Walter Benjamin diary: on earthquakes and radio time
“Benjamin was explaining his sense of the nature of radio, a medium that he felt did not have the time to narrate events like a history book. It had to get to the point. And the Lisbon Earthquake of 1771 had not one point, Benjamin thought, but four.”
College Radio Watch: Music Discovery, New Station and More News
There have been radical changes in music distribution and consumption in the past few decades, which has certainly altered the college radio experience. A piece in the Independent Florida Alligator at University of Florida, “From Mixtapes to Algorithms: How Listening to Music on Campus has Changed,” states: The way students discover music has evolved and […]
Podcast #219 – The Next Chance To Get an FM Station License; a College Station 60th; All-Digital AM
In April 2020 the FCC will open up the next auction for FM radio licenses. This is the next, and only currently scheduled opportunity to build a new radio station in the U.S. Jennifer, Eric and Paul discuss this news, along with celebrating the 60th birthday of KFJC-FM at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, […]
Radio Station Visit #163: Community Radio Station KGNU in Boulder
Summer began for me with a short trip to Colorado, which prompted a road trip to see the sights of Boulder, including famed community radio station KGNU 88.5 FM/1390AM. Founded in 1978, the station has staff of less than ten, but an active roster of around 400 volunteers and a broadcast that reaches from Boulder […]
College Radio Watch: Fall News Round-up
Welcome to a super-sized college radio news round-up, covering more than a month’s worth of college radio news. Before launching into this massive list of stories, I have to comment on a fascinating, hyperbolic quote about college radio history. An AP News story in the Washington Post recounts nominees for the Songwriters Hall of Fame, […]
Can We Save AM Radio by Killing It? Considering All-Digital AM Radio
Can you save AM Radio by killing it? The original broadcast band gets little love as it prepares to celebrate its 100th birthday. Plagued by electromagnetic interference from wi-fi routers, LED lights and all sorts of other modern electronics, and dominated by tired right-wing and sports talk programming targeting a shrinking demographic, there’s not much […]
Podcast # 218: Archiving Public Media
On this week’s episode, Karen Cariani, the David O. Ives Executive Director of the WGBH Media Library and Archives, joins us to talk about the work of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB). A collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH, the AAPB not only archives public radio and television; but it also […]
The Eton Mini Grundig Edition Is My New Travel Companion
One of life’s little pleasures is tuning around the radio dial late at night before drifting off to slumber. I especially enjoy this while traveling, touring foreign radio dials, encountering strange and distant signals. This means that a small portable radio is my constant traveling companion. I prefer to travel light, so said radio must […]
Happy 60th to College Radio Station KFJC
This fall has been a hectic time at the college radio station, KFJC-FM at Foothill College, where I am a volunteer DJ and Publicity Director. On October 20th, the station turned 60 years old and we celebrated with various on and off-air activities. With my interest in college radio history, I felt compelled to do […]
Podcast #217: Radio Spectrum and Transmission Art
Amanda Dawn Christie is an artist enamored with radios and radio waves. The Assistant Professor, Studio Arts at Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) joins us on the show to discuss her most recent transmission art project, Ghosts in the Airglow, in which she created work at the HAARP facility in Alaska. Christie also shares with us […]