The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services granted Greene County $893,000 to improve first-responder communications. Sixteen counties received $20 million in the program, with neighboring counties Delaware, Ulster, and Schoharie also awarded funds. The grant precedes Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, but those local storms did show that local communications are lacking. Counties receiving awards can use the funding for mobile radios, and base stations capable of using national interoperability channels and other local mutual-aid channels. Also included are projects to construct new equipment at towers and antenna sites, projects to deploy microwave equipment to provide more reliable transmission between sites and facilities which is needed in mountainous Greene County, and projects to implement gateway technologies for linking county systems. Equipment purchased using these grants will allow different agencies to use common channels during incidents where multiple jurisdictions are involved. This is the first round of awards from the Statewide Interoperable Grant program, a new multi-year, competitive reimbursement program funded from the State cellular surcharge.
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Tags: cell phones, communications, emergency communications, Hurricane Irene, microwave signals, radio, radio signals, Statewide Interoperable Grant, transmission, Tropical Storm Lee
W.T. Eckert in The Daily Mail reports that cell phone service might soon improve in some far corners of Greene County if a proposal to fix problems with emergency communications goes through the Greene County Legislature. A study for the legislature recently determined that, to improve service, towers should be built in Halcott Center, West Kill, Ashland, West Settlement, Star Rock, Durham, Maplecrest, Windham, Hamburg, Kiskatom. Cairo Legislator William Lawrence told the reporter that, “like Kevin Lewis [R-Greenville] said we can rent those towers out other cellular companies who need them to because the coverage here is so bad.” Read the full story in The Daily Mail.
Tags: cell service, cell towers, emergency radio, Kevin Lewis, radio, radio towers, William Lawrence
Hudson Studio Manager
WGXC 90.7-FM
Term: Full-time, 1-year contract (with opportunity for long-term renewal)
Salary: 1,650/monthly (19,800 annually) + benefits
Website: http://www.wgxc.org
WGXC 90.7-FM: Hands-on Radio is a creative community radio station serving Greene and Columbia counties in New York’s Hudson Valley. WGXC launched its FM signal February 2011, and transmits 3,300 watts to 78,000 potential listeners in the two counties, and southern Albany County. WGXC is a creative community media project, re-envisioning radio as an innovative platform for local participation with special exhibitions and events, media training for our community’s youth and adults, a news blog, and a community calendar of events. WGXC operates out of studios in Hudson, Catskill, and Acra, and is a program of the nonprofit arts organization free103point9, whose mission is to define and cultivate Transmission Arts: creative and experimental use of airwaves.
In addition to managing WGXC’s most active studio location, the Hudson Studio Manager is a leadership position that will play a major role in the day-to-day operations of the station-at-large. The Hudson Studio Manager works closely with a small passionate staff. The position will include the following responsibilities:
Operations
· Oversee the day-to-day operations at WGXC’s Hudson Studio
· Manage WGXC communication and contacts
· Work with Council Coordinator to prepare council agendas
· Manage FCC filings, compliance, and Public File
· Manage WGXC reporting calendar, and budget working with staff to ensure compliance
· Ensure station policies are followed; manage proposed revisions to the policy handbook
· Coordinate weekly staff meeting
Fundraising
· Coordinate two annual pledge drives, with staff participation and support
· Assist Executive Director with development work
· Manage station memberships and merch sales
Volunteers
· Organize monthly volunteer meetings & orientations
· Maintain current volunteer information
· Connect volunteers with appropriate committees and events
· Track required programmer volunteer hours
Programming
· Assist programmers who visit the Hudson studio and need support
· Serve as emergency Day Contact on specified days
Qualified candidates will have experience in community media. Training in radio, non-profit organizational management, strong writing skills, and enthusiasm for experimental media art is desirable. Candidates must be highly organized, energetic, passionate about community and creative radio, and able to work well with a diverse range of personalities and perspectives.
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and references to info@wgxc.org.
Please reference the position title in the subject line.
Resumes will be accepted until December 23, 2011.
Only qualified candidates will be contacted. No calls please.
free103point9, WGXC’s parent organization, is an equal-opportunity employer.
*****
Employment Availalble:Archivist
Pacifica Foundation, North Hollywood, CA
The Pacifica Radio Archives is looking to hire a regular full time Archivist who will oversee the preservation and cataloging activities of a collection of 55, 000 reel-to-reel tapes.
Responsibilities include cataloging current archival holdings. Performing in-house preservation tasks including, but not limited to re-boxing and re-spooling tapes, preservation transfers, and creating derivatives from master tapes.
Required: ALA-accredited M.L.I.S. degree or a related M.A. with a specialization in audiovisual preservation with at least two years archival experience.
Preferred: Experience handling a variety of audio formats, especially ¼” reel-to-reel analog audio tape, in an archival context, experience with cataloging, including file-naming conventions; demonstrated grant writing experience; familiarity with the PBCore metadata standard; experience with word-processing and database systems (Word, Excel, etc.); Demonstrated interpersonal skills and the ability to work both as part of a small team and independently.
Please send resume to pacarchive@aol.com fax to 818-506-1084.
Brian DeShazor
Archives Director
Pacifica Radio Archives
3729 Cahuenga Blvd. West
North Hollywood CA 91604
800 735 0230 ext. 263
Windham-based RIP Radio, which runs WRIP (97.9-FM), which is on 97.5 in other parts of Greene and Columbia Counties, has added a small translator in Stamford, in Delaware County on 104.5-FM. Stamford is west of Windham and Prattsville on State Route 23. Translators are radio station that do not originate their own programming, but pick up a signal, in this case WRIP.
President Obama Names Two Nominees for FCC Commissioner
The National Association for Amateur Radio reports that President Barack Obama nominated two new FCC Commissioners on Nov. 1: Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Varadaraj Pai. Rosenworcel may replace retiring Commissioner Michael Copps, while Pai would fill the seat vacated by Meredith Attwell Baker, who left the FCC in June 2010. That would bring the FCC back to its full complement of five Commissioners. At present, Chairman Julius Genachowski, Copps, and Mignon Clyburn are Democrats. If confirmed, Pai would join Commissioner Robert McDowell as one of the two Republicans on the Commission. Read the full story at ARRL.
Third Circuit Reaffirms Rejection of FCC’s “Fleeting Images” Policy, Reverses Super Bowl Fine
David Oxenford on Nov. 2 reported for the Broadcast Law Blog that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the FCC’s fine for the fleeting glimpse of Janet Jackson’s breast during the Super Bowl, “to be an arbitrary departure from prior precedent. The Court found that the Commission had a policy of not finding a “fleeting image” actionable, and the Commission did not explain why it was changing its policy, or even acknowledge that it was in fact changing policy. The 2008 decision had been remanded to the Third Circuit by the Supreme Court after the Court’s decision on the [Bono uttering a word-not-to-be-heard at the] Golden Globes case, dealing with “fleeting expletives,” to determine if the Supreme Court’s decision had any impact on this case,” Oxenford wrote. Read the full story in the Broadcast Law Blog.
One hour of breathing from National Public Radio. (h/t WFMU)
Tags: FCC, National Public Radio, radio
Brian Dewan, Jeremy Kelly, Jeremy Thal, Gideon Crevoshay and Meshell Ndegeocello provide the soundtrack to the film “Nosferatu” Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at Basilica Hudson and live on WGXC 90.7-FM.
Tags: Basilica Hudson, radio, WGXC
From the Prometheus Radio Project:
“Free software” is a term used to describe software which is free to use, free to share, and free to modify. In technical terms, this means everyone can access the part of the software that was written by humans, called the “source code”. For a computer programmer, that means being able to understand how the software works, fix things that are broken, and add new features. For a non-programmer, it means not being beholden to the whims of a single company that holds the license to the software. If you use free software, you can use it however you want, whenever you want, on as many computers as you want, and ask anyone you want for support if it isn’t working. Read below for more about specific tools. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Al Davis, Prometheus Radio Project, radio, WGXC
The National Weather Service predicts showers and possibly a thunderstorm Thursday, with a high near 65. Thursday night there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low around 51. Friday there is a 30 percent chance of showers, with a high near 63.
