Mike Janssen

Mike Janssen Served as Scanning The Dial's original co-authors from Mar, 2008 to Jan, 2010 and is a freelance writer, editor and media educator based in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. He has written extensively about radio, mostly for Current, the trade newspaper about public broadcasting, where his articles have appeared since 1999. He has also worked in public radio as a reporter at WFDD-FM in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he began his career in journalism and filed pieces for NPR. Mike's work in radio expanded to include outreach and advocacy in 2007, when he worked with the Future of Music Coalition to recruit applicants for noncommercial radio stations. He has since embarked on writing a series of articles about radio hopefuls for FMC's blog. Mike also writes regularly for Retail Traffic magazine and teaches workshops about writing, podcasting and radio journalism. In his spare time he enjoys vegetarian food, the outdoors, reading, movies and traveling. You can learn more about Mike and find links to more of his writing and reporting at mikejanssen.net.

More classical in Syracuse; iPhone tuner rolls out

December 11, 2008 by Mike Janssen

:: Here’s a rare case of a public radio station expanding rather than cutting back on classical. WCNY in Syracuse, N.Y., is cutting a long-running jazz show to go all-classical six days a week. In a CNYlink article, WCNY’s program director points out that Syracuse already has a station that airs jazz, WAER. So it sounds like a sensible move.

YouTube announces the YouTube Orchestra

December 3, 2008 by Mike Janssen

On Monday YouTube announced the launch of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which will tap classical musicians the world over to participate in two projects. First, they’ll have a chance to contribute to a mashup of a new work by Tan Dun. They’ll also be able to audition for a concert at Carnegie Hall, with their entries judged by musicians from major orchestras. Michael Tilson Thomas will conduct the Carnegie Hall concert, scheduled for April.

Why pursue diversity — and which kind?

December 1, 2008 by Mike Janssen

Marty wrote a series of thought-provoking posts a while back about diversity and classical radio. I was neck-deep in other business at the time and didn’t get a chance to chime in, but now I have some time to think things over and, I hope, advance the discussion. I’d like to start with a wide lens before zooming in.

New Hampshire’s WCNH: a small station filling a big role

November 21, 2008 by Mike Janssen

The other day I wrote that I found no applicants for new noncommercial classical stations in last fall’s application window, other than the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Well, I did find another one, under the inconspicuous name of Highland Community Broadcasting. And Highland is no newcomer to classical radio — in fact, it now operates the only classical station in the state of New Hampshire.

Subscribe Via Email