Community radio staff, volunteers, advocates and activists will gather this weekend in Portland, OR for the 2018 Grassroots Radio Conference. On Friday evening they’ll be treated to an opening keynote by former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. She’s renowned for her public interest advocacy during her nearly nine years on the Commission, as a strong supporter of network neutrality, digital inclusion and community media.

Clyburn’s keynote happens at 5:30 PM on Friday, Oct. 5, and is open to the public. The venue is the Portland State University Native American Student & Community Center, 710 SW Jackson St., Portland, OR.

For registered GRC attendees, Clyburn will also be participating on a panel earlier on Friday, at 11:00 AM, titled, “Community Radio and Digital Inclusion Funding.” She’ll be joined by Sabrina Roach, a friend of Radio Survivor, who helped launch LPFM stations around the Puget Sound region of Washington State, and is a strong advocate of digital inclusion. Sabrina discussed the topic of digital equity and inclusion on episode #49 of our podcast.

On Saturday evening at 6:30 PM we’ll be presenting a live edition of the Radio Survivor radio show and podcast, featuring guests Ernesto Aguilar of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and Vanessa Maria Graber of PhillyCAM. We’ll be dusting off our crystal ball to look into the future and discuss what community radio will be like in 2023, five years from today. If you won’t be making it to GRC, you’ll be able to hear the podcast next week.

Other keynotes include an address from award-winning journalist and “Alternative Radio” host David Barsamian, who will discuss “Community Radio in the Age of Deceit,” and ACORN founder Wade Rathke who will present a screening of the film “The Organizer,” which documents his life and work in social justice. The film screening is also open to the public for a sliding scale contribution, happening Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1:45 PM in room 110 of the NASCC.

Portland’s longstanding community station KBOO-FM is hosting and organizing this year’s conference, and it looks like it will be an absolute success. Full disclosure: I helped organize the Outreach Committee to spread the word about the conference. But most of the heavy lifting was done by staff and volunteers, including Becky Meiers, Betty McArdle, Zale Chadwick, Ani Haines, Delphine Criscenzo, Arthur Rizzotto, Tom Voorhees and Sabrina Roach.

This year’s GRC has way more to offer than we can possibly cover with just one blog post. The full schedule is online, or you can download a GRC2018-Printed_Schedule. If you’re a community and college radio person and will be in the Portland, OR area this weekend, you really owe it to yourself to attend. However, I recommend showing up first thing Friday morning, because I understand that the event is nearly sold out.

Jennifer Waits, Eric Klein and I will all be there. So if you see us (we should have name tags on) please say hello.

The post Former FCC Commissioner Clyburn To Address Grassroots Radio Conference Friday appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) will be presenting its annual Radio Day by the Bay this Saturday, July 21st in Alameda, California. Always a draw for radio enthusiasts and history buffs, the event will include a live auction of antique radios and electronics, a live radio play (“Pat Novak for Hire”), a surplus vintage electronics show, tours of the CHRS building, live music by Don Neely’s Royal Society Sextet, and the announcement of the 2018 class of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.

Events will take place at CHRS headquarters, Radio Central (2152 Central Avenue, Alameda, CA), and up the street at the Alameda Veteran’s Auditorium (2203 Central Avenue, Alameda, CA). A preliminary auction catalog is already posted, with page after page of vintage radio gems. If you can’t make it in person, remote bidding will be available and there will also be a live stream.

CHRS was heavily involved with the “On the Radio” historical radio exhibit at SFO Museum, which we covered on Radio Survivor. This was also the topic of Podcast #138, which includes my interview with CHRS President Steve Kushman. I also had a nice tour of the Radio Central facility a few months back. The site is typically only open to visitors during volunteer work days, so Radio Day by the Bay is one of the rare opportunities for the public to get a glimpse at the in-progress museum building.

The post Radio Day by the Bay in Alameda on July 21 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Community radio KBOO-FM is hosting this year’s Grassroots Radio Conference on the occasion of the station’s 50th anniversary. The conference is happening October 5 – 7, 2018 and registration is open now.

Founded in 1996, the GRC is intended to be a space where broadcasters, producers and supporters can share skills, discuss important issues and learn together. The Grassroots Radio Coalition which started the conference is not a membership organization, so anyone is invited to participate. This includes folks involved in full-power and low-power FM community stations, college radio, internet radio, podcasting or other community media.

The GRC’s theme for 2018 is “The Future is Community Radio.” The organizers are now accepting proposals for sessions at the conference. It’s an opportunity to share skills and knowledge, hold a workshop or host a discussion. Some suggested topics include: technical workshops on things like automation and engineering; volunteer coordination; building networks and collaboration between stations in a region; community podcasting; and social media and digital strategy.

Personally, I’m hoping to see a diversity of attendees, with podcasters, independent producers, college radio volunteers, high school station broadcasters, and maybe even legal unlicensed Part 15 broadcasters joining the core group of people from full-power and low-power community stations.

You can submit your proposal online. Then, make your plans to be in Portland this October.

The post Grassroots Radio Conference 2018 To Be Held Oct. 5 -7 in Portland, OR appeared first on Radio Survivor.

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 have a spirited conversation about the vital frontiers of community media with writer, artist and activist Reagan Jackson and Sandy Cioffi,founder and executive director of fearless360º, a new media and virtual reality production company in Seattle. We’ll talk about social justice, virtual reality, podcasting and more.

Please RSVP or share the event on Facebook.

The post Join Us for a Live Podcast Recording in Portland on Friday appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Once again it’s the day to celebrate the most enduring electronic medium: radio. In particular it’s time to recognize the stations, programmers, DJs and volunteers who make vibrant, relevant local radio, that informs, entertains and enriches communities.

Make a point to tune in your favorite local stations today, and maybe give ‘me a quick call to tell them how much you enjoy listening. Take to social media and tag those stations, along with the hashtag #NationalRadioDay. If you don’t already, make a donation to your fav noncommercial stations, or consider a little bonus contributions in honor of National Radio Day.

I celebrated a day early. I’m visiting friends in Richmond, Virginia, so we popped over to community radio WRIR, which Jennifer toured and profiled earlier this year. Volunteers Cameron Robinson and Krysti Albus were warm and welcoming, even as they were getting ready for their weekly production meeting and volunteer meeting. Krysti gave us a tour of the station as she enthused about the service the stations provides to the city of Richmond, like local public affairs programming and live bands in-studio. WRIR even serves as the city’s official emergency information station.

However you choose to celebrate, have a great National Radio Day!

The post Happy National Radio Day! appeared first on Radio Survivor.

We just got word that the Library of Congress’ Radio Preservation Task Force will be holding another conference in Washington, D.C. this fall. With the theme “Radio History: From Archive to Classroom,” the official event will take place on November 3 and 4 at the Library of Congress. A special pre-conference session on Cold War Communication will be held at the Smithsonian Wilson International Center for Scholars on November 1.

Serving as a follow-up to last year’s inaugural Radio Preservation Task Force conference (see my recap for Radio World), this year’s event will be “more focused on goal-based actions, such as preservation planning, as well as future grantwriting, digitization, curation, and future classroom and curricular implementation,” according to Josh Shepperd, the Director of the Radio Preservation Task Force.

A special plenary event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Public Broadcasting Act is also in the works, being hosted by NPR. The conference program is in development by scholars and archival organizations, with invited speakers to address a number of topics related to radio history. Shepperd writes that, “We’ll have sessions dedicated to multiple issues related to the ‘state of the union’ of radio preservation, content areas for research, accessibility, curation, and grantwriting.”

As co-chair of the Radio Preservation Task Force’s College, Community & Educational Radio Caucus, I’m eagerly anticipating the conference. We’ll continue to provide details on Radio Survivor as they become available and hope to have additional coverage about the conference content in the fall.

The post Radio Preservation Task Force Announces Radio History Conference in D.C. in November appeared first on Radio Survivor.

This weekend the Alliance for Community Media’s Northwest Chapter will hold its conference on March 31 and April 1 in Portland, OR, hosted by Open Signal community media. Although ACM has historically represented public access, educational and government cable television channels (so-called PEG channels), this event also invites community radio folks to participate. This cross-medium collaboration is spurred on to some extent by the fact that many PEG channels were granted low-power FM licenses in the 2013 application window.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Stories for Change,” featuring a keynote by Ramón Ramirez from the union-operated Latino station KPCN Radio Movimiento (highlighted on podcast #72), along with sessions focused on digital equity, inclusion and civic engagement.

I will moderate a conversation on cross-platform collaborations between community radio, PEGs and other media on Friday at 12:30 PM. Joining me will be Becky Meiers from community radio KBOO-FM (guest on podcast #61) and Devin Febbroriello from XRAY community radio. We plan to record this conversation for next week’s podcast.

Registration is open now. Anyone in the greater Portland or Northwest area with an interest in community media should consider attending.

The post Northwest Community Media Gathers in Portland this Weekend appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Taking root from the Cascade Media Convergences held in Portland, OR in 2014 and 2015, the inaugural Cascade Radio Network Summit is happening Saturday, September 17 in Tacoma, WA. The summit will bring together audio and radio producers to exchange ideas, network and support community radio and podcasting endeavors throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The Cascade Radio Network is a community partnership between the Northwest Alliance for Alternative Media and Education, Radio Tacoma, KBOO Community Radio and individual participants.The CRN aims to bring underrepresented voices to the media and focus on issues of social justice, community building, and the environment.

I attended both Cascade Media Convergences and met dozens of active and interesting people focused on creating and sustaining community media of all types, but especially radio. Last year we had a productive visioning session where folks from community stations collaborated on coming up with fresh, low-key approaches to begin solving persistent challenges that tend to face all stations.

So it’s great to see the cooperation and networking efforts take another step forward, embracing all kinds of audio media. I’m certain the summit will strengthen the stations and projects that participate.

The CRN Summit will take place at the Asia Pacific Cultural Center, 4851 S Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA on September 17. Registration is available through Brown Paper Tickets.

The post Inaugural Cascade Radio Network Summit Happens Sept. 17 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

On Saturday, November 7, Paul Riismandel and I represented Radio Survivor at CMJ’s first College Day on Tour. The all-day event took place at the club Holoscene in Portland, Oregon and featured panel discussions, roundtable chats, as well as live music performances at lunch and at the end of the day by several Portland bands, including Jackson Boone & the Ocean Ghosts, Sabonis, and Ghost Ease. Sort of like a micro version of CMJ’s annual College Day during its Music Marathon in New York City, this event really worked to bring together college radio participants from the local region. With Portland-based streaming college radio stations KDUP (from University of Portland) and KPSU (from Portland State University) partnering with CMJ to help curate the day, the event definitely took advantage of its Portland locale.

Additionally, panels drew from nearby regions, with both college radio participants and music industry representatives mostly hailing from Oregon and Washington. Overall, the event attracted 120 folks, including participants from 16 different radio stations (mainly from Oregon and Washington, but there was also one station from Canada and one from California).

Why Radio? Panel Argues that Radio is FAR from Dead

The day started off with “The Big Question: Why Radio?” panel. Participants included KDUP General Manager Jack Greenwood, KAOS (Evergreen State University) Music Director Anna Gordon, KCWU (Central Washington University) Program Director Nikki Marra and yours truly. We all started off by giving our perspectives on why radio still matters in 2015 and I was pleased to hear Greenwood talk about the “sheer diversity of music” that can be heard on the radio, which he contrasted with services like Spotify, which tend to expose listeners to music that they are already aware of.

Marra added that she likes the “immediacy” of radio and also rhapsodized about radio as the “theater of the mind.” All of us also shared some of our favorite radio moments, which typically revolved around listeners recognizing what we were doing on air and expressing that to us. And, finally, we were all asked to give our “elevator pitch” for radio, when asked if “radio is dead?” This was pretty easy for all of us radio fanatics to do and I particularly enjoyed Marra’s reminder about the importance of terrestrial radio during a disaster. She said, “Radio is not dying…it’s actually saving lives.” Gordon added that radio is “expanding across the airwaves” and explained that with multimedia and social media, radio’s influence is growing, particularly through video, as is the case with live sessions on stations like KEXP in Seattle.

Other panelists echoed my feeling that college radio participation is growing. Greenwood said that KDUP is now the most popular organization at University of Portland, with over 80 DJs. Recently the station got sent a list of more than 100 prospective students who are interested in the college radio station.

Roundtable Discussions Delve into the Nitty Gritty of College Radio

Following the opening panel, attendees had the opportunity to join in on a number of different roundtable discussions, including one led by Paul Riismandel on “Running a Station.” Students shared tips on how to successfully manage a station. Some of the ideas raised included having regular meetings to discuss DJ airchecks, hosting music listening parties, and focusing more on “positive encouragement” in order to motivate DJs. Other roundtables focused on “Music Directors & The Radio Industry,” “Community Voice & Listener Engagement,” and “Music Licensing & Artist Development.”

Building Connections with the Community and with the Music Industry

Throughout the day, participants were able to sign up for one-on-one mentor sessions with a number of different music industry experts, including a few founders of music promotions companies, an expert in digital music and licensing, a music journalist, and a talent buyer/show booker. Additionally, several panels spoke to college radio’s relationship with the music industry, particularly the “I Work with a Pacific Northwest Label, Ask Me Anything” panel, which included speakers from K Records, Kill Rock Stars, Good Cheer Records, and Cabin Games.

The Thermals Reveal Their Love for College Radio

The formal panels concluded with a keynote conversation with Portland-based band The Thermals. Two of the members (Kathy Foster and Hutch Harris) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and shared that college radio stations in the area influenced them in their youth. Foster said, “Hutch and I listened to KFJC a lot” and mentioned that they were so thankful to have access to college radio. Although she never was a college radio DJ herself, Foster now co-hosts a show on Portland community radio station XRAY.fm with Maggie Vail. She mentioned that when she does her show, “I have those stations in my mind,” adding, “I just want there to be weird music on at 2am” like there is on college radio. Vail, who moderated the Thermals discussion, said that she actually did do college radio, but was kicked off the station when she wouldn’t play required “rotation” music.

CMJ College Day on Tour Panel with The Thermals. Photo: J. Waits

Making Radio Connections

To me, the most exciting thing about the event was seeing people connecting with their counterparts from other radio stations. I experienced this myself and really enjoyed seeing folks who I had met previously at KAOS, KDUP, and KCWU. I also enjoyed meeting people for the first time from many other stations, including KBOO, KWVA, and others.

CMJ’s David DeKeyser, General Manager of CMJ’s College Radio Network, concurred, telling me,

There was something really wonderful about seeing people get to know and befriend each other as the day went on. Like there was a commonality among them they really meant all the groups were hanging out with each other. I’ve been to radio conferences where stations will only keep to themselves, but it felt like the programming and speakers elicited something from everyone and they were reaching out to everyone in the crowd. I was talking with some of the KDUP staff the day before about how they had so long been hoping to meet up with and talk to KPSU, but couldn’t, for a number of real reasons, mostly that all of them are full time students who are also trying to run radio stations, and how they were so excited now to be co-hosts of the event. And then there they both were, chatting with each other, seemingly making plans and trading notes. It’s something I love about our events, and making the day so focused on the area and the area’s concerns meant the community was that much stronger. I couldn’t have been happier with how that turned out.”

The post College Radio Participants Meet Up at CMJ’s Inaugural College Day on Tour in Portland appeared first on Radio Survivor.

I’m looking forward to meeting Radio Survivor readers this week at College Broadcasters Inc. (CBI)’s National Student Electronic Media Convention in Minneapolis. I’ll be doing two different presentations on Thursday, October 22nd, one focused on college radio history (at 11am) and another in which I’ll share tidbits from my radio station tours.

