Last week, the founder and Director of Electromagnetism of the Prometheus Radio Project, Pete Tridish, announced his departure from the organization.
Beginning from a background in unlicensed broadcasting based around the Philadelphia station Radio Mutiny, Pete was instrumental in not only organizing microbroadcasters in the lead-up to the FCC’s debate over LPFM more than 10 years ago, but he also worked tirelessly to convince Congress to pass the Local Community Radio Act late last year, which will expand the number of LPFM stations on the nation’s dial.
Apparently, his departure has been in the works for several months, but the announcement was held off so as to not detract from the LCRA advocacy campaign.
In the announcement, Pete writes, “I have always been baffled by the strange customs and traditions of the non profit sector. Everyone in DC knows I never quite fit with the DC mindset. And I never gave raising money the focus it needed in order to grow the organization and the movement.
“I did my best, but fortunately community radio has grown enough that it can field stronger new leaders in my place. I’ll best serve everyone by moving towards my bailiwick as a trickster and mischief maker, and away from my weakness as a non profit administrator.”
He’s not going to be far from radio, though: in addition to remaining a consultant-on-call for Prometheus as the last nuts and bolts of the LPFM service are determined, he’s heading to Honduras this month to help construct new community radio stations in an effort to assist indigenous peoples amplify their resistance to corporate mining interests that have decimated their environment.
You can keep up with Pete’s happenings at his own web site.
The staff of Prometheus has been beefed up over the last year or so. Pete says the Prometheus team will remain “absolutely ferocious in their struggle for community media,” and I have no doubts about that.
LPFM broadcasters and advocates alike owe Pete a huge amount of gratitude and respect for being so tenacious and making the unlikely a reality with cleverness and aplomb.
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