WKID 96.7 FM

"The only radio station in the world that is owned, operated and managed by children."

WKID 96.7 FM

OUR BLOG

MEET THE CREW

HELP US OUT!

LISTEN AND VIEW LIVE

INTERVIEWS

NEWS STORIES WE ARE ON

FIELD TRIPS

EQUIPMENT

EVENT CALENDAR

PREVIOUS EVENTS

ON AIR GUESTS

SPONSORS & DONATORS

OTHER WEB RADIO SITES

CONTACT US

STORY WRITTEN IN GERMANY:
Floridalaisilla Bakerin perheen pojilla on poikkeuksellinen harrastus, sillä he pyörittävät tiettävästi maailman ainoaa lasten johtamaa radioasemaa. Clearwaterin pikkukaupungissa toimivan WKID-aseman ohjelmia toimittavat 12-vuotias Adam ja 6-vuotias Eric Baker sekä parikymmentä heidän ikätoveriaan. Radioaseman perusti Bakerin poikien isä Rodger, joka on koko elämänsä haaveillut omasta radioasemasta. Radioalan osaamista Rodgerilla piisaa, sillä hän vastaa viestintäyhteyksistä paikallisen sheriffin toimistossa. Isä-Rodger pulitti radioaseman lähetyslaitteistosta 2 500 dollaria. Aseman kuukausittaiset toimintakulut ovat noin 1 400 dollaria, mistä suuri osa menee toimittajakunnan syömiin pizzoihin. Iltaisin, viikonloppuisin ja loma-aikoina toimiva radioaseman journalistinen linja painottaa myönteisiä uutisia. Sodista, rikoksista tai politiikasta ei kanavan uutisissa kerrota. Aseman musiikillinen linja ulottuu hiphopista kantriin ja klassiseen musiikkiin. Radioasema ei joudu maksamaan tekijänoikeuskorvauksia soittamastaan musiikista, sillä asema on epäkaupallinen ja maantieteelliseltä kattavuudeltaan pienehkö - aseman ohjelmat kuuluvat vain noin 800 metrin säteellä radiolähettimestä. Uutislähde: STT
Scrollbox Code from KillerKiwi.net
TAMPA BAY NEWSPAPER:
Kids start their own neighborhood station BY TAMPA BAY NEWSPAPERS By JIM HARRINGTON CLEARWATER - Clear Channel and Citadel Broadcasting Corporation may rule the radio waves and hire big game talent with their treasure chest of millions. But even Nancy Alexander had to start somewhere local. With that in mind 10 kids in an area not far from East Bay Drive and Highland Avenue have formed their own neighborhood radio station. The idea to go live on radio came just before Christmas when Roger Baker got his son a stereo kit. He had fun listening to his CDs, but with some inspiration from his dad, Roger, Tony realized he could take music to the next level and one-way broadcast to his friends. His dad should know a thing about radio equipment. He works in the radio shop at the Pinellas Sheriff's Office. "My supervisor told me to make sure everything" was above board and legal, Baker said. With about $2,500 in equipment, including a 25-milliwatt transmitter, a mixer and an amp, the boy and his friends, who attend Largo and Oak Grove Middle Schools, and Belleair Elementary School, began their operation once school let out for the summer. Tony Baker, Michael, Tony, Adam, and Matthew, all 11 and Jack, 10, work the board everyday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. airing a mix of sports news, weather, rap and disco music and newspaper articles of interest to youths. Broadcasting on 96.7 they also got the scoop on other media outlets when they announced sheriff's deputies would start using a new patrol car-mounted camera to scan license plates from patrol cars. Listeners at businesses like Frank's Barbershop, a local BP gas station and a real estate company tune into the low power station which covers only about a 1-mile radius from the antenna outside Baker's house. With matching T-shirts, the youths plan to start a 9 p.m. newscast. The boys use similar equipment to that used by ham radio operators. Unlike ham radio operators, who typically work their equipment as a hobby as well as during emergencies to help the general public, the youths use one-way communication. Hammers usually work on a two-way communication system, where one operator will talk with another through a hand microphone, said Dee Turner, a member of the St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club who also coordinates communications with the parent organization, the American Radio Relay League. Operators of ham radio, as well as the youths use modern equipment in an "old school" form of social networking. The term social networking, according to TechWeb's "TechEncyclopedia" was first created by J.A. Barnes, a professor who used the word to define a group of about 100 to 150 people whose common denominator is work or family. It's now applied to the Internet. Web sites like MySpace.com and Classmates.com, among others, comprise some of the more commonly known domains on the net. But e-mail, cell phones, instant messaging software and text messaging are all part of social networking. Speaking of the Internet, the youths are thinking of taking their act onto the Web. "We're thinking of starting our own Web site," said Baker. In the meantime, they can communicate with their fans by e-mail. Send a message to wkid967@yahoo.com. Or go postal at Roger Baker, P.O. Box 17481, Clearwater, FL 33762. Article published on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2006 Article last modified on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2007 Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved.
Scrollbox Code from KillerKiwi.net
