CLC Radio is a student-operated, world-based internet-streaming, locally
FM-cable up-linked, local music/talk/sports College Radio Platform,
utilizing a paid student staff. Our DJ staff consist of students, semi- and full professionals, the politically knowledgeable, local
musicians, some faculty, staff and the occasionally inclined administrator
helping.
We mainly serve as a working classroom for broadcast students & staff, recording
engineering students & staff, music students & faculty or staff (as "lab rats"
to be recorded), and an important source
of information to the College of Lake County and the communities it
serves.
We currently operate online through viastreaming.net, Live365.com, AudioRealm.com
[streaming and On-Demand for Windows Media, RealAudio, Winamp, or OggPlayer - as
all shows are archived - archived shows are ONLY available through the On-Demand
systems], AudioBlogger.com, audioblog.com, hipcast.com, iTunes Radio, and the newest LG cell phones (3G compatible).
You can also receive our stream in your car using your cell phone, an iPAQ - or
similar device, either with a cheap car cassette-to-mini adaptor. The iPAQ - or similar
device - will need to have installed on it the free software known as GSPlayer,
for this to work. And, for selected live shows, we now have web-cam action!
Mobile Phones Could Soon Rival the PC As World’s Dominant Internet Platform
BTW, did I mention that we are broadcasting on the net in 5.1 surround? Uh, yeah, we are, Brett!
With our current College President (Dr. Richard Fonte), I am sure we can work together soon toward permission for the Board to apply for an FM Educational Broadcast License. The application is the easy part; getting the permission is the tough one. Next to the ease of preparing the application is selecting the location of a tower.
A proposed tower location would be a 15 foot triangular truss side-mounted to the "blind-side" corner of the James Lumber Performing Arts Center Studio Theatre structure, with its 86-foot elevation (from ground level), and the 5-foot overage of the truss extension, thus giving us 91 feet, would be the optimal location. This location provides a covered area not easily visible from any entrance to the college, being between the two structures would avoid the highest of winds, antenna tip would be above the existing antenna "farm" - which is really more like a garden compared to other flat-roof top structures in Lake County - thus not to interfere with current or future CLC communications needs, being side-mounted eliminates leakage from even severe rainfall, and it would be closest to an internal area of the structure for cable connection and transmitter rack-mounting (this location would necessarily be in a need-to-know area).
We operate 365/24/7 using the most advanced (as possible) hardware from MPC, Dell, Apple, and software from OTSLabs, AudioRealm, as well as automated scheduling using Jazzler2 and AudioRealm's bigger brother DRS2006.
Peruse our Production Services Page for current editing and music composition
software and equipment.
The College of Lake County, Grayslake Campus, is home to the "umbrella" CLC Music Studios,
which houses CLC Radio, located in the C-wing Student Life area (still also known
as the Student Activities Office).
As we broadcast live our sports, CLC Student Music Concerts,
Student Activities' Program Board Band Blasts and Coffee House presentations,
and REMOTELY from local venues, you might say we have unlimited studio space! But,
really, we have 3 small office/studio areas usable as studios, and soon even those may be
sound-proofed to the satisfaction of all.
Astronauts and engineers listen to us on the Space Shuttle, the Space
Station, and at NASA headquarters as well as Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon
Co., Northrop Grumman Corp., Boeing Co.
The station's signal reaches a potential 125 in Lancers, 5 in the Lair, another 60 in the
Library, another 1500 in labs and offices, and over 500,600,000 with computers
or cell phones AND internet access with either (check the
World Population now), of
course while including residents of Lake County; all the Round Lakes,
Hainesville, Lake Villa, Grayslake Gurnee, Third Lake, Libertyville, Deerfield,
Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Lindenhurst, Ingleside, Long Lake, Fox Lake, Antioch,
Buffalo Grove, and the unincorporated areas - there are just so many cool places
to listen to CLC Radio!
We have done it. We continue to do it. We have improved. We continue to improve.
However, we will not be improving just for the sake of improvement! In other words, "If it ain't Baroque...", we ain't gonna fix nuthin'!
We, who? We, CLC Radio!
There are some who say, "What do we [CLC] need a radio station for, anyway? It's not like we have a [broadcasting] curriculum!". Well, we do have a journalism class - over time, to be developed in to a full department under the Communication Arts Division. It's not Broadcast Journalism, but hey, that's still fantastic for the growth of our The Chronicle! However, it's about friggin' time! CLC has had it's own newspaper at least since 1978 (prior to that, it was a newsletter, and I don't recall when the newsletter started), and "radio station" since at least 1975 - I should know, I was one of the 2nd crop of Dee-Jays in it. It was a small room - well, two small rooms. One room, the entrance, was the DJ Booth, the other was for Album (you know, "Vinyl") storage and the "Archiver" or, what we used to call a "Reel-to-reel tape machine" with gigantic 10" (ten inch) reels!
