As previously reported, the people behind the Chicago Independent Radio Project aren’t ones to sit around and just wait for great radio to happen. Although legislative decisions still need to be made about low power FM, the organization is moving ahead with a more immediate project: launching a web station.
On the CHIRP website, the industrious staff explains their plan: “As we’ve continued with our efforts to make sure we’ll eventually be able to bring a brand new low power FM signal to Chicago, we’ve always assumed that the station’s webstream would be crucial. That’s why we’ve decided to go ahead and launch a web version of CHIRP radio… We’re excited about the prospect of making CHIRP radio a reality even before we get a broadcast license.”
Slated to launch in late summer, the web station will feature “great underappreciated music across genres and eras,” while demonstrating “a true commitment to Chicago’s diverse music and arts scenes.” According to staff member Dustin Drase, the organization is currently working on programming specifics, and the group hopes to have a station launch party sometime this fall.
In another exciting development, CHIRP has found a home for the station in the historic Dank Haus building in Lincoln Square. The organization has been collecting office furniture, supplies, and computer equipment to improve the new digs, but there are still items on the CHIRP wish list. To donate equipment or funds (and stay tuned into upcoming events), visit the official website.
Looking for a specific way to help preserve your independents? South End Press is in the running for a $20,000 grant from the quirky website Ideablob.
The small, social justice-oriented press became a candidate for the grant via its Community Supported Publishing (CSP) Program, designed to promote sustainability in independent publishing. Like Community Supported Agriculture, this effort helps make available a steady crop of quality books. Now the CSP Program is up against seven other “ideas” in Ideablob’s July Showdown, and the winner receives a generous grant.
To help South End Press receive these much-needed funds, visit ideablob.com and cast your vote. Voting closes July 31, 2008.
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