San Marcos calls 'clean' radio on buses a success

By: NOELLE IBRAHIM - North County Times
But critics oppose some advertising and content | Saturday, January 19, 2008 9:13 PM PST ∞

SAN MARCOS - Nearly six months after installing digital radios that play kid-friendly music on school buses, officials with the San Marcos Unified School District are declaring the program a success, though national critics have voiced objections.

The district is the first in San Diego County to use BusRadio, a company based in Massachusetts that provides music, equipment and public-service announcements to 10,000 school buses nationwide.

"It's age-appropriate music, age-appropriate content and not DJs doing crazy stuff," said district transportation coordinator Mike Sawyer.

But some critics of BusRadio say they are concerned that school districts are providing a captive audience to advertisers, in addition to playing what they consider some questionable content.

"(Students) can't just shut (the radio) off or walk away," said Dan Kenny, a part-time bus driver for the Littleton Public School District in Colorado, which also has the programming. Kenny said he flew out to San Marcos four weeks ago to voice his concerns to the district.

"Wherever I see BusRadio start up, I go to the district and ask them to get parents involved," he said.

Still, San Marcos district officials say the programming offers a better alternative to what's played on local AM/FM radio stations.

In addition to playing profanity-free music, BusRadio is equipped with a public address system, global positioning satellite system and a panic button that connects a driver to a 911 dispatcher in case of an emergency.

Districts also get a portion of the company's advertising revenue, depending on the number of buses tuning in.

"It's a win-win," said Sawyer.

Selling cleaner music

BusRadio systems were installed on all 36 of San Marcos Unified's standard home-to-school buses last summer, and the district eventually plans to install the radios in buses for students with special needs, said Sawyer.

Equipment and programming comes at no charge to the district.

The system includes customized digital radios and a computer file server that transmits programming wirelessly from the district's transportation building to its buses.

The radios are equipped with separate buttons and programming for elementary, middle and high school students, as well as an option for field trips.

For example, elementary students hear a lot of Disney performers such as Hannah Montana and music from the "High School Musical" movies. Middle and high school programming includes songs from The Fray and Gwen Stefani.

"It's almost like the bus is a big iPod," Sawyer said.

BusRadio supplies the district with contemporary music that it says contains no curse words, sexual innuendo, or references to violence or drug use.

Music and printed lyrics are screened by a panel of experts that include a child psychologist and school superintendent, said Steven Shulman, co-founder of the company.

Complaints drop, district says

Since the installation of BusRadio, the district has received no parental complaints about music played on buses, Sawyer said. Before, the district would get a few complaints each year, he said.

Parent April Wigand said she once notified the district about derogatory language her son Damon, a second-grader at Discovery Elementary, repeated after listening to a song on district buses.

"There's so many inappropriate things kids pick up so quickly these days," said Wigand. "They're surrounded by negativity and I'm just trying to protect (my kids) from that."

Wigand said that when she heard about BusRadio, she went online to check out the company's Web site and sample the music they play on their systems.

"It's washing out the words our kids don't need to hear," she said. "A parent obviously had their input in it."

In addition to putting parents at ease, BusRadio is used by drivers as a student management tool, meant to keep kids in line when the bus is rolling, Sawyer said.

"For the most part, it keeps them a little more subdued because they love the music and have something to do on the bus," said Sherry Murphy, who has driven a bus for 18 years in the district.

Kids tend to rebel if they are told to sit on the bus in silence, Sawyer said, adding that students are allowed to listen to their own iPod digital music players while on the bus.

"(With music), you get kids to stop messing around," he said.

Critics see captive audience

Though district officials are praising the sanitized radio, not everyone is a fan.

Critics, including consumer advocacy groups, say BusRadio is just another avenue for advertisers to target children.

The 1 million students who can hear BusRadio across the country are a captive audience who should not be subjected to commercial messages, critics say.

"They're making money off these children and the school district is getting a kickback on it," said Kenny, the Colorado bus driver.

Sawyer said although the district expects to receive about $4,000 for using BusRadio this school year, he didn't sign up for the program for the money.

"I did it for the other benefits," he said. "I'm not out there telling (drivers), 'You have to listen to it.' "

Advertising is a small portion of the overall programming, said Shulman, the BusRadio executive. Compared to 25 to 30 minutes of advertising an hour on commercial radio stations, BusRadio features an average of four minutes per hour of commercials for apparel, entertainment, electronics and education products that are age-appropriate, he said.

Cartoons vs. beer

"Instead of listening to Budweiser ads, (students) are listening to ads for Cartoon Network and Dannon yogurt," he said, adding that commercial radio ads traditionally target a 25 and older demographic.

Wigand said the advertising didn't bother her.

"It's better than (my son) coming to me and saying, 'Mommy, what's birth control?' " she said.

In addition, programming includes an average of four minutes of public service announcements per hour that encourage students to do volunteer work or get off the couch and go play for 30 minutes, said Sawyer. The program also gives students and drivers daily bus safety tips.

"Kids aren't on the bus that long that they're going to be inundated with ads," Sawyer said, adding that kids are on the buses for an average of 15 to 20 minutes.

But Kenny's main concern with BusRadio is not the advertising, he said. Rather, he questioned some of the music being deemed "age-appropriate."

For example, he said, in the past, BusRadio has played "clean," or edited, versions of hip-hop songs like Timbaland's "The Way I Are," which refers to stripping, and rapper Kanye West's "Stronger," which makes derogatory comments about women, at the elementary school level.

However, Shulman said it is "absolutely untrue" that BusRadio ever played those songs for elementary students. The songs may have been played once or twice at the high school level, but have been off BusRadio's rotation for a long time, he said.

Sawyer said if the district thinks a song is on the cusp of being inappropriate, it can call up BusRadio and get it taken off the rotation.

"Channel 93.3 doesn't come and ask us what we think," he said. "We still have the upper hand."

Contact staff writer Noelle Ibrahim at (760) 740-3517 or nibrahim@nctimes.com.