KRLX-FM and Carleton College

Presented by Cameron NordholmStation Manager, KRLX-FM 88.1

June 22nd, 2005

1. Introduction

2. Part of the liberal arts

3. More than a “student org”

4. Our plans and direction

5. Why your help is necessary

6. Conclusion

Outline

Introduction

A not-for-profit, educationally licensed FCC station

Carleton College’s largest entirely student-run operation

One of Carleton’s oldest institutions, founded in 1948

Headed by the Board of Directors

Open to all Carleton students, faculty, and staff

A source for music and educational programming

A community-oriented production unit with local news

and documentaries in its repertoire

A tremendous resource for academic departments, other

student organizations, and the college itself

Available worldwide

What is KRLX?

1. Introduction

2. Part of the liberal arts

3. More than a student group

4. Our plans and direction

5. Why your help is necessary

6. Conclusion

KRLX supports, with air time and / or production facilities, the following academic departments at Carleton College:

Political Science

Music

Theater

Spanish

Russian

German

Chinese

Japanese

Cinema and Media Studies

African American Studies

Environmental and Technology Studies

Supporting academic departmentsPart of the liberal arts

“Producing [Recycled Air] has not only enhanced my communication abilities, but it has introduced me to a whole new side of Carleton I did not understand before….

Hosting the radio show has taught me how to ask the right questions…. I have started to make some big life choices and I now am looking into radio journalism.”

- Emily Schwing, ‘06

Supporting academic departmentsPart of the liberal arts

Journalism and research

Pre through post production

Public speaking and reading

Introductory training program

The KRLX Operator and Production handbook

Classroom taught training sessions

Professionally-taught seminars

Providing education & toolsPart of the liberal arts

The liberal arts demand independent media

Exercise the right to BE the media

Completely independent and non-profit

Local and regional music

Independent news

Free thinking, free actingPart of the liberal arts

1. Introduction

2. Part of the liberal arts

3. More than a student group

4. Our plans and direction

5. Why your help is necessary

6. Conclusion

1. KRLX involves more students than any other

student group. Over 200 are involved every week.

2. Skills learned in radio will reach into the professional

lives of those involved

3. KRLX is accessible by the Northfield Community, current

Carleton students, prospective students, alumni, and

anyone with a high-speed internet connection

4. Involvement, whether as a DJ, assistant engineer, news

production team member, periscope production, or

member of the board of directors, is open to all

5. As previously noted, KRLX currently or has recently

involved 11 academic departments

Broader reachMore than a student group

Campus-wide involvementMore than a student group

1642 258

Students involved weeklyNon-KRLX students

Over 13%of the student body

F2004-S2005

1. KRLX involves more students than any other student

group. Over 200 are involved every week.

2. Skills learned in radio will reach into the

professional lives of those involved

3. KRLX is accessible by the Northfield Community, current

Carleton students, prospective students, alumni, and

anyone with a high-speed internet connection

4. Involvement, whether as a DJ, assistant engineer, news

production team member, periscope production, or

member of the board of directors, is open to all

5. As previously noted, KRLX currently or has recently

involved 11 academic departments

Broader reachMore than a student group

“My experience at KRLX made me comfortable with public speaking, broadcast equipment & technology. Due to this I received two coveted internships at Portland radio.

I later went on to work for Portland's PBS station then for Bloomberg News in New York. The broadcast experience also helped me when I forayed into TV with Bloomberg and with my current position at Reuters News.

Without the access to KRLX and the experience I gained there, I likely wouldn’t have the career I have now.”

- Chelsea Emery ‘91

Real world experienceMore than a student group

“KRLX is a significant part of student life and the college experience. It creates an outlet for students to grow personally and professionally as it allows for the development of skills students can apply to future jobs when they leave Carleton. It does not matter if they choose to have a career in radio.

I'm a social worker now and feel that I utilize the skills I gained while a DJ on KRLX every day in my interactions with others.”

- Kasia Augustine '00

Real world experienceMore than a student group

1. KRLX involves more students than any other student

group. Over 200 are involved every week.

2. Skills learned in radio will reach into the professional

lives of those involved

3. KRLX is accessible by the Northfield Community,

current Carleton students, prospective students,

alumni, and anyone with an internet connection

4. Involvement, whether as a DJ, assistant engineer, news

production team member, periscope production, or

member of the board of directors, is open to all

5. As previously noted, KRLX currently or has recently

involved 11 academic departments

Broader reachMore than a student group

Northfield Population (2000) 17,127

FCC contour map

KRLX is available over the public airwaves for the entire cities of Northfield and Dundas. Including outlying rural areas, the 100 Watt signal reaches an audience of roughly 27,000 citizens in the community

More than a student groupFM coverage

“KRLX is a unique institution at Carleton. More so than any other Carleton student activity, it reaches beyond the campus and throughout the surrounding community.

In theory, non-Carleton folk could attend plays, movies, art exhibits and such on campus, but they are not normally advertised very much beyond the campus community. Radio knows no boundaries. It reaches into people's homes, cars and lives.

