Archive for November, 2007
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
It was late - after 9pm EST - last night before the FCC meeting finally began, but it looks like they've adopted some useful changes to the rules governing LPFM: Allows the transfer of LFPM licenses subject to significant limitations. Reinstates the Commission’s rule that all LPFM authorization holders be local to ...
Posted in Alternative Media, Media regulation, Radio | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 26th, 2007
One of the many healthcare issues we've found ourself addressing in GEO this semester has been the huge increase in costs of the contraceptive pill from the campus healthcare centre. A New York Times story explains the tortured legislative changes that led drug companies to end their discounts to student ...
Posted in Education, Labour issues, Society and culture | No Comments »
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
These are interesting times for LPFM. First, a bill to allow LPFM on '3rd adjacent channels' has just passed a US senate committee. Those familiar with the service will probably know that the original FCC proposal for an LPFM service, back in the 1990s, was subsequently amended by Congress after ...
Posted in Alternative Media, Media regulation, Political activism, Radio | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
The Writers' strike has garnered quite a bit of support, both from other entertainment workers and from the wider public. One idea for support that originated with fans, before being picked up by the union, is to send pencils to the media moguls that run 6 of the major companies ...
Posted in Corporate media, Intellectual property issues, Labour issues, Political activism, Society and culture | No Comments »
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
Enda O'Kane pointed me towards an announcement of the first field trials of DRM+ on the FM band. DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) is being touted in Europe as a digital radio system that would replace current FM broadcasting, being preferred to DAB by many observers. It's described as "the universal, ...
Posted in Digital Audio, Radio | No Comments »
Friday, November 16th, 2007
One of my Google Alerts pointed me in the direction of this interesting post on a site devoted to advising people on improving their sites' search placements. I usually stay clear of such sites, but this wasn't your run-of-the-mill recommendation from such a site:Take Your Blog to the Airwaves - ...
Posted in Alternative Media, Online communication, Political activism | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 15th, 2007
This week's show is now online. It lasts just around an hour, and features Bob Naiman and myself discussing Pakistan, Iran, and the success of Brazil's AIDS drugs policy. Locally we discuss SEIU's possible strike and the growing support from the campus community, and the CCHCC protest about the exclusion ...
Posted in Digital Audio, Income and poverty, Intellectual property issues, International Affairs, International law and structures, Labour issues, Political activism, Radio | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
An article about an Arizona group who filed in the recent community radio licensing window in the United States discusses their hopes and plans. The Phoenix area, where they are based, is, it seems, the largest metropolitan area in the United States (3 million people) without a community station. Of ...
Posted in Alternative Media, Online communication, Radio | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
New EU-wide regulations for product placement in TV content are on the way, after being approved in the European parliament. In the past product placement has not been allowed in many, if not all, EU countries, but that's all about to change.
The claim from those pushing product placement is that ...
Posted in Media regulation | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
As the dollar has continued to drop in value against the euro, I've predicted (with some trepidation) that it would be as low as $1.50 to the euro by the time I return to Ireland for Christmas. I must admit that I thought I was being somewhat pessimistic, but it ...
Posted in Income and poverty, International Affairs, Society and culture | No Comments »