In 2024, WRFR-LP Rockland programmer and board member Rachel Albury ran into WERU East Orland station manager Matt Murphy at the Common Ground Fair. Rachel and Matt chatted about the challenges of running a community radio station and how important community-run media is, according to a Jan. 27 news release from the Maine Community Radio League.

WRFR is a volunteer-run, low-power station with a 5-mile broadcast radius from Gay Street in Rockland.

On the other hand, WERU has both paid staff and volunteers and a broadcast radius that extends to Midcoast, Downeast and Central Maine from its studio in East Orland and transmitter on Blue Hill Mountain. Both stations are non-commercial stations that produce content unique to their communities.

Hyper-local, community-produced media is a precious resource. In the past few years Maine has seen many historical, local papers close up shop which means less coverage of news and events in Maine communities. Community stations can help fill this gap. WRFR, for example, launched a new show called Good Morning Rockland to highlight organizations and events in the Rockland community. WBFY-LP in Belfast broadcasts the meetings of the Belfast City Council live. WERU has locally-focused programs like Around Town, Talk of the Towns, and What’s the Word on Main Street. 

For this reason, Rachel and Matt decided to bring together staff and volunteers of Maine’s community radio stations to share best practices and resources.

Matt called on Vic Tredwell, manager and co-founder of WBFY-LP in Belfast, to help form the Maine Community Radio League. Vic invited stations WRGY-LP Rangeley, WSHD-LP Eastport, WRCP-LP Readfield, WHPW-LP Harpswell, WXNZ-LP Skowhegan, as well as Maine’s college stations to join the League.  Online meetings began in March of 2025 and continue monthly.

In the summer of 2025, the Community Radio League had its first in-person gatherings at WRFR in Rockland and then WBFY in Belfast. Folks from as far as Rangeley, Harpswell, and Eastport drove to Midcoast Maine to meet fellow community radio broadcasters and chat on-air about their unique radio stations. Another round of such gatherings are planned for May and September of 2026.

Community radio broadcasts from unique spaces: WRFR is a converted garage on a residential street, WBFY is in a basement of a former public school (now Waterfall Arts), while WRGY broadcasts out of a theater’s box-office in Rangeley. These stations provide a voice for their communities; whether it is interviewing city council members, showcasing local musicians, or sharing the times and locations of warming shelters on the coldest nights.

During the first online meeting it was discussed how community radio stations may struggle to find enough programming to fill a 24-7 schedule as they build their team of volunteer programmers. To help out, Vic created a server where programmers and program directors can share and download recordings of radio programs.

There are around 15 different programs on the server that include radio theater, antique recordings, local concerts, Native American oral traditions, and LGBTQ+ topics. Not only does the bank of programs help stations add unique Maine-produced shows to their schedules, but it expands the listenership of these programs that may have previously only aired in a short radius from their low-power stations of origin.  

By the way, the “-LP” designation in the call letters of most community stations stands for Low Power, meaning that they are licensed for no more than 100 watts of transmission power.  “Broadcasting with the power of a light bulb, this is …”

The Maine Community Radio League that began informally is quickly becoming a strong network of local media, helping more communities in Maine go live, on the air.

If you are part of a Maine community radio station, or want to start one, you are invited to join the League. Email Vic Tredwell at wbfyradio@gmail.com to learn more.