The Radio Survivor podcast is a weekly show that explores the future of community media, with a focus on community radio, college radio, low-power FM and public access TV, along with podcasting and internet radio. Hosts Paul Riismandel, Eric Klein and Jennifer Waits highlight the best and most innovative audio programming and keep you updated on the news that affects our ability to make, create, hear and see great community media.
Cumulus Media’s long-standing San Francisco radio news station KGO recently laid off its news staff, at the same time the company’s rock station KFOG also fired most of its on-air staff. We discuss what this means for Bay Area listeners and what it indicates for the future of radio journalism. Jennifer Waits joins to bring […]
Eric attended the volunteer effort to raise the antenna for new low-power FM station Freeform Portland. Interviewing some of the participants, he discovered a shared history in college radio and a common dedication to freeform musical expression. By popular demand we want to turn the Radio Survivor Podcast into a weekly radio program for any […]
This week we’re on the hunt for radio treasure. Prof. John Anderson of Brooklyn College joins us to talk about his quest to find and preserve the legacy of labor radio with his role in the Library of Congress’ Radio Preservation Task Force. Then our resident radio scholar Brain Fauteux interviews radio artist Magz Hall. […]
Is college radio too small for its own good? Or is its smallness a hidden asset? Those are the questions we take up this week with guest Ken Mills. He’s a radio consultant who works with non-commercial, commercial and college stations. Ken explains why he thinks college radio is hampered by its smallness in a […]
The annual Infinite Dial survey of American listening habits is out. Paul and Eric analyze the results and what they indicate for community and college radio and podcasting. In particular, Paul argues that declining radio ownership and young people’s affinity for YouTube mean stations absolutely must broadcast online and should use video. He asks: Are […]
On this week’s show we hear about efforts to preserve radio’s past, and the FCC’s letter writing campaign intended to undermine pirate operators. Jennifer Waits joins to talk about the Library of Congress’ recent Radio Preservation Task Force conference. She explains why preservation efforts provide not just an important record of radio’s past, but also […]
We have some follow-up on our coverage of the 20th anniversary of Telecommunications Act of 1996. We share a listener email that challenges our FCC history by pointing out how radio deregulation got its foothold at the commission before Ronald Reagan even took office. We discuss how radio went from serving audiences to becoming more […]
We dig into the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision on new royalty payments for internet radio, looking for clues about the future of small and medium-sized webcasters. In our final review of the 20th anniversary of the Telecom Act of 1996, Matthew Lasar explains how the Act and the political environment of the time affected community […]
This is our second episode examining the history and legacy of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in recognition of the law’s 20th anniversary. This time around Prof. John Anderson from Brooklyn College explains how Reagan-era deregulation, culminating in the Telecom Act, triggered civil disobedience on the airwaves along with citizen action that continues to push […]
February 13 is World Radio Day, a day set aside to celebrate radio as a medium, sponsored by UNESCO. This year’s theme is “Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster.” Though celebrated globally, World Radio Day is less well known in the United States. To help better connect us with global community radio, Eric talked […]
