Some NPR listeners were clearly offended after a 48-second spot by Barbara Hagerty about the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. The group is composed of roughly 70 members and boasts a website with the not-so-charming URL of www.GodHatesFags.com. Primarily known for their protests of soldiers’ funerals, displaying signs such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” […]
Archive | Public Radio
Public Radio Station WLIU Sold to Community Group, Renamed WPPB
When universities put their radio stations up for sale, more often than not the people lining up with cash in hand are non-local radio groups. So, it’s a wonderful surprise when those who work at a station that’s on the chopping block take the initiative to save the station from outside parties. As we reported […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Letter Writing Campaign to Protest Sale of KTRU Begins while New Details about Secret Dealings Emerge
As we reported earlier this month, paperwork has been submitted to the FCC in reference to the sale of Rice University radio station KTRU to University of Houston. Fans of the student radio station have expressed concern and outrage ever since rumors of the sale first came to light and have mounted an impressive effort […]
Arlene Engelhardt: welcome to Pacifica radio
It was a classic Pacifica radio moment over at the network’s flagship station, KPFA in Berkeley, on Tuesday. Having laid off the Morning Show staff, new Pacifica Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt thought she had it all figured out. She was going to pipe in programming from KPFK, KPFA’s sister station in Los Angeles. The dumped […]
Tuning in great interesting radio in LA
I made my first ever trip to the home of the nation’s entertainment industry, Los Angeles, last week. It’s fair to say my expectations were muted given stories I’d heard of LA’s endless sprawl, over-emphasis on surface and glitter, and general vapidity. However, I was pleasantly surprised with my experience, from the great food, truly […]