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You've been sent a story from New Voices (http://www.j-newvoices.org/): Northwest Community Radio Network Collaborative Newscast Jonathan Lawson, Executive Director, Reclaim the Media http://www.j-newvoices.org/119/ To launch an hour-long, weekly newscast culled from the best public affairs programming produced by more than 40, often-isolated community, college and independent radio stations throughout the Pacific Northwest. CONTACT INFO Reclaim the Media PO Box 22754 Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 931-0565 E-mail Web site To launch an hour-long, weekly newscast culled from the best public affairs programming produced by more than 40, often-isolated community, college and independent radio stations throughout the Pacific Northwest. Seattle-based Reclaim the Media will use the newscast to anchor a new content-sharing network that will expand the pool of regional news and programming for local audiences. Check back for future news and updates. • April 2008 • November 2007       Hear Here!April 2008 A new collaborative radio program produced by and for community radio stations in the Pacific Northwest has finally found its voice. After months of planning, Reclaim the Media hired community media producer Yuko Kodama to produce and anchor a pilot, completed in early April. The program has a home: KBCS radio has agreed to provide office and studio space. And, the show has a name: Listen Up Northwest. You can listen to the MP3 by clicking here. The pilot edition featured pieces contributed by four member station producers on an environmental initiative of the Samish Nation, homelessness in Seattle, arts and empowerment in women’s prisons, and remembering Japanese internment. According to Reclaim the Media’s Jonathan Lawson, the new producer will focus on acquiring, assigning and editing content for the program while his administrative team will emphasis fundraising, promotion and outreach/station recruitment.  Regular weekly production is under way. They hope to have 6 stations committed to broadcasting the program by May, doubling to 12 stations by fall 2008. Station-based producers are invited to pitch stories and ideas that give a sense of regional identity. Lawson reports they’ve decided to shift some grant funds away from equipment and toward stipends to reward reporters whose stories make it into the program. A New News Network for the NorthwestNovember 2007 Reclaim the Media is confident its effort to build a regional network of noncommercial radio stations will soon lead to the launch of a collaborative, regional news and public affairs program.  The network is bringing together stations from Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. A dozen stations are represented on the project’s new steering committee, which has met via conference call to discuss content, style, production issues, and the hiring process for the grant-funded position of organizer/producer. That position was formally posted and 25 people applied for the job. The steering committee interviewed top candidates but decided to postpone the hire in order to raise additional funds from network member stations to pay this new staff person.  In the interim, Gavin Dahl of member station KAOS in Olympia, Washington, has taken on the role as producer through an Evergreen State College internship. Dahl is producing pilot newscasts in the fall, developing relationships with contributing producers and helping secure financial contributions from member stations. A blog provides updates on issues of interest to participants. Reclaim the Media has purchased portable recording kits for reporters to use. They have been working with the Pacifica Network to use and customize its Internet-based Audioport content-sharing system. This will enable NW Community Radio Network contributors to file their stories through the Web. On a related note, Reclaim the Media assisted several community groups in their applications for FCC noncommercial licenses, anticipating that successful applications would expand and strengthen the radio network. In October, Reclaim the Media held a Community Media Film Festival which offered another opportunity to promote the Northwest Community Radio Network news project to potential participants and donors in Western Washington. And, the project got a promotional boost in the Prometheus Radio’s winter newsletter, which reaches many low-power broadcasters.