BBR Pitch
what is Bitterroot Beacon Radio?
(note: friends who’ve heard enough of me yakking about this project can stop at the first divider)
In short, BBR is an independent broadcast station with news and interviews, combining national and international content with local features for the Bitterroot valley. If successful we’ll expand to FM radio.
At a recent gathering we were standing around in the kitchen, beers in hand, and I uttered the now tired refrain, “Oh, that would be good for a BBR feature.”
Leon Black looked at me, and barely masking skepticism in his voice, said, “When is your first broadcast?”
Translation: You’ve been talking about this thing for over a year now. When are you going to poop or get off the pot?
The answer is: I will poop on Tuesday, the 19th of this month. First day of spring!
So I’d better get rolling. I’m all-in, sort of, considering…
the extent to which I’ve talked this thing up.
the room for the studio that is near completion, kindly offered for our use by Pastor John and his wife Lorraine.
all the equipment purchased by Bernd from kla.tv.
the joint effort it has been to build the studio, plus furniture donations and such. (Many thanks to Lukas, Bern, Heike, Lars, Ed and Bonnie, Rick, Kyle and others I’ll mention later.)
Last week we worked on soundproofing and there is quite a bit less echo now. A couple more strips of used clothing or blankets to hang from the ceiling and walls and that should be done. With all the funky carpets, paisley comforters, and various sheets hung here and there for sound dampening, none of it matching, Pastor John says the room looks like an old hippie hangout.
This leaves only getting the lighting right, which will require a meeting with my German tech team this weekend, in preparation for our first interview. (update: first interview is in the can: James Roguski- KLA will broadcast it next weekend.)
When Bernd and Heike came for their winter visit in January, I arranged a get-together at the church and combined the meet-the-charming-German-couple soiree with a half-hearted announcement of the start of BBR (and kla.tv Studio Montana). Fred VanCamp was there and he said, “So, for those who don’t know, Dan, tell us: What is Bitterroot Beacon Radio?” I had a semblance of an answer which really wasn’t satisfactory for a formal announcement, and I think I left the crowd a bit puzzled. The problem is, I’m not quite sure how this is going to develop.
-What? You’re starting in exactly a week and you don’t have everything all mapped out?!
Take it easy. As Proverbs 16:9 telleth us,
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.
So I’m just getting this thing going on the premise that
Media is almost all fake. Most everything on the radio is either woke (MTPR/NPR/BBC etc.) or Conservative Normie (talk radio- Hannity, Shapiro, etc.), and the music stations aren’t any better. For example, who out there on the airwaves gives you the straight lowdown on the vax? Therefore,
We need honest, local radio.
I intend to fill the void with BBR. Truth-bomb radio! Precisely what is broadcast and how it is done is still in the works, but I have a rough plan and enough content to get started.
BBR- Bitterroot Beacon Radio; A website; Video-uploading channels; Streaming internet site; Podcasting app/website; Social media (gag); Eventual spot on the FM dial.
That’s it in a nutshell. If you want the long, stream-of-consciousness version, read on.
We start with content and a website and video channels to get it out (Rumble, Odysee, even despicable Youtube to direct normies to the free-speech platforms), then work our way to the below-mentioned stuff.
The website will have top stories; latest interviews. archived videos; a button to click for 24-hr. streaming (listen now).
Income generation:
For starters we offer all content for free and depend on donations and my day job, like the majority of dissident, truly-independent journalists. Later we introduce advertising, doing our best to keep it honest. Ideally I’d like to see local advertising on BBR, and not be yet another vlogger trying to schlep freeze-dried, survival linguini. If advertising revenue or a donation from Huey Lewis, who apparently lives just down the road, reaches a level that starts to approach a sustainable living income, I scale down on the chain-gang work and devote more time to journalism.
The content
News. Interviews. Special-topic talk shows. Also music, sports, weather (lol-Montana), kids shows, miscellaneous variety.
