Amazon Echo. Google Home. And soon, Apple’s HomePod. Smart speakers are quickly taking up residence in homes. Taking voice commands to deliver news, weather, music and more, they play a very radio-like role in people’s daily routine. Radio journalist Brian Edwards-Tiekert joins to explain what these speakers can do, what they can’t, and what the […]
The long-running independent community radio news program Free Speech Radio News announced this week that its last edition will be broadcast on April 28. In a press release, the collective cites a decline in distribution and inability to find a “firm financial footing,” as causes for the closure. Born from the labor of freelance reporters […]
Election day meant a lot of things to a lot of people. For community radio, this moment, so troubled for many, could be our time to shine as never before. We may even have podcasting and the ascent of president-elect Donald Trump to thank for it. The win in November by Trump took most of […]
On Tuesday I participated in a Twitter chat about podcasting organized by MediaShift as part of their EducationShift chat series. Stacy Forster of the University of Wisconsin-Madison moderated the chat, and we were joined by impressive panel of podcasting, journalism and education experts, including MediaShift’s Mark Glaser, host of The Mediatwits podcast; Jule Gardner Banville, of the University […]
After publishing College Radio Watch on Friday, I was shocked to hear the news that Dan Reimold had died. I was a huge fan of Dan’s work and felt like he was a kindred spirit, with his passion and advocacy for student media. Dan was an assistant professor of journalism at St. Joseph’s University in […]
Last week I asked what outside and independent news and information sources are available inside Syria. In particular, I wondered what radio outlets are available. Tom Fudge, news director of KPBS, provides an answer to my question in a story aired last Thursday. He talked with a handful of independent Syrian journalists who visited San […]
Producing a daily, grassroots and nonprofit with an international scope is not an easy business. Free Speech Radio News has been pulling it off for more than a dozen years, since Pacifica Reporters Against Censorship went on strike from the Pacifica Network and turned their efforts to an independent, collectively run newscast. While FSRN is […]
The Knight Foundation has taken a lead in funding grants for promising new ideas for journalism, in particular those that exploit opportunities in digital media and are local in focus. The Knight News Challenge Grant is providing $2.74 million in funding to twelve projects that aim to inform specific geographic communities. The winners were announced […]
I’m a media geek, hence my nom de internet. And I pretty much have always been, ever since I recognized that there were people, organizations and companies behind the shows I saw on TV and listened to on the radio. I remember reading Billboard and Radio and Electronics in the library while still in elementary […]
Cyrus Farivar is a freelance radio journalist who files stories for programs like PRI’s the World and NPR’s Morning Edition. On his blog he recently posted a breezy and clear explanation of his process for pitching, recording and editing a radio news piece. As someone who produces an independent weekly radio program on the cheap, […]
