I was on the dinosaur table at the University Radio York 40th Anniversary celebration dinner in York last month. URY is the oldest student radio station in the UK, and I was a founder jock once they stopped mucking about and got legal.
It was a nice night. The current crew are pleasant, clear-headed, and there seems to be a lot of talent. I was impressed by how many are already building paths into the industry. I approve heartily, but then I would, because that’s what I did too.
College radio has, of course, been feeding mainstream broadcasters for some time. My first paid job was at a US station which regularly hired DJs from the local college stations. Of the six ancients at the URY dinner, two, me included, are still in the industry. And among the younger alumni who attended, there was an impressive sprinkling of industry-specific email addreses. That’s not too shabby for what is, after all, a volunteer radio station. A station, moreover, that has developed its own sequencing software for overnight automation.
It strikes me that we may be missing a trick or two. College Radio is there for fun. It has has absolutely no statutory obligation to be a training ground. But URY and its counterparts are clearly functioning exactly this way. These stations run all the time (well, during term time), broadcasting online or with very restricted coverage, only venturing out on RSLs once in a while. To join in calls for time and commitment. Like others, I only bailed out in my final year to concentrate on actually getting a degree. Often it also calls for volunteers’ money, like many student organisations. But that sort of commitment is exactly what most real-world stations are looking for.
So here’s a thought. Many Universities run Media Training courses. They tend to go on air with short term restricted service licenses – maybe two weeks each year. But across the campus, there are these kids doing radio for love, 24/7… at least during term time. Maybe it’s time for the teaching wings and the student radio stations to come together? Nowhere else will there be such a convergence of disciplines and interests.
No Trackbacks
You can leave a trackback using this URL: http://www.newradiostrategies.com/2008/06/30/college-radio/trackback/
One Comment
This would be great, at least in theory. There is a problem and it’s political. The Students Union will think it can look after students better than the academics and they should run the station this way. Academics would need to balance assessment needs and sometimes the two don’t see eye to eye. I once spent months negotiating with an SU to get funding support. The ideas we had were great, a real freshers station but run by the academic department. In the end they said they could do better by handing out leaflets (which they didn’t) and meeting people (which they didn’t) Where media courses exist they often run their own stations independent of the SU as it gives control and opportunity to be more diverse. I agree there should be more synergy between the two but the nature of the student politics is such that very few of us make it work…. in the meantime there’s always community radio.