As May 21 Anniversary Approaches, Family Radio Avoids End of World Talk
A year ago I was growing increasingly fascinated with Family Radio as they became the center of a media frenzy over their President Harold Camping’s predictions of global catastrophe on May 21, 2011. Billboards promoting their Judgment Day pronouncements were present all over the world and Camping’s live call-in talk program, “Open Forum,” ratcheted up […]
High School Radio Day Set for May 16
Inspired by the inaugural College Radio Day in 2011, the first annual High School Radio Day is scheduled for May 16, 2012. The idea is to spread the word about high school radio. The date was chosen because apparently the first high school radio station in the United States, WNAS, launched in May 1949 in […]
Remembering Adam Yauch and the Beastie Boys’ on-and-off relationship with college radio
Adam Yauch, also known as MCA, of the Beastie Boys passed away from cancer today at the age of 47. Although I knew Yauch had been battling cancer for the last few years, the news still hit me as a shock. I started to think about how my relationship to Yauch and his bandmates’ music […]
College Radio 50 State Tour – South Carolina’s WSBF
On my Spinning Indie blog I have an ambitious project in which I’m trying to profile a college radio station from each of the 50 states in the U.S. I started the series in October, 2008, when I took my first virtual trip to KXUA in Arkansas. I managed to get to 15 states total […]
The rocky ride and kiwi-flavored future of Turntable.fm
Regular Radio Survivor readers are doubtlessly aware of Turntable.fm, my colleague Matthew’s favorite online music site. Turntable lets users join a room, pick an avatar and play DJ for all the other listeners in the virtual club. Matthew likes the “Classical of all kinds” room, but there are rooms dedicated just about every other genre […]
SiriusXM sees strong 1st quarter amid minor turmoil
SiriusXM announced positive first quarter results on Tuesday, with the number of subscribers growing to an all time high of 22.3 million. The company also said that its retaining 45% of subscribers who got a trial subscription with the purchase of a new satellite radio equipped car. Its stock (SIRI) price jumped a bit–from $2.26 […]
Shortwave advocate urges Canada to reconsider Radio Canada International cuts
An interesting piece in the Toronto Star laments the recent cuts to Radio Canada International. And the protest comes from an American—Thomas Witherspoon, who staffs Ears to our World. The non-profit sets up short wave band radio networks in developing areas. “Sadly, many Canadians must not be aware of RCI, or of its valiant but […]
Wellesley College Celebrates 70 Years of College Radio on Campus
Not many college radio stations can lay claim to 70 years of broadcasting, so it’s exciting to hear that student radio has been a part of campus life at Wellesley College since 1942. The first station, WBS 730 AM, launched in 1942 and was apparently the first all-woman college radio station. Eventually that station evolved […]
Pacifica radio Executive Director: we are out of money for elections
In a special meeting of the Pacifica National Board held on Thursday, April 26, Pacifica Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt dropped this long overdue bombshell. “I just am very concerned where we are going to come up with a quarter of a million dollars to run an election this year,” she told the Board. This is […]
Merlin Media killing smooth jazz 87.7 to bring alt rock to TV Ch. 6 in Chicago
Editors’ note: Since the publication of this article the smooth jazz format has returned to the Chicago airwaves. Read this December 31, 2014 update for more details. In a move whose logic I honestly don’t understand, Randy Michael’s Merlin Media has entered into a local marketing agreement with Venture Technologies Group, which owns the low-power […]