The Avenue Offers Chicago a New AM Music Format
One night last week I was tuning around the AM dial here in Chicago before going to sleep when I happened upon a station playing a nice, but unusual mix of vocal jazz standards. The music set was long, interrupted only by an ID for “950 the Avenue.” The next morning I googled the station […]
Keeping up with music festivals on last.fm
In case you haven’t noticed, last.fm has a cool new feature, a list of upcoming music festivals in your area. “We know from experience that many of the best music memories happen when you’re rocking out in a field with thousands of other sunburnt/soaking wet compatriots,” Last’s Robin Lisle wrote in a recent blog post. […]
Turning "public radio" into "public media"
An interesting new report on an interesting public radio experiment has just been released. The document is rather elaborately dubbed Spreading the Zing: Reimagining Public Media Through the Makers of Quest 2.0. Once you get past the title, it’s definitely worth a read. The gist of the survey is a review of eight Corporation for […]
New iPhone OS to bring background online radio listening
As an iPhone user I can say with full knowledge that one of the things that holds the device back when it comes to listening to online radio is the lack of multitasking. While the iPod app allows you to play your audio files in the background while surfing the web or using other apps, […]
Tough Times for High School Radio: WHSS to Sign Off
As a radio geek, I’ve always been jealous of the kids who have had the opportunity to do radio beginning in high school. Last fall when I visited WGBK at Glenbrook South High School near Chicago I was impressed by the opportunities that teenagers had to run a real radio station and was optimistic that […]
The Times Tests In-Car Internet Audio
As we reported back in January, all the big radio hoopla at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show as about the incursion of internet audio services like Pandora into car stereo systems. Things have been quiet on that front until I noticed an article in the New York times last week that asks “Will the Internet […]
The Aesthetics of AM Radio
When was the last time that you tuned in to AM radio to listen to music? Although I’m a huge evangelist for the ongoing importance of terrestrial radio (especially non-commercial radio), the AM slice of the radio band is a place that I only turn when I’m in my car looking for news, weather, and […]
Top radio device maker backs net neutrality
A gaggle of major Internet content companies say they support the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed new net neutrality rules, and the signers of their letter include Sony Electronics. “This framework will ensure that consumers have access to an open Internet, one that would preserve a level playing field for all participants,” they write. “And it […]
WFMU's Free Music Archive Receives MacArthur Grant
If it’s possible to have a crush on a radio station, then I have a crush on WFMU. The eclectic, freeform non-commercial New Jersey community radio station was an innovator in online streaming, offering on-demand show archives years before the word podcast was ever coined. In 2007 the station initiated the Free Music Archive as […]
Randy Michaels Solidifies the Clear Channelization of Tribune
With ace-consolidator Randy Michaels at the helm of Tribune Company it looks like he’s having a jolly good time installing his old Clear Channel pals into top positions at the bankrupt newspaper and broadcast company. On Monday Tribune announced that ex-Clear Channel CFO Jerry Kersting is now president of Tribune’s broadcasting division. This was followed […]