A small portion of the audio archives at KBOO. Photo: J. Waits

College Radio Watch: WNUR and KBOO History, WRFH at CPAC and More News

By Jennifer Waits on February 23, 2018 in College Radio, College Radio Survivor

I’m so inspired by radio historians and this week I highlighted the work being done for Northwestern University’s college radio station WNUR. While a student, Brock Stuessi started the WNUR Underground Archive Project to help preserve the unique materials in the WNUR music library. Although he’s since graduated, he’s still working on the project as well as on a companion podcast. In addition to cool album art and reviews, he’s also showcasing obscure music from the early 1980s.

KBOO Radio History Exhibit and Archives

Speaking of radio history, my Radio Survivor colleagues Paul and Eric did a great podcast episode this week (Episode #130) about how community radio station KBOO is working to preserve its 50 year history, including details on an exhibit created to honor the station’s half-century anniversary. The podcast is full of practical advice and would be helpful for any type of radio station working on history projects, including the creation of archives and exhibits.

Radio Free Hillsdale at Radio Row at CPAC 2018

Hillsdale College radio station WRFH (Radio Free Hillsdale in Michigan) has a crew covering the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2018 in Maryland this week. High profile speakers include elected and government officials (including President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and FCC Chair Ajit Pai), representatives from the National Rifle Association, and more. Stationed at “radio row,” the students have been doing an array of interviews with politicians and media.

As expected, following the tragic mass shooting at a Florida high school last week, some conversations have already touched on gun control, mental health, and related issues. Another interview that I previewed delved into the state of journalism today. The Radio Free Hillsdale Soundcloud page has an archive of CPAC 2018 coverage, including interviews with journalists from Politico, the Federalist and the Wall Street Journal (to name a few), a chat with U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan John James, and conversations with a wide range of officials (former Reagan aide Peggy Grande, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Jim Burnley, and more).

Licensing and Public File Reminders

Yale University’s online radio station WYBCx temporarily took its stream offline this week while it rectified issues related to not paying an annual fee to SoundExchange to cover music royalties. According to the Yale Daily News, “Although WYBCx was never put on notice by SoundExchange…the station elected to suspend its stream until it assessed the situation and resolved any back payments. After reaching out to SoundExchange, the station has made the necessary back payments and received the all-clear to begin webcasting again.”

It’s a timely reminder that even student-run college radio stations need to stay on top of radio regulations and that includes copyright and FCC rules. Student media organizations like College Broadcasters Inc. have resources to help stations navigate these requirements. The Broadcast Law Blog is also an excellent resource for updates on broadcast rules. Speaking of which, FCC licensed full power radio stations have an important deadline coming up on March 1st, when public files are required to be posted online. A few resources:

CBI 2016 Webcasting Guide for Educational Stations (College Broadcasters, Inc.)

With the March 1 Deadline Looming, What Should Radio Stations be Doing to Prepare their Online Public Files? (Broadcast Law Blog)

Music Licensing for Noncommercial Broadcasters and Webcasters (Prometheus Radio Project)

Licensing 101 (SoundExchange)

Five Things Broadcasters Should Know about SoundExchange Music Royalties (Broadcast Law Blog, 2016)