Town meetings today
This is the fifth Thursday of the month, and few towns schedule meetings in the fifth week.
The skies above
TIDES Hudson: High, 4:59 p.m./Low, 10:15 a.m. and 11:50 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 6:50 a.m./6:43 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 9:33 a.m. /7:51 p.m.
Birthdays
September 29 Clarence Ashley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lech Walesa, Les Claypool, and Dan Crary.
Tune in today
WGXC MORNING SHOW Mariel Fiori and Antonio Flores-Lobos presents the morning news, music, other features, agriculture reporting, and more. 6-8 a.m.
DEMOCRACY NOW! Hosted by Amy Goodman. 8 a.m.
WGXC MORNING SHOW Sara Kendall updates of the morning news, and plays music, and Ellen Thurston previews weekend events. 9 a.m.
TELL IT LIKE IT IS Hosted by Christina Malisoff. 10 a.m.
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH International news. 11 a.m.
CROSSROADS Alan Skerrett hosts. Noon-2 p.m.
RADIO THEATER 3 p.m.
YOUTH RADIO 3:30 p.m.
WGXC AFTERNOON SHOW Tom Roe hosts. 4-6 p.m.
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH 6 p.m.
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS 6:30 p.m.
THE JAZZ DISTURBANCE CHeryl K. hosts. 7 p.m.
69 The Magic Stranger plays psychedelic music from the year 1969. 9:30 p.m.
TRANSMISSION ART Radio theater, experimental sound, field recordings, radio art, mash-ups, shortwave radio news, and more midnight through 6 a.m. Friday morning.
Tags: radio
Matt Bua, left, and Ron Diamondstein host the WGXC Afternoon Show at the Catskill Community Center.
Tags: Catskill Community Center, Matt Bua, radio, Ron Diamondstein, WGXC
Photo from Prattsville Hose Company's website.
House Democrats, tea party Republicans block GOP leaders on federal disaster aid
The Daily Freeman reports the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, Sept. 21 rejected a measure providing $3.7 billion for disaster relief as part of a bill to keep the government running through mid-November by a vote of 230-195. The AP reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency only has a few days’ worth of aid left in its disaster relief fund. FEMA currently has emergency relief centers in Greene and Columbia counties. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.
Prattsville Hose on the web
The Prattsville Hose Company is a volunteer fire and rescue company, and like much of the rest of Prattsville, it was hit hard by flooding. The company has just set up a new website, enabling folks to donate directly to the Prattsville Hose Company. Go to www.prattsvillehosecompany.org, or 14563 Main Street, Prattsville, or call 518-299-3288 for more information. The New York Post reported Sept. 18 that Benjamin Ellis Freedland posed online as someone collecting donations via Paypal on behalf of the Fire Department in Prattsville, and the state Attorney General’s office is investigating, according to the Watershed Post.
Click here to listen to the Watershed Post’s weekly “Half-Hour News Hour” that airs Wednesdays at 3 p.m. on WGXC.
Zerega’s reopening
Patricia Morrow and Jay Fink at WRIP (97.9-FM) report that Zerega’s Restaurant in Windham expects to be open by the Columbus Day weekend, but take-out pizza only. “The dining room is being completely rebuilt and enlarged,” Fink reports.
Hurricane Irene recovery grants
The National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman’s Emergency Fund is allowing the New York Council for the Humanities to offer small grants to help arts organizations recover from damage from the recent storms. Grants of up to $1,000 are available from the Council for tax-exempt cultural groups in New York State whose buildings or collections were damaged by Hurricane Irene. These grants are to be used to defray salary costs for professional staff members’ work associated with storm clean-up and recovery. Organizations must be tax-exempt and have at least one paid staff member. Organizations that have already received Council grant support in 2011 may still apply for a Hurricane Irene Recovery Grant. Questions about eligibility and the application process for these special grants should be emailed to grants@nyhumanities.org or you can call 212-233-1131. Applications for these special grants will be accepted on a rolling basis until December 31, 2011.
Storm refuse cleanup in Catskill
Friday will be the last day for storm-related refuse pickup in the Village of Catskill, according to Department of Public Works Superintendent Lewis O’Connor. Residents should place the refuse on the curb, according to a report in The Daily Mail.
Poll: New Yorkers support gambling
Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential reports that a poll released Wed. Sept. 21 by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, shows a plurality of support statewide for natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale and clearer support for legalizing casino gambling. The poll found slight support, 45-41, just outside the margin of error, in favor of high-impact hydraulic fracturing. “Voters in New York City are divided 41-41, upstate voters oppose drilling 47-43 because of concerns about the environmental implications from drilling. Voters in the New York City suburbs support drilling 56-31,” Vielkind writes. On gambling, voters support 56-37 the creation of casinos they have in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Quinnipiac surveyed 1,016 registered voters, and its results have a 3.1 percent margin of error. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.
WAMC goes digital
Northeast Public Radio’s two local frequencies, WAMC 90.3-FM in Albany and WAMK 90.9-FM in Kingston, both upgraded to digital HD Radio technology with grant support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Digital Radio Conversion Fund. The station claims the stations now have, “a stronger digital coverage,” according to a press release.
Tags: arts, gambling, grants, high-impact hydraulic fracturing, Hurricane Irene, Northeast Public Radio, radio, trash, Tropical Storm Lee, WAMC, WRIP, Zerega's
WGXC coverage map.
WGXC’s Technical Director Al Davis prepared this map of WGXC’s effective coverage area. We will be beaming signals to the areas above all weekend long, live during Hurricane Irene’s arrival in our area.
WGXC’s Mariel Fiori and Antonio Flores-Lobos interview Danielle Riou, who is heading up efforts to bring WLHV 88.1-FM, a radio station for Bard College. The station will launch next summer, and cover much of Ulster and Dutchess counties. Riou is a professor at the school and Director of the Human Rights Project at Bard. Click here to listen to an interview with Riou about the station.
Tags: Bard College, Danielle Riou, local audio, radio, WLHV
Cuomo expands ‘hydrofracking’ review
NY1, The Associated Press, and many other outlets are reporting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has ordered an expanded environmental review of proposed natural gas “hydro-fracking” in New York after an accident in Pennsylvania in April caused a well to leak chemically tainted water for two days, driving a handful of families from their homes. A leaked internal memo dated Friday said the Pennsylvania accident raised issues about the technology and extraction method, which has been assailed by some environmentalists as unsafe. Read the whole story at NY1.
Local water quality
It will be hot today, and you may consider getting in some body of water to cool off. Riverkeeper, the local water advocate group, has posted water quality tests for our area, and the first results went up May 19. All of the local tests show “unacceptable” water quality due to high enterococcus count. Heavy rains this spring have muddied local waters. (Clinical infections caused by Enterococcus include urinary tract infections, bacteremia, bacterial endocarditis, diverticulitis, and meningitis, according to Wikipedia.)