So, "what do we need a radio station for, anyway?", interestingly enough, this quote comes from a somewhat anonymous source, a source who themselves was actually - at least partly - the, what today would be considered, Advisor to the station!*** (at least in technical matters). All I can say to that is, "Yikes!" and , "Zoinks!", and maybe even, "Hey. Wait a minute!". The station known as CLC Radio, and before that as WLC, and before that WCLC has to my knowledge - and my knowledge of the station is exceedingly great - the station has never been closed for longer than 42 hours, and even that was just once for an indiscretion attributed to CLC Radio, but proved 41.5 hours later to have had absolutely nothing to do with the station.
Well, I am not a finger pointer, but I am into finger waving. And so, I must wave my finger at you, sir, to say "Shame, shame on you for introducing such an unproductive, negative, and misleading question to an organization such as CLC Radio!"
We don't have curriculum in broadcasting. True. We have the media, well maintained industry contacts, professional equipment, personnel, budget (from student activities, thank God!), staff, staff know-how in audio editing techniques - both analog and digital, moral support, Lancer speaker set and internet audio stream now. Yes, the stream is only 5 years old, I realize. We broadcast, sanctioned by our Communication Arts' chair (thank you for the endorsement, but it's not required), all of the student music performance groups such as the Monday Night Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble, and Gospel Choir and most, if not all, home Basketball games - those of course sanctioned by the Director of Athletics and Physical Activities, Chad Good as well as the coach. These games are covered with the help of Chronicle Sports staff when available! We broadcast on the hour, every hour, Live-feed the Voice of America News stream which they update live. We also broadcast a text-to-voice LOCAL NOAA-sponsored (free) weather report every half-hour. We pay all appropriate licensing fees to ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC thereby doing our wee part in ensuring that song writers are PAID - the remainder filling 1/3 of CLC's total legal obligation to fulfill the college's desire to hold live entertainment of any kind - including its own student groups - on Campuses!. We pay our student staff. We broadcast, sanctioned by CLC's own PR department and written and sent to us by their staff - although we actually record them Fridays after their official web release), all official CLC press releases and announcements - and CLC's PR department can use all the help we all give! (They know it, you know it, I know it; quit whining.)
The music we broadcast reflects the needs of the students, staff, faculty, and community as well as the needs of new and current musicians alike for their newest works to be played and heard. Broadcasting on FM right now, in the current climate of a very restrictive FCC mismanagement, with or without a curriculum, is almost as much a red herring as worrying about whether or not FM broadcasting would remain a "good idea"! You know, the old "Why not?" instead of the older, "Why?".
I don't know, would a 20 mile radius (give or take a few) of instant information about the college in your car or home (unless you have a computer and internet access) be worth the work involved to set it all up? The research is done - I keep it up-to-date every month. I'm ready.
Just ask Triton College (who used to work there?) what ready means. They've been broadcasting FM for over 25 years. Ask Harper College what 10 years meant. Waiting. Harper has been on the air for 4 years since that wait ended.
The occasional "talk" or "commentary" shows we have are up-to-the-minute and insightful. I have interviewed some very influential, but also intelligent, people - all archived - as well, our resident ECW fan and WWE expert, the award-winning Program Director Anthony Roll with his award-winning show called "Anarchy RuleZ" and Rolling out his newest show, "Anthony Roll's Roll Call".
So look, I've said enough for now, but later there will be more for sure. I am not so "out of it" to not know that working in a college one is constantly tested, asked to perform beyond the daily work, and usually expects greatness, accuracy, and improved natures from others, as well. I just wish people would stop asking me, "what course do you teach?". That is already old.
So, Nay-sayers, instead of complaining that there is no curriculum (assuming that a curriculum is "the" answer to everything in a college, since we have Student Activities, a place of learning outside the classroom in a bit more relaxed, but well governed atmosphere) and develop a curriculum yourself, and just maybe I will be qualified to teach it. I am throwing down the gauntlet here, today, Saturday, September, 16th, 2006, to pursue my Masters through the University Center, NIU, and I will bet that I beat anyone in creating a "broadcasting" course. What a MacGuffin that would be to a real education of hands-on training. At a 2-year college, which is what CLC is, a student wishing to go in to broadcasting is going to do one of 4 different things during or after their first time at CLC (they always come back for more great education or certifications!):
Start their own personal Internet Broadcast,
Find an internship, with or without our help, at a local COMMERCIAL FM station, preferably paid, but even volunteer (LPFM),
Transfer to a 4-year school that has either a Radio Station or Radio Broadcasting/Broadcast Journalism courses, curriculum, or department,
and / or,
Just go straight to Columbia School of Broadcasting in Chicago (resources, GPA depending), hopefully while attending CLC! Of course in this case, Columbia will not at this time [ 05/28/2011 ] accept any broadcasting course taught at CLC - students will "...have to take our broadcasting courses...as there are very few college courses in broadcasting [taught at other colleges] that we accept...". Poor excuse, really. "Would you like your chicken before your omelet or in it?"
