The Death of College Radio

[dollar_bin]

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/business/media/06stations.html

Excerpt:

Like many college radio stations across the country, Rice University???s KTRU and Vanderbilt University???s WRVU play a broad swath of music ??? from undiscovered indie bands and obscure blues acts to ???60s garage rock and ???80s postpunk. It???s a mix largely absent from commercial broadcasts, and students active in radio say their stations add distinct voices to their cities??? broadcast landscape.

But as colleges across the country look for ways to tighten budgets amid recession-induced shortfalls, some administrators ??? most recently in the South ??? have focused on college radio, leading even well-endowed universities to sell off their FM stations. That trend was felt this summer at Rice and Vanderbilt, among the most prominent of Southern universities, stirring debate about the viability of broadcast radio, the reach of online broadcasting and the value of student broadcast programming.

???We play music that you won???t find on any other Houston radio station??? said Joey Yang, a junior at Rice and station manager for KTRU. ???KTRU???s mission is to broadcast exactly what you can???t find elsewhere on the dial.???

Scott Cardone, a sophomore disk jockey at WRVU with a two-hour electric blues show, pointed to the potential void in Nashville if Vanderbilt???s FM signal were to be sold. ???The community will lose what probably is the last radio station playing anything other than country, Christian or Top 40 in the whole city,??? he said. ???You can???t hear the music that we play anywhere else.???

Anyone care? Free form college radio likes to take credit for giving a venue for many genres of music that otherwise would have been totally ignored. On the other hand, terrestrial radio is going the way of the dodo; how many people in influential demographics (aka under 40) actually listen to FM radio? This much is certain, FM spectrum is totally sold out, any channel lost is gone forever from college programming. Rice might get 9.5 million dollars now but there will never be a KTRU ever again, at least on the FM airwaves.

I'm a college radio person, so my biased opinion is that these stations are irreplaceable resources. For music programming, they represent the only thing worthwhile on the FM airwaves. Commercial radio is a tired cliche with an abysmally short, focus grouped playlist that caters to the least common denominator. I feel sorry for people who live in markets that don't have a free-form option, and as time goes on this is more and more Americans.

 

[batmon]

I got my start on College Radio.





But if Biff and them can broadcast from their dormroom w/ a 12 pack of Milwaukee's Best and a Vodka filled Bong, I forsee the diminished influence of College-Backed Radio.





WNYU in NYC in the late 80's had a great Hip Hop Show. I need to upload the Ultra interview I own pre-Critical Beatdown.

 

[waxjunky]

I feel that between KCRW and WWOZ, everything good is being covered, that might otherwise be overlooked.

 

[SoulOnIce]

:WHYMUSTICRY:

 

[Horseleech]

Who lives in a market without this kind of radio?





The college station I was involved with faced these exact same issues 25 years ago. It's still around:





http://weos.publicbroadcasting.net/aboutus.html





Some things never change.





b/w





Granted I'm only searching in the Northeast, but I never have a problem finding a free-form station, whether it's WFMU or WOMR or a number of others in between. Connecticut/Rhode Island used to be a barren waste land - now there's a number of free-form college stations.





Current (incomplete) list of free-form stations in the U.S. :





* KALX, University of California, Berkeley


* WCKS (college radio) Grand Rapids, Michigan


* WBCN Boston, Massachusetts US


* KANM (Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas)


* KDHX (St. Louis, Missouri)


* KAOS (Olympia, Washington)


* KBOO (Portland, Oregon)


* KCMP (St. Paul, Minnesota)


* KCR (San Diego State University, San Diego, California)


* KCOU (University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri)


* KCSB-FM (University of California, Santa Barbara, Goleta, California)


* KDVS (University of California, Davis, Davis, California)


* KEOL (Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, Oregon)


* KEXP (Seattle, WA)


* KFJC (Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California)


* KHUM (Ferndale, California)


* KJHK (University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas)


* KMNR (Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri)


* KLOS (Los Angeles, California) is a classic rock station with a nightly freeform program by Jim Ladd.


