KSSU is an unlicensed, carrier current

Carrier current

Carrier current is a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses the AC electrical system of a building to propagate a medium frequency, AM signal to a relatively small area, such as a building or a group of buildings...

 AM radio station on the campus of California State University, Sacramento

California State University, Sacramento

California State University, Sacramento, popularly known as Sacramento State, is a public university located in the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the California State University system...

 broadcasting at 1580 AM and via streaming audio on the internet.

History

KSSU was started in 1989, but was originally known as "The Edge". Another radio station of that name provided KSSU with a cease and desist letter in 1993, forcing the small station to change its identity to "The Apex". The station changed frequencies several times before settling at 1580 AM, and was run out of the campus library. At the time, the station was barely heard in the campus dorms and stadium parking lot, but the signal was so weak, most DJs frequently played when they were the only listeners. A petition was signed to obtain the frequency of Capital Public Radio (also funded by CSUS but is not student-run), and efforts were later made to get a larger signal, though they proved fruitless. DJs at the time were given free rein to say whatever they want and play whatever they want, since nobody was really listening. The station eventually moved to the Union after its expansion, but the signal strength remained unchanged. This is noteworthy for the legal and administrative roadblocks, which prevented a great station from going on the airwaves with a stronger signal, for instance to 35 watts on fm. In Spring of 2005, the CSUS administration essentially blocked advancement of KSSU(from the dominance of its Capital Public Radio), and put forth a plan for the online signal, via its website. (This mode of streaming on internet did not function well, at least on a pc...)

Since the summer of 2005, after going online and streaming though http://kssu.com/ the station's audience has nearly quadrupled, as has its staff (from about 20 or so in 2004, to about 60 by the end of its Spring 2007 run). This growth is due to a revamped promotions team which has unofficially partnered with Unique Programs at Sacramento State; promotions and support from Capital Public Radio and Associated Students Incorporated (ASI) the campus's student body and KSSU’s rebroadcast partnership with KYDS 91.5 El Camino high school radio

High school radio

High school radio within the United States is almost as old as radio broadcasting itself. Simply defined as a radio station, with its studios located at a high school and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision, stations fitting this description existed in the mid-1920s...

 station which started in the Fall of 2007.

Current KSSU Staff

Station Advisor- Susie Kuo

Manager- Brian Batista

Music Director- Laura Smith

Hip Hop/Electronica Director- Laura Smith

Loud Rock Director- Daniel Cordova

Promotions Director- Jacki Rohrer

Productions Director- Daniel Cordova

Online Magazine Editor-in-Chief-

Sports Director- Nate Goodyear

Programming

The station's on-air programming consists of free-format student-Run programming: everything from underground hip hop, to country; from metal to Latin music.

Sacramento State is on a semester schedule, so every new semester the programing of KSSU changes according to DJs' needs and class schedules.

Awards

KSSU is a reporting station to the college music magazine, CMJ aka the College Music Journal

College Music Journal

College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...

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CMJ awards for KSSU:


2007

"Music Director of the Year- Susie Kuo"

"Best Use of Limited Resources"


2008

"Best Use of Limited Resources"

2009

12 Nominations, 5 Wins

"Station of the Year"

"Best student run Radio Station"

"Biggest Community Resource"

"Best Use of Limited Resources"

"Music Director of the Year- for Suzie Kuo"




Sacramento State Awards:

2008

Herky's Hero Award

Online Magazine and other Media

Online Magazine
In the Spring of 2009 KSSU.com began producing an online magazine called The KSSU Online Magazine! The content is compiled completely from KSSU.com DJs and staff. Articles range from music reviews, show reviews, Sparky's Blog, poems, and a longer, featured article. The magazine is updated every week.



Interviews

According to Robert Young (DJ Rob Fatal) new growth has led to increased opportunities including interviews which are made available for download on KSSU.com's "media" section. These interviews include Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...

 of the Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....

, Gogol Bordello

Gogol Bordello

Gogol Bordello is a Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring.Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music...

 (this KSSU interview features lead singer Eugene Hutz

Eugene Hütz

Eugene Hütz , September 6, 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer and composer, most notable as the frontman of the critically acclaimed New York Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello. Hütz is also a DJ and actor.-Early life:...

 performing an unreleased track that was not put on the new album Super Taranta!

Super Taranta!

Super Taranta! is the fourth album by gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello released on the July 10, 2007 on SideOneDummy records. This album was #14 on Rolling Stones list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007...

, as well as performing a rare, early form acoustic version of the song "American Wedding" which did appear on Super Taranta!), rapper Pigeon John

Pigeon John

Pigeon John is an American hip hop rapper raised in Hawthorne, California and based in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:Pigeon John is a Los Angeles area rapper who has recorded four studio albums as a solo artist, as well as several others as a member of the groups like L.A. Symphony and...

, Los Abandoned

Los Abandoned

Los Abandoned was an American alternative rock band from the Los Angeles, California area. The band's lyrics were in Spanish and English, or a combination of the two known as Spanglish...

, the Aggrolites, Rise Against

Rise Against

Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...

, Of Montreal

Of Montreal

Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...

, and international acts like TAT

TAT

TAT is a rock/punk band hailing from London, England consisting of Tatiana DeMaria , Nick Kent and Jake Reed .-Early years :...

 from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Matt Hires

Matt Hires

Matt Hires is an American singer-songwriter from Tampa, Florida. Drawing inspiration from influences as disparate as The Band, Sufjan Stevens, Wilco and Ryan Adams, Matt became the first artist to sign with F-Stop Music, an imprint of Atlantic Records.- Biography :As a cabinet store worker by day...

 England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and artist/ graphic novelist Christie Shinn from Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

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KSSU TV

KSSU also has a youtube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

page and short videos on their website about events, KSSU DJs and bands. KSSU's youtube page