Alternative media for victims of Katrina

Oscar Reyes. Sometimes I think there should be a ban on the phrase ‘grassroots activism’, since its far more said than done. But here’s a great example from the US.

Independent media activists in Texas are launching a community station to serve refugees from Hurricane Katrina. The station will be based in the Houston Astrodome, where thousands of evacuees have been relocated. The Prometeus Radio Project, which is committed to not-for-profit broadcasting and the democratisation of the airwaves in the US, is behind the project, with the help of Houston Indymedia.

A team of volunteer professional engineers and technicians has already been gathered to help set up the new station. But although federal authorities have granted permission for a 30 watt, low frequency radio transmission, they have demanded that volunteers provide 10,000 receivers before the station can be set up. Not the most helpful piece of bureaucratic diktat, but let's hope they get there.

‘This station will provide critical information for families putting their lives back together, as well as the comfort of programming made by refugees and volunteers in Houston, just for them’ said Hannah Sassaman, an organiser at Prometheus.

When the station is up and running, it’ll be possible to listen online at http://evacuationradioservices.org/