BMIR

Burning Man Information Radio

City of license	Black Rock City, Nevada, USA
Broadcast area	Burning Man Festival, Black Rock Desert, Nevada
Slogan	The Voice of the Man, the Voice of Black Rock City
Frequency	94.5 MHz FM
First air date	2000
Format	Community radio (public)
Callsign meaning	Burning Man Information Radio
Webcast	BMIR stream
Website	www.bmir.org

BMIR 94.5 FM (Burning Man Information Radio) is the unlicensed community radio station for Burning Man, an event held annually in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. BMIR begins broadcasting on 94.5 FM on the playa in the week leading up to Burning Man and broadcasts over the internet year-round. Currently, the station hosts more than 40 DJs that produce the programming played over the course of the event.

History

BMIR was founded by Carmen Mauk in 2000. BMIR began as a required aspect of the Bureau of Land Management's land use permit, providing a necessary emergency broadcast system that couldn't be achieved through any other means due to the remote location of the event. The station is currently managed by two project managers, Bobzilla and Kanizzle.

Prior to 2010, BMIR only broadcast live during the day, with automated nighttime programming. Starting in 2010, BMIR began broadcasting 24-hours a day with live radio personalities and interviews. This change allowed for the radio station to move into a prominent position at the event, moving away from its purely informational roots into a form of full time entertainment for participants and staff at the event.

Current Status

BMIR usually broadcasts from the event from the Wednesday before to the Tuesday after, with a full time staff present during that time. When not at the event, the stream broadcasts primarily from the Bay Area. BMIR is utilized during the event to broadcast important information regarding traffic, weather, and other BLM/LEO notices. The station has played a prominent part in dealing with issues happening in the "default world" including Hurricane Katrina and earthquakes in the Bay Area.

The station's primary operating crew is composed of a wide variety of skill sets, including and RF/FM engineer, a sound engineer, and IT engineer, and a full time volunteer coordinator. The station accepts new volunteers every year, with on-air slots becoming available in the second year of service to the station.

Future Development

BMIR is currently in the process of developing itself into a year round radio station. Already doing live talks as well as broadcasting from regional events, the station has a plan to produce interviews, musical sets, and live performances in the other 50 weeks when not at the Burning Man festival.

References

"Burning Man Information Radio (BMIR)". Burning Man. Black Rock City, LLC. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
"The FCC Won't Let BRC Be". Piss Clear. Piss Clear. 2003. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
Gez Smith (2013-09-17). "10 Things I Learned at Burning Man". Worthy FM. Worthy FM. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
Veltman, Chloe (2010-08-26). "Burning Man Radio Steps Out of the Box". The Bay Citizen (Berkeley, CA). Retrieved 2013-12-29.

External links

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