Radio Survivor

As someone who dislikes long commercial breaks and hearing the same songs over and over on the radio, I’ve always had an interest in finding alternative ways to discover new music. Since it has now been a few years since I began this quest, I’ve decided to list some possible alternatives to “mainstream” radio (in no particular order).

Internet Radio

I absolutely love the concept of Internet radio, although my experience has admittedly been limited to Pandora Radio and Last.fm.  Summarized, they’re customizable radio with limited commercials (that you can mute if you feel the need). Awesome, yes?

Since I’m studying multiple languages for graduate school, I’m constantly searching for what I consider to be “good” music from other countries in an attempt to assist with my learning process by increasing my exposure. To test the effectiveness of these websites to help with this goal, I searched both websites for three different bands that perform in three different languages: a Japanese metal band named Dir en Grey, a German band named Wir sind Helden (We Are Heroes), and a French artist named Yelle.

I was thoroughly impressed by the fact that Last.fm not only had each group that I searched for but also managed to remain in the same genre and, almost always, the same language, including a limited amount of similar music in English. Pandora appears to be less conducive to expanding one’s international musical horizons, failing to provide any music for Wir Sind Helden and initially returning only English results.

That said, here are some general notes: I like that Last.fm provides you with a list of recent songs and radio stations while Pandora only allows you to look at recently played songs for a currently playing radio station (the history is cleared if you switch). I was  surprised to discover that Last.fm allows you to maintain a “library” of tracks that you’ve listened to, although I suppose the trade off is that users are unable to pause (as far as I can tell) songs (the alternative is to leave the radio station) and can only structure their stations around entire bands as opposed to both songs and bands (Pandora allows both options). I’m more familiar with Pandora, which is probably why I prefer its layout. I also like having the option of structuring a station around a song as opposed to an entire band because occasionally you stumble upon those amazing songs from, unfortunately, horrible albums that you really don’t need to subject your ears to again (Ex: Matt and Kim’s “Daylight” and most music from the ’80s, like this). (more…)

The trend in broadcast radio of back- and front-announcing, naming the title and artist of a track before or after playing it on the airwaves, has historically been a source for controversy due to its heavy involvement with issues of sponsorship identification and racketeering.

Is it that record labels are lobbying radio stations to play their songs, and guarantee their back or front-announcement?  Or are radio stations shamelessly seeking payment from record labels for guaranteed back-announcing? Short answer: it’s both. And the result? The back-announcing of some songs and not of others.

In the mid 1990s the deregulation brought about by The Telecommunications Act of 1996 initiated several significant changes in broadcast radio, including the lifting station ownership restrictions. This led to the emergence of a few dominant multi-station broadcasting companies in lieu of more independent localized stations and fundamentally changed the way radio stations operated. Like most businesses bought out by big companies, these stations more often than not saw their business operations being outsourced, consolidated and homogenously reproduced with little localized personalization, frequently in the arena of playlist compilation. (more…)

As we wrote last week, radio has played a vital communications role in Haiti in the weeks following its devastating earthquake last month. But what we didn’t cover in that story is the sad state of some Haitian community radio stations which have suffered major damage to buildings and equipment.

According to a series of articles on the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) blog, community radio plays an important educational role for Haitian citizens. By broadcasting native language programming it is serving a rural population in which 80% of homes are said to contain radios.

A post from last week reports that,

“In the western and southeastern parts of the country, at least 16 stations are facing serious problems that have suspended their broadcasts, Sony Esteus, executive director of SAKS, a local organization of community radio stations, told CPJ. The earthquake obliterated SAKS’ office in the Bourdon neighborhood, east of Port-au-Prince.”

In a post this week, CPJ shares some video of the destruction at the office of community radio organization SAKS, as well as footage from a destroyed community radio station in Fondwa.

Take a look at CPJ’s entire blog series on Haiti to find additional stories about the role that radio is playing during this crisis and to learn about the state of several other radio stations.

One of terrestrial radio’s many benefits is that is has the capacity to be a resource for the local listening community. Since in recent years there has been less and less local content on commercial stations, there’s a great opportunity for college and community radio stations to put even more emphasis on the needs of the listening audience in one’s backyard.

My all-time favorite local radio show is on the community radio station KZYX in Philo, California. “Trading Time” is call-in swap show (airing every Saturday morning from 11am to noon) that allows people in Mendocino County to advertise goods for sale, rides needed, or items that they are looking for. It’s like a community bulletin board on the radio (or a live version of Craigslist).

The folksy hosts of “Trading Time” introduce callers, repeat details about the various items for sale, and read off emails and snail mail-delivered listings that have come in from other neighbors. Although on the surface listening to a bunch of people calling in with items to sell or trade might sound mundane, there’s something about the show that is riveting. It provides a real slice of life for the local community and you get to hear a cross-section of folks sharing news of what their current list of cast-offs might be.

