While there’s plenty of local produce at the farmers’ market, Raleigh’s airwaves themselves will soon be teeming with homegrown material.
Enter Little Raleigh Radio. Founders Jacob Downey and Kelly Reid, former DJs at N.C. State’s WKNC 88.1, believe Raleigh is long overdue a hyperlocal FM radio station that directly involves its citizens and emphasizes the issues that affect them.
“One of the best ways for radio to be connected to community is that if anyone lives in the area, or works in an area or is really passionate about a place, if that was the requisite requirement for how to get started,” Downey said.
The idea for the station stems from the duo’s passion for the medium. In July, Little Raleigh Radio launched its Kickstarter funding project to reach out to the community in support of creating content for and by Raleighites.
With long-term projects including youth outreach and a storefront DJ booth, the station aims to be wide open and organic for residents, regardless of previous radio experience.
“There is something really powerful about radio in its traditional sense and the accessibility that it offers, which is why we are doing what we are doing,” Reid said.
Little Raleigh Radio will offer a mix of music and conversation. Because the station will have a small broadcast radius, it wants to share the stories of the downtown area that aren’t covered on more traditional media outlets, said Rebekah Zabarsky, a volunteer who has also worked at WKNC. The station also aims to embrace alternative storytelling.
Gabriela Magallanes, a 2012 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, hopes to be involved and is interested in producing an hourlong health talk show where community members can contribute health-related questions.
“With younger populations, sometimes they forget about their health, and this would be a great way to reach out to them,” Magallanes said.
For Downey and Reid, the learning aspect of radio is one of the most powerful things the medium offers, and they are building Little Raleigh Radio to be an educational nonprofit.
“One of the big things is that we are teaching people how to have that voice and how to share their passions through a medium we love, in a place that we love,” Downey said.
As the station continues to grow, the team is organizing trainings and a mentor program for community members who are new to radio. Adam Kincaid and Damian Maddalena, both established WKNC radio personalities, are in the process of creating a manual and organizing guest speakers.
“Hopefully, we will take people with no experience and turn them into almost pros,” Kincaid said.
After a successful Kickstarter, in which the team made its $10,000 goal before the Aug. 31 deadline, Little Raleigh Radio plans to launch an online stream in October. Next week, the team will cover the Hopscotch Music Festival as its first event, focusing on the experiences of festival attendees.
After that, it’s time to start looking for studio space and begin the FCC application for a low power FM license, the same license under which Carrboro’s WCOM broadcasts.
For those interested in being involved, Little Raleigh Radio holds meetings every last Tuesday of the month. Volunteers are needed to help with marketing, programming and other behind-the-scenes work, Kincaid said. As bare bones as it is now, it plans for a sustainable future, thanks to the continuing volunteer support.
Zabarsky refers to this grassroots project as “guerrilla radio,” and one that will further expose Raleigh culture.
For Reid, all the hard work now will be rewarded in the long term.
“We’re starting something that, if we build it right, will teach the passing of knowledge, will open communication and open culture,” Reid said.
For more information visit www.littleraleighradio.org.
Contact the desk editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com.
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