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| Community Radio Fights to Stay Live (and Weird) Despite Coronavirus | Community Radio Fights to Stay Live (and Weird) Despite Coronavirus |
| (8 days later) | |
| “Greetings, virus people!” | “Greetings, virus people!” |
| The on-air patter was hardly what you would expect from a radio D.J. addressing his listeners during a pandemic last week. But Ken Freedman, the station manager and program director at Jersey City’s WFMU 91.1 and 91.9 FM — broadcasting to the greater New York City area, “Your station from the epicenter!” — sounded practically chipper. | The on-air patter was hardly what you would expect from a radio D.J. addressing his listeners during a pandemic last week. But Ken Freedman, the station manager and program director at Jersey City’s WFMU 91.1 and 91.9 FM — broadcasting to the greater New York City area, “Your station from the epicenter!” — sounded practically chipper. |
| Like the rest of the country’s noncommercial, community radio programmers, Freedman has been forced into hastily improvising a response to the growing spread of Covid-19. Staffed largely by volunteer D.J.s taking time away from paying jobs as teachers, bartenders and everything in between, these scrappy local stations have had little in the way of either precedent or outside resources to fall back on. Operating independently of both National Public Radio’s networked affiliates, as well as the rigidly formatted music stations owned by corporate chains like iHeartMedia, they’ve been left to figure out the changed media landscape for themselves. Some have adopted a “keep calm and carry on” philosophy. Others have taken a decidedly different tack. | Like the rest of the country’s noncommercial, community radio programmers, Freedman has been forced into hastily improvising a response to the growing spread of Covid-19. Staffed largely by volunteer D.J.s taking time away from paying jobs as teachers, bartenders and everything in between, these scrappy local stations have had little in the way of either precedent or outside resources to fall back on. Operating independently of both National Public Radio’s networked affiliates, as well as the rigidly formatted music stations owned by corporate chains like iHeartMedia, they’ve been left to figure out the changed media landscape for themselves. Some have adopted a “keep calm and carry on” philosophy. Others have taken a decidedly different tack. |
| Indeed, Freedman’s jarring salutation was only a warm-up. He soon segued into disturbing aural collages, no less lyrically foreboding songs from John Cale and Big Blood and tongue-in-cheek announcements (“Tomorrow in Bushwick, the Millennial Bodily Fluids Festival has been canceled!”). For three hours, it was anything but sonic comfort food. | Indeed, Freedman’s jarring salutation was only a warm-up. He soon segued into disturbing aural collages, no less lyrically foreboding songs from John Cale and Big Blood and tongue-in-cheek announcements (“Tomorrow in Bushwick, the Millennial Bodily Fluids Festival has been canceled!”). For three hours, it was anything but sonic comfort food. |
| “That’s the nature of WFMU as a New Jersey institution,” Freedman explained over the phone last week. “We do have a real gallows sense of humor, an irreverence.” Which isn’t to say he hasn’t been taking the coronavirus seriously. | “That’s the nature of WFMU as a New Jersey institution,” Freedman explained over the phone last week. “We do have a real gallows sense of humor, an irreverence.” Which isn’t to say he hasn’t been taking the coronavirus seriously. |
| After one D.J. with symptoms self-quarantined while others seemed too cavalier about the risks of infection, Freedman felt forced to create a makeshift lockdown. Of the station’s weekly rotation of 60 D.J.s, a self-described skeleton crew of nine, several of whom already live together (and all of whom are pictured on the station’s website as, yes, skeletons running the radio equipment), are now the only ones allowed inside WFMU’s studios, with no more than three ever in the building together. A few more are broadcasting from remote locations, others are pre-recording their shows at home and archival programming fills out the rest of the schedule. | After one D.J. with symptoms self-quarantined while others seemed too cavalier about the risks of infection, Freedman felt forced to create a makeshift lockdown. Of the station’s weekly rotation of 60 D.J.s, a self-described skeleton crew of nine, several of whom already live together (and all of whom are pictured on the station’s website as, yes, skeletons running the radio equipment), are now the only ones allowed inside WFMU’s studios, with no more than three ever in the building together. A few more are broadcasting from remote locations, others are pre-recording their shows at home and archival programming fills out the rest of the schedule. |
| “This is the situation that so many broadcasters dream of!” Freedman said. “You have a global, captive audience, and everyone can share and commiserate their experiences. But it’s not safe to go to the station!” | “This is the situation that so many broadcasters dream of!” Freedman said. “You have a global, captive audience, and everyone can share and commiserate their experiences. But it’s not safe to go to the station!” |
| That potentially sprawling audience isn’t just wishful thinking. New Orleans’s renowned live music scene has come to a screeching halt, but the city’s jazz and old-school R&B-focused WWOZ is more popular than ever. | That potentially sprawling audience isn’t just wishful thinking. New Orleans’s renowned live music scene has come to a screeching halt, but the city’s jazz and old-school R&B-focused WWOZ is more popular than ever. |
