Community Radio: Does It Provide Public Access or Community Service?
KKFI 90.1 FM has been on-air now for 25 years. And while founders and long-time on-air programmers and DJs marvel at the station's longevity and distant turmoil, the station continues to measure itself against the wonderful promise of community radio. As a board member for KKFI since 2010 I was interested in exploring what defines community radio. During a lunch recognizing Rick Groom for his volunteer photography work for KKFI, he shared his history in media work. As a long-time phone repairman he wanted to switch careers, bridging his photography studies at the Art Institute of Atlanta. He started his media career in television and video by volunteering to work at a community access TV studio for American Cablevision (now Time Warner) in the early 1990s. Now as a video replay operator for major sports events, he’s active in producing high quality video, but still connects with community and public media. His first impression of KKFI as community radio was that it operated in ...