The first in-person Grassroots Radio Conference since 2019 is happening in Charleston, West Virginia October 19 – 22, 2023. Hosted by community radio station WTSQ, the conference is an opportunity for staff, volunteers and supporters from community, college and LPFM stations to come together to learn, exchange ideas and inspiration to keep grassroots radio thriving in North America and beyond.
Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman is a featured keynote speaker, along with Alex Sanjenis, an Assistant Chief in the Audio Division of the FCC Media Bureau. Having a representative of the FCC is a real boon to groups planning to apply for a new low-power FM license in the upcoming November application window. However, in general, potential applicants can expect to find plenty of advice among the conference attendees, who collectively have decades of experience building and running community and college radio stations.
Other featured speakers include: Dr. Rob Quicke, founder of the annual Vinylthon event, College Radio Day, and co-founder of World College Radio Day; Dr. MarkAlain Dery, an infectious disease physician and public health practitioner in New Orleans, who with his wife, co-founded 102.3FM WHIV-LP; Joseph Orozco, Board member to the Pacifica Association of Affiliates; Maria Martin, an award-winning multi-media journalist who currently directs the GraciasVida Center for Media, a nonprofit organization based in Texas and La Antigua, Guatemala devoted to the practice of independent journalism in the public interest; and LaGanzie Kale, the founder and General Manager of KLEK 102.5 F.M., the first and only minority operated radio station in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
If you need financial assistance to attend, Amy Goodman has donated her speaking fee to fund partial scholarships to the GRC. Apply here.
I’ve attended only a few GRCs since they first started happening two decades ago, when LPFM was first established, and each has been a very positive and energizing experience. Networking and solidarity are keys to the strength of community and college radio, so I strongly recommend it to anyone invested in grassroots radio.
