Tuesday marked the 3rd annual College Radio Day and by all accounts it was a successful day full of added attention for student radio stations all over the world (including Colombia, Canada, and Israel). According to College Radio Day founder Rob Quicke, more than 700 radio stations in 43 countries participated.
In Georgia, 13 radio stations participated and in a great example of station camaraderie, two Atlanta stations (WRAS and WREK) even swapped programming for an hour. Another station in Georgia, The Wolf Internet Radio at University of West Georgia, had a one hour segment featured on a College Radio Day live stream, which some participating stations opted to broadcast. Titan Radio at Westminster College spread the word about college radio by doing remote broadcasts on campus and also gave away vinyl records.
Wyclef Jean made a special appearance at William Patterson University in New Jersey and not only performed, but also spoke about the importance of college radio.
Some stations took the opportunity to expound upon why college radio is important. Samantha Wong, Station Director for Coog Radio at University of Houston wrote,
“In the age of iTunes, 8Tracks, Spotify and Pandora, one might question the importance of college radio. With so many outlets at our fingertips, the fight to keep college radio alive has been a struggle. As a member of Coog Radio, the University’s student-run radio station, it’s a struggle I aim to overcome.”
As the station celebrates its 50th anniversary, WGSU’s faculty director pontificated about the future of radio and argued that college radio needs to take chances in order to stand out from failing commercial radio models, stating,
“But for my 20ish-year-old students, it’s the only radio they know — and many of them choose not to listen. Lack of radio innovation could be partially to blame. So, at WGSU, inside the brave bastion of creativity that is college radio, we’re embracing imaginative thinking about radio’s future. The aims: better serving our students and listeners.
We cannot know with certainty radio’s path to ultimate survival. But the mantra ‘play the hits’ (embraced by radio six decades ago when the Golden Age of Television forced an earlier evolution) might no longer cut it as radio searches for relevancy in the 21st century.”
Did your local college radio stations do anything special in honor of College Radio Day? Let us know in the comments.