On the first panel, “College Radio is Older Than You Think: Celebrating College Radio History” (Thursday, 10/22 at 11am), I will give an overview of college radio’s lengthy history and will share tips for stations hoping to start history and preservation projects. Michael Lupica from Princeton University station WPRB will be joining me and he will talk specifically about the amazing 75th anniversary projects that he’s undertaken at his station, including the WPRB History website.

For my second presentation, “Tales from a College Radio Obsessive” (Thursday, 10/22 at 2pm), I will delve into my radio station tour series. Since 2008, I have visited more than 90 radio stations, the majority of which are college radio stations. I love the culture of college radio and I will share lots of pictures from my travels and will talk about what I’ve learned after all of my extensive touring.

As you might expect, I will also be visiting a few college radio stations while I’m in Minneapolis. I can’t wait for a jam-packed few days devoted to college radio. If you plan to attend CBI, please say “hello!”

The post See Jennifer Speak about College Radio History and Culture at the National Student Electronic Media Convention appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Over the past few months the Radio Preservation Task Force (now with a brand new website) has worked to expand its list of affiliate archives. A number of big organizations have also become recently affiliated with the RPTF, including NPR, the Pacifica Radio Archives, the Prometheus Radio Project, and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. As well, big steps have been made in the organization of a national conference on the preservation of radio history.

On February 25 – 27, the RPTF will host “Saving America’s Radio Heritage: Radio Preservation, Access, and Education” in Washington, D.C. at the Library of Congress and the University of Maryland. The conference will bring together research associates, affiliated archives, and members of the broader academic, archival, and general public to discuss the project’s progress and steps for the future.

Keynote speakers will include Paddy Scannell (University of Michigan), a renowned radio scholar and historian, and Sam Brylawski, the former Head of the Library of Congress’s Recorded Sound Division.

When the RPTF project was announced in October 2014, the national conference was noted as one of the key goals of the initiative. Alongside the accomplishment of building an organization of more than 130 media studies scholars, over 350 affiliate archives and radio producing organizations across the US and Canada, and a number of online partners who provide critical discussion and reflection on the project, the conference is a move in the right direction. It will offer participants the opportunity to meet face-to-face and discuss the project’s next steps. Workshops and panels aim to focus on issues of outreach, growth, and education.

Please keep your ears open for more updates as we near the dates of the conference!

The post Announcing the RPTF Conference: Saving America’s Radio Heritage appeared first on Radio Survivor.

This year broadcasters, producers and listeners are planning to make National Radio Day the biggest yet. On August 20 stations around the country will broadcast special programming and hold events to celebrate this most enduring electronic medium.

Sabrina Roach, the Radio Doer for Brown Paper Tickets, has helped organize a diverse group of people to plan and spark different activities to commemorate National Radio Day. Some of these on-air events include a Radio Relay, where stations will call each other on-air across the nation, and Sonic IDs, in which stations and producers contribute short (less than a minute) audio vignettes.

The origins of this U.S. holiday have been murky. NPR first mentioned it in 2011, and it first hit my radar in 2012. HolidayInsights.com says that National Radio Day was first proposed by a group of DJs in the 1990s. It’s been suggested that August 20th was chosen because that’s the date  in 1920 when Detroit’s first commercial station 8MK–now WWJ–went on the air.

Regardless of how it started, let’s all make National Radio Day 2015 a big one. Here are some suggestions:

• Spread the word on social media using the hashtag #NationalRadioDay
• Listen to a participating station
• Throw a celebration at your station
• Invite your friends over to have a National Radio Day party
• Record and contribute a Station Promo or Sonic ID (even if you don’t work at a station!)
• Donate to your favorite non-commercial station

Have some other ideas about how to celebrate? Let us know in the comments or tweet them out using the #NationalRadioDay hashtag.

The post Celebrate National Radio Day on August 20 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Ever since the early days of Record Store Day (RSD for short), I’d wondered why there weren’t more collaborations between record stores and radio stations on a day heralding the importance of local, independent businesses and media. Over the years various radio stations did set up tables at record shops during Record Store Day and even this year college radio station WSOU-FM is doing a remote broadcast from a nearby record store. Given all of that, I was interested to hear about yesterday’s launch of Record Store Day Radio on Dash Radio. We recently wrote about Dash Radio, as the Internet radio start-up will also be the home to a revamped East Village Radio (see my 2008 field trip here).

According to Record Store Day,

Record Store Day Radio is the only radio station that collects Record Store Day releases in one place and presents them to listeners in a commercial-free format via Dash Radio, the biggest original digital radio broadcasting platform in the world. Tune in to hear exciting rarities, classic reissues, b-sides, demos, and other material that was released to limited quantities exclusively for RSD — some of which is now out of print and unavailable online. The station will also be showcasing new releases that are coming out this Saturday, April 18, for Record Store Day 2015.

After week one, Record Store Day Radio will move into its regular format, playing a diverse mix of fresh and classic cuts alongside Record Store Day rarities. RSD Radio will be playing music that is popular in record stores, highlighting artists and songs that are often neglected by commercial radio. Several programs will be curated by record store owners from around the globe, giving them the control to share their local scenes with the world while creating unique radio shows with the personality of their individual stores.”

Billboard reported in January that, the idea for Record Store Day Radio was first broached by musician Chuck D. According to Billboard,

[Record Store Day founder Michael] Kurtz said the idea to have an RSD radio station was first brought to him by Public Enemy leader and co-founder Chuck D, 2014’s Record Store Day ambassador, at the organization’s Los Angeles press conference at Amoeba Records in March of last year. ‘He kept bringing up that we needed a Record Store Day radio station, so I said, “You really want this to happen?”‘ Kurtz tells Billboard. ‘”It would be so cool, one of the few cool things Record Store Day hasn’t done.” He started the whole conversation.'”

Record Store Day Radio’s Facebook page announced its launch yesterday saying that the station would feature “a whole week of music found on Record Store Day releases past and present.” I took Record Store Day Radio for a spin today on the Dash Radio app and website and heard a bit of The Velvet Underground’s “European Son,” a Miles Davis track, and a pretty song from The Julie Ruin. Take a listen at the Record Store Day Radio channel on Dash Radio.

The post Record Store Day Radio Launches in Time for Record Store Day 2015 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Later this week, the annual Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference kicks off in Montreal, Quebec. This year’s conference is loaded with sound and radio scholarship, which is a great indicator of the state of radio and sound studies in academia today!

Thankfully, our friends at Antenna and Sounding Out! have taken on the task of highlighting papers and panels with a specific focus on radio and sound. If you’re attending the conference and would like a run down of what is happening when and where, or if you are not attending, but would like to check in on what sort of topics are being discussed at this year’s conference, I recommend visiting the following links.

Over on Antenna, Alexander Russo previews panels, papers, and workshops with a specific focus on radio studies.

And on Sounding Out!, Alyxandra Vesey tells us about what’s happening in the larger field of sound studies at SCMS this year.

Take a look and if you’re attending this year’s conference, we hope to see you there.

The post Radio and Sound Studies at SCMS 2015 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

SXSW gets started on Friday, and Radio Survivor will attend. I’ll fly in to Austin from San Francisco early next week and catch many of the event’s music days. Here are some of the key radio focused presentations.

Thursday, March 19:

Redefining Radio for the Digital Age: “How will radio listeners experience music in 5 years?” this panel will ask. “What is radio in the digital age? Is it time for a ‘new’ definition of radio?” Among the conversants: David Porter, CEO and Founder of 8tracks, Owen Grover of iHeartRadio, Deborah Newman of MusicStrat, and Paul Brenner of NextRadio.

The Marriage of Radio and Online Listening: “Hear how listeners and artists are benefiting from the unity of traditional radio and music streaming services.”  Panelists will include representatives from Quartz, Cumulus, Glasnote Entertainment Group, and Rdio.

Gear Up, Lean Back: Linear Radio Becomes Dynamic: “With so much talk about ‘radio style services’ entering the market, what experience sets the standard?” Reps from the BCC, Tunein, iHeartMedia, Guvera, and 7digital will discuss the challenge.

How to Win on Streaming Services: Advice from staffers at Republic Records, Spotify, and Digital Sin.

Friday, March 20:

How to Crack UK Radio: “BBC radio heavyweights Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens reveal how to get a foot in the door at UK radio.”

Public Radio, Public Relations, and Music: “National radio and online radio programs have a unique set of needs to create their programming and its important for publicists and managers pitching them to understand those needs. You’ll hear from some of the most influential producers in public radio’s music coverage.” Talkers will include presenters from NPR Morning Edition, NPR Music, and Dmitri Vietze of StoryAmp.

In Store Radio: 200 million people hear in-store radio every day. The complexities of this “captive-audience” medium will be discussed by reps from various in-store playlist companies, and . . . Chipotle!

Curating the Stream: In the streaming environment “curation is becoming more critical as users encounter a firehose of content.” Wizards on this panel will include reps from UMB, Rdio, SVP Music Group, and Borman.

Earlier discussions and events will include the Thrilling Adventure Hour (Saturday, March 14), which will stage “in the style of old time radio featuring actors from TV, movies and animation.” The show is also an “Eisner-nominated graphic novel, a comic series from Image and a hit podcast on the Nerdist Network.” A panel titled “NPR and PBS: Public Media, Reaching New Publics” will run on Sunday, March 15. “Hear from representatives from PBS and NPR,” the description says, “who’ll cover what’s working, and what’s not when reaching out to younger and more diverse audiences for public media.” Presenters will include staff from PBS Digital Studios and NPR’s Code Switch.

Also of interest: “Fast, Fair & Open: The FCC’s Broadband Future” on Monday, March 16. Federal Communications Commission counsel Gigi Sohn will talk about the agency’s net neutrality decision and its implications; “The Art of the Interview” (Friday, March 20) will focus on media conversation preparation; and “The Evolution of Audio in the 21st Century” will present on Friday, March 13.

Got something going on at SXSW that you want Radio Survivor to know about? Send me an email.

The post SXSW cometh . . . Radio Survivor will be there appeared first on Radio Survivor.

I love televised yule logs. I’m drawn to them not only out of nostalgia (the original aired on WPIX in New York beginning in 1966), but also for the minimalist delight. As I stare at the image of a burning log for hours on end, the smallest details and changes in the scene are emphasized. In our fast-paced world, there’s inherent charm in the blandness of it all. And, reminiscent of an early Warhol film like Empire (where we fixate on a shot of the Empire State Building for hours), close examination of the yule log allows us find great pleasure in unexpected moments like someone in a Santa Suit adding wood to the fire or a piece of wood burning to embers before our eyes.

Every year I set my DVR to record all of the different iterations of yule logs being broadcast on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It’s become a family tradition to open presents while the yule log crackles on the television, accompanied by holiday music. I also save the recordings to view again on New Year’s Eve. This year I watched the five different yule logs that aired over local and satellite TV in San Francisco. In some cases stations piped in music from local and national radio stations (KOIT and K-LOVE) and in other instances, the source of the music playlist was uncredited.

I was bummed that the My Little Pony Yule Log was a one-time thing on the Hub Network in 2013, as that was an entirely new take on the tradition. In all its animated glory, the program featured flying My Little Ponies and other Hub Network characters coming in and out of the scene. It was probably the most surreal yule log that I’ve ever seen, although this year’s “Disney XD’s Yule Log” comes close.

Disney XD’s Yule Log (photo: J. Waits)

Disney XD aired a 15-minute animated yule log this year on December 22nd (you can view an hour-long version online). Punctuated by fast-paced electronic holiday music in the style of video game music, the frenetic program zoomed in and out of a close up of an animated fireplace to show snippets of the surrounding scene. A slot machine motif featured dreidels (when all three line up, a stream of gold-covered chocolate coins spew out), a dinosaur and other characters. At one point the logs walk out of the fireplace to form a robot. We also see a hand reach out with a remote control, changing the channel, which turns the fireplace surrounding the yule log into a spaceship, igloo, cake, sphinx, pumpkin, and fish bowl. A turkey on a spit is also added to the fireplace. A latke gets thrown into the fire and someone yells “Happy Hanukkah!” Covering all the bases, we also see an animated Santa climbing up the chimney, with the burning yule log below.

Up’s 2014 Yule Log (photo: J. Waits)

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the Up Network (which bills itself as airing “Uplifting Entertainment”) devoted 24 hours to its yule log. Music was provided by the Christian music network K-LOVE, with song titles and artists posted on the screen. This was the only yule log that invited viewers to tweet, as one corner of the screen included the hashtag #YuleLog. In keeping with its K-LOVE affiliation, this log had the most religious vibe, with its holiday tunes by contemporary Christian artists like Chris August, Sidewalk Prophets, Mandisa, and Big Daddy Weave. The 8-hour broadcast that I recorded began with “Jingle Bell Rock” performed by the Newsboys. Although I didn’t watch the entire 8 hours that I recorded, as I scanned through it seemed that many of the artists were repeated, so the complete playlist may have been pretty short. Up’s online yule log has a different soundtrack than the one that aired on TV.

KICU’s 2014  Holiday Log (photo: J. Waits)

San Jose television station KICU on channel 36 also used a radio station soundtrack for its Holiday Log. The one-hour episode that I recorded on Christmas morning (it ran for 6 hours total, in one-hour increments) started at 6am with the sounds of a fire crackling and then launched into “Here Comes Santa Claus.” The close-up footage of logs burning in a fireplace featured music from local radio station KOIT and included classic Christmas songs as well as more modern takes on them by artists like Paul McCartney. The sounds of the crackling fire could be heard throughout and I also spotted Santa stoking the fire. This footage is most likely the same that’s been airing for years on KICU and was reportedly shot at a home in San Jose.

KRON’s 2014 Yule Log (photo: J. Waits)

KRON channel 4 (San Francisco) presented its yule log early Christmas morning, starting at 4am. The vintage yule log footage (I’m pretty sure it’s the old WPIX yule log as it shows a fireplace with a doll hanging in the center, surrounded by stockings in the opening shot) ran for about 30 minutes and was repeated several times during the 2 hour broadcast. While a range of Christmas songs play (from Frank Sinatra to Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, to music from the Nutcracker), ads for a furniture store, appliance store, motorcycle dealer, personal injury lawyer, and bail bonds outfit were included on a graphic on the bottom of the screen.

KOFY’s 2014 Yule Log (photo: J. Waits)

Of all the classic yule logs that I viewed in 2014, my favorite has to be KOFY channel 20’s (also in San Francisco) version. I recorded an episode that aired for two hours beginning at midnight on Christmas Eve. The program began with a wide shot of a living room fireplace with two poinsettias on the hearth (if it’s the same TV20 footage from years gone by, then it was filmed at the home of Paul from the Diamond Center) and started with the rousing “Joy to the World.” Featuring a wide range of music, from rockabilly to country-tinged, to the Beach Boys, to boy bands, to jazzier tracks, to old favorites from decades ago, the soundtrack had something for everyone. Probably even more interesting, though, was the visual treatment of this log. The natural-looking fire included cut pieces of wood that were clearly burning in the fireplace over an elapsed period of time. Occasionally we’d see Santa stoking the fire or view a flannel shirt-attired man adding logs. Towards the end an object was thrown into the fire, followed by another object. Upon close inspection, it appeared to be wadded up balls of newspaper. The program ended with the Hawaiian-themed Christmas song Mele Kalikimaka. With many of the other yule logs airing pretty short loops of footage (the original log looped a 17 second snippet), the TV 20 log had much more variety to it and kept my attention until the bitter end.

In addition to the yule logs that appeared on my television (I get programming via DirecTV satellite), I know that there were many more all over the country, including some that could be found on-demand. Did you have a favorite this year?

The post Reviewing the 2014 Yule Logs: It’s Like Radio with Pictures appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Catch Alice’s Restaurant on the 2023 radio dial. See our latest listening guide.

