College Radio Watch: KCFS to Become Guns, Gold & Rock ‘n’ Roll, Expiring LPFM Permits, and More News
On this week’s Radio Survivor Podcast I discuss the recent changes at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s college radio station KCPR. Tune in starting at around the 16 minute mark to hear my College Radio Watch segment. KCPR was one of the first college radio stations that I visited for my field trip series. Speaking […]
Independent radio a casualty in Burundi conflict
A new report by Amnesty International says the government of Burundi is cracking down on independent radio stations as the country drifts towards civil war. First authorities curtailed the broadcasting range of independent radio stations Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), Bonesha FM, and Radio Isanganiro, AI says. Then in mid-May, after an attempted military coup, police […]
RIP Don Joyce: Negativland Member, Artist, KPFA DJ
I was sad to hear that radio DJ/Negativland member Don Joyce passed away yesterday. As a fan of freeform radio, sound collage, and experimental sounds, I’m awed by the longevity of Joyce’s KPFA radio show “Over the Edge,” which has been on the air since 1981. Thanks to Joyce’s friend and Negativland co-conspirator Peter Conheim […]
LPFM Watch: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Cancels Permit, WTSQ Launch & More News
This week a handful of low power FM (LPFM) construction permits were issued. It’s been a slow few months, so four grants on one day is a bit unusual. Two grants were in Texas and went to Iglesia Jesucristo es mi Refugio de Mexia TX, Inc. (Mexia, TX) and 94.9 Media Foundation, Inc. (Harlingen, TX). […]
KPFT in Houston launches Indiegogo campaign for new transmitter
Pacifica radio station KPFT-FM in Houston, Texas needs a new transmitter and has launched a $20k Indiegogo fund drive to get it. “The existing transmitter is reaching the end of its useful life,” the station’s Indiegogo statement warns. “Its impending failure is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.” This crisis more or less began […]
UK classical public radio strong despite decline on TV; South Florida classical radio in trouble
A somewhat discouraging report, classical music-wise, from the United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator, titled “Public Service Broadcasting in the Internet Age.” It concludes that since the government lifted requirements on content, public media spending on the arts and classical music has dropped by 25 percent. Still “there continues to be strong classical music provision on radio,” […]
The WIUS Reunions: Why We Keep Hearing the Voices in Our Heads, Part 2
We love to share stories about college radio history and in this guest post (part two of two), Greg Barman gives the back story on campus radio at Indiana University, which dates back to the launch of a carrier current station in 1962 (read more about that in part one). Today, students run low power […]
Radio Survivor Podcast #7: The FCC’s Legacy of Failure with Media Ownership Policy
On this episode Dr. Christopher Terry from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee tells us how the FCC has fumbled its updates of media ownership regulation for a dozen years, and why that’s important. We also learn why community radio and independent musicians should care that NPR has left the MIC coalition, a lobbying group targeting music […]
Touring College Radio Station WHBC at Howard University
While visiting Washington, D.C. this Spring, I made some time to visit a few college radio stations. My first stop was to see the student-run streaming radio/HD 3 station at Howard University, WHBC. When I arrived on campus on the morning of Thursday, April 2, things were pretty quiet, as it was right before Easter […]
Unpacking London’s pirate radio problem
I’ve been thinking a lot about reports that the United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator has shut down 400 pirate radio stations over the last two years, many of them situated in London. Well over a third of those Ofcom busts took place in two boroughs: Haringey in North London and Lambeth in South London. Why these […]