It never ceases to amaze me that some public radio stations continue to run afoul of the Federal Communications Commission’s sieve-like rules against running advertisements, but they do. The latest station to wrangle with the Commission on this matter is religious non-profit WKSG-FM in Cedar Creek, Florida, run by Daystar Public Radio. WKSG seems like […]
Archive | Noncommercial Radio
The Romance of Radio Rediscovered on the iPod Nano
I probably don’t have to convince anyone reading Radio Survivor that radio rules. But just in case you need some persuading, I’d like to share a beautifully written love-letter to radio (written by a reviewer at Popular Mechanics of all places). While checking out the new FM radio feature on the iPod Nano, former college […]
Celebs Rally to Help WLIU Stay Local and On the Air
As Paul Riismandel reported in August, Long Island University-owned public radio station WLIU is about to lose funding from its institution and is entertaining offers to purchase the station. Yesterday was the deadline for bids and a star-studded group of “friends” held rallies and pulled together an offer to save the station from extinction or […]
The great Pacifica radio election is on!
While we’re on the subject of public radio station fundraiser marathons, there’s a related event in progress: board elections at the Pacifica radio network. Subscribers and staff at all five Pacifica stations in New York City, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Houston are voting for members of their respective local station boards. There are […]
Low Power FM gets backing of new FCC Commissioners
Congressmember Mike Doyle (D-PA) came to today’s House Commerce subcommittee hearing on the Federal Communications Commission with a question posed to all the new Commissioners. “Do you recommend that Congress lift the restrictions on LPFM stations—the so-called ‘third adjacent protections’?” “Based on what I know, yes,” new Chair Julius Genachowski quickly replied. “Yes,” responded new […]
The Dreaded On-Air Fundraiser
Fundraiser season is in full force on the San Francisco airwaves with no fewer than 3 non-commercial radio stations pitching for dollars this week. Although on-air fundraisers seem to be a necessity, I find the majority of them to be unlistenable. In a few weeks I’ll have to start doing my own on-air cash pleas […]
mtvU's College Radio "Woodie" Award Voting Has Begun
Whenever a list is produced of the BEST of anything there will be nay-sayers; whether the list comes from “experts” or is the result of popular vote. For that reason, I’m suspicious of every list that I’ve seen of the most popular/best college radio stations. Now with the latest contest underway, mtvU’s (MTV’s college-oriented network) […]
Radio Pubcaster WLIU Receives Stay of Execution
Earlier this month Long Island University announced it would sell off its public radio outlet WLIU, tired of sinking $1.3 million a year into the station. Now, according to the Southampton Press (via Current) the university has given the station’s management a little more time to try and put together a nonprofit corporation to buy […]
The education of a radio pirate
I am belatedly reading Sue Carpenter’s wonderful memoir 40 Watts From Nowhere and chuckling at her evolution from a disgruntled DJ wannabe to a radio station manager. The book is sine qua non for anyone who aspires to run any kind of community-style radio station, as far as I’m concerned, because it shows how different […]
Long Island Pubcaster Up for Sale
Clear Channel, Cumulus and their commercial radio brethren are not the only ones facing economic hard times right now. While public radio in general may be doing better, it’s not necessarily the case for individual stations. The most recent example is Southampton, NY’s WLIU which is being put up for sale by Long Island University […]