By Catherine Anger

A media outlet’s primary partnership is with its audience. Impact 89FM, Michigan State University’s student-run radio station, holds this commitment close through its marketing and programming to facilitate a network of community partnerships that lives out its motto, “More Than Music.”

As part of the station’s marketing department, students on the Street Team connect directly with community members at a variety of events and concerts. These students then provide a point of contact for community partners and attendees to learn more about the station’s programs and services.

“Impact has a lot of volunteers, but with the Street Team, the volunteers are one of the most integral parts,” says Impact 89FM Marketing Director Jovana Nagj. Nagj, a comparative cultures and politics major in James Madison College, joined after meeting members of the Street Team tabling at an event hosted by the college.

“If we’re on campus, we try to recruit a little bit if people are interested in joining our team,” says Impact 89FM General Manager Jeremy Whiting about the work of the Street Team. “Most of the time, if we’re out at concerts in the Lansing area or even farther out like Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, we want to really focus on the services we provide for our listeners.”

One of these services is DJing at events. Each year, Impact 89FM students DJ at around 90 to 100 events on and off campus. These DJs start as volunteers to learn more about station operations and connect with community members through the Street Team. Then, they receive training for operating audio equipment specific to this role and catering a selection from Impact’s music library to the event’s audience.

This training process is just one example of Impact 89FM’s founding mission statement—“diversity in programming, professionalism in presentation, and education”—at work. In promoting diversity in programming as a key value for student staff and volunteers, the station encourages a focus on what the community would be interested in hearing as entertainment and knowing as news. For students coming into the station with their own ideas for on-air programming, this creates an opportunity for dialogue within the station about how to adapt for a community focus.

“I think there’s a lot of value in having a specific viewpoint that you want to connect with or elevate, but you need to present it in a way that there is some sort of interest or relevance to a larger audience,” says Whiting. “Programming is one thing if you’re just doing music selection, but with the content we put out online and with physically being out in the community, we’re trying to have a broad range of partners and ways to reach them.”

Street Team interaction is only one part of Impact 89FM’s public-facing partnership framework. As part of this community-oriented programming, broadcast DJs are provided with lists of events and volunteer opportunities to boost turnout and support. These on-air volunteers and staff work closely with the promotions team for Top 5 at 5 segments, which promote local artists and concert venues through on-air giveaways. The station also sponsors local music festivals, such as StoopFest, that enrich independent art and bring audience members together.

Ultimately, this partnership framework serves as one connector within networks on and off campus that already exist. “We’re not leading the event, we’re just a part of it,” says Nagj. “When people see groups working together, like their club and the Impact, they’re more inclined to connect and build new relationships.”

Students can learn more about volunteering with Impact 89FM on the station’s website.