“We’re doomed” because television came out. Radio has been around for about a hundred years, it’ll be around a lot longer. Still more than 90 percent of the U.S. still listens to radio. I think that statistic is going to hold up for a long time. You can get your radio station on the Internet; you can get it on your smart phone. So radio is not going away. I think with a lot of people, including myself, if they have a choice between television or radio, I
Student Tammo Mellema, production director, helps produce a radio show at Tarleton State University. Photograph by Sarah Richards.
would choose radio: it’s got better pictures.
Q: Satellite radio, do you think of it as a competitor, is it a threat?
Q: What is your vision for KURT and KTRL?
A: Radio is Radio, people’s attentions are split, pulled in different directions. I think that satellite radio affects the total time that they spend with broadcast radio or KTRL.
A: Right now KURT and KTRL are the only broadcast outlets for Tarleton. We’ve got a great opportunity here. I’d like to see us grow into more of a regional media center where students and professionals can work together in a converged multimedia environment. Q: What does being an NPR affiliate bring to the table? A: It brings to the table NPR news, the best broadcast news in America. 27 million people each week tune in to NPR in the United States. This is better than CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS, etc. It brings to the table objective, awardwinning journalism that gives a chance for people to be informed about the world around them and it gives students a chance to hear good, objective journalism.
Q: How would you describe KURT or KTRL’s listening demographic. A: Smart people. Seriously, KURT, we’ve made an educated guess that we have a pretty adventurous group of 16-25 year olds, high school, college age, and they want to hear new music. They’re interested. The KTRL listener is similar. They want to know what’s going on in the world. They are engaged in their community. I think they like KTRL because we respect them. We’re not dumbing down our programming like a top 40 station does. We’re not playing the same thing over and over, once or twice an hour even, like some of these stations do in Dallas. KTRL is located on the campus of Tarleton State University in room 138 of the Math Building, which is building 509 on the campus map. They can be reached by phone at 254968-9586.
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