NPR has weighed in on the Federal Communications Commissions proceeding on whether to let digital Low Power TV stations run FM signals off of the 87.7 frequency, which dovetails with channel 6. The FCC has folded the question into a larger discussion about DTV spectrum use, but NPR calls the FM proposal “misguided” and “premature and […]
There were three notable entrants into the podcasting world in the last week. As I’ve written before, I don’t feel compelled to cover every new podcast or network that comes on the scene. In part this is because of the sheer volume of new shows, but also because I like to keep a focus on […]
NPR Headquarters. Photo: J. Waits While visiting the Washington, D.C. area in April, I took the opportunity to visit NPR‘s new headquarters. Although NPR isn’t technically a radio station, I made an exception for this series, since it is in the business of producing public radio programming. (more…)
Podcasts are really just on-demand audio. However, the medium debuted in the period before nearly-ubiquitous wireless data and wifi. That’s the historical reason why it still relies heavily on downloading, rather than simply streaming programs from the internet like video platforms, such as YouTube, Hulu and Netflix. Of course, it’s also because audio files are […]
The tech investment world is discovering 8tracks.com (we’ve known about it here for quite a while). Forbes has a huge story about the music playlist application titled “What if You Became a Big Company, But No One Noticed?” (translation: “no one” equals “people with money”). The piece cites a Comscore survey identifying 8tracks as the […]
As This American Life’s Seth Linn explains, “NPR is the Kleenex of public radio brands.” Just like how you might ask for Kleenex, no matter what brand logo is on the tissue box, or ask for a Coke when you just want a soft drink, many listeners simply think all public radio is NPR. The […]
If you haven’t yet caught part 1 of the BBC’s radio documentary that I mentioned last week you only have until Thursday to listen. Veteran podcasters Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann put together an engaging half-hour that covers podcasting’s birth and early growth as a medium, talking with prominent hosts from both sides of the […]
South by Southwest (SXSW) attendees are furiously mapping out a busy schedule of live music, panel discussions, films, and parties in Austin as the festival kicks into high gear this weekend. Radio fans will have plenty to choose from, including numerous panel discussions and meet-ups as well as podcasting-related broadcasts and events. This year, numerous […]
There are a couple of interesting items about podcasting to review this week: NPR’s Mike Pesca is quitting to host a Slate Magazine podcast, and a look at different funding methods for ’casts. Before I start, in the interest of full disclosure I want to let readers know that for the next month I will […]
On the heels of radio journalist Stan Alcorn’s inquiry into why web audio does or does not go viral, the Nieman Journalism Lab lets us in on a little experiment that NPR has been running to see if public radio stations can create viral audio segments. Though the report says there’s too little data to […]
