Last Station Standing

by Bruce Schimmel

Bruce Schimmel Jim Bear, in the studio of G-town Radio.com

In everyday life, Jim Bear sounds like the IT guy that he is. Dry, a little nasal, precise.

"You're listening to G-town Radio dot com," Bear growls gently into a mic, while his fingers race around audio boards, "the sound from Germantown."

Bear and I are in a second-floor apartment above Maplewood Mall that serves as G-town Radio's studio. It's stark but tidy. A sign in the bathroom reads, "The success of any community endeavor is measured by the cleanliness of the toilet." G-town's toilet is spotless.

"Please meet us later today at InFusion coffee shop," Bear now purrs. "We're doing a remote broadcast with two DJs. Come in for a warm drink."

The microphone at gtownradio.com is, of course, potentially connected to millions. But on this sunny Sunday at noon, there might be 10 listening. Still, Bear's unconcerned. Not now, with the two-year-old station facing a perfect storm of opportunity.

"We're just waiting for the rest of the world to catch up to the idea of Internet radio," he says. "And when it does, we're ready."

Internet radio has been around for several years, and yes, it's still asleep. According to one industry report, Net Applications, portable Web browsers represent less than 1 percent of total browser use. But with the advent of the iPhone, the number of Internet-enabled cell phones is growing. And in Germantown, Web phones are especially attractive as a cheap shortcut across the digital divide.

The rise of Web phones means that Bear can put G-town Radio into the palms of residents' hands.

With the recent sudden death of the Germantown Courier, which served the community since the 1930s, the little station is the only local media outlet standing.

Though a nonprofit, G-town has significant financial potential. More than 45,000 people live within a 10-minute bike ride, which means that the station can offer the scores of stores on nearby Germantown Avenue a cheap way to reach out.

G-town Radio's shows reflect Germantown's diversity, with music programs for hip-hop, R&B, '70s and '80s house music, old-time jazz and arcane classics.

The station's news and talk lineup includes a local comedy hour, and programs on money, health care, fashion and technology.

HALF OFF DEPOT

Why live life at full price?

Typical is People, Places and Things, hosted by Charing Ball, a former Courier reporter. Earlier, Ball did a segment on the movement to legalize and tax marijuana. Straight talk, it was hilarious. "There's going to be a lot of black farmers soon," Ball quipped.

We then heard from Tweety, a local 'tween fashion model, who told people they should check out the retro treasures on nearby Germantown Avenue.

Listening to G-town Radio, you hear a different sound. It's the flipside of what you get in the Daily News or on Action News, with their din of murder and mayhem.

And as a child of new media, G-town Radio is cheap to keep. The station has yet to garner grants or solicit commercial underwriters. It's financed primarily by some 20 volunteer on-air producers, who pay a $20 monthly fee.

As for listener subscribers, at the moment G-town has few. For unlike WHYY, G-town has yet to do on-air fundraising.

But neither does it pay its CEO three-quarters of a million dollars — which has kept me from contributing anything further to WHYY. I'd much rather write a check to G-town, which I did as Bear wrapped up his show.

Signing off, Bear transferred the signal to InFusion, where his DJs started spinning discs. As Bear arrived there, a crowd of singles, parents, children and the occasional toddler packed the coffee shop.

Some were already dancing among the tables, moving to the happy sound of a community in the making — courtesy of a new medium that's about to be born.

Audio and images at citypaper.net/canon. E-mail bruce@schimmel.com.