Review of acoustically related design factors for three recent Los Angeles area music studios.

The design of a professional-quality music recording studios involves a specific set of challenges, namely the need to provide high levels of sound isolation, rigorous noise and vibration control for building support systems, and the provision of acoustically appropriate room finishes. The optimization of design solutions for each of these challenges depends upon project-specific requirements, including aesthetic objectives, base building constraints and the musical genres being recorded. This paper reviews how these challenges were successfully addressed in three recent Los Angeles area music recording/broadcast studio projects. Projects reviewed include a recording studio at University of California, Los Angeles, where challenges included the need to accommodate all musical genres, from jazz, to orchestra, to drum ensembles. The two other studios were both for broadcast organizations: KCRW, an influential NPR-affiliated music-orientated radio station and for the commercial radio broadcaster SiriusXM. The paper includes discussion of why and how various acoustical techniques were utilized, including use of "floating" construction and live room variable acoustics. Solutions for successfully incorporating significant areas of glazing into live rooms and accommodation of audiences are also discussed, along with the various acoustical room finishes that were applied.

The Synergy of Islamic Da’wah and Madura Culture Programmes on Nada FM Sumenep Radio, Indonesia

Nada FM Sumenep radio is the only commercial radio in East Java that has successfully synergised Islamic religious programmes and Madurese culture in its broadcasts. Several things influenced that success. This includes a careful understanding of business opportunities, ingenuity in creating programmes that fit the needs of religious content for Sumenep residents, Islamic da'wah programmes that is synergised with Madurese culture, and the support of communication technology (mediamorphosis). This qualitative research method uses virtual ethnography, where researchers conducted participant observation in the real and virtual world. The informants are one cultural leader, two programmers, one announcer, and three loyal listeners. This research explored the process of mediamorphosis, types of Islamic da'wah programmes, and Madurese cultural programmes, content, and the form of interaction among listeners and radio institutions in a networked society. The results showed that the form of mediamorphosis of Nada FM radio can be seen through the usage of streaming, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The aim of synergising content is to strengthen Islamic religious beliefs while maintaining Madurese culture. Connectivity in a networked society makes it easier to gain access to the radio content. Listeners prefer using WhatsApp as the media to express criticism. The ad suitability, chat duration, announcers' attitude, quality of sound and streaming, and the suitability of the da'wah theme are also key reasons to the success of Nada FM Sumenep radio. Keywords: Culture radio, da’wah radio, mediamorphosis, virtual ethnography, Indonesia.

Do I Sound Like a Broken Record?

Radio is all about intimacy and words (Balsebre, 1994). Since radio’s significant shift from verbal to musical content, songs have been able to create a special bond between broadcasters and audiences across the world. Nevertheless, selecting songs is far from being an innocent choice; it is part of a cultural framework (Ala-Fossi, 2005; Gjerdingen & Perrott 2008). Recently, scholars explained radio’s alliances with the music industry and the adaptation to audiences’ preferences (Kaplan, 2013; Uimonen, 2017), thus arguing that the music in radios’ playlists is far from diverse, especially on stations owned by the private sector. This article draws upon the premise that a more comprehensive approach towards this topic is needed. Inspired by previous studies on commercial radio musical policies (Uimonen, 2011; Hellman & Vikko 2019), this research makes use of a methodological tool to characterize music diversity in the two most popular Portuguese commercial radio broadcasters. After two weeks of observation, in March 2020, the authors of this article analysed 2366 song entries, concluding that the general policies for the playlists seem to be similar: a typical predominance of international singers/bands, male artists and English-spoken songs, including the overwhelming presence of worldwide labels associated to the majority of the songs. However, these national broadcasting stations seem to have their own set of artists, especially when it comes to Portuguese singers/bands. Future research should aim at analysing artists’ and broadcasters’ views on this cultural framework, as a way to expand the possibilities of understanding this complex and decisive topic within radio broadcasting and music industries.

