“Radio a la Mav” airs student voices
DJ E is back behind the mic to entertain thousands of avid listeners via “Radio a la Mav.”
For one hour Monday through Friday from 12-1 p.m. Minnesota State students are able to tune in to their fellow Mavericks on the KMSU student-run radio show.
MSU junior Ethan Tyler, or “DJ E”, hosts every Friday with the help of his freshman co-host Chad Eng.
Tyler says the most rewarding part of his role at KMSU is, “being able to just talk on the radio and have people care about your opinions, care about what you’re talking about and being able just to have it out there.”
Radio a la Mav’s goal is to bring the unique perspective of students to the airwaves. Student broadcasters have free will over song choices and an open platform to discuss anything under the sun.
“It’s just for kids to, you know, go talk to their fellow students about stuff going on on campus,” Tyler said. “Also just to play music, talk to people on the radio and get that experience before they go into the real world.”
KMSU radio has a 20,000-watt signal that reaches throughout southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. Eng joined the station a few weeks ago and soon discovered he was reaching an audience of five to ten thousand viewers.
“9,000 people listening to what I’m saying is so trippy, but it’s also so cool,” Eng said.
Despite numbers, the back-and-forth banter between the student hosts calms the nerves over the many ears on the other side of the microphone.
“It’s really nice being able to work with people around your age and also people that have the same similar interests as you,” Tyler said. “I remember last year with the two guys that I was with, we all liked the same things; we all liked video games, we all liked sports, stuff like that so it was just super easy to talk to them.”
As for Eng, being new to the crew gives him a different perspective. Eng says he finds difficulty in, “talking in front of tons and tons of people that you don’t know and you’ll never meet.”
Regardless of the challenge, Eng and Tyler advise students to take a leap of faith if they have any interest in radio and broadcasting.
“Before I talked to [KMSU] I was in my own bubble. I didn’t really talk to very many people in class and stuff like that; I wasn’t that guy, so I was like, ‘I don’t really know if I should put my foot out there’, but to put my foot out there it’s led me to so many opportunities,” Tyler said. “Just go for it. You might not like it, but at least you tried it.”
Anyone across Mankato has access to Radio a la Mav on 89.7 FM, and across the globe on the KMSU streaming app available for Apple and Android devices.
Write to Mercedes Kauphusman at mercedes.kauphusman@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: Featuring everything from current sounds to polka, and everything in between, Radio a la Mav gives students the open mic. (Dylan Long/The Reporter)