Radio Survivor

Last week’s Intercollegiate Broadcasting System conference (IBS for short) kicked off the music and radio convention season and there appears to be no end in sight for broadcasters and music lovers over the course of the next few weeks.

If you’re hoping to immerse yourself in music, bond with broadcasters, or geek out about the intricacies of specific music genres; then there’s at least one conference or festival for you in the next 4 weeks.

Here are some options:

SXSW in Austin, Texas (3/12-3/21/10):

This massive music festival in Austin has expanded in recent years to include a film festival and interactive conference. If you want to see tons of bands, sessions about music, and hear about the latest in technology, then you’ve got to get to Austin. Radio stations from all over the country also flock to Austin to do live broadcasts and to host showcases, including college station Radio K (Minneapolis) and community radio station WFMU (New Jersey).

From March 17-20th, 7 different college/public radio stations (KCRW, The Current, KEXP, KPFT, KUT, KXT, and WXPN) will be participating in live daytime music showcases at The Day Stage Cafe. You can even catch a short film, Peter in Radioland, in which old-school radios have a starring role.

College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI) Convention in NYC (3/14-3/16/10):

If you are working in any form of college media, from radio to television to journalism, then this is the convention for you. It’s held in conjunction with College Media Advisers (CMA). To get the full scoop about what’s in store, take a look at my interview with the folks behind CBI and the conference.

International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) Conference in New Orleans (4/9-4/11/10):

This is THE conference to hit if you are a music academic or simply enjoy dissecting the intricacies of music, musicians, or genres. Over the years I’ve seen fascinating presentations about Japanese noise, the history of turntablism, and the connections between metal and classical music. Usually there is a paper or two related to radio.

The NAB Show in Las Vegas (4/10-4/15/10):

The big National Association of Broadcasters event in Las Vegas includes a number of mini-conferences as well as an exhibition floor. There’s a Broadcast Management Conference, radio luncheon, as well as sessions geared towards digital media professionals. If you want to be a fly on the wall for free, take a look at Spinning Indie for a complimentary pass to the exhibition floor.

Experience Music Project (EMP) Pop Conference in Seattle (4/15-4/18/10):

This annual conference (which is FREE) is a chance for academics and music journalists to bond over their love of popular music. This year’s theme, “The Pop Machine: Music and Technology” lends itself to discussions of radio; with far more papers about radio (including a few topics related to radio history, a paper on Mexican radio, one on radio as an instrument, another about radio commercials) being presented this year than I’ve ever seen at this conference. There will also be presentations about Lady Gaga, girls’ rock camps, cassettes, vinyl, Pandora, auto-tune, and the Vocoder (to name a few).

Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Convention in Las Vegas (4/15-4/17/10):

A conference for broadcast media educators and practitioners, this definitely has an academic slant to it. This year’s research symposium focuses on papers about the intersections between sports and media. They also have a Festival of Media Arts, which includes a student media competition. Here are some of the winners in the “audio” category. There are also panels related to student radio, sessions geared towards careers in radio, and some that look at specific stations both in the U.S. and abroad.

At the end of last month the FCC released its tallies for the total number of broadcast stations in the US as of Sept. 31, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009. When you see the big number of 14,420 full-service radio stations it’s a big reminder that radio is still an enormous media presence in this country. This total represents an increase of 23 stations just from the end of September.

Here’s the breakdown for all radio types:

Full-power stations

• AM stations – 4790
• FM commercial stations – 6479
• FM educational stations – 3151
  TOTAL 14,420

  FM translator and booster stations – 6155

  Low-power FM stations – 864

  Grand total: 21,439

Note that FM translators and boosters are low-power stations that may not originate their own programming. They may only retransmit the signal of a full-power station. I’m pretty sure that a very large percentage of translators are non-commercial, thought I don’t have the exact number at hand. This is because the rules for non-comm translators are much looser than for commercial ones. A non-comm translator may be located any distance away from the station it retransmits, whereas a commercial translator must be located within its mother station’s expected broadcast range.

Educational stations encompass all non-commercial stations that have NCE licenses, including college, school, religious, community and public stations. The FCC does not distinguish between them.

Even though many observers have tuned out of radio, it’s going to be a long time before 21,439 broadcast stations are going to be abandoned and forgotten.

In light of the 70th anniversary of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System’s (IBS) annual conference last weekend, it’s a good time to reflect on the college radio pioneers who rarely get mentioned in radio history discussions.

My fascination with the early days of college radio began when I started diving into the history of the radio station at my alma mater, Haverford College. Although Haverford’s first radio station, WABQ, drew much press and attention during its short run from 1923 to 1927; few people outside of the college are aware of the triumphs of this student-built station that was for a time the most powerful college radio station in the United States.

