Fueled by first-year success, Ohm Radio expands and embraces
By T. Ballard Lesemann Special to The Post and Courier
In a sea of high-budget, corporate-run radio stations, the fiercely independent Ohm Radio 96.3 FM not only made a splash last summer with a unique approach to presenting music and community coverage, but it has survived despite great odds.
“We are so excited how this project has evolved and how the community has come together to see it grow,” says Ohm Radio President Vikki Matsis. “We have other projects in the works and really want to educate the public on media reform issues.”
Under the guidance of Matsis and board member Lee Barbour, both of whom are active musicians in the local scene, the community radio station began as a project branching from Media Reform SC, a South Carolina nonprofit dedicated to fair and independent media ownership.
The ball got rolling in 2013 when Media Reform applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to create a new station on the FM dial. In 2014, they were granted a construction permit to bring low-power programming to town.
Since its launch last August as a low-power station with limited range, Ohm Radio successfully established itself as Charleston’s first community-based, commercial-free radio station. Broadcasting 24 hours a day/seven days a week from a tower atop the Joseph Floyd Manor on the upper peninsula, Ohm Radio survived its year, which is quite an accomplishment for a very small group of volunteers and supporters.
Read more:
About Ohm Radio
In a sea of high-budget, corporate-run radio stations, the fiercely independent Ohm Radio 96.3 FM not only made a splash last summer with a unique approach to presenting music and community coverage, but it has survived despite great odds.
“We are so excited how this project has evolved and how the community has come together to see it grow,” says Ohm Radio President Vikki Matsis. “We have other projects in the works and really want to educate the public on media reform issues.”
Under the guidance of Matsis and board member Lee Barbour, both of whom are active musicians in the local scene, the community radio station began as a project branching from Media Reform SC, a South Carolina nonprofit dedicated to fair and independent media ownership.
The ball got rolling in 2013 when Media Reform applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to create a new station on the FM dial. In 2014, they were granted a construction permit to bring low-power programming to town.
Since its launch last August as a low-power station with limited range, Ohm Radio successfully established itself as Charleston’s first community-based, commercial-free radio station. Broadcasting 24 hours a day/seven days a week from a tower atop the Joseph Floyd Manor on the upper peninsula, Ohm Radio survived its year, which is quite an accomplishment for a very small group of volunteers and supporters.
Read more:
About Ohm Radio
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