World follows fate of Azerbaijan radio journalist
As far as anyone knows, radio host Khadija Ismayilova is headed for or is already in jail in Azerbaijan. She has been convicted of and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in the slammer for “running an illegal business, tax evasion, abuse of power and embezzlement.” But practically everyone besides a cabal of political hacks in Baku thinks […]
College Radio Watch: Another Best College Radio Station List, College Radio Day Plans Revealed, Plus More News
I’ve really been enjoying doing the Radio Survivor Podcast for the past few months. This week I discuss the news that the old KTRU FM frequency in Houston is up for sale again. Plus, I share more thoughts about the death of media advocate Dan Reimold. I hope you are tuning in every week to […]
LPFM Watch: New LPFM To Host Grassroots Radio Conference
There have been no new low-power FM construction permits issued since August 20. The unprocessed applications that remain are ones that require additional review or are part of sticky MX groups of competing applications, such as the 18 applicants for 101.5 FM in Los Angeles and four applicants battling it out over 102.5 FM in […]
Floods, climate change, and community radio
Radio Brahamaputra (90.4 FM) has been dealing with floods of late. The community radio station broadcasts to the Indian state of Assam from the city of Dibrugarh. Assam is India’s easternmost state, sandwiched between Bhutan and Bangladesh. Dibrugarh has been struggling with rains and breaks in the powerful Brahmaputra River, hence the flood. The station […]
Digital Watch: HD Radio Parent Is Acquired; NPR Podcasts Turn 10
Today iBiquity, the parent company behind HD Radio technology, was acquired by DTS, which is best known for creating multi-channel digital cinema sound systems. DTS is a public traded company, while the majority owners of privately held iBiquity are banks and private equity firms. The primary reason for the $172 million deal appears to be […]
Announcing the RPTF Conference: Saving America’s Radio Heritage
Over the past few months the Radio Preservation Task Force (now with a brand new website) has worked to expand its list of affiliate archives. A number of big organizations have also become recently affiliated with the RPTF, including NPR, the Pacifica Radio Archives, the Prometheus Radio Project, and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and […]
Preserving Your Audio Legacy & the Perils of Minidiscs
If you’re at all like me, you’ve got boxes upon boxes of audiocassettes, minidiscs and CD-Rs filled with air checks, interviews, and all manner of audio detritus that you may have produced or just recorded over the years. Sometimes this motley collection feels like nothing but an albatross that I move from domicile to new […]
Bob thegirl’s tips for community radio fund drives
I’m enjoying Bob thegirl’s YouTube video on how to pitch to your audience during a community radio fund drive. I don’t want to give away the presentation (below), but Bob’s first three tips for pitchers include: 1. You have to talk about why your show is important on a personal level. 2. What will listener […]
Radio Survivor Podcast #13: Why the Battle over the Pacifica Network Remains Relevant
Radio Survivor co-founder Matthew Lasar joins us this week to examine recent events at Pacifica Network’s Los Angeles station KPFK, where it’s been reported that all staff have been cut to half-time across the board. Matthew helps to put this action into perspective–especially as it regards the Pacifica Foundation’s unwieldy governance structure–and explains why Pacifica, […]
Vancouver media counting the minutes for Roundhouse Radio to go live
It could be a “scary time to be launching a media venture,” warns the Vancouver Daily Xtra in a feature about Roundhouse radio, a new commercial community station scheduled to go live in September. “[M]edia locally and globally is contracting, with independent platforms getting snapped up by conglomerates.” The times are apparently so terrifying that […]