Happy National Intern Day! During my senior year at Transylvania University, I interned with RADIOLEX, formerly known as Lexington Community Radio. RADIOLEX programming is created by over a hundred friends and neighbors who volunteer to produce thousands of hours of original and local content all year in English on WLXU 93.9 FM and in Spanish on WLXL95.7 FM. The community centered station is a go-to information resource for thousands of listeners in Lexington’s underrepresented neighborhoods, especially Black, Latinx, Asian, Immigrant & Refugee, and LGBTQ+ communities as well as others who aren't represented in mainstream news media.
Most importantly, RADIOLEX also plays a critical public safety role by providing real-time, community-level information during severe weather, disasters, and other local emergencies. RADIOLEX played a crucial role in delivering news in the early weeks and months of COVID lockdown; they continued to play a significant role in updating the community throughout the pandemic.
As a Spanish major, I focused on assisting with WLXL 95.7, the Spanish language station. I even recorded a few PSA’s in Spanish that you may have heard—talk about nerve-wrecking yet exciting! I also edited some of the Spanish language shows and uploaded them to the RADIOLEX SoundCloud so people could tune in after the content initially aired. That’s how I met some amazing hosts who I regularly interacted with in my first job as an AmeriCorps VISTA after graduation. I really enjoyed interning at RADIOLEX and it’s amazing to see how much the station has grown! New name, new location, and new faces, but the heart of the station is the same: provide a mass media platform to amplify underrepresented local voices and promote an equitable, inclusive Lexington community.