WRTE Pumps Up the Volume
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But in Chicago, at least, low-power radio has won a small victory. Next month, WRTE (90.5 FM), the 8-watt bilingual radio station owned by the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, will boost its signal to 73 watts, which will bring its programming to listeners as far south as 79th Street, as far west as Oak Park, as far north as Fullerton, and as far east as Canal Street.
And it’s not just an after-school clubhouse. “At the end of the two years the students know how to create a radio program from the ground up,” says Rodriguez. Each year WRTE takes between 40 and 60 new students, who are immersed for three intense months in the rules and techniques of broadcasting. They learn from local artists and professionals, like sound artist Jeff Kowalkowski, poet Brenda Cardenas, and NPR reporter Yolanda Perdomo. They train in the studio, and then request time slots, which they fill with programs of their own creation. Their final requirement is to maintain a show with professional standards for one year. Since only a few classes have graduated from the program so far, it’s too soon to judge its job-placement record, but several alums have already landed work at the Spanish-language paper Exito and at Channel 66.
