Ever notice that as you travel across the country, the radio at one part of the country sounds suspiciously like that in another? Well some years ago, Congress passed a law that allowed media ownership to become much more concentrated in the U.S. So today we are reaping the rewards of that decision, very few independent stations remain, and the music is homogenized, pasteurized, and computerized for replay out of transmitting towers across the country.
Will we ever get independent radio back? Will the news ever be interpreted by independent voices that provide a non-corporate take on the day's events?
Doubtful: that genie has been let out of the bottle for too long to ever get put back in.
But what can we do? When we find those independent voices on the radio dial, we need to support the hell out of 'em. My current favorite is a public radio station, KVMR, broadcasting out of Nevada City, California. You can listen to their stream here at KVMR's website. Which is probably the best way to listen to KVMR: the coverage of their signal is rather spotty, especially in the foothills.
All the DJ's are volunteers, and they play their own selections out of their personal libraries. The mix is rather eclectic, and frankly I can tire of Sunday morning's Kani Ka Pila very quickly (three straight hours of Hawaiian music).
So, give KVMR a listen (here is their program schedule) and if you like what you hear, and you feel like supporting this fine effort, you can donate your spare shekels here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment