Our First 365 Days

On July 16th, 2016 the first sounds of Takoma Radio were broadcast from our storefront studio on Westmoreland Avenue to the ether and beyond (with the help of our live stream online of course.) Getting there wasn't easy - it took five years of organizing, training, and fundraising to produce the equipment, programming, and enthusiasm to get this project off the ground. But once 94.3FM came alive with our voices, people got it. They understood that the station is a powerful tool for engaging the community. It's a means to foster understanding, strengthen bonds, and discover our neighbors in new light.

Through the work of our all-star Programming Committee, highly skilled tech team, and countless other individuals donating their time, Takoma Radio has launched 53 programs on the air since July 2016. We have 80 trained volunteer programmers who now produce 75 hours of original programming each week. Most of our programmers live within our broadcasting range - all have a connection with Takoma. We want our station to represent the whole range of who lives here. With over 18 genres on the air, and a diversity of talk, dramatic, and syndicated programming, we are getting there.

Moving forward we would like to bring more unheard voices from the community to our airwaves. We will soon be launching a youth media program so  local teens can learn the skills and responsibilities involved with radio production. Also, we’re adding a community youth hour to our program schedule so young people can drop in and share music, poetry, and stories from their lives. We aim to offer more programming in Spanish, French, and Amharic to target different language groups. And we will bring back studio open houses - times in which community members can drop by and see live radio at work - and even bring a couple tracks to play on the air. We hope to use this type of innovative programming to move us toward our mission of building community through radio.

Interested in being a part of what we are building here at Takoma Radio? Visit TakomaRadio.org to apply for a show, to learn about our projects, and to support our initiatives with a tax-deductible donation.

With love,

Trex