•Athens:
o Athens Sewage Treatment Plant Outfall (119 enterococcus count)
•Coxsackie:
o Coxsackie Waterfront Park (378)
o Gay’s Point midchannel (260)
•Catskill:
o Catskill Creek – East End (816)
o Catskill Creek – First Bridge (727)
o Catskill Creek Launch Ramp (147)
o Hudson Launch Ramp (238)
o Inbocht Bay (411)
Summer looks busy–and fun–for Ancram kids
Diane Valden in The Columbia Paper reports that Ancram’s summer camp program for youngsters was approved at its May 19 meeting. “Ruth Thomas, who will direct the program, said with an enrollment of 50 kids, she expects the program to make a $3,500 profit,” the reporter wrote. “Mrs. Thomas, the wife of Councilman Chris Thomas, asked the town for $2,500 up-front to buy a used tent, fix the basketball court and install a railing to help people negotiate a steep hill near the pool.” The program includes swimming lessons at the town pool, and run from July 5 through August 12, Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $65 for Town of Ancram residents and $75 for non-residents. Adrienne Citrin of the Ancramdale Neighbors Helping Neighbors organization said the group will provide two five-week scholarships for youngsters whose families can’t afford to pay. Ancram residents must register for the program at the Town Hall, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, June 4 or 11; non-residents register June 18. Potential campers must bring proof of residency and immunization records. Anyone with questions should contact Mrs. Thomas at (518) 329-7309. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.
Radio, Radio
Word of two new local radio stations coming on the air soon with local content. Well, one is new, and one returns to the airwaves. Jim Planck in The Daily Mail reports that WCKL returns to 560 AM at 6 a.m. June 15. “Our proposed programming will be family-oriented — everything from music to talk shows,” General Manager Brian Dodge of Ghent told the newspaper. “We’ll bring back some of the old things that WCKL used to do — like the Swap Shop, and the Talk of the Town, with people invited in.” The new station at Bard College, WLHV (88.1-FM), won’t be on the air for another year, but is kicking off its “fundraising and promotional campaign” June 3 at the Black Swan Pub in Tivoli with:
•TULiP members Raissa St. Pierre and Tim Davis spinning 78s
•Members of the dynamic ensemble Contemporaneous performing works for violin and clarinet
•Three readings by faculty in Bard’s Language and Thinking Program
•Punk band El Front performing a radio-themed set
•A radio theater performance by Douglas Stone
•Different Guns (Ben Fundis, John Rosenthal, and Sasha Pearl) performing an acoustic set
Tags: environment, Hudson River, radio, Riverkeeper, water quality, WCKL, WLHV
Rep. Chris Gibson at Chatham Middle School, at town meeting March 23. Photo by Tom Roe.
Congressman Chris Gibson (NY-20) will testify before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Thursday on his legislation, H.R. 1609, the “War Powers Reform Act.” The Committee hearing is titled “War Powers, United States Operations in Libya, and Related Legislation,” and Gibson will explain his position on the balance between executive and legislative power on the issue of bombing foreign lands. Gibson says his bill , “would prevent the President from acting or expending funds without the authorization of Congress, unless the action met a specific set of criteria.” The hearing is at 10:30 a.m. The War Powers Resolution enacted over the President’s veto in 1973 requires the President to seek Congressional authority after engaging the American military in hostile actions, has been ignored by all presidents of both parties. Gibson wants the authority limited to, “when there has been a declaration of war, when there is congressional authorization by statue or commitment under a treaty, or when the US is attacked or in imminent danger of being attacked.”
No progress on Hudson school budget
Lynn Sloneker tweets from last night’s first effort to redo the Hudson School District budget after voters rejected it May 17, and the School Board first accepted it, then rejected the budget a week later. Sloneker reported, “First post-election budget workshop ends with little resolved. BoE will meet again Thur…fish or cut bait time.”
House Advances Budget With Significant Cuts to FDA
Helena Bottemiller in Food Safety News reports that House lawmakers unveiled a proposal Monday that seeks $285 million in cuts to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration next year, an 11.5 percent reduction from current spending. Former chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), told Republicans on the panel that she believes their cuts, which were approved by the subcommittee in a voice vote Tuesday, will roll back “years of progress on food safety.” DeLauro said foodborne illness is a major threat and called the proposal “unacceptable.” Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), chair of the subcommittee, emphasized the austere budget circumstances in which Congress is operating. It’s “been tight for all of us,” he said. “We have tried our best to focus on waste and duplication.” Read the entire story in Food Safety News.
Food on the March
Scott Baldinger in the Word on the Street blog notes that Hudson has several new inexpensive places to eat:
•Tortillaville, the Mexican mobile stand, reopens from its winter in the Florida Keys this weekend, back at 347 Warren St.
•The Italian Market and Deli (518-671-6610), at the corner of Columbia and Park Place.
•The mobile Winnie’s Jerk Chicken and Fish Shack, parked Thursday through Saturday (Wed-Sat. starting in June) in front of the historic freight depot at State and Seventh. Owners Winston and Jai Francis, from Jamaica, report they will be at the spot until next winter. Read the entire item in Word on the Street.
Circuit board “fried” at WIOX, replacement is on order
Julia Reischel in The Watershed Post reports the signal at WIOX 91.3-FM in Roxbury has been off since Monday night as a circuit needed to be replaced. The radio station’s managing consultant, Joe Piasek, believes they will be back on the air Thursday afternoon. Read the whole story in The Watershed Post.
Thursday audio clips
•Click here to listen to mp3 recording of Richard Koweek interview on “@Issue” on WGXC. Interview by Victor Mendolia, who is head of the Hudson Democrats, and Debora Gilbert, who writes for The Columbia Paper.
•Click here to listen to nine-minute interview with Woodin that includes a performance from the Evander Quartet.
•Click here to listen to an interview with Pamela Badilla about “The Rooster and the Crocodile,” with Tom Roe on the WGXC Afternoon Show May 25.
In a largely symbolic vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday, March 17 to completely defund National Public Radio. The Senate and President Obama both are not expected to favor that plan, so the vote was mostly for show. Local Congressman Chris Gibson (NY-20, R-Kinderhook), voted with many Democrats to keep the funding. “Today I voted against eliminating funding for NPR because I know that our local affiliates – like WAMC and North Country Public Radio – provide a valuable service to my constituents, particularly in our rural communities. This was a vote I weighed carefully as I strongly believe that federal spending needs to be returned to the pre-TARP, pre-stimulus levels of FY 2008, and had this vote been to reduce federal funding to that level instead of eliminating it outright, I would have voted ‘yes.’” National Public Radio spends some of its money each year lobbying against public access to the airwaves — last year they lobbied heavily to defeat the Local Community Radio Act of 2010 that was passed, and will allow several thousand more low-power community radio stations that will compete with NPR for listeners.
Tags: National Public Radio, North Country Public Radio, radio, WAMC
L-R, Andrew Joffe, Ann Forbes Cooper, and Joan Geitz perform a radio play at WGXC's first broadcast live from the Catskill Community Center, Sat. Feb. 26. Photo by David LaSpina/David Bush.
Right now you might be wondering why you can get the signal in some places, but can’t get it in others. There are a few reasons. For one, WGXC has a directional antenna. Which means the signal is stronger in some directions, over some other directions. This is because we have to protect [the signal's of] some other broadcast stations in the area. There is also an initial period where the Federal Communications Commission mandates we operate at half-power while some paperwork is filled out. That may take a few weeks, but once that paperwork goes through, we will be allowed to turn the transmitter to our fully allowed power. You should be able to receive the signal better once that happens. That said, there are always some initial glitches, so be patient while we work out the kinks in the system. Hopefully we wil be able to get the signal up and strong in as many areas as we can. In the meantime, reports of where the signal is strong and where it is weak will help us determine where we might need to fix a few things. You can call the WGXC studio line at 518-828-0290 with reception reports, or e-mail info@wgxc.org or tweet @wgxc. We hope we can get you a strong, clear signal in the very near future.
Some of the reports of very good reception have included: Germantown, Cairo, Valatie, Claverack, Coxsackie, Chatham, Medusa, Hunter, Windham, Kinderhook Lake, and Philmont.
In Athens, Hudson, Catskill, and Saugerties, it is coming in, but perhaps not so clearly yet.
Homelessness Marathon banner, by Jeff Rountree.
