Filed under: Pacifica
Popular radio show Go Vegan Texas! celebrated six years of broadcasting the vegan message in May, 2008. Houston’s Pacifica KPFT 90.1 FM, in the heart of cattle country, is home to this show. On July 14, Go Vegan Texas! became Vegan World Radio in anticipation of going into national syndication in the near future.
Vegan World Radio, telling the story of the vegan revolution that’s saving the animals, the planet and our health, is produced and hosted by a collective of four people: vegan lawyer Anuj Shah, J.D., Ph.D.; founder and president of Society of PEACE Kristen Lee Ohanyan; vegan and animal rights documentary film maker Jerrilyn; vegan chef, founder of the Lone Star Vegetarian Network and co-founder of the radio show Shirley Wilkes-Johnson.
Vegan World Radio airs Mondays from 10 – 11 am CT and can be heard on the internet at www.KPFT.org and also at veganworldradio.org.
Greetings FSRN Contributors,
The FSRN editorial collective is writing to share with you a few new ways you can contribute to the newscast, by submitting raw tape and by pitching us “vox pops” for our new regular segment, Street Beat. Guidelines and rates are summarized below.
New Segment — Street Beat
Street Beat is FSRN’s new regular vox pop segment in which we feature a montage of voices all responding to the same question. Contributors can suggest a question to producers[at]fsrn.org or we may assign various Street Beat producers a question based on the hot news topics of the week. Rate for commissioned vox pops: $50.
This is a great opportunity for news directors to engage new radio producers, or for experienced producers to get out on the streets and try something different. Because there is no fact-gathering or script writing, production should be straight-forward and take 1-3 hours of work.
Street Beat production guidelines: Street Beat should run 2-3 minutes long and include 6-10 different voices, ideally representing a diversity of ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, economic classes, etc. There is no reporter narration in this segment, just a series of short (10-30 second) responses to your question, edited together in one file. To make sure the segment flows, we’d like to limit the number of clips needing translations. Please use 2 English clips for every 1 clip in a non-English language.
Please include a proposed anchor lede that ties the issue to something in the news and introduces the question you asked and where you asked it (downtown Seattle library, DC airport, San Diego burrito stand, Atlanta supermarket, etc). You should also send us the names of the people you interviewed — we will “back announce” who listeners just heard at the end of the segment.
Questions should be crafted in an open-ended way that provokes a thoughtful response. Questions can be general, for example, “What are you doing differently in the face of rising gas (or food) costs?” Or, questions can look at a specific local issue that would be of interest to a national audience, for example,
“The Richmond, CA city council is debating a controversial request from Chevron to expand its oil refinery in the city. Why do you support or oppose Chevron’s attempt to expand the refinery?”
The first question could be posed in any public place, in any US city. The second would need to come from Richmond, CA, perhaps outside of a council meeting. Choosing your location to find people is important — usually public places in downtown areas will give you access to a steady stream of different people: students, business people, working class, homeless, etc. If people decline your request to be interviewed, don’t despair! Keep asking — you will come across those who have an opinion and want to talk.
Election Unpsun
November’s right around the corner and election issues are everywhere. Don’t forget to pitch your ideas to Election Unspun, a collaboration between FSRN and Pacifica. Please send us your ideas about the local, state and national candidates, as well as other election issues, like ballot initiatives and voter access. Contact Leigh Ann Caldwell with your pitches at leighann.caldwell[at]gmail.com
Raw Tape/Unedited Recordings
FSRN will consider purchasing raw tape from reporters and producers, including speeches, press conferences, demonstrations/rallies, and panels/forums. A written summary of the who, what, where, and when is also required. If your tape has multiple voices, we’ll need to know who’s speaking and when. If we use the tape, we’ll pay a flat rate of $30.
This is ideal for people who may be recording for other reasons, but who can’t produce a feature story for FSRN. News directors, this could be another way for new producers to get their feet wet.
Interview/Q&A Segments
FSRN will also consider using excerpts from interviews/Q&As you’ve already done for other radio programs. If you’re a reporter or public affairs host and you’ve recorded an interview with an expert, community member, lawmaker, analyst, author, professor, etc. and think there’s some material we could connect to a current or on-going news issue, let us know. We can’t pay you for these segments, but we will credit you and/or plug your radio program.
