KALA celebrates 40th birthday
Tara Wellman
Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: News
With new programming already on the air and more to come, there is something for everyone who wants to listen. With talk shows and news shows like "The Tavis Smiley Show" and "The World," live sports broadcasts, and the smooth jazz music KALA is known for, the service exemplifies the high quality standards that SAU strives for.
Plus, students like Klossing are welcome to participate in any way they can.
"I think a lot of students don't realize that KALA is even up here and there [are] opportunities if you're interested in radio," Klossing said.
The station will get a big boost this summer, jumping from 100 watts to 10,000 watts and reaching potentially 500,000 people. Still, the crew at KALA insists the added professional requirements will not take away from student involvement.
"It's a whole different level of professionalism, but the thing is, we want the students and the faculty and the staff involved," Baker said. "That's the key. We're not going to lose that in this change."
"A lot of the public radio stations in the past, when a school would become a public radio station, they'd throw all the students out and hire all these professionals to run it," Colwell said.
That is far from the plan for KALA.
"Absolutely not - over my dead body! - would that happen,"
Colwell said.
As people gathered in the lobby for cake and punch, Sister Lescinski compared the radio station's growth to that of the school itself - starting out small, building gradually and always maintaining the quality that defines the Ambrosian way.
While the start may not have been trouble-free, 40 years later, KALA is going strong and growing right along with the university, just as it should.
Plus, students like Klossing are welcome to participate in any way they can.
"I think a lot of students don't realize that KALA is even up here and there [are] opportunities if you're interested in radio," Klossing said.
The station will get a big boost this summer, jumping from 100 watts to 10,000 watts and reaching potentially 500,000 people. Still, the crew at KALA insists the added professional requirements will not take away from student involvement.
"It's a whole different level of professionalism, but the thing is, we want the students and the faculty and the staff involved," Baker said. "That's the key. We're not going to lose that in this change."
"A lot of the public radio stations in the past, when a school would become a public radio station, they'd throw all the students out and hire all these professionals to run it," Colwell said.
That is far from the plan for KALA.
"Absolutely not - over my dead body! - would that happen,"
Colwell said.
As people gathered in the lobby for cake and punch, Sister Lescinski compared the radio station's growth to that of the school itself - starting out small, building gradually and always maintaining the quality that defines the Ambrosian way.
While the start may not have been trouble-free, 40 years later, KALA is going strong and growing right along with the university, just as it should.
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