A year-and-a-half ago high school, college and community radio stations shut their studio doors in response to safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID. They quickly scrambled to find ways to stay on air, broadcasting archived programming, allowing DJs to pre-record or even broadcast live from home. We’ve dedicated several episodes to learning how different kinds of stations in a variety of regions confronted the emergency.

Whatever methods were employed, today – with the pandemic still ongoing – it’s heartening to listen around and note that most stations seem to have survived this period. There’s no sense that more stations closed down than in any other 18-month period. In fact, on October 1, college stations from around the world will join together in celebrating the 11th annual College Radio Day, featuring Ambassador “Weird” Al Yankovic.

We take this opportunity to survey radio’s remarkable survival story. Just as internet technology, like Zoom calls, revolutionized the ability to move work, school and other activities into the home, it also let stations stay connected with programmers and volunteers in a way that would have been significantly more challenging even just a decade earlier. Of course, we’re not arguing this is a net plus – too many lives have been lost or altered forever due to this disease. As well, working or DJing from home isn’t a boon for everyone, on top of the fact that closed studios severely impacts the collaboration and camaraderie that is at the heart of so many stations. Yet, it’s worth reflecting on why and how grassroots radio withstood this unprecedented challenge, continuing to serve listeners and communities and help them through this crisis.

Show Notes

• Episodes on stations dealing with the pandemic:
  • Podcast #237 – How Community & College Radio Can Deal with COVID-19
  • Podcast #238 – Social Distancing, Going Remote and Automation during Global Pandemic
  • Podcast #239 – Hunkering Down with Raven Radio in Sitka, Alaska
  • Podcast #240 – WFMU is Still On the Air During the Pandemic
  • Podcast #285 – Running a Big Community Media Organization in the 2nd Year of the Pandemic
  • Podcast #298 – College Radio at the end of the Academic COVID Year
• Oct. 1 is College Radio Day
• College Broadcasters Inc. Student Electronic Media Convention
• Radio World: “Goodbye ISDN, Hello Streaming“
• The Homelessness Marathon
• Negativland:
  • Negativland’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert
  • Negativland live (online) at the Ann Arbor Film Festival
  • Negativland’s Over the Edge Radio: Brain Science
• Princeton University’s WPRB
• Dr. Demento
• “Weird Al” Yankovic
• KCPR at Cal Poly is where “Weird” Al Got his start in radio
• Jennifer’s Tour of KRRC at Reed College
• KRRC
• Radio Survivor’s Top Radio Shows – Jennifer’s #4 – Dr. Demento

The post Podcast #317 – How Radio Survived 18 Months of Pandemic (and Keeps Going) appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Mendocino County has a bounty of new community radio stations thanks to the recent low power FM (LPFM) application window and I was excited to get to visit one of those stations: KLLG-LP in Willits, California earlier this year. After spending the night near the coast, I headed inland, driving on a windy country road through the forest to Willits. On my way, I passed campgrounds, a horse camp, logging operations, and vineyards before arriving at the Little Lake Grange, the non-profit that holds the FM license for KLLG. With headquarters in a beautiful, 100-year-old school building, it’s an idyllic place for a community radio station. And, as last month’s devastating fires in Mendocino County illustrated, hyper-local local radio can be an important lifeline during a crisis, particularly in small, rural communities.

The Little Lake Grange in Willits, CA: home to LPFM radio station KLLG-LP. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

When fires came roaring through the Redwood Valley area just south of Willits in early October, KLLG-LP did its best to keep listeners informed. KLLG’s former Program Director Michelle Cummins told me over email that the Redwood Complex fire was about 8 miles from the station. She recounted that:

Remarkably, we did not have any programmers who lost their homes, however, we all know people who did. We had many programmers who were in the mandatory and voluntary and evac zones. In the first hours of the fire incident, there was no internet or cell phones available. We definitely learned the importance of the relationship of a local radio station with all of the agencies that are first responders.

Studio at LPFM community radio station KLLG-LP. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Volunteers stepped up to report on the fires. According to Willits News,

When cell phone towers were damaged and all cell phone communications (with the exception of satellite phones), and internet were unavailable over a two day period as a result of the Mendocino Lake Complex fire, KLLG and KZYX Public radio became the local sources of information in Willits.

Mike Burgess, Lauren Jaslow and Liam UiCearbahil were some of the volunteer staffers manning the station and attempting to keep residents informed during the emergency.

UiCearbahil in particular, came in to do the night shift from 11 p.m. to sunrise and relayed emergency and evacuation updates from CalFire, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and other sources throughout the night. Cummins said people told her they were very grateful to have his comforting familiar voice getting them through the confusion when the internet was down.

Willits Hometown Radio sign at KLLG-LP. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Having launched just a year prior, in September 2016, KLLG-LP had not faced this scale of an emergency. Programmers shared information about the fires, but had a number of challenges, including lack of internet access and road closures. Cummins said that the station learned a lot and offered advice for other community radio stations in order to better prepare for this type of  disaster:

Tips for other LPFM stations would definitely be to host some kind of…open forum where you invite the first responder agencies such as highway patrol, sheriff, police department, fire departments, to come and learn about what the station can do for them and how they can use the station and view it as an asset to the community [and] the agencies. Being proactive is very important. Also, when reporting, definitely stick to the facts, use a calm and positive tone, [and] record and document everything. It’s a good idea to have a map of the area in the station as well.

Signed Willits Fire Rescue T-shirt on wall of KLLG-LP in April, 2017. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Cummins added, “I am very proud of our station, KLLG, for the support that we were able to offer our community in the week of this disaster. We had volunteers on air 24 hours a day for the first 72 hours and continued playing updated messages throughout the incident. The community has shown a lot of support and validated the importance of the station in times of disaster and in times of peace.”

Album covers above bulletin board and white board at KLLG-LP. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

All of this support must be particularly gratifying since KLLG is a very young station. Whereas many other Mendocino County towns have community radio stations (including LPFM stations in Covelo, Laytonville, Ft. Bragg and Ukiah), Willits was one of the last to hit the airwaves.

KLLG-LP stickers at the LPFM community radio station. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Founder and former General Manager Lanny Cotler was instrumental in getting KLLG-LP off the ground and has been following the station’s progress. Over email he provided more back story about the station, telling me that he wanted to bring community radio to Willits. Cotler elaborated, “I saw the narrow window the FCC was offering to obtain one of a limited number of LP licenses, learned that rural areas with one application are a good bet to be granted the license, and it hit me how a hyperlocal station would be a great boon to a small community…”

Cotler remarked, “The vision was that in order to survive our community had to become more RESILIENT. More self-reliant, more able for all sides within the community to communicate with each other—rich, poor, old, young, gay, straight, left, right. I wanted to set up a means of communication, a platform to do this. That’s what sold all sectors of this town on backing the idea of a low power FM radio station.”

With the recent fire, he acknowledged that “KLLG rose to the occasion,” adding, “In a sense, we prove[d] ourselves to the town. We made mistakes. Many behind the mic didn’t know all the protocols, but we were for a few days the only means for citizens to get info on what was happening.”

Poster from “station delivery” party for KLLG. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

When I met up with Cummins and other station volunteers back in April, we talked a lot about community, which is at the heart and soul of the station’s parent organization and landlord, The Little Lake Grange. Part of a large, national fraternal organization for farmers that dates back to 1867, the Grange, was historically a place where folks might share tools and farming skills, according to Cummins. The Little Lake Grange was founded in 1938 and was “primarily a farming organization into the 1950’s” that “gradually transformed itself into a community organization focused on the life of the Willits community,” states a Little Lake Grange brochure.

A longtime Grange member, Cotler had his eye on the Grange building as an ideal spot for a radio studio, so approached the organization to be the sponsoring non-profit for the new LPFM. He also found synergy between the goals of the Grange and the new community radio station, explaining, “Since the goal of the Grange is to serve our community by making it more resilient, I wanted a radio station that would dedicate itself to that purpose: strengthening our community’s resiliency!”

Promotional materials at the Little Lake Grange. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Farming, food and community are still a vital part of the ethos of the Little Lake Grange. Today, the Little Lake Grange hosts numerous community events, including pancake breakfasts, concerts, film series, and a farmers market. It helped to establish a nearby farm school and also houses local grains in silos behind its building. Cummins added that Willits is an “active agrarian community.”

Mini production studio at KLLG-LP. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

One benefit for KLLG is that its location within the Little Lake Grange building allows for easy access to its auditorium, which has a direct line to the radio station’s studio. This proximity has allowed the radio station to broadcast from various events, including pancake breakfasts. Focusing on locally-produced programming, the station was working to train programmers and build out its schedule when I visited in April, just a few months after the station first started running live shows. At the time, the Willits LPFM radio station had around 18 live shows a week, comprising 28 hours of the weekly schedule. Around sixty folks had gone through programming training by early April, with at least 20 more in the queue. An automated mix of music airs when there is no live show. By early November, KLLG was up to 30 programmers producing a total of 68 hours a week of locally-produced content.

KLLG-LP entrance in the distance, just down the hall from Little Lake Grange auditorium (right side of photo). Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

The programming mix today includes a variety of music and talk shows, with music shows focused on reggae, local music, electronic music, bluegrass, blues, Americana, and more. Talk shows run the gamut from “Baby Talk” (birth stories) to “Steve on Sports” (sports talk). One of the more unusual shows, “BiPolar Express,” is hosted by Skunk Train (a historic train that runs through the redwoods from Ft. Bragg to Willits) conductor/train singer Greg Schindel. On the show he plays music and brings in a range of guests. Cummins explained that part of what makes the show unique is that, “he has two personalities and they talk to each other on the show.”

Baby Talk host Mamma J. (Jaynene Johnson) in KLLG-LP studio. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

While KLLG has a small collection of vinyl records and CDs, most DJs bring in their own music to play, typically via CDs, vinyl records, cassettes, and digital files. During my visit, Chief Engineer Roger Wilson joked that the station has “one and a half turntables,” as he was working to fix a persistent hum emanating from one of them. The building’s vintage electrical system and 14-foot ceilings have presented various challenges for the station, yet much attention was put into the construction of KLLG’s free-standing, thick-walled studio within the former schoolhouse classroom space. Wilson, along with volunteers, did the majority of the work to build the studio and Cummins and others reminisced about crawling under the building in order to complete a few different tasks.

“Live” studio sign at KLLG-LP. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

As she passes the torch to new Program Director Lauren Jaslow, Cummins shared that much has been accomplished in the past year, from creating procedures and training programs to developing plans for underwriting and fundraising. She pointed out, “Year two is about developing all of those systems” that have been put in place, particularly in the areas of “programming, engineering, and development…”

While the station has accomplished a great deal already with a tiny volunteer staff, KLLG’s Finance Director Bob Fry told me that the station could accomplish even more with additional volunteers. Projects on the wish list require extra engineers (including folks who can simply run a show for tech-wary hosts), traffic managers (to schedule and run syndicated shows), and marketing experts to help get the word out about the station. Fry relayed that the station has the potential to bring together residents from their diverse community and that he’s already felt inspired by listener response to KLLG.

CDs at community radio station KLLG-LP. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Wilson reflected on the group effort required to get KLLG up and running, recounting that, “I’m used to building and making anything, but to have a team…who haven’t built a radio station before…to step up and say ‘this sounds like a good idea’ and we’ll learn all this esoteric voodoo that’s necessary to make something happen in spite of whatever noise gets in the way of us…For them to step up and put the effort in, separate from their regular lives and make it happen, it is…wonderful to see…I am delighted.”

Bob Fry, Michelle Cummins and Roger Wilson at KLLG-LP. Photo: J. Waits/Radio Survivor

Thanks to everyone at KLLG-LP for the warm welcome, including Lanny Cotler who reached out to Radio Survivor from the very beginning and to Michelle, Bob, and Roger for taking the time to speak with me during my visit.

The post Radio Station Visit #140 – Community Radio Station KLLG-LP in Willits, California appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The local service of radio grows enormously in value when disaster strikes a community. This is what we’ve seen with the wildfires that have swept through the Northern California counties of Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake and Solano beginning last week. Fast moving and unpredictable, these deadly fires also took out communications infrastructure like cell towers, internet and cable TV, leaving radio as one of the most reliable sources of potentially life-saving information.

Commercial and non-commercial stations stepped up to offer emergency information to residents and first responders. Large Bay Area stations offered coverage, but often it was smaller, locally-owned stations that could better serve the hyper-local information needs, able to report the conditions on the ground in specific towns, cities and neighborhoods, from what roads are shut down, to what kind of donations were most in need at specific emergency shelters.

