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 […]
The 1938 radio receiver that picks up text
Meet the latest innovation in digital communications technology: a radio receiver built the year that Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is a 1938 Philco console rigged by shortwave operator Gerhard, W6XH to pick up a Voice of America Radiogram. These radiograms are basically radio propelled text messages transmitted via the multiple-frequency shift […]
College Radio and LPFM – Radio Survivor’s First Twitter Chat
Thanks to everyone who participated in the first Radio Survivor Twitter chat on Thursday, August 22. In particular, we appreciated all the experts who fielded questions for us about college radio and LPFM. Julia Wierski (Prometheus Radio Project), Vanessa Graber (Common Frequency), and Sabrina Roach (LPFM National Make Radio Challenge project for Brown Paper Tickets) […]
The radio magic of Marian McPartland
Marian McPartland died at 95 this week. She was a terrific piano player until the end; more importantly she pioneered and miraculously maintained – for four decades! – a special, wonderful radio program – “Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz”. The format was simple yet unique: she brought another musician into the studio, and had combined duets/interviews/conversations with them, gracefully moving […]
Live Blog: Radio Survivor Twitter Chat on LPFM
Head over to Twitter, follow the hashtag #lpfm, and you’ll be able to join our Twitter chat on Low Power FM and college radio. I’m going to live blog the event here (or at least try), serving up some of the highlights of the discussion. The conversation starts at 10 AM PST / 1 PM […]