NPR’s new ombudsman Edward Schumancher-Matos is cranking out a slew of interesting posts, of late. Among them: Is “entitlements” an appropriate word to use in news stories describing social security? “A pension is not something you are entitled to, it is something that belongs to you,” one listener wrote to NPR in response to numerous […]
Archive | Public Radio
Lawyers for Friends of KUSF Ask FCC for Evidentiary Hearing
Over the past 10 days, the lawyers for Friends of KUSF have been delving into the hundreds of pages of documents that were submitted in response to the FCC’s recent letter of inquiry into the pending sale of college radio station KUSF to Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN). As I recounted in my story yesterday, […]
Scrutiny of KUSF Deal Continues as USF and CPRN Respond to FCC’s Inquiry Letter
It’s been nearly seven months since the plug was pulled on the University of San Francisco (USF) terrestrial college radio station KUSF, and the FCC is still scrutinizing the pending sale of the 90.3 FM license to Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN). On August 1, USF and CPRN submitted their joint response to the FCC’s […]
USF Granted Request to Limit Scope of FCC Inquiry into Pending KUSF Sale
University of San Francisco (USF) and Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN) are probably in the midst of scrambling to pull together documents for the FCC regarding the proposed sale of college radio station KUSF and the currently-in-place “Public Service Operating Agreement” (PSOA) which is allowing CPRN to air classical music station KDFC over the KUSF […]
Delving into WJMF’s Move off FM as College Radio Station Makes Way for WGBH’s 99.5 All Classical
Earlier this summer when I learned that Bryant University’s college radio station was leaving its FM home, I was upset to find out that nobody seemed to be protesting the hand-over of the frequency to a public radio station. Much of the story seemed like deja vu, as a private university announced during summer break […]
Did a NPR story hurt your ears?
I’ve heard a lot of complaints about NPR, but never that it exacerbated hearing problems. Now we can add that to the list. NPR’s ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos notes that a story on tinnitus (ringing in your ears) which included sounds associated with the malady got a lot of unhappy comments: “I have tinnitus and I […]
NPR listeners irked by “illegitimate child” remark
“There is no such thing as an ‘illegitimate child’,” early public radio producer Elsa Knight Thompson once said. “There may be illegitimate parents.”* Thompson made this remark during the Battle of Britain in 1940. Raised in Seattle, she had married an Englishman and come with him to Europe. She was evacuating children from London when […]
Motion to Dismiss Filed with FCC Regarding Pending KUSF Sale
The contentious pending sale of college radio station KUSF to Classical Public Radio Network continues to keep the lawyers busy, as a Motion to Dismiss the entire application was filed with the FCC just before the July 4th holiday. At the same time that the FCC was sending out its Letter of Inquiry to University […]
Apply now for “zero to radio” Cape Cod public media intensive
Want to learn how to produce in-depth radio features with top producers like Rob Rosenthal, Jay Allison, and Ira Glass of This American Life? Transom.org has opened the application window for its seven week Transom Story Workshop, to be held in Cape Cod this October. Why seven weeks? “Unless you want to go to journalism […]
WRVU Sale May Violate Tennessee Non-Profit Regulations
Each and every college radio station facing a potential takeover by an outside group has a unique situation and the twists and turns of the transactions taking place at KTRU, KUSF, and WRVU are evidence of that. In each case, questions have been raised about not only the lack of transparency in these dealings, but […]
