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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.
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.
The National Campus and Community Radio Association/L'Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (NCRA/ANREC) is a non-profit organization of campus radio and community radio stations in Canada.
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.
WORT is a listener-sponsored community radio station, broadcasting from 118 S. Bedford St. in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. WORT offers a range of programming.
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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 located in Portland, Oregon. The station's mission is to serve groups in listening areas who are underrepresented on other local radio stations and to provide access to the airwaves for people who have unconventional or controversial taste and points of view. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and has been on the air since 1968.
Angelo Falcón was a Puerto Rican political scientist best known for starting the Institute for Puerto Rican Policy (IPR) in New York City in the early 1980s, a nonprofit and nonpartisan policy center that focuses on Latino issues in the United States. It is now known as the National Institute for Latino Policy and Falcón served as its president until his death. He was also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Columbia University School of Public and International Affairs (S.I.P.A.).
Internationalist Books and Community Center, located in Carrboro, North Carolina, was a volunteer operated infoshop, non-profit collective, and community center for local activists. The store name was a reference to the political philosophy of internationalism. Often, the center was called "The Internationalist" or merely "Eye Books" by its volunteers, members, and supporters.
The High School Democrats of America (HSDA) is a student-led organization that seeks to mobilize young people and elect Democrats. HSDA student activists across the country engage in political activity of the Democratic Party.
The year 1968 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.
WMXP-LP is a low-powered FM community radio station located in Greenville, South Carolina. The station broadcasts on 95.5 FM with an ERP of 100 watts. The station is silent as of July 16, 2023
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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.
Gordon Research Conferences are a group of international scientific conferences organized by a non-profit organization of the same name, since 1931 covering frontier research in the chemical, and physical and later biological, sciences, and their related technologies. The conferences have been held in the US since 1931, and have expanded to almost 200 conferences per year, since 1990 also in Europe and Asia. Conference locations are chosen partly for their scenic and often isolated nature, to encourage an informal community atmosphere. Contributions are off the record, with references to the conference in any publication strictly prohibited to encourage free discussion, often of unpublished research. In 1991, conferences were extended to cover science education.
Radio23 was a non-commercial, freeform radio station founded by Programming Director Jeff Hylton Simmons and launched in 2009. It was shut down in July 2015. The successor called Freeform Portland went on air in April 2016. Based out of Portland, Oregon, where it supported the local artists and community, the station's goal was to provide an international artistic platform for home broadcasters around the world, and to teach anyone around the world how to create radio with a computer and an internet connection. Radio23 is connected with radio stations that include Cascade Community Radio, Hearth Music, WFMU, KDVS, CKUT-FM, KZME, KBOO, Error FM, and Willamette Radio, and also with the magazine War, Semen and Grooviness.
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.
Garden State Equality is a statewide advocacy and education organization in the U.S. state of New Jersey that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, including same-sex marriage.