[cr-india] Open Source Radio is A Sound Salvation

[Frederick Noronha]

http://www.newassignment.net/blog/bess_kargman/feb2007/01/open_source_radi

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Open Source Radio is A Sound Salvation
by Bess Kargman on February 2, 2007 - 11:30am.

Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice
'cause they think that it's treason.
So you had better do as you are told.
You better listen to the radio.

-Elvis Costello, "Radio Radio"

——-

If you've never seen Elvis Costello's legendary SNL performance of
"Radio Radio" from 1977, you can watch it here.

The song sharply criticizes the commercialization of mainstream radio
("They're saying things that I can hardly believe") and one can only
imagine the shock NBC executives experienced that night considering
their radio station was the very sort Costello condemned. Performing
"Radio Radio" without warning at SNL got Costello banned from the show
for 12 years.

Not all that much has changed in the world of terrestrial radio since
then. Just look at the long list of radio stations Clear Channel owns.

But new media and technology is finally reversing the trend of putting
"the radio in the hands of such a lot of fools tryin' to anaesthetize
the way that you feel," as Costello would put it.

"I don't see a single future for radio, as things seem to be splitting
and recombining in interesting ways. When mobile operators are
offering access to services like Rhapsody over 3G, satellite services
like XM and Sirius are offering recording functions for their
receivers, discovery services like Last.fm and Pandora are making it
easier to find and listen to new music, and when community
broadcasters are starting to regularly broadcast via the Web, I'm not
sure there is a capital-R Radio any more, said Douglas Arellanes, Head
of Research and Development at Campcaster. (See Full Intreview Here).

Campcaster is new open source software, launched by the Media
Development Loan Fund, that essentially allows you to run your own
station. It's a bit like Pandora.com, where you can architect your own
musical program and share it with others, but it comes with additional
tools for audio broadcasting. Last month NewAssignment.Net wrote about
Chicago Public Radio's Secret Radio Project, which plans to air mostly
user-generated content via a new format at a different frequency.
Well, Campcaster essentially allows you to run your own station.

Best of all, Campcasting is free and on an open source platform, which
means that anyone who knows code can make any changes to the software.

This means the media is being democratized on two levels. Everyone has
a chance to get their voice heard "and the unsung heroes in
broadcasting - the engineers - get something with its workings
transparent and open for improvement; as opposed to commercial
products, Campcaster is not a "black box" and has been specifically
designed to encourage technical innovation," said Arellanes. (See Full
Intreview Here).

———

Bess Kargman, like most Amherst College graduates, is a hard-core Red
Sox and Patriots fan. She is currently completing a graduate degree in
Journalism at Columbia University, where she is concentrating in New
Media and Radio. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post and
she interns for the business radio show, "Marketplace" on National
Public Radio.

    * Bess Kargman's blog

    * Campcaster
    * online tools
    * open source
    * Radio
    * Secret Radio Project

Open Source Radio
Submitted by maureen o (not verified) on February 3, 2007 - 8:41am.

Yeah, there was a time when "the airwaves belonged to the people" —
anyone remember that? Sounds like this is a step in the right
direction.

Most of what's commercially broadcast today is really not worth
listening to. I used to be a huge fan of radio.

Conceptually, I love radio's immediacy, and intimacy. That air of
mystery is also very intriguing to me.
peace out.

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