Introduction

In an earlier essay I stated my belief that college radio rests precariously on a foundation of two pillars: creativity of music and creativity of presentation. Now I wish to back-up and extend that belief in some more formal theory. In particular, I will use General Systems Theory to explain why some college radio stations are better than others and what can be done about the situation. Finally I propose a third pillar of college radio-support of the host university.

Lessons from General Systems Theory

General systems theory describes organizations (everything from businesses to fruitflys) as wholes, and relates the internal structure of the organization to the resulting behavior that is seen by the organization. In particular, we learn from general systems theory that 1) structure influences behavior, and 2) different individuals placed within the same structure tend to act the same.

Nowhere is this more true than in college radio. The vastly different character between different college radio stations is a direct result of the varying organizational structures (the rules) in those different stations. Anyone who has been listening to college radio for awhile knows that the turnover of individual DJs (mostly college students) is very high, yet the overall character, 'the sound' of the station remains fairly constant. Systems theory explains why, and points to what can be done to improve a station's sound. Let me illustrate with a few examples.

Case in Point: KZSU Stanford

My first college radio station was KZSU, the college radio station of Stanford University. The major rules of the station of interest here (at the time of my involvement there in the mid 1990's) may be summarized as follows:

1) DJ's must complete a thorough 10 week training course before their first show.
2) DJ's get shows and show-times based upon seniority.
3) All shows are 3 hours long.
4) There are "regular shows" (5 cuts from "A-file" per hour (which 5 cuts are at the DJ's discretion), everything else is at the DJ's discretion) and "specialty shows" (everything is at the DJ's discretion)
5) The playlist (called the "A-file" at KZSU) contains an extremely wide (diverse) range of music, and individual albums all spend the same amount of time in the rotation (typically a month or so), and the "A-file" is always about the same size (about 200 albums).
6) The Music Director and Program Director and DJ's live separate lives. The MD is only responsible for the A-file. The PD is only responsible for assigning show slots each quarter. The DJ's are only responsible for their own shows.
7) DJ's are required to do a certain number of 'staffing hours' per quarter.
8) There are weekly station meetings where general station announcements are made and the MD introduces new additions to the A-file. These meetings are well-attended by DJs.

The resulting 'sound' of the station is as follows:

• The quality of presentation (i.e., DJ's skills) is very high, especially in prime time
• The overall quality of music is very high
• The diversity of music played between shows and within individual shows is very high
• DJs are generally highly motivated and content.
• There are always more eager DJ's than timeslots available.

Notice how the station sound is a direct result of the underlying rules. Because DJs undergo a thorough training course, they understand the diverse music the station plays before they get on the air, and thus do not complain about not being able to play the music they were used to hearing on commercial radio. Because DJs get shows based on seniority, the best DJs tend to get the best timeslots and hence the station sounds the best when the most people are listening. Since no album stays in the playlist for more than a month or so, and since many (but not all shows) change around each quarter, the station always sounds fresh. Because DJs are frequently in the station doing staffing and attend weekly meetings, everybody always knows what's going in at the station in general, and hence there is no confusion or misunderstanding, but rather general contentment. The same is true for the management, because they live separate lives, they don't get into arguments either.

Case in Point: WREK Atlanta

Contrast the underlying structure and resultant sound of KZSU with another college radio station, WREK, the college radio station of Georgia Tech, where I was an MD among other things. The important rules of the station (at the time of my involvement in the late 1990's) may be summarized as follows:

1) DJ's must complete a 2 hour training course before their first show.
2) There are "format shows" (everything from a particular playlist, which cuts are at the DJ's discretion) and "specialty shows" (everything at the DJ's discretion)
3) DJ's get one to two hour "format" slots on a first-come, first-serve basis. DJ's get specialty shows at the PD's discretion, only if there is a time slot available.
4) There are several individual playlists, each containing a specific genre (ambient, experimental, rock/rap/reggae, world music, jazz, classical/opera) of music. Each playlist is updated sporadically by the MD by adding new material and retiring a corresponding number of albums based upon how many plays an individual album has received (not how long it has been in the playlist). Some albums remain in playlist for up to a year (e.g., world music) or in some cases, indefinitely (e.g., classical music).
5) The PD, besides PD duties, also has authority over the MDs and the playlists.
6) There are station meetings held only once per quarter. Attendance to these meetings is mandatory.

