infobong.com

I'm intrigued by two new ventures that use podcasting in commercial radio. For readers unfamiliar with podcasting, it's the practice of uploading audio files containing a radio show or segment. The software iPodder enables end users to automatically download new shows from a given source to their iPods. Some folks online have hailed podcasting as an alternative to corporatized radio, but, of course, you have to be relatively affluent to have the equipment and skills needed to enjoy podcasts. I have spent little time listening to podcasts, but I suspect that they're much like blogs, where much of the content reflects the corporate media. For example, this how-to video about podcasting features a rant against universal health care.

Although podcasting is seen as an alternative to commercial radio, its interest is already piqued. Today's New York Times has a story about how former MTV DJ Adam Curry has inked a deal with Sirius satellite radio to assemble a daily four hour show based on podcast content. Curry is one of the first podcasters on the 'net, so I can see the project as the payoff for hard work, but I wonder what range of voices his show will feature.

On the other hand, I find KYOU radio a little more troubling. KYOU will actually broadcast podcasts over the AM airwaves. However, the San Francisco station is owned by Infinity, whose parent company is Viacom. Rather than a project in independent media or "open source radio," this seems to be more a project in giving free content to the second-largest radio company in the country. Moreover, if you look at the design of the KYOU site, its clear that they're appropriating the visual rhetoric of progressive social movements such as graffiti, a fist which is often used as a symbol of resistance, and concentric curves that look suspiciously like the IndyMedia logo. I suppose in an age when Che appears on Vuitton handbags, it should be no surprise radical imagery is appropriated by corporate media, but I hope no one mistakes KYOU for grassroots media.