12-year-old DJs take to airwaves At night and on the weekend, their station broadcasts an eclectic mix. By JONATHAN ABEL Published May 27, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lots of people have a radio in the bedroom, but one Clearwater boy has his own radio station. On a recent weekend afternoon, a dozen boys and girls, all around 12, gathered in Adam Baker's stuffy bedroom, a single ceiling fan whirring above them. Two kids swiveled on chairs. The others talked into the microphone. All the radio gear -- a mixer, a microphone, a few radios and other electronics -- was balanced on a desk underneath Adam Baker's bunk bed. Outside, there was a 30-foot metal antenna. Most of the kids attend Largo Middle School, but despite their age, they have an uncanny appreciation for the cadence of radio. They simulate the small talk of on-air personalities, albeit with more sincerity and less profanity. Even the weather is read with vigor. "We're probably the only kid radio station," Kade Ballogg said with pride. For this distinction, the kids can thank Adam's dad, 40-year-old Rodger Baker. Three decades ago, Baker wanted his own station, but the best he could do was an AM radio kit that barely broadcast beyond the living room. Two Christmases ago, Baker, a communications maintenance technician for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, decided to surprise his two sons by assembling a low-power station in the house. The overall start-up cost was $2,500. Unofficially dubbed 96.7 WKIDS, the station's signal has a mile radius, carrying along S Highland Avenue as far north as Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard in Clearwater and as far south as Rosery Road in Largo. The station broadcasts an eclectic mix from classical and hip-hop to country western and "Weird Al" Yankovic. During the school day it's silent. But weeknights and all through the weekend, as many as a dozen kids from the neighborhood take turns as disc jockeys. The scene at the Baker house is both cutting-edge and quaint. Baker's radio station is part of the vaunted democratization of the airwaves, but it is also a throwback to an era before iTunes, myspace.com and the blogosphere -- a time when radio was king of entertainment. The programming is sometimes a work in progress. Minneapolis becomes "monopoly" in one news story. Shouting and giggles break out in the room. A cell phone goes off. "Oh. Hi, mom." One kid slaps another. Still, the overall scene is impressive. "It inspires other kids that they can take action and do whatever they want," said Summer West. Many of the kids come over just to hang out with friends, but others say they want to go into radio as a profession. Adam badly wants a license from the Federal Communications Commission so that the station can turn up the juice on its broadcasts. But that will have to wait. The power level is a source of constant concern for Rodger Baker. His nightmare, he said, is accidentally going over the legal limit and getting busted. But if he wanted to -- and this would involve breaking the law -- he could turn up the power on his 30-foot antenna and broadcast throughout Pinellas County. Baker has buzz-cut brown hair and a slight sunburn. He used to run a DJ company that played birthdays, graduations and school dances, but he was always too shy to do the actual disc jockeying, so he just handled the technical side of the show. He hopes the station will teach the kids to overcome their shyness and, in the process, improve their reading. Reading into the ether is scarier than reading in front of a classroom: Anyone could be listening, everyone could be listening -- unless, of course, no one is listening, which is always a possibility with this small station. Even as the kids depend on Rodger Baker's guidance, they are already pushing him to learn more. The pint-sized DJs want to stream online. They want their show to go worldwide. "That would be something I'd love to do," Baker said. "I just can't find anybody who knows how to do it and teach the kids." Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4157. By the numbers 30 feet Height of the antenna the kids use to broadcast 1 mile Radius the station reaches from the south Clearwater home. 96.7-FM Where you can tune in if you're in the neighborhood © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South - St. Petersburg, FL 33701 - 727-893-8111
Scrollbox Code from KillerKiwi.net
A radio station that kids around Thursday, October 11, 2007 Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adam Baker is among the kids who run WKID 96.7 FM in Clearwater. CLEARWATER (Bay News 9) -- A Clearwater radio station that features everything listeners would expect - music, news, sports and weather also features one thing other don't - it's manned entirely by kids. At station WKID 96.7 FM, run inside a the Clearwater home of Adam Baker, children act as disc jockeys, meteorologists, reporters and even staff management. The station broadcasts live from 5 to 10 p.m. on weekdays. And on the weekends from noon to 10 p.m. Music is played during all other hours. All the live broadcasts are streamed on the internet. More Information Radio Kids WKID 96.7 FM About two dozens kids, ranging from eight to 15, work at the station, including 12-year-old Adam Baker. In describing his duties as a station manager, Baker said his job includes "keeping track of everybody, because they'll be sometimes playing and I'm like, 'come on, we got to get the news done." The kids like being involved at the non-profit radio station for various reasons. Joseph Watson said he likes meeting new people and getting out of the house. Summer West, meanwhile, said working at the station helps her in school and expand her vocabulary. Producer Skyler Bronson said being involved at the station isn't always easy but it's usually a good time. "Sometimes it's hard,' Bronson said. "And sometimes it's easy." By: Bays News 9
