Podcast #88 – From Color Bar Radio to WRIR
WRIR is a community radio station born from the first wave of low-power FM in the early 2000s. Yet the station has roots in the rich history of independent media in Richmond, VA. Intrepid radio tourist Jennifer Waits shares her tour of the station, uncovering obscure cable radio history along with some unexpected facts about […]
MacBird! live at KPFK, 1967, and perchance the only online performance?
I teach a course at UC Santa Cruz on conspiracies and conspiracy theories, and I’ve been rummaging around for a digital performance of MacBird! for quite some time. As far as I can tell, the only online rendition of the show can be found on the Internet Archive. It is an air check via KPFK-FM […]
Country Music and a 70-year Commercial College Radio Legacy: Visiting WUVA at University of Virginia
While making plans for my trip to Charlottesville, Virginia for the College Radio: Then, Now and Next symposium, I was looking forward to seeing all three radio stations that have an affiliation with the University of Virginia: WTJU (see my tour report #129), WXTJ and WUVA. Each has a distinct personality. WTJU is a non-commercial […]
College Radio Watch: Station Tours, CBI Invites Production Award Submissions and More News
I can’t believe how many radio stations I visited in the last month. Thanks to the confluence of Spring Break, radio conferences, and other random business trips, I managed to see stations in Virginia, New York, and California in the past 30 days. And, yes, I’m tired. Unfortunately, it also means that my back log […]
Radio Station Visit #130 – WNUW-LP at Neumann University
Back in October, 2016, I had a flurry of radio station visits in the Philadelphia-area, including a night-time trek to new low power FM (LPFM) college radio station WNUW-LP at Neumann University. WNUW’s General Manager Sean McDonald graciously picked me up from WYBF at Cabrini University (see my tour report #122) and drove me to […]
Radio Station Visit #129 – WTJU at University of Virginia
WTJU was the impetus for my trip to Virginia last month, as the University of Virginia-based radio station invited me to speak at its College Radio: Then, Now and Next symposium on St. Patrick’s Day. I’d long known about the station and it was actually my 17th (and final) stop on my Spinning Indie 50 […]
Radio Station Visit #128 – Lehman College Underground Radio
Over spring break, I took my first trip to the Bronx and was glad to have been able to visit a couple of radio stations, including Lehman College Underground Radio aka WHCL at Lehman College on March 28, 2017. On a chilly Tuesday morning, I made my way to the City University of New York […]
Radio Station Visit #127 – WCWM at the College of William and Mary
While in Virginia last month, I had the chance to visit nine different radio stations. My last stop on Saturday, March 18 before heading to the airport was to Williamsburg to see WCWM-FM at the College of William & Mary. I’d never been to colonial Williamsburg, so it was a treat to catch a glimpse […]
New online community radio from India: boxout.fm
Alas, I made it a day late for the inaugural launch-party broadcasts. But I have signed myself up for boxout.fm’s impending new online community radio service. India Today has an interview with the founders. “Initially,” says one of the progenitors: ” . . . we will start off with 4-6 hours of daily live shows hosted by […]
College Radio Watch: Station Visits, Chart Changes, WSOU Seeks Alumni and More News
It’s been a busy few weeks of travel for me and I was happy to be able to squeeze in a bunch of college radio station visits in Virginia and New York. I just posted recaps of my trips to WMWC at University of Mary Washington and to WXJM at James Madison University. Also, on […]