Jewell, Katherine Rye

OUR SYNOPSIS: Katherine Rye Jewell shares stories that reveal “the origins, meaning, and transformation” of the “modern college radio culture,” from the 1970s through the end of the twentieth century. (xiii) She argues, “Embedded within institutional power structures of higher education, federal regulatory bodies, and the corporate culture industry, college radio offered participation in alternative, underground markets and culture while remaining thoroughly a part of the nation’s dominant political economy and politics of culture.” (4) It was both countercultural and not, at the same time. She also shows how college radio became fertile terrain for political and social debates about regulation and power. It was very much a part of the late-twentieth century “culture wars.” (11) Colleges encouraged critical thinking, and college radio encouraged critical listening. Providing vignettes of individual college stations at specific moments, she emphasizes local developments amidst national influences such as the FCC and NPR.