Digital Watch: Apple’s Beats 1 Radio Is Safe as Milk
Yesterday I shared my initial impressions of Apple’s Beats 1 Radio, and why I think it’s decidedly global orientation is its most interesting quality. Now I turn a critical ear to the actual programming and sound quality. Originally I planned to write a review of Apple Music for today’s feature. But after spending additional time […]
KUSP’s day of decision; Devizes radio is 20; more community radio for SE England
Community radio station KUSP-FM in Santa Cruz, California has posted the date for its next Board of Directors meeting: July 13 at the Aptos Community Foundation building at 6 PM. I presume that it is at that meeting or soon following that the Board will decide what kind of format to adopt for the station. “It […]
Apple’s Beats 1 Radio Is Interesting Because It’s Purposely Global
I started listening to Apple Music’s new Beats 1 Radio this morning at 10 AM PDT, two hours after the new service launched. On the face of it there is nothing particularly innovative about the station. Even though Apple unsuccessfully tried to find a new word for “radio,” Beats 1 is just that. The most […]
Radio Survivor Podcast #4: Breaking the Public Radio Podcast Mold
Can public and community radio find ways to innovate with podcasting, and reach new audiences, rather than mostly repackage what’s on air? Ernesto Aguilar, program director of Pacifica station KPFT-FM in Houston, joins to tackle that question. Our college radio correspondent Jennifer Waits joins as third co-host to run down our radio news headlines, and […]
Botswana debates whether community radio encourages “tribalism”
An advisory group to the Parliament of Botswana has unanimously endorsed the establishment of community radio stations in that southern African country to “mitigate communication breakdown between Dikgosi and their communities.” Dikgosi is the plural for Kgosi, a Setswana word for tribal chief. The problem, as the advisory board Ntlo ya Dikgosi sees it, is that […]
College Radio Watch: College Radio Road Trip Documentary, Commercials on College Radio?, Metal and Activism & More News
I enjoyed listening to Nikki Marra’s radio documentary, “The College Radio Road Trip” this week. Although she released it last fall as part of College Radio Day‘s on-air festivities, it’s getting some renewed attention after receiving a finalist certificate at the New York Festivals’ International Radio Program Awards in the editorial/viewpoint subcategory of the larger […]
LPFM Watch: Big Competition in LA Still Unresolved; The 250 Watt Battle
No new construction permits for low-power FM stations were issued this week, as the FCC tackles the remaining 7% of applications left to be processed. Amongst those are several MX groups of applicants competing for a single frequency. Southern California is home to two of these groups, with the one in Los Angeles being particularly […]
Digital Watch: Apple Music Conflict Highlights the Problem of Free Music
Apple Music raised the hackles of musicians–especially independent artists and those signed to independent labels–this week. That conflict highlights the brewing storm over the future of free music–that is, music that listeners don’t have to pay for directly to hear. As nearly all players struggle to make money from music, I argue that independent non-commercial […]
Radio Survivor without affiliate ads: why it matters
Dear Radio Survivor reader: I am writing this post in my role as Radio Survivor’s Business Manager, offering some very unbusinesslike observations. The re/code technology site reports that the rapid pace of technological change “continues to drive media fragmentation, muddying the once-simple world of TV, radio and print.” Advertisers now have to split their budgets between […]
FCC Approves St. Francis High School Radio Station’s Assignment to Mountain View Public Broadcasting – Is this the End of 87.9 FM?
In late 2014, St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California submitted paperwork to sell its KSFH-FM license to Mountain View Public Broadcasting. The assignment of the 87.9 FM non-commercial class D high school radio license (a rarity, as there are only a few licensed radio stations on 87.9 FM) was just approved by the […]