If you have any questions, please let us know. We look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Catherine Komp
On Behalf of the FSRN Editorial Team
freespeechradionews[at]gmail.com
KPFA & Pacifica Radio present the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Imperial Presidency and possible legal responses entitled “Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations”. One-hour highlights program now available (see below).
For the last several years, many progressives – including a handful of Congress members – have called for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. But they have been stymied by six years of Republican majority followed by a Democratic leadership that took impeachment “off the table.”
That may be changing. On July 25th, the House Judiciary Committee took the first step to investigate what Rep. John Conyers calls “numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct.”
Featured speakers in this one-hour highlights program include: Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Robert Wexler, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Former Rep Elizabeth Holtzman, Vincent Bugliosi, Bruce Fein, and Scott Horton.
Listen here:
KPFA & Pacifica Radio present the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Imperial Presidency and possible legal responses entitled “Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations”.
DATE: *FRIDAY*, July 25, 2008
TIMES: 9:00AM – 1:00PM EDT (6:00AM – 10:00AM PDT)
Streamed live at pacifica.org and kpfa.org and on the air at KPFA (Berkeley), KPFK (Los Angeles), KPFT (Houston), WBAI (New York), and others TBD.
For the last several years, many progressives – including a handful of Congress members – have called for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. But they have been stymied by six years of Republican majority followed by a Democratic leadership that took impeachment “off the table.”
That may be changing. This Friday, the House Judiciary Committee will take the first step to investigate what Rep. John Conyers calls “numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct.” Pacifica Radio will broadcast the hearing live, starting at 9:00am EDT (6:00am PDT), Tuesday, July 15, anchored by KPFA’s Larry Bensky & Aimee Allison and produced by Max Pringle.
While the panel of witnesses is fluid until the hearing begins, the current roster of speakers includes:
– Several Congress members: Dennis Kucinich, Jane Harman, Walter Jones, Brad Miller, and Maurice Hinchey
– Several non-Congress Members: Elizabeth Holtzman, Bruce Fein, Frederick Schwartz, John Dean, Bob Barr, Rocky Anderson, Vincent Bugliosi, Elliott Adams
Filed under: Community Radio
Sent to me via the Grassroots Radio Coalition listserv:
KPOV Starts to Gear Up for Transition from 2 watts to 13,500 watts
When KPOV commenced programming on June 25, 2005, we wanted to offer the community an audio outlet, a gathering place for voices, music, thoughts, and political discourse seldom or rarely heard on the airwaves in Central Oregon. We strive each and every day, every show, every minute to entertain, educate and engage our community through low-powered, high quality radio in Bend.
Now, a little more than three years later, KPOV has the rare opportunity to achieve an even more ambitious goal!
The FCC recently granted KPOV a construction permit to build a full-power community radio station broadcasting at 13,500 watts! We now have three years to secure the funding, build the infrastructure and develop even better programming line up than we have today.
How will you and our community benefit?
- A more powerful signal will alleviate the reception issues many in Bend currently face with our low-power signal. In addition, residents in surrounding central Oregon communities will also be able to receive our signal.
- KPOV intends to offer an even greater presence in the community, from broadcasting and appearing at festivals and events to live election and political coverage to continuing to develop our web presence.
We will begin planning the transition to full-power later this year, with the help of community radio consultants and staff at the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. We’ll keep you posted along the way and will ask for your input as we move forward.
Filed under: Pacifica
I received the following message from Aaron earlier today. Aaron hosted and co-produced Pacifica’s coverage of the Winter Soldier events in the DC area earlier this year. He has two books coming out in the next few months on the stories and testimony of returning veterans. Congratulations Aaron!
I’m very pleased to announce I’ve received a fellowship from the Carter Center’s Mental
Health Program. The Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism will help fund my continued research and reporting, and provide me with continuing education and support on challenges Iraq and Afghanistan veterans face returning to school after serving in a war-zone.
Together, with the fellowship I received from the Hechinger Institute at Columbia University Teachers College, the Carter Center fellowship will free me up to continue in-depth, investigative journalism that highlights the human costs of the war at home and simple steps that can be taken to help ameliorate these problems.
Check out the work Aaron and others have done in this area at the KPFA site WarComesHome.org.
