Missives from Deep Wireless

I wish I had the time and money to go to the Deep Wireless Festival of Radio Art and Radio Without Boundaries conference up in Toronto which wrapped up this past weekend. The Festival is “a month-long celebration of radio and transmission art including performances, installations, broadcasts, workshops, (and) a Youth Radio residency.” It’s interesting that with the meteoric decline of commercial radio there seem to be an increasing number of conferences, festivals and events celebrating forms of mostly non-commercial radio and radio art.

At least I can experience elements of Deep Wireless vicariously via blog posts from free103point9’s Tom Roe and Transom.org.
Unfortunately I missed most of free103point9’s live stream — I hope archives are posted soon.

Tom’s blog posts include (itemized because they’re otherwise not easily linked as a group):

• Andra McCartney on soundscapes
• Chris Brookes on the need (or not) for narration, “Oh, Shut Up! Who needs a narrator anyway?”
• Radio that reflects community, which Tom says “was preaching to the converted.”
• Soundscapes of the imagination: the grey area between fact and fiction

  Radio and transmission arts is something I’ve been interested in since I started in (legitimate) radio broadcasting back in 1989, and I’m really glad to see that the internet has only increased interest and helped unite and catalyze artists, rather than discouraging them. I’ve tried to cover the subject on the radioshow here and there, and hope to do more both on the show and on this here blog.

Chi Journalism Town Hall Reveals Creative Tension b/w Old and New Media

This week’s radioshow is now online, with audio from a national conference call on low-power community radio along with excerpts of last week’s Chicago Journalism Town Hall.

I meant to comment on the Town Hall earlier, but then all of a sudden already a week passed. First, I want to say that I was glad to be able to attend, and thanks go to organizer Ken Davis who was nice enough to squeeze me in after it looked like their RSVP list was full.

It’s tough to organize such an event and try to be balanced and fair with regard to representation. To begin with, the task of discussing local journalism in Chicago while the two major daily papers are on the ropes is not so simple. If you’re looking to get out of the echo chamber you want to be sure to include voices critical of the mainstream journalism status quo, but at the same time you risk alienating a lot of receptive participants if you don’t also include folks from inside that mainstream. Of course, since many observers pin responsibility for the newspaper’s decline on the internet, you need to have some new media newsies there, too.

Faced with that challenge I think the organizers did a fine job, including both current newspaper reporters and columnists along with bloggers and critical voices. Somebody with an axe to grind can certainly complain about a particular person or institution not being included. But I’d challenge anyone to come up with better representation across the local journalism spectrum in Chicago… nevermind actualy getting them to show up.

Lasting some three hours, it would be difficult for me to effectively summarize the Town Hall in a readable way. Instead I’ll reflect on what stands out to me most one week later.

Without a doubt the friction between new media and old media was present and palpable throughout the event. I wouldn’t say that it ever got hostile, but a level of mutual suspicion could be sensed. The beef of the mainstream, primarily print, journalists echoed a frequent complaint which was summed in one word by Chicago news veteran John Callaway: “theft.” That was his answer to a question of how newspapers might achieve a level of success, audience and revenue online similar to that achieved by the Huffington Post.

At many times the contention that news websites and blogs still rely heavily on the work of the traditional press was brought up. Sometimes it was during a discussion of the negative effects of major newspapers going out of business, noting that such an occurrence would leave bloggers without something to comment on (and, presumably, steal). Other times it was expressed with more bitterness, accusing web-only enterprises of failing to produce much original content, therefore not showing promise as the new guard.

The feelings weren’t much warmer from the other side, as those running web-only news sites, like ChiTown Daily’s Geoff Dougherty cited how profiteering by big newspaper owners began squeezing the papers to death before online was serious competition. Dougherty also forced the issue of original content, given that ChiTown Daily pays both experienced professional journalists and new citizen journalists to do original reporting for the site.

