I was in New Zealand over the recent holidays, and while waiting in line at a beachside food stand near Christchurch I noticed a t-shirt the teenager behind the counter was wearing, advertising “Rotten Radio 107.7 fm, Lyttelton.” I asked him about the station, and he only said that it’s “cool” and I should listen […]
Archive | LPFM
Radio Survivor has the most comprehensive weekly coverage of low-power FM. Read our About LPFM page to learn the fundamentals of this unique class of community radio.
Podcast #72 – Pete Tridish Celebrates an LPFM Success Story
Pete Tridish works as a radio engineer, building low power and full power community radio stations. He initially did this work with Prometheus Radio Project and now with International Media Action. “Back when I was working with Prometheus Radio Project, which was a group that worked to expand the low power radio service and create […]
Rough notes: NPR pushes back on my LPFM “ace in the hole” comment
The New York Times has a nice feature story on the latest wave of Low Power FM radio stations sweeping the country, thanks to the Federal Communications Commission’s licensing spree of 2014 through this year. Authored by Brett Sokol, it surveys LPFMs from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. The piece even quotes little old me saying something. To […]
Podcast #67 – New Community Radio in Borneo
Jim Ellinger of Austin Airwaves joins us on the program to share a preview of his talk “Community Radio, A Global View,” which he is giving at this year’s Grass Roots Radio Conference. Jim is recently back from the highlands of Borneo, where he helped with the launch of a new community radio station that […]
Does running a LPFM now require persuading millennials to come back to FM?
I am following Ferndale Radio’s campaign to raise enough funds to launch a Low Power FM station in and around the Rust Belt Market zone of Metro Detroit. The group has a nice promotional Vimeo on its indiegogo page. It confirms what I already knew but haven’t really wanted to face. Lots of young people really, truly do […]
LPFM Watch: FCC Approves San Francisco Community Radio and San Francisco Public Press Time-Share and More News
The FCC has been busy processing more low power FM (LPFM) applications in the last month and just this week issued construction permits to San Francisco Community Radio (SFCR) and San Francisco Public Press for new stations on 102.5 FM in San Francisco. Last month the FCC asked the two groups to come up with […]
Radio Station Visit #107 – New LPFM Radio Station KOMF-LP in Denver
My second radio station visit in Denver was to Open Media Foundation (OMF)’s new low power FM (LPFM) radio station KOMF-LP. On the afternoon of Thursday, July 7th, I met up with Chief Engineer Dave Dieter and Steering Committee Member Greg Barman to learn more about the station. (more…)
Radio Station Field Trip #105 – CHIRP Radio in Chicago
On a trip to Chicago this spring, I was excited to finally visit CHIRP Radio. The online community radio station was established by the Chicago Independent Radio Project (thus, the moniker CHIRP) and is now the holder of a construction permit for new low power FM (LPFM) radio station WCXP-LP at 107.1 FM in Chicago. […]
LPFM Watch: One Step Closer for San Francisco LPFMs, D.C. Area Station Tours, and More News
A flurry of low power FM (LPFM) updates means that it’s time for another edition of LPFM Watch, two months after we put a pause on our weekly updates. This week we learned that the FCC is closer to resolving the contentious battle for the new LPFM channel in San Francisco, with the application by […]
Podcast #52 – Small Town LPFM
Low Power FM radio stations can be a great addition to the media landscape in the big city, but on this episode we focus on rural LPFM. Eric Klein takes listeners on a tour of KFSL, the low power FM station that is the sole broadcaster in Fossil,Oregon (population 454). The station is staffed by […]