About Lunico

Lunico

Lunico — L'UniCo, the campus radio of the University of Paderborn — broadcasts on 89.4 MHz FM across the Paderborn region and worldwide via web stream. The name is the programme: L'UniCo, the university's own — made by students, for students, financed by the student body's semester contributions — the students' radio in the triple sense, the 89.4 MHz as the campus's voice. The history is a six-year march: the association "L'UniCo – Campusradio Paderborn e.V." founded in 2004, Bürgerfunk shows on Radio Hochstift, then internet radio — the licence applied for in 2006, two years of waiting, the 89.4 MHz confirmed by the Bundesnetzagentur in early 2009, the antenna mounted on the H-building tower — and on 4 November 2009 the launch, with the university president pressing the button alongside the station's chairmen — the 1:30 pm button press in the Mensa foyer, the six-year wait's reward. The music philosophy: no computer-calculated hit probabilities — the music editors' own taste as the compass in the music chaos — the human ear against the algorithm, the L'UniCo credo. Up to seven hours live on weekdays, the morningshow "Breakfast @ L'UniCos", the evening theme shows, the hourly Deutschlandfunk news — the campus on 89.4 — the weekday rhythm of the university, the 89.4 MHz as the daily companion.

Overview

L'UniCo broadcasts on 89.4 MHz FM in the greater Paderborn area (transmitter on the H-building tower at Warburger Straße) and worldwide via web stream at l-unico.de. The programme is made by students of the University of Paderborn — around 40 organized members at the 2009 launch, around 60 by 2010 — from all departments — the growing team, the campus's departments on the air. The station broadcasts up to seven hours live on weekdays; between the live shows the music editorial's hand-picked songs play; hourly the news of Deutschlandfunk is taken over — the live hours as the heart, the hand-picked music as the body, the DLF news as the backbone.

The station's formats span the spectrum: the morningshow "Breakfast @ L'UniCos" (7–10 am), the evening music and theme shows from 7 pm, the international format "Weltempfänger" (the world receiver — the global view from the campus), the schoolkids' hour "Schulhof" (Wednesdays 7 pm — pupils of Paderborn schools on air, guided by experienced radio makers, the students of tomorrow addressed), the GEMA-free music show "Radical On Air", the hip-hop show "Wort Drauf", the jazz format "Tin Pan Alley" (Thursdays 6–7 pm, launched January 2012 — "jazz is not a repertoire or an academic exercise, but a way of life", the Lester Bowie quote as the format's philosophy). The music credo: the selection happens not via computer-calculated hit probabilities but via the only reliable orientation in today's music chaos — the editors' own taste — the music editorial leader's 2009 manifesto, the human curation as the station's distinction.

History

The starting shot came in 2004 with the founding of the association "L'UniCo – Campusradio Paderborn e.V." and a university project area of the same name — the association and the university marching together, the 2004 as the year zero. First the students produced Bürgerfunk shows on Radio Hochstift; for about two years they then "broadcast" internet radio via a web stream, gradually expanding the programme with new formats — the citizen-radio apprenticeship, the web-radio interim, the programme growing before the frequency arrived. Parallel to the web radio, preparations ran for the real FM launch: the broadcast licence was finally applied for in 2006 — then more than two years passed until the licence arrived and the frequency was assigned — the bureaucratic marathon, the two-year wait for the Bundesnetzagentur's yes. Early in 2009 the Bundesnetzagentur confirmed the long-awaited own frequency "89.4 MHz"; after thorough examination of the broadcast concept, the Landesanstalt für Medien gave the green light for L'UniCo's programme content — the frequency's confirmation, the content's approval, the two green lights for the campus radio.

What was still missing: the transmitting antenna and a properly equipped studio. In a renovation blog the listeners could follow since early August 2009 how the new studio took shape — built by L'UniCo team members and external technicians; with the start of the winter semester in mid-October the antenna was installed on the H-building tower at Warburger Straße — the studio's birth in public, the antenna's ascent, the last pieces of the puzzle. On 4 November 2009 the day arrived: at the ceremonial act in the Mensa foyer, Jonas Karpa and Jan Wiedemann of the L'UniCo association started the programme at 1:30 pm together with president Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Risch — per button press, the first live moderation over the airwaves. Six years of planning and preparation, rewarded — the president's admiration for the students' "Mut und Ausdauer" (courage and perseverance), the 89.4 as the new standard frequency of the university members, as Risch wished. By the first birthday (November 2010) the station was already broadcasting up to six hours live daily; by spring 2010 up to seven hours on weekdays — the rapid growth, the birthday party with a musical special guest, the campus radio finding its rhythm.

Programming

The weekday rhythm: the morningshow "Breakfast @ L'UniCos" from 7 to 10, the evening music and theme shows from 7 pm, the hand-picked music in between, the Deutschlandfunk news every hour — the day structured by the campus radio, the students' schedule in sound. The formats: "Weltempfänger" (the international format), "Schulhof" (the schoolyard — Paderborn pupils with school-day topics), "Radical On Air" (GEMA-free music), "Wort Drauf" (hip-hop, extended by an hour in 2010), "Tin Pan Alley" (jazz, blues, funk, soul — Thursdays 6–7 pm). The music editorial's taste as the programme's spine; the campus as the content: what the Mensa serves today, what's happening at the university, the newcomers and classics, concerts and new albums — the university's daily life as the news, the music industry's developments as the features. The Recruiting Day each semester seeks the next generation — moderators, article writers, audio contributors, party planners — with festival accreditations, journalistic practice and LfM seminars as the reward — the "Ahoi studierende Menschen!" invitation, the next crew for the 89.4.

Organization and Ownership

L'UniCo is carried by the registered association "L'UniCo – Campusradio Paderborn e.V.", run entirely by student volunteers (editorial room H1.327, Warburger Straße 100, 33098 Paderborn) — the association as the legal home, the H1.327 as the physical home, the students as the only staff. The station is financed through the semester contributions of the student body — the students' radio paid by the students — the semester ticket's audio sibling, the democratic funding of the campus wave. The FM licence (89.4 MHz) comes from the Landesanstalt für Medien NRW, the frequency coordination from the Bundesnetzagentur. Like all NRW campus radios it is advertising-free and volunteer-run. Detailed financial figures are not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted.

Digital Presence

L'UniCo streams worldwide at l-unico.de — the 89.4 MHz for the Paderborn diaspora, the campus radio without borders. The website is the station's home: programme, team, the renovation blog's legacy, the Recruiting Day's invitation. The university's own news pages document the milestones: the 2009 launch, the first birthday, the new formats. The digital face is the campus face: "Ahoi studierende Menschen!" — ahoy, studying humans — the 89.4 MHz online, the students' Paderborn in the stream — the greeting as the brand, the campus's ahoy on the web, always open and warmly welcoming.