Scrollbox Code from KillerKiwi.net
This is the some textWashington - Kids in a small town in Florida intend to write media history with what they claim to be the first radio station run only by children. "The only radio station in the world that is owned, operated and managed by children," the website for WKID 96.7 FM confidently proclaims. Adam Baker, age 12, and 24 cohorts ranging in age from six to 12 - plus the mascot, American dingo - have been running the station in Clearwater, Florida, for 20 months. The project is the brainchild of Adam's 40-year-old dad Rodger, who always wanted to run his own radio station but never worked it into his busy life as a communications maintenance technician for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The young journalists are well versed in handling microphones, amps and mixers and insist that adults stay outside. Only Adam's father who donated the 2,500-dollar equipment - and continues to fund the operation to the tune of about 1,400 dollars a month - is allowed into the inner sanctum. "My dad won't let me put up the antenna if it's storming because of lighting," Adam said in a telephone interview. WKID transmits mainly at the weekends, evenings and the holidays, and the kids are proud that they produce the programmes all on their own. "My dad is always listening us to make sure we have fun but yet keep it professional," Adam said. The editorial meetings take place at the headquarters of the young radio station - Adam's bedroom. The team is determined to produce a complete radio station. The music they choose has amazing diversity: Not only Pop and Hip Hop but also classical and country music are played. The kids don't sweat the music copyrights, since they are not commercial - and furthermore, are very smallish. Their driving principle when it comes to news is this: "Only Clean News." This means no dispatches about crime rates, war or politics. The main news session is transmitted every evening at 8 pm. The weather forecast is presented by the youngest member, Eric Baker, age six, and the younger brother of Adam. Frequently the young journalists make reportage-trips in the neighbourhood. They recently interviewed Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats, for example. Apart from music and news, it is important for the team to have contact with their listeners. At the weekends they have a flea market on the programme, where listeners offer all kinds of furniture and other small items. The young broadcasters used to allow listeners to call directly into the studio, but they have stopped that because of the interruptions to their programmes. One time, the studio telephone rang while they were on air, and another two cell phones also started to sound. "One of the funniest times while we were live on the air is when our cordless home phone started ringing and we couldn't find it," Adam recalled. "During our search for that phone while one of the kids were trying to read the news, another one of the kids' cell phone started ringing, and then another. So we had three phones ringing and everyone racing to find them and answer them." "We learned from that day. No phones in the room! We finally found the other phone under the bed, how it got there no one knows." Rodger Baker's monthly 1,400-dollar outlay covers the costs of music, internet cable, printer ink and paper, equipment breakage, and trips to the zoo, museums, baseball and football games and other outings for reporting - a considerable cost for one individual, but a real bargain when measured by the costs of professional radio. In addition, it pays for the cases of water, gallons of juice and 20 pizzas or so every weekend. "They can eat and drink a lot," Baker said in an e-mailed response. In future, the fledgling radio journalists hope for new sponsors: With a cooperation of a local company, the kids plan to post their programme on the internet. Then they hope for young listeners from all over the United States - and perhaps even advertising revenue. Meanwhile, 96.7 FM continues to transmit in the 0.8 kilometre radius around the Baker's neighbourhood. By: The Earth Times
Scrollbox Code from KillerKiwi.net

Kids in a small town in Florida intend to write media history with what they claim to be the first radio station run only by children. "The only radio station in the world that is owned, operated and managed by children," the website for WKID 96.7 FM confidently proclaims.

Adam Baker, age 12, and 24 cohorts ranging in age from six to 12 - plus the mascot, American dingo - have been running the station in Clearwater, Florida, for 20 months.
By: Newsvine

Clearwater, Florida - With 9 kids preparing for the 8 p.m. newscast it gets packed in 12-year-old Adam Baker's room, His bed sits high to make room for a radio console and microphone. For the last year kids from the neighborhood have helped to run 96.7 F.M. The group calls the station WKID.

The signal travels about one mile from the Clearwater bedroom.

The radio station has been up and running for two years. Roger Baker built the low power station for his son, but says WKID has taken off in the last year.
By: TampaBays 10
Thank you all Sponsors and Donators. If you are interested in Sponsoring or donating to our 501 C3 non-profit childs organization, please call us at 727 423 9400. ( TAX DEDUCTABLE! )