WTIP was recently featured in the National Federation of Community Broadcasters magazine highlighting the effect a small community radio station can have on its community. While several community stations across the country were mentioned, the article highlighted WTIP. Some of WTIP’s hard working staff took a quick break to be in this photo. From L-R: Joe Friedrichs, Rhonda Silence, Debbie Benedict and Will Moore.
WTIP was recently cited as an excellent example of a community media/radio station in a feature story published by the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB).
NFCB Executive Director Sally Kane wrote the beautiful piece, which captured the intricacy and intimacy of managing and working in a small community radio station.
Broadcasting at 25,000 watts, WTIPs newsroom at any given time is run by one or two paid staff with the help of volunteers. It covers issues important to the city of Grand Marais and Cook County, such as local elections, issues in education, the environment, law enforcement and a myriad of other hot topics. WTIP does a lot with very little.
“The board, staff, and volunteers at WTIP are very pleased to be recognized nationally for our efforts in news and journalism on a local level,” said WTIP station manager Deb Benedict. “We believe by focusing on the stories of our community, produced both by staff and volunteers; we are helping to connect, educate and strengthen the rich tapestry of the area we call home.”
“Community radio stations,” wrote Kane, “provide unique value to their listeners, supporters, and our democracy precisely because they are small. They are invested in particulars that are demanded and defined by communities.
They serve as microphones for towns or regions, fulfilling the ethereal promise of media that serves all of the public. That promise is often relegated to the category of an ideal that’s rarely achieved within the larger U.S. media system. By serving a broad spectrum of communities, these stations help center the public in public media. They provide the greatest source of diversity we have in public media talent and content.
“The National Federation of Community Broadcasters is committed to supporting this diversity. We have a simple mission to provide services that enable locally based media organizations to best serve their communities. Many of our members struggle with capacity issues brought on by economic and other conditions in their communities, which often have been historically underserved by public and commercial media. And yet, they persevere, demonstrating remarkable resilience and continued relevance,” Kane said in her article.
While other radio stations were mentioned throughout the article, WTIP received the lead-in and was held up as a shining light in the industry.
Kane finished her article with: “Community radio continues to make that case on Main Street and in neighborhoods, where listeners recognize themselves, their neighbors and their communities. That’s an effort worth noticing and even celebrating.”
Here’s to that sentiment. And here’s to WTIP, a great little community radio station that’s finally getting its due on the large stage.
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