Read 20 and WSMC:

A “classical” partnership for literacy

Do you want to be on the radio? Read 20 and WSMC are always looking for more children and great readers. If you are interested in providing your talent as a reader or scheduling a day for your children to participate in the live broadcast, you may contact Read 20 at 209.6190 or ShulaY@HamiltonTN.gov.

For approximately two years, Read 20 and Classical 90.5 WSMC have shared a mission and vision creating a community of readers within Hamilton County and those surrounding counties within the radio footprint of WSMC. As a public/private partnership, Read 20 promotes literacy skills for early childhood development. WSMC collaborates with Read 20 to provide the perfect venue for reading aloud to children.
Read 20 recruits dynamic readers and groups of children as the engaged and interactive audience for the live broadcast. An age- and content-appropriate book is selected for the children present in the recording studio. The reader identifies his or herself, the listening audience and the book title, and gives a short description of the book.
WSMC archives each recorded broadcast and saves it on their website, WSMC.org. Just click on Programs, and then on “Read with Me.” You may peruse through numerous broadcasts by book title, date of broadcast, or identity of reader and children’s group.
These Read 20 read-alouds may be appreciated by children and adults in different formats. The readers on the program are diverse; in its readers, WSMC and Read 20 have had the great pleasure of offering the creative talents of students, theatrical clubs, children’s authors, and professional storytellers.
Every Thursday at 10:10 a.m., 90.5 FM presents the read-aloud in a live, 20-minute broadcast for listeners to enjoy at home, at school, at work or in their car.
Not only is it a fun time for readers and children alike, but it also reinforces the core mission of Read 20: To encourage caregivers to read to their children for a minimum of 20 minutes every day. Every Thursday morning, WSMC helps caregivers fulfill that goal.
Including “Read with Me” programming, WSMC donated nearly $700,000 in free airtime to community announcements and interviews last year. The station also provides monthly interviews Tuesdays at 10:10 a.m. to Read 20, United Way of Greater Chattanooga, the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center, Friends of Moccasin Bend National Park, and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.