric and Paul recap some of the latest radio news. Topics this week including LPFM, college radio history, radio documentaries, expanding and returning radio stations, and a slow radio broadcast for Earth Day.
Jennifer talks about her new gig working on a college radio history collection that is part of the Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC) on the Internet Archive.
Additionally, we cover some updates to the radio landscape, including details about the most recent low-power FM licensing window, during which 388 groups (and counting) have been awarded construction permits for new LPFM stations. In San Francisco, streaming radio station BFF.fm is the recipient of one of these coveted spots on the dial.
Also coming to the San Francisco airwaves is Seattle-based non-commercial radio station KEXP, which acquired the former KREV full-power FM commercial frequency in a bankruptcy auction. Across the country in New York City, streaming community radio station East Village Radio is returning after it ceased operations nearly a decade ago.
A few radio stories are coming to the big screen. 35,000 Watts, a documentary about college radio, has made its debut and is initially hitting the college radio circuit. Jennifer will be in attendance at a 35,000 Watts screening and panel discussion at Pomona College on March 28th as part of a fundraising event for college radio station KSPC. Another radio film in the works, 40 Watts to Nowhere, recounts the story of pirate radio station KBLT, which ran out of founder Sue Carpenter’s home in Silver Lake near Los Angeles in the late 1990s.
Finally, we alert stations to an opportunity to participate in the annual Earth Day radio event: Wetland Project Slow Radio Broadcast on April 22, 2024. Stations can air all or part of the 24-hour broadcast featuring the sounds of nature, including birds, frogs, insects, and airplanes.
Show Notes:* Podcast #335 – Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC) * DLARC on the Internet Archive * College Radio Collection on DLARC * Website for the college radio documentary 35,000 Watts * 35,000 Watts screening dates * Pomona College radio station KSPC-FM website (and see Jennifer’s tour of KSPC) * BFF.fm on LPFM (Bff.fm) * Jennifer’s tour of BFF.fm * KEXP Coming Soon to the Bay Area (KEXP) * Jennifer’s tour of KEXP in Seattle * East Village Radio website * Here is Why NYC’s Iconic East Village Radio is Coming Back from the Dead after a Decade (NY Post) * Jennifer’s 2008 tour of East Village Radio * Granted LPFM Applications for 2023 Filing Window (REC Networks) * 40 Watts from Nowhere Documentary Kickstarter * 40 Watts from Nowhere: A Journey into Pirate Radio book by Sue Carpenter (Amazon) * Podcast #330 – Wetland Project and Slow Radio * Wetland Project website
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits * Hosted by Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein and Paul Riismandel * Edited by Eric Klein
The post Podcast #337 – Catching up on Radio News including LPFM, a College Radio Archive, Documentaries, and More appeared first on Radio Survivor.
On this edition of the show, we explore public radio history, specifically the origins of public radio in the United States, including the important role played by college and university-based stations. Josh Shepperd joins to talk about his new book, Shadow of the New Deal: The Victory of Public Broadcasting, which examines the intersections between the media reform movement, public broadcasting, educational technology and communications policy and research. Josh is an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder and is Director of the Radio Preservation Task Force at the Library of Congress.
Show Notes:* Josh Shepperd’s website at University of Colorado Boulder * Radio Preservation Task Force of the Library of Congress * Shadow of the New Deal: The Victory of Public Broadcasting (affiliate link on Amazon) * Association of College and University Broadcasting Stations (ACUBS) evolved into the National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) * Unlocking the Airwaves collection of NAEB materials * Robert McChesney’s book: Telcommunications, Mass Media, and Democracy: The Battle for the Control of U.S. Broadcasting, 1928-1935 (affiliate link on Amazon) * What is Low Power FM? (page on Radio Survivor) * Podcast #333 – Low Power FM for Dummies (LPFM window opens Dec. 6, 2023) * Prometheus Radio Project * Common Frequency
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits * Hosted by Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein and Paul Riismandel * Edited by Eric Klein
The post Podcast #336 – Educational Radio and the Beginnings of Public Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Arlo Guthrie’s seasonally appropriate “Alice’s Restaurant” is getting dusted off once again for radio airplay this Thanksgiving 2023.
I’ve been documenting this radio ritual for many years (even while suffering with COVID last year) and was pleased to be able to speak to THE Alice in 2020. Our Radio Survivor conversation with Alice Brock is recommended listening, as it provides perspective on how Guthrie’s song came to be and why it has resonated with so many people.
This year, I was amused to see that there’s a podcast, 108.9 The Hawk, about a fictional classic rock radio station. Apparently in prior years they have done episodes about the rock station staple, “Alice’s Restaurant,” and for 2023 they have produced a mega episode. They write, “Well, now for the very first time, experience BOTH specials – ‘Alice’s Restaurant Attacks!’ and ‘Alice’s Revenge’ combined into one blood curdling, spine chilling, family dinner ruining episode!” Sounds intriguing.
Have a wonderful 2023 Thanksgiving celebration! If catching “Alice’s Restaurant” is part of your holiday tradition, read on for my guide to listening options on your radio dial for 2023.
As always, this is an incomplete list. DO double check with your local stations to be sure that times have not shifted. Additionally, I am only including stations for which I have verified that they will be airing “Alice’s Restaurant” for 2023. However, you may want to consult my prior radio guides to identify other radio stations that tend to play the song annually.
Pre-Thanksgiving Servings of “Alice’s Restaurant” on the Radio in 2023“Alice’s Restaurant” is also airing before Thanksgiving on some stations. On Monday, November 20, WDIY 88.1 FM (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania) airs “Alice’s Restaurant” between 7 and 9pm on Steve Aaronson’s “Folk Classics” show, which features a Thanksgiving theme. Additionally, on Tuesday, November 21, “Alice’s Restaurant” airs on WESU 88.1 FM (Middletown, CT) at around 7pm during the Acoustic Blender show.
On Wednesday, November 22, Angelica Community Radio WRAQ 92.7 FM (Angelica, NY) broadcasts it at 9am and WTMT-FM 105.9 The Mountain (Asheville, North Carolina) will air it at 6pm.
Alice’s Restaurant on the Radio on Thanksgiving Day 2023 – November 23, 2023Last updated on November 21, 2023 at 5:21pm PT. Note that all times are local to the area in which the station is located.
Terrestrial and Online Radio:WAMC Northeast Public Radio 90.3 FM and 1400 AM (Albany, NY) writes of its Thanksgiving Day plans: “At 12 p.m. we’ll listen to our traditional airing of ‘Alice’s Restaurant’” followed by an interview with Arlo Guthrie at 1 p.m.”
Wyoming Public Media will air “Alice’s Restaurant” at 11am on Thanksgiving Day, as part of the Wyoming Sounds Thanksgiving special (9am to noon) “with host Grady Kirkpatrick featuring roots music, Native American, and Wyoming artists along with the Arlo Guthrie Thanksgiving classic Alice’s Restaurant beginning at 11am.”
WRUR 88.FM at University of Rochester (Rochester, New York) will air “Alice’s Restaurant” at 11:30am during Open Tunings with Scott Regan. Kane O, who has been airing this song for many years, writes on Facebook, “BIG ‘Ups’ to my Pal, Professor Scott Regan for letting me crash his show to carry on our wonderful tradition! Thankful indeed! #42.”
WDRC 102.9 FM “The Whale” (Hartford, Connecticut) writes, “Tune into 1029 The Whale on Thanksgiving at 6a, Noon and 6pm we will be playing Alice’s Restaurant in it’s entirety!”
WCSX 94.7 FM (Detroit, Michigan) is airing “Alice’s Restaurant” at 10am and 4pm on Thanksgiving.
WMGK 102.9 FM (Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania) continues its annual tradition. According to the station’s website, “Everyone can enjoy the tradition of ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ on MGK three times on Thanksgiving day in 2023. Paul Kelly will start it off by playing the Arlo Guthrie Thanksgiving classic at 8 a.m., and Danny Ocean will play it at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.”
WZOO 99.9 FM (Central North Carolina) and 700 AM (Asheboro) and 106.1 FM (Greensboro) writes on Facebook of its plans: “Are you wondering if WZOO is going to continue the tradition of playing Alice’s Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie on Thanksgiving? You bet we are! Listen at 12:05 pm, right after the news! Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at The ZOO!”
WAFX 106.9 FM The Fox (Chesapeake, Virginia) writes on Facebook, “The Thanksgiving tradition continues on Thursday at 12 noon with the airing of Arlo Guthrie’s performance of “Alice’s Restaurant” hosted by Mike Arlo!”
Rock Radio 559 (Porterville, California) posted on Facebook, “A radio tradition every Thanksgiving. Arlo Guthrie ‘Alice’s Restaurant Massacree’ 12 noon and 7pm Thanksgiving Day on rockradio559.com.”
WTMT-FM 105.9 The Mountain (Asheville, North Carolina) is airing “Alice’s Restaurant” on Thanksgiving Day and Thanksgiving Eve. On Facebook the station posted, “The Thanksgiving tradition continues! Alice’s Restaurant on 105.9 The Mountain. You’ll hear it on Wednesday night at 6pm and twice on Thanksgiving Day at Noon and 6pm.”
WTTS 92.3 FM (Indianapolis, Indiana) writes on Facebook, “Welcome to a short holiday week! We are all set to provide Thursday’s soundtrack. OverEasy Thanksgiving is back on 92-3 WTTS, with laid-back World Class Rock all day long. We’ll also play Arlo Guthrie’s Thanksgiving classic ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ four times: 8am, 12pm, 4pm and 9pm.”
WEZX Rock 107 (Scranton, Pennsylvania) plans to play “Alice’s Restaurant” according to its Facebook post, “Alice’s Restaurant has become a timeless tradition. Tune in Thanksgiving Day at 9am, noon, 3pm and 6pm You can get anything you want at Rock 107.”
WEHM 92.9 FM and 96.9 FM (Water Mill, NY) tweeted, “Thanksgiving Day, don’t miss out on Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ hosted by Lauren Stone! Special airings at 12pm, 3pm and 6pm!”
107.5 The Breeze (Portsmouth, Ohio) tweeted, “We’re celebrating a Holiday Classic: ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ by Arlo Guthrie. Follow along as the story unfolds on Thanksgiving Day. It’s always brought to you by Preston Family Funeral Home on Rt. 5 in Ashland. Hear it this Thursday at 9am, Noon and 5pm.”
KPIG 107.5FM and KPYG 94.9 FM Cayucos/SLO (Freedom, California) reports, “On Thanksgiving day, tune into the pig and hear the full version of Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ four times…at 9:00am, noon, 4:00pm, and again at 9:00pm. We hope you and yours have a safe – and healthy – Thanksgiving holiday.”
101 The Fox (Kansas City, Kansas) writes, “A Thanksgiving gift from our family to yours…This Thanksgiving day at 12:00 noon and again at 6pm. 101 The Fox presents all 18 minutes, eleven seconds of Arlo Guthrie’s epic Thanksgiving masterpiece!”
Backland Radio (online) reports that it is playing “Alice’s Restaurant” at 8am, noon, 5pm and 9pm Central Time on Thanksgiving on The Whip at Backland Radio.
92 KQRS (Minneapolis, Minnesota) reports of this year’s “Alice’s Restaurant” tradition: “Our long-standing tradition of spinning Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ on Thanksgiving continues! You have three opportunities to hear it this year: Tune in at 9am, 12pm and 5pm on Thanksgiving Day. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at KQRS!”
KINK 101.9 FM (Portland, OR): Per its website, “It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving if we didn’t play the Arlo Guthrie classic, now would it. Listen at noon for ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ and a full second helping at 5pm!”
WTHS 89.9 FM Hope College Radio (Holland, Michigan) is playing Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” at noon on Thanksgiving Day.
WRHQ 105.3 FM (Savannah, Georgia) writes on its website, “Tradition! That’s what Alice’s Restaurant is on the Q and you’ll hear it three times Thanksgiving Day…. 9:30 in the morning, 12:30 in the afternoon and 6:30 in the evening presented by O.C. Welch Ford in Hardeeville. Alice and Turkey on the Q!”
KOZT 95.3 FM/95.9 FM The Coast (Ft. Bragg, CA) will play “Alice’s Restaurant” at 12 noon on Thanksgiving.
WDVX 89.9 FM in Knoxville, Tennessee is playing “Alice’s Restaurant” at noon on Thanksgiving. Its website says, “WDVX serves up ‘Alice’s Restaurant Massacree’ a song by Arlo Guthrie and a long time Thanksgiving day tradition on WDVX.”
WUMB 91.9 FM (Boston, MA and environs) writes, “The Thanksgiving tradition continues with Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ airing in the 9am, 12pm, and 3pm hours.”
KSER 90.7 FM (Everett, Washington) writes, “Listen at 2pm Thursday for our annual broadcast of the Arlo Guthrie classic.”
WBJB Brookdale Public Radio 90.5 The Night (Lincroft, New Jersey): Will be playing “Alice’s Restaurant” at noon and 6pm.
KTOJ 105.7 FM (Thousand Oaks, California) airs “Alice’s Restaurant” on Thanksgiving day at 9am, noon, 3pm and 5pm.
KTYD 99.9 FM (Santa Barbara, CA) writes on Facebook: “KTYD’s Annual Thanksgiving Tradition! Listen Thursday at 6:30 and 9:30am, 12:30, 3:30 and 6:30pm.”
WXOX-LP 97.1 FM (Louisville, Kentucky) reached out to alert us that they will be playing “Alice’s” at 9:40am on Thanksgiving Day.
WWSF Seacoast Oldies 104.3 FM (Exeter, Maine) will air “Alice’s Restaurant” at noon.
WMVY 88.7 FM (Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod and environs) aka MVY Radio writes on Facebook: “Be sure to tune in to MVYRADIO this Thanksgiving at noon as we play Arlo Guthrie’s Thanksgiving tradition, ‘Alice’s Restaurant.’ This will be the 40th year of this turkey day tradition.”
WQUT 101.5 FM Tri-Cities Classic Rock (Tri-Cities, Tennessee) reports on Facebook, “An enduring Thanksgiving tradition continues! Arlo Guthrie’s classic, ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ will play at noon and 6:00PM on Thanksgiving on WQUT!”
WEBN 102.7 FM (Cincinnati, Ohio) carries on the tradition. DJ Nudge writes on Facebook, “I have 0 clue why we do it or why it matters to you, I just know you go LOONEY for ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ getting a spin at high noon on 102.7 WEBN every Turkey Day” and asks, “Tradition for Tradition sake, I don’t think anyone high-a-top Frog’s Mountain knows why anymore. Why do YOU love us playing the song annually and what does it mean to you?”
WABF 1480 AM (Fairhope, Alabama) writes on Facebook, “Join us for Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ Thanksgiving day at noon and 6pm.”
KWSC 91.9 FM “The Cat” (Wayne, Nebraska) at Wayne State College tweets that, “@ProfAhern brought a Thanksgiving tradition to KWSC-FM. Tune in at 12 on Thanksgiving to hear about littering, the draft and a swell Thanksgiving dinner at Alice’s Restaurant.”
WXPN 88.5 FM (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) reports that it will be continuing its tradition amongst its Thanksgiving Day special programming. According to its website, at “12 Noon: Mike V presents our annual airing of Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant‘!”
The post Alice’s Restaurant on the Radio Thanksgiving 2023 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
On this week’s show, we peek behind the scenes of The Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC). A project of the Internet Archive, the DLARC collection includes a range of amateur radio-related materials, including magazines, ham radio newsletters, podcasts and even discussion forums. Within the expansive library are items generally categorized as non-commercial radio, including pirate radio, shortwave, numbers stations, experimental radio, and “radio weirdness.” Additionally, every episode of the Radio Survivor Podcast was recently added to DLARC, which is how we learned about this archive. DLARC’s Curator Kay Savetz joins us on Radio Survivor to talk about not only the archive, but also how you can contribute.
Show Notes* The Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC) * Kay Savetz website * Radio Survivor Podcast episodes archived on DLARC * October 2022 announcement about launch of DLARC * Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) * Internet Archive * Podcast #178: Irish Pirate Radio Archive (with guests Brian Greene and John Walsh) * Podcast #212: Border Radio in North America (with guest Kevin Curran) * Podcast #260: Radio History on the Northern Border of Mexico (with guest Sonia Robles) * Look out FCC Part 15 Devices: AM radio is gonna getcha! (learn about Matthew’s Part 15 spider) * Radio4All * The Shortwave Report * Mediageek radio show
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits * Hosted by Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein, Matthew Lasar, and Paul Riismandel * Edited by Eric Klein
The post Podcast #335 – Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The phrase “The neighbors complain,” circles around what appears to be a black WPIR pirate flag. This imagery on the website for college radio station WPIR Pratt Radio alludes to rumors and half-truths about student radio’s legacy and mysterious history on the Brooklyn, New York campus of the Pratt Institute. As is the case at many college radio stations, the concept of history is largely focused on the past few years. And with the COVID disruption, even that institutional memory has mostly been erased.
WPIR logo on the window of the college radio station at Pratt Institute. Photo: J. WaitsWPIR Pratt Radio in 2023However, the 2022-2023 academic year shaped up to be a pivotal moment, with in-person classes happening once again and mask mandates loosening. After a few shaky years, WPIR Pratt Radio is back in action, broadcasting online from a spiffy new studio (as of February, 2023) in the recently renovated Chapel Hall. In spring, 2023, WPIR had 28 shows airing on its internet stream, as well as over speakers in the Student Union building.
Sign at college radio station WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsFlyers, posters, 45rpm records, and other ephemera from the old station space (which was just down the hall and was WPIR’s home circa 2006-2023) adorn the walls of the two-room studio and a basket is filled with Polaroid photos of station members from the past. Formerly home to an interfaith lounge, the new WPIR space is divided in half by a window. The furthest room functions as a radio booth, where show hosts sit to do their programs.
College radio station WPIR Pratt Radio studio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsWPIR’s Whimsical Communication System During Live ShowsThe front room is where a “runner” sits, transmitting each live show to the internet stream. Initially station board members played that role, but now every show host is required to also “run” another program. A large collection of colorful, hand-drawn, whimsical signs featuring tips and inspirational messages sits on the counter. These signs are used as props by the show runner, as a way to communicate words of encouragement to the DJ or host. Messages include suggestions like, “The mic isn’t picking up your voice. Speak closer,” as well as praise, such as “This song slaps.”
WPIR Pratt Radio Board Members Arzu Oran, Eve Mikkelson, Lili Leoung Tat and Colin Coffey.
Photo: J. WaitsAt the time of my visit, DJs at WPIR only played digital music. However, inside a metal cabinet is a small collection of CDs, cassettes, LPs and 7″ inch records, along with cables and miscellaneous audio equipment. A stack of cover-less vintage records also sits in the studio. While these items hint at a longer station history, it’s difficult to discern the station’s precise trajectory over the past few decades.
CDs at college radio station WPIR Pratt Radio. Photo: J. WaitsWPIR Pratt’s Early College Radio Days over AM Carrier CurrentOriginally an AM carrier current station dating back to 1966, WPIR broadcast nightly at 600kc on AM from the first floor of the Willoughby dorm at Pratt, according to a 1971 residence hall handbook. These transmissions could eventually be heard across multiple dorms on campus. Although it was unlicensed carrier current, WPIR was seen as an important communications tool. A letter in student newspaper The Prattler, following student activism efforts and turmoil in 1969, states, “The utilization of radio, WPIR, posters and flyers through quantity and quality, can also aid in securing an informal, involved student body.”
Diana Ross and the Supremes record on the wall at college radio station WPIR. Photo: J. Waits1970s Scene at WPIR Pratt RadioBy the 1970s, WPIR DJs were spinning records on a variety of music shows. One such show was a late night rhythm and blues program hosted by future music industry professional Karen L. Glover, who post-graduation was editor of Black Beat magazine and a music supervisor for films. Other examples of music genres being played in this era can be found in a list of stolen WPIR records during the 1974-1975 academic year. A 1975 article in Drum, a publication by the Black Students Union of Pratt, digs into “PIR Piracy: The Missing Black Records at WPIR,” and mentions that 37 records (mostly featuring Black artists) went missing between September and April. On the list were albums from jazz musician Ramsey Lewis, soul singer Minnie Riperton, funk rock band Labelle, comedian Franklin Ajaye, and artist Carl Douglas (specifically, his disco release “Kung Fu Fighting”).
Cassette tapes at college radio station WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. Waits1980s Equipment Theft and RevivalWPIR continued as a campus-only broadcaster into the 1980s. According to a 1991 article in The Prattler, “in the early 80’s WPIR was a ‘pirate’ station, broadcasting without the schools [sic] or the FCC’s permission. Then all the equipment was stolen.” The article states that in 1984 a freshman, Janell Genovese, “started it back up from scratch,” overseeing WPIR until 1989, when she passed the job on to Daniel Fries.
Polaroids from the past at WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsWPIR’s Foray into Unlicensed FM BroadcastsFries was very interested in taking WPIR to the FM airwaves over very low power. After finding a frequency, he began broadcasts on the far left side of the dial (he thinks 87.9 FM) in November, 1990. Several months later, on April 1, 1991, the FCC sent a letter to higher ups at Pratt, asking that WPIR cease their FM transmissions or risk a $100,000 fine.
Headphones at WPIR in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsAt the time, Fries told The Prattler that he was surprised because he had “counseled” with “representatives” who had “deemed the broadcast of WPIR, if low power, unlicensable.” I reached out to Fries and he made some clarifications, explaining that he’d spoken with a consultant as well as with engineers on campus. “We determined that at a very low power we could limit the range pretty easily…I was counseled that under a certain power output it was considered legal without a license,” he said, adding that the plan was to operate legal low power unlicensed broadcasts, complying with FCC’s Part 15 rules. These same regulations under Part 15 are what allow for legal, unlicensed campus-only AM carrier current broadcasts.
Pratt Institute. March, 2023 photo by J. Waits.A former WPIR staffer wrote a more colorful account some years later on the station’s website, saying that, “…the short-lived glory days were perhaps 3-4 months, where we were heard all over the 5 boroughs. We had a great time anyhow, promoting shows – including bands like Fishbone, They Might Be Giants (Pratt alumni themselves), Swirlies, 24-7 Spies, and so on.” However, Fries maintains that those FM broadcasts were much more limited, with “maybe a mile radius” from Pratt’s Brooklyn campus.