Another strong current was the issue of making money online, with traditional journalists questioning if online ads, in particular, would ever be sufficient to sustain a fully online newspaper. That question met with two different answers. Some panelists, like Community Media Workshop’s Thom Clark and In These Times’ Salim Muwakkil, pointed out that making a profit at reporting news isn’t guaranteed by the first amendment and has contributed significantly to the current crisis. Other commenters from the audience argued that there’s plenty of money to be made with online ads. Sachin Agarwal, CEO of Dawdle.com, was there as an advertiser who buys ads on many Chicago-based websites. Brad Flora of the social news site Windy Citizen invited Agarwal and also spoke up in defense of the vitality of online advertising.

In the end my conclusion is that the tension isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, if there’s a silver lining to the cloud of the current crisis it’s that it is forcing people to have the conversation not just about what the future of local journalism will be, but why it’s important in the first place, and what it should look like. Without rejecting the model of the daily commercial newspaper, at this moment it’s important to reflect critically on what features we wish to retain and what, perhaps, we can do without.

I forget who made the remark, but this line of thinking causes us to question why we have to stories about local government bundled with sudoku puzzles. Just because that’s the way the daily newspaper ended up doesn’t mean that’s the way it has to be.

Of course there are bigger questions at stake, regarding the place of objectivity and so-called advocacy journalism; about who gets to be a reporter, and whether future reporters will be able to make a living wage doing journalism. And of course, we still have the issue of who determines what gets reported and how.

I can’t say that I’m ready to dance on the graves of the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. For all of my criticism for how their owners have done business, and for the gaps present in their coverage of social and economic issues, they nevertheless contribute a great deal of valuable original reportage that would be immediately missed if they went out of business. Yet, these two papers cannot and should not be the only game in town. One of the major underlying problems is the extent to which we all are over reliant upon too few sources of news. And, yes, we probably would not be here if consolidation across media, encouraged by regulation and legislation, had not occurred on such a grand scale in the last quarter century.

The revolution in online news gathering really got off the ground almost ten years ago with the first Indymedia center covering the Battle in Seattle. The notion of uncensored user-contributed news, including photos, sound and video, was radical, forward-thinking and utterly pragmatic. So much so, that a decade on we take it for granted. I’d guess that most folks working online news sites and blogs are largely unaware of this lineage.

The same struggles that catalyzed independent and community media will continue to spur change in online journalism. Money is always an issue, but profit doesn’t have to be.

I left the Town Hall feeling unexpectedly stimulated and hopeful. Despite the overemphasis on making a profit online and the tensions between old media and new, I was heartened that such an open and frank discussion was happening in the first place. I doubt that the same broad mix of folks could have been brought together in the same way five or ten years ago. It’s a sign of both how severe the economic environment is, how much owners like Tribune have run their papers into the ground, and also how traditional journalism can ignore or minimize online efforts only at its own peril.

On Thursday’s Radioshow: New LPFM Bill & Journalism Town Hall

Another new Congress, another new low-power FM bill. In what’s become a tradition since Congress voted to stunt the growth of low-power radio back in 2000, a new Local Community Radio Act has been introduced. But this time around the bill arguably has the best chance of passing yet. We’ll hear from some of the bill’s sponsors and proponents.

Then we’ll hear some excerpts from the Chicago Journalism Town Hall that brought together a diverse panel and audience to discuss the future of local journalism.

The mediageek radioshow airs live Thursday night at 9 PM CST on WNUR 89.3 FM in Chicago, IL, and streaimng live online at wnur.org. The podcast will be posted this weekend.

12th Annual Homelessness Marathon Examines Post-Katrina Poverty

The Homelessness Marathon is one of the best annual grassroots radio events. The only unfortunate thing about the Marathon is that it continues to be necessary every year. It’s a 14-hour live broadcast from the streets of a different city each year, highlighting the causes, problems and experiences of homelessness. The most important aspect of the Marathon is that it features the unedited voices of people who are or have been homeless, in addition to featuring expert commentary.

