Community radio and free speech activists around the world are following the case of Alma Delia Olivares, a Mexican journalist now released after days of detention in late February. Various news items say that Olivares still faces charges that include “audio pollution” and “illegal use of the nation’s good.” The World Association of Community Radio […]
Author Archive | Matthew Lasar
Is YouTube The Soup of Radio?
I don’t know about you, but the cable show The Soup has long been one of my top five guilty pleasures. Judge me as you will, but I simply must know what Honey Boo Boo, Gary Busey, and/or Justin Bieber did or said over the last 72 hours. Thus I keep my eyes peeled to […]
“Ravel Day” coming to BBC Radio 3
I predict that Maurice Ravel lovers are going to flock to BBC 3 Radio on Friday, when the service will roll out a full 24 hours of the French composer’s works. “Ravel day” will start at 6:30 AM with a drive time introduction to his genius (heads up: presenter Petroc Trelawny will be taking e-mail […]
Broadcasters to FCC: “investigate” FM chips in mobile phones
Perusing various Federal Communications Commission’s proceedings, a coordinated campaign of state broadcasting association visits caught my eye. They’re all omnibus do-this do-that advisory statements that cross many dockets, but interestingly, a few urge the agency to “look into” the question of getting FM tuner chips in cell phones. Here’s the California Broadcasters Association’s input on […]
Epic Dance Music: tapping into SoundCloud dance power
I am enjoying Epic Dance Music, a beta application that draws from SoundCloud searches to create terrific dance playlist stations. Over the weekend I listened to a list riffing off of my initial pick: “Catgroove” by Parov Stelar. This was followed by a Decibel Junkies tune, DJ Trademark’s “Uncontrollable,” MGMT Kids, “BlogsDemodaCE,” Hello’s very amusing […]
BlackBerry 10.2.1: Smartphones don’t need FM (but it’s nice when it’s there)
CrackBerry has a nice YouTube on the BlackBerry 10 FM tuner application. My current smartphone doesn’t include an FM chip, and suddenly I miss having that option. Full CrackBerry lowdown here.
“The Cat” of South Cheshire gets community radio FM license
The United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator Ofcom has awarded a five year FM license to a South Cheshire area community radio station appropriately named “The Cat.” I love this station. The Cat plays lots of R&B, Country, and Soul. It has programs with names like “Cat Country,” “The Puurfect Breakfast,” “Puurfect 80s,” “On the tiles,” and […]
UK classical station to air Sir Neville Marriner marathon
Classical radio marathons usually take place around the holiday season, and they generally involve asking listeners to name their favorite composers. Then the station streams the top 100 picks. But on April 15, Classic FM in the United Kingdom will run a ‘thon that breaks this mold. The station will air 24 hours of performances […]
SoundCloud’s progress: Explore, messaging, and Visual
Over the last four months SoundCloud has added significant visual, search, and messaging capability to its environment; here’s the rundown: In late January, SoundCloud released its Visual Player. The Player adds larger graphic backgrounds to your embedded tracks. Below an embed of a tune by Punjabi singer and actor Gippy Grewal. Some embedded visuals seem to […]
Net neutrality, mobile data caps, and the future of Internet radio
The Federal Communications Commission has opened up a new conversation on net neutrality in light of an Appeals Court’s mid-January strikedown of some of the agency’s Open Internet rules. “We establish a new docket within which to consider how the Commission should proceed in light of the court’s guidance in the Verizon v. FCC opinion,” […]