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Prometheus Press Release
Low Power FM Radio Debuts At National Conference
West River,
Southern Anne Arundel County, Maryland
(February 15-18th, 2002)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WRYR FM97.5, one of the first of the controversial new low power FM (LPFM) radio stations, will take to the Maryland airwaves in mid February. The debut of the station will take place during a conference of low power radio supporters, licensees, and station applicants.
In the spirit of neighbors pulling together to put up a new building, low power radio license applicants, independent journalists, radio engineers, musicians, and other interested radio enthusiasts will gather to "raise the antenna" and flip the switch on the station. Sponsored locally by the South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development (SACReD) and nationally by the community radio advocacy group, Prometheus Radio Project, the Low Power Radio Barn Raising will be held February 15-18 at the West River United Methodist Camp in West River, Maryland, only 45 minutes outside of Washington DC.
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"We've worked long and hard for this moment," says project director Mike Shay of SACReD. "The 'Barn Raising' will be the beginning of the era of community radio for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay region."
The first ever LPFM Barn Raising will be the largest gathering of Low Power FM Radio advocates ever. More than 150 LPFM applicants, supporters, and others interested in community-based media are expected to attend the conference. In the process, there will be hands-on experience and a wide range of workshops and classes on radio production and media issues. At the end of the conference, with new skills and experiences gained from the weekend of learning, attendees will "flip the switch" and launch WRYR FM 97.5.
"Low Power FM radio is controversial. Change usually is. Especially when change can create competition with the corporate broadcasters, who paid a lot to try to silence community radio," says Marissa Johnson of the Prometheus Radio Project. "At this gathering, we will not only build a station, but we hope to build a movement to take back more radio channels for community broadcasters."
Established by the FCC in January, 2000, Low Power FM Radio is a service created to allow non-profit community groups to access unused portions of the airwaves. There were over 3,000 applications submitted to the FCC throughout 2001 and hundreds of stations are slowly receiving construction permits. The new service was opposed vigorously by incumbent broadcasters who persuaded key Congressmen to attach an anti-community radio rider to a major appropriations bill in the Fall of 2000. This bill was signed under protest by President Clinton in exchange for concessions from Congressional Republicans allowing more money for schools and other compromises. The legislation did not completely eliminate the new service, but drastically limited the number of new licenses that were made available. A major study is about to be undertaken in Washington to examine the reputed potential for interference of low power radio stations. Depending on the findings of this study, thousands more stations could be licensed in the U.S.
WRYR 97.5 FM radio is a project of South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development (SACReD), a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to work toward a sustainable Southern Anne Arundel County (Maryland) community through research, education, and action. SACReD's goals include: protection of the Chesapeake Bay's water quality, beauty and wildlife habitats; wetlands preservation and restoration; community empowerment for environmental, resource, and facility planning and decision-making; creation of educational and recreational opportunities for youth that increase environmental awareness and nurture commitment to ecological protection; and securing agreement on a Franklin Point (Shady Side, Maryland) management strategy that both preserves the property in its natural state, and provides low-impact facilities for public interpretation and education.
S ACReD sees WRYR FM radio as a new and creative means of reaching out to the Chesapeake Bay community. WRYR's programming will reflect the mission and goals of SACReD and will also include local news, health and lifestyle information, music and entertainment, talk on issues of local interest, and other programming of interest to the community served by the station.
A few examples of the new stations that will be there to help raise the roof
Southern Development Foundation -- Opelousas Branch, Louisianna. SDF is a civil rights group in Opelousas, Louisiana that works on Community Supported Agriculture, school reform, and hosts the worlds largest zydeco festival every year. They just received a construction permit for their station.
Drum Workshops, Inc -- Martha's Vineyard, Mass is internationally known as a Summer playground for the rich and powerful, but thanks to Martha's Vineyard Community Radio, a division of Drum Workshops, Inc., the year round people, the painters, carpenters and the rest of Martha's minions will have an FM station to call their own. They are awaiting their construction permit.
Youth Voice Radio: Raleigh, North Carolina. Youth Voice Radio is an all youth group that produces a weekly program for a local radio station. They applied for an LPFM station of their own, and are working on starting a record label and a community center. "By speaking up in the political arena, producing radio shows, helping kids to get their music recorded and promoted, publishing a 'zine, and giving kids a place to voice their opinions and be heard; we are creating a new medium, one in which diversity, quality, and truth are the emphases, rather than money. " Youth Voice Radio is also awaiting its construction permit.
Bird Street Media: Oroville California. Station members hope that the radio station can be a voice for Oroville residents and the greater area of Oroville, such as the small rural residential area of Cherokee. Cherokee has been invaded by an Idaho based/Nevada licensed strip mining and processing plant for silica. This out- of-state corporation will leave the environment, the community, and the local landmark Sugar Loaf Peak destroyed as they know it. The station has received considerable support from local businesses and political figures, who believe that the excitement around its inception can be key to efforts to revitalize downtown Oroville. Bird Street Media has its construction permit, and is preparing to build their station this spring.
For additional information
About the upcoming conference, contact Prometheus at 215-727-9620. Ask for Marissa Johnson (marissa@prometheusradio.org) or Pete Tridish (petri(at)prometheusradio.org) For additional information about WRYR, contact Terri Nyman 301-261-5546 or write WRYR97FM@aol.com
