Solar flares: should broadcast radio stations be worried?
This month saw an uptick in solar flares—huge Coronal Mass Ejections from our Sun that can spark gorgeous Aurora Borealis effects around the world, but also disrupt radio communications. By “radio” the experts often mean high frequency communications systems, but could broadcast radio stations be affected as well? Well, according to the solarstorms.org site, one […]
Uncle Sam: Thank you, but we won’t dump Rush Limbaugh
The White House has responded to a petition asking the Federal government to eliminate Rush Limbaugh from the lineup of radio programs available on the American Forces Network for overseas troops. “Thank you for your interest in American Forces Network (AFN) programming . . . ” the statement begins, but: “AFN does not censor content, […]
Internet radio rankings show Pandora’s #1 but broadcast is #2
I’ve been enjoying Jennifer Lane’s Audio4cast blog because she cuts through the growing avalanche of stories and fluffed up press releases to highlight just a handful of important news items in the internet radio world each week. She recently wrote about Triton Digital’s top 20 US streaming audio rankings for May, observing that Clear Channel’s […]
Sirius sound quality still sucks
As I’ve admitted before, I can be a stickler for sound quality when it comes to consuming audio media. Unfortunately, in so many ways the fidelity of plain old analog broadcast FM radio is rarely matched by digital media, where lower bitrates and lower sound quality are chosen for cost considerations, or to squeeze more […]
Applications for Review Filed with FCC Regarding KUSF License Transfer
Friends of KUSF and KUSF listener Ted Hudacko have both filed Applications for Review with the FCC, asking for further scrutiny of the transfer of the license for KUSF 90.3 FM from University of San Francisco (USF) to Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN). After the shut-down of college radio station KUSF 90.3 FM in January, […]
How much community radio content can you find on the Internet Archives?
My friend and noted radio historian Jesse Walker e-mailed me the other day. “Just found out that there’s a ton of back issues of the WBAI and KPFK folios posted at archive.org,” Walker wrote. “Did you know this?” He was referring to the Internet Archives, of course. I think I did know, but then I […]
“I’d die for radio” – MC Sniper’s guide to being a pirate radio DJ
The BBC has launched an online mockumentary series that follows the exploits of Kurupt FM, “West London’s second most popular pirate radio station.” The leader of the Kurupt crew, MC Sniper, penned a short guide to being a pirate radio DJ for The Guardian in which he doles out valuable advice, such as this treatise […]
California Historical Radio Society is Seeking Funds to Buy Historic KRE Building
I’m hoping that I can finally make it out to Berkeley to visit the historic KRE during the annual Radio Day by the Bay on July 21. I had no idea that the group behind this event, the California Historical Radio Society (CHRS), is in danger of losing its KRE home. Ben Fong-Torres’ mentioned in […]
Follow up: how a McDonald’s radio snafu helped inspire a Pit Bull support community
Radio Survivor readers may remember the uproar over a McDonald’s radio advertisement that many Pit Bull lovers found offensive. The radio spot aired on February 3. “Trying a brand new menu item at McDonald’s isn’t risky,” it began. “You know what’s risky? Petting a stray Pit Bull. Or shaving your head just to see how […]
FCC to Allow Licensees and Consumers to File More Pleadings Online
Since I write about radio on pretty much a daily basis, I’m more obsessed with the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)’s database than your average citizen would be. Often it’s the first place where a seasoned radio reporter can find breaking news about the broadcast business. If you know where and how to search, you can […]