Media Foundation (AzCMF)
A home at last. Radio Phoenix moves into new studio at Phoenix Center for the Arts.
CBS Radio donates thousands of dollars of equipment
After months of diligent searching, Radio Phoenix has found a new studio home in the Phoenix Center for the Arts at 1202 North 3rd Street and Moreland, just south of the 3rd Street exit from the I-10 and across Hance Park from the Phoenix library.
The magnificent building, originally built as a Baptist Church, will provide Radio Phoenix with more than double the space it had in its old studio, and will allow the creation of separate broadcast and production studios. Eventually, it is hoped that we can raise enough funds to obtain additional space for our office and ever enlarging CD collection.
The building is under the operation of the Phoenix Center for the Arts Association, a newly formed non-profit whose principal task it is to operate the Arts Center and the creative arts studios next door.
The new studio has access to a 220 seat auditorium, conference rooms, a plaza area for concerts, and a public parking lot. The staff hopes to be able to broadcast live programming from the auditorium in keeping with our mission of providing local radio for the community.
No sooner had we finally located new studio space when Tom Coulson, Radio Phoenix DJ and bluesman, told us that he had arranged for CBS Studios in Phoenix to donate three large control boards for the new studio. CBS operates stations KMLE-FM, KOOL-FM, and KZON-FM out of their studios on North Central, and so one Saturday morning, we met at CBS to review the donations. The massive boards, larger than anything Radio Phoenix now posseses, were provided by CBS Director Engineering Eric Schecter. Joseph Pietrzyk, a local radio engineering consultant, assisted Tom in selecting the three boards which would be best for the studio. After hauling them back to the new studio (each one weighs about 50 pounds), we discovered that no table at the studio was large enough for them, so now we are looking for some very large sturdy tables to set up the new broadcast and production studios.
A big thanks to CBS Radio and Erik Schecter for the donations, which is worth thousands of dollars. And a big hand to Tom Coulson and Joe Pietrzyk for putting the donation together.
Although the new studio is still under construction, you are invited to stop by during office hours and take a look or even better, help move boxs and equipment. The address is Radio Phoenix, Phoenix Center for the Arts, 1202 North 3rd Street, Phoenix, 85004. We also have a new studio phone number, 602-254-6636. Sorry, no voice mail yet, so if we don't answer, it's not because we don't want to talk to you.
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Last Year's PSA Squad from South Mountain High School.
Back row: Edwin Sicairos, Gunnar Duran, Saharaim Espinoza, Leonardo Rivera, Dylan Woolley; Middle row: Scott Simpson, Robert Ruiz, Abril Baca, Phillip Calvin, Brandon Lerma; First Row: Ann Miles, Jocelyn Romero, Brenda Enriquez, Esme Alvarez, Leah Hamblin, Ana Loredo, Amanda Velazquez
Feet on the Street Starts Second Year; Hopi Students Garner Awards
The "Feet on the Street" programs at South Mountain and Hopi High Schools have gone into their second year of production of public service announcements for Radio Phoenix. The South Mountain High School students recently spent a day at the Phoenix Urban Expo interviewing visitors and vendors with the new portable recording equipment they received over the summer. Hopi High School’s radio broadcast program won six awards in October from the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association. The winners in the radio broadcast division were: *Katie Honawa and Jaysana Honyaktewa, honorable mention for their commercial “Hooked on Phonics.” ________________________________________________________________
*Donna Brooks, honorable mention for her sportscast about Hopi High track and field.
*Dion Sahneyah, honorable mention for his public service announcement about fire prevention.
*Honyaktewa also earned an “excellent” for her feature story about “sexting problems.”
*Gerri Sehongva took home an honorable mention for her feature story about “Bullying can lead to suicide.”
*Melsena Harris earned an honorable mention for her newscast about “Senior trip approaches.”
"Hopi High broadcast radio has won 78 state awards in the past three years," said Stan Bindell, radio and journalism instructor. “I’m proud of the radio and journalism students. They deserve a lot of praise for their accomplishments. We’re going to work even harder to win more and higher awards,” he said. Bindell noted that several of the students who won awards graduated last year and he hopes that this year’s students will win more awards in the spring competition.
Sahneyah, a junior, said he was excited about winning the award because he didn’t think he would get it. “I think it was awesome that my classmates won awards. They earned it,” he said.
Sahneyah plans to major in broadcast radio in college. This past summer, he attended the University of Arizona summer journalism camp. He learned different facets of media and had a chance to interview Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. He is considering going to the University of Arizona after graduation.
