Funds from a $50,000 Radiometres grant are going towards hiring paid staff and developing programming at CJMP, Powell River’s community radio station.
“This is a chance for the station to really connect with and grow our audience in a way that we haven’t been able to before,” stated Carrie Swiggum, past president of the Powell River Community Radio Society, in a media release.
According to the release, since returning to the Powell River airwaves in 2011, CJMP has received several grants from the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
Funds from the Radiometres grants have been used to hire Swiggum as news director, Mel Edgar as station manager and Giovanni Spezzacatena as community engagement producer/editor.
Swiggum, who will also assist the station to develop programming, stated that CJMP intends to create a weekly news program. The station will offer free training workshops for volunteers on journalism and the technical aspects of radio news production, according to the release.
The station will also be undertaking a fundraising campaign to increase listenership.
One area currently being targeted for fundraising is CJMP’s Top the Tower campaign.
The station is aiming to raise $15,000 to move its tower to higher ground to expand the reach of the broadcast. The campaign runs until May 7.
The station’s FM signal currently reaches approximately 10,000 potential listeners and after the tower is raised it is estimated that number will increase to 50,000.
For more information, go to cjmp.ca.