My San Francisco-based colleague Jennifer Waits reported hearing an emergency services press conference on “Sauvignon Rock” station KVYN-FM The Vine in Napa, which also ran a bilingual call-in show where residents could get answers regarding local emergency services. In addition emergency information was broadcast on Sonoma Community Radio KSVY and country station KZST in Sonoma.

The Willits News in Mendocino County documented the service that LPFM KLLG provided the community:

“Michelle Cummins, program manager at KLLG radio said people were coming up to her at Mariposa Market last week thanking her for the fledging station’s crucial role during the fire emergencies.

“When cell phone towers were damaged and all cell phone communications (with the exception of satellite phones), and internet were unavailable over a two day period as a result of the Mendocino Lake Complex fire, KLLG and KZYX Public radio became the local sources of information in Willits.”

Inside Radio talked with staff of two small commercial radio groups in the area, Wine Down Media and Redwood Empire Stereocasters (owner of KZST), which switched their stations’ music programming to “wall-to-wall coverage.” Staff at Redwood Empire studios even had to evacuate twice due to the fire threat, only to return when the flames receded. Owner Gordon Zlot recounted the story to public radio KALW in San Francisco.

Radio newsletter Tom Taylor Now published a report from the Sonoma Media Group, owner of six stations, including news/talk KSRO. Market manager Michael O’Shea said the latter station ran, “24/7 commercial-free news coverage for 72 straight hours, with virtually all the group’s on-air people helping the news anchors with coverage, handling phones, feeding social media, etc.” The coverage was noticed and appreciated. “I can’t tell you how many times listeners would call and tell us this same discovery,” he said. “[T]hey almost had to re-learn the ultimate magic of local live radio.”

Amateur radio operators also reported for duty, as they do during nearly every kind of disaster, natural or man-made. According to the American Radio Relay League ham radio operators were stationed at local hospitals and large nursing homes through the middle of last week in Mendocino County. In Sonoma County amateur operators were relaying fire and emergency information on amateur radio frequencies, and also supporting shelters and maintaining a presence at the area Emergency Operations Center.

This celebration of local radio isn’t at the expense of other media platforms. Most of these stations maintained a strong presence on social media, providing updates along with live feeds from regular press briefings by local authorities whenever possible. Moreover, some stations had to rely only on their internet streams and social media when their transmitters were knocked off air by the fire.

And, while internet and cell was out in some areas, this wasn’t the case everywhere. What this means is that radio is part of a fabric of media and communications, where each platform has its particular strengths and can be called to serve when and where other platforms are less appropriate, or unavailable.

What makes the difference are the people who step up to do the work, to broadcast information and create that lifeline when needed. One advantage that a radio station has is that community trust – the standing of being a community asset that folks trust due to a record of service. You might say that a local radio station is authenticated – you know (in most cases) that they’re working hard to be accurate and reliable in their service, especially in trying times.

With so many media and audio options available to us, it’s understandable if you don’t tune in to local radio every day. But don’t forget about your local stations, either. Because it’s all too likely that there will be a day when you need them, and tuning in will be vitally important.

Additional reporting and contributions by Jennifer Waits

The post Local Radio’s Value Demonstrated During Emergencies appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Ajit Pai was just renominated and confirmed as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and there are a number of pivotal policy items ahead on his agenda. Our resident FCC watcher, Prof. Christopher Terry from the University of Minnesota, joins to help us understand what’s in store and what the stakes are. First, he explains the reality behind President Trump’s threat to revoke NBC’s television license. Then he tackles the proposed merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Company’s television stations, detailing the maneuvers required for the FCC to approve it, and what it means for local news.

Finally, Paul and Eric reflect on the vitally important role radio is playing for local communities that are suffering natural disasters, like the hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the wildfires in Northern California.

We also want you to know that this show is now available for broadcast by non-commercial terrestrial and internet stations. Each week we have a special broadcast version of the show that stations may access. Learn more here: https://www.radiosurvivor.com/radio/

Show Notes:

• Prof. Christopher Terry’s first appearance on the show: Podcast #7 – The FCC’s Legacy of Failure with Media Ownership Policy
• Can your local radio announcer pronounce your city’s name? Chris Terry on the Telecommunications Act of 1996

The post Podcast #112 – Sinclair Could Become the Wal-Mart of TV appeared first on Radio Survivor.

There continues to be a slow trickle of newly granted low power FM (LPFM) construction permits this month, with 5 more granted this week. Additionally, a few applications were dismissed, including Greater Broadcasting Network, Inc. (Duncanville, Texas) and Iglesia Pentecostes del Principe de Paz (Grand Prairie, Texas). Also, a LPFM that is still fundraising in order to get on the air full-time is now in the midst of an emergency temporary permit so that it can report important news for flood victims in Texas.

New LPFM Construction Permits this Week

NICE Corp. (Boulder, CO)

Dallas Arts District Foundation (Dallas, TX)

The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Household of Faith (Arlington, TX)

Extend the Dream Foundation, Inc. (Iowa City, IA)

Gilberto Sanchez Jr. Ministries (Brownsville, TX)

KWVH-LP Broadcasting with an Emergency Temporary Permit in Flooded Area in Texas

The Pacifica Network is reporting that one of its affiliate stations, Wimberley Valley Radio, received an emergency temporary permit in order to begin broadcasting over LPFM. According to Pacifica,

Over Memorial Day weekend, massive flooding devastated parts of Texas along the Blanco River, including Wimberley, Texas, where, as of June 9, nine lives have been claimed in the area, with two children still missing. Such a crisis presents the need for the transmission of reliable, current information to those undergoing the arduous recovery process. In the aftermath of the flooding, local internet station and Pacifica Affiliate Wimberley Valley Radio—who already had a construction permit and was in the process of raising capital to launch their LPFM—perceived this need. Under a temporary emergency permit issued June 5, 2015 by the FCC, the station will broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 30 days, under the call letters KWVH-LP on 94.1 FM.”

The station is still fundraising in order to get on the air permanently.

WJJA-LP License Assigned to Southeast Kentucky Eco Research

As we wrote last year, Appalachian Media Outreach was granted a new LPFM construction permit in 2014 for a station in Renfro Valley, Kentucky. At the time, it already held the license for the southern gospel and bluegrass station WJJA-LP in East Bernstadt, Kentucky, so it’s not surprising that it is now divesting that license since it cannot hold licenses for more than one LPFM.

This week, the FCC granted Appalachian Media Outreach’s application to assign WJJA-LP to Southeast Kentucky Eco Research Inc. According to its application, “Assignor is the permittee of WKUR-LP, Renfro Valley, Kentucky…A condition in the WKUR-LP construction permit is the divestiture of WJJA-LP. The proposed transaction is intended to implement that divestiture.” The new owner is taking over the license “without consideration” and plans to air programming related to water conservation as well as “coverage of local public interest events,” according to the application.

KGIA-LP License Cancelled

Grand Island Adventist Educational Radio in Grand Island, Nebraska just surrendered the license for KGIA-LP on June 4, 2015. The Christian radio station received its construction permit in 2003 and aired syndicated religious programming from the Radio 74 network.

LPFM Watch is a weekly feature on Radio Survivor appearing every Thursday.

The post LPFM Watch: Emergency Permit for LPFM in Texas Flood Area, WJJA-LP Donates License, and More News appeared first on Radio Survivor.

It’s hard to believe that some radio stations still haven’t gotten the message that the Emergency Alert System (EAS) is no joking matter. Today the FCC announced that it has fined iHeartCommunications $1,000,000 (see the order and consent decree here) after an investigation into an October, 2014 broadcast of the syndicated “The Bobby Bones Show.” According to a statement issued by the FCC today,

While commenting on an EAS test that aired during the 2014 World Series, Bobby Bones, the show’s host, broadcast an EAS tone from a recording of an earlier nationwide EAS test.  This false emergency alert was sent to more than 70 affiliated stations airing ‘The Bobby Bones Show’ and resulted in some of these stations retransmitting the tones, setting off a multi-state cascade of false EAS alerts on radios and televisions in multiple states. 

As part of the settlement, iHeart admits that its broadcasting of EAS tones during ‘The Bobby Bones Show’ violated the FCC’s EAS laws.  The company is required to pay a civil penalty of $1 million dollars and implement a comprehensive three-year compliance and reporting plan.  Additionally, they must remove or delete all simulated or actual EAS tones from the company’s audio production libraries.”

On Radio Survivor we’ve been following the flurry of enforcement actions in the past few years related to the airing of false emergency alert tones. The FCC notes that, “in the last six months, the Commission has taken five enforcement actions totaling nearly $2.5 million for misuse of EAS tones by broadcasters and cable networks.”

The FCC’s main concern is that EAS tones should only be used in the event of an actual emergency (or test) in order to maintain the effectiveness of the EAS system to warn citizens during real crises. Back in fall 2013, the FCC even issued an Enforcement Advisory about the Emergency Alert System. If you have any confusion over it, it’s worth revisiting in order to avoid a hefty fine.

The post FCC Fines iHeart $1 Million for Airing Fake Emergency Alert Tone during Bobby Bones Show appeared first on Radio Survivor.

In the days since the disastrous earthquake in Nepal amateur radio operators have been lending critical communications assistance, especially in places where power, telephone, wireless and internet service has been interrupted. Nepal has only 99 licensed amateur radio operators, which is why hams from other countries have traveled to the country to help.

The country’s government reportedly is trying to speed approval for international radio amateurs to transmit legally. Otherwise, only those working with official government rescue teams are authorized. On Monday the Computer Association of Nepal-USA called on the Nepal government to release amateur radio equipment that is currently being held in customs.

Amateur radio transceivers can operate at low power levels using gasoline generators, batteries, or even hand-cranked generators, while still broadcasting over relatively large distances. Transmitting in morse code, rather than audio, also improves power efficiency. This makes ham radio particularly well suited for emergency communications.

Nepalese and foreign operators have been maintaining both local and international lines of communication. Operators based in neighboring countries like India and China have been monitoring transmissions from Nepal and relaying messages to and from the rest of the world. Many of these are from families checking on and reporting the welfare of relatives.

Amateur radio operators coordinate through the International Amateur Radio Union and national groups which do a significant amount of advance planning for disaster response. According to the IARU one Nepalese ham has even been using the slow-scan TV protocol to send images over shortwave to relief groups.

On Sunday Greg Mossup, an Emergency Communications Coordinator with the IARU, talked with the CBC for a story on the communications situation in Nepal. He explained that radio amateurs work with government emergency services agencies to plan for critical emergency response. He also noted that the engineering expertise of hams makes them a valuable asset when working with search and rescue teams, especially with regard to repairing and restoring communications infrastructure.

Shortwave broadcasting also provides a critical lifeline to people in Nepal. The BBC World Service has expanded English and Nepalese broadcasts to Nepal and Northern India. Guam-based Christian shortwave station KTWR announced a daily 1-hour block of programming for Nepal containing, “disaster relief counseling, teaching, and music breaks.”

The post Radio Amateurs & Shortwave Broadcasters Assist Nepal Earthquake Relief appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The total number of approved lower-power FM applications inches towards 2000, with a total of 1190 issued to date. We’re still waiting for the FCC to address most of the MX groups of applicants competing for frequencies, especially in the nation’s largest urban markets.

One new construction permit issued this week goes to the Hancock County Amateur Radio Association on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, which already operates WQRZ-LP “Katrina Radio” in Bay St. Louis. However, unlike most low-power stations, this is “public safety radio service,” intended to keep the public informed during times of emergency. The new station is destined for Diamond Head, MS.

As the “Katrina Radio” moniker suggests, WQRZ played an important role when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005. It was one of just four radio stations to survive the hurricane, broadcasting vital emergency communications to the region west of New Orleans.

Based upon WQRZ’s admirable record, the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency advocated on behalf of the new application, telling the FCC that it “fully supports and welcomes” the station, in order to increase “the Service Area Coverage for the Safety of Life, Health and Property [sic].”

The post LPFM News: Nearly 2000 stations approved, “Katrina Radio” expands appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Yet again, the FCC is making a firm stance about the sanctity of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and is proposing major fines against Viacom, ESPN and NBCUniversal for recent infractions. In a Notice of Apparent Liability (PDF) sent to all three organizations, the FCC is asking for a voluntary forfeiture amount of $1,120,000 from Viacom, $530,000 from NBCUniversal and $280,000 from ESPN. In the notice the FCC states that each organization is guilty of “…transmitting or causing the transmission of EAS codes or the Attention Signal, or recordings or simulations thereof (EAS Tones), in the absence of an actual emergency or authorized test of the EAS.” Further, the FCC argues that, “Misuse of EAS Tones raises serious public safety concerns. Frivolous, casual, or other uses of EAS Tones for reasons other than their defined purpose can desensitize viewers to the tones and thereby undermine the effectiveness of the system in the event of an actual emergency.”

