KRISTIE MOSS / Scroll
The two radio stations on campus, KBYI and KBYR, are run almost entirely by students out of the Radio and Graphic Services Building near the Student Health Center.

Student voices heard over radio waves

Allison Walker WAL04015@BYUI.EDU Campus Assistant Editor

Starting with the broadcasting pioneers of the 1950s through the days of spinning records in the 1980s, Ricks College’s broadcasting program has grown from humble beginnings to a well-known and high-ranked institution.

While the beginnings of broadcasting at this school dates back to 1955 or 1958, the current station debuted in May 1984 with the call name KRIC, said James Clark, station supervisor.

However, when President Gordon B. Hinckley announced the transition from Ricks College to BYU-Idaho in June 2000, they started looking for a new call name, Clark said.

KRIC then became KBYI in August 2001, shortly after moving locations from the old Jacob Spori Building to the new Radio and Graphic Services Building.

KBYI (FM 100.5) offers programs such as National Public Radio and Music and the Spoken Word. Devotionals are broadcast every week. Also classical, jazz and folk music can be heard throughout the day.

KBYI’s sister station, KBYR (FM 91.5) had its beginnings in the early 90s with the name KWBH. It also underwent changes with the transition to a university.

Along with the new call name, KBYR changed its program from one with unpredictable selections to entirely inspirational music. It draws from a library of over 6,000 songs with about 2,000 in the rotation at any one time, Clark said.

Both stations are run almost entirely by a group of about 25 students. “They do every aspect of broadcasting: engineering, producing, recording, copy writing, copy editing, voice tracking, marketing and underwriting,” Clark said.

Aaron Lowe, a senior from Imbler, Ore., is the news assistant. His duties include doing the weather, news updates, public service announcements and other jobs as needed.

Sometimes, Lowe is involved in the entire process from the community to the radio. “Once or twice a week I might go and interview people with a microphone, edit it, put it together, record it” and then put it on the air, Lowe said.

Like Lowe, a majority of the students working for the stations are broadcasting majors. The opportunity to work for the stations is good experience for their future field of work.

“[Working for KBYI] has helped me a lot with editing, being on the air and voice quality, learning the technical side of things, using microphones and broadcasting and journalistic stuff in general,” Lowe said.

Michelle Snyder, a junior from Provo, Utah, and underwriting manager for the two stations, said she has learned and enjoyed working for the stations.

“I love it because I feel like I’m actually making something happen,” she said. “It’s really rewarding seeing an ad that you’ve done on campus or in the paper. It’s a productive job.”

KBYI serves about 350,000 people in southeastern Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming. It is also consistent in Idaho Falls ratings. It is in the top six of 18 stations in the area, Clark said.

However, success doesn’t come without hard work. “People take it for granted, but it’s on 48/7,” Clark said; 48/7 referring to the fact that they have two stations running all day every day.

“[The students] are highly responsible and come in and work and produce,” he said.

“We have a lot of fun,” Lowe said. “I feel grateful to be a part of it … there’s sort of a satisfaction in a job well done,” Lowe said.