While touring through the “On the Radio” radio history exhibit at SFO Museum on Monday, I was reminded of a couple of college radio connections. Curator Daniel Calderon pointed out to me his “nod” to college radio in the FM radio portion of the exhibit. According to the exhibit notes, “As FM searched for its niche, some stations played stereo LP records that did not fit the AM, Top-40 format. Beginning in the summer of 1967, legendary Bay Area deejay Tom Donahue (1928–75) programmed an eclectic mix of modern rock, blues, and jazz on KMPX San Francisco. Over the next few years, ‘underground’ FM radio emanated from university stations throughout the United States as college deejays pushed the limits of traditional broadcasting.”
Even earlier in radio’s history, colleges and universities were also on the forefront of radio technology. In the 1910s, Charles Herrold is credited with airing one of the first scheduled radio broadcasts. This moment is described in the Early Broadcasting section of the “On the Radio” exhibit:
From 1912 to 1917, Charles Herrold and his wife Sybil conducted a series of broadcasts from The Herrold College of Wireless and Engineering in downtown San Jose, California. Regularly scheduled shows included the Little Hams Program, aired every Wednesday evening for students and other wireless radio operators in the Santa Clara Valley. During the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the Herrolds beamed daily broadcasts to receiving stations constructed at the fairgrounds in San Francisco, fifty miles to the north. For the majority of attendees, this was their first experience with radio, and thousands of listeners marveled at the mysterious ‘voices from the sky.’
Calderon remarked that Sybil Herrold could arguably be considered the first radio DJ. And, if we consider the broadcasts from the Herrold College of Wireless to be “college radio,” then we might call her the first college radio DJ. As with all “first” claims, of course this is up for discussion and debate!
More College Radio News
License Sales
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Takes Over Mercyhurst University’s Oldies Station (The Merciad)
Programming, Podcasts, Performances
New Style, Same Dial: WVBR Enters Alternative Era (Ithaca Times)
BIRN Launches New Website featuring Live Playlists, Performances (Berklee College of Music)
Turning up the Volume on ASU Student Podcasts (The State Press)
Funding
Nicholls State Referendum to Fund All Student Media (College Media Matters)
Station and DJ Profiles
The Secluded Life of WKCR (The Columbia Spectator)
Still Thriving with Our License to Thrill (Western Advocate)
67-Year-Old DJ Brings “Geezer Radio” to WGCC (The Daily News)
Events
U of L’s CKXU Hosts Cosmic-Themed Fundraiser (Lethbridge Herald)
Students Collaborate on Emerge + Music Festival (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
WVCW Curating Music at New College Program ‘Jorts and Tanks’ at Richmond Raceway (Speedway Digest)
York Hosts Summit for Canadian Leaders in Campus and Community Broadcast (YFile)
History
WUSB “Move on Up” Video (Stony Brook University)
Oxford’s Radio Revolution: The Rise and Fall of Oxford Student Radio (SoundCloud/WPSC)
Awards and Accolades
Marshall Broadcast Students Take Home Awards from SPJ (Huntington News)
Morningside College Student’s Radio Show Deemed one of Nation’s Best (Sioux City Journal)
WZIS Wins Three National Awards, Nominated for Eight (Indiana State University)
Job Opportunities
Radio Station Program Manager at Michigan State (Inside Higher Ed)