Tags: homeless, homelessness, Homelessness Marathon, HUD homeless grants, radio, WGXC
WGXC will go on the air on 90.7-FM Sat. Feb. 26, with a free public event at the Catskill Community Center. Brian Dewan, Kyle Esposito, Deena Rae Turner, Pamela Pentony, Finley & Pagdon, The Olde Tyme Love Machine, Rob Hervey, C.B. Smith & the Lucky Devils, and others will perform at the event, which will be beamed to over 78,000 possible listeners in Columbia, Greene, Albany, and Rensselaer counties. The event will be held from 2-6 p.m. and there is no admission fee. The event will also include:
•a youth open-mic, showcasing our community’s young talents;
•a chance to meet the station’s programmers, volunteers, staff, and Radio Council;
•recording and interview booths–hear yourself on the radio!;
•a sound jungle, and other activities for kids;
•a potluck dinner–bring a dish to share.
Here is an audio recording of Brian Dewan performing “Our Ever-Improving Village,” one song he might play live on 90.7-FM from the Catskill Community Center Sat. Feb. 26.
Tags: Catskill Community Center, radio, WGXC
Eleanor Kagen interviews participants in the WGXC/Prometheus Barnraising in Hudson Sept. 24-26, 2010.
Eleanor Kagen came to the WGXC/Prometheus Barnraising in Hudson Sept. 24-26 and recorded lots of interviews with organizers and participants. Then she visited the events’ organizers, the Prometheus Radio Project, at their Philadelphia headquarters, and collected more audio stories of community radio. Kagen edited it all together into this piece, “Raising Barns, Raising Voices.” Click on the photo of Kagen recording sounds at the barn raising to hear the mp3 recording.
Tags: local audio, radio, WGXC
Senator Chuck Schumer addresses federal cuts to emergency radio communications in photo by Times Union's (John Carl D'Annibale.
The region received $1.9 million in 2009 under the Urban Areas Security Initiative program to pay for the improvements, Schumer said, but the number was cut in 2010, even though the overall amount of money distributed by the program increased. The Capital Region was one of two areas in the state to have its 2010 funding cut under the program enacted after the 9/11 terror attacks. The other was Syracuse.
Tags: emergency radio communications, federal budget cuts, radio, Sen. Chuck Schumer
Town meetings tonight
TOWN OF NEW BALTIMORE New Baltimore Town Board will hold a special meeting on at 7:30 p.m. at the New Baltimore Town Hall, 3809 County Route 51, Hannacroix, NY. The purpose of this special meeting will be discussion of end of year topics.
2011 For 2011, the Cairo Planning Board meets the first Wednesday of each month, and holds their monthly workshops the third Thursday of each month at Cairo Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo. 518-622-3120. The Greene County Planning Board will meet on the third Wednesday of each month in 2011 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 427 of the Greene County Office Building at 411 Main Street in Catskill. All meetings are open to the public.
Talk show host John Gambling. Photo from WOR.
GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON 8:10 a.m. live interview on WOR 710-AM‘s “The John Gambling Show” in NYC.
Weather
WARMER Melting.
Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 9:28 a.m./Low, 4:20 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET Catskill: 7:24 a.m./4:32 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET Catskill: 2:40 a.m./12:38 p.m.
Birthdays
DECEMBER 30: Rudyard Kipling, Paul Bowles, and Patti Smith.
Tags: David Paterson, John Gambling, radio, town meetings
On a voice vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Local Community Radio Act of 2010, a bill that will create a few thousand new non-commercial low-power radio stations. The latest version of the bill must now be approved by the Senate before Congress adjourns, and signed by President Barack Obama. A National Public Radio story earlier in the week said an anonymous Senator, possibly with campaign contributions from the National Association of Broadcasters, was “holding” the bill there.
Tags: Local Community Radio Act, LPFM, radio
Amy Goodman spoke for WGXC tonight at the Community Theatre of Catskill (photo by Galen Joseph-Hunter). Kaya Weidman, Christina Malisoff, Brian Kehoe, and Carline Murphy introduced the “Democracy Now!” host before her talk, which can be heard here, or copy and paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/11/AmyGoodman_CommunityTheatreofCatskill_WGXC_110410.mp3
“Democracy Now” will air on WGXC-FM 90.7 live at 8 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Guy Garraghan
Around 9:15 PM on Tuesday, November 2, the Mountaintop lost a native son who was one of the best. Guy Patrick Garraghan has passed away following emergency surgery at Albany Medical Center. Guy embodied the heart and soul of the Mountaintop, and of this radio station. He was a friend to all, 110% Irish, and universally loved and respected. He lived all of his 64 years in Windham, with the exception of 4 years of service to his country in the U.S. Air Force. Guy is really the reason this radio station is here. He was a consummate broadcaster, emcee, and host, and a celebrated toastmaster over his career spanning nearly 50 years. Guy is the primary reason WRIP has been here every day since August 5, 1999 as this community’s radio station. We all loved Guy dearly, but our most heartfelt sympathy goes out to his immediate family, to his wife Carol, his daughters Shannon and Kristen, his son Jimmy, and his brothers Mike and Chris. Arrangements for remembrance of Guy’s life will be announced at the convenience of his family.
Tags: Guy Garraghan, radio, WRIP
Video from the WGXC studio build live from WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising Sun. Sept. 26 from the WGXC Hudson studio. Listen and watch as Dan Meredith from the New America Foundation shows WGXC’s Al Davis and Tom Roe how to use Campcaster, the open source automation system volunteers installed over the course of the weekend Barnraising.
Video of the dinner plenary Sat. Sept. 25 at St. Mary’s Academy in Hudson during the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising includes Pamela Badila, Norman Douglas (in screen shot above), and other WGXC programmers.
WGXC announces its initial program schedule today at the end of the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising. Much of the schedule still needs to be completed. Click on images to enlarge.
WGXC Hudson studio built during WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising Sept. 24-26.
Ryder Cooley at the Meshell Ndegeocello WGXC fundraiser at Club Helsinki. Photo by Alan Korn.
WGXC's Hudson studio is almost done being built. The console moved on to the table this afternoon.
Alan Korn posted this photo of the WGXC Hudson studio entrance. Korn was the lawyer that represented WGXC's successful application for the 90.7-FM frequency.
Media activist Dee Dee Halleck at the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising Sat. Sept. 25, was interviewed by a representative from the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY. Halleck spoke about the FBI raid yesterday of the homes of six political activists in Minneapolis in connection with a terrorism investigation. Many computer files were seized.
A music video made from the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising in Hudson, NY, Sept. 25, 2010. Screen shot above includes Sakura Saunders of Prometheus Radio Project working in the new WGXC Hudson studio.
Tags: local video, radio, WGXC
Sara Kendall and Ngonda Badila chat about the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising at a Sept. 20, 2010 WGXC volunteer meeting.
WGXC programmer Juan Sanchez and Prometheus Radio Project's Cory Fischer-Hoffman at a WGXC volunteer meeting to work on the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising.
WGXC/WORD! show kicks off the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising Friday night with free admission at 7:30 p.m. at Cannonball Factory, 359 Columbia St. in Hudson. Celebrating text+sound and word+music. Curated by Lee Bradshaw, Jeffrey Lependorf, Sam Truitt, and Chad Weckler.
