Should NBC finally apologize to Mae West?
Everybody’s waiting for the United States government to decide whether to approve the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal. The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice have to bless the marriage, and it appears that the FCC is going to do so with some conditions. These include requirements that the new entity make […]
“‘Happy Holidays’… is what terrorists say.”
I’d like to thank 30 Rock for the title of this article. Their brief mention of the differences between “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays” through a Christmas card being sent by an ultra-conservative couple stating “‘Happy Holidays’… is what terrorists say. Merry Christmas!” is really quite perfect. Nina Totenberg, a legal correspondent for NPR, has […]
Is a public radio station a community center?
A producer at Pacifica radio outlet KPFA in Berkeley sent me this amusing Xtranormal skit, which works out his feelings about a proposal to hold a big “community party” at the station. I’m not sure what the status of that idea is, and obviously the discussion is referential to the recent troubles at the station. […]
NPR Gets Nod on List of Top PR Blunders of 2010
Although the list came out a few weeks back, yesterday Current.org reported that NPR was awarded a spot on the Top 10 PR Blunders List for 2010. Just add this distinction to the litany of challenges NPR is facing this year, which were so eloquently discussed by Gavin Dahl in his Radio Survivor post yesterday […]
Radio’s Fall – Part Two: NPR’s ‘Liberal’ Identity Crisis
Editor’s Note: Radioactive Gavin has collected more than 300 articles on radio and digital music over the past 3 months for Common Frequency. This is the second in a series of seven posts he is contributing, looking back at the end of a rough year in radio. When Stephen Colbert gave a ‘medal of fear’ to a seven-year old […]
SNS Radio smacks down for homeless relief
“You know, don’t a be a bitch,” declared the masked man on the Sunday Night Showdown radio network. “You know what I mean?” “Please give a fuck,” added another panelist. “That’s right,” concurred the masked guy. “Please give a fuck about the city that you live in and that some day your children will live […]
High School Students doing Radio: Radio Drama on CFSI and DJs at WLCA
I didn’t get the chance to do radio until I was a freshman in college, so I’m always envious of those lucky teenagers who are broadcasting from their very own high school radio stations. Since very few high schools actually have radio stations, it’s inspiring that there are some college and community radio stations who […]
Radio’s Fall – Part One: No Money, Mo’ Problems
Editor’s Note: Radioactive Gavin has collected more than 300 articles on radio and digital music over the past 3 months for Common Frequency. This is the first of a series of seven posts he will be contributing in the coming weeks, looking back at the end of a rough year in radio. Conservatives crying “Defund NPR” […]
New FCC net neutrality rules good for Internet radio? Probably not
The Federal Communications Commission has issued an Order creating “rules of the road” for the Internet. They require transparency and prohibit the blocking of content. They also ban “unreasonable discrimination” for wireline providers, but give wireless broadband a free pass. The Commission says it will give the hairy eyeball to “pay for priority” deals and […]
College Radio Gets Break from Copyright Royalty Board on Webcasting Rates and Reporting
College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI) is reporting that they’ve achieved an important milestone after their settlement with SoundExchange on copyright royalty fees for music played by educational radio webcasters was preliminarily adopted by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). CRB’s “Initial Determination of Rates and Terms” (PDF) was released on December 14 and outlines the payment terms […]