Controversy continues to swirl around San Francisco Bay Area classical radio station KDFC, reinvented as a listener supported outlet. The Federal Communications Commission still hasn’t ruled on its parent organization’s acquisition of an FM frequency from the University of San Francisco. No need to remind Radio Survivor readers about the crude way in which KUSF […]
Archive | Noncommercial Radio
KPFA morning schedule gets new makeover
It has been about eighteen months since Pacifica listener supported station KPFA (Berkeley, CA) dumped its Morning Show for a volunteer lineup called the “Morning Mix.” The move was very controversial and personally disappointing. Thus I was happy to see this press release (below) announcing a new show for the station’s seven AM slot, “Up […]
Happy High School Radio Day
Today is the first annual High School Radio Day and at least 30 high school radio stations are participating in this event designed to raise the profile of high school radio. I plan to tune in to some of my nearby stations in order to see if they have anything planned. Unfortunately, according to the […]
There’s still jazz on Chicago radio, despite the death of Smooth 87.7
Editors’ note: Since the publication of this article the smooth jazz format has returned to the Chicago airwaves. Read this December 31, 2014 update for more details. My post about the demise of Chicago smooth jazz station Smooth 87.7 two weeks ago continues to gather comments lamenting the station’s passing. Many of the commenters express […]
FCC will hold live forum on Low Power FM/translator applications
This Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission will hold a live, streaming forum on how the agency plans to handle Low Power FM and translator applications. “The focus of the forum will be how pending FM translator applicants from the 2003 Auction 83 window and pending and prospective FM translator modification applicants will be processed,” the […]
The Hidden History of WTYJ at Georgia Tech
As I was researching a specific tidbit of radio history a few weeks back, I happened upon some intriguing stories about the early days of student radio at Georgia Tech. Today Georgia Tech is home to the 100,000 watt college radio station WREK at 91.1 FM; but back in the 1940s, plans were underway for […]
As May 21 Anniversary Approaches, Family Radio Avoids End of World Talk
A year ago I was growing increasingly fascinated with Family Radio as they became the center of a media frenzy over their President Harold Camping’s predictions of global catastrophe on May 21, 2011. Billboards promoting their Judgment Day pronouncements were present all over the world and Camping’s live call-in talk program, “Open Forum,” ratcheted up […]
High School Radio Day Set for May 16
Inspired by the inaugural College Radio Day in 2011, the first annual High School Radio Day is scheduled for May 16, 2012. The idea is to spread the word about high school radio. The date was chosen because apparently the first high school radio station in the United States, WNAS, launched in May 1949 in […]
Remembering Adam Yauch and the Beastie Boys’ on-and-off relationship with college radio
Adam Yauch, also known as MCA, of the Beastie Boys passed away from cancer today at the age of 47. Although I knew Yauch had been battling cancer for the last few years, the news still hit me as a shock. I started to think about how my relationship to Yauch and his bandmates’ music […]
College Radio 50 State Tour – South Carolina’s WSBF
On my Spinning Indie blog I have an ambitious project in which I’m trying to profile a college radio station from each of the 50 states in the U.S. I started the series in October, 2008, when I took my first virtual trip to KXUA in Arkansas. I managed to get to 15 states total […]