The infractions took place in March, 2013, when various television networks aired a commercial (specifically the “No Surrender” trailer) for the movie Olympus Has Fallen over numerous partner stations. Viewers complained that the ad contained simulated EAS tones, which were realistic enough to trick them into believing that there was an actual emergency. The FCC notice states,

The record established in these investigations demonstrates that the No Surrender Trailer included recordings of actual EAS codes and the Attention Signal, and not simulations thereof. In addition, the Commission’s review of the No Surrender Trailer provided by the Companies confirms repeated uses of the EAS codes and Attention Signal throughout the trailer, accompanied by visual text stating “THIS IS NOT A TEST” and “THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Also accompanying the EAS codes and Attention Signal in the trailer were multiple visual images of “terrorists” surrounding the White House, scenes of the White House and other Washington, D.C. landmarks engulfed in flames, and military aircraft and combat vehicles in convoys patrolling the city.

This decision by the FCC comes on the heels of its enforcement advisory (and fines levied at Turner Broadcasting and a local television station) last fall and a second Notice of Apparent Liability (with a forfeiture amount of $200,000) against Turner Broadcasting in January for similar violations related to EAS tones.

Hopefully the nearly $2 million in proposed fines will help broadcasters (including cable and satellite outlets) realize that EAS tones are never allowed in commercials and promotional announcements, even if those ads have been prepared by outside agencies. Although ultimate responsibility for content rests with broadcasters, the advertising community should also get a refresher course about the verboten status of EAS tones.

The post FCC Proposes $1.9 million+ Fines for Viacom, ESPN and NBCUniversal for Misused EAS Tones appeared first on Radio Survivor.

It’s hard to fathom the extent of the devastation in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Yolanda) last week. More than 10,000 people are presumed dead, towns are demolished, and communications systems have been disrupted due to power outages.

In light of this, I’ve been trying to get a sense of how radio might be aiding these communities. According to an Associated Press report, on Samar, “power was out and there was no cell phone signal, making communication possible only by radio.” Reports this weekend also indicated that amateur radio operators provided assistance by helping to track the storm and by spreading the word about evacuations and flooding updates. Others are banding together in order to help families reach loved ones in the Philippines by radio.

According to a post on Southgate,

“Ramon Anquilan DU1UGZ, of the Philippines Amateur Radio Association (PARA), reports that the Ham Emergency Radio Operator (HERO) has been helping authorities with their reports and messages. ‘They helped track the destructive storm, its fierce wind, rainfall, storm surges, damage, plus outages of communications and other services. HERO network stations did this through PARA using amateur radio on 7.095MHz, 144.740MHz and via social media,’ said Ramon DU1UGZ.

The storm uprooted trees and brought down many power lines. Among HERO reports was news of the official pre-emptive evacuations along exposed coastal areas in the hours before the typhoon arrived. Others were alerted about flash floods and landslides. Authorities had warned more than 12 million people were at risk. The disaster planning potentially saved many lives.”

Additionally, HAM radio operators in the region are being asked to assist families hoping to make contact with loved ones in the Philippines. The Saipan Tribune reports that the MDX Amateur Radio Club is holding a ham radio operators meeting on November 13 in order to help. The news account states,

“According to MDX board member Leo Canedo, the group’s president, Bong Malasarte, wants ham radio operators on Saipan to help those who want to communicate with their families in the Visayas area, especially Leyte.

‘As we all know, communication is still down up to now and the only means of communicating is by ham radio,’ said Canedo.

He said that MDX was able to contact the Philippine Amateur Radio Association yesterday morning and they are now establishing stations in different parts of the province.”

There have been countless examples of the importance of radio communication during and after a natural disaster and I’m sure that in the coming weeks we’ll learn about some radio heroes in the Philippines. If you know more about how radio stations and amateur radio operators in the Philippines are assisting citizens following this devastating storm, please let us know in the comments.

The post Amateur Radio Operators Assist During and After Typhoon in Philippines appeared first on Radio Survivor.

In an enforcement advisory this week, the Federal Communications Commission reminds broadcasters about the guidelines for using Emergency Alert System codes and attention signals. Prompted by complaints over the use of emergency alert tones in commercials or promotional spots on television, the FCC not only released details about recent policy violations (TBS and a Kentucky television station were cited), but also spelled out the current rules. According to the advisory:

“Any transmission, including broadcast, of the EAS Attention Signal or codes, or a simulation of them, under any circumstances other than a genuine alert or an authorized test of the EAS system violates federal law and undermines the important public safety protections the EAS provides.

There is growing concern about the misuse of the EAS tones and Attention Signal to capture audience attention during advertisements and at other times when there is no emergency or test. The FCC may issue sanctions for such violations, including monetary forfeitures.”

Within this advisory, the FCC also includes details about recent violations to the EAS policy. A Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) for Forfeiture was issued (PDF) to Turner Broadcasting in the amount of $25,000. This notice is in response to complaints that Turner utilized a “simulation of the EAS Attention Signal” as part of a promotion for the Conan O’Brien show. According to the NAL, a complaint was received about a promotional spot on TBS in 2012 that utilized “the emergency weather tones to gain attention for a commercial regarding Jack Black being on the show.”

The FCC argued in its NAL, “…it is imperative that the public not be desensitized to the serious implications of the EAS codes and Attention Signal or a simulation thereof. By including in its network programming the EAS codes and Attention Signal or simulations thereof, in non-emergency situations that are promotional or commercial in nature, Turner created a ‘cry wolf’ scenario…”

A second entity, MMK License LLC, was also found to have violated FCC policy by airing “a commercial that included an auditory signal that simulated the EAS Attention Signal” over television station WNKY in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Through a consent decree (PDF) with the FCC, MMK has agreed to pay $39,000 to “settle apparent violations” related to the airing of the ad for the Fan Wear & More Store. According to the consent decree, the FCC received a complaint alleging “that ‘The Fan Wear & More Store is running an advertisement that stops in the middle of the commercial and sounds the exact tone used for the Emergency Alert warnings.'”

These rules are in place so that listeners will take notice when an actual emergency occurs. In a statement on Tuesday, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau Acting Chief Robert H. Ratcliffe warns, “Today’s enforcement action sends a strong message: the FCC will not tolerate misuse or abuse of the Emergency Alert System…It is inexcusable to trivialize the sounds specifically used to notify viewers of the dangers of an incoming tornado or to alert them to be on the lookout for a kidnapped child, merely to advertise a talk show or a clothing store. This activity not only undermines the very purpose of a unique set of emergency alert signals, but is a clear violation of the law.”

In order to spread the word about the importance of not misusing Emergency Alert signals and tones, the FCC not only issued an advisory and press release, but also included stipulations in the MMK consent decree that the station will install new compliance procedures in order to avoid future violations. Additionally, the station will launch a public service campaign in order to inform the public about the role and proper use of the Emergency Alert System.

The post FCC Warns Broadcasters Against Misuse of Emergency Alert Tones appeared first on Radio Survivor.

DJ Phil on “Under the Dome”

I’m always thrilled to see depictions of radio DJs in popular culture and have a soft spot for horror movie story lines involving DJs in peril.

It was a happy surprise to me to spot heroic radio station personnel on the new Steven King-penned TV series “Under the Dome.”

So far, two episodes have aired, with the third episode debuting tonight on CBS. In the horror/disaster movie vein, “Under the Dome” tells the story of a town that suddenly becomes trapped under a clear dome. Luckily for the town folk, a radio station within the confines of the dome is able to communicate to citizens about the disaster.

SPOILER ALERT Warning–this post contains details from the first two episodes, so stop reading now if you don’t want to know specific plot details.

We first see independent rock radio station WYBS fifteen minutes in to the pilot episode. Following the dome’s crash on top of the town, on-air DJ Phil Bushey is shown talking on microphone saying, “Sorry for the radio silence folks, generator’s cooking and we’re up and running again.” After his microphone break, the station’s engineer Dodee Weaver comes in to the on-air studio and says, “We’re the only thing on air right now. AM, FM, anywhere… why is the whole dial still static?” Phil replies, “I don’t know, but our ratings are going to be amazing.”

Engineer Dodee listens in to communication from outside the dome

A short while later, Councilman “Big Jim” Rennie barges into the station and orders the radio station staffers to let him on the air for an emergency broadcast so that he can warn citizens to stop their vehicles immediately (so as to avoid crashing into the dome).

Although the radio station DJ and engineer still don’t know the specific details about what’s happened to the town, Dodee messes with some station equipment in order to listen in on snippets of nearby cellular and radio communication in order to piece together the source of the disaster. When the DJ says, “it sounds alien,” Dodee replies, “it sounds like Bjork.” I was charmed by her indie cred when I heard her say, “Regular receivers can’t pull a signal through whatever…has cut us off, but I once used our broadcast tower like a giant antenna to pull feedback loops for my band’s cover album…”

Although Dodee and DJ Phil overhear officials talking about a dome, they decide to only refer to it as an “invisible wall” over the air so as not to freak out listeners. When the editor of the town paper, Julia Shumway, stops by the station and finds out, she asks, “Why haven’t you told anybody?” Dodee replies, “We’re not a news station.” The journalist then forces her way on the air to alert the town about the presence of the dome. After her update, DJ Phil improvises a new station logo (and format) by saying, “WYBS, your only source for news from under the dome.”

It’s apparent from the first two episodes that the radio station will play a major role in the series, especially since tech savvy Dodee may be the only person able to listen in on outside communications.

I’m looking forward to watching future episodes, especially if there are more fun tidbits for radio insiders (like Dodee’s quip to Phil that engineers are smarter than DJs.)

The post Radio Heroes on New TV Show “Under the Dome” appeared first on Radio Survivor.

After learning about Friday’s Santa Monica College shooting, I’d wondered about the effect that the events had on the functioning of public radio station KCRW-FM, which is located on campus. Of course I hoped that everyone at the station was safe and sound, but I was also curious about how they handled being at the center of a crisis, campus lockdown, and major news story.

KCRW airs a mix of music, news, and talk programming, with a good portion of its daytime schedule devoted to syndicated NPR shows. The station also has a local news department and has a Los Angeles-oriented radio show and blog called Which Way, LA? Being that it was located at the center of a shooting and eventual campus lockdown, I was interested to learn whether or not KCRW staffers remained at the station. On Friday, KCRW posted a press release stating, “KCRW remains evacuated after the tragic events that happened today in and around the campus of Santa Monica College. Some of the shots were fired right outside our offices, and we are relieved that our staff escaped harm.” In a post today, KCRW’s Anna Scott recounts the frightening details about what happened last Friday. She writes,

“It was a little past noon on Friday. The Santa Monica shooting rampage that left six people dead had just culminated on the Santa Monica College campus, where KCRW is headquartered. Throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening station managers, producers and engineers would scramble to cover the news while being swept up into the story.”

By around 2pm, the Santa Monica police arrived at the doors of KCRW and asked the staff to evacuate the station. KCRW General Manager Jennifer Ferro said that this was the first time that the station was left unattended. In the article on the KCRW blog she’s quoted saying, “Leaving your board in master control is like giving up your radio station and we’ve never, ever done it.”

I’m sure this was a tough call. As we saw at M.I.T. station WMBR during the lockdown in Cambridge in April, station personnel take seriously their commitment to both staying on the air and staying at the station during an emergency. At the same time, it was clear that there was real danger in KCRW’s immediate vicinity. KCRW posted an audio clip of its Membership Director describing her sighting of the gunman earlier in the day. She said that when she saw a man with a gun strapped to his chest, she assumed he was a police officer.

Following the evacuation and shooting of the gunman in the campus library, KCRW staffers were eventually allowed to return to the station on Saturday afternoon. Read more about how the station was able to stay on the air (and what it broadcast) during the campus lockdown on KCRW’s Which Way, LA? blog.

The post KCRW Broadcast Intersects with Santa Monica College Shooting appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Tuesday the FCC announced procedures for obtaining waivers to permit non-commercial stations to raise money on-air for Moore, Oklahoma tornado relief efforts. Although the Commission has yet to approve rules for non-commercial stations to do on-air fundraising for third-parties, the agency has granted waivers in response to significant natural disasters. Without a waiver it is against FCC rules for non-commercial stations to use airtime to fundraise for any organization except the licensee.

The Commission has already received and granted one waiver for tornado relief. Waivers may be granted for specific fundraising programs, or for “limited station appeals which generally do not exceed several days.”

Last year the FCC proposed letting non-comms dedicate up to 88 hours a year without having to request a waiver. In comments submitted to this proceeding organizations like National Public Radio and the University Station Alliance urged the Commission not to lift the ban, arguing that it might jeopardize listener relationships or cause stations to be deluged with airtime requests from charities. Religious broadcasters, on the other hand, were more supportive of the idea.