WGXC: Hands-On Radio, a new community radio station serving Greene and Columbia counties, will soon go live. On Friday, September 24, WGXC and the Prometheus Radio Project present an evening of free performances kicking off the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Station Barnraising (September 24-26). Drawing on the high concentration of literary and musical talent in the area, WORD! pairs some of the counties’ most lauded writers with exceptional musicians and electronic soundscapes. The collaborations created for WORD! celebrate the magic of spoken words with music and the power of the sung word. These include everything from “Baconist” Paul LaFarge reading to the sizzling sound of frying bacon and poet Rebecca Wolff reading along with the haunting vocals of Lady Moon (Ngonda Badila) to short story virtuoso Nelly Reifler reading with Japanese bamboo flute master player Jeffrey Lependorf and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Rob Caldwell playing along with readings from Finnish poet Catharina Gripenberg and Catalan poet Gemma Gorga Lopez. These collaborations and others will be followed by a musical set featuring some of the hottest urban sounds around, including hip-hip legend Sean Delaney, R&B
sensation TIMOtion, and the luscious pop vocals of Anneice Cousin. Throughout
the evening, performance artist Kathe Izzo—The Love Artist—will appear “unbound.” The evening can also be heard on www.WGXC.org.
The complete list of performers: Robert Caldwell, Cooga, Anneice Cousin, Sean Delaney, Denero Man, DW Gibson, Catharina Gripenberg, Dave King, Paul LaFarge, Jeffrey Lependorf, Rachel Levitsky, Gemma Gorga Lopez, Lady Moon, Phil “The Guitar Man,” Nelly Reifler, Julian Seidenberg, TIMOtion, Sam Truitt, Van Diesel, Rebecca Wolfe, plus The Love Artist “Unbound.” More information: 518-291-WGXC
Workshop descriptions follow for the WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising Sept. 24-26 in Hudson, New York:
Friday, Sept. 24
1-2:45 p.m.
Automation: The In/Visible Programmer
Nick Ring (WBCR)
Automation system keeps the music and the programming going even when you can’t have a live DJ in the studio. Learn how automation can help your station be on the air ‘round the clock.
Drawing out the Wisdom in Groups and Meetings
Cory Fischer-Hoffman (Prometheus), Andy Turner (Cornell Cooperative Extension/WGXC)
This workshop is designed to give people the opportunity to explore different tools for working with groups. Through participatory exercises, sharing, and reflections we will learn together about techniques that can
be useful in any group, and especially when facilitating or leading workshops. Anyone who wants to begin to build on their skills for working with groups as well as experienced facilitators are welcome.
The Campaign for More Low Power Radio
Pete Tridish (Prometheus), Diane Foglizzo
The Local Community Radio Act is getting close to the finish line! The bill has only a few months to pass before the legislative session ends, and we would have to start from scratch. If you would like to start a community radio station in your town, or want your LPFM station to be treated with more respect by the government, this is the workshop for you! Learn more about how you can get involved to help pass the LPFM bill once and for all, and also view testimonials from the People Powered Radio Project.
Radio Theater Workshop
Andrew Joffe (WGXC)
Radio Theatre is a key component of any community radio station. station. Thespians and non-theatre people alike, come join us to help to produce a radio play for our opening broadcast on Sunday! You can then utilize all your radio drama experience to produce radio in your own communities.
Arts & Crafts: Making Banners for Barnraising
Kids track.
The Nuts and Bolts of Building Your Base
Twa-le Abrahamson, Kaya Weidman (WGXC)
Is anyone listening? Facilitated discussion about strategies for diversifying listener and membership base for a community radio station.
3-4:45 p.m.
Build an Itty Bitty Transmitter, Part 1
Pete Tridish, Allan Gomez, Sharp Hall
This is a hands on workshop where we will build some of Tetsuo Kogawa’s “simplest transmitters.” These transmitters have 12 parts and run on a nine-volt battery. They have a microphone and can be hooked up to an audio source and broadcast up to about 30 feet, if the wind is blowing right. They are great for learning the building blocks of radio electronics. We will also work on slightly larger versions which will be used in the launch event.
The Nuts and Bolts of Building Your Base
Twa-le Abrahamson, Kaya Weidman (WGXC)
Is anyone listening? Facilitated discussion about strategies for diversifying listener and membership base for a community radio station.
Prison Radio: Connecting Families
Nick Szuberla, Lillie Branch-Kennedy, Marcie Crim Thousand Kites
Join this exciting workshop that explores the power and impact of producing grassroots programming for those inside our nation’s prisons. Learn strategies for working with families and friends of prisoners in a process of creating powerful cultural and human rights programming that bring communities together. Participants will learn approaches to building local community support, as well as outreach strategies to prisoner families, corrections staff, and prisoners. Media examples, and stories, will be shared, along with a series of hands on exercises that will explore different approaches for creating programming for your station.
Fighting Poverty and Media Injustice
Aliza Dichter, Tina Sharpe, Antoine Haywood
What’s needed to solve poverty-related problems in our region, and what’s the media role? From phone costs and affordable internet to information access and media coverage, what are the issues for our neighbors struggling to become self-sufficient and improve their life conditions? What can we do as community media builders?
Making Speakers with Electromagnets
Kids track.
Hosting a Show and Sounding Good
Karen Michel, Sakura Saunders
What’s the role of a radio host? How much is pre-scripted, how much extemporaneous, how much does it matter? Differences between dj-ing, talk, and news shows. Using your voice to create conversation and a connection with the audience: some voice exercises, some practice.
Saturday, Sept. 25
9:15 – 11 a.m.
Build an Itty Bitty Transmitter, Part 2
Pete Tridish, Tianna Kennedy (free103point9)
This is a hands on workshop where we will build some of Tetsuo Kogawa’s “simplest transmitters.” These transmitters have 12 parts and run on a nine-volt battery. They have a microphone and can be hooked up to an audio source and broadcast up to about 30 feet, if the wind is blowing right. They are great for learning the building blocks of radio electronics. We will also work on slightly larger versions which will be used in the launch event.
Covering the Distance: Rising to the Challenge of Rural News Coverage
Paul Smart (WGXC), Lisa Phillips
Rural news unfolds at its own pace in a somewhat archaic mix of monthly meetings, sudden news events, cultural activities, and corrosive rumors. Yet today’s listeners also want to hear the loud issues of the day reflected in what they hear. This seminar presentation by two veteran rural news editors and reporters, from both the print and radio worlds, will explore the ways in which rural population’s news needs are met in an entertaining and enlightening fashion, highlighting the many challenges inherent in this often-overlooked niche market. Facilitated discussion will expand the workshop’s horizons to engage participants’ questions and suggestions.
Interviewing and Recording for Community News
Anabel Khoo, Candace Mooers
Learn how to present a focused brief news/current affairs radio interview that inspires social change. It includes a section on pre-interviews, the difference between a topic and a focus, how to order your questions, and interviewer etiquette for allied media-makers. Also, learn how to capture the best sounds for radio using a digital recorder. Participants can attend the Digital Editing workshop to learn how to edit their pieces.
Legal Clinic for Non-commercial Broadcasters
Michael Couzens, Alan Korn
Key Legal Topics, Mainly Intended for Programmers and Hosts: Inde-
cency – Safe Harbor – Underwriting Announcements – Political Broadcast-
ing – Copyright – Program Ownership – Libel and Slander – FCC Record
Keeping and Compliance – Using the FCC Data Base and FCC Web Site.
The Long March to Community Media
DeeDee Halleck, Nicole Hummel
Community media can take many forms– from scroll painting singers who go village to village in India to laser graffiti against the World Bank in Korea. This workshop will see samples and discuss how people around the world communicate to their villages and barrios.
Listen Up!
Karen Michel, Adi Gevins
We are our own worst critics. In Listen Up! participants will bring work in
progress, completed work, ideas to hear and discuss. Adi and Karen will
also bring some pieces they think are transcendent radio to listen to and
feed from. Please note this workshop will not be at St. Mary’s but instead
take place nearby at 348 Warren St Hudson, NY 12534
11:15 a.m.– 1 p.m.
Antenna Masts, Towers and Poles
Al Davis (WGXC), Allan Gomez
The most important factor in radio coverage is height of antenna. So how are you going to hold that thing up? Get the skinny on tall things.
