College radio has garnered much news in the past few weeks thanks to a plethora of student media awards being presented by various organizations. It’s another reminder that awards can be a great reason to spread the word about college radio’s excellent work and pick up some media attention in the process.
Two New College Radio Stations
Additionally, it’s wonderful to see that new college radio stations continue to launch with regularity, as we see with word about college radio debuts at Texas Southern University and Wilmington College.
Funding Challenges for Campus Radio in Canada?
There’s much attention on some proposed funding changes to student media in Ontario, Canada. We’ll dig into this in great detail on next week’s Radio Survivor show/podcast, but in the meantime, read on for a bunch of articles on this topic.
Who has the Oldest Licensed Educational Radio Station?
Finally, my historian brain kicked into gear when I saw this tweet from DePaw University college radio station WGRE in Greencastle, Indiana:
#funfactfriday WGRE first went on-air April 28, 1949 as the first FCC licensed educational radio station! Our shows included only dramas, live music performances, DPU sporting events, and special events like the groundbreaking Roy O. West library! #longlivecollegeradio
I know that other educationally-affiliated radio stations were licensed before 1949, including the first wave of AM college radio stations in the 1920s, so I was curious about this pronouncement. Digging further, the WGRE website states, ” On April 28, 1949, WGRE went live as the first 10-watt educational radio station licensed by the Federal Communication Commission.”
So, it seems that this “first” claim is actually related to WGRE possibly being the first station granted a 10-watt class D FM non-commercial educational license. Those licenses are no longer granted and their numbers today have dwindled considerably. Digging up the history of class D is tricky.
If we look at non-commercial FM radio licenses overall, KALW launched as an educational station even earlier, in 1941. Its website states, “KALW is a pioneer educational station licensed to the San Francisco Unified School District, broadcasting since September 1, 1941 – when it went on the air as the first FM signal west of the Mississippi.”
High school radio station WHHS-FM at Haverford High School in Pennsylvania (see my tour) also purports to the be the oldest educational FM radio station. Its website states, “Welcome to America’s oldest non-commercial broadcast station licensed in 1948 [BPED-00099] run entirely by the students of the School District of Haverford Township, Havertown PA.” While licensed in 1948, it launched as a 10 watt FM station in December, 1949, which is after WGRE is said to have launched.
So the mystery remains. KALW may be the first educational FM radio station and WGRE may be the first 10 watt FM educational radio station. I’ll need to scour the history of class D radio to find out for sure, but this is another example of the variety of first claims. It’s important to look at the specifics, as there are many categories of radio, meaning that there are numerous ways that a station might be first.
More College Radio News
New stations
- Texas Southern University Launches Student-run Streaming Radio Station (Houston Chronicle)
- ‘The Quake’ – Wilmington College’s First Radio Station – Debuts (Wilmington News Journal)
Controversies
- College Threatens Student Radio with Probation Following Lil Pump Event (The Harvard Crimson)
Closures
- Quinnipiac to Regret Closing WQUN (New Haven Register)
- Guess What, Quinnipiac Students Do Still Like Radio (New Haven Register)
Infrastructure
- Professor Leaves Lasting Legacy to Morningside College Radio Station (Sioux City Journal)
Funding
- Support and Financial Commitment Keeps KRUI Radio Open for Years to Come (KWWL)