Once again it’s time for my annual run-down of some of the radio stations playing the Arlo Guthrie epic “Alice’s Restaurant” as part of an annual Thanksgiving Day tradition. There’s no exhaustive list of stations that plan to air the song, so I suggest you do your own research to see if your hometown station might be playing it as well.

In the next few months, you may also get the chance to hear the song live in concert, as tickets are already on sale for Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant 50th Tour.” Those of you in the New York area can also catch Arlo Guthrie live at Carnegie Hall this Saturday (November 29th) for his annual Thanksgiving Concert with the Guthrie Family.

Community radio station KBOO is also doing a screening of the film Alice’s Restaurant as a station fundraiser tomorrow night (Wednesday, November 26, 2014) at 7pm at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon.

Of course, you can listen to Alice’s Restaurant any time you like online, or even enjoy an illustrated version on YouTube, but if you are old school and want to hear it live on the radio, here are some options:

KFOG (104.5/97.7 FM in San Francisco) will play Alice’s Restaurant at noon Pacific time on Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 27).

WDCV 88.3 FM (Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA) will play Alice’s Restaurant every even hour on the hour (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) on Thanksgiving Day.

KISM 92.9 FM (Bellingham, Washington): Is playing Alice’s Restaurant at 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, and 6pm Pacific time on Thanksgiving Day.

92 KQRS (Minneapolis, Minnesota): Will play Alice’s Restaurant at 11am and 6pm on Thanksgiving Day.

iRadioPhilly: Will play Alice’s Restaurant at noon and 6pm Eastern time on the classic rock Ziggy station on Thanksgiving Day.

WFUV 90.7 FM (Fordham University station in Bronx, NY): Will play Alice’s Restaurant on Thanksgiving day at noon Eastern time.

WFIT 89.5FM (Melbourne, Florida): On Thanksgiving Day from 10am to 1pm Eastern time, the Florida radio station will play a “new updated version of the song.” According to WFIT, “Arlo will tell us what the Guthrie’s ‘really do’ on Thanksgiving.”

Q104.3: The New York classic rock radio station will play it at noon on Thanksgiving.

WPLR 99.1 FM (Milford, CT): Will play Alice’s Restaurant at 6am, 12noon and 6pm on Thanksgiving.

93.7 FM the Bus (State College, PA) will be playing it several times on Thanksgiving, but it doesn’t specify the exact times.

If you know of more stations planning to air the song this year, please add them in the comments. Also, take a look at my Alice’s Restaurant posts from 2013, 2012, and 2010 to see some of the stations that have played it in the past and to learn more about the tradition.

The post Thanksgiving 2014 Brings Another Chance to Hear Alice’s Restaurant on the Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

As a long-time volunteer and DJ at Foothill College radio station KFJC-FM, I’m eagerly anticipating the station’s ambitious live remote broadcast from Liverpool, England, which begins today (within minutes of when I’m posting this article at 6:20AM Pacific time). On Friday, September 26th and Saturday, September, 27th, the station plans to broadcast up to 30 hours worth of performances and artist interviews from the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia, starting early in the morning California-time.

Although the line-up and artist broadcast schedule is still being sorted out, it’s anticipated that KFJC will be broadcasting and videostreaming from as early as 5:00 am Pacific time until around 8:00 pm Pacific time on both days of the festival (of course, subject to change!). A crew of volunteers from KFJC flew to the UK in order to broadcast the festival.

This event is just another in a long string of KFJC’s live remote broadcasts from afar. Back in 1994, KFJC did its first live remote from out of state. A team trekked down to Austin, Texas for SXSW and set up camp in a hotel room. Using phone lines KFJC connected with radio station KUT and then tapped into NPR’s satellite system in order to do the broadcast. Many stations ended up simulcasting KFJC’s broadcast from Austin, including community, public, and college stations in the United States and Canada.

KFJC continued to do live remotes across the United States, including Terrastock Festivals in nearby San Francisco and from far away Providence, Rhode Island and from the UTech Music Festival (which also resulted in a KFJC compilation CD) in Milwaukee in 2011.

In 1996, KFJC did its first international live remote from Brixton, England using ISDN/Zephyr boxes. The next international broadcast was from New Zealand in 2000 from the Otago Festival of the Arts (here’s a glimpse of the line-up as presented on KFJC’s sold out compilation CD). Following that, KFJC traveled to Tokyo, Japan in 2008 to broadcast sets by a variety of Japanese underground bands. That event featured a live videostream as well.

KFJC volunteers get gear ready for broadcast from Liverpool. Photo: John Hight

For this year’s trip to England, KFJC volunteers will not only engineer the live broadcasts and HD video, but will also be recording some of the music sets for later broadcast since there are 3 different stages at the festival. Although we still don’t know which artists KFJC will be broadcasting, some of the bands on the bill include Woods, Goat, White Hills, POW!, Wolf People, Zombie Zombie, the Asteroid #4, and Klaus Johann Grobe.

In an interview with the Metro, KFJC’s General Manager Eric Johnson explained, “‘I think it’s kind of been a mission of college radio to be an alternative to mainstream…We’re looking to sort of satisfy folks who get a little tired of the formulated stuff out there. We’re looking to draw attention to bands that may not otherwise get attention.'”

I can’t wait to watch the festival from thousands of miles away! For San Francisco Bay Area residents, you can tune in at 89.7 FM and also listen online. The HD videostream can be accessed here.

The post Foothill College Radio Station KFJC to Broadcast from Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Cascade Media Convergence is a regional gathering of community media organizations, media makers, journalists and artists happening this weekend, September 19 – 21, at the University of Oregon’s Turnbull Center in downtown Portland. The purpose of the event to help create ties between media activists in the Northwest and stimulate discussion and action around building stronger networks.

Several workshops and sessions are specifically focused on radio. The big day for these is Saturday, which hosts two sessions and an open break-out discussion.

I’ll be helping present at the first session, Radio Renaissance: From the Ground-Up at 10 AM, along side two fantastic folks from XRAY.fm, Jefferson Smith and Jenny Logan. Jenny will tackle some important legal issues that particularly vital for new LPFMs. Jefferson will cover fundraising, speaking from the success that XRAY had in completing a Kickstarter for its launch this year. I’m going to pose some questions about establishing and building station culture that I hope are useful and maybe a little bit provocative.

The next session at 11:30 AM is about building community radio coalitions. An impressive group of community radio rock stars has agreed to lead discussion in this topic: Sakura Saunders, formerly Prometheus Radio Project; Connie Saldana from Oregon Community Media and KSKQ; Gavin Dahl from Alternative Radio, Open Media Foundation and KGNU; Sabrina Roach from Brown Paper Tickets.

There are also plenty of great looking sessions on topics like Building a 21st Century Newsroom, Oral History for Movement Building and The Promise and Pitfalls of Radical Print Media. Throughout the Convergence KBOO community radio is hosting a Community Newsroom Hackathon, working on an open software platform for community members to submit news tips for verification and broadcast.

A dinner and movie night kicks off the event on Friday night. On Saturday evening there is a screening of the film Authority and Expectations, directed by Ken Lori, followed by a concert titled, “Music Is the Weapon.”

Wrapping things up on Sunday will be a closing plenary strategy session to discuss or propose future action.

Registration is open, and you can also register at the door. A donation of $35-$50 is requested to attend, and sliding scale levels are available, too.

If you go, please say, “hi.”

The post Cascade Media Convergence Hits Portland This Weekend appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) is hosting Radio Day by the Bay this Saturday, July 26 from 8am to 3pm in Alameda. Radio fans will get the chance to take a look at the new home for CHRS and for the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame, as some of the events will be held at its headquarters. Other festivities will take place up the street at the Kofman Auditorium at Alameda High School.

As with past Radio Day by the Bays, there will be a radio auction, an electronics flea market, and live entertainment. The Golden Gate Radio Orchestra will play vintage radio music and the Broadcast Legends will perform a live radio play. Additionally, the inductees into the 2014 Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame will be announced.

You may recall that the CHRS had to vacate its former Berkeley home after the building was sold. Radio Day by the Bay is always a fun time and this year should be a particularly celebratory event in light of the successful purchase of CHRS’ new building in Alameda.

The post Radio Day by the Bay Returns at New Site in Alameda on July 26 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

This weekend I’ll be immersing myself in college radio history during some special events honoring the 90th anniversary of student radio at Haverford College (see the full alumni weekend schedule here). I’m hopeful that many alumni will attend, as I’m looking forward to learning even more about the storied past of the many stations at Haverford.

Students built commercial AM radio station WABQ in 1923 and its first test broadcasts were in December of that year. Within a few years it grew to be one of the most powerful AM stations in the Philadelphia area, yet many Haverford alumni are completely unaware of the story of WABQ. By 1927 the station was sold off and broadcasting didn’t resume on campus until the early 1940s. Campus-only carrier current broadcasting revitalized the Haverford Radio Club and students began experimenting with dorm-based stations around 1941.

Soon after, a carrier current station, dubbed WHAV, was built in the cramped attic of the Union building where it remained until the early 1970s. Its call letters were changed to WHRC in the late 1940s. From the 70s to the 90s radio was a popular campus activity, with students now broadcasting from a larger space in the basement of the dining center. Radio petered out on campus beginning in the late 1990s, was revived again with the launch of an Internet station in the early 2000s, died again, and was again reborn within the past couple of years.

Through all the ups and downs, Haverford’s radio stations were an important campus activity for many students. In the course of my correspondence with alumni from the 1940s through 2000s, I’ve been struck by all of the vivid and fond memories that have been shared with me. I can’t wait to meet many of these former college radio participants this weekend and look forward to their tales.

If you are in the Philadelphia area, please stop by to see an exhibit documenting Haverford radio history in the Magill Library (maybe we’ll get to see this vintage stamp!). There will be an opening reception for the exhibit on Saturday beginning at 3:30pm. Midway through the reception, we’ll take a walking tour of some old Haverford College radio haunts, pointing out all of the places where radio has taken place over the years. We’ll also peek into some former and current WHRC spaces to reminisce and see how radio is being done in 2014. On Sunday, there will be a panel discussion from 9am-11am, featuring WHRC alumni from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and present-day. I’m also hopeful that many other radio alumni in the audience will contribute to the discussion.

As I’ve researched Haverford’s radio history, I feel like I’ve become closer not only to my college, but also to fellow alumni. It’s pretty incredible to connect with people based on the shared experience of college radio, especially when it happened at the same station during different eras.

The post Haverford College Celebrates 90th Anniversary of Student Radio on Campus appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Students at Georgia State University (GSU) are still processing the news about changes coming to college radio station WRAS in a few weeks, when Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) will begin airing daytime programming over WRAS’s 88.5 FM signal. Over the weekend, WRAS supporters held protests at GSU graduation and the social media blitz continues. Additionally, a benefit show was held last night at the Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta. In a press release dated May 13, the staff of WRAS reaffirmed their opposition to Georgia State’s deal with GPB and also requested a meeting with university president Mark Becker. The press release states,

Going forward, WRAS staff continues to review our options regarding this deal while also continuing to pursue our programming mission. Working in coordination with various other student organizations – as well as the pool of alumni and listeners – we encourage an open and respectful dialogue about the impact of these changes. WRAS publicly requests a meeting by next Tuesday (5/20/14) with GSU President Mark Becker along with Ms. Teya Ryan from GPB to discuss the details of this agreement and answer questions we may have. Staff has yet to receive any direct communications from either party and we would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these changes with the two central individuals behind them.

Additionally, in its press release, WRAS points out some of the details of the GSU/GPB contract that it finds problematic, arguing that,

Not only is 100 hours of student programming being removed from our analog 88.5 FM in exchange for internships/30 minute student music program ‘opportunities’ but all of these changes were made without allowing any student input. While we understand the reasons for secrecy around ‘high stakes negotiations’ and respect GSU as the FCC licensee, failure to include students in the decision casts the administration as deaf to student voices. When a similar deal was proposed to WREK by GPB back in 2007, the students of the station were allowed to have a say in negotiations and eventually rejected the offer. The opportunities within this deal are insufficient to the opportunities that come with running an actual 100,000-watt, highly respected radio station. In our eyes, radio as it has been, involves an analog FM signal (referred to as 88.5 FM) – not an HD2 station (referred to as 88.5-2 FM) or an online stream – and believe such a signal builds a community unlike that of streaming.

While the lack of student input in this decision is troubling to WRAS, there’s also concern about possible programming changes to the student-controlled evening programming as well. In an interview with CMJ, outgoing WRAS General Manager Anastasia Zimitravich says,

The administrators suggested that we pay attention to our ratings, and choose ‘accessible’ music to air after the GPB programs end at 7 p.m. Hopefully by carefully marketing our analog broadcasts, we can ‘have the opportunity to increase our listenership’. A listenership that is undoubtedly going to suffer from this agreement.

The GSU administration has made it very clear that ratings and demographics mattered in their decision to share our airtime. It is my fear, that if our demographics continue to linger in the 30-60 range and our ratings continue to suffer in comparison to GPB’s, that we will lose all of our analog to GPB in a deal reevaluation.

With programming changes set to occur on June 2nd and with WRAS staffers demanding a meeting regarding these changes by May 20, it will be interesting to see if any of the actions of the past week will sway GSU administrators to alter the deal with GPB. Stay tuned.

In other college radio news this week:

Catawba College Foundation Buys AM Radio Station: It’s such an unusual move, that it’s hard to believe that a college is buying a terrestrial frequency for students to use. According to the Salisbury Post, that’s exactly what’s happening at Catawba College. The new Catawba College Foundation is purchasing WSAT-AM and will continue to run the Salisbury, North Carolina station as Memories 1280, although with student involvement. The Salisbury Post reports that, “…the station will have a new purpose. It will become the platform for Catawba College students majoring in business or communication arts hoping to pursue careers in radio broadcasting.” The school also plans to add a sports communication program and hopes to offer students on-air opportunities at WSAT.

Soundtap Madness Begins: Soundtap’s head-to-head college radio listening competition, Soundtap Madness, started on Monday with 64 stations vying for bragging rights as the most listened to station. Round 3 began at midnight today, with the number of competitors whittled down to 16 stations. The final round concludes May 22-23.

We cover the culture of college radio every Friday in our College Radio Survivor feature. If you have college radio news to share, please drop us a note at EDITORS at RADIOSURVIVOR dot COM.

The post College Radio Watch: WRAS Battle, Catawba College Buys AM Station & Soundtap Madness appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Prof. John Anderson has been covering radio and communications freedom for more than a decade at DIYMedia.net. He recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FCC regarding a recent decision that effectively put the Commission in the role of determining what is and is not news. Last year his first book, Radio’s Digital Dilemma, rolled off the presses, opening the doors of the sausage factory that authorized HD Radio in the US.

John is also a friend of Radio Survivor, and so we’re thrilled that he is going to join us for our very first live video Hangout on Air this Wednesday, April 30 at 8 PM EDT (5 PM PDT). We will take live questions, and the program will also be recorded. Follow this link or come back to this post to tune in live.

The post Join us at 8 PM EDT Tonight for a Hangout with Prof. John Anderson appeared first on Radio Survivor.

High School Radio Day is coming up next week on Wednesday, April 23rd and it already looks like at least 60 high school radio stations will be participating in this 3rd annual event. As I mentioned last month, there’s some great energy surrounding high school radio right now, with numerous stations applying for new LPFM licenses last year.

Chicagoland Radio and Media reports that around 8 high school radio stations in the Chicago area plan to participate this year, one of which (WGBK) I was lucky enough to visit back in 2009. In Maryland, WKHS also plans to participate. According to the Talbot Spy, “The Broadcasting Program at WKHS has produced dozens of stories of students who had successful careers in the world of radio, television and film.”

