Founded by labor pioneer Jimmie Porter in 1978, KBBQ  community radio has successfully served the African American community of Waterloo, Iowa for 40 years.

Now under the leadership of GM Deborah Berry, KBBQ enjoys financial stability and a new sense of purpose. Congratulations to all the folks contributing to 40 years of great community radio, and best wishes for continued success in the future!

For more on this story, go here.

The BBC director general, Tony Hall, has made a surprise U-turn and cancelled about £10m of planned cuts to local radio in order to help the corporation combat fake news. The move was announced on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the corporation’s first local radio station, BBC Radio Leicester.

In a speech at a radio awards event in Coventry, the BBC director general said: “For many years the BBC has been reducing its investment in local radio. The development of new technology and the growth of smartphones has seen many people getting their local news, weather and traffic information digitally.

“But the rise of digital technology has also seen the rise of fake news, not just on a global level but on a local one as well. That’s why the role of BBC local radio is actually becoming more important – not less.” Hall said he wanted a “renaissance” in local radio to help better understand the UK.

“England’s changing. It’s always been a patchwork of communities, with quite distinct identities. While Newcastle’s population is getting older, Bradford’s is getting younger and Birmingham is becoming one of the most diverse cities in Europe. Decision-making is being devolved too – there are mayors in some of the big metropolitan areas and that’s having an impact.

“I want to hear the sound of England as it changes. So while other media are becoming creatively less local, I want us to become even more so and to connect with our audiences in new ways.” He added: “Local radio is in the DNA of our communities. I think that is more important than ever.”

Jabari Gray is stepping into a new leadership role as Executive Director of Youth Radio. He will join Ellin O’Leary, Youth Radio’s President and Chief Content Officer in leading Youth Radio’s launch of a new four-year strategic plan, with the goal of propelling the organization as a national media leader.

“Youth Radio sets the gold standard in youth-driven media, and it is my full intention to protect and grow its legacy in my new role,” says Gray. “This is a company that actually delivers on its promise to bring honest, diverse, and compelling content to American audiences. For the last 25 years, Youth Radio has assembled teams and partnerships that provide the best out-of-school digital communication education around, consistently producing award-winning journalism.”

Beyond its critical role of providing education, technical training, and professional development for emerging media talent, Gray says the organization serves a larger purpose, creating a crucial platform for young people at this defining moment in our nation’s history.

The Media Authority of Berlin-Brandenburg (MABB), Germany’s equivalent to the FCC, announced Thursday that KCRW Berlin, affiliated with KCRW in Los Angeles, will begin broadcasting Oct. 1 on 104.1 MHz.

KCRW “jumped at” the opportunity to program the Berlin station because the German city and the station’s home of Los Angeles share similar art and culture, KCRW President Jennifer Ferro said. KCRW creates programming “that would have relevance to the community in Berlin,” she said.

The format will include programming from NPR, KCRW and other public radio entities, in addition to programs produced in Berlin. Music will account for about half of the station’s programming. which “translates really well, especially if you’re broadcasting in a multilingual society,” Ferro said. At first, the music will be hosted by the station’s Los Angeles DJs, but Ferro said she hopes Berlin-based hosts will join the lineup “very soon.” Los Angeles–based hosts may also visit Berlin for special events and vice versa.

Locally produced programming will include a weekly local current affairs show and a monthly show about German and European politics.

SUPPORT THE RESTORATION OF COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION IN MEXICO:
Actions for the recovery and re-establishment of affected communities in Oaxaca and Morelos.

 Dear Friends,
As you may know, central and southern Mexico is living a disastrous situation and devastation of entire communities due to the telluric movements that have occurred since September 7. As REDES AC, along with other organizations that have accompanied us in community and indigenous communication processes, we have decided to articulate specific actions that respond to the recovery and reestablishment of affected communities in the states of Oaxaca and Morelos. These communities, forgotten by the government and the mass media, have been close to community communication processes we work with.

Our intention is, in the first instance, to restore the conditions of local communication projects that naturally constitute a meeting point for the articulation of community processes. We also aim to contribute to the communities rebuilding in accordance to their development priorities defined through traditional constructive schemes in order to strengthen their economy and resilience.

