I had a post ready to roll today. But at the end of a week made so bizarre and spectacular by not only Gov. Sanford’s romantic self-immolation but the deaths of Farrah and, of course, the King of Pop, it feels like a good time to just simmer down and let you all work through your emotions. Join the communal mourning if you’re so inclined. I’ll post Monday when hopefully we’ll all be ready to move on. Enjoy the weekend.
Do you hear that rumbling sound? That’s the sound of the creative class locomotive beginning to roar.
1200 of the nation’s arts leaders came to Seattle last week for the Americans for the Arts (AFTA) national conference. I thought you might like to hear some of the voices that are leading the national dialogue.
We say we’re a blog about “classical music in broadcasting,” but I sometimes like to stretch that mission statement to include other musical genres. Some passions and challenges transcend genre and encompass all music broadcasters who aim to serve the public interest, not just sell ads.
So here’s welcome news of a coup for fans of music and noncommercial radio who live in Dallas, Texas. At a time when few stations have the budgets to expand, KERA, that city’s primary public broadcaster, has struck a deal to buy an FM frequency that it will program with the Triple A format. Triple A, or Adult Album Alternative, assumes various guises at individual stations depending on the programmers in charge. But generally the format showcases rock, folk, alternative, country and other genres — the music’s roots as well as its contemporaries.
One of our own, General Manager Jeff Skibbe from KXMS in southern Missouri has written this guest post on programming. Mille grazie, Jeff!
“Qube Connections” by Jeff Skibbe
I have always been a fan of British TV’s James Burke, the science historian whose episodes of the series “Connections” famously began with a thread of an idea upon which Burke would weave a rich tapestry of cause and effect in the worlds of science and technology. If you haven’t seen the 1978 original or any of its sequels, you should investigate getting a subscription to Netflix soon.