LPFM Watch: Construction Permits in Louisiana and Texas, Plus More Guel-Related Dismissals
During my East Coast travels last week, I met up with folks from two new low power FM (LPFM) radio stations. During one of the visits, I was peppered with questions about community radio and it was suggested that Radio Survivor publish some pieces about what makes for a good community radio station. In a […]
Major Labels Sue Internet Radio Platform Radionomy for Copyright Infringement
Another major threat to small and medium sized internet radio stations has surfaced. As Torrent Freak first reported Tuesday, on February 26 four major recording labels filed suit in federal court against internet radio platform Radionomy, charging that the company engaged in copyright infringement. The plaintiffs–Arista Records, LaFace Records, Sony Music and Zomba Records–allege that […]
Sound Advice: 5 Ways New LPFMs Can Build Community Support Today
This might surprise you, but I spend quite a bit of time thinking about how community-focused broadcasters (and podcasters, for that matter) can create healthy organizations that result in amazing programming. Part of this requires shaking off decades-old assumptions about community radio, as well as embracing the challenges of today’s media environment. Many of my […]
Podcast #36 – Why Radio Is Like a 1980s Mall & Podcasters Are the Punk Rockers
We have some follow-up on our coverage of the 20th anniversary of Telecommunications Act of 1996. We share a listener email that challenges our FCC history by pointing out how radio deregulation got its foothold at the commission before Ronald Reagan even took office. We discuss how radio went from serving audiences to becoming more […]
Marking Network Neutrality’s First Anniversary
Friday was the one-year anniversary of the FCC’s Open Internet Order, which established strong network neutrality rules in the U.S., in part by reclassifying internet service as a public utility. As Public Knowledge’s Meredith Whipple observes, “despite the clamoring of the ISPs that Title II would be the end of times, the Internet ecosystem is […]
Women, community radio, and the struggle against Ebola and Zika
There’s a great interview up on SoundCloud with Anne Bennett, director of Hirodelle USA, which supports community based radio projects across Africa. I transcribed some of Bennett’s comments, which she made during a World Radio Day conference in London. They focused on how to get public health information out to women that women will regard as credible, […]
College Radio Watch: College Radio in the 1970s – Industry Notes Influence of Carrier Current Radio
It can be challenging to track down the history of specific college radio stations and I often find interesting tidbits while doing online research. In the course of my research, I ran across a couple of sources from the early 1970s that point to the state of college radio at the time. As I’m ensconced […]
Sweden Nixes FM Shut-Off
Back in April of last year news headlines across tech and news sites screamed that Norway was about to turn off all FM transmitters. The reality, of course, is a bit more complex–only 23 stations in the three biggest cities will turn off their analog signals in 2017, while some 200 FM stations outside this […]
LPFM Watch: Another Radio Pirate Denied an LPFM
The first new low-power FM construction permit since January has been issued, to Wimberly Texan Radio, in Wimberly, TX. Also, in the last two weeks 18 new LPFMs have received their licenses. There was one interesting dismissal from an applicant that the FCC determined was associated with an unlicensed station. As discovered and reported to […]
Living large with The Lot Radio of Brooklyn
I am sitting at my computer watching what looks like a live deejay broadcasting from a big shipping container somewhere in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint nexus of Brooklyn. The whole operation is sitting in a vacant lot, hence the sobriquet “The Lot Radio.” Fans of the broadcast send appreciations via The Lot’s live chat board, such as […]