Student-run radio has many ties to Philadelphia.
October’s National Student Media Convention will feature a session hosted by Jennifer Waits dedicated to the history of student radio there, starting from 1923 at Haverford College, and how other outlets can start their own preservation projects.
It’s one of 79 sessions students and advisers alike can look forward to. The National Student Media Convention is held annually in a different U.S. city, and this year it’s happening Oct. 14–17 at the Marriott Philadelphia, adjacent to the Reading Terminal Market. It is organized by College Broadcasters Inc., which represents approximately 290 college media outlets worldwide.
CBI’s efforts in the past year include its filing of the first letter to the FCC arguing that the forthcoming noncom reserved-band FM translator filing window should be rescheduled. That window was originally to open in August, when many colleges were still on summer break. The commission ultimately moved it to November.
“If you and your students only get one conference this year, this is the one that pays off the most,” CBI President Anabella Poland told us.
The full schedule has been announced. Session lengths run one hour long, with 15-minute breaks. Registration is open now, and organizers advise you to sign up while there’s still time.
Perhaps fittingly, this year’s conference is held in the cradle of liberty, as we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. CBI strategically moves the location of the convention each year, but there is a benefit to being near the nerve center of the Interstate 95 corridor.
“Philadelphia is in close distance to an enormous concentration of colleges, universities and high schools on the east coast,” Poland said.
WMMR(FM)’s Marisa Magnatta, from the “Preston & Steve” morning show, will be the master of ceremonies of the CBI National Student Production Awards, held on Sat., Oct. 17, the last day of the convention.
Standout sessions
The first full day of the conference, Thursday offers 37 different sessions, covering topics meant for both students and their mentors. There’s several others waitlisted.
“Advisors and students in educational media spaces often face similar challenges,” Poland explained. “A general manager from a 10-watt operation in the midwest and a GM from a major market station with 2,500 watts are oftentimes dealing with the same issues in isolation.”
As a result, the NSMC sessions this year are geared toward placing people in the same room who are often looking to solve the same challenges. 113 speakers are confirmed, and 48 are considered professionals.
“When we get together, we stop reinventing the wheel,” Poland said.
Offerings we took notice of include a discussion on fundraising tactics for student-run radio, hosted by representatives from both KJHK(FM) at the University of Kansas and WJCU(FM) at John Carroll University.
John Devecka, operations manager at Loyola University Maryland’s WLOY(AM), and RTDNA President and CEO Tara Puckey will host a chat about the state of journalism and new media in today’s regulatory landscape.
In a cleverly titled session, “Don’t Throw It Away Yet: Electronics Repair for Student Media,” Technology Director and Computer Engineering student Julian Gutierrez for KJHK will introduce a basic troubleshooting process for diagnosing common electronic failures. Thursday concludes with the annual Swag Swap Social.
Friday caps with career fair mixer
Poland herself knows the ups and downs of student media, leading the award-winning student-run operation at New Jersey’s Montclair State University, 90.3 WMSC(FM).
She is able to mix her own real-world experience with the challenges her own students face. One of those is finding placement in today’s workforce.
“For students, networking with their peers from all over the country opens doors beyond their own schools,” Poland said.
Poland added that at multiple NSMC conventions, students who attended have subsequently been offered jobs in the same market, including at the convention in Philadelphia a decade prior.
On Friday, there are 36 sessions, culminating in a career fair mixer.
There’s also a roundtable specifically for high school advisors, which organizers have found particularly useful, as those stations often have less resources and relish the opportunity to exchange ideas.
WTOP(FM) Director of News and Programming Julia Ziegler will host a session on breaking into the news business. Billy Dires and Elizabeth Campbell, two CBS News veterans, will discuss production in the field and how to keep things running smoothly.
Representatives from WJCU and WGLS(FM) at Rowan University will discuss methods for students and advisers to advocate for funding in an era of slashed budgets. Three representatives from WSUM(FM) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will discuss building a broadcast training program.
And three representatives from Villanova University’s WXVU(FM), including Dr. Carol Weingarten, inaugural director of WXV&U Health, will host a session on how an unlikely partnership with the school’s Fitzpatrick College of Nursing helped save the station’s license from being sold by the school.
Day three, Saturday, offers a member meeting and four morning sessions, followed by a convention cornerstone: the CBI National Student Production Awards. There are 41 categories that recognize the best in student media, including CBI Radio Station of the Year and CBI Video Channel of the Year.
If you’re planning your travel itinerary, there are also two pre-convention Wednesday workshops that span the afternoon worth noting.
The first track focuses on technical training for remote live music production. It offers students a practical foundation, starting with what equipment to pack and moving into documents that allow for a smooth show, like stage plots and input lists. It also covers microphone selection and placement for live performance, concluding with a performance by John Faye of The Caulfields.
The second pre-convention track is a two-part workshop, focusing first on the art and business of booking talent for live events, and second on hosting concerts on campus.
CBI is also offering a pair of tours this year for attendees, including WXPN(FM)’s “Free at Noon,” live at the World Cafe on Oct. 16. There will also be a tour of KYW(TV)’s facilities.
Attendees can download the CBI mobile app on their iOS or Android devices to stay up to date with the convention schedule. Additionally, there will be an on-site cybercast providing live coverage of key events. It’s the 25th anniversary, in fact, of the event’s cybercast.
But for anyone on the fence, Poland feels strongly about the value of attending in person. Her own experience as WMSC’s general manager verifies this.
“It’s an opportunity for your students to get to see that they are a part of something larger than their own media spaces and schools. I’ve personally had students pay their own way to their second and third NSMCs to attend. If that’s not a sign of how fantastic their own experience is, I don’t know what is!” Poland said.
CBI serves students and advisers of student media. Notably, it is the only student media organization that has consistently participated in hearings about webcasting fees since 1998 on behalf of noncommercial educational broadcasters.
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