�鶹��

If the saying "everyone has a podcast now" is true, it is equally true that everyone who has a podcast at �鶹�� produces it at 107.7 The Bronc.  

The University’s student-run radio station, 107.7 The Bronc is increasingly becoming a one-stop-shop for those who want to reach audiences that, year in and year out, listen to more and more podcasts. As of this year, 41% of Americans 12 or older have reported listening to a podcast in the past month, according to . In 2008, the figure stood at just 9%. 

Led by general manager John Mozes, The Bronc has embraced the format as a natural partner to its traditional offerings. Today, all of the sponsored weekend shows are available as podcasts, and even outside entities, such as the sports betting podcast The Feinline, are working with the station to produce, format and distribute original podcasts. 

“I can’t say enough about John and his staff and how much and how well they guide you in the process of producing a podcast,” says Dr. Eugene Kutcher, dean of Rider’s Norm Brodsky College of Business and the host of the podcast Off the Clock. “So much of the work is second nature to them.”

Off the Clock grew out of a popular in-person event the Kutcher used to host on campus before the pandemic. He describes the event as a way to build connections between faculty, students and alumni. When the concept became impossible to continue during the pandemic, a student, Alec Grossman '21, had the idea to continue the concept in a different format. 

The only problem? No one involved with the production had the technical skills or the equipment to get started immediately. “But then we realized we do have the resources,” Kutcher says. Enter Mozes and his highly motivated team of student workers. 

Kutcher had gotten as far as purchasing some fancy microphones before turning to The Bronc’s new digital studios. The radio station moved to a new location on campus in 2020, which coincided with the purchase of all new digital audio production equipment. The new studio location includes three multipurpose on-air studios and production rooms where students can produce professional shows, announcements, promos, sweeps, news and more.

“Podcasting is an inexpensive format — anyone can do it,” Mozes says. “But it helps to have a state-of-the-art studio. A podcast is always going to sound better recorded in a professional recording studio.”

107.7 The Bronc began expanding into the world of podcasting more than a decade ago, when Your Career Is Calling became the station's first show to also be offered as a podcast. Since then, most podcasting platforms have made it easier to upload and distribute shows, Mozes says.

Last year, Rider recognized the increasingly blurred distinction between traditional broadcasting and podcasting — and the opportunities inherent in both formats for students — when it adapted its curriculum to offer a bachelor’s program in radio and podcasting. 

Offered through Rider's Department of Communication, Journalism, and Media, the bachelor's program allows students to gain invaluable professional experience working on 107.7 The Bronc's radio programs and podcasts. A student serves as producer of each of the station's shows. Mozes points out that these students are not acting as support staff or interns tasked with meaningless duties. 

"The student is doing the job," he says. "They grow and learn a lot over a full year. After that time, they've experienced almost everything you can imagine happening in a radio station."