Just when you think you have Reggie Woolery’s modus
operandi pinned down, he starts talking about the art gallery.
Okay, so in addition to putting out internet radio broadcasts, his new Sag
Harbor operation will also serve as a place for local artists to present their
work. Fair enough. We’ve got it now.
But wait, there’s more. As if talking about a lemonade stand, the deadpan
technophile announces that his business model also includes virtual technology
tutorials, a media resource library and internet rentals. And these services are
augmented by faxing, copying and e-mailing services to boot.
“It should be interesting,” the former Ross School dean of media coolly
observed last week. “It’s a pretty different approach to things.”
More sleek than geek, the confessed techie and East Hampton resident projects a
persona far from the pocket protector image often associated with computer
technology expertise. The self-professed “jack-of-all-trades” sports a jazzy
hi-tech demeanor accented by black-rimmed glasses, closely cropped hair and film
festival fashion sense. His sentences are economical and informational. There is
always the sense that he has thought everything out and is convinced of its
viability.
The native of Detroit is more than a computer wizard. He paints, he makes films, he teaches and he designs. The focus of his work is technology, however. He refracts his other pursuits through this prism. For Mr.
Woolery, technology is a means to an end.
“People don’t really interact too much, or at least have the opportunity to,”
he said last week at a gathering to launch the new station based in a former
youth recreation center run by Sag Harbor Village. “I want this to be a
virtual commons area for the community. Somewhere people can come and exchange
ideas and express themselves.”
So far so good. The reception attracted old Ross School associates, young and
old, students and teachers and members of the public. They admired Mr. Woolery’s
discerning eye for an offbeat space, noting his transformation of the former
center for physical recreation into a dojo for new intellectual disciplines. A
tiny DJ booth anchors the room and Mr. Woolery’s own paintings line the walls.
Shelves in the middle of the floor house media resource books and internet
connected computers that cry out to be started up. The home of Radio Free
Hamptons is small, smart and neat, much like the man himself.
While technology is often blamed for shackling people to their desktop monitors rather than liberating them from their homes, Mr. Woolery believes just the opposite. His ultimate mission, he said, is to build a bridge across the digital divide, broadcast by broadcast.
He hopes his internet radio station, Radio Free Hamptons, will meld different segments of the East End community together through mass participation. The sounds and words emanating from the small Sag Harbor storefront can be heard around the world by anyone with a computer and internet service.
The station will webcast from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Shows from noon until 6 p.m. feature live DJs and interactive programming. Other segments will feature pre-set
playlists. RFH will serve as a training ground for aspiring DJs and those interested in music industry careers. In addition, Mr. Woolery hopes to receive demo tapes from local bands. Non-profit organizations can also send in public service announcements for complimentary airing.
The station’s potential, he said, is as limitless as its audience. He hopes to
collaborate with Bay Street Theatre to broadcast live events. He wants local
school kids to get involved. “The success will depend on how much community
involvement we can get,” he said. “You don’t have to be an expert. You
just have to have an interest.”
Attracting minorities is a priority, he added, lamenting the lack of black and
Latino youth with access and expertise in the technological age.
RFH is currently looking to hire talented and responsible teens to serve as program DJs. Segment shifts range from 2 to 4 hours. Independent community producers are also needed to create and sponsor one-hour daily/weekly shows.
The schedule will include eclectic music, local personalities, programs by and about teens, artist profiles, book readings, sports spotlights, and a municipal news magazine. Regular public service announcements spotlighting social, cultural and environmental issues will be an important part of RFH programming, Mr. Woolery said.
The venture is the product of a long, winding and varied educational route. Mr.
Woolery began his itinerant adventures in art and technology at the Parsons
School of Design at the age of 17. It was there that he discovered his affinity
for the wired world and exploring its potential. He pursued several interests
during his early years in New York, focusing specifically on independent film
production. Slowly, his interest in the internet took hold—as much for the
political and social implications of the new technology as anything else.
“New things are developed basically to make money or to create power,” he
said. “But the internet is still relatively free at this point. Who knows what
will happen in the future, but now there aren’t too many barriers to becoming
involved with it and saying what you want to say. If you have access, of course.”
He left New York for a residency at the Banff Center for the Arts in Calgary,
Canada. From there he moved on to the Critical Studies program at the Whitney
Museum in New York, where he explored art theory. His train then rumbled on to
New York University, where he focused on ways to humanize technology and to
research how it affects art and education. He then signed on for a one-year
residency at Cornell University’s Society for the Humanities.
On his last day at Cornell in 1999, he noticed an intriguing job ad for an
experimental venture in education in Eastern Long Island known as The Ross
School. “The description seemed perfect for me,” he said. The position
seemed tailored to the educational route Mr. Woolery had taken.
It was there, during his tenure as dean of media, that Radio Free Hamptons was
born. The web-based project allowed students, teachers, staff and listeners to
participate in running a radio station. The programming included music,
documentaries and other selections broadcast live from the Ross School’s
Center for Well-Being. Mr. Woolery relayed his DJ and technical expertise to all
those who took part. Inclusion was the theme.
With the new Sag Harbor location, Mr. Woolery hopes to expand the scope and concept of Radio Free
Hamptons. The moniker is taken from Radio Free Europe, a U.S. government-funded station that pierced the Iron Curtain to share uncensored information and promote the free exchange of ideas in Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
It is a lofty source of inspiration. And Mr. Woolery’s goals are nothing if
not lofty. They sprout blithely from his conversation seemingly every other
sentence. “I want to get kids to learn how to listen instead of just receiving
images,” he said of the radio broadcasts.
“There are no real community spaces for artists in this area,” he mentions.
“I wanted to provide that, especially for people of color.”
“There is no entertainment vocational training here,” he said. “The kids
are interested in it but they have to leave the area to pursue it. Hopefully
this will give them the opportunity.”
“Eventually I want to franchise this business,” he said. Mr. Woolery knew he
was taking a risk by taking leave of his steady Ross School paycheck to dive
into the internet radio business full time, especially since his income will
depend more on community participation than on advertising revenue. “I think
it has that potential. I want this little space to grow.”
That, he said, will depend on the community. “A radio station is nothing
without an audience,” reads the self-portrait on the station’s website. “Check
us out.”
Sag Harbor’s new commons area, he hopes, will be packed.
To tune in, direct your web browser to www.radiofreehamptons.net and follow the links. Listeners will have to download Real Player to access the audio.
