After more than a year without funding, KUTE, the U’s student-run radio station, might get the money it needs to resume its online broadcast stream.
The ASUU Special Projects Subcommittee passed a joint bill earlier this month that would give KUTE $4,500 to pay the Recording Industry Association of America the copyright fees it owes. The Associated Students of the University of Utah General Assembly will vote on the bill tonight. If the bill passes in the Assembly, the Senate must then approve it.
“I know there are many people in the Senate and Assembly who do support us,” said Erica Andersen, a junior in intercultural communication and French. “It was great to have such support at the subcommittee meeting.”
A group of students working to save KUTE met with the ASUU committee and the Student Broadcasting Council to discuss the future of the station. Both meetings left the students feeling hopeful about the future of KUTE.
“(I feel) completely optimistic with these productive meetings,” said Keith Yowell, a senior in mass communication. “As long as we keep our momentum, KUTE will live to its mission outlined so far.”
KUTE has generated interest by tabling outside the Union and at different events in recent weeks, amassing more than 300 signatures on its petition to gain ASUU funding. It now has a list of 39 people interested in working for KUTE.
The Student Broadcasting Council passed three motions allowing KUTE to resume its operations if the funding is given. The committee decided to pay the RIAA the $4,500 KUTE owes if funding is awarded. The SBC asked the student committee to actively recruit candidates interested in becoming a station manager. The SBC also decided to allow KUTE to stream online as soon as the RIAA fees are paid. The SBC’s final motion officially recognizes the KUTE student committee, requires its members to adapt KUTE’s current handbook so it aligns with its new vision and requires them to come forth with a budget for fiscal year 2009 before the SBC’s next meeting with the KUTE student committee next month.
Students said the new KUTE will be different, and they want to move KUTE from just radio to a new media operation with Web 2.0 technology. This would allow for a fully interactive website where students could download podcasts, comment on forums and read blogs from KUTE’s DJs and hosts.
The SBC asked the student committee to obtain two estimates from software developers of the costs associated with revamping KUTE’s website.
“I think (this meeting) was fantastic and very exciting because it’s precisely the kind of student involvement we’ve been hoping for,” said Bob Avery, SBC chair. “The difference in this initiative is the preservation of the enterprise relies on student involvement — they’re not counting on (faculty) to preserve KUTE.”
KUTE reinstated its radio signal on 1620 AM a few weeks ago. The station also broadcasts on Channel 66 of the university’s cable TV system.
KUTE has been in financial trouble since ASUU suspended funding in 2006. ASUU felt that the funding, which could reach a maximum of $15,000 per year, was not justified given the relatively low number of listeners at that time.