On episode 167 of the Radio Survivor show/podcast, our guest Andrew Bottomley digs into the roots of podcasting and internet radio. The story includes some college radio pioneers, namely the college radio stations that debuted simultaneous internet radio streams concurrent with their FM broadcasts. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill’s WXYC and Georgia Institute of Technology’s WREK launched their initial streams on November 7, 1994; while University of Kansas’ KJHK began its stream in December, 1994.
College Radio on the Radio Survivor Podcast
With 169 episodes so far, the Radio Survivor Show/Podcast frequently addresses issues related to college radio, with some episodes focused solely on student radio. If you haven’t checked it out in awhile, here are a few episodes that are college radio-centric:
- Podcast #165 – College Radio Is Truly Local Radio– Live from CBI Seattle (10/30/18)
- Podcast #164 – College Radio and the Culture Wars (10/23/18)
- Podcast #161 – Happy College Radio Day 2018 & Tour of WVKR at Vassar (10/3/18)
- Podcast #159 – Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, in College Radio and Podcasting (9/18/18)
- Podcast #142 – Touring WHPK’s Bell Tower & YouTube’s ‘Pirate Radio’ (5/15/18)
- Podcast #136 – Storied College Stations WIIT & WKCR (4/3/18)
1920s College Radio History in Montana
While compiling my college radio news round-up, I uncovered some fascinating early college radio history in Montana. The Missoula Current writes of Garvin Dennis Shallenberger, who came to State University in Montana in 1923:
G.D. came from Beloit College, where he had helped construct a broadcast transmitter with his physics students. In Missoula, with the backing of State University (now, UM) President Charles H. Clapp, he and his students would tackle the same project…
By early 1924, according the Missoulian, the students had constructed an experimental 50-watt station dubbed KFLW, operating on 234 meters. ‘The station opened up Tuesday evening (April 29), by broadcasting the Missoula Male chorus and the Varsity Glee Club concert.’
One of the station’s experiments was a “…broadcast with a play-by-play recreation of a Grizzly-Bobcat game based on relayed telephoned descriptions.” Licensed as KUOM, the station’s official first broadcast was February 17, 1925. Four years later, the license was not renewed, and KUOM faded away. According to Missoula Current, “Finally, on November 3, 1929, the national radio commission ordered KUOM and 19 other stations across the country ‘off the air’ for failing to file applications for renewal of their licenses.”
As followers of radio history know, the late 1920s was an increasingly competitive time in radio, with a number of pioneering college radio stations leaving the dial, including the first station at my alma mater, Haverford College’s WABQ.
More College Radio News
New Stations and New Signals
- New Border Radio KOFA 94.7 Launches in Yuma (KAWC)
- Wolf Pack Radio Celebrates One Year of FM Partnership with KWNK (The Nevada Sagebrush)
Profiles
- Video: Behind the Scenes with KDUP (The Beacon)
- On the Air: MSUM’s Student Radio Station KMSC AM 1500 (The Advocate)
- Community Radio Station Provides Variety of Music (University of Southern Maine Free Press)
- It’s Time We Come WBAbove Ground (Columbia Daily Spectator)
- Why Should I Support a College Radio Station – KCSU (Scene Magazine)
- Better Know a College Radio Station: Rice University’s KTRU (Bandcamp Daily)
Events
- WLCI’s Benefest to Celebrate Music and Non-Profits in Athens (The Post)
- The River’s Thanksgiving Food Drive (Non Pareil Online)
- WUNH Rallies for Marathon Week (The New Hampshire)
- KSYM Hosts Alternative 2 Hunger Concert, Food Drive (The Ranger)
- What We Can Learn from College Students (Radio and Television Business Report)
Programming
- Stay Tuned for Radio Dramas on WPCD (The Prospectus)
- The Future of Radio (Drama) in Cambridge and Beyond (Varsity)
- University of Central Oklahoma’s KZUC to Play Non-Stop Holiday Music (NewsOK.com)
- A Dose of Disney on Campus on Lute Air Student Radio (Mast Media/Pacific Lutheran University)
- DMU Students Bring Show to BBC Radio (De Montfort University)
- Inuk Activist’s Show Pulled off the Air after Sexual Harassment Allegations (CBC News)
Technology
- RadioFX Helps College Stations Grow with Mobile App (Radio World)
- CommRadio Updates App Approach to Enhance Interactivity (Penn State University)
History
- Before Black Friday, There Was UM’s 1st Radio Broadcast (Missoula Current)
- Digging up the History on Titan Radio (WCN247)
- Western Alumnus Unearths 1991 CHRW Interview with Kurt Cobain (Western Gazette)
- Former Radio Western Host Recalls Rare 1991 Interview with Kurt Cobain (CBC News)
- Kurt Cobain Interview Reveals Nirvana Legend’s Conflicted Thoughts about Hip-Hop (Yahoo Finance)
Fictionalized College Radio
- 10 Best Podcasts that tell Totally Positive, ‘Hopepunk’ Stories (Polygon)
- Park & Rec’s Character’s College Radio Show “Zoot Suit Wyatt” (KVAL)
Alumni
- Meet the Hosts of ‘Adult-ish,’ a Podcast by Kind-of Adults for Kind-of Adults (Study Breaks)
- Hurray for Community Radio: KXSF-LP Launch in San Francisco (Radio World)
- From College Radio DJ to Minister and CEO (Journal and Topics)
Listener Opinions
- WKDU Needs to Showcase More Balanced Opinions (The Triangle)
Awards
- Students, Station Win Awards (Huntington Herald-Dispatch)
- Student Radio Awards 2018 Winners List (Radio Today)
- Smoke Radio Success at the Student Radio Awards (University of Westminster, London)
- Campus Radio Station is a National Winner (University of Chester)
- WIU Broadcasting Students Honored by Broadcast Education Association (Western Illinois University News)
- 2019 Charles Parker Prize for Best Student Radio Feature (The Charles Parker Archive Trust)
Budget
- KNTU Budget Cuts May Affect Student Wages (North Texas Daily)
