Each week seems to bring a new college radio “first” claim for me to obsess over. Latin American radio scholar Christine Ehrick (don’t miss her appearance on the Radio Survivor podcast, in which she schools us about the hidden history of a female-focused pioneering radio station in Uruguay) writes, “the station at the National University of La Plata in Argentina claims to be the ‘first university radio station in the world’ but dates back to 1923-24. So not first in the world, it seems, but wanted to put it on your radar!”
Doing a quick online search, I found a book by Sergio Antonucci, Maria Elena Beneitez, Sandra Patricia Gabay and Omar Turconi, with the translated title, Radio National University of La Plata: 85th Anniversary, 1924-2009. A Lifetime. According to a summary in English, “This particular radio was born as the second in the country and the first university radio in the world. A few years after the pioneers known as ‘the crazy rooftop’ began the first radio broadcasts opened in Argentina and the world Radio Universidad is created.”
It’s exciting to learn a bit about another pioneering college radio station, although Radio National University of La Plata does not appear to be the first in the world if it launched in 1924. Plenty of college radio stations debuted in the early 1920s, although many were short-lived. As I mentioned last week, Queen’s University in Canada’s station dates to 1922-1923 and as I discussed a few weeks back, University of Minnesota’s college radio station stretches back even further to 1922. Both continue to operate today.
More College Radio News
Profiles of Stations and Staff
- Making Air (Waves): KCOD Offers Students Real-World Experience (Palm Springs Life)
- Pittsburgh-area Attorney Having the Time of His Life Hosting Radio Show on Carnegie-Mellon’s WRCT (Tribune-Review)
- Rewinding ‘Beats in Space,’ the Influential WNYU Radio Show (The New York Times)
Programming
- Community Radio Kept Broadcasting Live as Fani Roared Outside (Odisha Bytes)
- OnCiTR Radio Vancouver Presents: Access Day 2019 (CFCR)
- ‘Erasmus Dagger’ Drama Podcast Revives On-Air Storytelling (C-Ville Weekly)
Infrastructure/Funding
- UB Students Rally to Save SBI (Spectrum News, University at Buffalo)
- Letter: Save the WQUN Radio Station (New Haven Register)
- KRFH Closed after Asbestos Discovered (Redheaded Blackbelt)
Events
- Soda Fest: Interesting Experience Curated by Temple’s WHIP Radio Station (The Triangle, Drexel University)
- The College Kids are Alright: First-ever KVRX Fest Offers a Buzzing Platform for Indie Artists (The Austin Chronicle)
Pre-Professional
Alumni
- Sub Pop’s Jonathan Poneman to Receive A2IM Lifetime Achievement Award (Variety)
- Interview: Greg James of Radio 1 (Cherwell)
Awards and Accolade
- NYC Student Wins BMI Award (Radio Ink)
