I have been remiss in mentioning this, but last week Paul the Mediageek did a comprehensive show with reporters on the ground in Oaxaca, Mexico, where a teacher’s strike started earlier this year has escalated into a full-scale state revolt.
According to Nancy Davies and George Salzman, most of the stations occupied by those in the movement to reclaim Oaxaca for those who live there have been reacquired by the authorities; the university’s previously-licensed radio station has been declared a “pirate” and suffers from active jamming. Continue reading “Mediageek Highlights Oaxaca Crisis”
Author: diymedia_tu6dox
Clear Channel: Sold
As a rudimentary reading of the tea leaves has shown, Clear Channel has elected to go private, accepting a buyout offer of nearly $19 billion from two private investment firms. On the same day, Clear Channel announced it would divest its holdings of radio stations outside of the top 100 markets – just under 39% of its total station inventory, minus those small cluster-sales it has already made over the last couple of months.
It’s anybody’s guess what a leaner, meaner private Clear Channel may mean; regulatory review and approval of the deal will be required. There already may be a shareholder lawsuit in the works, too. Continue reading “Clear Channel: Sold”
Veronica/NRG Founder Dies
Stephen Moss, founder of NRG Kits and the original creator of the Veronica line of gear, died on October 23rd from complications involving ALS/MND (known in the States as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He was first diagnosed in January, and while the prognosis is usually bleak in these cases the disease progressed unusually fast.
According to correspondence with NRG staff, the business will continue to operate, but some gear will be discontinued – stuff that only Stephen could make. Further details are unknown at this time. Continue reading “Veronica/NRG Founder Dies”
Guy Wire Pimps NAB Translator Invasion
I’ve long respected the opinion of Guy Wire, the pseudonym for a “veteran radio broadcast engineer” who writes regularly for Radio World, an excellent source of industry news. Hiding behind a pen name has given Guy Wire the balls over time to speak unpopular truths about the radio industry.
Which is why I was somewhat disappointed in his latest column, where he praises the National Association of Broadcasters’ plans to flood the FM dial with more translator stations that will do nothing more than simulcast AM radio stations.
Guy paints the plan as prudent, allowing neglected and beleaguered AM broadcasters to finally have “real relief” from increased interference and noise on the AM band. He says AM radio is “under siege,” with “far too many marginal stations with dwindling audiences and revenues.” Continue reading “Guy Wire Pimps NAB Translator Invasion”
Clear Channel: For Sale (and Selling)
Though Clear Channel may possibly be shopping itself around, the Mays family that runs the company sits quite pretty. Should the company be sold and Lowry and his two boys be asked to leave, their golden parachutes call for tens of millions of dollars in stock and cash payments each: even the taxes on that income will be paid for by the company.
There is some evidence that Clear Channel has begun quietly selling off selected properties, specifically involving “support businesses” and clusters of radio stations in smaller markets. This would make sense as the company cleans up its books to position itself in the best light for potential suitors to either take it private or buy it up to sell off piecemeal. Continue reading “Clear Channel: For Sale (and Selling)”
Clear Channel: For Sale?
Interesting stories abound in the news about the world’s largest broadcast/outdoor advertising/live music venue conglomerate entertaining the idea of going private, possibly selling itself out to a “vulture capitalist” firm.
Clear Channel’s official line on the buyout talks is that it seeks to “enhance shareholder value,” which is an eloquent way of saying there’s greed at play, and the typical sources of funding aren’t working out so well anymore. Continue reading “Clear Channel: For Sale?”
Some Corporate Airwave Piracy Gets Its Due
Last year the FCC issued several Notices of Apparent Liability to several cross-border companies in southern California. These companies were using unlicensed microwave data links to connect corporate and production facilities. Recently the FCC finally formalized the forfeitures against most of them. Continue reading “Some Corporate Airwave Piracy Gets Its Due”
$100 Million Worth of Copyright Liberation?
My friend Andrew recently forwarded me this message from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales:
Imagine there existed a budget of $100 million to purchase copyrights to be made available under a free license. What would you like to see purchased and released under a free license?
Photos libraries? Textbooks? Newspaper archives? Be bold, be specific, be general, brainstorm, have fun with it. Continue reading “$100 Million Worth of Copyright Liberation?”
A Conversation With Jeremy Lansman
This week I guest-hosted the Mediageek radio show and had the sublime pleasure of making the telephonic acquaintance of Jeremy Lansman. He’s a living bit of community radio history, not to mention a genius when it comes to hacking DTV and FCC licensing regulations, though he is somewhat ambivalent about pirate radio these days.
Mediageek is a half-hour program, but Jeremy and I talked for much longer on a wide variety of subjects, from what it was like to be at ground zero of the first golden age of community radio, to trying to eke out a living as an independent TV station, to consolidation in the telecom environment. You can 
download the raw interview here (1:20:25, 76.63 MB) if you’re interested, otherwise Paul will have the abbreviated version up later this weekend.
State-Level Challenge to Florida's Anti-Pirate Law?
The only attempt made so far to challenge Florida’s law making radio piracy a state felony involves a petition from the American Radio Relay League asking the FCC to issue a declaratory ruling nullifying the state law on jurisdictional grounds. Although the FCC has been historically very aggressive in asserting its jurisdictional superiority when it comes to regulation of the airwaves, in the cases of Florida and New Jersey it’s looked the other way – the ARRL’s petition has languished in the FCC’s circular file for 19 months now.
But Rayon Payne, of all people, thinks Florida’s law can be successfully contested at the state level. He recently called the Florida Secretary of State’s office and asked for a license to broadcast. Payne’s premise is, if the state of Florida wants to assert some sort of policing authority over use the public airwaves, then it should include a licensing power as a part of that authority. Continue reading “State-Level Challenge to Florida's Anti-Pirate Law?”