Radio The Blaze (KASC)

KASC (1330 AM, "The Blaze 1330 AM") is an unlicensed radio station operated by students at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and is a part of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The station broadcasts local and national music, as well as newscasts and sports coverage. The station operates in a building between the Architecture Library and Drama Theater at the Arizona State University's Tempe Campus as well as on ASU's Downtown Campus. The current Station Manager of The Blaze 1330 AM is Andrew Gruman.KASC was founded in 1982 on AM 1260, then using the call sign KASR, using carrier current broadcast only. While it remains an unlicensed station, KASC now broadcasts 24 hours a day using a 30-watt transmitter (operating at seven watts) as well as via a streaming audio feed at their website. The station can be heard in most of the East Valley area of Phoenix, but the signal is very weak and laden with static noise, rendering the music almost inaudible. However, the station has been broadcasting online, in addition to its AM signal, since 1999.KASC is also home to COTMA, the Congregation of Taste-Making Aficionados. COTMA is a group formed over the past few years that reviews new music for KASC and the general public. Recently, COTMA members have been traveling to New York for the CMJ festival.In addition, KASC has expanded with a second studio to coincide with the opening of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication building in Downtown Phoenix. Beginning on October 16, KASC is using these studios exclusively for News Department Productions, including the Press Pass Podcast, an online service of the station. The downtown station is expected to be fully operational by the conclusion of 2010.The Phoenix New Times named KASC The Best Radio Station in The Valley for Local Music in both 2008 and 2009.In 2009, The Blaze was informed that their station frequency had been allocated to KBSZ "The Breeze" out of Wickenburg, Arizona. Throughout the Spring and Summer of 2009, The Blaze worked out a new agreement to switch over to AM 1330, continuing their on-air feed as well as their online broadcasts.