KSDT Radio

Infobox Radio station


name = KSDT
airdate = June 1968
frequency = off air - online only
area = UCSD campus FM cable
format = Eclectic
owner = UCSD
slogan = fiercely independent college radio
webcast = [http://ksdt-stream.ucsd.edu:8002/128.m3u Listen Live]
website = [http://ksdt.ucsd.edu KSDT]

KSDT is an online radio station which refers to itself as "fiercely independent college radio." Its facilities are located on the campus of UCSD, the University of California San Diego, in La Jolla.

It broadcasts on the internet off of iTunes Radio (under College Radio) and from its homepage, http://ksdt.ucsd.edu cite web|url = http://ksdt.ucsd.edu|title = official KSDT page|accessdate = 2007-08-03|quote =strives to promote independent music not available from other sources and works to help the San Diego Community as well.]

Organization

KSDT is a student run radio station. Its staff, consisting of a General Manager, Operations Manager, Head Engineer, Programming Director, Promotions Director, and its core staff of Music Directors are all required by KSDT's charter to be students at UCSD. Oversight is provided by the AS (associated students) and UCSD administration.

The majority of the organization's staff and budget is devoted to providing a public service to the surrounding communities by playing music and hosting programming not normally heard elsewhere; usually taking the form of music shows featuring independent and underground music from a variety of genres. While so-called indie rock music and its many sub-genres are consistently found being broadcast from KSDT along with electronic music, other genres such as jazz, blues, heavy metal, experimental, hip hop, world, and others often have considerably less airtime devoted to them. This is indicative not of any preference of music directors, but more on the makeup of its completely volunteer DJ staff and the communities they represent.

KSDT does feature an open-door policy to accepting volunteer DJ's. Any member of the community, student or not, can sign up to take the required 4 training classes and 1 two-hour hands-on training (basically DJing with someone more experienced there to help). After that, any open time slot can be filled with a new show featuring a new DJ. Despite this open-door policy, only a few non-student DJ's can be heard on KSDT.

KSDT also has a recording studio, which runs under the responsibility of the Head Engineer. Mainly used for live broadcast performances of visiting bands, it has been used to record demos for local bands, booked over longer periods of time to record full albums or EP's, and also to create and archive station identifications.

History

Founded in the 1960s, KSDT originally was an FM radio station broadcasting on the UCSD campus and parts of La Jolla, CA. As a public service college radio station, the format was largely musical, with some community access programming. Commercial-free, it received funding from the University.

In the 1980s it began transmitting signal on AM radio and FM cable radio.

In 1999, it lost funding, and due to a change in small broadcast laws, was unable to obtain a licence to broadcast over traditional [radio] frequencies. At this time it moved to become an internet radio station. In 2000 and 2001, it split with its "sister station" SRTV (student-run television).

Its current mission statement in part "strives to promote independent music not available from other sources and works to help the San Diego Community as well."cite web|url = http://scw.ucsd.edu|title = official KSDT page|accessdate = 2007-08-03|quote =strives to promote independent music not available from other sources and works to help the San Diego Community as well.]

The recording studio on its premises was used to record and broadcast live many independent bands such as Rookie Card, Skeletor, The Locust, Estradasphere, Dressy Bessy, The Robot Ate Me, etc.

Artists such as Lemmy from Motörhead, Björk, The Flaming Lips, Screaming Trees, Mogwai, Fugazi, and others have recorded station identifications for KSDT in the past.

References

External links

* [http://ksdt.ucsd.edu Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ksdtradio Myspace Site]
* [http://as.ucsd.edu/student_services/ksdt.php Associated Students of UCSD - KSDT]