Hopi High broadcasts the Hopi High Teen Show on Tuesdays on KUYI, 88.1 FM. It is the only live remote Native American teen talk show in the nation. “I love the Hopi High teen show because it gives teens a chance to actually get to interview and work on the radio,” Sahneyah said.
Brooks, a junior, said she was amazed about winning the state award. “I will do my best this year for the radio program,” she said. Brooks plans to volunteer some of her time at KUYI, the Hopi community radio station. She said the best part of the Hopi High teen show is learning how to operate the equipment. She plans to major in criminal justice at either Duke, Stanford or Utah Valley University.
Honawa, a senior, said she was shocked about winning the state award because this is her third year in radio and the first time she won an award. Now, she is considering going to college to major in radio at Arizona State University or IAIA in New Mexico for creative writing.
“I’m happy that my classmates won awards. I want to tell them: Congratulations,” she said.
Honawa said she likes the Hopi High teen show because “I like to hear my voice.”
Bindell and the students thank KUYI for helping with training and equipment. They also thank the Hopi High School administration and governing board for supplying funding and time for broadcast radio and journalism.
The Hopi High radio broadcast students also call in news briefs to KINO in Winslow and thank KINO for giving them air time
Low Power Radio is Coming to Arizona
At the end of last year, President Obama signed the Community Radio Act, which will allow the creation of thousands of local stations around the country. Much of the credit for the passage of the Act goes to Prometheus Radio Project, a dedicated group of radio enthusiasts who, for more than ten years, have worked on a shoe-string budget out of the basement of a church in Philadelphia to bring democratic and community-based radio "low power FM" to the country. While there are about 800 low-power stations in operation already, the passage of the Act will create opportunities for as many as 2,000 more stations and Prometheus will be taking the lead on a national level to foster this new radio development.
So what is "LPFM?" "LPFM" refers to FM radio stations with a power of 100 watts or under. Hence the name "low power." LPFM stations have a range of 10 to 15 miles, which makes them ideal for the small communities around the edges of big cities, and in rural areas where smaller, isolated towns may have no radio service at all.
One of the most important function of LPFM stations is to reinvigorate the notion of "community radio" by focussing on the local community, its interests, and its issues. A good example of the power and use of LPFM stations comes from right here in Arizona, where KBRP-LP, a 5 watt station in Bisbee, was able to report up to the minute information about the Monument Wildfire that was devastating south-eastern Arizona. Other LPFM stations in Arizona include KRIM-LP (Payson), KWXL-LP (Tucson), and KWSS-LP (Scottsdale).
Although it is going to take a while for the FCC to develop rules for these new LPFM stations, the time is now for preliminary organization of community groups to consider applying for an LPFM station. At the fraction of the cost of a full power station, the LPFM station will be a major voice in local community broadcasting.
AzCMF is poised to make a strong commitment to assisting local organizations in the development of their LPFM stations. Board members have already met with representatives from Tucson, and will be meeting with other interested parties across the state in the next coming months. If you are interested in working with communities around the state and have some time to travel, contact us at info@azcmf.org for more information about our LPFM development plan.
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Programmers, broadcasters, musicians, office help, data entry maniacs still wanted Volunteer Positions with the Arizona Community Media Foundation Governance Policy Writer Governance Policy Writer Nature of the position: The broadcast industry is controlled by several government agencies, including the FCC, the IRS, and the State Corporation Commission. These agencies require that all radio stations have certain policies and guidelines in place, such a conflict of interest, whistle blower, record retention, financial control, and the like. Although AzCMF has a number of these policies in place, additional ones need to be written and older polices must be re-examined in light of statutory changes. Qualifications: Must have strong command of written English and an ability to perceive both the broad range and the details of governance policies. Prior experience on a board or in a policy or document drafting position is strongly desired. Must be able to work with legal staff on a frequent basis. The volunteer will be trained in resources, FCC, IRS, and other agency guidelines and forms. Position particulars: This position could take up to 10 hours a week. This work can largely be done at home or in an office, but will require regular consultation with the Board and legal staff. Data Entry Assistant Data Entry Assistant Nature of the Position: This position assists the Board in entering various kinds of data including contact and financial information. The data is highly sensitive and confidential. Qualifications: Must have basic knowledge of excel spread sheets, other data entry systems, and familiarity with quickbooks, and an extreme attention to detail. This position can be fulfilled from a home or office, but requires high speed internet access and a printer for creating reports. Position particulars: The applicant must be able to meet with board members, officers, and legal advisors on an irregular basis. This position may require an irregular work load of three to five hours a week. Some training may be available for quickbooks. APPLICATION PROCEDURE You may apply by sending a letter of interest and a brief resume not to exceed two pages as well as a writing sample to Volunteer Coordinator AzCMF P.O. Box 27617 Tempe, AZ 85285-7617 Thank you for your interest. All submissions will be acknowledged. Community Based Committees and Boards The Community Programming Advisory Board (CAB) Programming and Production Department Financial Development and Communications Department (Development Department) Department Chair: Victor Aronow Department Chair:
Halloween Night 2008 marked the formal debut of Radio Phoenix, a seven day, twenty four hour internet service of AzCMF. Staffed by a small army of volunteers under the watchful eyes of Kaja Brown and Laura Davidson-Crowley, Radio Phoenix broadcasts Native programming, news and commentary, "Democracy Now!," music of every kind and genre, science updates, and special programs such as the Globalquerque International Music Festival.
