College Radio Archives - Airtime Pro

On Air with CJRU: How Airtime Pro is Powering Campus Radio in Canada

Manolis Zografakis — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 08:56:26 +0000

At CJRU 1280AM, Ryerson University’s non-profit campus and community radio station broadcasting from Toronto, Canada, listener engagement is part of the station’s mission. From curated lectures and discussions to a “music discovery approach” that encourages and promotes new Canadian artists, CJRU is a hub of listening pleasure – and precisely the type of station Airtime Pro is proud to support.

CJRU has been using Airtime Pro to broadcast since 2013. The station is mostly run by volunteers – Ryerson students and community members – and airs a variety of music and talk-radio programming. Station managers pay particular attention to the training and onboarding of new volunteers, providing access to equipment and a media hub to share their work. They offer a wide range of volunteering opportunities including programming, production, outreach, web writing, live broadcasting, graphic design, and more.

We recently caught up with Elissa Matthews, CJRU’s Station Manager, to hear her insights and advice for other smaller college stations around the world looking for inspiration.

What were the steps you took to bring your station to where it is right now? Simply stated, what are the real secrets behind making your station successful?

I think time and consistency. We’ve been broadcasting online since 2013 and on our terrestrial signal since 2016. We continue to grow the station and add new shows and volunteers slowly.

What were the biggest challenges CJRU faced so far?

How to continue to broadcast throughout the pandemic. We’ve been able to find a way to keep all of our djs engaged and make programming from home.

How do you attract new listeners / grow your listenership?

Recently we’ve been putting more time into community outreach and making new partnerships with other arts and community organisations in Toronto. We’ve found that word of mouth and grassroots efforts have been the most effective for us.

What’s the internal decision process on programming, marketing, financing etc.?

We are a non-profit organisation with a board of directors. All major decisions go through our board of directors. Our station manager handles day-to-day, hands-on management of the station. Our Programme Director handles our programming schedule.

How have you monetised your station so far?

We sell advertising using traditional time blocks.

How has Airtime Pro helped your station and vision?

Airtime Pro has helped us create a back end to build our grid out on.

Which are your favourite Airtime Pro features that you utilise and take advantage of?

Having multiple users that can be assigned different permissions and assigned to specific programme blocks.

What tips would you give to people who want to start a campus radio station?

With dedicated people, a good idea, and a little bit of stable income you can do a lot. Look for stable sources of funding to keep you going.

Listen to CJRU live
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The post On Air with CJRU: How Airtime Pro is Powering Campus Radio in Canada appeared first on Airtime Pro.

Announcing The Back To School 2021 Winners

Aleksandar Brajanoski — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 12:55:27 +0000

We are proud to announce the winners of this year’s Airtime Pro Back To School competition, which had more applications than ever proving that radio, and particularly internet radio, remains a strong medium of communication.

Teams from 19 countries submitted more than 100 internet radio station proposals for award consideration, including Nigeria, India, France, Haiti, the United States, Ghana, Gambia, Canada, Bolivia, Saudi Arabia, Liberia, Belgium, Armenia, Switzerland, Kenya, Somalia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Bulgaria.

Even more applications came in where we were not able to determine the country of origin.

Given the great response, we have decided to expand the prize pool. The three main winners will receive an Airtime Pro station free of charge for 12 months. But we are also giving away 12 additional Airtime Pro station subscriptions to second place teams. free of charge for 6 months.

So, without further ado, here are the winners:

First prize:

Radio Gurune 99.3fm – Ghana
Etikett Radio – Germany
NMA On Air – Bulgaria

Second prize:

Mkveducation – India
Lire et Faire Lire – France
Albert Gallatin High School Radio – USA
P97 The Mix – Canada
Nawis-radio – Saudi Arabia
K-SOUTH 93.4 – USA
Belgahay Radio BXL (BH+) – Belgium
Radio CM Saint Francois – Switzerland
WBMT – USA
Interrational – Switzerland
GACUDT – India
KU Radio – UK

Congratulations to everyone!

The post Announcing The Back To School 2021 Winners appeared first on Airtime Pro.

Announcing the Winners of Our Back-to-School Station Giveaway

Aleksandar Brajanoski — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 13:32:10 +0000

Airtime Pro will help students around the world learn from home via internet radio

Last month we launched a campaign to help schools and educational institutions cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with World Radio Day, we are giving away 10 Airtime Pro stations for one year to 10 organizations in different parts of the world broadcasting to learners at home. Here’s a brief description of the of our Back-to-School Station Giveaway winners and their plans:

CECO, Uganda

Aims to broadcast educational information in the following areas for students learning from home in Uganda: environmental education, climate change, organic agriculture, gender training, and life skills for youth.

Radio Art Laboratory, Germany

Operating from an art academy in Leipzig, this station plans to use Airtime Pro to expand its workshops in media arts and give students new creative possibilities through internet radio.

School:
Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig)

Social media:
https://www.instagram.com/soundartlab/
https://www.facebook.com/sndartlab
https://www.mixcloud.com/soundartlab/
https://soundcloud.com/soundartlab

Radio Universitaria, Peru

An FM 89.5 local radio station located at the National University of the Center of Peru, this station aims to broadcast social project content for university community and general education.

USCtt, Trinidad and Tobago

This upcoming radio station of the University of Southern Caribbean plans to support the university’s existing distance learning options through internet radio.

BB Radio, USA

Beaubourg School in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a free school focusing on artistic and social research as well as community knowledge sharing through stories, dramas, conversations, and guided meditations.

BB Radio is an extension of The Beaubourg Theatre (@bea.ubo.urg), a public arts space and arts organization in Bulbancha (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA). Along with, The Beaubourg School (@thebeaubourgschool) and Fourth Wall Coffee (@fourth.wall.coffee), BB Radio aims to strengthen existing communities and create new ones by offering opportunities for artistic experimentation as well as engaged dialogue and learning. The station will launch in January of 2021!

School:
The Beaubourg School

Social media:
https://www.instagram.com/bea.ubo.urg/

SunFM, Malaysia

This new campus radio station and podcast facility hopes to be a voice for students and the campus community, as well as a training ground for students to learn how to do radio shows and podcasts.

Website:
https://university.sunway.edu.my/SunFM

School:
School of Arts, Sunway University

Social media:
https://www.instagram.com/sunwayfm/
https://www.facebook.com/sunwayfm/

Acústica, Colombia

This station associated with EAFIT university in Medellin aims to provide educational as well as inspirational programming to students.

School:
Universidad EAFIT

Station website:
https://acustica.eafit.edu.co/

The Tiger Takeover, USA

A student-led online radio station at the University of Memphis, this campus livestream will provide entertaining and informative programming that represents the diversity of the student body.

WZRD Chicago, USA

A student-run radio station at Northeastern Illinois University that was founded back in 1974, its goals are to restore the pre-pandemic level of programming and eventually expand its offerings further.

Website:
https://wzrdchicago.org/

Social media:
https://www.facebook.com/wzrdchicago/
https://www.instagram.com/wzrdchicago/
https://twitter.com/wzrdchicago

We wish our winning stations all the best as they embark on their plans, and look forward to hearing back from them about the new and creative uses they find for Airtime Pro over the next year!

The post Announcing the Winners of Our Back-to-School Station Giveaway appeared first on Airtime Pro.