In L.A. the premier mixed format public radio station is KCRW, operating out of Santa Monica (Community) College. Their format is about half news and public affairs, and about half music, focusing on alternative pop, rock, and even some R&B. This station can be clearly received all over Southern California, either directly, or through one of its affiliates. They also have a Web presence making it possible to hear them from anywhere in the world with a computer. They also have achieved such status in the music world that, until they recently renovated their own studios, they would hold live interviews with bands at The Village Studios, whose recording logs are a veritable who’s-who of rock and jazz over the last 30 years or more.
Other college radio stations in the area are mostly geared to music, and except for USC’s classical KUSC, tend to have rather weak signals. On a good day I can (barely) get CSU Long Beach’s KLON. And UCLA’s station is so hopelessly weak that it can’t be heard outside the campus bounds.
Meaning no disrespect to Santa Monica college, or community colleges in general, I’ve always wondered how it was they came to have such an excellent station. And is it the case anywhere else in the U.S. that a community college has the premier NPR outlet, while older and more prestigious four-year universities have such limited broadcast power?