Volunteer Love: Preventing Burnout
Aliza Dichter, Sandra Valentin
A strategy session to develop recommendations for the radio station and other groups on how to support and sustain each other as volunteers, plus ideas for groups and services that can help.
Oral History Workshop: Method and Practice
Suzanne Snider
The workshop will be a whirl-wind tour of all that oral history has to offer us. We’ll cover interview techniques, ethics, and oral history project design, with an eye/ear toward the exciting ways in which radio can make use of oral history and vice versa. We’ll discuss life histories, community histories, family histories, institutional histories, testimony, and other sub-categories, while looking at the range of subjects that oral history can address (public health, war crimes, gentrification, memory…). I’ll be introducing some innovative and unusual project designs, including the oral history chain letter.
Radio as a Tool to Organize and Build Community/Radio: una Herramienta para Construir Comunidad
Oscar Otzoy, John Jairo, Candace Mooers, Andalusia Knoll (Prometheus)
What is community radio’s role in community transformation? How are radio stations across the country using innovative programming to strengthen community organizing? In this bilingual session, Oscar Otzoy
from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers will speak about the role their LPFM station Radio Conciencia has played in their fight for economic justice, John Jairo from Radio Callejera will share stories about radio and immigrant rights and Candace Mooers will talk about the role radio plays in Anti-Poverty organizing in Canada. This discussion will be moderated by Andalusia Knoll of the Prometheus Radio Project. Participants will walk away prepared to utilize radio in their hometowns in ways that serve to catalyze community engagement and empowerment.
Start a Summer Radio Camp for Youth
Aaron Lakoff, Neil Griffith
This workshop will cover the ins and outs of creating a fun and enriching summer program for youth at your community radio station. For the last two years, CKUT radio in Montreal has been running week-long sessions for teen-agers to come in, get hands on experience, and go on the air with their own productions. The camp councilors from CKUT will share their experiences with this radio camp (and some audio clips of the kids’ productions too) in the hopes of inspiring other stations to start their own.
Get on FM: Legal and Tech Clinic
Gavin Dahl
Representatives from groups with FCC construction permits will have the opportunity to ask experienced engineers and attorneys all their legal and technical questions. What does the FCC think about this? How do you get your signal over a mountain?
Movement and Music Theater
Kids track.
1–2 p.m.
NCE Full Power Caucus
This will be an opportunity for new NCE Full Power stations to share their experiences applying for licenses, getting CP’s and getting on air including challenges, success stories and more in an informal lunch caucus setting.
2–3:45 p.m.
Building Your Station’s Web Presence
Galen Joseph-Hunter (free103point9), Gabriel Farrell (WGXC)
How do you integrate your website into your general station operations and engage your audience through it? How do you link it to social media, live and pre-recorded programs, community calendars and more. Listen to
a few case studies of stations similar to yours who have built themselves successful websites and online communities and are developing new programming using online technology.
Calm Down, Breath, Now Let’s Talk About the Conflict
Erubiel Valladares Carranza II, Melissa Roberts Weidman
This is a workshop that is interactive with attendees; Warning! high emotions, some profanity and a new way to learn and most importantly having fun while doing so. Conflict inevitably arises in every organization and
project, and radio stations are no exception! It’s how we deal with and address those conflicts that make the difference in whether they become crises that wear people out, or opportunities to learn and grow the relationships that make a project flourish. Come learn about conflict resolution techniques and communication strategies from some folks who’ve worked as mediators, and first hand from a member of KPCN in Woodburn, OR about conflicts that have arisen there and how they’ve dealt with them. This will be an interactive participatory workshop.
Organizing Your News Department
Vanessa Graber, Molly Stentz
To prepare newsroom producers and aspiring newsies for planning, producing, and leading an effective community news operation.
Making Policy that Works for Us
Brandy Doyle
How will communities access spectrum in the future? Who should be eligible for an LPFM license? What can we do to protect our stations from encroachment? This workshop will focus on the policy issues that matter
most to this community. After tallying the votes for a participatory workshop agenda, we’ll facilitate a conversation about our shared priorities and policy goals.
Youth Radio
Emily Bennison
For teens interested in learning how to produce a radio show, this is the workshop for you! Brainstorm ideas for show segments, listen to examples from other youth producers, hear from experienced producers, and
practice making radio.
Making Musical Instruments
Kids track.
4–5:45 p.m.
Intro to Audio
Stephanie Alarcon, Robin Collier
What are all these audio plugs and how do they work? How does my voice get from a microphone to speakers? How can I keep feedback from ruining my day, and why can I use headphones as a mic in a pinch? Come learn the basic science of sound, how to wire up a mixer, and how to troubleshoot common audio problems. We promise that by the end you’ll know an RCA cable from an XLR.
Behind the Scenes: Community Approaches to Radio Governance
Norm Stockwell, Sharmeen Khan
You got the license, the equipment and the people but how do you organize the station? This workshop will look at various ways of organizing the structure of your station, governance models and ways of getting things done. This workshop will also address how to create egalitarian and empowering stations when you have a combination of staff, volunteers and board members.
Digital Editing with Free Software/ Edicion Digital con Software Libre
Ana Martina, Vanessa Graber
In this workshop you’re going to experiment mixing and editing sounds, and words, the raw material radio!! Create your own audio collage with a free software open source, you don’t have to pay or have any brand computer to create your audio masterpiece! Close your eyes and open your ears. Ideal for those who attended the interviewing workshop who can then learn to edit their pieces.
En este taller vas a experimentar con mezclando y editando sonidos y palabras. Puedes crear su propio arte de colaje con software que es gratis. Sierra sus ojos y abran sus orejas. Este taller es ideal para los que van
a asistir al taller de intrevistas porque pueden aprender como editar sus piezas.
Inclusive Media in Divided Communities
Marcie Crim (WMMT)
This workshop will focus on the ways WMMT is in constant negotiations with staff, programmers, and listeners in order to be truly “fair and balanced” in an extremely polarized region.
Hacked FM Transmitters: ExiTrip
Ed Bear, Lea Bertucci (free103point9 Fellows)
For this workshop, we will teach participants to hack the iTrip Nano so it will work with audio inputs other than the iPod. By repurposing this device, we give new life to an otherwise obsolete generation of consumer
electronics, expanding its potential for subversive and creative actions. No prior electronics experience is necessary.
¿No pasa naranja? La noticia explicada
Mariel Fiori (Bard College, WGXC)
Todo periodismo empieza con la noticia ¿Pero qué es la noticia? ¿Lo que se lee en los diarios? ¿Lo que el editor dice que es noticia? ¿Cómo se escribe una noticia? ¿Qué es la estructura de la pirámide invertida? A través de ejercicios prácticos y divertidos en el taller responderé a estas preguntas, y otras que puedan tener los participantes.
Sunday, Sept. 26
9:15-11 a.m.
Streaming and Podcasting
Ana Martina, Fred Nagel
In this workshop you are going to learn how to do audio streaming, that means to broadcast live to all listeners with access to internet in the world. Also you will set up your Podcast, so if listeners don’t have time to be in front of a computer, they can just download your show, and take it with them in their audio device.
Grassroots Fundraising Strategies
Twa-le Abrahamson, Norm Stockwell
Most community stations do it. So should you. For many stations, this is the biggest fundraising strategy and the way they acquire the most new members. When you’re trying to reach people, remember, you run a radio station. Get on the air and ask for what you need! We will provide an overview of the questions your group needs to ask and the preparations that need to be made before undertaking this. We will also have some short video clips from an on-air fund drive that has taken place a week before this training event at a community radio station in Spokane, WA.
Asuntos Comunitarios
Jose and Rosa Briceño
Asuntos Comunitarios. Una charla que toca estas temas: ¿Como podemos ayudar nuestra comunidades? ¿Como podemos usar este opportunidad del radio?
