Archive for the ‘Radio’ Category


This American Life going to the little screen

Thursday, December 14th, 2006

It almost seems like a trend right now. First, Garrison Keillor[wiki] took A Prairie Home Companion and turned it into a movie[imdb]. Now it’s This American Life, probably one of my most favorite programs in the world of public radio that I hardly listen to. But hey, it’s a podcast now, so I think I’ll have to subscribe.

That’s just one of the many odd discussions that took place in the process of transforming a radio program into a television series. The show is This American Life. The host is Ira Glass. The TV series will debut in March on the Showtime cable channel.

There’s a certain simplicity to the art of radio. At its heart, it’s all about storytelling. And This American Life is a radio show that revels in storytelling — quirky stories, sad stories, scary stories.

This American Life seems so wedded to the medium of radio that when the Showtime cable network first approached Glass about turning it into a TV show, he couldn’t imagine it.

“We basically said ‘no’ for a year and half,” Glass recalls. “And we kept saying we have no idea how to… be filmmakers. You have to hook us up with people who could design something that got across the feeling of the radio show.” [npr]

I’m not too sure how I feel about it. The beauty of radio is the theatre of the mind and how it comes across the airwaves. Being an audio junkie, you would think that my gut reaction would be to hate the whole concept, but I take comfort in the idea of Showtime(or potentially in Canada, Showcase) being the network to throw this on the tube.

Audio Doc - Ira Glass
Photo credit: transomradio on Flickr

I’ve had the brief, but not the most up close, pleasure of working with Ira Glass[wiki] during my days in public radio. In fact, it was just a one day sort of thing, but he really is a fascinating guy. Not in the omnipresent, starstruck sort of way, but he is a person that knows what he’s trying to do and how that should be done. Based on that, I know that he wouldn’t make a venture into television without making sure that the end result was going to be good.

I’ll say what I have always said about television. It’s five times as expensive and takes just as much time to produce worthwhile content. That’s not to say that working solely with audio is easy. Both mediums are their respective art forms, but you should never compare the two. If you don’t believe me now, then start listening to the This American Life podcast now and see how it compares to the TV program when it comes out. The effect will simply not be the same. We have yet to see if we can call it good or not.

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Filed under: News Item, NPR, Public Radio, Radio, Television

The slow moving, giant sloth that is Iowa Public Radio

Friday, December 1st, 2006

Flickr: Public Radio daysWhen I joined the world of public radio in 2003, the general manager for the group of stations that were controlled and funded by Iowa State University issued a white paper calling for the creation of a statewide network for public radio within the state. What he wanted to do was to bring all stations from the three major university’s into a single network, the other two school’s being the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Iowa.

It was was in the first few days that this news came out of left field and made the whole place freak out. I was fresh to the whole public radio sphere at WSUI/KSUI, and it was within the first month of coming on board that people were telling me that I should consider applying for the full time position as assistant engineer. The thing is, no one knew if their jobs were going to be there if and when this consolidation took effect.

One thing that my time in college radio taught me was that bureaucracies work at an incredibly slow, painful, and sometimes ignorant pace. A motion like this would be a matter decided by a select group of people at the top of the institute of higher education food chain, the board of regents. It was no secret to anyone inside the stations that the guy who put out this white paper was licking his lips to be the one at the top of the organizational chart. Long story short, the process out-processed him. Not only did he not make it through the motions to be considered a finalist for the job, but he eventually left altogether.

Enter the era of the executive director of Iowa Public Radio, Cindy Browne. No matter how much everyone tried to put us at ease with the situation, there was never a worse feeling that treating this woman with ill manner would cost you your career. We were told that this wasn’t an era of consolidation, but an attempt at better cooperation. There would be an examining of how running all the stations under one network could save money, but anyone familiar with the way any media organization goes about such a venture knows what that means. The less people you have, the more money you can save. (more…)

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Filed under: Iowa, Iowa Public Radio, New Media, Public Radio, Radio

The royal treatment of college radio

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

Let’s be honest. The greatness that was once college radio is wanning. I have this deep, passionate feeling that it will rise up once again to be a driving force to make the rest of the world take notice. It might also be safe to say that it’s never been a spectrum of the medium to really be noticed in the first place. The brilliance gets harvested for its potential and profit.

I’m still a firm believer in the sanctity of college radio. Like it or not, it has an important role to play, and that mantra was my driving force during the years I put into KRUI.

I find the following story really funny, and I’ll explain why after the excerpt.

UI officials hope to raze an old laundry building that is adjacent to where a new campus recreation and wellness center’s future home on the southwest corner of Burlington and Madison streets.

