What did Facebook tell the Voice of America?
Truly wish I’d been there for the Broadcasting Board of Governors’s Commission on Innovation gathering held in Washington D.C. on February 10. The BBG oversees most United States broadcasting services, including the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Free Liberty. The subject of the event: “how U.S. international broadcasting can add renewed luster […]
Today is Support Your Media Day
Regular readers of Radio Survivor likely are aware that we’re big fans of independent media, especially, and obviously, independent radio. It seems quite serendipitous that during the same week as World Radio Day we also have Support Your Media Day. It’s a one-day fundraiser focused on some of the most vital independent media organizations online, […]
SF Mayor Asks Radio Stations to Play “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” at Noon Today
I love San Francisco. Today, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Tony Bennett’s recording of the classic love song to the city of San Francisco, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has asked all San Francisco radio stations to play “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” at 12 noon. In addition to that, there […]
World Radio Day Feature: Student Radio in Ireland
On Radio Survivor today we are celebrating radio around the world in honor of World Radio Day. Matthew Lasar gave an update about free speech and dissent over the airwaves in his piece, “Radio Dissenters: The Global Struggle for Free Speech.” My contribution focuses on my first love: student radio. Recently I had the opportunity […]
Radio dissenters: the global struggle for free speech
As the United Nation’s UNESCO agency celebrates World Radio Day, it is important to remember that independent radio broadcasters around the globe face constant hostility from their governments. They must contend with regimes that politicize the licensing process, explicitly forbid free speech, or even prosecute radio hosts in the courts. Radio Survivor has covered many […]
Celebrating World Radio Day on February 13
Monday, February 13, 2012 is World Radio Day as proposed by UNESCO back in September. According to the UNESCO website, “13 February is a date proclaimed by UNESCO to celebrate radio broadcast, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radios. It’s an […]
SiriusXM turns a profit, plans to offer on-demand programs and personalized radio
SiriusXM announced its 4th quarter 2011 results today, revealing that the company turned a profit and reached 8.7 million subscribers, with 1.7 net subscribers added last year. While those numbers apparently look good both to the company and investors, SiriusXM is only holding on to 44% of subscribers who get a free trial when they […]
McDonald’s Pit Bull radio snafu takes on life of its own
Hell hath no fury like 12,277 Pit Bull owners on Facebook scorned. Despite McDonald’s apologies for running a radio advertisement calling petting a stray Pit Bull “risky,” pro-Pit Bull activists are still pushing for further amends. They’ve even got a demonstration in the works. Here’s the petition being circulated by the Pit Bulls Against McDonald’s […]
SiriusXM to report 2011 earnings on Thursday, one month ahead of 10th birthday celebration
It’s almost hard to believe that satellite radio is a decade old this year. Actually the XM service launched in September, 2001 while Sirius launched service in four states in February 2002. I remember clearly the hoopla around the debut of this new radio service, and devouring a feature article about XM in Sound and […]
Retro-Fi iPhone app makes Wall of Voodoo actually sound like Mexican Radio
I’m not sure exactly why, but the recently released Retro-Fi app by Romanian company Onyx Apps makes music on your iPhone sound like it’s on an old AM radio. Don’t get me wrong, I have a soft spot in my heart for music on AM radio, at least partly fueled by memories of listening to […]