WPIR’s Return to AMAfter shutting down its low power FM broadcasts, WPIR planned to go back to AM carrier current and increase awareness of the station on campus. The Prattler noted, “Not many people at Pratt know that this institute has a radio station. Even less know its recent history.”
Header of Pratt Radio’s website circa 2005A former staffer spoke of efforts to continue broadcasting after this setback, writing about this history on the WPIR website (circa 2007), “My wife (the then GM) and I tried to resurrect the station as a campus-only ‘leaky cable’ system, which uses a low-power signal that radiates perhaps 100 feet max from the cable – so it’d be run around campus, down hallways, up elevator shafts, and so on. Never worked out too well, as I couldn’t get the damned cable across Willoughby Avenue! Some sort of hoo-ha permitting that sort of thing, so we gave up.” A 1994 yearbook mentions a return to AM following the whole FCC debacle.
Poster on wall at college radio station WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsWPIR Transitions Online in the 2000sThe station’s pirate radio past is immortalized in some of the station’s branding, as evidenced by a pirate flag with WPIR call letters hanging in the current studio. With its forays into AM and FM broadcasting behind them, Pratt Radio shifted to internet streaming somewhere between 2001 and 2004 and even introduced podcasts as early as 2006.
WPIR Pratt Radio website circa 2011WPIR Pratt Radio’s Post-COVID RevivalTo current students (as was the case decades ago!), the history of Pratt Radio is very murky. And in the shadow of COVID, just getting WPIR up and running again has been the main focus of their attention. When I met up with four WPIR board members in late March, 2023 they spoke of their work to bring the station back to life. All sophomores at the time (a fifth board member was a senior), they had not experienced Pratt Radio pre-COVID, so much of what they knew about the station came from conversations with upperclassmen and their advisor as well as from digging into past postings on Instagram.
Screenshot of WPIR Pratt Radio’s Tumblr2020 WPIR Frozen in TimeSince WPIR was inactive for a bit, current station participants also had to do some sleuthing in order to get back on social media. However, the station’s wonderfully designed tumblr site remains inaccessible and is frozen in time. One page shows the Spring 2020 schedule, packed with 53 shows, hosted by students, faculty/staff, and alumni. It’s easy to imagine the enthusiasm that everyone had when that schedule was posted at the start of 2020, but of course everything changed that March of 2020. By fall, 2020 shows were being done remotely, with some hosts recording programs using the voice memo app on their phones.
Vinyl decor on the wall of WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsBringing WPIR Pratt Radio Back in 2022-2023 School YearAs we chatted in the quiet studio (except for a constant hum of construction and periodic banging noises from a sculpture class upstairs) in March, 2023 during a mid-day break in programming, I learned more about what brought this group of people together to help bring back college radio on campus. Lili Leoung Tat described the situation at WPIR in the 2021-2022 school year, telling me that “it was kind of dead” and that “there wasn’t really anyone running it.” In fall 2022, she was part of the group that brought the station back from the “ground up.” Around 45 people signed up to be part of WPIR that semester, with 21 shows making it to “air.” By the spring, the number of shows had increased to 28.
WPIR flyer at the Pratt Institute college radio station in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsThe Allure of College Radio for WPIR’s Student LeadersAmazingly, this small group of students, new to radio, quickly revived the dormant WPIR. Interestingly, several had relatives, including cousins and parents who had worked in college radio or radio in general. WPIR board member Arzu Oran reflected back on an older cousin who had done college radio, saying “he always seemed so cool,” adding that this was part of her desire to join a college radio station, “especially at an art school” like Pratt.
WPIR Pratt Radio studio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsCoincidentally, fellow board member Eve Mikkelson also had an older cousin who did college radio. She was partially drawn to Pratt Radio because she thought it would be the “perfect way to meet a bunch of people.” The newest board member (she was a week into her term when we all meet in March), Mikkelson talked about how much she enjoys doing her show, “Brooklyn Buzz,” which highlights Brooklyn artists. “Getting to curate what you play and what you say, it’s just a really nice form of expression,” she explained, adding, “You’re picking all your favorite things and you’re getting to share it with as many people as possible.”
Sound board at college radio station WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsSimilarly, Oran, who hosts “Kraving Kibbeh,” spoke philosophically about the experience of listening to music “actively,” without distractions. She finds herself doing that much more while participating in college radio at WPIR, where she is more likely to listen to music “fully.” She said, “It feels so nice to actively listen” to both her own program as well as other shows on WPIR.
Flyer on wall at WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsBuilding Community at Pratt InstituteIn addition to the joy of “doing” radio, the participants at WPIR talked about the satisfaction that they felt in contributing to campus life. “I really like that we’re leaving a mark on the campus, because we’re helping to relaunch the Pratt radio station,” said board member Colin Coffey. He continued, “Hopefully we’ll keep thriving after we graduate…it’s just a nice community that we’ve built.” Leoung Tat agreed, adding that the station community is also building connections with other groups. She mentioned that several clubs have reached out to collaborate with WPIR. One organization, Queer Pratt, inquired about having DJs spin at an event and the student book club asked WPIR to curate playlists for their meetings.
Promotional vinyl record (circa 2013) at WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsFall 2023 Shows at WPIR Pratt RadioWPIR is up and running again this semester, with all four of the board members who I met in the spring still active on the Pratt Radio Board. When I tuned in to the stream in mid-October, 2023, there were 25 shows on the fall schedule running from about noon to 10pm. The broad range of programs include “Eli’s Experimental Hour,” “Jesus Wept,” “Evil Hour,” “Show Tunes Swag,” “Tuning into the 2000s,” “Clowns, Cowboys & Punks,” and more. An edition of “Nocturnal Emissions” that I caught featured bands with under 20,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, which I thought was an interesting way to feature more underground artists.
Old College Radio Day Broadcast flyer on wall at WPIR Pratt Radio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsThanks to WPIR Pratt Radio + More Radio Station ToursThanks to WPIR Pratt Radio for the wonderful visit. Also many thanks to WPIR advisor and Associate Director for the Student Union Alexander Ullman for taking time to speak with me. Additional appreciation goes to Brendan Enright, Project Archivist at the Pratt Institute for research assistance and for digging up some vital materials in the archives. And, finally, thanks to WPIR alum Daniel Fries for sharing his memories with me, helping to shed light on the station’s pirate radio rumors.
This is my 173rd radio station tour report and my 115th college radio station recap. View all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. Stay tuned for additional tours from my spring and summer travels.
Flyer at WPIR Pratt Radio. Photo: J. WaitsThe post Radio Station Visit #173: College Radio Station WPIR Pratt Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
With killer views from the 7th floor of a building in the heart of New York City, it’s no surprise that DJs at The School of Visual Arts’ (SVA) college radio station WSVA joke about wanting to live at the station. “I would love to have this as my apartment,” said Michelle Mullin, WSVA’s Manager of Operations. Similarly, alumnus Jacob Gardner, who uses they/he pronouns, admitted to napping at the station, especially since their apartment was in another borough. Beyond WSVA being a lovely space physically, the station also feels welcoming to its participants. “There’s actual life in this place,” explained Alice Katok, the station’s Manager of Production, contrasting it with the closet-like conditions of her apartment. Especially after a few isolating years of COVID, it’s clear that students are gravitating to college radio station WSVA in order to be part of a community of like-minded music enthusiasts.
View from college radio station WSVA. Photo: J. WaitsWSVA Punk Show and Community ConnectionsAnd that community is growing beyond the walls of WSVA. The station hosted a sold-out punk show in February, 2023 (its first in recent memory) and 70 people showed up. Mullin was impressed by the turn out, saying that she’d never seen more than 30 people at a school event in her time at SVA. Although it was restricted to SVA-affiliated people, they even got some RSVPs from people who aren’t connected with the school. This outside interest was gratifying to WSVA and a sign to them that they are on an upswing.
Flyer for WSVA Punk Show on the wall of the college radio station. Photo: J. WaitsKatok mentioned that they’ve also been getting communication from more artists and have had to turn down requests from bands to play. Additionally, WSVA has heard from folks at nearby colleges and college radio stations at FIT, Hunter College, NYU, and the New School about possibly collaborating on events. Mullin said that she feels “lucky” that WSVA has so much creative freedom; in part because the station is internet-only.
A glimpse of the WSVA studio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsCollege Radio Station WSVA Feels Like an Art SchoolThese days, WSVA is buzzing with activity. Gardner said that there were 40 shows in spring 2023 as well as a record number of listeners on the online station’s stream. And, specific attempts to make the station “more accessible” and “less cliquey” are paying off. “I tell everyone I know, you can come here, you don’t have to have a show,” Mullin remarked, adding, “I love coming in…and seeing 10 people in here.” Gardner explained that WSVA is “supposed to be a space that everybody can enjoy,” and pointed out that the station really “feels like an art school.” And it’s true. There’s art everywhere, including random paintings, sculpture projects, drawings on the walls, and a shared notebook packed with sketches. The WSVA Sketchbook was a new addition in February, 2023. Additionally, a “doodle challenge” on the wall of WSVA encourages DJs to “draw your favorite album from memory.”
WSVA Sketchbook at the college radio station in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsLooking Back at WSVA During COVIDThis creative, in-person energy is quite the contrast to the past few years during COVID. WSVA was completely shut down in spring 2020. By the summer, they had created a virtual studio over Discord and test ran a station on Twitch, where they even held a dance party. By fall, 2020 WSVA was running shows over Twitch. For Gardner, it served as their only social interaction, which they characterized as “commiseration” during an especially challenging time for students.
By fall, 2021, WSVA was back in its 7th floor studio, although work had to be done to spruce it up after it had been sitting idle for over a year. In-person shows resumed in October, 2021, with around 36 programs on the schedule. “I think people were just excited to do anything,” recalled Katok about this reawakening on campus. There were still restrictions in place, with only 3 people allowed in WSVA at a time in fall, 2021. “I was here typically alone,” Katok said.
WSVA managers Michelle Mullin and Alice Katok in the studio at the School of Visuals Arts’ college radio station in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsWSVA Re-Energized in 2022-2023 School YearHowever, by the 2022-2023 academic year. WSVA was even more energized, which was quite palpable when I visited in late March, 2023. “I’ve definitely noticed a shift this year,” remarked Katok, adding, “more people are curious” about the radio station. Along with that, WSVA is attracting more attention. Gardner joked that when they started at the school, the radio station was like the “Bigfoot of SVA,” with students not realizing that WSVA even existed. Another positive shift was that some younger staff members were in place this spring, with many of them still in leadership positions in fall, 2023. Having continuity is helpful, especially with the disruption during COVID.
Sign at college radio station WSVA in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsCollege Radio Station WSVA’s Lively SpaceThe lively WSVA space is covered with flyers from past events, as well as promotional posters and stickers from prior eras of the station. The on-air studio is sweetly outfitted with a nice leather couch and matching chair, a cute floral armchair, and multi-colored plastic crates full of vinyl records. A red pitchfork is propped in one corner and posters and flyers cover the walls. A handful of CDs sit in the station window, which faces the entryway to the station. Another studio currently serves more like a storage area, but seems like it may have functioned as a production studio or news studio in the past.
College radio station WSVA studio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsThese days, WSVA DJs are playing a wide range of genres. The folks who I met up with mentioned playing folk, mid-western emo, 1950s doo-wop, and hardcore. And by this fall, the 37 shows on the schedule included “Love Letter to an LP,” “Emo to the Extremo,” “Fiona’s iPod Shuffle,” “Into the Pit,” “Anti Wave,” “Girlie & Pop,” and more.
Studio at college radio station WSVA in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsAlthough the WSVA crew recognizes the freedom that affords them as an internet-only college radio station; they also expressed some wistfulness about not having a spot on the terrestrial dial. We chatted about the station formerly being on AM, but not much was known about that time.
WSVA sticker circa 2007. A series of these stickers referencing different music genres are posted on cabinets at the college radio station. March, 2023 photo by J. WaitsThe Mysterious History of College Radio Station WSVAPart of the challenge is that there is no written WSVA history. And the “about us” section of WSVA’s website circa January 2008 is comically spot-on when articulating this lack of a detailed station history. According to the post, “WSVA was founded…well, we actually don’t know when. I’m assuming it was some time in the late 80s or early 90s. Then it was shut down for a while and opened up again sometime in the late 90s. Again, we don’t know exactly when this was.”
Sticker collage at college radio station WSVA in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsEarly Days of WSVA: 1980sWhile WSVA’s “history is shrouded in mystery,” according to Gardner, there are little kernels of details around the station. Formerly a carrier current radio station at 590 AM, WSVA is rumored to have started in 1970. Throughout the 1980s, the college radio station broadcast over carrier current and into various spaces on campus. Events included a “Battle of the Bands” in spring 1986, with participants selected based on demo tapes. At the time, the station used the branding “WSVA 590 Rock 59.”
One featured program was “Overtones,” which played progressive jazz fusion and new age music. Other shows included the “heavy music” oriented “16 Tons” as well the “Rockin’ Rob Show,” which played new wave music, rock, rap, comedy and interviews. By spring, 1987, it seemed that WSVA’s space had been reduced, with it now occupying only a portion of the 7th floor lounge that was its home. An article SVA’s student newspaper Canvas states, “Our sound can be heard in the incredible shrinking seventh floor lounge Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. We can also be heard in the cafeteria every day from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and soon-to-be in the afternoons as well.”
WSVA logo of unknown vintage. On the wall at the college radio station in March, 2023. Photo: J. Waits1980s Programming Additionally, a new show in spring 1987 was an on-air classifieds-type program, “The Bulletin Board,” which aired at 3:30pm every day. WSVA also offered to buy records from anyone on campus that spring. A local music show, “Homegrown,” began in fall 1986 and by spring, 1987 it had received material from a variety of bands, including The Crunge, Me and My Bro, Norman Bates and the Showerheads, Sidney and the Homewreckers, and the Rescue. In fall, 1987, the station was airing music (including a classical show), hourly newscasts, talk shows, and a comedy show within its mix of programming.
CDs at college radio station WSVA in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsAn October, 1989 account in Canvas reported on delays in broadcasting that fall due to an explosion in Gramercy Park and a New York Telephone strike. With new equipment, the station was gearing up to broadcast from 7am to 5pm on weekdays into four SVA buildings: Sloane House and lounges at East 21st Street, East 23rd Street, and West 21st Street.
Vintage sticker on the wall of college radio station WSVA in spring 2023. Photo: J. WaitsEarly 2000s at College Radio Station WSVAPosters and stickers at WSVA from the internet era include the spot on the AM dial, suggesting that carrier current persisted into at least the early 2000s. Photographer Noah Kalina was Music Director at WSVA in the early 2000s and posted an anecdote about what the station was like during that time. While at the station he compiled charts to send to the industry publication, CMJ. Coincidentally, years later, he shot a CMJ cover featuring the musician Sia.
College radio station WSVA in April, 2001. Photo: Noah KalinaOn his website, Kalina reflects back on his time at WSVA:
WSVA is a radio station nobody at the school even knew existed. It only broadcast in the school cafeteria which was 3 blocks away and they never had the volume up loud enough to hear it. We basically sat around the station all day making up the music charts we had to send in to CMJ. We would also field calls from all of the music publicists further perpetuating the myth that we were a legitimate radio station. This insured that the station could continue to receive tons and tons of promo CD’s and we could keep our jobs.
There was absolutely no authority so we basically made it up as we went along. It was the best job anybody in college could ever ask for, not to mention it was two flights above the darkrooms. How or why we ever got paid will always remain a mystery.
Judging by the look of the current website (we never had a website) not much has changed. It does however seem like they are doing a really fancy itunes stream. I am so proud of them.
Noah Kalina
College radio station WSVA in April, 2001. Photo: Noah KalinaOver email, Kalina shared more reminiscences with me, as well as some photos that he took of the station during his time there from 2000 to 2001. He explained that even though WSVA was piped into the cafeteria, it was an underused space, limiting their audience even further. He added, “They said it was in the dorms too, but it wasn’t.” As far as the music of the era, he mentioned, “…we basically had Radiohead KID A on repeat non-stop so that album marks that time for me. Fall/Winter 2000. Unforgettable.” He also recalled that a major renovation took place at WSVA in late April, 2001; which he captured in photos before the work has been completed.
College radio station WSVA on April 24, 2001, amid renovation work. Photo: Noah KalinaEarly Streaming at WSVA Limited to the CampusWhile its unclear when internet broadcasting started for WSVA, it does seem that it was initially limited to campus networks. Vintage stickers posted at the radio station include a URL for Pipeline, which likely provided an intranet for the campus, seemingly between 2001 and 2008ish. In 2005, a comment on WSVA’s LiveJournal site said, “SVA should invest in a WSVA server for some sort of podcasting system, allowing for listeners outside of the campus! That’s what I think. Any ideas on implementing such a system?” A post on the station’s website four years later, in fall 2009, indicated that these broadcasts were still “limited to our school’s network.”
Vintage poster at college radio station WSVA from the early 2000s. Photo: J. WaitsBy spring 2011, WSVA could be heard streaming “via the magical internet, so listeners are able to tune in all across the world.” Some of these shows from this era were also posted as podcasts as well. Although I’m unsure about when carrier current broadcasting ended for WSVA, it appears that by 2013, the station was only streaming online. They also installed a webcam in 2013 and a few videos can be found on YouTube circa 2017. Also in the early 2000s, there were at least two different ‘zines produced by WSVA, including one called STATIC, and later a webzine called Xzyqunity.
Vintage WSVA sticker on case at the college radio station in March, 2023 . This logo design was introduced in 2013. Photo: J. WaitsLore from WSVA’s PastMullin, Katok and Gardner were interested to learn more about WSVA’s past and have made attempts at research. Gardner found some recordings of shows circa 2017 and they have had requests from station alumni looking for even earlier archives. Gardner said that they are proud of WSVA alumni like musician Mike Krol. An interview with him is on the current WSVA website and Krol shares some memories of his time at the radio station in the early 2000s.
Rumors of a 1990 Kurt Cobain visit to the station are unverified, but there’s also SVA chatter about artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring (who attended SVA) hanging out in the school cafeteria. A friend of mine, John Devecka, who worked for carrier current equipment manufacturer LPB, recalled visiting WSVA circa 1995-1996 and seeing Keith Haring graffiti in the building’s stairwell. Devecka was there to test the carrier current system as well as to explore the possibility of installing radiating cable FM. Unfortunately with the layout of the building, it was found to be too expensive to shift to FM at that time.
Instructions for WSVA’s old LPB carrier current transmitter, which were hanging on the wall of the college radio station in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsWhile this mysterious history is alluring, today’s WSVA participants also worry about this lack of awareness of the station’s past. “I don’t want this place to be lost in history,” Katok explained. Mullin added that some of her professors seemed completely unaware of WSVA’s existence; although she noted, “We’ve been alive this whole time.”
WSVA managers Alice Katok and Michelle Mullin at the station in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsDuring our chat in the spring, Gardner mentioned that WSVA had hoped to do a ‘zine again; so I was excited to see a post calling for writers and ‘zine contributors on the WSVA Instagram in October, 2023. Especially thrilling for me is that history will be part of that ‘zine. The post says, “We want to document the history of the radio station, as well as feature the works of our DJs who make WSVA possible.” I can’t wait to see the finished ‘zine and wish WSVA luck in sleuthing out more stories from its 50+ year history.
WSVA T-shirts on the wall of the college radio station in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsThanks to WSVA + More Radio Station ToursThanks to everyone at WSVA for the warm welcome and fun visit in March, 2023. I’m also very grateful to Beth Kleber, Head of Archives for the School of Visual Arts Archives for help in locating WSVA material from the 1980s. More thanks to Noah Kalina for sharing memories and photos from his time at WSVA in the early 2000s.
Drawings posted on the wall of college radio station WSVA. Photo: J. WaitsThis is my 172nd radio station tour report and my 114th college radio station recap. View all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. Stay tuned for additional tours from my spring and summer travels.
Mouse pad at college radio station WSVA in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsThe post Radio Station Visit #172: College Radio Station WSVA at The School of Visual Arts appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Happy World College Radio Day! October 6, 2023 marks the 13th annual College Radio Day. As part of the festivities at Radio Survivor, we did a special episode of the podcast/radio show: College Radio’s Hidden Early History. On the show, I talk about the role that radio clubs played in germinating some of the first student-run college radio stations. One such club, at my alma mater Haverford College, launched broadcast AM radio station WABQ in 1923. On October 9, 1923, a couple of months before WABQ hit the airwaves, a headline in Haverford’s student newspaper announced, “Broadcasting Station Nears Completion.” Clearly the radio club had high aspirations, with the article pointing out that, “Members of the club feel confident that Haverford will be very definitely on the Radio Map when the station opens up.” As one of the first student-led radio stations, WABQ deserves a place in radio history, even though its time on the radio dial was brief.
After a few years, Haverford College’s WABQ license was sold (by the students in the club), and broadcasting did not return to campus until carrier current stations (WHAV, later renamed WHRC) were built in the early 1940s. These limited broadcasts could only be heard in the dorms on AM radios or over speakers in the dining center at Haverford College (and later Bryn Mawr College too). As a carrier current station, WHRC persisted for around 50 years, until various technological issues caused it to morph into an internet radio station. WHRC died and was reborn several times; most recently returning in fall, 2022. This week, I posted an article about the folks who brought radio back to Haverford College, amid the myriad challenges of the pandemic. As with student leaders of the past, the current managers of WHRC are a huge source of inspiration to me. College radio is such a special place and it warms my heart that new generations of students continue to build radio stations and form new radio communities.
Photo credit: J. Waits photo of Haverford News article from October 9, 1923. Thanks to Haverford College’s Special Collections for preserving student newspapers, including this issue.
The post Happy College Radio Day: Celebrating 100+ Years of College Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
A casual comment during a college orientation session in 2020 was the spark that led to the revival of college radio station WHRC at Haverford College. Although Haverford had one of the earliest student-led radio stations in the 1920s (WABQ, whose first broadcast was 100 years ago in 1923!) and a very active AM carrier current station starting in the early 1940s (WHAV and then WHRC); the 2000s have seen the death and rebirth of many different iterations of radio on the small liberal arts school campus just outside of Philadelphia. It seemed that WHRC had disappeared for good circa 2017, but I continued to hear rumblings every so often about renewed interest in bringing the station back. By fall, 2022, WHRC was alive and active again. Against all odds, students were able to reclaim a portion of WHRC’s long-time dining center basement home and build a new radio station. The latest version of WHRC began streaming live in September, 2022 and launched its website in February, 2023. In spring semester 2023, the station had around 80 participants and more than 50 radio shows.
