Sandra Fluke continues to speak out while syndicator suspends national ads on Limbaugh show
More than a week after Rush Limbaugh proffered a weak apology for his repeated misogynistic comments on-air about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, his show is left with virtually no national advertisers, but he remains mostly unrepentant. On Monday word broke that Limbaugh’s syndicator, Clear Channel-owned Premiere Radio Networks, is suspending all national advertising on […]
SiriusXM’s Karmazin pretty much admits it’s good to be a monopoly
Last Thursday, on the eve of the company’s tenth anniversary celebration with Bruce Springsteen, SiriusXM CEO Mel Karmazin appeared for a thirteen minute interview on Jim Cramer’s CNBC investment show Mad Money. There are two big questions on the mind of satellite radio watchers: will John Malone’s Liberty Media buy up more of SiriusXM, and […]
Unlicensed low-power transmitters fuel SXSW Decentralized Dance Party
The great thing about radio technology is that it’s one of the most efficient ways to broadcast a message. Less than a watt of power can send a signal to hundreds of people over an area the size of a city block or two with ease. By comparison, if you tried to text a few […]
Radio Guide to SXSW 2012
Once again it’s that time of year when my social media world is flooded with reports about BBQs, Austin weather reports, band showcases, and panels happening at the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference. The interactive portion is wrapping up to make way for the start of the music conference today. Some radio-related events have […]
San Francisco Bay Area’s Bounty of Independent Radio Offerings
Yesterday I was excited to see that the cover story for the San Francisco Chronicle’s “pink section” was all about independent radio in the San Francisco Bay Area. Based on the cover’s headline, “Up in the Airwaves: The state of independent radio in the Bay Area,” I expected to see a comprehensive list of local […]
Soundtap Madness Pits Independent Radio Stations in Head to Head Listening Tournament
With a nod to March Madness, Soundtap has just released details about “Soundtap Madness 2012,” an 18-day tournament beginning this Thursday featuring consecutive rounds of head to head battles between independent college and community radio stations. Soundtap, which bills itself as “the only crowd-sourced, show-specific way to enjoy independent radio,” is an online tool that […]
Clear Channel’s mystery comment to the FCC
On Tuesday a quartet of Clear Channel executives piled into the Federal Communications Commission building and buttonholed most of the agency’s top brass, including FCC Chair Julius Genachowski. Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman did most of the talking, it seems. Pittman “emphasized the ways in which the Internet and broadband technology offer Clear Channel the […]
In New Statement, Harold Camping Admits Family Radio was Wrong to Predict Rapture
I first became obsessed with Harold Camping and Family Radio nearly a year ago when I heard Camping’s bold statements about the impending rapture and end of the world. Part of what made his radio broadcasts so compelling was that he expressed his beliefs with absolute certainty. When callers to his “Open Forum” talk show […]
Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Announces its Student Radio Award Winners
Over the weekend the 72nd annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) conference was held in New York City. The student radio event provided an opportunity for high school and college radio stations to participate in sessions, workshops, and special events focused on the art of broadcasting. On Saturday, March 3, IBS held its annual Student Radio […]
Broadcast workers union to FCC: don’t relax radio-TV cross ownership limits
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has sent a twelve page missive to the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency not to loosen its restrictions on how many radio and TV stations an entity may own in a market. AFTRA also wants the FCC to take a closer look at joint news agreements, […]