This week, College Broadcasters Inc. (CBI) and the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) issued a joint statement about athletic department prohibitions on the broadcast of sports programming by student media outlets.
The statement reads,
College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI) and the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) stand behind student media outlets that have lost the ability to offer live game coverage of their schools’ athletic events due to exclusive agreements signed between athletic departments and commercial broadcasters.
Student-run media outlets are a vital part the experiential education offered on college campuses. Restricting or denying student access to high-profile events is both harmful to student development and antithetical to the value of the free exchange of ideas championed at educational institutions. Many professional sports broadcasters and journalists first developed their skills in student media. Cutting off access to student media outlets not only undermines the academic and co-curricular mission of higher education but also hinders the development of today’s students into tomorrow’s media professionals.
While we understand the economic imperatives behind these agreements, we believe these can exist co-operatively with student-operated broadcasts, which are generally non-commercial in nature. We cannot support contracts with outside entities that restrict the freedoms of student media, particularly when these agreements are made by college administrators only, without considering student opinions.
CBI and the SPLC would like to urge colleges and universities to consider student media outlets when considering broadcast rights agreements with outside entities, and to preserve the rights of student media outlets to cover their fellow students’ athletic events.”
Often sports broadcasts are a boon for student radio stations, not only offering great experience for broadcasters, but also providing a space for students, alumni, and fans to tune in to hear coverage of their home school’s sporting events. I’ve also heard from some stations that live sports broadcasts are also some of the most popular programs on college radio as well.
Wrapping up my Seattle Radio Station Tours with Visit to KXSU at Seattle University
This week I completed my series of radio station tour posts from my fall 2014 trip to Seattle. Read more about my visit to soon-to-be LPFM KXSU at Seattle University as well as my trips to University of Washington’s Rainy Dawg Radio and University of Washington-Bothell’s UWave Radio in Radio Survivor’s growing archive of Spinning Indie Radio Station Field Trips.
KSPC CD and Record Expo on February 8
I have fond memories of my time volunteering and DJing at Pomona College radio station KSPC-FM in Claremont, California. In fact, I even worked at one of its record fairs. It’s nice to see that the tradition continues, with the next KSPC CD and Record Expo taking place this Sunday, February 8th. The San Bernardino County Sun writes that, “The expo, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, expects to attract at least 500 music lovers…” KSPC’s General Manager Erica Tyron told the Sun, “…despite the shift towards digital and streaming services for music, the expo gives people an opportunity to meet and talk with other music fans as well as to engage in the collectible, physical media that has been such a strong part of music history thus far.”
University of Oklahoma to Get LPFM
Yesterday another university was granted a construction permit for a new low power FM (LPFM) radio station. According to its application, University of Oklahoma plans to use the new license for a student-run college radio station.
KTEQ Returns to the Air at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Where Radio Broadcasts Date Back to 1922
In an in-depth piece for Radio World, Mario Heib writes about KTEQ‘s triumphant return to the air in Rapid City, South Dakota. Off the terrestrial airwaves for 14 years, KTEQ brings back a long tradition of radio on campus, which started in 1922 with the launch of WCAT. According to Heib, WCAT was “the first licensed wireless station in South Dakota” and initially had “a format consisting mainly of weather forecasts.” The station added lectures and “then came news, local talent and music broadcast by holding a microphone close to the horn of a Victrola phonograph. The AM station WCAT, or ‘Wildcat Radio,’ operated from September 1922 to 1952.” FM radio returned to campus with the initial launch of KTEQ in 1971. Read more about KTEQ’s history here and here.
WJPZ Birthday Banquet + Documentary about Syracuse University Station
Does your college radio station have an alumni association? WJPZ has a very active one and regularly hosts get-togethers and is making a station documentary, The Greatest Media Classroom: The Story of WJPZ, available in exchange for donations. It’s hosting its annual Birthday Banquet on February 28th.
CJUM Launching New Student Hosted Shows about TV, Classical Music, and K-Pop
Canadian campus-community radio station UMFM (aka CJUM) at University of Manitoba has added a few intriguing student shows. According to the Manitoban, “Campus and community radio station UMFM 101.5 prides itself on bringing quality fringe content to Winnipeg listeners.”
KCR Nominated for Radio Awards
San Diego State University’s college radio station KCR (which can be heard online, over campus TV, and over digital cable) is up for a bunch of Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Awards, according to the Daily Aztec. But even more exciting for me, is the fact that the station has one of those Leo signs (pictured in the article!).
Goshen College Station WGCS Gearing up for IBS Awards
Another IBS award nominee, Goshen College radio station WGCS The Globe has won major awards in the past. The Elkhart Truth, did a Q&A with the station’s General Manager and asked what sets The Globe apart from other stations. General Manager Jason Samuel said, “There are two things. One is we have a format, and we treat The Globe as if it were this commercial entity or how it would be theoretically in the real world outside of college. But we have taken The Globe and moved it out into the community and increased our footprint, and that is the true difference maker. We have a satellite studio down at Ignition Music Garage. We partner with them in promoting — oh, geez — at least 25, maybe 30 shows a year at Ignition…”
Cal State Long Beach Sells FM Station to Religious Group
The FCC has approved California State University, Long Beach Research Foundation’s application to assign the license for KJZD 91.1 FM in Perris, California to Educational Media Foundation (EMF). According to the Asset Purchase Agreement, the sale price was $50,000. EMF plans to use the station as a satellite of its Radio Nueva Vida Radio Network. This follows reports that Cal State Long Beach’s jazz station KKJZ will be moving off-campus to Westwood. Neither station is run by students and the campus is home to student-run streaming and HD-3 radio station K-Beach.
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