CBI College Broadcasters Inc. is an organization that serves students and advisers of college and electronic media outlets. They hold events, programs and have created a network to provide educational and professional opportunities for members.
As a student assistant at the student-run radio station, I knew I was putting myself in a good position to get real-world experience and build my skill set. Little did I know, KTXT-FM would open doors for me across the country and teach me much more than just radio broadcasting skills.
This year I took my second trip to the CBI National Convention, and along with my co-workers, truly made the most of it. This year we traveled to St. Louis, Missouri! While seeing a new city and getting to explore such an interesting place was exciting, the staff prepared to cram as many educational breakout sessions and panels into our 4 day trip as possible.
This year, students and staff from KTXT-FM 88.1 presented on five panels and attended over 11. Not all stations who attended presented at all, so to have KTXT represented so well really made me as a staff member proud to be a part of this year’s group.
I personally spoke on two:
Sports Broadcasting: Maximizing Your Social Media Presence
College Radio Day and Vinylthon: When all Else Fails, College Radio Speaks
On these panels, I spoke about what we do here at KTXT, what works and what hasn’t worked for things in our social media and sports departments, as well as our two 24-hour events.
I spearheaded the first a Social Media focused panel KTXT has ever done. This panel focused on how our sports department gained grew to success and covered an NCAA March Madness Tournament. On this panel, I got to collaborate with both our now graduated Sports Director, RC Maxfield, and a student from a smaller school. This part of the experience humbled me on how fortunate we are to have such a big sports following and things might be significantly harder at a smaller university or one with a less popular athletics program. I feel grateful that during this panel I got to help so many students and answer questions about what works for our station in regards to social media interactions and live coverage of sporting events.
I also attended other panels, such as Live Music: More than Just a Performance and Building a Successful Sports Department that some of my fellow staff members spoke on. I covered these on our social media by going live and took pictures. While also learning a lot from the other schools who spoke on the panels with them.
The other panel, “College Radio Day and Vinylthon: When All Else Fails, College Radio Speaks” has been put on by KTXT staff members for a few years now. We love sharing what makes our 24-hour celebrations of these huge days for college radio so successful. I was excited to be on this panel with Miette Esteb, KTXT’s Music Director; the discussion we had with other students was awesome. This conference shows us as students that what we do is bigger than just our town and our station because we can spark ideas that other schools will implement across the country.
I attended “Running Social Media for Business 101” as my first non-KTXT run panel of CBI. This presentation was fun and engaging, and while I already knew a lot of the things they covered, it was great to get some reassurance that I am on the right track. As the only social media staff member here at KTXT, it was odd to hear everyone talk about their “social media teams” and how they were delegating all the work I do on a regular basis to 4-5+ people. This made me want to build my department’s volunteers and create a more team-like feeling, instead of just having a few volunteers come in once a week for a show. I have already made a KTXT Tik Tok which was inspired by the conversation during this session and I have utilized my lists on Twitter a lot more. On a broader spectrum, I took away that I am doing fine and that as a one-man show, I can’t do everything other stations can. I hope to strengthen my volunteer base, look to other departments to share content with me for posting, and also focus on fewer platforms so that they can grow more significantly instead of just doing a little bit of everything.
Another presentation I attended was called Picking Up the Slack In Your Organization.
During this panel, I got a ton of information on the online messaging platform, Slack, and how it can be used to increase productivity and efficiency at a college radio station. After attending this panel I was completely sold on the app and am excited to help implement it into KTXT. My favorite thing about Slack and this presentation was the idea that we can include all our volunteers in the conversation.
Other panels that our staff members attended included:
“Getting the Most Out of the Music Industry”
Our Music Director Miette Esteb explained “one thing that was really helpful was advice on asking promoters for concert tickets, artist interviews, and liners. It was really helpful information that will be useful for future KTXT endeavors. During SXSW, the station can use this advice to meet artists and get some content for KTXT.”
“Roundtable for Music Directors”
“Recruiting 101”
Operations Director, Julia Sewing, learned a lot about how to make our volunteers feel more welcome at KTXT during this session.
“After the session, I realized that we should do more things, like monthly meetings that are fun, creating little ‘zines,’ and a survey for our DJs. I have already had our DJ’s fill out a survey on what we could do better and what we are doing great so we can adjust what we need to for next semester,” Sewing said.
“You’re In Charge Now. Now What?”
Sewing also attended a session to help her in the leadership role she took on in fall 2019.
“I gained so much knowledge on ways to deal with conflict better, how to have a productive staff meeting, and how to get the most productivity from your team as a whole. It was really awesome to learn from two teachers from the session, but there was also a student so it was super beneficial to have a variety of perspectives,” Sewing said.
“Talent vs. Tech: Becoming a Well-Rounded Staff Member”
“The Next Generation of Broadcast Engineers”
“It is vital to be well rounded and knowledgeable of what goes on in that media outlet other than just what may be in your job description. The more you know, the more desirable you appear to employers,” Emily Chaisson, KTXT’s Music scheduler, learned.
“Play-by-Play Basics”
“So You Want To Work In Sports Broadcasting For A Living?”
RC Maxfield, who recently graduated said that this panel was his favorite of the convention.
“The Sports Director from KMOX mentioned to never say no to an opportunity even if it doesn’t look great. He also mentioned that we are so far ahead of him because of the resources we have and being able to call NCAA games in college,” Maxfield said.
Not only does this convention make give students an opportunity to learn new things and implement them at their respective stations, but it often connects them with professionals that can later be a networking connection for students looking for a job whether that is right out of graduation or taking the next step 10 years down the line.
For students like Miette Esteb who wants to go into the music and promotions industry, she got to introduce herself to a promoter from Planetary who she had only ever spoken to over the phone. And RC Maxfield getting to meet current play-by-play announcers that he can look to for advice down the road.
I want to work in social media and am glad to have met so many like-minded individuals who may be my co-workers or boss one day. The common passion for music, college radio, sports, social media, etc. that brought us to CBI can bring us students from around the country together far beyond the 4-day trip once a year. I’ve tried to make a point to follow other stations that we work with or meet while at this convention; the exposure is good for us as students but also for the station as a whole.
I feel grateful that I got to help so many students and answer questions. While I never thought I would be someone people look up to for insight and advice, the CBI conference, and KTXT in general, have shown me that I am really doing something here that I can and should be proud of. There is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that go into running a radio station as a full-time college student and I appreciate the school and everything that was done in order to get me and my fellow KTXT staff members to St. Louis last fall.
Since I have been a part of the station, KTXT has given me and my co-workers the opportunity to build a personal portfolio and I am grateful that I can share parts of mine at an amazing convention like the National Student Electronic Media Convention. Thank you to the board members, and everyone who made the 2019 conference a success. You can find out more information about the organization at https://www.askcbi.org/
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