Radio Free Sarawak and the fight against deforestation in Borneo
The New York Times has an interesting profile of former BBC journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, a prominent voice in the struggle against deforestation in Malaysia. The daughter of a colonial era Malaysian police officer, Brown contributes to Radio Free Sarawak, a shortwave operation with an estimated ten thousand listeners. “If you have a problem in […]
Pirate radio round-up: FL operator dies mounting antenna, infamous UK pirate interviews regulator
Here’s what’s been going on in the world of pirate and unlicensed broadcasting. A Radio Survivor reader tipped us off to this story about a pirate radio operator in the hotbed of South Florida who died installing his antenna. The aerial accidentally hit a power line and he was electrocuted. His death is certainly unfortunate, […]
3 weeks after Malatia resignation not much is clearer, or different at Chicago Public Media
It’s been about three weeks since former Chicago Public Media CEO Torey Malatia abruptly resigned his position, surprising both station staff and listeners. Current and the Chicago Reader’s Michael Miner have both published overviews of Malatia’s tenure as an often-controversial and innovative leader, and the aftermath of his departure. At the same time, sister station […]
International festival celebrates music radio from around the world
If you’re looking for an excuse to visit Switzerland next month, the International Radio Festival Zürich might be it, happening September 4 – 8. According to its website, the IRF “was founded to celebrate the world’s most consumed and most influential medium, Music Radio.” The IRF debuted in 2010, making this the 4th edition of […]
Radio in U.S. Still Growing, Despite Rumors to the Contrary
In order to counteract the much bandied statement that “radio is dying,” John Anderson of DIYMedia.net took the time to analyze 21 years worth of FCC data in order to provide a portrait of the current state of licensed radio broadcasting in the United States (be sure to take a look at his article in […]
San Francisco NPR affiliate announces “Audio Academy” class of 2013-14
Update (4/3/2014): KALW looking for new Academy Recruits. More information here about the ten month program . . . NPR affiliate KALW in San Francisco has chosen eight out of sixty applicants for its Audio Academy: a ten month intensive radio journalism program that sounds like a lot of fun (and a lot of work). Here’s […]
Road trip radio listening reveals the state of the medium
Road trip radio listening is a great way to get a snapshot of what radio is like around the country. I just completed a move to Portland, Oregon from Chicago. We had movers take the majority of our possessions, but my wife and I, along with two aging tabby cats, packed into a rented SUV […]
Knox College Student Radio Station WVKC Leaving 90.7 FM, Making Way for Public Radio
Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois has announced that it will be moving its student radio programming off of 90.7 FM in order to provide space for regional public radio network, Tri States Public Radio (TSPR). Beginning next month, long-time student radio station WVKC will broadcast online and on HD radio. A statement on the Knox […]
Early Radio History at Temple University
Arcane Radio Trivia’s Jose Fritz (one of the first people who I profiled for my Radio Obsessives series) just wrote up a nifty post about the early days of radio at Temple University in Philadelphia. He unearthed a 1947 account from the Temple University News which reports on the status of the nearly-built carrier current […]
Washed Out, punks, and vampires top August 11 Spinitron playlist
The Spinitron Top 25 Chart is out. Spinitron is a playlist management services company for non-commercial community and college radio stations. Every week Spinitron publishes the top 25 disks played at Spinitron subscriber stations. Here are the top ten spinners: Number one: Washed Out’s “Paracosm,” with 65 spins, followed by Hunx & His Punx’s “Street […]