I was very sad to hear about the fire at Boston University’s college radio station WTBU on Friday, March 25. A message from WTBU Advisor Anne Donohue written last Friday and posted on the station’s Facebook page reads in part, (more…)
Archive | Noncommercial Radio
LPFM Watch: 3 Applications Dismissed for Illegitimate Addresses
Three low-power FM applications associated with alleged serial-applicant Antonio Cesar Guel were dismissed by the FCC on Wednesday. In all three cases the Commission found that the applicant addresses provided to the FCC were not legitimate. In perhaps the most absurd case, the headquarters location listed for Beaumont Iglesias Cristo Viene turned out to be […]
Fishing village community radio station coming to southeast India
India’s bipolar relationship with community radio resurfaced this week with the inauguration of a new radio station for fishing folk and a potentially liberalized policy for government monitoring of content. First, the fishing story. The Times of India reports that an NGO will soon launch a local station for families who make their living catching fish in […]
Can station managers fix the “self-imposed smallness” of college radio?
The usual excellent suspects associated with our Radio Survivor podcast produced an interesting debate program about the “self-imposed smallness” of college radio last week. Popular radio blogger Ken Mills served as the show’s guest critic. He’s a very smart articulate guy with a lot of experience in radio. “I come from a management background,” Mills […]
College Radio Watch: Was College Radio the Best Time of Your Life?
I’ve heard so many stories about how the time spent in college radio was one of the most significant experiences during college for many college radio DJs. College radio alums have joked that they majored in “college radio” and more than a few claim to have nearly flunked out of school due to spending countless […]
LPFM Watch: From Veterans to Newbies, New LPFMs Eye the Airwaves
While recording this week’s podcast, Eric Klein regaled me with tales of his experience hanging on out a roof with Freeform Portland volunteers, as they worked to install an antenna for the new lower power FM (LPFM) station in Portland, Oregon. He described how many of the team were college radio veterans hoping to replicate […]
Restoring the voice of a slain community radio host
In 2014 armed thugs murdered Mexican community radio activist Atilano Roman Tirado as he spoke live in his station’s studio. I wrote of the crime on these pages. Tirado was a leader of a coalition of hundreds of families in Sinaloa asking for compensation after losing their homes to the Picachos dam. He was a […]
Doh! I forgot to own an AM/FM radio receiver!
I just finished listening to the latest Radio Survivor podcast and as usual it is informative and lots of fun. Paul Riismandel and Eric Klein were having at it over the latest #infinitedial stats. I’ve transcribed a bit of the chat: Paul: Here’s one of the big headlines about and it kind of actually blew […]
College Radio Watch: Farewell to the College Radio Woodies?
MTV hosted its annual Woodies event this week at SXSW in Austin, Texas; but a notable absence this time around was the awards ceremony, including the annual College Radio Woodie Award. The social media-fueled online popularity contest was a favorite for many college radio stations, who rallied fans to attend click-a-thons in support of their […]
LPFM Watch: More than a Year of Silence Leads to LPFM Cancellation
Licensed radio stations of all types–including LPFMs–are required to stay on the air, unless granted specific and limited exemptions by the FCC. The logic is clear and sound: licenses are for broadcasting, not collecting and monopolizing like so many empty parcels of land. A church-owned station in Buffalo, WY recently fell afoul of this rule. […]