This week’s College Radio Survivor will cover some recent college radio news and new college radio LPFM application grants, but first I wanted to share a link to an incredible documentary about a long-time college radio station in Slovenia.
Non-commercial, independent radio station Radio Student was founded in 1969 by the Association of Students of the University of Ljubljana. The artfully crafted 30-minute piece, Student Forever, goes into detail about the station’s beginnings in the rebellious 1960s and then brings us into the more recent past. Still radical-leaning after many years of political activism and punk rock music, the 2009 documentary describes shows that focused on Slovenian folk tales and stories, anarchism, feminism, and gay and lesbian culture. Music also has underground leanings, with free jazz, reggae, and punk name-checked in the film. Featuring some great archival footage, numerous interviews with veteran and present-day staffers, and plenty of station color (shots of the record library, studio, poster and flyer-covered walls), I felt transported to Radio Student while watching. If only I could visit…
In other college radio news…
Nominations open for mtvU’s College Radio Woodie Award
The nomination period has begun for mtvU’s semi-annual College Radio Woodie Award for best college radio station. Submit your nominees up until Friday, January 31st at 4pm Eastern time. Finalists will be whittled down to 10 stations and the winner will be determined by an online vote. Last year’s winner was KSUA from University of Alaska.
IBS Awards Finalists Announced
As the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) gears up for its 74th annual conference this March in New York City, it has announced the finalists (PDF) in its student radio awards. At the March conference, station and individual winners (for best advisor and best student managers) will be announced across nearly 50 different categories (best production, news, sports, drama, best website, etc.), with finalists hailing from all over the United States.
WHUR Anchors Sirius XM Channel Focused on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)
Students who work at Howard University radio station WHUR are getting even more exposure thanks to a deal that allows the station to broadcast over satellite radio. “Since mid-November, the Howard University Radio Network, which includes WHUR 96.3, has operated the HBCU Channel on SiriusXM channel 142 to deliver a wide range of programming that showcases the Black college experience,” according to an article in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
17 More LPFM Applications Granted for Colleges and Universities
The FCC is continuing to grant LPFM applications at a rapid clip, with the total grants nearing 500. There have been some dismissed applications along the way, including Massosoit Community College (Brockton, MA). This week it filed a Petition for Reconsideration in the hopes that its application can be reinstated. Here are the most recent college-affiliated grantees:
Granted on January 24, 2014:
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Belton, TX)
Monmouth College (Monmouth, IL)
Hillsdale College (Hillsdale, MI)
Piedmont College (Demorest, GA)
Granted on January 27, 2014:
Concord University (Athens, WV)
University of North Alabama (Florence, Alabama)
Delta State University (Cleveland, MS)
Luther College (Decorah, IA)
St. Leo University (St. Leo, FL)
Granted on January 28, 2014:
Southwestern College (Winfield, KS)
West Virginia University at Parkersburg, Journalism Department (Parkersburg, WV)
Rocky Mountain College (Billings, MT)
Forsyth Technical Community College (Winston-Salem, NC)
Granted on January 29, 2014:
Mid-South Community College (West Memphis, AR)
Middlesex Community College (Middletown, CT)
Granted on January 30, 2014:
National Park Community College (Hot Springs, AR)
Southeast Arkansas College (Pine Bluff, AR)
You can read about more college and university applicants here.
We cover the culture of college radio every Friday in our College Radio Survivor feature. If you have college radio news to share, please drop us a note at EDITORS at RADIOSURVIVOR dot COM.
