Soapbox Blog 2: The Community Alternative
By Katie Finnigan
How often do you get a say over what you hear on the radio?
At WVQC-LP, Radio Free Queen City, we believe the airwaves belong to the community and that local, participatory media, which includes the voices of the people it serves, is essential for Cincinnati.
The beauty of community media is that programming stays relevant, interesting and important to those who hear it and that the people closest to the action are the ones reporting it.
That's why we're committed to making WVQC a participatory and collaborative station. Think of us as a radio version of the popular wiki websites, a place where the listeners, the people most connected with the station, can create and contribute their own content.
We know how to make it work. Radio Free Queen City is operated by Media Bridges, which has two decades of experience as Cincinnati's community media center. As the steward of the city's four cable access channels, 4, 8, 15 and 24, Media Bridges helps people communicate effectively through media.
You can stop by Media Bridges in historic Over-the-Rhine to take free classes in video production, portable production, editing, Internet radio and computer technology. You can rent video production equipment or schedule a time to use our television studio. Then you can air the content you create on public access TV, which reaches more than 60,000 people and 160 households in the Greater Cincinnati area.
Media Bridges offers even more. Our Non-Profit Services Department creates affordable promotional videos for local non-profits. We also host an Internet radio station, The Bridge, and a community technology center, which houses computers equipped with Internet access that are open to the public. Most of these services are provided free of charge.
WVQC will continue in Media Bridges' tradition of community media. We belong to Cincinnati, and we are shaped and molded by the people here. At all levels of WVQC there are built in safeguards to keep the programming relevant, interesting and accountable to the community we serve.
Cincinnatians like you will help shape our program schedule. We are seeking your input through a discussion forum http://www.wvqc.org/discuss on our website, comments on our
blog, on
Twitter,
MySpace and
Facebook pages and through letters and emails. Join the conversation and tell us what you'd like to hear on WVQC. We are actively monitoring all of these locations and we are using your comments to guide our schedule.
The community will even be involved in programming at a more direct level, because our shows will be produced and hosted by local volunteers. After all, who knows the city better than the people who live here? Starting this summer, we will offer training in radio broadcasting and accept applications to host shows. Programs will be selected based on their quality, uniqueness and locally focused content.
Funding is the final measure of our importance to Cincinnati. We are a non-profit, non-commercial station and we depend on the support of listeners, members and sponsors to get us on the air and keep us on there. You can show support for WVQC through memberships, donations and even underwriting sponsorships.
At WVQC-LP, Radio Free Queen City, we're committed to expanding community media in Cincinnati and we're looking for you to get involved and help it succeed. This is your radio station, so help shape it. Visit our
website to find out how you can support and get involved with WVQC.