DANA RADIO STILL GOING STRONG

KDCV 91.1 FM supplies local coverage for Blair

A lot of big sound and big preparation come from a tiny room on the second floor in Dana’s Margre Henningson Durham Center.

It’s basic training…KDCV style.

Vern Wirka, instructor of communication, says it will be a busy year again for communication students studying radio in Radio Broadcasting 104.

"Our broadcast signal is only strong enough to basically reach through the city limits of Blair on 91.1 FM," Wirka said. "But with internet connections, our students broadcast Blair High School and Dana College events with the technology to have their voices heard around the world."

Listeners can now pick up the signal of KDCV again, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week since the summer hiatus has ended. A new crop of prospective Dana voices have geared up for a variety of programming.

"We lost some talented students last year through graduation," Wirka said. "We’ll be looking forward to meeting some new kids and hope they also have the interest and talent in the radio."

Students in the program take a three-hour introductory class in the fall. It’s more than just getting behind a microphone and announcing a game or reading a little Dana campus news.

"Our students learn the basics or how it all works," he said. "A lot has to do with running the computers that make it all work."

College campuses don’t always have the big dollars around to buy the latest in software and equipment, but Wirka said that isn’t necessarily a problem. "Most of these kids are pretty computer-literate. If they do go on to work in broadcast radio it’s more important that they know how systems work, because they probably won’t find the same kind of software at any two different stations, anyway."

Besides the technical "nuts and bolts" of radio broadcasting, a big part of the course work focuses on the business of radio broadcasting, including marketing and sales. The radio classes, Wirka said, tie in well to Dana’s communication major because students learn to communicate effectively through the radio medium.

Besides radio broadcasting, Dana students also have the option of taking coursework in video production, too. Wirka will be teaching those classes this fall, moving from the ranks of an adjunct communications professor to a full-time Dana faculty member.
He knows about real-life experience in radio. He started his own career in local radio, working for such local broadcasters as KFAB AM.

In the second semester, students can take Wirka’s Radio Participation class, available to them for one, two or three semester class hours. Time commitments increase according to the number of class hours being earned.

Through the second semester, each student will be putting on at least one half-hour radio show. The topics are as varied as the range of interests of student interests. Some lean toward the half-hour talk-show, informative news programs. Others will go into musical performances.

Music has taken center stage at different times as KDCV broadcasts musical performances live from the Dana campus.

When Dana students aren’t "on the air," the time is filled with music programmed by students from a selection on file at the station. Only pre-selected music can be chosen, giving the faculty and college some control over what comes over the air waves from Dana.

"During the daytime hours, we usually lean toward an easier-listening mix of music," Wirka said. "After 4 p.m., when the students have more time to listen to the station, the music can tend more toward alternative rock and other music they especially like. It’s an eclectic collection of music."

Sunday morning brings some regularly-scheduled Christian programs, including Lutheran Vespers, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Christian Crusaders and then a live broadcast of services from Trinity Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) in Blair.
News isn’t a regular feature, although as part of federal regulations for broadcasters, there will be updates from the National Weather Service whenever Washington County is under storm alerts.

The addition of the internet broadcast option last year helped take the students’ voices far away from Nebraska.

"Blair High and Dana sports seemed to be very popular," Wirka said. "It gave friends and grandparents in places as far away as Florida and Hawaii a chance to listen to the games as they were played."
Wirka said he enjoys the enthusiasm student broadcasters bring to Dana College each fall and is hoping for a lot of student interest in the radio and television from the campus this year.

"It can be a real fun, learning experience for the students," he said.

Dana College is a place where all students actively participate. They make things happen — in their own lives and in the lives of others. Through a highly supportive faculty and campus community, Dana students develop interpersonal skills, leadership abilities, and other important values and knowledge as they make choices about their future. Dana’s outstanding academic programs in business, education, art and social work, among others, ensure that students have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to pursue challenging careers or placement in graduate school.

Dana College is a private, liberal arts institution in Blair, Neb. To learn more, visit www.dana.edu.

Dana College: Develop talents, Take charge, Build a future — We’re with you all the way.

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For more information contact:

Sarah Cavanah
Communications Coordinator
Dana College
(402) 426-7216
scavanah@dana.edu