He’s produced albums that inspired The Rolling Stones. The 50th anniversary of his Arhoolie Records label was noted by The New York Times. His voice has regaled public radio listeners about “down home” music for decades, especially at KPFA in Berkeley. Generations of Blues, Cajun, Tejano, Gospel, Polka, and Bluegrass legends have graced his studios. […]
Archive | Noncommercial Radio
Students Hold Wake for KUSF
As the battle over the future of college radio station KUSF continues, students at University of San Francisco (USF) expressed their displeasure over the proposed station sale by holding a wake on the lawn outside of a USF Board of Trustees meeting at noon today. Mourning students dressed in black held forth in front of […]
Spring Hill College to Sell WHIL to University of Alabama
In a familiar-sounding tale, University of Alabama is in talks to purchase public radio station WHIL from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama for $1.1 million. WHIL currently airs a public radio format, mainly comprised of classical music programming and syndicated NPR shows like “Weekend Edition” and “All Things Considered.” It is expected that the […]
What is “professionalism” in community radio?
In the world of community radio, there is probably no term more contentious than “professionalism.” Say the word and watch the conversation flare up. Why is the p-word so threatening? Probably because at places like community/college/LPFM radio stations, most community media people are volunteers. So when words like “professionalism” surface, folks imagine themselves being replaced […]
FCC Dismisses University of San Francisco’s Request to Move KUSF Transmitter
About a month ago, University of San Francisco filed a request with the FCC (PDF), asking for permission to move KUSF’s transmitter and antenna to a site north of San Francisco in Sausalito. As stated in their “minor change to a licensed facility” application to the FCC, this request from USF regarding 90.3 FM was […]
Doug Henwood’s Radio Days
Doug Henwood of the Left Business Observer is one of my favorite people in the world of arts, letters, and radio. A brilliant and entertaining critic of neo-liberalism, neo-conservatism, and neo-crackpotism, Henwood is the author of Wall Street and After the New Economy—the latter a remarkable analysis of the dot-com-bomb phenomenon. Doug is long associated […]
College Radio is Revived at Youngstown State with Rookery Radio
I was excited to hear a few months back about the work going on at Youngstown State University to launch Rookery Radio, a brand new online-only radio station. It’s easy for me to get fixated on sad news about station shutdowns, so it’s nice to see that there are campuses where new radio ventures are […]
Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan, and the Woman Question: The Virtues of Thinking Twice
Susie Rotolo, Bob Dylan’s lover in the early sixties, died last month, and NPR recently played an excerpt from a 2008 interview with her. I was very moved by the interview, and felt that it gave me a startling and fresh perspective on an important part of Dylan’s early work—his love (and hate) songs, and […]
Radio Guide to SXSW 2011
As I’m watching various friends’ Facebook updates and check-ins from Austin, I’m getting a serious case of SXSW-envy. Although I can’t be there at the famed music/interactive/film festival this year, there are tons of radio-related events that I wish I could be a fly on the wall at (especially the How to Save College Radio […]
FCC eases rules for new Tribal stations
At the Commission’s March meeting the FCC approved changes to the rules governing priority for new tribe-owned stations intended to serve Native American populations. Previously, priority for licenses was granted to federally-recognized Tribes seeking licenses to serve Tribal-owned lands, such as reservations. The March 3 report and order (PDF) now gives Tribes the opportunity to […]