FLAGSTAFF — Community Radio station KSZN-Flagstaff 101.5 FM, Radio Sunnyside is selecting and training program hosts, organizers reported in a media release.
The station is tentatively scheduled to go on the air in late May, organizers reported in a Facebook post.
“Have you thought it would be fun to spin records on a radio station? Share your music collection or knowledge of music history with the world? How about having access to the largest public access music library in Northern Arizona? Or maybe you like music but are more interested in hosting a radio program that interviews your neighbors about issues they are concerned about and folks who are active in making the world a better place,” organizers reported.
To be eligible for selection as a programmer or program host you must attend one of our four May meetings where you will fill out a volunteer application and interview with our Volunteer Coordinator or Project Leader. Please email us at mac@radiosunnyside.org to RSVP. We will send you the meeting times and location.
KSZN is Flagstaff’s first listener sponsored Community Radio station to acquire a FCC construction permit and build a transmission system. Our transmitter and antenna systems have been installed, and tweaked, our broadcast studio is complete and now we are beginning the volunteer programmer selection process! Attend our DJ and news production sign up meeting to find out more and to receive your programming application.
Founded by the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, Radio Sunnyside will feature programming designed to highlight the varied cultures and eclectic demographics of Flagstaff’s communities.
At full stride KSZN will produce over an hour of local news and 2 public affairs programs per day, hosted and produced by station based producers and local neighborhood based and community and service organizations. KSZN will air upwards of 18 hours of music programming like no other station in town. Music programs from reggae to hip hop, mariachi, corridos, fronteras, soul, funk, jazz, and blues, and country, rock, folk, and Americana ignored by commercial and public radio alike. KSZN, Radio Sunnyside is a tri-lingual station, presenting programming in English, Navajo, and Spanish. If this sounds like something to help out with come to find out how to sign up to be a DJ or program host!
More than 90 percent of our regular weekly programming will be created and produced by scores of volunteers working live from the studio. We have interviewed, selected, and trained a number of the volunteers who will produce the first broadcasts and we are looking for up to 50 more good people. If you can imagine yourself hosting a music show, public affairs program, or doing reporting for newscasts contact us today!
All of the music programmers will be you or your neighbors playing a diverse selection of music and providing information about up coming community events, city council and county supervisor meetings and offering observations on current proceedings. We will have the ability to broadcast live from notable community events.
Based out of the Mercado de los Sueños (The Market of Dreams) on 4th Street, Radio Sunnyside will feature a fulltime news department producing daily news stories about Flagstaff communities and issues effecting neighborhoods and Flagstaff citizens. Our public affairs programs will range from programs produced by station based programmers presenting issues from a broad swath of issues affecting those who live and work in Flagstaff, the Sunnyside neighborhood, and other low and moderate income neighborhoods in the city.
Public affairs programs will allow community organizations and listeners to discuss issues such as environmental quality, city response to neighborhood issues, our National Forests, water issues, housing, streets, dark skies, workers rights and labor issues to mention just a few. Some programs will be hosted on a regular basis by representatives from neighborhoods and community organizations allowing for a broader and more direct discussion of the issues facing Flagstaff residents and voters.
There will only be 4 meetings in May and space will be limited. To be eligible for selection as a programmer or program host you must attend one of these information meetings, fill out a volunteer application, and interview with our Volunteer Coordinator or Project Leader. To reserve a seat at one of these meetings email our program selection committee at mac@radiosunnyside.org today!
No previous broadcast experience necessary! Community radio is not a staff of slick professional sounding DJs and announcers but a conglomeration of real people producing programs of interest for their community. All community based radio stations develop their own style and feel over time. It’s an organic process that encourages participation not exclusion.
Visit https://radiosunnyside.org for more information.