Last Chance for Progressive Radio

 

A New Opportunity for Independent Radio in Northwest Arkansas and Nationwide

How about a radio station in your town to promote your cause and provide a forum for local musicians, poets, cultural and educational events, even live coverage of concerts, meetings, and political actions?

With the urging of progressive groups and media activists, the FCC has announced that it will be opening up radio frequencies for non-profit organizations to apply for Low Power FM (LPFM) Radio station licenses.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of new independent media voices may be created, providing alternatives to mass media programming.

What is LPFM?

Typically up to 100 watts, an LPFM signal may extend as much as 10 miles in ideal conditions. If you placed a transmitter in the geographic center of a town the size of Fayetteville or Springdale for example, the signal could reach nearly all of the cities’ population centers.

Costs to start and maintain an LPFM station are much lower than for a full power station.

How do you get an LPFM station?

Preliminary studies show that several frequencies will be available in both Fayetteville and Springdale and in other localities.

Licenses are awarded by the FCC, not purchased. Based on previous rules, the applicants must be state recognized non-profit organization with a locally based board of directors and an educational mission. Applicants may be given extra points towards the license for originating local programming.

When does this happen?

The FCC has not issued their final rules, but we expect those in the spring of 2012. A filing window will then be announced for the fall of 2012. Applications with no competition will be rewarded construction permits in late 2012, while conflicting applications will go through a modification and settlement process.

Interested?

Would you like to have a progressive media alternative in your community?

Perhaps you’d like to serve on a steering committee, produce your own programming, be a deejay, or you may have specialized legal or engineering expertise to offer. Now is the time to get your organization together.

To get involved, to find resources, and for more information visit our FacebookPage

https://www.facebook.com/Community.Radio.Community.Voice

or email Joe Newman  festismr@gmail.com

Amanda and Ryan report

What have they been up to, anyhow?

Making Ripples

Greetings from Amanda & Ryan Bancroft!  Wondering what we've been doing since our 2 years in AmeriCorps*VISTA service ended in August? Here it is:

We started a blog, Ripples, to connect people to resources while tracking our journey off-grid.  Resources include information on alternative energy, international sustainability & social justice efforts, organic farming, bicycling, becoming an entrepreneur, fair trade, building a home, helping non-profit organizations, and MUCH more. We're building a whole Wiki attached to the blog on the "resources" page.  Through this blog, Amanda sells cookies & Ryan offers technology consultation to raise money for good causes and to fund the Ripples project. 

Ripples follows our journey to build a sustainable home in Arkansas.  We hope to live completely off-grid in a small EarthBag home and protect acres of native habitat. Recent posts include:

• 365 Home-Cooked Vegetarian Meals
• Saving on Cell Phones
• National Wildlife Federation to Benefit from Ripples' Cookies!
• Clutter Assassin: Living with Less Stuff
• Strategies for Low-Cost Off-Grid Living
• Burning Down the Kitchen: Confessions from an Emerging Entrepreneur

We invite you to follow along on our journey with us, and make some Ripples today!

In Service,

Ryan & Amanda

Energy Corps Positions now open

Apply Now

Here's your opportunity to make a difference in a community while obtaining green job training and professional development! View available Arkansas Energy Corps position descriptions and learn more about host sites by following the Position Description and Host Site links under 2010 available positions. Apply now for a specific Arkansas Energy Corps position by clicking "Apply Now" in the listed positions below or by visiting https://my.americorps.gov and clicking "Search Listings" and then search for Energy Corps. All applicants must apply through My AmeriCorps and are required to create an account in order to apply. If you have any questions or have trouble accessing the electronic application, please contact Melissa Terry at 479-575-1385 or melissat@ncat.org.

http://www.energycorps.org/arkansas/positions.php



Stay Involved

Your thoughts are important.  However, like the majority of our extensive OMNI community, it's likely that you rarely find the chance to share these thoughts with your fellow members. 

That's why our website offers numerous ways to have conversations.  Leave a comment on an alert or event and see what kind of conversations you spark.  Carry those conversations over to our forums and chat with folks who share your passion for a peaceful world.  If we want that culture of peace, we'll need to build it together.  Getting to know one another, and sharing what we know, is a major step.

And there's no better way to get to know each other than by having an OMNI web account:

• Personalize your OMNI experience.  Your name appears in the upper-right hand corner.  Click on it to take full control of your account.
• Got a favorite page?  Through your account, you can sign up to receive an emailed update the moment any page on the site is updated.  Pick and choose as many or few pages as you want!
• Give your words some personality.  If you're signed in, when you post in the forums, or leave a comment, your name and profile are automatically attached to it.

All you need to do is ask for it, and that's it!  No extra work for you!  No matter why or how often you spend time with OMNI, having an account can make your experience richer.  Request one today!

Advertising a bit in OMNI's publications

Since we started posting offers for Ginger Bellew's beautiful Christmas peace wreaths, we've been thinking about whether we should put the offer up for other OMNI members who might be in business for themselves.  So the OMNI Board decided to set up a pilot project to see if members might like to try it out.

If you have a product or service you'd like to post to OMNI's list, we're going to place one advertisement in each issue of the monthly "OMNINMOtion", and in each of the three issues per week of "What's Happening" (this publication you're reading right now).  We're going to run this pilot for six months to see if it's of any value to OMNI members.

Here are the guidelines we came up with for this test:

Product or service must reflect consistency with OMNI's mission

Advertising will be offered only to paying OMNI members

One featured ad only per periodical

Strong preference for local and sustainable products and services

Allow a limited amount of advertising in “OMNINMOtion” newsletter

and on “What's Happening” postings

The project will last for 6 months beginning in December 2010, ending in May 2011

Charges: One ad $25 - 3 ads $50

Placed first-come-first-served in the publication of their choice: "OMNINMOtion" 1x per month, or "What's Happening" 3x per week"