| “I’m looking out my window at the Mississippi River right now,” said Beth Arroyo Utterback, WWOZ’s general manager, speaking by phone from her station’s studio in the heart of the normally raucous French Quarter. “There’s not a soul in sight. Just a single barge. It’s surreal!” | “I’m looking out my window at the Mississippi River right now,” said Beth Arroyo Utterback, WWOZ’s general manager, speaking by phone from her station’s studio in the heart of the normally raucous French Quarter. “There’s not a soul in sight. Just a single barge. It’s surreal!” |
| But Utterback can look at the server that feeds the station’s signal online and see that listenership has jumped globally in the past week from 32,000 to 40,000. That’s in addition to the 80,000 people stuck inside and tuning in locally via 90.7 FM, up from 70,000 according to a recent Nielsen study. About a quarter of WWOZ’s D.J.s are coming into the studios to do their shows live, she noted: “We’re still manning the turntables, but everybody gets their own microphone cover now.” | But Utterback can look at the server that feeds the station’s signal online and see that listenership has jumped globally in the past week from 32,000 to 40,000. That’s in addition to the 80,000 people stuck inside and tuning in locally via 90.7 FM, up from 70,000 according to a recent Nielsen study. About a quarter of WWOZ’s D.J.s are coming into the studios to do their shows live, she noted: “We’re still manning the turntables, but everybody gets their own microphone cover now.” |
| If WWOZ is aiming for, as Utterback put it, “normalcy, as much as possible,” other community stations are embracing the otherworldliness of the moment. At dublab, the electronic dance music-flavored station in Los Angeles, each broadcast day now begins with a new episode of “The Quarantine Tapes”: short phone interviews with hunkered-down artists including the former Black Flag singer and author Henry Rollins and the filmmaker Werner Herzog. | If WWOZ is aiming for, as Utterback put it, “normalcy, as much as possible,” other community stations are embracing the otherworldliness of the moment. At dublab, the electronic dance music-flavored station in Los Angeles, each broadcast day now begins with a new episode of “The Quarantine Tapes”: short phone interviews with hunkered-down artists including the former Black Flag singer and author Henry Rollins and the filmmaker Werner Herzog. |
| Out in San Francisco, the eclectic KXSF is barely 18 months old, one of a recent wave of newly licensed low-power stations. Born out of a sense of crisis — members of its core team were previously volunteer D.J.s at the University of San Francisco’s station until the school’s administration suddenly locked them out and sold its license to a classical music network for $3.75 million — KXSF is relishing the challenge of staying live on the air at 102.5 FM. | Out in San Francisco, the eclectic KXSF is barely 18 months old, one of a recent wave of newly licensed low-power stations. Born out of a sense of crisis — members of its core team were previously volunteer D.J.s at the University of San Francisco’s station until the school’s administration suddenly locked them out and sold its license to a classical music network for $3.75 million — KXSF is relishing the challenge of staying live on the air at 102.5 FM. |
| For Carolyn Keddy, one of KXSF’s co-founders, that’s meant plenty of disinfecting wipes, but not a second thought given to changing up her own show’s steady diet of discordant punk and garage rock. Songs like the Weirdos’ bruising “Solitary Confinement” and Noxeema’s no less agitated “Don’t Touch Me” hardly seemed designed to soothe the frazzled nerves of those self-isolating. Which Keddy said was the point: “I know a lot of my listeners live by themselves. They’re bored, they’re scared, or both. This is what’s happening to us.” | For Carolyn Keddy, one of KXSF’s co-founders, that’s meant plenty of disinfecting wipes, but not a second thought given to changing up her own show’s steady diet of discordant punk and garage rock. Songs like the Weirdos’ bruising “Solitary Confinement” and Noxeema’s no less agitated “Don’t Touch Me” hardly seemed designed to soothe the frazzled nerves of those self-isolating. Which Keddy said was the point: “I know a lot of my listeners live by themselves. They’re bored, they’re scared, or both. This is what’s happening to us.” |
| Alison “Tex” Clark has been striking a similarly wry note on her show on XRAY, out of Portland, Ore. (107.1 and 91.1 FM). Was her airing of Mudhoney’s fuzzed-out 1988 singalong “Touch Me, I’m Sick” in poor taste? | Alison “Tex” Clark has been striking a similarly wry note on her show on XRAY, out of Portland, Ore. (107.1 and 91.1 FM). Was her airing of Mudhoney’s fuzzed-out 1988 singalong “Touch Me, I’m Sick” in poor taste? |
| “Good taste is overrated,” she quipped. Turning earnest, Clark explained that she actually derives as much benefit from doing her radio show as any of her listeners. After years of religiously listening to deafening bands perform into the wee hours, she was diagnosed in 2012 with multiple sclerosis, ending her late-night club-hopping. “Becoming a D.J. at XRAY, being able to take my love of music and my love of being social with people and transfer it all into radio, has become a really important part of my life,” she said. | “Good taste is overrated,” she quipped. Turning earnest, Clark explained that she actually derives as much benefit from doing her radio show as any of her listeners. After years of religiously listening to deafening bands perform into the wee hours, she was diagnosed in 2012 with multiple sclerosis, ending her late-night club-hopping. “Becoming a D.J. at XRAY, being able to take my love of music and my love of being social with people and transfer it all into radio, has become a really important part of my life,” she said. |
