KNTU
Photo courtesy of KNTU
CELEBRATES TO THE TUNE OF 40 YEARS ON AIR
Play some jazz. Add news programming. Play classic jazz. Fold in the Mean Green Sports Network. More jazz. A pinch of weather, a pinch of traffic. Straight-ahead jazz. Mix in some Indie, rock, hip-hop, Tejano on weekends. Denton emergency alerts. Add 100,000 watts of power. But always come back to the jazz, jazz, jazz. That’s the current recipe for success at UNT’s radio station, KNTU-FM “The One.” Forty years ago, KNTU student DJs, operating on a mere 250 watts from a corner of the Speech and Drama Department of what was then North Texas State University, carried boxes of their own records to play from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on the newly licensed radio station. Today, KNTU is on the air 24/7 at 88.1 FM – and at kntu.com – broadcasting from spacious studios in the Department of Radio, Television, and Film. Around 50-75 paid and volunteer students are mostly responsible for KNTU’s day-to-day programming. And although the station’s schedule includes segments devoted to other music, newscasts, and community programming, jazz rules on KNTU. On November 6th, KNTU’s founders, past and present station managers and student staff members, devoted listeners, and UNT administrators gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the popular radio station. Over 100 people attended the festivities in the Gateway Center, sharing memories, eating good food, and enjoying the program. In addition to congratulatory remarks from President Bataille and RTVF department chair Melinda Levin, current station manager Russ Campbell, program/operations/news director Mark Lambert, and associate department chair and former station manager Sam Sauls supplied context. Alumna Carla Marion, currently with Dallas’ WBAP News and Talk Radio and a former anchor at KRLD, emceed. The highlight of the evening was a performance by UNT’s One O’Clock Lab Band, directed by Steve Weist. The band played a chronological set of music from Lab Band recordings made between 1969 and 2009.
President Bataille lauded KNTU’s success in her remarks at the party. Photo courtesy of KNTU
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Over the years, KNTU has received recognition for its excellence in what is now the fifth largest media market in the country. In 2001, the Dallas Observer declared it the “Best Public Music Radio Station” in their annual Best of Dallas issue.
“KNTU would not have achieved any of these accolades or stayed on the air as long as it has without its dedicated student volunteers,” President Bataille said during her opening remarks.
“Hundreds of students have cut their teeth at the station, choosing the music, manning the sound boards, and overseeing the programming. They have been – and continue to be – the station’s heart and soul.”
One O’Clock Lab Band saxophonists swing at the KNTU 40th anniversary celebration. Photo: Vanessa Mendoza, URCM
KNTU staff and students also hosted a Homecoming pre-game party on October 17 in the Mean Green Village outside Fouts Field. KNTU alumni sent anniversary congratulations, which became on-air announcements. Messages were sent by Nick Walker, on-air meteorologist at The Weather Channel; Mark Followill, TV play-by-play announcer for the Dallas Mavericks; Amy Bishop, host on WRR Classical 101.1; and George Dunham, play-by-play announcer for the Mean Green Radio Network and co-host of the “Dunham and Miller” show on KTCK. For more information about the founding and history of KNTU, please read “KNTU: A History” by Levi Thomson, former Honors College student, in “The Eagle Feather”: www.unt.edu/honors/eaglefeather/2004_Issue/ThomsonL.shtml For more information about KNTU, including program schedule, how to support the station, and to listen live, go to http://kntu.com
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