Name: Marfa’s public radio wants to ease your social isolation during the pandemic
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Marfa’s public radio wants to ease your social isolation during the pandemic

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This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift ShareMARFA, Tex. — From a small newsroom inside an old renovated service station off Highway 67, the tiny staff at has been reporting on the implications of coronavirus as closely as any big city news organization.They have interviewed health care professionals, parents who are now home schooling their kids and service industry workers who have been laid off from their jobs — all to put a human face to the story and to show what it is like for a region primarily thought of as a haven for artists to go on lockdown.But even in this remote town, located in the middle of the sprawling Chihuahuan desert, hours from any major airport or city, some at the station .While most people who live in and around Marfa are drawn here , it is a different thing to have isolation forced upon you, especially at a dark and uncertain moment for the nation’s health and economy.“The question for us began to be … how do we support our listeners? It’s not just reporting, which is essential,” said Elise Pepple, the station’s general manager. “It is equally essential that we use the capacity of radio to connect people and uplift people.”A self-described extrovert who has personally struggled with social distancing, Pepple had been moved by videos of quarantined Italians singing to each other from their balconies to raise spirits as that country remains on lockdown because of covid-19. She found the clips heartbreaking, but beautiful. “I was like, this is what we need,” she said.AdvertisementThat is where the pop singer Robyn came in. Last Friday afternoon, after days of dark headlines and growing fear in the community about the lasting impact of covid-19, Pepple scrapped the evening’s scheduled programming in favor of what she described as a mental health break. She announced a two-hour social isolation dance party that she called “Dancing on Your Own,” inspired by Robyn’s 2010 hit.In an area where many residents live far apart, Pepple sought to re-create the intimacy of those Italian gatherings by inviting listeners to join a station-sponsored Zoom chat, where they could see others dancing in the confines of their own homes. She asked others to send videos or post clips on social media. “Why not be together being alone?” she told listeners.Many responded, posting videos of themselves dancing to songs like George Michael’s “Freedom” and Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” One woman posted a selfie of her twirling with a plate piled with freshly fried chicken to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” — the kind of mainstream, feel-good pop fare that usually does not get much airplay on public radio.AdvertisementBut that was the entire point: to make people feel good and give them some escape, at least briefly, from a worrying time. “It is equally our jobs right now to raise people’s spirits when we can do that,” Pepple said.Residents here have , worried the distance that has always shielded them will not be enough. In an area where the with just 25 beds a half-hour away in Alpine, many businesses here began long before state officials encouraged it, citing fears of what an outbreak would do to their community.“Marfa is a very small town with next to zero public resources,” read a sign on one shuttered storefront.With no known cases of the virus yet, three counties in the region — Presidio, Brewster and Jeff Davis — have taken unprecedented steps to keep it that way. In recent days, county officials have ordered all hotels and lodging closed, including Airbnbs and campgrounds in and around Big Bend National Park where Texans from around the state had come to find shelter from the pandemic before being turned away.AdvertisementIn Marfa, a town of about 2,000 where many residents work jobs that are touched in some way by tourism, — a move that would protect the health of those who live in the city, but leave many out of work, even more isolated than usual at a moment of uncertainty unlike any in recent memory.For Pepple, the uncertain times mean a greater mission for her station in finding ways to connect with listeners and to help them connect with each other, at a time when finding community and solace with one another might be the only way to make it through.Last week, MPR began airing a public service announcement asking listeners to call and leave a voice mail for the station talking about how their daily routines had changed or even simply saying how they were doing.But the station has also tried to showcase some levity.AdvertisementOn Saturday night, as much of Marfa sat silent and empty, the streets lit up by the red glow of the setting sun, host Joe Nick Patoski kicked off the station’s weekly Texas music hour with songs that seemed jokingly tailored to the moment, including Barbara Lynn’s 1964 single, “Don’t Spread it Around.”“I know a lot of folks out there in radio land have been feeling a little unease, self quarantining, isolating themselves alone,” Patoski said. “Well, I’ve got the antidote right here, right now. … We may be partying in place, but ain’t nothing going to stop us.”“With Texas music, all things are possible in your life,” he added, “although it does help to wash your hands very thoroughly.” CommentsGift ArticleTOP STORIESThe BriefingDon’t miss reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House.Try a different topic or to save your preferences

This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift ShareMARFA, Tex. — From a small newsroom inside an old renovated service station off Highway 67, the tiny staff at has been reporting on the implications of coronavirus as closely as any big city news organization.They have interviewed health care professionals, parents who are now home schooling their kids and service industry workers who have been laid off from their jobs — all to put a human face to the story and to show what it is like for a region primarily thought of as a haven for artists to go on lockdown.But even in...

Marfa’s public radio wants to ease your social isolation during the pandemic

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