Posted by
vKuehn on December 19, 2009 at 10:21 pm.
There are reports that a number of LPFM licensees have shut down.
Straight scoop or folklore? You see, as a non-traditional student I earned my degree a few years late. I ended up with the luxury of being able to take any course at any level for my last 16 to 20 hours. (Well… I couldn’t take Psychology courses. I had maxed them out!) So on something of a lark I signed up for: <Big jazzy drumroll please> FOLKLORE. That course gave me a sixth or seventh sense, a radar if you please, that nags me sometimes: “It’s time to check the traps to see what we have caught.”
I’m picking up reports about a large number of existing LPFMs that have… bit the dust? Gone dark? Thrown in the towel! So. Let’s help each other out here. If you know of an LPFM that did not make it, or is currently silent and trying to get back on it’s feet, send me a note. Let’s compile a list.
I do have a favor to ask of you. Please do not reply with a public comment and post your information. Well, no details beyond the call letters and location. E-mail vkuehn@yourlpfm.com and let’s give these stations the courtesy of getting their side of the story along with the “word on the street” tales that may be floating.
We begin with a universe of just over 800 such stations. What have we lost? 50? 80? 160? Share with me what you know about their target “community” and their programming. If you have first hand knowledge, I would like to hear what you know about poor programming choices vs. poor selection of target audience vs lack of fund raising skills, etc. Again, I would beg you NOT to post that kind of information in a public COMMENT to the Blog. Let’s hand this with some courtesy and maturity.
If we are going to be helpful to current operators and people who are contemplating making an application, I think it would be priceless to tell them whether 10% or 50% of the original operations have sunk.
I look forward to hearing from you.
vkuehn
Posted by
vKuehn on December 18, 2009 at 1:12 pm.
For those looking to file an application for a new LPFM station, there is positive news from Washington. Wednesday the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1147.<–click I saw one report that indicated that the National Association of Broadcasters gave support to the bill in it’s current form.
Legislation can always be tricky to read if you do not have access to the “back story” but what I do see in the bill is relief from the 3rd Adjacent Frequency interference. Get the whole story »
Posted by
vKuehn on December 18, 2009 at 12:44 pm.
In the retailing world a new store will sometimes have a “soft opening”. The advertising, the celebration, the GRAND OPENING comes later as they work out the kinks.
I guess we can call today our Grand Opening for your LPFM. This project began about a month ago as I installed Blogging software and set about to learn how it works, how to use it and how to remodel it. (There have been some late nights!) The site has been out there for over two weeks and as you can see from the date stamps, I have been writing blogs for some time now.
Today we have our FIRST comment in response to a recent post. Thank you, Carl.
The site remains a bit sterile. Need a few graphics. Need a few photos. They are on the way.
If you post a comment/reply do not expect to see it immediately. Get the whole story »
Posted by
vKuehn on December 9, 2009 at 11:30 pm.
I wish I had a $20 bill for every time I have been asked that question over the last five or six years. When you share with someone that you are seeking to acquire a radio station that seems to be the question that is genetically programmed as a response. Maybe I’m the wierd one, but my response has been: “That is probably the LAST decision that will be made.”
I thought about titling this essay: “What would you program?”
For any station targeted to reach a community, whether the station is a traditional commercial opertion or a non-commercial LPFM, I want you to ask yourself and answer to yourself, “Is music my primary goal?” Get the whole story »
Posted by
vKuehn on November 25, 2009 at 12:11 am.
Do we need to plan a building now? How can we recruit donors who will commit to the original cost of establishing the station if we can’t show they what it will look like, and where it will be? The answer to that question may be the same as the day I decided I wanted my church to hire a consultant to design improvements to our acoustics and the sound system. On an Internet site I asked the question: “What will it cost to hire a consultant?” The answer came back from at least a dozen different consultants. “IT DEPENDS” Some explained that until we spend some initial (billable) study time to figure out WHAT you need, we can’t quote a price. It just depends!”
Well I thought I was being very cute. How many ZEROS does it take to spell “It Depends”. Am I looking at $600, $6000 or $60,000. My board is going to want to know. (I got more cute answers.)
Get the whole story »
Posted by
vKuehn on November 23, 2009 at 11:48 pm.
Enough already with the philosophical side of LPFM. It’s time for a post with nuts-and-bolts and hardware kind of talk and information.
This post is for people with little or no broadcast experience. Or, old hands with no contact with the world of applications to construct and then license a radio station. I am busy building a page full of links that will be valuable for people contemplating an application. Here is a link that will certainly be on that page: <http://recnet.com/> There is a lot of good reading at this site. A little ways down on the home page, a little bit right of center there will be a link for LPFM CHANNEL SEARCH. This is a feature that may bring you to this page a number of times. (Direct link for the search page: <http://cdbs.recnet.com/lpfm.php>.
You can enter a specific latitude/longitude, or a town name. Get the whole story »
Posted by
vKuehn on November 22, 2009 at 9:10 pm.
There seems to be quite a variety of reasons for people getting involved in LPFM. Some have this ego-driven desire to be part of radio. It would be a pretty chaotic industry if that were the main reason. Some are “mission” driven or “ideology” driven. Some just want to support some kind of community service project. But they all end up needing to address the question: “And who would be your audience?” If the main focus of the station you are thinking about developing is not audience, then why attach the antenna, why turn on the transmitter?
Do the people you see as your audience actually live inside that small circle of coverage the 100 watt station is going to reach? Here is the question that may cause you to squirm in your chair. Can your target audience already hear from local commercial stations the same basic program content you plan to offer? If so, why bother? Get the whole story »
Posted by
vKuehn on November 21, 2009 at 10:03 pm.
I assume you are excited about making decisions on how the station will be programmed. If you are a “gear-head” like me you are anxious to scout out the hardware for the studio and transmitter. But today, to keep our priorities in line, let’s talk FUNDING. If you have started a notebook or some kind of file for your LPFM project, I have a suggestion. Take that notebook and across the top of each blank page, write: “Think about the funding.”
Get the whole story »
Posted by
vKuehn on November 20, 2009 at 10:18 pm.
I just cleaned out the flotsam that accumulated here in the last 14 days. If the site looks a bit on the amateur side at times, that is the amount of time I have had to get up to speed on the “geek issues” of creating a combined website and blog.
During the next week I will be adding links and references. Where to see if there is an available frequency in your community. If I locate my transmitter on this hill with the antenna 42 feet in the air, what is the maximum power I am allowed to send out? Where do I find a list of existing LPFM stations? If there is one near me, I may want to drive over and see how they do it. You get the idea. That will be the valuable part of this site. Get the whole story »