WAYNE — Tuesday is College Radio Day, celebrating the influence and independence of college radio throughout the world.
College Radio day was started three years ago and over the last two years, has grown from several hundred participating college and high school radio stations to over 650 stations currently signed on covering 40 countries. The third annual College Radio Day is Oct. 1, 2013, and clearly, the yearly global airwaves event has grown tremendously in its short lifetime. So much so, that the event is now known as World College Radio Day outside of the United States.
For the second year running, a 24-hour live global marathon will involve 24 different college radio stations in 24 countries broadcasting live and streaming online. Participating stations will “pass the microphone” at the end of their respective “hour.” From Italy, Israel, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Columbia to the United Kingdom and Sweden, the college radio network airwaves will circumnavigate the globe – a true “World College Radio Day.”
During the course of College Radio Day, a 40-hour on-air international day, a number of artists including Wilco, Passenger, San Cisco, Charlie Peacock, The Front Bottoms, Jukebox The Ghost and The Soft Pack, will be supporting the cause on record by donating unreleased tracks to “College Radio Day – The Album – Volume Two.” The release date for that is Tuesday, Nov. 12. This album, like its predecessor from 2012, will raise funds for college radio stations.
Artists like Lucius, Coldplay, Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) and The Lumineers have pre-recorded audio messages and interviews to lend their support first-hand to College Radio Day.
College Radio Day was founded by West Milford resident and associate professor of Communications at William Paterson University Rob Quicke. Quicke serves as general manager of the university's award-winning WPSC 88.7 FM, which was named "Best College Radio Station" in the United States in both 2012 and 2013 by IBS. College Radio Day debuted in 2011 and, a year later, had 585 college radio stations in 29 countries participating to raise the importance, awareness and the profile of college radio.
The organizers of CRD believe that college radio is the last bastion of creative radio programming and, simply put, that college radio is an integral part of the media landscape. Many famous and successful band/artists owe their initial breaks to college radio.
“It’s remarkable just how much CRD has grown – it is a global event," said Quicke. "World College Radio Day has raised the bar and for one global day, gives credit to the medium we call college radio. Some say college radio is dying and I disagree. This event proves them wrong and you cannot deny the enthusiasm and creativity that students worldwide produce and present daily on their respective stations – big and small alike.”
For more information about the organization, visit www.collegeradioday.com/contact-us.