NPR has finally gotten around to responding to a column in Slate describing the network’s army of listener e-mail and letter writers as “snoots.” In March, Farhad Manjoo went medieval on NPR listeners who protest various items on popular culture aired on All Things Considered and Morning Edition. He was particularly incensed at listener tirades […]
Author Archive | Matthew Lasar
Big market radio stations “unwilling and unable” to handle disasters?
Here’s some interesting fare for discussion as the Federal Communications Commission prepares to test its Emergency Alert System on Wednesday. Radio stations in big markets know that they’re responsible for disaster assistance, a new study observes, but are sometimes reluctant to coordinate with public officials. They may also assume that neighboring stations serving smaller areas […]
KPFA: scenes from Occupy Oakland
In its normative helter skelter way, Pacifica radio is providing ongoing coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Several weeks ago I posted a piece critical of New York station WBAI’s lack of live coverage of the activities in Zuccoti Park and elsewhere around the area. Since then ‘BAI has launched Occupy Wall Street Radio […]
Stop Online Piracy Act: an online music sharing killer?
I am reading Representative Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) proposed Stop Online Piracy Act, and it scares the heck out of me. Like the oft-criticized Protect IP Act making its way through the Senate, the House bill is ostensibly designed to stop pirate content sites by allowing the U.S. Attorney General to get a court order forcing […]
Clear Channel: laying off deejays; still pushing for deregulation
The New York Times reports that Clear Channel is laying off radio deejays across the country, perhaps in the hundreds. These include Tony Lynn and Myles Copeland of Clear Channel Albuquerque country music station KBQI, shown in the YouTube video below. But two weeks before the story came out, the radio giant once again asked […]
Shocker: public radio station asks listeners about format changes before making them
I could barely believe my eyes as I opened my Radio Survivor e-mail today and saw this notice from KALW-FM in San Francisco: “KALW is considering some significant changes for 2012, and before we move forward, we want to know what you think,” the announcement explains. The station is overseen by San Francisco’s Unified School […]
Turntable.fm fans get Halloween avatars
I’ve been complaining for months about the need for more avatars over at Turntable.fm. At last they’ve arrived, at least for Halloween. Here’s a sampling: As you can see, we have the Bride of Frankenstein and various Hollywood axe murderers among the array. Undisplayed is Dracula and the Frankenstein beast himself. Here’s what the scene […]
ATC host Michelle Norris will “step away” while husband works with Obama Campaign
The This is NPR blog discloses that All Things Considered host Michelle Norris’ husband Broderick Johnson has taken a top position with the Obama Campaign. “After careful consideration, we decided that Broderick’s new role could make it difficult for me to continue hosting ATC,” Norris explains in a published memo: Given the nature of Broderick’s position with […]
WBAI and Occupy Wall Street—where is the live coverage?
I’m picking up a lot more frustration with Pacifica radio station WBAI-FM in New York regarding Occupy Wall Street—a general sense that the station could be providing much more live coverage of the actions and events than it currently airs. Apologies for the textblock approach to this issue. Here’s what economist and former WBAI programmer […]
Ham radio alive and well in Bernal Heights, San Francisco
Today Radio Survivor contributor Bob Mason and I were taking a stroll through Holly Park in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Suddenly we ran into Art, who had set up a complete amateur radio setup on a park bench and table. The following brief interview ensued: