Gill Center for Public Media to House KCMJ Studio

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Dec. 22, 2014 - PRLog -- Colorado Springs’ upstart community radio station, KCMJ 93.9 FM, will originate programs from a new corner studio at the Tim Gill Center for Public Media, beginning January 5. “The Center is a perfect space for community radio,” observed Dennis Apuan, chair of the Colorado Media Justice Foundation, which launched KCMJ this September. Gill Center for Public Media Executive Director Kristy Milligan explained, “Providing a home for the city’s new non-commercial, volunteer-run, grass roots radio effort aligns very well with the Gill Center’s mission. Our goal is to engage and encourage student and citizen journalists to create and share stories that would otherwise go untold.” Kristy is also RMPBS Southern Regional Director.

A small team of KCMJ volunteers will put the studio together the weekend of January 3, merging studio equipment from a variety of sources. “We’ve been able to purchase some new items, thanks to the success of our crowdfunding campaign earlier in the Fall,” noted the station’s facilities chair, Bobby Irwin. “We’ve also been fortunate to receive a few donated items from our good friends at KRCC and the Cumulus radio station group here in town.” “Everybody’s pulling together to bring community radio to our city,” declared a smiling Dave Gardner, vice-chair of the operation and public affairs director. “This is a great example of that.”

The community radio project is collaborating with the Pikes Peak Library District’s media studios at Library 21C to provide training and facilities to KCMJ volunteer producers. Plans are also underway to do the same at a new media lab in the works for the Gill Center. KCMJ will hold an all-day open house and Community Radio Workshop at the Gill Center on Saturday, January 24, for local residents to tour the new studio, get acquainted with the volunteer team, ask questions, make suggestions, and otherwise “plug in” to the city’s newest community-building asset. The open house runs 9 to 5 at the Tim Gill Center for Public Media, 315 E. Costilla Street, in the southeast corner of downtown Colorado Springs. There is plenty of free parking.

KCMJ’s schedule changes weekly, as new programs, producers and hosts come online. Just last week, Steve Harris brought his popular, longtime, Americana radio show, Grass Roots Revival, back to life, running on KCMJ’s streaming station on the web. Local community leader Rosemary Lytle premiered her show, Up Close With Rosemary Lytle, in November. The station’s programming co-chair and music director, Tim Board, has been hosting Front Range Radio on KCMJ for a few months. Steve, Tim and Rosemary all look forward to doing their shows live once the KCMJ studio at the Gill Center is operational. KCMJ hopes to begin broadcasting at its FCC-licensed 93.9 FM frequency sometime in 2015, once sufficient funds are raised. Meanwhile, the station’s programming can be heard at www.kcmj.org.

KCMJ is a non-commercial, non-profit, volunteer-run community radio station. Its mission is to inform, engage, entertain, and empower the citizens of our community. For interviews, photos or other graphics, contact us.