Here is a pitch I was considering giving to a local conservative club:
Driving home the other day, I tuned in to 1240AM, out of Hamilton. Every other station in this valley is either corporate woke, good for music occasionally, or NPR, good for knowing what insanity they're trying to feed us. There are also a few channels with religious programming, but none of the above have a commitment to boldly telling the truth when it comes to news and commentary. I've tuned into 1240 twice and didn't hear any local news. It was just syndicated, conservative talk radio. The first time it was a couple guys lamenting our crummy government and the people in charge. They had negative stuff to say about LGBT, and Biden's latest gaffes, and Ilhan Ohmar and AOC and other low-hanging fruit. They had nothing to say about the war in Ukraine, for example. The second time I tuned in it was the Dennis Prager Show. His special guest was the “outstanding American patriot, Mike Pompeo,” our former secretary of state. This seemed to be a put-the-feelers-out exercise in seeing if the American public would go for Pompeo as next president. Pompeo talked about how tough it was to do his job in Washington with the swamp all around him. He defended Trump but when he was asked whether he thought the last election was rigged he weaseled out of that one and said something to the tune of, “All elections suffer from anomalies.” He of course said we needed to continue supporting the Zelensky regime and the Ukranian people in their brave struggle. Prager didn't ask how far he thought we should escalate against the #2 nuclear military power in the world. He also didn't ask about Iran, which Pompeo can't wait to reduce to ashes. Finally Prager asked him about a run for president in 2024 and we lie, we cheat, we steal Pompeo said he'd be honored to serve the nation, but we haven't made a decision yet, bla bla bla.
Honestly, my conservative friends, it was no better than the junk on NPR. You know by now that both sides are against the people, and both sides are destroying the country.
Listening to 1240, and NPR, and the commercial, don't-rock-the-boat music stations, my conviction was strengthened: we need an alternative.
My plan, for a number of years now, has been to continue with interviewing and create a popular vlog that features all, or at least the best of my interviews. I'd like to get to the point where I'm regularly interviewing, perhaps twice a week, perhaps daily, like Joe Rogan, some day. Of course this is a flooded market and even if I could get a decent following, it's a whole another matter whether I could make enough money to survive. Joe Rogan and Steven Crowder are allowed to stay on YouTube and make their millions because they only go so far. I don't want to be held back by what the YouTube censor are telling me is permissible. I want to cover all topics, even the most controversial.
But how to do it?
The idea of 24/7 streaming is new territory for me and I'll be learning as we go, but I'm excited about it. I've been keen on the idea of a radio station for the Bitterroot Valley since 2020, and I've also had the dream of creating a popular video channel where my interviews are featured… With internet radio, we can combine these. I'm envisioning a webpage where listeners/viewers can 'tune-in now' or select from the archived video and audio files. We will feature:
local content, as well as a national and world perspective
archived work I've done for KLA
weekly original Beacon Radio shows
music streaming
public service announcements for Ravalli and Missoula counties
Here is a sample of shows that could be programmed in a week. Not from the get-go, but something I think could be implemented if I'm able to work on this full time (perhaps in mid Autumn?).
(caveat- I’m not guaranteeing any of the following and haven’t made agreements with the following names about it yet)
Monday, 8pm: Interview of the week. From KLA and my own channel.
Tuesday 7pm: The fix it brothers. My contractor buddies talk construction, landscaping, plumbing, painting, electric, tools, machines, vehicles/auto repair, do it yourself, and everything else under the handyman umbrella. For sure to be a call-in show.
Wednesday 7pm: Wednesday night with pastor John. Dan's questions to begin with. As we start streaming it becomes a call-in show.
Thursday 8pm: NPR watch. I reality-check the enemy. Not just NPR, but all mainstream media.
Friday, 5pm: Bitterroot personalities. or, So, What's Your Story?, a show featuring local people with a story to tell or an expertise to talk about.
Saturday 10am: Face of Freedom Show with Rick and Leon, the AnCap Twins.
Sunday: Sloan Youngblood’s weekly Hellfire Address.
Sunday evening: Children's programming.
Of course all these shows would be repeated throughout the week at various hours.
other shows/ideas:
Articles from the web, especially from the best of the Substack writers.