The role of community radio in enhancing identity formation and community cohesion among Caribbean Canadians in Toronto

This paper examines the important role that two community-based campus stations - CHRY 105.5FM and CKLN 88.1FM -- play in community cohesion and identity formation in the Caribbean Canadian community in Toronto. The research questions are: What roles do community media play in the lives of Caribbean-Canadians in Toronto?; How do Caribbean Canadians access these media to tell their stories or hear their voice?; How do these media outreach to the large Caribbean Canadian community in Toronto?; How do they describe the relationship that they have with CHRY 105.5FM and CKLN 88.1 FM; and, Do these media affirm the marginalized status of Caribbean Canadians, or are they sites of transformation for Caribbean Canadians daring to contest their exclusion from mainstream radio? These radio stations readily accommodate people, including many on the margins, who are not represented in mainstream media - the public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), or private commercial radio stations. They are the employers of many immigrants, mainly volunteers, who face barriers because of their Caribbean accents, lack of a Canadian accent, and the lack of "Canadian experience". The 'othering' of these immigrants has pushed/pulled them to these community-based campus radio stations where they find a voice to challenge oppressive systems from outside and within. These are community enhancing spaces where the Caribbean diaspora will hear familiar genres of music - reggae, soca, calypso, ragga, zouk - and accents/languages (Spanish, French, Creole) of the multicultural and multilingual Caribbean diaspora in Toronto.

The role of community radio in enhancing identity formation and community cohesion among Caribbean Canadians in Toronto

This paper examines the important role that two community-based campus stations - CHRY 105.5FM and CKLN 88.1FM -- play in community cohesion and identity formation in the Caribbean Canadian community in Toronto. The research questions are: What roles do community media play in the lives of Caribbean-Canadians in Toronto?; How do Caribbean Canadians access these media to tell their stories or hear their voice?; How do these media outreach to the large Caribbean Canadian community in Toronto?; How do they describe the relationship that they have with CHRY 105.5FM and CKLN 88.1 FM; and, Do these media affirm the marginalized status of Caribbean Canadians, or are they sites of transformation for Caribbean Canadians daring to contest their exclusion from mainstream radio? These radio stations readily accommodate people, including many on the margins, who are not represented in mainstream media - the public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), or private commercial radio stations. They are the employers of many immigrants, mainly volunteers, who face barriers because of their Caribbean accents, lack of a Canadian accent, and the lack of "Canadian experience". The 'othering' of these immigrants has pushed/pulled them to these community-based campus radio stations where they find a voice to challenge oppressive systems from outside and within. These are community enhancing spaces where the Caribbean diaspora will hear familiar genres of music - reggae, soca, calypso, ragga, zouk - and accents/languages (Spanish, French, Creole) of the multicultural and multilingual Caribbean diaspora in Toronto.

The case for reviewing broadcasting co-regulation

This article applies principles from the Department of Communications’ policy review of telecommunications consumer protection to broadcasting co-regulation. The Consumer Safeguards Review establishes six principles for good regulation, including that rule-making processes should ‘enable a wide range of views to be considered’. It notes that processes for developing telecommunications codes of practice are likely to lead to ‘sub-optimal’ consumer protection measures. The article draws on original empirical research to assess development of commercial television and commercial radio codes of practice, with particular emphasis on public engagement in co-regulation. It finds the broadcasting codes of practice fail to meet the principles adopted by the Department for good co-regulation. It concludes by arguing there is a pressing need for a more holistic review of communications co-regulation, as broadcasting legislation is similar to the telecommunications legislation, and there is a risk that ‘sub-optimal’ practices could be applied in attempts to regulate digital platforms.

