THE RADIO STATION

     Youth radio is an international movement for young people involved in radio production at the local level. It is not a new technology, but we know that old ones are rarely replaced by new ones. Instead, there is an overlay by the new. Television did not kill radio or the movies, and the Internet has not replaced either television or the radio stations. In some countries the radio is being used to deliver information from the Internet into the homes of people who can only afford a portable radio and a few batteries each month. In Sri Lanka a rural radio station in Kotomale take requests for information, search for it online, translates the material and broadcasts the answers in Singala to the local audience. It's a mix of old and new that is keeping community radio alive. Llano Grande purchased low power transmitter gear and an antenna about eighteen months before my visit. It is run by students who do all of the programming which is a mix of talk, interviews, school sevice announcements, and a lot of music. I talked about the difficulties that the Federal Communications Commission has had promulgating new rules to allow for more community radio stations. Congress has been swayed by monied broadcasters who claim that these low power stations cause interference with their megawatt superstations one channel up or down on the dial. However, KBUZZ is operating without a licence and has had no complaints from other FM stations. KBUZZ relies heavily on Napster for its content. During the night the station cycles through a large selection of Napster songs. However, the court rulings against Napster may dry up this supply of content, and the students will have to draw on CD collections and other peer-to-peer Internet sharing networks that are replacing Napster.


A LOOK BACK AT THE TEXAS CLUSTER

  Troubled Texas

  Mexican Ties

  The People

  The High School

  The "Human Network"

  The Radio Station

  The Presence of Technology

  The Community's Pride

  The Library

  The Ballet Folklorico

ONE YEAR EVALUATION

TEXAS CLUSTER VIDEOS

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