Liberals should remember some history as they raise their newborn media.

[brainshrub]

Modern Progressive radio is very much in its infancy. To take the analogy a step further: The baby was brought home from the hospital for the first time by the parents last night.

It wasn't always this way. Corporations have re-written history to imply that they were the major force behind the creation of radio. The truth is that before big-business pressured the government to discourage it, radio development was a citizens project on par with todays open-source software movement. Hiram Maxim, "Father of Organized Amateur Radio", testified before Congress that in 1918 over 8,500 amateurs were broadcasting.

Progressive voices flourished on early radio without the need of large corporations to subsidize programming. In 1926, the most powerful station in the US was WCFL in Chicago. WCFL, "The Voice of Farm & Labor", was a listener-supported station owned and operated by the Chicago Federation of Labor. Can you imagine a contemporary top-ten media-outlet that focused on Union-issues existing today?

Progressive radio was phased out of existence, despite it's popularity, because corporations were able to convince congress to grant them preference in signal strength, licensing and programming requirements.

Thankfully, just like how Dad eventually figures out how to install the baby-seat, Progressives have started to learn how to take back the media.

A source for optimism can be found by studying WPVM. WPVM is a community-run station in Asheville, NC that obtained a license despite intensive lobbying by media conglomerates and NPR.* Also, to this day, a Clear Channel station in Tennessee regularly washes out WPVM's signal due to an arbitrary rule that prevents them from re-locating the antenna.

Despite these obstacles, the year-old WPVM has a solid base from which to fight back. Wally Bowen, a local media activist, helped found The Mountain Area Information Network. MAIN is a non-profit ISP that uses money raised by selling internet access to fund alternative media.** With MAIN's guidance, WPVM has been able to become the true progressive voice of the mountains.

There is great hope for the future of Progressive radio. Plutocrats have always attempted to prevent citizens from getting the information they need to achieve a sustainable democracy. These would-be dictators only win as long as people let them. It will take a lot of hard work, but victory is inevitable.

Besides, who said raising a baby would was supposed to be easy?


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* That's right. National Public Radio is no friend to community-run stations.

** MAIN offers nation-wide dial-up internet access. Stop sending your money to the conglomerates! FYI: If you live in Asheville, MAIN now offers high-speed.

P.S.: (MAIN & WPVM will be strongly represented at this years National Media Reform Conference, May 13-15 in St. Louis. I hope to see y'all there.)

[xxqqqzme]

1. great info here

thanx 4 posting

[Tace]

2. MAIN Also Offers Internet Hosting, With A Special Rate For Non-Profits

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