Radio Station Visit #151: Community Radio Station Freeform Portland
It was after ten o’clock on a Friday night when I headed to community radio station Freeform Portland‘s studio in Portland, Oregon for a visit. Board President Becky Meiers had invited me and Paul Riismandel to join her on her final show before she embarked for Alaska and I couldn’t refuse. The co-host of a […]
WPRB DJ Jon Solomon Celebrates 30 Years of Christmas Marathons
Jon Solomon is counting down the days until his annual Christmas marathon broadcast of music, comedy, and stories on Princeton University’s college radio station WPRB 103.3 FM (location of my 100th station tour). Celebrating his 30th year of Christmas Eve/Christmas Day specials, he’s marking the occasion by signing up for a 30-hour stint on the […]
Podcast #172 – The FCC at the End of 2018, with Prof. Christopher Terry
As 2018 draws to a close the FCC is poised to throw another death blow at radio, proposing to allow complete ownership monopolies in hundreds of radio markets. At the same time the Commission has to defend its decimation of network neutrality in court, even after the DC Court of Appeals ruled the earlier open […]
College Radio Watch: CBI Recap, College President Hosts Show and More News
My October radio adventures in the Pacific Northwest for college radio and community radio conferences are still on my mind as I continue to process the events and my numerous station visits. Earlier this week I published my tour of Portland Radio Project, one of the many new low power FM (LPFM) radio stations that […]
Internet Radio History: The Real Networks Years
In part two of his history of internet radio, Dom Robinson covers RealAudio, the technology that pushed streaming internet audio into the mainstream, years ahead of video. He talks with Dave Mallinson, an early employee at Progressive Networks – which would become RealNetworks – who discusses the delicate balance between getting good enough sound quality […]
The Free Music Archive Lives On
After coming to the brink of a shutdown when grant monies were dramatically reduced, the Free Music Archive announced that it will live on under the ownership of camera rental company KitSplit. A few weeks ago my Radio Survivor colleague Erick Klein talked at length with FMA Director Cheyenne Hohman, who explained why the project […]
Podcast #171 – It’s the End of 2018 and Radio Is Thriving
At the end of 2018 all indicators are that radio is thriving. From community radio to podcasting, internet radio to college radio, we’re seeing new stations, new listeners and new ideas. It’s all more evidence that we’re in the post-‘radio is dead’ era. All four Radio Survivors join together to dig deeply into the year […]
Radio Station Visit #150: Portland Radio Project
On a drizzly Columbus Day morning, I arrived at the Day Theater in Portland, Oregon to visit community radio station Portland Radio Project. The welcoming message on the marquee read: “PORTLAND RADIO PROJECT 99,1 A LOCAL BAND EVERY 15 MINUTES,” proudly proclaiming the presence of the low power FM radio station that was housed within. The […]
Unsilent Nights: where to find one; what to do
The holiday season approaches, and as has been the case since 1992, revelers will soon gather in a host of cities and perform Phil Kline’s composition Unsilent Night. They will each download one of four parts of the piece and play it on some mobile device as they stroll down evening streets. Anything from a iPod […]
College Radio Watch: #MeToo, Noise, Metal, and Anniversary Festivities
During this year’s College Broadcasters Inc. (CBI) conference in Seattle, vital conversations about women in college radio took place during the “Supporting Female Broadcasters Through the #MeToo Movement” session. While many stations have thoughtful and enlightened staffs; participants sadly recounted plenty of stories of sexist and racist behavior. With that as backdrop, it’s disappointing (but […]