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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1977)
THE BATTALION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1977 Page 5 Music from bubblegum to Berlioz Radio has something for everyone A total of ; I lexica,,, ai ]' I GLENNA WHITLEY construction permit to expand its Steve Austin of WTAW-FM says ! whileak,' I The silky, slippery voices of the yf broadcasting to 24 hours a day. he has developed his own particular S :- ; l' : ': ^wio’cSt^,rrTE:E“y WTAW-FM is rock and ,,!! style 11 c hteni itla men’s jj’ Mexico Cih' s wonienk t'ricanp^. :ar S';s. Mai, turning a,^ nave ’Peals p f ^ [lve years p, not prove [ erv ' n g time f* oMla ( 10 prisoii ■of ■ned by tie j wanted t, >e are not I, ill the iiic® 'ey of botl nd the Menfl id. ioyousomj ''owerelodj ny of our a are r exchange hriiary. Ml official said I inericanpi ! then. By GLENNA WHITLEY The silky, slippery voices of the disc jockeys- entertain us with banter, inform us with the news, I prepare us with the weather, even I irritate us with jingles. But their voices are what ties radio together — they blend music, information, | and advertising into the popular media that most of us hear some time each day. There are radios in cars, homes, offices, department stores — even restaurants. Some rent-a-cars have radios that cannot be turned off while the car is running. Radio sta tions and what they play are as var ied as the numbers on a radio dial. The Bryan-College Station area is growing and so is the number of radio stations. There are four FM I stations (one available on cable only) and two AM stations in this area. A new AM station is being estab lished. But the market in the Texas A&M University area is different from many other areas because of the college-age audience. Two radio sta tions are or have been totally or par tially supported by the University and do not compete for the advertis ing dollar. However, that is chang ing for one of the stations. KANM-FM operates in a closet sized room behind the Ridgecrest Barber Shop on Texas Avenue and is available only on cable at 89.1. A “progressive station, KANM plays mostly rock, progressive country and jazz. Originally student gov ernment radio, KANM is converting to self-sufficiency by selling adver tising. “We haven’t had any money from Student Government in quite a while, says Chip Harper, news di rector and ad manager for KANM. A look around the record-lined closet KANM broadcasts from indi cates money is in short supply. The 40 volunteer disc jockeys hear the records they play on their shifts through two car stereo speakers propped up on the regular speakers. “Our signal’s not very clean," Harper says. “The studio facilities are less than adequate and the production facilities are not good The control board looks like it was put together with an erector set. But in spite of the dilapidated equipment, the station is having success selling advertising. Harper says the advertising is geared to ward A&M students: cloths, rec ords, shoes, and restaurants. But the station still plays only an average of four minutes per hour of com mercials during the evening. Eigh teen minutes per hour is the maximum allowed by the Federal Communications Commission. Most stations play as close to the maximum as possible, depending on the time of day and regular pro gramming. Melinda Adamez, an afternoon DJ for KANM, says none of the radio stations in the area offer any real competition to KANM, but sta tions in Houston and Austin (like KLOL-FM in Houston) do. “What they need in this area is another station like us,” Adamez says. “Not one that plays hits like WTAW. I consider us an under ground radio. “No, they won’t let us play any thing dirty, says Keith Taylor, another KANM DJ. KTAM-AM plays Top 40 music which appeals to the greatest number of people. It’s called Top 40 because the 40 top-selling records in the nation are played. According to the station’s market research, it reaches 35 percent of the local 18- to 34-year-old market and 80 percent of the local teenage market. KORA-FM, affiliated with KTAM, plays country and western music. Most of the station’s format is automated or taped. A live disc joc key is on the air for only a short time each day. KORA claims a 15 percent share of the local audience. Its target mar ket is made up of 20- to 25-year-olds and the 40- to 45-year-olds with an interest in agriculture and rural life. KAMU-FM is a non-commercial station affiliated with National Pub lic Radio (the equivalent of educa tional television s Public Broadcast ing Service. It has no advertising. KAMU’s musical format consists of