Filed under: Pacifica
So the night before last, KPFT was the home of another potentially dangerous overnight happening – a man armed with a knife tried to get into the station and busted out a backdoor window to do so. No one was hurt, and the man was arrested. Program Director Ernesto Aguilar describes the incident at his blog. And pasted below is a story on the incident from Houston’s local ABC News affiliate. ~N
HOUSTON (KTRK) — A Houston radio station that’s been the target of crime before has had another bizarre incident.
According to station officials, there was a disturbance on 90.1 FM KPFT premises in the early morning hours today, involving a knife-wielding individual attempting to gain access to the building.
The individual in question arrived on station property and demanded access. After being rebuffed, he became agitated and punched out one of the window panes on the back door. He lost the weapon he was carrying when he punched through the glass.
He was apprehended without resistance and arrested. Police said the man did not express a motive or intent to harm those on property. Programmers, as well as police on site, each reported the man was incoherent.
This incident comes as the one-year anniversary approaches of a still-unsolved drive-by shooting that occurred at KPFT in August 2007.
The Green Party convention broadcast finished up a couple days ago — and it was really good, if I might say so. We received a lot of great feedback. In case you missed it, all three hours are now uploaded and available here for your listening.
Hour 1 is sort of a “Greens 101″, includes guests Ruth Weill and Scott McLarty from the GP, Pat LaMarche (2004 Green VP candidate), Mike Feinstein (Green and former mayor of Santa Monica), and others
Hour 2 includes speeches and sounds from the convention and a discussion of the Green Party in the political landscape. Guests include Kathy Kelly (of Voices for Creative Non-Violence), Malik Rahim (of Common Ground), Jill Stein (Physicians for Social Responsibility), Omar Lopez (immigration community organizer), and more.
Hour 3 focuses on a discussion of the nomination of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente. We hear from them, as well as Ralph Nader, Jared Ball, and others.
More information about the Green Party is online at gp.org or the GP’s convention last weekend at greenparty2008.org.
Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hear from former Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith and other guests Tuesday morning on the role that Bush Administration lawyers played in creating, developing, and implementing interrogation & torture policies at Guantanamo.
Feith was one of the architects of the Bush Administration’s legal and policy framework for interrogations. He was initially scheduled to testify in June, but cancelled on the morning of the hearing. His appearance is ensured by subpoena.
Pacifica Radio will broadcast the hearing live Tuesday, starting at 9:00 a.m. EDT. KPFA’s Larry Bensky will host this special, with Laura Prives producing. Tune into the live stream here.
Other guests scheduled for tomorrow’s hearing include Philippe Sands, Professor of International Law, University College London; and Deborah Pearlstein, Associate Research Scholar at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs.
Tuesday’s hearing follows up on previous coverage of this topic. Last month, Pacifica aired Judiciary Committee hearings that featured former White House Chief of Staff David Addington, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, and others.
Renowned anti-nuclear champion and Nobel-nominated Dr. Helen Caldicott has launched a new one-hour, weekly public affairs radio show called “If You Love This Planet.” The first show will air on KPFT in Houston on Monday July 14 at 7:00 PM Central time.
“If You Love This Planet” explores the many dangers of nuclear weapons, nuclear power, climate change and global environmental crises, and explores real solutions to these problems.
We have all heard Dr. Caldicott’s riveting speeches on our airwaves over the past several decades. Many of us have seen her powerfully engage audiences in person. Her radio show is a beacon of truth, a fresh, uncensored and courageous voice in a media landcape that has more-often-than-not ignored the dangers of all things nuclear.
Dr. Caldicott also takes on the global enviromental crises we all want and need to learn more about, “full frontal.” The time has come to cut through the media blackouts and accumulated lies.
She’s passionate, engaging, funny, extraordinary and powerful. And she has a guest list for this show that will make your head spin.
“If You Love This Planet,” (also the title of her book, and her Academy Award-winning documentary film) is recorded weekly in Canberra, the capital of Helen’s native Australia. Her primary host station is Pacifica’s KPFT in Houston, Texas. Her target audience? Every last American, Canadian and European citizen, for starters.
Dr. Helen Caldicott, a pediatrician, was the primary founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility. As one of the most articulate and passionate advoctes of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Helen has devoted the last 35 years of her life to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction.
Her latest books include “War In Heaven” and “Nuclear Power is Not the Answer.”
