Something Good In The Hood

Congratulations to Dennis Snipe who was recently named interim Station Manager/Director of Operations of WKKC 89.3 FM that's good news coming from the hood. Mr. Snipe is a Kennedy King College graduate who was instrumental in developing "Knowledge Quest" a radio program that featured participation from Chicago high school students. Knowledge Quest exposed students to community college life and broadcasting. Dennis is an outstanding individual, announcer and radio host who also created a public affairs radio program entitled FOCUS TALK  that dealt with issues of the community.  Dennis whom I have known for nearly 3 decades is in my opinion the right person at the right time to lead WKKC FM. His history with the station and most of all dedication to the students makes Mr. Snipe the right choice in my opinion.

WKKC FM, Kennedy King College and the Communication Program has been major part of the Englewood Community over 40 years. Many great talents walked the halls of Kennedy King College. The former Speech, Broadcast and Theater program was the catalyst for the launching of several careers including my own both in radio and as a professor. The Theater Department can lay claim to a sitcom, "Room 227" which was a play written by former student Christine Houston.  Ms. Houston is now a professor at Chicago State University. You can create a who's who of students from WKKC FM who have excelled in media.  There is a WKKC alumnus working at many stations in Chicago regardless of the format.

What makes Kennedy King College and WKKC FM awesome is the access to quality training, instruction and faculty that care at an affordable price.  Although the industry of radio has changed and the job pool is shrinking a college program that offers access to a "live" on the air station with hands on training offers one of the best advantages towards a career in boradcasting. According to a very knowledgeable source, an education that provides real world experiences and theory will give students interested in broadcasting a leg up in the industry. Technology has changed radio tremendously and students with a degree will be looked at and those without a degree will be eliminated from the list of applicants immediately.

What made WKKC FM one of the Best Community College radio stations in the nation was the focus on students and the community it served. The format was eclectic, flexible and featured variety. Faculty participated in the programming. Students learned the art of broadcasting in a  free form setting that was structured. No, I am not suggesting a backwards movement to the "old days and the old ways". I am suggesting encouraging, empowering and training students to be all that they can be in the new paradigm of Social Radio. Challenging students to be innovative in broadcast and critical thought while at the same time broadcasting in the public interest. -a powerful challenge- I wish you well !!!

Professor Miles.

Learning By Experience Put the Students on the Air

It's a new year and I will be more aggressive writing about issues that touch me. After 12 years of teaching, I have learned and experienced enough about teaching to have something to say about what is a good education in media communications. Here is my first issue of the new year. Why aren't more students on the air at WKKC FM?

WKKC FM is licensed as an Educational Non Commercial Station. According to the FCC, 73.503 Licensing requirements and service. A noncommercial educational FM broadcast station will be licensed only to a nonprofit educational organization(City Colleges of Chicago) and upon showing that the station will be used for the advancement of an educational program. What that means is WKKC meets the FCC requirement by serving as a laboratory for students to gain practical experience that will benefit them in their careers. What students lack in ability should not be judged it should be the basis for the training program.

A college radio station is the place where the students can discover both freedom and responsibility in broadcasting. If students are not on the air how is WKKC FM meeting the FCC license requirement of an educational non commercial station advancing a program?

Here is what happens for students Howard University. Each year the General Manager of WHUR manager and the Faculty Adviser of the Department of Radio Television and Film chair a committee that selects student managers to run the station. The selected students are then trained during the summer in the operation of running a radio station. Each student manager is mentored by a professional counterpart from the station benefactor WHUR 96.3 FM, the 2009 Winner of the NAB "Urban Station of the Year" Award. The selected student managers are paid during the summer internship and receive a stipend for each semester.

At the beginning of the academic year the student managers select from a pool of over 125 applicants the personnel to man the station. This procedure though not perfect keeps the mission and purpose of the station in line with the mission and purpose of the Department of Radio Television and Film in that the student station is dedicated to embodying professional, ethical and legal standards while promoting a leadership experience for its students and providing broadcasting services to the Howard University campus and the world via the Internet.

The student managers along with the professional mentor and Howard University faculty work together in training the student managers to run the student radio station. Students run the day to day operation of the station and are accountable to the faculty adviser. Instructors who teach audio production classes assigns projects to produce content for the student station. Exceptional audio production students also are given extra opportunities to create and produce content for the HD radio stations of Howard University. There is a commitment to encourage students in the classroom to be "content" creators. In media today, the mantra is "content is king."

Student policies and procedures vary from school to school but educators agree that the student need is the most important. Every effort should be made to educate and train media communications students through hands on experience with an emphasis on leadership and critical thinking. The beauty of College Radio is that it is a place where desiring students can learn, stumble, fall down, and get up with the assistance of academicians and professional staff that care. Not the cold shoulder of the industry that will consolidate, downsize, voice track and syndicate operations closing doors of any opportunity. Teaching radio is more than preparing the student for a board operator position. There is still a need for communicators. It is the job of the academic institution to educate and train the students.

