Commercial radio in the UK turns 40 years-old this week. Here in the US we tend to take for granted that broadcast media would be funded by commercials interrupting our programs several times an hour. But the rest of the world came to embrace the commercial system much more slowly. The development of commercial broadcasting […]
Yesterday streaming music service Rdio announced that radio station streaming would be free on Android and iOS mobile devices, effective immediately. Up to now the service has been subscription only, with a free trial period available for new users. Like Spotify, Rdio’s emphasis has been on demand listening. The service’s stations were only just launched […]
On my drive moving to Portland, OR from Chicago in August I came across a few unique radio shows. As we drove along I–80 in Wyoming I tuned in Denver’s KKZN 760 AM on Saturday afternoon where I encountered the Colorado Craft Beer Show. I like beer, and I like craft beer even more, so […]
Six years ago Jennifer Strange signed up for Sacramento station KDND-FM‘s “Hold your wee for a Wii” contest and lost her life as a consequence. The mother of three followed the game rules, drinking almost two gallons of water without urinating. She died of water intoxication soon afterwards. Although a nurse called in to warn […]
I’m starting to think that HD Radio sub channels are turning into the land of misfit formats. Last Friday Seattle’s 22 year-old Adult Album Alternative station The Mountain 103.7 FM flipped to the Hot Adult Contemporary format with nearly no notice from Entercom, its owner. But instead of disappearing, The Mountain’s format lives on as […]
Copyright law can be a funny thing. Did you know that recordings made prior to February 1972 don’t enjoy the same copyright protections as those after? I didn’t. But satellite radio broadcaster SiriusXM knew, and has been using that as an excuse not to pay royalties on those pre–1972 recordings it plays. By law, the […]
The standard narrative I usually hear is that broadcast media is slowly getting more diverse. More African-American, Latino, Asian and Native American voices are showing up at main studios . . . not as quickly as anyone would like, but at least it is happening. But those assumptions are not confirmed by the latest Radio […]
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai visited Pittsburgh’s historic KDKA-AM on Tuesday, meeting with the Pittsburgh Radio Broadcasters’ Rountable. KDKA is the first commercial station in the US, and Pai reflected on Pittsburgh radio history as he told the roundtable that radio regulations are “overdue for an overhaul.” Pai reiterated his support for the revitalization of the […]
Clear Channel has discovered the podcast, apparently, but wants to rename it the “audiosode.” Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? But don’t be fooled by the nincompoop neologism, this is a very serious move by the nation’s biggest radio broadcast company to dominate internet radio. Those “audiosodes” are part of the iHeartRadio Talk beta that […]
![Recreating the game in the studio [http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/recreations.html]](https://www.radiosurvivor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/bbrecreations-250x125.jpg "Better than reality, more than make believe: radio’s re-creation of baseball")
In 1957 the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants baseball teams simultaneously left New York, the Dodgers to Los Angeles and the Giants to San Francisco. I was 10 years old. I loved the Dodgers more than anything in the world. I carried my large pre-transistor radio with me wherever I went so I […]
