The Grassroots Radio Coalition is a coalition of community media activists. The GRC has a mailing list and holds a conference every year, but has so far not incorporated. There are no dues, no hierarchy and no bylaws. At the GRC11 in 2006, conference attendees decided to establish a steering committee to help coordinate coalition issues.
The coalition views itself as an offshoot of public radio that emphasizes community access and volunteer involvement in radio station operations. The group's Mission Statement reflects the view that grassroots stations are more than "audio outlets": [1]
More than audio outlets, volunteer-based community radio stations are cultural institutions in their communities, reflecting the unique concerns and passions of the people who live there. With a system of governance based on openness and collaboration, and diverse programming produced by volunteers and funded by listeners, these stations are cornerstones of participatory democracy, offering ordinary citizens the chance to exercise First Amendment rights in a mass medium and audiences the opportunity to directly support the programming that is of importance to them.
The Grassroots Radio Coalition was born in 1996, as a reaction against increasing commercialization of public radio and lack of support for volunteer-based stations. Though not "founders" per se, Marty Durlin of KGNU and Cathy Melio of WERU are generally recognized as "midwives" of the GRC. They have said that the idea of the GRC was ready to be born; they just helped make it happen. [2]
Conferences have been held each summer since 1996, organized and hosted by one or two grassroots radio stations or organizations each year.
Grassroots Radio Conference 2024 anglais (Q131011084)
At the GRC11 in Madison, Wisconsin, conference attendees decided to create a steering committee to help coordinate discussions, assist in conference planning, and maintain institutional memory. The concept of the steering committee is in line with the GRC's decentralized, grassroots nature. Though there is no minimum or maximum number of members of the steering committee, it was agreed that it should include representatives from stations who have hosted past GRC conferences, representatives from future GRC conference hosts, and representatives from the People of Color caucus.
The People of Color Caucus is a loose group of producers and activists in the coalition. The People of Color Caucus holds meet-ups at the summer GRC conferences and undertakes initiatives to help increase the racial & ethnic diversity of the coalition and conference attendees. The People of Color Caucus raises funds for and administers the "Solidarity Fund" - a scholarship fund to assist low income people of color to attend GRC conferences.
Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" and broadcast translators. LPAM, LPFM and LPTV are in various levels of use across the world, varying widely based on the laws and their enforcement.
The Prometheus Radio Project is a non-profit advocacy and community organizing group with a mission to resist corporate media consolidation and radio homogenization in the United States. Founded in 1998 by a small group of radio activists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Prometheus has participated in the community radio movement by providing technical training, helping marginalized communities gain access to affordable media outlets, and creating a network of low power community radio stations. A lot of Prometheus' efforts have over-time been focused on legal advocacy for low-power FM (LPFM) stations.
WERU-FM is a noncommercial, listener-sponsored community radio station licensed to the town of Blue Hill, Maine. It is owned by the Salt Pond Community Broadcasting Company. WERU-FM has studios in East Orland and its transmitter is on Blue Hill Mountain off Mountain Road.
The Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a national, non-profit organization in the United States, which aims to promote political activism for young U.S. voters using hip-hop music and culture.
KGNU & KGNU-FM are a pair of community radio stations licensed to Denver and Boulder, Colorado respectively. KGNU is owned by Boulder Community Broadcast Association, Inc.
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) is a national membership organization of community-oriented, non-commercial radio stations, media organizations and producers committed to community radio in the United States.
WIKD-LP is the radio station of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. The station broadcasts in the Daytona Beach area as a LPFM, covering about a 5- to 7-mile radius from the transmitter site, with a coverage of roughly 120,000 people depending on time of year not including online streaming. The station is non-profit, entirely student run, and does not have a fixed format, however focuses on Top 40, indie, and alternative rock.
KBOO is a non-profit organization, listener-funded FM Community radio station broadcasting in Portland, Oregon. The station's mission is to serve groups that are underrepresented on other local radio stations and to provide access to the airwaves for people who have unconventional or controversial tastes and points of view. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and has been on air since 1968.
