IU Kokomo to pull radio station off air at semester's end

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - The stream that has broadcast Radio Free Kokomo to online listeners since September 2010 will fall silent at the end of the semester.

On Jan. 26, the student-run radio station at Indiana University Kokomo announced on its Facebook page that the university had decided to shut it down. Administrators say the low level of student interest in the station no longer justifies the expense of running it and the related class. The small, but dedicated group running the station says it understands, but still, they want to keep the broadcast going.

"I'm very disappointed. I've been involved with the station since its beginning," said Scott Manthe, who advises the Internet Radio Club that runs Radio Free Kokomo and also teaches IUK's introduction to radio course. "I understand the administration's reasoning. They've been very supportive over the years, and I think that's why everyone's surprised by the suddenness of the decision."

Four students took Manthe's introduction to radio class last semester, and six students currently work in unpaid positions at Radio Free Kokomo. Introduction to radio is one of five classes from which students majoring in communications arts must choose two to complete to earn their Bachelor of Arts degrees.

The course is being eliminated from IUK's curriculum, and Scott Jones, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, says it follows that the student-run radio station would end too.

"You have to hire a faculty member to teach them and the department had to supply equipment," Jones told the Kokomo Tribune (http://bit.ly/1AwKizS ). "We're trying to put the resources where they will help the most students."

The Internet Radio Club received a $600 budget for the 2014-15 school year, which makes it the fifth-lowest funded of IUK's 11 student clubs. Jones estimated that offering a section of the introduction to radio course each semester costs the university more than $6,000 to pay the instructor and maintain equipment.

"There are students who are interested in this, and we do understand those students are frustrated," Jones said. "But we're investing those resources in areas with more students, since we don't have the classes teaching people how to operate a station."

Manthe, who will teach a public speaking class instead of introduction to radio next semester, disagrees about the level of interdependence between the station and the class; he thinks the station could continue to operate even after the class is cut.

"I think there's a misconception about the level of attachment there," Manthe said. "Yes, the class and the station are related. But to work at the station, you never had to take the class. We would train people there (at the station)."

However, because IUK is held responsible in licensing and legal agreements for the station, Jones says it's too much of a liability to have students on air who have not been formally instructed in the basics of radio.

Manthe thinks with more student involvement, the station would have been viable. For a campus IUK's size, he thought a group of 15 to 20 students would have been sufficient to run the station, but instead the club's membership fluctuated between five and 10 students over the years.

"With any kind of situation like this, there has to be student interest," he said. "There has been interest, but the problem is the participation has not been up where we would like. Unfortunately, the university seems fairly entrenched in its position."

Part of the challenge in getting more students involved at the station is that IUK is not a residential campus, Manthe added. Students commute, and it may not be convenient to go home after classes and then return to campus to work at the radio station. Radio Free Kokomo draws anywhere from 10 to 100 listeners, depending on the show and time of day, and the station's web presence has recently engaged 750 people.

Rob Salem, a new media major in his fourth semester at IUK, has been outspoken about what a loss to campus he thinks discontinuing Radio Free Kokomo will be.

Salem is station manager at Radio Free Kokomo and has worked there for 1.5 years, making him the most senior staff member. He started out with a weekly one-hour show and has expanded The Forge, dedicated to playing underground metal and rock music, to a daily two-hour show.

"The goal of a college radio station is to provide a fully operating environment that matches a commercial station," said Salem, 38, of Amboy. "With college radio, we get to take chances and have fun explore things that mainstream radio mainly ignores."

Salem has met with administrators to discuss the reasons for shutting down Radio Free Kokomo. Like Manthe, he said he understands their point of view but is disappointed by the decision.

"I enjoy it a lot. I've got the experience and I could see myself doing it," Salem said of pursuing a career in radio. "I really like this and it would be a shame to get rid of it at the college level."

One Tuesday evening early in February, Center Stage co-owner Henry Mertz stopped by to talk with Salem at the Radio Free Kokomo station, which is housed in an old ticket booth for Havens Auditorium in IUK's Main Building. Mertz also co-owns Power 104.9, a new nonprofit multi-genre radio station in Kokomo.

"I'm here to see if we can't help," Mertz said.

He relates to Salem's goal of giving lesser known bands more exposure and providing listeners with a unique experience they may not get from corporate-owned radio stations. Power 104.9 also gives Mertz an outlet to promote upcoming shows at Center Stage.

"It's a way to bring up new and upcoming DJs and to think outside the box," he said.

Salem said the station has received plenty of community support from Mertz and others since the announcement was made that Radio Free Kokomo would come to an end.

Administrators are meeting with local radio stations to explore setting up internships for students interested in radio and broadcasting, Jones said. Manthe thinks it's a good move, but he says those internships will not offer the same experience Radio Free Kokomo does.

"I think students can get a great deal of benefit from internships at community radio stations," Manthe said. "It's fair to say that's an opportunity, but it's a different kind of opportunity."

At Radio Free Kokomo, students have an early opportunity to use the sound board and mics and DJ their own show, Manthe said, which is unlikely to happen at a commercial station.

"The opportunity to get on and actually announce is something we offered, and that's very rare with an internship," he said. "The other thing we offered is to let people tailor their own show and play music people don't normally hear."

Megan Riley, a third-year student who also works at the radio station, says she has learned valuable lessons from her time at Radio Free Kokomo, even though she doesn't plan to pursue a career in radio.

"It's something I might potentially do on the side. That being said, I've also learned so much from the radio station that I could use in any job," she said, noting she's learned how to conduct an interview, coordinate an employee work schedule and general communication skills.

Riley, a new media major from New Palestine, hosts the "Mix with Megan," a show that she redefined this semester to focus on indie folk music. She was the DJ for IUK's homecoming dance this year, which was a fun experience, and Riley was looking forward to using her on-air platform to get more involved with other campus activities.

"I think everyone enjoyed having someone from the school playing music and interacting with people," she said.

With the station securing FCC certification in May 2014 and building up to almost a full schedule of DJs, Riley thought the station was picking up momentum. The news that it's being shut down surprised her.

"I was flabbergasted," she said. "I was upset. It wasn't something I had seen coming.

"At this point, I like to think that absolutely anything is possible," she added. "I wish I knew where it was going from this point forward, but our biggest thing right now is raising awareness that this is a great program."

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com