Radio stations that want to request a waiver should email Peter Doyle
(peter.doyle@fcc.gov) and Michael Wagner (michael.wagner@fcc.gov) and provide the details of the fundraising activity, including:

a. the nature of the fundraising effort;

b. the proposed duration of the fundraising effort;

c. the organization(s) to which funds will be donated; and

d. whether the fundraiser will be part of the licensee’s regularly scheduled
pledge drive or fundraising effort.

Previously:

Is Radio Shirking its Public Service Duty During Disasters?

The post FCC announces waivers for tornado relief fundraising on non-comm stations appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Can you rely on your local radio station during a disaster

The horrific devastation in Oklahoma following yesterday’s tornado reminds me once again about the importance of terrestrial radio during disasters. Today, as I read through tornado preparedness literature, it was clear that radio communication is vital during and after severe weather events. A safety publication (PDF) from University of Oklahoma not only recommends that everyone own a battery-powered AM/FM radio in order to not only monitor weather warnings, but to also receive updates following a tornado.

I’m sure there have been some radio heroes during the storms of the past few weeks, but, sadly, there are probably instances of radio stations that were unable to provide local updates because they did not have live DJs or because they were simply unwilling or unable to handle disasters. As we’ve discussed before, fewer and fewer radio stations have a truly local presence, with many opting to air syndicated programs or automated music. Radio Survivor reader and radio veteran Bill Lundun recently wrote in to express his sadness over this state of affairs.  His comment, posted to my story about Jon Bernhardt’s 8-hour shift during the lock-down following the Boston marathon bombing, is timely in light of the events of the past 24-hours in Oklahoma. Lundun writes:

Do your local radio stations provide your community with important information in times of crisis? Can you think of instances where local DJs have presented breaking news and safety information over the air? I was pleasantly surprised last September when I heard live news coverage about wild fires on Ft. Bragg, California commercial radio station KOZT The Coast. Is this a rare occurrence or can you think of other examples? And if you are in Oklahoma this week, who were your radio heroes?

The post Is Radio Shirking its Public Service Duty During Disasters? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

I hadn’t really given much thought to how DJs in Boston coped with the the lockdown during the search for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect until I read a fascinating story about a college radio DJ at M.I.T. radio station WMBR in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jon Bernhardt, the long-time host of the Friday morning edition of “Breakfast of Champions,” ended up pulling an 8-hour shift at the station on April 19 after the DJs following him called in to say that they couldn’t make it to the station due to the lockdown in Boston.

Bernhardt was originally scheduled to do his regular 2-hour show from 8 to 10am and had planned to do a tribute to the recently deceased musician Scott Miller (Game Theory, Loud Family). As the lockdown dragged on, he decided to stay at the station as both a safety measure and as a way to provide music to WMBR listeners who might want an escape from the scary news outside their doors. Not only did he fill in for programs similar to his, but he also had to quickly select music for shows (including a jazz program) that were outside of his area of expertise. I interviewed him over email in order to get more insight into how he handled his unplanned 8-hour shift.

Jennifer Waits: How long have you been a DJ at WMBR?

Jon Bernhardt: I joined WMBR at the start of my sophomore year at M.I.T., in September 1983, hosting a call-in show called “Flame Session” as well as a late-night freeform experimental music program cleverly titled “Late Night.” I settled into my current morning rock show, “Breakfast of Champions” [BoC], in June of 1984. It airs weekdays from 8 to 10 am, with a different DJ each day. I host the Friday edition.

Waits: Tell me about the Scott Miller special. Did that go as planned?

Bernhardt: Scott Miller passed away on April 15. As my show on the 19th approached, I noticed that no one on WMBR had acknowledged it and thought it would be a good idea to rectify that situation. I selected about 35 minutes worth of his music — some “hits,” some rarities — that I intended to play during the last 40 minutes of my 2 hour program. I almost postponed the tribute, although not for the reason you might think. Each week, a different BoC DJ picks a “Band of the Week” that all the other DJs have to play at 8:30am (typically 1 to 3 songs with no repeats during the week). Late Thursday, the DJ whose turn it was, announced that his pick for the next week would be Scott Miller! I didn’t want the other DJs to think I was bogarting all the good songs a few days early, but none of them cared so I went ahead with it.

As Friday morning’s events unfolded, I *was* briefly concerned that honoring a dead California musician might be awkward given the larger local tragedy. But, in the end, I decided to just acknowledge the thorniness on the air and go forward. Postscript: by the following Friday, there were still plenty of rarities that hadn’t been played during the week, so I programmed another half hour of Miller’s music from 8:30 to 9am!

Waits: What normally happens when DJs can’t make their shifts?

Bernhardt: Typically DJs have some advance notice that they can’t make their show. In those situations, we have a listserv where substitute station members can be solicited. On the day in question, I sent an email to the list, but no one (probably wisely) wanted to leave their homes. The station’s General Manager, Elliot, who was staying at the dorm next door to the radio station and who is also another BoC host, stopped by before 8am to check in, but he told me he’d been up all night and needed to get some sleep. My choices were to continue on or turn off the transmitter.

Waits: What prompted you to stay and how long would you have stayed?

Bernhardt: I chose to stay because it seemed like the safest thing to do! Plus, my wife was insistent that I not leave the building. There’s a show change every 2 hours. I never knew for certain that the DJ for the next show wasn’t going to show up until maybe an hour before its start, but I had a strong suspicion that I’d be there for a long time. I stayed as long as I was physically able — until 4pm. At around 2:30, I gave Elliot a call and he promised to show up for the 4pm program. By then, the authorities were saying that, if you were at work, it was OK to leave and go home. So I did, although I biked home using a circuitous route. My normal path would have taken me right past the bombers’ Cambridge apartment where there was talk of “controlled detonations!”

Waits: I’m trying to remember how the lockdown worked. Could the DJs not come because of the lockdown? Were people being ordered to stay indoors?

Bernhardt: The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency was strongly recommending that people in Watertown and all its adjacent cities and towns (which includes Cambridge) “shelter in place.” You could go out — no one would stop you — but it was strongly discouraged. In fact, around lunch time, a friend who lives nearby (Mark Robinson of famed indie band Unrest, and founder of Teen Beat Records) did venture over to bring me some much needed snacks.

Waits: Is this the longest shift you’ve ever done?

Bernhardt: Back when I was an undergrad (over 27 years ago!) I remember doing a lot of air over the Christmas break, but it wasn’t consecutive — more like a few hours every day for four or five days. Since then I’ve done the occasional four hour shift, but even then, I had some warning. I’d never had to do anything close to six extra hours on the fly.

Waits: How much information did you provide over the air?

Bernhardt: From the beginning, I made a judgement call. I figured that if people wanted non-stop news, or updates every time a dog barked, they wouldn’t be listening to WMBR. If they were listening to me, it was because they wanted an escape from the 24 hour news cycle and wanted to be entertained. So I did my normal show but gave people the essential information (“Stay indoors!”) and promised to update them if there were any critical developments (there never were).

The responses I received, via phone calls, tweets, emails, IMs, etc., indicate that my instincts were correct. Not one listener response was a complaint. Instead, people cheered me on, thanked me, and called me a legend or a hero. Those last two are just a tad hyperbolic (and insulting to the real heroes!), but the support immeasurably helped me get through the day. Funnily enough, the only criticism came early on from a couple of fellow WMBR DJs who thought we should either sign off or preempt our regular programming for more news. But even they came around to my way of thinking later in the day and admitted I’d done a good thing.

Thanks to Jon Bernhardt for sharing with me all of the details of his 8-hour shift. If you want to see his playlists or listen to the show, you can do so from the WMBR website.

The post WMBR DJ’s 8-hour Radio Marathon during Boston Lockdown appeared first on Radio Survivor.

I live in San Francisco, where we have big nasty earthquakes. You may live in New York City or New Jersey or Texas, where you have truly scary hurricanes. Chances are that wherever you dwell, some planetary upheaval happens every now and then. That’s why you need an emergency AM/FM radio. The holiday season is as good a time as any to get one.

Emergency radios run on batteries and/or include a hand crank and a solar panel. That way they allow you to connect to media even when you have no electrical power. If you lose power, it’s likely that you won’t have WiFi, cable, or DSL Internet access. So an optimal way in those circumstances to get emergency information is via good old broadcast radio or TV. Your car will pick up AM/FM signals, but you don’t want to waste its battery and gas. So get yourself an emergency radio, which will also access short wave and other emergency services.

These little gadgets are quite handsome and handy, actually. My friend Bob Mason so loves his Eton Microlink Solar Powered American Red Cross stickered radio that he takes it around with him through the day:

First I started listening to baseball games. AM, KNBR radio, the San Francisco Giants games. Then the Oakland A’s started winning and I started listening them on KGMZ 95.7 FM. So on a perfect day I might get 6 hours in, though usually they overlap. The mechanics of the radio intrigue and compel me in a way that no keyboard, mouse, touch pad, swipe goober, or nostril sensor ever could. It’s just so not digital. It’s analog and mechanical – the on/off know and the tuning dial work the way such things always have. I feel the off on click, I feel good when I turn it off, that I’m ‘saving electricity’. Which is superficially silly – the electricity is negligible, and if I in fact run down the charge – which has never happened so far – I could charge it up. The tuning knob requires deft manual finger work to get some stations, and to keep certain ones audible. What I can get varies from place to place, with time of day, perhaps weather.

Other devices include the Ambient Weather WR-111A. The WR-111A includes National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service Alerts. You can learn more about NOAA Weather Radio here.

If you are looking for something architecturally adventurous, there’s the American Red Cross FRX3 Hand Turbine, which will also charge your cell phone via its hand crank mechanism. On the other hand if you are looking for something that resembles an old style transistor radio, there’s the Kaito Voyager Pro KA600. This machine has everything, including an emergency siren and a thermometer (!!).

You get the idea. If you happen to live somewhere on the planet earth, you should probably get one of these gadgets. There are plenty of others. Here are some You Tube reviews of the aforementioned.

The post Happy holidays: here’s an emergency radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Galveston Daily News is reporting that a local group, Galveston Community Radio, is calling for Cumulus to donate its silenced station KSTB 101.5 FM (Crystal Beach, Texas) to them. According to the article, “If Cumulus agreed, Galveston Community Radio would create a station offering local news, emergency information and a mix of music with broad appeal, [Operations Director Sandra] Stern said.”

As part of the group’s efforts to get on the air, they convinced the city of Galveston to pass a resolution calling for Cumulus to donate the station to the community. A portion of the resolution (PDF) states, “…the city of Galveston, Texas, hereby requests that Cumulus Media grant thoughtful consideration to the donation of KSTB (FM) licensure to GalvCom to broadcast as a nonprofit Community Radio station in service to the residents of Galveston and surrounding communities…”

Currently KSTB is off the air, largely due to damage following damage from Hurricane Ike in September 2008. The station’s most recent Notice of Suspension of Operations/Request for Silent STA was accepted for filing on October 25, 2012 and states,

“…SEVERAL YEARS AGO HURRICANE IKE DESTROYED STATION KSTB(FM)’S ANTENNA COMBINER, TRANSMITTER BUILDING AND TRANSMITTER. CUMULUS HAS RETURNED KSTB TO THE AIR ON A TEMPORARY BASIS SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE DESTRUCTION OF ITS LICENSED FACILITIES USING A TEMPORARY ANTENNA. MOST RECENTLY, CUMULUS RESUMED BROADCAST OPERTIONS OF KSTB WITH TEMPORARY FACILITIES AT VERY LOW POWER. THIS OPERATION PROVED UNSATISFACTORY AND WAS DISCONTINUED. SEE NOTIFICATION OF SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS FILED SEPTEMBER 26, 2012.

CUMULUS HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR A PERMANENT SITE FOR THIS STATION EVER SINCE HURRICANE IKE STRUCK. A SUITABLE SITE HAS PROVEN TO BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO FIND, HOWEVER, GIVEN THE VERY LIMITED AREA AVAILABLE FOR KSTB TO LOCATE. CUMULUS, NEVERTHELESS, CONTINUES TO LOOK FOR A PERMANENT LOCATION FOR THIS STATION. ACCORDINGLY, PURSUANT TO SECTION 73.1635 OF THE COMMISSION’S RULES, CUMULUS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTS AN EXTENSION OF ITS SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO ALLOW KSTB TO REMAIN SILENT WHILE IT SEARCHES FOR A PERMANENT SITE.”