Radio provides a way to connect Carleton with the surrounding area, be it Northfield, St. Olaf or Dundas.”

- Professor Daniel Bass ‘95

Connecting with communityMore than a student group

Internet listeningMore than a student group

On CampusOff Campus

Internet listeners

Over 8,000 off campus listeners reached in 15 months from 6 different continents

Internet listeningMore than a student group

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

20000

Spring '04 Fall '04 Winter '05 Spring '05

Internet listeners

58,320 listeners in 15 months

Internet listeningMore than a student group

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

Spring '04 Fall '04 Winter '05 Spring '05

On CampusOff Campus

Internet listeners

“My name is Eric Rivas and I am a prospective Carleton student from Waikiki. On Sunday night I was listening to the Carleton radio station on the Internet and you played a song that I fell absolutely in love with….

I want to work for KRLX if I am accepted to Carleton. How difficult is it to get your own radio show? I eagerly await a response! I love your radio station.”

- Erick Rivas, Prospective StudentWaikiki, Hawaii

Representing CarletonMore than a student group

1. KRLX involves more students than any other student

group. Over 200 are involved every week.

2. Skills learned in radio will reach into the professional

lives of those involved

3. KRLX is accessible by the Northfield Community, current

Carleton students, prospective students, alumni, and

anyone with an internet connection

4. Involvement, whether as a DJ, engineer, news

production team member, periscope production, or

member of the board of directors, is open to all

5. As previously noted, KRLX currently or has recently

involved 11 academic departments

Broader reachMore than a student group

1. KRLX involves more students than any other student

group. Over 200 are involved every week.

2. Skills learned in radio will reach into the professional

lives of those involved

3. KRLX is accessible by the Northfield Community, current

Carleton students, prospective students, alumni, and

anyone with an internet connection

4. Involvement, whether as a DJ, engineer, news

production team member, periscope production, or

member of the board of directors, is open to all

5. As previously noted, KRLX currently or has recently

involved 11 academic departments

Broader reachMore than a student group

1. Introduction

2. Part of the liberal arts

3. More than a student group

4. Our plans and direction

5. Why your help is necessary

6. Conclusion

Emphasize and actively recruit professors and students

to host education-focused programming

Share Carleton resources and values with the

community via the public airwaves

Present the college in an accurate, positive manner

Broadcast Carleton convocations, concerts, seminars,

and even selected classes live on-air

Obtain a membership to Public Radio Exchange (PRX),

possibly in conjunction with the CAMS department

Capture the classical music audience left by WCAL by

employing the music department to a greater extent

Education, philosophy, and focusOur plans and direction

Install new information delivery computers in FM studio

“Podcast” all production and news pieces to be on the

cutting edge of broadcast technology

Upgrade our current internet streaming capabilities and

lay the foundation for the eventual shift towards time-

shift broadcasting and network delivery

Create online to on-air community content delivery

service

Aggressively advertise services to the school and

community

Information & deliveryOur plans and direction

Obtain additional production and office space

Obtain wire news service for the news department

Upgrade production computer system and add an

additional workstation

Install computer-based playback systems to compliment

digital audio editing

Install remote audio mixers and microphones

Install audio switching capabilities for remote lines

Install a transmitter controller & logging printer

Facilities and resourcesOur plans and direction

1. Introduction

2. Part of the liberal arts

3. More than a student group

4. Our plans and direction

5. Why your help is necessary

6. Conclusion

Financial breakdownWhy your help is necessary

EquipmentEngineeringLegalOther

Over 70% of KRLX’s annual budget goes directly to engineers, legal representation, and equipment costs

Funds allocated to KRLX-FM 2005-2006 by the Carleton Student Association totaling $9,800

The KRLX budget, from 1985 to 2003, fell from over

$13,000 to just over $3,000

This fall in the budget represents a loss of tens of

thousands of dollars that should have been used to

upgrade and repair equipment and facilities over the

years

Streaming capabilities and digital audio editing were only

made possible by the Alumni Association

KRLX is in need of digital audio delivery systems, a

reliable year round operation mechanism, and up to date

FCC logging equipment

We have fallen behindWhy your help is necessary

1. Introduction

2. Part of the liberal arts

3. More than a student group

4. Our plans and direction

5. Why your help is necessary

6. Conclusion

Academic support

Educational training

Real world experience

Outreach into the community

Independent, Carleton media

A legacy

KRLX is importantConclusion

Carleton radio must enter the 21st century with new

equipment and ideas in order to remain relevant

A paradigm shift is now possible but must be backed by

a significant change in the way it is perceived by the

school, namely as more than just a student group

We seek to implement capital improvements with the

help of the college and establish a set of costs that are

more appropriately funded by the college as they do not

fulfill specific student activity functions.

KRLX needs helpConclusion

Thank you

Strategy for development 1. Build support for change

2. Formalize philosophical statement

3. Implement programming directives

4. Get the word out