A couple of noteworthy but skewed articles published this week. USA Today picked up on the FM translator spectrum trafficking scandal and, like the caricature of journalism that it is, talked with “both sides” for “equal time.” This allowed Radio Assist Ministry/Edgewater Broadcasting president Clark Parrish the chance to tell some tall tales unchallenged.
Parrish claims the call for an investigation into his trafficking operation is “sour grapes.” He says he plans to start a new nationwide religious broadcast network via FM translator, which may rebroadcast American Family Radio (another translator-monger). And, most importantly, the small number of construction permits he’s sold to others (for $800,000+) were just chaff – leftover permits he’s since decided not to build as part of his network. Continue reading “Press Corrections: Pod/Godcasting”
Month: April 2005
Skidmark Bob Remixes Outfoxed; Making Waves Premieres in NY
Skidmark Bob’s 
Mega Media Illusion Mix (6:56, 6.4 MB) takes the doc’s theme song, blends it with Beale, Byrne, Chomsky, and McChesney, and sprinkles that mix with infotainment detritus. Takes the critiques leveled by KGB-TV and Scott Walmsley to the next level.
For those in New York on Wednesday, you’d be crazy to miss the premiere of Michael Lahey’s excellent microradio documentary Making Waves. It happens at 8pm at the Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue (at Second Street). free103point9 will be on hand to conduct a Radio 4×4 performance, which should most definitely set the mood.
Audio Content-Sharing as Business Model
There’s a couple of interesting non-profit ventures trying to master the business of connecting audio content providers with broadcasters and/or the listening masses. Using the internet as distribution platform to circumvent traditional radio network models is not new, but making a marketplace out of it is fairly so.
Public Radio Exchange has been working at it the longest. The service came of age in 2004; users of the system pay a yearly fee to upload and market their work. Broadcasters purchase rights to air pieces via a system of points, which are redeemed for cash, paid out by PRX on a quarterly basis. The system’s gotten some limited but favorable press and seems to be enjoying fairly wide adoption among those who work in or on contract to public radio. Continue reading “Audio Content-Sharing as Business Model”
Dutch Ex-Radio/TV Fort Heading for Deconstruction?
The home of Radio and TV Noordzee, built for more than $5 million in 1964, 10km off the Netherlands coast, is slated for demolition. The stations operated for just four months before changes in the territorial waters limit expanded Dutch jurisdiction to the offshore platform and led to its forced closure.
All was not lost, however: Radio-TV Noordzee helped spawn what has become one of the Netherlands’ largest public broadcast foundations. According to Radio Netherlands, there is a small chance “REM Island” could be saved: Continue reading “Dutch Ex-Radio/TV Fort Heading for Deconstruction?”
More Audio Online
As the Truthful Translations counter up top shows, there’s now one cut online for every day of the year. Central to this particular update is the prolific Scott Walmsley, who’s also done up a Celebrity Speech collage on everybody’s favorite TV blowhard, Bill O’Reilly (described by Walmsley as “a major f*ck head”).
There’s also new free media-themed music online: Brooklyn-based Gun Street Radio pays homage to Radio Caroline while SD punks Cheap Sex screams foul about the FCC’s ongoing anti-indecency crusade.
Be the Media! Blog Resurrected
In preparation for the second National Conference for Media Reform, the Be the Media! blog is back online. The blog served as a venue which provided attendees of the first NCMR a chance to report critically on the proceedings. The 2003 Be the Media! blog archives have been re-established (though all the comments were lost, sorry).
Although I may be biased, I think the blog did a better job of covering the ’03 proceedings than any of the mainstream media reportage that surfaced, although it was kind of a last-minute project and admittedly catch-as-catch-can. This time around it would be great to have more attendees participating: if you’re going to NCMR ’05 and would like to help create an independent archive of coverage about it, contact Paul@Mediageek for details.
St. Petersburg's Pirate Radio Network Down But Not Out
Bob Noxious has two brass ones: after a scant two months on the air and scads of publicity to show for it, the FCC showed up the day before April Fool’s and told him to shut up. He has complied – for now –
Although we will have to endure a short time of static on the radio, we won’t be silenced for long. Thanks to modern technology…when the PIRATE RADIO NETWORK returns, [the station] will be broadcast from MULTIPLE transmitters in numerous locations throughout the area. Not only will that expand the listening area, but it will be with a much crisper and cleaner signal. Lets see how many transmitters the F.C.C. can shut down at one time! Continue reading “St. Petersburg's Pirate Radio Network Down But Not Out”
Aural Injections
New Truthful Translations put the project over the 350 mark while ushering in some fresh collage targets like Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Douglas Feith, neocon warmonger extraordinaire. Also online are a couple of more songs paying homage to pirate radio, both of them good and punkish; thanks to Skidmark Bob for sending them along.
Summer of Media Conferences
Looks like a busy May and June, for sure. The same week of the National Conference for Media Reform there will be two other events: Can Freedom of the Press Survive Media Consolidation? will be held May 10-11 on the U of I campus and features a progressive mega-star-studded lineup of speakers and the like. This event is free and open to all.
On the day before the NCMR starts in St. Louis, scads of academics will be stuffed into a single room to form the Academic Brain Trust, the goal of which is to build “an organization that will encourage and mobilize academic talent and resources to the cause of increasing informed public participation in the media policymaking process.” Continue reading “Summer of Media Conferences”
Neighborhood Public Radio Hits the Road
After several successful runs in San Francisco Neighborhood Public Radio now plans to play out. Way out: the station will broadcast from Version in Chicago later this month. This is apparently the start of a “process of realizing the dream we have always had of bringing NPR to cities all over the world.” NPR’s latest thematic run involved indecency and ran through most of February. Interestingly, they are not the only traveling microstation in circulation at the moment.