WPPM 106.5 FM
Since March 2023, I have been working at Philadelphia's community access radio station, WPPM 106.5 FM. The station is a part of PhillyCAM, the non-profit organization responsible for running the city's public access television channel and WPPM. While there I had many great opportunities to learn from and network with a diverse group of knowledgeable media-making professionals.
Spring 2023 Fund Drive
From May 31st to June 7th, WPPM held its Spring 2023 Fund Drive with a goal of raising $5,000 for the station. Our three-person team planned week-long special on-air programming including a three-hour kickoff broadcast and a two-act live music broadcast from West Philly Porchfest, featuring Philly local bands Vague Positivity and Black Opal, as well as a DJ set from WPPM's own BMatthews. We ended up surpassing our goal and raising ~$7,600 (150% of our stated KPI)! I was responsible for creating and posting social media promotion, appearing on-air during special programming for donor acknowledgement, planning and hosting internal information sessions for programmers and more. The project was successful only because it was so collaborative. Together we planned the Fund Drive, and are more than proud of the outcome.
A.D. Amorosi's Theater in the Round
I also work with Philly-based Variety journalist A.D. Amorosi on our show, 'Theater in the Round,' which covers local live entertainment from concerts to theater companies to film festivals and beyond.
It is my responsibility to produce the show via Streamyard, an online platform that allows the live streaming or recording of multiple people tuning in remotely. To guests, A.D. introduces me as "our engineer and producer." I'd refer to myself as "the guy in the chair" who makes sure things are working behind the scenes. I explain to guests how the recording will go, answer any of their questions, and generally prepare them for the actual recording process. After we record, I use the sound editing software Audacity to edit, mix, and master the mp3 audio file. I have done this weekly for every episode of Theater in the Round since April 2023.
The media players below contain raw audio of an interview guest responding to a question and that same clip after I have trimmed the response. I do this for every guest before mixing and mastering the audio so both A.D. and his guests sound clearer. Ultimately, it just makes for better radio.
DJ Uncle Plebe
Around the World in 60 Minutes
Hits & Misses
I also produce a biweekly music show highlighting music from around the world. Every episode, I feature music from a different country, region, or part of the world. From Brazilian tropicália to Turkish funk, we do a little bit of everything. This show is recorded live in-studio from WPPM 106.5 FM, just one block away from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
On a non-regular basis I also produce a show called Hits & Misses that covers musical collaborations that never quite happened, but came close. The first episode discusses the two occasions that Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis almost made an album together. Other episodes in the can include Prince and Michael Jackson, as well as Paul McCartney and Fela Kuti. This show is pre-recorded and highly edited, as opposed to the live radio DJ style of Around the World in 60 Minutes.
PSA Drive
WPPM had always wanted to feature PSAs regularly on their station, but never found the time to make it happen. Upon hearing this, I jumped at the idea and ran with it. With help from other interns, we came up with a list of every non-profit local to Philadelphia and reached out to them with the prospect and offered them a choice to come in on one of two PSA recording days scheduled a few weeks out. So many non-profits joined me in our Center City studio that we needed to schedule several additional PSA recording days. Some organizations couldn't make it, and opted to have me record a PSA for them. We worked with a diverse range of organizations, including Morris Animal Refuge, the Abortion Liberation Fund, the Food Trust, CB Community Schools, and more.
During all this, I kept track of my actions for an instructional document that would feature step-by-step instructions on how to conduct the PSA drive for any future interns who want to carry the torch and expand WPPM's PSA library.
I've included some PSA examples as well as the first few pages of the PSA Process instructional document so you get the gist.