Mea culpa. When one sets out to launch an ambitious critique of community radio programming mistakes will be made, and I made them. This is a necessary aspect of testing ideas, as is coming back to revise, tweak and clarify. I am very grateful for the comments, feedback and criticism of my last two posts, […]
One of the greatest tensions for community radio stations lies in the spectrum between public access and public service. Although this conflict may not be explicitly discussed, it implicitly affects every single programming decision. It’s time for this tension to be made explicit, and for stations to actively grapple with how to balance a focus […]
This week we follow up with the subject of one our first episodes, Bainbridge Community Broadcasting. Paul took a day trip on a ferry from Seattle to visit Bainbridge Island and drop in on BCB. Co-founder Barry Peters took a few minutes to give a tour of the BCB studios and provide an update on […]
This is a transitional time for community radio, unprecedented in the medium’s more than 60-year history in the U.S. Thousands of new LPFM stations are going on the air bringing service to communities that never had community radio, or adding new services to supplement existing community stations. At the same time many community stations risk […]
Sylvia Thomas spent a year touring and researching community radio stations in South America, Asia and Africa. She learned community radio history that might be surprising to many in the United States, and witnessed first-hand different ways of organizing stations and creating radio that are instructive to stations everywhere. Sylvia explains how growing up listening […]
Like many of you in the U.S. and around the world, I’m still trying to make sense of the presidential election and its outcome. And, by “make sense,” I mean determine what actions I should and can take to help ensure the safety and security of people who have been targeted by the rhetoric of […]
KRAB-FM was the first station in what would become known as the “KRAB Nebula” of community stations that sprouted up around the U.S. in the 1960s and 70s. These 14 stations shared a common parentage in Lorenzo Milam, who helped found them, beginning with KRAB. First hitting the Seattle airwaves on December 12, 1962, KRAB […]
Over the weekend I posted some concerns about the future of La Jungala community radio, which until last month served a now dismantled refugee camp in Calais, France, known as “The Jungle.” I also emailed the operation to get an update on its status. Do you still exist? I asked. Today I receive a reply: […]
India’s broadcast regulator, which keeps close tabs on its community radio stations, has given permission to 115 of them to continue operating. They received notice of a list of Grant of Permission Agreements (GOPAs) on August 29. These allow the mentioned organizations to continue running through their license period or up to December 31 or this year, whichever date […]
Becky Meiers is our guest to help us better understand some best practices for fundraising in community radio. She’s the development director for KBOO in Portland, OR. Becky has tips for planning on-air pledge drives and more fundraising advice for stations of all sizes. We also talk about how and why KBOO is building partnerships […]
