A list of links found
while trolling the 'net, the Schnazz is updated when time permits.
Latest update: 21 December 2008.
3G or Not 3G? That Is
the Question
Skip Pizzi suggests radio broadcasters move away from their primary
service into datacasting, using mobile devices as the vector for
future industry growth. (Nov. 19)
$700 Billion Would Buy
A Lot Of Fiber
Bailing out the banks to no effect is equivalent wiring every home
in the country with broadband, with enough left over to retrofit
half the nation's housing with solar energy improvements. (Oct. 2)
Alexander Kissi Fined
$10,000
For unlicensed FM transmissions in the Bronx. (9/11/08)
Army Wages iPod Warfare
in Baghdad
Actually, it's pirate radio in disguise, no kidding! (Dec. 16)
At Citadel, A "Fagreed"
Kind of Christmas
Just a sad sample of the state of commercial radio these days. (Dec.
2)
Bill would force satellite
radio units to go digital
While the FCC asks for comment on whether XM/Sirius receivers should
be interoperable with terrestrial digital AM/FM signals, Congress
may preempt it. (Sept. 29)
The BMC Plan to Remap
and Revamp Radio
Radio World's Guy Wire succinctly details the project to expand
the FM dial. (Nov. 5)
Building community one
watt at a time
The Catskill Community Center hosts a temporary barnraising to engage
citizenry in the power of community radio. (Sept. 2)
Bush Signs Law Creating
Copyright Czar
The idea is to consolidate intellectual property crime-fighting functions
under one command. (Oct. 13)
Changes for Media Access
Project, And For Me Personally
Harold Feld announces he's moving on from being a bulldog on media
policy to another phase in life. Let's hope he's still a bulldog
in whatever he does. (Dec. 8)
The change we need:
four ways to fix fcc.gov
Matthew Lasar probably spends more times plumbing this information
resource than the FCC staff does, combined. It would be worth taking
his suggestions to heart. (Nov. 19)
Clear Channel Pulls
the Plug On Some HD Radio Stations
This can't be good. (Feb. 6)
Concerns Raised About
"Franken FMs"
It would seem the practice of applying for a Channel 6 TV station
license and running it as a radio station is catching on.... (Dec.
16)
Digital TV Transition:
Ford Fusion Doesn't Crash in Final Race!!!!
But was the $350K of mostly-wreckage well-spent? (Nov. 19)
Electromagnetic Interference
UK-based page collects reports (both published and anecdotal) of in-flight
personal electronic devices interfering with aircraft avionics.
Electronic Circuit Schematics
This is a treasure-trove of information, most notably for audio/video
circuitry and all other non-RF needs for any broadcast station.
The Empire State Triangle
free103point9 explores this strange electronic "Bermuda Triangle" in
Manhattan. (Oct. 2)
Evaluation
of the Comcast/Bitterer Filing - Really Excellent, Except For
The Gaping Hole Around the
Capacity Cap
Which, as Harold presciently pointed out, has come back to bite us.
(Sept. 23)
Ex-chiefs have earful
for candidates, sharp words for FCC
When former chairmen William Kennard and Michael Powell agree on
something, then something must be wrong.... (Sept. 18)
FCC Begins Granting
Power Increase Requests for Test Purposes
Ah, the old "creation of facts on the ground" maneuver, to set the
stage for a raise in HD Radio power levels. (Dec. 18)
FCCDataharms
The agency degrades the data it collects on broadband penetration and
growth; that can't be good. (Sept. 10)
The FCC Heads For the
Pit
CommLawBlog breaks the news about the FCC's controversial decision
to sponsor a NASCAR driver in order to raise awareness about the
upcoming DTV transition. (Oct. 17)
The Financial Meltdown
& Media Deregulation Connection
Jeff Chester connects the dots - we don't know how bad it really
is because Big Media has a stake in mitigating the damage. (Sept.
23)
Florida Pirate Shut
Down
A commercial station dimes on a pirate, and then the local police
move in. (Sept. 10)
Free Association: Low
Power to the People!
The Nation gives a fair overview of the LPFM situation as
it presently stands. (Oct. 24)
Free Radio: Liberating
the Commons
The latest manifesto from Stephen Dunifer, courtesy of Indybay. (Oct.
