In case you need a refresher on the public/community radio scene in Wichita, Kansas, circa 1987, The Mumbles had a big following in and around the area. Fans did a number of shows about the punk band on KMUW-FM’s legendary Sister Midnight program. You can listen to them here: I particularly enjoyed the Elvis imitations, done with […]
Archive | Community Radio
Podcast #83 – How AM Revitalization Pressures LPFM
Advice for LPFM stations and podcasters this week. A recent rule change at the FCC allows more AM stations to get repeaters on the FM dial, but may put unnecessary pressure on existing low-power FM stations. Paul and Eric discuss this situation and what LPFM stations may need to do in response, along with the […]
Radio Station Visit #121 – Solar-Powered LPFM KUHS-LP in Hot Springs, Arkansas
My grand tour of Arkansas radio stations concluded with a trip to see KUHS-LP in Hot Springs. Host of the 2016 Grassroots Radio Conference (GRC), KUHS-LP is a new, solar-powered low power FM (LPFM) station, having launched over 97.9 FM in August, 2015. As far as field trips, my visit to KUHS was different from […]
1951: Uncle Sam produces military training film on independent radio
It is beyond me why The United States Army produced a documentary on running an independent radio station in 1951, but here you have it. “Also serving the public,” the film notes, “are radio stations without networks. Typical is this small independent station in New York.” The “typical” indie station the Army focused on was […]
Radio Station Visit #120 – KABF in Little Rock, Arkansas
When I arrived at community radio station KABF in Little Rock, Arkansas on the afternoon of October 7, 2016, I was embarking on my fifth radio station visit in a 24-hour period. A bit delirious from my cross-country and cross-state travels, I became immediately re-energized after spotting a trio of friends waiting for me outside […]
Podcast #82 – Busting Myths & Counting Charts
Conventional wisdom says young people don’t listen to the radio. Jennifer Waits talks to two college broadcasters from KUOZ-LP at the University of the Ozarks who bust that myth. She also takes us on a tour of a new community LPFM, KPSQ-LP, located in a hotel in Fayetteville, AR. But first, Paul and Jennifer discuss […]
The ‘Right’ Voices
I recently rediscovered a National Public Radio (NPR) article that addressed a 2014 study by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on ‘Public Attitudes and Understanding’ of ‘Science and Technology’ in which only 74% of those surveyed thought that the Earth orbits the Sun. To rephrase and reframe that statement, that’s approximately 26% of the population of the United […]
Podcast #81 – To Thrive in 2017 Put the Community in Community Radio
Sally Kane, the CEO of The National Federation of Community Broadcasters, joins the podcast to discuss the threats and opportunities for community radio in the current political environment. In the months, since the election of Trump, the NFCB has received a lot of questions from community radio stations about how to respond and what comes […]
audio: DJ “Gary Indiana” on WQAX-FM (“Quacks”), February 1981
Continuing my excavation of digitally archived college/community radio programs, I have found this nugget on the Internet Archives: a recording of WQAX-FM DJ “Gary Indiana” hosting a music show, circa February 1981. WQAX (aka, “Quacks” 100.3 FM) broadcast to Bloomington, Indiana as a cable station for two decades, from 1973 through 1993. The signal offered a […]
When Canada had just 20 (or so) community radio stations
Meandering through the Internet Archives, I ran into this chestnut, circa 1974: “Community Radio in Canada,” authored by Toronto’s Office of Community Radio.