So, it was with great interest that I sought out Hugh Richard Slotten’s 2009 book Radio’s Hidden Voice: The Origins of Public Broadcasting in the United States.

In the book he points out that,

“Radio stations at universities were particularly important because they pioneered some of the earliest experiments with radio in the United States and they played a key role in the establishment of an alternative, noncommercial, public service model for broadcasting.”

Also of interest to me is Slotten’s acknowledgment that college radio faced competition from commercial stations way back in the 1920s. He writes,

“As early as 1922, President Jardine at Kansas State College wrote to a colleague about his fears that commercial interests were actively ‘trying to eliminate’ college radio stations.”

It’s not surprising, considering the huge growth of radio in the United States in 1922. According to Slotten, on January 1, 1922 there were only 28 licensed broadcast stations in the U.S. This number soared to 570 by December 1, 1922.

In the book, there’s a big emphasis on the importance of stations at land-grant universities, many of which offered extension courses and home study courses over the radio airwaves (particularly in the 1920s) for residents in rural areas. Slotten points out that by the late 1920s there was even more competition for space on the radio dial and that many stations were forced to share frequencies and commercial stations seemed to be favored in the Federal Radio Commission’s decisions surrounding assignments.

In order to gain more insight into his research into the early days of educational radio in the United States, I spoke with Hugh Slotten over email. In our conversation he talks about how he became interested in college radio, explains why much of college radio’s early history has been unwritten, and offers up his take on why pinpointing the “first college radio station” is such a challenge. (more…)

It seems that most folks have short-term memory when it comes to college radio, as there’s much nostalgia for the supposed college radio “heyday” in the 1980s. Many would be surprised (and even shocked) to know that student radio has a tradition going back for more than 70 years.

In fact, some of the earliest college radio stations began more than 80 years ago in the 1920s. As early as 1926, a group known as the College and University Association of Broadcasting stations boasted at least 28 station members. By 1940, another group of pioneering students were starting up campus-only stations and these efforts were what initially sparked the formation of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System.

Beginning today, the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) will celebrate more than 70 years in the college radio game, as it presents its 70th annual conference in New York City. Students from college, high school, and community radio stations (along with their professors, teachers, and advisers) will converge at the Hotel Pennsylvania for several days worth of sessions about the business and art of radio.

It’s a far cry from IBS’s first gathering in 1941, when, according to a New York Times blurb (12/28/1941, “People Seem to Like it”), representatives from 30 college radio stations met in New York City to “exchange notes on the tastes and habits of campus listeners.”

Last year I was lucky enough to attend the IBS conference in NYC. Although I can’t make it this time around, I will still be covering it over on Spinning Indie, where I will be hosting live Twitter feeds from the conference, as well as recaps of various sessions courtesy guest blogger (and college radio DJ) Amber Wilmot.

To get the low down on this year’s festivities, I chatted with IBS’s Chairman of the Board Len Mailloux, IBS President Norm Prusslin, and conference planning coordinator Michael Nevradakis about what they have in store for this year’s conference and for their thoughts on how college radio has changed since IBS’s beginnings in 1940. (more…)

It was some pretty exciting news from the FCC on Tuesday, when they announced the list of 59 organizations who won the non-commercial educational radio license lottery. Although I was thrilled for some of the winners, as a college radio observer, I was saddened and surprised to see that very few colleges or educational institutions applied for these coveted licenses.

As Paul reported on Wednesday, the largest percentage of new licenses went to religious groups (at least 17), whereas only a handful were awarded to educational institutions (colleges, primary or secondary schools). In some cases college radio applicants lost the race against religious groups due to the complex point system (looking at local ownership, population served, etc.) that the FCC uses in its decision-making.

Scanning through the FCC’s grid of groups who applied and won, it’s often quite difficult to figure out which are actually affiliated with educational institutions. For example, Central Florida Educational Foundation (which won a new license) operates a whole network of 10 non-commercial Christian radio stations in Florida.

A closer look at the 7 winners in the college/primary/secondary school category reveals that only a few are likely to have any sort of student involvement in the resulting radio stations. Two of the groups already run networks of religious stations, one runs a LPFM community station, and another runs a public radio station. Of the remaining three institutions, one has both public and student radio stations, another has a broadcasting program, yet no station, and a third currently owns the license for a student station.

So, the question from me is, why didn’t more colleges/universities/high schools go for it back in 2007 and apply for these new radio licenses? It’s clear that religious groups are organized and have the funding to pursue radio expansion, but it saddens me that college radio for the most part sat on the sidelines while these licenses were doled out to groups with a very different take on educational radio. The Future of Music Coalition has a great fact sheet that gives a bit of perspective on the process for obtaining these licenses and it’s a good reminder that financial considerations are probably a key reason why college stations might have been scared off from applying.

