How To Start A High School Campus Radio Station
The following document was a sales tool authored by John Devecka for the now-defunct LPB Incorporated. While still a work in progress, we are updating John's original text to cover current-day improvements to currently available technology as well as suggested station implementation strategies. Plans are to expand John's document in the future to cover additional details relating to the construction process of building a campus station. This wonderful LPB document should prove useful for any high school, college or university that desires to build an on-campus radio station. It is hoped the incremental improvements added here will prove to make the document even more helpful to those who read it.
You've probably arrived here because you have a desire to start a campus radio station for your school. This document is not meant to be a complete step-by-step comprehensive guide on how to build your station from an empty room to completion. All around this site you'll find information which will help you in your journey in building a campus radio station. This primer will address some of the basics needed to get the ball rolling with your station.
Why Do You Want To Build an On-Campus Radio Station?
You may have plenty of reasons you would like to start a station but you need to be able to give your school's administration good reason not only to listen to your proposal but to consider the ramifications it brings to the table. Here are some things to be aware of before presenting your station proposal to your school's administration:
Campus Life: How can having a campus station benefit your school? As an additional school activity the station may enrich students with music and news. It may also add a sense of community to your school as well. You'll also have to think about what does your school administration get by promoting the presence of an on-campus radio station.
Community Relations: Would the school administration and, more importantly, your school's public image have something to gain by having a campus radio station? This could range from your school's faculty, who are often looking for new and creative ways to reach out to the student population, and your own community who often scrutinize what their public funding is doing for the student attending their public school system funded on their tax dollars.
Curriculum: Presenting how the station can become an asset in a curriculum sense may help in moving your station proposal forward. Think of how a station can be integrated into your school. English curriculum could benefit from adding courses in journalism, script writing, public speaking and announcing. Technology classes could be enhanced with courses on computer operation and multimedia classes such as audio editing. Business classes could including radio station operation and administration.
Finances: Can your school afford to spend the money to start a radio station, let alone provide an annual operational budget? Do you pay a Student Activity Fee into a general fund, which supports campus activities such as sports? That money might be tapped for the station as well, provided it can offer something back to the students as well. You should also be thinking of ways students would be able to provide additional funding to build and operate the station.
Liability: What are the risks and potential damage a campus station can do, in terms of the above items?
Some schools have a big advantage if they have an Engineering or Communications department that could benefit from the addition of a full-time campus radio station. Some other schools may only consider a campus station as an extracurricular student activity or hobby group. No matter what, never feel like your desire to build a school station is inferior to other campus activities.
It is assumed you have teamed up with other like-minded students to pursue your goal of a student station. Prepare a one page description of your station plans and touch upon the issues mentioned above. Reach out for assistance and have it proofread by somebody on the Faculty. Present your single page proposal to your school's Administration as part of an initial request to move ahead with developing a full station plan and budget. If you've planned accordingly the Administration will be happy to see you've done your initial research as well as addressing their concerns in advance.
Next page
