Support for community radio remains strong in Madison, WI, as sections of that city’s Doty Street were blocked off 5/22 for Back Porch Radio Broadcasting’s 14th annual WORT Radio annual block party. The event (11AM-7PM) raised money for the volunteer-based station. Listeners came out to enjoy the mix of local music, smiling faces, and good food and to show their support of the station.
Bands, which played everything from Surf to Bluegrass to Klezmer to Rock, included Harmonius Wall, Little Red Wolf, Sweetgrass, The Charles Walker Band, The Shtetlblasters and The Exotics.
WORT has been a vocal part of the recent union protests at the state capitol building. “We were there,” said Norm Stockwell, WORT’s operations coordinator. “We were right there from the beginning. And we’ve had reporters in the capitol every day bringing news and information.”
RBR-TVBR observation: A good example of community radio that hasn’t morphed to all-NPR or all-Classical over the years, as so many have. The station is affiliated with Pacifica, but it obviously goes beyond the network feed in entertaining listeners on-air, on the street and by getting involved in local issues.
