KCOU
Encyclopedia
KCOU is a radio station
broadcasting the College radio
format. Licensed to Columbia, Missouri
, USA, the station is currently owned by the Missouri Students Association at the University of Missouri
.
AM station at 580 kHz. In 1973, the Independent Residence Halls Association
was granted a broadcast license by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to operate in monaural
at 88.3 MHz FM
with 16 watt
s. Historically, this was the first license ever issued to a student group within a university, instead of to a university's administration. Operation began Halloween
evening, playing the oddball tune "They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!
".
In the mid-1990s, the Missouri Students Association bought the station from the Residence Halls Association, who deemed it a financial burden for the organization.
The student-run station gained notoriety during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s by promoting alternative music/college rock and providing a platform for new artists and new trends. It has broken or been among the first radio stations to play bands such as Death Cab for Cutie
, Uncle Tupelo
, White Rabbits (band)
and Ditch Witch.
In 1993, the station reunited the cult favorite Big Star as part of its annual Springfest concert. That show featured original bandmembers Alex Chilton
and Jody Stephens, along with Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies. A recording of that reunion show was released as Columbia: Live at Missouri University 4/25/93.
The 2008-2009 staff included General Manager John Dobson and Program Director/Chief Engineer Jonathan Hutcheson.
New innovations at KCOU as of fall 2008 include a new Web site, kcou.fm. The site features live audio streaming worldwide. In February 2009, KCOU launched a news department, which provides on-the-hour news updates every weekday. For the 2008-2009 school year, the station had more than 120 student volunteers.
In January 2009, power to KCOU's FM signal was shut off when Hudson Hall, the MU residence hall where the station's broadcasting tower and transmitter sit, went offline for renovation. Through the Missouri Students Association, the station secured funding to construct a new tower atop Schurz Hall on the MU campus. KCOU was off the airwaves for most of the Spring 2009 semester and through part of the following summer. However, while off the air, KCOU still maintained a live, online broadcast 24/7 which was and continues to be made available through its website.
The station returned to the radio airwaves with full its FM broadcast capability on July 9, 2009 after experiencing some construction, equipment, and engineering delays.
The newscast features live reports and radio stories, including those from KCOU's statehouse news service, Missouri Digital News. In spring 2010, The Pulse began featuring live traffic reports and weather forecasts every 10 minutes. KCOU is home to the only student-produced weathercast on the MU campus, through the University of Missouri Campus Weather Service. With traffic and weather "together on the 1s," plus live sports updates, The Pulse is fully in the newsradio format.
The news department also features a Sunday afternoon news review called "NewsHour" from 1 to 2 p.m. that features in depth interviews with important figures from the MU campus and Columbia. Two commentators host a political debate show called "Point-Counterpoint" from 3 to 4 p.m. Sundays. Theo Keith was the News Director for the 2009-2010 school year. Blake Hanson is the News Director for the 2010-2011 school year.
In summer 2009, KCOU News received two Communicator Awards of Distinction for its coverage of the 2008 election. The station won awards in the "overall newscast" and "student produced programming" categories. Thousands of entries vied for distinction in the competition. KCOU also won a Communicator Award of Distinction a year later for its coverage of elections in the 2009-2010 school year.
In the 2009-2010 school year, the station carried Missouri men's basketball games for the first time.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting the College radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
format. Licensed to Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
, USA, the station is currently owned by the Missouri Students Association at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
.
History
Originally known as KCCS (the Kampus Carrier Current Station), the station was founded in a dorm broom closet in 1963 as a carrier currentCarrier current
Carrier current is a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses the AC electrical system of a building to propagate a medium frequency, AM signal to a relatively small area, such as a building or a group of buildings...
AM station at 580 kHz. In 1973, the Independent Residence Halls Association
Residence hall association
In the United States, a Residence Hall Association is a student-run university residence hall governing body. It is usually the parent organization for individual hall governments. Their function is similar to a student government, except that most of their activities pertain to on-campus living...
was granted a broadcast license by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) to operate in monaural
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
at 88.3 MHz FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
with 16 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. Historically, this was the first license ever issued to a student group within a university, instead of to a university's administration. Operation began Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
evening, playing the oddball tune "They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!
