ToolboxY2K: That could be interpreted as requiring or expected a certain level of togetherness on the part of the DJs. I certainly agree that stations like KUMM and KFAI (and parts of the BBC!) could/should serve the purpose of providing broadcast opportunities for people commercial stations just won’t support. But for that to be a service to the listeners, do we need a certain level of intention on the part of the DJs? The example you gave took some real work – research and digging and thinking and planning. A great show like Huck Brock’s excellent Poor Man’s Concert on Daniel Johnston last semester took real work, and I know that Huck spent a fair bit of money along the way. Most shows on KUMM just aren’t going to be like that, not because people don’t mean well, but more because these are full time students doing volunteer work for the station. In that universe, are listeners going to choose to listen to KUMM instead of their massive iPod stash? Why?

CoryQ: Thanks a ton for kicking this off? I should also mention that Cory had additional good things to say over on Flickr. One idea that I particularly liked is the value the station has in helping make the concept of media and broadcasting more transparent to students. The web (blogging, YouTube, Flickr) makes it easier for “little people” to produce content, but (Time magazine not withstanding) the massive corps that own the vast majority of major media outlets still have a vast amount of power. If having a station like KUMM helps demystify “big media”, then it’s obviously serving a valuable purpose for the school. Doesn’t necessarily give anyone a reason to listen, though.

Chris: That is really funny. KSTB (now KVRX) was the college radio station I volunteered at in Austin for a few years before we moved up here to Morris, and they were a cable-only affair because their claim to the only remaining non-profit frequency in Austin was being debated in court. It was eventually decided in such a way that the frequency is split between then and a community access station. Air frequencies are clearly a seriously limiting feature of broadcast radio, and the grasping of both commercial and nationwide religious broadcasting syndicates has pushed out a lot of the KUMM style stations. So does everyone go on-line? But then do we become lost in a sea of stations and noise?

(As an aside, I had a fellow listing to a significant part of my Glass Eye Poor Man’s Concert last night from Torrance, CA. He apparently stumbled across us on some directory of stations that he could stream to his cell phone, and was listening to me on his phone! Weird…)

Jen: Certainly those are reasons that I have long loved DJing and listening to college radio. Also, that’s a really cool poll – thanks for point me at it. (I couldn’t find a page with the original data, though – anyone know where that might be?) Radio is consistently being jettisoned by about 2/3 of the population, regardless of age, with the real change being the young ‘uns dropping TV in favor of the Intarweb. I suspect that they realize to a larger degree that if you have the Internet, you have TV and radio to a significant (and growing) degree, but the reverse obviously isn’t true.

Something that I love about KUMM, and similarly, The Current, is that you get insight into music that is generally unknown. Many of my favorite artists (now gaining in popularity: Spoon, Regina Spektor, Belle & Sebastian) I discovered through these stations.

Furthermore, I know I get serious enjoyment out of sharing my favorite unknown artists with people.

I would recommend checking out this interesting survey on what people would give up [internet / TV / radio] if they had to give up two.

i sent this link to travis last week: http://www.wfmu.org/marathon/

I am glad I could spark a debate!

There’s a guy named Ron “Boogiemonster” Gerber who hosts a radio show called Crap from the Past on KFAI in the Twin Cities on Friday nights. I’ve been listening to him here in Jacksonville for the past several months and on one of his recent programs, he made a comment about how stations like KFAI (and, by extension, KUMM) can deliver on-air personalities that big corporate radio stations and Minnesota Public Radio can’t, and I think he’s spot on. This is coming from a guy who traced the origins of Crowded House’s “I Walk Away” to two demo songs from Split Enz — and played both demos plus Split Enz’ version of “I Walk Away” on his show. I don’t think most “Morning Show” or “Drive Time” DJs in Top 40 radio would even be allowed to attempt things like this because it wouldn’t attract the ad money that the corporates need to survive. That’s what stations like KUMM and KFAI are for.