FORT BRAGG — Voices are powerful, and words become crucial threads, holding the community together. But social distancing is no match for sound information.
Multiple avenues of information provide a spectrum of perspectives in the community. On local airwaves for example, key voices come through, readily-accessible, divulging updates and anecdotes with tact and a touch of coastal personality.
Bob Young, chairman of the citizen-funded radio station 107.7 KNYO, detailed what he believes is the outlet’s reach.
“We represent the people of Fort Bragg; our coverage is five miles,” he stated. “I think we represent most local musical tastes: we have roots music, rock ‘n’ roll, lounge music. We also have a couple national news shows.”
But most importantly, Young said, KNYO’s ongoing role is as an educational outlet for Fort Bragg — despite face-to-face interviews being put on hold and volunteers having to remain socially-distant from the station’s studio.
“We’re an educational corporation, so the idea is to bring new people on, and we really can’t do that right now,” he said. “We want to provide good media to the community but that’s kind of our number two priority; our number one priority is providing access to a studio for people who want to learn about radio.”
The media KNYO provides to Fort Bragg and beyond is directly influenced by feedback from its donors, making it directly accountable to the community. This type of broadcast-listener symbiosis is a welcome occurrence, Young said.
“I don’t know if this is entirely true, but lots of times we don’t hear from anybody unless they complain, and when they complain, that means they’re listening,” he said. “Most things in radio are complaint-driven. I appreciate when somebody calls up and says, ‘You know, that doesn’t sound right,’ or, ‘I don’t like that,’ and we can discuss it. I think the small things do really make the media more accountable.”
Young praised local media sources for filling the void with viable information.
“We don’t have a local news component (here at the station),” he said. “For one thing, we don’t have the staff, we don’t have the money. But the other stations really cover it well. I think we have a great media landscape here, I’m really happy with it.”
In addition, surrounding media outlets have been doing their part to reach listeners on a personal level as Tom Yates, co-owner of local radio station 95.3 The Coast, described.
“Crisis or no, what we want people to get from us is the stuff they need to make their daily lives better, whether that’s information in terms of our news, our public service announcement, or just an entertaining companion, it’s on all those levels,” Yates said.
The Coast combines its platform with updates from first-responders, city and county officials, spreading crucial information county-wide.
“We have a close relationship with all the city and with all the county,” Yates said. “They’ve done an excellent job; the county has done an incredibly good job. And all the cities have too: Fort Bragg, Point Arena, Ukiah, Willits have been excellent about getting information, telling us what they need, getting stuff to us that they want put out on the air.”
As KNYO and The Coast continue mediating information through the county’s radios, elected officials such as Fort Bragg City Council Member Jessica Morsell-Haye remain focused on widening the line of communication between local government and the general public.
“The biggest challenge has been making the space for public feedback,” Morsell-Haye said. “Not everybody has access to the Internet; emails are a big part of public comment but some people don’t use email. Typically they’ve been coming to the podium for the [city council] meeting, but now there’s no podium for them to go to.”
She said the change has been a challenge, but the council wants to protect people’s right to have their voices heard in public meetings.
Replacing time at the podium with video-conferencing calls is one of the ways Fort Bragg’s City Council listens to its constituents. Social media also serves as a major player between residents and officials, according to Morsell-Haye.
“A lot of people are dealing with the stress and uncertainty by lashing out via social media,” she said. “They’re finding it as an outlet, this mass communication, but it’s going in all different directions,” she stated. “People can use that energy and frustration and sense of powerlessness to find proactive steps to take together. That’s the most powerful thing we can do to bridge that divide.”
While sometimes challenging, communication during a pandemic remains integral to the fabric of the community.
According to Yates, past crises have been catalysts for community unity — and COVID-19 is no exception.
“This pandemic is a whole different creature. As The Coast, we’ve been here almost 30 years. We’ve seen … fires, long-term power outages, serious storms, road closures, floods — and this is just the latest,” he said.
“Our experience has been that people come together in these times. Sure there’s always dissent, there’s always the doubters, and that’s with any situation. But in this particular case, the county and the area have overall come together to be supportive.”
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