- Op-Ed: KWURN’T Week: A Reflection on our Rejected Appeal (Student Life, Washington University)
- LCSC Student Group Eyes Fee Changes (The Lewiston Tribune)
- CJAM Radio Joins other Campus Stations in Petition to Protest Potential Funding Cuts (Windsor Star)
- End of Student Fees Could be Demise of Campus Radio Station (CTV News Windsor)
- Laurentian University’s Radio Station Worried about Future Funding (CBC News)
- Ontario Campus Radio Stations ask Government to Make Their Fees Mandatory (CBC News)
- Bry Webb Fights Student Choice Initiative, Supports Campus Radio in Open Letter (Exclaim)
- Op-Ed: KWURN’T Week: A Reflection on our Rejected Appeal (Student Life, Washington University)
Profiles of Stations and Staff
- Radio Station Tours on the Podcast (Radio Survivor)
- The ‘Spiritual Leader’ of WHRB (The Harvard Gazette)
- Club Spotlight: Required Radio Opening the Door to Podcasting at Hofstra (The Hofstra Chronicle)
- An On-Air Legacy: Loyola Remembers WLUW Founder ‘Doc’ (Loyola Phoenix)
- March MD of the Month: Jackie Lira of KRUX (NACC)
- BG Resident’s Gap Year Turns into DJ Gig, Music-Writing Career (Bowling Green Falcon Media)
- Younger Dwyer Paving Own Path Along the Radio Airwaves (The Rock Island Dispatch-Argus)
- WRCM is Back on the Manhattan College Airwaves (The Riverdale Press)
- Radio Free George to Air Next Semester (The Elm, Washington College)
College Radio Culture
- Interview with David DeKeyser, Radio Marketing Consultant (NACC)
- Maybe Video Didn’t Kill the Radio Star (Indiana Daily Student)
- Interview with IBS President Chris Thomas (NACC)
Popular Culture
Programming
- College Circuit, Where Students are the Plug (The West Georgian)
- Nerve Radio and Hot Radio Team up For Simulcast (Bournemouth Echo)
- The Lives of Artists on Yale’s WYBCX (Yale Daily News)
- Over 100 Stations to Go Vinyl-Only on April 13 (PR Newswire)
- Vote Looms on Bringing Jazz Radio Back to MHCC (the Outlook)
- Radio Show Hosted by Rider Professor Seeks to Remedy Rampant Health Misinformation (Rider University)
Events
- What a Packed Showcase Says about Radio UTD’s Influence (Central Track)
- Radio UTD’s Pseudo Stereo Showcase (Dallas Observer)
- Westminster’s Smoke Radio Host ‘Women in Media’ Panel on International Women’s Day (University of Westminster)
- Lineup for WIUX’s Culture Shock (Indiana Daily Student)
- WGSU’s Genny Fest Finalist in College Broadcasting Contest (Livingston County News)
- Lil Pump Gives His Own ‘Commencement Speech’ at Harvard’s WHRB (The ARTery)
- KVRX Launches the Largest College Radio Festival (Austin Chronicle)
History
- New Exhibit Shares how Toronto’s Hip-hop Scene Evolved through the Decades (CBC News)
- WJPZ Celebrating 34 Years (Radio Ink)
Alumni
- WICB Participant Awarded New York Times Fellowship (Ithaca College)
- Bob Nastanovich Talks Pavement, Shares College Radio Past at WDCE and WTJU (Milwaukee Record)
Awards and Accolades
- 90.5 WERG Wins Three National Awards at Conference (the Gannon Knight, Gannon University)
- Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Announces Award Winners (IBS)
- Media Students Win IBS Awards (Arkansas State University)
- CalPoly’s Student Media Group Wins 46 Awards at National Conference (CalPoly)
- Radio Free Hillsdale Wins Station of the Year (Hillsdale Collegian)
- Indiana State U Radio Station Names Best in Nation (News and Tribune)
- WZIS Crowned Best Station in the Nation (Indiana Statesman)
- WZIS Wins Some Awards (WTHI-TV)
- Southern Louisiana University Praised at Journalism Conference (The Advocate)
- Accolades for UW-Oshkosh at State Broadcasting Convention (UW Oshkosh Today- University of Wisconsin Oshkosh)
- Former Sidney Student Tops in College Broadcast (The Sidney Sun-Telegraph)
- Five Goshen College Students win National Broadcasting Awards (Goshen News)
- Rowan Students, Grads Win Big at BEA (Rowan Today)
- Marshall’s WMUL-FM Brings Home International AVA Digital Awards (Herald-Dispatch)