This year the Marathon is broadcast from Pass Christian, Mississippi, which was effectively ground zero for Hurricane Katrina. Therefore the broadcast will be highlighting poverty in light of the continued effects of that massive natural disaster.

The Homelessness Marathon begins 7 PM EST this coming Monday, Feb. 23, and continues live until 9 AM the following morning. It can be heard on over 100 noncommercial stations around the US and online at their website. The first four hours will also be on Free Speech TV, which is available on Dish Network and numerous public access TV stations.

Unfortunately not a single station in the Chicago area is broadcasting the Marathon. I hope that I might be able to change that next year by arranging participation here at WNUR, where the mediageek radioshow originates. The station’s annual Phoneathon pledge drive was already scheduled for this week before I came on board as adviser, making it near impossible to try and have the station air it.

I participated in the broadcast of the 3rd Annual Homelessness Marathon in January, 2000, when it broadcast from the very cold winter streets of Champaign, IL, hosted by community radio WEFT. I worked pretty closely with Marathon director Jeremy Alderson for several weeks preparing, and he flat out amazed me with his commitment, passion and ability to spend 14 hours broadcasting outside in below-freezing weather with no more protection than most homeless people have. Despite being a small city, Champaign has a visible homeless population, and many folks came forward to take advantage of the open mic set up on the street to share their views and experiences of homelessness. Working on that broadcast is one of my radio experiences I’m most proud of.

A Homelessness Marathon is also being broadcast in Canada the same evening, coming from the streets of Montreal and hosted by Community Radio CKUT. It’s being broadcast on over 40 stations across Canada.

Canadian Community Station Threatened by US Godcaster

In the US grandfathered Class D low-power FM stations (under 100 watts) and translator stations–which only rebroadcast the signal of a full-power station–are the only classes of broadcast stations that don’t enjoy any protection for their spot on the dial. If a full-power station wants to increase power, move its transmitter or make other changes where it would infringe on or take over a Class D or translator station’s frequency, then it’s too bad for the Class D. Apparently, it’s the same situation for some stations in Canada.

But it’s even worse for community radio CJAM at the University of Windsor in Ontario. This 1000 watt station never received “protected” status from the CRTC (the Canadian FCC) due to pressure from the FCC over interference concerns. Now its existence is threatened by a station soon to be licensed by the FCC south of the border on the same frequency, 91.5 FM, in China Township, Michigan.

This is the second such threat to the station’s existence. The first came from inside Canada when the CBC wanted to set up a station on CJAM’s frequency. That situation was resolved when the CBC chose a different frequency.

CJAM is now petitioning the CRTC to move to a different frequency, 99.1 FM, and receive protected status there.

To the best of my knowledge CJAM is the only community station in the Windsor or Detroit area, and it would be a shame to lose such a diverse community voice after 25 years of service. It would be especially tragic to lose CJAM to a cookie-cutter, statewide “positive hits” radio network repeater blaring in from the States. CJAM is asking listeners to send letters to the CRTC and Industry Canada on its behalf:

CJAM has identified a new signal – 99.1 FM – that could afford the station protected status and has moved forward with applications for this new signal to Industry Canada and the CRTC. The application currently before the CRTC is now open for public comment, and this is where we need you, our community of listeners, programmers and volunteers to make your voice heard. If you value CJAM and community radio in Windsor and Detroit, please express your support of our application.

Letters may be submitted electronically at the CRTC website , by fax at 819-994-0218, or by conventional mail to the following address: CRTC Ottawa Ontario K1A 0N2.

Live on WEFT this Afternoon – 5:30 PM on 90.1 FM, Champaign-Urbana, IL

I’ll be literally phoning it in to my old haunt WEFT, 90.1 FM in Champaign-Urbana, IL, at 5:30 PM to do a special edition of the mediageek radioshow for their pledge drive. Long time readers/listeners may recall that WEFT is where the radioshow got its start and where it originated until April of this year.

