By Justin Nunez
Ellensburg is getting a new radio station very soon. It’s called Ellensburg Community Radio and it is a non-profit radio station located in the 420 Building and is dedicated to education.
ECR will be streaming online during its infancy, but the station has already applied to the FCC for a low power FM radio signal and is hoping to get that approved as soon as possible.
They plan to be community run and are aiming to share stories, news, events and music. ECR is going to be primarily funded by sponsors and donations and expects to be fully up and running in late July.
Idea
The idea for ECR spawned around October of last year and has been in the making since. Mollie Edson, John Cerney, Ben Kaspar and Philipp are the brains behind this station and say they are extremely happy that this idea is finally coming into fruition.
When this opportunity came about they were very fond of the idea that a station could be diverse and fluidly changing with the community it was in.
“That’s the beauty of a community radio station is that you can bring together lots of different tastes, lots of different interests can co-exist,” Ben Kaspar said.
With this community station they aim to celebrate the diversity here in Ellensburg. When stations are funded by one entity they are forced to play certain music or advertise for certain things but with this method they are able to be free with their broadcast.
“I think this community radio is going to be more manageable because of that, because we are open to other voices,” Philipp said.
Operation
ECR is going to be community ran and that is a very unique way to run a station. John Cerney and Ben Kaspar will run the station to start but as the station progressively gets on its feet they want citizens to come in and be trained in the craft of radio.
Anyone is welcome to come in and sign up to be trained on equipment management and use, so that they can know the tools to run their own show. Since it is community based they encourage as many people as possible to sign up. That way the station can fulfill the founding group’s dream of a unique collaborative radio station.
No prior experience or knowledge of radio equipment is required. So whether you like electro music or the blues or just want to tell people about world news, this station will be for you.
“The goal is to do that, stream 24/7,” Cerney said when asked if they wanted ECR to be a continuously streaming station.
Opening
The station will be available for viewing today at 1 p.m. during the 420 Loft Art Gallery show. It will be up and running for people to see exactly what it is all about and how it will be operated.
Molly, John, Philipp, and Ben will be present, handing out brochures and flyers and available for questions. July 4th will be the soft opening and the station will be live streaming the Jazz in the Valley event. All are welcome.
