Louisiana College Radio Roadtrip

One of the reasons that I started this blog is so that I could learn more about other college radio stations, since I'd rarely had the opportunity to hear about the history, programming, or internal dramas from stations other than my own. But now I'm learning bits and pieces on a daily basis about college radio from all over the world and hopefully in the weeks to come I'll drop by some stations as well.

Considering that, it was fun to see this post yesterday from a college radio staff member who went on a road trip to visit another college radio station. A member of Shreveport, Louisiana college station KSCL 91.3 FM (Centenary College), trekked to Ruston, Louisiana to visit KLPI (Louisiana Tech University) and told the tale. He writes:

"In this business students really only have time to see their station, rarely anyone else's. I found many similarities with Centenary's campus. As radio stations, we both have a lot of the same problems and achievements. KLPI is looking into internet streaming, as are we. They're struggling with finances, like us. And our staff numbers are about the same.

When I was the Music Director and talked to promoters, I heard one quote that's still with me today. 'College Radio is the bastard child of the college.' Ha! I don't know whether that makes me proud or peeved. I must say, however, that college radio struggles with the same issues, but mainly being understood by the 'adults' in the administration. KSCL is extremely fortunate to have people like Michael Laffey, Kathy Fell, and Jerry France. I hope others are as fortunate."

He makes an interesting point about college stations being overlooked and misunderstood by those in authority on college campuses. Is this something that most stations experience?

This post is great inspiration for all of us to take a road trip to visit another station to gain a greater perspective about the breadth of college radio.