According to FCC filings, the former commercial country music station KSTB initially went silent in September, 2008 after the station was “completely destroyed by Hurricane Ike.” The station’s leased transmitter building “and all of its equipment were washed away by this ferocious storm.” In the months following the storm, Cumulus told the FCC that “the Crystal Beach area was so devastated that it continues to suffer from the effects of Hurricane Ike. Re-building has been very slow, especially since the economy has taken a turn for the worst.” In 2009, KSTB managed to get on the air briefly in order to “preserve its license.” In 2010, the station was able to secure a new transmitter location in order to begin temporary broadcasts at low power, but again went off the air a short time later and has largely remained off the air ever since. Local listeners reported that during that brief return, the station aired a 1990s music format and branded itself “Energy” during on-air announcements.

Galveston Community Radio’s website states that the initial group of directors for the organization include the husband and wife team of Jerry and Sandra Stern. The website states that radio industry veteran Jerry Stern oversaw a large radio station group that merged with Clear Channel.

Galveston Community Radio is not only reaching out to Cumulus directly, but is also encouraging citizens to sign a petition and write letters to the FCC on their behalf.

The post City of Galveston Asks Cumulus to Consider Donating Silent KSTB to Community Group appeared first on Radio Survivor.

In honor of the official start of the holiday shopping season, it’s time for an update to my annual list of radio gift ideas.  If you are making your purchases online, you can help support Radio Survivor by shopping through our Amazon links. Over the years we’ve compiled various lists of recommended radio gear, accessories and books. If you need more shopping inspiration, take a look at the guides that that I put together in 2011,  2010 and 2009. Additionally, be sure to peruse Paul’s list of recommended radio gear and Matthew’s radio book recommendations. Here are our latest additions:

1. Tower Site Calendar 2013: Every year Scott Fybush offers up a new version of this calendar. Full of photographs of tower sites, it’s a must-have for tower-loving radio engineers. Pay a little extra to get the limited edition (50 copies) version, which is hand-signed and hand-numbered.

2. Radio Books: There’s never a shortage of radio books to choose from. One of my recent favorites is Community Radio in the Twenty-First Century (see my review here). This year I also picked up copies of the Images of America book Bay Area Radio and Lee de Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film as well as the new anthology Radio and Society: New Thinking for an Old Medium.

3. College and Community Radio Gear and Sounds: Many college and community radio stations offer stylish garb and interesting sounds as thank you gifts in exchange for donations. Every year I look forward to the new T-shirt designs and music compilations at KFJC (where I volunteer and DJ). This year’s girlie shirt (designed by illustrator and author Rhode Montijo) is particularly cute. KALX also has some special gear this year in honor of the station’s 50th anniversary.

In terms of music, WFMU‘s holiday music compilation, War on Christmas, is available to folks who donate to the station. You can also pick up a bar of WFMU Miracle Soap, a flexi disc, or a super fancy metal WFMU 45rpm adapter.

4. Emergency Radio: Every year there’s another reminder of why it’s so important to keep an emergency radio close at hand. This fall Hurricane Sandy pummeled the East Coast, knocking out power and leaving many residents reliant on radio for vital news and information. Prepare for future earthquakes, hurricanes, super storms, and doomsday by purchasing a hand-crank or solar-powered radio that can give you access to local AM and FM stations. One choice is the Kaito KA300 , which also includes a digital alarm clock, cell phone charger and flashlight. Another option with similar features is the Etón American Red Cross Weather Radio. Radio Survivor contributor Bob Mason also gave a glowing review of the Etón FR160R Microlink solar-powered radio.

5. Trick Out Your Smart Phone with a Radio Design: As soon as I saw this radio-themed iPhone cover, I knew I had to have it. It resembles an old transistor radio and might fool passers by into thinking that you are glued to an old radio instead of to a modern iPhone. There’s also an iPhone 5 case with a boombox radio design.

6. Radios Built in to Cooking Devices: Wow. Who knew that you could get a cool-looking retro Radio Toaster that also features a built-in FM radio? There’s also the Kalorik Barbecue Grill with Radio and iPod Connection, which has speakers and an amplifier.

7. Radio Jewelry: I’m always excited to see the range of radio jewelry available, including these Old School Retro Red Radio Cufflinks, this pink Radio Tape Recorder Necklace, and this necklace featuring a vintage radio microphone.

8. Cooler with AM/FM Radio: Perfect for the beach or for fall/winter tailgating, the Igloo Cool Fusion 40 Ice Tunes is a rolling insulated cooler with its own AM/FM radio, mp3 connection, and speakers.

Happy Shopping!

The post 2012 Holiday Gift Guide for Radio Fans appeared first on Radio Survivor.

High Winds Take Down Many Radio Stations (2008 photo of aftermath of powerful wind storm in San Francisco by J. Waits)

Since yesterday I’ve been glued to TV, Twitter, and Facebook to hear and see coverage about the effects of Hurricane Sandy as it hit land in the United States.

My thoughts go out to everyone who has suffered because of this storm. As the devastating winds hit and power went out, many radio stations were knocked off the air, including WFMU in Jersey City.

Stations on college campuses faced a dilemma when confronted with evacuation orders from university officials. And at my alma mater, Haverford College (where I remember experiencing the tail end of Hurricane Gloria in the 1980s), radio enthusiasts decided that Hurricane Sandy provided the perfect excuse to get an online radio station back up and running on campus in order to connect the community. Haverford student Karl Moll wrote:

“Dear people of Haverford: I’ve decided to jump start plans to get the radio up and running in light of the hurricane. This will be a ‘fireside chat’ forum where we can band together, get up-to-date information, listen to music, communicate with each other, and generally have some fun while we’re stuck in our rooms.”

Scott Fybush of Northeast Radio Watch has been chronicling who is off the air in light of the hurricane. This morning he wrote, “The radio dial continues to be ravaged by Sandy’s aftermath all along the coast from Delaware up to Connecticut, but nowhere more so than in the New Jersey Meadowlands, where most of the New York City AM dial is off the air.”

Providence College’s student radio station WDOM 91.3 FM actually stepped in to help Rhode Island Public Radio (RIPR) when its 88.1 FM frequency (The Wheeler School’s WELH) got reduced to half power. Today, WDOM is airing RIPR programming.

I haven’t heard much about other college radio stations in the storm-affected areas, but yesterday New York University station WNYU tweeted, “WNYU FM programming is continuing rain or shine. So bundle up, listen to some tunes, and ride out the storm on http://wnyu.org ! #Sandy”

Princeton University station WPRB tweeted yesterday morning, “Call 609.258.1033 to request your favorite hurricane-jams. On the top of our list? ‘Stormy Weather’ by Pixies! #Frakenstorm”

On Sunday, Seton Hall University radio station WSOU tweeted, “We’re officially locked in the station until the storm is over. We’ll be giving you updates on Sandy starting tomorrow morning. Stay safe!” The station in South Orange, New Jersey stated that it would providing on-air storm updates every 20 minutes.

I’d love to hear updates from college radio stations on the East Coast. Let me know in the comments some details about how you weathered the storm and if you’ve continued to broadcast live.

The post Hurricane Sandy Knocks Many East Coast Radio Stations off the Air appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Hurricane Sandy is taking its toll on community radio. This just in from WFMU in New Jersey:

Frank The Storm has taken our 91.1 fm transmitter off the air, as of Monday at 3:00pm. We’re trying to get the transmitter back up as soon as we can, but Frank knocked out all electric at the transmitter site. In the meantime, our 90.1 fm signal and all of our web streams and archives are unaffected by our problems at 91.1 fm. Thanks for the many well wishers and we hope to be providing glorious radio at 91.1 fm again soon. We’ll stay on the air as long as we can.

This indeed isn’t stopping the web stream. I’m listening to a WFMU transmission of Stephen King’s “The Mist” as I write this post. “Our Dead Air is Better Than Their Air,” the station’s web site bravely declares below this picture:

Across the Hudson River, WBAI-FM still seems to be functioning. Speaking of Halloween, here are some pretty scary pics of the Central Jersey situation.

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source: Space Environment Center Gallery of Solar Activity

This month saw an uptick in solar flares—huge Coronal Mass Ejections from our Sun that can spark gorgeous Aurora Borealis effects around the world, but also disrupt radio communications. By “radio” the experts often mean high frequency communications systems, but could broadcast radio stations be affected as well?

Well, according to the solarstorms.org site, one was disrupted on September 18, 1941, with disastrous results. In fact, the incident is known as the “Playoffs Storm,” because it took place during a home bout between Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates:

During the day, baseball fans expected to hear the entire 4:00 PM broadcast on station WUR by Red Barber. With the game tied at 0-0, the station became inaudible for 15 minutes. When it resumed, the Pirates had piled up not just one, but FOUR runs. Within minutes, thousands of Brooklyn fans had pounded the radio station, demanding an explanation for the ‘technical difficulties’, only to receive the unsatisfactory answer that the sun was to blame. The effects of the ‘sunspots’ also appeared in the by-now usual problems with transatlantic short-wave communication to Europe, which was out for most of the day.

The situation got even weirder when, the next day, station WAAT tried to broadcast some recorded Bing Crosby tunes. Suddenly what were presumably telephone conversations began interrupting the stream. The first of these chats came and went and were accepted by the station’s engineers as an unavoidable annoyance:

But a few minutes after the men’s voices ceased, a new pair of voices emerged from Crosby’s singing. This time the conversation was far from mild. The topic of their conversation, overheard by millions of listeners, was a blind date, and the discussion was rather ‘spicy’, by all accounts. Although the cross-talk lasted only a few minutes, it was enough to cause listeners to again pound the stations switchboard demanding to know why such dialog had been permitted during a family listening time.

Calling all contemporary radio station engineers: could this kind of disruption happen again? Or have broadcasters sufficiently “hardened” their networks to prevent a repeat performance? All comments welcome.

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If you are getting a jump on holiday shopping on this Cyber Monday, then it’s a perfect time to start sleuthing out radio-related gifts for your friends and family. While you’re at it, you can also help support Radio Survivor by shopping through our Amazon links. Since radio gifts never go out of style, you can take a look at the guides that we put together in 2010 and 2009. Here are our latest additions:

1. 2012 Tower Site Calendar: Call it porn for the radio geek in your life. Scott Fybush’s latest calendar features images of transmitter sites from all over North America.

2. Radio Jewelry: There are a variety of choices, including a silver vintage radio charm, microphone cufflinks, and HAM radio cufflinks.

3. Radio Lit: If you want to find some radio literature, there are some great options, including Michael Keith’s tome The Radio Station, Eighth Edition: Broadcast, Satellite and Internet. For tinkerers, there’s 22 Radio and Receiver Projects for the Evil Genius.

4. A Kids’ Clock Radio: I think it’s important to get kids listening to radio early, so this LEGO Alarm Clock Radio is a no-brainer for Lego-obsessed school kids. If you have a girly girl on your gift list, the Lego radio also comes in pink and there are also a number of sweet Hello Kitty clock radios and boomboxes.

5. Stylish Gear and Underground Sounds from Your Favorite Non-Commercial Radio Station: Some of the best radio-themed apparel can be found by perusing the webstores of your favorite local college and community radio stations. KCSB at UC Santa Barbara is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and they have a special commemorative T-shirt. I’m also quite fond of the new KFJC girlie T-shirt featuring a retro cat eyeing a fish bowl record player. Non-commercial stations are also a great source for intriguing music compilations, including KDVS’s new cassette-of-the-month club subscription, featuring both musicians from the Davis/Sacramento area as well as “out of town” artists.

6. Emergency Radio to Keep You Informed During a Disaster: It’s becoming increasingly clear that terrestrial radio is a vital source for information during a natural disaster. Heroic stations have guided citizens safely through emergencies when their communities have been hit by earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Hand-crank radios, solar-powered radios, and weather radios are good tools to have in your emergency kit. One option is a Solar-Powered Radio and Cell Phone Charger, another is the Voyager Solar/Dynamo Emergency Radio, which also includes shortwave and weather radio options. There’s even a shower radio that has a built-in weather radio in case you want to keep apprised while lathering up.

7. A modern clock radio: There are all sorts of clock radios that combine features from both smart phones and the classic AM/FM radio technology. Try the Dual Alarm Clock Radio for iPhone/iPod with AM/FM presets.

8. Build Your Own Radio Kit: Every self-respecting electronics nerd built their own radio back in the day. Share this tradition with your favorite youngster. One DIY kit is the Snap Circuits FM Radio.

9. Cool Tabletop Radio: There are some beautiful tabletop radios out there, including some that are focused on AM/FM radio (like this Crosley Solo Radio), satellite radio, and Internet Radio.

10. Radio Movies: I’m a big fan of “djs in peril” films and one of the best is Play Misty for Me. If you want something nostalgic, there’s Radio Days and if you want something educational, there’s the Ken Burn’s documentary Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio.

If you need more tips, take a look at our previous posts:

Paul’s Recommended Radios for Holiday Gifty Time

2010 Holiday Gift Guide for Radio Fans

Top Holiday Gifts for Radio Lovers

The post 2011 Holiday Gift Guide for Radio Fans appeared first on Radio Survivor.