I celebrated High School Radio Day a bit early this year by visiting pioneering high school radio station WHHS-FM at Haverford High School in Havertown, Pennsylvania last week. WHHS is one of the oldest high school radio stations, having been granted its FM license in 1949. Last year, thanks to a generous gift, WHHS undertook a major effort to remodel its studios. When I visited the station last week, enthusiastic student staffers spoke about their passion for the station and about their hopes to continue doing radio in college.

After visiting WHHS and also after talking to some college radio DJs last week who had starting volunteering at college radio stations while still in high school, it became clear to me that young people (even teenagers) are still quite interested in doing radio. Those students who have high school radio stations on campus are the recipients of an amazing gift.

If you are at a high school radio station, what do you have planned for High School  Radio Day?

The post 3rd Annual High School Radio Day on April 23 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

On Friday I spent an amazing day at University of Maryland, College Park for the Saving College Radio Symposium. Hosted by the University of Maryland Libraries’ Special Collections, the symposium was held in conjunction with the exhibit Saving College Radio: WMUC – Past, Present and Future. Throughout the day, archivists, scholars, and college radio participants talked about the culture of college radio and methods for preserving its legacy.

I opened up the event, doing a keynote presentation titled “Changes in the Air: Reflections on the Ongoing Relevance of College Radio Culture.” I outlined the history of college radio in the United States and also made the point that college radio is ever-changing, with many stations going through periods of instability and periods of renaissance. Other presenters shared case studies of specific stations and archivists and digital librarians for University of Maryland spoke about the process of obtaining and archiving materials related to college radio station WMUC. At lunch, we also got the opportunity to tour through the university’s Digital Conversion and Reformatting Center, where archivists painstakingly transfer old media (carts, tapes, reel-to-reel, etc.) and paper artifacts to digital files.

University of Maryland’s Digital Conversion and Reformatting Center

In wrapping up the day, event organizer (and exhibit curator) Laura Schnitker said that she hoped that this symposium was a first step towards establishing a space in academics for “this dialogue” about college radio history. Additionally, she offered words of encouragement to college radio stations, arguing that we can all take a few steps in order to preserve station history, including:

• Getting in touch with university archivists in order to ask to create a college radio collection
• Identifying  historical materials and working with university archives in order to move materials to a stable, climate-controlled space
• Reaching out to radio station alumni in order to ask for historical materials
• Create a plan for archival process
• Potentially secure funding in order to grow the college radio archives

After the symposium, we all had a chance to tour the Saving College Radio: WMUC – Past, Present and Future exhibit. On view in the Hornbake Library at University of Maryland, College Park through the end of July this year, the show should be a must-see for anyone interested in college radio history. Featuring a wide range of artifacts, from old newspaper clippings, to yearbooks, to trophies, to a WMUC jacket, to vintage station equipment and flyers, to audio from WMUC’s past, the exhibition paints a broad picture of the expansive role that radio has played on campus for the past 75 years. If you can’t make it in person, an online exhibit will give you a flavor for the experience of being there.

Saving WMUC Exhibit

I was impressed to find out that when planning began for the exhibit in fall 2012, the organizers only had one box of paper materials and 10 audio reels from the station’s past. Today, they have collected 11 boxes of materials and 1850 audio items. Much of this material was donated by alumni, but the current WMUC also proved to be a treasure trove of artifacts as well.

After seeing the amazing archival work that could be accomplished in such a short time at University of Maryland, I’m hopeful that their experience will help to encourage other stations to begin to preserve station artifacts and history. As I’ve toured college radio stations all over the country, I’ve been amazed to see historical gems that are often hidden away in closets. I’d hate to see these fascinating artifacts deteriorate due to sub-optimal storage conditions, or even worse, end up in a dumpster during the next station move or building remodel. A simple call to a university archivist might be the first step towards creating an all-encompassing college radio history collection on one’s campus.

Saving WMUC Exhibit

Some of the materials that archivists might want to preserve include old audio recordings (carts, mini disks, reel-to-reel tape, DATs), station ephemera (flyers, posters, stickers, Tshirts, program guides), business documents (meeting minutes, letters from listeners, communication with college radio organizations), scripts, engineering documents, station manuals, newspaper clippings, paper playlists, photographs, promotional items, and more.

For inspiration, you might want to take a look at a few of the college radio archives that I’m aware of:

WMUC Collection (University of Maryland)

WTUL Collection (Tulane University)

Beloit’s College Radio History Collection (Beloit College)

If you know of other college radio archives, please let me know, as it would be great to have a comprehensive list of these amazing resources.

The post Saving College Radio Symposium Highlights Importance of Archiving Radio History appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Right now I’m dwelling on college radio’s past, as I prepare my presentation for University of Maryland’s “Saving College Radio” Symposium in two weeks. In connection with an exhibit about the history of student radio station WMUC, this symposium will focus on the importance of (and challenges inherent in) archiving college radio’s history.

I’ve become increasingly interested in college radio history, largely because it’s often such a mystery. It wasn’t until after I graduated from college that I even became aware of my own college radio station’s lengthy history. Additionally, now that I’m out and about visiting college radio stations and writing about college radio news, I’m often encountering stations for which there’s no easy-to-find history. Many station staff members and volunteers aren’t even aware of the most basic facts, like when a station first launched.

Some schools and radio stations have undertaken impressive projects in which history is being archived and preserved. Tulane University station WTUL recently partnered with a digital archive specialist at the university’s library in order to begin digitizing material from the radio station’s past. That ongoing project is viewable in the WTUL Digital Archive.

Other stations, like WSOU at Seton Hall, regularly send materials to their school archivists in order to ensure that station ephemera is preserved. Many archivists are interested in preserving college radio history and can be quite helpful to both stations and researchers. When I was stumped about the history of student radio at City College of San Francisco, I contacted staff from the school’s Library Archives. They were incredibly helpful and directed me to various resources that proved to be invaluable (I even found press accounts of the station broadcasting news about JFK’s death). Thanks to their help, I spent many days in the Archives at City College, combing through vintage newspapers, catalogs, and files. The archivists also expressed interest in obtaining more materials from the student radio station, which made me realize that many stations may not even think about contacting their campus archivists.

I’ve even had some great success working with archivists from afar. My fascination with the early history of radio at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia finally led me to contact the school library for assistance. I couldn’t believe the amazing resources that their archivists were able to share with me. Even though I’m pretty good at tracking down hard-to-find information, the archivists there were able to point me to collections of student publications that I wasn’t able to find on my own.

My biggest college radio history project has been working on piecing together a more thorough documentation of the history of radio at my alma mater, Haverford College. Back when I started doing my research I felt a bit stymied since I live thousands of miles away from campus.  I remember obsessively reading through materials in the library during one of my reunion weekends. It felt like a race against time, as it wouldn’t have been humanly possible for me to make it through every box of materials. Thanks to digitization, I’ve been able to do some of my research remotely. I’ve gotten help scanning yearbooks and newspaper clippings and many incredible vintage photos are already part of the school’s digital archive. Additionally, now that I’ve published some articles about Haverford radio history, more and more alumni have been reaching out to me with stories and artifacts. By the way, Haverford just celebrated the 90th anniversary of the launch of its first student radio station WABQ last fall and there will be some special events to honor that during Alumni Weekend in late May.

Universities generally have an interest in preserving campus history and tales and artifacts from the early days of college radio help to paint a picture of student life across many different eras. I’d love to hear your stories about radio station history. If you are at a station, do you know its history? Has there been a concerted effort to document station history?

FCC Renewal News and LPFM Update:

Congratulations to all of the college radio stations who recently heard word from the FCC that their licenses have been renewed. Yesterday’s Daily Digest (PDF) lists a plethora of freshly renewed college radio station licenses in New England. In other FCC news, there has been a little bit of action of the LPFM front this week, which I covered in yesterday’s college radio-focused LPFM Watch. Additionally, the LPFM application for Manchester Community College (Manchester, CT) was reinstated today. More than 40 new college radio LPFM applications have been granted so far in this recent window.

Upcoming College Radio Events:

April 5-9: BEA2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Broadcast Education Association‘s annual convention and research symposium takes place in Las Vegas in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show.

April 11: Saving College Radio Symposium at University of Maryland, College Park. As mentioned above, this one-day conference will focus on the importance of archiving college radio materials and culture.

April 26: UCRN Conference at KCSB at University of California, Santa Barbara. The free day-long conference is open to all California college radio station participants.  In addition to panel discussions, a record/tape swap, station swag swap and a tour of both the station and its Special Collections digitization project, there will be a few live performances. Register by contacting KCSB’s General Manager by April 11th. The twice yearly UCRN conferences draw students and college radio volunteers from all over California.

May 31: “Turn On/Turn Off: 90 Years of Radio at Haverford” exhibit reception at Haverford College, Haverford, PA during Alumni Weekend.

June 1: “WABQ, WHAV, WHRC: 90+ Years of Student-Powered Radio at Haverford College” panel discussion at Haverford College, Haverford, PA during Alumni Weekend.

September 27: Columbia College Chicago Radio/Webcast Conference

October 21-25: CMJ Music Marathon in New York City

October 23-25: CBI’s National Student Electronic Media Convention in Seattle

November 15: IBS/Simmons College Radio/Webcasting Conference in Boston

December 6: IBS/Champs Radio/Webcasting Conference in Los Angeles

We cover the culture of college radio every Friday in our College Radio Survivor feature. If you have college radio news to share, please drop us a note at EDITORS at RADIOSURVIVOR dot COM.

The post College Radio Survivor: Archiving College Radio History, Upcoming Events, and LPFM Update appeared first on Radio Survivor.

There’s been a lot of great energy in recent years surrounding the field of sound studies, in which scholars are increasingly looking at the importance of the auditory aspects of media culture. Within the world of sound studies, a growing group of radio scholars is working hard to ensure that an academic lens is focused on the myriad ways that radio touches society. This week’s Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) conference in Seattle (continuing through Sunday, March 23) is chock full of radio and podcasting-themed papers as well as a meet-up for academics with a scholarly interest in radio on Saturday at 9am. Bill Kirkpatrick put together a great list of all of the sound studies papers (nearly 150 of them!) at the conference for the Sounding Out blog. In analyzing the radio papers this year, Kirkpatrick writes,

Thematically, there remains a troubling ‘donut hole’ in radio scholarship that I hope more scholars will address:  we have lots of work on early radio (into the 1950s), and lots of work on contemporary radio and podcasting, but that leaves a half-century gap that doesn’t receive nearly enough scholarly attention.  In other words, radio studies is far from exhausted…

As I read through Kirkpatrick’s list of the radio and podcasting panels at this year’s SCMS conference, I saw plenty of intriguing papers. The wide range of topics include radio in 1970s China, early Japanese radio drama, Radio Islam, the “Mental Illness Happy Hour Podcast,” Caribbean radio, Black podcasters responses to the George Zimmerman verdict, Spanish language radio, the BBC 1930-1955, radio sponsorship and Jack Benny in the 1940s, radio westerns, independent music and satellite radio, public radio, Wisconsin radio, Internet radio, and more. I wish I was there to take it all in!

The post Radio and Podcasting Events at 2014 Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference appeared first on Radio Survivor.

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 radio stations will once again host music showcases and live broadcasts and the SXSW Radio Day Stage will be a focal point for many of these performances.

NPR is hosting some showcases, will webcast from various SXSW events, and also has some specialized SXSW content available on its website. KCRW will be there as well and has some special content posted on its Tumblr page. KEXP will once again host some daytime showcases, this year at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. And, finally, WFMU is hosting a free, unofficial showcase and live broadcast at Beerland.

Be sure to double check schedules and admission requirements, as many events require SXSW badges. Times are all Central Time. Also, let us know if there are other radio events that we should know about.

Here are some of the radio showcases happening this year:

Tuesday, March 11:

4:30-7:00pm: SXAmericas’ Opening-Night Party. NPR Music’s Alt.Latino DJs will spin at this event presented by SBS Radio and Aire Radio Networks at the West Tent in Brush Square Park.

Wednesday, March 12:

11am: Radio Day Stage presented by Radionica. Performances LosPetitFellas (11am), Porter (noon), and Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas (1pm). Radio Day Stage (Austin Convention Center Ballroom D).

2pm: Radio Day Stage presented by KCRW. Performances by Tennis (2pm), Moses Sumney (3pm) and The Preatures (4pm). Radio Day Stage (Austin Convention Center Ballroom D).

12noon: KEXP Showcase w/ Distiller Promo. Performances by Yellow Ostrich (noon), Hurray for the Riff Raff (2pm), The Black Lips (4pm), Rhett Miller of Old 97′s (6pm). Free, all-ages event open to the public (limited to 200 attendees) at Mellow Johnnny’s Bike Shop (400 Nueces Street, Austin, TX).

7:30pm: NPR Music’s SXSW Showcase Live from Stubb’s. Performances by Damon Albarn, St. Vincent, Kelis, Eagulls, and Perfect Pussy. Stubb’s (801 Red River Street, Austin).

Thursday, March 13:

11am: Radio Day Stage presented by KCSN. Performances by PAPA (1pm), NO (2pm), Dum Dum Girls (3pm), and Real Estate (4pm). Radio Day Stage (Austin Convention Center Ballroom D).

12noon: KEXP Showcase w/ Sub Pop + Hardly Art. Performances by Dum Dum Girls (noon), La Luz (2pm), THUMPERS (4pm), and Avi Buffalo (6pm). Free, all-ages event open to the public (limited to 200 attendees) at Mellow Johnnny’s Bike Shop (400 Nueces Street, Austin, TX).

2-3pm: NPR Music’s Alt.Latino Presents: A Conversation with Ana Tijoux. Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd of NPR Music interview Ana Tijoux. Austin Convention Center, Room 10B.

Friday, March 14:

11am: Radio Stage Presented by WFUV, WXPN, KUTX, KXT and The Current. Performances by Damon Albarn (11am), Lucius (noon), The Hold Steady (1pm), Phantogram (2pm), Jeremy Messersmith (3pm) and Temples (4pm). Radio Day Stage (Austin Convention Center Ballroom D).

12noon: KEXP Showcase w/ Merge Records (25th Anniversary). Performances by Wye Oak (noon), Vertical Scratchers (2pm), Mac McCaughan (4pm), and Ex Hex (6pm). Free, all-ages event open to the public (limited to 200 attendees) at Mellow Johnnny’s Bike Shop (400 Nueces Street, Austin, TX).

Saturday, March 15:

Noon: Radio Day Stage presented by SXSWfm. Performances by League of Extraordinary Gz (12:10pm), Doughbeezy (12:45pm), and Mobb Deep (1:30pm).

12:30pm: WFMU Live Broadcast from Beerland. WFMU DJs Liz Berg and Brian Turner will host this live broadcast featuring performances by Protomartyr, Buck Biloxi and the F**s, Spray Paint, Obnox, Guerilla Toss, and Pampers. This is a free, unofficial SXSW event open to the public at Beerland (711 Red River, Austin, TX).

The post Radio Guide to SXSW 2014: Part Two – Radio Showcases and Broadcasts appeared first on Radio Survivor.

A few years back I was lucky to get a glimpse into the world of student radio in Ireland. After visiting few stations there and learning a bit about the country’s college radio culture, I am happy to hear that student broadcasters will be convening in Ireland this week. The National Student Radio Conference will take place in Galway, Ireland today and tomorrow. Ireland’s first national student radio conference is being hosted by National University Ireland (NUI) Galway’s RadioSoc along with NUI Galway student radio station FlirtFM. Sessions and talks will focus on student radio and radio more broadly, including theoretical, practical and more general topics.

