People on the front lines fighting college radio station sales are always looking for signs of hope and for evidence that protests can make a difference. There have, in fact, been a number of college radio stations that have convinced their administrations to hang on to their stations and embrace them as a valuable part […]
This Tuesday, October 11th marked the first annual College Radio Day all over North America and in the wake of that event, more attention has been fixated on the future of college radio (at least by the mainstream press). Understandably, stories about the celebration of the medium of college radio have been overshadowed a bit […]
Today marks the first annual College Radio Day. More than 350 stations all over the United States and Canada have signed up to participate. The concept’s fairly simple, it’s a day when people are encouraged to tune in to college radio and the goal is increasing awareness of the amazing range of stations based at […]
I grew up in Sunnyvale, California, in the heart of “Silicon Valley,” and my entire life has been shaped by the ever-advancing technologies being invented in my childhood backyard. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why the death of Steve Jobs yesterday has hit me in ways that I wouldn’t expect. It was a source […]
Now that it’s October, my thoughts have turned to the pronouncements by Family Radio that the end of the world will take place on October 21. As we reported, the worldwide Christian radio network spent a fortune advertising the May 21, 2011 “Judgment Day,” and its founder Harold Camping had to back pedal after the […]
Like many college radio DJs, I don’t necessarily honor the requests made by listeners. Sometimes the song suggestions don’t fit with the style of my show, other times the artists are too mainstream, but most typically I don’t have time to search the library or can’t find the selection mentioned by the caller. An unlucky […]
This week, the executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved a proclamation (PDF) for the establishment of a World Radio Day on February 13 (in honor of the day in 1946 that the United Nations established the concept of United Nations Radio). The objectives of this annual event would […]
Last week, I helped fact-check a lengthy list of colleges who had sold or transferred control of their student radio stations to outside entities. It was a depressing chore, as I delved into the stories behind these losses. Yet, it also reminded me that there is a more heroic story that I keep wanting to […]
Amid all of the new tools for music discovery, there are many that get lumped in with online radio since they approximate a radio listening experience. Whether it’s algorithms or human DJs selecting the tunes, these customized playlists may feel like the radio of the 21st century to their users. Since I still love old-fashioned […]
The web is buzzing today with the news that R.E.M. has broken up. Once a staple of college radio, R.E.M. eventually crossed over into the mainstream. A BBC News headline today declared, “R.E.M.: The band that defined, then eclipsed college rock.” In fact, R.E.M. was one of the bands that epitomized the “college rock” or […]