EAS at KFJC

Here in Wisconsin, radio stations broadcast 30 seconds of garbled audio that effectively degenerated into static. Similar results have been reported in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Rhode Island, and Kentucky. In parts of California and South Carolina, the EAS message was apparently cued more than once, leading to a loop/echo effect.

In parts of Texas and Ohio, there was simply silence between the alert and end-of-message tones. Elsewhere in Texas, as well as in parts of Oregon, Alabama, Connecticut and Georgia, broadcasters never got the alert at all.

David Oxenford at the Broadcast Law Blog notes that the FCC will be relying upon stations’ reports to help diagnose and resolve these problems. He emphasizes that,

the FCC stated that it was not intending that the reporting system be a way to punish stations whose facilities did not receive or transmit the test, but instead to be a diagnostic tool to determine whether or not the system worked. So the failure to file the forms to report on the success of the test on your stations is much more likely to bring an FCC enforcement action against your station than is reporting that, for one reason or another, the test did not work.

The EAS system is essentially a daisy-chain, where one station’s alert signal triggers a receiver at another station, which can, in turn, trigger another one. Not every station’s alert is set to trigger another one in the chain. In general, bigger, more powerful stations are responsible for alerting less powerful ones. Given such a set up, it’s easy to see how just some interference, reception problems or other minor glitches can have a ripple effect. One station’s misfire can cause a whole area to go unalerted.

It will be interesting learn what the specific diagnoses of many of the problems were, and how they might be resolved. We should be hearing from the FCC on this issue in the coming months.

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At 2 PM Eastern time this afternoon some percentage of US radio listeners and television viewers heard or saw the national EAS test. I was in the main studio of Northwestern University’s WNUR-FM (where I serve as advisor), and waited patiently for our EAS unit to receive the signal from WBBM-AM, triggering the alert to go out over our station at about 1:02 PM Central.

Damon Penn, a senior official with FEMA and Jamie Barnett, a senior official with the FCC released a joint statement about the test this afternoon, indicating that it was successful some places, not so successful other places. No stats have been released yet, so here’s what the FCC and FEMA say:

“The Nationwide EAS Test served the purpose for which it was intended – to identify gaps and generate a comprehensive set of data to help strengthen our ability to communicate during real emergencies. Based on preliminary data, media outlets in large portions of the country successfully received the test message, but wasn’t received by some viewers or listeners. We are currently in the process of collecting and analyzing data, and will reach a conclusion when that process is complete.”

The Commission does say that over 30,000 broadcasters and communication service providers participated in the test, so there is quite a bit of data to crunch. These participants will be sending their feedback to the FCC over the next few weeks.

Although it represented a bit of an inconvenience to broadcasters, I think the test was a good idea, since nothing of the sort has been performed since the modern EAS system went online fifteen years ago.

Providing vital information during national disasters and other emergencies in a crucial role for our broadcast media, especially radio. It is important that stations be able to quickly transmit emergency communications, and I hope that this national test provides guidance for clearing up any gaps in service.

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Here’s some interesting fare for discussion as the Federal Communications Commission prepares to test its Emergency Alert System on Wednesday.  Radio stations in big markets know that they’re responsible for disaster assistance, a new study observes, but are sometimes reluctant to coordinate with public officials. They may also assume that neighboring stations serving smaller areas will carry the emergency information load.

Those are some of the conclusions of a survey of radio stations published by the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management.

Radio outlets that “reach the greatest number of people may be both unwilling and unable to effectively communicate with the public during times of crisis and disaster,” the five scholar research paper warns.

We’ve noticed this ourselves, most famously when a Clear Channel station in Grand Rapids, MI threw its 2009 Concert Bash near the Grand Rapids River, apparently oblivious to flash flood warnings issued by the National Weather Service.

We know what to do (sometimes)

The document is titled “Serving the Public Interest in a Crisis: Does Local Radio Meet the Public Interest?” Its research touches on many studies, but primarily two. The main survey focused on 124 radio stations that broadcast to flooded counties in the Midwest along the Mississippi river. In the Spring of 2008, thunderstorms hit these areas, resulting in floods that caused over a dozen deaths and an estimated $21 billion in property damage.

Sent a questionnaire by the scholars, 67.2 percent of participating stations strongly agreed with the assertion that they were “prepared to cover the flooding.” 78.7 percent asserted that they “knew what to do in the event of severe weather.” Less (44 percent) agreed that they had “received adequate training.”

But: “Market size reveals that stations in larger markets along the Mississippi River were less likely to have previously covered flooding in the region, but were also more likely to have participated in some type of disaster drill or training,” the study adds. “Thus, larger stations had more training and resources to cover a crisis event, but were less likely to have actually provided coverage once a crisis took place.”

Some other station

These replies dovetail with a national survey published in 2009 which indicated that two thirds of sampled radio stations admitted that they had participated in no local emergency drills. “In the same study, a little over half reported that they had no staff trained in reporting on biological or radiological terrorist events, and 78% reported that they had not participated in any training related to the handling of these types of emergencies,” the paper notes.

Why do bigger market stations appear to be less committed to emergency coverage? Here’s what the quintet of researchers think:

There may be several reasons as to why larger market stations are less willing to respond to a crisis, despite having more training and resources. It may be the case that personnel in larger markets carry the belief that some other station will choose to respond to that crisis, simply given the number of stations in the market. Further, stations in larger markets may experience more competition, and may therefore be less likely to place importance on disaster preparation, believing that the station has talented enough staff to handle literally any occurrence. It may also be the case that larger market stations do not see emergency response or preparation as part of their mission.

If you want to read the whole paper, it’s available at the publisher’s site, or you can request a copy from one of the authors, Patric J. Spence, here.

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EAS at KFJC

The first national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) will take place next Wednesday, November 9th at 11am Pacific time. According to a letter issued by the FCC today:

“The test will occur simultaneously across the United States and the U.S. territories and will last approximately 30 seconds, after which regular programming will resume. The test will appear on all broadcast radio and television stations, cable television systems, satellite radio and television systems, and wireline video service systems. The test will not involve landline or mobile phones or other infrastructure such as power grids.

The various disasters our country has faced this year underscore the need for effective and well-tested emergency alert and warning systems that could be used in a time of real national emergency, at a moment’s notice. Now, with the test less than a week away, we ask that you join us in efforts to educate your entire community about this important event.

Although the Emergency Alert System and its predecessors have been in existence for more than 50 years and are often tested at the local level, there has never been a nationwide test of these capabilities. The purpose of the test is to allow FEMA and the FCC to assess how well the Emergency Alert System would perform its primary function: alerting the public about a national emergency.”

Additionally, the FCC also released an EAS handbook (PDF) today for all participating stations to use during the National Test next week. This handbook must be posted at all EAS equipment locations. Participating stations should make sure that they understand all of the requirements for the National Test and listeners and viewers should also be aware that they will hear a short disruption in programming across all stations on Wednesday.

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Community Radio Station KZYX in Philo, CA (Photo: J. Waits)

It’s really no surprise to Radio Survivor readers that terrestrial radio is vital during an emergency. We’ve seen some amazing stories about how stations have stepped up to provide needed information and help after disasters around the world, such as in the wake of recent tornados in Joplin and Tuscaloosa and after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Hurricane Irene was another reminder that having a transistor radio close by can be a vital survival tool.

WDEV in Vermont was one such station that assisted residents during the flooding following Hurricane Irene. In an article on Boston.com, David Goodman describes how the national media pronounced the hurricane danger over, while Vermont faced horrific flooding. He explains that independent, local radio told a different story:

“WDEV, an 80-year-old family-owned independent radio station that serves the northern half of the state with local news, music, and Red Sox games, opened its phone lines and hearts to worried residents who told each other in real time what was happening around them…

WDEV staffer Tom Beardsley ventured outside the studio at 10 p.m. to find an elderly woman on Main Street in Waterbury struggling through flood waters to escape her home. ‘If there are emergency personnel in the area, we could use your help here right now,’ he said urgently, finally signing off so that he could offer a hand himself.

All the while, WDEV was coping with its own disasters: flood waters were rising around its Waterbury studio, and the station had lost power and Internet communications. The radio station was kept alive by generators — and listeners. News director Eric Michaels gave out his personal cell phone number and urged listeners to call or text in information about where help was needed and how Vermonters were coping. Michaels, Beardsley, reporter Lee Kittell, station owner Ken Squier and meteorologist Roger Hill pre-empted regular broadcasting and stayed on the air for 24 crucial hours.”

Another independent, local radio station, WRIP in the Catskills also pre-empted programming to provide help to listeners in the flooded region near its New York studios. DJ Big Jay Fink staffed the booth at the local radio station, assisting callers in search of help:

“For days Mr. Fink, who was soon joined by his colleague Joe Loverro, played matchmaker, soothing stranded residents, taking down numbers to relay to rescue workers and passing on information about makeshift shelters and closed roads. The two personalities and other WRIP employees guided listeners through the arrival of the National Guard, carrying emergency supplies, to towns like Prattsville, and kept people apprised of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s trip on Wednesday to that community, which was devastated by the storm.

People listened, first from radios powered by batteries or generators, and later from their cars as they drove around to survey the damage, which may top $1 billion in New York alone, Mr. Cuomo has estimated.”

These stories out of New York and Vermont provide yet another reason to cherish local, independent radio. Do you know of other post-Irene radio heroes?

The post Could a Community Radio Station Save Your Life? Hurricane Irene’s Radio Heroes appeared first on Radio Survivor.

FCC Chairman Julius Genchowski held a press briefing this afternoon to give an update on communications infrastructure after Hurricane Irene battered much of the East Coast. The good news is that while some cable systems, wireless and wireline providers are out of service, Genachowski says, “there hasn’t been major damage to our communications infrastructure.” He also reports that “broadcast and radio are largely unaffected.”

I have family in Northern New Jersey who I checked in with yesterday and today. They saw a lot of wind and rain, and were certainly glad that they could rely on local television coverage all night long. They also said that their weather radio reliably went off regularly throughout the night as the Weather Service issued alerts.

Even though Irene’s impact wasn’t as severe as many feared, there still was a lot of damage, and some people were injured or lost their lives. Our condolences go out to those who lost loved ones during the storm.

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NWS radar image of Hurricane Irene at 5:08 PM EDT, Aug. 27

The Federal Communications Commission activated the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) yesterday. Currently the system is focused on coastal North Caroline where Hurricane Irene has recently made landfall.

DIRS provides communication providers a way to inform the Commission of their operational status during emergencies. Broadcasters, wireless providers, cable companies and other communications providers may voluntarily let the FCC know if they’re operational, and under what conditions, such as if they are on backup power. The primary reporting channel is the FCC’s DIRS website, however the Commission has also provided phone contacts in the event that a provider lacks internet access during a crisis.

The Commission promises help for broadcasters who voluntarily participated in the DIRS program, including assistance to restore operations. The purpose of this assistance is to maintain this vital conduit of emergency information to the general public. The Commission also consolidates status reporting to other government agencies, so that stations aren’t trying to deal with multiple requests for the status of their broadcasts. The logistical assistance includes helping to “coordinate actions with and between other private sector communications companies, and local businesses (e.g., home supply companies, fuel fleet carriers, etc.) to determine who can provide the needed assistance.”

The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has a Hurricane Information page, which contains the communication tips that Matthew posted about earlier today.

A tip of the hat goes to Jim Ellinger of Austin Airwaves who posted some info about DIRS to the Radio Survivor facebook page.

The post FCC actively monitoring & assisting radio and communications infrastructure providers during Hurricane Irene appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Hurricane Irene on Aug. 24

The Federal Communications Commission has issued a guide for how to stay in communication with others if you live in a Hurricane Irene affected area. It’s definitely worth a read, although I wouldn’t have put “Tune-in to broadcast and radio news for important news alerts” all the way at the bottom of the list.

Here are the first five tips. The rest are posted here.

