With the rental car radio tuned to community radio station WGXC at 90.7FM, this intrepid radio reporter took a scenic drive through the lush countryside of Hudson Valley, spying vintage diners, farms, and picturesque barns. Tucked away in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church, the Hudson outpost of Wave Farm’s WGXC serves as one of the main studios for the 3300 watt community radio station.
Near the entrance to WGXC Hudson. Photo: J. Waits
The wide-ranging WGXC operates on a multi-studio model, with transmissions alternating from full-time studios in Acra and Hudson and from a weekly temporary studio at the Catskill Public Library. Because there’s so much to see across multiple locations, I took time to visit both Wave Farm’s WGXC studio in Acra (covered in Station Visit #145 and on episode #151 of the Radio Survivor show/podcast) as well as the subject of this piece: WGXC’s Hudson studio.
Postcard of WGXC coverage at Hudson studio. Photo: J. Waits
Initially a streaming radio station beginning in 2009, WGXC’s call letters refer to its broadcast range in Greene and Columbia Counties. Launched over 90.7 FM in 2011, WGXC was the first full power radio station build to be the focus of a community radio barnraising event spearheaded by Prometheus Radio Project.
WGXC 2nd anniversary open house sign. Photo: J. Waits
On my Friday morning visit on July 6, Station Manager/Managing News Editor Lynn Sloneker toured me through WGXC’s new Hudson studio, which they’ve inhabited since April, 2018. She admitted that it was a bit bittersweet leaving the original station home, but the move to a more centrally located and more accessible space has already been a boon for WGXC. Walk-in traffic has increased dramatically and hosts and visitors no longer have to trek upstairs to get to the studio. As an added bonus, the formerly sleepy Sundays at the station are now quite lively thanks to the popular church services upstairs. Rumor has it that one can even hear sounds from the church’s organ emanating through the building and into the WGXC studio.
DJ in WGXC-FM in Hudson, NY. Photo: J. Waits
Close to 100 volunteers work at WGXC, with around 80 community radio programmers on the air. Programming includes music shows, twice daily news shows, public affairs and talk shows, and more experimental transmission arts programs. With the tagline “hands-on radio,” the station encourages hosts and DJs to take a creative approach, even inviting them to take advantage of the station’s multiple streams for mixing purposes.
Artwork and books in WGXC lobby. Photo: J. Waits
Transmission arts are a big focus of WGXC’s parent non-profit, Wave Farm, which also offers artist residencies and media arts grants. On Saturdays and overnight, experimental programming from Wave Farm’s Acra studio is broadcast over WGXC-FM. Fans of radio in general, WGXC is a Radio Survivor affiliate, airing the Radio Survivor show on Saturdays at 8am and Sunday mornings at 1am.
Studio at WGXC Hudson. Photo: J. Waits
With a background in journalism, Sloneker was a newbie to radio when she joined WGXC seven years ago, but her news chops shine through in the station’s ambitious news efforts. She explained that WGXC airs a “steady stream of talk and information” each morning, with not only WGXC-produced news programs and updates, but also some syndicated material from Democracy Now.
WGXC’s Station Manager/Managing News Editor Lynn Sloneker. Photo: J. Waits
WGXC’s daily news program, “All Together Now!,” has both a morning and evening edition, plus a 24/7 online newsfeed. The program schedule describes it as “… a unique, community-based collaboration between listeners and programmers, both on-air and off” that “features local and regional news, weather updates, feature segments, and newsmaker interviews.” Sourcing some material from listeners, the show invites folks to call and leave a short message for possible inclusion on the program. One can also log in to the “All Together Now!” stream to hear news, weather, and programming updates throughout the day.
WGXC banner outside its church home in Hudson. Photo: J. Waits
While listening to the station, I also heard some news contributions from a nearby low power FM community radio station. Sloneker shared that WGXC has been happy to collaborate on news with other stations and would like to do more of that, telling me that WOOC-LP in Troy, New York has been a great partner. “We trade interviews,” she explained, adding that the stations “share a congressional district” and WOOC’s proximity the New York State Capitol in Albany has been helpful for news gathering.
Headphones in studio at community radio station WGXC Hudson. Photo: J. Waits
As I mentioned in my Wave Farm tour post, WGXC has an unusual collection of streams accessible from its website and app. In addition to the live WGXC 90.7 stream and the “All Together Now!” news stream, one can also tune in to hear experimental sounds generated by the weather (Weather Warlock), heard at WGXC’s pond station (Pond Station), and from the transmission arts-oriented Standing Wave Radio.
Transmission Arts book at WGXC Hudson. Photo: J. Waits
Sloneker revealed that the WGXC app also allows users to generate their own streams, taking citizen journalism to another level. Interested broadcasters can fill out a form stating what they’d like to air and can then initiate a transmission that will show up on WGXC’s “listen live” bar. Some of the programming that has been transmitted this way includes town board meetings from Catskill, police committee meetings, and rallies. She added that the objective of this tool is to “get many more municipalities involved,” so that there’s a breadth of community programming available. In addition to its use as a news tool, the app has been used for arts and music transmissions from a range of organizations, including Fridman Gallery, John Cage Trust, Radius, Prattsville Art Center, and more.
“WGXC wants you to be on the radio” sign at WGXC Hudson. Photo: J. Waits
Another example of community engagement is WGXC’s live programming on Tuesdays from the station’s satellite studio in the Carnegie Room of the Catskill Library. More of a pop-up studio, gear is set up in a conference room at the library for the weekly broadcasts. Like every other day of the week, Tuesdays are filled with news, talk, and music shows.
Michael Jackson 45 on the wall in WGXC studio. Photo: J. Waits
A youth programming block runs at 3:30pm every day, featuring shows either aimed at a younger audience or shows hosted by young people. The Wednesday show “Get Happy” is one of the more unexpected shows, with youth programmer DJ Stella Prince airing mostly music from the 1930s and 1940s. On Mondays, teens discuss books and teen media on “Bound by Books.”
Youth Employment Services partnership certificate at WGXC Hudson. Photo: J. Waits
With not only the youth shows, but also with programming throughout the schedule, Sloneker expressed to me that WGXC works to bring in a diverse mix of community members, including “people who you rarely see together” outside of the station. She added, “people register their voices here.” Couple that with WGXC being a station that’s focused on “free expression” and that encourages experimentation and you have a quite special undertaking indeed.
Studio at WGXC Hudson. Photo: J. Waits
Thanks to Lynn Sloneker and everyone at WGXC for the wonderful visit. For more of the back story on the station and Wave Farm, see my companion tour post and tune in to Radio Survivor show #151.
