WOMR
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WOMR practices community service too, through the remarkable diversity of our music, through the dedication our DJ's bring to their programs, and through the high level of commitment our volunteers bring to our benefit events and many other station activities. There is the wonderful way that WOMR DJ's support and promote each other's shows on the air that indicates a great sense of community. And of course there is the loyalty to localism in our mission, part of which is "to encourage participation by members of Cape communities in the management of the station and in the production of radio programs," and part of which is "to provide air time and facilities to community members and groups, and to provide program coverage of local news, educational and social events." Our Town Crier feature emanates from the heart of this mission. It is a fundamental service. For many local non-profits, it may be the only publicity their event gets. So, I encourage those of you who are DJ's to use the Town Crier book when you do your show - we've made it more user-friendly, and it represents the promise we have made through our mission to the community organizations here where we live that serve us all. Community radio is an embodiment of what some call the "gift economy." Anyone is welcome to participate, you can enjoy the station's "product" without paying a penny, and in turn listeners support the station financially, though they could receive its content for free. There is a candor in community radio about the funding relationship and where the money comes from that sets us apart from commercial media. This goes back to the founding of Pacifica Radio and the "listener-supported" model of radio envisioned by Pacifica's founder Lew Hill, who set out to create a media outlet that offered viewpoints other than the big media viewpoint, which was and still is driven primarily by the profit motive. Hill's pacifist politics fashioned Berkeley's KPFA on the service motive - like a school or a hospital - and fueled it with a spirit of inquiry and a commitment to social justice. Expanding to include stations in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Houston, the Pacifica network now includes dozens of affiliates - including WOMR. Pacifica programming is carried on over 400 media outlets. By definition, and by their individual missions, the Pacifica stations and other independent media organizations share with WOMR a strong orientation towards localism. Low power FM stations are of course the ultimate embodiment of localism, with signals that sometimes only reach a few square miles, but almost always carry some Pacifica programs, and this is where the local connects to the global: interfacing with other independent media helps us to better understand the forces that affect our lives - changes in the economy, the wars our country fights, and how the rest of the world sees us. It also gives us a window into other grassroots efforts - what people are doing to fight economic exploitation, or how a community is resisting environmental degradation. These connections give us hope and insight into what we can do on our local level to empower ourselves. Jim Hightower pointed out that, if you were to add up all of the listeners, viewers and readers of all of the independent, grass roots media organizations, the total would be as large as or even larger than any commercial network. This is why WOMR's mission is supported by participating and partaking in independent, grass-roots programming on the national level: shows like Democracy Now!, CounterSpin, Making Contact, This Way Out, WINGS, Free Speech Radio News, Alternative Radio and Time of Useful Consciousness. These programs and others of this model help us to understand how our local efforts fit into the bigger picture, and remind us how our actions can make the world a better place. Having said all of that, I envision WOMR continuing to do the things we do well - playing great and diverse music and staying dedicated to our mission - while being open to the ways in which we can revitalize that mission. In other words, let us embrace and nurture our traditions, but let us also not be afraid of new traditions, and change that finds new ways to support and build on our mission. I see us reaching out to younger listeners and programmers, inviting them to participate. Most importantly, I see us finding new ways to let our community know that WOMR is a relevant community resource, available to all. The more useful we are, and the more service we provide to the community, the more support and new energy we will receive in turn. These elements will enrich us, and help us to thrive and grow. Thank you for inviting me to join the WOMR adventure. I look forward to the next chapter.
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494 Commercial St. ( 2Nd Floor ) P.O. Box 975, 02657 Provincetown