Dutch government to slash Radio Netherlands Worldwide, focus on regions needing “free speech”
As part of a government austerity program, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced plans to make significant cuts in the budget of shortwave broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide. RNW has been relied upon by both Dutch expatriates and other listeners around the world for a unique take on world events, in addition to news from […]
Le Show’s Harry Shearer will do KALW-FM on Sunday
If you still haven’t seen Le Show host Harry Shearer’s documentary, The Big Uneasy, you can catch it at the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley this Saturday at 4:30 pm, followed by a QA with the author. The next day Shearer will produce his radio show from the studios of KALW-FM, the public station of the […]
Report: pirate radio generates over half billion dollars for US workers in jobs
I have often wondered how many jobs “unlicensed” media produce, be it P2P file sharing sites or pirate radio stations. A new study commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters inspires me to attempt a rough cut of the pirate radio question. Based on my guesstimate study, broadly modeled on its methodology, I think that […]
Podcast Prowler: Heights of WFMU; Hamlet in prison; Caine mutinies again
For once, I wish that I still lived in Washington Heights, Manhattan. My favorite free form radio station, WFMU-FM of New Jersey, is holding a Listener Meetup Group literary reading in that lovely neighborhood on Monday July 11 at the Word Up community bookshop. Scheduled readers include WFMU DJs/fiction writers Kurt Gottschalk, Amanda Nazario, and […]
7 Days of Radio Silence as College Radio Station in Dunedin Protests Possible Sale
Fans of the University of Otago student radio station Radio One 91FM in New Zealand were greeted with silence today as the station began a week-long on-air protest against a proposed station sale. It’s a pretty bold move to take one’s station off the air in protest and I’m guessing that it will have an […]
Turntable.fm: a new kind of DJ
As I write this post, I am part of a DJ team on Turntable.fm for the freaky friday throwdown room. The room system is in beta at this point, I’m told, but there are five DJs and the music has been pretty wonderful so far. Here are the last five songs: Around The World – […]
Apply now for “zero to radio” Cape Cod public media intensive
Want to learn how to produce in-depth radio features with top producers like Rob Rosenthal, Jay Allison, and Ira Glass of This American Life? Transom.org has opened the application window for its seven week Transom Story Workshop, to be held in Cape Cod this October. Why seven weeks? “Unless you want to go to journalism […]
WRVU Sale May Violate Tennessee Non-Profit Regulations
Each and every college radio station facing a potential takeover by an outside group has a unique situation and the twists and turns of the transactions taking place at KTRU, KUSF, and WRVU are evidence of that. In each case, questions have been raised about not only the lack of transparency in these dealings, but […]
Family Radio’s “Open Forum” On Hiatus While Harold Camping Recovers from Stroke
Last week there were reports that Family Radio‘s 50-year-old “Open Forum” program was being cancelled in light of Family Radio founder Harold Camping’s recent stroke on June 9th. In recent months, the religious network’s call-in talk show has been a vehicle for discussions about the predicted May 21, 2011 “Judgment Day” and Rapture. When I […]
FCC Issues Letter of Inquiry into Proposed KUSF Sale
The fight over the future of University of San Francisco’s college radio station KUSF took an interesting turn yesterday when the FCC issued a “letter of inquiry” (PDF) about the proposed sale of the station to Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN). The letter dated June 28, 2011 asks University of San Francisco and CPRN to […]