Christian Milling saw the pictures the day after the flood, houses with their façades torn away, cables were exposed, railway tracks that were first washed under and then collapsed under the weight of wedged tree trunks. Weeping people. He wanted to help. But how? Milling says of himself that he is “often not that great with his craft”, but he can build radio studios. So he built a radio studio.
Since the beginning of September, the Ahrtalradio has been broadcasting on frequency 107.9 in places like Schuld and Insul, Altenahr and Adenau, as well as in Internet. Just last Sunday a listener called, a helper had a rusty splinter in his eye and now they would have to drive to Bonn to the hospital. Five minutes after they sent the call, an ophthalmologist called the studio: Forget the emergency room, I’ll open the practice. And so radio is not just about music, but above all about people who are looking for help and people who offer help. Good news.
Like “Phoenix aus der Ahr”: Christian Milling set up the studio, an old desk was sawed up for the desk, and many moderate and research on a voluntary basis.
(Photo: Christian Milling / Ahrtalradio)
Christian Milling is 41 years old, at one point he studied IT for radio and since then has “done everything except advertising” at radio. And yet he also had to organize a lot at the beginning. One license from the Medienanstalt Rheinland-Pfalz, one frequency from the Federal Network Agency. And people who research the contributions and direct the programs. There is a colleague in her early 30s who works freely for the WDR and now voluntarily moderates “Like Phoenix from the Ahr”, long conversations with a dentist who performed emergency operations in her clinic, although it was also destroyed. There is a colleague who is actually already retired and who is now writing messages. There are many who work freely and volunteer.
For the studio they needed a place that was as high up as possible so that the antenna had range
The Ahrtalradio broadcasts advertising, but does not earn anything from it: Companies affected by the flood can book 60 commercials free of charge. Companies that are not affected can also book spots, which then cost three euros per broadcast. The donations, says Milling, go to flood relief.
For the studio, they needed a location that was as high up as possible so that the antenna had a good range. Christian Milling went to the Landskrone, a small mountain near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. There is a chapel in the forest. Maybe he could attach the antenna to their flagpole? The chapel’s friends’ association not only accepted immediately, it also offered the parish hall as a studio. Milling is currently building studios full-time and therefore had material in stock: an FM transmitter, a mixer, a radio link, studio lights. The microphones are from the 1960s. “It looks a bit wild,” he says, “but it’s professional”. They sawed up an old desk for the desk.
The Ahrtalradio helps people in their own way to rebuild: “Make Mayschoß great again” is written on the destroyed house in the winegrowing community in Rhineland-Palatinate.
(Photo: Thomas Frey / dpa)
Christian Milling moderates the morning show, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., in the afternoon he drives through the region and records articles, on this day, for example, he still has to go to a mobile workshop, a man who does a lathe, sawing, and milling machine in his car and thus helps the winegrowers in the region to repair their machines. The workshop, however, has to know by the end of the month whether the country will support it with money, only then can it stay. Milling says he hopes the post could add some weight to that.
Every day at 9.30 a.m. there is an editorial conference, so they not only discuss which articles they are producing themselves – about two or three a day – but also who they are inviting to interviews. The other day there was a couple who met while helping out in the flood and who now want to get married. Or a man who has found his wedding ring in all the mud. “We want to show that even in a time after a disaster, not everything is catastrophic,” says Milling. And of course they want to help there too, for example with legal advice. A man answers the audience’s questions, what do I do when the house is gone, but the house was the guarantee for a loan?
It is getting dark earlier outside now, many people have hot water coming out of the tap and the gas heating is still broken
In addition to the individual programs and categories, they also take care of news. At the top of the hour, they report on the latest corona rules, the news is provided by the German press agency. At half an hour they provide information about the region.
“Altenahr. As of tomorrow, the voting bus will be on the move in the Altenahr community for the first time. As the city administration reports, vehicles will be waiting in the morning between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Ahrbück at the train station, in Altenahr at the town hall, in Berg on the sports field the elementary school in Dernau. “
“Adenau. In the upper Ahr valley, the upgrading of the power grid continues. After an initially provisional solution, the power supply has been restored in large parts of Adenau in the last few days.”
“Mayschoss. Good news for the youngsters: As the local community administration reports, the Etzhard children’s playground can be used again next Monday.”
The state media authority has approved the Ahrtalradio as an event radio, but this also means that it is limited in time. After October 3rd, they would have to renew their license and of course find a way to pay the people who are currently doing volunteer editing and interviews.
Christian Milling says there is great demand, many people from the region would be happy that pretty much everything is going with them except Schlager and Eurodance. Now that it dawns earlier outside, when the tap still only comes out of service water and the gas heater is broken, the radio will help them. Now that the other stations are broadcasting more and more often about the general election and less and less about the flood.
Last week they called each other again, he in the ten square meter studio in the rectory, his team in the home office, he said, is that what we want? The others wanted immediately. And so they were able to report something else: that the Ahr valley radio should continue to run for at least a few weeks.