Community Radio

Saving a Community Station

by


Article in AP by Jonathan Landrum Jr., 4/9/26

Headline:  “Dave Chappelle helps keep Ohio radio station rooted in hometown with restored building”

“YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) — Comedian Dave Chappelle stood on the front lawn of a newly restored 19th-century schoolhouse Thursday, joining neighbors and local officials as a small-town radio station secured its future in the community he calls home.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked two historic moments: Chappelle’s restoration of the Union Schoolhouse and WYSO’s relocation of its new broadcast facility inside it, bringing together distinct efforts to keep the station rooted in Yellow Springs at a time when local media outlets face mounting challenges. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/dave-chappelle-radio-station-1297aeb70e20d61e5a46481f0b660332

Community Radio Back in St. Louis

by


Headline:  “Community Radio St. Louis Goes Live February 1”

Subhead:  “Over 60 former KDHX volunteers plus new broadcasters will revive local music and arts services online”

“At noon Central time on Sunday, February 1, 2026, eclectic music and perspectives will once again beam into St. Louis and around the world from a new all-volunteer internet station, Community Radio St. Louis (CRSTL). Commercial-free webcasting from CRSTL.FM will revive the strong grassroots voice supporting regional culture that was silenced last year by the radio frequency sale and demise of KDHX-FM. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.crstl.fm/

R.I.P. CPB

by

Public media are not state-controlled media

Article in The Guardian by Lauren Aratani, 1/5/26

Headline:  “Corporation For Public Broadcasting formally dissolves after federal funding cuts”

Subhead:  “Board of directors vote to dissolve organization after nearly 60 years in operation after funding cuts under Trump”

“The nonprofit charged by Congress with allocating funds to NPR, PBS and other US public radio and television stations announced is dissolving after massive federal funding cuts under Donald Trump.

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced on Monday that its board of directors had voted to dissolve the organization after nearly 60 years in operation. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/05/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-board-dissolves

Native Community Radio Struggles

by

Photo by South Dakota Seachlight

Article in Indian Country Today by John Hult in the South Dakota Searchlight, 12/1/25

Headline:  “Tribal radio funding flows, but future remains uncertain after clawback of public media money”

Subhead: “KILI has raised $80,000 in donations since the summer, and $50,000 came from a single donor after the story ran in the New York Times.”

“PORCUPINE — For the past few weeks, Oitancan “Oi” Zephier has labored among piles of vinyl records nearly 2 feet high.

KILI-FM, the Porcupine, South Dakota-based tribal public broadcasting station Zephier manages, has gone digital and no longer needs the records.

The station is selling the records, because what it needs is cash. . .”

Read the full article at:


https://ictnews.org/news/tribal-radio-funding-flows-but-future-remains-uncertain-after-clawback-of-public-media-money

 

 

Community Radio Through Difficulties

by

Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff 11/28/25

Headline:  “RSF documentary “Community Radios: The Fight to Keep the Sahel Informed” now available on Arte”

“As of 27 November, the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) documentary titled, ‘Community Radios: The Fight to Keep the Sahel Informed’ , will be available to watch on Arte, the Franco-German public service television channel. Through a series of interviews with directors of three community radios in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the film reveals the challenges faced by journalists operating in a deteriorating security situation. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/rsf-documentary-community-radios-fight-keep-sahel-informed-now-available-arte

FCM Meeting & Potluck

by

The regular meeting of Friends of Community Media will be held at 5 PM CST on Saturday 11/22/25 at 3707 Pennsylvania Avenue.  A potluck (hot dogs / beverages provided) will follow later  with a possible film about the media / backyard fire.

For more information / inquiries, email to savethemedia@cs.com

St. Louis Community Radio – Gone

by


Article in Stlpr.org by Jeremy D. Goodwin, 10/29/25

Headline:  “Christian radio station Worship One will debut on 88.1 FM in January “

Subhead:  “Christian radio network Gateway Creative Broadcasting is expected to launch its third St. Louis-area station in January: 88.1 Worship One.“

“A new Christian radio station will debut on 88.1 FM in January. The new station will be known as 88.1 Worship One, with call letters KLJT.

“For about two months the 88.1 FM frequency, which is designated by the FCC for nonprofit and community use, has been in Top 40 purgatory — temporarily carrying a simulcast of 95.5 Jams after previous operator KDHX formally ceased operations in September.

“Double Helix, the nonprofit corporation behind KDHX, had been broadcasting prerecorded content since late January. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and put KDHX’s broadcast license on sale to settle $2 million in debt. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.stlpr.org/news-briefs/2025-10-29/christian-radio-station-worship-one-will-debut-on-88-1-fm-in-january-report

Alaska Community Radio Trouble

by


Article in Poynter by Liam Scott, 1028/25

Headline:  “An Alaska station connects communities across hundreds of miles. Now it’s fighting to survive.”

Subhead:  “Federal funding cuts have left KOTZ, the only local news source for much of northwest Alaska, on the brink of closure”

“In the remote Arctic town of Kotzebue, Alaska, some residents still talk about the Dairy Queen that closed several years ago. They also talk about what’s at risk of closing next: the region’s lone radio station.

“Since 1973, KOTZ has delivered the news to Kotzebue, population 3,102, and several other small, sparse villages that collectively are home to about the same number of people. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/alaska-radio-station-kotz-faces-funding-crisis/

 

Community Radio Our Last Hope?

by


Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Luch Shiller, 10/7/25

Headline:  “Too Small to Mess With”

Subhead:  “Against the precipitous backdrop of funding cuts to public media, low-power radio emerges as a lesser-known source of inspiration.”

“Years ago, in Louisville, “people just didn’t understand this concept of having a radio station where people could just walk in and play what was interesting to them, or talk about what was on their mind,” Sharon Scott told me. ‘This was just totally radical.’ Scott started ART-FM, otherwise known as WXOX 97.1 FM, in 2011, out of her family’s living room. Her husband, Sean Selby, a carpenter, helped put it together. She served as the general manager. . .”

More at https://www.kkfistory.org/ Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/feature/public-media-funding-cut-low-power-radio-lessons-community-broadcasting.php

Community Radio – Last Hope For News

by


Article in Reporters Without Borders by Partager, 9/17/25

Headline:  “RSF releases new documentary on community radio stations, the last bastions of reliable news in the Sahel”

“As several Sahel countries face growing insecurity and their media are heavily pressured, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is screening ‘Community radios: the fight to keep the Sahel informed,’ its new documentary dedicated to community radio stations, in Dakar. The film delves into the daily lives of three journalists from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, essential workers in the news industry.

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/rsf-releases-new-documentary-community-radio-stations-last-bastions-reliable-news-sahel