To find out more about Radio Phoenix, local concerts and events, and the local personalities you hear over the air, go to radiophoenix.org, and join the internet voice of Greater Phoenix.
Enjoy Arizona's largest internet radio station and tell your friends.
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This Board functions independently of the Board of Directors of AzCMF. The Programming Advisory Board acts as a conduit between AzCMF's governing board and the listeners AzCMF serves. The CAB reviews CD's and other submissions to determine if they meet FCC and AzCMF content standards. The CAB advises the governing board on community programming and policies through direct listener participation on the CAB and through community surveys and interviews. The CAB strives to reflect interests of the diverse community within the broadcast area.
Advisory Board chair: Michael Saunders
Advisory Board contact: info@azcmf.org
Next meeting: TBA
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This team is responsible for the creation, production, and broadcasting of AzCMF and Radio Phoenix content, both over the air and online. More plainly, the PPC team is filled with disc jockeys, engineers, producers, and podcasters. We are responsible for creating and broadcasting AZCMF's content to the listenership of the Phoenix Valley.
Production Department Kevin Hengehold
kevin@radiophoenix.org
Programming Department: Andrew Bernier
andrewbernier@radiophoenix.org
(480) 829-5746
New volunteer meeting: info@radiophoenix.org
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The purpose of this department is to increase the financial stability of the Foundation, to develop immediate and long-term funding sources, to secure contingent loans and grants, to promote membership and to develop marketing for the station, podcasting, and the Foundation. This is the most important department, because without funding, AzCMF and Radio Phoenix will not be able to continue.
Department Contact: info@azcmf.org
480-829-5746
Next Meeting: TBA
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Outreach and Community Information Department (Outreach)
This is actually the most fun department. Department volunteers attend functions, fairs, and festivals where they talk to the public, distribute information about AzCMF and community radio, set up tabling, operate the mock-up studio and go to concerts and events to locate unknown talent for podcasts and eventual broadcast. Committee members are outgoing, friendly, and enthusiastic about community radio. If you like working with the public, and especially kids, this is the committee for you.
Committee Contact:
(480) 829-5746
Next Meeting: As events arise
Looking for stimulating, educational, and challenging speakers for your organization, group, or board. AzCMF and Radio Phoenix can fill the bill. We have experienced educators and speakers who will make presentations on such varied topics as "How Community Radio can Build a Community," "Internet Radio: The Future Place for Your Business," "Programming and the Public," "The FCC and the First Amendment," or other topics tailored to your interests. We have power points that will amaze and amuse you.
For information, contact info@azcmf.org or call 480-829-5746.
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Media Literacy Workshops in Your Home or Clubhouse
What is community radio and why do Green Valley and Bisbee have community radio, but not Phoenix, Peoria or Queen Creek? AzCMF has answers to all your questions about the current state of the mass and popular media. If you're tired of the same-old, same-old radio, haven't heard your kind of music, art, and poetry on the radio in years, then get twenty of your friends together in your living room, club house, or coffee shop for snacks and chat about community radio. "You bring a guest, we do the rest." For more information about community radio presentations, contact us at info@azcmf.org. We have really great power points and lots of information about our project and the FCC, so give us a call today at (480) 829-5746.
You can financially support bringing media literacy workshops to Arizona right now.
You can volunteer to assist with developing media literacy workshops by contacting us.