Fri 21 Dec 2007
.jpg)
Some days you show up at WFHB to discover something you didn’t know you needed. That’s actually why I started volunteering there. I needed more music.
I really have never been able to afford my music consumption habits. I also have never been one to download music. I am afraid The Man will get me. But, one day in the spring of 2004 I walked in the studio downtown on Fourth Street and signed up for the "Mixology" class. I was scared. I didn’t know anyone there, but I had this need.
I remember discovering WFHB on the radio dial in my concrete block dorm room in 1997. Slightly fuzzy, but cool music poured from the speakers — if I didn’t move the dial too far. At the time I never thought I wanted to be on the radio.
But if I had wanted to, I could have gone to community radio station WFHB or the Indiana University student radio station, WIUX. So if you want to be on the radio in Bloomington, there are actually options. That makes this town unique. We have vibrant, community based media that rely on people for support and participation.
I remember discovering WFHB on the radio dial in my concrete block dorm room in 1997. Slightly fuzzy, but cool music poured from the speakers — if I didn’t move the dial too far. At the time I never thought I wanted to be on the radio.
But if I had wanted to, I could have gone to community radio station WFHB or the Indiana University student radio station, WIUX. So if you want to be on the radio in Bloomington, there are actually options. That makes this town unique. We have vibrant, community based media that rely on people for support and participation.
WFHB was the first community radio station in Indiana. The station was founded in 1975, but didn’t make it to the airwaves until 1993. That’s how hard it is to start a grass-roots, nonprofit, noncommercial radio station. Now people can just walk in and become part of an accepting and diverse radio community.
It takes more than 200 volunteers to keep the station running 24 hours, 7 days a week. What you hear on-air is only a fraction of the work that it takes to produce radio. You can get involved even if you cringe at the sound of your own voice. There are only four paid staff positions, so they need volunteers for everything from the board of directors to answering the phones.
WFHB News Director Chad Carrothers says WFHB is always accepting fresh faces and new voices. Community radio allows anyone to get involved. Some of the volunteers are students from IU who receive credit for their work. But he says the majority are "…regular folks with no prior broadcasting experience." Carrothers says, "WFHB puts the public in pubic radio. Literally."
Since starting the news department at WFHB, Carrothers has increased the public affairs programing substantially. Today, the station has dedicated primetime programs for Hispanic residents, the African-American community and the GLBT community. The station airs important meetings and lectures in edited versions on "Standing Room Only." They do in-depth coverage during local elections, exploring the candidates and issues.
WFHB News Director Chad Carrothers says WFHB is always accepting fresh faces and new voices. Community radio allows anyone to get involved. Some of the volunteers are students from IU who receive credit for their work. But he says the majority are "…regular folks with no prior broadcasting experience." Carrothers says, "WFHB puts the public in pubic radio. Literally."
.png) |
| WFHB’s Chad Carrothers and daily local news anchor Scott Weddle work out a miscommunication. |
Since starting the news department at WFHB, Carrothers has increased the public affairs programing substantially. Today, the station has dedicated primetime programs for Hispanic residents, the African-American community and the GLBT community. The station airs important meetings and lectures in edited versions on "Standing Room Only." They do in-depth coverage during local elections, exploring the candidates and issues.
Carrothers believes community radio is really about political and cultural empowerment. He says, "Our model of operation shatters the glass wall that traditionally separated passive consumers from those who control the airwaves. We are grounded in the assertion that publically owned airwaves should be controlled by the public."
He says new volunteers are sometimes shocked at just how real the experience at WFHB is. "We put volunteers directly into the field as reporters and producers. Nobody fetches coffee or makes copies. Within days or even hours they realize that community radio is an effective tool for making a difference in the world or just in our own backyard. It’s empowering."
Catie Kosinski volunteered at WFHB as a desk jockey when she was in high school. After a stint on college radio in Greencastle, Indiana, she came back to WFHB and Bloomington. She now has two shows at the station and is a "super sub," picking up on-air shifts when needed. She says, "It’s easy to take community radio for granted, but its services to the community can’t really be measured in quantifiable ways."
