What is Community Radio?
WDRT is part of a long tradition of community radio in the United States. But what is radio anyway, and what makes community radio so distinct as a format?
The Advent of Radio
Radio is the technology of using radio waves to send and receive sound. Without getting (too) technical, radio waves are electromagnetic waves of a certain frequency on the electromagnetic spectrum. A radio transmitter sends the waves out, and a receiver takes them in.
German physicist Heinrich Hertz first discovered and transmitted controlled radio waves back in 1886. Handfuls of others continued
experimenting with radio waves for communication, and by 1895, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi engineered the first viable radio transmission system.
Early radio, or ‘wireless telegraphy’ as it was often called, was initially used to replace the telegraph, and was largely a ‘point-to point’ communication that used Morse Code. The technology quickly progressed, and soon after the turn of the century there were experiments with broadcasting music and sound to radio receivers.
Early Radio in the US
After the end of World War I, large networks of radio towers were built around the United States and radio receivers went into mass production. At the end of the 1920’s, there were thousands of radio stations across the country and the Radio Age had begun.
Inventor Gugliemo Marconi.
Broadcasters on KPFA, Berkeley.
Radio during this time was dominated by commercial broadcasting. For-profit corporations saw radio as a way to get into the homes of consumers, and to profit from the sale of on-air advertising.
While commercial radio provided cheap entertainment and a source for dispersing information to the masses, its potential was also very limited.
Broadcasting was exclusively the realm of paid professionals, and stations were dependent on selling advertising to cover costs and to provide profits for their private owners. Access to the airwaves was highly restricted, and the scope, perspective and type of programming available was limited to what was most profitable.
In 1946, a group of conscientious objectors formed The Pacifica Foundation, a media organization with the goal to build a nationwide network of non-commercial radio stations. They formed the first ‘listener-sponsored’ radio station in the United States, KPFA – Berkeley, in 1949.
Pacifica’s mission was to use radio as a means to form “a lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors; to gather and disseminate information on the causes of conflict between any and all of such groups; and through any and all means to promote the study of political and economic problems and of the causes of religious, philosophical and racial antagonisms.”
This new model revolutionized what was possible with broadcasting, and more listener-sponsored stations began to form through the 1950’s. Some of the key components of community radio, such as noncommercial programming and listener-sponsorship, were formed at these stations, but access to the airwaves was still largely restricted to professionals.
The Roots of Community Radio
Things began to change in the country shortly after World War II, when the Federal Communications Commission reserved the lower portion of the
The crew from KRAB, Seattle.
WDRT, circa 2010.
FM radio band – from 88 to 92 Mhz – for non-commercial educational broadcasting.
It wasn’t until 1963 that the first true community radio station formed, KRAB in Seattle. This was the first station in the country that incorporated volunteers into the operation of the station. Everyday people were brought in to learn the art of broadcasting and to share programming that was meaningful to them.
This is the essence of community radio – giving regular people with no experience access to the airwaves, and providing a service to listeners by broadcasting under-represented music and information, often with a local focus.
Community radio spread throughout the 1970’s, and established itself as a mainstay in the US counterculture. It is now known as the ‘third tier’ of radio broadcasting outside of commercial and public radio.
WDRT hit the airwaves in 2010 and is proud to carry the tradition of community broadcasting into the 21st Century!
What is Community Radio?
WDRT is part of a long tradition of community radio in the United States. But what is radio anyway, and what makes community radio so distinct as a format?
The Advent of Radio
Radio is the technology of using radio waves to send and receive sound. Without getting (too) technical, radio waves are electromagnetic waves of a certain frequency on the electromagnetic spectrum. A radio transmitter sends the waves out, and a receiver takes them in.
German physicist Heinrich Hertz first discovered and transmitted controlled radio waves back in 1886. Handfuls of others continued experimenting with radio waves for communication, and by 1895, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi engineered the first viable radio transmission system.
Early radio, or ‘wireless telegraphy’ as it was often called, was initially used to replace the telegraph, and was largely a ‘point-to point’ communication that used Morse Code. The technology quickly progressed, and soon after the turn of the century there were experiments with broadcasting music and sound to radio receivers.
Early Radio in the US
After the end of World War I, large networks of radio towers were built around the United States and radio receivers went into mass production. At the end of the 1920’s, there were thousands of radio stations across the country and the Radio Age had begun.
Inventor Gugliemo Marconi.
Radio during this time was dominated by commercial broadcasting. For-profit corporations saw radio as a way to get into the homes of consumers, and to profit from the sale of on-air advertising.
While commercial radio provided cheap entertainment and a source for dispersing information to the masses, its potential was also very limited.
Broadcasting was exclusively the realm of paid professionals, and stations were dependent on selling advertising to cover costs and to provide profits for their private owners. Access to the airwaves was highly restricted, and the scope, perspective and type of programming available was limited to what was most profitable.
In 1946, a group of conscientious objectors formed The Pacifica Foundation, a media organization with the goal to build a nationwide network of non-commercial radio stations. They formed the first ‘listener-sponsored’ radio station in the United States, KPFA – Berkeley, in 1949.
Broadcasters on KPFA, Berkeley.
Pacifica’s mission was to use radio as a means to form “a lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors; to gather and disseminate information on the causes of conflict between any and all of such groups; and through any and all means to promote the study of political and economic problems and of the causes of religious, philosophical and racial antagonisms.”
This new model revolutionized what was possible with broadcasting, and more listener-sponsored stations began to form through the 1950’s. Some of the key components of community radio, such as noncommercial programming and listener-sponsorship, were formed at these stations, but access to the airwaves was still largely restricted to professionals.
The crew from KRAB, Seattle.
The Roots of Community Radio
Things began to change in the country shortly after World War II, when the Federal Communications Commission reserved the lower portion of the
FM radio band – from 88 to 92 Mhz – for non-commercial educational broadcasting. It wasn’t until 1963 that the first true community radio station formed, KRAB in Seattle. This was the first station in the country that incorporated volunteers into the operation of the station. Everyday people were brought in to learn the art of broadcasting and to share programming that was meaningful to them.
This is the essence of community radio – giving regular people with no experience access to the airwaves, and providing a service to listeners by broadcasting under-represented music and information, often with a local focus.
Community radio spread throughout the 1970’s, and established itself as a mainstay in the US counterculture. It is now known as the ‘third tier’ of radio broadcasting outside of commercial and public radio.
WDRT hit the airwaves in 2010 and is proud to carry the tradition of community broadcasting into the 21st Century!
WDRT, circa 2010.