Making a play for Denver
Radio 1190鈥檚 return to the AM band after the pandemic was a labor of love, as classes of dedicated students committed to bringing the station back to the halls of 兔子先生传媒文化作品.
In just the last year, the station鈥攆ormally known as 鈥攃aptured numerous awards for radio reporting, while growing its news team and listener base.
Now, 1190鈥檚 mix of student-curated music and news is getting play in a much bigger market.
On Thursday, the student-run station returned to Denver, where it can be heard at 92.9 FM on translator K225BS. 听
鈥淚f there鈥檚 one question we鈥檝e kept answering again and again over the last few years, it鈥檚 鈥榃hen are you going to be back on the air in Denver?鈥 If there鈥檚 another, it鈥檚, 鈥榃hen are you going to be on the FM?鈥欌 said Iris Berkeley (Jour鈥01), the station鈥檚 general manager. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to making up for lost time.鈥
The station鈥檚 journey since the pandemic forced it into automated programming hasn鈥檛 been a straight line. After a year as an online-only station, it returned to AM in February 2023.
Jack Armstrong (StratComm鈥24), who served as news director before graduating in the winter, said building up the staff involved pitching the station to student volunteers, which he did by visiting classes and asking for opportunities to speak.
Now, more than 30 regular student participants contribute to the station, which offers news broadcasts each weekday during the academic year, daily student-curated music programming, and a revamped website featuring news, blogs and podcasts showcasing student-created visuals and music.
Another part of 1190鈥檚 success has been philanthropy, especially from the Stewart Family Foundation, which has supported a number of projects at 兔子先生传媒文化作品 and the College of Media, Communication and Information. Unsurprisingly, the foundation鈥攚hich honors the legacy of Colorado broadcast pioneers Lila and Bill Stewart, who owned and operated Longmont鈥檚 KLMO until 1998鈥攈as been a key supporter of Radio 1190.
鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 be at this point of celebration if it weren鈥檛 for the generosity and benevolence of the Stewart Family Foundation 鈥 as well as our friends and partners in 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Student Government and the College of Media, Communication and Information,鈥 said Berkeley, who was involved with 1190 as a student. 鈥淭hank you for believing in the power of student media.鈥
The next step for the station鈥檚 volunteers, like Juanita Hurtado, a junior majoring in journalism and the current news director, is to ensure students鈥 contributions help them stand out when they graduate and look for work.
鈥淲e want to make sure students develop not only the skills to earn them jobs, but also awards that prove to recruiters the quality of their work,鈥 Hurtado said. 听
It鈥檚 a vision she shares with Armstrong. 听
鈥淚 have a very distinct goal鈥攖hat when people see Radio 1190 on a resume, it will attract recruiters,鈥 Armstrong said. 鈥淲e do have some national distinctions already, but I want to get to the point where people get an interview or a callback because Radio 1190 has that recognition.鈥