KSU’s OWLRadio station has quickly become one of the most popular student run organizations on campus.
Since 2010, OWLRadio’s 43 person staff and volunteers have been managed by senior public relations manager Reginald Joseph, who hosts OWLRadio’s most popular program, Real Talk Live!, which broadcasts Monday nights at 6 pm.
From the 70s and 80s musical flashback blocks hosted by Program Manager Chonticia Johnson, to the award-winning Harry Strange series, OWLRadio offers over 20 music, news, chat and sports programs designed to not only reach KSU student audiences, but listeners from any walk of life.
Averaging 3,000 listeners a week, OWLRadio, which broadcasts online only, reaches international audiences in countries like Canada, Sweden, Italy and Russia. Of the international coverage, Joseph notes the advantages of online-only radio, and believes this is the key to reaching larger and wider audiences.
“Traditional media is dying, and I want to take advantage of new media here at OWLRadio,” Joseph says about the integration of Facebook, Twitter and live stream chats into many of the OWLRadio shows.
Real Talk Live!, is an hour long show devoted to responding to questions posed on social media websites from listeners in real time, a practice almost rarely used in mainstream FM radio, but growing nonetheless.
Another popular OWLRadio program is Dirty Pop, an entertainment buzz hosted by staff member Megan Golden. “It’s not a gossip show”, Golden says about the show, remarking that she reports and discusses the latest in celebrity news and popular culture.
Not only focusing on musical programs and pop culture shows, Sharon Cline hosts “InterviewKSU,” a self-described show in which she interviews important figures and influencers at KSU about what they do for the Owl Nation.
Joseph notes that many out-of-town parents with students who play sports at KSU or want to stay up to date on KSU news have an easier way to keep up with their children because of OWLRadio.
Along with providing music for on-campus events, OWLRadio is also no stranger to outside community involvement, doing promotional events for local business like NCG Cinemas for midnight screenings of popular movies, such as The Avengers, which OWLRadio broadcasted on May 3. OWLRadio has also
done promotional work for local GameStop and CD Warehouse locations.
In keeping with the idea of giving back to the community, twelve Boy Scout troops recently came to OWLRadio Studios to see the ins and outs of the radio station operations and earn their communications badges.
Whether it is hilarious chat shows, eclectic music, or community involvement, OWLRadio has made an indelible mark on KSU and the surrounding community and continues to grow at an exponential rate on campus and in the local media.