Protecting Public Airwaves

February 14, 2018 Everything is more or less back to normal at Hope Children’s Home, several months out from the 2017 hurricane season in Florida. Most evacuated during Hurricane Irma, but now the kids are back in school, the basketball courts are full, and the teachers, staff and house parents oversee the usual routines of

January 24, 2018 As part of our ongoing series featuring stories from our FY 2017 annual report, this week we take a look at another of Voqal’s initiatives aimed at providing EBS Spectrum holders an ally, Independent Spectrum. In the heart of Florida’s Gulf Coast, not too far from Tampa Bay, you’ll find a lush,

February 8, 2017 Voqal recently released its first-ever annual report and is featuring some of the stories from the report on our blog. To read more download Voqal’s Fiscal Year 2016 Annual Report: Taking Risks. At Voqal, we believe that Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum set aside by the FCC is a valuable resource that

April 11, 2015 Sometimes we all try things that despite our best intentions don’t work out. For Voqal, Independent Public Media was one of those things. We’re big fans of public media here at Voqal and we wanted to help preserve at risk community-based public TV stations. Thus Independent Public Media, an initiative dedicated to

October 2, 2015 Voqal, on behalf of Mobile Citizen, filed a reply comment with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging the Commission to revisit Educational Broadband Service (EBS) Rules for the benefit of education and reducing the digital divide. In its filing, Voqal urged the FCC to: Update and modernize EBS Rules Open up opportunities to

By: Kristen Meador August 20, 2014 Following up on his recent commentary in Current, Voqal President John Schwartz participated in a media briefing call hosted by The Media Consortium on the upcoming spectrum auction. The Media Consortium is an international network of over 70 leading independent progressive journalism organizations. In the call, John discusses the

July 22, 2014 Our very own John Schwartz, Voqal’s president, wrote a commentary published in Current on the FCC’s role in protecting public TV’s coverage in the upcoming spectrum auction. In addition to providing a short background, Schwartz advocates for public broadcasting to operate outside of “market forces” and encourages the FCC to establish rules

Ken Devine, Independent Public Media’s Chief Operating Officer, Reviews the Challenges Facing Public Television and Offers Solutions Ken Devine has been a media executive and engineering innovator for more than 30 years. He most recently worked with public television station WNET in New York as Vice President of Media Operations and Chief Information Officer. Ken

February 28, 2013 Hamilton Fish has devoted his career to preserving and strengthening independent media.  He recently joined Independent Public Media as its Chief Development Officer to help develop and deploy its acquisition and financing programs for financially-troubled public TV stations. In the interview that follows, he shares his views on the responsibilities and opportunities for public

December 12, 2012 If an incentive spectrum auction is carried through as the FCC envisions, broadcasters can receive substantial financial rewards and continue 
to operate in a post-auction era. Financially stressed public television stations have a new financing option to support their operations. A new program announced by Independent Public Media (“IPM”), a non-profit initiative