Take WPKN, for example. The station is 100 percent listener supported, which means the station's entire budget comes from listener contributions. Not even corporate underwriting or government grants are accepted there. More than 75 different programs hit the airwaves every month, ranging from folk and blues to reggae, latin tunes, public affairs programming and punk rock. If it's on a CD or record, it's on WPKN at one time or another.
Every piece of music is available to every programmer at any time.
Unlike commercial radio stations, there is no set format, and there are no records kept as to which are the most popular shows. On my way home from work at night, I usually find myself listening to the Pacifica report, a syndicated daily news program, followed by blues on Thursdays or a women's music hour on Tuesdays. No matter what I tune in to, I know that the people on the other side of the transmitter love what their doing, and no record company executive or corporate backer is influencing what gets put on the air. Besides Minot and one part time assistant, everyone involved with the station is a volunteer. The doors are always open, with listeners coming in to visit the station and help out all the time.