Eric, Jennifer and Paul reconvene to catch up on all that is news to us in the worlds of radio and sound. The FCC just unanimously approved all-digital operation on the AM band, while commercial radio – born on the AM band – celebrates its centennial. But keep in mind that broadcast radio is older […]
Archive | Community Radio
Podcast #269 – How To Get an FM Radio License in 2021
The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will open two filing windows for non-commercial FM radio licenses. First up will be an opportunity to apply for a full-power non-commercial / educational (NCE) license, followed by a low-power FM opportunity. Even though the application window dates have not yet been announced, now is the time […]
Podcast #267 – Live from the Grassroots Radio Conference: Community Radio and Protests
This week, the Radio Survivor crew did its first live broadcast from a virtual conference held over Zoom. As part of the 2020 Grassroots Radio Conference, we presented a live radio show during the event, which aired over host station ARTxFM’s (WXOX-LP) FM signal in Louisville, Kentucky as well as over the internet. The topic […]
Podcast #266 – Flirt FM Celebrates 25 Years of College & Community Radio in Ireland
Flirt FM at the National University of Ireland at Galway was one of the first “community of interest” stations to go on the air in that nation. Effectively, this means it was a trailblazing college and community station, hitting the air not long after the state broadcast monopoly began to erode in 1988. Andrew Ó […]
Virtual Grassroots Radio Conference Kicks off Friday, Oct. 9
Though I’m disappointed I won’t be traveling to Louisville this year, host station ARTxFM has assembled a really impressive online Grassroots Radio Conference for 2020. None other than Public Enemy’s inimitable MC Chuck D will deliver the first keynote on Friday night, titled “And You Don’t Stop Radio.” WFMU’s stalwart station manager and streaming radio […]
Podcast #261 – Remembering Lorenzo Milam
Jennifer, Eric and Paul get the gang back together to remember community radio innovator Lorenzo Milam, who passed away on July 19. We reflect on how he helped to propagate a community access model of broadcasting that departed somewhat from the model of the first Pacifica stations, and was reflective of the counter-cultural currents of […]
Louisville’s ARTxFM Hosting Aug. 13 Nationwide Simulcast, “Justice for Breonna”
Louisville, Kentucky community radio station ARTxFM is hosting a nationwide coordinated broadcast, “Justice for Breonna Taylor,” on August 13, the five-month anniversary of Breonna’s passing, at 2 PM EDT. The program will feature a simulcast of “Everything” by Mary J. Blige, selected by Breonna’s family, along with a short piece produced by the station. From […]
FCC Chair: New LPFM & Noncomm License Opportunities Coming Soon
One of the most frequent questions we get via email is, “how can I get a radio station license?” Most often the inquiry concerns a low-power FM license, but the correspondent isn’t always particular. Aside from the years 2010 and 2013 – the last noncomm and LPFM license opportunities, respectively – our answer is usually […]
Podcast #256 – The Robin Hood of the Avant-Garde
Poet Kenneth Goldsmith created UbuWeb in 1996 as an online repository for obscure avant-garde art that, by virtue of having little commercial potential, was hard to find. Audio was an early component of the archive, owing to Kenneth’s interest in sound poetry, an even more obscure art form. Since then he’s served as the chief, […]
R.I.P. Radio Trailblazer Lorenzo Milam
I first learned of Lorenzo Milam because of his groundbreaking book, “Sex and Broadcasting.” Subtitled, “A Handbook on Starting a Radio Station for the Community,” it’s an idiosyncratic journey through the independent media landscape of the late 60s and early 70s. While it does serve as a handbook of sorts, as advertised, it’s a lot […]