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Ohio State Underground Radio?...

B

buckeyeblogger

Guest
I occasionally stream the Ohio State student run station: http://www.underground.fm

Checking for updates on when they may get an FM signal it says they are working to maybe broadcast over 106.7 FM? Also, that they are upgrading their streaming capability.

I can't understand why one of the biggest campus' in America with one of the hippest stations I've ever heard doesn't get better funding from the University, nor have they got terrestrial broadcast capability.

Anyone have any up to date news?...
 
> I occasionally stream the Ohio State student run station:
> http://www.underground.fm
>
> Checking for updates on when they may get an FM signal it
> says they are working to maybe broadcast over 106.7 FM?
> Also, that they are upgrading their streaming capability.
>
> I can't understand why one of the biggest campus' in America
> with one of the hippest stations I've ever heard doesn't get
> better funding from the University, nor have they got
> terrestrial broadcast capability.
>
> Anyone have any up to date news?...
>

106.7 will never happen because the app for the move of WMRN from Marion to Dublin via WOSU-TV tower. I think they have been hoping to get on the repeater that is off of WSYX's old tower off of Ackerman, but that will go bye-bye when the WMRN move happens. They need to apply for a LPFM signal and broadcast off of either Morrow or Lincoln Tower.

P.S. Ohio State does have broadcast facilities. It's called WOSU-AM, FM, and TV...just not one for the other station. OSU's money is going to those stations.
 
> P.S. Ohio State does have broadcast facilities. It's called
> WOSU-AM, FM, and TV...just not one for the other station.
> OSU's money is going to those stations.
>

Consdiering OSU does not have a broadcasting program per say, I suspect Student Radio is very low on their priority list.

--Matt<P ID="signature">______________
Program Director/Music Director
X Music Online
The X
Today's Best Music
http://www.xmusiconline.com/</P>
 
> Consdiering OSU does not have a broadcasting program per
> say, I suspect Student Radio is very low on their priority
> list.
>
> --Matt
>

I guess the radio kids at OSU could have it worse. The public university I attended (which *did* have an established broadcasting program) did not have a student-operated station...either OTA or of the Internet variety. The department's focus was television production and broadcast news. When I set up an experimental webcast based out of the audio production labs, the student newspaper went nuts about it. Since then, a permanent online station has been established on campus.

My guess is that OSU students will have to be satisfied with the current operation and gun for any available internships for additional experience.
 
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

> My guess is that OSU students will have to be satisfied with
> the current operation and gun for any available internships
> for additional experience.

(gasp) you mean send them into the real WORLD???
 
The FCC won't give the student radio an LPFM license because OSU already has several radio licenses, not only in Columbus but all around Ohio. Until 2001, The Underground broadcast on 91.1FM, illegally, until there were complaints of it interfering with WOSU's 91.1FM (Marion?) repeater. Not sure if WOSU was actually the one who filed the complaint or someone else. That would be pretty ironic though if it had been WOSU.

I graduated in 2004 and the biggest problem at the Underground, at least that I saw on the outside, was organizational priorities. They would have five figure budgets each year and much of the money was spent on concerts and events that appealed only to a small minority of students.

Over the four years that I was at OSU, the Underground progressively hurt their relationships with Ohio State departments and student organizations. They even withdrew their organizational and financial support from the annual free concert that all of the student organizations contributed to and in turn, threw their own concert that again, only appealed to a small minority of students. These decisions cost them support and listeners and were usually made because of the musical preferences of station management. Musical tastes are personal and I'll refrain from criticizing that, but there were many occasions where maintaining their "indie music/indie subculture street-cred" took the highest priority and unfortunately, that impacted the organizational decisions in a negative way.

I remember some of the more popular local and campus bands being barred from appearing on the station because of their mainstream music sounds and styles. The station also had a great niche with their sports department's live athletics broadcasts, but the station never invested the money, time, or promotion in it. In short, some bad decisions were made and they ended having a bad rap for a while.

I actually volunteered at The Underground for a year and a half (2000 - 2001) as the online content director and as a morning show producer but their priorities were different from mine as well as many of the students working there. I eventually left and helped start the student TV station in late 2001 with several other students that had left the Underground disappointed with its direction.

