Clear Channel Pulls Plug on Portland Progressive Talk Radio, Supporters Scramble to Save KPOJ
Portland, Oregon’s only left wing commercial talk radio station has suddenly been switched from politics to sports. KPOJ was the first Air America affiliate in the country, according to its supporters, who learned early on Friday that the host of the locally produced morning show had just been fired by Clear Channel effective immediately. That […]
NPR’s clipped version of public radio history
Emily Hellwell over at the Inside NPR blog has a piece titled “How Public Radio Scotch-Taped Its Way Into [the] Public Broadcasting Act.” I thought of titling this response post “How NPR took a scissors to public broadcasting history.” The essay acknowledges the most famous part of the story—that the 1969 law almost went through […]
FCC to make final decisions on low-power FM expansion at November meeting
On Friday the FCC announced that it will take up the final implementation of the Local Community Radio Act at its November 30 open meeting. The commissioners will also consider final procedures to deal with more than 6000 pending applications for FM translator repeater stations. These issues overlap because translators compete for the same spots […]
What if broadcast radio had taken off around 1906 instead of the 1920s?
I’m looking forward to this Sunday morning, when I will be on the Gramophoney Baloney show again over at Radio Valencia in San Francisco. This week the show’s host DJ McShmormac is planning a four hour Armistice Day special. I asked him for specifics on Facebook: “4 hours of recordings dating from the WWI-era 1914-1918 […]
Bethany College Radio Station WVBC May Be Sold to Pittsburgh Public Media
There are reports that the license for Bethany College radio station WVBC-FM is in the process of being sold to Pittsburgh Public Media for use as a jazz station. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “The nonprofit Pittsburgh Public Media (PPM), which owns a local online jazz radio station, has signed an agreement […]
Community Radio in the 21st Century offers Comprehensive Look at Radio around the World
As the calendar turns to November, many of us are starting to think about holiday gift lists. There are always lots of great radio-themed gifts to choose from and books are often at the top of my list. Earlier this year I was sent a copy of the anthology Community Radio in the Twenty-First Century. […]
Conservative talk radio on Obama: no soul searching today
Everybody is saying that the Republicans are going to have to engage in some “soul searching” in the wake of yesterday’s Obama victory. I’m not hearing a whole lot of that from Rush Limbaugh. “What are we supposed to do now?” the Rushbo asks. “In order to get the Hispanic or Latino vote, does that […]
College Broadcasters Inc. Announces Student Production Awards Winners
I had a wonderful time at the College Broadcasters Inc. (CBI) conference in Atlanta at the end of October. Student broadcasters from all over the country convened in order to talk shop, share ideas, and honor the achievements of their fellow media practitioners. On the final day of the convention, the CBI National Student Production […]
Smiley and West returns to Chicago airwaves on commercial stations
This weekend Public Radio International’s Smiley and West program returned to the Chicago airwaves. Commercial progressive talk station WCPT starting airing the program Sunday, Nov. 4, and will continue airing it on Sundays at 3 PM. WVON, a commercial AM talk station focused on the African-American community, will carry the program on Saturdays at 11 […]
A Sam Vibe classical piano radio station with eight pieces
Intrigued by Spacial’s announcement of a visually impaired/beginner friendly online radio service, I decided to take up the plunge and start a Sam Vibe radio station myself. Here it is: Piano con radio, a classical piano radio station with eight pieces written by Hindemith, Prokofiev, Ginastera, Debussy, and Faure: I’ve got the interface set up […]