Currently used as storage for campus landscaping and maintenance equipment, that space could be used for parking and holding materials and equipment during the construction of the recreation center, and could save the university money. It is not immediately clear how much it would save.

Regents gave approval for UI to look into the feasibility of relocating the equipment currently stored there. [presscitizen]

The KRUI that I came to know and love started out in a house that was tucked away on campus. But the university kinda saw it as a bastard child, pushing it into a handful of various locations in its just under twenty years of existence. Within just a few months of my three years of being a director, the news came that the station would be forced into another relocation. (more…)

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Filed under: Iowa, KRUI, Radio

My imagination is confirmation

Wednesday, October 4th, 2006

Mat Kearney at the Media Club

Rebecca already blogged about this show on Metroblogging Vancouver[post], so I’m late to the party on this one. She’s also the one getting the photo credit on this post. And actually, I never made my post about seeing Snow Patrol not too long ago. Maybe I’ll get to that, but I’ve been a little busy lately. I’ll add that to the list.

Anyway, about this show. Both acts were really good. Griffin House was a great opening act and was far more stripped down in terms of their sound. The lyrics were often political and witty. Mat Kearney, on the other hand, seems to be a master of bringing the quality of a CD recording on stage. He’s got a great voice and song writing ability, but I often felt like I was listening to an American version of Coldplay. Keep in mind, I had not heard of this guy before stepping foot into the Media Club.

We ended up at the show when one of Rebecca’s co-workers, who is a music nut like myself, wanted to see the show but couldn’t track anyone down to tag along. I’m always up for some live music, so we were happy to go.

The thing about this show was that it was an “industry event”. In fact, the name “Sony BMG” was mentioned numerous times, outside and inside the place. I’m not one to ditch a show or an artist for the only reason being that they are on a major label, but you better believe that there are people out there who do shun such folks. So for me, it wasn’t the fact that Kearney is one of these artists as much as it was those folks who were a part of this “industry”… “thing”.

The whole night, in this tiny club, there was constant talking. Not just chattering or murmurs. Full out conversations, ignoring the fact that there was anything happening on stage. That might be a bit of an exageration, but for anyone there who was there for the love of Kearney’s music, which there were more than just a few, this was less than perfect for them.

For the people in the back, who were most likely on guest list at the door, this is just another thing they do with their day job. Music is a business, not an art. The love they brought into that place was for money, rubbing elbows, making connections, and keeping your face in the industry that makes up Vancouver. It hurt to see this become a reality opposed to a thought that has been in the back of my head.

All the pointless, over played “hits” that populates radio and TV made sense in that moment. Mat Kearney is a victim of these people who profit from his artistic abilities, all the while they pay little attention as to what he is doing on stage. This is not saying anything about him as an artist.

I just feel bad for him. He’s a great singer, has an incredible talent at freestyling, and seems like a nice guy. I guess his stuff was featured in some TV show recently, and that’s outstanding. Good for him. I’m betting that the folks in back(and what was with the guy who introduced him at the beginning?) were more focused on working on the the next guy, gal, or group that they can get onto the next The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy, or whatever series soundtrack that’s “hot” out there.

I know this isn’t complete doom and gloom. This isn’t the truth for the whole industry, but among the big labels out there, this is heartbreaking to experience first hand. You have a picture in your head that this might be what it’s like, but the reality is something that ends up completely surprising you. There would be some happiness in knowing that you’re making this up, but I’m not.

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Filed under: Music, Music Industry, Radio, Vancouver

Chicago has a secret radio project that’s about to launch

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

I have a friend who works at Chicago Public Radio that clued me into something that is happening there. SecretRadioProject.com doesn’t give a whole lot of details, and the information that I was getting from Paul left me with more questions than answers. That’s just because I started throwing out some technical questions, and he isn’t the most technical type of guy.

Chicago will soon be home to a new radio station that is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.

It’s a creative free-for-all, with no shows and no stuffy time slots. Engaging hosts guide you through the day – whether you stop in for an hour or a quick coffee break.

Every time you tune in, you’ll hear something new and surprising – music, interviews, shout outs, essays and more. All with a local bent and an unmistakably Chicago voice.

And the best part: this radio comes from you. You’re the creator, deejay, producer and editor.

Give us your take on what’s happening in your neighborhood. Share your deepest thoughts, confessions and opinions about your world. Upload audio to our website and tune in as we play it for all of Chicago and the world to hear.

It’s two-way radio: an ongoing conversation with Chicago. Radio of, by and for us all. [secretradioproject]

Paul also added something to the effect that it will be all new content with a YouTube like archive, uploaded from anyone and everyone. This won’t be tied to NPR but will be very tied to the Chicago metro area. However, this will be a service of Chicago Public Radio.

