Over the weekend I had the most amazing time at the What is Radio? conference in Portland, Oregon. Scholars and radio practitioners from all over the world convened in order to talk about the past, present, and future of radio. One of the most powerful panel discussions was Friday’s “Making Waves Behind Bars” session. Phil […]
An uncompromising voice for human rights, unafraid to make unrestrained and harsh criticisms of local and federal officials, is still heard on the airwaves of Illinois capital city. Despite multiple letters and visits from the FCC over the years, the Springfield, Illinois unlicensed station Human Rights Radio celebrated its 25th anniversary last fall. This week […]
Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent record stores, will take place all over the world on Saturday, April 20th. Non-commercial radio and independent record stores often have a synergistic relationship, so it makes sense that they would be natural partners for this event. Over the years I’ve heard about interesting collaborations between radio […]
For reasons that remain a mystery to me (and I’m sure others), the Board of Directors of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters has dismissed NFCB President, Maxie Jackson. An article in Current quotes a very unhappy Vice President Ginny Berson confiding that she’d been told “style issues” and differences in vision prompted the ouster. […]
I am continuing to peruse the Federal Communication Commission’s latest regulations for Low Power FM stations. The FCC promises an application window around October. Some of the rules make obvious sense. Others strike me as pretty gnarly, the gnarliest among them the provisions for voluntary and involuntary time sharing of LPFM stations. I wonder how […]
There are reports from Zimbabwe indicating that the crackdown on independent radio is stepping up. Shortwave station SW Radio Africa reports that police in the town of Rusape went on raids of opposition party supporters looking for shortwave radios (via SWLing post). However a member of parliament said that the police found no radios. According […]
Occupy Boston Radio (OBR.fm), a one-year old online radio station, is in the midst of a 2-week Radio Camp. Events kicked off with an open house last weekend and as I write this, the station is holding a workshop (“Making Radio Sound Good”) hosted by radio programmer Linda Pinkow from M.I.T. radio station WMBR. Sessions […]
The Waves on the Mersey festival in Liverpool, England has concluded. From February 18 through the 22nd five giant radios aired historical documentaries about the famous city broadcast at 87.7 FM. Seventy students produced the docs. The huge radios themselves were situated at museums, churches, and other public places. On Monday, February 18, the first […]
On the occasion of World Radio Day, a special event focused on LPFM opportunities will take place in Seattle today. Brown Paper Tickets is presenting a free community open house and press conference featuring several non-profit groups who plan to apply for new LPFM licenses in Seattle. The event will take place today (Wednesday, February […]
The latest tweet from Pacifica station WBAI in New York City asks for help moving the operation out of its Wall Street digs: WBAI is “movin’ on up”. Volunteers are needed to help pack all day long this week. Email ops@wbai.org. According to a station staff announcement, BAI will temporarily move its studios to City […]