A portion of WHRC’s Spring 2023 scheduleAstonishingly, the new WHRC came together pretty quickly, especially during a pandemic. WHRC’s original co-heads Sarah Mastrocola and Natalie White arrived on campus as sophomore transfer students in the fall of 2020. Both had come from schools with radio stations and Mastrocola had even done college radio at her previous school. During Haverford’s orientation week (over Zoom) someone asked if the college had a radio station and Sarah and Natalie immediately said to each other “maybe we can start it.” Although there was this initial kernel of an idea in 2020, it was another year until the two began the work to create a new radio station.
A strange coincidence happened in spring 2021, when the HBO series Mare of Easttown debuted. Taking place in the Philadelphia area, a few episodes featured a fictionalized student radio station at Haverford College. Mastrocola said, “The timing was pretty comical…it definitely inspired us to sort of live up to that standard of, well, on television it says we have a radio station.” She joked about her reaction at the time, recalling her thought that, “I guess the universe is telling us, it’s time to bring this radio station back.” Although the remarks about the fake radio station on the show were more of a “funny thing that people would say,” those comments “sparked conversation.” White added that even though the show wasn’t the reason that they relaunched WHRC, it did still generate interest in radio amongst Haverford and Bryn Mawr students.
By Fall of 2021, Natalie approached Sarah about realizing their collective radio dream. They went into full research mode, talking to students, faculty, and administrators. They secured funding to start the radio station and obtained approval to form a student club. Additionally, they reached out to nearby college radio station WXVU at Villanova to get advice about radio station operations. Mastrocola and White then held an preliminary interest meeting in spring semester of 2022 to let students know about their plans and get others involved. A huge accomplishment that spring was WHRC being granted access to a space in the dining center basement that had most recently been used as a recording studio by students.
Entrance to Haverford College radio station WHRC in Spring 2023. Photo: Natalie WhiteWHRC activities ramped up in fall 2022. The club started an Instagram account and began promoting the idea of the station. More than 120 students signed up to join during Haverford’s Club Fair. The station officially launched and starting streaming in September, 2022 and had around 30 shows that semester. The first program on the air was a mid-day show devoted to music from the television show Glee.
When I spoke to Mastrocola and White in spring 2023, they reported that the schedule had expanded to 53 shows, with around 80 members of the radio club. Students from Haverford College and Bryn Mawr College (and some faculty) did shows live from the studio, streaming to listeners on campus and all over the world. At the time, the schedule was a mix of talk (including a sports show and three shows about relationships) and music shows (heavy metal, indie, and more), with participants playing music from digital sources. One show was done entirely in Spanish too. Shows were 30 or 60 minutes long and were scheduled from around noon to 10pm, depending on the day.
Last semester was especially active at WHRC. In addition to the debut of the website, WHRC presented a live music session, broadcasting a modular synthesizer performance by visiting professor Matt O’Hare. And, Mastrocola and White taught a P.E. class focused on radio! Mastrocola explained that they helped students become radio journalists and create podcasts for P.E. credit. Students wrote scripts, compiled audio, and conducted interviews, with the resulting audio airing over WHRC. One cohort covered the HaverFarm and ecological topics on the Haverford campus.
View into Haverford College radio station WHRC in Spring, 2023. Photo: Natalie WhiteAlthough the WHRC of the past was outfitted with equipment to play vinyl records and CDs, the current station does not have a physical music library (or turntables, CD players, or tape decks). The collection of LPs and CDs from WHRC’s earlier incarnations has dwindled away. While the 2023 studio occupies a portion of the old WHRC space (originally built in the early 1970s) in the dining center basement, the rooms have been reconfigured. The studio now borders a band practice room. That can be tricky when the station is on the air and I was told that WHRC is hoping to get a soundproof door to help dampen outside noises. This challenge came into focus from me while tuning in to a recent show, as music could be heard drifting in from a Jazz Club gathering.
Haverford College radio station WHRC in spring, 2023. Photo: Natalie WhiteA big goal of the new radio club and revamped WHRC space at Haverford is for it to be “chill” and “accessible,” as well as a “fun communal space to hang out,” according to Mastrocola. With such a huge number of participants joining the station this past spring, it’s clear that radio is alluring to students. She cited a number of reasons, including, on the surface, radio’s “retro aesthetic.” But perhaps more importantly, she talked about the power of sharing ideas and sounds with one’s community. Mastrocola explained that radio is a “medium of performance that excludes all of the nerve-wracking elements of performance,” adding that, “You can share your music with the community. And yet you’re kind of the star of your own show, but there’s no stakes to it…It’s all for fun.”
Haverford College radio station WHRC in Spring, 2023. Photo: Natalie WhiteAlong with that, White noted that the station’s revival coincided with the increasing popularity of podcasts and audio-based content. She was working on her senior thesis on podcasting when we spoke in the spring and remarked that the surge of podcast listening in the pandemic likely led students to radio at Haverford, pointing out that some of WHRC’s shows are very podcast-like.
Although co-heads Mastrocola and White graduated in the spring, they passed the leadership of WHRC to other enthusiastic participants who just finalized the fall schedule. Filled with nearly 50 shows, some highlights include “Locals Only,” “Loud Music,” “Anatolian Hour,” “Anna’s Book Nook,” “Adolescent Phases,” and “Politics and Policy.”
While launching a station is no small task, I’m very pleased that Mastrocola and White were also very keyed in to the history of radio at Haverford. The website is full of vintage photos of their predecessors at WHRC, WHAV and WABQ; and they’ve re-adopted a WHRC dinosaur logo created by Diane Davison, WHRC’s general manager in the late 1980s. White was excited to find the old logo, saying, “it was so cool getting the back story.” She spent a lot of time digging into the college’s WHRC/WHAV/WABQ archives and posted many history tidbits on the station’s Instagram in appreciation of Haverford’s long radio story.
Vintage dinosaur logo from college radio station WHRC. Design by Diane Davison.Another dream of White’s was to develop a WHRC alumni directory for the website, to further connect WHRC participants, past and present. Similarly amazed by the station’s history and archives, Mastrocola told me that she was encouraged after “seeing this history of student leadership inspired by passion for radio.” She added, “It’s really cool to continue that legacy” of radio at Haverford and “having it be…one more bookmark in the WHRC history book is pretty wild.” When I asked if it was bittersweet to be graduating so soon after re-launching the station, both were philosophical, with Natalie pointing out, “you can always tune in to radio…there’s always that trace there.” Sarah struck an optimistic tone, especially since the “archives have survived,” and then surmised, “”even if the radio does die out again after 10 years or so, it will probably get resurrected by someone else and the history will always be there.”
Note: I talk about the early history of Haverford College radio on our latest podcast episode: Podcast #334 – College Radio’s Hidden Early History.
The post College Radio Revival at Haverford College’s WHRC appeared first on Radio Survivor.
World College Radio Day takes place on October 6, 2023 and in honor of that, we dig into the early history of college radio on our latest episode of the show. Jennifer Waits walks us through her research about college radio in the 1920s and earlier, sharing details from a paper that she presented this past spring at the Radio Preservation Task Force Conference at the Library of Congress. In that paper, she argues that we should be broadening our definitions of what college radio is, pointing out examples of radio clubs, radio experiments, and amateur radio activities that mirror the activities of future “broadcast” stations.
Jennifer recounts stories from more than 100 years ago, pointing out the incredible contributions that students have made to radio history. Along the way, we hear tales about early student radio practitioners at places like Haverford College, Union College, Harvard University, and Columbia University. Jennifer also asks for listeners to share details that they may have about very early college radio (1920s and earlier) at other schools.
Show Notes:* College Radio Day * World College Radio Day is October 6 * College radio history resources on Radio Survivor’s “About College Radio” page * College Radio Watch: College Radio is Older Than You Think * Radio Preservation Task Force * 2023 Radio Preservation Task Force Conference * Jennifer’s radio station tours * College radio history on Radio Survivor * Union College (WRUC) radio tour * Making Waves: Race, radio and the legacy of Wendell King (Union College) * From Wireless Experiments to Streaming: The Secret History and Changing Role of College Radio at Haverford College, 1923-2014 * Haverford on the Radio (Jennifer’s piece in Haverford Magazine) * WHRC – Haverford College Radio Tours from 2009 and from 2014 * College Radio Revival at Haverford College’s WHRC * California Historical Radio Society * The Gas Pipe Networks is 80 * Tour of Brown University radio station BSR * Lee De Forest * Podcast #333 – Low Power FM for Dummies
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits * Hosted by Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein, and Paul Riismandel * Edited by Eric Klein * Photo: Jennifer Waits’ photo of a photo of the Union College Radio Club. Courtesy of Special Collections, Schaffer Library, Union College (RG-08-006-015)
The post Podcast #334 – College Radio’s Hidden Early History appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The 13th annual World College Radio Day takes place on Friday, October 6, 2023. Conceived of by Rob Quicke as a celebration of student radio, College Radio Day has grown over the years to include an international mix of stations, all honoring the day in their own unique ways. The event also includes a global marathon, featuring a variety of college radio stations. This year, the marathon begins on Friday, October 6 at midnight Eastern time with the Vox Populi out of Fiji. Every 30 to 60 minutes, a different station will pass the baton. Participants will be far flung, including stations from Argentina, Greece, Mexico, Malaysia, China, Ireland, Spain, the United States, and more.
Special World College Radio Day Episode of the Radio Survivor ShowWe are also celebrating World College Radio Day on Radio Survivor. Stay tuned for a special radio show/podcast episode (#334) launching this week, focusing on the early days of college radio. On the show, I share stories and tidbits from my research about student radio activities on campuses in the first few decades of the 20th century (mainly focusing on the 1920s). I presented on this topic at the Radio Preservation Task Force Conference at the Library of Congress last spring, so am happy to bring this work to a broader audience of Radio Survivor listeners. The history of college radio is full of incredible stories about passionate, creative, and innovative young leaders, artists, and technologists and I love digging into the archives to highlight students’ inspiring work.
More College Radio Resources on Radio SurvivorLearn more about college radio and its rich history by perusing the Radio Survivor archives, where we cover the culture of college radio on these pages and in our radio show/podcast. Since 2008, I’ve been reporting on my field trips to college radio stations, having visited more than 113 college radio stations. Additionally, those reports are full of history (especially the most recent ones), giving a more complete picture of the roots of college radio. Happy World College Radio Day!
The post World College Radio Day is October 6 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The first in-person Grassroots Radio Conference since 2019 is happening in Charleston, West Virginia October 19 – 22, 2023. Hosted by community radio station WTSQ, the conference is an opportunity for staff, volunteers and supporters from community, college and LPFM stations to come together to learn, exchange ideas and inspiration to keep grassroots radio thriving in North America and beyond.
Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman is a featured keynote speaker, along with Alex Sanjenis, an Assistant Chief in the Audio Division of the FCC Media Bureau. Having a representative of the FCC is a real boon to groups planning to apply for a new low-power FM license in the upcoming November application window. However, in general, potential applicants can expect to find plenty of advice among the conference attendees, who collectively have decades of experience building and running community and college radio stations.
Other featured speakers include: Dr. Rob Quicke, founder of the annual Vinylthon event, College Radio Day, and co-founder of World College Radio Day; Dr. MarkAlain Dery, an infectious disease physician and public health practitioner in New Orleans, who with his wife, co-founded 102.3FM WHIV-LP; Joseph Orozco, Board member to the Pacifica Association of Affiliates; Maria Martin, an award-winning multi-media journalist who currently directs the GraciasVida Center for Media, a nonprofit organization based in Texas and La Antigua, Guatemala devoted to the practice of independent journalism in the public interest; and LaGanzie Kale, the founder and General Manager of KLEK 102.5 F.M., the first and only minority operated radio station in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
If you need financial assistance to attend, Amy Goodman has donated her speaking fee to fund partial scholarships to the GRC. Apply here.
I’ve attended only a few GRCs since they first started happening two decades ago, when LPFM was first established, and each has been a very positive and energizing experience. Networking and solidarity are keys to the strength of community and college radio, so I strongly recommend it to anyone invested in grassroots radio.
The post Community and College Radio Folks to Gather at 2023 Grassroots Radio Conference, Oct. 19 – 22 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
10/17/23 Update! The new low power FM filing window has been delayed and is now opening on December 6, 2023. See the FCC’s announcement here.
On our latest episode of Radio Survivor, it’s a very special treat, with all four Radio Survivor hosts at the mic discussing an exciting low power FM opportunity. Another low power FM licensing window for non-commercial radio stations in the United States opens on ~~November 1, 2023~~ December 6, 2023. Who is eligible to apply for these licenses? And why should they? And what help is available? Our guest, Sharon Scott, joins us to talk us through all things LPFM. Scott is the co-founder and general manager of a low power FM radio station, WXOX-LP in Louisville, Kentucky. She is also the author of Low Power FM for Dummies, which is set to be released in October, 2023.
Show Notes* FCC Public Notice on Revised Dates for LPFM Filing Window (10/17/23) * Low Power FM for Dummies (affiliate link on Amazon) * Sharon Scott’s LPFM Resources website * Radio station WXOX-LP (ARTxFM) * Jennifer’s “SpinningIndie” radio station tours * Podcast #331: New Low-Power FM Opportunity Coming This November * Sex and Broadcasting, book by Lorenzo Milam (affiliate link on Amazon) * R.I.P. Radio Trailblazer Lorenzo Milam * Vanderbilt University’s college radio station WRVU * 2023 Grassroots Radio Conference is October 19-22 in Charleston, WV, hosted by WTSQ-FM * Prometheus Radio Project * WORT-FM, Madison, Wisconsin * Common Frequency * Broadcast Tool and Die * Meow! Get Ready for Low Power FM Radio for Cats and Dogs (Matthew’s piece on Flash Cats Radio) * Michelle Bradley’s REC Networks * Free Radio Berkeley * Mbanna Kantako and the Human Rights Information Network (DIYmedia.net) * The Inspiration for US Micropower Radio, and the Mediageek Radio Show – Mbanna Kantako from the Archives (Mediageek) * Pete Tridish at International Media Action * San Francisco Liberation Radio story on FoundSF * Seizing the Airwaves – A Free Radio Handbook * Low Power FM Radio – including details on Class D (10 watt) stations (FCC) * XRAY.fm in Portland, Oregon * Solving the Mystery of the Ubiquitous Radio Station Call Letter Signs: The Leo Blais Interview
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits * Hosted by Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein, Matthew Lasar and Paul Riismandel * Edited by Eric Klein
The post Podcast #333 – Low Power FM for Dummies appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Princeton Review just released its latest college guide, The Best 389 Colleges (paid affiliates link) 2024 edition, so it’s time once again to take a look at its rankings for “Best College Radio Station.” Post-COVID, we are now back to regular annual editions of this list, which is based on student surveys about the popularity of their home school’s radio station.
Like last year, this list is now made up of 25 schools (compared with 20 in the years before COVID).
The 2024 list of the 25 colleges with the “best radio stations” has 19 out of 25 of the schools from the 2023 list. The big surprise this time around, is that Syracuse University dropped from the list. That school, which has several radio stations, has been featured on Princeton Review lists every year since the 2014 edition.
Once again, the list is a mix, including large universities with multiple radio stations as well as small liberal arts colleges with online-only stations. The biggest school on the list is Arizona State (around 65,000 students) and the tiniest is Bennington College (around 785 students). I am also pleased to have visited college radio stations at 6 out of the 25 schools on the list.
The East Coast still dominates. Huge states like California and Texas are not represented at all. The Northeast takes up more of the list than last year, with 16 schools from this region (6 from New York, 3 from New Jersey, 3 from Massachusetts, and 1 each from Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania). On the west coast, only 3 schools are represented (2 from Washington and 1 from Oregon). From the Midwest, the 3 schools hail from Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio. Two schools from the South include one each from Virginia and Florida. And the sole college from the Southwest is from Arizona.
Best = PopularAs a reminder, although the Princeton Review describes its college radio results as “Best College Radio Station,” the title doesn’t tell the whole story. Here’s the skinny:
-
Results are based on student surveys
-
Surveys were conducted at 389 colleges
-
Students are asked to judge the popularity, not the quality, of an unspecified campus radio station at their own college
-
Radio stations are not named in the survey or in the resulting rankings
-
Only schools surveyed can make it into the rankings, so college radio stations at schools that are not surveyed by Princeton Review won’t appear on the list
A number of colleges appearing on the “Best College Radio Station” list have multiple radio stations, including student-run stations, large public radio stations, and everything in between. It makes sense that students would indicate that their school’s radio station is “popular” if they are on a campus with a high profile professional radio station and/or with several radio stations.
Digging into MethodologyAccording to Princeton Review, “We tallied the rankings lists in the current edition of The Best 389 Colleges (published August 2023), based on the data from our surveys of 165,000 students at the 389 schools in the book.”
The site says that the “Best College Radio Station” list is compiled “based on students’ answers to the survey question, ‘How popular is the college radio station?,” but in recent years, the question was phrased a little differently. For the 2021 edition’s list, the survey asked, “How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements at your school?” Among the list of statements was: “College Radio Station is popular.” Respondents were given the following options: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree or Disagree, Agree or Strongly Agree.
How Similar is this Year’s List to Prior Lists?For the 2024 Princeton Review list of “Best College Radio Stations,” 19 of the 25 schools were on the 2023 list. Mount Holyoke College and Sarah Lawrence College are the brand new entrants. Neither has appeared during the 15+ years that I’ve been tracking Princeton Review lists. The other four schools that did not appear last year include Skidmore College (last appeared on 2022 list), Rider University (last appeared on 2016 list), Wellesley College (last appeared on 2012 list), and Fordham University (last appeared on 2022 list). I love seeing that women’s colleges (Mount Holyoke and Wellesley and former women’s colleges (Skidmore and Sarah Lawrence) are taking up a bigger slice of the list this year!
Those that fell off the list this year were Northeastern University, Pace University, Chapman University, University of the South, Syracuse University and Carleton College.
The complete list for the 2024 edition is listed below. For comparison, here are the lists from the 2023, 2022 (different format- had “Great College Radio Station” list), 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 editions of Princeton Review.
2024 Princeton Review’s Best College Radio Stations(aka Most Popular College Radio Stations)Note: I’ve added station names and call signs as the Princeton Review only lists school names. Schools in bold were not on the previous “best” list for the 2023 edition**
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University of South Florida (WUSF 89.7 FM and Bulls Radio online/89.7 HD3/on campus 1620AM, Tampa, FL)
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Emerson College (WERS 88.9FM and WECB, Boston, MA)
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Learn more on my WECB tour: Station Field Trip
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Reed College (KRRC, Portland, OR)
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Learn more on my KRRC tour: Station Field Tri
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Arizona State University (KASC 1330 AM, Tempe, AZ)
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University of Puget Sound (KUPS 90.1 FM, Tacoma, Washington)
6. Skidmore College (WSPN 91.1 FM, Saratoga Springs, NY)
7. Rider University (107.7 FM The Bronc, Lawrenceville, NJ)
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Wellesley College (WZLY 91.5 FM, Wellesley, MA)
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Bowdoin College (WBOR 91.1 FM, Brunswick, ME)
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Hofstra University (WRHU 88.7 FM, Hempstead, New York)
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Denison University (Doobie Radio, Granville, OH)
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Hillsdale College (WRFH-LP 101.7 FM, Hillsdale, MI)
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Mount Holyoke College (WMHC 91.5 FM, South Hadley, MA)
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Bennington College (B-Rad, Bennington, VT)
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Princeton University (WPRB 103.3 FM, Princeton, NJ)
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Read my WPRB tour: Station Field Trip #100!
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Ithaca College (WICB 91.7 FM and VIC Radio, Ithaca, New York)
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Washington State University (KZUU 90.7 FM, KUGR and Northwest Public Radio, Pullman, WA)
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Dickinson College (WDCV 88.3 FM, Carlisle, PA)
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Seton Hall University (WSOU 89.5 FM, South Orange, NJ)
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Hamilton College (WHCL 88.7 FM, Clinton, NY)
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Macalester College (WMCN 91.7 FM, St. Paul, MN)
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Learn more on my WMCN tour: Station Field Trip #95
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Sarah Lawrence College (WSLC, Bronxville, NY)
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Read my 2023 tour of WSLC: Station Field Trip #171
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Fordham University (WFUV 90.7 FM, Bronx, NY and Wavelengths at Lincoln Center, NYC)
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Learn more on my WFUV tour: Station Field Trip #139
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Roanoke College (WRKE-LP, 100.3 FM, Salem, VA)
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Providence College (WDOM 91.3 FM, Providence, RI)
Learn More about College RadioIf this is your first visit to Radio Survivor, take a look at our massive archive of college radio content. There’s a collection of radio news in the College Radio Watch column. We report on college radio culture on our radio show/podcast. We tour college radio stations regularly, and have a page devoted to college radio basics.
The post “Best College Radio Stations” According to 2024 Princeton Review appeared first on Radio Survivor.
MeTV FM and 13 other FrankenFM stations now have an official and permanent home on the far left end of the FM dial. Like I expected, on July 20 the FCC approved a report and order allowing these now-digital low-power TV channel 6 stations to keep their experimental analog radio transmitters on the air.
It’s a very narrow ruling, premitting only these 14 stations that had received Special Temporary Authority (STA) to broadcast an analog radio signal alongside a digital TV signal. No new stations can apply, and the FCC is not otherwise opening up new FM station opportunitieis on 87.75 MHz FM. However, if these stations are sold, they may transfer their FM rights as part of the sale. This had been prohibited under the terms of the STA.
As I argued last year, the fact that the Commission would even consider letting these loophole stations keep their loophole permanently is evidence that, despite its flaws and contradictions, the FCC tends to see its role as keeping stations on air and maintaining public service. Critically, FrankenFMs always operated within the letter of the law. They only, “took advantage of the physics of their location on the broadcast television band, because the uppermost portion of the channel where these television stations made their home was also capable of reception on the lowermost portion of the FM radio dial,” as Chairwoman Rosenworcel puts it.
