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Independent Radio

By independent, I mean unaffiliated with any larger corporate or organizational entity such as ClearChannel or Westwood One. It also rules out most public radio that is heavily tied to NPR or PRI. College radio stations are the prototypical independent stations, although they have typically had limited reach into the surrounding community. Lately, largely thanks to the internet, some stations have gained a large public following.

One local station, WBER, of which I have been a fan for many years is a good example. They are technically the radio statoin for Monroe County BOCES, except you would never know that by listening. They play new "alternative rock" and have a substantial audience that reaches across the Rochester area as well as the internet. On some shows DJs select the music and listeners regularly vote on "test tracks" that may or may not make it into full rotation.

A couple of other examples I have stumbled across recently include KCRW out of Santa Monica, CA and WNCW out of Spindale, NC. Both stations can only be described as eclectic. KCRW plays a mellow mix of international, adult contemporary, jazz and blues. WNCW (the station I have been listening to the most lately) plays plenty of bluegrass, jazz, blues, reggae and rock.

These stations have been growing in popularity and are seen by many as a valid alternative to mainstream radio. If you like your music raw, unpasteurized and unhomogenized, you should check them out too.