Greek Government Shuts Down National Public Broadcaster ERT
On Tuesday, the Greek government shut down its national broadcasting network ERT and ordered all of its radio and television stations off the air. Citizens, politicians, and journalists have been vocally protesting this turn of events, which has left a broadcasting void for many in Greece. According to a story on BBC News Europe, “Viewers […]
Hey Pandora: good luck with Rapid City “Hits 102.7” FM
Why, you may be wondering, did Pandora buy “Hits 102.7 FM” in Rapid City, South Dakota? Just out of curiosity, I checked the station’s website. Here’s the bio for Hits 102.7 deejay Christy Russell: “Hey it’s Mike talking about Christy Afternoons on HITS 102.7! I have waited for about a year for Christy to put in […]
iTunes “iRadio” will come out in the iFall (but do iCare?)
Apple has confirmed the long awaited expectations: some kind of iTunes based “iRadio” application should be available by the fall. The Washington Post article summarizes the subscription free service: “Using the firm’s Music app, users will be able to create digital radio stations based on their favorite artists or songs. Listeners can then tweak the […]
KCRW Broadcast Intersects with Santa Monica College Shooting
After learning about Friday’s Santa Monica College shooting, I’d wondered about the effect that the events had on the functioning of public radio station KCRW-FM, which is located on campus. Of course I hoped that everyone at the station was safe and sound, but I was also curious about how they handled being at the […]
Belfast gets community FM radio service for “over 55s”
Northern Irelanders in the second half of their fifty-something years will soon have their own FM community radio station. The United Kingdom’s Ofcom agency says that “Belfast FM” will provide community radio “for people aged 55 and over in the City of Belfast.” The station is one of five applications that just got a green […]
WBAI-FM Mourns the Deaths of Three Radio Hosts
I was stunned when I heard the news that three program hosts at New York’s Pacifica station WBAI-FM were found dead this week. On June 3, Ibrahim Gonzalez died in his sleep. The long-time WBAI staple (he’d been at the station for 23 years) and host of In The Moment and Radio Libre is being […]
KALW’s Community Story Gathering Project Hits NFCB
For the editorial crew at Radio Survivor (Matthew Lasar, Paul Riismandel and myself), it’s a labor of love. Much like many non-commercial radio practitioners, we are reporting on radio because we are radio fans. We care about radio history, we monitor the current state of the medium, and we are hopeful that there’s a bright […]
NFCB’s Ginny Berson: I “failed miserably” at not caring
One of my favorite people in community radio announced her retirement from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters at last week’s NFCB conference. Ginny Z. Berson is, until her departure, Vice President of the organization. “I started working at NFCB after sixteen years at Pacifica [radio],” Berson explained to the stunned audience. “Most of them […]
The podcast patent troll speaks (to Planet Money)
In March we told you about the SHIELD Act which was introduced into Congress to help reform patent laws, particularly targeting patent owners who are “non-practicing,” meaning that they aren’t actually making use of their patents. One such “non-practicing” patent owner is Jim Logan, whose company Personal Audio is suing podcasters like Adam Corolla, claiming […]
Andrew Phillips: the education of a KPFA general manager
I attended the National Federation of Community Broadcasters conference on Friday. No sooner did I wander into the main drag of the San Francisco event than I spotted KPFA’s beleaguered General Manager, Andrew Leslie Phillips, staffing a table. “Matthew!” Phillips cheerfully exclaimed after I introduced myself. “Got a lot of respect for what you do. […]