National Federation of Community Broadcasters Program Service (ca. 1970-1986) | University of Illinois Archives

Name: National Federation of Community Broadcasters Program Service (ca. 1970-1986)

Historical Note: The Possible Tape Exchange grew from an informal network of American non-commercial community radio stations that formed in the late 1960s. At that time, Bill Thomas of Urbana, IL began publishing a newsletter, which aimed to share programs among these stations. This network of community radio stations began sharing programs by duplicating and dubbing tapes. Thomas eventually established an extensive library of taped programs. He stored this archive in his home, until the archive grew so large that Thomas need to move the materials to a commercial space in downtown Champaign. According to Thomas, the newsletter had been using the phrase "possible tape exchange" for long enough that it seemed natural (and amusing) to use it as the official title of the program exchange. However, this network of Possible Tape Exchange participants eventually changed the name of the exchange to the National Alternative Radio Konvention (NARK) and its descendant the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB). The Possible Tape Exchange and NFCB Program Exchange served the NFCB member stations until approx. 1985, when the Exchange and Bill Thomas became part of the Pacifica Program Service.

Sources:

Bill Thomas, personal correspondence, January 28 & February 14, 2014.

"History", National Federation of Community Broadcasters, http://www.nfcb.org/history/

Michael William Huntsberger, "The Emergence of Community Radio in the United States: A Historical Examination of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, 1970-1990." Linfield University, PhD Diss. 2007: 138-142.

Note Author: Nolan Vallier