College radio: a gift for the student entrepreneur
I was involved with college radio for two years while I was a grad student at the University of Akron. The station there, WZIP-FM 88.1, was called WAUP-FM at the time. I confess that at the time I didn't take the experience very seriously, even though I was playing Christian rock, and nobody else in the region was doing it at that time, so I had a decent-sized audience. If I had been serious, then I could've made valuable contacts, like Marianne Manko (pictured), who worked at the station at the same time I did and is now a 10 PM news anchor. (She doesn't remember me. LOL) That's the real benefit of college radio: some of the people you meet will ultimately become media personalities, and you may be glad you know them when they're in the public eye and your business is getting underway. But Manko had this to add:I have to say I owe a lot to radio. Without it, I would have never learned to be "natural". Radio taught me to communicate better than I ever thought possible, as well and overcome a long list of fears. With radio, it didn't take long for me to learn to "be" myself. After [I learned] that, becoming the leader in everything I did just came naturally. I did not [generally] INTEND to become the leader... but somehow... I just did.
I can't stress enough how important it is to find out who you are... and just "be" that person. Radio taught me that more than any other life experience.
There are other strong benefits to entrepreneurs who have had involvement in college radio:- Brevity. Reading public-service announcements will teach you the importance of getting a thought from your brain and out of your mouth with as few words as possible without losing intelligibility.
- Clarity. If you want radios to stay tuned to your station, you must not only play good music, but you must sound crisp and sharp when it's you on the air. You must sound like you know what you are doing. You'll learn this both through observation and experience.
- Knowledge of an audience. If you spend several weeks learning how to please a particular audience on the air, you will have some idea how to focus on your new audience when your business gets going.
Labels: education, young entrepreneurs
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1 Comments:
The personality you picture has recently graduated. And it's true that the station can be a very rewarding experience. We are always looking for people who want to get involved.
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