The Heart Of College Radio Is Still Beating…

Tuesday, December, 16, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

The total number of College radio stations may have dwindled to about 700 but the student disc jockeys are keeping it alive.  The music is still eclectic, lots of reggae with a dash of folk, rock, and name-your-favorite genre, for good measure.  You won’t find many disc jockeys listening to the music they’re playing when they’re off the air, opting instead for their iPod, the Internet or the blog that they write, but they remain as devoted to their craft as ever.  “College radio is still tremendously important” says XL Recordings executive Kris Chen…

College radio won’t be providing future R.E.M.’s, Nirvanas or White Stripes like they used to but they have found new ways to remain relevant by taking the lead in Internet broadcasting.  Sixty percent have Web streams, compared with 36% for all stations, according to RadioTime, an online service.  Does that mean that College radio is 24% smarter than commercial radio?  Probably so…

Norman Prusslin, media professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and president of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, an advocacy organization says, “for today’s college students, radio listenership is down considerably.”  College radio listenership is almost impossible to measure accurately, but trends show that the college-age audience pays less attention to radio every year.  From 1998 to 2007 the amount of time 18 to 24 year-olds spend listening, dropped 18%.  For listeners 35 to 64, it has slipped 9%, according to Arbitron…

When we were building an audience for WRKO in 1967, we knew we had a large majority of the 500,000 college students in Boston, we just couldn’t prove it because dorms were not measurable.  While ratings methodology has improved in the 40 years since, it’s not an exact science as far as College radio goes…     

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1773] Tea it up: The Boston Tea Party takes place as American colonists board a British ship and dump more than 300 chests of tea in Boston Harbor to protest tea taxes. This might explain why the water in Boston Harbor is described as “orange pekoe with specks of green tea and chamomile” in color…
2. 1905] Published on this date: Variety Magazine hits the newsstands to ‘Boffo’! reviews…
3. 1960] Staten Island Supercrash: A United Air Lines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collide over Staten Island, killing 134…
4. 1972] Unbeaten and Untied: The Miami Dolphins become the 1st NFL team to go unbeaten and untied in a 14-game regular season. The 2007 Patriots beat that record, going 18-0. Miami’s season streak reaches 17 after they win the Super Bowl…
5. 1973] Slice and dice: Buffalo’s O.J. Simpson knifes his way through the NFL to become the 1st runner in history to gain over 2,000 yards in a season when he runs for 200 yards against the Jets. Jet coach Weeb Ewbank loses his lunch and then announces his retirement…
6. 1982] Reborn: Tom Seaver becomes a Met again after a trade with Cincinnati.  The ‘Franchise’ throws the last pitch at Shea Stadium to Mike Piazza…1983] Yogi Berra is named Yankee manager for the second time.  Yogi remembers Yankee Stadium…
7. 1985] The steak was cold, too: Organized crime chief Paul Castellano is gunned down outside Sparks Steakhouse on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan as he’s set up by the mob…
8. 1997] “Happy Trails“: Singer Nicolette Larson dies from brain swelling at 45…2007] Singer Dan Fogelberg passes away at 56 from complications caused by prostate cancer…
9. 1998] Desert Fox: The U.S. and Britain begin a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets, in response to Iraq’s continued failure to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions as well as their interference with U.N. Special Commission inspectors…
10. 2000] Breaking the color barrier: President-elect George W. Bush selects Colin Powell to be the 1st African-American secretary of state…

Music Memories:

• 1964] Number One on this date: “Come See About Me” - Supremes…1986] “Walk Like An Egyptian” - Bangles…1987] “Faith” - George Michael…
• 1966] Released on this date: “Hey Joe” - Jimi Hendrix…1967] “Green Tambourine” - Lemon Pipers…1971] “American Pie” - Don McLean…1972] “Hi, Hi, Hi” - Paul McCartney…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:

Benjamin Bratt (45), Benny (ABBA) Andersson (62), Steven Bochco (65), Lesley Stahl (67), Liv Ullmann (70) and sportswriter Frank Deford (70)…

Timeline Countdown: 5 days until winter, 6 nights until Hanukah, 9 shopping days until Christmas, 15 nights until New Year’s Eve and 18 days until the NFL Wild Card Playoffs…

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