University of Colorado’s Freeform/Indie KVCU-AM Boulder (Radio 1190) are about to undergo a major reorganization in an effort improve operations and the station’s reputation. A bill, passed unanimously by the CU Student Government’s Legislative Council, cited a “serious lack of communication” between station departments, a diluted talent pool due to a high number of radio personalities, a lack of accountability, a poorly managed budget and an attitude among student employees that the job is a hobby rather than a profession.
“From a Legislative Council position, we want KVCU to be more relevant, or to be relevant again,” Legislative Council President and bill author Brian Taylor told Colorado Daily. “It started as the cool college radio and we’ve kind of lost that, and that’s a branding issue.”
The bill proposes the consolidation and elimination of several positions at the station (saving around $53,448), an update in station technology, and a stronger focus on creating a more competitive environment for students to advance within the station.
Before the bill was passed, Mikey Goldenberg was hired as the new GM, and the changes have already started to go into effect under his direction.
“1190 is something that’s pretty ingrained in the Denver and Boulder market,” Goldenberg told the paper. “I feel like it’s my job, at this point, to create a professional and far-reaching radio station that delivers the brand message that Radio 1190 has always delivered, but now with just a little bit more substance to it. Now, everybody can get something from listening to the radio station.”
The most visible part of this effort will be more concerts presented by Radio 1190, more partnerships with local venues and more involvement in local events. Goldenberg said his “No. 1 goal” is not just to improve the station for current listeners, but to make sure everyone in the community at least knows it exists.
The big change in programming will come with the new partnership with the CU Independent, said Taylor. The News Underground program on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays currently pulls news from wire services, but with this partnership, the stories will be reported by student journalists who can cover the stories first hand, he said.
Goldenberg is also working with Denver-based Guiceworks to redesign Radio1190.org. The station’s mobile app, which is currently only accessible by iPhone, will be redesigned to work on more platforms and will push news content.
Goldenberg said many of the changes approved in the bill will only be visible within station operations, especially changes in staffing. Part of Radio 1190’s purpose is to educate students who work there, and Goldenberg hopes the reorganization will provide a professional experience as similar to the real world as possible.
Part of that also involves digitizing Radio 1190’s analog collection of 30,000 albums. All of the changes have been approved by the department of Journalism and Mass Communication, and everything is already underway.
