Foundation Journal

Seems simple enough -- a broadcast radio outlet tries out a new medium like video. Several area radio stations have wandered into the video world with varying success and for various reasons as outlined here. Since the stations -- 96.5 The Buzz , a commercial station; KKFI 90.1 FM , a community station, 90.9 The Bridge , an affiliate of KCPT-TV; and KDHX 88.1 in St. Louis -- all rely on advertising, underwriting, or listener donations for support, so one reason for delving into video is to attract more "paying customers" to their radio broadcasts. Another reason is to connect with people in social media spaces they prefer, especially around music. Any media outlet paying attention to trends in radio and social media would be well-advised to tap into new media in order to maintain their financial base. The problem with this approach is that listeners have many alternative outlets -- for example, Pandora or Apple's newer streaming radio service -- for their listeni...

KKFI 90.1 FM has been on-air now for 25 years. And while founders and long-time on-air programmers and DJs marvel at the station's longevity and distant turmoil, the station continues to measure itself against the wonderful promise of community radio. As a board member for KKFI since 2010 I was interested in exploring what defines community radio. During a lunch recognizing Rick Groom for his volunteer photography work for KKFI, he shared his history in media work. As a long-time phone repairman he wanted to switch careers, bridging his photography studies at the Art Institute of Atlanta. He started his media career in television and video by volunteering to work at a community access TV studio for American Cablevision (now Time Warner) in the early 1990s. Now as a video replay operator for major sports events, he’s active in producing high quality video, but still connects with community and public media. His first impression of KKFI as community radio was that it operated in ...

Susan Crawford, author of  Captive Audience , o utlines a situation where large telecommunications companies have divided up the digital landscape, making it extremely expensive, especially for low-income families. She discusses the digital divide expanding because large rural areas are without Internet access and low-income families are unable to afford the access. She makes an argument for a public-private initiative with some regulation to develop high-speed, affordable Internet access similar to the rural electrification act during the Roosevelt administration of the 1930’s.  Instead of ensuring that everyone in America can compete in a global economy, instead of narrowing the divide between rich and poor, instead of supporting competitive free markets for American inventions that use information--instead, that is, of ensuring that America will lead the world in the information age--U.S. politicians have chosen to keep Comcast and its fellow giants happy. She disc...