Notes on the Meteor Guitar Gallery of Arkansas’ low power radio future
Here is some backstory on how a community radio station will soon be broadcasting from a guitar store. In the beginning there was the Meteor Theater of Bentonville, Arkansas. One Mr. Harry Kelly, a lover of movies, built it for around $30,000. The Meteor, as it came to be called, opened in 1927, premiering Venus […]
Digital Watch: Bluetooth Is Magic for Podcasts and Internet Radio
Call me late to the party, but I’ve finally fallen in love with Bluetooth audio streaming. At this point most readers should be familiar with Bluetooth, which facilitates pretty easy wireless connections between devices of all kinds. In this case I’m specifically discussing using Bluetooth to send audio from a computer or mobile device to […]
“We need our bats.” Radio Lillooet considers its non-human constituents
From community radio station Radio Lillooet off the Fraser River of British Columbia comes a work-in-progress titled “Old Planet, Young People.” The final product will be eight pre-recorded documentaries on environmental research in and around Lillooet. But a lot of the program seems like it will be about critters. There is, in fact, quite a bit […]
This is My Jam and the hazards of indie music curation
The music curation site This is My Jam says that it is going into a kind “time capsule” mode, starting in September. “This means you won’t be able to post anymore, but you’ll be able to browse a new archive version of the site,” My Jam says on its Tumblr blog. I regret that I […]
Radio Survivor Podcast #10: WFMU’s Audience Engine Plans to Empower Community Media on the Internet
Pioneering community radio station WFMU wants to better empower community media on the internet. That’s why the station created Audience Engine, providing tools for publishing, community building and fundraising that don’t surrender control to third-party platforms like Facebook. WFMU station manager Ken Freedman joins to explain how the platform will help make stations sustainable when […]
College Radio Playlist Reports and College Radio’s Role in the Record Industry
A few months ago I wrote about an amazing collection of vintage college radio playlists that were recently sent to me. From the 1970s and 1980s, these playlists were mostly handwritten and typed affairs that were compiled by college radio station music directors. (more…)
LPFM will reach out to older Fort Yuma area Native Americans
Some interesting back story on how KUAV 105.1 Kwatsan Radio in Winterhaven, California got its inspiration. Members of the Fort Yuma Quechan tribe started an Internet radio station in 2010 to foster a “modern approach to increasing knowledge around the culture and traditions of the Quechan people,” according to the operation’s website. But the stream’s […]
Celebrate National Radio Day on August 20
This year broadcasters, producers and listeners are planning to make National Radio Day the biggest yet. On August 20 stations around the country will broadcast special programming and hold events to celebrate this most enduring electronic medium. Sabrina Roach, the Radio Doer for Brown Paper Tickets, has helped organize a diverse group of people to […]
College Radio Watch: A Unicorn on FM – Commercial College Radio
Most people assume that college radio is by definition non-commercial, but that hasn’t always been the case historically and commercial college radio stations still exist today. Back in the early days of AM radio in the 1920s, the very first college radio stations were commercial endeavors. Fast-forward to the 1940s, when the growth of campus-only […]
LPFM Watch: Commercial Station Group Attacks Tampa LPFM
Just one LPFM construction permit was issued by the FCC in the past week, to the Community Advocacy Coalition of Ventura County, in Oxnard, California. As construction permits issued 18 months ago are expiring some of the other low-power radio action pertains to extensions for stations that are not yet on the air. For instance, […]