Community Radio: Tune In, Speak Out

Community-based radio and other local media help us weather the storms we face, both literally and figuratively. When radio works for the good of all our neighbors, this free, accessible service, fosters the sense of belonging, resilience & connection necessary for survival. And the importance of local media has never been more clear than during this global pandemic. In Community Radio: Tune in, Speak out, we got to (virtually) talk with 4 local media creators about how public radio can be a life-saving source of information that keeps communities connected and taking action together. Join us to hear from Ana Elisa Wilson of Oregon Rural Action, Arturo Sarmiento of Radio Poder, Carol Newman of Coast Community Radio, and Connie Saldaña of KSKQ Community Radio! 

Interested in connecting with rural Oregonians to work on community media, or community response to emergencies in this pandemic moment and beyond? Head to www.rop.org to learn more & get involved in the Rural Organizing Project.

Download this episode’s transcription at ruralrootsrising.org

More on what you heard in this episode:

Carol Newman helped found Coast Community Radio, KMUN, which has been on the air for 37 years! Carol hosts two music and local arts shows, and shares about KMUN's central role in navigating disaster response when a storm hit the community, knocking out power and all other forms of communication. 

Ana Elisa Wilson, an organizer with Oregon Rural Action, has been instrumental in getting out public service announcements over the radio to the immigrant community in Northeastern Oregon. 

Arturo Sarmiento is the manager of Radio Poder, KTUP, the high power station created by Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), Oregon’s tree planter and farmworker union. Many of the voices featured on KTUP are voices never heard on commercial Spanish-language radio or by a mass audience, including young people, workers, community organizers, and Indigenous people speaking in their own languages. 

Connie Saldaña is a long-time activist in Jackson County, where she helps keep KSKQ Community Radio running strong. She also hosts the show: Age of Adventure: The Positive Side to Growing Old, a topic that is close to her heart and her work with elders and people with disabilities. She talks about radio as an essential public good. 

ROP has held five online rural strategy sessions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to strategize with people across the ROP network about responding to this crisis moment and organizing for the long-term changes we need. For recordings of these strategy sessions click here.

Did you like the music in this episode? Listen to more Oregon-made music by The Road Sodas, and Trouvaille. 

Rural Roots Rising is a production of the Rural Organizing Project. Thank you for listening!

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