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ButterflyEffect  ·  3461 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A reflection on college radio.

It's great to hear from somebody who grew up in the area! You're absolutely right about the scene here, and I think that it only continues to get better. We've been trying to get involved in Rochester as much as we can, which is easier said than done. We are the official radio sponsor of First Friday in Rochester now, which is a big start.

I don't think that having older heads being replaced is necessarily a bad thing. I think that it can be a bad when the people taking over don't share the shame vision, drive, and ambition as the previous people though. That's something that we're working on now - setting up systems that ensure that something such as what you've described does not happen after our current leadership graduates.

With regards to point 3: When I graduate, I'm essentially done. I won't be able to keep my position due to a variety of reasons, the most important of which is the likelihood of moving elsewhere for post graduation employment. Even I would like to keep it, our station is entirely student run, with the exception of one administrative adviser (who does just that and usually nothing more), a voice guy in California, and an engineering consultant for when we make large equipment purchases. I would love to stay involved with community radio, but I will not be able to do so at this level with WITR 89.7.

The above ties into how I would like to clarify my NPR statement. I think NPR is great, when I was living near Boston WBUR was the station I always checked first, and it can do great things for a community. My negativity pertains wholly towards college radio stations becoming NPR affiliates because to me, the most important part of college radio is the ability to operate with as much autonomy as possible. I feel that much of that can be lost by becoming an NPR affiliate, but you seem to acknowledge that by saying "...as long as you're able to keep control over the pie". So yes, I love NPR, but I don't love it as part of college radio.

Sorry for the wall of text back, I love talking about these things. KCRW is great by the way, I'd love to hear more about what you do for them and also if you have any advice for getting involved in community radio post graduation - I'd love to keep this whole development thing going because it's an interesting venue that I think I'm more than proficient at.