Some might say my argument is contractied by how the FCC treats unlicensed, pirate broadcasters, which in many cases may be providing equivalent public service. Like it or not, unlicensed statoins operate in contravention to the rules, and it’s a critical difference for the FCC, and its legal mandates. This doesn’t mean there couldn’t be more productive approaches to pirate radio – indeed LPFM was one – but it does explain why FrankenFMs received different treament.
Adherence to rules is also why the FCC fines licensed stations that break them, even if those fines might jeopardize the station’s viability. However, in reality, it’s extremely rare that the FCC fines a station off the air for routine violations – even indecency – and the Commission will reduce fines if a license holder demonstrates hardship. Again, in the spirit of keeping stations on air and maintaining public service. If a station leaves the air in the face of a fine, more often it’s because the license holder chooses to sell or transfer the license in order to avoid current and future liability. The license and signal is preserved, even if the specific programming changes.
In any event, it’s been a long, 14-year saga for FrankenFMs.
The post They Live! FCC Permanently Authorizes 14 FrankenFMs appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Jennifer, our intrepid radio station tour guide, leads us through some of her recent visits to college radio stations in New York and Rhode Island. This most recent academic year (2022-23) was an active one, with college campuses and radio stations coming back to life as pandemic restrictions have eased. We also discuss a long-running […]
The post Podcast #332 – More College Radio Tours & Podcasting Turns 20 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Thanks to James Cridland at Podnews, I was reminded that today, July 9, 2023, marks the 20th birthday of the first-ever podcast recording. As James notes, this was the day that Dave Winer – author of the enclosure tag added to RSS to make it possible to automatically download an audio file – recorded the first episode of […]
The post Celebrating Podcasting’s 20th Birthday appeared first on Radio Survivor.
It’s been nearly three years since the FCC first announced that a new low-power FM (LPFM) application window would be forthcoming. Now we know that November 1 – 8, 2023 will be the third-ever opportunity for qualified non-profits to apply for a license. Jennifer, Eric and Paul review all the pertinent details, explaining why there […]
The post Podcast #331 – New Low-Power FM Opportunity Coming this November appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Going into the 2023 application window for new low-power FM stations we are unlikely to see the kind of massive expansion of the sort we had after the 2013 window. That’s because there are many fewer open frequencies, stemming from the fact that there are simply more FM radio stations on the dial in 2023 […]
The post Why There Will Be Fewer Opportunities for New LPFMs in the November Application Window appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Today there are 13 FrankenFM radio stations broadcasting in the US. These are vestiges of the analog TV past, given a short term lease by the Federal Communications Commission, now with a chance at a longer life. Until July 2022 FrankenFMs were the analog audio signals of low-power TV (LPTV) stations on channel 6, which […]
The post FrankenFMs Up for Final Vote at FCC appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Though we’ve been waiting some three years, the Federal Communications Commission has finally announced the third-ever application window for low-power FM (LPFM) stations, running November 1 – 8, 2023. An application window is a set period of time during which qualified organizations and entities may submit their applications to get a broadcast license. The FCC […]
The post New Opportunity for Low-Power FM Community Radio Stations Opens November 1, 2023 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
It’s time for another (extremely belated) best college radio station list! Back in August, 2022, Princeton Review published its latest college guide (The Best 388 Colleges, 2023 edition), which includes a ranking of schools with the “Best College Radio Stations.” This marks the return of this annual list, which is based on student surveys about the popularity of their home school’s radio station. The last time this list was included in the guide was two years prior, in the 2021 edition. Last year, due to COVID, that list was replaced with a list of 28 unranked “Great Radio Stations” (read about that here).
I’ve been scrutinizing every last detail of these “best” lists since 2008, and it’s interesting to see that once again, Princeton Review is mixing things up with a revamped list of 25 schools (vs. 20 in the past).
The 2023 list of the 25 colleges with the “best radio stations” has 13 out of 20 of the schools from the 2021 list. The biggest surprise to me is that list stalwart, St. Bonaventure, is not on this year’s list. The school has been a staple of the list in the time I’ve been tracking (since 2008), and has was often in the top 5, including at #1. But its departure also made room for a bunch of schools that have not been list regulars.
Once again, the list is a mix, including large universities with multiple radio stations as well as small liberal arts colleges with online-only stations. The biggest school on the list is Arizona State (around 65,000 students) and the tiniest is Bennington College (around 770 students). I am also pleased to have visited college radio stations at 6 out of the 25 schools on the list.
Although the longer list allows for more of a geographic mix, the East Coast still dominates. The Northeast continues to take up half the list, with 13 schools from this region (5 from New York, 2 from New Jersey, 2 from Boston, and 1 each from Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, and Pennsylvania). On the west coast, only 3 schools are represented (2 from Washington, 1 from Oregon and 1 from California). From the Midwest, the 4 schools hail from Minnesota (2!), Michigan, and Ohio. Three schools from the South include one each from Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. And the sole college from the Southwest is from Arizona.
Best = PopularAs a reminder, although the Princeton Review describes its college radio results as “Best College Radio Station,” the title doesn’t tell the whole story. Here’s the skinny:
-
Results are based on student surveys
-
Surveys were conducted at 388 colleges
-
Students are asked to judge the popularity, not the quality, of an unspecified campus radio station at their own college
-
Radio stations are not named in the survey or in the resulting rankings
-
Only schools surveyed can make it into the rankings, so college radio stations at schools that are not surveyed by Princeton Review won’t appear on the list
A number of colleges appearing on the “Best College Radio Station” list have multiple radio stations, including student-run stations, large public radio stations, and everything in between. It makes sense that students would indicate that their school’s radio station is “popular” if they are on a campus with a high profile professional radio station and/or with several radio stations.
Digging into MethodologyAlthough I did not receive a response from Princeton Review about this edition’s methodology for the college radio question; more general information is available about this latest survey. According to Princeton Review, “We tallied the rankings lists in the current edition, The Best 388 Colleges (published August 2022), based on the data from our surveys of 160,000 students at the 388 schools in the book.”
The site says that the “Best College Radio Station” list is compiled “based on students’ answers to the survey question, ‘How popular is the college radio station?,” but in recent years, the question was phrased a little differently. For the 2021 edition’s list, the survey asked, “How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements at your school?” Among the list of statements was: “College Radio Station is popular.” Respondents were given the following options: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree or Disagree, Agree or Strongly Agree.
How Similar is this Year’s List to Prior Lists?For the 2023 Princeton Review list of “Best College Radio Stations,” 13 of the 25 schools were on the 2021 list (which was only 20 schools). Of the twelve that were not on the 2021 list, Northeastern University, Pace University, Bennington College, Macalester College, Roanoke College, Bowdoin College, Princeton University (ironically!), Dickinson College, Hillsdale College, and Hamilton College all appear for this first time since I’ve been tracking (since 2008). It’s great to see these 10 schools getting some added attention for their radio stations!
The complete list for the 2023 edition is listed below. For comparison, here are the lists from the 2022 (different format- had “Great College Radio Station” list), 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 editions of Princeton Review.
2023 Princeton Review’s Best College Radio Stations(aka Most Popular College Radio Stations)Note: I’ve added station names and call signs as the Princeton Review only lists school names. Schools in bold were not on the previous “best” list for the 2021 edition**
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Arizona State University (KASC 1330 AM, Tempe, AZ)
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University of South Florida (WUSF 89.7 FM and Bulls Radio online/89.7 HD3/on campus 1620AM, Tampa, FL)
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Ithaca College (WICB 91.7 FM and VIC Radio, Ithaca, New York)
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Emerson College (WERS 88.9FM and WECB, Boston, MA)
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Learn more on my WECB tour: Station Field Trip #1
5. Northeastern University (WRBB 104.9 FM, Boston, MA)
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Learn more on my WRBB tour: Station Field Trip #61
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Reed College (KRRC, Portland, OR)
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Learn more on my KRRC tour: Station Field Trip #44
7. Pace University (WPUB Radio, New York, NY)
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University of Puget Sound (KUPS 90.1 FM, Tacoma, Washington)
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Denison University (Doobie Radio, Granville, OH)
10. Bennington College (B-Rad, Bennington, VT)
- Seton Hall University (WSOU 89.5 FM, South Orange, NJ)
12. Macalester College (WMCN 91.7 FM, St. Paul, MN)
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Learn more on my WMCN tour: Station Field Trip #95
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Washington State University (KZUU 90.7 FM, KUGR and Northwest Public Radio, Pullman, WA)
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Roanoke College (WRKE-LP, 100.3 FM, Salem, VA)
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Providence College (WDOM 91.3 FM, Providence, RI)
16. Chapman University (Chapman Radio, Orange, CA)
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Hofstra University (WRHU 88.7 FM, Hempstead, New York)
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Bowdoin College (WBOR 91.1 FM, Brunswick, ME)
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University of the South (The Sewanee Fog, Sewanee, TN) – note that the university gave up the station’s FM license for WUTS 91.3 FM in December, 2019. The station continues as online-only.
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Syracuse University (WAER 88.3 FM, WERW, WJPZ 89.1 FM, Syracuse, NY)
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Princeton University (WPRB 103.3 FM, Princeton, NJ)
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Read my WPRB tour: Station Field Trip #100!
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Dickinson College (WDCV 88.3 FM, Carlisle, PA)
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Carleton College (KRLX 88.1 FM, Northfield, MN)
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See my KRLX tour: Station Field Trip #92
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Hillsdale College (WRFH-LP 101.7 FM, Hillsdale, MI)
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Hamilton College (WHCL 88.7 FM, Clinton, NY)
Learn More about College RadioIf this is your first visit to Radio Survivor, take a look at our massive archive of college radio content. There’s a collection of radio news in the College Radio Watch column. We report on college radio culture on our radio show/podcast. We tour college radio stations regularly, and have a page devoted to college radio basics.
The post Princeton Review’s “Best College Radio Stations” List for 2023 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
I felt nostalgia for so many different eras of college radio during a visit to Sarah Lawrence College’s student-run radio station WSLC in Bronxville, New York. Located in beautiful Bates Hall, built in 1928 as one of the college’s first buildings, the station’s large windows afford DJs fresh air and a view of the lush campus. A black and white studio photo on the wall is a reminder of the station’s beginnings as carrier current station W-SLC launched by students over 640AM on February 4, 1946. At the time Sarah Lawrence was a women’s college, putting Radio Sarah Lawrence in the company of a small number of 1940s college radio stations led by women.
Photo of college radio station WSLC in the 1940s on the wall of WSLC in 2023. Photo: J. WaitsCollege Radio Station WSLC Launched by Students in 1946An October 1945 article in The Campus talks about the origins of the station, writing, “A proposal for Sarah Lawrence to have its own radio station, presently known as Radio Sarah Lawrence, will come before the student body in the next all-student meeting. Alison Stacey and Leni Keir originated the idea and are seeking student support.” Apparently they encountered naysayers along the way, with, The Campus reporting in 1947 that Radio Sarah Lawrence “…was originally built because Harvard laughed at Sarah Lawrence and said ‘Sarah Lawrence couldn’t build or run a radio station, the students would be far too busy polishing their nails and meeting under the clock.'”
Vintage photo on wall of college radio station WSLC. Photo: J. WaitsRadio Drifts Away and Returns in the Late 1990sAn active radio station that aired poetry, music, comedy, and even a rebroadcast of a campus talk by Eleanor Roosevelt (in 1951), WSLC seems to have drifted away within just a few years. Students made efforts to launch FM stations in the late 1970s and early 1980s and explored starting an AM station in the early 1990s. By 1998, students were honing in on the idea of doing a radiating cable station, along the lines of what college radio station WAKE FM at Wake Forest University was doing at the time. An early WSLC website from 1998 states that, “This system will allow us to broadcast to an area of about five hundred feet away from any on-campus building.”
WSLC website header in 1998And, then, by summer 1999, a new WSLC was built in the basement of Robinson and began broadcasting to the campus over 105.7 FM, radiating cable and then “through streaming audio,” according to a 2000 post on Sarah Lawrence’s early student-run server, Raptor. By January 2013, the station operated from the basement of the communications building (presumably Robinson) and was broadcasting online from 5pm to 2am. And, then, by fall 2013, WSLC had moved to the second floor of Bates, where the station remains today.
Bates Hall at Sarah Lawrence College in 2023. Photo: J. WaitsPeeking at WSLC through a Porthole in 2023Decades later, the current iteration of WSLC broadcasts out of the same building where the station began 77 years ago. From the Bates hallway, one can peek through a small porthole window and spy Shaun Cassidy and Belle and Sebastian posters hanging on baby blue walls. The radio studio set-up is in full view, with a retro wooden-framed grayish blue dorm couch against one wall. Most dramatic of all is the bright, multicolored abstract patterned carpet that is so iconic that it inspired a WSLC sticker design.
College radio station WSLC in 2023. Photo: J. WaitsReturning from COVID with Packed Schedule and Live EventsThe streaming radio station airs 64 weekly shows, with an impressive roster of 74 DJs. WSLC Operations Manager Henry Burch said that the “packed schedule” during the 2022-2023 school year is a marked improvement from the prior year, which was still very much under the cloud of COVID-19 fears and restrictions. He explained that “COVID really crippled the station,” especially because people were forced to isolate from others. In turn, that made it more difficult to develop a sense of community at WSLC.
Face masks and hand sanitizer at college radio station WSLC. Photo: J. WaitsOn an upswing, WSLC has been working hard since last spring to not only revamp the station, but to also do more events. Flyers were posted all over campus for a show happening the day after my visit. Connecticut queercore band Space Camp and New Jersey “weirdo hardcore” band Final Resting Pose played at the Black Squirrel (a former student hangout, but now a classroom) at Sarah Lawrence. Burch expressed excitement for the event and explained that WSLC is still figuring out which campus spaces work best for shows.
Fabric flyer at college radio station WSLC. Photo J. WaitsAn event in February with “hyper pop” artist Gabby Start and Lux Deluxe was held in MacCracken Dance Studio. Flyers alerted attendees: “Shoes Off!,” in an attempt to protect the dance studio floor. Burch said that they’ve been doing around a show a month, with increasing success and “positive feedback.” He added that not only is it great to be able to see live music at Sarah Lawrence, but that these shows are also helping to build the WSLC community AND bring a feeling of community back to the campus at large.
WSLC Black Squirrel show flyer posted on Sarah Lawrence College campus. Photo: J. WaitsThriving College Radio Community in 2023Meanwhile, inside the station, there are also signs of a thriving community. A WSLC log book sits on the desk, filled with handwritten playlists and doodles. An intentional tool to get DJs interacting with one another, its pages highlight the creativity and personality of WSLC participants. And it’s a big change from Burch’s first year at the station in the 2021-2022 school year, which he described as being a more “individual” experience. At the time he hosted the last show of the night, “Old World Underground,” and his only human interaction was with the DJ before him.
DJ log book at college radio station WSLC. Photo: J. WaitsAppreciation for Physical Music at WSLCIn addition to working to build connections between DJs and the campus, WSLC has also made studio improvements. Expanding its library of physical music, the station has also revamped its equipment so that DJs can play vinyl records again (in addition to cassettes, CDs and digital music). The station’s small collection of LPs is on a shelf with plastic record dividers labeled “disco,” “soundtracks,” “jazz” and “80s synth pop bullshit.”
Vinyl records at college radio station WSLC. Photo: J. WaitsBlack shelves house CDs, with more in boxes. Burch worked with WSLC’s General Manager Sam Wojcik to augment the collection. He said that maybe half of the DJs are using physical music, but noted that this has been steadily increasing. He pointed out that all the DJs have been trained on how to use physical media and that more have been getting comfortable with playing records and CDs.
Studio with turntable at college radio station WSLC. Photo: J. WaitsAlready a radio veteran when he arrived at Sarah Lawrence, Burch said, “I think physical music is an important part of the radio experience.” While in high school, he DJ’d at community radio station WXNA in Nashville, telling me that that’s where he “fell in love” with radio. That experience prompted him to join WSLC his first year of college. Whereas in high school he played a big variety of music on his shared show; at WSLC he’s tried to develop themes for each of his radio programs. Last year he showcased independent music, playing material that may not have been as familiar to listeners.
WSLC Operations Manager Henry Burch at college radio station WSLC. Photo: J. WaitsVariety of Shows at WSLCAlthough Burch’s show last year leaned more indie, WSLC programs run the gamut. Burch said that they try to get DJs to play material that’s “more out there,” but that the schedule is “diverse,” with DJs playing “everything,” without many restrictions. Being a streaming radio station, they also have the freedom to play some material that FCC-regulated stations shy away from. Burch said that each DJ works to put forth a show that is unique and an extension of the host’s personality.
Cabinet at college radio station WSLC. Note the carpet! Photo: J. WaitsThe current WSLC schedule includes shows playing “pop music from the left of center,” dark folk, country, heavy sounds, music by black artists, music made by women, “meteorological music,” shoegaze, music by Canadian artists, alternative and indie music by Latinx artists, and more. Show names are also reflective of the diversity and creativity of show hosts. “Eyebrows R Overrated,” “James Joyce was a Punk Rocker,” “Lady Bird Complex,” “The Radiation Exposure Surveillance NonForProfit (RESN)” (with DJ Leaking and Pooling & DJ Ooze), and “music to listen to anywhere but the airport” are a few of the highlights.
WSLC sticker (with pattern inspired by the carpet) at the college radio station. Photo: J. WaitsAs I wrapped up my visit, Burch reflected on why WSLC is such a special place, telling me that he’d made some of his best friends there. “It feels so good to be part of a radio community,” he said, adding, “I feel like I’m supposed to be here.”
Couch at college radio station WSLC. Photo: J. WaitsThanks to WSLC + More Radio Station ToursThanks to much to Henry Burch for showing me around WSLC and to Sarah Lawrence College Archivist Christina Kasman for providing me with materials related to WSLC history! This is my 171st radio station tour report and my 113th college radio station recap. View all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. Stay tuned for additional tours from my East Coast travels.
Board at college radio station WSLC. Photo: J. WaitsThe post Radio Station Visit #171: College Radio Station WSLC at Sarah Lawrence College appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Tucked away on the 3rd floor of the Campus Center at Brown University is a college radio station with a fascinating history. BSR (Brown Student and Community Radio) currently broadcasts online and over 101.1 FM in Providence, Rhode Island, with call letters WBRU-LP, but it is the descendant of likely the first AM carrier current college radio station in the United States: The Brown Network. Because of this rich history, I was eager to visit and sleuth out snippets from BSR’s past.
BSR Brown Student Radio couch! Photo: J. WaitsWalking into BSR on a Friday afternoon at the start of spring break in March 2023, I found myself in a large open room with CD-filled shelving, a bright orange couch, upholstered chairs with an abstract pattern in lemon yellow and white, and tables stacked with music-filled mail bins. A window looks into the broadcast studio and across the hall from that is a jam-packed office containing files and ephemera. Vintage black and white photos hang on the wall above the entry way and a decades old LPB broadcast console is prominently displayed in front of the studio window.
LPB Signature III Console at BSR Brown Student Radio. Photo: J. WaitsJosie Bleakley, one of three BSR Station Managers, was excited to show me various artifacts, including boxes of early photos and bins full of cassettes and mix tapes from local bands. Last year she started working on a project to archive and digitize some of this material. With about 20,000 pieces of music in the library, the project is “daunting,” but she explained that some of the music from local artists is not online, making the very DIY cassettes at BSR an important piece of Providence music history. A couple that she pulled out of a bin were especially charming. One had a handmade sleeve crafted from furry fabric and another, by the band Thieves, featured a screen printed design on a cloth bag.
Thieves cassette tape at college radio station BSR. Photo: J. WaitsRecent History at BSRBleakley became even more “fascinated” with radio history, especially BSR’s history, during a radio history class with Professor of American Studies Susan Smulyan at Brown. During the week focusing on college radio, the class met at BSR, learning about the history of radio on campus. For a class project, Bleakley created an update about the more recent years of the radio station, interviewing people who had been involved with BSR through COVID. “It feels like watching the history of radio unfolding,” she added, as we talked about the ups and downs of the station, including recent challenges.
BSR Brown Student & Community Radio Banner at the station in 2023. Photo: J. WaitsArriving at Brown in fall 2019, Bleakley learned about BSR during the fall Activities Fair the first week of freshman year and joined the station right away. Having just moved across the country for college, she found herself drawn to the promise of a community of liked-minded music fans. By March 2020 she had started her radio training and was gearing up to go on the air. But everything changed when the school and the station was shut down at the start of COVID-19. Unfortunately, the station closure also put a halt on some planned studio repairs, which were delayed even further with supply-chain issues. So, for a time, the BSR studio was both inaccessible and unusable.
College radio station BSR’s studio in March, 2023. Photo: J. WaitsReturning to In-person Radio after COVIDBy fall, 2020 Bleakley returned to campus along with maybe 1000 students. BSR had been running automated programming, playing a mix of music without DJs. By the 2021-2022 school year, DJs could do remotes shows. BSR was operating with a smaller group of DJs and leaders and with the studio still not functioning, it was difficult to recruit participants.
Headphones at college radio station BSR’s studio in 2023. Photo: J. WaitsFinally, in fall 2022, with the BSR studio operational again (repairs were completed in September, 2022), the station saw a “big uptick” in interest. Bleakley added that a lot of first and second year students are involved now and training is ongoing for many open shifts, noting that a “silver lining” to the shutdown was that now BSR is even more accessible. Additionally, non-student community members are now allowed to come back to BSR, bringing with them their “historical knowledge” of the station. “Anyone who wants to be involved can be,” she said, contrasting that with her experience as a first year student, when there was more competition and more hurdles to getting on the air. At that time, in 2019, one had to start out with an internet-only show the first semester, before being given an opportunity to broadcast over FM.
BSR Brown Student Radio poster. Photo: J. WaitsThe changes in the station culture in just a few years are remarkable. Looking back on when she started at BSR in 2019, Bleakley recalled that it was “lively” and “active,” but that she also felt out of her depth as far as music, radio, and programming. Less exclusive of a place now, since they are rebuilding their community, the current BSR is reflective of what she thinks college radio should be all about: a station for “all of the students.”
CDs in college radio station BSR’s studio. Photo: J. WaitsHistory of BSR and College Radio at Brown UniversityBrown University has a storied relationship with wireless communication (read more about that on the Rhode Island Radio website) and college radio, with student-led campus radio efforts beginning in 1936. This early carrier current radio station helped to spawn countless campus-only AM stations all over the United States, leading to the growth of college radio. Eventually splitting into two separate radio stations; Brown’s student broadcasting work continues today with WBRU and BSR.
