College Radio Day, conceived by Rob Quicke, General Manager of WPSC at William Paterson University, began in 2011 and is held annually in early October. Since October 2014, it has been organized by the College Radio Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to promoting college and high school radio stations in North America. The event encourages listeners to discover stations they might not usually tune into, with over 360 stations participating in its first year across the US, Canada, and Jamaica. Its international growth led to the creation of World College Radio Day in 2012, co-founded by Quicke. Currently, College Radio Day is featured in a documentary by Killer Goose Films. The 2022 event was held on October 7.
College Radio Day 2012: "This Time It's Global"
The second College Radio Day took place on October 2, 2012. 585 college radio stations from 29 countries participated in the event. Chris Martin from Coldplay officially launched the day with a specially recorded message of support for college radio.7 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie issued a statewide proclamation recognizing College Radio Day, as did Rick Perry, Governor of Texas. Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy, also issued a statement of support and congratulations for all participating Italian college radio stations.8 The theme for the event was "This Time It's Global" to reflect that many countries outside of the US now participated.
College Radio Day 2013: "If You Care About Music, You Care About College Radio"
The third College Radio Day was on October 1, 2013. Over 700 college radio stations in 43 countries participated in the event. President Barack Obama wrote a letter of support of the event, stating that "Uniting audiences across languages and borders, World College Radio Day celebrates the students who power these stations and the unique role college radio plays across the globe.".9 Vice-President Joe Biden called in to WPSC radio to do an interview on the day.10 Additionally, Wyclef Jean played a surprise concert at WPSC radio on the campus of William Paterson University in collaboration with mtvU.11 Both Moby and Andrew WK also contributed exclusive interviews for the event.12 The theme for the event was "If You Care About Music, You Care About College Radio" to reflect the role and importance that college radio has had and continues to have in being a musical tastemaker.
College Radio Day 2014: "Where It All Begins"
The fourth College Radio Day was on Friday, October 3, 2014. Again, hundreds of college radio stations came together to celebrate the event. Notable participants included Moby, Matt Kelly from the Dropkick Murphys, and Jeremiah Fraites from The Lumineers. There was also the first ever one-hour simulcast as over 70 US college radio stations came together to broadcast, at the same time across the US, a special one-hour program that highlighted the ongoing importance of college radio.
College Radio Day 2015: "Your Authentic Guide To The Next Generation of Music"
The fifth College Radio Day was on Friday, October 2, 2015. Notable participants included a keynote interview by Stewart Copeland, as well as Josh Eppard of Coheed and Cambria. Taking place for the first time was a national 24 hour broadcast marathon, featuring 24 selected college radio stations from the hundreds that participated. Addition special programming for the day included a special report produced by college radio students who were invited to the White House and were presented with a letter of support from President Barack Obama to recognize and celebrate the day.13
External links
- Official Website for College Radio Day and the College Radio Foundation
- Official Website for World College Radio Day
References
Marklein, Mary (2011-10-10). "College radio stations fear budget cuts could silence them". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2011-10-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20111026133319/http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-10-10/college-radio-stations-being-sold/50723728/1 ↩
"College Radio Day". http://www.collegeradioday.com/#!stations ↩
"College Radio Foundation Inc in Hewitt, New Jersey (NJ) - NonProfitFacts.com". www.nonprofitfacts.com. http://www.nonprofitfacts.com/NJ/College-Radio-Foundation-Inc.html ↩
"Radio Ink Magazine". Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2012-05-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20130507095555/http://radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2308104 ↩
"College Radio Day: A Documentary" – via IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2464006/ ↩
"Register". https://www.collegeradio.org/college-radio-day/register/ ↩
"College Radio Day - Chris Martin (Coldplay)". https://soundcloud.com/collegeradioday/college-radio-day-2012 ↩
"Il Presidente Napolitano saluta le radio universitarie partecipanti al CRD". Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2012-11-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20121007023100/http://www.ustation.it/contenuti/articolo/2261-il-presidente-napolitano-saluta-le-radio-universitarie-partecipanti-al-crd ↩
"President Obama Praises Student Radio for College Radio Day". October 2013. https://www.radiosurvivor.com/2013/09/30/president-barack-obama-praises-student-radio-for-college-radio-day ↩
"Joe Biden Interview for College Radio Day". https://soundcloud.com/collegeradioday/joe-biden-interview-for ↩
"College Radio Day 2013: Interview - Wyclef Jean" – via www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV8jEyXBKvg ↩
"Moby interview for College Radio Day 2013". Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2014-03-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20131012163242/http://www.moby.com/news/2013-10-01/moby-interview-for-college-radio-day.html ↩
"Radio World: White House Welcomes College Radio Students". Archived from the original on 2016-10-01. Retrieved 2016-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20161001191604/http://www.radioworld.com/article/white-house-welcomes-college-radio-students/277180 ↩