With Labor Day weekend approaching, it’s hard to avoid that start of the school year feeling. College radio stations are no exception, as they host welcome events and kick into their fall schedules. Off-campus, a number of conferences and summits are releasing details about numerous autumn gatherings. I’m looking forward to attending several radio events […]
Archive | College Radio
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College Radio Watch: Live Radio Survivor Show, Radio History and More News
On this week’s Radio Survivor show/podcast, we cover a number of topics, including Princeton Review’s annual “Best College Radio Stations” list. As readers may know, I’ve been analyzing these lists for over a decade. Every year I like to point out the methodology behind the survey and what it really means for college radio. With […]
College Radio Watch: On National Radio Day, a Look Back at College Radio History
Happy National Radio Day! A few days ago, I got a request for information about college radio history and it is a reminder that the story of college radio in the United States is not well documented. The truth is that college radio stretches back to the earliest days of radio in the U.S., with […]
College Radio Watch: Princeton Review, Kids, and Bank Robbers
The annual Princeton Review “Best College Radio Station” list has me in full-on analysis mode this week, as I scrutinize the list of 20 schools with “popular” radio stations. Based on surveys conducted at around 380 institutions, it reflects a microcosm (less than 10%) of the universe of more than 4,000 U.S. colleges and universities […]
Princeton Review’s “Best College Radio Stations” List for 2019
This week, colleges and college radio stations across the United States are touting appearances in the newly released Princeton Review Best 384 Colleges (2019 edition), which includes a variety of survey results, both serious and whimsical. Notable to college radio fans, the included “Best College Radio Station” list is derived from student responses to a […]
College Radio Watch: 80s College Radio on Film, Anarchy Radio, and More News
Today, it’s not uncommon for mobile phone-wielding college radio participants to document every bit of minutiae from their stations and shows, leading to countless photos and videos across social media channels, from Instagram to YouTube. But back in the 1980s and 1990s, photos and videos was taken more sparingly because most people didn’t carry cameras […]
College Radio Watch: Alumni Takeovers and Success Stories and More News
While planning my East Coast summer vacation, I fantasized about visiting numerous college radio stations in New York and Massachusetts, as I dreamed off ticking off more stops on my 140 station+ tour series. It’s always a balancing act, as my family members aren’t nearly as obsessed with sticker-covered cabinets, vinyl collections, and vintage audio […]
Every Community Radio Programmer Must Be a Publicist
It is long past time when a community or college radio DJ or programmer can simply show up to do their show and expect to have an audience. Everyone who has a radio show bears the responsibility to build an audience for that show, and their station. Audience building is a challenge for every radio […]
College Radio Watch: State of College Radio, Alum Success Stories, and More News
The Economist features a piece about college radio this week, with the headline How is College Radio Faring in the Streaming Era? – Not Signing Off Yet. It takes a cursory look at the state of college radio, unfortunately recycling stereotypical themes about the decline of college radio and its imagined heyday in the 1980s […]
College Radio Watch: GRC Portland and CBI Seattle Proposals Due Soon and More News
It’s transition time at many college radio stations, as volunteers and staff members from the academic year graduate and pass the torch to new leadership. With these shifts, summer can be a good time for station projects and for making plans for the fall. A couple of fall radio conferences in the Pacific Northwest should […]