Fwd: [sovernspeakout] Fwd: community radio stations

[Jeffrey Kopp]

This is a worthwhile idea, although a sole, low-powered station in a
rural area would only reach a potential audience of extremely limited
size.  Such a local station could, however, provide the population in
and around the Grand Ronde with a convenient means of functional
local communication as well as reinforcing a shared sense of
identity, in similar manner to other low-powered stations in isolated
or frontier areas in the past or very small remote towns today.

(A convenient, albeit fictionalized, example is the station KBHR in
"Northern Exposure," which broadcasts such vital personal messages as
pleas for labor or equipment to share and notices to pick up mail--as
well as Chris's philosophical big-house soliloquies and Maurice's
favorite show tunes--to a sparsely distributed population.)

Perhaps most importantly, once established, a small local
special-interest station could provide the personnel and facilities
needed for the production of recorded materials intended for air on
larger outlets, thereby reaching a much wider audience. 

A network of affiliated local or automated "repeater" stations is
another possible way to extend such a station's range.  Repeaters are
feasible in the Northwest due to the underoccupied air space outside
of metro areas, thanks to our great distances and hilly geography.
But for repeaters we're talking considerable additional costs in
electricity, equipment and maintenance, and for clearance on
established local stations we're looking at obtaining "community
service" log time or sponsorship--something considerable only down
the road after the local station is off the ground.  The distant
local audience would probably have to be called upon in some way to
sustain their end of the network.

Running a radio station, however modest, is really a *lot* of work,
requiring knowledge of and adherence to professional standards,
careful supervision, and maintaining a thoughtful and unfailing
respect for the audience, all of which is (and has proven) often
difficult for a shoestring-funded, volunteer-operated organization to
sustain.

In other words, just connecting a couple tape decks together in a
spare room and going on the air irregularly, upon short notice or on
impulse would never lead to an ongoing venture.  The "assistance" of
the amateurish, immature or egotistical has to be gracefully and
gently but firmly declined.  The reality is that it takes at least
one dedicated person who is paid half-time (or better) to oversee
such an endeavor.  Also, the employment on a part-time or
consulting--but ongoing--basis of an attorney and broadcast engineer
is also essential.
 
But it should not be necessary to wait upon completion of the lengthy
and expensive process of getting a broadcast station on the air
(we're talking scores of months--really years--here) to actually
begin "broadcasting."  An economical and realistically attainable
pilot or starter project could be to produce a series of quality
broadcasts on tape to offered for airing on established public or
community broadcasters (OPB, KUWO, KCTS, KBOO, the CBC, cable-access
etc.).

These could start out relatively modestly--say, as an initial package
of four 15-minute segments (preferably scripted and rehearsed--with
the assistance of a journalism or broadcasting major, if possible).
The programs could then be continued or developed further as
experience accumulates and able volunteers are attracted, organized,
trained and retained.

With a little forethought, these broadcasts could easily be formatted
to serve double duty, i.e., to be appreciable when presented as
either audio only or in video, since radio stations and TV
cable-access would probably be the first outlets to show in interest
in carrying the material.  (In other words, produce a radio
program--but use cameras, too.)  The older ones among us will recall
several television talk programs in the 1950s and early 1960s which
were "simulcast" on network radio and TV.

Regards,

Jeff


On Fri, 21 Jan 2000 13:19:17 -0800, David Lewis
<coyotez at OREGON.UOREGON.EDU> [forwarding somebody else, I think]
wrote:

>>Heres a crazy idea, how about a CJ radio station? We could get a website
>>and broadcast Chinook Jargon 24 hours on the web. ALL Chinook, ALL the time.
>>CJK Chinook Jargon radio or CWK Chinuk Wawa radio? Would this be a great
>>thing to do from Grand Ronde,.  Chinook Wawa webcasting, yeah!
>>David
>>
>>12:42 PM ET 01/20/00
>>
>>>>FCC OKs Very Local Radio
>>>>
>>>>  FCC OKs Very Local Radio
>>>>  By KALPANA SRINIVASAN=
>>>>  Associated Press Writer=
>>>>            WASHINGTON (AP) _ Cajun, zydeco, swamp pop, jazz, rock. The
>>>>  Louisiana music scene boasts a range of styles that the state's
>>>>  artists work to keep alive each day.