Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on the inaugural broadcast of the Boyle Radio Studio.
Aaron Sandford | Courtesy
Nationally syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt featured Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) along with Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn for the inaugural broadcast of the Boyle Radio Studio in the Allan P. Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship on Nov. 2.
“Whenever I’m in town, this is where I’m going to be broadcasting from,” Hewitt said. “I’m very grateful to be a partner with Hillsdale College.”
Hewitt recorded and broadcasted his three-hour show from the studio. He also featured Weekly Standard Executive Editor Fred Barnes and Roll Call Contributing Editor Morton Kondracke as guests.
“Hillsdale’s great,” Ryan said as he left the show. “They’re doing a fantastic job of teaching young Americans about our constitution and our founding principles.”
The Boyle Studio was dedicated in conjunction with the Kirby Center’s five-year anniversary celebration, which included lectures by Kirby Center Associate Vice President Matthew Spalding and Director of the Dow Journalism Program John Miller, a dinner, and tours of the Kirby Center and the nearby Newseum.
Spalding said Hewitt has been a “strong encouragement” to Hillsdale in building the studio.
Vince Benedetto, Hillsdale College supporter and president and CEO of Bold Gold Broadcast and Media Foundation, helped the college set up its studio as well as the station on the main campus in Michigan, FM 101.7, Radio Free Hillsdale. Though the project is still in its infancy, the Dow Journalism Program will soon incorporate broadcasting and the radio station into its program.
Benedetto said the Kirby studio has three main functions: recording and editing for faculty, staff, and students; remote broadcasting for visiting radio hosts, such as Hewitt; and connecting with the studio in Michigan so students in the broadcast program will be able to continue studies in Washington, D.C.
“Radio is an art form, just like a good album or a good book. It takes a lot of practice; you have to be an expert,” Benedetto said. “That’s why it’s hard to get young people into it.”
According to Spalding, the new studio is one of the many ways in which Hillsdale is expanding its teaching mission. Broadcasters can interview members of Congress, radio hosts from across the country can remotely broadcast their shows, and students can use the studio during journalism internships in Washington, D.C. In theory, the Kirby studio can run Hillsdale’s radio station during the summers.
“It’s a piece of this dynamic picture we’re trying to create, and the radio fits into that picture of expanding the presence of Hillsdale in the nation’s capital,” Spalding said.
Miller said he hopes for wide student participation with radio shows anywhere from talk news to music. He said the Kirby Center studio’s ability to pair with the station on the main campus is a helpful feature.
“It can be a great resource for the college that we can do recording from there,” he said. “It’ll help the college spread its message and accomplish its mission from there.”
The new radio program, main station, and the Boyle Studio enable the college to spread its values more broadly and efficiently.
“One of the reasons I got involved in supporting their efforts to get into the radio education business is to help prepare the next generation of talk radio hosts,” Benedetto said. “That’s something we need more young people to get into.”
And though he thinks students will not be able to participate in the program for months, Benedetto said he has high hopes for how the program will influence students and the nation.
“Someone who will graduate from this program will go on to be this generation’s next Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh,” he said.
CEO of Bold Gold Broadcast and Media Foundation Vince Benedetto spoke at the inauguration of the Boyle Radio Studio.
Aaron Sandford | Courtesy
Hugh Hewitt holds the inaugural broadcast of the Boyle Radio Studio with Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn.
Aaron Sandford | Courtesy