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 […]
Beacon, New York gets Internet radio beacon
A distinctly avant garde sounding Internet radio station has launched along the Hudson Valley city of Beacon, New York. The Ground is run by Josh Kogan and Vicki Vergolina. The latter is currently the producer for the Both Sides Now radio program. The former hosts the podcast Undergrowth via the Radio Hive collective in New York […]
Radio Survivor’s Paul Riismandel on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show Today
Update: the show archive is live. I’ll be a guest on WAMU-FM’s Kojo Nnamdi Show today at noon Eastern Time for a discussion about the future of digital radio entitled “Radio After FM.” This is part of the show’s “Tech Tuesday” series. WAMU is the public radio station serving the Washington, D.C. area. Scheduled to […]
Radio Survivor Podcast #3: FCC Paper Tiger Teams vs Pirate Radio
The FCC Enforcement Bureau and pirate radio are the topics of the day, as Prof. John Anderson of Brooklyn College joins us to discuss the broadcast industry’s furor over the Commission’s plans to ratchet down its resident field agent presence around the country. We also tackle the FCC’s $100 million fine levied against AT&T, House […]
Santa Cruz’s KUSP-FM now exploring three makeovers
After a lengthy discussion involving no less than ten different scenarios, it appears that KUSP-FM in Santa Cruz, California has whittled its proposed re-formatting down to three possibilities: a mixed news/information signal with the usual NPR content and volunteer music shows, a mostly music, volunteer-oriented station, or “a conventional public radio music station” a la KCRW […]
Pulse! Fernando and Greg and the history of Internet radio
We got a press release late last week for a new digital station that I’m thoroughly enjoying: Pulse Radio. It’s a LGBTQ oriented HD2 channel extending KMVQ-FM of San Francisco, home to the Bay Area deejay duo Fernando and Greg and afternoon host St. John. Lots of Ke$ha, Marina and the Diamonds, Martin Solveig and similar […]
College Radio Watch: WPRK Documentary, KCPR Drops Non-Student DJs, WWPV Donates License to Vermont Public Radio & More News
The big news on Radio Survivor this week is that we have launched the Radio Survivor Podcast (see Radio World’s interview with my colleague, Paul). As part of this project to add an audio component to our regular writing efforts, I will be preparing weekly commentary about the world of college radio. (more…)