Slacker updates apps for BlackBerry and Andoid with caching features
The Slacker mobile radio service unveiled BlackBerry 3.0 and Android 2.0 from Research In Motion today. The upgraded operating systems allow users to update their favorite stations via a “Cache Station” menu within the app. Or they can use an “auto refresh” feature that wakes the mobile up overnight and updates station content. “Cached stations […]
Hopeful week for radio/media stocks?
Given the state of the economy, last week wasn’t so bad for radio/media company investors. And this week might improve depending on what Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke says, and what Sirius XM reports in its fourth quarter and full 2009 earnings press conference on Thursday. Saga Communications, Cumulus Media, Entercom, and Citadel all reported […]
Shirley and Spinoza Radio saves listener from deep funk, at least for now
I don’t listen to the radio much anymore, because there’s nothing on that I can count on either enjoying or finding interesting. And so far as the Internet can create your own channel services, like Pandora or Slacker, they seem to me oddly impersonal and somehow too predictable. But now I’ve found Shirley and Spinoza […]
NPR listeners: Apology for Howard Zinn obit not accepted
It has been two weeks since National Public Radio more or less apologized for its controversial All Things Considered obituary of the historian Howard Zinn, and the bitter listener comments are still coming in. “I have read your post on the Zinn Obit and find it to be wordy gobbledeegook,” a listener responded several days […]
College Radio Barely Present Amid New "Educational Radio" Licenses
It was some pretty exciting news from the FCC on Tuesday, when they announced the list of 59 organizations who won the non-commercial educational radio license lottery. Although I was thrilled for some of the winners, as a college radio observer, I was saddened and surprised to see that very few colleges or educational institutions […]
Survey: younger consumers dig mobile shopping, despite the ads
A recent article on Retrevo.com (“the ultimate electronics marketplace”) analyzed how consumers view shopping on their mobile phones and how they’ve reacted to the associated advertising on their devices. In general, Retrevo concluded that consumers are warming up to researching and shopping with their mobile phones, but many appear to be turned off by mobile […]
Sirius Stock Back on the Dollar Menu
After languishing in near-penny-stock territory for the last year, Sirius XM Radio stock hit the dollar menu on Wednesday, topping out at $1.05 a share. Investors who bought their stock a year ago when it sold for less than 20 cents are probably cheering. Sirius hasn’t seen the plus size of one buck since September […]
FCC Awards Full-Power Licenses to 5 LPFMs, Plus 52 More Orgs
The FCC opened up an important licensing window for new noncommercial FM stations in 2007, announcing the first round of license winners in 2008. However another 59 licenses remained up in the air due to the Commission needing to pick a winner amongst competing applications. The FCC announced those winners on Tuesday [PDF]. The Commission […]
Howard Stern Considers Leaving Sirius for Idol, Mancow Out to Pasture in Chicago (again). Is This Sunset for the Shock Jock?
There was once a time when a rare breed of radio DJ could scare up controversy and big ratings–not to mention FCC indecency fines–using just his voice, a few on-air cronies and whole lot of bravado, innuendo and hot air. Remember Howard Stern? Arguably the original “shock jock” he was one of the few American […]
Sirius XM radio: how to tell if your kids are stoned
Over the weekend Sirius XM’s Doctor Radio Reports ran a show called Is Your Kid High?—Teens Speak Out, which offered advice to parents on how to tell if your tweens/teens are doing drugs. I read with great interest the summary of the wisdom offered by Elizabeth Urquhar and Naveed Etemadipour of San Diego’s Phoenix House […]