BSR Brown Student Radio poster from its days on 88.1 FM. Photo: J. WaitsFirst launched in 1936 from a dorm room, the Brown Network broadcast to residence halls and other campus buildings using wires and building infrastructure to facilitate transmission. A 1941 Providence Journal article explained that the Brown Network “uses the electric light system of the university for distributing its programs. Wires from a four-watt transmitter are strung through steam tunnels and connected to the lighting system by condensers.” The AM station broadcast from the top floor of Faunce House by this time.
Vintage photo of performers at college radio station WBRU 560 AM in the early days. Photo of photo: J. WaitsBeginnings of Carrier Current College RadioThe Brown Network’s student founders enthusiastically spread the word about campus radio, inspiring others to build carrier current stations at colleges all over the country. In 1940, they helped to launch the college radio organization, Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) in order to build a broader college radio community. IBS still exists today and continues to hold annual conventions in New York City.
Audio equipment at college radio station BSR in 2023. Photo: J. WaitsI’m always interested to hear details about women’s roles in college radio in the early 20th century and was pleased to learn that women were active participants in radio at Brown. According to a history of the station, “Pembroke women had first joined the Brown Network as announcers and administrators in 1939, when broadcasting on the Pembroke College campus began. Determined to stay afloat during World War II, the Brown Network allowed Pembrokers to join in full force as programmers, news announcers, engineers, and business managers.” Louis Bloch writes in Gas Pipe Networks: A History of College Radio 1936-1946, that “Jean Bruce ’40 was in charge of the thirty Pembroke women working on the Brown Network.”
Vintage photograph at BSR. Photo of photo: J. WaitsWBRU-FM Launches; WBRU-AM Remains on Carrier CurrentThe Brown Network referred to itself as BUBC (Brown University Broadcasting Company) until 1945, when it changed its call letters to WBRU. In 1966, an FM signal was secured and WBRU-FM was born as a commercial station. WBRU-AM continued as a carrier current campus radio station, but seemed to have an increasingly lower profile. “By the 1970s, WBRU-AM was known for original music and entertainment programming. The 1980s Brain Bowl quiz show stood out for its free-form style. But as the FM market grew competitive, WBRU-AM became a low priority for staffers. Buildings renovated with steel and concrete made the weak AM signal virtually inaudible,” according to a history of the station.
Rack of CD players and cassette decks at college radio station BSR in 2023. Photo: J. WaitsWBRU-AM Rebrands as Brown Student Radio; Heads to FM and OnlineWBRU-AM apparently struggled in the 1980s and was revitalized by the mid 1990s, with a station history explaining that in 1994 “…outgoing managers at WBRU-AM handed leadership to a group of freshmen determined to revive the defunct station,” which students viewed “as an outlet for less commercial music.” By the following year, WBRU-AM had signed an agreement to broadcast sports over Wheeler School station WELH 88.1 FM and rebranded itself as Brown Student Radio (BSR). Within a few years it had acquired more airtime and was broadcasting on 88.1 FM on weeknights beginning in November, 1997.
Old BSR Brown Student Radio sticker in the station’s office. Photo: J. WaitsIn 2011, BSR lost its lease of airtime on 88.1 FM, but continued as an internet-only station. Then, a few years later, BSR took advantage of the low power FM opportunity and applied for a license of its own. Meanwhile, WBRU-FM ended up selling its 95.5 FM license to a Christian broadcasting group in 2017. By 2018, BSR had returned to the FM airwaves with its new LPFM license for WBRU-LP at 101.1 FM. In an interesting twist, some of the old WBRU-FM’s programming (notably 360 Degrees Experience in Sound, focusing on R&B, hip hop, Afrobeats, reggae and more) now airs over BSR’s low power signal.
Board at college radio station BSR. Photo: J. Waits2023 and BeyondFlashing forward to today, Bleakley is thrilled to have the station back in a physical space after the challenges of the pandemic and emphasized the importance of community for college radio. She also explained that college radio has always been about making connections and that she was inspired by BSR’s history, particularly learning about the time when radio was the main form of connection. Contrasting that with podcasts, she described conversations they had during her radio history class about the “universal connecting appeal” of radio at Brown, with everyone in their dorm rooms tuning in to the station at the same time in its early years. Nostalgic for those “gas pipe network” days of carrier current radio, she said that it would be “so fun” to once again broadcast to campus in that manner.
Josie Bleakley, one of three BSR Station Managers at the college radio station. Photo: J. WaitsOne challenge with that gas pipe fantasy is that most students don’t have radios. Acknowledging this, she was also plotting ways to get portable radios into more people’s hands. As we poked around the station, she showed me a crystal radio that she’d recently built on a field trip to the New England Wireless and Steam Museum; again hearkening back to radio’s early DIY days.
Handmade crystal radio set at college radio station BSR. Photo: J. WaitsVinyl records in the broadcast studio are another sign of radio and station history. Although not as commonly used these days at BSR, Bleakley remarked that a current DJ is interested in doing an all-vinyl show. With around 20 DJs this spring, at the time of my visit, BSR was in the midst of a recruitment period for various positions at the station. Shows on the schedule include Tanvi’s Tunes (“local indie rock to 80’s british feminist punk”), “Crushed Little Songs,” “Spoiler Alert Radio” (“Conversations on the craft of filmmaking”), “The Beat Surrender,” “Trending Globally,” “Donne del Mondo” (“Global music by women, celebrating musical women of the world”), “Cook Out!” (“Charlie and Laurie share their whimsy and fun with the masses”), and more.
Vinyl records in college radio station BSR’s studio. Photo: J. WaitsThanks to BSR + More Radio Station ToursThanks so much to Josie Bleakley for showing me around BSR and talking to me about the station’s past and present activities. This is my 170th radio station tour report and my 112thcollege radio station recap. You can see all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. Very soon I will be posting more tours from my East Coast travels.
Cabinet at college radio station BSR. Photo: J. WaitsThe post Radio Station Visit #170: College Radio Station BSR at Brown University appeared first on Radio Survivor.
After being on the precipice of shutdown since 2014, Ireland’s long wave (LW) RTÉ 252 is finally leaving the airwaves on April 14. I was alerted to the news thanks to James Cridland’s International Radio Trends, and realized I had not given the station much thought since September, 2021 when it returned to the air after two months of maintenance.
As Radio Survivor contributor Paul Bailey explained in a 2016 post, RTÉ 252 has a storied history. The station was founded as a commercial station in 1989, broadcasting rock music to the UK. It was acquired by the Irish public broadcaster in 2002, seeing an opportunity to reach the Irish diaspora. Protests from those listeners in the UK motivated the broadcaster to forestall 252’s demise several times in the last decade, but it appears April will see the final shutdown.
The 252 KHz signal rebroadcasts the RTÉ Radio 1 signal, which is otherwise available on satellite TV in the UK, and online worldwide. A primary argument for keeping it running was that it served older listeners, less savvy with internet streaming, and those tuning in while in their cars. Those rationales seem to have lost their power.
Though never used for broadcast in North America, the long wave band was once used throughout Europe and the Middle East in order to reach audiences over broad distances of hundreds of miles. LW propagation could be even better than medium wave (MW) AM, which served that function in the US, Canada and Mexico.
But the catch is that LW and AM broadcasting are expensive, especially to accommodate the high power needed to significant distances. According to RTÉ the 252 transmitter requires a full 2.5% of the organization’s total energy use. The antenna arrays also take up a lot of real estate to function at such low frequencies because, as the name implies, they have long waves. However, RTÉ has not announced plans to dismantle the transmitter site in Summerhill.
Across Europe both LW and AM/MW are in steep decline, principally due to these high costs and overall declining demand. For instance, the BBC is planning to wind down its own Radio 4 LW service and Radio 5 Live MW/AM transmitter network. AM is under threat in the US, too, as automakers drop support in their electric vehicles, citing interference caused by the motors that is difficult to mitigate.
As an aside, I own a Subaru Crosstrek plug-in hybrid, which has both electric and gas motors. I rarely listen to AM radio in the car, but I’ve noticed that performance on the band is significantly worse than I’ve heard in other gas-engined cars. By comparison, the FM receiver is quite good, especially on HD Radio stations.
It’s probably still too early to write AM’s obituary in North America, though additional life support may be needed. However, the end is likely nigh for LW and MW/AM in Europe.
While I’m always a little sad to see such an historic service phase out, I do find the energy consumption argument rather convincing. I also suspect internet radio is even more accessible to RTÉ 252 listeners than it was in 2014. But I will admit a little part of me is waiting for the 11th hour stay of execution.
The post It’s the Final Shutdown for Ireland’s Longwave RTÉ 252 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The clock tower on the campus of John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, has been unoccupied for more than 14,000 days (over 38 years), though once housed the school’s radio station. The station returns this coming Tuesday, March 28, for a six hour broadcast beginning at 6 PM EDT.
WJCU 88.7 FM will host 100 alumni and former on-air personalities for the special “Turn Back the Clock” event. Also joining will be University Heights mayor Dylan Brennan. The sound will recall eras past with retro imaging and throwback music.
The program will begin with an hour of 1960s music, with the decade advancing each hour. Hosts include WJCU DJs Zachary ‘DJ Z13’ Sinutko, Emily Davala, Collin Kennedy, and Daunte Horton of “808s & Mixtape”s alongside Joe and Lauren Gumney of “Old Rock vs New Rock.”
Founded in 1989 as WABU-FM with a 10-watt class D signal on 88.9 FM, the station became WUJC later the year, moving to 88.7 FM where it now broadcasts with 2.5 kilowatts of power. The current call letter WJCU were adopted in 1998.
WJCU’s “Turn Back the Clock” can be heard on-air in the Cleveland metro area and online.
The post Clock Tower Becomes Radio Station Again at John Carroll University “Turn Back the Clock” Event appeared first on Radio Survivor.
On a crisp November afternoon, I marveled at the autumnal beauty at Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley. Bright red leaves clung to the trees within view of Ward Manor, a gorgeous 1916 mansion that is now a residence hall and home to college radio station WXBC. Tamar Faggen, WXBC’s General Director enthusiastically greeted me and led me downstairs to the station’s digs in the basement.
Ward Manor at Bard College. Photo: J. WaitsAlready feeling like old friends since we’d chatted over email about our shared interest in college radio history, the visit was full of rushed and excited conversation about Faggen’s discoveries related to WXBC’s storied past. A Bard College senior, Faggen was inspired so much by her work at the station, that she decided to write her thesis about the history of WXBC. She shared photos and audio from the station’s past and we talked about the twists and turns when researching a radio station. “WXBC has had many cycles of collapse and rejuvenation over its 75 year history,” she explained. It’s a statement that could be applied to so many college radio stations that have ever-changing staffs of student volunteers.
WXBC General Director Tamar Faggen. Photo: J. WaitsBrief History of College Radio Station WXBCStudents launched WXCB (“x” for experimental and “bc” for Bard College) in 1947 as an AM carrier current station. Bard College Archives and Special Collections has posted amazing photos from those early days, including shots of student performances and of the studio set-up. AM broadcasts continued for decades, with WXBC’s website circa 2003 stating, “We broadcast on frequency 540AM from the top of Stevenson Gymnanium [sic]at a whopping 10 watts.” By 2007, the website describes the broadcasts as 5 watts over “a legally-operating, unlicenced [sic] radio signal on 540AM.” Those AM transmissions seem to have ceased by 2008, with WXBC’s website stating late that year, “For the convenience of all listeners, WXBC broadcasts online at wxbc.bard.edu. We are not currently broadcasting at 540 AM.”
CDs at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsWXBC in the 2000sAs far back as 2002, WXBC was streaming online, as it is today. In order to address technical issues and changing needs, Faggen helped to relaunch the station’s stream in October, 2021. That followed a down period for WXBC, which coincided with the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Faggen recalled that when she transferred to Bard College in fall 2020, she heard about the radio station from a friend while they were both quarantined in the same hotel. He was one of the heads of WXBC and relayed to Faggen the challenges they were having getting the station up and running again. “It just fell apart,” Faggen explained, telling me that the station did not broadcast in fall 2019 or spring 2020. By fall 2020, the station came back, but had limited participation.
Welcome sign at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsRelaunching the Station in 2021After DJing for two semester, Faggen and another fellow WXBC participant were asked to head up the station. One of the first things that they did was restructure the organization, so that there were more roles than just the two club heads. Faggen added that they spent a lot of time “researching and planning how to bring the station back to life,” which in large part meant finding a new streaming service. WXBC went with Mixlr, in particular because it offered a chat feature and the ability to record shows. When the station relaunched on October 1, 2021 for World College Radio Day, there were 35 DJs, up from 7 the year before.
Equipment at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsAlumni Outreach Leads to Exploration of WXBC’s HistoryIn preparation for that World College Radio Day broadcast (for which WXBC was a featured station in a global marathon), WXBC reached out to the Bard alumni office in order to obtain recollections from former station participants. Faggen was blown away by the response and the number of stories that were sent in, telling me, “that kind of started this question for me of ‘I wonder what the history of WXBC is?'” As a result of that initial alumni outreach, they heard from WXBC members who had been involved with the station as far back as the 1940s, with one even donating a copy of his radio show as well as transcripts and newspaper clippings. “This was a really big moment for us,” Faggen explained. And it’s clear that building connections with alumni and learning more about the station’s history has helped to generate excitement and enthusiasm at WXBC.
Board at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsGrowing Interest in WXBCFaggen was upbeat about WXBC continuing to grow during this school year (2022-2023), with more staff being brought on, including a new Tech Director. She said that each semester there are more programs, including more diversity in the schedule. “I’m really proud of how the station was able to survive the pandemic,” she said, adding, “I think that killed a lot of college radio, but for me…I really discovered the passion that I had for the power of the human voice.” Describing that period of extreme isolation during COVID-19, Faggen pointed out the potential of radio. “This is something we can use to connect with the rest of the campus. Everyone’s alone in their dorm room, but we can all connect,” she said.
Flyers on wall at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsAnd with WXBC’s stream now on a platform with a chat feature, shows have become even more interactive, with lots of commentary between DJs and their listeners. Faggen said she’d love to have the station on FM, but was savvy about the downsides. With a scarcity of licenses, a lengthy process, and student turnover; it just didn’t seem like a viable option. And, indeed, previous attempts to go FM never came to fruition. A group at Bard College even acquired a license in 2007 (WLHV-FM), which it gave up in 2012 before building a station. In contrast, WXBC’s current status as a streaming station, free of FCC rules, provides them with more flexibility. “There’s a freedom that I think is really powerful about it,” Faggen explained. And with more than 50,000 listens in the year following the relaunch, the WXBC crew was feeling good. The number of DJs was rising too, up to 47 in November, 2022, chosen from more than 75 applications.
Donna Summer tape and books at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsPacked Schedule and Wide Range of Radio ShowsThe WXBC schedule is packed with 2-hour shifts from 6am to 2am, 7 days a week. A hold-over from COVID is a one-hour break between shows, to allow for a buffer between DJs. Although this interval began as a safety precaution, it has continued because people enjoy the smoother transition to the following show. This schedule also allows DJs and hosts to stay on the air a bit longer if they choose.
Vinyl records at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsThe line-up of programs is great mix and many shows are full of personality. Some of the spring 2023 shows include “Snot Rocket,” “Quantum Healing Sounds,” The Worst Show,” “Liminal Waves,” and “Teenage Kicks.” Airing the day before Halloween, “A History of Goth: Freak History Radio Night,” was one show that captivated me. A historically-based investigation of the concept of “goth” as well as goth music, the show made me think about goth in a different way. The host traced goth music back to the Doors, the Velvet Underground, Roxie Music, David Bowie, and Brian Eno. And I was surprised to hear Alice Cooper mentioned as one of the proto-goth musicians. His song “Dead Babies” was played as evidence of that and it was a convincing example of an artist playing around with ideas that came to fruition with later bands like Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Turntable at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsWXBC’s Vibrant Basement HomeIn addition to the vibrant sound of WXBC, the station space is also full of life. An artistic display of the station’s call letters is perched on a shelf, with each block letter decorated in a unique style. One is covered in moss, another plastered with googly eyes, and the most fanciful features a collage of tiny boob photos, likely cut out of magazines.
Shelves at college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsColorful streamers adorn the wall above the studio equipment and a nearby shelf was full of decorations, trinkets, and music books. A Donna Summer tape sat near stacks of 45s and shelves of CDs and vinyl records. And those pieces of music aren’t just relics from the past, DJs can and do play physical music, although “a lot of DJs use Spotify,” according to Faggen. WXBC is outfitted with a tape deck, turntable, and CD players and Faggen confirmed that there are DJs who even play cassette tapes.
Plans are afoot to revamp an additional WXBC room down the hall. Shut down during the pandemic, it has served a variety of functions over the years, from a lounge to a recording studio. It is hoped that it can eventually be used as a “live room” for music performances in the future.
Door to college radio station WXBC. Photo: J. WaitsThanks to WXBC + More Radio Station ToursThanks to WXBC’s Tamar Faggen for the visit and ongoing conversations about college radio history. She and I will both be speaking at the upcoming Radio Preservation Task Force Conference at the Library of Congress. Please join us at the event if you want to hear more about college radio history, including Faggen’s discoveries about WXBC’s past. This is my 169th radio station tour report and my 111th college radio station recap. View all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. And watch this space for additional tours in the next few months.
Tamar’s WXBC bracelet. Photo: J. WaitsThe post Radio Station Visit #169: Bard College Radio Station WXBC appeared first on Radio Survivor.
High school radio station KBPS AM in Portland, Oregon is celebrating a very special anniversary this week: 100 years on the air. It’s an accomplishment that few radio stations can lay claim to. And it’s especially remarkable that this particular radio station has always been a student-focused educational radio station. It’s very likely the longest-running high school radio station in the United States, having launched in 1923.
I was lucky to visit KBPS in 2015 and even before that trip was enamored with its incredible history. Festivities for the 100th are ongoing, with a special live broadcast on KBPS AM 1450 (and KBPS.AM) at 9am on Thursday, March 23, 2023. Alumni are invited to join live on the air or by sending in audio. Details can be found on the KBPS website.
Additionally, KBPS is having a public open house on Thursday, April 20 and Friday, April 21st at 100th Tech Show. Visitors are invited to come by the station at the Benson Polytechnic High School, Marshall Campus in Portland, Oregon for live broadcasts, studio tours, and more. Historical memorabilia will be on display.
KBPS’ license is held by the Portland Public School District. According to the station’s website, “On March 23, 1923, the student body of Benson was licensed by the federal government to operate a radio station using 200 watts of power at 834 kilocycles. The first call letters of the station were KFIF. The station made its formal debut on the air and was officially dedicated in early May of 1923, between the hours of 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., on the opening night of the 5th annual Benson Tech Show. In spring of 1930, the call letters changed from KFIF to KBPS, for Benson Polytechnic High School.”
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To say that my visit to college radio station WRUC 89.7 FM at Union College in Schenectady, New York was eagerly anticipated is an understatement. Rumored to be the “first” commercial college radio station, its predecessor stations have a fascinating history, making Union College an important stop for every college radio historian. Lucky for me, my trip to the school in November, 2022 included a visit to Special Collections and Archives at Union College’s Schaffer Library, which contains an enviable array of materials documenting the early days of student radio in the 1920s and beyond.
View of WRUC’s fish bowl studio. Photo: J. WaitsSnapshot of WRUC’s HistoryLike many college radio stations circa 2023, WRUC has had quite the journey, with many twists and turns along the way as far as its role on campus and its method of transmission. Currently broadcasting over 89.7 FM, WRUC has been a licensed FM station since 1975. Prior to that, student radio at Union College was transmitted by carrier current (starting in 1941, with call letters WRUC eventually adopted). But the early radio activities at Union College, beginning with experiments and amateur broadcasts, are especially fascinating and worthy of a much longer article.
Sticker in WRUC studio. Photo: J. WaitsUnion College Radio Club Began in 1915Radio experiments were happening at Union College since radio’s earliest days and the first campus Radio Club began in 1915, according to “Radio Broadcasting at Union College: A Brief History,” written by Rowan Wakefield in 1959. But what happened in 1920 is an important part of WRUC’s long-time branding as “first” in the nation. Its current website states, that WRUC “is the first commercial college radio station in the country.” While this specific claim has been debated (the first licensed broadcast station at Union was called WRL and was very short-lived), the early radio activities by students at Union College are impressive and worthy of more attention by radio scholars.
WRUC Flyer: “The First Station in the Nation.” Photo: J. WaitsUnion College Radio Club’s First Music Concert over Radio in 1920As was the case with other early broadcasters, Union College’s Radio Club began with experiments over amateur radio. Significantly, on October 14, 1920, students in the club broadcast a short concert of music over the radio. In a piece previewing this event a few days prior, the student newspaper wrote:
If for the next week you hear noise a thunder every time you try to phone, you know the electric jazz experts are tuning up. And they are some jazz experts with high powers spark discharges. Starting next Thursday night, the radio club will give a concert via radio…This will be a weekly habit. If at some future time you have a dance on hand and your jazz artists fail you, call up 2 A D D tell them your trouble and if you’ve got a hairpin, a wire, a coil or two and a phone you will have al the music you wish via radio. (Concordiensis, October 12, 1920)
Following the successful first radio concert, headlines in the Concordiensis proclaimed, “Aerial Concert is First in Collegiate History” and “Ethereal Recitals Will be Given Weekly in Future.” An accompanying article states, “Transmitting the music from a phonograph into the receiver of a wireless telephone and then to amateur radio operators within a radius of 50 miles, members of the Union College Radio Club Thursday night gave what is believed to be the first wireless musical concert of an American college organization.” The paper reported that “vocal and instrumental records” were played.
The Role of Radio Prodigy Wendell W. KingAnother notable aspect of this early broadcast is that the amateur station call letters used, 2ADD, were those of radio prodigy Wendell W. King, who started his own amateur station at the age of 12 and was “the first black student to attend Union for a significant length of time,” according to an article in the Encyclopedia of Union College History. The article points out that, “King had been involved with amateur radio since 1911 and may have been the most technically proficient student connected with early Union radio; he had already been president of the Troy Amateur Radio Club, had served in the Army Signals Corps, and had worked for the radio section of General Electric.” A profile of King in Union College Magazine outlines his achievements and also his “complicated time on campus.”
