Nathan Moore
WTJU
A proud community radio station, WTJU centers its programming on enriching our culture, extending UVA’s educational mission, and bringing people together through music and conversation. The station serves as a meeting space, both physically and through its airwaves. When the pandemic hit, WTJU’s ability to stay connected with the community it serves was put to the test.
Sudden Disconnection
At the start of the pandemic, leaving home became potentially perilous to one’s health, and the station’s close-knit network of hosts and supporters found themselves unable to experience the connections that feed the station’s purpose. Quarantine pushed the station to radically restructure its operations – from building software from scratch to support dozens of DJs broadcasting remotely from home, to figuring out how best to support a community, both within and outside the station.
Spreading Joy and Empathy
When the local Charlottesville community found itself in lockdown, the station perceived a vital need in helping nurture the community’s sense of itself. Looking to re-connect people, WTJU began collaborating with other arts-focused organizations to launch projects focused on spreading much-needed empathy and joy in the midst of pandemic confusion and fear.
For the radio station, ensuring that people were okay and sharing musical respite became an act of community care – one that proved vital in an unprecedented time. A whimsical premise of collecting homemade renditions of Ode To Joy led to finding comfort in the little things. In partnership with The Bridge PAI, Quarantine Haikus sought out crowd-sourced, uplifting poems to alleviate the stress of the Covid outbreak. The Front Porch’s Save the Music concert series brought together local musicians to perform webstreaming concerts that aired on WTJU.
Reflecting a Community: Hold Us Accountable
Following the murder of George Floyd and so many other black lives, a chorus of voices rose to demand that institutions confront their systematic racism and work for justice. Those calls for change reverberated through universities and public media organizations alike. As the University of Virginia’s community radio station, 2020 signaled a much-needed reckoning for WTJU. The pandemic led WTJU to develop a new strategic framework that leads with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. As Nathan puts it, “when you call yourselves a community radio station, you have to reflect your community.”