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Rough Notes: Antarctic Radio Revisited & Jamming Soviet-Era Numbers
A belated happy New Year and welcome to 2022. It’s not quite a New Year’s resolution, but I want to return to regular blogging here at Radio Survivor, at least covering interesting radio stories of...
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Rough Notes: RIP Howard Hesseman, WKRP’s Dr. Johnny Fever; Perfect Sound...
Actor Howard Hesseman passed away on Saturday, Jan. 29, perhaps most well-known – at least to radio nerds – as the burned-out former hippy morning radio DJ Dr. Johnny Fever on sitcom “WKRP in...
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Rough Notes: Franken FMs Live On, BBC Geofences, More CD Revival, WBCN Book
Franken FMs are the radio service that refuses to die, even after the FCC ostensibly pulled the plug this past summer. Recall that these are former analog low-power TV stations on channel 6 whose...
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How to Listen to Super Bowl LVI on the Radio around the World this Sunday,...
This is my ninth installment on how to listen to the Super Bowl on the radio, and this year there isn’t much change from last. It seems like most of the same outlets will be carrying the big game in...
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Rough Notes: BBC Profiles 4 Community Stations Around the World;...
This past Sunday, February 13, was World Radio Day. I’m a few days late in recognizing it, but still have something good to share. Like last year, the BBC tapped radio journalist David Goren to...
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Radio to and from Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine greatly upsets me, as my heart goes out to the Ukrainian people. I feel a connection because my father’s family is from Estonia, which also borders Russia and has a...
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Podcast #325 – Ukraine Radio, Int’l Women’s Day and Franken FMs
The Radio Survivors return to their microphones to review what’s new in radio. Of course, the Russian invasion of Ukraine hangs heavy over our heads, and we review how the international community is...
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Podcast #326: The State of Listening and Broadcast Radio in 2022
The annual Infinite Dial survey from Edison Research was recently released, showing what people in the US are listening to, and where. It even includes social media platforms like TikTok, which Eric...
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Podcast #327: Industrial Music Systems and Workplace Broadcasts
On this week’s program, we turn our attention to the history of industrial music – not the noisy music genre – but music played in industrial settings for workers. A variety of services offered (and...
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FCC’s Proposal to Legitimize FrankenFMs Proves It Isn’t in the Business of...
The FCC is not in the business of taking licensed radio stations off the air. This is something I’ve been telling community and college radio folks for well over a decade, especially when they get...
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Podcast #328: Media Archaeology and Other Networks
The Radio Survivors return with a new episode! For this edition, recorded in July, 2022, our guest is Lori Emerson, Founding Director of the Media Archaeology Lab (the MAL). She’s also an Associate...
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Alice’s Restaurant on the Radio for Thanksgiving 2022
Catch Alice’s Restaurant on the 2023 radio dial. See our latest listening guide. Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and for radio fanatics like myself, that means another year tracking the radio stations...
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Podcast #329: New York College Radio Tours
The Radio Survivors return with a new podcast episode! Jennifer reports on her visits to four college radio stations in New York state in November, 2022. Part of a longtime project to document radio...
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Radio Station Visit #166: College Radio Station WCDB at University at Albany
As I wandered through a labyrinth-like campus center building looking for college radio station WCDB after a long day of cross-country travel, it felt like the olden days before 2020, when I used to...
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Flashback to Princeton Review’s “Great College Radio Station” 2022 List
What are the best college radio stations? I’ve enjoyed scrutinizing these sorts of lists for years, in particular Princeton Review’s “best college radio station” rankings in its yearly college guides....
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Podcast #330: Wetland Project and Slow Radio
The Radio Survivors return with a new podcast episode! On this edition of the show, we discuss soundscapes and the concept of slow radio. Our guests, artists Brady Marks and Mark Timmings are the...
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Radio Station Visit #167: College Radio Station WRPI at Rensselaer...
