Urban Unrest

25 May 2006 | Business, Politics | Ernesto Aguilar

KPFT ends its pledge drive tonight at 9. Get those pledges in. Some items of interest to you media-types:

• The Canadian groups NCRA/ANREC just released a meta-analysis of the Canadian community broadcast sector. Station and market statistics as well as listener profiles were reviewed to determine who is listening to community radio in Canada. Download a PDF of the report here.
• Arbitron/Edison Media Research just wrapped a great study on on-demand media devices. “On-demand media device” is a snazzy term for iPods, TiVo, et al. With podcasting becoming the rage in public radio, it’s curious to see that the public perception of podcasting itself is still evolving. Pubradio has been an early adopter of this for some time, with KCRW and other outlets being most active. However, the debate on whether it will pay off rages on.
• Speaking of Canadian radio, Montreal station CKUT just aired a provocative interview with political commentator and editor of Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram Gamal Nkrumah. Nkrumah outlines the ongoing resistance to President Hosni Mubarak’s rule and discusses movements like the leftist Kefiya and the (much more media-savvy) Muslim Brotherhood, which are both rising in Egypt. Find the audio for that interview here.
• TV ad revenue has been down for some time, but this year’s report notes that political advertising has buoyed by advertising dollars. And there seems no sign of stopping — BIA Financial Network even says political ad dollars will increase, growing seven percent this year, which translates to $22 billion. With nets being so dependent on candidate money, one has to wonder about their impact on coverage.
• I’ve always wanted to have digital access to my turntable, without needing a web of cables, and it appears now I can, thanks to the new USB turntable. This one is a great gift for the archivist in your life.

Keep those pledges coming! Tune in to 90.1 around 9 p.m. for the Spring 2006 drive conclusion — should be great. Thanks for the support!

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