5:12 p.m., November 26, 1985, a truly historic moment
The Appalshop, convinced that its mission to let mountain people speak for themselves should be expanded, brought to the airwaves of central Appalachia an incredible new voice, 88.7 WMMT-FM.
With not as much fanfare as it deserved and scant resources, WMMT began broadcasting a few hours a day. As word got out and listeners discovered the odd duck at 88.7 on the left of their dials, calls from would-be programmers trickled in. The concept has always been to provide an opportunity for our communities to speak up about matters important to them and what better way than consumer friendly, accessible, affordable radio. However, the struggle at first was just to find people to fill time slots.
Another obstacle was the perception of local folks that WMMT wasn’t a “real” radio station. Having been forever fed the lowest common denominator commercial radio, many had doubts because 88.7 certainly didn’t sound like any station they had ever heard before. The irony, of course, was that not only are we “real people radio,” we are also one of the most powerful stations in the entire region.
WMMT’s transmitter, the highest in the state, is atop Mayking Peak on Pine Mountain, the second highest point in Kentucky (next to Black Mountain) and that gives us phenomenal reach. In the mid-‘90s, in large part because of our listeners’ letter writing campaign and financial support, we were successful in replacing our original 1000 watt transmitter with a 15,000 watter. That enables us to blanket eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia, southern West Virginia and the tips of western North Carolina and east Tennessee.
In addition, we installed translators in hard to reach communities to help overcome the very substantial obstacles created by our rugged mountain terrain. In fact, by the very determined and popular request, our newest went on the air May 11, 2000, at Brumley Gap, Virginia, and enhances reception in Abingdon, Tazewell and Lebanon, Virginia, areas. We now reach a potential audience of 500,000 on the airwaves, with an incalculable Internet audience.
Filling program slots is no longer a problem. After demonstrating its stability, WMMT has become a constant part of thousands of mountain people’s lives. The programming today is created by more then 60 volunteers from throughout the region. WMMT has trained more than 500 people in radio production and more than 50 of the “graduates” have found employment in radio. And many of the young programmers have gone on to study media production in college.
WMMT’s programming is as diverse as its listenership, but we are particularly proud of our commitment to traditional Appalachian music and its descendant, bluegrass music. But we also have killer rock ‘n roll shows, Americana, Celtic, blues, big band, gospel, hip-hop, ska-punk, Kid’s Radio, Rockin’ & Starvin’ Marvin and a world class trivia show.
But 88.7 is not just a great music station. We are also dedicated to providing a forum for discussions on issues of vital interest to our entire region and the world. We do this with our weekly Mountain Talk, a call-in show with in-studio guests that covers the gamut of issues and events. We have produced series on important issues and facets of the mountains, including Appalachian women writers, South African music, pioneering women in country music, Appalachian music, forestry and diabetes. The weekly Coal Report presents news of interest in the coal industry, both here and abroad, and the three-times-a-week Regional Roundup offers a compilation of news from area newspapers.
As a result of WMMT’s scope of work, it has been featured in numerous regional and national publications and has garnered several awards, including the 1999 Outstanding Media Award from the East Kentucky Leadership Foundation.
A year after going on the air, WMMT brought live performance radio, a staple of the early days of radio, back to the mountains. Our first live broadcast from the 150-seat Appalshop Theatre was in November and marked the station’s first anniversary. The show, Bluegrass Express
Live, has now grown to be one of the premiere bluegrass shows in the country and features the very best groups in contemporary bluegrass, including Blue Highway, Dave Evans, Larry Sparks, and the ever popular “Minnie More.” We also broadcast our series of Old Time Days, which have included workshops and concerts focusing on the banjo, fiddle, guitar, storytelling and songwriting.
The Appalshop’s annual Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival and Mountain Arts is the crowning jewel of our broadcasts. We’ve found there are a lot of displaced hillbillies out there and we are hearing from them. We are pleased to be able to provide slices of home for them and people throughout the world. 88.7 is truly the international voice of the mountains.
But one thing has remained steady: our unwavering commitment to provide a voice for the
folks of our region and to provide access to them to speak for themselves.
WMMT is truly community radio, one of only a handful like it in the old country. One moment you may hear a great-grandfather playing his favorite bluegrass tune, another day a teen-ager sharing his love of ska music, a kid talking about his first fish, local musicians being interviewed and playing live, people talking about chip mills or who knows what else.
And you can bet your bottom dollar, WMMT is proud to be here and proud to be the community connection it has become. And we thank you all for being a part of listener supported, consumer-run, mountain public radio.
