"Be sure to tune into WPRK 91.5 FM beginning Monday and let your ears be witness to a possible Guinness World Record. DJ Dave Plotkin will attempt to host the longest continuous broadcast by a single DJ in radio history. The Rollins College radio station has a list of guests and programming for the broadcast that is scheduled to last until Friday. For more info, go to: www.110hours.org"
EDITOR: This is a side note in a column. The article contains no additional details.
" Spectrum, Unchained Has the FCC got it all wrong?
'Misguided regulations of the airwaves are thwarting precious opportunities to innovate and create so-far undreamed of services,' opines this piece over at Business Week. Largely spewing venom at the way the FCC licenses out spectrum, the article argues that by moving away from the FCC's model of restrictive licensing, you could 'expand current spectrum usage by 100 times and add 100 times more entrepreneurial ideas.' "
"'I got drunk and ended up with a hooker,' said Conan O'Brien, the sardonically witty talk-show host as he compered Bill Gates's CES speech last week. 'Bill got drunk and ended up in bed with an Apple computer.' Cue picture of horrified billg."
[Editor] The article touches on a familiar theme. I tend to look at the I-pod as a fad, but none the less a trend. Here's what I mean. The I-pod is based on current technology for digital audio. The state of digital audio will change big time in the next 3-5 years, if not sooner making the item (I-pod) obsolete, but not the trend for a small, portable and eady to use music system.
I think apple/jobs has hit a gold mine. If operated properly it could change the landscape of many IT systems, including the gate PC dominance, but to achieve such success, it needs to be planned and implented properly. Apple does not have a track record in this respect. Will the I-Pod 'opportunity' change past performance?
"College radio often stands out because its programming is so unique. That's why a proposal at the University of New Haven is making waves. UNH is considering airing three shows from National Public Radio on its campus station."
"During the 9 p.m. hour on his show Tuesday, Murphy alluded to 'Mr. Belvedere,' a 1980s sitcom about an English housekeeper who helps raise three youngsters. That led Murphy to joke about the possibility of adopting 'three black kids' and 'taking them to the zoo to see where they came from.' "
"In a more local vein, the FCC earns my ire because they are completely insensitive to the fact that many residents of West Petaluma (of which I am one) can not pick up KALX, the UC Berkeley college radio station, because the FCC a few years ago decided to allow both KRCB and KCSM to boost their signals in the area on the same frequency that KALX broadcasts (97.1-FM). The result: I pick up all three stations simultaneously on my car radio--and the postmodern quirkiness of that effect grew tiresome long ago. "
"Radio, as we've known it, is dead. The news about HFS obviously struck a chord with me, but with satellite radio, Internet radio, and things like Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes (or even the iPod Shuffle!) revolutionizing music and giving listeners more options than ever before, chances are it won't be missed. "
"In a recently announced deal, WNHU officials (non-students) have decided to give over six prime hours of programming per day, every weekday, to NPR who will now have another outlet for Morning Edition , All Things Considered and Marketplace ."
Univision fined for putting employee on the air It doesn't matter who you work for - - if you are put on the air without your prior consent, you can complain to the FCC and if the target of the complaint is guilty, the FCC can levy a fine. Univision is thus liable for 28K on the phone rap, amounting to 4K each for two FMs in California, two in Arizona and three in Texas. An AE working for Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. (HBC) was the butt of on on-air prank perpetrated by Raul Brindis. He "...pretended to be a man who had met the complainant at a local club..." and proceeded with a flirtatious conversation. Univision tried two tacks in trying to duck the fine. One, it can put any employee it wants on the air, and two, it didn't own the stations at the time - - this was before HBC merged into Univision. The FCC said it was unpersuaded by the first argument. "Thus, under Univision's reasoning, by agreeing to work at HBC the complainant - - as well as each and every employee at the company form the CEO down to the cleaning crew - - implicitly consented to having conversations aired without prior notice." The Commission also cited its precedent of transferring liability for prior offenses along with the licenses when a station is sold.
"Beginning Monday, January 31, much of WFYI Public Radio's NPR, PRI and BBC broadcast fare (weekdays between 5:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.) can be heard on Franklin College's noncommercial student radio station, WFCI 89.5 FM. The arrangement will enable WFYI Public Radio to expand its current broadcast reach and begin serving listeners in Franklin, and surrounding communities including Columbus, Martinsville, Edinburgh, Mooresville and Greenwood. "
EDITOR: The faculty adviser of this station alerted CBI that the article we posted below is not entirely accurate. He provided me with the press release linked above.
We have seen more and more of this type of arrangement and in my mind, it raises certain questions. Do the students really benefit? If they do, at what cost? Does that cost outweigh the benefits to the students or the community? Further, there are regulatory considerations. Will the NPR station provide the required information for the stations public file? Will it also help the station to maintain the required local studio staffing requirements? Since the station is essentially "automated" during these hours, will the station abandon the studio during these hours and complicate the main studio staffing requirements?
"The Music Freedom Project ( www.musicfreedomproject.com ) provides an alternative to these fees that allows webcasters to broadcast legally without the need of having thousands of dollars to enter into the industry, by agreeing to terms that help promote the artists they play and thereby increase their CD sales."
EDITOR: While this is a valid concept, it forces stations to play only music that they have licensed through this source and perhaps other (or directly). Most college stations lack the resources and desire to limit their libraries to this extent. Am I wrong to perdict that this site will be out of business within a year? Comments?
"Aside from some college radio, bands like Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, Norah Jones, John Mayer and Los Lonely Boys were heard on satellite long before commercial radio. This is great buzz for us.'"
" Aside from some college radio, bands like Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, Norah Jones, John Mayer and Los Lonely Boys were heard on satellite long before commercial radio. This is great buzz for us."
"While Tiger Saw has recorded a few CDs of its own, toured internationally and has enjoyed play on college radio and other stations around the country, most of the CD's other artists have a considerably lower profile. For some, music is only one of their creative outlets, sharing time with theater and the visual arts."
"While Tiger Saw has recorded a few CDs of its own, toured internationally and has enjoyed play on college radio and other stations around the country, most of the CD's other artists have a considerably lower profile. For some, music is only one of their creative outlets, sharing time with theater and the visual arts."
"So how is this little label selling thousands of records in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan and grabbing airplay on college radio across the country?
'It's all about making yourself look a lot bigger than you really are,' said Hartley. 'I have a lot of people who email me and call me and think they're getting an office, but it's ringing right to my cell phone.' "
"The Marietta College radio station plays a mix of jazz and classical music, in addition to broadcasts from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Taggart said. The radio station is operated and programmed by students and faculty members of Marietta College."
"He had a good excuse. As part of a skeleton crew keeping KVRX FM, the University of Texas student radio station, operating during Christmas break, he'd filled gargantuan blocks of time on the air, most of it in the wee-est hours. "
