Although many of us are fixated on radio crises in the United States, from stations getting shut down to favored radio hosts being fired, to college radio stations getting sold off; it’s rare that we talk about the important role that radio can play in keeping citizens informed and engaged. As I wrote in my […]
Archive | Noncommercial Radio
Classical, jazz, and world music on public radio declined by up to 30% over last decade
A survey of 505 public radio stations from 2001 through 2010 indicates that a fifth of them abandoned classical music formats during those years. Many also let go of jazz, and even more discarded world music during the same time period. The statistics were submitted to the Federal Communications Commission by National Public Radio in […]
KTRU Supporters Petition FCC to Halt Sale of Rice University Station
It’s been a long fight for supporters of student radio station KTRU at Rice University, who don’t want to see their station sold off to University of Houston for use as another public radio outlet. Today was the final day for citizens to send letters of protest to the FCC (as part of the 30-day […]
Last Chance to Send Comments to FCC Regarding KTRU Sale
Supporters of Rice University’s student-run radio station KTRU are rallying fans of independent, local college radio as they continue to fight the sale of their station to University of Houston. The next few days are critical, as they make their last appeal for folks to write letters to the FCC and sign their petition. As […]
Thanksgiving Radio: Alice’s Restaurant, the Beatles, and Radio Drama
Catch Alice’s Restaurant on the 2023 radio dial. See our latest listening guide. Every year on Thanksgiving a number of stations all over the United States air the 18 minute plus song “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie. Here in San Francisco, KFOG (104.5FM San Francisco/97.7FM San Jose) has been honoring that tradition for many years […]
Three strategies for getting your book on National Public Radio
National Public Radio published an interesting blog post this week on how it handles books. This is a subject of interest to many people. NPR receives over 100 books a day for consideration. So how can you get your magnum opus on All Things Considered? As you might guess, NPR’s Lori Grisham insists that there […]
2010 John Drury High School Radio Awards Recognize Stellar Stations
Just about a year ago I visited a high school radio station for the first time and was impressed and excited by the prospect of teens running their own station at Glenbrook South High School near Chicago. As I mentioned at the time, their station, WGBK, is one of many high school radio stations that […]
LPFM still on double-secret probation in the Senate
On Friday word came down that Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso removed his hold on the Local Community Radio Act. If passed, this bill would restore low-power FM standards to FCC’s original specification, thereby allowing hundreds more stations to take to the air. And yet, still no action? That’s because there are still other holds on […]
Soon you’ll be able to tell NPR staff that they’re Nazis by e-mail
Blessed be National Public Radio’s Ombudsman Alicia C. Shepard. The Republicans in the House made their first attempt at defunding NPR on Thursday. They lost the vote, but surely it’s not the last time they’ll try—capitalizing on outrage over NPR’s firing of Juan Williams. Meanwhile Fox News chief Roger Ailes has apologized to the Anti-Defamation […]
College Radio News Round-up: Turkey Drop, Station Kudos, and FCC License Questions in Montana
Recent Radio Survivor contributor Gavin Dahl has been doing an awesome job keeping tabs on radio stories in the press and has been compiling a massive list of recent stories over at Common Frequency. Hopefully some time soon Gavin will be doing a regular feature for Radio Survivor in which he recaps radio stories, as […]