Listeners to Free Speech Radio News may not realize that only two of the producers are in the same location. The rest of the staff–not just reporters and correspondents–are geographically dispersed and work together over the phone and internet. This is due to the grassroots nature of FSRN, but also because the organization’s tight finances […]
It’s an increasingly rare thing to find a station that has maintained its format (and call letters) for more than a decade, nevermind 40 years. This week Chicago commercial rock station WXRT begins celebrating its fortieth year on air with something called “40 years in 40 days.” Starting Monday, each day the station is highlighting […]
I can barely believe that it’s been over a year since I wrote my first review of Spotify, which itself came a month after the service debuted in the US. At the time I was most critical of the relative rarity of free Spotify accounts, in addition to a monthly limit of 10 listening hours […]
Things are staying eventful for SiriusXM. Liberty Media this week continued its ongoing campaign to take control of the satellite radio provider by buying up 40 million additional shares of the company, bringing its total ownership to 48.8%, up from its 40% stake back in March. Liberty’s intent here is clear. In a a recent […]
Dr. Demento is the veteran broadcaster who first exposed the listening public to Weird Al Yankovic when the parody musician was recording accordian-laden tapes in his dormatory bathroom. Demento’s eponymously titled radio program has brought silly songs and funny ditties to the radio for nearly four decades. The good Doctor (also known as Barret Eugene […]
My fellow Radio Survivor Jennifer alerted us to the fact that today is apparently National Radio Day. It was never declared as such by Congress or any other arm of government, and according to the sketchy details on the Holiday Insights website the day seems to have its orgins in the 1990s when radio professionals […]
Are podcasts to radio like blogs are to newspapers? That’s the question Richard MacManus of ReadWriteWeb asks in his piece “Radio Killed the Podcasting Star.” But his answer comes down clearly on the side of, “no.” He argues that, “Sadly, there are no podcasting stars – and it’s all radio’s fault.” The crux of his […]
Every weekend Slate shares a Longform-curated selection of non-fiction pieces about a common topic. This weekend the topic was talk radio, and all of these articles should be of interest to Radio Survivor readers. I’m still working through the list myself, including the history of the fundamentalist Christian settlement of Zion, Illinois and its pioneering […]
Sometimes I feel like WFMU news should be its own category here at Radio Survivor, due to the station’s constant innovation and newsworthiness. First up, I can report that the Kickstarter for the WFMU documentary Freeform or Death–which I reported on in June–ended successfully last month. 736 backers pledged 61% more than producer Tim K. […]
Radio Survivor readers might recall that the independent daily news half-hour Free Speech Radio News began an emergency fund-raising campaign in May in order to close a $75,000 budget gap. Last week FSRN announced that the goal had been matched and surpassed in July. Development director Alan Searle says that, “it is important to note […]