In other college radio news:

Glasgow Clyde College Launches Student Radio Station

In other UK news, this week Glasgow Clyde College launched student radio station GCR (Glasgow Clyde Radio). According to All Media Scotland, the online station will “feature a variety of student-produced programmes covering news, current affairs, music and entertainment.”

Stations Rally in Final Day of mtvU College Radio Woodie Voting

The college radio station finalists for this year’s mtvU College Radio Woodie Award are the subject of episode 41 of the Radio Stuff Podcast. Tune in to hear snippets from the competing stations and commentary about the contest. As you can imagine, many of the college radio stations up for this year’s College Radio Woodie award are rallying listeners and students in order to achieve the most votes. WESS at East Stroudsburg University planned to hold a vote-a-thon yesterday and also installed voting booths on campus. WCRD at Ball State University is also hoping to win the contest and made use of social media in order to make it to the finals. Yesterday was the last day to vote and the winning station will be announced at SXSW on March 16.

University of Maryland to Host College Radio Symposium on April 11

I’m excited to be presenting at the all-day “Saving College Radio” symposium at University of Maryland on Friday, April 11th. The event is open to the public and is being held in conjunction with the Saving College Radio: WMUC Past, Present, and Future exhibit celebrating the long history of WMUC and student radio at the College Park, Maryland campus. Hosted by the University of Maryland Libraries’ Special Collections, the symposium will feature presentations by academics, archivists and college radio participants. “Presenters will highlight the vital contributions of college radio to campus, local and online communities, and emphasize the value of college radio archival materials in history and scholarship.”

Dodge City Community College Station May Partner with Public Radio Group

The Dodge City Daily Globe reports that “High Plains Public Radio may be acquiring a stronger signal for its programming in Dodge City through a partnership with Dodge City Community College” in Dodge City, Kansas. The deal is in “exploratory stages.” Dodge City Community College operates KONQ 91.9 FM and KDCC 1550 AM and also has a broadcasting program. High Plains Public Radio broadcasts across 21 radio stations in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. Rumors about public radio interest in KONQ have been circulating for at least 7 years, with speculation about High Plains Public Radio’s designs on the station mentioned in an online forum in 2007.

Student Radio Documentary Earns Gracie Award

An already award-winning radio documentary about heroin abuse has picked up a coveted American Women in Radio and Television Gracie Award. Produced by Rowan University graduate Allie Volpe, the 30-minute radio documentary first aired on WGLS-FM Rowan Radio in 2012.

WHUS Revamps Schedule to Attract Student Listeners

Acknowledging the changing radio landscape, University of Connecticut’s student radio station WHUS has made changes to its schedule, beefed up its web offerings, and has launched a show focused on new music. According to the Courant, “Last fall, the student-led Operations Board of WHUS decided to reorganize its programming generally in a ‘block scheduling’ format that provides more consistency throughout the listening day by grouping similar genres of music and news-information shows during specific hours of the day.”

University of Toledo Jazz DJ to Host Local Series

WXUT DJ Hugh Ross hosts “The H-Factor” on the University of Toledo radio station. The Toledo Free Press reports that he “…is hoping to help revitalize Toledo’s once-thriving jazz community” by “…working to line up more public appearances to expose jazz to people of all ages” with a weekly DJ event at a local venue.

Tyler Commercial College’s Pioneering Role in Radio Training

This week a historical marker was placed on the former site of Tyler Commercial College in Tyler, Texas. Although the school offered coursework in many fields of study, it’s notable that it began teaching radio telegraphy and radio telephony courses in the 1920s.

Wichita State’s Public Radio Station Courts College Student Donors

Named after 19th century inventor Nathan B. Stubblefield, the Stubblefield Society is a fundraising arm of Wichita State University’s public radio station KMUW. Geared towards students, the nearly 300-member society provides benefits like free admission to local museums as well as promotional materials from the station.  Although the Wichita State station isn’t a student-run radio station, it’s interesting to see how it is engaging students through its fundraising efforts.

University of Massachusetts Radio Station Seeks Funds to Cover NCAA Basketball Tournament

University of Massachusetts, Amherst radio station WMUA-FM is hoping to cover the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament, but needs additional funding in order to do the live broadcasts. According to its Indie GoGo fundraising page, “In just a few weeks the UMass Men’s Basketball team will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly 20 years. Covering this event would be a great opportunity for not just us as students, but for our station and its listeners as a whole.” In the campaign, WMUA is seeking at least $1000 to offset travel costs.

We cover the culture of college radio every Friday in our College Radio Survivor feature. If you have college radio news to share, please drop us a note at EDITORS at RADIOSURVIVOR dot COM.

The post College Radio Survivor: Irish Student Radio Conference and Other College Radio News appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Starting this weekend, Austin, Texas will be teeming with techies and music fans, as the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) event kicks off on Friday, March 7. The Interactive and Film portions hit first, with the music festival running March 11-16. Numerous panel discussion will explore the topic of radio in some way, shape or form and many radio stations and radio-related companies will be on hand promoting their wares in conference rooms and on concert stages. SXSW also has its own online radio channel, SXSWfm, which includes features about many of the musicians performing this year. Additionally, I was surprised to see that several bands (RAMS’ Pocket Radio, Bronze Radio Return and Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio) performing this year have the word “radio” in their names. Could it be? Is radio attracting the attention of musician hipsters too?

Here’s an overview of some of the radio-themed happenings this year.

Saturday, March 8:

3:30-4:30pm: Notre Dame & Spotify: Our Playlist, Our Story. This panel will provide a case study of how Notre Dame Athletics used Spotify to boost its “social media content strategy” and in turn attracted more attention for its teams. (Driskill Hotel, Maximilian, 604 Brazos Street)

6:00-9:00pm: UT RTF @ SXSW Mixer. Alumni, Grad Students, & Friends of the University of Texas, Austin Department of Radio-TV-Film are invited to the annual SXSW mixer. More info on the mixer here. (Brew and Brew, 500 San Marcos Street)

Tuesday, March 11:

9:30-10:30am: Delivering Music Recommendations to Millions. Two Spotify software engineers will talk about “the scalability lessons…learned building Spotify’s Discover system. This system generates terabytes of music recommendations that need to be delivered to tens of millions of users every day.” (Austin Convention Center, Ballroom BC)

12:30-1:30pm: Good Music Club Meet Up. A discussion of the Good Music Club, a series showcasing Austin Bands and hosted by KUTX-FM DJ Laurie Gallardo. (Proof Annex, 711 E 6th Street)

9:30-11:00pm: The Imaginary Radio Program. This live, on-stage comedy show will present “songs and sketches” led by Drennon Davis from Last Comic Standing. (The Hideout, 617 Congress Avenue)

Wednesday, March 12:

11:00am-12:00noon: Compulsory Licenses and Online Music. Representatives from Public Knowledge, the Digital Media Association, and Pandora will discuss online music service royalties.  (Austin Convention Center, Room 18D)

12:30-1:30pm: Create Your Own Mobile Radio Experience Meet Up. Avenue Live, “a new voice-powered mobile music platform” is hosting a Meet Up in order to talk about how its service allows music lovers (including college radio stations) to “curate” their own “mobile radio experience(s)” (Austin Convention Center, Meet Up Pavilion EH 3/4)

2:00-3:00pm: The Insights Evolution: Why Only Obsessing about Music Sales is Holding You Back. Panelists from Nielsen, KROQ, and Spotify will talk about how “sales, radio airplay and streaming activity are connected.” (Austin Convention Center, Room 12AB)

2:00-3:00pm: Internet Radio is on Top Again: Why? Panelists from Billboard, Samsung, Clear Channel, and Pandora will delve into the state of Internet radio. (Austin Convention Center, Room 17A)

5:00-6:00pm: Getting Your Music Heard in the Streaming Age. Panelists from Slacker, Beats Music, WPRB-FM, and Rovi discuss “the most effective strategies for developing artists to be heard in this streaming age.” (Austin Convention Center, Room 11AB)

Thursday, March 13:

12:30-1:30pm: The Death of Music Podcasting Has Been Exaggerated. “Podcasting vets share strategies they’ve used in growing their audiences, the best way for musicians to get their music featured in this modern version of radio, and how musicians can use podcasting themselves to develop their relationship with their audience.” Panelists include the host of the MetalSucks podcast. (Austin Convention Center, Room 10A)

12:30-1:30pm: Be Your Own Tastemaker: Music Discovery in 2014. Panelists from KCRW, Bandcamp, Rawkblog, and Angry Mob Music Group will talk about the state of music discovery amid all of the current music channels, from satellite radio to streaming services. (Austin Convention Center, Room 18D)

3:30-4:30: Adult Rock Music Meeting. Radio professionals from Songlines, WXRT, KCMP-The Current, WXPN, WRNR, WFUV (as well as audience members) will listen to and rate unreleased music and debate each song’s “potential for radio airplay.” (Austin Convention Center, Room 9ABC)

Friday, March 14:

12:30-1:30pm: College Buyers/College Radio Peer Meet Up. This is a networking event for “like-minded professionals to meet and exchange ideas and suggestions.” (Austin Convention Center, Austin Suite)

2:00-3:00pm: Satellite of Love (Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Radio). Mike Jacobs moderates a discussion about the “radio landscape of 2014 and beyond.” Panelists hail from Entercom, Cumulus, Milwaukee Radio Alliance, and Glassnote. (Austin Convention Center)

3:30-4:30: If TV is the New Radio, Brands are the New A&R… Although this panel is focused on brands, music licensing, and music partnerships, the reference to radio in the title might make for an intriguing discussion about how visual media is increasingly curating sound experiences too. (Austin Convention Center, Room 17B)

5:00-6:00pm: In-Store Radio: 200M Potential Fans. Panelists will “explore the impact of in-store radio on customer’s shopping experiences and how this exposure can lead to fan acquisition for emerging acts.” (Austin Convention Center, Room 15)

5:00-6:00pm: Women Who Conquered the Music Business. Execs from Beats Music, Island Def Jam, KROQ, Monotone, and Z100 New York will share stories and will talk about equality in the workplace. (Austin Convention Center, Room 11AB)

The post Radio Guide to SXSW 2014: Part One- Panels and Meet Ups appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Happy World Radio Day! Today marks another annual celebration of radio around the world. Organized by UNESCO, this year’s event is focused on radio’s role in gender equality. Radio organizations are marking World Radio Day in numerous ways, with some airing special programming and others holding celebrations. You can listen to a range of World Radio Day-themed audio contributions on Sound Cloud. UNESCO is also hosting live radio broadcasts from its Paris headquarters today.

For the past two year, public media expert Sabrina Roach has marked World Radio Day by reflecting on the importance of low power FM (LPFM) and community radio in the United States. Last year she hosted an event for low power FM applicants in Seattle and this year she wrote a piece about the important connections between community radio and public radio and calls for more collaborations between local communities and larger stations.  She writes, “…World Radio Day is this Thursday, February 13. It’s the perfect time to talk about how Low Power FM Radio could change the public and community radio landscape in the United States.” We couldn’t agree more. The imminent launch of hundreds (and counting…) of new LPFM community radio stations makes for a particularly exciting World Radio Day this year.

Although we mainly focus on radio in the United States on Radio Survivor, we enjoy learning more about radio around the world. In honor of World Radio Day, here are a couple of recent global radio stories:

CANADA: Cape Breton University to Get FM Frequency

Caper Radio at Cape Breton University will soon obtain an FM frequency. The online station hopes to be on the air within a year and will “start out with a developmental licence and a limited broadcast range, but they hope to quickly grow the station and expand that range to more of the island,” according to the Cape Breton Post.

HUNGARY: Civil Radio Seeking Help to Keep Station on the Air

Hungarian community radio station Civil Radio has embarked on a fundraising campaign to ensure the station’s future in light of a decrease in government funding. According to the SOS Civil Radio website, “…Over the years, we have never been the favourites of the governments in power, but we were always able to collect our annual budget from various grants, tenders and other funding sources in the past 20 years. Political changes in the last few years are affected negatively Hungary’s media sector and the whole of Hungarian civil society. This has changed the life of Civil Radio completely and made our situation nearly impossible to continue broadcasting. Most of the Hungarian independent community radio stations have disappeared in the last three years — and now Civil Radio is under threat to be the next.”

How are you celebrating World Radio Day?

The post Celebrating Radio Around the Globe on World Radio Day 2014 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

This year’s World Radio Day, taking place on February 13, 2014, will focus on gender equality.

First organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2012, World Radio Day was conceptualized as a day “to celebrate radio broadcast, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radios.”

Over the past few years, there have been numerous World Radio Day events, including a LPFM applicant meet-up in Seattle in 2013. Another project last year involved the production of more than 300 audio documentaries on the topic of radio.

With this year’s emphasis on gender equality, UNESCO hopes “to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment” by encouraging stations and organizations to work on alleviating stereotypical portrayals in radio, to develop youth radio programs particularly focused on girl producers, and to promote safety of women journalists.

In honor of World Radio Day, UNESCO is encouraging radio stations from all over the world to participate in some way. If you are stumped about how to celebrate, the World Radio Day website includes a list of potential World Radio Day activities that you could initiate at your station. If you have some specific events or programming in the works, UNESCO can help with promotion. We’d also love to learn more about World Radio Day events, so please share your plans with Radio Survivor in the comments.

The post 2014 World Radio Day to Celebrate Women in Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

AM radio workshop (photo: Radio Arts)

Recently I’ve been following with interest the wide range of hands-on radio activities being lead by Radio Arts out of the United Kingdom.

Radio Arts, “an independent artists’ group founded in 2001 by lecturer, producer and artist Magz Hall and artist, producer and musician Jim Backhouse,” works “to promote radio as a site for creative experimentation and intervention.” The group is “currently commissioning six new radio art works for broadcast as well as running a series of free, public workshops across South East Kent until early 2014.”

As part of this project, Radio Arts is completing a residency aboard the restored lightship LV21 (Light Vessel 21) in Kent, England. One event that caught my eye was last month’s radio workshop in which participants built their own AM radios. According to Magz Hall,

“As Radio Arts we have been promoting radio arts activity through number of workshops and an open call for new work – this particular workshop to make an AM radio was the result of a collaboration between Radio Arts and the Lightship and its radio operator Colin Turner who shared his skills in AM radio building with us.”

Next month, there will be another hands-on workshop for radio-o-philes. On January 25th, lucky attendees will get the chance to make their own FM transmitters at an event held at the Beaney in Canterbury, England.

Additionally, Radio Arts just wrapped up an open call for recorded radio pieces for a future program and has been collecting old, working FM radios for an April, 2014 exhibit at the Beaney. More details on how to donate can be found on the Radio Arts website.

Gallery of Numbers installation at the Sidney Cooper Gallery, 2013 (photo: Magz Hall)

Across the pond, Hall also has her radio-themed “Numbers” installation on view at the Canterbury Exchange exhibit at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois through December 15th. It looks like a fascinating piece.

Hall explains, “The installation is in part homage to shortwave numbers stations, on air since the cold war and plays a series of coded messages from provocateurs of the future heard as numbers from six voices played simultaneously on different radios around the space. The work predicts numbers stations will move to FM and will remain there after licensed FM services are switched off, to be used by outlawed gangs, groups, agents and political movements. The work uses encrypted tweets collected from Occupy activists.”

Hall was able to get folks in Illinois to donate radios for use in this numbers station-themed installation. I wish I could be in both Illinois and England to take part in all of these radio events and exhibits, but for now will just live vicariously through the online accounts.

The post Radio Making Workshops in UK in Name of Radio Arts appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Catch Alice’s Restaurant on the 2023 radio dial. See our latest listening guide.

