WVMO & KXRN: TWO LPFM STATIONS THAT PROVIDE EXCELLENT PUBLIC SERVICE

In late March, Wisconsin governor Tony Evers announced that all nonessential businesses would close to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Like most places in America, thousands of residents in Madison found themselves working from home if they were lucky enough to still have a job.

For the volunteers at WVMO 98.7 FM in Manona, a suburb of Madison, this meant creating their shows from home. It turns out that many of the volunteers are learning new skills.

WVMO [link] provides the volunteers with remote broadcasting basics such as high quality USB microphones, tutorials on the audio editing software Audacity and how to use using Google Drive to share files. Some of the volunteers were already familiar with these devices and systems, but many were not.

Scott Collins

Scott Collins, the host of “Savage Radio,” needed help at the start. Will Nimmow, Director of Community Media for the City of Manona, WVMO’s licensee, described the process:

“Scott took a mic home that was provided by WVMO’s Friends group. He pushed himself to learn the Audacity software. He found that he can not only create new shows, he can now clean up old shows. So, this is one of those great learning, positive experiences from it all.”

Collins has volunteered at WVMO since November, 2015. He told local reporters about what he has learned:

“Since everything was new to me, I was very intimidated. But being at home did give me the time and space to practice with it, to become more comfortable with it. I began by re-editing old shows for rebroadcasting, and once I was able to get a microphone from the station, I was then able to make all new shows. I am still learning but it is fun.”

Meanwhile, WVMO might have something to celebrate in the near future. The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) chose the station to be a finalist for WBA’s Large Market Music Radio Station of the Year. This means WVMO is competing against big commercial and public radio stations from Milwaukee and Madison.

The WBA awards will be presented in a “virtual ceremony” this coming Thursday (5/21) at 10:00am. For more information about WVMO check out our story - WVMO is Perfecting Literally Local -  from September 2017 [link].

KXRN SERVES LAGUNA BEACH WITH COVID-19 NEWS & FUN DISTRACTIONS

KXRN-LP, a/k/a KX FM,  is real gift for the people in and around Laguna Beach, California. 

The station in southern Orange County competes with Los Angeles commercial and public radio stations. 

KX FM [link[ does what those station can't or won't do by immersing itself into the information, arts, culture, events, and music of the community.

  

If you haven’t done so, check out KX FM’s website and social media pages. You will see that they have a real sense of purpose that is broader and deeper than most commercial and public radio stations anywhere.

KX FM strives to bring people together through real-time, live programming, local news, weather, traffic, and emergency preparedness. They are one of a handful of LPFM stations that CPB chose the station to receive a Community Service Grant.

KX FM creates on-air updates and podcasts with daily Covid-19 news including interviews with Laguna Beach mayor Bob Whalen, frequent local updates from the Laguna Beach police department and information from the Laguna Food Pantry. 

Message on KX FM’s landing page

KX FM is hosting #livefromhome ,fundraising shows for out-of-work musicians. 

Music is at the core of KX FM’s mission. The station believes that talented, under-recognized musicians deserve exposure.

The station is also dedicated to developing the talents of its on-air hosts, student interns, and special needs volunteers.

KX FM believes that their audience is witty, intelligent, and sophisticated in their musical taste. So, they aim to entertain at a level that exceeds that of commercial radio.

They make folks like us proud to be working in public media!