Back to the Future: Allegheny Mountain Radio and Localism in West Virginia Community Radio

Abstract

Community radio is a form of noncommercial broadcasting designed to serve audiences in a specific geographic area. In recent years, community radio has become a viable alternative to both commercial and public radio, which produce nationally oriented programming designed to attract mass audiences. The value and impact of community radio can be seen through the work of Allegheny Mountain Radio, a three-station network serving a rural and geographically isolated region of southern West Virginia and Virginia.