Jennifer Waits reports back from the Grassroots Radio Conference, held in Spokane Washington from September 11 to September 14, 2025. We recap FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez’s keynote address, in which she spoke forcefully about recent actions by the FCC that threaten freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Gomez talked about the importance of community radio, as a place that inherently provides a diversity of view points.

Also on the show, we hear a bit about the National Campus and Community Radio Conference, which was held in Nanaimo, BC, Canada in June 2025. Plus, Jennifer digs into the latest “best college radio stations” list from Princeton Review.

The post Podcast #345 – Catching up with Community Radio at the Grassroots Radio Conference and NCRC appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Radio Survivor team returns for a new episode, during which Jennifer, Eric and Paul recap some of the latest radio news. Topics this week including LPFM, college radio history, radio documentaries, expanding and returning radio stations, and a slow radio broadcast for Earth Day.

Jennifer talks about her new gig working on a college radio history collection that is part of the Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC) on the Internet Archive.

Additionally, we cover some updates to the radio landscape, including details about the most recent low-power FM licensing window, during which 388 groups (and counting) have been awarded construction permits for new LPFM stations. In San Francisco, streaming radio station BFF.fm is the recipient of one of these coveted spots on the dial.

Also coming to the San Francisco airwaves is Seattle-based non-commercial radio station KEXP, which acquired the former KREV full-power FM commercial frequency in a bankruptcy auction. Across the country in New York City, streaming community radio station East Village Radio is returning after it ceased operations nearly a decade ago.

A few radio stories are coming to the big screen. 35,000 Watts, a documentary about college radio, has made its debut and is initially hitting the college radio circuit. Jennifer will be in attendance at a 35,000 Watts screening and panel discussion at Pomona College on March 28th as part of a fundraising event for college radio station KSPC. Another radio film in the works, 40 Watts to Nowhere, recounts the story of pirate radio station KBLT, which ran out of founder Sue Carpenter’s home in Silver Lake near Los Angeles in the late 1990s.

Finally, we alert stations to an opportunity to participate in the annual Earth Day radio event: Wetland Project Slow Radio Broadcast on April 22, 2024. Stations can air all or part of the 24-hour broadcast featuring the sounds of nature, including birds, frogs, insects, and airplanes.

The post Podcast #337 – Catching up on Radio News including LPFM, a College Radio Archive, Documentaries, and More appeared first on Radio Survivor.

10/17/23 Update! The new low power FM filing window has been delayed and is now opening on December 6, 2023. See the FCC’s announcement here.

On our latest episode of Radio Survivor, it’s a very special treat, with all four Radio Survivor hosts at the mic discussing an exciting low power FM opportunity. Another low power FM licensing window for non-commercial radio stations in the United States opens on November 1, 2023 December 6, 2023. Who is eligible to apply for these licenses? And why should they? And what help is available? Our guest, Sharon Scott, joins us to talk us through all things LPFM. Scott is the co-founder and general manager of a low power FM radio station, WXOX-LP in Louisville, Kentucky. She is also the author of Low Power FM for Dummies, which is set to be released in October, 2023.

The post Podcast #333 – Low Power FM for Dummies appeared first on Radio Survivor.

It’s been nearly three years since the FCC first announced that a new low-power FM (LPFM) application window would be forthcoming. Now we know that November 1 – 8, 2023 will be the third-ever opportunity for qualified non-profits to apply for a license. Jennifer, Eric and Paul review all the pertinent details, explaining why there is excitement around LPFM and this next chance for new community and college radio stations to go on the air.

We also take another look at Franken FMs – vestigial low-power TV (LPTV) stations on channel 6 that can be heard at the far left end of the FM radio dial. They were supposed to go off the air a year ago when the last LPTV stations converted to digital broadcasts. But the FCC eventually granted 13 of them “Special Temporary Authority” to continue broadcasting an analog radio signal experimentally even while their video signals went digital. At its July meeting the Commission plans to vote on rules that would allow these Franken FMs to live on, and we discuss what’s at stake.

The post Podcast #331 – New Low-Power FM Opportunity Coming this November appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will open two filing windows for non-commercial FM radio licenses. First up will be an opportunity to apply for a full-power non-commercial / educational (NCE) license, followed by a low-power FM opportunity.

