Shocker: public radio station asks listeners about format changes before making them
I could barely believe my eyes as I opened my Radio Survivor e-mail today and saw this notice from KALW-FM in San Francisco: “KALW is considering some significant changes for 2012, and before we move forward, we want to know what you think,” the announcement explains. The station is overseen by San Francisco’s Unified School […]
College Radio Still in the Spotlight at CMJ Music Marathon: Music Directors Talk Shop
Last week I was in New York City for the CMJ Music Marathon. As always, the city was packed with bands and college radio DJs who were either in town to discover the next big thing or in town to be discovered. My focus, as it has been the past few times that I’ve attended, […]
Turntable.fm fans get Halloween avatars
I’ve been complaining for months about the need for more avatars over at Turntable.fm. At last they’ve arrived, at least for Halloween. Here’s a sampling: As you can see, we have the Bride of Frankenstein and various Hollywood axe murderers among the array. Undisplayed is Dracula and the Frankenstein beast himself. Here’s what the scene […]
FCC Issues $10,000 Forfeiture Order to Pirate Cat Radio Founder
On Friday, the FCC posted a notice that a forfeiture order (PDF) for $10,000 was issued to Pirate Cat Radio founder Daniel “Monkey Man” Roberts for “willfully and repeatedly violating section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934…by operating an unlicensed radio broadcast station” in San Francisco. The letter is a follow-up to an earlier […]
CMJ College Radio Awards Winners Announced
On Thursday, during College Day at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, the winners were announced in CMJ’s annual College Radio Awards. As is frequently the case, the awards ceremony was full of fun and frivolity. Awards recognized college radio staffers/stations as well as organizations and people working in the music industry. WKDU […]
ATC host Michelle Norris will “step away” while husband works with Obama Campaign
The This is NPR blog discloses that All Things Considered host Michelle Norris’ husband Broderick Johnson has taken a top position with the Obama Campaign. “After careful consideration, we decided that Broderick’s new role could make it difficult for me to continue hosting ATC,” Norris explains in a published memo: Given the nature of Broderick’s position with […]
WBAI and Occupy Wall Street—where is the live coverage?
I’m picking up a lot more frustration with Pacifica radio station WBAI-FM in New York regarding Occupy Wall Street—a general sense that the station could be providing much more live coverage of the actions and events than it currently airs. Apologies for the textblock approach to this issue. Here’s what economist and former WBAI programmer […]
Ham radio alive and well in Bernal Heights, San Francisco
Today Radio Survivor contributor Bob Mason and I were taking a stroll through Holly Park in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Suddenly we ran into Art, who had set up a complete amateur radio setup on a park bench and table. The following brief interview ensued:
Lisa Simeone keeps job with World of Opera
The good news is that Occupy DC participant Lisa Simeone will retain her job as host of NPR World of Opera. The This is NPR blog has a brief notice mentioning that World of Opera sponsor WDAV will keep Simeone on. She came under fire yesterday for her participation in the Occupy Wall Street related […]
FCC examination of TV public file may foreshadow what’s in store for radio
The public file is a an actual file of paper documents that every broadcast station is required to maintain in its main office. In it are records like a copy of the station’s license and ownership report, along with a quarterly Issues and Programming report which is supposed to detail public service programming. Although very […]