Broadcasting to a minuscule potential audience of around 130 people during the dark days of winter, Ice Radio has much in common with my own college radio show that beamed into my school’s cafeteria at mealtimes. Similar to a college radio station in the pre-internet days, the community radio station at McMurdo Station in Antarctica has a hyper-local focus and cannot be heard outside of its small broadcast range (yep, it’s not even online).
Ice Radio studio at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Photo: Elizabeth Delaquess
The topic of this week’s Radio Survivor Podcast, this mysterious radio station in Antarctica caught my attention when I saw dream-like images of it during an episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Thanks to a lucky social media sighting, I was quickly connected with a friend of a friend at McMurdo Station and she graciously agreed to satisfy my curiosity about radio in Antarctica by speaking with me on the podcast. Sadly, Bourdain’s suicide was reported on the morning of our months-in-the-making interview; leaving me with a melancholy feeling going into my conversation with Broadcast Engineer Elizabeth Delaquess. Her enthusiasm brightened my day and left me even more intrigued by all the ways that radio is done in Antarctica. I hope you’ll listen.
Elizabeth Delaquess in Ice Radio’s vinyl library. Photo courtesy Elizabeth Delaquess.
Net Neutrality and College Radio
Kudos to my colleague Paul Riismandel for his extensive update on net neutrality, which is packed with resources, including links to past Radio Survivor coverage. In reference to college radio, he points out, “On the audio side T-Mobile zero-rates 44 different services, including both big players like Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio, along with smaller ones like SomaFM. So what about your local community or college station? It might be represented on iHeartRadio – though a lot of non-comms don’t want to play with the former Clear Channel – or NextRadio, which is Android-only, leaving out a significant percentage of smartphone users.”
More College Radio News
College Radio Memories and Alums
Burning West: Flashback to Sarah Vowell’s Time at KGLT (New York Times)
Flock of Seagulls and Flashback to 1982 College Radio in Madison (PopMatters)
Clarksburg Honors College Radio Alum: ESPN’s Mike Patrick (WV News)
New Hornets Broadcaster Got His Start at Appalachian State (Winston-Salem Journal)
Moves, Construction
Radio Station Moved after Safety Concerns (East Carolinian)
WPRK Living in Eagle-Nest Limbo with Delayed Construction Date (Bungalower)
Events, Summer Camp
Kids Take to the Airwaves at WTJU (Charlottesville Tomorrow)
Radio Talent Institute at Appalachian State (Radio Ink)
WSOU Collects Clothes for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (WSOU)
Bonnaroo 2018: MTSU Radio Stations Creating Special Content from “Radio Roo” (The Daily News Journal)
Bringing Live Music to Gresham Campus (The Advocate Online)
New Station
SAE Institute Nashville Launches Energy Groove Radio (Markets Insider)
Awards and Accolades
UL Student Scoops Radio Journalism Award (Limerick Post)
