MAIN-FM 103.5 LP

Dear Friends of MAIN:

This morning, the United States Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision, lifted spending limits on corporate speech in political campaigns and elections.

This shocking decision reverses decades of efforts – and legal precedents – to limit the influence of money in the American electoral system.

The great American jurist, Justice Louis Brandeis, wrote: “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” Justice Brandeis also noted that: “The most important political office is that of the private citizen.”

With today’s Supreme Court decision, five justices (Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy and Alito) equated the speech rights of multinational corporations – like Exxon-Mobil and Monsanto – with the speech rights of individual American citizens. This decision repudiates the democratic idea that great concentrations of wealth should not have unlimited influence on our elections.

As one of America’s oldest media reform organizations, the nonprofit Mountain Area Information Network has long understood the power of corporate money and corporate media to control our public discourse, limit citizen speech, and thereby favor Wall Street over Main Street.

With this decision, MAIN’s media reform efforts – and those of our allies nationwide – become all the more critical, especially in limiting corporate control over the Internet and the public airwaves. Likewise, MAIN’s pioneering work in promoting local ownership of media infrastructure (public access TV, low-power FM radio, fiber and wireless broadband networks) has never been more important.

Please take a moment to consider the profound implications of today’s Supreme Court decision – and then make whatever tax-deductible donation you can afford to ensure that MAIN’s media reform work continues, both here at home and nationwide.
https://www.main.nc.us/about/donate

Platitudes like “the stakes have never been higher” do not express the injury that this decision has inflicted on our American political system.

Please continue to monitor the MAIN homepage – www.main.nc.us or follow us on Facebook – as we continue to cover this disturbing development.

Sincerely,

MAIN Board, Staff and Volunteers

8/28/09                             CONTACT:  Wally Bowen, 255.0182

MAIN taps WORT radio exec
for new Media Manager post

K.P. Whaley

A top news executive at one of the nation’s oldest community radio stations has been named Media Manager for the nonprofit Mountain Area Information Network (MAIN).

K.P. Whaley, the news and public affairs director at WORT-FM in Madison, WI., will join MAIN in this new position Sept. 1. His responsibilities include management of MAIN’s radio station, WPVM, and integrating the station’s programming with MAIN’s existing online news portal at www.main.nc.us.

Whaley has a degree in broadcast journalism from Illinois State University and a certificate in documentary filmmaking from the Seattle Film Institute. He is also a certified project management professional (PMP).

Whaley began as a volunteer at WORT in 2005 and was named news and public affairs director in 2007.  He supervised three daily talk shows, a live half-hour nightly newscast, and trained volunteers in community-based reporting, on-air delivery, digital editing and production, and engineering.

Founded in 1975, WORT has been a pioneer in nonprofit community radio, blending locally-produced programming – both music and community journalism – with syndicated news from Pacifica Radio and the BBC.

“K.P. has all the skillsets we were looking for as we transition MAIN and WPVM from  conventional analog radio to digital streaming over an Internet portal and mobile broadband devices,” said MAIN executive director Wally Bowen.  “We are also impressed with his positive energy and people skills, which match-up well with our community.”

Whaley will implement a new system for local programming based on “producer agreements” to replace the traditional practice of granting airtime to volunteers on a first-come basis. The latter has proven problematic for many community radio stations as airtime becomes scarce and openings for new producers disappear.

“Community radio must change or it will fade away,” said Whaley. “I am excited to be working with an organization like MAIN that understands the challenges faced by community radio, and has the vision and technical experience to embrace these challenges and to help provide a roadmap for other community media.”

Whaley cited MAIN’s new business model for journalism – based on revenue from its nonprofit Internet access business – as the heart of this new community radio vision.

In presentations earlier this year, Bowen called this new model “MAIN 2.0” and described the nonprofit’s vision for creating and delivering content over multiple media platforms – the existing Web portal, public access TV, WPVM, and podcasts.

Bowen said th at the new position title, “Media Manager,” indicates this larger vision for MAIN and WPVM.  “With this position now filled, we are ready to begin accepting applications for new volunteers as well as new ideas for programming,” he said.  To propose a program idea or to volunteer, visit: http://main.nc.us/about/volunteer/volapp.html  END

To Our Listeners:

We have hired a veteran audio engineer to create an upgrade plan for WPVM’s broadcast studio, which will greatly improve our ability to operate the station and reduce programming glitches.  This upgrade will be done in phases over the next 30 days.

Meanwhile, we are pleased to announce the addition of “The People’s Pharmacy” to our programming line-up. This popular alternative healing show is produced in Chapel Hill and heard on more than 100 public and community radio stations nationwide.  Its broadcast day and time on WPVM will be announced following the first-phase of our studio upgrade in April.

We have long wanted an alternative healing program on WPVM, and we’re delighted to secure a program of the caliber of The People’s Pharmacy.  We also know that our community has a wealth of alternative healing talent, and we would welcome proposals for locally-produced programs in this important field.  Proposals and queries may be sent to:  programming@main.nc.us.

Meanwhile, we are seeking to hire a part-time, interim station manager while we conduct a national search for a new, full-time position of Community Radio/New Media Manager.

We appreciate your patience during this time of transition.  WPVM exists for our listeners and is a critical part of MAIN’s media reform strategic vision.  Since its founding in 1995, MAIN has continued to be in the forefront of the growing media reform movement.  We greatly appreciate your support for this important pioneering work.

Wally Bowen
Executive Director