New staff bring change to KSDJ

Jesse Christen

Jesse Christen

KSDJ, SDSU’s campus radio station, is up and rolling for the spring semester with encouraging news.

Last semester, the station’s transmitter was operating at a fraction of full power. The studio’s equipment also needed improvement.

A special allocation of $10,000 that KSDJ received last fall paid for a new transmitter and other items for the station including a transmitter controller, EAS (Emergency Alert System) upgrades, an Aphex compeller (which makes the station’s signal clearer with a professional sound), and new microphones. The transmitter should arriving any day, Station Manager Ashley Allen said.

The station has computers and is fully automated. The computer automation system is loaded with over 750 songs.

Even though the station is fully automated, KSDJ still has several DJ spots open. Program Director Travis Creley feels it’s best to have a person live in the studios; “anyone with a passion for radio” should call the station at 688-5735, says Creley.

In addition to the new equipment at KSDJ, the station now has a full staff. Near the end of the fall semester, KSDJ hired Kristen Rau as Underwriting Director, Samantha Foote as Office Assistant and Ryann Fradenburgh as Promotions Director.

The criticisms of the station having a rigid format rather than the free radio experimentation of the past still upsets some students says Allen, but DJs can choose up to four songs an hour. DJs now receive training for on-air techniques. This combats past complaints of poor quality DJs taking up air-time with endless talking or dead space. According to Creley the training will be standard to all DJs. They credit a training session from last semester with excellent results.

Allen feels the station’s new professionalism has attracted more listeners.

“You can go into Wall Mart and hear KSDJ on the car stereos now,” says Allen.

KSDJ is also planning a spring break vacation giveaway that includes seven nights in South Padre, Texas.

‘This will be the biggest promotion KSDJ has done,” says Allen.

The vacation is provided by Inertia tours, which also offering a KSDJ special: a $499 vacation package to Mazatlan, Cancun, Acapulco or Aspen. For more information go to www.inertiatours.com.

#1.887597:2357235812.jpg:ksdj.jpg:KSDJ staffers don?t get out much. Pictured are (L?R) Travis Creley, Kristen Rau, Matt Stassel, Ashley Allen, Samantha Foote and Ryann Fradenburgh: