It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for high school radio and it’s particularly nice to hear about projects that serve to build a closer high school radio community. Ralph Martin of KVCB wrote to Radio Survivor to let us know about the launch of a high school radio network, which is appropriately named HS Radio Network, on September 7. The way it works is that each station in the network will get a turn to be broadcast live over the signals of the other participating stations.
According to Martin,
So, here we are — just 5 days away from a first — a live coast-to-coast high school radio network. I don’t really know how to express the anticipation, and the wonder as to how well it will come off. I think this is going to be amazing! My students are certainly looking forward to it. Live radio is fun, no matter what happens and having multiple stations supporting the broadcast for the hour is a real thrill.
The student broadcasters from Vacaville Christian Schools in Vacaville Ca. will be the first to broadcast from our KVCB studios September 7th at 6:00pm ET / 3:00pm PT with 17 stations signed on so far. They’re expected to bring music / live interviews take calls — and generally have a great time for 57 minutes. The following week September 14th will be the student broadcasters from Lowell Area Schools — Lowell, Michigan. Not all stations have reserved their own production spots yet as many are still getting back from summer vacation.
The rules: Each High school in turn must be live for the whole hour — no voice tracking or other virtual live techniques may be used. No pre-recorded shows allowed. It’s live and real – that’s the point of the project. All stations signed on for the project have agreed to broadcast the network show every week for the hour so that every member high school gets a chance to go national twice.”