Although people have mixed feelings about the annual radio broadcasts of Arlo Guthrie’s 18-minute plus epic “Alice’s Restaurant” on Thanksgiving, it’s something that has become a tradition for many families and radio stations. This year is no exception, with stations all over the country setting aside time on Thanksgiving for the airing of the classic song. While some people can’t wait, others are already expressing dread.

Josh Sternberg (@joshsternberg) writes on Twitter, “Thanksgiving is my holiday. And of all the traditions of the weekend, Alice’s Restaurant is my anchor.” On the flip side, Emily Bailey (@anemilyb) writes, “My family gets tense on Thanksgiving because they know that if I hear even one note of Alice’s Restaurant I will go berserk and kill them.”

So, my list of stations playing “Alice’s Restaurant” tomorrow can be viewed as not only a public service for fans, but also for haters, so that they can avoid the offending channels. Of course, with modern technology, you can also listen to the song any time you like if you own the record or have access to a computer…It’s also featured on the Radio Stuff podcast.

Alice’s Restaurant on the radio in 2013:

Satellite radio listeners can catch it on Radio Margaritaville at 8:11 am, 3:36 pm, and 10:35 pm Eastern time on Sirius XM.

KPIG in Freedom, California (107.5FM/Freedom, KPYG 94.9/Cayucos/SLO) will be airing it a whopping 4 times, at 9am, noon, 6pm, and 10pm.

WMMR 93.3 FM in Philadelphia will air it at 10am, noon, and 2pm on Thanksgiving.

WZLX 100.7 FM in Boston will be airing it at 9am, noon, and 4pm on Thanksgiving.

DC101 in Washington, D.C. will air it bright and early at 7am on Thanksgiving.

KSHE 95 in St. Louis will air it at 12noon on Thanksgiving.

92.5 The Fox in Cincinnati will air it at 11am and 7pm on Thanksgiving.

Radio Woodstock 100.1 in Woodstock, New York will air it at 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. Thursday at 100.1 FM.

KXT 91.7 will air it at noon and 6pm on Thanksgiving for North Texas listeners.

Wyoming Public Radio will play it in the “11 o’clock hour” during Grady Kirkpatrick’s 3-hour Thanksgiving special from 9am to noon.

WFUV will air Alice’s Restaurant at noon on Thanksgiving, in the midst of a marathon of live concert rebroadcasts on the New York station.

WXRT will air it for Chicago listeners at 11am and at 6pm on Thanksgiving. Preceding that, there will be a Turkey Drop Rock Opera special starting at 7:30am on Wednesday. And, WXRT is sharing a playlist of music for the kitchen crew too.

96.1 KLPX in Tucson will air Alice’s Restaurant AND Adam Sandler’s Thanksgiving song all day back-to-back on its KLPXmas Holiday channel (online and HD).

WPGS 840 AM in Titusville, Florida will air Alice’s Restaurant at noon on Thanksgiving.

96.3 K-TWIN in Minnesota will play Alice’s Restaurant it in the “noon hour” on Thanksgiving.

Other Thanksgiving specials:

On the Vermont Public Radio website there’s no mention of Alice’s Restaurant in the Thanksgiving section, but there will be a broadcast of the live call-in show Turkey Confidential. Listeners can call in to get emergency cooking advice from 11am to 1pm Eastern time on Thanksgiving.

Similary, Abilene Public Radio may not be airing Alice’s Restaurant, but the station will broadcast a reading of the story Squanto: The First Thanksgiving at 11am, as well as some syndicated programming pertinent to the holiday.

Jefferson Public Radio in Oregon will air Turkey Confidential, Giving Thanks, and a food-themed episode of American Rhythm.

The post Scanning the 2013 Thanksgiving Radio Dial for Alice’s Restaurant Broadcasts appeared first on Radio Survivor.

On Saturday I was in Southern California for the University of California Radio Network (UCRN)’s fall conference.

Held at KUCI at University of California at Irvine, the event drew college radio participants from all over California, including representatives from KUCI, KXLU (Loyola Marymount), KSPC (Pomona College), KCSB (UC Santa Barbara), KZSC (UC Santa Cruz), and UCLARadio.

For me, UCRN is always a great chance to not only tour a college radio station (it was my second trip to KUCI and my 8th UCRN!), but to also connect with old friends and learn more about what other stations are up to. Following a meet-and-greet breakfast of waffles, fruit, and pastries, participants broke off into a series of panel discussions and workshops. Topics included: Motivating Volunteers, Live Sound 101, Making Your Station Matter (to your campus/license holder), Music Roundtable, and Recruiting Student DJs and Student Listeners.

I was amazed to learn about the high level of student interest in college radio at some stations. KCSB recently had 350 people in its training program, which began with hands-on experience at its campus-only sister station KJUC-AM for a quarter.

KZSC  Broadcast Advisor Michael Bryant reported that this fall there were around 250 new student volunteers. Not all of those volunteers will be able to get on the air immediately, as it’s a competitive process to get into the required broadcasting class. Students must first do at least 20 hours of volunteer work at the station in order to qualify to take the class. Even after completing those hours, there are only 14 available spots in the class.

Sporting a UCLA Radio T-shirt at Fall 2013 UCRN (photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor)

UCLARadio collected around 150-200 email addresses of students interested in volunteering at the station during an activity fair this year and ended up with around 100 applicants to its intern class.

From those applicants, around 40 interns were selected. At KUCI, around 35 people typically start out in the station’s training class.

A resounding theme was that although recruitment can be easy, retaining volunteers can be more challenging. Many stations require participants to volunteer for a specified number of hours in order to not only get a permanent air shift, but also to maintain that shift.

KUCI T-shirt at Fall 2013 UCRN (photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor)

KCSB requires 8 hours of work per quarter, for example. One way that volunteers can accrue a bunch of hours at once is through occasional 4-hour Saturday work days (called “Shakedown” events). KSPC’s volunteer coordinator Edie Adams also recommended giving volunteers a choice of concrete tasks in order to make it more likely for people to do the work. She also suggested group activities, such as CD review parties.

In addition to creating a healthy and productive station community, it’s also important for college radio stations to maintain good relationships with their home campus.

Erica Tyron, Director of TV and Radio at Pomona College and KSPC’s Station Manager, led a session on the topic of “Making Your Station Matter.” Based loosely on a similar session at the recent CBI conference in San Antonio (more about that later this week), the discussion offered some ideas for fostering good will with campus administrators and staff.

Kevin Stockdale (KUCI) and Erica Tyron (KSPC)

Tyron shared that KSPC had done a brief presentation about the station at a campus staff meeting so that people in other departments were aware of what the station did.

This resulted in increased awareness about volunteering at the station (faculty and staff can apply for shows too) as well as helped to spread the word about the ability to submit public service announcements and event listings. Additionally, it led to an invitation to present at a board of trustees meeting.

Front of KZSC T-shirt (photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor)

Tyron said that it was important to bring students to that meeting and she explained that it was incredibly powerful for trustees to see first-hand how being at the station “transformed the lives of students.”

She also recommended that stations  have an open dialogue with their campus presidents, particularly building an understanding of how one’s station contributes to the school’s educational mission. KZSC is lucky in that its volunteers regularly participate in a quarterly student media meeting with the chancellor of UC Santa Cruz.

Other stations mentioned some successful campus collaborations, including some forthcoming KXLU events at the campus library, which will feature live music. Additionally, KXLU plans to partner with the Loyola Marymount Political Science Department’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles in order to present news about Los Angeles over the airwaves. KSPC also provides live DJs for an “Art After Hours” event at a museum on campus.

KSPC T-shirt as worn by Erica Tyron at Fall 2013 UCRN (photo: J. Waits)

Social media was also cited as another way for stations to directly connect with the broader campus. Tyron said that the communications office has been more active on Twitter and will often take notice of tweets about KSPC, particularly when there are interesting photos of the station or events. KZSC has had big success with its Instagram account and is followed by many faculty and staff on campus.

Perhaps most important of all, some stations are vital parts of their campus emergency plans (namely KZSC, which was near the epicenter of the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989) so that they can provide news and information in times of crisis. Because of that, several stations have back-up generators in case of a power outage.

KCSB T-shirt spotted at Fall 2013 UCRN (photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor)

Before the conclusion of the day, participants migrated to the KUCI studios for a station tour. Although I’d been there once before (for the Spring 2012 UCRN conference), I relished the chance to take some more pictures.

A unique thing about KUCI is that it’s located away from central campus in a portable prefabricated bungalow building. Its cozy home contains studios, shelves full of vinyl records and CDs, broadcasting equipment, and even a bathroom. A big highlight is the jam-packed pop culture mecca in advisor Kevin Stockdale’s office.

Kevin Stockdale’s office at KUCI (photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor)

Thanks to everyone at KUCI for your hospitality during the UCRN event. I hope to write up a fuller report about my station tour soon. Keep an eye on Spinning Indie to see that, as well as field trip posts from many other University of California radio stations. Also, be sure to check back this Friday for more college radio news in my new weekly College Radio Survivor feature.

The post College Radio DJs Share Tips at Fall 2013 UCRN Event at KUCI appeared first on Radio Survivor.

On Saturday, November 2, I attended the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame’s 2013 Induction Luncheon. Although the latest inductees were announced several months ago at Radio Day by the Bay, Saturday’s event was a chance to celebrate the 10 individuals and the one station (KSFO as “legendary station”) joining the Hall of Fame.

Held at a banquet hall at Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto in Berkeley, the Bay Area Radio Museum/California Historical Radio Society/Broadcast Legends’ sponsored luncheon was a lively afternoon full of radio stories. Attendees were seated at round tables dedicated to each new Hall of Fame inductee. Serendipitously, I was seated at the “Henry Leff” table. A long-time educator at City College of San Francisco, Leff played a huge role in the development of the broadcast department and of the radio station (KCSF) at City College. Recently I’ve been digging into the history of radio at City College (I became intrigued after visiting the station last year), so I was thrilled that Leff’s daughter Judi Leff sat next to me. Clearly it’s a sign that I need to complete my investigation into the origins of KCSF!

After some time for socializing and a sit-down lunch, the induction ceremony kicked off after 1pm. Having read journalist Ben Fong-Torres’ accounts of previous ceremonies, I was prepared for a long afternoon of speeches. Organizers cautioned presenters that a strict 4-minute limit would be enforced and said that for the most extreme offenders, the “Razor Award” would be issued. An image of the mock award was projected onto a screen so that everyone could see the sharp razor blade mounted atop an award statue. David Jackson of the Broadcast Legends warned that the award “may be used to inflict grievous bodily harm” in the event of an extra-long speech.

Beautiful microphone at 2013 Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Luncheon. No wonder the speakers didn’t want to leave the mic… (photo: J. Waits)

At this point it became clear to me that there was some post-traumatic stress in the room following ceremonies past, especially after sportscaster Ralph Barbieri’s (his nickname is “the razor”) infamous 24 minute diatribe in 2011 (see Greg Kihn’s antidote to that from 2012). Out of respect for the audience, 2013 inductee Mike Pechner (a meteorologist inducted into the specialty category) set his iPhone timer to 4 minutes so that he wouldn’t go over (he ended at 4:11). He received a huge round of applause.

Having never been to a Hall of Fame luncheon, I was less focused on speech length, as I was just happy to be soaking in all of the radio stories. Radio Pioneer inductee Jane Morrison started off as a columnist in 1941. Although she was told repeatedly that, “We don’t hire women in news,” she got her break when the men went off to war. She went on to have a long career in radio and was a delightful speaker on Saturday.

San Jose Sharks’ play-by-play announcer Dan Rusanowsky was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the Sports category. He joked that his first fan letter came from a death row prisoner, but also pointed out that today he gets letters from as far away as Taiwan. With its global reach via technology, Rusanowsky said that “radio right now is more important than ever.” He also talked about the magic of radio, saying, “the world can get lit up for you.”

We learned that some inductees got an early start in radio. Engineer Roy Trumbull was part of a broadcasting club at Drake High School (along with Alex Bennett), before going on to study engineering in college.

Judi Leff accepts award for her late father Henry Leff (photo: J. Waits)

A few inductees have passed on, so it was nice to see memorials for them. In the induction speech honoring her late father Henry Leff (in the education category), Judi Leff pointed out that through his work at City College, Leff helped launch the broadcast careers of many individuals. She shared a video clip of her father in which he alluded to putting his own career in radio and theater on hold because of his passion for teaching. In the clip he joked, “I could have been a big star.”

Journalist Barbara Taylor talked about the range of events that she’s covered as the San Francisco City Hall Bureau Chief. Of all of the big news stories that she’s been a part of, she said that meeting Mother Teresa was the best experience. Taylor said that it felt like she was “in the presence of…a spiritual greatness.”

KCBS news anchor Janice Wright teared up when introducing her husband Mike Sugerman. Inducted into the news category, Sugermen recounted meeting his wife while on the job and reminisced that, “our eyes met over a crowded shooting scene.” He mentioned that he got his start in college radio at the University of California, Santa Barbara station KCSB in 1971, saying that he walked into the radio station and “I have never left.” While at KCSB he was able to cover a Ronald Reagan event in Santa Barbara. Even though there were student protestors and riot cops, he said that he got through because of his press pass (even though he admittedly had long hair and “bad clothes”). Recalling that day, he said, “what a feeling of power” and he added that having press access is like having a “pass to the front row of life.”

The late Bill Weaver, former executive at KLOK (see my tour of the historic station building here), was honored in the owner/manager category. His former colleague Judy Currier Fletcher blew past her 4-minute allotment by opening the microphone to fellow KLOK alumni. After her opening remarks and colleague introductions she announced, “my 4 minutes are just now starting.” She talked about Weaver’s passion for radio and said that she had fond memories of the days of wine and “silver trays” at KLOK, describing it as “an elegant time in radio.”

Dennis Erectus inducted into Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame (photo: J. Waits)

Another deceased inductee, Dennis “Erectus” Netto, was honored in the announcer/personality category. I remember hearing the shock jock pioneer (before there was the term “shock jock”) on rock station KOME when I was a teenager. His friend Jona Denz-Hamilton revealed that Netto was “really sweet” and shy in real life, but that he “had that alter ego” on-air. She said that in the late 1990s Netto worked with students at a broadcasting academy and had felt that it was the “most fulfilling job of his life.” After a short video montage of Dennis Erectus in action (including some raunchy audio clips, which the audience was warned about), one of his long-time friends came to the stage and thanked the assembled for “having the nerve…to acknowledge the lunatic fringe.” Later in the day I learned from another attendee that Netto had gotten his start in college radio at San Francisco State station KSFS in the 1970s.

The final inductee, announcer/personality Bobby Ocean, was introduced by Ben Fong-Torres. Fong-Torres joked that he had “maybe 30 minutes worth” of remarks to share. After passing the microphone to Ocean, we learned that Ocean got the radio bug in St. Louis after hearing the sound of a happy DJ emanating from a studio. Upon entering the radio station he said that he felt that he had found a “portal to a parallel dimension.” He said that with radio, there is “no sadness..only plenty…in your listeners’ imagination.”

As the clock ticked past 4pm, the ceremony concluded and attendees mixed and mingled before finding their way home or to the after party at historic KRE in Berkeley.  It was a fun afternoon of radio memories and it makes me eager to find out who the nominees for the 2014 Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame will be.

The post Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Luncheon Honors 2013 Inductees appeared first on Radio Survivor.

KRE Building 2013 (photo: J. Waits)

San Francisco Bay Area radio fanatics will be in 7th heaven tomorrow, when a bunch of California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) events are taking place. The morning starts with a vintage radio swap meet in Berkeley at the historic KRE building beginning at 9am. Then, from 11:30am to 3:00pm the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame induction luncheon will take place at Spenger’s Restaurant in Berkeley. Hosted by the CHRS and the Broadcast Legends, the ceremony will honor the 2013 inductees into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. Reservations are required. Following the luncheon, attendees will migrate back over to KRE for an open house and after party from 3-5pm. Guests will be invited to tour through the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame exhibit and the CHRS museum.

