Check this “confidential survey” designed to gauge industry acceptance of HD Radio. Question #10 is my favorite, as it really encapsulates the overall tenor of the survey itself:
Overall, which of the following statements best applies to you and HD Radio technology?
* – I was never a fan, and don’t believe in HD Radio’s future
* – I’m not sure about how I feel about HD Radio
* – I was a fan, but now am very pessimistic about HD Radio’s future
* – I was a fan, but am not so sure about HD Radio’s ultimate success
* – I am a fan and believe that HD Radio will succeed
* – Other (please specify) Continue reading “More HD Radio and DTV Fun”
Author: diymedia_tu6dox
Catch-Up Notes of Miscellany
Going to try to ease back into the swing of things, though there’s still a lot of non-site work in my life right now still going on. But just a few notes to let you know I’m still alive:
1. Good friend and collagist extraordinaire rx has released an eight-minute trailer of his latest magnum opus – a remix-documentary of the 2008 presidential election. rx isn’t a big fan of deadlines (especially those self-imposed), but he tells me the full doc should be ready for public viewing hopefully by the end of this year or early next. Continue reading “Catch-Up Notes of Miscellany”
Not-Quite-Hiatus Ahoy
It’s that time of the semester when my teaching duties kick into high-gear. This fall, I’ve got 33 students in an introduction to the political economy of the media class (which is right up my alley, and I had loads of fun teaching it last spring). Each of them are now busy researching and writing 10-page papers on a media policy issue of their choice. I’m spending long days in the office doing paper-counseling sessions as well as the necessary work for class-prep itself. In addition, I’ve got some deadlines looming to submit paper-abstracts for a communication research conference.
As a result, I’ll be shortly suspending multi-weekly news-updates to concentrate on getting the legacy projects of the site back up to currency. In the meantime, outside of the instances when I simply can’t help myself from bloviating, I strongly suggest that (if you aren’t already) you supplement your info-diet with a subscription to either the Benton Foundation’s Communications-Related Headlines newsletter or Free Press’ Media Reform Daily. Both are free; they’re also required reading for my students.
McCain Flip-Flops on Astronaut Experience
Finally, the Truthful Translations of Political Speech become useful for actual fact-checking purposes!
This week, John McCain was asked a provocative question by the editorial board of the Des Moines Register: why all the hate on taxpayer-funded health insurance proposals from a man who’s lived the majority of his entire adult life covered by government-funded and -administered healthcare systems?
Fortunately, the (non-)answer was caught on tape. But let me direct you to approximately 30 seconds into his response: Continue reading “McCain Flip-Flops on Astronaut Experience”
FCC Begs Off on Translator-Expansion (for now)
A pleasant surprise: last week, during the FCC’s monthly meeting, the Commission was to vote on a disastrous plan to give all AM stations a buttload of FM translators, gratis. However – and somewhat true to form for Chairman Kevin Martin’s tenure – the item was pulled from consideration at the last minute. An unnamed source within the FCC reportedly says this is not just a short-term delay; the FM translator giveaway is not slated to be on October’s agenda, either.
Some trade publication, whose name escapes me now (because I didn’t bookmark to their miniscule blurb on the subject), claims that it is the “forces of LPFM” which have delayed the translator giveaway. Not sure what that’s supposed to mean: the “forces of LPFM” are not nearly as organized as they were just a few short months ago, when they lost their most talented and driven public-interest lobbyist for greener pastures. This is a loss that, frankly, cannot be adequately replaced. Continue reading “FCC Begs Off on Translator-Expansion (for now)”
Comcastic Adventures: Capping Your Bandwidth
By now, you’ve all heard about the FCC slapping Comcast’s wrists for engaging in data discrimination; it’s simply been required to disclose its current and future “network management” practices, under penalty of…nothing, really. Both Comcast and those who called for the FCC to act on its shady attempts at subverting network neutrality are appealing the FCC’s decision.
We’ve already covered Comcast’s history of opaque and unreliable service, especially when it comes to crippling your e-mail. Comcast’s initial response to the FCC ruling has been the announcement of a 250 gigabyte per-month usage cap on all residential users, effective next month, with extra-special throttling on the most intensive users at any given time (to be determined at Comcast’s discretion). Continue reading “Comcastic Adventures: Capping Your Bandwidth”
Re-Translating the U.S. Elections Through U.S. Propaganda
Paul the Mediageek recently did an excellent interview with Sarah Kanouse, Assistant Professor in the Intermedia Program at the University of Iowa’s School of Art and Art History, about her latest project, Voices of America. In short, this VOA is a re-interpretation of presidential election coverage provided by the real Voice of America – the main radio arm of the United States’ international, over-the-counter propaganda efforts. Continue reading “Re-Translating the U.S. Elections Through U.S. Propaganda”
HD Radio and Industry Schizophrenia
Interesting samples abound about what the U.S. radio industry thinks about its digital future. When you thread them all together, you find a spot of chaos.
Late August, 2008: Stop IBOC Now!, a coalition of broadcast engineering professionals and listeners, publishes a 10-page list of comments from people within and outside the industry. This list is apparently a sampling of more than 200 received by the coalition to-date. All but one are negative on HD Radio. Continue reading “HD Radio and Industry Schizophrenia”
Berkeley Liberation Radio Collateral Damage in FBI Raid
An FBI raid last week on the Long Haul Infoshop in Berkeley has taken Berkeley Liberation Radio off the air, hopefully temporarily. Details are sketchy as to why the FBI raided the space in the first place, but guns-drawn agents were not picky about what they hauled away. Continue reading “Berkeley Liberation Radio Collateral Damage in FBI Raid”
Comments Filed in Support of DRM Broadcasting
Two notables in spectrum policy, Bennett Kobb and Don Messer, recently filed comments in the FCC’s inquiry into the potential expansion of the FM band. While not directly related to the DoD testing of Digital Radio Mondiale in Alaska, the comments make a strong case for considering the 26 MHz band be a perfect space for utilizing DRM to provide a new class of local radio stations.
The comments, while brief, are very specific about the benefits of extending DRM to uses other than those currently considered in the ongoing testing. While it’s not a formal proposal for rulemaking, it’s an interesting seed planted in this ongoing policy story. Continue reading “Comments Filed in Support of DRM Broadcasting”