The resulting 'sound' of the station is as follows:

• The quality of presentation varies widely, from very high for a few veteran specialty show hosts, to very low in a large number of format show hosts.
• The overall quality of music is very high.
• The station often sounds stale (i.e., you always know what you're going to hear)
• Hopeful specialty show hosts are continually frustrated at no specialty show time-slots being available.
• DJs continually complain about not be able to play what they want to play.
• MDs often bicker amongst themselves and with the PD over particular playlist additions.
• There are rarely enough DJs to fill all the format show slots.

Notice again how the results at WREK are again a direct resulting of the underlying rules. And just as predicted by systems theory, even though the people at the station change every quarter, the rules do not, and hence the station's sound does not change either. Since DJs only undergo a cursory training session, they are put on the air with no real understanding of why the station plays the diverse music it does, and hence DJs are continually complaining about not getting to play commercial music, and usually don't do a very good job of playing the non-commercial music they're supposed to. Since the management does understand why the station plays diverse music, and since they want to keep it that way (for good reason), they have to keep the rules strict to prevent rebellious DJs from playing commercial music. Consequently, many DJs stay dissatisfied, never able to play the music they want to play, never really understand what the station is about, and leave after only a quarter or two. Hence format show slots regularly go unfilled and the station is periodically off the air. Meanwhile, specialty show DJs become entrenched and go years before relinquishing their show to a new DJ. Again, for want of a true creative outlet, prospective specialty show hosts leave in droves. In the midst of the continual effort to keep malcontented DJs playing diverse music and to keep the playlists homogeneous, the station management are continually butting heads. To the listener, of course all this internal turmoil goes unnoticed because the station always sounds the same, on account of the fact that the formats and specialty shows never change and individual albums in each playlist stay in practically forever.

So What Gives?

Despite the fact that WREK has twenty times the signal strength of KZSU, in my observation, based upon calls for concert tickets, calls for requests, etc., WREK only has a fraction of the listener base. The reason why should now be obvious. KZSU sits firmly atop the two key pillars, creativity of music and creativity of presentation. WREK sits on the pillar of creativity of music but has lost the pillar of creativity of presentation. Notice that both stations succeed in playing very diverse non-commercial music. The difference is that people at KZSU are happy doing so (and so are their many listeners) while people at WREK must fight a never ending battle and frustrate and disappoint many people (as well as countless listeners) along the way.

The tragedy for WREK, and stations like it, is the underlying lack of understanding of why they are in the position that they are. Most college radio stations are highly insulated. Except for the occasional far-flung pseudo-independent music conference, most college radio station have no idea of how other college station work or what they sound like. The relatively loose rules at KZSU beget not only great radio, but also continuing loose rules because they work so well. But the relatively strict rules at WREK beget not only marginal radio, but also continually strict rules. They are never able to break free. So what can we do about this sort of unfortunate situation?

Suggestions for Rules in a College Radio Station

Comparing the rules of KZSU and rules of WREK gives us some indication of what works well and what does not. We can summarize what works well as follows:

• Have a thorough DJ training course
• Maintain DJ involvement in the station outside their own show
• Reward seniority
• Keep management responsibilities separate
• Provide creative music to DJs
• Give DJs the freedom to present music creatively

Let's go through the importance of each of these suggestions in turn.

