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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ryan Frank
EDITORIAL EDITOR
Kameron Cole
Stefanie Knowlton
Local
stations lack
nothing in
effort, hut
ultimately
leave college
students
yearning for
fresher
airwaves
Opinion
Ashley
Bach
Like so many forms of media,
radio delivers to a near cap
tive audience. We can only
hear what is available to us,
and have little control — save for a
few song requests — over what we
hear in the future. This fact is all the
more frustrating in a city that,
frankly, is sorely lacking on the
FM/AM dial. With few exceptions, in
fact, the more I listen, the more I
know one thing.
Eugene radio sucks.
Many of you already realize this,
I’m sure; the rest of you will discover
it in the months ahead. As for me, I
just did the math. In Portland, where
I’m from, there’s one alternative sta
tion, one Top 40, one hard rock and
two for softer alternative. In the Bay
Area, there are two alternative, one
hard rock, two rap stations and many
others. And in Los Angeles, the choic
es are even more plentiful.
So what does Eugene offer to the av
erage college student? Three very lim
ited choices: 95.3 KNRQ for alterna
tive, 104.7 KDUK for Top 40 and 88.1
KWVA for “college radio.” The sheer
numbers alone are troublesome. How
often have we flipped through the dial
and found nothing to our liking and
then settled on a sub-par station?
Unfortunately, variety isn’t the only
problem. Eugene may not be a big
enough market to support more sta
tions, but it’s certainly big enough to
support some quality. Alas, that’s
hard to find in the three-horned mon
ster called Eugene college radio. Let’s
run down the choices:
95.3 KNRQ: Otherwise known as
“The Q,” this amateurish and ulti
mately annoying station seems to best
capture the musical tastes of most col
lege students. But that’s really no con
solation.
The DJs, for the most part, are
laughable. Chia, whose voice too
many college students have been ex
posed to, is always a chipper sound in
the afternoon, but ultimately grates
with her self-centered chat and tech
nical foul-ups. And Jenny-O, who’s
thankfully been banished from the
morning show, sounds like she just
walked in off the street.
Even worse, KNRQ tries hard to
portray itself as cool, rebellious and a
little off-beat. They’ve got the weird
part down, but they are neither cool
nor rebellious. The stupid promos
they run, with the movie clips and
that guy with the deep voice, are
transparent attempts to build an im
age. Let’s just play the music.
104.7 KDUK: This station is notable
not only for its non-existent DJs but
for its most visible audience (excited
14-year-olds). I’ve listened to KDUK
for three years and don’t recall any of
the on-air personalities. This isn’t
such a bad thing, however; consider
ing the ones I have heard have been
devoid of any personality.
But, for college students, this is a
tough choice. We’re old enough to
have focused our musical tastes, so
the hodgepodge of songs and artists
KDUK throws at its listeners is hard to
absorb. One minute I’m hearing
“Building a Mystery” by Sarah
McLachlan; the next, it’s “The Boy Is
Mine” by Brandy and Monica. If
you’re not into R&B or soft alternative,
turning the dial is inevitable.
As with most radio stations,
KDUK’s innumerable call-ins, give
aways and contests are another good
reason to tune out. And this station
gets the local award for worst treat
ment of its winners. They force their
listeners to recite the "phrase that
pays,” a terribly patronizing request
that degrades people into saying, “To
day’s best music: KDUK.” No wonder
their big audience is teenagers.
88.1 KWVA: Honestly, I get scared
every time I listen to this station. The
musical choices are, for lack of a bet
ter word, weird. I realize this is "col
lege radio,” nurturing artists outside
the mainstream, blah, blah. But I just
don’t get it, and I don't think I’m
alone.
That said, I’m proud of these guys.
All college students, they’re able to
put together a 24-hour station on dat
ed equipment with a fairly varied pro
gramming schedule. They’ve got talk,
several speciality shows and news.
The DJs are eclectic but spirited. And
plus, KWVA doesn’t have to pretend
it’s a professional station. It’s a train
ing ground.
Unfortunately, for all these virtues,
one is still left with the general
playlist, which I think turns most col
lege students away. It’s unfortunate
that KWVA can’t be a more wide
spread choice for the student body.
We definitely need it. Then again, the
crew up there in the EMU probably
doesn’t mind being on the artistic
fringes.
So what are we left with? Two sta
tions trying to pass themselves off as
professional, and one that’s trying real
hard, but doesn’t really capture a
greater audience. For the average col
lege student, it doesn’t make for a very
hopeful listening future. My only ad
vice: Buy a lot of CDs and sell your ra
dio to somebody who can really enjoy
it.
Ashley Bach is a columnist for the
Emerald. His views do not necessarily
represent those of the newspaper.
MORE REPUDIATION..
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VW SURVIVED!!'
CORRECTION
The story “It's
time to put the past
behind us” (ODE,
Nov. 5) should
have read, “On Bid
weii’s 10-yard
kick.”
The Emerald re
grets the error.
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