Supporting Station Applicants: What We Look For

Prometheus works towards a media system that allows everyone to have a voice on the airwaves. With limited resources, however, we use the following five questions to prioritize which station applicants get our closest support.

A Purpose. Do you have a clear mission that we can get behind?

  • We prioritize groups whose mission, vision, and values align with our own. We build participatory radio as a tool for social justice organizing and community expression, and we help grassroots organizations to build communications infrastructure to strengthen their communities and movements.

Community. Do you have strong local participation and engagement?

  • Local roots in your area and past history of working in the community
  • Relationships with other organizations and communities in your area
  • Demonstrated ability to collaborate and work across differences
  • Volunteer involvement or a plan to engage volunteers

Diversity. Will your station bring new voices to the airwaves?

  • Leadership from communities underrepresented in the media and those historically disenfranchised from media ownership and access
  • A plan to build the leadership of people from these communities in your station’s governance and programming

A Plan. Can you pull this project off?

  • Financial capacity (experience with or willingness to learn fundraising and managing a budget)
  • Technical capacity (technical expertise or willingness to learn technical skills)
  • Organizational capacity (the people power and leadership needed to get things done)
  • Previous experience in radio or media-making a plus

A Frequency. Is there an available channel in your area?

  • Not every area will have an open frequency. We will prioritize groups in areas where there is a reasonable chance of finding an open channel. Use RFree see the frequency availability in your area.
     

Supporting Station Applicants: What We Do