WXCU Radio

Radio Station

WXCU Radio Ryan March

About

WXCU Radio is a student-run internet radio station at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. WXCU Radio broadcasts exclusively online through its website, streaming 24/7.


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Starting as a DJ

I first took to the airwaves on my own show in mid-September 2013. With training on the RCS Master Control software, I started developing what songs my show would play and what personality my show would have. Shortly after, I joined up with future regular collaborator, Maura, to do a weekly themed specialty show. Each week, we chose a theme, and picked music that fit with the theme.

List of Shows - Fall 2013

  • October 1, 2013 Big Hair, Big Bands: Best Songs from The 80's
  • October 8, 2013 - Game Over: The Wild World of Video Game Music
  • October 15, 2013 - Midterms: Take a Break from Studying + Special Surpsie Guest!
  • October 22, 2013 - Showtime!: Movie Soundtracks
  • October 29, 2013 - DJ's Choice: AFI
  • November 12, 2013 - Middle School: Songs We Enjoyed From Our Middle School Years
  • December 3, 2013 - Tis The Season: The Coolest Non-Traditional Christmas Songs

The Website & Branding

When I first came to WXCU, it had no consistent brand message, no consistent idea, and the website was in dire straights. For an internet radio station, I figured having a website is important.

Working with the student Management Team, I created a new logo and brand identity for WXCU. The only direction I got as far as creating a new logo was “Modern.” Since "modern" seems to mostly just mean 'simple' and either 'bold' or 'thin.' I started in that direction.

With some criticism and a suggestion to include the school colors purple and white, I created a few more ideas.

We eventually settled on the top-left version. The letters are set in Myriad Pro Black. I created a few color variations.

There’s a small icon version. And the even smaller favicon.

Now we needed a website. I had just completed a web development class at Capital and asked the team if I could rework the website. After much struggling, I taught myself how to work with HTML, CSS, and PHP through WordPress. We finally launched the new site and the new logo at the end of January 2014:

I created some “punny” posters to promote WXCU around campus:

At the time, WXCU suffered from a lack of awareness around the school. And the people that did know what WXCU was, didn’t think much about it. I wanted to present WXCU as a professional organization, and make sure it was clear who we are and what we do, while still expressing a sense of humor.

The real fun came when we ordered stickers to give away at our events. Stickers started showing up around campus: on boards, notebooks, and laptops

We ordered T-Shirts, because what respectable radio station doesn’t have T-Shirts?

To complete the branding, the radio station is always formally introduced as WXCU Radio. This helps the public immediately grasp what we do. The URL is wxcuradio.com, our Facebook username is wxcuradio, Twitter handle is wxcuradio, and now, Instagram handle is wxcuradio. Consistent branding across all platforms.

After encountering some back-end difficulties with the website, I revamped it for the fall 2015 semester:

The new site better fits the needs of the radio station. Prominent event schedule, responsive design, media friendly. Even on the back-end, everything is cleaner.


Events

Radiothon

In the fall of 2014, we started creating the plans for a charity "give back" event. We had seen mild success with our on-campus events and wanted to start branching a bit outside the confines of the university. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we realized that radio & charity have collaborated for years. So began the formal planning of Capital University's first-ever radiothon for the spring of 2015.

Envisioned as a 24-hour event, we had figure out how to fill all of that time with compelling content both on and off the air. We partnered up with the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio on the recommendation from one of our staff. After months of prep work and nervous nights,

Radiothon 2016

http://archive.is/JMmgy


Programming


Awards

In the spring of 2015, WXCU Radio won Capital University's Organization of the Year award.

In December 2015, the station received a nomination from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) for best Streaming/Online only Radio Station. I was interviewed as part of an aritcle announcing the nomination for The Chimes newspaper, which can be read here.

In April of 2016, Capital University recognized Radiothon 2016 as its Community Engagement Program of The Year.

Tools Used:
• Wordpress
• Photoshop
• Pixelmator
• Shoutcast
• RCS Master Control
• Station Playlist
Skills Used:
• Logo Design
• Website Development
• Audio Production
• Event Planning
Links:
WXCUradio.com
Audio
Development
Marketing
https://ryanmarch.me/portfolio/wxcu-radio
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