Weber’s radio station went completely digital earlier in the semester, which left staff members with a large amount of CDs. The staff members at KWCR have decided to give these CDs away completely free to students.
Weber’s radio station is still currently transitioning from KWCR 88.1 to just KWCR. The radio station, which is now completely digital, and staff members hope to sell their broadcasting license by the end of the year.
According to Robin Haislett, the KWCR faculty adviser, there are advantages of going digital, such as the less strict Federal Communications Commission regulations. Although the regulations will now be less strict, Haislett still plans on keeping these stricter regulations in practice.
“Students, when they are learning, make mistakes,” Haislett said.
Haislett said she would prefer her students make mistakes in the classroom, rather than in their postgraduate careers where certain foul-ups could cost them their jobs.
Charles Davis, online content co-director, echoed Haislett’s opinion but still feels less pressure from the FCC in his own work.
“This is actually affecting me in a very positive way,” Davis said. “We have more of a say-so, and I have more of a say-so of what I want to say in any one of the shows I want to do.”
Davis also encourages current students to join the radio station because of its opportunities to create diverse content.
Haislett goes on to inform students that the variety of DJs in KWCR creates a mixed music pool for the station’s listeners.
KWCR has several thousand CDs to support many music genres, but the station already has all the music they need.
“The CDs have always been piling up. We’ve always been ripping them into the computers, so we can add them to our playlists,” Haislett said. “We’ve really converted all of the CDs into the mp3s that we need.”
The CDs are literally spilling over the shelves at the station and KWCR is now looking for a way to get rid of them.
Legislation passed a bill last summer that allowed radio stations to start giving away the promo CDs they have in storage.
“We had just gotten the permission to release them to the public,” Haislett said while recalling KWCR’s booth at the block party held during the first week of the semester.
With this new leniency, KWCR wants to do some spring cleaning as winter approaches by giving back to the students. The radio station has already been giving CDs out at events, and they plan on handing out even more.
“We take boxes of these CDs and take them to whatever event we’re hosting,” Haislett said.
Haislett goes on to say that the radio could sell the CDs to Amazon.com for a small amount but that they would rather give the music away for their listeners to enjoy.
Haislett believes this is a great way to help students learn about KWCR’s style.
“I like pop music, alternative, pretty much many types of music,” Katy Szanter, WSU freshman, said. “KWCR does play the music that I love.”
The radio station’s staff hopes that when students listen to their free CDs, they enjoy the music and tune into KWCR to hear similar sounds.
To listen to the radio station, go to mywebermedia.com and select KWCR or download the KWCR Radio app on a mobile device.
“I think [going digital] gives students more opportunity to, you know, listen to it at home,” Szanter said.
KWCR will be handing out CDs at future events and hopes that students will take advantage of this opportunity.
