To celebrate World College Radio Day on Oct. 1, student-run radio station WKNC 88.1 FM hosted a 24-hour live broadcast that included 24 one-hour DJ sets on WKNC’s HD-1 channel, 16 hours of live DJs on WKNC HD-2 and a 24-hour YouTube live stream.
Joey Sports, a second-year student studying communication and film studies, launched WKNC’s World College Radio broadcast at midnight with an electro-swing music set on WKNC HD-1 as part of the station’s Afterhours music block. Typically reserved for electronic music, the Friday overnight time slot was modified to include WKNC’s Underground format, which features hip-hop and R&B. Indie rock aired from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., with WKNC’s Chainsaw Rock heavy metal closing the day.
WKNC HD-2 had a more varied format for the day, including four hours of jazz by Zach Bradley, a third-year computer science student who completed his DJ training within hours of World College Radio Day.
Off air, the station hosted a 24-hour YouTube live stream that featured a live podcast recording, a live interview with Australian band Lalić, a game of telephone and rapid-fire DJ interviews. Throughout the day the live stream had 198 unique viewers with a nearly 14-minute average view duration for combined 112 hours of total watch time. The live stream also included 592 chat messages.
The highlight of the day was a special guest appearance by NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson. Splitting his set into three parts, Woodson selected songs that reflected the Muscle Shoals sound, Southern rock and songs he’s enjoying now. While the recording cannot be shared due to copyright law, there is a Spotify playlist of the set.
“It’s difficult to put into words exactly what [Chancellor Woodson’s] involvement meant,” said Cutter Bell, a second-year student studying computer science and philosophy and a podcast content creator for WKNC. Bell hosted Woodson as a special guest on his show “Ride Along.” “For me, it was a pretty meaningful show of support from the Chancellor and the leadership at NC State in support of WKNC and college radio at the University. That, in addition to the recent funding for repairing and repainting the station’s transmission tower, has shown the University’s commitment to keeping college radio alive at NC State.”
“This whole thing came together with about 10 days of planning,” said Maddie Jennette, a fourth-year computer engineering student and WKNC general manager. “I am incredibly proud of my staff, from the board of directors down to our brand-new DJs, who participated through DJ shifts, contributing to the live stream or just hanging out. I hope this becomes a tradition at WKNC and going forward we have a 24-hour event each World College Radio Day.”
A compilation video of the day’s activities, filmed and edited by Elle Bonet, a third-year student in communication and the station’s video content creator, is available on the WKNC YouTube channel.
More than 600 college radio stations in 40 countries participated in World College Radio Day, founded in 2010 to highlight the importance of student-run college radio.
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