KJACK programming
Specialty shows
Students can get a one hour block to program and talk about their favorite music.Talk shows
Students can pick a topic to talk about either by themselves or with several guests.DJ shifts
Students work in one or two hour shifts, announcing between songs pre-programmed by the program director. They can talk about the music, what’s happening at NAU, and encourage listeners to participate in various events.Sports
Students on the KJACK Sports staff host sports talk radio shows and broadcast live local sporting events, learning play-by-play, remote broadcasting, and production skills.107.1 FM—KJACK Radio
KJACK–NAU’s student-run radio station
is run by students—whether you are a freshman or senior, you can be part of KJACK. If you would like to become a “DJ”, have a specialty show, become a sports play-by-play announcer, or participate in what it takes to run a radio station, KJACK is for you. Sign up for CMF 251.001 (1 credit, pass/fail) to join KJACK and earn college credit towards graduation by having fun and learning about working in a large media organization. Managers sign up for CMF 252.001 (2 credits pass/fail) and may qualify for tuition assistance.
KJACK programming
Since KJACK is a non-profit low power radio station licensed by the FCC, we operate 24/7/365 without the burden of numerous commercials. The format is so varied that we cannot list all of the types of shows and types of music that we play. Students have shows about musical genres, pop culture, sports, Esports gaming, and news.
Behind the scenes
KJACK’s story Accordion Closed
KJACK (KLJX-LP, 107.1 FM) operates as a student-run, non-profit educational station, headquartered in the Communication building at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. KJACK moved to its current location after extensive renovations were made to the School of Communication building in 2004. KJACK began in 1999, broadcasting on 1680AM from a broom closet on the third floor of the Communication building. KJACK had several predecessors using the call letters over the years including KASC, KAXR and KRCK. In 2019, KJACK radio was selected by the Broadcast Education Association (a nationally recognized academic organization of educators in media) as the best run college station in the country.
Students learn to run a radio station Accordion Closed
Once students have been staffers for the station, they can apply for a management position. As a manager you can learn how to lead, inspire, and engage staffers to produce the work needed to keep the station active and engaged by the audience.
Organizational structure Accordion Closed
The station manager organizes the station and leads a team of department managers, and is often an experienced staffer who has worked with KJACK more than one semester. The station manager leads and helps guide the management group. Station managers learn about the radio industry, general management practices, and FCC regulations, while acting as the “front facing” manager who represents the station to the entire staff. Each department within the station has a manager that oversees a staff of students interested in the workings of that aspect of radio.
KJACK’s departments
Programming department
The programming department is responsible for all on-air content, which includes music, announcing, sports and news. The program manager is specifically responsible for creating the day-to-day schedule of music, promotional announcements, sports shows, specialty shows, and news. The programming department is responsible for learning how to do this by using the Wide Orbit automation system and the music scheduling software, Music Master. The programming department also has a Music Director whose staff routinely screens new music to add to the station’s programming.
Production department
The production department is responsible for producing programming material for the station. This primarily includes station identification announcements, promotional announcements for shows and programs that run on the station.
News department
As a news department staffer you will be able to write, edit, and voice newscasts on a regular basis.
Sports department
As a member of the sports department you can have a sports talk show by yourself or with others who are strongly interested in sports. Sports staffers also get to cover local sports like volleyball, baseball, basketball, and the NAU IceJacks hockey team, doing play-by-play announcing, and sports analysis.
Promotion and social media
Local radio depends on strong promotion to get and keep an audience. All upcoming events are heavily promoted on the station through station promotional announcements produced by staffers and also promoted through partnerships with organizations outside the station. The promotion department also includes the social media director. If you are interested in creating Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook posts, then the social media department is for you. Weekly analytics show how widespread and successful our social media efforts are. In the social media department, you will be able to experiment with posts and social media styles that can help engage the audience with KJACK radio.