[grc] Grassroots Radio Conference 2024 Directives

Mon Feb 12 10:53:36 PST 2024

Sharon,

I, too, am baffled by the apparent attack. In the past few years, I have
seen you do nothing but support stations everywhere, be positive about
community radio, hardworking, be inclusive, clear, and eloquent.

You and the GRC do not deserve this.

Mathilde Rand
KSQD Santa Cruz

On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 10:09 AM Sharon Scott via grc <grc at maillist.peak.org>
wrote:

> Good Morning Everyone,
>
> Our station, WXOX celebrated 8 years on air with a massive party this
> weekend and I was really hoping to have a relaxing Monday morning.  I
> never expected to wake up to something like this from someone in the
> independent radio world I try hard to serve.  Ill-informed, misguided
> attacks of this nature are a poison to the Grassroots Radio Community we
> are trying so hard to build. However, they say any publicity is good
> publicity so my only hope is that this unnecessary drama will lead to
> more participation with the GRC.  Then people can make up their mind for
> themselves if we want to move forward together or stay where we are out
> here on our own.
>
> I don't have the time or negative energy to spend dissecting Lloyd's
> email which is completely off-base.  I appreciate Bennett for doing so -
> accurately - in his response.
>
> Let me briefly address:
>
> I do not lead the GRC, I simply am the only one who EVER steps up to
> host the monthly web-meetings (distinct from today's Radio for People
> call which the WXOX on-air schedule always prevents me from attending).
>   If you review the last GRC Meet-Up, you will hear that my ask for
> volunteers to host the next Zoom but was greeted with total silence - as
> it is every time.
>
> Following each meeting, I or another member of the WXOX staff then posts
> the discussion to the Virtual GRC YouTube Channel so that folks who
> could not make it will have the opportunity to catch it later.  We do
> this as volunteer work BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WILL and we feel it is
> important that it get done and this community stay connected.  Not
> because we enjoy it or even have time for it.
>
> Virtual GRC on YouTube
> https://www.youtube.com/virtualgrc
>
> In fact, now that you mention it, it would be great to have some relief
> here.  Are any stations interested in hosting the next GRC Monthly
> Meet-up via Zoom?  As always, it is scheduled for the 4th Tues on the
> month at 8 PM which lands on Feb. 27th this time.  HOLLA!
>
>
> GRC STEERING COMMITTEE
> Neither I nor anybody else has authority in the Grassroots Radio
> Conference.  It is - and will remain - purposefully de-centralized,
> non-commerical, and free of any board or official leadership. Otis has
> the perfect saying for it, someone help me remember? ....   The trouble
> is meetings among community stations separated by many hundreds of miles
> aren't going to magically happen. Annual Conferences where station
> leaders get together, share ideas and inspiration, aren't going to
> appear on their own.  There needs to be someone or some group of people
> moving it along.  We do this is the most hands-off way we possibly can
> according to the directive established by attendees at the GRC
> Conference in 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin:
>
> "At the GRC11 in Madison, Wisconsin, conference attendees decided to
> create a Steering Committee to help coordinate discussions, assist in
> conference planning, and maintain institutional memory. The concept of
> the steering committee is in line with the GRC's decentralized,
> grassroots nature. Though there is no minimum or maximum number of
> members of the steering committee, it was agreed that it should include
> representatives from stations who have hosted past GRC conferences,
> representatives from future GRC conference hosts, and representatives
> from the People of Color caucus."
>
> In regards to GRC 2024, we have made national calls to this list-serve
> and to our social media pages for more GRC Steering Committee
> representatives from other host stations.  Here it goes again:
>
> IF YOUR STATION HAS PREVIOUSLY HOSTED A GRC CONFERENCE please contact us
> so we can get a representative from your staff involved on the GRC
> Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee meets online a few times a
> year to make calls for host stations, review submissions, and assist the
> host station with the conference prep.
>
> Right now the GRC Steering Committee includes:
>
> Ted Coe  KCSB
> Zac Smith KUHS
> Max Kelley WAYO
> Sharon Scott WXOX
> LaGanzie Kale  KLEK
> Joseph Orozco KIDE
> Damon Cater WTSQ
>
> But to be honest, you can ask WTSQ - the hosts of the 2023 conference -
> how much of a role the Steering Committee played in the direction and
> organization of their conference.  They will tell you practically none.
> Once the station steps up to host, aside from handing them a quilt and
> some seed money, the Steering Committee remains decidedly hands-off
> until they are asked for help -- and at which point we do so by calling
> on the greater grassroots radio committee by posting to this listserve,
> the social media pages, and whatnot.  This hands-off approach allows
> each station to build a conference to their liking that reflects the
> personality of the station and their location.  This is why each GRC
> Conference is so different, so exiting, so unique!
>
> GRC 2024 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!!!!
> Participants at the January Monthly Meet-Up determined we should go
> ahead and open the call for the 2024 GRC Conference Host so that folks
> would have time to plan.  An application created by the Steering
> Committee with very basic information and was circulated to this
> list-serve and posted on GRC Social Media.  It is NOW OPEN FOR
> SUBMISSIONS!  We encourage stations to apply by the next GRC meet-up
> (Feb. 27th) so that they can make presentations at this February
> meet-up.  It has not yet been determined when the station selection will
> take place.  To be honest, in past years, the decision has made itself