WEFT station manager Mick Woolf will be in the studio there while we discuss the Tribune bankruptcy, the Obama plan for media and internet and, of course, the still relevant vitality of community radio.

If you’re in the Champaign area tune in, and please consider a donation to WEFT. If you’re elsewhere you can still tune in online.

Spinning Indie, a College Radio Blog

Once in a while I get comments here on the mediageek blog, and it’s especially great when they aren’t grammatically disastrous ads for v1agrA. So imagine how glad I was to receive a comment on my post about college radio from Jennifer Waits, who writes the Spinning Indie blog which is all about college radio.

Jennifer is on a mission to visit or do virtual visits and interviews with college stations in all 50 states, and it makes for great reading. Apparently she made an in-person visit to my backyard at WNUR last month, interviewing the general manager, Taylor Dearr. I’m sorry I wasn’t around for her visit.

Thanks to Jennifer’s virtual tours I’m learning about lots of stations I’d really never heard of that are bringing great radio to places like Fargo, Fairbanks and Stony Brook. It’s helpful to be reminded of the common challenges that college and noncommercial stations face, whether it’s managing music libraries or the vagaries of streaming, and possibly picking up some new approaches.

I hope Jennifer keeps up the posting.

NY Times Discovers College Radio Doesn’t Suck… er, no duh.

It’s got to be tough to be a NY Times reporter. As the stalwart standard-bearer of US print journalism, whenever you report on a cultural phenomenon you’re responsible for ostensibly declaring it as new, or newly rediscovered, newly viable…. newly whatever. While at the same time cultural insiders view that coverage with both “no duh” knowing disdain, along with the muted pride of being noticed by the Old Grey Lady.

So, that’s my stance on the Times’ recent article on continuing relevancy of college radio, spotlighting WRPI at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and KWVA at the University of Oregon. But primarily I’m glad to see the Times taking notice of what feels like an increasingly forgotten form of radio.

I got my start in college radio at WTSR-FM at the College of New Jersey (it was Trenton State College when I was there), and I’m very glad to say that ‘TSR is still a truly student-run station. Now I have the great privilege of being the adviser to student-run WNUR-FM at Northwestern University. Although it seems the bloodshed has slowed, during the 90s and early 00s there seemed to be quite a slate of student stations being reclaimed by college administrations in order to be repurposed into public radio stations or even sold off to the highest bidder (usually a church or christian broadcaster). It seems that things have now stabilized, and I hope that the remaining student-run stations are able to stay that way, although I fear the economic downturn again will make college-owned stations seem like tasty prospects for quick cash.

Along with community radio, student-run college radio is one of the last strongholds for independently programmed radio that is responsive to local community. Student-run stations are often criticized by students and non-students for being comparatively elitist and unrepresentative of both campus and local community. I remember in my college days the station being criticized for playing mostly indie rock that many (if not most) of my fellow students weren’t interested in. They’d tell us that they would listen more if only the station would play more mainstream pop and rock like the local CHR station. While the management of the station might have liked to believe these students, even then we all had enough of an instinctive understanding of basic political economy to recognize that our little college station was no match for the commercial CHR’s advertising and market power. In essence, it was absurd to compete with the commercial stations on their own turf, and a complete waste of the noncommercial license to even attempt it.

As an adviser to a college station in 2008 I see the same trends noted in the Times article, in that the contemporary college student listens to way less radio now than when I was a freshman in 1989. It’s no longer the case that the average college student prefers the local pop station to their college station. Rather, the average college student really does prefer her iPod.

Yet, I argue that true student-run and programmed college stations play a valuable role of cultural and political education in their communities. It’s often overlooked that most college stations are also staffed by a percentage of community volunteers who bring in both community representation and a broader range of experience. While not the same as community radio, any community that has a student-run station should be thankful that this beacon of noncommercial integrity often comes as a partial or wholly-funded gift from the college or university that sponsors it.

