Xtra, Canada’s Gay/Lesbian news service, has strongly questioned the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council’s decision to declare Dire Straits‘ song ‘Money for Nothing’ “unacceptable for broadcast” over the airwaves. But judging from the reader comments, Gay and Lesbian Canadians are divided on the matter. The song itself is about a crabby home appliance installation guy bitter […]
Author Archive | Matthew Lasar
Citizen Radio coming to San Francisco with Daily Kos founder
If you’re looking for something fun to do this Saturday, and you live in or will be visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, there’s an upcoming Citizen Radio Live! sketchfest to consider. The time: three PM, Jan 22; the place: the Punch Line Comedy Club. Citizen Radio is run by Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny, […]
Martian radio on YouTube!
Every few days I check in with YouTube to see who has posted a radio related video, and this fun Sesame Street routine came up. These two critters keep turning the dial until they find something nice and atonal to relate to. They’re not very subtle, indicating their preferences via “nope nope nope nopes” or […]
Maxwell’s and WFMU-FM win “most snarky party poster” prize
Radio Survivor is giving its “most snarky party poster” prize to Maxwell’s of Hoboken, New Jersey and free form radio station WFMU-FM of thereabouts. The poster in question announces a party for one of the winners of WFMU’s recent auction fundraiser. Were I in the Hoboken area, I would definitely attend, if for no other reason […]
Android powered car radio a hit at CES 2011 conference
It’s called the Parrot Asteroid—an Android powered car stereo that will pipe in your music “from any source,” including FM, web radio, iPhones, SD cards, the works. The gadget has been a hit at the CES 2011 conference (today is the last day), getting nice reviews from Consumer Reports and Droid Nerds. Here’s a YouTube […]
Was firing Juan Williams a “costly mistake” for NPR?
The review of NPR’s firing of Juan Williams is out. The NPR executive who gave Williams the axe over the telephone has resigned. And NPR’s ombudsman Alicia Shepard warns that the brouhaha could prove “costly” for the radio service. “The Williams firing was a very costly management mistake on many levels,” Shepard opines. The commentary […]
FCC promises “swift action” on Low Power FM law
Shortly after President Obama signed the Local Community Radio Act of 2010 into law on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chair Julius Genachowski issued this statement in response to the move: The Local Community Radio Act signed by President Obama is a big win for radio listeners. Low power FM stations are small, but they make […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]