UTA Radio tunes in to campus traditions

When I set out to do a video story about UTA’s 2019 Homecoming, I didn’t have an established angle. I wouldn’t get one until I ran into members of UTA Radio, who let me walk along with their cart in the parade.

That's how I met Jacki Reininga. She's an advanced DJ with UTA Radio. She hosts “Java with Jacki,” and she loves UTA Radio.

“I think UTA Radio has made me grow overall as a person, because before I was very shy,” she said.

Today she talks about the entertainment world and plays her favorite music on the air. She also led the charge in creating UTA Radio’s homecoming float this year.

After the parade, Creighton Branch and Micah Cole were open to letting me get video of them calling the game. I had the seed of an idea for a story that would focus on them and on UTA Radio’s participation in campus traditions. Three interviews and lots of extra b-roll later, I had my story. What really helped it take shape was getting footage not just of the event, but also of what happens in the actual studios. That’s why I went to get footage when Branch and Cole had their last episode of their show of the semester.

As I learned more and more about UTA Radio, I realized that it was another venue through which students could find a sense of place on campus. The studios are tucked away in the Fine Arts Building, yet the content stretches beyond the boundaries of the campus. Reininga told me that the soundwaves once even reached Nepal when a student’s parents listened in.

Advisor Lance Liguez says that while it’s a training ground for students learning to be on the air, it also serves other purposes, like giving local artists a venue for getting their music to an audience.

What makes you tune in to your local radio stations?