College radio stations are generally very welcoming spaces, so much so that I often have to tear myself away at the end of a visit. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s WRPI 91.5 FM in Troy, New York...
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Radio Station Visit #168: Union College Radio Station WRUC
To say that my visit to college radio station WRUC 89.7 FM at Union College in Schenectady, New York was eagerly anticipated is an understatement. Rumored to be the “first” commercial college radio...
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Happy 100th to High School Radio Station KBPS
High school radio station KBPS AM in Portland, Oregon is celebrating a very special anniversary this week: 100 years on the air. It’s an accomplishment that few radio stations can lay claim to. And...
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Radio Station Visit #169: Bard College Radio Station WXBC
On a crisp November afternoon, I marveled at the autumnal beauty at Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley. Bright red leaves clung to the trees within view of Ward Manor, a gorgeous 1916 mansion...
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Clock Tower Becomes Radio Station Again at John Carroll University “Turn Back...
The clock tower on the campus of John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, has been unoccupied for more than 14,000 days (over 38 years), though once housed the school’s radio station. The...
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It’s the Final Shutdown for Ireland’s Longwave RTÉ 252
After being on the precipice of shutdown since 2014, Ireland’s long wave (LW) RTÉ 252 is finally leaving the airwaves on April 14. I was alerted to the news thanks to James Cridland’s International...
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Radio Station Visit #170: College Radio Station BSR at Brown University
Tucked away on the 3rd floor of the Campus Center at Brown University is a college radio station with a fascinating history. BSR (Brown Student and Community Radio) currently broadcasts online and...
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Radio Station Visit #171: College Radio Station WSLC at Sarah Lawrence College
I felt nostalgia for so many different eras of college radio during a visit to Sarah Lawrence College’s student-run radio station WSLC in Bronxville, New York. Located in beautiful Bates Hall, built...
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Princeton Review’s “Best College Radio Stations” List for 2023
It’s time for another (extremely belated) best college radio station list! Back in August, 2022, Princeton Review published its latest college guide (The Best 388 Colleges, 2023 edition), which...
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New Opportunity for Low-Power FM Community Radio Stations Opens November 1, 2023
Though we’ve been waiting some three years, the Federal Communications Commission has finally announced the third-ever application window for low-power FM (LPFM) stations, running November 1 – 8,...
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FrankenFMs Up for Final Vote at FCC
Today there are 13 FrankenFM radio stations broadcasting in the US. These are vestiges of the analog TV past, given a short term lease by the Federal Communications Commission, now with a chance at a...
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Why There Will Be Fewer Opportunities for New LPFMs in the November...
Going into the 2023 application window for new low-power FM stations we are unlikely to see the kind of massive expansion of the sort we had after the 2013 window. That’s because there are many fewer...
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Podcast #331 – New Low-Power FM Opportunity Coming this November
It’s been nearly three years since the FCC first announced that a new low-power FM (LPFM) application window would be forthcoming. Now we know that November 1 – 8, 2023 will be the third-ever...
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Celebrating Podcasting’s 20th Birthday
Thanks to James Cridland at Podnews, I was reminded that today, July 9, 2023, marks the 20th birthday of the first-ever podcast recording. As James notes, this was the day that Dave Winer – author of...
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Podcast #332 – More College Radio Tours & Podcasting Turns 20
Jennifer, our intrepid radio station tour guide, leads us through some of her recent visits to college radio stations in New York and Rhode Island. This most recent academic year (2022-23) was an...
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They Live! FCC Permanently Authorizes 14 FrankenFMs
MeTV FM and 13 other FrankenFM stations now have an official and permanent home on the far left end of the FM dial. Like I expected, on July 20 the FCC approved a report and order allowing these...
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“Best College Radio Stations” According to 2024 Princeton Review
Princeton Review just released its latest college guide, The Best 389 Colleges (paid affiliates link) 2024 edition, so it’s time once again to take a look at its rankings for “Best College Radio...
