The "original" CNYRadio.com published hundreds of articles from 2001-2005, but only a small portion of those older articles have been republished here on the "new" site since we relaunched in 2008. Republishing each article on my own has been a dauting task. That's why I'm looking for readers who may be able to help out. With several of us working, we can get the archives completely republished much sooner than I'd be able on my own. And you don't need to be a computer "whiz" to help out!
If you're ready to sign up now, great - just email cnyradio@cnyradio.com. But if you want to know more about the project and what's going to be expected of the volunteers, please read on.
The original CNYRadio.com was based on a different software than the current CNYRadio.com. Founder Scott Jameson was kind enough to "export" all his original articles (which I'll refer to as "the archives") into a spreadsheet file. However, because the two sites are so different (not just in appearance, but moreso behind-the-scenes), there's no way to automatically "import" the archives directly into the current CNYRadio.com.
Every single article has to be republished individually. It's a simple task, but there's just so many articles, it's been a challenge to do it all myself. I've republished quite a few, but there are still hundreds more. If several volunteers can pitch-in, we'll get the archives completely republished much sooner than I'd be able to do so myself.
As I promised, you don't need to be a "computer whiz." You already know how to get online and surf the web, so that's a plus. If you also know how to copy text from one program and paste it into another, then you'll do just fine. (And if you don't know how, it's pretty easy to learn.)
The project will require you to use two different programs:
Microsoft Excel (or equivalent) - If you don't have Excel, do not buy it just for this project. Instead, we recommend OpenOffice.org, because it can do everything Excel does, but it's free. In fact, we use OpenOffice.org at CNYRadio.com HQ much more often than we use Excel. If you haven't guessed yet, you can download it from OpenOffice.org. Or, if you're a Google Documents fan, you can probably use that; we just haven't tried it ourselves.
WordPress - This is the "backbone" that runs CNYRadio.com. It lives entirely online; no need to install it on your computer. This is where you will republish the older stories so they can once again be viewed by the public on CNYRadio.com. Even if you've never used WordPress before, you'll find it's very easy to learn. (Yes, WordPress has tons of "bells and whistles," but you won't need to use any of them.)
Full instructions will be provided to those who volunteer. Beyond the initial instruction, I will be happy to answer any "tech support" questions volunteers have with the process.
Each volunteer will be provided an Excel spreadsheet file with a handful of CNYRadio.com archive articles. It will be your task to open spreadsheet, copy the data for each story, then paste it into WordPress. You'll also need to take care of a few other details in WordPress (like inputting the article's original publication date). Once you're done, just submit the article. It's that simple.
Don't worry about perfection, because when you submit the article, it still has to be approved by me before it goes live to the site. This will allow me to catch anything you may have missed.
There is no committment and there are no deadlines. It's completely voluntary, so I can't "force" anyone to do anything. If you finish your first batch of stories and you want to dive right into another, great... you can continue with the project as long as you desire, or until we're all done. If you only get one or two stories done and you decide this isn't for you, that's fine too. Any contribution will benefit all CNYRadio.com readers, regardless of the amount of work you can complete or how long it takes.
Like I said, it's volunteer work; unfortunately, I don't have the budget to pay anyone. At the very least, I can offer my gratitude by giving you credit on the site for helping to repost the archives. There's also the personal satisfaction of knowing you helped to promote the history of the local broadcast radio industry.
If you're looking to log hours for college credit or community service of some sort (for Church, a fraternity or even court) I'd be willing to help you meet those goals, as long as "the powers that be" agree your help will fulfill your work requirements.
If you're interested in helping out, just email cnyradio@cnyradio.com. I'll get back to you shortly with further details.