Radio at CES: Not much new under the sun
Every day I watched the news reports and press releases from the just-ended 2011 Consumer Electronics Show hoping for some interesting radio news. Instead, what we got was mostly more of the same. You might call it CES 2010 2.0. Aside from the Android-powered car radio that Matthew covered the other day, there was nothing […]
Android powered car radio a hit at CES 2011 conference
It’s called the Parrot Asteroid—an Android powered car stereo that will pipe in your music “from any source,” including FM, web radio, iPhones, SD cards, the works. The gadget has been a hit at the CES 2011 conference (today is the last day), getting nice reviews from Consumer Reports and Droid Nerds. Here’s a YouTube […]
Was firing Juan Williams a “costly mistake” for NPR?
The review of NPR’s firing of Juan Williams is out. The NPR executive who gave Williams the axe over the telephone has resigned. And NPR’s ombudsman Alicia Shepard warns that the brouhaha could prove “costly” for the radio service. “The Williams firing was a very costly management mistake on many levels,” Shepard opines. The commentary […]
Homeless Radio DJ’s Viral Success Story
It’s been a crazy couple of days for former radio DJ Ted Williams, who has suddenly skyrocketed from being a homeless panhandler on the streets of Columbus, Ohio, to a viral Internet sensation now making the rounds of national TV shows. Thanks to the video shot by Doral Chenoweth III and posted on the Columbus […]
Radio Obsessive Profile #10: College Radio ‘Zinester Lew Houston
I’m a college radio history buff, so whenever I run across someone who has taken the time to document the early history of a college radio station I am beyond impressed. Lew Houston, formerly of WRKU radio at Kutztown University (now known as KUR radio), researched, compiled and wrote, “Finding WRKU: A History of College […]
Longest Running Soap Opera Celebrates 60 Years on Radio
Although in the United States we are often hard-pressed to find examples of radio drama, over in the U.K. radio listeners have been tuning in to hear “The Archers” for 60 years. The soap opera, which began in January 1951 currently airs 15-minute episodes 6 days a week and is now presumed to be the […]
FCC promises “swift action” on Low Power FM law
Shortly after President Obama signed the Local Community Radio Act of 2010 into law on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chair Julius Genachowski issued this statement in response to the move: The Local Community Radio Act signed by President Obama is a big win for radio listeners. Low power FM stations are small, but they make […]
LPFM expansion: it’s official!
Yes, the Local Community Radio Act of 2010finally passed both the House and Senate almost two weeks ago. But it’s not official until the president signs it. And that he did, today. Today is just the start of the process to bring more community radio stations to the air. There is a lot of work […]
What’s in store for radio at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show
The annual Consumer Electronics Show kicks off this Thursday in Las Vegas. While all the biggest buzz around the show is in anticipation of new tablet competitors for Apple’s iPad, we can still expect to hear announcements of new radio gadgets across the spectrum, from analog broadcast and HD Radio to satellite and internet radio. […]
NPR apologizes for incorrectly reporting WikiLeaks data
NPR has apologized for misreporting the number of State Department diplomatic cables actually released by WikiLeaks. Although WikiLeaks allegedly possesses 251,287, only 1,947 were available as of December 30, 20. Yet, prior to this date, NPR (on multiple occasions) reported that WikiLeaks had released “thousands” of documents, a mistake that San Francisco listener Henry Norr […]