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In 1973, a little radio station began broadcasting from Little Five Points at a mere 18 watts. Today, over 30 years later, Radio Free Georgia (RFG), located on the dial at 89.3 FM, broadcasts at a powerful 100,000 watts.

But now, RFG has to move its tower to a higher elevation to resolve a signal problem. According to wrfg.org, the station “has suffered from poor signal coverage due to terrain blockage and multipath interference since the inception of its broadcasting.”

The solution is to move the tower to a new, higher location, which will cost quite a bit of money. In fact, according to wrfg.org, the estimated figure is $205,500, a staggering amount of money for a community radio station. RFG is looking for donations from $50 to $5000 to meet their goal.

If you are not familiar with RFG, imagine a local version of National Public Radio with a wider variety of music and progressive news programs. My favorite program is “Peach State Festival,” a series of musical shows that run Monday through Friday 7 to 9 p.m. I especially enjoy “Sagebrush Boogie,” a mix of folk, country, and bluegrass that airs on Thursday. RFG offers a wide array of music that appeals to many, including world music, jazz, and R&B.

RFG also airs progressive news and discussion shows like “Democracy Now” and “Just Peace” that report and comment on the current events and other important issues facing our country. “WRFG provides a voice for those who have been traditionally denied access to the broadcast media and the involvement of a broad base of community elements to guarantee that access.” RFG’s news and discussion programs fulfill this mission statement, of sorts, stated on wrfg.org.

Tune in to 89.3 FM to hear eclectic music and listen to progressive and alternative news, if you have not before. Continue to listen if you do already. If you can, make a small donation to the station to help their “Tower of Power” campaign so that they can remain a powerful station and a force in the alternative media. It is important that stations like these survive. With so few mega-media conglomerates dominating a vast majority of news that Americans receive, alternative media like RFG is a haven for citizens looking for more in depth coverage and comment, fair reporting and progressive ideas.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Looking Toward the Future. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.