Canadian College radio station CJAM 91.5 FM is sponsoring the National Campus-Community Radio Conference in Windsor, Ontario this week (just a hop, skip and a jump from Detroit for you U.S. folks). It sounds like good fun, with panels, performers and schmoozing with other college radio types. There will be a music director "caucus," panels on topics related to digital music management, DIY station repairs, feminism, conflict management, and fundraising and even a session for geeks like me called "Radio and Academia."
According to an article in the Windsor Star:
"More than 100 delegates from campus stations across Canada are expected to visit Windsor this week to join discussions on community broadcasting topics ranging from digital editing software to dealing with the F word."
Mark Fedak writes:
"...over the last few years, a few campus/community radio stations have been forced to dilute the critical sting of their programming, fire management and volunteers with radical perspectives (CHRW fm at U of Western), or defend themselves against an anti-station referendum (CFMU-fm at McMaster U); some stations (CKUR-fm, U of Regina) have even been closed down after student fees were withdrawn. So long as the majority of funding originates from compulsorary student fees, and especially when student council has direct control over station governance, the risk of campus/community radio programming being censored, or even station closure, is always present."
What do you think, can college radio still be a radical force?
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3 comments:
As far as CHRW goes you are referring to notes that Mark Fedak wrote 15 years ago (more?) regarding events that occurred more than 15 years ago - certainly not in the last few years as the quote might indicate to the casual reader. If you're going to try to create a story you shouldn't quote "ancient history" to make your point - find recent examples and the discussions that come out of them will end up being relevant to the stations, the volunteers, the programmers, the supporters and the listeners. Dwell on the distant past and you'll only confuse the issues and the ability to resolve the differences for all those who contribute to campus stations.
By the way, I'm at the NCRC!
Thanks for the perspective. I didn't realize that was such an old POV piece. The main point of my post was to mention the conference and then just bring up a discussion about "can radio still be radical?" since I happened upon that interesting piece.
I'd love to hear how the conference is going!
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