Whole Wheat Radio

Whole Wheat Radio was a not-for-profit, listener-driven online community radio station<ref name="social-customer" /> from Talkeetna, Alaska.<ref name="adn-goes-live" /> It was centered around independent music, and aired 24 hours a day.<ref name="pcmag" />

The station pioneered several social and technical webcast feats, including the use of wiki software to collaboratively catalogue music,<ref name="ktna-weather" /><ref name="jwalk-wiki" /> interactive house concerts where listeners could comment and tip the artists,<ref name="wired" /> electronic DJs (dubbed "EJs"), listener phonegrams,<ref name="podplayer" /> and its recorded shows were among the first available podcasts.<ref name="docsearls" /><ref name="ipodder" />

After eight years of uninterrupted broadcast, the station closed on October 20, 2010.<ref name="goodbye-wwr" />

History

Whole Wheat Radio began as "Radio Free Talkeetna" in August 2002.<ref name="kenai-peninsula" /> Software developer James (Jim) Kloss started the live interactive webcast immediately after DSL internet arrived in the small village of Talkeetna, Alaska. Jim was known online for his development of the nochange BBS<ref name="bbs" /> and XChange file transfer program.<ref name="infoworld" /> Jim Kloss died in 2023, survived by his wife Esther Golton. A Celebration of Life was held in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio in July 2023.<ref name="obituary" />

The site changed its name to Whole Wheat Radio by December 2002.<ref name="anchorage-press" />

The site was first broadcast from an existing 12x12 foot cabin built by Esther.<ref name="wired" /> In July 2004, a more permanent structure dubbed The Wheat Hole was built to accommodate an in-house audience of 50.<ref name="anchorage-press" /> In 2008, the venue was moved to a "renovated log saloon" dubbed The Wheat Palace to accommodate more patrons,<ref name="adn-goes-live" /> and to host other activities.<ref name="adn-signs-off" />

Music and programming

The original 12x12 Whole Wheat Radio cabin

Whole Wheat Radio played independent music, initially due to commercial licensing costs.<ref name="anchorage-press" /> The site evolved into a vehicle for promoting independent artists, helped by Jim's partner and musician Esther Golton. Artists gave permission and sent CDs for their music to be played on the station.<ref name="thescope" />

Genres weren't restricted, but favoured acoustic and folk music.<ref name="wired" /><ref name="onlinefolkfestival" />

The site hosted numerous house concerts<ref name="onlinefolkfestival" /> which were broadcast live,<ref name="wired" /> including Marian Call,<ref name="adn-coffeehouse" /> Rod Picott,<ref name="flickr-picott-shires" /> Jeffrey Foucault,<ref name="cdbaby-foucault" /> Amanda Shires,<ref name="flickr-picott-shires" /> and Danny Schmidt.<ref name="unsolicitedopinion-1" /><ref name="homer-news" /> Proceeds from the concerts were given to the performers, often exceeding income artists grossed from traditional media events.<ref name="adn-coffeehouse" />

The stream also included aspects of talk radio, from 15 minute rants<ref name="wired" /> to full morning shows. After airing, these were taped and made available as podcasts.<ref name="ipodder" />

Technology and community

A volunteer reading on-air at Whole Wheat Radio

Template:Listen Whole Wheat Radio streamed 56 kbit/s mp3PRO audio using SHOUTcast,<ref name="shoutcast" /> which could be accessed from any compatible streaming audio player compatible with the format. Clients without mp3PRO support fell back to an equivalent-quality 128 kbit/s MP3 stream.<ref name="shoutcast-formats" />

A custom install of MediaWiki ran the user-editable music database,<ref name="anchorage-press" /> the same software that operates Wikipedia, Wiktionary and other Wikimedia Foundation projects. Listeners (affectionately dubbed Wheatheads)<ref name="adn-signs-off" /> were encouraged to add tags, lyrics, art, ratings and other information to song, album and artist pages. The currently-playing song was displayed on the home and chat pages, with links to these resources for more information.<ref name="anchorage-press" />

The site accepted regular submissions for logos, which were rotated regularly.<ref name="jwalk-logos" />

Wheatheads could call in phonegrams that were played automatically on the stream,<ref name="podplayer" /> or leave a comment in the chat system for an EJ to read on air. Text based games (and later, rewards for collaborating on articles) would let Wheatheads accrue "wheatberries", an early form of web gamification.

Separate podcast feeds were available for each of the shows shortly after they had aired live, such as the "Rant-N-Ravin' Muffin News".<ref name="wwr-rss1" /> and house concerts.

Reception

In 2005, Whole Wheat Radio was discussed in an episode of The Dawn and Drew Show,<ref name="wired" /> and in an interview with Derek and Swoopy from Skeptic magazine's Skepticality podcast.<ref name="skepticality" />

Journalist Doc Searls commented in 2004 that "it's an outstanding station. If you miss KPIG's live Webcast, Whole Wheat Radio will ease your surcease. You might think of WWR as folksy or charming (it's both). I think of them as heroic. What they do is the very, very best of what radio is all about."<ref name="docsearls" />

In an article for PC World, Derek Sivers of CDBaby commented that "online radio is the best way to find new music and [I recommend] indie-flavored Whole Wheat Radio".<ref name="pcmag" />

Conclusion

In 2010, Jim pushed for a greater emphasis on the site mission of helping independent artists over the chat aspects of the site. This generated animosity, culminating in an unsanctioned, separate Facebook group. Jim closed the site soon after, claiming he no longer loved the job.<ref name="adn-signs-off" /><ref name="wwr-historical" />

The Wheat Palace continued to hold private parties, meetings, classes and art showings through 2011.<ref name="adn-signs-off" />