The Big Four commercial networks air 58 minutes of ads in primetime every night, 36 percent more than they did in 1991, MediaLife magazine reported. Their commercial breaks have gotten 41 percent longer since 1998.

Tom Keith, sound-effects guy for A Prairie Home Companion, discusses the Zen of his craft with the Capital Times: "You can't just stand there and make the sound. You have to move, be the ski."

"As the radio industry continues to consolidate, our responsibility to program challenging music and public affairs programs becomes that much greater," says pubradio veteran Steve Robinson in the Boston Globe, which reports on his acceptance of an ASCAP award.

Elections for Pacifica's Local Station Boards are looming, and candidates for the boards of KPFK-FM in Los Angeles and WBAI-FM in New York have started websites.