WTCL-LD is a low-power television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Television alongside two full-power sister stations: Shaker Heights–licensed CBS affiliate WOIO and Lorain–licensed CW affiliate WUAB ; WTCL-LD also functions as an ultra high frequency (UHF) repeater for WOIO. The stations share studios at Reserve Square in downtown Cleveland; WTCL-LD's transmitter is located in suburban Parma. WTCL-LD's visibility is extended to the southern part of the Cleveland market via Canton–licensed WOHZ-CD, which has a transmitter located northeast of Canton.
WXSU-LP is the student-run radio station at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland. The station, formerly known as WSUR, was forced to change call letters when registering with the FCC because of an existing television station with those call letters in Puerto Rico. WXSU-LP first went live to the Salisbury community in 2005 with a low power, 100 watt signal. The station currently operates during the Fall and Spring semesters from Late August to Mid-May.
WQRZ-LP is non-commercial low-power FM community radio station licensed to Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, United States. The station is currently owned by the Hancock County Amateur Radio Association.
WPPP-LP is a non-commercial low power FM radio station in Athens, Georgia, United States. Owned by the non-profit Athens Community Radio Foundation, Inc., the station reaches listeners within a 15-mile radius of its studios near the University of Georgia campus. WPPP's programming includes alternative and progressive rock, as well as "news reports and progressive political commentary produced free of corporate interests and government influence." The station is affiliated with the Pacifica Radio network.
KPYT-LP is a radio station licensed to serve Tucson, Arizona. The station is owned by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. It airs a Variety format and serves the Pascua Yaqui Reservation. The station is an affiliate of Native Public Media. Hector Youtsey is the manager and director of KPYT-LP.
WXOJ-LP is a non-profit, independent community radio station licensed to serve Northampton, Massachusetts, as well as the central Pioneer Valley region. The station was first licensed to Foundation For Media Education Inc. until April 2010 when it was transferred to Valley Free Radio, inc. It airs a Public Radio format on its FM radio frequency, as well as through a live streaming service on its website. WXOJ is known as the original broadcast station of the nationally syndicated radio and television program The David Pakman Show and the radio program "Madness Radio," and was the home of a popular current-events program hosted by then-business owner and current Northampton City Council member Bill Dwight. The station also hosts locally produced programming at its main studios in the village of Florence, Massachusetts, such as The Enviro Show, Occupy the Airwaves, Farm to Fork, Bread & Roses, The Warm Heart of Africa, Poison Ivy of the Mind, Press Start to Continue and more. As an affiliate, VFR airs other local and national content from the Pacifica Radio Network.
WMCB-LP is a radio station licensed to serve Greenfield, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Greenfield Community Television, Inc. It airs a community radio format. The station first aired in May 2008.
WLPV-LP is a radio station licensed to serve Greenfield, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Living Waters Assembly Of God. It airs a Christian radio format.
Little Fyodor is the performance name of Dave Lichtenberg, an underground punk/garage musician from Denver, Colorado, who has been on the scene for four decades. He originally performed in the band Walls of Genius, and then went on to become a solo act. He is also known as a public radio DJ, and a reviewer of self-published music.
Sea Change Radio is a weekly radio show whose mission is to advance the shift toward environmental sustainability. The show is nationally syndicated and podcast globally. Launched in January 2009, the show evolved from Corporate Watchdog Radio, founded by Bill Baue and Sanford Lewis in 2005. Francesca Rheannon joined the CWR team in 2007 as Lewis phased out. Alex Wise took over as host and producer in May 2010.
WEQY-LP is a community radio station licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota and serves the Dayton's Bluff/East Side neighborhoods. Its broadcast license is held by Dayton's Bluff District Four Community Council.
KTDT-LP is a low-power FM radio station on 99.1 FM in Tucson, Arizona. Known as “Downtown Radio”, the station is owned and operated by LPFM Downtown Tucson, a non-profit LLC. The station format is rock Monday through Saturday and other genres, including talk, on Sunday. The purpose of the station is to provide an alternative to corporate radio and DJs have the freedom to play songs that aren't typically heard on corporate radio. Both the station and LLC were founded by Jason LeValley, who served as the executive director from its launch date of September 13, 2015, to December 30, 2019. The station is currently operated by an unpaid staff of over 50 volunteers, under the guidance of an all-volunteer board of directors.