World College Radio Day, October 1, 2013

World College Radio Day was founded in 2012 as a response to the phenomenal international interest in College Radio Day, which began in the USA in 2011 (in the USA the event is still known as College Radio Day). Recognizing that student radio stations around the world wanted to unite for this annual event, Rob Quicke, Tiziana Cavallo and Guillermo Gaviria founded World College Radio Day to take the mission and unifying message of College Radio Day around the world. For more information on the story behind this unprecedented international coalition, please click here.

To view participating student radio stations click here.  To register your student radio station (for free) please click here.

“College Radio Day…was a call to unity in which stations showcased their best work”

“A nationwide movement…illuminating the cultural significance of student-run radio”

“College Radio Day: An SOS for student-run stations…a unifying college-radio event”

The original idea for College Radio Day was conceived by Dr. Rob Quicke (General Manager, WPSC FM, William Paterson University, NYC market), and was founded in December 2010 by Rob, who worked with Peter Kreten (General Manager, WXAV FM, Saint Xavier University, Chicago market) to help develop the idea. The aim of College Radio Day is to harness the combined listenership of hundreds of thousands of college radio listeners throughout the world and to celebrate the important contribution of college radio by uniting for this one day.

The aim of College Radio Day is to raise a greater, international awareness of the many college and high school radio stations that operate around the world by encouraging people who would not normally listen to college radio to do so on this day. It is hoped that those people who do tune in like what they hear and become regular listeners. The organizers of College Radio Day believe that college radio is one of the last remaining bastions of creative radio programming, free from the constrictions of having to be commercially viable, and a place where those involved in its programming believe passionately in its mission. College radio is the only free live medium brave enough to play unsigned, local, and independent artists on a regular basis.  Indeed, many famous and successful bands today, owe their initial break to being played on college radio. Put simply, college radio is an important part of the media landscape because of its unique and fearless programming.

The organizers also hope that College Radio Day can also be used a fundraising vehicle for those individual stations that choose to participate, benefiting from the extra attention their station will receive on that particular day.  Being a participant in this day is free for all college and high school radio stations (AM, FM or online) so that together, for one day, we can lift the profile of an important form of media: college radio. It’s a day of celebration. It’s a day of live music and special interviews. It’s the day college radio comes together.

Since 2012, the annual event is known internationally as World College Radio Day, as more than 30 countries around the world now celebrate this occasion.

For a list of New England independent college radio stations* click here.

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* It's a pity that unlike fellow students at sister university University of Massachusetts stations (WMUA Amherst, WUML Lowell and WUMD Dartmouth) UMass Boston students do not have the chance to participate in a free-form independent college / community radio station, and thus be entitled to particpate in WORLD COLLEGE RADIO DAY. The reason for that is the powers that be at the state-funded university choose to run WUMB as a National Public Radio affiliate with a professional staff. That's right, a state university funded by federal and state tax dollars excludes its students and community members from participating as program producers, DJ's and news and sports announcers. WUMB claims through its station ID "bumpers" to be a "community service of UMass Boston". What and who that community is they do not say, but certainly it is not the UMass Boston students and residents of Columbia Point.

As this blog is Boston-based, WUMB leads the list of college stations that have been assimilated by the NPR borg. But there are many others whose students no longer have the ability to participate in free form independent college radio. Thanks to Jennifer Waits for the following:

KUSF-initially LMA'd, then sold to Classical Public Radio Network. KUSF had a faculty member GM (he actually started the station when he was a student), paid staff, student volunteers, and community volunteers
KTRU – sold
Others:
Bryant University leases WJMF airtime to WGBH beginning in 2011 and its student station moves online/HD/other technologies (this is communicated as a partnership) http://radiosurvivor.com/2011/07/28/delving-into-wjmfs-move-off-fm-as-college-radio-station-makes-way-for-wgbhs-99-5-all-classical/
Brown Student Radio (BSR) also lost its time share agreement with Wheeler Public Schools http://radiosurvivor.com/2011/08/22/the-wheeler-school-to-lease-fm-airwaves-to-rhode-island-public-radio/
WLIU-  Long Island University
KPSU - Portland State

Related articles:
http://radiosurvivor.com/2012/12/31/2012-a-mixed-bag-for-college-radio/
http://radiosurvivor.com/2011/12/31/2011-the-year-that-college-radio-fought-back/
http://radiosurvivor.com/2009/12/24/the-decades-most-important-radio-trends-11-cash-strapped-schools-turn-their-backs-on-college-radio/

For a much more extensive list, from the federal government itself, read "Public Radio Capital, "Broadening the reach of public media""