One of the nation's most innovative youth media projects could soon fall victim to withering budget cutbacks -- but the Latino community that the project serves isn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Radio Arte, 90.5 WRTE, is a Latino-owned, youth-driven public radio station operated out of Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, a hub of the Mexican-American community in the city. It broadcasts in Spanish and English, playing an eclectic variety of Latin music as well as public affairs and news-related programming.
The station, and the youth training program that it runs, are funded by the National Museum of Mexican Art, which bought the Class D radio station from the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago fifteen years ago.
Over the years, it has provided a home for hundreds of Latino youth -- including many undocumented young people -- to express themselves creatively, and learn the basics of radio production to give a voice to their struggles and the struggles of those in their community.
But like so many nonprofits around the city and across the nation, the NMMA is looking long and hard at its budget, as funding sources across the board have run dry. And the red ink at Radio Arte came under scrutiny.
"There was a point early in the year when [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] funding was at zero. At zero," said Carlos Tortolero, president of the Museum, in an interview with Huffington Post Chicago. The station gets financial support from the CPB, among other places.
"All federal, state, and local funding has at best stayed the same, and meanwhile costs are rising," he said, citing maintenance costs at the decaying building where the station is housed.
After debating the matter, Tortolero and the museum's Board of Trustees decided they had no choice but to sell the station's license, equipment, and facilities. Thus far, he's met with such potential buyers as DePaul University, Chicago Public Media, and California-based Radio Bilinguë.
Tortolero insisted that he wasn't ending the museum's involvement in youth radio, which he helped start in 1996. Instead, he suggested a transition toward online podcasting and a broader array of new media journalism, which could dramatically reduce overhead and allow the program to grow.
He also suggested it might be sexier to potential donors than a radio station. "It's become a bit passé with the funders," he said.
That answer isn't good enough for Martin Macias, who hosts a show on the station and has taken it on as a cause célèbre.
"What we're asking for is the antenna, the transmitter, the name, the frequency and the license to stay in the community, to stay in the hands of the people," Macias told HuffPost Chicago on Wednesday of this week.
On that same day, he and several others affiliated with the station announced the formation of the Latino Independent Media Cooperative, a group they hope to attain nonprofit status. The cooperative plans to make a bid to the museum to take over the station.
And Macias assured that he had plenty of support at his back. "Radio Arte is a nationally recognized media group, with support from some of the biggest foundations in the city," he said. Ricardo Guzman, a radio producer from Mexico with a wealth of experience in community-based radio projects, is backing the LIMC. And the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has made a commitment to the station that Macias hopes will carry over.
The cooperative is so far still in its infancy, but it hopes to compete with the bigger fish for a chance at keeping the station's outreach programs, and its frequency on the dial, active.
Macias and other Radio Arte supporters were piqued by the Museum's seemingly abrupt decision to sell the station. "We were excluded from the process, it has not really been transparent," he said.
But Tortolero said he was exceeding his obligations to the youth of the station. "When it comes to finances, the Board of Trustees is completely in charge. The fact that I went and talked" to the Radio Arte organizers, "that's complete transparency.
"The kids are upset. Sure, you should be upset," Tortolero said. "I wouldn't respect them if they weren't."