I was so excited to get back to school and begin my work at the radio station. We had a great year in 2019. From beautiful chalkboard sessions, covering almost every VCU sports home game, and almost 40 weekly radio shows, the station was thriving. Then in March, the pandemic hit. We were sent home early. Confusion was among every student in the nation. And no one knew what it meant for student media.
COVID-19 meant that large gatherings could no longer happen. Question marks were placed on how we could recruit for the radio station in the fall and how people could fit in the office and studio. After March, we went fully remote. No one inside the station, all shows were recorded and sent in to be played later. Finding new people to join was near impossible.
We had to turn to our alumni base to give us some content to play. They helped a lot with the few shows from current students as well. We also had great weekly content on our website that was being redeveloped.
When we got back to school in the fall, new restrictions were placed but there was some good news. We could have limited people in the office and the studio. Plus we now had a brand new website that made recruiting easier than it’s ever been.
With numerous executive staff meetings held online, we were able to recruit new students for radio shows and other positions in the station like the sports and music team.
I am so proud of how hard the executive staff has worked to overcome these restrictions this semester. Programming, Promotions, Production, Sports (when it comes back), Chalkboard, and Music, have pushed to salvage this semester and make it a success. Not to forget how great our advisor Jon has been in helping us reach these points.
Now when looking back, I had every right to be excited about this semester because of the way this team has reached new heights. Whenever things get back to normal, I am rightfully excited to see what future goals we can achieve.
– Ben Malakoff, General Manager
