There’s a new radio station on Peoria’s dial: WAZU 90.7 FM. Since I read about it in Steve Tarter’s column in the Journal Star, I’ve been checking it out regularly. It’s “a non-commercial station operated by Illinois Central College.” The format is community radio, which is described by Wikipedia as “a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial and public service.”

The station is just getting started, which is obvious from all the signal drops over the past few weeks (it’s gotten much more stable in the past week or so). Tarter quoted ICC President John Erwin as saying, “We’re in the beta stage working out all the engineering pieces.” During this “beta stage” they are also doing no original broadcasting, but instead simulcasting KZGM (KZ-88) out of Cabool, Missouri.

The programming is pretty diverse (in type and style, if not political viewpoint). Unlike commercial and public radio stations, community radio doesn’t limit itself to one musical format. Music on WAZU/KZGM runs the gamut from Bing Crosby (who has a whole one-hour show dedicated to him Saturday mornings), to rock ‘n roll of the 50s and 60s, to Trance Music and progressive music, to folk music, to local musicians.

There are also a number of local (for Cabool) music and talk programs; in fact, more local programming than anything we’ve seen around Peoria in decades. The talk programming is not just news, but also gardening, puzzles, schools, health, etc. The news programming is decidedly liberal; they make NPR sound like Fox News. National news shows include Pacifica Radio’s “Free Speech Radio News” and “Democracy Now.” The narrow political viewpoint is a concern to at least one listener who has contacted me, saying:

From the December 17, 2009, ICC Board of Trustees meeting minutes, page 3, “Dr. Robert Ehrich commented that he is concerned with political views, and Dr. Erwin responded that the commentator is restricted from giving political opinions.” […] So far, it’s the only thing that I’ve heard on WAZU FM. I’m curious if WAZU will program a wide variety of political viewpoints, or not.

I don’t know if this answers my reader’s question, but according to WAZU’s new website:

WAZU hosts, who are referred to as “programmers”, are to be accorded the maximum amount of editorial freedom possible. The only requirement is that they adhere to WAZU’s mission statement, all programming must be educational and non-commercial, must serve the cultural welfare of the community, and must contribute (or at the very least not be a detriment) to a lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors.

I’m looking forward to hearing what kind of local programming will be produced here in Peoria. So far, I’ve found community radio to be a welcome addition to Peoria’s radio dial, offering something completely different from existing radio stations. The Cabool hosts are interesting and entertaining; hopefully Peoria hosts will be also.

In other radio news, Peoria Pundit is reporting that four local FM stations have changed ownership recently.