The Community Radio Reader is an editorial site about radio, not a station. We don't broadcast, we don't sell airtime, we don't represent any operator or trade group, and we do not hold an FCC license of any kind. This is a publication. The subject is radio, and specifically the parts of the medium that rarely get written about outside of trade press and a handful of old mailing lists.
What this publication covers
The scope is deliberately narrow. We write about local and community radio as a cultural form. That breaks down into six working beats:
- Radio Culture. Format history, the AM to FM shift, local voice versus syndication, and why the sound of a well-run local station still registers as something distinct.
- Community Broadcasting. The FCC LPFM service authorized in 2000, noncommercial educational stations, volunteer operations, and the gap between public radio and truly community-owned radio.
- Station Stories. Histories of small-market outlets, format flips, silent frequencies, and the shaping events of the last century of American broadcasting.
- Listening Guides. Practical notes for listeners, from finding good stations on a road trip to the basics of shortwave reception.
- Audio and Streaming. Where internet radio, podcasts, and terrestrial broadcasting actually meet, and where the comparisons get lazy.
- Resources. A short reference shelf of policy, trade, and historical sources for readers who want to go deeper.
Editorial principles
A few rules the publication runs by:
No sponsored content. Nothing on this site is paid placement. No advertiser picks topics. No brand gets a soft landing because of a relationship. If something is worth writing about, we write about it. If it isn't, we don't.
Plain language. Radio already has too much jargon. We explain terms when they first appear, use real numbers when numbers matter (LPFM is 100 watts maximum ERP; full-power FM classes run from A through C0), and avoid the padded phrasing that shows up when writers don't know what they want to say.
Real history. Claims get tied to specifics. The 1934 Communications Act established the FCC. The 1996 Telecommunications Act removed national ownership caps and triggered the consolidation wave. KDKA is credited as the first commercial U.S. station. WSM carried the Grand Ole Opry. WLW ran 500 kilowatts experimentally in the late 1930s. WBAI and WFMU are part of why freeform has a cultural memory. These are the reference points we work from, not vague appeals to "the golden age of radio."
No stunt claims. We do not claim to be a station. We do not run call letters in the masthead. We do not advertise a frequency, a coverage area, a transmitter, a studio, or an on-air schedule, because none of those things exist here. Anyone looking for an actual broadcaster is in the wrong place.
What you won't find here
No breaking news. No corporate earnings coverage. No hot takes. No listicles of the top ten anything. No affiliate links to gear. We also do not cover the mechanics of running a commercial cluster, because the trade press does that work already and does it well.
What we do cover, we try to cover carefully. That is the whole of it.