It’s very interesting to hear about, and Paul went offline before I could IM anymore answers out of him. Regardless, the scope of the project is daunting. Radio is in desperate need of rethinking how to exist within a world of changing media. This could be the best experiment I have seen yet to try and do just that.

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Filed under: Friends, Neat, Public Radio, Radio, U.S., Web 2.0

Air America having problems paying bills, filing bankruptcy

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006

I had concerns when this network went on the air. The formula was a risky venture, and I can’t say that I’m overly surprised to see this happen.

Think Progress is reporting Air America radio will announce filing for bankruptcy protection on Friday according to three independent sources. The company has experienced financial difficulties throughout its existence, continuing to request infusions of capital and suffering the loss of several high-profile hosts. Five employees were laid off Tuesday without severance.

The network has had several controversies since its inception including a funding scandal involving Evan Cohen. Air America Radio funneled $875,000 dollars from Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, a not-for-profit, in the form of a “loan” to fund its operations. Due to of the less-than-ethical funding arrangement, Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club has been disbanded. [...]

However, the progressive talk radio format did exist with the variety of IndyMedia projects as well as Pacifica Radio. Air America, however, was the first radio that put through an entire slate of radio shows instead of syndicating individual shows. This has largely caused problems with their expansion as it required stations to pick up the entire network for 24 hours a day instead of the most popular shows. [blogcritics]

Everything has to start somewhere, and this makes the network ripe for the picking in terms of a buy out of some sort. If that were to happen, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some things change.

At the same time, the content is something that I haven’t paid enough attention to. I’ve read numerous things about people being upset about their programming, and that says something. All press is good press, but presenting alternative views on a liberial or left wing radio program in a conservative, right wing controlled nation is a delicate task.

There’s always good and not so good ways to do things, and it’s the same way that I feel about political campaigns. Attacking the other side will never work. Education and strong, valid arguments will always be better, in my opinion, than some one yelling slander into a microphone.

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Filed under: Interesting, News Item, Politics, Radio

WOXY.com is calling it quits

Friday, September 8th, 2006

If you are a fan of independent music and internet radio, then you are just as sad as I am to here about the recent decision by the folks at WOXY.com[wiki] to pull the plug.

This is the moment all of us hoped would never come. After plugging away at this for the past two years, it’s become pretty clear that operating woxy.com as a stand-alone Internet “radio station” is not going to cut it. Our operating costs are higher than you might think, and the revenue we were able to generate from advertising isn’t close to supporting what we’re doing. Even membership revenue wasn’t enough to get us there. When your business doesn’t make money, you eventually go out of business.

With this in mind, we’ve been looking for either a significant partner – someone with a larger plan into which woxy.com could be plugged – or an outright buyer. That search hasn’t been fruitful. We’re still willing to entertain offers and explore possibilities (email bryan@woxy.com), but our time is short. We thought it was time to share our situation with you … to give you a heads-up. [...]

Barring something exceptional happening in the next two weeks, we will silence our broadcasts on Friday, September 15th.

Sometimes no matter how hard you try and how special the thing you do, it simply isn’t enough to beat the odds. It’s the cold reality of business that not even we could escape. When September 15th comes, we’ll meet it proudly with heads held high and celebrate the past two years of woxy.com and the spirit of 97X. For those lucky enough to have been part of it, The Future of Rock and Roll will forever be in our minds and hearts. [woxy]

Heartbreaking. I nearly cried the day I found out that the radio station that used to be 97.7FM, WOXY, was sold off to some radio group and dismantled, only to become some variety hits station(aka crap). It was the, “97X! Bam! The future of rock and roll.” Real DJs playing real music. Totally awesome stuff that I would listen to via their online streams.

The beauty of the operation is that even though the broadcast portion of the station was sold, the programming was retained. A dream would be for WOXY.com to make a return to the world of radio somewhere. It’s some of the best, new music that you won’t hear anywhere else, not to mention nearly all of it being independent artists.

I’m hoping for a last minute hero to help them out, but until then, I’ll miss WOXY.com a lot.

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Filed under: Internet, Music, Radio

Canucks 2006 broadcast schedule

Thursday, September 7th, 2006

J.J. over at the Canucks Hockey Blog posted an update to an older post about catching this season on TV. If you check out his post, you can get the full run down of when and where you can catch all the Canucks games this season. Well, not all of the games.

Bumping this up now that Sportsnet and the Canucks have agreed on a multi-year deal. I’ve updated the Canucks broadcast TV schedule above to include all Sportsnet and pay-per-view games this season.