Framed article at WRUC. Photo: J. WaitsExperimental Station 2XQ and Continued Music BroadcastsThe Radio Club at Union College continued to do regular Thursday night music broadcasts over amateur radio and over its experimental station 2XQ (which it received a license for in 1919) and received letters from listeners who wrote in to report that they had heard and were enjoying the transmissions. In addition to those weekly broadcasts, the club did various “stunts,” including outfitting a baby carriage with a radio set. Radio Church services were also broadcast, including hymns played over a phonograph and “songs by a college quartet,” according to a report in the Schenectady Gazette on May 12, 1921. Another accomplishment in May 1921 was “the wireless transmission of the junior ‘prom’ music…which was the signal for hundreds of dances in this section of the country,” wrote the Schenectady Gazette. In advance of the prom, the Union College student newspaper Concordiensis reported that “The music of Ford Dabney’s Syncopated Orchestra of Ziegfield Midnight Frolic fame will be heard as far west as Nebraska and by ships far out at sea.” The event was an overnight affair, going from 10:30pm until 6am.
Radiogram from early 1920s. Courtesy of Special Collections, Schaffer Library, Union College (RG-08-006-015). Photo: J. WaitsIt’s difficult to ascertain if this was the first Radio Club on a college campus to regularly play music over the radio. Other stations had broadcast music over wireless prior to that time, but it’s unclear if this was happening with undergraduate students at the helm, as was the case at Union College. One very early example of music broadcasts over amateur radio took place at The Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless, which launched in San Jose, California in 1909. John Schneider writes, “Once [Doc] Herrold realized he had an audience of eager radio experimenters, he began to entertain them. He would discuss news items and read clippings from the newspaper, or play records from his phonograph. This got to be a more and more important part of the school’s operations, and regular programs were heard from the station as early as 1910.”
Metal drawers at WRUC. Photo: J. WaitsBroadcast Station WRLIn addition to these early broadcasts, Union College one of the first colleges to obtain a limited commercial license to operate a broadcast station. The license for WRL was issued in March, 1922 and was held by Union College until 1924. Only a few other stations operating at colleges or universities obtained this type of broadcast license earlier, including University of Minnesota, and University of Wisconsin (both in January, 1922). After the WRL license expired, students at Union College did not run a broadcast station until launching an AM carrier current station in 1941.
Promotional items from WRUC Radio in the archives. Courtesy of Special Collections, Schaffer Library, Union College (RG-08-006-015). Photo: J. Waits100 Years Later: The State of WRUC in the 2020sWhile the history of WRUC has been documented and celebrated, the station’s present state was more nebulous to me prior to my visit. The program schedule on the website was out of date and the internet stream was down. Social media had also been fairly quiet. So, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. As it turns out, WRUC has had challenges similar to those faced by many college radio stations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reel to Reel at WRUC. Photo: J. WaitsWhile visiting the WRUC archives with me, WRUC’s Senior General Manager Maya Gempler traced the station’s recent history, telling me that when she joined WRUC in fall, 2019, it was “fairly active,” with maybe 30 shows as well as a presence on campus through live events. Everything changed as students were sent home at the end of winter term in 2020, with WRUC “dying off” in the spring 2020 trimester. With no remote access capabilities, the programming that ran over WRUC during that time was whatever students had left running on automation.
WRUC DJ handbook. Photo: J. WaitsReturning to the WRUC Studios in Fall 2020By fall, 2020, most students were back on campus at Union College, but Gempler explained that it was a strange “weird, lonely, isolating experience,” with many school events online rather than in person due to COVID. WRUC worked with the campus Health and Safety office to come up with protocols for using the station and instituted some new rules that limited the number of people in the studio, instituted spacing between shows, and also required DJs to clean before and after their shows. Those requirements continued through that academic year.
Turntable in WRUC studio. Photo: J. WaitsStruggles in the 2021-2022 School YearAt WRUC, it was a return to more normal operations in fall 2021, but Gempler said that the number of participants had dwindled to only three people on the executive board and maybe 10 to 15 shows. By the winter of 2022, technical issues completely shut the station down from February through June, with no shows running for a big chunk of the spring. Although WRUC continued to do live events, Gempler explained that WRUC’s presence on campus was greatly diminished.
WRUC 2022-2023 Show Schedule. Photo: J. WaitsNew Equipment and Optimism at WRUC in Fall 2022After new equipment was set up in the summer of 2022, WRUC was able to return in the fall with 42 shows on the schedule, much like in the time before COVID. While the FM broadcast returned, issues with the internet stream remained, meaning that the primary way to hear the station was over terrestrial radio. I asked how most students listened to WRUC these days and Gempler said that they didn’t really know and that it’s been “frustrating” to not have the stream working. Junior General Manager Sadie Hill said that people in the local air listen over 89.7 FM and added that she also has friends with car radios who listen terrestrially.
WRUC “WWRUCILTRN” list (What WRUC is Listening to Right Now) on dry erase board. Photo: J. WaitsGempler explained that WRUC’s student DJs seem more interested in the “experience” of having a show rather than worrying about who is listening. One way that students can and do listen to WRUC is through speakers that pipe the station’s audio in to the Reamer Campus Center. WRUC’s main studio is dubbed the “fishbowl,” and has windows facing a bustling section of the Campus Center. DJs have the option of turning the speakers on or off, depending on their comfort level with having their programs broadcast to the fellow students who are visible from the booth. Some students also broadcast their shows over social media, like Instagram Live.
View from WRUC studio into Student Center. Photo: J. WaitsWRUC’s Two StudiosAt the time of my visit, most WRUC shows were music-based, with a handful of sports shows as well. Gempler was pushing for more talk programming and told me that there were a lot of great ideas floating around for possible shows. Worried for a time that WRUC could disappear during the pandemic, she was feeling more optimistic when we spoke, saying she was excited about the station’s future. One possibility was a complete renovation of studio spaces. During my visit, WRUC was only broadcasting from its “fishbowl” studio, although it also had another space upstairs, which was not functional at the time. Some of the big dreams for WRUC include both live broadcasting and recording studios so that students could record podcasts, produce music, and broadcast live music.
WRUC’s upstairs studio. Photo: J. WaitsWRUC’s upstairs studio has been around for decades and was eerily similar to my own college radio station’s layout from the 1980s (although built maybe 20 years earlier). A record room was long gone and I was sad to hear that at one point WRUC may have had upwards of 100,000 albums. Around the time of the “CD revolution,” when “vinyl was not a thing,” the records were in bad shape, according to Matt Milless, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Campus & Community Engagement at Union College.
Music in WRUC’s upper studio. Photo: J. WaitsThe fragmented studio space is an interesting challenge at WRUC. Milless revealed that the “fishbowl” studio (which used to be an information desk where students could also rent videos and DVDs) was taken over by WRUC many years ago in order to have a stronger campus presence. He explained that he put in that studio in order to help “spark interest” in WRUC. He said that during some years students were enthusiastic about being seen while doing their shows, whereas other prefer to have more privacy. In reflecting on that time, he said, “we were trying to save radio.”
Audio equipment in WRUC’s downstairs studio. Photo: J. WaitsGrowing Student Interest for WRUC And it would seem that in the 2022-2023 school year, there’s a renewed energy around saving WRUC. The station’s Junior General Manager Sadie Hill said that the station’s executive board is “very passionate about making WRUC cool again.” And it’s a very good sign that during a Club Fair prior to my visit in the fall, around 200 people signed up to join the station, with around 30 to 40 shows making it to the WRUC schedule as a result. The range of shows includes a sports talk program focused on football and music shows that play indie rock, Bollywood music, and more. Union College president David Harris even came on the air in fall 2022 to do show where he picked out music alongside a member of the station’s executive board. The show was broadcast as well as transmitted over the president’s account on Instagram Live.
On-air sign at college radio station WRUC’s upstairs studio. Photo: J. WaitsPassionate about college radio before she even arrived at Union College, Hill revealed, “I’ve always wanted to do college radio” and shared that her dad had a midnight radio show in the past. Influenced by him, she plays a lot of older music and classic rock on her WRUC show. Hill also does theme shows, ranging from songs about colors to a show about female rock stars. She expressed pride in Union College’s long radio history and also was enthusiastic about the opportunities and freedom available to students at WRUC today, saying, “the rule is no dead air.” She said that she appreciates the way that WRUC DJs express themselves through music, even if the station is “playing to nowhere.”
WRUC’s Junior General Manager Sadie Hill in the downstairs studio. Photo: J. WaitsLike many in college, radio Hill said the thing that she loves about WRUC is “mostly the people,” adding that she felt like she was brought into the community and has developed friendships as a result. Similarly, WRUC’s Senior General Manager Maya Gempler shared, “I love that it involves students from so many different areas on campus,” including people from a variety of majors. She added that it’s inspiring that WRUC provides space for people to get together and get involved.
Upstairs WRUC studio. Photo: J. WaitsThanks to WRUC + More Radio Station ToursThanks to everyone at WRUC and to the staff of Special Collections at Schaffer Library, Union College for the wonderful visit. I’ll have more to share about the early days of radio experiments at Union College in future posts and in some upcoming conference presentations. This is my 168th radio station tour report and my 110th college radio station recap. View all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. And watch this space for additional tours from my travels in New York state.
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College radio stations are generally very welcoming spaces, so much so that I often have to tear myself away at the end of a visit. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s WRPI 91.5 FM in Troy, New York had that effect on me. It had it all: comfy couches, the requisite Leo Blais sign, shelves of vinyl records, a meticulously organized engineering room, and a historical timeline (with photos!) on the wall.
Leo Blais sign on the wall at WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsWRPI felt like home, as it has a lot of the things that I love about college radio and college radio stations. But, as is the case whenever I tour stations, what really left a lasting impression on me were the people and the passion that they have for their station.
College Radio Reviving after COVID-19 Restrictions EaseLemon (Program Director) and Mei (On-Campus PR Manager) were my tour guides at WRPI during my November, 2022 visit. Both juniors, they were freshmen at Rensselaer during the 2020-2021 school year; a very strange time to be beginning college during the height of a pandemic. As I saw with all of my stations tours this past fall, college radio stations like WRPI had to make serious adjustments in 2020 and are still adapting as COVID-19 restrictions loosen. It’s apparent that the social aspects of college radio and college radio spaces are especially appealing now, since gathering with peers was severely limited for many students over the past few years.
Hallway at WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsFirst-year students are often introduced to WRPI during an orientation event called Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond (NRB). The station is one of the student clubs that invites students to come by for a half day or a day for a closer look at what they do. This past fall, WRPI had students go through a series of rotations to check out the technology, the live room, and the on-air studio. Mei explained that they showed the entire broadcasting set-up, with students exploring “every corner” of the station. It’s a huge recruitment tool for WRPI, with 70 to 80 students expressing interest in WRPI during the last session. Around 40 people stuck around until the end of the day and they were even given the chance to play music and talk over the air. “It’s a way to get people hooked,” Lemon added.
Flyer for WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsThe Allure of WRPI for StudentsLemon outlined many of the attributes of WRPI that are a draw for students, pointing out the old equipment that they can work with and repair, the opportunity to broadcast to a 75 mile radius, the ability to mix music and bring in live bands, and the lounge area which is a “great place to hang out.” Mei said that the lounge stays open through the last show of the day, with many people opting to linger at the station all day.
Lobby at college radio station WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsIt’s reassuring that interest is again high for WRPI, since during COVID they were unable to invite people into the station during orientation or in general. Membership numbers declined and participants couldn’t socialize in the same way as before. Mei described how there were even “X” marks on the couch, indicating the 6 feet of distance that people were supposed to maintain between each other.
Studio at WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsWhile WRPI is student-run and student-focused, the station also has a smaller percentage of show hosts and DJs from the broader community on the air. Another impact of COVID was that these folks were generally not allowed on campus due to the school’s policy at the time that non-students or anyone not in the school’s COVID-19 testing pool was restricted from coming to campus. Those restrictions were relaxed in 2022. Lemon said that during fall semester 2022, WRPI got the OK to bring community show hosts back on-air, with most having returned by my November visit. With fewer hosts between 2020 and 2022, WRPI relied more heavily on their automation system, which is filled with thousands of albums (somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 per my tour guides). A current project, which will take a few semesters, is digitizing the station’s CD collection, adding the music to the automation system.
CDs at college radio station WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsLarge Library of Vinyl Records and CDsIn addition to the digitized music, WRPI has a large library of physical music, including vinyl records and CDs. Lemon said that students will play “vinyls,” but mainly use Spotify. Community DJs are more likely to play CDs, but CDs are generally the least played form of media at the station. The most popular methods for playing music at WRPI is from digital or computer-based sources, followed by vinyl records.
Computer monitor in WRPI studio. Photo: J. WaitsAs we toured through the station, there were shelves and shelves of records, spread across numerous libraries. In the midst of reorganizing the rooms and the music collection, WRPI is retooling a former “genre room” to a space for CDs and material by local artists. That library used to house material with a “concrete” genre, but interpretations of genres have changed at the station, so the functionality of that room has been questioned of late. Another room is labeled VLTEB, an acronym for the charmingly named Vinyl Library to Electric Boogaloo.
CDs and vinyl records at WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsProgramming VarietyAs far as programming, WRPI plays a mix of music shows, talk shows and sports (including hockey). The long-time LGBT show Homo Radio has been on the air since 1992, featuring “news, interviews, event listings, a concert calendar, music by gay-friendly artists” and more, per its website. As far as music, Lemon said that WRPI is a “niche station,” and Top 40 music isn’t generally played. Lemon’s show last fall, “The Lemonheads,” focused on 1970s rock and they also co-hosted “Music from the Decades” with friends. Mei played KPOP and JROCK on her show, “Candy Shop.”
WRPI On-Campus PR manager Mei in studio at WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsAs we glanced at a posted show schedule together, another staffer pointed out his show, “The Ungodly Hour,” which has to be one of the best show names ever. Other programs played indie pop, radio dramas, spoken word, R&B, hip-hop, electronic dance music, and more. I was intrigued by the wonderfully spooky description of a midnight show called “The Devil’s Hour.” Hosted by DJ Selene, the program schedule states, “At this hour, the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest. Spirits make their way into our world, where they travel through the radio waves and enter the minds of mortals…”
Program Schedule on the wall at WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsDuring my visit the station’s powerful 10,000 watt FM transmitter was down. It was being shut off between 8am and 5pm for several months while it was being repainted. The webstream was still running and daytime FM broadcasts came back in January, 2023. As is frequently the case in college radio, the engineering team was busy with many projects. Jose, the Chief Engineer, showed me around the immaculately organized engineering room, which seemed quite fitting for a tech-oriented school’s radio station.
WRPI Chief Engineer Jose in station’s engineering room. Photo: J. WaitsStudent Radio at Rensselaer Dates Back to the 1920sOne of the things that prompted my visit to WRPI was my interest in the station’s long and intriguing history. Licensed as an FM station since 1957, WRPI is the descendant of campus radio activities dating back to the 1920s. Rensselaer-owned WHAZ launched over AM in September, 1922. At the time, a news account in The Knickerbocker Press described it as “the most powerful station operated at any educational institution in the country.”
Turntable at WRPI in 2022. Photo: J. WaitsA bulletin published by Rensselaer in 1922 states the rationale and purpose for this initial station:
Realizing its obligation to supply technically trained men for this work, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has, from time to time, found it necessary to make additions to its radio laboratory equipment. The latest addition is a radio telephone broadcasting equipment of the best type known to the art, which has been installed on the third floor of the Russell Sage Laboratory. It was designed primarily to give practical instruction in the operation of apparatus, the theory of which is studied in the classroom…
Popular interest in radio broadcasting has created a demand for diversified programs, and it is felt that engineering schools which require this type of apparatus for teaching purposes can assist in satisfying the demand of the public for broadcast entertainment by supplying programs of an educational nature. For this reason, this station, known by the call letters W H A Z, will broadcast every Monday evening at 8.15, Eastern Standard time, program. consisting of musical selections and addresses by men prominent in all fields of human activity.
Headphones at WRPI in 2022. Photo: J. WaitsIncredibly, AM station WHAZ was owned by Rensselaer until 1967, when it was sold to station WPOW. In the intervening years, a variety of radio activities were happening on campus. The WRPI website outlines this history. As far as the 1920s, “In 1924, a group called Campus Review was formed, devoted to broadcasting college-oriented entertainment and radio to the Troy area. Campus Review was initially responsible for programming a half hour of WHAZ’s six-hours-a-week schedule on Monday night,” according to the WRPI website.
Boxes of WRPI 30th anniversary reel-to-reel tapes. Photo: J. WaitsRadio Expansion in the 1940sBy the 1940s, radio activities had expanded and an engineering student organized the “Rensselaer Broadcasting Association” in 1947. According to WRPI, “The RBA took over the remainder of WHAZ’s schedule, working with Campus Review and using talent drawn completely from the RPI community. Later that year, the Radio Club started an experimental AM radio station began broadcasting from the Russell Sage labs, under their call sign W2SZ. Its signal only covered the Quadrangle (then the freshman dorms), but with WHAZ only broadcasting once a week, W2SZ became the first campus station to truly get the attention of the RPI community. Soon students were referring to it, informally, as WRPI.”
Sacred Vault of Vinyl sign at WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsIn 1948, several radio groups on campus merged to form the Radio Counsel and a few years later, in 1951, it “was divided into an amateur radio group, which still convenes as W2SZ to this day, and a broadcast group.” Broadcasting over 640 AM as WRPI, this campus-only station sent programming out, “using small transmitters scattered throughout campus” and “claimed a listenership of 85% of all those listening to radio sets on campus,” according to WRPI’s website.
1950s and 60s timeline on wall at WRPI. Photo: J. WaitsWRPI FM Era from 1957 to TodayAt WRPI today, one can peruse a timeline of historical tidbits by decade, starting with the 1950s (WRPI launched over FM in 1957) and 1960s. A collage of photos, newspaper clippings, vintage program guides, and stickers; the timeline goes up through the 2010s. Mei and Lemon said that they hoped to extend the display to the 2020s.
Mic stands at WRPI in 2022. Photo: J. WaitsAs I concluded my WRPI visit, Program Director Lemon and On-Campus PR Manager Mei shared with me why the station is such a special place for them on campus. Mei explained, “It felt so easy to be here compared to any other places that I’ve been…being a woman in STEM.” She added that she also feels welcome at WRPI as a member of the LGBT community, remarking, “It’s nice to see yourself represented.” Lemon concurred, saying that “especially at an engineering school. It’s a majority cis-het men… It’s so nice to have this community where you can be authentic. You can be yourself. Not have to try to like mask, hide, anything like that.” Mei pointed out that WRPI is intentional about creating a positive environment and has safer space policies to ensure that people feel “welcome, appreciated and not put down.”
WRPI Program Director Lemon. Photo: J. WaitsThanks to WRPI + More Radio Station ToursThanks to everyone at WRPI for the fun visit. This is my 167th radio station tour report and my 109th college radio station recap. View all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. And watch this space for additional tours from my travels in New York state.
Outside entrance to WRPI’s building. Photo: J. WaitsThe post Radio Station Visit #167: College Radio Station WRPI at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The Radio Survivors return with a new podcast episode! On this edition of the show, we discuss soundscapes and the concept of slow radio. Our guests, artists Brady Marks and Mark Timmings are the creators and producers of the 7th annual Wetland Project slow radio broadcast, taking place on Earth Day on April 22, 2023. This 24-hour broadcast is comprised of audio recordings made at the ṮEḴTEḴSEN wetland in W̱ SÁNEĆ territory (Saturna Island, BC) and is available for airing on interested radio stations (email info AT wetlandproject DOT com).
Brady Marks is a digital media artist working primarily in audiovisual practices, new media and kinetic art. She is also a member of the Soundscape Collective at Vancouver Co-operative Radio and a frequent host of Soundscape on Co-op Radio.Mark Timmings is a multidisciplinary artist who explores perceptions of place by appropriating data and enfolding them into the domain of art.
Show Notes: Wetland Project * Wetland Project on Twitter * The Wetland Project Returns for Earth Day 2021 (Radio Survivor) * Mark Timmings * Brady Marks * Vancouver Co-Op Radio * Soundscape Show on Vancouver Co-op Radio * World Soundscape Project * Hildegard Westerkamp * Slow television (Wikipedia) * Andy Warhol’s film Empire* (Library of Congress article) * Wetland Project: Explorations in Sound, Ecology and Post-Geographical Art (book)
Show Credits:* This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits * Hosted by Jennifer Waits and Eric Klein * Edited by Eric Klein
The post Podcast 333: Wetland Project and Slow Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
What are the best college radio stations? I’ve enjoyed scrutinizing these sorts of lists for years, in particular Princeton Review’s “best college radio station” rankings in its yearly college guides. Based on student surveys, these lists attempt to rank the popularity of college radio on the campuses which participate in the Princeton Review surveys. The most recent list was published in August, 2022 in the The Best 388 Colleges: 2023 Edition (more on that in a future post). The equivalent list was two years prior in the 2021 edition that was released in August, 2020.
In-between those years, during the height of COVID, the 2022 edition (The Best 387 Colleges: 2022 Edition, released in August, 2021) took a different approach to the rankings when it became more difficult to get student survey results. This is the list that I’m going to focus on for this post. Labelled “Great College Radio Station,” the list of 28 schools is in alphabetical order and is not meant to be a ranking of schools. It’s more of a “best of” list from the past 30 years worth of student survey results from Princeton Review.
As I’ve seen before in other Princeton Review lists, the northeast is over represented, with 17 schools (including 9 from New York, 2 from New Jersey, 2 from Rhode Island, 1 from Pennsylvania, 1 from Maine, 1 from Vermont, and 1 from Massachusetts.) Four west coast schools make the list (2 from Washington, 1 from California and 1 from Oregon). Four schools are from the midwest (Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois) and three are from the south (D.C., North Carolina, and Louisiana).
And, in an interesting coincidence, this list of 28 great college radio stations includes the school where I took my first station field trip (Emerson College – WECB) and a school that was on my most recent round of New York tours in 2022 (Union College – WRUC). I’ve visited seven of the schools on the best radio station list, but would love to tour the remaining 21 colleges!