He says new volunteers are sometimes shocked at just how real the experience at WFHB is. "We put volunteers directly into the field as reporters and producers. Nobody fetches coffee or makes copies. Within days or even hours they realize that community radio is an effective tool for making a difference in the world or just in our own backyard. It’s empowering."
Catie Kosinski volunteered at WFHB as a desk jockey when she was in high school. After a stint on college radio in Greencastle, Indiana, she came back to WFHB and Bloomington. She now has two shows at the station and is a "super sub," picking up on-air shifts when needed. She says, "It’s easy to take community radio for granted, but its services to the community can’t really be measured in quantifiable ways."
She agrees with Carrothers about radio’s empowerment potential. "Radio inspires, educates, and influences change." She believes in the station’s mission to create community dialogues. "Everyone, regardless of cultural background, socioeconomic status, race, gender, whatever, has something to say and something to add to the community."
She says beyond her love of music, she wanted to be on the radio again to do something positive with her dad. "He got divorced a few years ago, and I wanted to spend more time doing father/daughter things with him. He was influential in my love of jazz music and there was a jazz show in need of a DJ at the time." Recently, her 80-year-old grandpa came to see her at the station. "He got to hear two of my shows. I got to say hello to him over the air." The experience of radio has created a new way for Kosinski to be close to her family. "I didn’t play sports and wasn’t involved in team activities, but being on the radio gives me something to share."
She says beyond her love of music, she wanted to be on the radio again to do something positive with her dad. "He got divorced a few years ago, and I wanted to spend more time doing father/daughter things with him. He was influential in my love of jazz music and there was a jazz show in need of a DJ at the time." Recently, her 80-year-old grandpa came to see her at the station. "He got to hear two of my shows. I got to say hello to him over the air." The experience of radio has created a new way for Kosinski to be close to her family. "I didn’t play sports and wasn’t involved in team activities, but being on the radio gives me something to share."
 |
| Eleanor Lissitzyn spent most of her summer at WFHB in the 12-by-8-foot room the news department calls home. |
Eleanor Lissitzyn is an undergrad at IU. She had never worked with WIUX student radio, but got involved with WFHB through a service learning course. She has stayed involved because she loves the environment and variety of people. Lissitzyn is also "really grateful for the experience. As a journalism major, it is great to come in, write a story, and get it aired on the radio that night." She says it has also helped her feel like she is part of the community, not just a student passing through. "I didn’t start at WFHB wanting to be on the radio. Now, I love the medium."
Station manager for WIUX Craig Shank loves radio because it is "an integral part of life." He says, "Radio, at its heart, is really two things: immediate and local." He believes that noncommericial radio like WIUX and WFHB "provides audiences with unique content that is free of advertising and is a real experience — rather than just something to put on in the background." Each semester WIUX has a call-out meeting. Interested students fill out applications about their availability, experience and musical program interests. Shank and station board members create a new schedule, matching up students with on-air needs.
Station manager for WIUX Craig Shank loves radio because it is "an integral part of life." He says, "Radio, at its heart, is really two things: immediate and local." He believes that noncommericial radio like WIUX and WFHB "provides audiences with unique content that is free of advertising and is a real experience — rather than just something to put on in the background." Each semester WIUX has a call-out meeting. Interested students fill out applications about their availability, experience and musical program interests. Shank and station board members create a new schedule, matching up students with on-air needs.
"At this point, we have roughly 100 applicants every year," he says.
Thousands of students have been involved since the first incarnation of IU student radio in 1962. He says WIUX has changed his life. "I have no idea what I would be doing if it weren’t for the station. I have met some amazing people. …"
Ph.D. student Paul Rohwer is a wannabe. He has never done anything on the radio but wants a show on WIUX for his last semester of school. "I wanna share the music I love to the outer limits of Bloomingtonian rock. According to WIUX, that’s a 15-mile radius, plus the Internet."
