I’m a sucker for stories from FM radio’s freeform heyday, a time perhaps a little more hazy in memory because of its coincidence with 70s drug culture. Which goes to say that I enjoyed the Thanksgiving episode of WTF with Marc Maron featuring a breezy live interview with Los Angeles FM radio veterans Jim Ladd […]
For those who have been waiting with baited breath since 2013 to find out how the FCC plans to revitalize the FM dial: your wait is over. The Commission released its First Report and Order on Revitalization of the AM Radio Service late on Friday after its October open meeting. The order covers a few […]
The FCC released its quarterly list of the total number of licensed broadcast stations. Following the same trend that we’ve seen, the number of licensed stations continues to grow, with the current grand total at 15,470 licensed full power radio stations as of September 30, 2015. (more…)
As an experiment of sorts, I decided to shoot my first video blog (or “vlog”) for Radio Survivor. I’ve been wanting to share a bandscan of all the HD Radio stations in Portland, OR, where I live, and I finally got down to it. Although I’m a critic of HD Radio, I do think it’s […]
On Tuesday AT&T, the nation’s second largest wireless carrier, announced that it is activating the FM radio chips on Android smartphones subscribed to its service. Beginning in 2016, subscribers buying new compatible phones will be able to use the free NextRadio app to listen to both terrestrial broadcasts and those stations’ internet streams. Sprint, the […]
Monday night at midnight Eastern Time is the much anticipated return of Art Bell. Though originally planned to be an online-only show on the Dark Matter network, 21 AM and FM stations and two shortwave stations have now picked it up. Most of the stations are outside major markets, with the exception of affiliates in […]
Recently a reporter asked me how common independently-owned commercial radio stations were. I told him that they were a dying breed and another example of this disappearing category is talk radio station WYBG-AM in Massena, New York. After 57 years on the air, the station shut down on June 30. Its owners still hold out […]
Chicago may be the home of the highest rated channel 6 TV station dressed in a radio station’s clothes. I wrote about MeTV FM in February when it hit the airwaves. The station broadcasts on the audio channel of WRME-LP channel 6, which is receivable at 87.7 FM. I call these “back door” radio stations […]
The Indian media/commerce newsblog exchange4media is optimistic about community radio in that huge country. It has an interview with marketing expert Ashish Pherwani, who says that the expansion of FM in India will make the radio landscape there more diverse. Get ready to see “very small, regional players who are going to run one or two […]
I have a soft spot in my heart for Art Bell. As a former overnight DJ and grad student who kept relatively nocturnal hours for a good portion of the 90s, I admired Bell’s unique ability to engage guests and callers in topics that ranged from scientifically plausible (the theory that there have been multiple […]
