A Note to our Listeners, Supporters, and the Greater Pittsburgh community
07/15/2013
After years of grassroots reporting including over 300 episodes, coverage of major events like the 2009 G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, presentations to national audiences at the annual Allied Media Conference and more, Rustbelt Radio and the Pittsburgh IMC are facing a gap in volunteer capacity that is preventing the show from airing new episodes for the first time in nine years.
Pittsburgh's Independent Media Center (IMC) was created in 2003, during a time when many communities were excited about a new model of independent media publishing and the possibilities of amplifying our own stories without reliance on the corporate media. In May of 2004, Rustbelt Radio was initiated as a new project of the Pittsburgh IMC. Inspired by programs such as Democracy Now! and Free Speech Radio News, Rustbelt Radio was created as a one hour bi-weekly show of "news from the grassroots, news overlooked by the corporate media." From its inception, Rustbelt Radio has sought to cover marginalized voices and stories, highlight local struggles while connecting them to larger global justice movements, and serve as an outlet for local activists, projects, and organizers to bring their issues to the airwaves.
Over the past nine years, Rustbelt Radio has operated as a low-budget all-volunteer collective. This has allowed us great flexibility in our organizing model, as we are not obligated to spend exorbitant amounts of time fundraising, nor are we tied down by the constraints of funders or foundations. We have been able to focus on our reporting without any restrictions on the political content of our show. We have built media skills among many community members through our collaborative production process. As with any all-volunteer collective, we face the challenges of maintaining an active core of dedicated volunteers as well as engaging new volunteers with the project to support its growth and vision... Full Statement
Pittsburgh Indymedia's weekly radio program featuring news from the grassroots, news overlooked by the corporate media.
Click below to play a recent show in your web browser.
How to listen:
Liveevery Monday at 6 PM on WRCT 88.3FM in and around Pittsburgh, and again on Tuesday mornings at 9AM
If you'd like to get involved in producing news stories or to submit your story, please email radio@indypgh.org. We can also use help with copy editing, interviewing, and hosting!
Rustbelt Radio is supported in part by a Sprout Fund seed award. The Sprout Fund is nonprofit organization supporting innovative ideasand grassroots community projects that are catalyzing change in Pittsburgh.
Each of The Sprout Fund's programs, Seed Award and Public Art, is designed to advance a community initiative from idea through dialogue to implementation, creating a critical mass of activity for positive regional change. Sprout believes a vital component to building healthy and vibrant communities is civic engagement; serving those who demonstrate the drive and the capacity to think creatively about their communities.
With ongoing local support and continued appreciation by the communities it serves, The Sprout Fund will continue to provide an entry point for Pittsburghers to become involved and active in their communities and support projects that have the collective power to shape a new culture and vision for the region.
We also rely on listener support. We appreciate equipment donations and funds - thanks to all of our supporters for supporting us this year! 100% of donations go towards production expenses and equipment for our volunteers. You can donate instantly online at the paypal link below.
Rustbelt Radio for May 20, 2013
05/19/2013
Pittsburgh's Ride of Silence memorializes bicyclists injured on the roads; Cindy Sheehan interviews Margaret Kimberly of Black Agenda Report about the Obama administration's renewed pursuit of Assata Shakur; and the growth of bike sharing programs - Radio Ecoshock looks at the worldwide picture, and we bring you an update on Pittsburgh's new program.[Stream: Flash
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On today’s show, in honor of May Day and Cinco de Mayo, we bring you updates from May day activities in Pittsburgh, an interview with representatives from the Coalition for Immokalee Workers and Student-Farmworker Alliance, and a talk by Gloria Munoz Ramirez on indigenous struggles in Mexico.[Stream: Flash
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Today in celebration of earth day, we bring you a report from statewide grassroots protests demanding that the Pennsylvania DEP put environmental safety above corporate interests, and we bring you a special feature on corporate land-grabbing in Africa, and its implications for food security and environmental health.
On today's show: sportswriter Dave Zirin addresses the intersections of politics and sports, and Susan Crawford on internet access as a public right; a feature by Chicago Indymedia's From the Trenches radio.[Stream: Flash
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* A verdict is reached in the Steubenville Rape trial; * Local employee hour cutting in anticipation for the Affordable Care Act; * On the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Iraqi groups come together to launch the Right to Heal campaign.[Stream: Flash
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On today's show: * Anonymous holds a rally in West Virginia * Stop The Frack Attack in Dallas, Texas * McDonald's Must Pay - foreign students exploited by McDonalds demand justice.[Stream: Flash
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On today's show we look back over our last 8 years and also remain focused on the present while we touch on issues of health care, the prison system, transit, the Fourth of July and more.
Is PNC really your friendly neighborhood bank if a computer glitch can take your home?
Allegheny County public transit faces devastating cuts in funding;
Coverage of Pittsburgh's 6th annual Dyke-Trans March, and;
Pennsylvanians are fighting back against the impacts of shale gas drilling---a mobile home community in Lycoming County fights eviction, and people in Butler speak out against Act 13.
A member of Chicago Indymedia talks about the role of Indymedia in activism
As the war on drugs in Mexico continues to increase the
country's death toll, we speak with one woman working to build peace
through activism and embroidery
An update on the death of John Carter
Rustbelt continues its coverage of the so-called "Bloomfield Bridge Riot"
We bring you several features in honor of earth day, including an interview with filmmaker Craig Rosebraugh on the oil industry
Activist, scholar and writer Dr. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
of the First Nation Anishinabek people answers the question: "Can
Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Survive in the Modern World?"
Black Agenda Radio talks about preparing communities to apply for a low power FM radio license
Wikileaks releases the first of 5 million e-mails from private intelligence corporation Stratfor
The government subpoenas an Occupy Wall Street activist for his Twitter records.
We air an interview from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
about Apple and coverage of Apple with longtime workers' right advocate
and researcher Jeff Ballinger.
Radio Against Apartheid interviewed CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin about her recent experiences in Bahrain
We hear from local activist, Brittany McBryde, on her new documentary, "The Image of Black Women"
We bring you "Calls From Home" a special holiday program which
brings the voices of family members of prisoners to the airwaves as they
send greetings to those incarcerated in the US prison system.
Pranksters release a fake F.O.P. press release claiming an about-face regarding the Jordan Miles investigation
The Pittsburgh chapter of the Human Rights Coalition offers a report from Pennsylvania's prisons
We hear coverage of Philadelphia's People's Tribunal Against Police Brutality and Misconduct
Special coverage in honor of the one-year anniversary of the
Haiti earthquake including a commemoration of the tragedy by a local
rapper, information on a local company who plans to tap energy resources
in the country and also a report from Independent journalist Jordan
Flaherty on corporate profiteering at Haiti's expense
Rustbelt Radio Podcast available! MP3 feed address: http://indypgh.org/syn/rustbelt-podcast.xml
and podcast.net) 
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