For those of you who don't know, there is a growing group of community-minded individuals in the Indianapolis area who really don't believe the phrase "video killed the radio star" . . . and they hope that you don't either.

Jim Walsh, a local broadcast enthusiast and former on-air personality for WFYI (circa 1988) is just one of the forces behind bringing 91.9 WITT, the station and call letters for Indianapolis's soon to be own community radio station, to the airwaves and into your cars, homes and places of business.

The station is set to feature not only local news and musicians, but numerous other sorts of programming that corporate radio could probably never bring you, such as story telling segments, diverse and eclectic music and weekday morning segments that will guarantee to keep you awake on your morning commute.

While WITT 91.9 will be new music and information to the ears of Indianapolis residents, the process of actually getting the radio station on the air has been a process that has taken Walsh and his co-founding partner Stuart Lowry, over 15 years to accomplish. Together with Patricia Miller, the three of them represent the founding board of WITT. They and a large group of eager volunteers are working to put the station on the air sometime mid 2008.

"I met Stuart [Lowry] in the late eighties when I was doing a local children's show on WFYI," Walsh said. "I had asked for local children story authors to come in and be guests on the show. Stuart and I became friends while working on the show 'Small Times,' and decided we wanted to somehow develop our own station where we could have more children's programming and whatever else."

Neither of the men realized at the time that they were about to embark on a process that would take over a decade to achieve, nor that they would play a role in one of the largest Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) trials while they were working to make their dream a reality.

"When we applied to the FCC for our station, four other groups applied. At that point, the commission would usually make the decision by comparing the stations to see which station would best serve this frequency in the community they were going for," Walsh said.

It seemed that the new FCC commissioner at the time, Bill Kennard, had a different strategy-one aimed at not allowing "god-casters" or large corporations to own the airwaves-which putt WITT on top. His decision resulted in an almost 4 year court battle though, with the opponents being the American Family Association (AFA) and, yes, this is true-National Public Radio (NPR).

While many see NPR as a great news outlet, Walsh mentioned that NPR obviously does not want competition. Giving the airwaves to local communities may sacrifice some of their listenership.

Walsh added that both NPR and the AFA (who were known for their attempts to mainly broadcast sermons that were not from the specific station community) fought against the low-power movement in the country and almost kept stations like WITT from existing.

However, on May 30, 2007, the construction permit for 91.9 was granted to Walsh and friends for 1000 watts. Walsh immediately turned around and asked for 6000 watts (which will allow the station to broadcast throughout the entire 465 loop and beyond) and the call letters "WITT," which he claims he has wanted since he was a child.

Walsh credits insanity and the help of so many other enthusiastic people as what has propelled him to continue his quest for almost 15 years. Two of his largest supporters and helping hands are Rick Wilkerson (of Missing link fame) and Sara Pugh, a local grassroots organizer for the Indianapolis music scene.

At a recent interview, Wilkerson immediately noted that Indianapolis is lucky it will not be the only city in Indiana to have a radio station like this.

"Bloomington has WFIU, which has been on the air for a little over 10 years and we should be able to learn a lot from them," he said.

Wilkerson continued by highlighting the fact that WITT is a wonderful opportunity for individuals to get involved in radio the way it was originally conceived.

"The 'public' airwaves really do not belong to the public anymore," he said. "There are increasingly fewer and fewer local radio stations and more and more stations that are owned by large corporations."

Wilkerson said that joining up with the WITT crew was a "no-brainer" for him. He has been involved in the broadcasting "world" since college and is working overtime to see that the station gets off the ground sometime soon this year.

Pugh comes from a strong background in community organizing and volunteer leadership. She expressed how excited she is to be a part of the grassroots of something that she feels will provide an outlet for people in Indianapolis to discover the "gems" that the city has to offer.

"Myself and two other girls [Brooke Klejnot and Sarah Grain] wanted to create community awareness and start gathering support for and from local musicians and the community at large," she said. "We really people to know the station is here."

Pugh, Klejnot and Grain have been the driving forces behind one of the first up and coming events that will support the station-a concert at Radio Radio in Fountain Square that will take place on February 29, 2008. The evening will feature performances from the Mudkids, Kate Lamont and Blueprintmusic, The Philosophy, Blackberry Jam featuring Jumbo Shrimp and Sarah Grain. The doors open at 8:00 p.m., with a cost of $7. All proceeds will go directly to 91.9 WITT.

WITT is set to bring the Indianapolis community the "glue," as quoted from Wilkerson, to keep its diversity alive and thriving, but they need your help! To find out ways you can donate your time and money to the station, please visit their website at www.919witt.org for information.