Did you know that a lot of folks in Europe listen to radio on their televisions? Neither did we, until we talked with James Cridland, editor of the daily Podnews email newsletter and radio futurologist. He explains that outside of North America much of radio is enjoyed on more platforms, from digital DAB to, yes, […]
Author Archive | Paul Riismandel
Online Panel on the History of Internet Radio Is Part of the World Audio Day Virtual Conference on April 21
This Tuesday, April 21, at 12 PM EDT I’ll be participating in an online panel on the “History of Internet Radio,” as part of the first World Audio Day virtual conference. I’m really excited to be in the company of excellent co-panelists: Dom Robinson is UK-based writer and technologist who has written about the 25th […]
The Wetland Project Is Slow Radio for Earth Day
Soothing environmental sounds may be just the thing to help quell pandemic-induced anxiety. Multimedia artists Mark Timmings and Brady Marks present 24 hours of this kind of “slow radio” on Earth Day, April 22. Though not expressly designed for the times of “shelter in place,” when many public parks, beaches and natural spaces are closed […]
Podcast #241 – WBCN and the American Revolution
WBCN in Boston, MA is one of the storied freeform FM stations in American commercial radio history. We’re talking about it because there’s a recent documentary film, entitled “WBCN and the American Revolution,” that dives into its history, and how WBCN’s early days in the late 60s and early 70s are intertwined with the counter […]
Podcast #239 – Hunkering Down with Raven Radio in Sitka, Alaska
Raven Radio, KCAW-FM, serves Sitka and the remote communities of Southeast Alaska with public radio content, local news and volunteer-produced programming. Like “shelter in place” elsewhere in the lower 48, Sitka is on what they call a “hunker down” advisory. We talk with KCAW General Manager and friend of the show, Becky Meiers about how […]
Podcast #238 – Social Distancing, Going Remote and Automation during Global Pandemic
The University of Virgina’s WTJU now only permits one person in their studios at one time and has five remote locations ready to take over live broadcasting. That’s a couple of ways that community and college stations are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Community radio WTJU General Manager Nathan Moore joins this week to explain […]
Radio Field Report: Legal Unlicensed LPFM in New Zealand
Catching a low-power FM radio station in the wild in New Zealand requires a bit of luck. Permitted to broadcast with up to one watt of power without a license, these stations have a bit more range – generally up to one kilometer radius (.6 miles) – than a legal unlicensed Part 15 station in […]
Podcast #237 – How Community & College Radio Can Deal with COVID-19
Community and college radio stations are unique in broadcasting because in addition to being important community services, many are also a community crossroads, hosting dozens or hundreds of people in their studios and spaces in any given week. That means the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic poses a specific challenge for these broadcasters. KPFA’s “UpFront” co-host […]
Podcast #236 – FCC and the Supremes
FCC policy has left media ownership diversity at “obnoxiously low levels,” especially considering that more minority and women ownership is one of the desired objectives. That’s what Prof. Chris Terry from the University of Minnesota tells us on this week’s show. The Commission may be headed to the Supreme Court to defend its diversity policy, […]
Happy International Minidisc Day – A Post-Modern Revival
As we enter our second decade of everything-digital-on-demand, the desire for tactile media only seems to grow new buds. By now the vinyl resurgence is old news, and while mainstream publications still gasp or tsk-tsk at the cassette revival, I think we can safely say the tape medium has retaken a beachhead, too. Today is […]