Austin Radio Stations

In a time when even Clear Channel is being bought by another radio conglomerate, commercial radio is becoming less regionally distinct, with a handful of radio announcers beaming their voices across the country from one central location, and losing all local flavor in the process. Luckily for Austin, there are three different noncommercial radio stations to choose from:KVRX, KOOP, and KUT.

KVRX is the only Austin-based radio station operated and managed solely by UT students. The station began in 1988 as KTSB, after a couple years of lobbying the university. Though KUT is also run by UT, it has very little student involvement. KTSB originally was only available via an audio feed through cable television, but in 1994 the station officially changed its call letters to KVRX, and purchased the last remaining FM band. As opposed to commercial stations, KVRX promotes diversity in musical genres, with their motto being, “None of the Hits, All of the Time.” The only programming stipulation the station requires is for the on-air staff to play a minimum of five different music genres and two Texas artists every hour. The station also works closely with many local clubs, promoting up and coming bands, and releases a series of annual CDs called “Local Live”, featuring artists the station captured playing live in their studios throughout the year. They have since dumped the awkward cable casting for web casting, so new DJ’s get their feet wet working over the internet before they hit the air waves.

The same year KVRX went live on the last FM frequency, so did KOOP, Austin’s community radio station, which actually shares the same 91.7 frequency that KVRX uses, with KOOP mostly broadcasting during daytime hours, and KVRX during the evenings. Though KOOP has had its fair share of internal struggles, the programming is wildly diverse, with shows dedicated to different music genres, talk shows on many topics, and some Spanish speaking programs as well. Any member of the Austin community can apply for their own radio program. Many shows, such as the swanky Saturday morning favorite, “The Lounge Show” and the garage rock and power pop stalwart “Stronger Than Dirt”, have been on the air since the station’s inception over 13 years ago. Recently KOOP radio has had an unfortunate rash of fires, with the second one in February of 2006 taking out the entire downtown building that contained their offices. In January of this year, a disgruntled volunteer was charged with arson after he admitted starting a fire causing $300,000 worth of damage, from which KOOP is still recovering.

KUT has been the radio station for the University of Texas since 1922. Today, it is Austin’s National Public Radio station, and also hosts several music programs throughout the day. John Aielli was hired on in 1965, and his show Eklektikos is one of the station’s most popular. Along with playing a wide array of musical styles, Aielli has many guests drop by the studio for an interview, from Carol Channing to Timothy Leary. The station has a live performance from local and touring acts drop in almost every day. In November of 2007, NPR chose KUT as one of twelve national stations to launch NPR Music, a new music discovery website. All partners will provide content including live concerts, studio sessions, features and reviews. Through this new site, KUT will be able to provide worldwide insight on Austin music, and help promote local acts in front of a much wider audience, something that seems harder and harder to find through local commercial radio.

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