ISTMO DE TEHUANTEPEC, OAXACA

•In San Francisco Ixhuatán we will support the reconstruction of the José Martí Community High School. Its building was seriously damaged during the earthquake. We will also focus on the reinstatement of Ixhuateca Radio’s cabin. This radio is fundamental for the high school project.

• In Juchitán we will support the immediate reinstallation of Radio Totopo, community radio whose property is now uninhabitable. Broadcasting is currently taking place in the patio, constantly interrupted by the rain.

•  In San Mateo del Mar, an Ikoot indigenous community (Huave, in Spanish), we will support the obtainment of broadcasting equipment along with workshops for the organization of a new radio station, requested by the community in order to have a better organization in their reconstruction process.

• Continuous accompaniment with physically affected radios and other ones in the region, in order to increase their capacity to support affected communities through protocols, providing tools to give truthful information, reducing tension and concern in the population, identifying anomalies and communicate actions for risk management, etc.

•  As a request from the radios, we also see the need to fundraise materials, as well as actions for the reconstruction of communities. Among them, the construction of domestic “totopo” and bread ovens, the provision of communal kitchens with food, offering tarps, roofing sheets and other materials to shelter from the weather and for the reconstruction of their own homes.

•  It is important to provide psychological support, to reduce the stress generated by the constant concern of more aftershocks.

MORELOS

• In Xoxocotla we will support the reconstruction of the Tsilinkalli Radio building because of the damage caused by the earthquake.

•  We will support, in collaboration with other organizations as well as the radio itself, the training for self-management processes in order to enable families who lost their homes to rebuild them through traditional schemes.

We will also add any other process that we identify with urgent needs.

In addition to the above, we are concluding a Guide for Community Media in Emergency Care to strengthen community radio’s performance in these events.

We invite you to be part of this process of restoration in these communities where the communication itself has been a mean for the strengthening and expression of the language, identity and memory, but also a space for community organization both in daily life and in the adversity in which they are living now.

Any support is meaningful to us in this collective work, so we will thank you infinitely for your financial collaboration, today and tomorrow for the realization of these actions.

Account details:

Bank's Name: BANCO MERCANTIL DEL NORTE, S.A. INSTITUCIÓN DE BANCA MULTIPLE, GRUPO FINANCIERO BANORTE
Account Name: Redes por la Diversidad, Equidad y Sustentabilidad, A.C.
Account number: 0013430947
Swift code or IBAN: MENOMXMT

Paypal: www.paypal.me/redesac   

In case of requesting a donation receipt, we can give you another account that we have at your disposal. Please contact us if that is the situation at comunicacion@redesac.org.mx

The information of all the contributions and the progress in the objectives and application of the resources will be informed through our website www.redesac.org.mx

Thank you very much,
Daniela, Erick, Karla, Rodrigo, Blanca, Carlos, María, Cynthia, Patricia
Staff of Redes por la Diversidad, Equidad y Sustentabilidad A.C.
 

Across Cambodia, nearly a dozen independent radio stations broadcasting through 32 radio frequencies in almost every province have seen their licenses suspended without notice.

In addition to their own programming, the stations had all sold airtime to the US-funded Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, as well as local broadcaster Voice of Democracy. Many had also sold airtime to the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, as well as to several of the country's small parties.

Last week, the US-funded Radio Free Asia closed its Phnom Penh bureau, switching from an open, in-country radio broadcaster to an offshore model that mimics its operations in countries such as Tibet and North Korea. The broadcaster - Cambodia's most popular - said it had little choice but to close in light of the current media climate.

Al Jazera reports that Cambodia's ruling party has intensified pressure on the media, NGOs, and the opposition in recent months, ahead of the July 2018 elections - which are expected to be extremely contentious.

The internet forever changed how we consume and create music as individuals... but what about as groups? Anyone from the pre-internet music era will surely tell you stories of how particular cities possessed distinct musical communities and personalities.

Think back to San Francisco in the late 1960s with the hippie movement. Or Washington, D.C. in the early 1980s with hardcore music. Or Athens, Georgia in the mid-‘80s with indie rock. Manchester, England in the 1990s, and of course Seattle in the 90s with the rise of grunge.

