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Networked Blogs
Oct
16
Want To Make A Difference In Energy Policy?
Filed Under alternative energy, Chicago Public Radio, Dick Lugar, economic development, economy, Election 2008, energy, gas prices, Hammond Indiana | 2 Comments
Want to make a difference in energy policy issues affecting the United States and your personal pocketbook during this election season?
An opportunity to stand up and voice your opinion in a forum that promises attention throughout Chicago and Northwest Indiana presents itself.
All you need to do is show up and voice your opinion. One of Sen. Richard Lugar’s staffers will be on hand for the energy forum, so maybe your ideas could make a difference in the way America responds to energy issues.
Northwest Indiana is at the forefront of energy issues — we have BP in Whiting. Windmills are producing energy in Benton and Newton counties. Steel mills are cranking out the metal for more windmills. We have some of the highest energy prices in the nation — special fuel blends and high residential energy rates. The E85 corridor runs right through our region on I-65. Trash-to-ethanol using Lake County trash could soon be a reality.
Don’t you want to be a part of shaping the future of energy issues? Stand up and voice your opinion. For or against off shore drilling, ethanol, more nuclear power, trash-to-ethanol, BP Whiting expasion, wind turbines in Lake Michigan, share your ideas with other opinion leaders right here in Northwest Indiana.
WBEZ plans an energy forum at Purdue Calumet in Hammond on October 28. You must RSVP before October 24, see details below.
Here are the energy forum details:
Energy Issues and the 2008 Election.
Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ 91.5 FM is hosting a community conversation about Indiana’s future energy needs and the 2008 election. This event will be broadcast live from Hammond, Indiana.
Come be part of the audience and join in the conversation. The event will be hosted by Chicago Public Radio’s Gabriel Spitzer along with our Northwest Indiana bureau reporter Mike Puente. Speakers include Marty Irwin, Director of Indiana Center for Coal Technology Research at Purdue University, Celina Weatherwax, District Representative for Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, Jesse Kharbanda, Executive Director of Hoosier Environmental Council, and Otto Doering, Professor at Purdue University in Agricultural Economics.
The event is October 28th at The Calumet Conference Center at Purdue University Calumet, from 5:00 until 7:00 pm.
It’s free, but you must reserve seats by October 24th at www.chicagopublicradio.org/energyforum or call 312-893-2929.
Jan
11
Vocalo: Public Radio For The Region
Filed Under Chicago Public Radio, Northwest Indiana, Vocalo, WBEW | 9 Comments
Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ-FM 91.5 MHz) has been around for a long time, including a presence in Chesterton with sister frequency WBEW-FM (89.5 MHz) for a couple of years. I always thought of the 89.5 MHz frequency as a translator to help push WBEZ’s signal further into Northwest Indiana, but it turns out that there is more. This shows that I’ve been spending too much time in the satellite radio world and have been neglecting some of Northwest Indiana’s local radio offerings.
This summer, WBEW began a service — Vocalo.org — that allows web users to generate on-air content for broadcast on the radio station.
According to Vocalo’s “about” page:
Vocalo.org is a content sharing, social networking site with a BIG twist!
We broadcast the stuff you make on 89.5 FM in Northwest Indiana and Chicago on our live webstream. We take music, stories, commentary, news, and anything else you can dream up.
Whether you make Vocalo.org your home blog (we’re all set up for that) or want to bring your content from other sites, we hope you’ll share your stories, photos, video and audio right here.
I’m going to have to start tuning in to hear some local radio with a NPR-style flavor, but one that is aiming for a different audience than the traditional public radio station, including WBEZ.
Writes Current.org:
Chicago Public Radio’s :Vocalo attempts an ambitious fusion of talk radio with an extensive website where users can network and share their own writings, recordings and videos, some of which will be curated for broadcast by an eclectic team of host-producers.
CPR execs hope this cross-pollination between web and broadcast and within a diverse audience will create a unique, listener-driven sound that draws in Chicagoans disenchanted by the usual pubradio fare on CPR’s existing news-talk service, WBEZ.
Here’s how The Infinite Dial describes Vocalo:
In intent, it’s a next-generation NPR and there’s no shortage of agreement on the need for such a thing. In practice, Vocalo alternately recalls a lot of things–the college radio of 30 years ago, the earliest days of progressive radio, and the almost-completely-lost-to-history black progressive radio of the ’70s. It is also very reminiscent of the “Open Source Radio” experiment on CBS’ KYOU San Francisco.
Don’t worry if 89.5 MHz doesn’t come in where you are, the station provides an internet stream and there are plans to upgrade the station’s wattage.
