Tuesday, May 24, 2016

HAND-TO-MOUTH MIAMI NONCOM STRUGGLES FOR LIFE; LOCALORE SHINES; WBEZ LAUNCHES A GREAT NEW APP



OOPS ITS ALL MY FAULT DOESN’T WORK WITH THE FCC

Peter Stebbins
Peter Stebbins, founder and president of WMIV in Miami has a problem: His new LPFM station Shake 108 (107.9 FM) failed an inspection by the FCC. If the station can’t fix the problems it faces possible license revocation.

Recently Shake 108 [link] had a routine visit by a FCC field agent. The agent found that the stations equipment didn’t have FCC certification. Without a new FM transmitter and an Emergency Broadcast System decoder the station could be shut down.

Stebbins told station volunteers “It’s all my fault.” Now Shake 108 needs $5,000 pronto for the new gear. To raise the dough Shake 108 is having a party. Stebbins told Miami New Times [link]:

 “People had been bugging us to throw a festival for a while. We decided we better do it before the FCC shuts us down. A lot of people are coming together to save this little station.”


The inaugural Shake 108 FM Music & Comedy Festival was held last Saturday 5/21 at Miami party venue Wynwood Yard. According the station’s page at gofundme.com [link] the event raised $4,698.  Way to go Miami Shakers!

Shake 108 is just the kind of local voice folks had in mind when LPFM began. The format is hard to define. I’d call it Triple A with a Caribbean flair – lots of reggae, ska and hard driving roots rock. Like many LPFMs, Shake 108 was founded on a wish and a prayer. Not enough attention was paid to finances and FCC standard practices. The station began broadcasting on March 5, 2014

Stebbins and the volunteers have no shortage of enthusiasm, but they are broadcasting newbies. Mistake #1 was buying the transmitter off eBay from a company in China.
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AIR’S “LOCALORE” IS A GREAT IDEA THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

AIR (Audio Independents In Radio) is launching a new collaborative documentary platform called Finding America [link]. The multi-platform effort brings together fifteen Localore producers telling stories about overlooked neighborhoods where Americans live, work and play.

Localore is a highly praised initiative where indie producers are embedded at a partner station for six to nine months to produce content for all platforms. The stations participating are an impressive group.  Localore partners range from public radio biggies such as WAMU, WHYY, WUNC, WHBM and WWNO, to emerging shops like KBCS (Bellevue, Washington), KOSU (Stillwater, Oklahoma) and KNBA (Anchorage). Here is a map showing participating stations:


The new Finding America site provides updates on stories, connections between the various neighborhoods and news about future Localore opportunities.

Principal funding for Localore comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the Wyncote Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and AIR’s network of more than 1,100 producers in 47 states and 30 countries. For more information contact AIR’s Executive Director Sue Schardt at Sue@AIRmedia.org.
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WBEZ-FM INTRODUCES NEW APP TO ENHANCE LISTENER ENJOYMNET

It allows you to listen to WBEZ anytime, almost anywhere you want. It lets you save your favorite shows for future listening. It has a revolutionary replay feature that allows you to go back in time and re-listen to a past driveway moment.  It slices and dices.

But wait, there is more!

The new WBEZ Mobile App [link] matches your mood and suggests curated lists of shows and topics from WBEZ reporters and editors. 

Best of all the app is free and is available now for both iOS and Android users.

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