The first week...

KNOM opperates in a unique way. It doesn't sell any advertisements. The station earns its money from donations. People all over the country donate money to get newsletters updating them on the status of the radio station. With no advertisements, KNOM takes the opportunity to fill that void with educational information. This is where my job becomes important to the station. I am the Educational Production Director at KNOM. I create educational spots varying on issues from substance abuse to native culture. These spots, similar to radio ads, range from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Most of them fall around the 1 minute range. After I create them, they are rotated into the system and broadcasted with the music. In addition to the production position, I deejay for about 12 hours a week. I have a 2pm to 4 pm shift and all day Sunday.

KNOM has a large listening audience and is well known in Alaska. There are reports of KNOM being heard from places varying between Kodiak, Barrow, and the Russian coast. In addition, many of KNOM's listeners live in a small house with no running water on an island. The radio gives them a sense of comfort in their isolation during the dark winter.

This week I learned more about my position and started taking over some of the tasks. I started writing some of the spots (educational clips that are broadcasted) and deejayed my first 2 hour shift. In addition, I was introduced the NexGen program and was granted time to explore the archives to get ideas of what I should write.

Outside of work, I have been exploring the town. I have gone on walks to up to the tundra. In addition, I have gone on bike rides by the beach. The picture above is a picture of a house in Fort Davis. This area is located approximately 3 miles out of town and has about 15 small houses. The military was forced to move up here to create a more lawful environment in an area full of gold and greed. In 1920, the gold rush started to die down so the military moved out. Meanwhile, a majority of Fort Davis was wiped out during floods and storms. Only a few houses remain in this area that is called "The Last Frontier."