LPFM Watch: 10 More LPFMs + Get Ready for KZIT, WSAX and WXOX
As of today, 1468 new low power FM (LPFM) construction permits have been issued as a result of the fall 2013 application window. As 2014 draws to a close, we’re hearing more and more about the plans for many of these new stations. In case you missed our other LPFM coverage this week, be sure […]
Locating Radio History in Ontario, Canada
Since my first post for the Radio Survivor Academic Series, the Radio Preservation Task Force has started to accumulate finding aids from regional archival collections. Just prior to the deadline for Research Associates to submit their finding aids to their Regional Directors, it was reported that approximately 250 archives and contacts had been aggregated, which […]
With the ham radio “pumpkin patrol” in Saugerties, NY
A nice piece in the Saugerties Times about the continuing popularity of ham radio in that upstate New York town. The article profiled the activities of the Overlook Mountain Amateur Radio Club, which offers a variety of public safety and emergency communications services to the area, especially during the Kingston Classic running marathon. The group […]
Radiotopia’s Kickstarter & Gimlet Media Pose Podcast Funding Options
Alex Blumberg’s podcasting company Gimlet Media just crowd-funded $200,00 in less than two days. Only the company didn’t use Kickstarter, Indiegogo or another familiar platform. Instead Gimlet invited qualified investors to become actual equity stakeholders under a provision of the 2012 JOBS Act. Gimlet ran this campaign using the help of a new platform called […]
New Book Chronicles LPFM Activism & Organizing
A new book chronicles “the practices of an activist organization focused on LPFM” during the first low-power licensing window at the turn of the century. Low Power to the People: Pirates, Protest, and Politics in FM Radio Activism is written by Christina Dunbar-Hester, a professor of Journalism and Media Studies in the School of Communication […]
WQXR’s Meet the Composer podcast: the first six months
WQXR-FM’s Meet the Composer podcast is now around half a year old, and it has already become a wonderful resource. I just finished listening to the latest episode, focusing on the Brazilian composer Marcos Balter. “As a composer, [Balter] writes an almost unthinkable amount of music, and not all of it works,” observes MTC host and […]
New Mexico “ghost town reborn” gets Low Power FM station
The Prometheus Radio Project has a blog post about its efforts on behalf of a fledgling Low Power FM radio station serving the hallowed town of Madrid, New Mexico. The LPFM station in question is KMRD, 96.9-LP, aka “Madrid Community Radio.” I am intrigued by the KMRD website description of Madrid’s environs, situated on the Turquoise […]
LPFM News: New Stations Include Movie Theater & Library
First off, be sure to read contributor Gavin Dahl’s awesome article on budgeting for new LPFM stations. Advice comes from some great people at KDRT-LP, KIDE-FM, WRIR-LP and KYRS-FM. A fair number of construction permits were issues in the last week, twenty-six, bringing the total up to 1,458. Notable are two new stations in Los […]
Your New LPFM Needs An Operating Budget
Budget planning is one of the keys to success for community radio stations. You will need to assess your revenue sources, account for all expenses, pay careful attention to your bookkeeping and be prepared for unforeseen circumstances. Some stations rely on staff-led budgeting, others divide up responsibilities among various committees. Whether you hire a bookkeeper, […]
Wellesley College Radio Station WZLY Says it Will Sell its FM License
Last December I reported that students at Wellesley College radio station WZLY 91.5 FM were concerned about forthcoming changes to the station related to campus construction and a reduction in space. Well, now we are hearing that students may be giving up the WZLY 7 watt class D FM radio license. (more…)