More than 600 community radio recordings from 1965 – 1986 are archived at the University of Maryland. These tapes were shared through a program exchange operated by the National Federation of Community broadcasters. The breadth of programming contained in these programs is remarkable, and underscores the still-active mission of the NFCB to support and promote […]
Author Archive | Paul Riismandel
Podcast #157 – Restoring Net Neutrality, One State at a Time
California is on the cusp of restoring net neutrality. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Katharine Trendacosta explains how this will happens, and what the implications are for the rest of the nation. Then Jennifer, Eric and Paul run down our slate of live podcast recordings coming up at this year’s Grassroots Radio Conference in Portland, OR […]
Podcast #156 – Can We Strengthen Audio’s Public Domain?
In the U.S. the copyright situation for music and sound recordings made before 1972 is a mess of different and conflicting state laws. That’s because there is no overarching federal law. The unintended consequence is that archivists, librarians and artists are often afraid to duplicate, distribute or repurpose very old recordings that – if they […]
Podcast #155 – Connecting Podcasting’s Future to Radio’s Past
This week Paul reflects on insights gained at this year’s Podcast Movement conference, focusing on the opportunity for more people to be served by community podcasting. Jennifer reports back from Radio Day by the Bay, which included a live radio drama performance that connects up to the present-day explosion in scripted fictional podcasts. And then […]
Happy National Radio Day 2018!
Let’s celebrate the oldest electronic medium today. Radio provides entertainment, news, information and companionship to millions of people every day in the U.S., and billions around the world. When your power goes out or your smartphone dies, you just need a couple of batteries and a radio (or just a wind-up radio) to keep in […]
Podcast #154 – One Tape at a Time: Preserving Music Memories
There are undiscovered musical treasures potentially fading away in closets, basements and storage units around the world. Seattle radio station KEXP teamed up with local universities and media organizations to help save a little of this cultural history with the Pop-Up Music Memory Digitization Lab. For one day members of the public were invited to […]
Podcast #151 – The Wave Farm Grows Transmission Arts
Radios in the trees, a transmitter in the pond, and a weather-driven synth. These are just some of what you’ll find on The Wave Farm, a 29-acre property in New York’s Hudson Valley dedicated to radio and transmission arts. It’s anchored by community radio station WGXC, accompanied by a cornucopia of additional tiny terrestrial and […]
Every Community Radio Programmer Must Be a Publicist
It is long past time when a community or college radio DJ or programmer can simply show up to do their show and expect to have an audience. Everyone who has a radio show bears the responsibility to build an audience for that show, and their station. Audience building is a challenge for every radio […]
Podcast #150 – Sympathy for Kenny G
What killed smooth jazz radio? Why aren’t there any commercial classical stations any longer? And, why do radio stations have a “format” to begin with? Matthew Lasar joins us to explore these questions about the fundamental organizing principle of most music radio. Matthew is a co-founder of Radio Survivor and the author of three important […]
Radio Survivor Recommends: How To Start Podcasting
On this week’s show Eric and I answer another frequently asked question we hear: how do I start podcasting? We give some basic advice to get started, focused on the basic gear you need, along with hints and tips along the way. To complement that segment I’ve put together some of that advice here, along […]