LOCAL COMMUNITY RADIO STATION OPENS DOORS TO IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING AND WORKSHOPS

GREAT BARRINGTON, MA, May 2021 - Berkshire Radio Community Alliance (BCRA), also known to listeners as WBCR-lp 97.7FM, has released new station accessibility guidelines this week, once again opening its doors to make in-person programming and training available to its members. Some restrictions include limiting station access to those who are fully vaccinated, and suggesting that programmers provide their own headphones and microphones. (Full guidance can be found at their website, BerkshireRadio.org)

The station, located at 320 Main Street, Great Barrington, closed its doors in March 2020, responding to the burgeoning COVID-19 Pandemic by limiting station access to essential volunteers and forcing programming to take place remotely. Although this didn’t prevent shows such as Audible Café, Radio2Women, and Mundo Latino from being broadcast on the air, it significantly altered station accessibility, and temporarily prevented trainings and workshops from taking place.

"This past year we have been busy making plans, preparing for this time when we are able to expand live programming in our Main Street studio,” Says Graham Dean, long-time BCRA board member and station supporter. Undaunted by the brief pause in live trainings, Graham and the rest of the WBCR-lp Team have been anticipating the station's reopening for months. He is also one of the members of the Operations Committee responsible for crafting the new station guidelines.

“New programmers are currently being trained. We are looking forward to the time when our airwaves are, once again, filled with locally produced, stimulating content,” Dean said.

Graham and his wife, Barbara, cohost the show “Common Sense Songs”, which combines folk music, current issues and historical themes into a uniquely modern program, airing on Wednesday nights from 8 to 10pm.

Judy Eddy, who produces and hosts Audible Café, a show featuring conversations about protecting and restoring the natural world, has been a broadcaster and volunteer for the station on and off since 2005. She is currently the volunteer Executive Director and an Ops Team member.

"Closing the station to live programming was a necessary step, but it came at a time when we had just solved all the technical challenges and reopened in our new location on Main Street," Eddy said. "Programmers were coming in to train on the equipment, and we had just wrapped up a successful Kickstarter campaign with tons of support from the community. That enabled us to keep things rolling these past 15 months, and we are excited to be getting back into the studio."

As a volunteer-based, non-commercial, community broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, BCRA makes broadcast airtime available to the general public and offers resources and education to all members of the community for the production and dissemination of community media. The 100-watt station is broadcast from WBCR-lp 97.7fm and serves hundreds of listeners with diverse backgrounds and interests across Southern Berkshire County and streams online via their website and internet radio applications. Established in 2003, WBCR-lp’s programmers have included immigrants, cooks, kids, musicians, moms and dads, rebels, and Spanish speakers.

BCRA welcomes new programmers to submit their application at www.berkshireradio.org. Station leadership also encourages membership donations as live programming ramps up, to cover the cost of upgrades to equipment and day-to-day operations. Visit www.berkshireradio.org to donate.

320 Main St
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Judy Eddy
Judy.eddy@berkshireradio.org
413.652.5387

About Berkshire Community Radio Alliance (BCRA)

Berkshire Community Radio Alliance (BCRA) is a fully independent, volunteer-based, commercial-free community broadcast radio station in Great Barrington, Massachusetts licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. They are focused on teaching the art of radio and providing access to the airwaves for all members of the Southern Berkshire community. They broadcast at 97.7 megahertz on the FM dial.

This release was published on openPR.