26)
Freeing Airways: Santa
Cruz's pirate radio station continues fight against FCC
UC Santa Cruz's student-run newspaper gives props to FRSC's masterful
longevity. (Dec. 4)
Good News For Radio & Records
Sez Jerry Del Colliano: "the future of all media will be mobile." (Dec.
19)
Harmful Interference:
The Definitional Challenge
Thought-provoking brainstorming from a master in the field
of spectrum policy. (Dec. 18)
The HD Radio Alliance's
Blame Game
Are rats leaving a sinking promotional ship? (Sept. 6)
HD Radio's Last Stand
"Time to turn off the HD and get ready for WiFi, streaming and podcasting – the
future relatives of an industry that used to know by sheer instinct
alone what to do next." (Aug. 28)
Heavy Debt Endangers
Media Giants CBS, Clear Channel, and Westwood One
The New York Post notes how the recession is affecting media
conglomerates. Debt is the operative word. (Oct. 14)
Hijacking the airwaves
again
"Pirate radio is back in Boulder - but for how long?" Good question.
(Nov. 2)
House Probe of FCC Finds
"Egregious Abuses of Power"
Summary and full-text are provided. It's pretty damning. Don't let
the door hit you on the way out, Kevin. (Dec. 9)
IBOC
Critic Opposes Power Boost
Oh, Canada! Will you help us come to our HD senses? (Nov. 21)
Interview: laying it
on the line with FCC chair Kevin Martin
Matthew Lasar probes one of the most mercurial FCC chairmen in history
about his tenure at the agency. (Oct. 6)
Is The End of Television
The Beginning of a New Resistance?
Paul the Mediageek ponders a plan to reclaim some of the analog TV
spectrum by direct appropriation next year, and what it might signify.
(Dec. 10)
iTunes Tagging, Conditional
Access Featured at iBiquity Booth
HD still struggles for that elusive killer application.... (Sept.
19)
Karmazin: Merging Sirius,
XM Tech Years Away
As long as 15 years, possibly...good luck with that. (Oct. 21)
L'Affaire NASCAR: The
Yellow Caution Flag Comes Out
CommLawBlog wonders: whose cockamamie idea was this? (Oct. 17)
Local Community Radio
Act Would Increase Public Independent Media
Uprising Radio interviews Jonathan Lawson on the proposed
legislation. (9/29/08)
Low Power Radio
A blog that aggregates information about how to start your own LPFM/microdot
station.
Manuel Herta Fined $12,800
For running a radio station long after its license had expired, making
him a de-facto pirate. (10/6/08)
Mediageek: A New Beginning
Paul and I debut his new show on WNUR - same good content, twice as
much! (9/25/08)
Mediageek: Pirate Broadcast
in China Protests State Suppression of Journalists
Paul covers a unique illustration of China's lack of press freedom.
(8/15/08)
Mediageek: Voices of
America
Paul interviews radio-artist Sarah Kanouse about her latest participatory
remix/broadcast project. (9/5/08)
Mediageek: The Yes Men
Pull Another Amazing Stunt
Paul and I discuss the mass-distribution of fake New York Times editions,
and dovetail into other subjects. (11/13/08)
More HD Fun
A working engineer expresses frustration with the shortcomings of the
technology, especially for stations that have newly-upgraded their
existing analog transmission structure. (Aug. 29)
More on HD's Stalled
Status
Glenn Fleishman is understandably concerned about the technology's
future, given that all-important (and sad-sack) metric: receiver
penetration. (Nov. 17)
NAB/MSTV Embrace Radio
Pirates, Make Up Engineering Data, and Do Whatever Else It Takes
to Kill White Space Devices
Harold Feld calls the bluff on the broadcast industry for opposing
the re-appropriation of analog TV spectrum. (Oct. 20)
NAB: the lobby that
cried wolf
Michael Largesse artfully deconstructs the FUD surrounding the broadcast
industry's objection to using formerly-analog TV spectrum for new,
unlicensed wireless applications. (Oct. 28)
Number 38 Crashes, Leaving
FCC at 0-1 on the NASCAR Circuit
This DTV outreach effort is not going well...or perhaps it's simply
going symbolically. (Oct. 20)
On Fire, Digital TV
Transition Ford Fusion Takes to the Airways - Literally
The FCC's most expensive promotion of the DTV transition - sponsoring
a NASCAR car - goes up in flames. (Nov. 10)
OPEN Call: The End of
Television
Learn how to submit videos for the reclamation-project that is planned
for Philly. (Dec. 9)
Opinions Clash on Digital
Radio World
superficially samples the comments received on the HD power increase and finds
non-consensus. (Dec. 18)
Opponents Worry About
Digital Power Hike; Would It Be 'Highly Destructive'?
