LBCC Radio

Linn Benton Community College Radio. Hopefully the students considering starting it will have a catchier title. The idea is a good one, and it seams plausible. There are thousands of students that attend Linn Benton and even more people in the surrounding areas.

The issue with a radio station based at Linn Benton is that it will be expected to talk about happenings on campus and other Linn Benton exclusive topics. To me, anything is possible when it comes to radio. The success is usually based exclusively on delivery. People talking on the radio station, make the radio station.

There are exceptions of course. Niche audiences are a great way to get a loyal following.  One idea that appeals to myself, and many others; is a video game based program. Which is a large audience that not local nor large radio stations are appealing to. And according to NBC news this would be more of a wide audience then a niche one. They found that 70% of college students play video games; making this topic in high demand. With a little planning, students could create video game tournaments on campus (let's say every Friday), and broadcast the results on the LBCC Radio station. And making teams/competitors pay a small fee to compete and giving 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes, would make the event competitive and generate some revenue to fund the LBCC Radio venture.

Now as awesome as that sounds to gamers like me, a lot of other audiences might be yawning. So another, perhaps more relatable, idea is for a comical talk show. Over the summer I would listen to the same radio station everyday on my way to work because I loved listening to the prank phone calls and "Second Date updates" they had on the morning talk show. Listeners could call in and set up their friends with prank phone calls, and other comical ventures. This could easily be applicable to a college campus. The radio show played Pop music after the talk show, leading me to believe that their target audience was teenagers and young adults; the latter is found at this very place, college.

Idea number two is good for attaining listeners, but has no plan for funding. So, another idea for funding is to find local businesses to sponsor the radio station. And to cut down on costs even further, the job opportunities at the station should be mostly volunteer or internship based.

Another idea is to host events at local "clubs" like Impulse in Corvallis. Guaranteeing to bring in more customers for the business and asking people to pay a small admission fee. Then splitting the profits with the establishment.