Last month we reported that KCPR-FM, the college radio station at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo was changing focus to become a more student-oriented station under the oversight of the journalism department. The station, which is nearing its 50th anniversary, recently said goodbye to some long-time non-student DJs, including a jazz show host (and […]
In the coming months, a low power FM (LPFM) student radio station will launch at University of Virginia with the call letters WXTJ-LP. After operating as a streaming radio station for a few years (initially called WTJX), students will soon be taking their shows to the terrestrial airwaves in Charlottesville, Virginia (at 100.1 FM) alongside […]
Recently a reporter asked me how common independently-owned commercial radio stations were. I told him that they were a dying breed and another example of this disappearing category is talk radio station WYBG-AM in Massena, New York. After 57 years on the air, the station shut down on June 30. Its owners still hold out […]
I’ve been reluctant to publish my own list of the “best” college radio stations, as it would be an entirely subjective endeavor. Of course I do have some of my personal favorites, but overall, I’m a proponent of all kinds of college radio. I would prefer to expose more people to the breadth of college […]
On this week’s Radio Survivor Podcast, Paul Riismandel and I talked a bit about the release of Beats 1 Radio, giving our take on the brand new service. As part of the discussion I mentioned that some reviews of Beats 1 have been making comparisons with college radio. Aaron Lammer, the co-host of the LongForm […]
Today, the FCC released its quarterly list of the total number of licensed broadcast stations. As we’ve seen in recent years, the number of licensed stations continues to grow, with the current grand total at 15,455 licensed full power radio stations as of June 30, 2015. The biggest increase this quarter is in the number […]
In this week’s Radio Survivor Podcast (our 4th!) I join Paul Riismandel and Eric Klein as the third co-host for the first half hour of the podcast. In addition to talking about radio in general, I also spent more time discussing some stories that I’ve written about here, including Nikki Marra’s college radio documentary, the […]
I just noticed a great piece on REC Networks, “The Six Segments of LPFM,” which outlines the wide array of groups that hold licenses for low power FM (LFPM) radio stations. As we’ve been following the growth of LPFM, particularly after the 2013 application window, I have been interested to learn more about stations in […]
I enjoyed listening to Nikki Marra’s radio documentary, “The College Radio Road Trip” this week. Although she released it last fall as part of College Radio Day‘s on-air festivities, it’s getting some renewed attention after receiving a finalist certificate at the New York Festivals’ International Radio Program Awards in the editorial/viewpoint subcategory of the larger […]
In late 2014, St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California submitted paperwork to sell its KSFH-FM license to Mountain View Public Broadcasting. The assignment of the 87.9 FM non-commercial class D high school radio license (a rarity, as there are only a few licensed radio stations on 87.9 FM) was just approved by the […]
