On Sept. 24, KDRT 95.7FM — the radio station based here at community media center Davis Media Access — turned 19.
DMA was the first public-access community media center in the nation to launch a Low-Power FM (LPFM) station. Since then, many have followed, and just recently the Federal Communications Commission opened a rare window for applications to open frequencies on this non-commercial educational radio spectrum.
DMA’s Jeff Shaw was recently a featured speaker at a regional meeting for potential applicants put on by the Alliance for Community Media. Since KDRT was started during the first licensing period, Jeff is often called upon to offer a long-term perspective on many topics involving the facets of operating an all-volunteer community LPFM radio station.
From its inception, KDRT has been more than a low-power community station, more than a project of DMA, and more than a place to just play music or talk. It’s been a volunteer-fueled community, one that connects to our larger community both by running live broadcasts from community events, and each and every week in front of the mics and the sound board in the KDRT studio.
These words were the opening to a column about the status of KDRT these days, originally published in the Davis Enterprise. You can continue reading here .
DMA has always been a place where youth can get hands-on experience with media tools and technology, and where they are encouraged to be creative while building skills. The ongoing COVID concerns and remodel at our facility have hampered our summer camps for several years, but by next summer, I’m confident we’ll be having a youth renaissance here.
This newsletter highlights a few of our younger staff members and some standout teen radio programmers for this back-to-school edition, and of course the19th birthday of our grassroots radio station.
As always, your interest and support helps make our work possible, and we thank you!
–Autumn Labbe-Renault, Executive Director