Grassroots heat has been getting hotter this week as the Senate runs out of time to vote on the Local Community Radio Act, expanding low-power FM. There are some signs that the action is having some effect. Free Press campaign director Tim Karr tweeted on Thursday, NAB lobbyists overheard at DC event: “We’re getting beat […]
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From hoops to NPR and voicemail – today’s action in LPFM
Prometheus has posted photos and video from their hula hooping protest in front of NAB headquarters today in support of low-power FM. According to the group dozens of people showed up to ask NAB head and former senator Gordon Smith to stop blocking the Local Community Radio Act, SB 592. It turns out that so […]
Hooping for LPFM
Today the Prometheus Radio Project is leading a circus-themed protest in front of the National Association of Broadcasters. Urging supporters to “bring juggling pins, unicycles, tricks, and costumes,” participants will be celebrating low-power FM while chiding the NAB for its dishonest campaign to get Senate republicans to put holds on the Local Community Radio Act. […]
Howard Stern is staying with Sirius for another five years
So much for the drama. Howard Stern announced this morning that he signed a new five-year contract with Sirius satellite radio, ending a protracted negotiation. He did not indicate how much the contract is for, only saying that it is “very fair.” The end of this contract will be a different sort of drama since […]
NAB still using misinformation to defeat low-power radio expansion
The National Association of Broadcasters has never been a friend to low-power community radio. Back in 2000, when the FCC first created the service, the NAB did everything it could to try and keep it from becoming a reality. While the broadcast lobby failed to stop it outright, the NAB did succeed in getting Congress […]
Radio as Survival Tool in Sudan
Although many of us are fixated on radio crises in the United States, from stations getting shut down to favored radio hosts being fired, to college radio stations getting sold off; it’s rare that we talk about the important role that radio can play in keeping citizens informed and engaged. As I wrote in my […]
Media tweek: Should Rush Limbaugh’s supporters be allowed to vote?
Should Rush Limbaugh’s supporters be allowed to vote? Given the amazingly mean spirited and stupid things Limbaugh says, should the dittoheads who mindlessly applaud him receive the franchise? Could you imagine the elevated difference in the political makeup of this country if they didn’t? For example, on December 3, Limbaugh noted that hundreds of unemployed […]
KTRU Supporters Petition FCC to Halt Sale of Rice University Station
It’s been a long fight for supporters of student radio station KTRU at Rice University, who don’t want to see their station sold off to University of Houston for use as another public radio outlet. Today was the final day for citizens to send letters of protest to the FCC (as part of the 30-day […]
Clock is ticking on Howard Stern’s Sirius channel
Howard Stern may be the face that launched four satellites (now 9), but as he wraps up his fifth year on Sirius satellite radio both his listeners and stock analysts are wondering if the King of All Media will continue to broadcast from orbit come 2011. Stern’s current $500 million contract is set to run […]
What the Comcast – Level 3 conflict means for radio
In a textbook example of the abusive power of a near-monopoly, the ‘net was set ablaze yesterday upon the news that major internet backbone provider and content distribution network (CDN) company Level 3 called out cable-modem internet service provide Comcast for demanding additional fees for delivering video and other content to Comcast customers. Comcast’s demands […]