NPR met with the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday to chat about subjects dear to the hearts of developers and policy wonks alike: local programming and mobile radio standards.
Archive | Noncommercial Radio
Today We're Half-Way to LPFM
It’s a day that thousands of low-power FM and community radio activists have been awaiting for just about nine years. This evening, at 7:06 pm the House of Representatives, with a minimum of drama, passed H.R. 1147, the Local Community Radio Act of 2009 by voice vote. Little drama for the House nevertheless meant nearly […]
NPR to FCC: We're "relatively secure"
NPR tells the FCC that its “revenue model, while not immune to the economic and technological challenges of the day, is diversified and relatively secure.” Glad to hear it.
Big staff cuts at America's first listener supported radio station
Alas, my favorite listener supported radio station is not immune to this awful economic slump. KPFA-FM in Berkeley, California has announced across-the-board staff cuts. Looks like everything’s getting sliced. Even the General Manager, Lemlem Rijio, has taken a pay hit. “These cuts to KPFA staff have been the most difficult thing I have had to […]
Top Holiday Gifts for Radio Lovers
The craziness of the holiday shopping season is now upon us and hopefully there’s someone on your list (maybe you) who deserves a little radio love. Whether you are shopping for a retro radio dude, a kid with a penchant for pop, someone with an eye for high design, or your favorite radio scholar, there […]
The wait for LPFM continues one more day…
The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 was scheduled for a floor vote in the House of Representatives today, a moment that LPFM activists have been awaiting for almost nine years. And wait they did. Anyone who has watched her share of C-SPAN knows that the House moves at its own pace, for its own […]
High School Radio's Star Stations
Last month I had the pleasure of visiting WGBK-FM, a high school radio station in suburban Chicago. This was my very first trip to see a station run by teens and I was thrilled to witness young people doing radio. Not only were they working as DJs on standard music shows, but they were also […]
NPR goes Android, launches new mobile site
Android users will now be able to access the full range of National Public Radio programming thanks to a new app – “NPR News.” The feature for the open source smart phone was built for NPR by Google developer and public radio fan Michael Fredrick. In addition, NPR has launched a new site for mobile […]
Chicago Public Radio Calls Out LPTV Stations Exploiting Backdoor to FM Dial
Far outside the view of the general public, the virtual cratediggers of the FCC’s electronic recesses like Matthew and myself are sometimes privy to the little slap-fights that go on between broadcasters. In this case things are getting a little heated over the far left end of the FM dial, with a prominent public radio […]
Scanning the Radio Dial: Chinese Radio in L.A. and College Radio in Ithaca
It’s a good sign that people continue to write articles praising radio offerings from coast-to-coast; so I just wanted to take a moment to share a couple of stories about some interesting things happening in various radio markets. A piece in the L.A. Times profiles AM station KAZN in Pasadena, California, which was the first […]