Fishing village community radio station coming to southeast India
India’s bipolar relationship with community radio resurfaced this week with the inauguration of a new radio station for fishing folk and a potentially liberalized policy for government monitoring of content. First, the fishing story. The Times of India reports that an NGO will soon launch a local station for families who make their living catching fish in […]
Preserving Podcast History
We’ve been covering radio preservation quite a bit here at Radio Survivor. But, despite the medium’s relative youth, it’s not too soon to think about podcast preservation either. Because podcasts are distributed as downloaded files they seem less ephemeral than radio broadcasts, which someone has to take the initiative to record and save. However, think […]
Can station managers fix the “self-imposed smallness” of college radio?
The usual excellent suspects associated with our Radio Survivor podcast produced an interesting debate program about the “self-imposed smallness” of college radio last week. Popular radio blogger Ken Mills served as the show’s guest critic. He’s a very smart articulate guy with a lot of experience in radio. “I come from a management background,” Mills […]
LPFM Watch: From Veterans to Newbies, New LPFMs Eye the Airwaves
While recording this week’s podcast, Eric Klein regaled me with tales of his experience hanging on out a roof with Freeform Portland volunteers, as they worked to install an antenna for the new lower power FM (LPFM) station in Portland, Oregon. He described how many of the team were college radio veterans hoping to replicate […]
Restoring the voice of a slain community radio host
In 2014 armed thugs murdered Mexican community radio activist Atilano Roman Tirado as he spoke live in his station’s studio. I wrote of the crime on these pages. Tirado was a leader of a coalition of hundreds of families in Sinaloa asking for compensation after losing their homes to the Picachos dam. He was a […]
Podcast #39 – Is College Radio Too Small for Its Own Good?
Is college radio too small for its own good? Or is its smallness a hidden asset? Those are the questions we take up this week with guest Ken Mills. He’s a radio consultant who works with non-commercial, commercial and college stations. Ken explains why he thinks college radio is hampered by its smallness in a […]
Doh! I forgot to own an AM/FM radio receiver!
I just finished listening to the latest Radio Survivor podcast and as usual it is informative and lots of fun. Paul Riismandel and Eric Klein were having at it over the latest #infinitedial stats. I’ve transcribed a bit of the chat: Paul: Here’s one of the big headlines about and it kind of actually blew […]
College Radio Watch: Farewell to the College Radio Woodies?
MTV hosted its annual Woodies event this week at SXSW in Austin, Texas; but a notable absence this time around was the awards ceremony, including the annual College Radio Woodie Award. The social media-fueled online popularity contest was a favorite for many college radio stations, who rallied fans to attend click-a-thons in support of their […]
LPFM Watch: More than a Year of Silence Leads to LPFM Cancellation
Licensed radio stations of all types–including LPFMs–are required to stay on the air, unless granted specific and limited exemptions by the FCC. The logic is clear and sound: licenses are for broadcasting, not collecting and monopolizing like so many empty parcels of land. A church-owned station in Buffalo, WY recently fell afoul of this rule. […]
Podcast #38 – Survey Says: Stations Must Be on the Internet & YouTube
The annual Infinite Dial survey of American listening habits is out. Paul and Eric analyze the results and what they indicate for community and college radio and podcasting. In particular, Paul argues that declining radio ownership and young people’s affinity for YouTube mean stations absolutely must broadcast online and should use video. He asks: Are […]