Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for the Hardwick Gazette
“I’m a radio nerd.” That’s the self-description of Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, executive director of Central Vermont Community Radio, which operates WGDR in Plainfield and WGDH in Hardwick.
It’s been a challenging time for public broadcasting, but donors have stepped up, said Mulvaney-Stanak, who uses they/them pronouns.
Meanwhile, work continues on a new, taller antenna that will greatly increase the reach of WGDR’s broadcast signal.
They said the station is committed to broadening service while keeping things civil in a time of partisan divides.
“We are intentionally bringing a diversity of voices on the air,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “You can’t be hurtful, you can’t be hateful, you have to cite your sources and remind listeners, people are not political.”
In the face of events like the recent violence and killings in Minnesota, the responsibility of journalists is to “get in the community and to gather those stories and to speak the truth,” Mulvaney-Stanak said.
The station does not take stands, but its hosts can and do, Mulvaney-Stanak said. They’re asked to read a disclaimer like this: “The views on this show are that of myself, the programmer, and do not represent the station.”
Mulvaney-Stanak grew up in Barre and started doing radio in high school, starting on WGDR in the 1990s as a community programmer. In 2021, they were hired to run the station after Goddard College transferred the broadcast license to the community.
Stanak’s journey, and that of WGDR/WGDH, has been filled with many bumps along the road. When floods hit Central Vermont, the broader community was severely impacted. This was around the time the station lost $150,000 in federal funding. Still, the station adapted.
The station focuses on “hyper-local content,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. For example, during the two most recent flood events, the station provided locals with information about emergency housing and recovery resources.
During the next emergency, more local residents will be able to hear a clearer, crisper signal throughout all of central Vermont. That’s because the station is building a new antenna.
A pine forest grew around the old tower on Goddard’s campus, and the trees are now taller than the antenna tower. The new antenna will be at 1,400-ft. elevation, compared to 400 feet before. State funding is helping to upgrade existing gear.
Mulvaney-Stanak said community media offers a glimmer of hope by being a place where people can participate in media and have their individual voices heard.
“The best thing about community radio is that it is made up of the community you know,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “It’s the folks you see at the hardware store, the people you see at the farmers market. There is a local accountability here that is unmatched.”