Newer artists today are advised to produce content for social media instead of building a local community for support.  And once someone does discover a breakthrough talent, you don't see labels, industry execs or consumers looking to a band or artist's hometown for similar talent anymore.

More from industry insiders here.

Peter Margasak shares his alternative radio listening adventures in Chicago, IL. USA. He says about college radio DJ's: "I still love the stations where they work, because the programming there has the potential to be so open-ended. Depending on the station and the hour, you could hear indie rock, noise, jazz, international music, or even a hyperlocal news show."

And about community radio: "I spend almost all my radio time at the left of the dial, with WRME, WNUR, WZRD, and WLUW. Those four stations have become one of my favorite things about this often maddening city."

From the Hustle newsletter: Traditional wisdom says that podcasts and investors go together like oil and water. Difficulty tracking ad performance has made ROI notoriously hard to calculate -- and most investors aren’t too keen on throwing money at a black box.
Yet, Brooklyn-based podcast startup Gimlet Media just closed a $15m series B (at a $55m valuation) led by Stripes Group to scale the success of their popular series Reply All and StartUp.

So what’s changed?

24% of Americans say they listen to podcasts monthly (up 2x from 4 years ago), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau projects an 85% increase in ad revenue from 2016 to 2017, hitting $220m this year.
A pittance, sure, when compared to search and video ad revenue, but as co-founder Matt Lieber sees it, podcasts are a golden opportunity to seize the few hours of our days not fully consumed by screens (think commuting or at the gym).
Plus a little market validation from a tech media darling doesn’t hurt
Spotify is making a push into podcasting, launching 3 original series in February, with more coming after that. Lucky for all you Ira Glass fans out there, that competition means one thing: more great pod-tent coming down the pipe.

As part of our series focusing on community media in California, we introduce Alameda Community Radio KACR 96.1 FM - a nonprofit, listener-sponsored, democratically managed low-power FM radio station dedicated to serving the city of Alameda.

“We are committed to serving, engaging, educating, entertaining, challenging and providing community broadcast access to Alameda,” the mission statement says. “We plan to provide Alameda residents with a responsible, independent and viable forum for neglected perspectives and discussions on important local, national, and global issues of interest, especially those issues of peace, social justice, human rights, democracy, multiculturalism and freedom of expression.” For more backgound about the the new radio and its founders, go here.

Some TV and radio broadcasters have continued to deliver stories, news and information focused on local communities, but what does the future hold for these vital sources of information?

The Pilot Innovation Challenge Prize seeks to generate new ideas enabling local broadcasters to better serve their communities. Thanks in part to a grant from Knight Foundation, the top six entries will be awarded cash prizes of up to $30,000. What's your unconventional & innovative idea?

RadioExpert director Dr. Henry Loeser presents his research on community broadcasting in Austria and the Czech Republic. Important conclusions were displayed for members of the Austrian Free Radio Association (VFRO) and other participants at Civilmedia - a conference on community media in Salzburg, Austria.

You can see Dr. Loeser's presentation deck, and more information on the project website here.

Politico reports the Trump administration’s leading candidate to head the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a position that with recent changes would give the appointee unilateral power over the United States’ government messaging abroad reaching millions, is a conservative documentarian with ties to White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

The BBG controls Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting and the Middle East Broadcast Network, which constitutes the largest public diplomacy program by the U.S. government, reaching an audience of 278 million by broadcasting in 100 countries and 61 languages.

Michael Pack, the leading contender for the post, is president and CEO of the Claremont Institute and publisher of its Claremont Review of Books, a California-based conservative institute that has been called the “academic home of Trumpism” by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The recent changes in BBG management are “a really big deal because the board of governors really represents the firewall. And the firewall is a legally mandated firewall which prevents the government from interfering with the editorial independence of the BBG,“ the senior official said. "Once President Trump appoints Pack or anyone else and when or if they’re confirmed by the Senate, then the entire board of governors goes away.”

A Republican government official familiar with the agency’s work told POLITICO in December that abolishing the board will make the BBG susceptible to the influence of Trump’s allies. Under the new arrangement, the board of governors will be replaced by an advisory panel. Once confirmed, the new CEO could hire his or her own directors for the five networks under BBG and theoretically push whatever message he or she chose without the board’s approval.