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It may have PRI (as in portable radio instruments), a broadcast dubbed "American Life" and an npr logo in a familiar red, black and blue color-blocked scheme - but don't mistake neighborhood public radio with the National Public Radio network its names and symbols call to mind.
Ask Lee Montgomery, founder of the local medium, if the station is trading off the awareness of National Public Radio and, while acknowledging an element of parody, he'll be quick to contend its mission is a different one: to give voice to local citizens. Npr is one of the newest examples of the localization trend that is gaining momentum in everything from food to fashion, as well as consumers' growing demand for personalization of products or media.
"As we've explored the characteristics of various neighborhoods and community groups, we've tended to find underrepresented groups in each neighborhood that have something to say," said Montgomery of the station, which went live March 4 in its newest locale, a Madison Avenue studio, two doors south of the Whitney Museum, in New York. The 1,000-square-foot venue, a former Christian Louboutin boutique, is owned by the Whitney, as are the rest of the brownstone buildings on the east side of Madison Avenue between 74th and 75th Streets.
Since npr hit Manhattan's airwaves in a hyperlocal, three-square-block radius, on 91.9 FM, its programs, generally 30 to 60 minutes long, have focused on music, art and public affairs, among other things. "It's very low-tech radio," Montgomery said about the FM signal's slight range. About 4,600 people live in npr's listening area, a high-income locale bound by East 77th Street, East 71st Street, Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue, according to the New York City Census Fact Finder's 2000 Census profile for the vicinity.
The area is also home to more than 100 art galleries, dozens of spas and roughly 150 stores, according to the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District, destinations that expand the station's potential...