Radio

Late-Period Limbaugh

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:09:04 -0700

At one time, Limbaugh did his program from a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper he dubbed, with tongue-in-cheek grandiosity, the Excellence in Broadcasting Building. These days, he mostly broadcasts out of a studio in Palm Beach, Fla., which he calls the Southern Command, and describes on the air as a “heavily fortified bunker.”

Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Talkin' Big Payday

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:58:50 -0700

Rush Limbaugh and Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks have agreed to a contract extension that will pay the conservative talk-radio pundit more than $400 million through 2016.

The eight-year extension includes a $100 million signing bonus, Limbaugh told the New York Times. The deal comes about a month before the broadcaster celebrates 20 years in syndication August 8.

You Can Stop the Vile Media

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:55:35 -0700

F YOU'RE lucky, you missed getting a bloody e-mail promoting Ashanti's new single, "The Way That I Love You." It was disturbingly violent and, given the homicide rate plaguing many American cities, it was in unbelievably bad taste.

The Hidden History of U.S. Broadcasting

Stevie Converse — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:05:51 -0700

The US broadcast media regime, in which greedy, amoral corporations enjoy completely free monopoly licenses to run their highly profitable businesses upon the scarce public property that is the broadcast spectrum is usually presented to us as the only “natural” and sensible media order.

Senate Democrats Weigh In on XM-Srius

Stevie Converse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:32:41 -0700

With the Federal Communications Commission members kicking around the compromise proposal for an XM Satellite Radio-Sirius Satellite Radio merger and both Democrats and Republicans still talking of wanting to get a decision out the door "soon," several high-profile Democrats weighed in saying that the proposal does not go far enough for their liking.

The Station That Dared to Defend Carlin’s ‘7 Words’ Looks Back

Stevie Converse — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:23:13 -0700

As the encomiums for George Carlin have rolled in from stand-up legends, celebrities and scholars, his death at 71 has also been noted at a diminutive, iconic and iconoclastic radio station in Manhattan, WBAI-FM.

U.S.-Funded Arab Language TV Network Under Scrutiny

Stevie Converse — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:58:35 -0700

[Editor's note: To listen to the audio, click here.]

Al Hurra, Arabic for "The Free One," is a 4-year-old U.S. government-funded satellite television channel, part of an ambitious effort in public diplomacy, to win hearts and minds in the Arab and Muslim world in the aftermath of 9/11.

Low Power to the People

Stevie Converse — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:54:57 -0700

Money talks on the radio. The airwaves are full of voices backed by the millions of dollars it takes to buy a commercial radio station. Clear Channel Communications, for example, owns more than 1,200 of them. But how do America's smaller, average-income voices get heard?

Radio Daze at the FCC

Stevie Converse — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:42:03 -0700

Why has it taken federal regulators 17 months to decide whether XM and Sirius should be allowed to merge? Because both of these statements are true: Even with a merger of the two pay radio companies, satellite radio is a dead man walking; and with or without a merger, satellite radio is poised to be among the most important content providers in a confusing new media landscape.

Is the Tyranny of Right-Wing Radio Coming to an End?

Stevie Converse — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:03:33 -0700

Conservative fears of an impending Democratic attack on talk radio - dubbed the "Hush Rush" effort in an homage to top-rated radio talker Rush Limbaugh -- continue to escalate, despite ample evidence that such an assault is unlikely to occur when (as is likely) Democrats sweep back into power in the forthcoming elections in November.

Broadcasters Petition FCC to Boost Digital Radio Signals

Stevie Converse — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:55:44 -0700

A large collection of commercial and non-commercial radio broadcasters is petitioning the Federal Communications Commission in support of a proposed power increase for digital FM HD Radio broadcasts across the country.

Make Satellite Radio Keep Competing

Stevie Converse — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:15:56 -0700

The Federal Communications Commission should enforce its long-standing and well-reasoned prohibition against a satellite radio monopoly that it established in 1997 when it granted the spectrum licenses to XM and Sirius. The policy underlying this prohibition - to provide an opportunity for a competitive satellite service to benefit consumers - is as valid today as it was in 1997.

Tony Schwartz, Father of 'Daisy Ad' for the Johnson Campaign, Dies at 84

Stevie Converse — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:39:36 -0700

Tony Schwartz, a self-taught, sought-after and highly reclusive media consultant who helped create what is generally considered to be the most famous political ad to appear on television, died Saturday at his home in Manhattan. He was 84.

His daughter, Kayla Schwartz-Burridge, said the cause was aortic valve stenosis, a condition involving the narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve.

For FCC's Michael Copps, XM-Sirius Merger Still 'Steep Climb'

Stevie Converse — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:53:23 -0700

Responding to Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin's support of the XM Satellite Radio-Sirius Satellite Radio merger under certain conditions proposed by the two companies, Democratic FCC commissioner Michael Copps said Monday that he has not changed his view that the merger has a high hurdle to overcome.

Radio Merger Under Fire from Black Lawmakers

Stevie Converse — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:41:42 -0700

Senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday criticized a compromise plan for the proposed merger of the XM and Sirius satellite radio companies, saying the deal does not provide enough opportunities for minority-owned programming.

Talk Radio's Last Stand?

Stevie Converse — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:57:58 -0700

The email alert read "Breaking from Newsmax.com," the conservative online news site that also publishes Newsmax Magazine. One item in particular caught my attention -- "Special: Will President Obama Ban O'Reilly, Rush?"

The Return of the Program Manager

Stevie Converse — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:37:22 -0700

Thanks to media consolidation and vertical integration program syndication is no longer a station-by-station proposition. Today major shows are sold to entire station groups.
Story continues after the ad

AOL Turns the iPhone into an Expensive Radio

Stevie Converse — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:21:51 -0700

Here’s one way I listened to the radio in grade school: I wound a coil of wire and connected it to a small crystal, a little yellow earphone and a few other parts nailed to a board. This crystal radio was enough to receive WJR, then the CBS affiliate in Detroit, where I grew up. Batteries were not required.

Media Conference: Thousand Kites Project

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:12:44 -0700

One of the best (and most overwhelming) parts of a conference like this weekend’s Free Press event is the confluence of energized people, all armed with sharp ideas, many working on innovative, exciting projects. On Saturday afternoon, one project making innovative use of radio stood out from the fray:

Signal Interference: Tuning into the definition of 'Corporate Media'

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:21:51 -0700

There was an awkward moment at the end of “Minnesota Model: Countering Corporate Media,” a panel discussion at this weekend’s National Conference on Media Reform.

Alas, I must admit that I was the one who caused it.