Summer began for me with a short trip to Colorado, which prompted a road trip to see the sights of Boulder, including famed community radio station KGNU 88.5 FM/1390AM. Founded in 1978, the station has staff of less than ten, but an active roster of around 400 volunteers and a broadcast that reaches from Boulder […]
Tag Archives | Spinning Indie Field Trip
Radio Station Visit #162: College Radio Station KSDT at UC San Diego
At the end of a long day of travel, I found myself in the relaxing digs of streaming college radio station KSDT at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). In a quiet spot on campus, the station’s lobby door opens onto a pathway within the old student center complex. It’s near the student-run television station […]
Radio Station Visit #161: SDS Radio at San Diego City College
On a beautiful morning in June this summer, my day of San Diego college radio immersion began with a stop at San Diego City College’s student radio station SDS Radio. When I entered the building where it was housed, the presence of a radio station was immediately discernible by signage and logos on the doors […]
Radio Station Visit #160: KCR at San Diego State University
During my full day of radio station tours in the San Diego area in June, 2019, I visited college radio station KCR at San Diego State University. On a sprawling campus with a student population of more than 36,000, the station was a bit tricky to find. After a few missed turns, I parked atop […]
Radio Station Visit #159: Griffin Radio at Grossmont College
Just east of San Diego, California in El Cajon is Grossmont College, home to online college radio station Griffin Radio. An extension of the community college’s Media Communications program, Griffin Radio is a “practical applications laboratory,” providing students with experience running and operating a radio station. Griffin Radio studio. Photo: J. Waits Griffin Radio is […]
Radio Station Visit #158: Community Radio Station KBFG-LP in Seattle
Tucked away in a shed in a northwest Seattle neighborhood was perhaps the tiniest radio station that I’d ever seen: community radio station KBFG-LP. Part of the most recent wave of low power FM stations, it launched in December, 2017 and broadcasts for a 2.5 mile radio to a potential FM audience of around 250,000 […]
Podcast #200 – How We Survived a Decade of Independent Publishing
Radio Survivor celebrates 10 years on the internet and four years podcasting with our 200th episode. Matthew Lasar joins Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein and Paul Riismandel for this review of the last decade in radio that matters. Matthew tells the Radio Survivor origin story that sprang forth from his I.F. Stone inspired research deep into […]
Radio Station Visit #157: Seattle Pacific University’s College Radio Station KSPU
With its lime green accent wall, thrift-store panda, and hand-me-down theater department sets; college radio station KSPU.org is full of quirky touches and mysterious lore. Seattle Pacific University’s online radio station is a shining example of how much can be accomplished by a tiny, motivated staff. KSPU Station Manager Taylor Muñoz adjusts station banner. Photo: […]
Radio Station Visit #156: KMGP-LP Space 101.1 FM in Seattle
My 5th and final radio station visit at the end of a long day of Seattle touring brought me to an interesting arts enclave in Warren G. Magnuson Park in northeast Seattle. My destination, the newish low power FM (LPFM) community radio station SPACE 101.1 (KMGP-LP), which is a project of the Sand Point Arts […]
Radio Station Visit #155: Public-Community Radio Station KBCS-FM
It’s become somewhat of a station tour cliche for me to write about the homey feel of the radio stations that I visit. But, Bellevue College’s public radio station KBCS 91.3 FM in Bellevue, Washington takes that vibe to another level, as its station is located inside an actual house. Entrance to KBCS. Photo: J. […]