80 of 82 games are going to be on TV this season, the first time in recent years that not all Canucks games will be shown. The two games not on TV are: the Oct. 21st game @ Nashville and the Apr. 7th game @ San Jose. [canuckshockeyblog]

Another intesting detail that many fans would be interested in that that the number of pay-per-view games appears to be 17. One would think that the two dates not being televised would get ear marked for PPV, but looks like we’ll be listening to Shorthouse on the radio for those games.

Lord knows that people would probably pay for it, but two more games would make buying all the PPV games in one package a tad more expensive. You can always get those special cable or satellite packages to catch games in other markets if those two games are that important.

This year’s regular season TV schedule once again includes 45 broadcasts on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific, with 13 games on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, 17 on Canucks TV and five games on TSN. Jim Hughson and John Garrett will once again be calling games on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific. [canucks.com]

I like Jim Hughson at the helm for play-by-play, and it’s hard to contest Shorthouse, be it on the radio or TV. It might just be me, but the color commentators often make me cringe, whoever they bring in for any game. “Roll up the rim to win!” is not the first thing that pops into my head when some one scores a goal, and “I like, I love it, I wanna see more of it” is just… well… need I say more?

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Filed under: Blogs, Canucks, Hockey, Radio, Television

Farewell, Professor Van Allen

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006

Professor James Van Allen - June 14, 2005One of the neatest things that I can recall from my early days of becoming a lifelong geek was discovering that something in space was named after a guy who was born and raised not far from my home. I think that’s common for anyone who has some one from their home state do something that makes you proud to say that you are not afraid to say where you are from.

Then in high school, you are taught by physics teachers who studied under the guy. I had an interest in astronomy that died out during these years, but that didn’t make me any less interested in learning more about it. The Van Allen radiation belts? James Van Allen[wiki] was that guy.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Physicist James A. Van Allen, a leader in space exploration who discovered the radiation belts surrounding the Earth that now bear his name, died Wednesday. He was 91.

The University of Iowa, where he taught for years, announced the death in a statement on its Web site. [globeandmail]

When I worked at WSUI, we used to venture downtown for various live remotes that we would have to setup for, and that would take us to Van Allen Hall, the physics building that is named after him. We’d park the car in one of the official vehicle spots just outside the lecture hall, and there was one, professor emeritus, reserved parking spot that had an older, green, Jeep Cherokee in it. That was Professor Van Allen’s, and it was usually there every single time we dropped by.

Professor James Van Allen - June 14, 2005Even in his 90′s, he was still leading projects and heading into his office nearly every single day. I’m not sure to what capacity, but if you had a some sort of physics research that needed some help in getting a monetary grant from some institution, who else would be better to help sign off on it? He changed a lot about space travel with his discoveries, and the life he led is hardly a dull one.

These pictures are a few snaps that I took when BBC Radio wanted to do an ISDN[wiki] interview with him from our studios in Iowa City on June 14, 2005. He was the kindest man, parking in the lot out front with that classic, green Jeep. His wit was still pretty sharp, and the stories he told were fascinating.

I can’t even recall what the BBC wanted with him, and it doesn’t even matter. I just remember being so excited to shake his hand on that day. It’s not so much about him being a celebrity as it is meeting a great man. A lifetime of researching and discovering new things is an incredible thing in my opinion.

“Certainly one of the most enthralling things about human life is the recognition that we live in what, for practical purposes, is a universe without bounds.”
– James Van Allen (September 7, 1914 – August 9, 2006)

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Filed under: Iowa, News Item, Radio, Science

Hillary Rosen and life after the RIAA

Wednesday, June 7th, 2006

If there was anyone I disliked more during my days at KRUI, it was Hillary Rosen[wiki]. Just a short time after we had established the station’s first webcast in history, I learned all about the DMCA[wiki], the RIAA[wiki], and Hillary Rosen. We were so proud to have our tiny little station getting people to listen from all over the world, only to fear the pursuit of charging incredible, per song, per person fees for our streams.

We fought where we could, contacted our representitives in congress, and staged our own “protests” like good college students do(it even got me on TV news). We just wanted to have out radio station on the web. That’s all. Play our music and be happy. And if the RIAA would have had their way, we would have been low on their radar, but the fees would have caught up sooner or later.

Today, Hillary Rosen is no longer the head of the RIAA, leaving the organization in 2003. She’s picked up blogging for the Huffington Post, and one of her latest posts offers a very intriguing view about the RIAA’s actions regarding individual lawsuits against copyright violators through file sharing networks.

But for the record, I do share a concern that the lawsuits have outlived most of their usefulness and that the record companies need to work harder to implemnt a strategy that legitimizes more p2p sites and expands the download and subscription pool by working harder with the tech community to get devices and music services to work better together. That is how their business will expand most quickly. [huffingtonpost]

Hello, music industry? Are you getting this???

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Filed under: Internet, Music, Radio
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