To be more positive, the Underground still has a ton of potential and obviously, they have new student leadership these days. Heck, turnover is every four years for student orgs. And who knows, maybe the FCC will someday lighten up on LPFM licenses or with HD Radio coming, maybe there will be some other opportunities out there. If they continue to focus on building relationships and impacting the student body positively, they'll be very successful.

In case you're interested, the student TV at OSU will celebrate five years this coming October. It is doing very well and Ohio State just hired a full time instructor (From WBNS 10TV) to teach production and media there. They are affiliated with the Open Student Television Network and have made a lot of progress in the field of IP television and content distribution. I would say it's not out-of-the-question for a broadcasting / telecommunications / media production program to return to OSU in the near future.
 
> The FCC won't give the student radio an LPFM license because
> OSU already has several radio licenses, not only in Columbus
> but all around Ohio. Until 2001, The Underground broadcast
> on 91.1FM,

I remeber that, to my understanding they where putting out more than part 15 "non license' output" and it made someone mad (something to do with 91.1 in Marion) and the Univerisity saw a legal risk and had the students shut down the Low Power Transmitter that I beleive was on morrrel tower.


> To be more positive, the Underground still has a ton of
> potential and obviously, they have new student leadership
> these days. Heck, turnover is every four years for student
> orgs. And who knows, maybe the FCC will someday lighten up
> on LPFM licenses or with HD Radio coming, maybe there will
> be some other opportunities out there. If they continue to
> focus on building relationships and impacting the student
> body positively, they'll be very successful.
>

If they would cater to the University population at large like some other college radio stations do (ricradio.org in Providence Rhode Island, and even more so locally WOBN at Otterbein College) then I think they would see more university community support and they could still fill the nitche of "indie" just expand.

With IBOC on at WOSU-FM, I dont see why if they really did a serious effort at a good station to get a sub channel on WOSU-FM's HD transmission (even if WOSU gave them the 3rd "16kbps channel" it would be a start...

I suspect as long as they cater only to the "indie population -- which there is nothing wrong with but as long as they dont broden their audence (OSU is a very diverse university population wise) they will remain "underground" (and net only)


--Matt

<P ID="signature">______________
Program Director/Music Director
X Music Online
The X
Today's Best Music
http://www.xmusiconline.com/</P>
 
Re: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

> > (gasp) you mean send them into the real WORLD???
>
> I'm afraid so. :)
>
There ARE student interns, students on fellowships, and paid student employees working at WOSU AM/FM/TV every quarter.....and, since there isn't a formal Radio/TV department at OSU, a production class (mostly TV), out of the Theatre Department is taught at the WOSU Studios. By the way, many of those student interns/employees also work at the student-run TV station, and/or the Lantern, WBNS-TV, WSYX, etc., etc. Real world experience, indeed!
As to the university supporting WOSU.....18% or less of the operating budget comes from OSU.
 
Good for them getting this on the Net. However, I think it's funny how stations like this claim to only play indie music, they don't play anything mainstream, etc. However, if you look at their playlist they have cuts by the Darkness, Prodigy, Belle and Sebastian and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on their playlist, all of which are hardly indie. But I'll give them props because most of their playlist is underground and they are breaking new music. Good for them!

Most of the time stations like this also are only staffed by those who only desire to further their own agenda through the mic so that may be why the university doesn't want to invest much money into their operation. If the university did invest more, they'd want a station manager who has actually worked in radio before and would keep the student jocks in check (meaning they don't try to devide the student population like some have suggested that they do and that they serve the entire population of the student body).

I may be biased since I'm from Mississippi but Mississippi State University has a great station that I love listening to. You can check them out at http://www.wmsv.msstate.edu. Most of their DJs are students and they have a AAA format... they also have blocks of other music and even carry some university and high school sports. This college station is a great example of one that serves its student population and the community.

Jonathan


> I occasionally stream the Ohio State student run station:
> http://www.underground.fm
>
> Checking for updates on when they may get an FM signal it
> says they are working to maybe broadcast over 106.7 FM?
> Also, that they are upgrading their streaming capability.
>
> I can't understand why one of the biggest campus' in America
> with one of the hippest stations I've ever heard doesn't get
> better funding from the University, nor have they got
> terrestrial broadcast capability.
>
> Anyone have any up to date news?...
>
 
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