One of the concepts I have formulated for community stations… commercial or LPFM non-commercial… is:
Monday is Washday and Tuesday we Talk. Take your choice. Wednesday may be better, Thursday might work. Saturday could be the choice for some communities.
I guess the wringer washing machine left our American civilization about 50 years ago. Prior to that time here was the typical game plan for the housewife: Monday we wash. Tuesday we iron. It get’s grittier than that. Get the whole story
If you only remember one blog from this site, This is the one! Some of the tips I share with you were collected while I was exploring the idea of a traditional commercial station.
How many times have you driven past what was apparently a radio station, or used to be. Is it operating? Is anyone in there that could show me around? Get the whole story
Many people and groups are anxiously waiting for the FCC to “clear a little space on the deck” where people can file an application for a new LPFM license. There are some housekeeping items that have to take place.
This week one bit of that housekeeping took Step 1.
A little over two years ago there was a Application Window for Non-commercial Educational stations at regular power levels. These applications need to be granted or denied before we can know what frequencies are available in the community we may be interested in. Get the whole story
Here is a question that should be considered by you and your board, by your team of volunteers. How are we going program mornings, drive-time. I don’t have an answer to push on you. Some programming formats beg for a strong morning presentation. Get the whole story
Stereo has become the norm today. Stereo is ONE of several reasons FM broadcasting has displaced AM broadcasting as ‘king of the hill’. Here is a radical thought to include in the mix as you contemplate the possibility of operating an LPFM station:
“Turn OFF the stereo. Spend most of your time in MONO.”
If you are bound and determined that the central focus of your station is going to be the presentation of a genre of music that no one else makes available in your area, move on. Go for a walk. Check on the blizzard conditions in your area.
If you have a vision that includes a lot of interviews, a lot of ‘long form’ information broadcasts, then follow along on this logic. Get the whole story
Here in Georgia we are watching as the new Kia manufacturing facility exits the construction phase and the manufacturing of automobiles begins. A humongous crowd of people applied for jobs, and large crowd of people have been hired.
What if you were one of the new-hires, and you showed up for work and your supervisor took you down this big industrial sized hallway, opened a door and said: “Come in. This is where you will build your car today.” It’s a small room… the size of a two-car garage at your house. You ask: “Where is the assembly line?” Get the whole story
Note to self: If you EVER start another new Blog, do not launch it in the middle of the Christmas season when you and the readers are busy, busy, busy. I posted to the Blog back in early December some thoughts on when and how initial programming decisions come into the planning process. A couple of weeks ago Carl posted a Comment in response.
Those who come here regularly may not go rummaging back through the previous posts, and may not come across my response so let me also make the response part of this current post:
Carl: Thanks for posting your comment. The holidays have been a busy time, and I decided to wait and see if anyone else wanted to respond to your comment.
No, I don’t intend to suggest that thinking about programming content does not happen before radiation begins. Get the whole story
When I grew up in Texas, we referred to a part of the state as “The Piney Woods of East Texas”. One of the true pioneers of LPFM broadcasting is Chuck Conrad who has been operating in the Chalk Hill Community of East Texas. Chuck has just made a major change. A commercial FM channel became available in the area so he purchased it and has moved the call letters and programming… and the image…. of his LPFM to a commercial channel. The LPFM frequency in now owned by a church in the area and will be broadcasting as an LPFM with different programming content. (Google for Chuck Conrad KZQX and learn more.)
As you read the posts on this web site, you find that I don’t hand out very many firm and finite answers. I purposely trouble you with questions and choices. If you choose to become part of an LPFM station, it is my position that you should wrestle with choices and develop something unique to the task and opportunity within your grasp.
Remember Fred Rogers and his children’s TV program, Mr Rogers Neighborhood? As Fred might have said at this point: “Boys and Girls, can you say COMMUNITY?” The masthead of my blog refers to “Community Based Radio”. That is an immediate effort to suggest that LPFM is NOT mass media for a large city. Get the whole story
About 1960 the American auto industry began a journey to perfect the small automobile. They took the standard auto and simply made it smaller. It was pitful! Then a stroke of inspiration copied from Volkswagen: Corvair tried moving the engine to the rear where the drive wheels were. They tunred out to be half right, and in a lot of trouble. For smaller cars, the industry finally discovered that you move the drive wheels up front where the weight of the engine is… they belong at the same end of the car as the engine. Bingo!
It worked so well they tried it all the way to the largest cars. Sometime in the 90′s they figured out that some large cars work best with rear wheel drive.
When the building floor plan and equipment layout that works so well for big city radio is imposed on the Small Market or Community Oriented station… but just scaled down, we get the Crosley and the Falcon and the Chevette and the Corvair of radio. Get the whole story