That first answer-set can be morphed into a question of something like, "Do we truly need a broadcast journalism curriculum in order to decide whether or not we [CLC] want to Broadcast our current style of Internet programming on FM as well as the internet we have enjoyed for over 5 years?". We already have a Journalism Department in the making - with classes, and when or if CLC Radio decides to tackle Chronicle-like up-to-the-minute CLC news, one journalism class alone should suffice. At least half the Comm. Arts' faculty has asked this question of themselves and each other during their work here - I can count the times staff and faculty here has asked me, on 6 or seven hands! Do the math. Not surprisingly, I have not heard of any or from any Board members concerned for or against obtaining an FM license - who makes the first move? Are we trying to decide who should decide? Who should decide that?
At this point, why would any school that is streaming music programming via the Internet as a bona fide Internet Broadcaster want to try and obtain an FCC license for FM Educational Broadcasting? By 2nd Q 2006, every cell phone sold in the US has the capability of streaming all Internet Radio Streams- Live365 has already made drop-in Brew code for current users' websites so that cell phone screens can benefit - and all for an apparently extremely - or at least surprisingly - low monthly fee and no per-minute air-time charge! Then again, receiving ANY radio signal within CLC walls, except for our buddies to the West and now, recently North-East, is suspect. I say suspect, because apparently no one at CLC who should care about supreme RF signaling has ever heard of what is commonly known as passive "Hard Line", an extremely effective method of working with RF signals in and out of a building with lots of walls or floors made of corrugated steel and steel-reinforced concrete. Hard-line? Google it. I did. Granted, the spelling on their website is horrible by American English standards, but this was the first site on the Google searching the term "hardline antenna". We have come close to hardline through the new use of cellular "repeaters" within the new LAIR.
At this point? Why? Because CLC is still "invisible" in Lake County. Adding FM would raise the college's "visibility", audibly ("using the eyes of our ears" c 2006 DanProwse). Radio is a "Theatre of the Mind" when entertaining. Some people cannot get around very well, and although some of their friends or relatives might be performing in a CLC band or on the Lancer basketball court, wouldn't it be nice to TUNE in to the event as not everyone owns a computer and internet account, but by far most have some sort of FM radio! We have been broadcasting some of these Live events on the Internet already.
For that matter, does the internet ever "go bad"? Of course it does, so having FM working would at least let people not be cut off completely from CLC in such a case. (I will eventually edit this last sentence)
True, we don't have immediate breaking CLC news programs yet, but of our current programming we do offer National News/Weather/Sports scores hourly through a nationally recognized entity, and our music programming is adjusted to fit the missing links of music of the rest of the Lake County broadcasting community. In other words, if one station is playing AOR an the other is playing classic rock, then we will play Jazz or Blues, so as not to compete and to help offer a mixed variety for CLC students and community.
Certain emergencies could be broadcast via either the President's Office/PR or Campus Safety Override if needed - actually they have that capability now, they just haven't asked us for implementation. Emergencies such as alarm states, weather closings, or special class cancellations could be made. At a presently allowed wattage, if we were licensed to broadcast on FM, we would be eligible to participate in Level 3 Emergency Alert Service messages - where we would opt-in on a per message basis broadcast via the State of Illinois/FEMA, as approved by designated Area Emergency Staff, for rebroadcast by our station. We can actually participate in Level 3 now as internet broadcasters, but have not pursued this.
Certain messages that are generally accepted as "All Distribution Emails" or new info posted in Public Folders (they are Public) using RSS and that aren't of an internally sensitive nature could be re-worded or stated as-is for immediate over-the-air broadcast (sent from PR). We currently do this now over the internet, however only notices such as the latest College Bowl Tourney scores, Egg-drop winner, and Speech and Debate Champions - messages that should obviously be noted immediately and are also not obviously of a sensitive nature. Items such as these, though not always put in PR notices - as they should be - are fun and newsworthy - All CLC, all the time!
Educational FM broadcasting might be a bad idea to pursue, but an even worse idea not to. Let's not do it just because other Community/Junior Colleges are. CLC should do it because CLC is important to Lake County, as is Lake County to CLC - we just need to continue to inform people of this, as often, as quickly, and as inexpensively as possible.
So, what will the FM sound like? Like the Internet.
We have done it. We continue to do it. We have improved. We continue to improve.
On the Internet at http://www.clcradio.org, but why go there - when you are already here?
Although none of these writings have been edited by Jim Wand, Hypnotist, none the less, you should be feeling very sleepy. Now, here is what I want you to do: Go to a computer, use the Google, search for clcradio or clc radio, click, click, click, listen. But, WAKE UP IF THE MUSIC IS TOO LOUD - and just turn the volume down and continue to listen to the sound of my voice (oh, please. I have got to be kidding about this last bit!).
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And with all this, I can now type 75 words per minute!
With only 12 misspellings.
And only 4 sentence fragments - including this one!
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*** Just in: Actually, upon reviewing with our mystery guest, he has recalled that he indeed was NOT the Advisor, and that as far as he recalled, the advisor would have been and probably "...was Ed Snyder.". Nobody's perfect, and I can't be expected to remember every detail; just most of them, which I do, thank you.
A LOGICALLY PROPOSED SLOGAN:
"Even though our Validity may occasionally prove not Sound, our Sound will always remain Valid! Happy Birthday, CLC Radio."