We’ve all seen the viral videos by now. Kids watching their parents completely passed out, near death after overdosing on heroin. The NAB recently launched a national campaign to get broadcasters more involved in addressing the heroin and prescription drug abuse that’s impacting communities across America. Later this month, WBTN-AM in Bennington, Vermont is launching a four-part series called Grip of Addiction.
According to WBTN General Manager Ted Hollow the community of Bennington has a large-scale issue with heroin abuse. “We have had several major drug busts in Bennington only to see many of the same people, both dealers and users, back out on the street and arrested multiple times. There have also been numerous case of overdose. Some the EMTs got to in time to administer treatment, others didn’t make it. Most were in the prime time of their lives, mid-twenties.”
Hollo says WBTN decided to do this series for a number of reasons. “The growing problem of heroin addiction in Bennington, the number of overdose-related deaths in the area, the lack of centers to help addicts, and to draw attention to the importance of community radio to keep locals abreast of what’s going on in their town, and what’s being done or not being done.”
Hollo says the station plans to do a recap and follow-up after the fourth installment of the series. “Opioid addiction has reached epidemic proportions in our market and WBTN is the only radio station in the town of Bennington. And even though we are only a 1,000-watt AM signal, our presence on the internet (www.wbtnam.org), our Facebook page, and custom apps make us available almost anywhere on earth today. Our relevance to the community is crucial and we hope this special presentation will raise awareness of our importance and perhaps serve as a stepping stone to future grants and support from both the community and outside organizations. Economically, we are in a very depressed area, making it especially difficult to gain the support needed to keep the station on the air, especially in a day when so much emphasis is being placed on alternative means of obtaining news, weather, and music programming.”
WBTN 1370 AM is owned and operated by Shires Media Partnership, Inc., a 501-C3 non-profit entity.
Listen to a sample of the series that WBTN will launch on October 24.