Here are the college radio groups who won: (more…)

So, I guess now it’s my turn. What is Radio Survivor (the blog)? It’s all about the idea that radio is a hardy, useful, practical and proven medium with a lot of life left in it. A Radio Survivor (the person) is someone who continues to believe in the medium. A Radio Survivor is not a luddite clinging to her transistor radio while eschewing iPhones and netbooks, nor is he a retro fetishist stuck in the past. Rather, a Radio Survivor recognizes the simple power inherent in broadcast audio, which can be done inexpensively and bring people together in a community.

I’ve been a radio broadcaster working in college, community and public radio since 1989, with just one year off from May 1993 to May 1994. And while I’ve had some sporadic work in radio, most recently as a college station adviser, as Matthew emphasizes, my approach is more as a listener and enthusiast rather than an industry insider. Much of what is written about radio is for the industry insider, and is therefore concerned more with profits, ratings and staffing changes than with the place of the medium in our society and everyday lives. Also often missing from insider coverage is critical analysis that challenges the business orthodoxy.

I write for Radio Survivor because I wish to challenge myself and others to consider what radio can be, not just be content or discontented with how it is. We can recognize the damage wrought by consolidation without giving in and leaving the medium for dead. We can highlight the stations and places where innovation is happening and 21st century is in the making. We can encourage new or lost listeners to give radio a new chance.

Radio, as a medium, has a great chance to survive because of the internet, iPods and mobile phones, not in spite of them. Just because Clear Channel and its mostly bankrupt consolidating brethren were too busy buying up stations, firing staff and elminating local service to notice the internet revolution doesn’t mean that the internet has to kill radio. I believe that there is still an audience that pines for local news, information and culture that is still hard to find on the internet, that doesn’t require a monthly broadband bill or data package and is there in the car, in the home or a hundred miles away from the nearest wi-fi hotspot. And as internet access becomes more ubiquitous and less costly radio can still be a complementary part of our information environment.

That’s Radio Surviving.

When I was doing my recent interview with Jeff McMahon for his “Radio Obsessive” profile he asked me an interesting question that cuts to the mission of this entire website. He said, “I’m not sure what a ‘radio survivor’ is. Could you explain that to your readers?”

So, in light of Jeff’s question, Matthew, Paul and I will each share our take on the meaning behind our blog’s title of Radio Survivor.

Here’s my interpretation:

First of all, I want to point out that when I was invited to join Radio Survivor, the blog had already been named. So, my interpretation about the meaning has more to do with my personal feelings about radio and connections with radio than with the official origin of the name (I’m excited to get the real back-story on that in Matthew’s upcoming post).

As we begin 2010 many people have already written off radio as either a dead or dying medium. Commercial radio has been in a state of decline for years and non-commercial radio also has its struggles. But, despite all of the negative pronouncements levied against radio by listeners and critics, I maintain that radio is still vibrant and valuable.

Radio survives and thrives and part of my mission as a writer is to share stories about both stations and individuals who are working hard to keep radio fun and relevant.

I think radio is a survivor and I’m most interested in non-commercial radio stations (especially college radio stations) who are focused on independent music and programming.

I am also a radio survivor. Having been a college radio DJ off and on since 1986, it’s hard to believe that I’m still passionate about doing radio (through all of its ups and downs) 24 years after my first stint behind the mic.

As a college radio DJ, I’m also committed to the survival of not only my station, but radio in general. I love doing my show and being exposed to new music every week. I also enjoy the process of crafting my playlists and figuring out the combinations of tracks that might work together sonically. It’s icing on the cake when I get a compliment from a fellow DJ or listener about something that I’ve played.

So, I’m devoted to the survival of radio, think radio is a survivor, and have made it my mission to evangelize radio as much as I can in order to remind people that it still has the power to be an incredible force.

One of the things that every radio DJ learns during training is the importance of a station’s “public file.”

Every FCC-licensed broadcast station in the United States is required to maintain a public inspection file, containing a number of items including documents pertaining to a station’s license and ownership.

The file should also house FCC complaints, a political file (with details on requests for purchase of airtime by political candidates, etc.), letters and emails from the public (only required of commercial stations), the manual “The Public and Broadcasting,” an issues/programs list related to public service programming, a list of donors, and a number of other items required by the FCC.

If a member of the public enters a radio or TV station requesting to see a station’s public file, they are supposed to be granted access to those documents. Part of the rationale for this is to ensure that stations are serving the public interest.

Unfortunately, some stations (and station staffs) are unclear on the rules regarding public files; so have been hit with hefty fines when they did not comply with public requests.

In the most recent incident, Gaston College radio station WSGE in Dallas, North Carolina was levied a fine of $8,000 by the FCC for “willfully and repeatedly violating Section 73.3527 of the Commission’s rules relating to a noncommercial licensee’s obligation to properly maintain and make available a public inspection file.”

