Student launches talk radio at Hamilton College

A Hamilton College freshman is bringing the likes of Ed Koch and Andrea Mitchell to the Clinton airwaves and breaking the college radio norm to do it.

Eric Kuhn, a self-described "news maverick," debuted his talk radio program, Kuhn and Company, this month on WHCL 88.7 FM. The inaugural show featured a phone interview with former New York City Mayor Koch. Upcoming interviews include state attorney general candidates, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Matt Davies and national television reporters Mike Jerrick and Mitchell.

"College radio has traditionally been about playing alternative music. I'm on the executive board and when we have meetings, everyone is talking about music and wearing T-shirts from their favorite bands, and I'm just like 'Huh?' " said Kuhn, a Westchester County native. "I'm the guy wearing red at a black-tie affair. But I love this stuff, and I think there's an audience."

Kuhn, a public policy major, might be right. In addition to traditional radio, his weekly show is broadcast live on the Internet and through a podcast. The opening Feb. 2 show has so far received more than 900 podcast hits and 10 live Internet listeners — "six is considered good," he said.

College radio broadcasters tend to focus on music and sports because there is a "bigger payoff," or more listeners, said Chris Wheatley, manager of radio operations for Ithaca College’s two stations. Wheatley said fewer students seem interested in radio journalism.

Still, there are a few local examples besides Kuhn. Syracuse University freshman Graham Bensinger interviews high profile entertainment and sports celebrities on WHEN 620 AM; Cornell University’s rock station, WVBR 93.5 FM, has a weekly public affairs program that focuses on Ithaca issues.

"It is somewhat unusual to have a college student highly motivated enough to make that happen," he said. "Besides being busy with academics and having a life, they’re less into public affairs, I think, because it’s serious journalism and it looks a lot like real work."

But for Kuhn, that’s the fun of it — researching newsmakers, creating a guest wish list, planning meaningful questions.

"I sleep with my phone on. I always have my palm pilot. I got an e-mail from (MSNBC reporter) Andrea Mitchell at 3 a.m. and I wrote right back," he said. "Life is too short to go to sleep. The less sleep the better — it means you’re doing something more important."

Roosevelt "Rick" Wright Jr., an associate professor of radio courses at Syracuse University and an on-air personality at Power 106.9, said Kuhn’s program resonates with radio’s heyday and shows the medium’s most important function. He said SU had student-run public affairs programs in the 1970s, but its stations are now music-heavy.

"I’m glad to see this type of thing resurfacing," Wright said. "One of radio’s strongest functions is as a mass delivery system for news and information."

Kuhn began his career last year, as a senior at Hastings High School. He and a classmate hosted a public access television show, interviewing Al Sharpton, Sen. Bob Kerrey, Westchester congressional candidates and CNN’s Jack Cafferty.

"People always ask who my parents are and what connections I have, and the answer is none," Kuhn said. "I just put in a lot of time calling these people’s publicists. I’m on the edge of being annoying, and I just keep calling until I get an answer."

Sapna Kollali can be reached at or 470-3257.