1. Limit non-emergency phone calls. This will minimize network congestion, free up “space” on the network for emergency communications and conserve battery power if you are using a wireless phone;

2. Keep all phone calls brief. If you need to use a phone, try to use it only to convey vital information to emergency personnel and/or family;

3. Try text messaging, also known as short messaging service (SMS) when using your wireless phone. In many cases text messages will go through when your call may not. It will also help free up more “space” for emergency communications on the telephone network;

4. If possible try a variety of communications services if you are unsuccessful in getting through with one. For example, if you are unsuccessful in getting through on your wireless phone, try a messaging capability like text messaging or email. Alternatively, try a landline phone if one is available. This will help spread the communications demand over multiple networks and should reduce overall congestion;

5. Wait 10 seconds before redialing a call. On many wireless handsets, to re-dial a number, you simply push “send” after you’ve ended a call to redial the previous number. If you do this too quickly, the data from the handset to the cell sites do not have enough time to clear before you’ve resent the same data. This contributes to a clogged network;

The post Twelve communications tips for getting through Hurricane Irene appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Hurricane Irene on Aug. 24

I was listening to NPR this morning as I got ready for work and during the headlines at the top of the hour heard a short story about communities preparing for Hurricane Irene. It featured a quick actuality from a sheriff in South Carolina saying that a battery operated radio will be a vital tool to stay informed when Irene’s force hits. To me that advice sounds obvious, and not just because I’m such a radio enthusiast. Growing up on the East Coast it seems like I always heard about having a radio and plenty of batteries on hand whenever a severe storm threatened. As well, when I moved to the Midwest in the 1990s having a portable radio with fresh batteries on hand was advised to be ready for a tornado.

However, now that we rely so heavily on cell phones and other networked devices it’s easy to forget that they’re much more susceptible to failure during power outages brought on by natural disasters. Even if your mobile phone still has battery life, the closest cell tower might not. No power in the house probably means no power for your cable modem or wireless router, either. Of course, radio transmitters also require power, but many broadcasters maintain backup generators so that they can remain on air during blackouts and emergencies.

Unlike other natural disasters, a hurricane can be predicted days before it hits, giving responsible broadcasters an opportunity to prepare. The radio industry site All Access talked to several stations along the coast about their plans. One station group in Norfolk Beach, VA said it is sure to have accommodations for staff and their families so they can remain working on-air. Another station in South Carolina said that it’s prepared to “all hands on deck 24/7,” along with airing simulcasts from an affiliated TV station. Going “24/7” is now exceptional for the majority of commercial stations, since most are automated at least part of the day, especially overnights.

Even if not every radio station is able to remain on air during a severe storm, the odds are high that at least one will keep broadcasting. Very powerful stations further inland with broadcast ranges of 100 miles or more can provide vital emergency info to coastal areas that are harder hit.

Luckily a perfectly capable portable AM/FM radio that runs on inexpensive AA batteries can still be had for under $20 at discount and department stores, as well as major drug store chains. It’s an even better idea to buy one of the emergency radios that can be powered by a crank or solar energy. Then you can stay reliably tuned in even if you run out of batteries.

Outside the broadcast band, for nearly a century amateur radio operators have provided vital assistance to communities and civil authorities during disasters. A Wall Street Journal story notes that, “Maine has squads of amateur-radio clubs statewide ready to provide back-up communication if cell towers topple.”

Since 1965 the Hurricane Watch Net has organized radio amateurs to operate and provide communication lines during every hurricane that threatens land in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Participating HWN operators transmit and relay information on 14.325 MHz, asking other operators not to use that frequency when an alert is activated. In particular HWN provides important weather info, like local wind speed, to the National Hurricane Center, which monitors that frequency.

Fundamentally, radio is a comparatively inexpensive, robust and proven communications technology. Having internet and digital mobile communications will undoubtedly provide great assistance to first responders and average people during this hurricane. But when the power is out for more than a few hours that radio will provide important communication and solace. When wired lines are cut by falling trees, wireless radio communications will still transmit through the air. I’m certainly glad that radio is still a viable, living technology.

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Signage at KEAR-AM in Oakland (Photo: J. Waits)

Time and time again we are reminded of the vital importance of terrestrial radio following a natural disaster. Just this week, six commercial radio stations in Joplin, Missouri have stepped up following the horrific tornado there.

As was the case after the recent tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and after the hurricane in Haiti; radio has become one of the primary methods of communicating news both before and after the storm. Zimmer Radio, Inc., which owns six commercial radio stations in Joplin, began non-stop coverage of the impending tornado beginning an hour and a half before it hit town on Sunday. As residents lost electricity and Internet access, listening to terrestrial radio became the main way to keep in touch with news about the storm. According to a CNN article:

“KZRG, part of Zimmer Operations’ six radio stations — two that are news and four, music — began its wall-to-wall coverage an hour and a half before the tornado twisted through town Sunday. It hasn’t stopped. For the first 24 hours, there was no electricity. Both cell phones and land lines were out, as was Internet service. All that people in Joplin had were battery-powered transistors.

The tornado missed the station building by a few blocks. So Zimmer Programming Manager Chad Elliot’s staff cranked up the generators and turned off the music. They even canceled the commercials. All they did was provide vital information to people who had lost everything.

Elliot said it was the first time the stations had stopped all else to provide 24/7 information, though he had learned the power of radio two years ago during a jumbo ice storm. ‘We’ve had this situation before, when radio becomes the only way of communication,’ he said. Immediately after Sunday’s killer tornado, Elliot said emergency crews drove to the station to provide information for broadcast. The station began telling people where to go for medical help. Or what number to dial for information about the missing. Or where they could buy gas or where there was still a Walmart standing.”

In addition to sending information out to listeners, the stations in Joplin also served as clearinghouses for callers offering aid or requesting assistance. According to a piece in the Los Angeles Times:

“The stations, based in a one-story building in Joplin, have transformed their staffs into impromptu public health experts and unofficial public information officers, consolidating multiple broadcasts into a single feed of nonstop disaster coverage under the call letters KZRG.

Classic-rock jocks and news talk-show hosts have become on-air first responders.

‘All of a sudden, it turned into people looking for loved ones,’ said [radio host Rob] Meyer, assistant operations manager. ‘ And we just let it grow.’

On late Tuesday night and early Wednesday, questions on the show focused on logistics. Where do I get a permit to enter damaged areas? How do I make a FEMA claim? Callers also passed along the latest survivor tips or staked righteous attempts at fighting misinformation, including one woman who called to say that she and her family were not dead — as had apparently been rumored on Facebook.

Spontaneous charity was rampant. A McDonald’s employee called host Randy Brooks, 40, to take an on-air order: three Quarter Pounders for the hosts and a Happy Meal for Brooks’ daughter. Another caller offered to bring clothes.”

Again, it’s important to realize the areas in which terrestrial radio excels and the key role that it can and should play in its local community. Every time there’s an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, or similar disaster and local radio heroically responds; we should all stop and pause and think about who will help save us in our own home towns. It’s yet another reason why we should vehemently protest when local stations are targets for takeover by out-of-town conglomerates, as I’m not sure that a voice-tracked DJ or a satellite-fed signal from across the country will be able to help when a tragedy hits in my back yard.

The post Radio Comes to the Rescue after Joplin Tornado appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Radio is Your Best Friend in a Disaster (Photo J. Waits)

On April 27, a massive tornado hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama, devastating entire neighborhoods. Parts of the city’s basic infrastructure were damaged and power outages were rampant. As was the case following natural disasters in other parts of the world (such as the earthquake in Haiti), radio has been a lifeline for residents of Tuscaloosa.

WVUA-FM at University of Alabama was knocked off the air for nearly two days, but when they resumed broadcasts, they worked to provide information for residents. WVUA has an entire section of their website devoted to news about Tornado 2011, with information on both how to help and details about receiving aid. An article in the Crimson White stated that,

“The station went back on-air Friday [April 30] at 12:30 p.m. with the goal of using their medium to inform the community of volunteer efforts, donation locations and any other information related to the tornado relief effort.

‘We feel that the radio is a powerful tool in times like these to get information out quickly and effectively,’ WVUA-FM station manager Chris Dodson said. ‘The unique aspect of our situation is that we are airing both on the Internet and the radio so that our message is able to reach those who may not have the sources to listen on the Internet.’

Dodson said that WVUA-FM is using social media, including both Facebook and Twitter to pass along information as well.”

Beyond the role of college radio in the aftermath of the tornado, commercial stations have also pitched in. An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by University of Alabama professor David Beito explains the major role that the four local Clear Channel stations (WACT-AM, WRTR-FM, WTXT-FM and WZBQ-FM) have played in helping connect residents with assistance:

“Other than churches, much of the strength of Tuscaloosa’s extensive mutual aid comes from an unlikely source: right wing talk radio. The four Tuscaloosa Clear Channel stations have pre-empted their normal fare of Rush, Hannity and top 40 songs to serve as a relief clearinghouse through simulcasts. Gigi South, the local market manager for Tuscaloosa Clear Channel, says that it was her decision to begin the simulcasts.

It was hard to do otherwise. Employees saw demolished neighborhoods outside their windows and the desperate calls for help came in almost immediately. Because many residents lost power and were unable charge cell phones, battery-operated and car radios often became their only form of communication.

These stations have only 12 full-time employees among them, but they’ve have had a vast impact. The on-air jocks have taken on grueling shifts, sometimes working 10 hours straight.

The goal of the simulcasts is simple: Connect givers and victims and allow them to exchange information. According to Ms. South, ‘this whole thing has been about connecting listener to listener. They are the ones doing this. We’re just the conduit.'”

The article explains that listeners have dropped off items at radio stations in order to help people who are in need. Listeners call in to explain what type of help or item is needed and then others in the area have risen to the challenge and will show up where the help had been requested. According to the piece,

“In one particularly moving case, a worn-out relief coordinator for an outlying trailer park broadcast a desperate appeal. She had been cooking meals for several undocumented Hispanics living in tents who were afraid to go to the authorities. She was heartbroken because she wanted to visit her mother in Mississippi who had suffered a stroke, but she feared leaving her neighbors unaided.

Within minutes, two nurses, translators, and other volunteers were on the scene. The simulcast now includes brief Spanish language announcements. And listeners, even if they are normally angered about illegal immigration, show no hesitation in lending a hand in such cases.”

In addition to on-air appeals for help, the stations have been using their websites and social media tools like Twitter and Facebook to send out calls for assistance. As recently as today, Talk Radio 105.9 posted a number of ways to help on their Facebook page, including news about a blood drive as well as requests for Diesel fuel, non-perishable food items, and volunteers. Listeners can also post requests to the station’s Facebook wall.

What’s happening over Tuscaloosa airwaves is an amazing representation of how both old and new media can be activated in times of crisis and it’s also a crucial reminder of local, terrestrial radio’s continuing importance, especially when an emergency strikes.

The post Radio Heroes in Tuscaloosa Aid Tornado Survivors appeared first on Radio Survivor.

“The Commission generally prohibits noncommercial educational stations from engaging in on-air fundraising activities on behalf of any entity other than the station itself…The Commission, however, has granted rule waivers for fundraising appeals to support relief efforts following disasters of particular uniqueness or magnitude, such as Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, the January 2005 tsunami in Southeast Asia and the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. These waivers have been issued for a specific fundraising program or programs, or for sustained station appeals for periods which generally do not exceed several days.

Should a licensee wish to solicit contributions from viewers or listeners for relief efforts in light of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, it may file an informal request for a Section 73.503(d) or 73.621(e) waiver, whichever is appropriate…”

Specifically, if a station is seeking a waiver in order to fundraise for Japan relief, they need to send a request by email. Contact information is available here (PDF). It’s also important that stations provide specific details about the nature and duration of the proposed on-air fundraiser, as well as the name of the organization that the money will be solicited for.

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When the Egyptian government shut down internet access over a week ago in order to compromise the opposition movement’s ability to communicate there were several press reports that ham radio operators were stepping in to fill the information void. On the surface it seems a very credible story. Amateur radio operators have stepped in to assist with most major natural disasters, providing a communications lifeline with phone, cell and internet lines are down. But things get a little murkier when the circumstances are a political, rather than natural, emergency. Furthermore, while ham radio has a strong history in much of the West, it is not necessarily so pervasive in all nations.

The Amateur Radio Newsline decided to investigate the claim of ham action in Egypt, and fails to find evidence to support it. First off, reporter Norm Seeley, KI7UP, notes that none of the reception reports of Egyptian hams have been attributed to a named licensed amateur operator with a call sign. Moreover, Seeley says that technically skilled hams in nearby countries like Israel would certainly be filing reception reports if there were transmissions from the Egyptian opposition, but none have surfaced.

Finally, Seeley reports that there are only about two dozen amateur radio operators licensed by the Egyptian government. While it is certainly plausible that there are unlicensed transceivers in the country, Seeley posits that someone familiar with shortwave would be associated with the military and therefore not necessarily sympathetic to the opposition, and also aware of the risks involved in being detected.

On the broadcast bands it is also true that we’ve seen unlicensed broadcasters take to the air during both natural disasters and political crises. So one might also wonder if there are any unlicensed broadcasts supporting the opposition in Egypt.

At this point there is just one report of any kind of unlicensed radio activity in Egypt, coming from a report by the Russian Federation state news agency RIA Novosti. An article dated Friday says that the opposition movement has started a single-sheet newspaper called Maidan Tahrir and is setting up a radio station.

