COOG Radio makes debut

UH’s Internet radio station named COOG Radio will be up and running in May for the UH community.

Founder and political science junior, Conner Clifton, talks about what the station will consist of and how students and others at UH can get involved.

“We are mostly going to play music, but we are not opposed to other types of programming,” Clifton said. “If you think you have an interesting idea, and that radio is a good medium for it, then suggest it. We are open to anything and everything.”

All that matters to Clifton and the other founders is promoting music and art, he said.

“We just want to use college radio as a way to promote art in Houston,” Clifton said. “We are going to be playing a lot of local flavor, so if you’re a Houstonian with a band, come talk to us. We’d love to give you exposure.”

COOG Radio will bring benefits to the school.

“For one, it’ll give students a chance to be heard,” Clifton said. “It’ll allow them to try something they’ve never done before. As for UH, we are hoping that this will improve the community of the student body and that is always good for the University.”

Students should eventually have access to the radio station through iPod and Droid.

“In addition to being a folder in the UH system, we’re working on developing an app for both iPhones and Droids that will allow you to access the station on the go,” Clifton said.

Enabling students to have iPhone and Droid access to the station is a must have for COOG Radio since it is on the Internet, Clifton said.

“Nowadays, people can access the internet wherever they are thanks to their phones,” Clifton said. “More and more people are plugging their iPods into their car and they just open the Pandora app. I believe that one day things will reach a point where that will be the way most people access music outside of their own library. We are not forerunners, but we are definitely jumping on this very early in the game.”

In the meantime, listeners can access the station through their website.

“We also own the domain http://coogradio.com. There is nothing there yet, but there will be soon, as in the end of spring semester,” Clifton said. “We’ll definitely be up in May, but it may be after classes are over. We are hoping to have a small launch party the week after finals, but that’s pretty ambitious.”

To improve the community and give students the chance to be heard through this radio station, KUHF lent a hand to COOG for technical and moral support, according to Clifton.

Though COOG Radio is not affiliated with KUHF, Clifton said, they are still lending a hand to the new Internet radio station.

“KUHF has been more than helpful in providing technical advice, equipment and training,” Clifton said. “They’ve already offered to train members of our radio station on all of the equipment we will be using.”

To gain a better understanding about COOG Radio, Clifton explains how the Internet radio station was created.

The idea for a radio station like this started on a parking garage rooftop on campus, Clifton said.

“In April of 2010, Markley Rogers, Matt Womack (other founders of COOG Radio), we decided we wanted to start a radio station,” Clifton said. “The day before we had just watched Pirate Radio (A movie about a radio station), so we were enthusiastic about being DJs. The next thing you know, I was standing outside of Renu Khator’s (Chancellor and president of UH) office waiting for her to come outside so I could ask her who I needed to talk to about starting a radio station.”

Though Clifton and the other founders Matt and Markley came up with COOG Radio, they still feel this wouldn’t have happened without the help from KUHF and UH.

“John Profitt, Dayton Smith and John Steele (all from KUHF) have been incredibly helpful,” Clifton said. “From UH, I have to give a shout out to Prince Wilson, Daniel Gray, Carrie Miller, Keith Kowalka, Ed Hugetz and Ellwyn Lee. Without their efforts and enthusiasm for what we are doing, COOG Radio would never have made it past the paperwork station.”