Huffington Post names KZSC one of the top nine college radio stations
UC Santa Cruz radio station KZSC isn’t run by scientists, but thanks to The Huffington Post, student DJs can prove their station is alive and well.
On Tuesday, Oct. 27, KZSC ranked fifth on The Huffington Post’s list of the nation’s top nine college radio stations. The Huffington Post admitted the list was partially inspired by the College Radio Awards, given out last week during New York’s CMJ Music Marathon. Of the nine winning stations, several were top picks by the Princeton Review and MTV-U. Others were CMJ winners.
“We’re all really proud,” says KZSC DJ Lauren Bell about The Huffington Post’s recognition. “Especially being the only college station on the West Coast in the top five was really great. There are so many great college radio stations, even within the UC system.”
As qualification for its fifth place ranking, Huffington Post cited that Radio-Locator, an online radio monitoring site, listed KZSC as the most listened to college station, ahead of college stations in much larger cities like Seattle and New York.
Bell, who produces the Mystery Train program on KZSC, said the students at KZSC were surprised to learn more people were tuning in for them than for any other college radio station.
“We are really unique in that we have such a broad spectrum of programming,” says Bell. “We love to represent all diverse genres. The whole atmosphere of Santa Cruz really helps us to be a cohesive unique radio station.”
KZSC has been a Santa Cruz fixture since 1974. The station is a non-commercial, educational public radio station dedicated to “airing alternative viewpoints that often differ from the broadcasts found on many commercial stations.” KZSC can be found at 88.1 FM, or at “the farthest left you can go on your dial without dropping off” as some DJs like to say on-air.
“Everyone is really genuine about wanting to make this the best possible radio station,” Bell says. “We kind of function like a big dysfunctional family, more so than just a bunch of DJs that come in and play their shows.”
Read the Huffington Post piece here: huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/26/9-best-college-radio-stat_n_773720.html