I must admit that I do not know enough about RIA Novosti to critically evaluate the quality of its reportage. Furthermore, I know nothing about Egyptian broadcast regulation. In particular, given the Egyptian army’s strong role in national affairs, I don’t know if it would involve itself in shutting down unlicensed stations, regardless of their political persuasion.

As a believer in the power of radio to help mobilize in times of crisis, it would be romantic to think hams or unlicensed broadcasters were stepping up to support democracy in Egypt. However, it may also be true that doing so may be riskier than other types of action.

At this point, especially as the opposition enters talks with the government, I think the best we can say about whether radio has been employed by the opposition is, “maybe.” I’ll stay on the lookout for additional reports, and we would certainly appreciate any tips our intrepid readers can pass along.

The post What is the role of radio in the Egyptian uprising? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Power of Radio in Haiti

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, which killed over 200,000 people and left a million homeless. At the time of the quake it became clear that radio was a vital resource for Haitian citizens, as it was often the communication tool used to find survivors and to disseminate information about emergency services. A new report, “Media, Information Systems, and Communities: Lessons from Haiti,” takes a look at the communication tools used during this crisis and offers specific recommendations for how both new and old technologies can be used in future emergencies.

I wasn’t surprised to see that in the list of recommendations provided in the full report (PDF), there’s a strong argument for the ongoing importance of radio. The report recommends that:

“The media development community should prioritize restoring local radio’s broadcast capacity and ensure that local media are given support to adequately respond in a crisis. As new platforms and technologies expand and are tested, it should not be forgotten that local radio still stands as a primary source of information for the overwhelming majority of the world’s population.”

When looking at the specific example of Haiti, the report is clear that radio was a crucial piece of the emergency response after the earthquake last year:

“Radio is Haiti’s dominant medium. Access to radio can be shared easily and relatively cheaply among many people, and serves both literate and illiterate populations. According to the CIA World Factbook, Haiti has over 250 commercial and community radio stations; a 2009 Voice of America survey describes radio receiver ownership as virtually universal. These factors made radio the undisputed lifeline for the Haitian public after the earthquake.”

It goes on to explain the impact of the quake on Haitian radio stations, with most stations’ broadcasts disrupted by the disaster. Signal FM stayed on the air “broadcasting to an audience of nearly three million throughout the crisis” and went beyond the typical expectations of a local radio station:

“Station owner Mario Viau was later honored by the National Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation, which lauded Signal FM as a vital source of information for the millions of Haitians who had no access to fuel, electricity or telephone service immediately following the earthquake. ‘Its round-the-clock coverage helped locate missing people, spread news to families searching for lost loved ones and delivered messages to Haitians across Port-au-Prince regarding available water resources and hospital information. It also helped save the lives of numerous Haitians by providing reports to rescue teams describing where immediate aid was needed.'”

The report also points out that when other Haitian radio stations did get back on the air “they joined Signal FM in opening their microphones to Haitian citizens.” Stations also incorporated newer technologies, such as texting and Twitter to spread messages to their wired listeners. Beyond the work of local stations, Internews distributed donated radios and produced the radio show “News You Can Use,” focused on sharing emergency response information. “The show began on 11 stations able to broadcast at the time and reported critical information about water distribution points, the status of displaced persons camps and public health advisories.” Eventually that show aired on 27 different radio stations.

Additionally, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) worked to help broadcasters in Haiti by helping with resources and by reaching out to “community broadcasters to support the international relief effort by organizing airtime appeals and other activities, and to provide direct assistance (including donated equipment and funding) to community broadcasters affected by the earthquake.” And, indeed, it was encouraging to see that in the United States the FCC opted to allow non-commercial broadcasters the opportunity to raise money for Haitian quake relief and that many of those stations, such as KPFA, brought in a substantial amount of cash for to aid victims of the natural disaster.

Amid the horrific circumstances in Haiti following the earthquake, it’s gratifying to see that the worldwide radio community pulled together to facilitate communication among Haitian citizens and between victims and relief organizations. And, it’s a great reminder of the continuing power of radio.

The post Haiti Quake Report Cites Radio as the “Undisputed Lifeline for the Haitian Public” appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti are a strong reminder about the importance of radio as a communications tool, especially in times of disaster. Haitian radio stations have served to help with rescue efforts and shortwave radio operators in Chile were also instrumental in transmitting tsunami updates and emergency communications.

Along these lines, the organization Interactive Radio for Justice (IRfJ) has been creating radio programs in war-torn regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic in order to help provide information to citizens about their basic human rights. Utilizing local community and Catholic radio stations as their outlets, representatives from Interactive Radio for Justice have created several series of “interactive” radio programs in which listeners can hear citizens asking pressing questions about their legal rights, which are then answered by government officials over the air.

In parts of the world where television, the Internet, and print media are not commonplace, but radios are in nearly every home; radio broadcasts can become a vital educational tool.

Recently I interviewed Wanda Hall, Founder and Director of Interactive Radio for Justice, in order to hear from her the reasons why radio is such a critical tool in her work.

The project began in 2005 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with one of the main goals being to “create interactive conversation” between citizens and legal officials. The focus have been on regions where The International Criminal Court has been investigating serious crimes such as genocide and war crimes and the radio programs attempt to begin a dialog in order to educate communities about the justice system.

Luckily for IRFJ, the DRC had an established culture of community radio that could be tapped into for the project. In 2008 they also began work in the Central African Republic where “local radio is not as obvious a tool” according to Wanda. She said that because of this, they have teamed up with religious radio stations affiliated with the Catholic church.

In addition to producing programming, IRFJ also works to provide radios to members of the local communities in order to set up “listening groups.” That way, even if residents don’t have access to a radio, they can go to someone’s home to hear the programming. Group leaders are given radios and they establish a specific time each week that they will open their home to their neighbors in order to listen to IRfJ programming. Wanda told me that in these communities the cost of a radio may be equivalent to a month’s salary, so it’s not unreasonable to expect that it’s a luxury item for many people.

For residents in these regions with low rates of literacy and a strong oral tradition, radios provide the main source for news. Additionally, Wanda mentioned to me that newspapers aren’t as popular and printing presses “ground to a halt” during wartime. She added that it’s a “musical society…and so radio is effective…word of mouth is effective as well.” She pointed out that even though there are Internet cafes, “you simply don’t have electricity in these places” and “there’s not enough bandwidth to surf the Internet.”

In the U.S. it’s easy to take for granted the easy access that we have to newspapers, the Internet, and television for news and information. Wanda reminds us that in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the “educational system is destroyed” and there are literally grenade holes in the walls of the schools. She said that people there wonder who is controlling the media, so she is trying to get voices from the community on the air, asking the pointed questions.

In addition to the radio programs that IRfJ is producing, they also did a project called Music for Justice in which the youth of Ituri were encouraged to write and create songs focused on themes of justice and peace. CDs of the music have been distributed to radio stations in the region and the songs are also played during IRfJ programming. The music was recorded in a number of languages and spans a range of genres including pop, rap, and traditional Congolese music.  Tracks can also be heard and downloaded from the IRFJ website.

The IRFJ radio programs (which can be heard on their website) tackle a range of topics, covering listener questions about laws, women’s rights, victimization, and “Rights and Legal Recourse on the Road.” Many of the questions are disturbing in that the abuses that these citizens have suffered are horrific, such as witnessing rapes and murders of family members during wartime. Even though the pain of these crimes cannot be erased, it’s reassuring that these radio programs are both giving a voice to victims and providing resources and education about their rights so that some form of justice may be served.

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Live streaming local TV from Terremoto, Chile

According to Communications Quarterly news posted today, there are several frequencies being used in the amateur shortwave bands:

SSB frequencies: 10 meters – 28.300, 28.500 MHz 15 meters – 21.200, 21.350 MHz 20 meters – 14.200, 14.350 MHz 40 meters – 7.050, 7.095 MHz 80 meters – 3.738, 3.750 MHz (via CQ Public Service Editor Richard Fisher, KI6SN)

Chilean hams and emergency service agencies are asking that other amateurs keep these frequencies clear so that emergency communications are not impeded.

The communications on these frequencies may be difficult to hear on many radios because they’ll be using SSB, or single-sideband, a power-saving mode often used by hams to transmit longer distances using less power. These broadcasts will sound distorted on a regular shortwave radio, and require the use of a receiver that features SSB reception. I have such a radio, but in the RF interference zone of my Chicago apartment I’m having difficulty getting any clear reception.

I’ve been trying to hunt down some frequencies for Chile-based broadcast stations that use AM/normal mode on shortwave, but I am coming up empty. The only station I’m coming up with is Voice of Chile at 11,890 KHz listed at Radio Shack’s shortwave radio guide.

The National Hurricane Center is broadcasting tsunami updates at 14.300 MHz. I’m able to tune this in, but I’m getting too much interference to hear clearly. With luck people in Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific who need this information are receiving it better.

On the internet Ustream is offering a live stream of several local TV channels from Chile and Hawaii.

Thanks to NW7US and RadioGeek who have been providing emergency shortwave information on Twitter.

The post Chile Earthquake and Tsunami Warnings: Shortwave Radio Providing Emergency Info & Communications appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Can you hear me?

As we wrote last week, radio has played a vital communications role in Haiti in the weeks following its devastating earthquake last month. But what we didn’t cover in that story is the sad state of some Haitian community radio stations which have suffered major damage to buildings and equipment.

According to a series of articles on the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) blog, community radio plays an important educational role for Haitian citizens. By broadcasting native language programming it is serving a rural population in which 80% of homes are said to contain radios.

A post from last week reports that,

“In the western and southeastern parts of the country, at least 16 stations are facing serious problems that have suspended their broadcasts, Sony Esteus, executive director of SAKS, a local organization of community radio stations, told CPJ. The earthquake obliterated SAKS’ office in the Bourdon neighborhood, east of Port-au-Prince.”

In a post this week, CPJ shares some video of the destruction at the office of community radio organization SAKS, as well as footage from a destroyed community radio station in Fondwa.

Take a look at CPJ’s entire blog series on Haiti to find additional stories about the role that radio is playing during this crisis and to learn about the state of several other radio stations.

The post Community Radio’s Challenges After the Haitian Quake appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The power of the tower

In the aftermath of the devastating January 12th earthquake in Haiti, radio has played an important role in terms of keeping lines of communication open. A fascinating radio story on All Things Considered yesterday profiles one Haitian radio station, Signal FM 90.5, that has continued to broadcast after the quake hit.

As way of background, a Reuters story points out that:

“Radio, a main channel of communication in Haiti, is even more crucial since the January 12 earthquake that killed up to 200,000 people, collapsed many parts of Port-au-Prince and left half a million people homeless or living in refugee camps scattered across the coastal capital…

Five radio stations were destroyed and at least two now operate in the open air, taking messages from victims and broadcasting aid relief details alongside news bulletins, debate programs and music slots.”

The radio story on All Things Considered tells a compelling tale about just how important Signal FM has been in helping find quake victims. According to the accompanying story:

“With all the capital’s newspapers and TV stations down, Signal FM was all there was. Frantic listeners trekked to the station seeking news of lost loved ones….the station put one woman on the air who said her husband was alive under the ruins of a bank building and begged rescuers to search for him…

‘And eight days after, she came here with her husband,’ [station founder Mario] Viau says. ‘That guy gave me a hug that I will never forget. That guy almost choked me to death, he was holding me, so happy, telling me, “Thank you, thank you, thank you so much.” ‘

As the days went on, Signal FM told Haitians how to begin to handle the catastrophe. Doctors, engineers, seismologists and clergymen went on the air. They told people what to do with dead bodies, where it was safe to sleep, what to do about natural gas leaks, where they could locate medicine and food, and where to find God amid the agony.”

According to the Reuters article, “To keep people informed, U.S. troops have distributed thousands of wind-up and solar-powered transistor radios.”

As we hear these tales from the front, it’s an important reminder to all of us that in an emergency, radio has the ability to be truly heroic.

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If you’ve got a Low Power FM radio station around one of those awful wildfires near Los Angeles, the Federal Communications Commission is allowing Special Temporary Authority to erect emergency antennas without immediate authorization from the FCC.

source: DaveBanks photostream, flickr

“If a licensee desires to continue to use an emergency antenna, it must submit a request for STA within 10 business days of commencement of operations,” the Commission’s announcement says. “This waiver is applicable to any station which ceased operations as a result of fire damage and is effective until October 31, 2009.”

LPFMs and all other radio stations should contact Norm Miller at 202 418-2767 (Charles.Miller@fcc.gov).

“The Media Bureau encourages any station which has discontinued operations as a result of fire damage to submit a notification and, if necessary, request authority to remain silent within the periods specified in Section 73.1740(a)(4) of the Commission’s rules,” the Notice continues.

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