College Radio Watch: XRAY gets Slice of College Radio History and More News
This week, community radio station KXRY-FM (aka XRAY.fm) announced that it is now the holder of its own FM license in Portland, Oregon. According to XRAY, “We received big news from the FCC: XRAY is now the official license holder of 91.1 FM! Much like renting a house or apartment, XRAY has been operating 91.1 for […]
Join Us for a Live Podcast Recording in Portland on Friday
We’re excited to present a live recording of our podcast and radio show, this Friday, April 27 at 6:30 PM, in the 5th Avenue Theater, 510 SW Hall St, in Portland, OR. This is part of the Alliance for Community Media Northwest Region Summit, hosted by Open Signal Community Media, April 27 – 28. We’ll […]
Podcast #139 – Sinclair and the FCC: Opening the Door to Local Media Oligopoly
The Sinclair Group is already the largest TV owner by far in the U.S. and its editorial content makes it essentially a propaganda arm of the Trump Administration. Will the F.C.C. under Trump succeed in bending media ownership rules to allow Sinclair to grow to twice its current size? Under President Obama, the F.C.C allowed […]
Happy High School Radio Week: WLTL’s 50th, Vinylthon, and National HS Radio Network
This year, the annual High School Radio Day tradition has expanded to a full week, from April 21 to April 28, under the moniker High School Radio Week. For those wishing to pick a singular day to celebrate, Wednesday, April 25th is the official date for the 7th annual High School Radio Day. More than […]
Classical music, fear, and the radio
The New York Times has published a nice essay urging people to get over their fear of classical music and just enjoy the genre. The piece does not say anything that doesn’t get said once every five years or so in some prominent venue. But it does say it well. Miles Hoffman notes the existence of […]
College Radio Watch: Early Sports Coverage by Telegraph and More News
While I was in a research rabbit hole this week, I found an intriguing tale of an early “broadcast” of a college football game through the use of a telegraph in 1903. According to the University of Michigan Amateur Radio Club, On October 31, 1903, the University of Michigan Football Team traveled to Minnesota to […]
Podcast #138 – Radio History on Display at the San Francisco Airport
We visit the “On The Radio” exhibit on radio history at the San Francisco Airport Museum, where travelers can feast their eyes on 27 cases full of historical items related to radio’s past, ranging from 1920s crystal radios to 1970s novelty radios. Jennifer chats with exhibit curator Daniel Calderon and California Historical Radio Society President […]
The Rise and Fall of Brooklyn Hip-Hop Pirate WBAD
We recently had Brooklyn pirate radio watcher (and listener) David Goren on episode #133 of podcast and radio show, talking about his efforts to document this vibrant scene. He also told us about an earlier pirate pioneer from the borough, WBAD, which broadcast underground hip-hop to a loyal audience from 1995 to 1998. He produced a […]
RIP Art Bell, Who Brought Freeform Call-In Radio Nationwide
Late night talk radio innovator Art Bell has died at the age of 72. He passed away in his sleep, at home in Pahrump, Nevada on Friday, April 13. For the night owls, insomniacs, late-shift and early-morning workers, Bell was a comforting voice crackling through the AM airwaves on his shows “Coast to Coast AM” […]
College Radio Watch: KFJC Broadcasts from Primitive Guitar Fest and More News
Over the next few days, the station where I volunteer, Foothill College radio station KFJC-FM is broadcasting live from a music festival several thousand miles from home. With a fixation on underground music and a growing obsession with undertaking ambitious remote broadcasts from afar; my KFJC cohorts continue to amaze me (see my tech-heavy account […]