Radio Station Scavenger Hunt – Station Graffiti Part 1
At this point I’ve visited more than 50 radio stations all over the country. It’s getting to the point where I now look for certain items during my visits because I expect to see particular things over and over again. I’ve already written about the 5 things that one is likely to spot at a […]
Rough notes: Tom Wheeler, the FCC, and the future of community based radio
President Obama has nominated telecom biggie Tom Wheeler to chair the Federal Communications Commission, and nervous commentaries are proliferating across the blogosphere. “Uh-oh: AT&T and Comcast are ecstatic about the FCC’s new chairman,” runs the headline over at Ars Technica. The post points the reader to a statement from AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Jim […]
KFJC Begins Month of Mayhem with 54 Specials – from 8-Tracks to Radio Drama
I’ve been a DJ and volunteer at Foothill College radio station KFJC-FM for nearly 15 years now and one of my favorite times of year at the station is the Month of Mayhem. During the month of May, DJs prepare in-depth specials that delve into a variety of mostly music-related topics. There are always specials […]
Dr. Demento documentary close to Kickstarter goal
There’s a lot of love here at Radio Survivor for the most famous and prolific booster of humorous, novelty and parody music on the radio, Dr. Demento. Filmmakers Scott McKenzie and Devin Lucas want to document the life of the good Doctor in a movie titled “Under the Smogberry Trees: The True Story of Dr. […]
The Power of Prison Radio
Over the weekend I had the most amazing time at the What is Radio? conference in Portland, Oregon. Scholars and radio practitioners from all over the world convened in order to talk about the past, present, and future of radio. One of the most powerful panel discussions was Friday’s “Making Waves Behind Bars” session. Phil […]
What is Radio? conference podcasts, for those who couldn’t be there
I am jealous that my Radio Survivor colleagues Jennifer and Matthew were both able to attend the What is Radio? conference this past weekend in Portland, OR, while I could not. Nevertheless, I am glad that they were able to represent, and am really pleased that this important conference took place. For those of us […]
Broadcasters ask for more time on FCC indecency proceeding
The National Association of Broadcasters has asked the Federal Communications Commission for a 30 day extension on a proceeding requesting feedback about the agency’s indecency rules. The FCC launched the proceeding following the Supreme Court’s invalidation of the Commission’s policies against “fleeting expletives,” basically dirty words said on the fly. The high court said that […]
Radius creates an on-air exhibition space for transmission art in Chicago
Several times a month, mysterious and unique sounds appear on the Chicago airwaves. Listeners might hear the rumble and pop of very low frequency signals generated by environmental electromagnetic fluctuations, or collaged field recordings from distant city streets. Some may mistake these transmissions for strange interference, or a broken radio, while others may be briefly […]
WQXR and its website, an uneven partnership?
The University of Oregon’s What is Radio conference (#whatisradio) wrapped up on Saturday, with many interesting panels on the last day. One of the best was named “Web Radio: Say Goodbye to the Dial.” But a fascinating talk by Dr. Neil Washbourne from Leeds Metropolitan University convinced me that, given the case of WQXR in […]
Radio storytelling: property of the upper middle class?
Jennifer Waits and I are at the What is Radio conference in Portland, which opened with an interesting lecture by veteran radio/TV journalist Charles Jaco. It focused on the importance of narrative and storytelling in radio, and its decline on the commercial radio dial. Jaco noted that it is in the public radio sector that one […]