Even though the application window dates have not yet been announced, now is the time to get prepared. Broadcast attorney Frank Montero guests to help us understand the process of applying for an FM broadcast license. He’s a partner with Fletcher, Heald and Hildreth, which also publishes the CommLawBlog. He explains who qualifies to apply and other requirements to keep in mind.

License application windows are the only time when an organization may apply for an FM radio license, and they don’t happen frequently. The last full-power NCE window was more than a decade ago, and the last chance at an LPFM was 2013. As the FM dial fills up in cities and towns across the country, this may be the last opportunity for a new station in many regions. If you’re interested in operating a full- or low-power non-commercial station we we hope this episode helps get you started. Even if you’re not interested, it’s important to understand just how stations get on the air in the 21st century.

• CommLawBlog – The Upcoming FCC Noncommercial FM and LPFM Filing Windows: What You Need to Know
• NFCB: Primer On The NCE Radio Filing Window
• FCC Chair: New LPFM & Noncomm License Opportunities Coming Soon
• FCC Awards Full-Power Licenses to 5 LPFMs, Plus 52 More Orgs (2010)
• FCC’s LPFM order will make 2013 a good year for community radio (2012)
• Radio Survivor documented the roll-out of new LPFM stations beginning with the most recent 2013 application window

Feature image adapted from “The FCC’s front door” by Rob Pegararo / flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The post Podcast #269 – How To Get an FM Radio License in 2021 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The University of Virgina’s WTJU now only permits one person in their studios at one time and has five remote locations ready to take over live broadcasting. That’s a couple of ways that community and college stations are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community radio WTJU General Manager Nathan Moore joins this week to explain how university campus-based stations are coping with the ever-changing situation. He is also the staff adviser to student-run LPFM WXTJ. He tells us how forging alliances with local businesses and groups has helped the station provide original programming and a unique community service during this challenging time.

WTJU is primarily a music station, but is able to weave important news and information into its regular programming, without breaking format. We discuss how while a full-on talk program isn’t suited to all listeners or all stations, that doesn’t mean a music station can’t be a vital community resource.

We also review audio listening data from the just-released 2020 Infinite Dial survey. Radio listening continues to change, while podcasting continues to grow. We reflect on what this means for community and college radio.

• WTJU
• WXTJ-LP
• Charlottesville Tomorrow
• THE BRIDGE Progressive Arts Initiative
• The Front Porch Charlottesville
• Podcast #237 – How Community & College Radio Can Deal with COVID-19
• Podcast #207 – Building More Communities Around Your Station
• Broadcast Using This Tool is how Nathan connects to WTJU remotely
• The Infinite Dial 2020

The post Podcast #238 – Social Distancing, Going Remote and Automation during Global Pandemic appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Last week we declared that the 2010s were a banner decade for community radio. As Jennifer notes, though college radio had a tough start to the last decade, with the loss of prominent stations like KUSF, KTRU and WRVU, the service seriously bounced back, aided by factors like the low-power FM boom, internet radio, HD Radio and support from the new College Radio Foundation. That all adds up to the defensible declaration that it was also the biggest growth decade for college radio, too. We unpack all that happened.

Digging further into our second “Decade in Review” episode, Jennifer also looks at how efforts to preserve radio programming and materials stepped up, seen most prominently with the founding of the Library of Congress’ Radio Preservation Task Force. On that subject, we’re pleased to report that this show has been selected for collection by the Library of Congress as part of a new podcast program. We’ll talk to the manager of the Podcast Preservation Project on next week’s show.

Finally, we also dig into how video, and YouTube specifically, has become radio, in many ways. A picture may be required, but what does it matter if it’s the audio that’s most important?

But, wait, there’s more! Find out how Jerry Lee Lewis fuels a discussion of border blasters, the tempestuous relationship between radio and the record industry through times of both war and peace in some bonus content that didn’t fit into this episode. Our Patreon supporters can hear this bonus episode, and so can you for a gift of just $1 a month.

• More College Radio than Ever in the 2010s as it Takes New Forms
• Preservation is One of the Most Important Radio Trends of the Decade
• Podcast #207 – Building More Communities Around Your Station
• Is YouTube the Home of the New Radio Pirates?

