Ken Freedman
Encyclopedia
Ken Freedman is the ongoing General Manager of WFMU
, a freeform radio station. He also co-hosts the conceptual comedy program Seven Second Delay
with Andy Breckman
, as well as hosting his own freeform radio program on Wednesday mornings (9:00-noon Eastern Time).
Freedman began his radio career as DJ and later station manager of WCBN
, the University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor's freeform radio station, where he marked the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan
by playing Lesley Gore
's "It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To)" for eighteen consecutive hours.
Freedman joined WFMU as a DJ in December 1983, and succeeded Bruce Longstreet as General Manager in August 1985. At the time, WFMU was licensed to and owned by Upsala College
, and based in East Orange, New Jersey
.
In February 1986, Freedman launched a program guide/zine
called LCD (Lowest Common Denominator), featuring work by many internationally known writers and artists, including Nick Tosches
, Jim Woodring
, Drew Friedman, Gary Panter
, Harvey Pekar
, Dan Clowes, Tony Millionaire
, and Chris Ware
. In November 2007, The Best of LCD: The Art and Writing of WFMU, was published by Princeton Architectural Press
. It was compiled and edited by longtime WFMU radio host Dave "The Spazz" Abramson.
In 1989, Freedman successfully fended off a challenge to the station's license from four rival broadcasters, who claimed that WFMU was broadcasting above its legal power limit.
In 1992, he founded the non-profit organization Auricle Communications, which purchased WFMU's license from Upsala in 1994. These actions allowed WFMU to survive when the college went bankrupt in 1995.
A core strategy for the station was to embrace the World Wide Web
, launching its website in 1993, streaming its broadcasts full-time in 1997, and archiving most broadcasts from 2000. Under Freedman's management, annual donations to the station (which is funded exclusively by listener support) grew from $50,000 in 1983, to $750,000 in 1999, to over $1,000,000 in 2008.
Freedman serves on the board of directors of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters
. In 2007, Freedman took on the oversight of WFMU's Free Music Archive, an open source library of copyright-cleared music and audio which launched in April 2009.
His brother, Samuel G. Freedman
is an author of several books, as well as a freelance reporter for the New York Times, and a Professor at the Columbia School of Journalism.
WFMU
WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format...
, a freeform radio station. He also co-hosts the conceptual comedy program Seven Second Delay
Seven Second Delay
Seven Second Delay is a radio show broadcast on radio station WFMU. It has been hosted by Ken Freedman and Andy Breckman since the early 1990s. Will Baum and David Newgarden were Andy's cohosts of the show previous to Ken but David only did a handful of shows and Will did maybe a dozen at the most...
with Andy Breckman
Andy Breckman
Andy Breckman is a television and film writer and a radio personality. He is the co-creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series Monk on the USA Network, and is co-host of WFMU radio's long-running conceptual comedy program Seven Second Delay...
, as well as hosting his own freeform radio program on Wednesday mornings (9:00-noon Eastern Time).
Freedman began his radio career as DJ and later station manager of WCBN
WCBN
WCBN-FM is the student-run radio station of the University of Michigan. Its format is primarily freeform. It broadcasts at 88.3 MHz FM in Ann Arbor, Michigan.- History :...
, the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
at Ann Arbor's freeform radio station, where he marked the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
by playing Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore is an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.- Biography :Gore was born in New York City, New York. She was raised in...
's "It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To)" for eighteen consecutive hours.
Freedman joined WFMU as a DJ in December 1983, and succeeded Bruce Longstreet as General Manager in August 1985. At the time, WFMU was licensed to and owned by Upsala College
Upsala College
Upsala College was a private college in East Orange, New Jersey, USA, founded in 1893. Construction of the campus started in 1900. The college closed in 1995, after several years of financial problems.-History:...
, and based in East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
.
In February 1986, Freedman launched a program guide/zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
called LCD (Lowest Common Denominator), featuring work by many internationally known writers and artists, including Nick Tosches
Nick Tosches
Nick Tosches is an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet of Albanian and Italian descent.- Life :After different odd-jobs, Tosches started writing with poetry and rock-'n'-roll magazines, including Creem, Fusion, and Rolling Stone.Tosches' second book, a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis...
, Jim Woodring
Jim Woodring
Jim Woodring is a Seattle-based cartoonist, comic book author, artist and toy designer. He also produces fine art works in a variety of other media, including painting and charcoal....
, Drew Friedman, Gary Panter
Gary Panter
Gary Panter is an illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of Arcade: The Comics Revue and the initiation of RAW, one of the second generation in American underground comix...
, Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar
Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name.Pekar described American Splendor as "an...
, Dan Clowes, Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author known for his syndicated comic strip Maakies and the Sock Monkey series of comics and picture books.-Early life:...
, and Chris Ware
Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson Ware , is an American comic book artist and cartoonist, widely known for his Acme Novelty Library series and the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he resides in the Chicago area, Illinois...
. In November 2007, The Best of LCD: The Art and Writing of WFMU, was published by Princeton Architectural Press
Princeton Architectural Press
Princeton Architectural Press is a leading publisher of architecture and design books, with over 500 titles on its backlist. It was founded in 1981 by Kevin Lippert in Princeton, NJ and moved to New York City in 1985. Since 1996, Princeton Architectural Press has been distributed in the...
. It was compiled and edited by longtime WFMU radio host Dave "The Spazz" Abramson.
In 1989, Freedman successfully fended off a challenge to the station's license from four rival broadcasters, who claimed that WFMU was broadcasting above its legal power limit.
In 1992, he founded the non-profit organization Auricle Communications, which purchased WFMU's license from Upsala in 1994. These actions allowed WFMU to survive when the college went bankrupt in 1995.
A core strategy for the station was to embrace the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, launching its website in 1993, streaming its broadcasts full-time in 1997, and archiving most broadcasts from 2000. Under Freedman's management, annual donations to the station (which is funded exclusively by listener support) grew from $50,000 in 1983, to $750,000 in 1999, to over $1,000,000 in 2008.
Freedman serves on the board of directors of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters
National Federation of Community Broadcasters
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters is a national membership organization of community-oriented, non-commercial radio stations, producers, and other organizations and individuals committed to community radio in the United States....
. In 2007, Freedman took on the oversight of WFMU's Free Music Archive, an open source library of copyright-cleared music and audio which launched in April 2009.
His brother, Samuel G. Freedman
Samuel G. Freedman
Samuel G. Freedman is an American author and journalist and currently a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has authored six nonfiction books, including most recently Who She Was, a book about his mother's life as a teenager and young woman, and Letters to a Young...
is an author of several books, as well as a freelance reporter for the New York Times, and a Professor at the Columbia School of Journalism.
External links
- Ken Freedman program archives at WFMU.org
- Ken Freedman keynote address (video), “WFMU: Dragging Radio Into The Present," International Open Education Conference, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, August 2009
- Ken Freedman address (video), "WFMU’s Free Music Archive: An Open Source Marriage of Audio Art, Music and Radio," The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 2007