| The emergence of the coronavirus immediately posed a problem for her. “Being on the radio is a very tactile thing: Your face is right up against the mic, you’re touching all the buttons. I’m immuno-compromised. I’m someone without a lot of margin for risk,” she said. So she went online and gave herself a crash course in audio production, quickly buying some relatively affordable gear. The result isn’t quite a home studio, “more like a chair in my bedroom with the mic propped up on the armrest,” she laughed. “But it sounds all right!” Now pre-recording her weekly show, she’s still reaching her regular audience. | The emergence of the coronavirus immediately posed a problem for her. “Being on the radio is a very tactile thing: Your face is right up against the mic, you’re touching all the buttons. I’m immuno-compromised. I’m someone without a lot of margin for risk,” she said. So she went online and gave herself a crash course in audio production, quickly buying some relatively affordable gear. The result isn’t quite a home studio, “more like a chair in my bedroom with the mic propped up on the armrest,” she laughed. “But it sounds all right!” Now pre-recording her weekly show, she’s still reaching her regular audience. |
| Updated June 30, 2020 | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| Yet, as more community radio becomes prerecorded out of a health necessity, there’s a growing fear that the very essence of radio — the shared, in-the-moment experience between a D.J. and a listener — will be lost. With the flood of podcasts on one side, and the rise of computer-generated streaming algorithms on the other, truly inspired community radio has already been under siege. Will Covid-19 be its death knell? | Yet, as more community radio becomes prerecorded out of a health necessity, there’s a growing fear that the very essence of radio — the shared, in-the-moment experience between a D.J. and a listener — will be lost. With the flood of podcasts on one side, and the rise of computer-generated streaming algorithms on the other, truly inspired community radio has already been under siege. Will Covid-19 be its death knell? |
| That has been precisely the concern over the past few weeks at Provincetown’s WOMR, which broadcasts out of a quaint old schoolhouse on the outermost tip of Massachusetts’s Cape Cod (and where I have been a past volunteer). With programming steeped in roots music and folk, the idea of being “on tape” seemed anathema to many of the D.J.s. “There was a worry that it would turn into a Pandora playlist,” explained the WOMR operations manager Matthew Dunn. “Yes, we can talk to each other on Facebook, but there’s something very different, very human, about hearing each other’s voices in real time.” | That has been precisely the concern over the past few weeks at Provincetown’s WOMR, which broadcasts out of a quaint old schoolhouse on the outermost tip of Massachusetts’s Cape Cod (and where I have been a past volunteer). With programming steeped in roots music and folk, the idea of being “on tape” seemed anathema to many of the D.J.s. “There was a worry that it would turn into a Pandora playlist,” explained the WOMR operations manager Matthew Dunn. “Yes, we can talk to each other on Facebook, but there’s something very different, very human, about hearing each other’s voices in real time.” |
| In the end, with Provincetown declaring a state of emergency, WOMR’s move to a mix of new prerecorded and archival shows was deemed the only responsible action. For now, D.J.s email their files to Dunn, whose own computer feeds into the station’s transmitter, which then blankets the entire Cape on 92.1 and 91.3 FM. | In the end, with Provincetown declaring a state of emergency, WOMR’s move to a mix of new prerecorded and archival shows was deemed the only responsible action. For now, D.J.s email their files to Dunn, whose own computer feeds into the station’s transmitter, which then blankets the entire Cape on 92.1 and 91.3 FM. |
| “It’s not ideal,” he admitted, but he’s no longer afraid of WOMR’s programming becoming homogenized. “As long as we have individual, independent, amateur citizens making our content, we’re going to be weird,” he added warmly. | “It’s not ideal,” he admitted, but he’s no longer afraid of WOMR’s programming becoming homogenized. “As long as we have individual, independent, amateur citizens making our content, we’re going to be weird,” he added warmly. |
| Yes, he continued, “you lose some of the immediacy by pre-recording. But listeners are so grateful that we’re able to do anything. They’re terrified right now!” He pointed to his own afternoon show, where uplifting funk records — already a mainstay — are getting even more spins. “As much as anything else, this is an opportunity to spread joy at a time when people really need it,” he said. “We’ve had some things taken away from us, but radio is not one of them.” | Yes, he continued, “you lose some of the immediacy by pre-recording. But listeners are so grateful that we’re able to do anything. They’re terrified right now!” He pointed to his own afternoon show, where uplifting funk records — already a mainstay — are getting even more spins. “As much as anything else, this is an opportunity to spread joy at a time when people really need it,” he said. “We’ve had some things taken away from us, but radio is not one of them.” |