AIROS Native Radio Network
American Indian Radio on Satellite or AIROS was a radio service for Native Americans in the United States. It operated for about a decade starting in 1994. It was operated by Native American Public Telecommunications, later known as VisionMaker Media.
Programming
AIROS carried a variety of Native American radio programming, including news and music. It produced some of its own programing and distributed programming from other sources.
Native American Calling is a call-in talk show. AIROS premiered it in 1995.[1]
Distribution
AIROS started its satellite distribution network in 1994. Satellite communications were considered especially useful for reaching radio stations in remote locations that did not have access to services like special high-quality telephone lines or the Internet. AIROS used the Public Radio Satellite System, so its programming was available to public radio stations across the United States, not just Native American stations. In 2001, the New York Times described AIROS as the "primary distribution system for (Native American) public radio".[2] However, in 2006 Koahnic Broadcast Corporation started the Native One Voice network. By 2017, Native One Voice and Radio Bilingüe were the two indigenous radio networks in the United States. Like AIROS, both used the Public Radio Satellite System.[3]
In 1994, AIROS also started using the Internet to distribute programming to radio stations. In 1997, the AIROS web site became one of the first to provide live-streaming.[1] While many residents of Indian reservations did not have reliable Internet service, live streaming enabled Native Americans in large cities to receive AIROS programming. AIROS live streaming ended in December 2010.[4] Podcasts continued for a few more years.
Parent Organization
VisionMaker Media is a nonprofit organization producing and distributing video. It was founded in 1976, under the name Native American Public Broadcasting Consortium, and in a few years received financial support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television stations in the United States.[1] In 1984, it conducted a feasibility study called 'Smoke Signals to Satellite'.[1] The AIROS network started operating in 1994, and in 1995, the organization changed its name to Native American Public Telecommunications to reflect its new focus.[1] It continued to produce and produce video. For a time, it branded some of its video operations AIROS Video. Later, it used the VisionMaker brand for its video work. In January 2013, the organization changed its name to VisionMaker Media.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "NAPT Three Decades" (PDF). Native American Public Telecomunications. 2016 (PDF). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
{{cite web}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help) - ^ "Indian Country Sends a Stronger Signal: Television/Radio". The New York Times. 4 Feb 2001.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Radio Organizations". National Museum of the American Indian. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 26 Dec 2017.
- ^ "Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 Sept 2016. Retrieved 29 Mar 2020.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help)
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