Someone might call in offering an old truck. Another caller could be seeking a ride to San Francisco. And yet another might be looking for a couch. In addition to calling in live during the show, members of the community can also submit their listings of items they’d like to buy, sell, trade or barter to the station by snail mail or by using an online submission form.

If you don’t live near Philo, similar shows air all over the country, including the following:

KSCJ 1360 AM in Sioux City, Iowa:  KSCJ Swap Shop is on the air Saturdays and Sundays

WJXR 92.1 FM in Jacksonville, Florida : Swap Shop airs Monday through Saturday mornings

Mid Kansas Radio in McPherson, Kansas: Swap Shop airs daily. You can also check out some of the daily listings on their website. Today they’ve got free puppies and someone is looking for a lava lamp.

WGNS Talk Radio in Murfreesboro, Tennessee : Swap ‘n Shop has been on the air since 1947! Some of the latest listings include hay, pit bull puppies, and a “wheel barrel” for sale and someone who is looking for help fixing their “fridge.”

KGAS in Carthage, Texas: KGAS Radio Swap Shop is on the air weekday mornings. Callers can list up to 4 items in 30 seconds. No firearms allowed and only clean and sanitized mattresses.

One of the most satisfying aspects of putting together our review of the decade’s most important radio trends was the number of comments we received. It appears we touched a nerve or two. And while not everyone agreed with our arguments or conclusions, we did get some thought provoking responses.

Seeing as how we like to encourage some rousing debate about radio, with this post I’d like to highlight a few of them.

Responding to #11, cash-strapped schools turn their backs on college radio, Seth Thornberry points out:

In another example of the spirit of independent radio, the DJs from KTXT got together and created The Llano Idea which has kept up the volunteer run radio (online, at least).

In response to #6, HD Radio launches, but who listens? Who cares? BrianK finds some hope for the service:

Ford announced today that HD Radio is factory installed in their autos and the at least 4X digital power increase for HD radio is on the cusp of being approved which will give listeners stereo reception upto twice as far as traditional auto FM receivers in noise-free and to my ears much better high frequency response

But Greg begs to differ, noting that,

Ford has been announcing that it would add HD Radio since 2007, but it never materialized. Also, Ford is an investor in iBiquity. … BMW even has an HD Radio trouble-shooting guide, and there are nothing but complaints about HD Radio in BMW Forums, so I’m guessing that it will be the same situation with Ford.

And Robert D Young Jr quips:

PS. just one little correction: CD quality is really “seedy” quality.

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As I said in my introduction to our subjective and opinionated review of radio in the 2000s, I still think it was darn near impossible to predict how the medium of radio would end up at the beginning of 2010. Sure, the seeds for satellite radio, HD radio, low-power FM, internet radio and MP3s were already planted by the turn of the century. But home broadband–nevermind wireless or mobile–was a relatively exclusive luxury. MP3 players were lucky to sport enough memory to hold about a hundred minutes of music and weren’t integrated into cell phones. Satellites for Sirius and XM were launched, and HD Radio was being experimented with, but no stations were on the air. Clear Channel was flying high for more than $90 a share.

Anyone taking a broad view of the radio industry in 2000 could certainly see a lot of balls being thrust up into to the air, but it would have taken a psychic to predict where they would land. Nevertheless, for all of the churn we can say very safely that audio-focused content is alive and well.

It’s become clear to me that we Radio Survivors do consider radio to be greater than just the traditional electromagnetic broadcast medium. While we included the RF-based college radio, pubic radio, LPFM, HD Radio and satellite radio in our review, we also touched upon internet radio, Pandora and digital downloads. I believe we are first and foremost fans of terrestrial broadcast radio, but that does not cause us to ignore or discount new audio media. Nor does it cause it us to claim that they are not, in essence, radio services.

The homogenization and delocalization of the broadcast dial caused listeners to seek alternative places to hear more interesting and diverse content. At the same time the popularity of MP3 players and Pandora shows that people were also looking for customization.
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Last month I had the pleasure of visiting WGBK-FM, a high school radio station in suburban Chicago. This was my very first trip to see a station run by teens and I was thrilled to witness young people doing radio.

Not only were they working as DJs on standard music shows, but they were also producing documentaries, PSAs, restaurant reviews, and covering sports events. In the future they will also be hosting live bands in their studios. During my visit to the station, I was amazed and excited to see that kids as young as 13 were getting the opportunity to experience the magic of radio.

WGBK, which airs programming from two different radio stations run by students at Glenbrook South High School and Glenbrook North High School, is one of the handful of high school radio stations in the United States that is regularly recognized with accolades at the John Drury High School Radio Awards.

Both schools that air programming over WGBK offer broadcasting classes, so the experience for these radio students is much like one might get from working at a college radio station.

[Similarly, the U.K. has their Sony Radio Award for Schools competition highlighting excellence in student radio. Recent winners include Radio Roseland and ISCA College Radio.]