Methodology for the Princeton Review “Great College Radio Station” List (2022 edition)The “Great College Radio Station” list is part of a bigger collection of 26 “great lists,” a unique feature of the 30th edition of the Princeton Review (2022 edition, released in August 2021). A representative from Princeton Review explained the impetus for this new approach, emailing me that “It was the 30th anniversary of our Best Colleges, and since the pandemic made it so difficult to get a good student survey sample, we reflected on those 30 years and came up with a series of Great Lists. These were unranked but represented the strongest-performing institutions in the categories over the last 30 years.”
A press release at the time of the 2022 edition’s debut stated that these “great” lists “identify the colleges in the book with the most impressive history of appearances on company’s annual ‘Best of’ ranking lists over the years.” The lists, including the “Great College Radio Station” list were crafted “by doing a deep data dive through the book’s ranking lists in past editions all the way back to the first edition in 1992. The selections were based on three criteria: the number of times a college appeared on a list (including how recent the last appearance was), its numerical rank when on a list, and the overall consistency of feedback from the schools’ surveyed students in a given category. Each “Great List” names from 16 to 29 schools in alphabetical (not ranked) order,” according to a press release from Princeton Review.
It’s pretty exciting to me that the folks at Princeton Review potentially scanned through all the “Best College Radio Station” lists since 1992. I’ve only been tracking the lists since the 2008 edition, but would LOVE to see the full archive.
For Princeton Review College Radio Lists, Great = PopularWhile this list for the 2022 edition is called “Great College Radio Station,” it’s important to remember that these “great lists” were compiled from results of student surveys that focus more on popularity vs. perceived “greatness” of a college radio station. Here’s more scoop:
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In typical years, ranked list results are based on student surveys
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Surveys are conducted at a finite number of colleges each year (since 2008 that’s hovered between 366 and 388 colleges)
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Students are asked to judge the popularity, not the quality, of an unspecified campus radio station at their own college
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Radio stations are not named in the survey or in the resulting rankings
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Only schools surveyed can make it into the rankings, so college radio stations at schools that are not surveyed by Princeton Review won’t appear on the list
A number of colleges appearing on the “Best College Radio Station” and “Great College Radio Stations” lists have multiple radio stations, including student-run stations, large public radio stations, and everything in between. It makes sense that students would indicate that their school’s radio station is “popular” if they are on a campus with a high profile professional radio station and/or with several radio stations.
How Similar is 2022 Great College Radio List to Prior Best Lists?It’s really tricky comparing the “Great College Radio Station” list to prior “Best College Radio Station” lists, since it’s not ranked and features more radio stations. However, and not surprisingly, the schools on the list are ones that we’ve regularly seen in the past few years. Half of the schools (14) were on the prior edition’s ranked list (2021 edition) of 20 stations.
The complete list for the 2022 edition (released in August, 2021) is outlined below (for comparison, here are the lists from the 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 editions of Princeton Review).
2022 Princeton Review Great List: Great College Radio Station (released in August, 2021)Note: I’ve added station names and call signs as the Princeton Review only lists school names.
List is in alphabetical order and is not ranked
- Bates College (WRBC 91.5 FM, Lewiston, ME)
- Brown University (WBRU 95.5 FM and Brown Student Radio, Providence, RI)
- Carleton College (KRLX 88.1 FM, Northfield, MN). See my KRLX tour: Station Field Trip #92
- Chapman University (ChapmanRadio.com, Orange, CA)
- Columbia University (WKCR 89.9 FM, New York, NY). See my WKCR tour: Station Field Trip #141 and catch more on Podcast #136
- Denison University (WDUB 91.1 FM, Granville, OH)
- DePauw University (WGRE 91.5 FM, Greencastle, Indiana)
- Drew University (WMNJ The Forest, Madison, NJ)
- Emerson College (WERS 88.9FM & WECB, Boston, MA) WECB tour: Station Field Trip #1
- Fordham University (WFUV 90.7 FM, Bronx, NY) See my WFUV tour: Station Field Trip #139
- Franklin & Marshall College (WFNM 89.1 FM, Lancaster, PA)
- Guilford College (WQFS 90.9 FM, Greensboro, NC)
- Hofstra University (WRHU 88.7 FM, Hempstead, New York)
- Howard University (WHUR 96.3 FM and WHBC 96.3 FM HD3 Washington, DC). See my WHBC tour: Station Field Trip #86
- Ithaca College (WICB 91.7 FM and VIC Radio, Ithaca, New York)
- Knox College (WVKC 90.7 HD2, Galesburg, Illinois)
- Louisiana State University—Baton Rouge (KLSU 91.1 FM, Baton Rouge, LA)
- Manhattanville College (WMVL, Purchase, NY) – websites are down and the most recent social media activity was on Instagram in October, 2019, but station appears to have had weekly meetings in 2022
- Providence College (WDOM 91.3 FM, Providence, RI)
- Reed College (KRRC, Portland, OR). See my KRRC tour: Station Field Trip #44
- St. Michael’s College (WWPV-LP 92.5 FM The Mike, Colchester, VT)
- Seton Hall University (WSOU 89.5 FM, South Orange, NJ)
- Skidmore College (WSPN 91.1 FM, Saratoga Springs, NY)
- St. Bonaventure University (WSBU-88.3 FM, St. Bonaventure, NY)
- Syracuse University (WAER 88.3 FM, WERW, WJPZ 89.1 FM, Syracuse, NY)
- Union College (WRUC 89.7 FM, Schenectady, NY) Hear about my WRUC tour on Podcast #329
- University of Puget Sound (KUPS 90.1 FM, Tacoma, Washington)
- Washington State University (KZUU 90.7 FM, KUGR and Northwest Public Radio, Pullman, WA)
Learn More about College RadioIf this is your first visit to Radio Survivor, please take a look at our massive archive of college radio content. There’s a collection of radio news in the College Radio Watch column, we report on college radio culture on our radio show/podcast, tour college radio stations, and have a page devoted to college radio basics.
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As I wandered through a labyrinth-like campus center building looking for college radio station WCDB after a long day of cross-country travel, it felt like the olden days before 2020, when I used to regularly take field trips to radio stations, often mapping out ridiculously ambitious schedules for myself in order to see as many stations as possible. That all stopped with the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning in March, 2020, I stayed close to home. And most radio stations severely restricted the number of people coming in and out. Nearly three years later (what a strange time warp, that’s been), it feels like much of the life from before has returned. And that was palpable as I checked in on four college radio stations in New York in November, 2022.
Vinyl records and CDs at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsWCDB-FM at the SUNY campus of University at Albany was my first station visit since 2019 and it proved to be an inspirational re-introduction into the world of college radio today. When I stopped by on an autumn Wednesday night, WCDB was abuzz with activity. In a manager’s office, flyers were printing for the fall show (featuring indie songwriter Katy Kirby, Brooklyn-based alt-rock band Raavi, and local rap group Capital City Crooks) that that station was presenting in a few days. Meanwhile, students streamed in and out of the station for a weekly drop-in training session in the studio.
Flyer for WCDB Training Show. Photo: J. WaitsCollege Radio Comes Back to Life after PandemicIn my conversations with General Manager Mehr Sharma and Co-Training Director DJ Kastro we talked about how the pandemic pushed pause on the breadth of radio station activities; but the current vibe was optimistic, with WCDB on a high point, coming back better than ever. Sharma reflected on the past few years, saying, “I joined the station my first day of classes my freshman year, but because of COVID, half of that time doesn’t feel real.” Although WCDB continued broadcasting, there were fewer in-person DJs and more reliance on automation.
Cassettes at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsAs restrictions slowly lifted, fall 2022 looks a lot like how things were when Sharma joined in 2019. “This year has been kind of crazy in terms of recruitment,” Sharma relayed, telling me that they are running out of prime slots for new DJs and training sessions are overflowing the studio with as many as 15 prospective DJs. She speculated that as more students are getting acclimated to regular college life, there’s an eagerness to participate in activities like college radio, saying that for seniors, “half of our college experience we weren’t able to do much, now we want to make the most of it.”
WCDB studio. Photo: J. WaitsWCDB also has some long-time community and alumni DJs, notably Bill McCann, who has hosted “The Saturday Morning Edition of Jazz” since April, 1985 and Sir Walford, who has hosted a reggae show, “The Many Moods of Sir Walford” since 1997. Most of the DJs are undergraduate students and that’s the focus of recruitment efforts.
DJ in studio at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsCreating a Welcoming Station EnvironmentA big accomplishment for WCDB has been attracting a broader range of students recently, with Sharma pointing out that the station now feels more reflective of the diverse student population on campus. By being more open to each DJ’s musical taste, they argue that they’ve created an environment that feels more welcoming than in the past. Sharma’s take on that is that college radio historically has a tendency to put up walls. She is a proponent of breaking apart that gatekeeper mentality, saying that “you get the weirdest, most fun stuff” if you are “inclusive to everyone,” adding, “There’s no point in being gatekeepery about college radio if we want college radio to keep being a thing.”
Bulletin board at college radio station WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsMany radio stations talk about making their spaces more welcoming and more diverse, but struggle to do so. When I asked how WCDB accomplished this in such a short period of time, DJ Kastro cited “Block Party” as one reason. At the campus event which showcases clubs, he DJ’d for 6 hours straight, serving as an enthusiastic ambassador for WCDB. Sharma chimed in that DJ Kastro did so “with the best energy.”
One of WCDB’s Training Directors, DJ Kastro. Photo: J. WaitsBesides that event, they try to be more present and visible on campus, and Sharma thinks it’s made a difference for prospective DJs to see “people of color who are into indie and alt stuff” representing the college radio station at events, “instead of a table of four white college dudes judging you as you pick out every CD.” Although Sharma had “sweet” training directors and was welcomed at the station, she acknowledged that there “was no one here that looks like me.” That is changing and she said that she’s heartened that more people are coming to the station to just hang out and “chat about music in a non-judgy way.”
WCDB General Manager Mehr Sharma. Photo: J. WaitsEven within the past few years, there’s been a sense of station community, with DJs forging friendships at times with people who they may not have otherwise met on campus. Sharma joked that the station “has done a lot for our social lives,” and that rings especially true since she joined just a few months before the COVID-19 campus lock downs. She ended up “crashing” with the former WCDB General Manager during the summer of 2020 because she didn’t want to travel home during the height of COVID. And she’s not the only one who has become friends and roommates with others from the station.
WCDB Rock Library. Photo: J. WaitsMusic, Sub Genres and Intersections with Albany SceneOnly 19, and celebrating his one year anniversary at WCDB on the day of my visit, DJ Kastro talked about how his short time at the station has opened his ears musically. Joining the station as someone strictly focused on hip hop, he shared that he got “converted” to the metal scene. He embraces the chance to go deep into sub genres of music, explaining how “breaking those bubbles” and definitions is important, adding that at WCDB, “we emphasize the sub genres.” Sharma mentioned that the station’s engineer is a good example of that blurring of genre boundaries, having started out as a “strict metal head” and now doing “doo-wop shows.” Other DJs play electronic music, video game music, country, alt rock, hip hop, and punk. A newer DJ has been investigating the history of the Albany punk scene and bringing in his own mix CDs.
Flyer for WCDB’s Fall Show. Photo: J. WaitsSharma also really enjoys booking bands and sharing music with others, telling me about her excitement about getting Raavi to play at the fall show since the band represents “a fresh perspective” in the indie music scene, being both queer and south Asian, like Sharma. WCDB has deep connections with the music community in Albany. Sharma characterized it as a “thriving” scene that’s a “welcoming” and “tight-knit community.” The station functions like a “pipeline” into that world, with current and former DJs and staff performing in bands, booking shows, doing sound at concerts, and running venues. WCDB hosts shows in Albany at 300 person capacity venues, with DJ Kastro commenting that this works to build connections “for a lifetime.”
DJ card for DJ Spicy Brown at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsAppreciation for College Radio’s History and Relevance TodayDJ Kastro also expressed his appreciation for both radio history and the ongoing relevance of radio. He said that it “feels good that people are still listening to radio,” especially in the “day of Spotify,” pointing out the importance of “broadcasting up and coming DJs and artists.” The broader community of college radio is something that motivates him and he mentioned college radio DJs from decades past, like Flavor Flav and Stretch & Bobbito, saying, “they inspire a lot of what I do.”
On Air sign on wall at college radio station WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsAs DJ Kastro peppered me with WCDB trivia (including that the call letters stand for “Capital District’s Best”), it was clear that WCDB’s history is important to the station. One of the first things that one encounters in the lobby is a trophy case “shrine” full of artifacts, including flyers, promotional items, drawings, newspaper clippings, program guides, vintage 45s, and reel-to-reel recordings. A hallway wall that leads from the lobby to the studios features a giant commemorative record of the first song played on the station (Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”).
WCDB memorabilia in case at station. Photo: J. WaitsThe station website (which hasn’t changed much in at least a decade) is also an amazingly retro homage to the past, featuring imagery reminiscent of the early 90s. Sharma described the background graphic as resembling “bus seat upholstery” or “arcade carpet,” and chuckled at how people used to think it was “goofy,” but that freshmen have pointed out how “cool” the website looks, as the ’80s-looking logo and squiggles are now in style again.
Screen shot of WCDB home page, December, 2022Digging into WCDB’s Lengthy HistoryThe WCDB website also includes a lengthy write-up about the station’s history and how it’s connected with earlier radio stations on campus. As a college radio history enthusiast, I appreciated the care taken to tell this story. In “A Brief History of Radio at UAlbany,” (written and edited by Marc Gronich and other radio alums), March 2, 1939 is cited as a key date for “the genesis of campus radio at UAlbany.” They write that on this date a “remote broadcast – over WOKO (1460AM)” emanated from a room on campus. The broadcast “began with a speech by Dr. Abram Brubacher, President of State College for Teachers, and was followed by a five-scene dramatization of the college’s early days. Playing of the school’s alma mater closed the half-hour program.”
Helpful note at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsEspecially fascinating to me was how this broadcast and future broadcasts were facilitated by the discovery of old speech department equipment. Gronich writes, “President Brubacher and some of the faculty realized that equipment from the speech department, used to correct prospective teachers’ speech difficulties – recording machines, microphones and a soundproof room giving the best acoustic effects possible – could also be put to use to broadcast over the air.” These “remote broadcasts via WOKO continued until the early 1940s when World War II led to its suspension.”
Gun Club LP at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsAlthough the University Radio Council was created in the late 1940s to make plans for a campus radio station, a carrier current station was not launched until February 22, 1963 over 640 AM (out of a hallway broom closet) with call letters WSUA. The “Brief History” includes an amusing recollection from an alumnus saying that “the station was dubbed ‘The Fry Pan Network’ with 640 being the temperature for cooking ham.” The station had dreams of going FM and after obtaining an FCC license, WCDB launched with 10 watts of power over 90.9 FM on March 1, 1978. Per the station’s history, “WCDB’s first D.J., Jim Saturno, played Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ over the airwaves as the university Carillon played the same song – ringing in a new era in UAlbany radio broadcasting.”
Giant “Born to Run” record on wall at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsI love hearing about the ways that college radio stations have collaborated with each other over the years and was intrigued to read that the lead author of the WCDB history document, Marc Gronich, “spearheaded the Election Night College Network” (along with a crew of others from the station) in 1980 and 1984. “ENCN brought together 41 college radio stations from across the country to share election night news reports from a student perspective about the U.S. Senate, Congressional and Presidential races in each state. When a station filed a news report, it was able to receive a taped news report from a different state.”
Old board atop trophy case at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsMore details on WCDB history can be found on the alumni-led WCDB Historical Society website, which was launched in December, 1996. Full of audio, video, and images, it’s an amazing resource for materials related to WCDB’s history. Per the society’s website, it is the “result of a project started in 1994 to form a WCDB Alumni Association to help guide and fund the radio station.” After evolving to an “online group for networking current and former WCDB and WSUA alumni,” it transitioned once again to “a repository of historical information and as an audio archive.”
Sticker-covered wall at WCDB. Photo: J. WaitsThanks to WCDB + More Radio Station ToursThanks to Mehr Sharma and DJ Kastro for the great conversations and fun tour of WCDB. You can hear more about this visit on Radio Survivor Podcast episode #329. This is my 166th radio station tour report and my 108th college radio station recap. View all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. And watch this space for additional tours from my travels in New York state.
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The Radio Survivors return with a new podcast episode! Jennifer reports on her visits to four college radio stations in New York state in November, 2022. Part of a longtime project to document radio station field trips, these recent tours are her first since 2019. As COVID-19 restrictions have loosened, stations are largely back to normal operations, with many on an upswing, with more active participants. Jennifer also shares some radio history tidbits, as each of the stations that she visited has fascinating back stories. At Union College, students began broadcasting music over amateur radio in 1920. A trip to the Union College archives was like a dream for our resident college radio historian.
Show Notes:* Peruse all of Jennifer’s Radio Station Tours * Radio Station Visit #166: College Radio Station WCDB at University at Albany * WCDB-FM at University at Albany * WRUC-FM at Union College * WRUC in the Union College Archives & Special Collections * WXBC at Bard College * WRPI-FM at Rensselaer Polytechnic University * Wave Farm * Underground (Codes) piece at Wave Farm by Yvette Janine Jackson * Freeform Portland * Podcast #41: Raising the Antenna (Eric attends antenna-raising at Freeform Portland) * Radio Station Visit #151: Freeform Portland * Scumbag Radio * Podcast #95: Mixcloud can be Community Radio, Too * Is YouTube the Home of the New Radio Pirates?
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Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and for radio fanatics like myself, that means another year tracking the radio stations that play Arlo Guthrie’s seasonally appropriate “Alice’s Restaurant.” Especially with the strangeness of the last few years in light of COVID, nostalgia is likely a big reason that listeners seek out the radio to hear a […]
The post Alice’s Restaurant on the Radio for Thanksgiving 2022 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The Radio Survivors return with a new episode! For this edition, recorded in July, 2022, our guest is Lori Emerson, Founding Director of the Media Archaeology Lab (the MAL). She’s also an Associate Professor in the English Department and Director of the Intermedia Arts, Writing, and Performance Program at University of Colorado at Boulder. Lori […]
The post Podcast #328: Media Archaeology and Other Networks appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The FCC is not in the business of taking licensed radio stations off the air. This is something I’ve been telling community and college radio folks for well over a decade, especially when they get themselves tied up in knots of anxiety trying to read certain regulations like literary theory, worried that a fine over […]
The post FCC’s Proposal to Legitimize FrankenFMs Proves It Isn’t in the Business of Taking Stations off the Air appeared first on Radio Survivor.
On this week’s program, we turn our attention to the history of industrial music – not the noisy music genre – but music played in industrial settings for workers. A variety of services offered (and still offer) background music for workplaces. Muzak and the RCA Plant Broadcasting System are just a few of the products […]
The post Podcast #327: Industrial Music Systems and Workplace Broadcasts appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The annual Infinite Dial survey from Edison Research was recently released, showing what people in the US are listening to, and where. It even includes social media platforms like TikTok, which Eric observes young people often use like radio, playing in the background as they go about daily activities. We review the stats, and also […]
The post Podcast #326: The State of Listening and Broadcast Radio in 2022 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The Radio Survivors return to their microphones to review what’s new in radio. Of course, the Russian invasion of Ukraine hangs heavy over our heads, and we review how the international community is leveraging radio to delivery needed communications and information to Ukrainians, as well as how radio is attempting to serve the Ukrainian diaspora. […]
The post Podcast #325 – Ukraine Radio, Int’l Women’s Day and Franken FMs appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine greatly upsets me, as my heart goes out to the Ukrainian people. I feel a connection because my father’s family is from Estonia, which also borders Russia and has a long, unhappy history of Russian domination. While Estonia today is a free republic, the assault on Ukraine understandably puts the […]
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This past Sunday, February 13, was World Radio Day. I’m a few days late in recognizing it, but still have something good to share. Like last year, the BBC tapped radio journalist David Goren to produce a documentary highlighting community radio around the globe. “World Wide Waves ’22” profiles four stations: Koori Radio is the […]
The post Rough Notes: BBC Profiles 4 Community Stations Around the World; Inter-American Court Sides with Indigenous Station; Mazda Owners Stuck on KUOW appeared first on Radio Survivor.
This is my ninth installment on how to listen to the Super Bowl on the radio, and this year there isn’t much change from last. It seems like most of the same outlets will be carrying the big game in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK and Australia. While the match up between the Cincinnati Bengals […]
The post How to Listen to Super Bowl LVI on the Radio around the World this Sunday, Feb. 13 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Franken FMs are the radio service that refuses to die, even after the FCC ostensibly pulled the plug this past summer. Recall that these are former analog low-power TV stations on channel 6 whose audio could be heard at about 87.7 FM. Analog LPTV shut down on July 13, 2021, but then Venture Technologies Group […]
The post Rough Notes: Franken FMs Live On, BBC Geofences, More CD Revival, WBCN Book appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Actor Howard Hesseman passed away on Saturday, Jan. 29, perhaps most well-known – at least to radio nerds – as the burned-out former hippy morning radio DJ Dr. Johnny Fever on sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” for four seasons beginning in 1978. Hesseman was actually once a real radio DJ, for a short stint in 1967 […]
The post Rough Notes: RIP Howard Hesseman, WKRP’s Dr. Johnny Fever; Perfect Sound Forever, Again appeared first on Radio Survivor.
A belated happy New Year and welcome to 2022. It’s not quite a New Year’s resolution, but I want to return to regular blogging here at Radio Survivor, at least covering interesting radio stories of note, along with other radiophonic observations. With the Super Bowl coming in just under three weeks you can look forward […]
The post Rough Notes: Antarctic Radio Revisited & Jamming Soviet-Era Numbers appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Your host Eric Klein has dug deep into some personal radio archives to produce this week’s episode.
The post Podcast #324 – Heartfelt XMAS Filler appeared first on Radio Survivor.
As the year and semester draws to a close, we get real on this week’s episode and talk about work, burnout, volunteer labor, and how podcasting is not immune to the everyday stressors and challenges that we are all feeling right about now! Two of our favorite scholars, Jennifer Lynn Stoever and Hannah McGregor, join us […]
The post Podcast #323 – Hope Labor, Burnout, and Balance: Getting Real about Podcasting appeared first on Radio Survivor.
As Thanksgiving approaches, my thoughts turn once again to “Alice’s Restaurant,” the epic Arlo Guthrie song that is a beloved turkey day tradition for radio stations all over the United States. I’ve been chronicling this ritual for many many years and was pleased to be able to speak to THE Alice last year as part […]
The post “Alice’s Restaurant” Remains a 2021 Thanksgiving Radio Staple appeared first on Radio Survivor.