If you’ve never been to the KRE building in Berkeley, it’s well worth a visit to see the incredible collection of radio artifacts housed there. I’ve been there for a couple of Radio Day by the Bay events and found it hard to leave because there was so much to take in!

The post Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon and KRE Events Tomorrow appeared first on Radio Survivor.

On Wednesday, radio fans all over the globe celebrated the 75th anniversary of the famed “War of the Worlds” broadcast, a radio drama directed and narrated by Orson Welles that presented a chilling H.G. Wells story about a Martian invasion. At the same time, there are questions as to whether or not listeners were actually tricked by the broadcast (despite press accounts about widespread panic).

Several radio stations rebroadcast “War of the Worlds” on Wednesday night and a Facebook group organized by scholars from the Sounding Out! blog and Antenna was a focal point for fans planning to listen in. The group organized a social media party, encouraging listeners to listen simultaneously to the 8pm Eastern time broadcast on WHRW and live tweet during the broadcast (see the fun at #WOTW75).

Additionally, a couple of west coast radio stations played War of the Worlds later in the evening, with a broadcast on KPCC at 8pm Pacific (as well as a live listening party) and a broadcast on KFJC at 9pm Pacific (preceded by a 30 minute interview with old time radio collector Randy Riddle, who unearthed a rare version of the broadcast). At Northwestern University, a listening party was followed by a fireside discussion with media critic Robert Feder and Northwestern professor Jacob Smith. In the weeks to come, more discussion about the social impact of War of the Worlds will happen on Sounding Out and on Antenna.

I tuned in to much of the KFJC broadcast live. As I listened, I kept asking myself if I would have been fooled by the broadcast. Lore has it that people were duped and became panicked because they believed the fake news bulletins in the Mercury Theatre production and thought there was a Martian invasion in New Jersey.

The beginning of the broadcast (as well as the end) makes it clear that the show is a radio drama, so it’s hard to imagine being fooled if one tuned in from the beginning. What was chilling to me, however, was an extended section of dead air. As a DJ, I was alarmed, but also confused. I happened to be listening on the KFJC app on my phone and I kept checking to see if my connection had timed out. However, if I’d been listening on a terrestrial radio, the effect would have been far more dramatic and unnerving. (Note: there may have been some technical difficulties at the station. It’s fascinating that modern technology can add to the confusion over how a piece was designed to be heard.)

With this as a backdrop, it was interesting to read a piece in Slate this week which pretty much debunks the idea that the “War of the World” broadcast led to massive panic and hysteria. According to the article, the listening audience for the program was small and media accounts of panicked audience reactions were exaggerated. The piece states,

“If War of the Worlds had in fact caused the widespread terror we’ve been told it did, you’d expect CBS and Welles to have been reprimanded for their actions. But that wasn’t the case. It’s true that Federal Communications Commission chairman Frank McNinch quickly obtained informal agreement from the radio networks that fictional news ‘flashes’ would not be used again, but no official rulings or regulations were promulgated. Nor were CBS or Welles sanctioned in any manner. (In fact, the FCC prohibited complaints about the program from being used in license renewal hearings.) For the FCC and the networks, the sensationalized newspaper reports were at worst a nuisance. Janet Jackson’s 2004 ‘wardrobe malfunction’ remains far more significant in the history of broadcast regulation than Orson Welles’ trickery.”

Did you tune in to the anniversary broadcast on Wednesday? Do you think you would have been fooled into thinking that there was a Martian invasion if you’d somehow missed the beginning and ending of the broadcast?

The post 75th Anniversary of “War of the Worlds” Broadcast Marked by Festivities appeared first on Radio Survivor.

CMJ College Day 2011 – Irwin Swirnoff Picking up an award for KUSF-in-Exile (photo: J. Waits)

The CMJ Music Marathon takes over New York City and environs October 15th to 19th, for a dizzying number of music showcases, panels, parties, and special events. Originally a conference focused on college radio, these days the CMJ Music Marathon caters to not only young radio DJs, but also to the hundreds of musicians who perform throughout the festival.

Music showcases start early in the morning and wrap up in the wee hours, while daytime panel discussions take a look at topics of interest to musicians and music fans. A few radio-related panels are scheduled throughout the week and the college radio-focused College Day is the place to be for college radio DJs. Additionally, University of Washington-owned radio station KEXP will be hosting free live performances at Judson Memorial Church throughout the week. Here’s a quick run-down of some of the radio events happening during this year’s CMJ Music Marathon. Panel discussions are open to badge-holders:

Tuesday, October 15, 2013:

11am-12noon: Panel: Climbing the Charts: Radio’s Future– This panel discussion looks at “radio, in all its myriad forms” and specifically delves into the future of “music-centric radio.” (NYU Kimmel Center, 10th Floor)

12:30pm-1:30pm: SoundExchange: What it is, Why it Pays & How to Get Your Share. Although this panel seems to be more geared towards musicians, it will no doubt be a useful discussion for SoundExchange-reporting radio stations. (NYU Kimmel Center, Room 909)

4:00pm – 5:45pm: College Radio Mixer. A meet and greet for people affiliated with college radio stations. (Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St, New York, NY)

Wednesday, October 16, 2013:

KEXP Live Broadcast: University of Washington-affiliated radio station KEXP will be broadcasting live from Judson Memorial Church starting at 10am. The event is free and open to the public and will feature live performances by Bear Ceuse (10am), Cub Sport (noon), Weekend (2pm), and The Helio Sequence (4:30pm). (55 Washington Square South, NY, NY).

11am-12noon: College Radio- Roundtable Workshop. Musicians, promoters, and radio folks discuss college radio. (NYU Kimmel Center, Room 909)

3:30-4:30pm: Fair Play – Royalty Rates and Internet Radio. Brieanne Elpert and Blake Morgan discuss the “challenges presented by current royalty rates.”  (NYU Kimmel Center, Room 905/907)

Thursday, October 17, 2013:

KEXP will be doing live broadcasts starting at 10am. Saint Rich (10am), Minks (noon), Au Revoir Simone (2pm), and Ski Lodge (4pm). (55 Washington Square South, NY, NY).

College Day– An entire day devoted to college radio kicks off with breakfast at 9am. Panels start at 10am in the NYU Kimmel Center (10th Floor) and include the following:

10:00am-11:15: College Radio: Autonomy, Authenticity and Defining Independence.

11:30-12:45pm: College Radio: Music Directors’ Summit. College radio music directors talk shop.

1pm-2pm: College Day Lunch, including live bands.

2:15-3:30pm: College Radio: Radio Relevance 2013. The panel, moderated by WFMU Station Manager Ken Freedman, will look at “how college radio remains an important cultural force both on- and off-line.”

3:35-4:05: College Day: Performance by The Beards

4:00-5:00pm: 2013 CMJ College Radio Awards (see the nominees here)

6:00-8:00pm: College Day After-Party hosted by Medium Rotation (Solas, 232 E. 9th Street #1, NY, NY)

Friday, October 18, 2013:

KEXP will again be doing live broadcasts starting at 10am. Haerts (10am), Eleanor Friedberger (noon), The Dismemberment Plan (2pm), and Ghost Wave (4pm). (55 Washington Square South, NY, NY).

11am: College Radio- Resume and Interview Review. Throughout the CMJ Music Marathon, there are career-oriented sessions, including this one for college students exploring job options after college radio. “Two hiring managers with extensive college radio experiences will discuss what makes makes a quality new hire, and how to get there.” (NYU Kimmel Center, Room 406).

12:30-1:30pm: College Radio- Careers in Radio. This panel will feature a number of people working in the radio industry. (NYU Kimmel Center, Room 406).

2:00-3:00pm: HD Radio Technology: Expand Your Programming and Break New Formats. This panel will discuss the benefits and opportunities available with “HD Radio technology.” (NYU Kimmel Center, Room 405).

The post Radio Happenings at the 2013 CMJ Music Marathon appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Tuesday marked the 3rd annual College Radio Day and by all accounts it was a successful day full of added attention for student radio stations all over the world (including Colombia, Canada, and Israel). According to College Radio Day founder Rob Quicke, more than 700 radio stations in 43 countries participated.

In Georgia, 13 radio stations participated and in a great example of station camaraderie, two Atlanta stations (WRAS and WREK) even swapped programming for an hour. Another station in Georgia, The Wolf Internet Radio at University of West Georgia, had a one hour segment featured on a College Radio Day live stream, which some participating stations opted to broadcast. Titan Radio at Westminster College spread the word about college radio by doing remote broadcasts on campus and also gave away vinyl records.

Wyclef Jean made a special appearance at William Patterson University in New Jersey and not only performed, but also spoke about the importance of college radio.

Some stations took the opportunity to expound upon why college radio is important. Samantha Wong, Station Director for Coog Radio at University of Houston wrote,

“In the age of iTunes, 8Tracks, Spotify and Pandora, one might question the importance of college radio. With so many outlets at our fingertips, the fight to keep college radio alive has been a struggle. As a member of Coog Radio, the University’s student-run radio station, it’s a struggle I aim to overcome.”

As the station celebrates its 50th anniversary, WGSU’s faculty director pontificated about the future of radio and argued that college radio needs to take chances in order to stand out from failing commercial radio models, stating,

“But for my 20ish-year-old students, it’s the only radio they know — and many of them choose not to listen. Lack of radio innovation could be partially to blame. So, at WGSU, inside the brave bastion of creativity that is college radio, we’re embracing imaginative thinking about radio’s future. The aims: better serving our students and listeners.

We cannot know with certainty radio’s path to ultimate survival. But the mantra ‘play the hits’ (embraced by radio six decades ago when the Golden Age of Television forced an earlier evolution) might no longer cut it as radio searches for relevancy in the 21st century.”

Did your local college radio stations do anything special in honor of College Radio Day? Let us know in the comments.

The post World College Radio Day 2013 Garners Attention for Student Stations appeared first on Radio Survivor.

With 24 days left to go in its Indiegogo campaign, College Radio Day is hoping to raise a total of $5000 in order to produce volume 2 of College Radio Day: The Album.

When the album is completed, it will be distributed to college radio stations all over the United States. The CD compilation will include two discs worth of music, including some live performances culled from a number of different college radio stations. Students from across the country worked to select the music for the album. Confirmed artists include Wilco, Passenger, Lucius, Jukebox the Ghost, and the Front Bottoms.

The plan is to release the completed album to radio stations in mid-November. In the meantime, the third annual College Radio Day is slated for October 1st. As in the past, it’s a day set aside to celebrate college radio. Stations recognize it in their own ways, with many hosting special events and performances in order to draw more attention to the power of college radio.

The post College Radio Day Launches Campaign to Fund Album appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Sign at KZYX (photo: J. Waits)

At Radio Survivor we’ve been eagerly anticipating the LPFM filing window in October and in advance of that will be hosting several Twitter chats.

Please join us tomorrow at 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern for the first Radio Survivor Twitter chat. 

Focusing on the topic of college radio and LPFM, we will discuss your questions with a number of experts, including representatives from Prometheus Radio Project and Common Frequency.

If you are thinking of applying for a new LPFM license, please join us. We also invite anyone who is currently at a LPFM to participate and share your expertise.

If you’ve never done a Twitter chat before, don’t worry, we haven’t either! Simply log in to Twitter and follow the hashtag #LPFM. To make it easier, you might consider using a Twitter tool like TweetDeck in order to keep the chat open in a separate window.

If you have specific questions on college radio and LPFM, feel free to email us in advance (editors@radiosurvivor.com) or send a direct message to us via the Radio Survivor Twitter account.

In the meantime, you can peruse Radio Survivor for all of our resources and articles about LPFM, including Matthew’s walk-through of the LPFM license application. Additionally, take a look at John Anderson’s post about additional webinars and resources for LPFM hopefuls.

The post Radio Survivor Twitter Chat on LPFM and College Radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The CMJ Music Marathon is a college radio rite of passage for many. I have fond memories of taking the train to New York City in order to attend my first CMJ event in the 1980s. The long weekend was jam-packed with shows (Fishbone at the Cat Club!), panels (yes there really was a panel about sexism in heavy metal music), and fun (I remember going to a dance club with friends and getting cheesed out by older men leering at the young girls). It was my very first trip to New York City and I had a blast. We all headed home with bags full of cassettes, vinyl (and perhaps one CD since it was a new form of media at the time), and music magazines, as well as with hopes that the label reps we met with would start sending free music to our tiny radio station.

A whole new generation of college radio kids will get the chance to experience CMJ this October 15th through 19th. Taking place at NYU, the music convention will include panels, music showcases, and a college radio specific College Day on Thursday, October 17. The day-long event is a great chance for college radio participants to talk about the ins and outs of doing radio, with a range of panels that get into the trials and tribulations of running a college radio station, but also discuss the ongoing relevance of college radio. College Day concludes with the 9th annual CMJ College Radio Awards. In addition to College Day, there will also be a College Radio Mixer on Tuesday, October 15. See more about the college radio events here.

The post CMJ Announces College Radio Events for its 2013 Music Marathon appeared first on Radio Survivor.

After attending Radio Day by the Bay on the west coast for the past two years, I can only imagine the fun in store for vintage radio fans at the Antique Wireless Association‘s World Convention later this month. The 52nd Antique Wireless Association’s World Convention will take place near Rochester, New York. Featuring informational sessions, demonstrations, a flea market, book fair, old equipment contest, auction, and social events, the conference will coincide with the grand opening of the Antique Wireless Association Museum in Bloomfield, New York on August 20. The convention will occur from August 20-24 at the RIT Inn and Conference Center in Henrietta, New York.

The post Antique Wireless Association’s World Convention in New York August 20-24 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Radio Day by the Bay 2013 (photo: J. Waits)

The latest crop of inductees into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame was announced at Radio Day by the Bay on Saturday. The class of 2013 inductees will be honored at a ceremony on Saturday, October 12, 2013 at Spenger’s in Berkeley.

The radio luminaries to be feted include:

William H. “Bill” Weaver (Executive, co-owner KLOK 1170 AM)

Mike Pechner (Specialty category, meteorologist)

Roy Trumbull (Engineer)

Jane Morrison (Pioneer, community affairs director KNBR)

Henry Leff (Educator, he began teaching at City College of San Francisco in its broadcasting program in the 1940s! This is the same department where student radio station KCSF is located)

Dan Rusanowsky (Sports, play-by-play for San Jose Sharks)

Barbara Taylor (Newscaster, KCBS)

Mike Sugerman (Newcaster, KCBS)

Dennis Netto (Program Host “Dennis Erectus.” I remember listening to his “shock jock” broadcasts on San Jose rock station KOME during my youth)

Bobby Ocean (Program Host)

The post Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame 2013 Inductees Announced appeared first on Radio Survivor.

San Francisco Bay Area radio junkies can look forward to the California Historical Radio Society‘s (CHRS) annual Radio Day by the Bay this Saturday, July 20. I attended for the first time last year and I was amazed by all of the exciting sights and sounds for radio fans.

This year there will be a large auction of vintage radios, live jazz music, a live radio drama re-enactment on stage, interviews with radio luminaries, a KSAN reunion, a vintage electronics flea market, and more.

Taking place at the historic KRE building in Berkeley, the event could be bittersweet as the CHRS may have to vacate its beautiful art deco radio building headquarters this year. Today the building houses not only the CHRS, but also collections from the Bay Area Radio Museum and Hall of Fame as well as amateur radio station W6CF.

