John Bergmayer of Public Knowledge has a great interview with Ken Freedman, station manager of WFMU-FM in Jersey City, New Jersey. WFMU is a trailblazing radio station which was in the forefront of both the free form and dot.com eras. The dialogue is a terrific read, because it encapsulates all the dilemmas facing Internet radio […]
Archive | Community Radio
KPFA, the case against an all-volunteer station
Pacifica radio is running its semi-regular Local Station Board elections. If you subscribe to a Pacifica station, you should be getting a ballot soon for listener or staff candidates for your signal’s respective board. Here at Pacifica outlet KPFA-FM in Berkeley, to which I donate money, there are two big slates running: SaveKPFA and Independents […]
International Radio Festival Hits Zurich in September
With webcasting we all have the opportunity to sample radio stations from all over the globe, but it isn’t every day that there’s a chance to listen to a curated selection of international stations. The organizers of the International Radio Festival hand-picked more than 30 radio stations for inclusion in their festival taking place September […]
Bonnie Simmons inducted into Bay Area Radio Hall of fame
Truly great news for community radio music lovers, long time music deejay legend and totally awesome human being Bonnie Simmons has been inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame! Here is her Hall of Fame entry: Bonnie Simmons – A pioneer in free-form radio, Simmons was instrumental to the success of KSAN during […]
Radio Valencia Launches in San Francisco
Back in June I shared the news that new community radio station Radio Valencia was in the works in San Francisco. After several months of hard work, Radio Valencia is now officially webcasting. Live shows began yesterday at 5pm with a program hosted by DJ Dirty Needles. Promising a mix of music and talk programming […]
Regulated Musical Diversity on Canadian Airwaves
On July 22, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a revised version of their Broadcasting and Regulatory Policy (PDF) as it applies to campus and community radio in Canada. Amid all of the policy changes (and a nice promise of funding), which for the most part are meant to simplify the ways that […]
FCC FREE Radio in Content Deal with SF Station Website
For the past year we’ve been chronicling the evolution of FCC FREE Radio in San Francisco. Starting out as renegade LPFM community radio broadcasters in 2009, they went Internet-only in May 2010 and are now embarking on a mission of becoming a broader-based Internet radio station and content provider. When I visited a few weeks […]
Save the funding for community radio infrastructure
Every year scores of community and public radio stations apply for funding from the Department of Commerce’s Public Telecommunications Facilities Program. The venue funds a host of capital expenses that many of these stations can’t afford otherwise. The cash goes to upgrading transmission towers, funding shelters for transmitters, and buying new control room equipment, console […]
Skulls and College Radio
I’ve visited more than 23 radio stations all over the world, from tiny store-front operations like East Village Radio in New York City to small town community radio stations to a big corporate commercial station and everything in between. Not only am I passionate about what goes on in the DJ booth, but I’m also […]
Christian Radio Station Quells Violence after Mehserle Verdict
Although I still haven’t sleuthed out the origins of “Oscar Grant Radio,” the mobile radio station that offered up a voice for citizens on the streets of Oakland following the Johannes Mehserle verdict on Thursday, today I learned about another station that was live on the street in order to both discourage violence and offer […]