Brainwave Music
Zach Layton
An introduction to brainwave music, this workshop will introduce, display and sonify brainwave data. Participants will be given an opportunity to make music with their brainwaves, learn about the different rhythms that correspond to various states of relaxation and explore concepts of mental telepathy through the interface between radio transmission and biofeedback.
Arts and Crafts: Making Signs and Banners for WGXC Parade
Kids track.
We Begin by Listening: Methods of Transformative Community Organizing
Diana J Nucera (Allied Media Projects)
Allied Media Projects (AMP) has been bringing people together to share models for how community media can be used for community transformation. Over the past 12 years we have learned form our network that the best strategies are rooted in a set of shared principles. The most import of these principles is: “We begin by listening.” In this workshop we will use popular education to break down the principles that guide the AMP network and share examples of what these principles look like in practice.
11:15 a.m.-1 p.m.
Studio Transmitter Links: How to Get the Audio From Here to There
Andy Gunn
The methods for sending audio from a radio studio to the transmitter site have expanded and changed over the years. As Plain Old Telephone Service fades in to history, what are our options for the future? What won’t break the bank? What can we do ourselves, and when do we have to pay for it?
Diversity and Power-Sharing at Community Radio Stations
Nan Rubin, Sharmeen Khan
Because community radio stations rely on a large and diverse cohort of volunteers, there is always a question of where the power rests over policy and programming decision-making. Often there are equal but conflicting interests jockeying for control, and entrenched positions which keep people away can be hard to alter. How can community radio stations address accessibility and diverse political interests that are empowering and fulfill the mandate for ‘alternative’ radio? This workshop will examine how different community radio stations approach diversity and anti-oppression through policy, practice and programming. Hear stories of workshops, programming decisions and other approaches, along with their outcomes -– both positive and negative -– in efforts to strengthen the responsiveness and access of various interest groups to a community voice.
Writing for Radio
Selina Musuta, Adi Gevins
Writing for radio’s special, not like writing for print, blog or TV. We’ll explore writing with sound, leading with the ear not the eye. We’ll discuss truthfulness vs. truthiness; balance, perspective, and voice. We’ll play with painting pictures, setting scenes, and presenting characters. We’ll also talk about the role & character of the reporter/narrator/host. Be ready for sharing: Discussion, Small Groups, and Exercises.
Experiencias de Radios Hispanas
Juan Basilio Sanchez
A traves de este taller los participantes podran exponer sus logros, sus obstaculos, el caracter participativo de los esfuerzos y los retos en un país, en el que la cantidad de medios de comunicacion, no se corresponden con la cantidad de hispanos recidentes.
Circuit Sniffing
Philip Stearns
Electronic devices silently emit gobs of electromagnetic energy, their signals leaking out into public space and permeating the world around us. In this workshop you’ll learn how to make “Circuit Sniffing” devices that let you literally listen to what is going on inside a circuit! Once we’ve put together our circuit sniffers, we’ll create an improvised musical performance using the electronic devices we have available to us in the workshop environment.
Young Producers Project
Jeremy Thal, GideonCrevoshay
In this workshop, young Hudsonites will develop a one-minute radio short, featuring music, poetry, and interviews. We’ll learn how to record, edit, and mix sounds using Ableton Live. This workshop is for youth only.
Magic Show
Kids track.
1-2 p.m.
LPFM Caucus
This will be an opportunity for Low Power FM stations to share experiences, challenges, success stories, jokes, stickers and more in an informal lunch caucus setting.
2-3 p.m.
PTFP Clinic
Nan Rubin
PTF-what? Interested in learning more about this federally funded program for public radio stations? PTFP expert Nan Rubin will be on hand to explain this funding opportunity and answer questions.
Insights Into Hispanics in the Hudson Valley
Mariel Fiori
Are you aware to what extent Hispanics influence life in our counties and what services and programs these Hispanics are being offered? Find out more on Sunday, September 26. Mariel Fiori, journalist and three time recipient of the Ippie award for best overall design from the New York Community Media Alliance, will be speaking both about her magazine, La Voz, as well as her insight into the Hispanic presence in the Hudson Valley.
Also a few short workshops will be announced at the last moment for this time period.
Locations of facilities for WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising Sept. 24-26 in Hudson, New York.
BARNRAISING FACILITIES
All facilities in Hudson, NY.
St. Mary’s Academy, 301 Allen St.: Registration and workshops.
Cannonball Factory, 359-361 Columbia St.: Friday night and Sunday events.
WGXC Hudson studio, 704 Columbia St., 2nd Fl. Studio build and live webcast/media.
Youth Club, 18 South 3rd St.: Crash space.
Pocketbook Factory, North 6th St. and Washington St.: Camping.
If you use Twitter, please use #barnraising to refer to the Barnraising.
This September, Prometheus Radio Project and WGXC will hold Prometheus’s 12th community radio barnraising. Radio barnraisings are weekend-long radio and movement-building events. Individuals from the local community, participatory media advocates, and artists from around the country will converge in Hudson, NY to share ideas, experiences, skills and build infrastructure to get WGXC’s full-power community radio station on the air later this fall. The weekend Barnraising will include several special events:
INCIDENT REPORT Installation.
WGXC/WORD WGXC fundraiser with poets, spoken word artists, rappers, and others Sept. 24 at Cannonball Factory. (free admission)
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO AND FRIENDS WGXC fundraiser Sept. 25 at Club Helskinki.
WGXC/PROMETHEUS CELEBRATION WGXC/Prometheus Radio Project Station Barnraising Celebration Sept. 26 at Cannonball Factory. WGXC will reveal initial program schedule at this event.