• A though DJ training course is essential. A DJ training course should accomplish two major goals, both of which require time and practice. The first is an introduction and appreciation of diverse (typically non-commercial radio) music. Experience has shown that once this wide world is opened up the DJ, they will not want to play commercial music anymore. Second, the technical fundamentals of DJs must be learned and mastered through practice. This includes how to operate the station equipment, how to speak clearly on the mic, how to do good segues, etc.
• Maintaining DJ involvement in the station is also critical. This keeps the station functioning as one station and not just a bunch of discrete and insular shows. This keeps a shared philosophy of creative music among all the DJs by watching other DJs practice it as well. This keeps DJs abreast of station events and new music in the playlist. Both weekly meetings and some kind of staffing requirement are probably necessary (yes, even for busy college students).
• Rewarding, but not overrewarding seniority is also important. This is to keep the station's best foot forward by having the best, most seasoned DJs on at the most-listened to times. However, caution must be exercised (by the PD) not to let experienced DJs become too entrenched and not allow opportunities for up-and-coming DJs to move forward. As argued in a separate essay, a good balance between student and community involvement is essential.
• Keeping management responsibilities separate is crucial for the station to run smoothly. Everyone in management must have a clearly defined role, and some level of independence and autonomy in fulfilling that role. More importantly, these roles should not overlap. Of course, all management and management decisions come under the overall responsibility of the General Manager.
• Providing creative music to DJs is the heart of the first pillar. Without creative music, college radio is just commercial radio poorly done (as, sadly enough, all too many college radio stations are). Since most music in college radio is sent to the stations for free ('servicing' from record labels), this requires that the MD be active in pursuing really creative music, since often the most creative music comes from the smallest labels with only limited budgets for giving away CDs to radio stations. If the MD just sits back and lets music come in, all they will get is the same unimaginative commercial music sent by the big labels to every radio station, college radio and commercial alike.
• Giving DJs the freedom to present music creatively is the heart of the second pillar. Notice that only after DJs have gone through a thorough training course can they be 'trusted' with wide freedom. Moreover, simple freedom is not enough. Genuine creativity in presentation must be actively encouraged (and if possible, rewarded, such as in the weekly station meeting) by management.

The beauty of such a system, as can be seen in KZSU, is that it maintains itself. Thus no matter how a bad (e.g., rigid system as in WREK) came into being, it can be replaced by a good system and enjoy future success.

A Third Pillar?

As mentioned at the beginning of this essay, college radio rests precariously on only two pillars, creativity of music and creativity of presentation. When a radio station chooses to climb these two pillars, it can truly become great, but its future success is far from guaranteed. The heart of the problem is money.

Since college radio stations are supported by colleges, and not by selling commercials, they are dependent upon continued financial support from their universities for their very survival. Moreover, since it is the college itself that usually holds the station's license, the station itself is in constant peril of being completely scrapped and replaced with say, an NPR affiliate, which indeed happens to college radio stations periodically. Hence the third pillar is not merely outside income (although that can be helpful), the third pillar is a good relationship with the host university.

Both KZSU and WREK suffer from poor relationships with their respective universities. This has to do with the fact that both KZSU and WREK mostly play (diverse, non-conventional, not-on-commercial-radio-stations) music that is not understood by the majority of people in general, including the student body and school administrators alike. The irony is that only people who have undergone a good DJ training course as described above will really appreciate the music that a good college radio station plays, while most people will never go through a good DJ training course.

As I have never personally seen a station with an excellent relationship with its university, I can only suggest some strategies of how this may be done:

• First, the station must strive to play the best music and play it with the best presentation possible. A great radio station will naturally garner more support than a mediocre radio station.
• Second, a radio station is its own publicity tool. Management should encourage DJs to actively 'talk up the station,' so to speak, on the air.
• Third, students involved in and dedicated to the radio station should also be involved in student government organizations, which are often the people who dedicate funding to student organizations including the student radio station. (I happen to know this strategy has saved WREK's life more than once.)
• Fourth, students involved in and dedicated to the radio station should also be involved in the student newspaper. As competing media outlets, as well as competing organizations for student funding, these two organizations can often have a stormy relationship (as in KZSU and the Stanford student newspaper). Having the same people involved in each can avoid this problem.
• Fifth, the radio station must try to put its best face forward on campus in general, by sponsoring concerts, participating in social activities, posting flyers about the station or particular shows on campus, etc.
• Six, a loyal supporter within the school's administration is invaluable. These people should be actively sought out, and gratefully thanked for their support.

The good news and the bad news is that turnover of people at universities is very high. Thus if a radio station has a very poor relationship with, say, the university newspaper, if new students begin 'infiltrating' the newspaper from the radio station, the old guard at the newspaper will be gone in a few years and the 'infiltrating' students will be in positions of responsibility soon enough. However, if a station has a good relationship with, say, the students newspaper or student government, this relationship must be actively maintained and preciously guarded because the people you have a good relationship with now will soon be gone. Pursuing good relationships like these should be a major function of station management.

Conclusion

In this essay I have attempted to explain why some college radio stations are better than others and what can be done about it. The issue is not just between having loose rules or strict rules. Although I have argued that strict rules lead to failure, for loose rules to work, the right rules must be put in place. In particular, a station must act to place itself firmly upon the three pillars of college radio: creativity of music, creativity of presentation, and support of their school.