* KPSU (Portland State University, Portland, Oregon)


* KRFH (Humboldt State University, Arcata, California)


* KRLX (Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota)


* KRUI (University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa)


* KTEC (Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls, Oregon)


* KTEQ (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota)


* KTRM (Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri)


* KTRU (Rice University, Houston, Texas)


* K-UTE (University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah)


* KUGS (Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington)


* KUOI (University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho)


* KURE (Iowa State University. Ames, Iowa)


* KVRX (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas)


* KVSC (St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota)


* KVSF-FM (Pecos, New Mexico)


* KWUR (St. Louis, Missouri)


* WARC (Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania)


* WBGU (Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio)


* WCBN (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan)


* KCRW (Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, California)


* WCNI (Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut)


* WCAL (California University of Pennsylvania, California, Pennsylvania)


* WESS (East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania)


* WESU (Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut)


* WETX-LP (Tri-Cities, Tennessee)


* WEVL (Memphis, Tennessee)


* WEXP (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)


* WFMU (Jersey City, New Jersey)


* WGDR (Plainfield, Vermont)


* WHRW (Binghamton University, New York)


* WIKD-LP (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida)


* WKDU (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)


* WLRA (Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois)


* WMBR (MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts)


* WMFO (Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts)


* WMSC (Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, New Jersey)


* WMSR (Miami University, Oxford, Ohio)


* WMSE (Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee, Wisconsin)


* WMUA (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts)


* WMUC (University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland)


* WNJR (Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania)


* WOBC (Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio)


* WPKN (Bridgeport, Connecticut)


* WPRK (Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida)


* WRCT (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)


* WRFL (University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky)


* WRFW (University of Wisconsin???River Falls)


* WRNC-LP (Northland College (Wisconsin), Ashland, Wisconsin)


* WRUR (University of Rochester, Rochester, New York)


* WSPN (Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York)


* WRUV (University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont)


* WRVU (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee)


* WSGR-FM (St. Clair County Community College, Port Huron, Michigan)


* WSUM (University of Wisconsin???Madison, Madison, Wisconsin)


* WTJU (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia)


* WUMD (University of Michigan???Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan)


* WUPX - RadioX (Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan)


* WUSB (Stony Brook University SUNY, Stony Brook, New York)


* WUVT (Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia)


* WVBR (Ithaca, New York)


* WVYC (York College of Pennsylvania, York, Pennsylvania)


* WWPT (Staples High School, Westport, Connecticut)


* WXBC (Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York)


* WXDU (Duke University, Durham, North Carolina)


* WXLV (Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania)


* WXYC (UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina)


* WZRD (Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois)


* WKCO (Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio)


* WRPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York)





My understanding is that this segment of radio is growing, not dying.

 

[The_Hook_Up]

The station where I do shows is on that list above, WEVL. We are completely listener supported. We recieve no money from the Government, nor are we subsidized nor connected to any school. All of our operating costs come from our listeners. We do 2 9-day pledge drives a year. Even in the shitty economy, we continue to exeed our donation goals each drive. People do want this type of radio, at least here in Memphis and all over the world apparently as we get money from online listeners from South Africa, Sweden, Ireland...all over. I suppose if you are playing a good mix of music, have good DJs who know their genres, and can do it without commercials, people will listen and support you. WEVL has been on the air since 1977, the whole time it has been listener supported. I guess we are the exception, not the rule.

 

[dollar_bin]

Well, scratch one off the list:





USF sells KUSF





While not entirely free-form, KUSF had many, many great shows and hosted a record swap that was a great place to meet Strutters and Waxidermists and it will be missed on my radio dial. It's sad that a university could squander a irreplaceable resource for a short term monetary gain.

 

[DJ_Enki]

dollar_bin said: KUSF had many, many great shows




BEATSAUCE!





That is a shame that the station is being sold off.

 

[Horseleech]

Hmmm... According to that article it wasn't sold off, only the broadcast frequency was sold and it will continue as KUSF as an internet-only station.

