mediageek

Month: January 2005

  • New Telecomm Behemoth on the Rise

    It’s official, SBC is buying AT&T for $16 billion. There’s something kind of Oedipal in the spinoff baby bell buying Ma Bell. What’s not to love? 6000 jobs will be lost, customer service will likely tank for all the collected customers, and SBC will control an even greater swath of the US telecommunications infrastructre.

  • Recent Radio Shows for Download: FOX TV Station License Challenge; 5th Birthday of LPFM; 8th Annual Homelessness Marathon

    In case you don’t check the radioshow page every week, here’s the last few shows you might have missed. Remember, they’re all available for download in low bitrate and high bitrate MP3 and ogg vorbis. There’s also a podcast feed. mediageek 1-28-05: Former Fox TV Reporters Challenge Tampa Station License We talk to investigative reporters…

  • On Today’s Mediageek Radioshow: Former FOX TV Reporters Challenge KTVT’s License

    On today’s mediageek radioshow I talk to investigative reporters Jane Akre and Steve Wilson. They were fired from FOX TV 13 in Tampa, FL for blowing the whistle on the station, which tried to bury and change facts on a story on bovine growth hormone (BGH) after being contacted by Monsanto. Akre and Wilson are…

  • Growing a Monste Monopolyr: SBC in Talks To Buy AT&T

    SBC is the Clear Channel of telecomm. Starting out as one of the regional bells after the AT&T breakup, SBC is now one of the predominant telecomm companies in the US, especially after swallowing up Ameritech a few years ago. And SBC is not just Clear Channelish in size, but in tactics, too. Back when…

  • Growing a Monster Monopoly: SBC in Talks To Buy AT&T

    SBC is the Clear Channel of telecomm. Starting out as one of the regional bells after the AT&T breakup, SBC is now one of the predominant telecomm companies in the US, especially after swallowing up Ameritech a few years ago. And SBC is not just Clear Channelish in size, but in tactics, too. Back when…

  • Powell’s Legacy Already Fading: Justice Dept. Will Not Pursue Relaxed Ownership Rules

    The Justice Dept. has decided not to pursue an appeal to the Third Circuit Court decision that put a stop to the FCC’s relaxed media ownerhip rules and ordered the Commission to reconsider them. The relaxing of ownership rules is considered to be one of Mikey Powell’s biggest failures, costing him a significant amount of…

  • World Social Forum Radio

    Radio coverage from the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre is being provided on-line by Forum de Radio in English, Spanish, Portugeuse and French. The WSF runs through Mon, Jan. 31. I also understand that a Dutch webcaster, Radio ZwartRoodActief, has live WSF coverage, in addition to coverage of World Economic Forum protests at its…

  • DC Pirate Visited by FBI?

    According to a post on DC Indymedia, pirate station WSQT was visited by persons identifying themselves as agents of the “Bureau,” leading station operators to believe they were with the FBI.

  • FCC Media Bureau Chief Following Powell Out the Door

    Radio and Records reports that Ken Ferree, the head of the FCC’s Media Bureau, which oversees all television and radio, is stepping down, coincident with Chairman Powell’s departure. A new head to this bureau won’t be appointed until there’s a new FCC chair. Ferree has been a very loyal lieutenant to Powell, especially on media…

  • DJ Johnny Silver Answers

    I’ve posted twice about DJ Johnny Silver, who is operating unlicensed Iron Action Radio in Nyack, NY, and recently received some publicity in his local newspaper. In my posts I expressed concern about unlicensed operators pursuing widepublicity, given that it increases the risk of a bust. Silver read my posts and sent me a thoughtful…