For a refreshingly different take on radio, it might be worth your while to seek out a high school radio station in your town. If you can’t find one, then perhaps take a listen to some of these John Drury award-winning stations:

WLTL 88.1 FM – Lyons Township High School, La Grange, Illinois (Won “Best High School Station” 2009)

WBFH 88.1 FM- Bloomfield Hills High School, Michigan (Won 2nd Place for “Best High School Station” 2009)

WGBK 88.1 FM- Glenbrook South High School, Glenview, Illinois (Won 3rd Place for “Best High School Station” 2009)

WGBK 88.1 FM- Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, Illinois

KDPS 88.1 FM- Central Campus, Des Moines, Iowa (frequency is also shared with a college station)

WWPT 90.3 FM- Staples High School, Westport, Connecticut

WRHS – Reavis High School, Burbank, Illinois

KASB 89.9 FM- Bellevue, Bellevue, Washington

WXBA 88.1 FM- Brentwood High School, Brentwood, New York

The Texas Association of Broadcasters opposes the FCC’s proposed localism rules. Why not? Everybody else does.

Two years ago this December the Federal Communications Commission proposed a quartet of new regulations to nudge radio stations to provide more local news, music, and public affairs programming.

These included rules requiring a certain amount of local programming from each station, requiring licensees to staff their stations with an actual human being 24/7, mandating that license owners set up local station advisory boards, and a requirement that a signals’ main studio be situated in its signal area.

Since then these proposals have received nothing but cat calls and boos. The public interest groups that clamored for them in the first half of this decade rarely come to their defense. Instead, just about every regional or national broadcast association writes to the FCC denouncing them on a semi-regular basis. The religious groups say the local board rule will drive their stations in the hands of heathens, atheists, and Family Guy fans. The Fox TV lovers say it’s all a plot to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. Even advocates for minorities question the proposals, among them Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), father of now FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.

So no surprise Texas wants them nixed too. Here’s the what the association told the FCC this month: (more…)

We reported last week that a study from the Knight Commission was quite critical of the amount of time that National Public Radio stations give to coverage of doings within their signal areas. Now yet another assessment offers the same perspective, this one penned by Leonard Downie Jr. and Michael Schudson over at Columbia Journalism Review. Their essay “The Reconstruction of American Journalism” is even more concerned about the trend, actually, both on commercial and non-commercial stations.

“On radio, with the exception of all-news stations in some large cities,” they write, “most commercial stations do little or no local news reporting.” And they continue:

“A growing number of listeners have turned to public radio stations for national and international news provided by National Public Radio. But only a relatively small number of those public radio stations also offer their listeners a significant amount of local news reporting. And even fewer public television stations provide local news coverage.”

The authors mention a few bright spots, but overall: “local news coverage remains underfunded, understaffed, and a low priority at most public radio and television stations, whose leaders have been unable to make—or uninterested in making—the case for investment in local news to donors and Congress.”

What to do? Schudson and Downie say Congress, specifically the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, needs to get busy on this problem. It should declare local news reporting “a top priority for public broadcasting and change its allocation of resources accordingly.” And the CPB should require every public radio and TV station to produce a minimum amount of local programming and require stations to report to the funding agency on their progress. And Congress should change the CPB’s name to the Corporation for Public Media and give it more money.

Finally: “Congress should also reform the governance of the reformed corporation by broadening the membership of its board with appointments by such nonpolitical sources as the Librarian of Congress or national media organizations. Ideological issues that have surfaced over publicly supported arts, cultural activities, or national news coverage should not affect decisions about significantly improving local news reporting by public media.”

Today the House Commerce Committee unanimously passed the Local Radio Act by voice vote, opening up the gates to send the bill for a vote by the full House. This bipartisan action is the best hope the restoration of low-power FM has seen since its wings were clipped back in 2000.

When the FCC created LPFM it intended that these stations could be spaced one notch closer on the dial to a full-power station than another full-power station could be place. That is, if there were a full-power station at 101.1 FM, another full-power station may be no closer than 101.9 FM. But under the FCC’s original rules an LPFM could be at 101.7 FM, known as the third adjacent. Each adjacent is .2 MHz, so the first adjacent to 101.1 FM is 101.3 FM and the second is 101.5 FM.

Under heavy pressure from the National Association of Broadcasters Congress and President Clinton horse-traded away this closer spacing in a rider to an omnibus spending bill passed at the end of 2000. This move achieved the NAB’s true goal of limiting the number of new non-commercial stations by making 10 and 100 watt stations absurdly obey the spacing limits for 10,000 watt stations, even though the NAB’s own members operate close-spaced low-power repeater stations called translators. With a flick of Clinton’s pen some hundreds of communities–especially in large metroplexes–were instantaneously deprived of the opportunity to have a new low-power non-commercial community radio station.

LPFM advocates like the Prometheus Radio Project generally claim that passage of the Local Radio Act will enable hundreds of new stations to go on the air. But I do actually wonder if those hundreds are still possible.
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