POSITIVE THINKING: #3

Today, EC offers up the third installment in the POSITIVE THINKING series. EC is 24 years old and is currently "in transition" between jobs. It appears she had a little bit more trouble than most in coming up with something positive -- perhaps because, like us, she is still stinging from the election results. However, after a bit of struggle, she has managed to fight through her cynicism and create a quite original conception of what it is she loves about our province: community radio. One more thing: EC supplied a headline with her contribution, and although every post in this series get the standard "POSITIVE THINKING: #X" title, we thought we had to mention it because it somewhat hilariously encapsulates her struggle to come up with something. Her title for the following contribution: "Community radio in Alberta: The hidden gem in a land of tar."

A few weeks ago I was kindly asked by my friends at AGRDT to write a guest post about something that I love about Alberta. I’m not going to lie, at that point  it was quite difficult for me to come up with anything I liked in Alberta. I was still trying to come to the realization that 22% of the people surrounding me had just successfully elected the Conservatives to 87% of the seats in our latest version of a provincial government. But, now that the days have passed and the sun keeps coming up in the morning, I’m starting to cheer up, and realize that Alberta is my home and while I may not be happy about the election outcome, it does provide an opportunity to  highlight my favorite thing about this province. Now more than ever, there is a critical need for alternative and oppositional voices to be heard in this province and we here in Alberta should consider ourselves lucky that we have such vibrant community radio stations.

While there are a variety of ways which progressive people have found to get their message out, community radio in Alberta has been a great vehicle for many alternative voices. There are hundreds of volunteers across the province, who work tirelessly to bring a brilliant alternative to mainstream radio. While there are many great music programs that continuously play the latest and greatest in (predominantly) underground music, I particularly love Alberta's amazing collective of alternative journalists who gather in grassroots radio news rooms from Edmonton to Lethbridge. For the past two and a half years, I have been fortunate enough to work in one of these news departments and as a result have had an abundance of amazing experiences. Yes, I have had the opportunity to interview a lot of great authors, musicians, community leaders and academics, but more than anything I have had the privilege of working with dedicated and impressive people who have made it their mission to bring real, uncensored and pertinent news to Albertans.

Each week they bring timely news about the environment, aboriginal issues, women’s issues, alternative gardening and much, much more. In addition to the great programming that community radio stations in Alberta offer, I’m continuously astounded by the culture that has been created by these collectives. It doesn’t matter what you look like, what your gender is, what you wear, or how old you are, everyone is accepted. Come to think of it, for me, these radio stations are like a safe space where critical thinking is not only allowed, but is encouraged. It might seem like I’m describing any where on a university campus, but it is different, at community radio stations pretentiousness and egos are checked at the door. Fresh, new ideas, radical or not, are constantly filling the air. I love that the person who has their doctorate in English is working on the same show as a first year engineering student, both are given the same credibility, both are viewed as equals.

Now you may be thinking: big deal, there are grass roots, community radio stations in many cities all over this country, what is special about Alberta? Well, I have been many places all over the country, and I have talked to many people at similar radio stations all over the country, and everyone is continuously astonished by the programming that is put out by Albertans. While progressive may have been defeated in the mainstream political arena, we are still thriving here in alternative spaces, and community radio continues to be a medium where our voices will always be heard!