New FCC Chair Wheeler reassures broadcasters they’re important, too
Though I was not struck with any particular concern, apparently there has been just a touch of anxiety amongst broadcasters that new FCC Chair Tom Wheeler did not appoint anyone with a broadcast background to his staff. An unnamed broadcast industry executive told Politico earlier this week, “That creates some heartburn for us.” Maybe I’m […]
Family Radio to Sell Shortwave Radio Station WYFR to Radio Miami International
Family Radio-owned shortwave radio station WYFR is slated to resume broadcasts on December 1, following the sale of the station facility to Radio Miami International (WRMI). As we reported earlier this year, WYFR ceased broadcasts on June 30, 2013. Many in the shortwave community were saddened by the loss of this historic station, as it […]
FCC Warns Broadcasters Against Misuse of Emergency Alert Tones
In an enforcement advisory this week, the Federal Communications Commission reminds broadcasters about the guidelines for using Emergency Alert System codes and attention signals. Prompted by complaints over the use of emergency alert tones in commercials or promotional spots on television, the FCC not only released details about recent policy violations (TBS and a Kentucky […]
CASH Music supports musicians with open source technology & events
Lately I’ve been thinking about the important relationship between independent musicians and independent radio. This was sparked by attending TechFest NW in September–an adjunct to MusicFest NW–where I also learned about CASH Music, a Portland-based non-profit building open source tools to help musicians connect with their audiences, online and off. Co-executive director Jesse Von Doom […]
Podcasting News: Podcast Awards finalists announced, WSWI wins best college podcast from CBI
Finalists for the 9th annual Podcast Awards are out. Like previous years, the slate of nominees covers a wide variety of programs across 22 categories, mostly dominated by pure-play podcasts that are not also broadcast radio shows. Anyone can vote for the winners, and voting is open until November 15. The awards are given out […]
Counterpoint: all-digital HD Radio on AM still on the table at FCC
My friend John Anderson wrote his dissertation on the complex policy machinations behind HD Radio becoming the digital radio standard, and now he has a book coming out telling the story. He knows more about the topic than just about anyone else. So when he says that the all-digital option for AM revitalization is very […]
5 persistent challenges for internet radio stations
This is an update of a piece that originally appeared in the October 7 edition of our free weekly email newsletter, the Radio Survivor Bulletin. Sign up now to get this digest of important and insightful links and commentary about the future of radio. I’ve talked with a number of people, companies and groups making many different kinds […]
Radio conflict and cooperation in Africa: an interactive map
For years, Jennifer Waits, Paul Riismandel, and I have been blogging about radio in Africa. Millions of people there depend on radio for crucial news and information. When conflict comes to one of Africa’s nations, radio becomes a resource, and then it becomes an issue. So in Libya rebels rush to control radio in Benghazi. […]
RadioSearchEngine delivers instant gratification, but not yet the Google of radio
Online radio entrepreneur Michael Robertson has unveiled yet another station portal, this one called, simply enough, RadioSearchEngine.com (RSE). Is this a possible contender to become the “Google of radio”? I spent several fun hours testing RSE and surfing radio from around the world with ease. The site delivers on music search results for songs, artists […]
NPR to FCC: TV spectrum auctions affect radio too
An interesting filing from NPR to the Federal Communications Commission concerning the impending wave of incentive auctions planned to “reassign” television broadcaster spectrum, ultimately for wireless broadband use. NPR reminds the Commission that a lot of the television towers that broadcast video signals stream radio as well, and public broadcasters could be affected by this […]