> because we have only had one applicant.  It would be a refreshing change
> to have a number of choices!
>
> So far this year, WTSQ Charleston is the only station that has submitted
> an application.  The 2023 Conference they hosted in West Virginia was
> AMAZING - one of the very best - the entire WTSQ did an outstanding job
> making everything just right.  For the first time ever, they have
> offered to host the conference again now that they have so much
> experience under their belt.  However, part of the beauty of the GRC is
> that it has always been hosted by a different station each year but
> right now we don't have any other options and the most important thing
> is that the gathering happens.
>
> If your station would like to host the 2024 Grassroots Radio Conference,
> we encourage you get your applications in by Feb. 27th to have a chance
> to make your pitch at the next GRC Monthly-Meet Up:
>
> Grassroots Radio Conference Host Station Application
> https://forms.gle/8ntrykYjr5s8piVq8
>
> Hope to see you there!
>
> In Solidarity,
> Sharon
>
>
>
> ***************************
>
> Sharon M. Scott
> Co-Founder & General Manager
> ARTxFM / WXOX 97.1 FM
>
> P.O. Box 5103
> Louisville, Kentucky 40255
> USA
>
> 502.640.6414
>
> ***************************
>
> ARTxFM
> http://www.artxfm.com
>
> ************************
>
> NEW BOOK:
>
> LOW POWER FM for DUMMIES
> https://www.amazon.com/Low-Power-Dummies-Sharon-Scott/dp/1394185324/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2024-02-12 04:40, Lloyd Ewing via grc wrote:
> > I do not see where Sharon Scott has been given the authority to
> > determine how the next Grassroots Radio Conference is to be chosen.
> > She
> > implies that her decisions were made by a group attending a Zoom
> > meeting
> > that she held on January 23, but I do not see how anyone who was at
> > that
> > meeting would say that Sharon was given this authority.  I do not see
> > how anyone who was at the meeting would say that her pronouncements
> > were
> > endorsed by the people who attended that meeting.
> >
> > There was no announcement prior to the meeting to indicate that major
> > decisions about the future of the GRC would be on the agenda.  At the
> > meeting there was no discussion about what method should be used to
> > determine how the next GRC should be chosen, and there was almost no
> > discussion about what criteria should be used to determine when and
> > where we should have a GRC in 2024.
> >
> > In mandating that applications from groups that want to host the next
> > GRC must be submitted to Sharon prior to her next Zoom meeting
> > (February
> > 27) she is ensuring that there will be very few submissions.  Only
> > people who have already been preparing to host a GRC will be able to
> > meet that deadline.  At Sharon's meeting Damon Cater mentioned that he
> > is ready and willing to host a repeat of his 2023 GRC again in 2024.  I
> > have no quarrel with Damon, and having him serve as host for the next
> > GRC may be the best choice, but there are a multitude of issues and
> > concerns that should be considered before that decision is made.
> >
> > This is just a few considerations off the top or my head that I think
> > we
> > could discuss:
> >
> > Is someone interested in hosing a less expensive GRC?  It seems that
> > GRC
> > 2023 may be the most expensive conference in my memory.
> >
> > Would it not be better to hold GRC conferences in a different city each
> > year?  Perhaps we could return to the same city on alternate years.
> >
> > How do people who live on the west coast think about having to
> > traveling
> > such long distances?
> >
> > Did anyone find a good alternative to an extended trip in a rental car
> > from one of the major airports in the area?
> >
> > Could presentations be recorded for the benefit of those who are not
> > able to attend?
> >
> > Damon admitted to pocketing a good profit from the GRC (was it 10k on
> > 35k revenue?)  I do not think that is unreasonable, assuming his own
> > funds were at risk in preparing for the GRC, but someone else might
> > offer other uses for the proceeds.
> >
> > Is the GRC in danger of turning into a professionally managed event
> > like
> > the NFCB, and what can we do to ensure that it remains an informal
> > gathering for people who do not have the backing of large institutions
> > and agencies?
> >
> > Does the GRC exist for professionals who earn income from promoting
> > their services to community broadcasters, or does it exist for the
> > small
> > community broadcasters to share and offer mutual support?
> >
> > Should decisions within the GRC be mandated by a particular person or a
> > closed group, or do we want decisions to be made by an open process
> > where all are invited to participate?
> >
> > Etc....
> >
> >
> > As for what went on at the Sharon's January 23 meeting, this would be
> > my
> > summary:
> >
> > The meeting drifted on for what seemed like an hour with mostly small
> > talk and reiteration of things that most of us already knew.  By then
> > most people had checked out mentally, even if they were still sitting
> > in
> > front of their computers.  After talking about the GRC conferences in
> > general, Sharon abruptly announced that anyone who wanted to host the
> > GRC in 2024 would have to submit proposals to her before the next Zoom
> > meeting February 27.  There were a couple of weak attempts to address
> > the issues and to clarify Sharon's pronouncement, but strong leadership
> > from the chair kept the pace of the meeting from dwelling on any of
> > those questions, and the meeting ended soon after that.  She said that
> > her "steering committee" would choose from the proposals that were
> > submitted, but she did not explain who that would be or how it was to
> > happen.
> >
> > The people who attended the final meeting of the GRC in Rochester may
> > see a pattern here.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > grc at maillist.peak.org
> > http://maillist.peak.org/mailman/listinfo/grc
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