WFTE-FM sets variety of benefits for hopeful January 2011 launch
By Rich Howells/The Times Leader
Each Wednesday night at The Vintage Theater, 119 Penn Ave., Scranton, a group of like-minded volunteers gather to discuss their future plans for Northeast Pennsylvania. Some would call them “rebels.” By January 1, they hope to call themselves WFTE-FM.
In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission opened a window for non-commercial/educational radio licenses to eligible non-profits, which hadn’t been done in at least nine years.
Jake Rosen, along with other local progressives, formed a non-profit organization called Community Radio Collective, Inc. to obtain a license, which they ultimately secured.
Out of the 21 AM stations and 37 FM stations between Stroudsburg and Binghamton, most contain little local content and are ultimately controlled by three national corporations, Rosen explained.
Their mission is to “create and provide high quality, innovative and community-oriented programming serving communities, information, and ideas that are ignored, suppressed, overlooked, or underserved by the mainstream media.”
Rosen, who became the chairman of the board of WFTE, said that the idea for the station was born out of a need for an alternative local voice.
“In this area especially, you don’t find that type of programming. Talk radio in this area is Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, or you have programs that view the world from a religious point of view or theology.
The consequence is there’s no coverage of things from the point of view of working people,” Rosen said.
The station will air national shows such as “Democracy Now,” “Law and Disorder Radio,” and the “Tom Hartman Show” as well as locally-created political programming.
WFTE also recognized the need for non-partisan local news reporting.
Rosen feels that there is a lack of investigative reporters to examine important issues like poverty and unemployment.
He noted that many cases of government corruption go unnoticed for years because there are not enough watchdogs looking into white-collar crime.
“We want local people looking into the circumstances of their local lives. That’s part of controlling your destiny,” Rosen said.
In their eagerness to begin such programming, WFTE reported on the trial in Scranton of two Schuylkill County residents, Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky, who were recently found guilty of committing a hate crime against Luis Ramirez.
Ramirez, an illegal Mexican immigrant, died after the two young boys beat him to death.
With the trial having such a large cultural impact, they recorded daily updates of the trial in Spanish and English to upload in MP3 format to their Web site as a free download.
The group is looking forward to serving the often overlooked, but ever-growing local Latino community.
WFTE will play several hours of ethnic music and Spanish-language programming.
WFTE also plans to support local bands by offering them airtime and a space to play once they find a suitable studio in Scranton.
“There are very few venues for local independent musicians. We will give them a spot, because this is their community,” Rosen said.
Local bands are already returning the favor. Five have volunteered for the station’s first “Get on the Air” benefit concert at the Stone Elephant at 415 Lackawanna Ave., Olyphant on Saturday, Oct. 23. Shawn Z of Gypsy will open the show at 9 p.m., followed by Northern Outlaws, Coal Town Rounders, Erthan and Rogue Chimp.
An under-21 event is planned for Nov. 6 at The Vintage Theater.
The station will sell $100 raffle tickets at the shows for a grand prize of $20,000 cash, a second prize of $4,000, and a third prize of $1,000.
WFTE started a fundraising campaign in 2008 and has raised $180,000 towards their $220,000 goal.
They hope to run on only $100,000 a year with a staff of one of two paid employees and at least 100 volunteers overseen by their board of directors.
They plan to broadcast to residents in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Susquehanna counties.
If funding comes together in time, Rosen said he would love to start the new year with a new radio station.
“If I could, I’d like to do it New Year’s Eve. At midnight, I’d pull the switch.”