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Podcast #333 – Low Power FM for Dummies
10/17/23 Update! The new low power FM filing window has been delayed and is now opening on December 6, 2023. See the FCC’s announcement here. On our latest episode of Radio Survivor, it’s a very...
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Community and College Radio Folks to Gather at 2023 Grassroots Radio...
The first in-person Grassroots Radio Conference since 2019 is happening in Charleston, West Virginia October 19 – 22, 2023. Hosted by community radio station WTSQ, the conference is an opportunity for...
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World College Radio Day is October 6
The 13th annual World College Radio Day takes place on Friday, October 6, 2023. Conceived of by Rob Quicke as a celebration of student radio, College Radio Day has grown over the years to include an...
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Podcast #334 – College Radio’s Hidden Early History
World College Radio Day takes place on October 6, 2023 and in honor of that, we dig into the early history of college radio on our latest episode of the show. Jennifer Waits walks us through her...
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College Radio Revival at Haverford College’s WHRC
A casual comment during a college orientation session in 2020 was the spark that led to the revival of college radio station WHRC at Haverford College. Although Haverford had one of the earliest...
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Happy College Radio Day: Celebrating 100+ Years of College Radio
Happy World College Radio Day! October 6, 2023 marks the 13th annual College Radio Day. As part of the festivities at Radio Survivor, we did a special episode of the podcast/radio show: College...
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Radio Station Visit #172: College Radio Station WSVA at The School of Visual...
With killer views from the 7th floor of a building in the heart of New York City, it’s no surprise that DJs at The School of Visual Arts’ (SVA) college radio station WSVA joke about wanting to live at...
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Radio Station Visit #173: College Radio Station WPIR Pratt Radio
The phrase “The neighbors complain,” circles around what appears to be a black WPIR pirate flag. This imagery on the website for college radio station WPIR Pratt Radio alludes to rumors and...
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Podcast #335 – Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications
On this week’s show, we peek behind the scenes of The Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC). A project of the Internet Archive, the DLARC collection includes a range of amateur...
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Alice’s Restaurant on the Radio Thanksgiving 2023
Arlo Guthrie’s seasonally appropriate “Alice’s Restaurant” is getting dusted off once again for radio airplay this Thanksgiving 2023. I’ve been documenting this radio ritual for many years (even while...
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Podcast #336 – Educational Radio and the Beginnings of Public Radio
On this edition of the show, we explore public radio history, specifically the origins of public radio in the United States, including the important role played by college and university-based...
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Podcast #337 – Catching up on Radio News including LPFM, a College Radio...
The Radio Survivor team returns for a new episode, during which Jennifer, Eric and Paul recap some of the latest radio news. Topics this week including LPFM, college radio history, radio...
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Podcast #338 – YouTube, Video and Podcasting
In the last few years YouTube has become one of the most popular platforms for consuming podcasts, even though it’s a primarily a video platform, and podcasts have traditionally been an audio-first...
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Podcast #339- 75 Years of Listener Supported Radio
Matthew Lasar talks with Brian Edwards-Tiekert, host of KPFA’s Upfront to commemorate the Birthday of Pacifica Radio. The post Podcast #339- 75 Years of Listener Supported Radio appeared first on...
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Podcast #340 – College Radio History at Williams College
Williams College student Josh Picoult arrived on campus with a fascination for both history and radio. Four years later, he’s about to graduate after completing his undergraduate thesis on the history...
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Podcast #341 – The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape
Journalist Marc Masters joins us to discuss his book, High Bias: the Distorted History of the Cassette Tape. We dive into how the oft-maligned cassette influenced the music industry and our culture by...
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Podcast #342 – The Famous Computer Cafe
We travel back to the 1980s, when the show, The Famous Computer Cafe, initially launched over the radio in southern California. With a focus on home computers, computer news, and more, the program had...
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