The last days of August, 1968 were probably the most tumultuous of the 1960s. Tens of thousands of protesters had arrived in Chicago, Illinois to protest the Vietnam War at the Democratic National Convention. By August 27, the city’s police department had, over the previous two nights, relentlessly attacked demonstrators, reporters, and newspaper photographers. The nation’s most […]
Today, it was announced that University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth intends to sell the 89.3 FM license for its college radio station, WUMD-FM, to Rhode Island Public Radio (RIPR) for $1.5 million. Paperwork, which has yet to be filed, requires FCC approval. (more…)
I was in New Zealand over the recent holidays, and while waiting in line at a beachside food stand near Christchurch I noticed a t-shirt the teenager behind the counter was wearing, advertising “Rotten Radio 107.7 fm, Lyttelton.” I asked him about the station, and he only said that it’s “cool” and I should listen […]
Although it’s been a few years since we’ve put together our Radio Survivor Holiday gift guides, listing off radio gifts that we love, I’m always thinking about these lists. Whenever I run across an intriguing radio gift idea, I make a mental note and sometimes I race out to pick something up for myself. In […]
In case you want to relive some of the glory days of The Meat Puppets, here’s one way. Check out this 1984 appearance by that hallowed punk band at The Mason Jar in Phoenix, Arizona, rebroadcast by Tucson community station KXCI-FM. The show is accessible via one of my favorite things in the whole universe, […]
From the unprecedented build-out of LPFM community stations and the indie internet radio implosion to 100+ radio tours and a recent tragedy, Jennifer, Eric and Paul run down some of the most significant stories in radio for 2016 in our last podcast of the year. But first, they discuss the now-changed title of last week’s […]
Mea culpa. When one sets out to launch an ambitious critique of community radio programming mistakes will be made, and I made them. This is a necessary aspect of testing ideas, as is coming back to revise, tweak and clarify. I am very grateful for the comments, feedback and criticism of my last two posts, […]
I woke up Saturday morning to bits of news about the devastating fire at the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland late Friday night. Friends posted messages on social media, expressing concern for loved ones who were at the music event and who hadn’t been heard from. I clicked on the party invitation for the show […]
In the past week, I’ve been amazed by the amount of Christmas music that is emanating from sound systems in the local businesses that I’ve been frequenting. Coffee shops, medical offices, shopping malls, and clothing stores have been some of the places where I’ve heard familiar holiday tunes. College radio is a mixed bag, with […]
One of the greatest tensions for community radio stations lies in the spectrum between public access and public service. Although this conflict may not be explicitly discussed, it implicitly affects every single programming decision. It’s time for this tension to be made explicit, and for stations to actively grapple with how to balance a focus […]