Although the non-profit has been raising funds in order to hopefully purchase the KRE building, that plan is in doubt now that a new owner is set to acquire the building.  Home to KVTO-AM, the Berkeley site will be changing hands shortly, as the FCC just granted the assignment of the station license to new owner Pham Communication today. According to FCC documents, this transaction must be consummated by August 1, 2013 (largely because California radio station license renewals are due by this date) or else it cannot be consummated until after KVTO-AM’s license is renewed.

KRE is located on Ashby Street in Berkeley. Doors open at 9am this Saturday, July 20 for Radio Day by the Bay, with the event starting at 10am.

It will be a great opportunity to tour KRE (did you know that KRE appeared in American Graffiti too?) and connect with other radio fans. You can catch a sneak preview of the vintage radio auction catalog (PDF) on the CHRS website.

The post Radio Day by the Bay Happening this Saturday in Berkeley appeared first on Radio Survivor.

KFJC lobby (Photo: J. Waits)

I’ve been a DJ and volunteer at Foothill College radio station KFJC-FM for nearly 15 years now and one of my favorite times of year at the station is the Month of Mayhem.

During the month of May, DJs prepare in-depth specials that delve into a variety of mostly music-related topics. There are always specials devoted to individual artists and there are often specials focused on record labels, instruments, music genres, producers, and lyrical themes. In recent years there have also been numerous 24 hour specials, in which one topic or artist is explored for 24 hours straight. As I write this, KFJC is 12 hours in to a 26-hour James Brown special (“Doing it to Death”).

This year there are more than 54 scheduled specials so far, as well as some live performances and events. Here’s a run-down of a selection of specials that I’m looking forward to:

May 6 from 10pm-2am: “Australian Punkers ’73-’85”

May 8 from 10pm-2am: “8 on 8” (4 hours of music on 8-track)

May 9 from 1pm to 7pm: “Ascension Day” (John Coltrane’s Ascension and modern versions of that piece. Here’s a nice write-up about the special).

May 9 from 10pm to 2am: “Scientology Remix Project” (live collage mix)

May 14 from 10am to 2pm: “Mississippi Mud Jam” (focus on Mississippi Records label)

May 16 from 10pm to 2am: “Ladies First” (delving into the work of female rap artists)

May 18 from 1pm to 5pm: “KFJC’s 6th Battle of the Surf Bands” (16 surf bands perform at the Surf Spot in Pacifica. The show will be broadcast live over KFJC)

May 20 from 2pm to 6pm: “The 78 Survey” (78rpm records)

May 20 from 7pm to 10pm: “Tales of the 8-Second Orchestra: The Mellotron Special, Park 10”

May 29 from 10am to 2pm: “M is for Mystery” (classic dramatized radio mysteries)

See the complete Mayhem schedule on the KFJC website.

The post KFJC Begins Month of Mayhem with 54 Specials – from 8-Tracks to Radio Drama appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The University of Oregon’s What is Radio conference (#whatisradio) wrapped up on Saturday, with many interesting panels on the last day. One of the best was named “Web Radio: Say Goodbye to the Dial.” But a fascinating talk by Dr. Neil Washbourne from Leeds Metropolitan University convinced me that, given the case of WQXR in New York City, classical music radio lovers won’t be saying goodbye to the dial any time soon.

Washbourne’s presentation was titled “New York City’s Classical 105.9 WQXR-FM: the asymmetrical complementariness of its on-air and online worlds.” That means that while WQXR sees the relationship between its website and its on-air stream as symbiotic, it is an uneven partnership, primarily informed by the necessities of the on-air signal. “On-air motives and needs predominate” at QXR, the paper concludes.

Raised in New York City, I grew up with WQXR, a hallowed classical music station serving the area since 1936. The New York Times purchased the frequency in 1944, and put it up for sale during the economic crisis of 2009. New York Public Radio bought it and turned it into a public radio signal in October of that year.

Across the United States, classical radio already faced huge pressures, accelerated by the Great Recession. As KUSC’s Brenda Barnes told me in 2010, following the deregulation of radio in 1996, many classical radio operators saw an opportunity to sell their frequencies at far above market value.

“So they sold, and once you buy a big station in a big market for $100 million or $60 million or whatever, you can’t afford to run it as a classical station, because you can’t make enough money back to pay the debt load,” she explained. “That sort of triggered the end of commercial classical radio. And what’s been happening is a trend toward public radio kind of trying to fill that void.”

In that context, public WQXR deploys online features to smoothe out and supplement the on-air experience. To avoid annoying listeners with pledge drive pitches, staff urge listeners to pledge on the website, thus dodging the need to “interrupt your listening.” As a result, over half of subscribers pledged online in the October 2010 drive. This gave WQXR database details about them, allowing the station to “target future pledge activities and consider which geographical areas and social groups may be under-represented amongst subscribers.”

Dr. Neil Washbourne

“More broadly,” Washburne adds, “the fundamental aim of online supplementation of the station is to give listeners such a rich experience that they fear losing what the station offers and, thereby, feel increasingly obligated to pay.” This includes “Q2”—an online stream of more “adventurous” music from living classical composers.

“There is significant interaction between on-air and online output of WQXR (and Q2),” Washburne writes. “For example, some sections from the Q2 stream are put on air in WQXR late on Saturday nights—so a taster and to encourage listening across streams and, thereby, transform listener taste and knowledge.” The station streams live performances both on air and online sometimes, as in the “Trout Week” chamber music festival of 2011. Blogs encourage listeners to share information.

But: “In spite of these attempts to encourage listening to Q2, WQXR is still very much more listened to and engaged with than Q2,” he notes. This can be measured by the attention paid to various blogs. Washburne found four times as many blog discussions initiated on WQXR than on Q2, whose function he identifies as an “arena for the creative activity and job fulfillment of presenters [or as we would put here in the states, the deejays].”

This is the ‘asymmetricality’ of which Washburne speaks—a web presence in the service of an on air stream, a relationship “predominantly guided by the on-air presence and requirements to generate subscribing listeners out of listeners.” The paper concludes with this intriguing last sentence:

“Though currently the case is that on-air motives and needs predominate, the power of the productive, communicative and distributional resources of web radio open up all sorts of more utopian, imaginative possibilities for WQXR in the future in which its locatedness in New York City will form more a symbolic and cultural resource for otherwise delocated, national and translocal relations.”

I am conflicted by this conclusion. On one level, I want and am comforted by the idea of a continuous locally or regionally based analog presence for radio that remains the dominant identity. On the other hand, I want classical radio to become ever more adventurous, bold, and challenging. Ah, the choices posed by modernity . . .

The post WQXR and its website, an uneven partnership? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Charles Jaco

Jennifer Waits and I are at the What is Radio conference in Portland, which opened with an interesting lecture by veteran radio/TV journalist Charles Jaco. It focused on the importance of narrative and storytelling in radio, and its decline on the commercial radio dial.

Jaco noted that it is in the public radio sector that one gets the best storytelling these days—on This American Life, the Moth Radio Hour, and similar shows listened to by predominantly upper-middle class audiences.

Why the decline in the commercial sector? The emphasis on profits plays a factor, Jaco noted. Commercial outfits “are interested in running the stations as cheaply as possible and selling the advertising time for as much as they can get, period, discussion is over,” he observed.

But, “how in the name of heaven did compelling storytelling on radio become the province of the upper level five percent educationally?” Jaco asked out loud. “If storytelling is among the oldest of human occupations and desires, why is it that the vast majority of Americans get almost none of it on their radio dials?”

Here was his answer:

“Let’s face it. For most people in this country life is already hard enough without asking them to think or feel while listening to the radio. And that may sound like a smart ass ironic comment, but it is absolutely the truth. Life is so distressingly hard for the majority of our fellow citizens these days, media, in whatever form, works best when it has an anesthetic effect, because life sucks, and they don’t want to be reminded of life when they turn on the radio or are watching the tube.”

I asked Jaco about this observation in the question and discussion period. Given that storytelling has survived and even flourished through many eras when life sucked, I noted, when did this relationship begin to wane?

Here was his reply:

“I think it has happened within the last 40 or 50 years. A number of things have happened. One is that the source for a lot of this storytelling, the nuclear family, has largely been blown to shreds in a lot of places, so kids don’t hear it. Secondly, how many people do you know, and I’m not talking about your peers, I mean in total, whose main baby sitter is The Tube? You sit the kid down in front and walk away from him.

How many people lost most of the value of their homes during the crash? How many people’s 401ks vanished? How many people’s jobs vanished? Well, 80,000 of them in the town I come from. St. Louis was gutted by the recession. Poverty makes people mean. Poverty pisses people off. People’s middle class expectations are being blown completely to hell. Do not make them yearn for something bright and shiny and wonderful. It makes them pissed off.

And for most of the people I talk to, media is their anesthetic. ‘Wow. I don’t have a job. The kid is still living at home. My husband has been laid off. Do I really want to think when I am listening to the radio? Do I really want to watch something on television that is going to engage me and get me outside of myself? No I do not’.”

The country has had a “collision of economic and social forces within the last half century or so that have accelerated within the last five or six years,” Jaco concluded. “So right now I think people who are engaged by media are the people who have the economic freedom to be engaged by media.”

A pretty stark analysis. Not sure I agree, but the speech was a heck of a way to start the conference. Paper presentations begin on Friday.

The post Radio storytelling: property of the upper middle class? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Stanford University’s college radio station KZSU 90.1 FM is a few hours away from the conclusion of its 11th Day of Noise. Despite the “noise” moniker, the music being played today isn’t necessarily noisy or discordant.  According to the KZSU website, the Day of Noise is “Twenty-four hours straight of live experimentation and improvisation, featuring experimental/noise/drone bands and artists from the Bay Area and beyond.”

The live music began at midnight this morning and will conclude when the clock strikes 12 tonight. The remaining artists tonight include Thee Annoying, Karl Evangelista and Michael Coleman, 3 Leafs and White Pee.

Right now I’m catching a bit of noise artist Ghost Hand on the live video stream on UStream.

I’m not sure if these performances will be archived, but you can listen to some archives from the 2012 event here.

The post KZSU’s Day of Noise Features 24 hours of Live Experimental Music appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Record Store Day 2011 Signage at Aquarius Records in San Francisco (photo: J. Waits)

Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent record stores, will take place all over the world on Saturday, April 20th.

Non-commercial radio and independent record stores often have a synergistic relationship, so it makes sense that they would be natural partners for this event.

Over the years I’ve heard about interesting collaborations between radio stations and record shops for Record Store Day and this year is no exception.

Community radio station WRIR 97.3 FM (Richmond Independent Radio in Richmond, Virginia) is teaming up with five record shops in order to curate special Record Store Day performances. According to the WRIR website:

“WRIR 97.3 will curate a full day of performances at Plan 9, Deep Groove, Steady Sounds, Vinyl Conflict and Turnstyle on Saturday, April 20. There will also be a WRIR Record Store Day Scavenger Hunt and a chance to win store specific prize packs.”

I’m particularly intrigued by the Record Store Day scavenger hunt. If you know of any other radio station/record store collaborations for Record Store Day, please share the details in the comments section.

The post WRIR Curates Live Performances at Local Shops for Record Store Day appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Saturday was a fun day of radio immersion for me, as I attended the spring University of California Radio Network (UCRN) conference at KZSC at University of California, Santa Cruz. Around 115 people, including volunteers, students, DJs, staff, and advisers from numerous California college radio stations headed to the lovely station in the woods in order to connect with other college radio practitioners and pick up tips from each other and from guest speakers. The theme for the spring event was, “Music Presentation on the Radio: Past, Present, and Future.”

Although UCRN conferences began as a way for college radio stations licensed to the University of California to connect with one another, in recent years the organizers have invited stations from outside of the UC system to the twice yearly events. When I attended last fall’s event at KSPC, there was a nice turnout of folks from non-UC stations in Southern California. This time around, I spotted representatives from many UC stations (KZSC, KDVS, KALX, KCSB, BobCat Radio, KUCI, KUCR, and UCLA Radio), as well as several from no-UC schools (KSPC from Pomona College, KCPR at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, KSJS at San Jose State University, and KFJC from Foothill College).

The day started off with tours of the station. Although I’d visited KZSC 4 years ago for a UCRN event, I was excited to come back to see how the place had changed. Before the conference I was also told that the station would be moving out of its current location, so I also wanted to see it one last time before it moved. The station is unique in that it has been located in its very own separate cabin on the wooded UC Santa Cruz campus since 1978. Perched up on stilts, the redwood structure is packed full of vinyl records, CDs, and other ephemera. Throughout the event, live DJs were on the air in the KZSC studio. Other rooms house production equipment, a news room, and a music processing room (where volunteers listen to new music in order to review it and check for bad language and other FCC no no’s).

After milling about for a bit in the lobby, the conference got underway in a nearby classroom building. Filmmaker Eric Christensen kicked things off with a presentation about album cover art. He shared his thoughts about album art and played sections from his documentary, “The Cover Story: How Iconic Album Covers Came to Be.” Some highlights of the film for me included seeing images of very early album art from the 1930s and hearing an interview with the man who was depicted on a Nirvana album cover when he was a baby. At the end of the presentation, Christensen reflected on the rarity of album art in today’s digital culture. He asked, “Are we losing artifact in the digital age?”

Following this opening presentation, there were station introductions, as well as a steering committee meeting for station management. Lunch followed, and then there was a presentation about “Digital Media and Social Networking in Today’s College Radio World” by Eva Papp of Spinitron. Papp began her presentation with an overview of Spinitron’s history. The company’s online playlist logging system was launched 10 years ago and stemmed from its founder’s “passion for music” and for non-commercial radio. Today, Spinitron is used by approximately 100 radio stations. Papp also touted the ongoing relevance of radio, as not only a popular medium, but also as a way that many people learn about new music. She explained that Spinitron is not only a useful tool for DJs and radio stations, but that it’s also proven to be helpful for musicians. For that reason, Spinitron has been publishing weekly charts in order to provide data about what is being played over college radio.

After Papp’s presentation, I went to the round table discussion “Putting Musicians on the Air Live: Performance and Interview Techniques.” Volunteers and staff from KZSC and KSPC shared lots of pragmatic advice about conducting live interviews. Some of the top tips included: do your research in advance of an interview, prepare a short introduction about the artist/guest and read that on-air before the interview starts, don’t talk over your guest, and send a thank you note after the interview. Some specific advice about hosting live bands included: talk to musicians in advance about FCC rules so they know what they can’t say or sing on the air, talk about microphone preferences in advance, and conduct a sound check and play that back to the band to ensure that they are comfortable with the sound.

Presenter Nada Milijkovic of KZSC encouraged everyone to ask artists for interviews and said that she really enjoys interviewing her musical heroes. She said, “don’t be afraid to ask for an interview.” Although she said it was important to find out from interview subjects if there are questions or topics that they don’t want to address, she also said that it’s better to regret questions you’ve asked, as opposed to regretting that you didn’t ask a particular question.

As the panels and workshops were wrapping up, a couple of rooms were set aside for people to do some station-oriented crafting activities. One room had button-making machines as well as magazines, glitter, and other supplies. Another room was set-up for screen-printing. DJs in that room crafted custom UCRN T-shirts and patches to commemorate the event. At the end of the day, folks reconvened back at KZSC and then either took off for home or trekked to downtown Santa Cruz for a pizza party hosted by KZSC.

For me, this weekend’s event was not only a learning experience (I always learn something every time I visit a station), but it was also a chance to see some long-time college radio friends. To top it all off, I also spotted another one of those mysterious silver paper mache college radio station signs. Whenever I see a new one, I feel like I’ve just won a secret college radio station scavenger hunt.

The post UCRN Spring College Radio Conference Covers Radio’s Past and Future appeared first on Radio Survivor.