top
US
US
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Free Speech Radio News to Shut Down

by Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News will permanently shut down at the end of April.
sm_free-speech-radio-news-logo.jpg
For Immediate Release
April 19, 2017

Free Speech Radio News to shut down

Long a go-to news source for community and independent radio stations across the country, FSRN will publish the final Weekly Edition April 28th, 2017.

For seventeen years, in partnership with hundreds of reporters in communities across the country and around the globe, FSRN has broadcast stories documenting wrongdoing, repression and corruption and highlighting the individuals, campaigns and movements working to bring about a more just and equitable society.

After more than a decade as a daily newscast carried on more than 100 stations across the U.S., in 2014 FSRN retooled and relaunched as FSRN Weekly Edition. For three years, the independent media outlet provided news segments to affiliate stations each weekday, and published a 29-minute compilation each Friday that was broadcast on dozens of U.S. radio stations and online.

With social media algorithms deprioritizing audio content, distribution has declined dramatically. Despite funding from individual supporters and the radio stations that carried our content, FSRN Weekly Edition has not been successful finding firm financial footing.

A project to archive FSRN’s content is underway, to ensure all the work that FSRN has published over the years remains available and accessible in the future.

-30-
§Email from Free Speech Radio News
by Global Stories, Local Voices
free-speech-radio-news.jpg
FSRN Friends,

It is with a very heavy heart that we write to tell you Free Speech Radio News will permanently shut down at the end of April.

We are particularly disheartened to go dark in the current political climate, when the stories we cover regularly are so urgently needed. But amid the myriad challenges facing the independent media space, our staff of two — plus a dedicated but very part time tech producer — simply can’t develop the resources necessary to sustain our organization.

For seventeen years, in partnership with reporters in communities across the globe, FSRN has brought you stories documenting wrongdoing, repression and corruption and highlighting the individuals, campaigns and movements working to bring about a more just and equitable society.

Many of you have financially supported FSRN over the years, and we are so very grateful for your help keeping FSRN afloat this long. Radio stations have also paid carriage fees to broadcast our content. But we have not been successful finding firm financial footing, despite applying for major funding from multiple foundations and even the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

We are working on archiving our content, so that all of the important work that FSRN has published over the years remains available and accessible in the future.

We will publish our final Weekly Edition on April 28th, 2017.

In community and solidarity,
The FSRN Staff and Board of Directors
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network