According to the FCC’s forfeiture order (dated January 29, 2010), a member of the public was refused access to the radio station’s public file during regular business hours and was told to make an appointment with the station’s attorney. Upon return to the station, he was eventually given access to the file and complained to the FCC that certain items were either missing or incomplete.

What’s interesting (and alarming) about this case is the station’s allegation that the individual who came to the station requesting access to the file was from a religious institution with a vested interest in trying to get the Gaston College station kicked off the air. According to the FCC’s Forfeiture Order:

“Gaston College characterized the Complainant’s behavior during the first visit as ‘hostile,’ and asked the Bureau to view the Complaint in the context of its past dealings with the Complainant’s employer, Columbia Bible College.

In this regard, Gaston College contended that Columbia Bible College has been engaged in a ‘pattern of harassment and intimidation’ by pursuing FCC proceedings against Gaston College, and that Columbia Bible College’s actions, through the Complainant, are motivated by its prior unsuccessful efforts to acquire the Station. Gaston College alleged that Columbia Bible College is attempting to misuse the Commission’s processes to force the licensee to sell the Station.”

This is enough to send chills up the spine of every college radio station staffer and is a good reminder for stations to get their files in order and instruct all station staff on procedures in regard to requests from the public to view the public file.

At the same time, it’s disturbing to think that there are groups out there who are focused on filing complaints with the FCC in order to get stations kicked off the air.

For me, the main reason that I’m so addicted to doing a radio show week after week is the music. I’m interested in new, independent, underground, and underexposed sounds and artists and the easiest way for me to get access to this music is by volunteering at a college radio station.

I’m lucky that at my station, KFJC, we add as many as 40 items to our library every week. The music that KFJC adds isn’t necessarily new, often the Music Director is adding things that are decades old that may not have gotten much exposure when they were initially released.

Even though I’m at a station with a  massive record library and am exposed to new sounds every week; I still get the chills when I hear an amazing artist on the radio who I have never heard before.

For my #1 Top Radio Show I have to give credit to a college radio DJ at University of San Francisco station KUSF: DJ Schmeejay, the host of Radiodrome every Tuesday morning from 9am to noon. On several occasions while listening to his show, I’ve had to pick up the phone and call to find out more information about the incredible music that I was hearing. A few of the artists that he’s helped me to discover are Vashti Bunyan and Virginia Astley, two women producing ethereal sounds with folk and psychedelic influences.

I remember calling to find out about Virginia Astley and he told me that it was a hard-to-find release that he’d picked up at a KUSF Record Swap. Probably that very night I headed up to KFJC and found numerous Virginia Astley LPs in the library and learned that may of them hadn’t been played in over a decade. So I played her music on my show as well, exposing more listeners to the treat that I’d heard on a fellow college station.

What I like about DJ Schmeejay’s show is that he crafts interesting sets of music, with a mix of new and old across a range of genres that make sense sonically. You might hear lovely folky sounds from the 1960s, beautiful atmospherics from the 1980s, or a seriously old school Jimmy Durante piece.

I talked to DJ Schmeejay over email about his nearly 7-year-run hosting Radiodrome and he shared with me some of his thought process behind the program and also how his role as one of the Music Directors at KUSF leads to some interesting finds. Here’s a bit of our conversation: (more…)

Debuting back in 1987, way before pirates were ever deemed cool and a full 8 years before “Talk Like a Pirate Day” was ever conceptualized, Skulltime for Kids hit the airwaves of Foothill College radio station KFJC 89.7 FM in Los Altos Hills, California.

Captain Jack, the creator of the show, told me that the original idea for the program was born during a graveyard shift that he did with a fellow DJ in which they pretended to be pirates. He said that those initial late night shows were hilarious and that other station staff members encouraged him to base a show around that concept.

So, in 1987 Skulltime for Kids began as a Wednesday afternoon “children’s show,” hosted by the pirate Captain Jack.

The early years were a solo operation, with Captain Jack playing children’s records and spinning tales about his pirate life. He always alluded to a character called Skully, who was the “phantom bartender on Skull Island,” but it wasn’t until 1992 that another DJ offered to join the show in order to bring Skully to life. By 1996 or 1997 Skully was a regular fixture on Skulltime for Kids and around that time I started listening to the show (and joined the staff of KFJC).

There are a lot of things to love about Skulltime for Kids. There’s always plenty of banter about pop culture and music trivia and over the years I’ve found the show to be the “go to” place for news about dead celebrities, as they do rousing tributes to recently departed pop culture fixtures. Both Captain Jack and Skully are also thrift store junkies, so they often play amazing vintage children’s records with songs and stories from the past. (more…)