KUSP: proposed transfer to classical network “hit a nerve”
The community in and around community radio station KUSP-FM of Santa Cruz, California continues to debate its future. When last we visited this crisis KUSP management had posted a variety of possible new formats for the struggling signal, dubbed “Pine,” “Maple,” “Plum,” “Fig,” and “Walnut.” Some of these bucolic scenarios involve all news, or all […]
Radio Postcard from Tallinn, Estonia
I spent a long weekend in Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, a couple of weeks ago. My father’s parents are from Estonia and it was my first time there. I had the fantastic opportunity to meet many relatives for the first time. Though my schedule was packed pretty tightly I did manage to sneak some radio […]
How Pandora helps its South Dakota FM station build audience
As I promised in my last post about [soon to be] fully Pandora owned radio station KXMZ-FM in Rapid City, South Dakota, I’d try to get more details from KXMZ deejay Mike Swafford about how “Hits 102.7” is working with the streaming service to connect with the Rapid City audience. On Friday, Swafford sent me a summary […]
College Radio Watch: KFJC Broadcasts from Holland + More News
Starting at 6:30 this morning, my eyes have been fixed on college radio station KFJC‘s live remote broadcast from a psychedelic festival in Holland. As a long-time KFJC volunteer, I’m amazed and impressed that my colleagues have once again pulled off a complex international live broadcast with live multi-camera HD video. Nine station volunteers traveled […]
Low Power FM News: 3 New Stations & 250-watt Comments
This week saw a jump in low-power FM construction permits from the FCC, but that isn’t saying much. A whopping three were approved, compared to none last week, bringing the total to 1,860 new LPFMs. These three new stations go to: * Taller Cultural Jaycoa, Inc at 107.9 FM in Augadilla, PR * New Times […]
KXMZ deejay: “excited” to be working with Pandora
In depth: How Pandora helps its South Dakota radio station build local audience As we reported some weeks ago, the Federal Communications Commission recently cleared a crucial barrier to Pandora purchasing KXMZ-FM in Rapid City, South Dakota (“Hits 102.7”). KXMZ is a “contemporary hits” station (Adele, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, etc). The Commission waived its […]
Sound History is Cultural History: Primary Documents and Progressive Radio Research
A few weeks ago, FlowTV published a special issue devoted to the Radio Preservation Task Force. The issue features articles on a range of topics in radio history. In the coming days, we will share a brief reflection of all the articles in the issue, but for now, we would like to share (or, rather, […]
Solving the Mystery of the Ubiquitous Radio Station Call Letter Signs: The Leo Blais Interview
For quite a few years I’ve been intrigued by and obsessed with the handmade 3-dimensional radio station call letter signs that I’ve seen at numerous college and community radio stations all over the United States. One of the signs is posted at KFJC, where I volunteer and DJ, so I see it every week. I […]
Will anyone want to listen to podcasts on Spotify?
A reporter emailed me the other day and asked me for a comment on Spotify’s announcement that it is going to add podcasts to its lineup of audio offerings. What does this mean, she queried? What is the significance? Suddenly I began to wonder whether anyone will want to listen to podcasts on Spotify. So […]
College Radio Watch: WPRB Launches History Site Celebrating 75 Years of College Radio at Princeton + more news
A little over a year ago I met Michael Lupica, the advisor for Princeton University’s college radio station WPRB-FM in Princeton, New Jersey. He and I both attended the Saving College Radio Symposium at University of Maryland and we chatted a bit about college radio history as we took in the wonderful WMUC exhibit in […]