Chris Prosio, Rob Young (former KSSU Manager), Susie Kuo (KSSU Advisor), Jim Bolt

Alums reunite as Student-run Radio Celebrates 20 Years

On May13, 2011, the KSSU Awards Ceremony and Alumni BBQ drew the original station founders back to Sacramento State to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the station they helped create. Jim Bolt (Communication Studies ’91), who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, and Chris Prosio (Communication Studies ’91), who moved back to the Sacramento area in 1998, organized the event and were able to attend along with about 15 of the original founders and several former KSSU staff members.

Many from the group met Thursday night as they made their way back to Sacramento to share memories and catch up on life after Sac State. The group formally reconvened on Friday where they were recognized with awards for the work they did to create KEDG (now KSSU) at a ceremony in the University Union. Remarks were made by Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez as well as those currently involved with KSSU. The day also included time in the KSSU on-air studio and a BBQ.

Still passionate about the station they created, Bolt is now the vice president of marketing and sales for Fair Trade Sports, the first sporting goods company to produce sustainable sports balls, and Prosio is now a global product manager for Barco Inc., an LED and projection display company that develops products for tours for groups like U2 and Rascal Flatts and live events such as the Emmy’s and Oscars. Thanks to their efforts 20 years of students (now alumni) have gained the experience of a lifetime!

The founding KEDG/KSSU members after receiving awards for starting the station. From left to right: Shari Hansen Sally Rose Robinson Stephanie Linn Dario Lorenzana George Stuart Jim Bolt Mickie Priest Sharon Miller Victoria Livingstone Julie Jacobson Chris Prosio Jim Bassett Linda Rhodes (former KEDG/KSSU faculty advisor.)

KSSU founders share station’s historyTracing a sound back to its source can sometimes be difficult, but a couple of former college DJs can trace the sound of Sac State’s student-run radio station back to its very beginnings 20 years ago.

Jim Bolt (Communication Studies ’91) and Chris Prosio (Communication Studies ’91) were the driving force in establishing the University’s award-winning, student-run radio station KSSU.com.

“We were at the right place at the right time with the right people,” says Prosio.

In the late 80s, they pushed the administration and student body to start a student-run radio station to provide real-world, hands-on educational experiences to students, as well as provide an alternative to the ever-present pop music and oldies that flooded Sacramento radio back then.

“The commercial radio market in Sacramento left much to be desired,” says Bolt. “And, more importantly, Sac State students interested in radio broadcasting had nowhere to gain on-air or production experience. Chris and I were in class one day and he said, ‘we have to do something about this,’ and I said, ‘you are absolutely right.”

In 1989, the two students began asking campus officials why Sac State, unlike other large universities, didn’t have a student-run radio station. “It was a bit embarrassing because there were two or three high schools in the area that had radio stations, and we had a large Communication Studies program with a broadcasting concentration.” Bolt said.

A student-run station had actually operated on campus from 1970 to 1979. KERS 88.9 evolved into a National Public Radio Station known today as Capital Public Radio’s KXPR.

To rally support for a new station, Bolt and Prosio enlisted a core group of about 60 students, formed the Associated Broadcasting Club and began gathering signatures. They also enlisted the backing of Associated Students, Inc. and local music promoters and got the word out through all night music marathons, benefit concerts and frequent articles in the State Hornet and local media.

Founders group shot of taking over the on-air studios. Top Row L to R: Linda Rhodes (Faculty Advisor) Jim Bolt Mickie Priest George Stuart Dario Lorenzana Middle Row L to R: Shari Hansen Julie Jacobson Sally Rose Robinson Bottom Row L to R: Jim Bassett Victoria Livingstone Chris Prosio

In early 1991, they took matters into their own hands and arranged to have a dozen ABC members train as DJ’s at KCBL, a local access cable station, then began broadcasting from there as “The Edge, Sacramento State Student Radio” on cable channel 63 and 88.7 on cable FM.

“Our broadcast played in the background while the scrolling message board displayed   community service messages,” Bolt says.

In July 1991, they finally received news they had waited two years to hear. The club was awarded $100,000 from the University to set up a student-run on-campus radio station.

“The key to getting the administration’s attention was producing a detailed plan with a detailed budget,” says Prosio. “That’s when the administration started taking us seriously.”

Two months later, the station, set up in the University Library, went live as KEDG 530 AM, a carrier station that used existing wires in the residence halls to broadcast to the campus.

Although it had very limited range by design, it was a major milestone for the campus. Unfortunately, it came a little late for Bolt and Prosio, both of whom had graduated the semester before.

“It was anti-climactic to graduate without actually having a station,” Bolt said. “Chris and I very proudly decorated our mortarboards with KEDG stickers though.” 

Care of the station was turned over to D. J. Willis, a friend of the two and a founding ABC member. Unfortunately, Willis was killed that summer in a hit-and-run-accident. Bolt remained with the station for about six months after graduation to “help things along and to see things through to completion,” he says. Meanwhile, Prosio had taken a job in Los Angeles.

“There were some people on campus who thought that once the group that got the thing up and running graduated, the station would lose momentum and fade away,” says Prosio. “I feel a sense of pride because that momentum has not only remained, it has increased. The dedication of the staff running KSSU.com today is tremendous.”

The station has grown up during the past 20 years—vinyl albums share space with digital music and the station has developed award-winning programming, receiving a College Music Journal Station of the Year Award in 2009 and a nomination for an MTV University Woody award in 2011. But it is still true to its college free-form radio core says Bolt. “Students can get on air and play pretty much what they want, which is part of the point. It also does a great job with news, sports and campus information, which are also critical pieces.”

Signed by the founders, this framed KEDG logo graphic was presented to KSSU for its 20th anniversary.

The station also has different call letters—it was forced to change them in 1992 because of a conflict with a commercial station claiming the same identification. Today, it exists as online, streaming station KSSU.com and can also be heard on campus as KSSU 1580 AM.
“We did the hard work in getting the station up and running, but we are blown away by the fact that it has gone on to such prominence,” says Bolt. “We’ve heard from a number of people how the station has become such an instrumental part of their campus life experience.”