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 […]
Author Archive | Paul Riismandel
Not All Stations (but Perhaps Too Many)
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, […]
Public Access vs. Public Service – Addressing the Biggest Hidden Tension in Community Radio
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 […]
Podcast #73 – Catching Up with Bainbridge Island’s Community Podcasting Experiment
This week we follow up with the subject of one our first episodes, Bainbridge Community Broadcasting. Paul took a day trip on a ferry from Seattle to visit Bainbridge Island and drop in on BCB. Co-founder Barry Peters took a few minutes to give a tour of the BCB studios and provide an update on […]
Trapped in the Grid: Why Community Radio Risks Irrelevance
This is a transitional time for community radio, unprecedented in the medium’s more than 60-year history in the U.S. Thousands of new LPFM stations are going on the air bringing service to communities that never had community radio, or adding new services to supplement existing community stations. At the same time many community stations risk […]
Preserving Audio That’s on Cassette
In my continuing quest to stay a step ahead of recording media degradation and obsolescence, I have undertaken the digitization of my remaining audiocassette collection. Last year I wrote about preserving my archive of interviews and air checks on minidisc, with the hope that the post would be informative and maybe compel some readers with […]
Podcast #71 – Bolivia Is the Birthplace of Community Radio
Sylvia Thomas spent a year touring and researching community radio stations in South America, Asia and Africa. She learned community radio history that might be surprising to many in the United States, and witnessed first-hand different ways of organizing stations and creating radio that are instructive to stations everywhere. Sylvia explains how growing up listening […]
Reminder: This Is Why We Need Community Radio
Like many of you in the U.S. and around the world, I’m still trying to make sense of the presidential election and its outcome. And, by “make sense,” I mean determine what actions I should and can take to help ensure the safety and security of people who have been targeted by the rhetoric of […]
Podcast #70 – From Anaheim to Arkansas, and Beyond
Jennifer, Eric and Paul are back together for a show that spans several continents, from Anaheim to Arkansas, and Ireland to Israel, touching on podcasts, college radio, social media, and more. First Paul has a report from the Now Hear This podcast festival which he worked (and enjoyed) the last weekend of October in Anaheim, […]
An Online Archive of the Fourth Community Radio Station: KRAB
KRAB-FM was the first station in what would become known as the “KRAB Nebula” of community stations that sprouted up around the U.S. in the 1960s and 70s. These 14 stations shared a common parentage in Lorenzo Milam, who helped found them, beginning with KRAB. First hitting the Seattle airwaves on December 12, 1962, KRAB […]