They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!
"They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" is a 1966 novelty record by Jerry Samuels, recorded under the name Napoleon XIV. Released on Warner Bros...
".
In the mid-1990s, the Missouri Students Association bought the station from the Residence Halls Association, who deemed it a financial burden for the organization.
The student-run station gained notoriety during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s by promoting alternative music/college rock and providing a platform for new artists and new trends. It has broken or been among the first radio stations to play bands such as Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
, Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
, White Rabbits (band)
White Rabbits (band)
White Rabbits is an American six-piece indie rock band based in Brooklyn, NY, originally from Columbia, Missouri. The band released its debut studio album, Fort Nightly, on May 22, 2007. They currently record for TBD Records.-History:...
and Ditch Witch.
In 1993, the station reunited the cult favorite Big Star as part of its annual Springfest concert. That show featured original bandmembers Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
and Jody Stephens, along with Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies. A recording of that reunion show was released as Columbia: Live at Missouri University 4/25/93.
The 2008-2009 staff included General Manager John Dobson and Program Director/Chief Engineer Jonathan Hutcheson.
New innovations at KCOU as of fall 2008 include a new Web site, kcou.fm. The site features live audio streaming worldwide. In February 2009, KCOU launched a news department, which provides on-the-hour news updates every weekday. For the 2008-2009 school year, the station had more than 120 student volunteers.
In January 2009, power to KCOU's FM signal was shut off when Hudson Hall, the MU residence hall where the station's broadcasting tower and transmitter sit, went offline for renovation. Through the Missouri Students Association, the station secured funding to construct a new tower atop Schurz Hall on the MU campus. KCOU was off the airwaves for most of the Spring 2009 semester and through part of the following summer. However, while off the air, KCOU still maintained a live, online broadcast 24/7 which was and continues to be made available through its website.
The station returned to the radio airwaves with full its FM broadcast capability on July 9, 2009 after experiencing some construction, equipment, and engineering delays.
News department
In spring of 2009, KCOU launched its news department under the slogan "Your only source for live campus news." The department began broadcasting news updates at the top of the hour throughout the day. In fall 2009, KCOU News launched its main 15-minute newscast, "The Pulse," during evening drive-time. The station later expanded the show to a half-hour. Then, in January 2011, it started broadcasting a full hour of news from 4:30-5:30 p.m., making it mid-Missouri's earliest evening newscast.The newscast features live reports and radio stories, including those from KCOU's statehouse news service, Missouri Digital News. In spring 2010, The Pulse began featuring live traffic reports and weather forecasts every 10 minutes. KCOU is home to the only student-produced weathercast on the MU campus, through the University of Missouri Campus Weather Service. With traffic and weather "together on the 1s," plus live sports updates, The Pulse is fully in the newsradio format.
The news department also features a Sunday afternoon news review called "NewsHour" from 1 to 2 p.m. that features in depth interviews with important figures from the MU campus and Columbia. Two commentators host a political debate show called "Point-Counterpoint" from 3 to 4 p.m. Sundays. Theo Keith was the News Director for the 2009-2010 school year. Blake Hanson is the News Director for the 2010-2011 school year.
In summer 2009, KCOU News received two Communicator Awards of Distinction for its coverage of the 2008 election. The station won awards in the "overall newscast" and "student produced programming" categories. Thousands of entries vied for distinction in the competition. KCOU also won a Communicator Award of Distinction a year later for its coverage of elections in the 2009-2010 school year.
In the 2009-2010 school year, the station carried Missouri men's basketball games for the first time.
Current executive staff
| General Manager | Matt Brown |
| Chief Engineer | Blake Hanson |
| Music Director | Emily Voss |
| Program Director | Kyle Black |
| Promotions Directors | Zach Kerns & Hannah Cushman |
| Live Events Director | Taylor Soldner |
| News Director | Danny Spewak |
| Sports Director | Drew Brackett |
| Production Director | Nathan Frey |
| Recruitment Director | Nick Holder |