College radio may be the only place where a student can develop into a personality. Niche radio is for commercial radio stations. College radio can be eclectic. Why not encourage the desire of a young student or any student for that matter? Put students on the air and connect the faculty with the station to assist in teaching them. It's about teaching and "learning" the art of being a good broadcaster.

Here's a historical fact. Students in the early 70's at the old Wilson Jr. College worked together with faculty and petitioned the FCC to obtain the license for WKKC FM. Students wanted a radio station to learn and practice radio broadcasting in the program. Over the 35 year history of WKKC FM, the students desire to learn and participate on WKKC FM has not changed just the people and philosophies of those that run the station.

Thank God, that the Local Community Radio Act was passed and more "community stations" can surface in the area. Maybe some other schools will get a chance at owning a LPFM station.

Just my take.

THE END OF AN ERA

Friday January 25, 2008 at 9:00 AM marked the end of 14 years of Gospel Music programming in the mornings on WKKC 89.3 FM. During the journey, both students and community benefited from the Gospel Music programming. I wonder what warranted the change after 14 successful years of playing Gospel Music?

Well, change is inevitable and when it occurs there is always some confusion, especially when the new vision is not clearly seen. Sometimes during change the overall plan is hidden behind a myriad of different agendas. I wonder what the overall plan is?

Here is a look at the last 14 years of Gospel Music history on WKKC. I can testify as an expert witness because I was there. In late 1994, then station manager and technical support staffer Kevin Brown decided to program Gospel Music in the mornings on a daily basis. At that time, WKKC's broadcast day was about 17 hours. Kevin added three hours to the broadcast day raising the total to 20 hours. There was no objection to the addition of Gospel Music from the administration.

The decision to add 3 hours of Gospel Music daily became a program called "Gospel Drive" with Mr. Brown as host. Kevin in his own way laid the foundation for gospel music programming in Chicago. "Gospel Drive" was the first Chicago radio program on FM that featured Gospel Music in the mornings.

Gospel Drive was a hit from the beginning. The show was entertaining, informative, inspirational and educational. Gospel Drive impacted the Englewood community. Kevin Brown catered to the wide audience that the Gospel Music generated. Anyone from 12 to 65 could find some entertainment on Gospel Drive. It was not about religion it was about the community and Gospel Music.

Moreover, Gospel music holds a special place in the culture of African Americans. Many use the Gospel in song to move through the toils and strains of life. Gospel music has always been a comfort to African Americans. Gospel Drive focused on providing that comfort of the Gospel in song to start people on their day.

However in 1997, WKKC FM made news headlines as an issue arouse over whether bible reading on WKKC FM violated the rules of separation between Church and State. The fallout over the issue ended the Gospel Drive program and began several management changes. Ironically, the bible reading issue was not attributed to the Gospel Drive program. Gospel Drive was renamed to the Gospel Express with new host Reggie Miles.

The Gospel Express maintained the focus of inspiring the community. However, student participation and preparation was highly emphasized. As a result, a Kennedy-King College student landed a job on 1390 AM when management changed the R&B/Oldies format to Gospel in 1998. It was amazing that so many students and community volunteers desired to participate with Gospel music programming. From 1998 -2003 more students and community volunteers participated on WKKC than in its entire 33 year history.

Yet success was not measured by increased enrollment or opportunities for student participation. There was another agenda at hand. A new state of art building was planned and the administration was looking to eliminate then restructure the Broadcasting Program. The Gospel Express ended in 2003.

During the years 2003 - 2005, WKKC FM was in chaos, yet the Gospel programming survived. In 2005, a new director of broadcasting was brought in with extensive experience in the commercial radio industry. The hire was showcased as adding "class" to WKKC FM.

Well the "class" that came to WKKC FM began by implementing radio professionals or "Legends" to replace students as on air personnel. WKKC became a "professional non-commercial" station. In addition, Gospel music was systematically reduced one program at a time. The first casualty was Thursday evening Gospel, then Weekend Devotion, and finally the morning Gospel programming called Praise, Love and Inspiration.

It's to late for protests, to late for the ministers to get together to save Gospel. The bottom line is that if management believes that it would better serve the station with a change in programming then the station has to do what is best for the station.

However, WKKC FM is an educational non commercial college station that should emphasize "TEACHING AND TRAINING.” There is perhaps no academic discipline whose instruction and scholarship, whether applied or theoretical, has the potential to change the human condition, as does the study of communication.

I hope the students at Kennedy-King get the opportunity to be on the air and play Gospel Music as well as other music genres. Also learn the industry of radio in the classroom .

Kennedy-King College and WKKC FM provided me with an opportunity. Today I teach at Howard University and work in radio at Heaven 600 AM in Baltimore. My career was launched through the opportunity at an educational non-commercial station.

The future of WKKC FM, is in the hands of the students that attend the college.