Arts Blog

The Magic of Radio: Behind the Scenes with Chief Engineer Mike Alston

National Radio Day crackles to life on August 20th every year in the United States for us to celebrate the miracle of sound waves travelling to our ears from far and wide. The history of National Radio Day is about as fuzzy as an untuned radio though, with rumors of its beginnings lying somewhere in the early 1990s. The purported seed of this holiday is the WWJ radio station in Detroit, Michigan, who began its daily broadcasts as the “Detroit News Radiophone” on August 20, 1920, as one of the first pioneers of commercial radio (via Wikipedia).

In honor of National Radio Day, All Classical Portland Intern Kelly Lantz interviewed our Chief Engineer Mike Alston on what it’s like to run the technical magic behind the music. Mike has a vast wealth of knowledge and experience in this field and is an excellent storyteller, so if you’re curious about how you’re able to hear the dulcet tones of All Classical Portland on your own radio, read on!

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Intern: Summer 2020

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95.7 FM Corvallis/Flynn