The data's in, so why is the jury still out? (Dec. 4)
Pirate radio stations
wiped off the air in crackdown raids
Authorities make a big sweep of London and surrounding vicinities;
should put but a slight crimp in the scene. (Nov. 15)
PSA: Switching to Digital
TV
High satire makes the situation more absurd. (10/13/08)
Public Knowledge
"Fighting for your digital rights in Washington."
Radio: High Deception
John Gorman tears apart the future of HD, just by looking at the marketing
data. (Nov. 17)
Radio Station Emerges
as Voice of Black Boston
A perfect example of how microradio brings communities together,
regardless of the legal risks involved. (Nov. 22)
Radio: The Benefits
of Bankruptcy
Jerry Del Colliano assesses the sordid state of radio stocks, and
the potential for a reversal of fortune. (Oct. 27)
Saga Uses FM translators
to Spread Multicast Programming
Not content to wait for an (expected) sideband power increase to
their main stations, Saga's changing the very definition of what
a translator is: does HD programming count as local origination?
(Dec. 18)
Sirius XM Having Trouble
Paying Off Debt
The Washington Post questions the newly-merged company's liquidity.
(Sept. 10)
Sirius XM Is in a Serious
Bind
Businessweek breaks down the numbers of the newly-merged company,
and finds it has a steep uphill climb to sustainability. (Sept. 17)
Skidmark Bob's YouTube
Channel
An ever-growing archive of Freak Radio Santa Cruz's history on video.
Steve Cohen, East Village
Radio
The Gothamist interviews this quirky station's founder and
his motives. (Sept. 5)
Stick a fork in it:
a broadband over powerline post mortem
Let's hope this half-assed technology stays dead.... (Oct. 23)
Ten Years After Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, Electronics Companies Regret Supporting
Law
Hard to rectify the right of "consumer choice" with locking the same
thing down. (Oct. 14)
Tom Roe on free103point9's
New FM Station and Microradio Past
Paul the Mediageek combines textual, audio, and video goodness to
make the magic of free103point9's history come alive. (Nov. 24)
UC Berkeley raid infoshop,
confiscate computers of several organizations
Some of Berkeley Liberation Radio's gear was collateral damage in
the raid, but the station does not appear to be the primary target.
(Aug. 29)
Voices of America
"[A] participatory radio remix project that reflects on the 2008
US Presidential Election through the Voice of America Radio Network."
What's Next For the
FCC? Beats the Heck Out of Me - So I'll Just Describe the Terrain
Harold Feld pontificates on what the early-appointments of Obama's
telecommunications-policy team might mean for the future. (Nov. 30)
WSU Students are Modern-Day
Pirates
Dorm-based pirates leave the "Underground" after too much publicity.
It sounded like a good run. (Dec. 21)
Yip Yip Aliens Discover
a Radio
The clip speaks for itself. (11/27/08)
Yvon Louis Fined $10,000
For unlicensed broadcasting in Hollis, NY. (9/11/08)
Recently updated
resources and links directory sections:
Linkbacks
American
Roots & Branches
Keeping amusing and beautiful vinyl fresh since 2006.
BradleyStuart.net
"This site encourages resisting corporate globalization."
Dialogic
Blog of Thivai Abhor.
funferal
"engraved and retouched and edgewiped and pudden-padded observing the world
from the midwest."
Hannah Sassaman
"Banned from the National Association of Broadcasters Since 2002"
High
Masculine Tones
Blog of Brian Lamb.
Indyblogs
Blog-aggregation of Indymedia activists from around the world.
Jeri Smith-Ready
Science fiction, environmental issues, and a love of animals.
Lying
Media Bastards
"Take a good look at the man behind the curtain. Now go kick his ass."
The
Media Drop
"Swarming and informing since 2004."
Mediageek
Blog/radioshow/zine indy-syndication empire de Paul Riismandel.
Miller's Crossing
"So it has come to this."
papercuts
Blog of A.j. Michel.
The
Perpetual Three-Dot Column
Blog of Jesse Walker.
The
World According to Peter Brinson
Sociological ruminations of a friendly zombie.
