WRDL Celebrates College Radio Day

On Friday, November 4, AU’s radio station, WRDL/88.9 FM, observed College Radio Day. All across the country, hundreds of college radio stations will be celebrating the rare format that is college radio.

        2016's theme, "Igniting the Soul of College Radio," paid homage
to the documentary aired in the special simulcast at 2 pm.

Crew members took to campus, passing out flyers and giving away prizes to spread awareness of college radio and of all that WRDL has to offer, much of which isn’t available at other college radio stations across the US. “College radio stations are some of the last independently owned stations – that is, not belonging to large media networks – in the country,” says Derek Wood, student General Manager of WRDL. In addition to it being an independent station, “WRDL is unique because it has an FCC license, something which many college stations don’t have,” adds Wood.

That the city of Ashland is smaller than other college “towns” also creates challenges other college stations don’t have to address. Because Ashland is smaller and more rural than its more urban counterparts, WRDL utilizes a 3,000 watt transmitter to reach listeners in 10 counties. Whereas many other college stations use a smaller transmitter to reach listeners in their own city, WRDL’s coverage spans three area cities and, ultimately, a larger audience.

Throughout the day, WRDL also aired special broadcasts, including two presentations of the documentary “The Soul of College Radio,” one of which was part of a special, one-hour simulcast across all participating College Radio Day stations.

Even President Obama joined in by sending a letter to the College Radio Foundation, the organization in charge of College Radio Day. In the letter, he encouraged people to tune in to their local station, marking November 4 as a day on which “we pay tribute to the ways radio has enabled students – and all of us – to help shape a more inclusive society.”

To learn more about WRDL, or to tune in online, visit wrdlfm.com!