Yes, it may esoteric, amateurish or occasionally sophomoric, but I also know that without college radio many a community would have no jazz, classical, bluegrass, blues or experimental music on its airwaves, in addition to the more youth-associated genres of indie rock, metal, rap, dance and electronic.

Sure, many people now turn to the internet, satellite radio and downloads for the music they would have once gotten on the airwaves. But what about those without the resources, money, knowledge or wherewithal to use the ‘net or iPods? Or who want to be able to tune in anywhere without any hassle? Radio isn’t dead, even if the proclivities of the professional middle class are changing.

Yuppies (even if they look like hipsters) never listened to music radio much anyway….

Tom Roe on free103point9’s New FM Station and Microradio Past

Tom Roe, program director for free103point9, was my guest for last week’s radioshow where we discussed that organization’s approach to transmission arts and how they were able to obtain a rare noncommercial full-power FM broadcast license. That show is now available for downloading or listening online.

In the second half of the live broadcast version of the show Tom and I talked a little about the fact that free103point9 actually started out as an unlicensed micropower station in 1997, before deciding to go online only. This makes free103point9 one of only two contemporary broadcast stations to have roots in unlicensed radio. The other one is shortwave station WBCQ whose operator, Allan Weiner, was the man behind the infamous Radio New York International, a station which in 1987 attempted to emulate European pirates by operating off-shore. Weiner wrote a memoir of his pirate radio days called Access to the Airwaves: My Fight for Free Radio. Unfortunately the publisher, Loompanics Press, went out of business in 2006, although it looks like new and used copies are still available online.

Fully indulging in the tangent, after the jump you can watch a compilation video of news coverage of Radio New York International from 1987.
Read more »

Occasionally There Is Justice: free103point9 Receives an FM License

There are so few open frequencies for new full-power noncommercial radio stations in the US, so it’s all the more exciting to learn that the great folks at free103point9 have received a license from the FCC to start a 3,300 watt FM station in New York’s Hudson Valley.

free103point9 is an amazing group that promotes transmission arts, located at the intersection of music, experimental sound construction and radio. Over the last 10 years they’ve maintained an online presence with a live audio stream, while catalyzing the creation of new sonic arts through programs like the residency program at their Wave Lab on 30 acres in upstate New York. free103point9 also sponsors performances and concerts, releasing many of these recordings through their Dispatch series.

I’m so jazzed about free103point9’s FM license because it promises to be a station that is dedicated to and a participant in the creation of art, sound and music, not just merely playing existing recordings on air. With 168 hours a week to fill, I’m sure that the station also will be playing recorded music, along with important news and public affairs show. But the connection of an FM station to a non-profit group already engaged in the production and promotion of sonic art is both new and promising.

Indeed, I think that the sonic and transmission arts represent a fruitful new frontier for radio as the medium transcends being just a music jukebox (no matter how eclectic). Now, this sort of artistic experimentation has happened on community, college, public and even commercial radio stations for decades, but rarely has taken center stage — Public radio’s This American Life arguably is the best known example of a radio program that breaks out of the typical confines of radio genre and format. However, more often programs that truly play and experiment with sound and transmission are relegated to overnight hours and not often long-lived.

I also think it’s great that free103point9 started life as a microbroadcasting collective, that turned into an internet broadcaster, and is now bridging to the airwaves. Each medium has unique constraints, advantages and audiences and the future vitality of radio will rest on the fruitful use and bridging of multiple methods like these.

I’m scheduling Tom Roe, Program Director of free103point9, to be on the radioshow in the next few weeks. I’ve wanted to feature more transmission and sonic arts on the radioshow, but the move to Chicago this year and limits on my time and energy have kept this idea on the back burner. But hearing about free103point9’s license gives me motivation to re-engage with it.