Funnily enough, just last night I was channel surfing and settled in to a WKRP in Cincinnati rerun (the program is one of Jennifer’s top 5 TV shows depicting radio). This one tackled the very serious issue of payola, wherein a new morning DJ is gifted some cocaine from a record promoter, and has to […]
Author Archive | Paul Riismandel
PRX Wins This American Life, Good News for All Indie Producers
Like an episode of the “Public Radio Dating Game” (or “Pubcast Bachelor” if you prefer a more contemporary reference), five distributors vied for the hand of This American Life. But after all the wining and dining, questions and answers, and slow, slow dances, Ira Glass and company have chosen the Public Radio Exchange. According to […]
LPFM News: Low-Power FM on the Next FCC Meeting Agenda
In perhaps the slowest week in LPFM news so far this year, only two additional applications were approved. They went to the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, in Tulsa, and the Fayette Community Service Organization in Fayette, Mississippi. This doesn’t mean that low-power FM isn’t still on the front burner. The FCC’s five commissioners–along with […]
Podcasting News: From Broadcast to Podcast
In this week’s podcasting news updates there are two new podcasting networks. One comes from the mainstream public radio world, while the other comes from the universe of local commercial morning shows. PRI Launches SoundWorks Public Radio International is catching up with NPR and PRX by starting its own podcast network. According to the network […]
FCC’s Open Internet Proposal Is Premature and Half-Baked
It’s been almost a week since the FCC voted to approve Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposed Open Internet rules and open the rule making process. Despite the strong backlash following the first previews of the proposal, not a lot changed. Wheeler still proposes allowing what has come to be called an “internet fast lane,” permitting some […]
Podcasting News: Podcasters in the Press; SoundCloud & Twitter
In this week’s podcasting news: Podcasting received a fair amount of press recently, primarily focused on the comedy side of things. It looks like rising podcast host Soundcloud almost got bought, and Stitcher debuts a new feature that isn’t quite the “Instapaper of audio.” Comedy Podcasters in the News Rolling Stone revealed its “20 Best […]
LPFM News: Up to 1197 Stations; NFCB Intensive Workshop 2 Weeks Away
From a trickle to a slow drip. That’s how one might characterize the approval rate of low-power FM applications right now. Since last week’s update there are only four new construction permits granted. This brings the total to 1197 as of May 14. The FCC still has yet to act on most of the frequencies […]
Podcasting News: WNYC Acquires New ‘Casts, Baseball Shows Blacked Out
In this week’s podcasting news: WNYC launches and acquires new podcasts; MLB and Apple accidentally black out baseball podcasts; Podcast-originated Comedy Bang! Bang! and Maron return to IFC. WNYC Acquires Two Podcasts, Launches a Third Further expanding the public radio podcast roster, New York’s WNYC announced three new shows. Two of the podcasts are hosted […]
Ousted Exec Dir Summer Reese’s Pacifica Occupation Comes to an End
Occupy Pacifica comes to end, at least for now. On Monday an Alameda County judge issued a temporary restraining order against fired Pacifica Executive Director Summer Reese [PDF], enjoining her from “entering, blocking ingress into or egress from, or the passage of persons into or out of” Pacifica Foundation’s national office in Berkeley, CA. Reese […]
FCC Chair Wheeler Shuffles Open Internet Deck Ahead of Meeting
This is a tough week to be Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the FCC. This Thursday he has an open meeting where he plans to present his Open Internet proposal to the full Commission. As details have come to light a very broad coalition of companies, organizations and legislators–from 150 tech firms like Netflix and Google […]