How and Why Public Comments on Net Neutrality Make a Difference
On May 18, by a strict 2 to 1 party-line vote, the FCC decided to begin a proceeding to undo the 2015 Open Internet Order, rescinding the network neutrality protections that have been in place for more than two years. It’s something that Chairman Ajit Pai promised to do not long after taking office, and […]
Podcast #92 – Conspiracy Theory & Community Radio
Mae Brussell hosted radio shows focused on the JFK Assassination, fascism and other conspiracies on community radio stations KLRB an KAZU in the 1970s and 1980s. Brussell’s brand of broadcasting represents a strain of community radio show thatcontinues to be found, often to the chagrin of program directors and boards of directors. Matthew Lasar joins […]
Even Its Creator Can’t Kill MP3
The MP3 is dead, we’re to believe. That’s because the technology’s inventor, the Fraunhofer Institute, has ended licensing of the patented technologies needed for the encoding and decoding of MP3 files. Reality, of course, it a little more complicated. As Fraunhofer itself clarified in a blog post this past week, the licensing program ended because […]
College Radio Watch: WETN Sale Finalized and More News
I just learned that the sale of college radio station WETN has been finalized. You may recall that last fall I reported that Wheaton College was contemplating a sale of its FM license for college radio station WETN in Wheaton, Illinois. By December, it was announced that the 88.1 FM license would be sold to […]
Mae Brussell, the KLRB and KAZU years
In the service of my course on conspiracies and conspiracy theories at UC Santa Cruz, I’ve been listening to Mae Brussell’s many radio programs on YouTube. “At some point you have to get information or documentation about what’s happening,” Brussell told her radio audience in July of 1972, “you can’t just sit in the drawing room […]
Radio Station Tour #137 – College Radio Station KXLU at Loyola Marymount University
The most recent UCRN (University of California Radio Network) conference provided the perfect opportunity for me to finally see Loyola Marymount University’s college radio station KXLU 88.9 FM in Los Angeles. Located on the Catholic university’s resort-like campus full of palm trees, expansive lawns, and glistening white buildings, KXLU feels like a secret club, blasting […]
Remembering Nick Leggett, LPFM Pioneer
Community radio lost an important man last month. Nick Leggett was an engineer, writer, amateur radio operator and inventor with many patents to his name. He also was one of the original proponents of low-power FM, who petitioned the FCC to create the service in the late 1990s as part of the Amherst Alliance, alongside […]
Radio Station Visit #136 – KLMU at Loyola Marymount University
It wasn’t until I visited Loyola Marymount University for the UCRN (University of California Radio Network) conference on April 8, that I realized that the Los Angeles campus was home to two college radio stations: KXLU-FM and online station KLMU. Since I have a soft spot for lesser known stations, I was interested in the […]
Progress Report: Archiving Cassettes & Minidiscs
As I’ve written before, I’m in the process of archiving my collection of audio work that’s on audiocassette and minidisc. It’s a process that has unfolded in fits and starts over the last few years, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m nearing my last couple dozen tapes […]
Podcast #91 – Designing a Course in Podcasting
This one is for the podcasters, and for the radio producers. Eric is set to teach a class on podcasting, so he asks Paul for advice on what to include. Instead of focusing on microphones and recording gear, they tackle the hard questions that every podcaster should consider. Before heading into the course design, Paul […]