Though it is
difficult to generalize the characteristics of the approximately 400
noncommercial radio stations licensed to colleges, universities and schools,
one word stands out: SMALL.
These stations most
often operate with small budgets, reach a small number of listeners and have
only small impact on their markets. Many college stations are “clubs and
cliques” – a circle of like-minded young folks into their social scene.
Every year,
sometimes every semester, there are newbies at the door anxious to play their
favorite tunes for their friends. This is an enjoyable but temporary experience
because the ticking of the clock means some will leave and some will carry on when
the semester or academic year ends.
The mission of the
stations is also small: Serving the campus, avoiding F-bombs on the air, cranking the volume to “11” and getting prepped
for the party after your shift. I’ve been there. Occasionally someone flunks
out of school because they majored in
radio.
Some college
stations provide valuable training and useful hands-on experience. But the
focus remains inward – not serving listeners.
Small is the best
way to describe the operating budgets for college stations. It is unusual to find a college station where
the annual operating budget tops $50,000. Frequently the funding comes from student
activity fees paid at the start of each semester. The college radio station
competes for activity fees with the Anthropology Club, Black Student Union and
the campus newspaper.
Reliable budget
information is often hard to find. Through my own research here are the top 20
college stations, ranked by budget size:
Data
Sources: IRS 990 filings, institution budgets, student government files and
news coverage of student activity fees
“CMJ
Rock” refers to stations that play music featured on the College Media Journal charts [link]
DISCLOSURE: I have worked as paid
consultant for KUOM, aka Radio K.
KUOM differs from other stations on the list above because for many years it
operated as a CPB-funded public radio station. KUOM lost their CPB support
several years ago because their listening failed to meet CPB’s audience size
criteria. The University of Minnesota kept the half-dozen full-time employees. These salaries inflate their Total Station
Revenue above most other college stations.
THE
BEST COLLEGE RADIO STATION IN AMERICA: WSUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN IN
MADISON
In my opinion WSUM
[link] excels in all the basics of good broadcasting. It provides a model others should follow. If
you have three minutes take a look at their Station Tour video:
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHvWlsYsXFg
WSUM knows their
listeners are people who live in Madison, not just Badgers around the
campus. Here is how WSUM describes its
audience in its excellent underwriting brochure:
WSUM operates like
a nonprofit business where sustainability is the goal. They have a very active
“friends” 501c3 and use it to diversity their revenue sources. WSUM’s pledge
drives are money-makers and their underwriting plans are more sophisticated
than some CPB-funded pubic radio stations.
Here is part of WSUM’s rate card:
SNAKE ON THE LAKE
WSUM is a
co-sponsor the Snake on the Lake
music festival that starts each new academic year in September. Snake on the Lake is an essential
Madison experience and WSUM takes full advantage of opportunities to monetize
the event:
The architect of
WSUM’s game plan is faculty adviser David Black. The students run the place and
Black provides coaching and the template for continued success. WSUM matters in
Madison.
I am not sure about today, but as recently as 2011 I know KCSB's budget was bigger than that. We had five FT staff members, including myself.
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