The College Circuit

The University of West Georgia’s number one radio show on The WOLF Internet Radio,  College Circuit, is changing the way listeners feel about college radio. The hosts of the show have really made an effort to make it interesting. 

The show’s executive producer Neriah Ethridge has had an interest in radio for many years. “I’ve always loved everything about television and radio,” said Ethridge, “when I was little I would see the actors and hear radio personalities and say I want to be that, I want to be famous one day.” Ethridge had a goal of becoming famous but did not really know how she would achieve it until her sophomore year. “This has always been my passion but I really didn’t start getting involved until the second semester of my sophomore year when I heard about the radio station and thought I could be a radio personality like the people I grew up listening to,” said Ethridge. 

Once she started getting involved in radio production, she could not keep herself away from it. “I thought it was a really cool environment,” said Ethridge. “When I came in here and found out how to do the behind the scenes work it caught my interest. I used to sit in the studio for hours learning new things and I fell in love.” During Spring 2016, Ethridge was enrolled in the W.I.T class, which was designed to teach students about the radio software and equipment. For one of her assignments, the professor put her into a group so they could develop a show. “That was the most random and best group I’ve ever been in,” said Ethridge. “Usually group projects never work but we are all from different backgrounds so with that and our different personalities, it all meshed together well and it still does.” 

The idea for the show came from a rap song “2 Phones” by Kevin Gates. They started playing with the words and decided on the concept “Where the students are the plug” which means, the students are the voice of the school. “We asked the people around the radio studio and everyone loved it so, we kept it,” said Ethridge. 

The hosts of college circuit are determined to have a show that is different from the rest. They aim to provide interesting topics that any and every college student needs to hear. “One thing that differentiates our show from the others is that we try to discuss topics that are beneficial to college students,” said Ethridge. “We talk about entertainment but we want to make sure that this show has a purpose. We always include one really serious topic per semester.” Last year, that topic was police brutality. This semester, the hosts of the show decided to tackle the topics of interracial dating and the LGBT community. Those topics are usually ones that people try to stray away from but College Circuit wants to push their limits and take on the challenge.  

 Since Thursdays are notorious for partying on college campuses, College Circuit had to find new and innovative ways to gather listeners and keep them engaged. “We wanted give them something they like to listen to before they go out,” said Ethridge. 

The concept for College Circuit was developed in spring 2016 and the show aired during the fall semester. Even though the show was new, College Circuit proved to be a success with their ratings. “The ratings are pretty good last semester, said Ethridge. “Last semester we won all around best show for community outreach and best listenership.” The ratings have remained the same but the hosts have new ideas that they hope will change that. In the near future, they wish to set up cameras in the studio and air their radio show live so people can watch it online. They are also looking towards more promotion, events and free merchandise.