DJ Benjamin "B.J." Michaeli answers the call line while lining up tracks to play during Radio 1190's afternoon rotation Monday.The independent radion station, which broadcasts from the basement of the UMC, finished up its pledge drive last Friday. The station relies on listener donations to help meet funding needs. (CU Independent/Lauren Walter)
Radio 1190 can officially stay on the air after ending its pledge drive last Friday.
Twice a year the radio station, located in the basement of the UMC, has to raise at least $50,000 within a week and a half to be able to stay on air, said Music Director Jessi Whitten. Whitten, 22, is a fifth-year senior and English major who says she loves working with the radio station. She also said that this semester the pledge drive helped the Radio 1190 staff successfully raise the money needed to keep the station going.
Whitten says that the pledge drive is crucial to Radio 1190’s survival as an independent station.
“We got money from our listeners pledging in their support,” Whitten said. “Being listener-supported allows us to remain independent. They call us and pledge money, and depending on the amount they could get concert tickets or T-shirts or what have you.”
Radio 1190’s station headquarters even look like a party. The walls are lined with hundreds of CDs and vinyl, while volunteers have shrouded the ceiling festively in black and orange streamers to help kick up the Halloween spirit.
Eighteen-year-old freshman film studies major Kayla Monetta is one of the volunteers who helped bring in money for the pledge drive, and said she had fun doing so.
“I miss the pledge drive, I really liked it,” Monetta said. “It was fun; everyone was down here.”
With the help of another volunteer, Chris Ballas, a 22-year-old linguistics major who has been with the station for nearly three years, helped bring in $500 to the station in one day.
Pulling music shortly before his rotation begins, Radio 1190 DJ Charles Ballas, a senior linguistics major, prepares for the show he will co-host Monday. (CU Independent/Lauren Walter)
“One day we brought in just a whole lot of money—$500!” Ballas said. “The two days that I did stuff on pledge drive were pretty awesome.”
BJ Michaeli is a 20-year-old junior history major and a Radio 1190 DJ. Michaeli said he joined the station recently and enjoyed the pledge drive too, even though it was stressful at times.
“(It was) stressful—a lot of fun though,” Michaeli said. “I’ve been with Radio 1190 a year; I joined so I could DJ. I thought it’d be fun.”
Michaeli expressed a possible interest in being a DJ in his future.
According to Whitten, the future of Radio 1190 looks bright, even if funds should turn out to fall a bit short.
“Until our next pledge drive we should be taken care of,” Whitten said. “We do oftentimes (fall short) and we may have this time, but it was so close that we’ll be okay. We have gone over too, and it’s times like that that take care of us when we go under.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Andrea Rael at Andrea.rael@colorado.edu.