easy listening, classical, semi- classical, and jazz. It broadcasts from the same campus building as KAMU-TV.) Another easy listening station will soon be broadcasting in the College Station area. KAGC-AM will have a middle-of-the-road format, featur ing music by Frank Sinatra, Roberta Flack, the Lettermen, John Den ver, Glen Campbell, and the Beat les. WTAW-AM, experimentally licensed in 1919, is one of the oldest broadcast facilities in the nation. Until 1957, WTAW was part of the Texas A&M College System, but is privately Owned now. WTAW-AM plays country and western music from 6 a.m. to sun down. The FCC recently granted a construction permit to expand its broadcasting to 24 hours a day. WTAW-FM is rock and roll oriented. Unlike KANM, the disc jockeys are told what music to play within a certain framework. “I tell them what to play and when to play it, but it’s loose enough you can still vary, says Jim Miller, music director and disc joc key. “Sometimes when you don’t hear your favorite songs it’s because I ve pulled them. In the back of my mind, I have a sound I want this station to have and playing excess disco or bubblegum music will not get the listeners I want. Miller said he personally played as much rock and roll as possible, “but the Baron is on the air in the morning as he has to play Top 40.” I try to do requests as much as I can, but I don’t care how many re quests I get for ‘Undercover Angel, I’m not going to play it,” Miller says. “We re not aiming for the kids under 16. Miller makes up surveys using Billboard Magazine (the “Bible as he calls it), local sales and requests. He uses the surveys to determine what music should be played when. Most stations use similar systems. Many Texas A&M students work as DJs at the local radio stations. Some develop recognizable radio personalities, while others, like the KANM volunteers who are only on the air four hours per week, have little broadcasting pizazz. Steve Austin of WTAW-FM says he has developed his own particular style. “The way I m talking to you now is by no means what’s going out over radio,” he says. “You gotta act like you’re more insane than those people listening to you. You have to be a performer.” The song is over. With head phones in place, he slides into his cheerful banter for the “afternoon drive — the 2 to 6 p.m. shift. We Buy All Books! Bring your out-of-date books, with your new books & we’ll make you an offer on all your books (including paperbooks). UNIVERSITY BOOK STORE “AT THE NORTH GATE” 409 UNIVERSITY DRIVE — COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS TEXT BOOKS CALCULATORS SCHOOL SUPPLIES AGGIE GIFTS & SOUVENIRS A LEATHER HANDBAG FOR CHRISTMAS... CAN’T DECIDE? Give a Gift Certificate $5 and up, free gift wrap, open ’til 8 p.m. Shala’s Shoes ^ 707 texas nm 1111 \uiuwi//m////////// / z Import Beer 26 Brands Singles 6-packs and Cases “god’s own drunk” 4-7 Daily All Longnecks 35c - 45c 3600 S. COLLEGE BRYAN, TEX. • (713)846-3306 CHICKEN AMATEUR NIGHT Every Thursday 8:00-12:00 C/W - Bluegrass - R&R - Blues - Jazz - Comedians - Magicians “We’ll listen to anything” Stage and P.A. at your disposal HOUSE BAND: NEWETT’S SLIME BAG RAG BAND If you are being commissioned You may want to join the Bank of A&M’s World-Wide program. When you go on active duty, your banking requirements will change dramatically. You’re going to move around the world. Your need for credit and for cash will be quite different from your classmates who return to their hometown to work and live. And the penalties for record keeping er rors are more severe for military officers than most (if not all) other professions. The World-Wide Department of the Bank of A&M was conceived to meet the needs of A&M officers on active duty. The department is staffed by Aggies with first hand experience of TDY, overseas movement, car financing in a foreign city, check-cashing problems at a military installation, allotments, telephone transfers, etc. The World-Wide program includes all the features of the so-called “military banks’’: direct paycheck deposit, telephone loan service, write your own loan program, overseas car financ ing, automatic transfers from checking to savings (and visa versa), credit cards, overdraft protection . . . plus personal service by senior bank officers with career military experience and Aggie know-how. Visit the Bank of A&M today (or some day of convenience) before your commissioning date to learn how the Bank of A&M’s World-Wide Department can be of service to you. m The Bank of A&M member/feffe 111 University Drive/College Station/846-5721 Col. Robert W. Elkins ’51 (USAF-Ret.)/Lt. Col. Glynn P. Jones ’43 (USAF-Ret.)