College radio is one of the last remaining bastions of creative radio programming.
Owens Community College, amongst hundreds of other colleges around the world, celebrates College Radio Day for a whole day to harness the combined listenership of hundreds of thousands of college radio listeners throughout the world and to show the important contribution of college radio. World College Radio Day is set to take place Friday October 4th, 2024.
In an interview with Herbey Atkinson (OCCR Manager), I was informed all about Owens Community College and what it offers their broadcast media students. Mr. Atkinson graduated with honors from Owens’s Music Business Technology program, served as an intern with OCCR, and is now the full- time manager of OCCR.
Atkinson was awarded an Intercollegiate Broadcast System nomination for best celebrity interview. He is also a two- time award-winning podcast producer and is the host of Radio Picasso, a Latino music program that airs on Sundays from 1- 5 p.m. on 103.9 WLEN in Adrian Michigan.
In addition, Atkinson is the owner of Impact Media Group of Michigan, specializing in audio production, live sounds, and mobile DJ services. And finally, Mr. Atkinson is the lead producer, audio engineer and audio editor for The Conversations Podcast with Owens President Dr. Dionne Somerville.
Owens OutComm Student Media Center (OOSMC) is a student-run media center providing interested Owens students an initial experience through integrated media communications that include radio, audio recording and production, digital newspaper, photography, film and video and social media.
Back to World College Radio Day, this original idea was thought of by a man named Rob Quicke, according to the World College Radio Day Foundation. He was the general manager at WPSC FM at William Paterson University, and the NYC Market and worked his colleague named Peter Kreten, who was the general manager at WXAV FM at Saint Xavier University in the Chicago Market, noted by World College Radio Day Foundation.
In the USA, Canada, and Jamaica, 365 radio stations came together for the first time in October of 2011; this year will be the 13th year this day has taken place, as noted by World College Radio Day Foundation.
This day is so important for so many reasons and one is that many famous and successful bands today owe their initial break to being played on college radio because college radio is the only free live medium brave enough to play unsigned, local, and independent artists on a regular basis. Not only for this reason is college radio so important; the organizers of this day believe that college radio is one of the last remaining bastions of creative radio programming, free from the contractions of having to be commercially viable, and a place where those involved in its programming believe deeply in its mission, as noted by NACC.
