The United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator Ofcom is running a consultation about the state of analog radio formats in that country. In the UK radio licensees must file a “character of service” description that defines the kind of content they promise to provide. This includes the music associated with the station. These formats can be described […]
The online/FM indie Russian radio station Echo of Moscow is under fire for posting a questionnaire to its readers on its website. The question went roughly as follows: “Whether [to] print editions cartoons of the Prophet MuhammadMuhammad in response to the shooting of the editorial board ‘Charlie Hebdo’?” Over half a million people voted (yes, […]
The United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator Ofcom has opened a consultation for community radio station Blast 106 of Belfast, which wants to change some of its “key commitments.” These boil down to the signal’s basic audience objectives and character. The volunteer run music oriented operation is presently tasked to serve “the student and youth community” of […]
Ofcom has been busy of late, giving permanent community radio licenses to three United Kingdom media operations. One goes to Endeavor Radio of the Boston/Lincolnshire area. Endeavor started out with a temporary license in 2006 (its name was Stump Radio back in those days). Then it toggled between Internet broadcasting alone and Internet/FM service, covering […]
About a year ago, just as the Federal Communications Commission was approving applications for Low Power FM construction permits, I wrote up a list of contenders with the most attention grabbing names. These include Bakersfield Burrito, Shaggers, Electron Benders, and Rusting Sprocket Art. But the most intriguing applicant, at least for me, was the Global […]
The imminent closure of the Irish public broadcaster’s longwave service we reported last week has been postponed until January 19, 2015. Its original shut down date was next week, October 27. The Managing Director of RTÉ Radio Jim Jennings plans to travel to the UK to meet with community groups affected by the loss of […]
I recently learned of a series of YouTube videos that show a German machine that is alleged to be the voice behind Soviet cold war numbers stations. The videos, uploaded four years ago, show something that looks like a piece of electronic lab equipment that emits a sampled or synthesized voice rattling off a programmed […]
Whoever they were, they marched into the offices at radio Fiesta Mexicana in Mazatlan, in the state of Sinaloa, and demanded to know where they could find Atilano Roman Tirado. He was the host of a weekly show at the station, speaking live on the air at the moment. The receptionist explained that he was […]
In the United States there are no broadcast stations operating below the AM band, though non-directional beacons, time stations and military communications are transmitted in the so-called longwave band that sits below 535 kHz. Longwave has been used for broadcasting in Europe and the Middle East for decades, but it’s a fact I’d sort of […]
We are holding our breath here at Radio Survivor following the news of the murder of journalist Carlos Mejia Orellana, marketing manager of Radio Progreso in Honduras. A community based radio station run by the Jesuits of Central America Province, Radio Progreso has long been under attack in a country which suffered a military coup […]