The post Podcast #228 – College Radio’s Biggest Decade appeared first on Radio Survivor.

We begin part one of our review of the last decade in radio with the observation that it saw the greatest expansion of community radio in history. Though the second US LPFM licensing window that happened in 2013 is a significant driver, the growth happened all over the world.

The 2010s were also a growth period for a lesser-known type of radio station, that isn’t officially even radio. We’re talking about FrankenFM TV stations that can be heard on the FM dial. Not remotely as numerous as low-power FMs, they nevertheless increased in number.

We also note the cataclysmic shifts in independent internet radio that went largely unnoticed outside specialist press (and Radio Survivor). Though indie stations, and platforms supporting those stations, still exist, an unknown number were effectively forced to shut down.

Still, at the end of the decade, there are substantially more radio stations on the air than ten years ago. Not bad for a dying medium, eh? Next week, in part two, we dig into the decade in college radio, and dig deeper into the convergence of radio and video.

• The Greatest Flowering of Community Radio in History Happened in the 2010s
• Podcast #67 – New Community Radio in Borneo
• Podcast #103 – The Popular Community Radio Movement in Argentina
• Podcast #198 – Defending Human Rights with Radio in Honduras
• Podcast #170 – Community Radio in Brazil
• The Near-Death of Independent Internet Radio Is One of the Most Important Radio Trends of the Decade
• The Rise and Possible Fall of FrankenFMs Is One of the Most Important Radio Trends of the Decade
• Understanding Radio in the Popular Zeitgeist – An Analysis of Radio Survivor’s Most Popular Posts of the Decade 2010 – 2019

The post Podcast #227 – A Banner Decade for Community Radio and FrankenFMs appeared first on Radio Survivor.

RadiOpio Program Director Laura Civitello has the enviable job of running a youth radio station on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. From an upstairs perch at the beach side Pa’ ia Youth and Cultural Center, Civitello manages KOPO-LP, whose on-air hosts range in age from 9 to 19 years old. On this week’s show, Civitello tells the story of how RadiOpio came to be and talks about the unique role that this LPFM station is playing for young people in the town of Pa’ia.

• RadiOpio website
• Pa’ia Youth and Cultural Center
• The 40 Best Little Radio Stations in the U.S. (Paste Magazine)
• Radio Station Tours on Radio Survivor
• Mahalo to Mana’o Radio, Maui’s Community Radio Station
• Mana’o Radio website
• KOKO-LP
• KAKU-FM
• Free Speech Radio News Documentary – On Being Hawaiian and Homeless

The post Podcast #210 – Youth Radio by the Beach appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Jennifer is back from travels, that included Hawaiian community radio, to join Eric and Paul. First up, a question: is “pathfinder” a good replacement for the word “pioneer,” the latter of which has an unfortunate colonial heritage? Listener Pat Flanagan suggested it to us after we asked for input a couple of episodes, so we provisionally adopt it here to talk about people who are finding new paths for our favorite audio media.

Jennifer updates us about a new pathfinding low-power FM station backed by the San Francisco Public Press, and announces that the call for papers is open for the next Radio Preservation Task Force conference in October 2020.

Paul reports back from Podcast Movement, where some 3000 podcasters of many stripes met for 3 days in Orlando, Florida. He remarks on the wide variety of podcast email newsletters he learned about, and the Podcast Brunch Club. We note recent allegations of plagiarism against a popular true crime podcast, using it as a launching point for a discussion about journalism and ethics in community broadcasting and podcasting.

• Call for Papers – ‘Century of Broadcasting: Preservation and Renewal’ Conference
• Podcast #192: Saving Radio History with The Radio Preservation Task Force
• Muni Diaries
• San Francisco Public Press
• Podcast #191: How an LPFM Produces an Hour of Hyper-Local News Every Weekday
• Podcast Movement 2019
• Preserve This Podcast
• Podcast Brunch Club
• The Adventure Zone podcast
• NY Times: Popular ‘Crime Junkie’ Podcast Removes Episodes After Plagiarism Accusation

The post Podcast #208 – Radio and Podcast Pathfinding in San Francisco and Podcast Movement appeared first on Radio Survivor.