Tags: festivals, local audio, radio, WGXC
The Columbia Paper’s Debora Gilbert pens a long feature about WGXC:
WGXC, a new community radio station with studios in both Columbia and Greene counties is poised to go on air this fall. With a 3,300 watt signal it will have the potential to reach some 78,000 people spread in this part of the Hudson River Valley, with its primary coverage stretching from Windham in Greene County to the Taconic Parkway down to northern Dutchess County and up to Kinderhook and Coxsackie. “It will be all about our community in the river valley,” said Hudson Talbot, an artist and author of numerous children’s books and director of the Catskill Community Center. The station is a project of the arts organization free103point9, will have studios in Hudson at 704 Columbia Street, in Cairo at the home of free103point9, which has been broadcasting on the web since last year, and behind a plate glass window at street level at the Catskill Community Center on Main Street. “We’re intent on balance and representation across the two counties, and covering both the rural and urban,” said Galen Joseph-Hunter, executive director of both WGXC and free103point9, in explanation of the need for three studios. Cairo resident Tom Roe, program director of free103point9 and WGXC, and the founder of both organizations, said “We’ve long advocated for the people’s access to their own airwaves.” Mr. Roe thinks of radio space as being similar to national park lands as a resource that is owned by the people. “There’s not any place around here that lets local people do more than a handful of radio shows. We try to practice what we preach.” “We envisioned a low power station for just Hudson; to get a full power community station, it’s an incredibly rare opportunity. The Federal Communications Commission discovered this frequency was not being used, and said let’s put them out there and see if there is interest,” said Mr. Roe of the opportunity to create the station in a crowded broadcast market. The project will soon get a boost of energy and expertise when the Prometheus Radio Project comes to Hudson to conduct a week long Amish style “barnraising” and fundraiser. It is expected to attract some 200 radio pros and technicians from across the country, who will descend on the WGXC’s Hudson studio to work with volunteers from the community to install equipment, and conduct free training workshops open to all on radio skills ranging from how to operate a sound board or microphone to how to conduct an interview. Remote broadcasting, streaming and podcasting, community news and collecting oral histories will also be addressed. The mission of the station is to build community by connecting a diverse group of local voices, and to give everyone in the community who wants them the skills to make radio programs. The organization’s website describes the project as “re-envisioning radio as an innovative platform for local participation. ‘Hands-on Radio’ captures the essence of this project. WGXC’s participatory environment will bring to life the idea that media is not something that is fed to us, but something we create with our own hands, hearts, and minds.”As part of its community building initiative, the station has invited people from both sides of the river to serve on its founding radio council, including Columbia County residents Max Goldfarb, the Hudson-based radio artist, Hosneara Kader, who works with Hudson Family Literacy, Christina Malisoff, a program assistant at the Hudson Opera House, Alan Skerrett, president of the Columbia County NAACP, and Andrew Turner, a Cairo resident and executive director for the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties. Mr. Turner said in a phone interview that he is impressed by the operation and sees a need for local radio. “It’s about giving a voice to people in the community; that’s different from public radio. Greene and Columbia counties are caught between the media markets. We need something that is more local; there is definitely something missing.” Members of the community have responded with enthusiasm, submitting over 90 proposals for radio programs ranging from jazz to the visual arts. Kaya Weidman, the station’s volunteer coordinator and Hudson station manager says she envisions panel discussions, interviews, and small bands performing right in the station’s second floor offices at 704 Columbia Street. The plan is for 24/7 programing, with a mix of live and taped material that includes some live broadcasts from locations throughout the two counties like the Hudson Opera House, Hudson Common Council meetings and other sites for lectures, concerts and shows. Technological advances will allow for broadcast via cell phone, obviating the need for expensive trucks with satellite dishes, said Ms. Wiedman. The station will provide recording equipment to trained volunteers who want to attend hearings and town meetings. “WGXC should help to shed more light on local government and give local cultural institutions the coverage they lack, and will be a complement to the media we already have, with a range of reporting that will reflect the diversity of the community,” said Ms. Joseph-Hunter “There will always be a way for members of the public to participate. Although we will have some syndicated shows including Susan Arbiter’s ‘Capitol Press Room,’ and Amy Goodman’s ‘Democracy Now,’ there’s more room for the local and we’ll be close on the dial,” said Ms. Joseph-Hunter. WAMC-Northeast Public Radio is at 90.3,FM, and WGXC could be seen as the competition for public support. But not so, said Alan Chartock, president, CEO and on-air personality of WAMC. “I have always said, and I certainly mean it, let a thousand flowers bloom. The more the better. This will certainly serve a local purpose, and we think that’s great.” He said he would invite WGXC on the air at WAMC if they ask. Nor is Cruisin 93.5′s Bill Williams concerned. “Anyone who is going to listen to them is not listing to us at the moment,” he said. “I listen to WAMC all the time, but we’re always looking for something more pertinent to us,” said Mr. Talbot. The station’s program lineup will be announced at the Saturday night of the barnraising weekend at Club Helsinki, where Meshell Ndegeocello and friends will present a benefit concert. A welcoming party featuring spoken word performance, rap, poets and music on Friday and a Sunday event in which the station may celebrate going live will take place at the Cannonball Factory. The barnraising represents the 12th such event conducted by the non-profit Prometheus Radio Project, which formed in 1998 to help communities take advantage of new at that time lo-power 100 watt offerings by the Federal Communications Commission. The Hudson event marks the first time that Prometheus has sponsored a barnraising for a full-power 3,300 watt station. Fundraising is key to the success of the operation and probably the hardest part of the start-up. The higher frequency station demands more expensive equipment. The group received a $71,486 matching grant from the United States Department of Commerce to cover infrastructure, including FM signal equipment, studio consoles, and the tower equipment shed, backup generator, transmission equipment and antenna; $25,000 remains to be raised for the matching grant, and another $15,000 will be needed for equipment. The antenna has been ordered from a company in Italy but the rest of the equipment will be purchased locally. The station has started to sign up businesses to underwrite segments of programming.
From Julia Reischel in The Watershed Post:
Yesterday at 5 p.m., Roxbury’s new full-power FM radio station [WIOX, 91.3-FM] cut the ribbon on its broadcast headquarters on Bridge Street in Roxbury. All sorts of local dignitaries were in attendance, inlcluding State Assemblyman Clifford W. Crouch (above left), Chairman of the Delaware County Board of Supervisors Jim Eisel (above right), and Roxbury Town Supervisor Thomas S. Hynes (above with the scissors). Even Governor David Paterson was there in spirit, when Peg Ellsworth, the executive director of the MARK Project, read a letter from Hizzoner congratulating the new station on its launch. Read the entire story in The Watershed Post.
Tags: radio
WGXC Online Radio had a live webstream Aug. 22, 2010 from the Cannonball Factory for a WGXC fundraiser with Vetiver, DJ Lunar Moss, Arp, and Nina Violet.
AUDIO RECORDINGS
Arp opening set mp3 recording is here or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/08/Arp_Cannonball_WGXC_082210.mp3
Nina Violet’s set recording is here or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/08/NinaViolet_Cannonball_WGXC_082210.mp3
A recording of Vetiver’s performance, and the closing DJ set from DJ Lunar Moss is here or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/08/VetiverDJLunarMoss_Cannonball_WGXC_082210.mp3
Tags: benefit, local audio, radio, WGXC
Aug. 23, 2010: 6 p.m. – Aug. 30, 2010: 8 p.m
at Cairo Library at the Cairo Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo, NY
518-622-9864
Teens (13 – 19) interested in making radio are invited for this two-part, free, workshop at the Cairo Public Library, 512 Main Street, Cairo, NY. The workshops will take place Mondays, August 23 and 30 from 6-8 p.m. Bring out your creative mind, find your hidden voice, make radio for your community! For more information, contact emily [at] wgxc.org or phone (518) 291-WGXC.
From Ariel Zangla-Girard in The Daily Freeman yesterday:
Community radio station WGXC will “go live” Sept. 26, but whether it will broadcast on the FM dial depends on whether it can raise the remaining funds it needs to match a $71,486 grant. To date, the station has raised about 65 percent of the funds needed to match the grant, said staff volunteer Sara Kendall. She said the station also needs to raise an additional $20,000 for other start-up costs, including labor and supplies. Kendall said WGXC is working hard to raise money and is focusing on selling underwriting to local businesses. The $71,486 grant was given to the station by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration through their Public Telecommunications Facilities Program. The grant will fund half of the equipment needed to put the station on air on 90.7 FM. WGXC will be a 3,300-watt non-commercial community radio station with shows about local issues such as agriculture, history, the arts and education. It will reach most of Greene and Columbia counties. In addition to fund raising, the station is gearing up for a planned “Radio Barnraising.” In collaboration with Prometheus Radio Project, the barn raising will bring experts from around the country to train area residents in all aspects of radio production, according to a press release from WGXC…. The barn raising will take place from Sept. 24 to Sept. 26 in Hudson. Galen Joseph-Hunter, executive director of free103point9, said Sept. 26 is the date WGXC will go live with a full program schedule. She said whether the station is on the FM dial or online will depend on fund raising. If WGXC, which is a project of free103point9, raises the needed funds it will go live on the FM dial, Joseph-Hunter said. To register for the barn raising go to www.prometheusradio.org/WGXC_barnraising. For more information about WGXC and its fund raising, visit www.wgxc.org. Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.
On The Air
WGXC is on 90.7-FM now, at full-power, 3300 watts. We cover all parts of Greene County except parts of the mountaintop, and all of Columbia County except for a bit of Western Columbia County south of Germantown. WGXC also covers a large part of southern Albany County. We have heard reports that the signal is getting from Delaware County to Great Barrington, from Selkirk to Saugerties, from Pine Plains to the I-90 extension.
Local weather/webcams
National Weather Service, Albany
Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page
When the computer is turned on, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page reports weather information in Harlemville. Check dates and times to see whether reports are live or from when the computer was turned off.
Greene County webcams:
Catskill webcam: Thomas Cole House Claude Mirror
Nearby webcams:
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