 

[LaserWolf]

Any thing that keeps them from cutting the football budget is good.

 

[Rockadelic]

Horseleech said:Who lives in a market without this kind of radio?







No college radio in Dallas.

 

[dollar_bin]

Horseleech said:Hmmm... According to that article it wasn't sold off, only the broadcast frequency was sold and it will continue as KUSF as an internet-only station.




Selling the FM license is essentially the death of the station. No offense to anyone working at the UCSD or UCLA stations, but internet-only radio stations are mere shadows of college radio stations with an FM signal.

 

[billbradley]

I used to guest DJ regularly on KTRU in Houston. That show from years ago was still on the air until the station was sold off. It is very unfortunate that there will be no alternative radio to listen to. The commercial stations are horrible.

 

[jjfad027]

dollar_bin said:Well, scratch one off the list:





USF sells KUSF





.




:shitty:

 

[SoulOnIce]

Rockadelic said:Horseleech said:Who lives in a market without this kind of radio?







No college radio in Dallas.




not sure if I'm being "tone deaf" again, but this in the "greater Dallas area:"





http://www.kntu.com





at the classic subversive 88.1 location on the dial, no less.





and not "college" but community radio in Big D also:





http://www.knon.org/programs

 

[mannybolone]

Notably, 90.3 FM has been sold to a non-commercial classical public radio station. Not the greatest of options but at least it's not a commercial station.

 

[Rockadelic]

SoulOnIce said:Rockadelic said:Horseleech said:Who lives in a market without this kind of radio?







No college radio in Dallas.




not sure if I'm being "tone deaf" again, but this in the "greater Dallas area:"





http://www.kntu.com





at the classic subversive 88.1 location on the dial, no less.





and not "college" but community radio in Big D also:





http://www.knon.org/programs




Not sure what the "tone deaf" reference is about but UNT station doesn't reach Dallas......at least not where I am......Denton is about 60 miles north......my kid went to the school and it's one of the best music schools in the Southwest.....they have a completely different and separate music scene from Dallas.





KNON is a great station......Big Al & The Snake had a legendary Hip-Hop show..

 

[SoulOnIce]

mannybolone said:Notably, 90.3 FM has been sold to a non-commercial classical public radio station. Not the greatest of options but at least it's not a commercial station.




Yeah, but NPR has been buying up community radio stations around the country and replacing local, eclectic and sometimes radical radio programming with lifeless national formatted classical stations. The loss of local community radio is tragic, especially if you are involved in the music scene that thrives on touring and local underground bands being played and promoted through this media.

 

[SoulOnIce]

Rockadelic said:





Not sure what the "tone deaf" reference is about but UNT station doesn't reach Dallas......at least not where I am......Denton is about 60 miles north......my kid went to the school and it's one of the best music schools in the Southwest.....they have a completely different and separate music scene from Dallas.





KNON is a great station......Big Al & The Snake had a legendary Hip-Hop show..




I was called "tone deaf" in the NFL thread for not appreciating sarcasm, so I was saying I didn't know if you were being sarcastic or not. KUNT showed up on a couple of online lists of "local Dallas radio stations" but obviously you will know better whether it reaches D or not. KNON does seem like a great station, very similar to mine, which despite being a "college" station run out of MIT, is technically a "community" station, which is why I am even able to be a DJ there.

 

[LaserWolf]

SoulOnIce said:mannybolone said:Notably, 90.3 FM has been sold to a non-commercial classical public radio station. Not the greatest of options but at least it's not a commercial station.




Yeah, but NPR has been buying up community radio stations around the country and replacing local, eclectic and sometimes radical radio programming with lifeless national formatted classical stations. The loss of local community radio is tragic, especially if you are involved in the music scene that thrives on touring and local underground bands being played and promoted through this media.




That does not sound right.





I don't think NPR owns stations.


I am probably wrong, but I thought they provided content to independent stations.


It also seems to me that they have dropped, and most local affiliates have dropped, the classical format.





Please correct me if I am wrong.