Readings. Non-copyrighted books for audio-book readings. There are tons of good short stories on Libravox and Guttenberg Project that can be used without paying royalties. With all the great voices I know out there, plus existing free recordings, we could get a nice little library of stories. We could even have multiple shows with different genres: mystery theater, comedy, history, etc.
music. we create our favorite playlists
more music- guest musicians from the valley and beyond. live and recorded.
sports update and maybe live broadcasts of baseball and such by local high-school kids
weather forecast (or divination as it were, since weather prognostication in MT is as inexact a science as you can get)
police blotter??
announcements: upcoming sporting and cultural events, sales/flea markets in the valley
letters to the editor- read aloud
debate hour. in person or zoom
guest host
kids guest host
call in show themes: cooking, gardening, arts and crafts, investing
classified announcements- voiced want ads. Wanted and services offered. the local, organic economy.
live show with audience at the Roxy, etc.
personals- man seeks woman and vice versa (full stop, heh)
on location, beacon radio presents: guest speaker/lecturer/performer at performance hall, etc.
name that tune
jokes hour. call in your best jokes
playhouse review- review of the opening night show at local playhouses, including Missoula, to help listeners decide if they want to go.
once a month shows:
Report from Japan with Guy Gin or Kitsune
Report from Latin America with various guests
Report from Africa with Nick Hudson
anti-war report with Scott Horton
etc.
stuff outside studio radio work:
beacon radio sponsored events. 10K. open water swim. group hike. Volksmarch.
community betterment. big group clean ups, trail maintenance, etc.
paid announcements
commercials
I know; I’m thinking big. Let me know if you like any of these ideas, dislike them, or have something else you think should be added. And if you have any ideas about the technical details or business end of this, feel free to educate me; I’ve been doing independent, volunteer journalism for a number of years now, but as for running a radio station, I’m a beginner.
OK, Leon is right; enough talk already.
That sounds like a great lineup of shows. It makes me wish I were local. I can say from experience that you’re an extremely talented interviewer, and people desperately need sane, decent radio shows, so I wish you all the best for BBR. Since you asked for suggestions and comments, here are a few ideas all jumbled together in no particular order.
• I love what you describe for the “Thursday night reality check”. (Is that the show title? It’s catchy.) It’s so hard to find a news roundup that is realistic and hopeful without peddling false hope. I’m sure those shows are hard to put together, but at least the world regularly provides you with things to talk about. But really, I think all your show ideas sound good.
• Might I also suggest a local news feature that would allow people to vote their conscience for your local representation? People often say that local representation is what matters most, but it is very hard to get a sense of what is going on in local politics, and you might provide this. For example: a friend of mine complained that local politicians only show up at his farmer’s market when elections are near. I suggested to him that if he ran a blog tracking their appearances, these visits would probably get more regular. He agreed, but figured that building an audience for the blog would be a lot of work. But if an outlet like BBR is willing to give you a platform, it might change that calculation for people in a similar position.
• Another possible show: “The Gun Show” A feature, possibly interview style, on the basics of shooting, new ammunition, gun news, gun law. Possibly sponsored by local ranges who might tie it to promotional events featuring the new ammo/guns being profiled.
• Another possible show based around Joel Salatin’s pitch that “You Can Farm”. This could be an interview with a homesteading family, but it might also be shorter and consist of homestead hacks aimed at an audience who don’t have a lot to spend and are looking to supplement their food and become more resilient and want practical tips to start buying and hatching some eggs or get relatively quiet backyard chickens or buy some small livestock or whatever.
• Chesterton is one of those public domain authors that you might consider. He had novels and such, but he also has a vast archive of articles and essays, many of which are delightful and relevant today.
• Another possible idea might be a homeschooling show. I think you could interview homeschooling moms and an older generation of successfully homeschooled kids. Homeschoolers are always interested in how people handle the transition from homeschooling to work or university or college. Also there’s a lot of variation in curricula that might make it interesting to interview widely.
• Yet another possible show might be a book club. I’m a former sci-fi fan but I pretty much gave up on the genre when every book became a leftist sermon. I learned recently that a group of libertarian/anarchist/vaguely conservative authors have started up their own book club and distribution hub (sadly only available in the USA) complete with a book of the month: https://basedbookclub.com/ If you were looking to do a niche book club, that would offer you/your host a monthly source of books to review and discuss.
Sounds good.