Students at KWAX
do it all, classically
Classical music airs 18-hours-a-day
rr\
he written "goais" of KWAX, the
University's public radio station, note
that students who work there can get
experience for a variety of jobs
The volunteers, interns, and paid staff members
at KWAX agree
“I'm learning production work as well as
announcing," says Pam Jordan, a senior majoring
in music who is on the air for three hours Sunday
mornings and five hours Thursday nights.
The volunteers, interns, and paid staff members
at KWAX agree
“I'm learning production work as well as
announcing,” says Pam Jordan, a senior majoring
in music who is on the air for three hours Sunday
mornings and five hours Thursday nights
The training a student can get by working at
KWAX is quite valuable if the student is willing to
put in the time, she says
Working at the station demonstrated other
ways — besides performance — to be involved with
music, says Karen Nestvold, a senior in music
performance who is a KWAX announcer
Dan Dodderidge a junior with a double major
in telecommunications and broadcasting, says he
started working at the station to "get involved in my
major" but now works primarily to help the station
KWAX. operating at a 91.1 FM frequency from
the third floor of Villard Hall, dedicates about 70
percent of its airtime — at least 18 hours a day — to
classical music, and has for many years Nestvold
says that more radio drama on the station has been
considered, but not at the expense of classical
music
The classical music mode was established in
the 1960s by studying what music was and was not
available in the area, according to KWAX
promotional literature
Students are usually on the air or in charge of
what’s on the air for all but four to five hours of
programming per day, says chief announcer Peter
Armetta More than 25 students currently work at
KWAX, which began in 1951 as a student
extracurricular activity
Jordan, who is on the air Sunday mornings
from 6 to 9 a m and Thursday nights from 8 p.m to
1 a m., says working exposes her to a lot of music
and literature about music She has considered
becoming a "disc jockey" but probably won't, she
says
"I appreciate the opportunity to learn about
radio,” she says
Operating under the auspices of the University
relations office, KWAX receives half of its operating
budget from state funds As a member of National
Public Radio, five full-time paid staff are a
requirement
Students don't seem to be interested in
managing the station, says general manager Janet
Kenney although a few students are "finally"
interested in promotion and development and the
"operations" phases of the station
Direct student funding through incidental fees
amounted to only about $1,700 this year — less than
1 percent of the station 's budget The ASUO
Executive has recommended the same amount for
next year, despite cuts in over-all student funding of
University activities
a
Students are crucial to the day-to-day
operation of the station, but employing so many
students is also based on a philosophical decision,
not just financial concerns, Kenney says The
decision has been made that KWAX serve
educational functions since it is located on campus,
she says So far it hasn’t relied on many community
volunteers, she adds
There are many college stations now that use
few students and have little connection with the
college they're affiliated with, Kenney says
Community volunteers are more stable than
students, but probably less interested in learning
Pat Eysenbach, left, does production while Karen Nestvold announces Nestvold says KWAX is “a wonderful
way for people to get experience. ”
and more likely to believe "they know it all," she
says
"Sure, you notice the difference," Armetta
says "We don't sound like NPR (National Public
Radio)," but "we do pretty well," he says
At KWAX "you don't have to be a professional
to get your feature produced and on the air,"
Armetta says
The number of students who work at the station
keeps the station student-oriented. Nestvold says
So do frequent broadcasts from the music school
“I was interested in broadcasting from growing
Pam Jordan, one of
many students and
volunteers, works
the KWAX boards
up with it,' says Nestvold, whose father — Karl
Nestvold — is an associate broadcasting professor
at the University journalism school
She is also more interested in writing about
music than being an announcer after graduation,
she says Nestvold says she once carried a double
major in music and journalism and that seeking a
master s degree in journalism is not out of the
question
"I like performance, but I want to do something
else with my music," she says
Her music background helps her put together
programs of various musical pieces for broadcast.
Nestvold says Working for KWAX "is a wonderful
opportunity for people to get experience
Other volunteers don't view KWAX from such a
practical perspective
"I'm just having fun with it right now,"
Dodderidge says "I don't want to be an announcer
or do production work at a radio or TV station "
On the air from 2:30 to 5:30 p m on Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Fridays, he also has a weekend
spot on KSND Work at KWAX isn't hard, just
time-consuming, he says
Dodderidge, who says he is one of a few
students doing both announcing and production at
KWAX, adds that he often does production work on
weekends as well
Eventually he would like to go into advertising
or public relations, Dodderidge says
As for now, "I'd like to keep busy and active at
KWAX," he says "There's a lot of work to do to
keep a radio station going "
His only qualm with the overall working
environment of the station is that the
non-student staff is "small and overworked "
Volunteers are now being sought in particular,
Nestvold says, adding that most students getting
paid at KWAX volunteered there previously for at
least one term
Story by Dane Claussen
Photos by Mark Pynes
Graphic by Max DeRungs