By Grace Moore
News Team lead producers at Trident Booksellers and Cafe (Radio 1190/Payton Cordova)
I want you all to know that when I say this I don’t mean that other clubs are bad or less worthy of involvement, to each their own, as they say. All I’m saying is that Radio 1190 is the most important one and the best one.
The new studio has faced many complaints that it “doesn’t have enough personality”; this doesn’t seem to matter because when you walk into the station the people have enough personality to go around. Walking into the general meeting on Mondays, people have dyed hair of every color, their clothes are dark and have chains. The new pleather couches are cold to the touch, but with all the 1190 patrons in the room a little chill goes a long way. The cds line the walls giving the station so much more character. The people of the station fight about what we can and can’t do to cover the walls, but in our hearts everyone just feels lucky to be here. Here are the three reasons why Radio 1190 is the best club at CU.
Reason number one: Radio is a club for weird people.
The reason you join clubs in high school is to get into college, but once you’re in college the reason you join clubs is to create a community and make friends. That is something that is completely possible at Radio 1190. It’s the most important club to have that, because radio is for weird kids who need community the most. “Weird kids” is something I say with love and pride. “Weird kids” is something that I am and “weird kids” are the people that I love. That’s something that I believe that all the people of Radio 1190 can agree with. There should be a sign on the door of the Carlson gym that says give us your non-binary, your autistic, your LGBTQ yearning to broadcast. In radio you don’t even have to really like music to be a part of the club. That’s how strong the community is.
Reason number two: Self-Expression is the name of the game.
In radio there are many ways that people in the club can express themselves. You can have your own radio show and all you have to do is come to four meetings. It is not allowed to talk about politics on your show. However, 1190 is pretty liberal with their idea of what is politics and what is not. There’s also News Team, which is a part of Radio 1190, where you can create an audio piece about anything ever. We have Colby Wyatt and Baylan Wysuph who have two different sports podcasts and many other amazing audio pieces brought to us all the time. There is also the print section.
You might be thinking “a print section? This is a radio station!.”
And to that you’d be right. That is the lengths that Radio 1190 goes to to include any and all voices. I often write for the online print section. Recently I wrote a piece called “Everything wrong with Colorado, with love, a midwesterner.” This is a piece that could only be published by Radio 1190 because Radio 1190 is the only place where social norms go out the door and being who you are and stating how you feel is really the only option.
Reason number three: Democracy dies in darkness.
It’s the second term of the Trump Presidency. Journalism is the most needed it’s ever been since probably Vietnam. That makes The Bold, The CU Independent, Her Campus, Sko Buffs Sports and of course, Radio 1190 the chief clubs on campus. Radio 1190 stands out as the most important because of its accessibility. The Bold makes you try out. So there goes accessibility there. The CUI is accessible but they don’t do audio and their website often has bugs. Her campus is only for women and Sko Buffs is particularly daunting for women to join. It’s not on purpose by them, it’s just the fact of the matter.
Radio 1190 has been having a tumultuous time recently with our move and all. However, thanks to Iris Berkely and everyone at Radio 1190 both CU Student Government and CMDI have kept us alive and on air. The move was a very stressful time for us because when they were first going to move us out of the University Memorial Center basement they were going to end the station entirely. Iris fought to get CMDI to just move us to elsewhere which ended up being the Carlson Gymnasium basement. Everyone at Radio 1190 feels super lucky to still be here. As you’ve now heard, Radio 1190 is an incredibly important club. We need to keep Radio 1190 alive to keep journalism alive at CU Boulder and in the country.
The fact that radio has audio is the principle part of its accessibility. It’s difficult to learn AP Style and getting a news piece edited takes time, especially for students. When it comes to audio 1190 offers Zoom recorders and SD cards to rent out and adobe audition is on all CU campus computers. It couldn’t be simpler to make an audio piece, and express whatever you want to.
Conclusion:
Most colleges have a radio station but Radio 1190 is one of the best in the country. If every college had this radio station it would severely minimize news deserts that exist in this country. This could create much better education to people in small towns that are usually red. That would help people build friendships and create jobs in these communities as well. If people know what’s happening in their communities they’re more compassionate towards each other creating a more open, welcoming world.