Today, over 550 college and high school radio stations in 28 countries are taking part in a “24-Hour Global Marathon — College Radio Day.”
Coldplay’s Chris Martin officially launched the event with a message of support.
College Radio Day was conceived by Prof. Rob Quicke, general manager for WPSC(FM), of William Paterson University in New York.
“Considering CRD has no budget and is administered by volunteers, having 550 college and high school radio stations in 28 countries is truly remarkable,” Quicke said. “It’s a day we all come together and make a collective statement that says college/high school radio is an important and vital medium. It is a massive undertaking but last year’s inaugural CRD 2011 was so successful, how could we not push forward with CRD 2012?”
The event’s goal to inspire people to tune into their local college and high school radio across the United States, Europe, Africa and Australia. Hundreds of thousands of listeners are expected to tune in throughout the day. College Radio Day can also be heard on TuneIn.
A two-disc College Radio Day album will also be released today to raise funds for cash-strapped college radio stations. Some of the artists supplying tracks include The Civil Wars, We Are Scientists, The Maine, Blues Traveler, Soul Khan, The Front Bottoms and Umphrey’s McGee. The second disc features unsigned artists. Proceeds will be given out to help buy needed equipment, repair existing equipment and support promotional events.
College Radio Day in North America has partnered with organizations around the world: Red de Radio Universitaria de Latinoamerica y el Caribe (Latin America/Caribbean), ll Network dei Media Universitari e Degli Student Reporter (Italy), RadUni — Associazione Operatori Radiofonici Universitari (Italy), The Student Radio Association (U.K.), SYN (Australia) and Studentradion i Sverige (Sweden).
This event aims to raise the profile of college radio, reminding people of college radio’s significant broadcast content and value in a time when some colleges are choosing to sell off their student stations.
