KZSC (88.1 FM) is a

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station broadcasting from the campus of the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

. It is a student run,

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

station that serves as a training ground for UCSC students interested in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

, media promotions, music, and journalism, as well as an outlet for many members of the Santa Cruz community.

Programming

According to the KZSC Mission Statement, the station is "dedicated to airing alternative viewpoints that often differ from the broadcasts found on many commercial stations. As such, the station has over 60 different shows that vary widely in

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

, including

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

, hip-hop, and a wide variety of international music, as well as a number of

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

and public affairs programs. Approximately 70% of those shows are helmed by UCSC students, along with evening

KPFA KPFA (94.1 FM) is an American listener-funded talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station sign ...

news broadcasts. It is also largely student-run in administrative matters. With a large following in the Santa Cruz and surrounding Counties, KZSC also has a good name amongst online listeners all over the world. The station has an iPhone app as well as online streaming from the official website and other online radio streaming sites, such as Tunein. The college radio station is an important part of the UC Santa Cruz campus and broader Santa Cruz community for new and local music, news and talk programming, and news and emergency updates. Though it is under the university jurisdiction, it is not funded by the university, being largely independent and listener sponsored. Students that have gone into media after KZSC include the founder of Santa Cruz local loud rock promoter

Bane Shows Bane may refer to: Fictional characters * Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman * Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series * Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy * Bane the Druid, a Gua ...

, and Comedy Central writer

Jesse Thorn Jesse Thorn (born April 24, 1981) is an American media entrepreneur and public radio and podcast host/creator. He is the owner and founder of the Maximum Fun podcast network, and the host and producer of the podcasts '' Judge John Hodgman'' and ...

History

The station was founded in 1967 as KRUZ, broadcasting a very low-power signal from the basement of the Stevenson College dorms. In 1974, the station officially changed its callsign to KZSC and began to broadcast at 10 watts. In 1980, the station moved to its current "cabin" facilities above Crown College and the signal's power was raised to 1,250 watts. In 2002, KZSC upgraded its signal to 10,000 watts to broadcast to listeners throughout Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey counties. In 2007, KZSC again raised its signal power, doubling their strength to 20,000 watts and extending its reach to the Santa Cruz, San Benito, and

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

counties.

Awards

KZSC has been chosen by the readers of

Metro Santa Cruz ''Metro Santa Cruz'', a free-circulation weekly newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California from 1994 to 2009, was renamed the ''Santa Cruz Weekly'' on May 6, 2009. The weekly continues, under its new name, to cover news, arts and entertainment ...

as Santa Cruz's #1

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

station for 6 consecutive years as of 2007. Since 2003, KZSC has been the only

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

entry on the

Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

's list of top 20 campus stations. In 2010,

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

named KZSC as one of the top nine college radio stations. The station has also won Best Radio Station in local publication

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

's Arts & Culture awards numerous times. In 2022, KZSC was voted Family Favorite Radio Station by the Growing Up in Santa Cruz organization.

References

External links

*
KZSC on the Santa Cruz Wiki
* {{California college radio ZSC University of California, Santa Cruz Radio stations established in 1967 Zsc