The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 was scheduled for a floor vote in the House of Representatives today, a moment that LPFM activists have been awaiting for almost nine years. And wait they did. Anyone who has watched her share of C-SPAN knows that the House moves at its own pace, for its own […]
Archive | Noncommercial Radio
High School Radio's Star Stations
Last month I had the pleasure of visiting WGBK-FM, a high school radio station in suburban Chicago. This was my very first trip to see a station run by teens and I was thrilled to witness young people doing radio. Not only were they working as DJs on standard music shows, but they were also […]
NPR goes Android, launches new mobile site
Android users will now be able to access the full range of National Public Radio programming thanks to a new app – “NPR News.” The feature for the open source smart phone was built for NPR by Google developer and public radio fan Michael Fredrick. In addition, NPR has launched a new site for mobile […]
Chicago Public Radio Calls Out LPTV Stations Exploiting Backdoor to FM Dial
Far outside the view of the general public, the virtual cratediggers of the FCC’s electronic recesses like Matthew and myself are sometimes privy to the little slap-fights that go on between broadcasters. In this case things are getting a little heated over the far left end of the FM dial, with a prominent public radio […]
Scanning the Radio Dial: Chinese Radio in L.A. and College Radio in Ithaca
It’s a good sign that people continue to write articles praising radio offerings from coast-to-coast; so I just wanted to take a moment to share a couple of stories about some interesting things happening in various radio markets. A piece in the L.A. Times profiles AM station KAZN in Pasadena, California, which was the first […]
The Record Store vs. the Search Engine
This past week I visited San Francisco. In addition to finally meeting my co-bloggers Matthew and Jennifer in person, I also made my pilgrimage to one of the best music stores in the country, Aquarius Records in the Mission. The oldest music store in the city, Aquarius is not big, and it’s far from comprehensive […]
Community Radio to Provide Soundtrack for Films on Coit Tower
Just when people think that radio is dead, there are signs of it continuing to reinvent itself in interesting ways. The morning news today (on both KTVU’s “Mornings on Two” television broadcast and in the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle) brought word of an innovative art installation taking place over the Thanksgiving holiday at […]
Low Power FM bills moving forward with Senate action soon
Hmm. It seems like there’s a fair chance that a law opening up new possibilities for Low Power FM might actually get to prez Obama’s desk this or next year. I’ve been skeptical up until now, but Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington’s Local Community Radio Act S 592 is scheduled for markup and committee vote […]
Andrea Lewis of KPFA has died
It was a hard thing for me to learn today that Andrea Lewis, long time public affairs programmer at KPFA-FM in Berkeley, is dead. The statement from KPFA’s Amelia Gonzalez (see below) says that it may have been a heart attack. Whatever did her in, it’s a huge tragedy. She was 52 years young. Andrea […]
Radio is Alive and Well at the CMJ Music Marathon
Last week I was in New York City for the 29th annual CMJ Music Marathon. From the beginning, this industry conference was a way to connect college radio DJs, label representatives, and musicians. With panels during the day and music performances at night, it’s an action-packed week designed for music discovery on a grand scale. […]