In a historic move, Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication has welcomed student-run radio station 88.5 KURE Ames Alternative into its fold as an affiliated student media organization.
“I expect this new affiliation to help more students express their passion for radio and strengthen their professional portfolios for when they hit the job market,” said Michael Dahlstrom, Greenlee director, director of graduate education and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s professor. “KURE will better connect our students in the radio profession with the expertise and opportunities that 88.5 KURE Ames Alternative offers.”
The Greenlee School promotes four majors – advertising, journalism and mass communication, public relations and sports media – and a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication. Along with granting KURE’s new affiliated status, Greenlee has allowed its students to begin earning academic credit for hosting radio talk shows as part of the school’s recently instituted sports media major.
According to KURE general manager Carly Nichols, a senior biochemistry major, the station had been developing new ways to make KURE more visible to the campus and Ames communities.
“We recognized that KURE wasn’t as integrated into Iowa State as it could have been, especially since there are so many resources across campus that could significantly increase our reach,” Nichols said. “The Greenlee School seemed like an obvious fit, as radio and journalism go hand in hand.”
KURE features a wide range of programming, including most musical genres played by KURE’s rotating staff of student DJs. The station also provides coverage of Iowa State athletic events, talk-style programming and special-event broadcasts. But for the first time, KURE will collaborate with Greenlee to provide students on-air experience for academic credit. KURE’s studio is set in the basement of Friley Hall dormitory (the station originated in a Friley dorm room in 1949).
Tony Moton, Greenlee assistant teaching professor, initiated talks between Greenlee and KURE last spring in hopes of providing sports media students with a co-curricular activity involving radio broadcasting.
“Honestly, I was a little nervous about approaching KURE based on what I knew about the station’s lack of involvement with Greenlee, and vice versa, over the years,” Moton said. “But once I sat down with Carly Nichols and (assistant general manager) Kamil Qureshi, I think we knew that joining forces would be a win-win for everybody. Down the road, I see Greenlee adding radio news broadcasting opportunities with KURE and maybe a satellite studio for KURE in Hamilton Hall.”
Earlier this month, three Greenlee students – Caleb Polking, Marijke Mendeszoon and Kalee Wise – began hosting weekly, hour-long sports radio talk shows on KURE as part of a new sports media practicum course. Their regularly scheduled shows are part of the station’s weekend lineup.
“I couldn’t be happier with how engaged our students are about adding radio broadcasting to their skill sets,” Moton said. “The goal is to help our students graduate as seasoned media practitioners who can write, broadcast, shoot video and tell great stories in any medium. That’s how you get hired in today’s world. Adding KURE to Greenlee’s offerings is a big step in that direction.”
Nichols added, “The Greenlee staff have been nothing but welcoming and supportive of all our endeavors, and we expect the station to thrive because of this new partnership. It will allow us to advertise our activities and committees to more people across campus and will aid in updating our equipment. We are so excited to share KURE with more students at Iowa State with the help of the Greenlee School of Journalism.”
