New Technologies/New Music

Record labels and musicians increasingly provide radio stations with recordings in digital form.   Many artists essentially self-publish their work, bypassing record labels and distributors altogether.  But lots of community, college and public radio stations—traditionally offering some of the best opportunities to connect emerging and independent artists with audiences—need training to find, play, catalog and store digital music.
 
To address this, NFCB is implementing an intensive training project for New York State radio stations (and stations that broadcast into New York), focused on using technology and new platforms to expand access to and delivery of independent music.  This fall, we will offer three free one-day seminars on these issues for community, college and public broadcasters.
 
If you want more information about this project, go here.

Support for this project comes from The New York State Music Fund, established by
the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Radio for People is a coalition of NFCB, Common Frequency, Pacifica Foundation, Prometheus Radio Project and Public Radio Capital. It was begun in 2006 to seek out and prepare community groups, many of them from rural and/or minority populations, in filing applications with the FCC for construction permits to build new radio stations. The coalition continues to support the work of these community groups now as they begin building these stations.

Among this support is a webinar series that NFCB and Radio for People have launched to train these community groups. To learn more about these webinars, click here.

Basic Radio Station Website Strategies

NFCB’s Ginny Z. Berson and Mark Fuerst from Integrated Media Association traveled the country from February-June, 2005, working with CPB-qualified rural and minority stations to enhance their websites.

Mark developed a PowerPoint presentation that provides background information on Internet usage; information on what radio listeners want from station websites; tips on designing an effective website, and more. [View Now]

We also put together a list of relatively low cost resources for stations wanting to enhance the look of their website, add features, etc.

The National Youth in Radio Training Project

Consider the world of teenagers in the United States. Teens are talked about, studied, marketed to, worried over, and blamed for almost everything. They are usually asked for their thoughts only in times of crisis or when there is money to be made from them.

Teenagers actually have a lot to say, and they want to be heard. Now there is a vibrant movement underway to give young people unmediated access to the airwaves. Currently there are close to 100 programs working with high school-age youth and training them in the art and technique of producing radio. Teenagers are writing and reporting the news, creating audio theater, crafting features and documentaries, telling stories, playing music, and much more.

The Community Radio Youth web site provides information about NFCB's National Youth in Radio Training Project, Let a Thousand Voices Speak, the NFCB youth manual, and Get Set to Stream!, the NFCB Streaming Manual which was written specifically for youth programs.. [More]


Low Power FM

Check this page for information on the processes involved, including applications, construction and operations, to develop a LPFM radio station; technical and ownership restrictions; along with resources for engineering and programming to maintain a productive station. [More]

Rural Programming Initiative

Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, this three-year project (2001-2003) is designed to help rural public radio stations provide better audience service. What's drive time in a rural community? Are Saturday's more like Monday-Friday? Why do some commercial stations in rural areas target two or more audiences and change formats three times a day? [More]