Costa Rica’s Tico Times recently published a profile of unlicensed Guatemala radio station Radio Ixchel, as part of an examination of the radio scene in that country. Guatemala has as many as 800 pirate stations, where most radio licenses are auctioned for as much as $100,000. While there are license categories for public stations, there […]
Author Archive | Paul Riismandel
Conference to explore community media and the Arab Spring
AMARC is the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and for nearly 30 years has worked for media democracy by supporting the growth of community radio. This year AMARC’s Middle East and North Africa conference will focus on “community media and the Arab Spring.” The conference will be held March 9 and 10 in Tunis […]
Like indie radio, but on paper
‘Zines are like the college or community radio of the print media world. Or maybe LPFM or pirate radio are a more appropriate comparisons, since ‘zines tend to be more personal, limited in distribution, and sometimes reproduced surreptitiously on office copiers. In any event, I’ve been a fan and reader of ‘zines for, I guess, […]
What’s news in unlicensed broadcasting: Retired Navy air traffic controller in Florida faces state charges, but overall FCC enforcement is down
The biggest news in pirate radio so far this year is the story about Ft. Myers, Florida resident Albert Knighten, a retired Navy air traffic controller who was arrested in December on charges of unlicensed broadcasting. Knighten’s Dunbar Radio, named for his neighborhood, focused his broadcasts on the city’s underserved population of older residents who […]
Radio was a highlight at an otherwise lackluster 2012 Consumer Electronics Show
It’s been a week since the Consumer Electronics Show wrapped up in Las Vegas, and I apologize to Radio Survivor readers for not having kept closer track this year. Warm Las Vegas certainly seemed like it would have been a nicer place to be than bone-chilling snowy Chicago, where I’m writing this post. But as […]
Public radio station KCRW to roast Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is a Gen X renaissance man, starting out as the former lead singer of the seminal hardcore punk band Black Flag, in addition to being an author, actor, spoken word artist and perhaps the man with the most independent music documentary appearances on earth. On top of all that, Mr. Rollins is also […]
Internet, satellite and cable music royalty payments up 17% in 2011
This is certainly an indicator of strong growth for internet radio and streaming services. Music royalties agency SoundExchange announced Tuesday that it ended the year collecting $292 million in royalty payments, up 17% from 2010. These royalties are paid by internet, satellite and cable TV music-only services for the right to play sound recordings, and […]
A podcasting renaissance? When was its dark age?
Yesterday I declared that Todd Glass coming out of the closet on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast is a podcasting milestone. Just after posting that piece I read writer and comedian Gaby Dunn’s article “Hustlin’: Inside the Podcast Renaissance” at Good magazine. When I first saw the title, I thought to myself, “Renaissance?” Using that word […]
WTF podcast is platform for comedian’s coming out, marks a milestone in podcasting
It used to be when a politician, celebrity or someone in the entertainment business had a big announcement to make that person would make an appearance with the likes of Barbara Walters or Larry King. A comedian or someone a little less famous in the mainstream might take it to Howard Stern or another syndicated […]
They can take the radio out of Clear Channel (but that won’t take Clear Channel out of radio)
Friday the 900 lb. gorilla of commercial radio announced that it is changing its name to Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, striking the word “radio” from its name. Even though the company still owns 850 terrestrial broadcast stations–down from its post-1996 height of 1200–Clear Channel is trying to emphasize its belated focus on the internet, […]