Broadcast: March 2011

Prometheus is quickly putting together resources and reaching out nationwide so that we can make sure that when new radio licenses are available, communities will have what they need to claim a piece of the airwaves. From our outreach efforts in Pittsburgh to the National Conference for Media Reform, we are working in the field to get radio in the hands of people! If you want to see a new media landscape in the U.S., one in which the content on the dial is as diverse as our collective interests and values, please consider becoming a sustaining funder. By giving just $15 a month – less than a week’s worth of lattes – you can change the media landscape and amplify all our voices, from emerging artists to farm workers to immigrant rights groups to schools and universities.

Beantown here we come!

Prometheus will be in Boston April 8-10 for the National Conference for Media Reform sharing our knowledge and experiences and hopefully learning a bunch ourselves! While there, we will meet with folks interested in supporting regional outreach efforts to get organizations prepared to start a radio station. If you are going to be in Boston and want to chat, or join us for some hula hooping, hunt us down when you are there or contact us beforehand!

Look for Prometheus at these workshops and events.

Participate in the LPFM survey

We need your data! Prometheus is launching a survey of Low Power FM radio stations to collect information about your unique programming, station management, needs, and finances. We hope this survey will yield insight into what's happening at LPFMs across the country, and serve as a resource for current and future LPFM operators about practices at other stations.  It will also help us advocate for LPFM with policymakers and better support LPFM in the future. If you represent an LPFM station, please take 20 minutes to fill out this crucial survey. We’ll be giving away T-shirts and other prizes to some lucky participants.

The data will be shared through Community Media Database 1.0, a project developed by Rob McCausland and funded as a pilot project by the Benton Foundation, with assistance from the New America Foundation. The site aggregates data about community media outlets that can be searched, mapped, and updated by providers. Check out the existing data on over 2,000 community access television stations, as well as over 850 LPFMs. The project is currently seeking additional funding to expand into other types of community media outlets.  

For more about the project, and to find out how your station can participate, go to our LPFM Survey page.

Congressional champions celebrated at home and on the Hill

Prometheus Radio Project partnered with Free Press to honor Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) for his leadership and dedication in passing the Local Community Radio Act in a special awards ceremony held in his home district of Pittsburgh, PA on March 5. Rep. Doyle and Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) were the lead co-sponsors of the bill in the House, and worked tirelessly over the last several years to ensure its passage. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John McCain (R-AZ) were the lead co-sponsors the bill in the Senate. The event was followed by a well-attended outreach workshop presented by Prometheus staff to prepare local community members to start their own LPFMs. Prometheus hopes to hold similar events honoring the other lead co-sponsors of the Local Community Radio Act in their home districts in the next couple of months. Special thanks to Union Edge Radio, Rustbelt Radio and the Pittsburgh IMC for hosting this great event!

Shortly after the Pittsburgh event, our allies at the Future of Music Coalition held a celebration party at Gibson Guitar Studio in Washington, DC for all the champions of the Local Community Radio Act. Staff of FMC and Prometheus celebrated this victory with Senator Maria Cantwell, Rep. Mike Doyle, FCC Commissioners Clyburn and Copps, former FCC Commissioner Adelstein, and staff from Free Press, Media and Democracy Coalition, Media Access Project, United Church of Christ, National Hispanic Media Coalition, and New America Foundation, and other low power radio supporters. The event ended with a special performance by independent artist Nicole Atkins. Prometheus would like thank to the Future of Music Coalition for putting on this amazing celebration party and all the supporters of the Local Community Radio Act who attended.

Station Profile: WUVS–LP 103.7 The Beat

The first in an ongoing series of station profiles, this month’s installment features WUVS in Muskegon, Michigan. The station’s founder, Paul Billings, will join Prometheus at the National Conference for Media Reform in a panel on starting an LPFM station.

Tune in to WUVS 103.7 LPFM in Muskegon, Michigan on a Thursday evening and you’ll hear a segment with a Muskegon County judge, a public service announcement from nearby Muskegon Heights Public Schools, and a music and talk show with WUVS founder and general manager Paul Billings, known on-air as P.A.

WUVS, a low-power FM (LPFM) station whose mission is to educate the local urban community about area issues and resources, takes its role seriously. The station employs eight staff and twelve volunteers, has its own beat reporter, and offers a high school mentoring program.

“People believe in what we do,” Billings says. Read on...

Welcome to the littlest Promethean, Ezra Shine!

Prometheus is delighted to welcome Ezra Shine Chynoweth, who joined the world community on March 11. Ezra and his mom, Prometheus planning director Danielle Chynoweth, are both doing great. Danielle is on leave to spend time with Ezra, so please contact the rest of us for all your community radio needs. For development or press inquiries, contact Stephanie Thaw at stephanie@prometheusradio.org. For inquiries about starting a radio station or spreading the word, contact Vanessa Graber at vanessa@prometheusradio.org.

 

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