College Radio Tidbits: KUR adds Phone Broadcast, Vinyl Saturday, KZSU and Student Unrest during Vietnam War, Hofstra Radio Turns 50

A few college radio-related news items:


Kutztown University Station Adds Phone Broadcast

It's interesting to see the myriad of ways that college radio stations are getting their signal out to listeners. AM, FM, carrier current, netcasting, HD channels, satellite, iPhone streams, and cable television are commonly used, but now, KUR at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania has decided to add an additional transmission over the phone. Listeners can call 610-465-7860 to hear the station. Phone lines certainly aren't new for radio broadcasts, as live remote technology often uses telephone wires for transmission. However, what KUR is doing is a little different. According to Reading Eagle article:

"...KUR - 88.3 FM/1670 AM - has partnered with Virginia-based AudioNow. The company captures KUR's Internet audio stream, amplifies it and broadcasts it to a local telephone line...Elan J. Blutinger founded AudioNow in 2008 after he realized he couldn't hear the college station in Boston where his two sons worked. He collaborated with a group of engineers and received venture capital funding. The KU station had been working with a consultant on ways to expand its signal capabilities when the consultant heard of AudioNow. KUR became the first college station to participate, Blutinger said."

Record Store Day Expands to Monthly Event Starting June 2oth


After the huge success of this year's Record Store Day in April, the organizers of the event have decided to expand the project into a monthly happening called Record Day Presents: Vinyl Saturday beginning Saturday, June 20th. As with Record Store Day, limited release vinyl will be available for purchase in stores on that day, including material by Modest Mouse, Wilco, Green Day, and Scarlett Johansson/Pete Yorn.


Former Stanford President Talks About Using KZSU During Period of Student Unrest

DJ at KZSU in January 2009

An article on the Stanford University website profiles former university president Dick Lyman and his role on campus during the Vietnam War and student protests. In the piece he mentions using student station KZSU to help communicate his point of view. The article states:

"Lyman...said the hostility toward him on campus back then was intense.

'Unless you've tried to speak to a crowd of several hundred people, all of whom hate your guts, you can't realize how difficult it is,' he said. 'In some way everyone's articulateness is decreased by that kind of circumstance.'

Instead, Lyman held court on KZSU, the campus radio station.

'Any Stanford student journalist, from the radical papers as well as the Stanford Daily and the Stanford News Service person, would be able to come and ask any question they wanted and I'd answer,' he said. 'That made it impossible for the radicals to say: "We can't find out what he thinks. We can't find out why he did what he did." They were reduced to saying: "He's afraid to face us." Which was true. I didn't want to face a crowd of 500 if I could talk over the radio to a dozen reporters in my physical presence. It was much more constructive for me.'"

Campus radio in the days before the Internet, cell phones, and Twitter was often the source for breaking news, and there are more great examples of that in the related story about Stanford University in their alumni magazine.

Hofstra Radio Turns 50

According to a press release, Hofstra Radio marked its 50th anniversary on June 9, 2009. They will be celebrating with a number of alumni events in November, including a silent auction, gala, and special inductions into their own radio "Hall of Fame." Additionally, they are doing a speaker series and inviting alums back to the airwaves. The press release states:

"WRHU, Radio Hofstra University, is Long Island’s oldest non-commercial radio station, broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 88.7FM and online...Founded in 1950 as a club, WHCH was limited to the Hofstra campus. In 1959, the station received an FCC broadcast license and became WVHC, the Voice of Hofstra College. In 1983 the station expanded its broadcast range and became WRHU. Now, with a staff of more than 175 members, and a program schedule that includes 42 varying formats, the award winning radio station prides itself on pre-professional broadcast training and development. WRHU is an integral part of Hofstra’s School of Communication."