Stories related to: radio

A white guy from Queens may be our best link to a music rooted in black history. Phil Schapp grew up in a home full of jazz, and has hosted a radio show obsessed with the music's minutiae for decades, the New Yorker reports. He's liable to digress on Charlie Parker's pronunciation of "Okiedoke," but that's an improvement: "For the first twenty years, I was concerned about telling you absolutely everything about every tune," he said. More »

Dolly Parton has become the latest victim of a Howard Stern audio mashup and the country legend is livid, reports E! Online. The shock jock and his henchmen chopped up and remixed Parton quotes to make it sound as if she was spewing out raunchy and racist remarks. The fuming singer issued a statement hinting that a lawsuit could be on the way. More »

"American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood ratcheted up her country cred last night, reports the AP, and can now call herself a Grand Ole Opry cast member. Underwood joined the longest-running radio show, fighting back tears as Garth Brooks handled her induction. "This really seems like a great family to be part of," she said. "I promise I'll do everything I possibly can to not make you regret it." More »

The stories on the small-screen version of “This American Life” start out small—a husband’s protest over the oppressive American trend of lawn-mowing, a young man living with spinal muscular atrophy—and become something universal, both dark and light, even a little magical, writes Heather Havrilesky on Salon.com. On the second season, which premieres tonight on Showtime, everyday snapshots of people’s lives become art. More »

With Howard Stern gone and Don Imus chastened, today's commercial radio is fighting to be heard, the Wall Street Journal reports. What's more, consolidation is depriving stations of a local touch and squelching chances for would-be stars. Plus there aren’t as many “heirs apparent,” said one analyst, “and there used to be.” One new gabber, Adam Carolla, discovered just how vexing post-Stern radio life can be. More »

Longtime Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lange walked off the show Thursday after an intense on-air shouting match with his personal assistant, Newsday reports. Lange tried to physically attack the assistant but was held back by studio members. Soon afterward Lange resigned, saying he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t act that way again. “I’m not a good person…I gotta leave…I love you, Howard,” he said, before departing. More »

The Starbucks barista who turned his Perez Hilton alter ego into a web and TV sensation is bulking up his multimedia ventures by adding a radio show and slimming down his waistline, reports the Hollywood Reporter. "I want to frickin' jog shirtless in Malibu by the Fourth of July," the self-proclaimed "Gay Latino Oprah" said in a recent blog post. More »

New publishing mogul Sam Zell is recruiting colorful veterans from the radio industry in a bid to help save his struggling Tribune Company, the Wall Street Journal reports. Zell is hoping the imports will spark innovation at the company, whose debt has swelled to $12.8 billion amid declining newspaper ad revenue. Most of the new recruits come from Clear Channel Communications; they're expected to shake up Zell's newspapers as they did the radio scene. More »

The Justice Department today approved the proposed merger between satellite radio firms Sirius and XM, the Wall Street Journal r eports. The FCC must still sign off, but the pair appears to have allayed antitrust concerns about the merger of the industry's two largest companies by arguing that they face competition from all music providers, including conventional radio. More »

Ryan Seacrest has a mission, and he’s proud to admit it: He aims to be the Dick Clark, Merv Griffin, and Larry King of his generation. Since childhood, the "American Idol" host has plotted every step to get closer to his goal, writes Tom Shales in the Washington Post . Now he shares his name with so many projects that he’s had to trademark it. More »

Older technologies frequently face predictions of their demise as they are replaced with cutting-edge innovations, but so-called progress is rarely the sea change it’s chalked up to be, writes Steve Lohr in the New York Times . If old tech can adapt, it can often stay alive. Case in point: PCs were supposed to kill the mainframe computer, but the back office workhorse is still kicking thanks to investment and improvements. More »

National Public Radio chief executive Ken Stern stepped down yesterday amid increasing static from the board about his ambitious plans for the network, reports the Washington Post . Stern oversaw rapid expansion that boosted revenue from $65 million to $200 million since joining NPR in 1999, and made the organization into the world's biggest producer of podcasts. But station managers often felt the push into new media came at the expense of serving local audiences. More »

It's no NPR yet, but the latest radio phenomenon is gathering steam—and it's not even really radio, Portfolio reports. The 18-month-old BlogTalkRadio.com lets anyone with a broadcasting itch host a show for free; users select a time slot, genre, topic and start gabbing—the audio blog even comes with a phone system that accepts live callers—who have included Brad Pitt and John Kerry. More »

After some careful reflection, Chicago radio executives have decided their station won't host a dating game featuring former cop Drew Peterson, who's suspected of killing his missing fourth wife—and his third wife. Peterson may be back in the market for a new spouse because he told Chicago's WJMK-FM in a surprise phone call that "the ladies are coming back around." More »

Threats transmitted during a recent faceoff between US Navy vessels and Iranian boats may have come from a prankster known as the “Filipino Monkey,” the Navy Times reports. Towards the end of last month's faceoff in the Strait of Hormuz, a voice transmitted: “I am coming to you. You will explode in a few minutes.” Iran says the US lied about the threats; now Navy officials say they may have come from shore. More »

The broadcast industry hopes 2008 is the year listeners finally tune into HD Radio—and conditions are right for a turnaround, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ford and other automakers are on board, and receiver prices have dropped. It's the nifty new features, though—you can, for example, "tag" a song for future download from iTunes—that may finally sway consumers. More »

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius stock prices got a boost Friday when an analyst predicted the Justice Department won't block Sirius from buying out the larger XM. Morning trade saw XM shares jump 9.4% and Sirius shares 4.6%, reports CNN. The analyst said that shares could hit $20 and $4.50, respectively, if the deal goes through. More »

It's been almost two years since Howard Stern switched to satellite radio, and the never-modest shock jock is reveling in his success on Sirius—and the woes of his former network, CBS, and rival, Don Imus, back in terrestrial radio. In a sit-down with the AP, Stern crows that his show is funnier than ever, now that he can tell jokes without the punchlines being bleeped. More »

Anyone heard Hollywood's radio silence lately? Movie tunes like "My Heart Will Go On," "Up Where We Belong," and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" aren't ruling the airwaves like before. And star directors like Cameron Crowe and Wes Anderson are opting for known tunes to carry their flicks. Why? It starts with radio's splintering over the past decade, AP reports. More »

Online curiosity directory BoingBoing says it has found the perfect bathroom radio--The Henry Kloss Tivoli Audio PAL. It's the right solution for people whose bathrooms don't have an electrical outlet, as it has a rechargeable and replaceable NiMH battery good for 18 hours of use per charge. More »