Radio station gives voice to the people

SANDPOINT – It’s time Sandpoint raised its voice, and Yontan Gonpo is trying to make that happen.

Gonpo and three friends are the movement behind Panhandle Community Radio Inc., a potential nonprofit local radio station for the people and by the people.

“We want to try to bring a voice to this community that will talk about what’s really going on,” says Gonpo, an ordained Tibetan Buddhist lama who accurately describes himself as a Buddhist Santa Claus. “We’re helping the community become more aware.”

Panhandle Radio hit the Internet in January. It has an application on file at the Federal Communications Commission for a 100-watt, low-power FM license, but the application is on hold with about 1,700 others. Low-power local stations are not popular with high-power commercial stations, and the FCC under Director Michael Powell, son of Secretary of State Colin Powell, has granted few low-power licenses. So, Panhandle Radio found a voice on computer at panhandleradio.org.

The idea for a community-access radio station for Sandpoint began circulating in the 1990s. The passion was there, but not the knowledge and energy to give it life. About 18 months ago, Gonpo heard about it from a friend. Gonpo was president of the North Idaho Chorale and led several other nonprofit ventures, including one in Nepal. His nonprofit expertise was the power source community radio dreamers needed.

They also needed his organizational skills. Gonpo attended one meeting to hear about the concept and was elected president. The group wanted to offer progressive news and alternative news sources. It wanted to air monthly forums on democracy and sustainability. It wanted people to produce and air their own programs.

Gonpo applied for nonprofit status and an FCC license. To launch the station, the group needed about $10,000 for a transmitter, antenna, control panel and the equipment to put phone calls on the air. The National Federation of Community Broadcasters offers the equipment for a good price, but Panhandle Radio had no money yet.

It didn’t matter. The FCC wasn’t moving on the license, so Gonpo suggested starting on the Internet to expose the idea and generate some support. Satcom Systems, a Sandpoint wireless Internet service provider, volunteered to help.

Satcom already had a bandwidth line that provides audio on Web sites. It shared a portion with Panhandle Radio. Gonpo registered the site and, with his board of directors, set some guidelines for use. They decided the station would offer a free speech, noncommercial medium for the variety of voices in the community. Anyone could use it providing they steered clear of foul language and personal denouncements.

White supremacists were the first to seize the opportunity. They had a message they wanted Panhandle Radio to air.

“We said, ‘Sure, here’s the process. Bring a sponsor,’ ” Gonpo says agreeably. Sponsors cover production costs. “We never heard from them again.”

Gonpo worked six months full-time as a volunteer pulling Panhandle Radio’s Web site together in his home office. He provided links to national and global news and to public affairs programs. He posted recordings of Sandpoint’s monthly Democracy Forum, open microphone night at Di Luna’s restaurant, Sandpoint’s winter carnival workshops, Earth Day parade, high school choir performances and school board meetings.

When the Web site opened, 25 people could listen to programs at the same time. Now, the Web site can support only five concurrent listeners, a cost decision which is pushing Panhandle Radio to earn enough money to support its own audio line. Such lines cost about $3,000 to set up and $1,000 a month to maintain.

Christine Holbert says the cost is worth it. She runs Lost Horse Press, a small publishing company that offers writers’ workshops, readings and a variety of literary events. Panhandle Radio has recorded her guest authors reading their work and lecturing and posted it all for listeners.

“It’s wonderful exposure. I don’t know how many people I’m reaching,” Holbert says.

She offered Panhandle Radio studio space in a new art center she’s remodeling in Hope. The Panhandle Radio board hasn’t voted on her offer yet, but Gonpo is guessing the station has found its home. His research indicated someone in the Hope area has an inactive radio license. Gonpo is trying to track down the person so he can propose leasing or buying the license or getting it donated.

If the FCC refuses to act on Panhandle Radio’s license much longer, Gonpo plans a petition campaign, then a lawsuit to stop the FCC from blocking free-speech radio. Spokane and Moscow each has a low-power FM station that offers alternative news and local programming.

Panhandle Radio is planning a benefit this summer with musicians Kathy Colton, Beth Pederson and Nicole Bailey to raise money toward studio equipment and its own Internet audio connection. The Web site is a good start, Gonpo says, but it doesn’t reach as many people as radio. Until it hits the airwaves, Panhandle Community Radio will struggle to get out the word about the public’s opportunity and to raise money.

“We’re not moving ahead as fast as we’d like, but we’re still maintaining,” he says. “I can’t say when we’ll be on the air, but we will be on it.”