The Blaze radio is, for some, a staple of a hip lifestyle. For others it’s a place to catch up on the latest Sun Devil news. But for most it’s an unknown treasure.
In the past three years, The Blaze has made several changes to its business model. Not only has the music section become even hipper, but the news portion has become a credible source.
The quirky news director of The Blaze, Nick Gnat, a journalism sophomore, has only been with the radio station for two years, but he has still overseen the growth of the station.
“We have had tremendous amount of growth over the past couple years. We had record numbers [of students interested] across every department,” Gnat says.
The first thing to remember about The Blaze is that it’s broken up into five different departments, each with its own directors. While Gnat can only speak for the news department, he knows there are changes to every department each year.
“Production, for the first time, is a really strong department. Sports is interacting with the softball team and adding specialty shows. Music is adding new music almost daily, which has never been done before,” Gnat says.
Music director Patrick Ryan, dressed in a flannel shirt and sporting a tactfully grown beard, has made a conscious effort to keep The Blaze’s indie reputation, but knows the importance of pleasing the public.
“I have talked to a lot of the DJs on what they want to hear because it is a college radio station and they are college students,” Ryan says.
Adding in genres such as electronica is just a small snippet of what the music section has to offer.
“I've also tried to add a wider variety of genres to our mix, especially electronic. No, it's not dubstep, but I think a lot of people will find it very cool,” Ryan says.
The Blaze music department has brought in DJs, such as Bassnectar and Star Slinger, and actors Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones of the movie “Like Crazy.”
“It's always exciting to speak with artists you've listened to or seen before, so I've really pushed to get more interviews and in-studio performances at the Blaze.
How often the music is in rotation has changed too,” Ryan says.
Ryan tries to keep music in rotation for only about two to three weeks maximum, making things a little easier on listeners’ ears.
The music slice of The Blaze has also connected with students through more promotional offers, including a Pinetop Ski Resort weekend give away.
The main module to most of the stations success this year is due to their immense growth in the production department. For the first time there are more than 20 people in the department, making their student audience more accessible.
"It's been awesome to see how my fellow directors and our staff have helped the Blaze evolve this year,” Ryan says.
The Blaze plans to continue changing, and progressing toward their optimum potential, setting the world of college radio ablaze.
Contact the reporter at mnschwab@asu.edu