I’ve been staying in the San Francisco Bay Area this week and stumbled upon an AM talk radio network that is new to me: the Black Information Network. The format mirrors that of conventional 24-hour all-news stations like KCBS, Los Angeles’ KNX, New York’s WINS or Philadelphia’s KYW, with regular headline news, business and entertainment […]
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On the show this week, we explore one of our favorite topics: college radio history. Our guest, Andreas Preuss, just completed a multi-faceted project about student radio station WRAS at Georgia State University in Atlanta for his master’s thesis: Left of the Dial: Right on the Music: 50 Years of Georgia State FM Radio. We […]
The post Podcast #322 – College Radio History at WRAS appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Few topics create as much anxiety at college and community radio stations – not to mention many a commercial radio morning show – than broadcast indecency. Since the dawn of broadcast regulation in the US there have been legal restrictions on the kind of speech that may be broadcast on the public airwaves, with a […]
The post Podcast #321 – The Long Sordid History of Broadcast Indecency Enforcement appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Thanks to Twitter, I learned about a UK ‘zine recently scanned and uploaded to the Internet Archive: “Radio Is my Bomb: a DIY Manual for Pirates.” Published in 1987, it’s a fascinating document of the 1970s and 80s free radio in the UK and elsewhere, though principally focused on western Europe. Amusingly, the entry on […]
The post “Radio Is my Bomb” ‘Zine Is a Still-Relevant Snapshot of Free Radio in the 1980s appeared first on Radio Survivor.
On this week’s show, we return to the topic of hip-hop on the radio. While on Radio Survivor, we typically focus on non-commercial radio, like college and community stations; in this episode we look at why certain types of commercial radio stations were important to the growth in popularity of hip-hop music. Our guest, Amy […]
The post Podcast # 320 – How Hip-Hop Made it to Top 40 Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The Fairness Doctrine – a Federal Communications Commission rule that’s been out of commission since the 20th century – just doesn’t seem to die, at least in the minds of politicians, the press and much of the public. Politicos of many political stripes trot out its specter as a bogeyman any time its convenient, while […]
The post Podcast #318: Battling the Zombie of the Fairness Doctrine appeared first on Radio Survivor.
A year-and-a-half ago high school, college and community radio stations shut their studio doors in response to safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID. They quickly scrambled to find ways to stay on air, broadcasting archived programming, allowing DJs to pre-record or even broadcast live from home. We’ve dedicated several episodes to learning how […]
The post Podcast #317 – How Radio Survived 18 Months of Pandemic (and Keeps Going) appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Musician, DJ and radio artist Don Joyce passed away nearly six years ago, leaving behind a voluminous archive of his unparalelled collage radio program “Over the Edge.” The documentary “How Radio Isn’t Done” sheds light on this member of Negativland, his life and his work in recontextualizing the never-ending flow of media messages that flood […]
The post Podcast #316 – How Radio Isn’t Done, According To Negativland’s Don Joyce appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Mitch Jeserich has been working as a host, producer and reporter for Pacifica Radio and KPFA for two decades. His career in radio was just getting started as a volunteer when 9-11-2001 changed everything. Host Eric Klein and guest Mitch Jeserich are friends and former co-workers at Free Speech Radio News in 2003, where Mitch […]
The post Podcast #315 – Mitch Jeserich appeared first on Radio Survivor.
On the show this week we explore a pivotal period for radio news in the 1930s and learn why the Lindbergh kidnapping changed everything. Travel back in time with us. It’s March 1932 and a horrible crime has just occurred, the kidnapping of the 20-month-old son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne […]
The post Podcast #314 – Radio and the Lindbergh Kidnapping appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Efforts are underway to preserve the records of community radio personality Mae Brussell. Brussell hosted several discussion shows in the 1970s and 1980s at community stations in Carmel and Pacific Grove, California. “Dialogue Conspiracy” and “World Watchers International” focused on a variety of subjects, most notably the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Watergate. […]
The post Campaign on to preserve Mae Brussell’s library appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Thanks to reader Paul Bailey I’ve recently been alerted that Ireland’s long-running longwave (LW) radio station RTÉ 252 is back on the air, after a period of maintenance beginning in June of this year. The service rebroadcasts public broadcaster RTÉ Radio 1, reaching longer distances than the mediumwave AM band – no longer in use […]
The post Ireland’s Longwave Radio RTÉ 252 Is Back on the Air appeared first on Radio Survivor.
I have been collecting digital music files since the MP3 became a practical storage and transmission format in the late 90s. Whether traded, ripped from my own CDs, downloaded in the heydays of Emusic.com – which for a time served up all-you-can-download music from mostly independent labels for a reasonable monthly fee – or purchased […]
The post Build Your Own Personal Streaming Service with Plex appeared first on Radio Survivor.
We welcome new contributor Martin Butera, reporting from Brasilia DF, Brazil. In his first article, he examines the growing crackdown on free radio in that country. Readers should note the parallels between unlicensed radio there and in the US, where stations in dense urban areas are often employed by communities and populations not well served […]
The post Brazilian Authorities Cracking Down on Free Radio in 2021 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
On this week’s show, we revisit a topic that is near and dear to us, the preservation of sound. This time around the emphasis is on podcasts. Our guest Jeremy Morris is the founder of PodcastRE (which is short for Podcast Research), a searchable, researchable archive of podcasting culture. Morris is Associate Professor, Media and […]
The post Podcast #313 – PodcastRE’s Archive of Podcasting Culture appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Portrayals of radio in popular culture provide an interesting glimpse at radio’s role in society. At Radio Survivor, we’ve long been fascinated by radio depictions on both the small and large screen; so it is a treat to dive into this topic with Hemrani Vyas, Programming Coordinator at Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Vyas curated an […]
The post Podcast #311 – Classic Films about Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Today on the show we rebroadcast one of our favorite episodes from one year ago, which was described this way: On August 27, 2020, nomadic online radio station Radioee.net is presenting a live, translingual 24-hour broadcast, Wireless, featuring 24 radio stations from all over the world. Taking place on the 100th anniversary of the first […]
The post Podcast #310 – Radioee.net Celebrates 100 Year History of Wireless Communication (now 101 years) appeared first on Radio Survivor.
What do home made short wave radios, flexi discs, and cyanotype photography have in common? Kirk Pearson is a composer and founder of Dogbotic, a full service music and sound studio, a radical multimedia arts workshop, and open source creative technology lab. Kirk joins us today to share the planning and thinking behind their next […]
The post Podcast #309 – Ear Retraining with Dogbotic appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Shortly after its 26th birthday, we revisit this interview celebrating a quarter-century of the MP3. On July 14, 1995 the file extension .MP3 was chosen and set in place for an audio format that would go on to change music. Artist, scholar and curator John Kannenberg marks the 25th anniversary of this event with an […]
The post Podcast #308 – Marking a Quarter-Century of MP3 (Replay) appeared first on Radio Survivor.
On this week’s show, we take a trip back in time to look at radio in the 1940s and 1950s. During this post-war period, women’s roles were shifting in the workplace and in popular media. Television arrived on the scene, bringing with it some, but not all, of the programming that people knew and loved […]
The post Podcast #307 – Battling over Violence, Sex and Women’s Roles on Postwar Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Last Tuesday, July 13, was the last day for analog low-power TV in the US, also marking the last broadcasts of most Franken FMs – legacy channel 6 stations’ whose audio is heard at the low end of the FM dial at 87.7 FM. As I noted then, two stations have retained their FM signals […]
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July 13, 2021 was the last day on-air for 95% of the Franken FMs still around. That’s because 11:59 PM marked the final deadline for low-power TV stations to turn off their analog signals, 12 years and 31 days after full-power stations went all-digital. These vestigial analog broadcasts were primarily of use to a few […]
The post Just 2 Franken FMs Remain (but the Era Is Over) appeared first on Radio Survivor.
What are the odds that a popular television series would feature your college radio station as a backdrop for two episodes? That’s exactly what Jennifer found, when HBO’s “Mare of Easttown” employed a set that accurately recreates Haverford College’s station as a location for the limited-run drama. Jennifer talked with the show’s production designer to […]
The post Podcast #306 – Radio Coincidences, from Easttown to Sutherlin appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Border radio is one of our favorite topics at Radio Survivor and on this week’s episode we dig into the history of radio broadcasting on the northern border of Mexico. Scholar Sonia Robles shares the stories of some of the lesser-known, small broadcasters whose histories are often overshadowed by the wild tales of higher power […]
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Student DJ Anne Harris is on the microphone in the booth at WWXU Haverford College Radio. While back announcing a track by Mannequin Pussy, she looks through a sticker-covered window into the record library, where local band Androgynous is preparing to play live. Posters, stickers and flyers are plastered on the walls and there are […]
The post Creating Haverford College Radio on Mare of Easttown appeared first on Radio Survivor.
As we wrap up Pride Month, our podcast discussion turns to queer spaces and queer community on the radio and in podcasting, specifically lesbian broadcasters in Canada. Our guest, Stacey Copeland is a media producer and Ph.D. candidate at Simon Fraser University’s School of Communication in Vancouver, Canada. Stacey has been researching the history of […]
The post Podcast #304 – Lesbian Radio History in Canada appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Just when we thought the Franken FM era might be over for good, the FCC grants “Special Temporary Authority” to a LPTV channel 6 in San Jose, California to keep its analog signal – heard on the FM dial – on the air while transitioning its video signal to digital. We review this news, along […]
The post Podcast #303 – Radio on TV, Magazines and Tape appeared first on Radio Survivor.
“Special Temporary Authority” kind of sounds like “Double Secret Probation,” but it’s actually a foot in a closing door for Franken FMs. The FCC has granted this “temporary authority,” known as an STA, for channel 6 TV station KBKF-LD to continue broadcasting an analog FM radio signal while its main television signal broadcasts in digital. As we’ve noted […]
The post It’s Alive! FCC Authorizes Last-Minute Franken FM Experiment appeared first on Radio Survivor.
This week, we take a close look at the history of an influential Spanish language community radio station: KDNA. Located in Washington State, the station launched in 1979 and serves a rural community which includes farm workers and immigrants. Our guest, Monica De La Torre, is Assistant Professor at the School of Transborder Studies at […]
The post Podcast #302 – Feminista Frequencies appeared first on Radio Survivor.
From 1961 to 1976 WRVR-FM broadcast a progressive slate of social justice and jazz programming from the Riverside Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Beginning in 2018 those archives are being digitized and transcribed by the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, and on June 17 they’re asking volunteers to help correct those transcriptions in a […]
The post Podcast #301 – Digitizing & Transcribing the Archives of NYC Progressive Church Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The Federal Communications Commission recently announced that November 2, 2021 will mark the opening of the next licensing window for full-power non-commercial / educational (NCE) FM radio stations. The Commission first hinted at this chance back in fall of 2020. Given how often our listeners ask how and when they can get a radio license, […]
The post Podcast #300 – How to Get a Noncomm FM License in 2021 (Replay) appeared first on Radio Survivor.
It seems like physical media continues to have a hold on humans, even while most of us in the West engage with online, streaming and virtual media for much, if not most, of our time. Audiocassettes are like radio, in that they have been declared dead multiple times in the last three decades, yet continue […]
The post Podcast #299 – Cassettes for Art, Radio and Recording TV appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Colleges and high schools are finishing up their first – and, with hope, last – full academic COVID year, and all indicators are that student radio remained on the air, as students adjusted to online classes and socially distant campuses. Jennifer Waits reports back from the Intercollegiate Broadcast System annual conference, held virtually this year, […]
The post Podcast #298 – College Radio at the end of the Academic COVID Year appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Renowned radio scholar Michele Hilmes is Professor Emerita, Media and Cultural Studies in the Department of Communication Arts at University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been a long time proponent of the importance of studying radio and sound, which have often been neglected in the broader field of media studies. She joins us on the show […]
The post Podcast #297 – Radio Studies and Soundwork appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Amanda Dawn Christie is an artist enamored with radios and radio waves. The Assistant Professor, Studio Arts at Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) joins us on the show to discuss her most recent transmission art project, Ghosts in the Airglow, in which she created work at the HAARP facility in Alaska. Christie also shares with us […]
The post Podcast #296: Radio Spectrum and Transmission Art – rebroadcast appeared first on Radio Survivor.
I bought my first CD player in 1987, using money I saved from my 16th birthday and working as a stock boy at the local Party Fair store. I could only afford to buy two discs to try out on my new purchase, owing to the fact that new CDs cost about $15.99, roughly $37 in 2021 […]
The post In Praise of the Compilation CD appeared first on Radio Survivor.
I really liked this new video about the people that make Audacity, the free open source audio editing software that is probably on a computer inside every community and college radio station in the world. I’ve been making radio for just about as long as Audacity has been available, and the thing that I love […]
The post Audacity, the free audio software, is always getting better. appeared first on Radio Survivor.
This week, we are joined by the hosts of the podcast Rice and Shine. Led by four Seattle-area teenagers, the chat-style program provides a glimpse into the lives of 9th graders beginning high school from a distance during a pandemic. Rice and Shine is an incredible time capsule of the current school year, as hosts […]
The post Podcast #295 – High School Podcasting with the Hosts of Rice and Shine appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The documentary “WBCN and the American Revolution” chronicles the founding of Boston’s groundbreaking rock station that combined late-1960s countercultural politics and music in way that influenced freeform radio to come. Directed by journalist and former WBCN employee Bill Lichtenstein, the film will premiere on GBH 2 in the Boston area. It will air nationally on […]
The post WBCN Documentary Broadcast Premiere on May 6 – Special Online Panel April 26 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
As we reported on our podcast last October, the FCC plans to open up opportunities to apply for non-commercial FM radio licenses in 2021. The Commission just announced that first application window for full-power Non-commercial Educational (NCE) licenses, from November 2 – 9. What this means is that qualified parties may apply for a full-power […]
The post The Next Noncomm FM License Opportunity Opens November 2 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
The PIRATE Act was signed into law more than a year ago, but the rules governing increased fines for unlicensed broadcasting are about to go into effect on April 26. The Act is intended to give the FCC additional tools for tamping down pirate radio activity in hot beds like Boston and Brooklyn, NY, but there are reasons to be skeptical.
Brooklyn-based writer, post-production mixer and field recordist David Goren joins to help us tease out the real-world implications. Goren is also the creator of the Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map and has been monitoring and recording unlicensed radio activity in the borough for decades.
Also joining the show is Dr. Christopher Terry from the University of Minnesota. A professor of media law, he helps illuminate some of the legal and bureaucratic elements that complicate the Commission’s efforts. He also catches us up on the latest development in the battle over media ownership rules, with the Supreme Court issuing a narrow unanimous ruling in favor of the FCC’s most recent changes, but not quite addressing the decades-long gridlock in that policy area.
Show Notes: * David Goren * The Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map * The PIRATE Act * Radio World: FCC Can Use New Pirate Radio Fines Starting April 26 * FCC: Enforcement Bureau Warns Property Managers That Tolerate Pirate Radio * New York City’s Pirates of the Air * Podcast #133: Preserving Brooklyn Pirate Radio * Library of Congress’ Radio Preservation Task Force * Radio Survivor’s most recent episode on Wave Farm, inluding numerous links. * KCRW: Outlaws of the Airwaves: The Rise of Pirate Radio Station WBAD * WVIP * Podcast #168: A Time Machine for All The Radio Plus Shortwave * Podcast #3: FCC Paper Tiger Teams vs Pirate Radio (episode with John Anderson) * Listen to this BBC Documentary about 5 Community Radio Stations around the World * Podcast #282 – New FCC, Who Dis? * Podcast #277 – How Does the FCC Solve Anything?
The post Podcast #294 – Reading the PIRATE Act / FCC & the Supremes Pt. 2 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
What is radio art? What is transmission art? We discuss the experimental side of radio and artistic uses of radio transmissions on our show this week, looking at historical and contemporary examples. Artist and scholar Anna Friz joins us to chat about these concepts, sharing how her college/community radio past in Canada inspired her to immerse herself in the practice of sound art and radio art. Friz is Assistant Professor, Film and Digital Media at University of California, Santa Cruz and also serves on the board of Wave Farm.
Show Notes: * Anna Friz’s website * Jennifer Waits’ article about Anna Friz’s UC Radio Network presentation about the history of radio art and transmission art * Anna Friz radio art piece “Collecting Clocks and Losing Time” on Wave Farm’s The Radio Art Hour * University of British Columbia’s campus-community radio station CiTR * Western Front, an artist-run centre in Vancouver, BC * Kunstradio in Austria * Negativland website * Delia Derbyshire and the History of the BBC * Daphne Oram, electronic music pioneer * Tetsuo Kogawa‘s Radio Art works * Video of Tetsuo Kogawa performaing * The Joy Channel release by Anna Friz and Emmanuel Madan * Solar Radio/Embedded Radio Device piece by Absolute Value of Noise and Anna Friz * CWCH Collective * NRRF B Radio * Transmission Art in the Present Tense – article by Anna Friz * More about the little people in the radio
Related Episodes about sound art, transmission art, women in sound:
- Radio Survivor Podcast #292: The History of Sound Art with Judy Dunaway
- Radio Survivor Podcast #190: Radio Spectrum and Transmission Art with Amanda Dawn Christie
- Radio Survivor Podcast #193: Wavefarm, Reveil and Transmission Arts
- Radio Survivor Podcast #289: Celebrating Women in Sound
- Radio Survivor Podcast #151: The Wave Farm Grows Transmission Arts
- Radio Survivor Podcast #137: Zach Poff Build a Radio Station Inside a Pond
- Radio Survivor Podcast #105: Incoming Wounded – Interview with WEFT late-night DJ Ed Hadley
The podcast began with a discussion of this recent piece of sound collage https://youtu.be/hhirSscNuuc
The post Podcast #293 – Exploring Radio Art and Transmission Art appeared first on Radio Survivor.
What is sound art? And what do we know about its origin story? We explore this question and more with our guest this week, artist and educator Judy Dunaway. An adjunct professor in the History of Art Department at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Dunaway’s recent article, “The Forgotten 1979 MoMA Sound Art Exhibition,” is a fascinating look at the history of sound art and highlights important contributions by female artists. In our wide-ranging discussion, we also hear about Dunaway’s own artistic practice, from her work with latex balloons to transmission art to a “phone improv” show over BlogTalkRadio a decade ago.
Show Notes: * Judy Dunaway’s website * Amplified Tenor Balloon work * The Forgotten 1979 MoMA Sound Art Exhibition appears in Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture * Maggi Payne’s website * Connie Beckley’s artwork at MoMA * Julia Heyward bio on Electronic Arts Intermix * Judy Dunaway’s Duo for Radio Stations was simultaneously performed over college radio stations WFMU and WKCR * Phone Improv Show * Sound artist Nam June Paik created the transmission art piece Good Morning Mr. Orwell using TV stations in Paris and New York City * Cellist Charlotte Moorman was Paik’s muse and he made the “TV Cello” for her over which he would broadcast live video * Max Neuhaus, most known for his piece Times Square, did an early work, Drive-In Music, using radio transmissions as well as other transmission works, including Public Supply I (using listener phone calls to WBAI) and Radio Net * Alvin Lucier‘s oft-cited piece I am Sitting in a Room can be heard on YouTube * Artist Rie Nakajima‘s piece Wind Touch * Sound sculpture organization Powland * Minimalism (art) * Minimalism (music)
Related Episodes about sound art, transmission art, women in sound:
- Radio Survivor Podcast #190: Radio Spectrum and Transmission Art with Amanda Dawn Christie
- Radio Survivor Podcast #193: Wavefarm, Reveil and Transmission Arts
- Radio Survivor Podcast #289: Celebrating Women in Sound
- Radio Survivor Podcast #151: The Wave Farm Grows Transmission Arts
- Radio Survivor Podcast #137: Zach Poff Build a Radio Station Inside a Pond
The post Podcast #292 – The History of Sound Art appeared first on Radio Survivor.
Non-commercial radio stations will join together to air 24 hours of the circadian rhythm emanating from the ṮEḴTEḴSEN marsh in unceded W̱SÁNEĆ territory on Saturna Island, British Columbia this coming Earth Day, April 22. Produced by artists Brady Marks and Mark Timmings, the “Wetland Project” broadcast features a soundscape of birds, frogs, airplanes and more sounds of the natural and encroaching man-made world, that “engages listeners in real time and promotes a deeper awareness of, and a re-enchanted engagement with, the living environment.”
The project is an exercise in “slow radio” that “creates an immersive sonic space to contemplate what it means to be human in the ‘more-than-human world’ and to reflect upon what it means to listen in contested indigenous lands.”
Nine stations across Canada have signed on to air part or all of this year’s broadcast, and all non-commercial stations are invited to take part. In 2020, Local Public Radio in San Francisco even used the program to anchor a successful on-air fundraiser. Interested stations can learn more by emailing info@wetlandproject.com.
The broadcast is also available online and I tuned in throughout Earth Day last year. I had it on in the background and also took time to sit with focused listening, finding it all quite rewarding. And, really, what other platform besides community or college radio would dedicate more than a minute or so to sounds that invite patient and calm listening rather than demanding attention and action? I’m certainly looking forward to this year’s “Wetland Project.”
Feature image credit: Wetland Project
The post The Wetland Project Returns for Earth Day 2021 appeared first on Radio Survivor.
A super hero comic is at the heart of The New Adventures of Super Indian, a forthcoming audio drama from Native Voices at the Autry. Our guests on the show include Super Indian’s creator, playwright and director, Arigon Starr (an enrolled member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma) and artistic director DeLanna Studi (an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation). Super Indian actually began as a radio serial in 2006 and was transformed into a full-blown comic by 2012. As Native Voices at the Autry looked to its next production during the pandemic, it jumped at the chance to do another audio version of Super Indian. Although theater is quite different in a remote context, the folks behind Super Indian are also relishing the fact that an online audio serial will be accessible to audience members from all over the world. The New Adventures of Super Indian is a 4-part serial. The first episode premieres on April 14, 2021, with subsequent episodes debuting once a week.
Show Notes: * New Adventures of Super Indian from Native Voices at the Autry * Super Indian Comics * Arigon Starr * DeLanna Studi * Eric referenced this article at the end of the podcast: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/24/theater/mta-plays-subway-rattlestick.html?referringSource=articleShare
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