Radio Barkas: Europe’s vintage LP radio party car
Meet Radio Barkas, by its own description: “the smallest mobile radio station in the Netherlands.” I am not sure whether Barkas actually broadcasts via an AM or FM signal. It seems to mostly travel around the Low Countries and the rest of Europe in a tiny green-on-the-inside-grey-on-the-outside Fiat-like automobile. Inside the vehicle sits a turntable […]
Making Contact produces an excellent half-hour on LPFM
The National Radio Project has produced an excellent half-hour on low-power FM community radio for its weekly Making Contact program. Included in this show are successful LPFM stations like Radio Conciencia operated by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, WSLR-LP in Sarasota, Florida and KDRT-LP in Davis, California, along with the voices of youth and community […]
KSMC Visit Marks Spinning Indie’s 50th Radio Station Field Trip
In March, 2008 I was on a family vacation to Boston and decided that I’d like to visit a college radio station. I had no idea at the time that my trip to WECB at Emerson College would launch an epic project of radio station tours that would take me to stations all over the […]
Sydney Australia’s AM radio revival
An interesting item from the Sydney Morning Herald: as the Australian political scene heats up, Sydney radio listeners are massively setting their ears to AM signals. “In a clear victory for the older spectrum in times of political upheaval, all of the commercial AM stations except 2UE recorded gains in their audience,” notes Herald entertainment […]
Panel Explores Past, Present and Future of KUSF
On Tuesday night I attended a panel discussion at University of San Francisco (USF) on the topic of the past, present, and future of college radio station KUSF. I’ve been closely following the trials and tribulations of the station since the shut-down of KUSF 90.3 FM on January 18, 2011. Two and a half years […]
Happy birthday to KAZI-FM in Austin, Texas
Here at Radio Survivor we like to say happy birthday to community radio stations. It is easier to do this if the signal puts its date of birth on its About web page, as has station KAZI-FM in Austin, Texas: “KAZI was the dream of the late Dr. John Warfield, professor of African-American Studies at […]
Let the Cities In: FCC should open second Low Power FM filing window
A new appeal to the Federal Communications Commission from Let the Cities In, the outfit that earlier asked the FCC to let groups run ten watt Low Power FM stations (the present standard is 100 watts). Now LTCI wants the Commission to open a second filing window for LPFM applicants. The present (and only) window […]
What outside radio and information are available to the people of Syria?
As I publish this piece Wednesday evening it is increasingly likely there will be military attacks on Syria by the US, Britain and allies in response to evidence that the Syrian government carried out chemical weapons attacks on its own citizens. It is certainly a tense situation, and for the people of Syria the situation […]
When Pandora becomes radio: why exportability matters
The “what is radio” debate resurfaced earlier this month. Do Pandora and other streaming music services qualify as “radio”? Jennifer Lane, President of RAIN Summits, pronounced the question irrelevant at her Audio4cast blog. “I say who cares whether it’s radio or not,” Lane declared. But some weeks earlier Pandora’s Tim Westergren posted a commentary explaining the […]
SiriusXM sued for royalties on songs from before 1972
Copyright law can be a funny thing. Did you know that recordings made prior to February 1972 don’t enjoy the same copyright protections as those after? I didn’t. But satellite radio broadcaster SiriusXM knew, and has been using that as an excuse not to pay royalties on those pre–1972 recordings it plays. By law, the […]