Åland – a peculiar media system

This article captures the dynamics of a special case when it comes to media systems, namely the Åland Islands, or Åland, with 6,700 islands and 30,000 inhabitants. Åland is one of three self-governed areas in the Nordic region (the others being the Faroe Islands and Greenland) and is an officially monolingual Swedish-speaking part of Finland, where the majority speak Finnish. In this article, I describe how Åland, despite its small size, has a media system characterised by a diverse and complete offering of local media: two daily newspapers, its own public service and public service offerings from both mainland Finland and neighbouring Sweden, a commercial radio station, and several magazines. However, media diversity is limited by the fact that the same person – a local business tycoon, Anders Wiklöf – controls both newspapers. There is one main research question motivating this study: What are the specific features of the media system in Åland? To be able to answer that, I relied on the analysis of three sets of data: nine interviews, a two-part survey and the media policy adopted in 2018, and transcripts of the preceding political debate.

Vielfalt vor Ort. Die Entwicklung des privaten Rundfunks in Bayern

In der bayerischen Verfassung steht seit 1973, dass Rundfunk allein in öffentlich-rechtlicher Trägerschaft betrieben wird. Seit Mitte der 1980er Jahre hat sich aber gerade im Freistaat die vielfältigste privatwirtschaftliche Radio- und Fernsehlandschaft entwickelt. In jeder größeren Stadt, in allen Regierungsbezirken gibt es lokale Sender. Auf 600 Seiten bietet der Band einen Überblick, wie sich diese Medienszene unter dem Dach der Bayerischen Landeszentrale für neue Medien (BLM) entwickelt hat – von der Vorgeschichte bis in die Gegenwart. In sechs Kapiteln und mehr als 30 Aufsätzen werden Einblicke vermittelt in die Anbieterstruktur sowie die rechtlichen, technischen und ökonomischen Grundlagen, in die Programmangebote und deren Nutzung, wie auch beispielsweise in Ansätze, die Medienkompetenz zu fördern und die Qualität dessen, was da tagaus und tagein, landauf und landab gesendet wird, vergleichend zu messen. Detailstudien bieten darüber hinaus aktuelle Befunde etwa zu Ansätzen crossmedialen Arbeitens und zur Entwicklung von Redaktionsstrukturen sowie zur Stellung von Frauen in den Redaktionen, zu Hochschulradioangeboten, zur inhaltlichen Ausgestaltung von Regionalnachrichten, zur wachsenden Bedeutung auch von Podcasts, zu Musikformaten und Moderationsformen im Wandel der Jahrzehnte und zu vielem anderen mehr. Die Vielfalt vor Ort des privaten Rundfunks in Bayern wird damit umfassend abgebildet. Since 1973, the Bavarian State Constitution requires broadcasting services licensed in Bavaria to be organised under public control. However, since the mid 1980s the most diverse commercial radio and television landscape has developed in Bavaria. There are local broadcasting stations in every major city and in every government district. On 600 pages, the anthology offers an overview of how this media scene has developed under the oversight of the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (BLM), the regulatory authority for new media in Bavaria, over the last decades. In six chapters and more than 30 articles, historians and communication scientists discuss the broadcasting structure, the legal, technical and economic basics, the program offers and their use, as well as, for example, approaches to promote media literacy and media quality. In addition, detailed studies provide current findings, for example, on approaches to cross-media work and the development of editorial structures as well as the position of women in editorial offices, campus radio offers, the content of regional news, the growing importance of podcasts, music formats and forms of moderation over the decades and much more. Thus, the anthology comprehensively represents the diversity of the commercial broadcasting in Bavaria.

Videostream in the system of visual communication of radio stations

The article considers the video stream as a component of the visual content of Ukrainian radio stations. It is determined the specifics of the used video streams and development tendencies. It was studied out that in general, Ukrainian radio stations are focused on the global trend, which is to strengthen the visual component, so they try to use a new form of communication. Although this process is not very active. Realtime video broadcasts have heterogeneous forms; they are represented by different typological groups. It depends largely on the size, financial capacity and the needs of radio stations. The most complex technological process is observed on non-commercial radio stations.