The hazards of slogans and logos in public radio donor announcements
I spent the morning at the National Federation of Community Broadcasters conference here in San Francisco. First stop: a panel on the dos-and-don’ts of underwriting acknowledgements. Expert attorney Michael Berg spoke on the subject, and offered a very nice advisory handout on slogans and logos, from which I draw the following wisdom. Bottom line: the […]
“Rats!” Canadian listeners debate commercials on Radio 2 and Espace Musique
As requested by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada’s broadcast regulator has approved the placement of advertising spots on Radio 2 and Espace Musique radio. The latter service describes itself “the largest directory of French music internet radio in Canada.” Judging by the comments on the CBC news website notice, many listeners are anything but happy […]
All Access brings on-demand Spotify competitor to the Googleverse
Google introduced its entry into the on-demand music streaming market at its recent developer conference Google I/O. Sitting atop its existing Google Play media store, the awkwardly named Google Play All Access provides Spotify-like listening to a large music library, along with the ability to build playlists or tune in to artist-based radio stations. Unlike […]
“Elite Woodstock”: a history of Goddard’s 1970 Alternative Media Conference
Community radio pioneer Larry Yurdin has posted a YouTube account of the Alternative Media Conference held at Goddard College in 1970. “Many of the key players in the early days of non-commercial radio were there,” Yurdin notes, “as well as most of the pioneers of commercial FM rock radio.” The historic gathering of perhaps as […]
Wasting energy? “Erratic” radio gives you wrong frequency on purpose
I am reading Evgeny Morozov’s diverting book To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism. The conclusion mentions a variety of machines that act dysfunctionally in some way, but for a purpose—to alert the user that s/he is wasting energy. Among the theorized gizmos that Morozov cites is an “erratic radio,” described by […]
FCC announces waivers for tornado relief fundraising on non-comm stations
Tuesday the FCC announced procedures for obtaining waivers to permit non-commercial stations to raise money on-air for Moore, Oklahoma tornado relief efforts. Although the Commission has yet to approve rules for non-commercial stations to do on-air fundraising for third-parties, the agency has granted waivers in response to significant natural disasters. Without a waiver it is […]
Delving into Family Radio’s Finances Two Years after Judgment Day
Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Family Radio‘s failed Judgment Day/Rapture. It was a surreal few weeks leading up to May 21, 2011, with the Christian radio network’s founder Harold Camping doing daily call-in talk radio shows in order to spread the word about the impending rapture. After the non-events on May 21 (Camping had […]
Is Radio Shirking its Public Service Duty During Disasters?
The horrific devastation in Oklahoma following yesterday’s tornado reminds me once again about the importance of terrestrial radio during disasters. Today, as I read through tornado preparedness literature, it was clear that radio communication is vital during and after severe weather events. A safety publication (PDF) from University of Oklahoma not only recommends that everyone […]
Pirate radio round-up: turntable.fm feeds NM station; FCC picks low-hanging fruit in Miami and Oregon
Maybe it’s because spring is in the air in North America, but pirate radio is bubbling up a bit in the popular consciousness, as well as the FCC’s. Seems like a good time for a pirate radio news round up. Albuquerque’s Alibi hazily reports on “at least one station operating without a license” in Northern […]
Will the end of driving mean the end of radio?
US Pirg has released a new report on commuting patterns that has to be worrying some radio people: we are driving less. “The Driving Boom is over,” proclaims US Pirg Senior Analyst Phineas Baxandall. “The constant increases we saw in driving up until 2005 show no sign of returning. As more and more Millennials become […]