As previewed here, the FCC approved a plan for digital radio in the US: The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to adopt digital radio technology created by iBiquity Digital, a company backed by large broadcasters including ABC and Viacom. The commissioners enthusiastically endorsed the technology, saying it will benefit the …

Colleges join corporations in clamping down on file sharing: The leaders of six major higher-education organizations are asking the presidents of all American colleges to take steps to stop illegal distribution of copyrighted materials, such as songs and motion pictures, through college computer networks. “Digital file sharing technology has made …

American Idol silver medalist Justin Guarini will get his turn in the spotlight as RCA announced it will release one or more records by the young man with the fro: RCA said Guarini was signed to 19 Recordings Ltd, the label of British entrepreneur, star-maker and “American Idol” producer Simon …

The TODAY Show is holding an Idol-like competition – do you have what it takes? Think you have what it takes to be the next Faith Hill, Enrique Iglesias or Alicia Keys? You mean they’re not looking for the next Iggy Pop? Tired of crooning in the shower and finally …

Interviews with execs from EMI and Unversal: EMI Group was once hailed as the music company that brought the world the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. But by the time record veterans Alain Levy and David Munns took over the British company’s struggling music operations last October, employees …

Though the home team bias is obvious, this SF Gate bio of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is instructive: In Silicon Valley, where crack computer programmers and networking aces are now competing for jobs waiting tables and tending bar, the connection between government policies that are hurting the digital economy and skyrocketing …

Ron Rosenbaum laments the departure of Christopher Hitchens from the Nation magazine. He rather neatly summarizes my own concerns regarding the influence of Chomsky, and others on the far left: It’s sad, though, because one senses that Mr. Hitchens forced a lot of people on the Left to confront their …

This Weekend on Book TV: National Book Festival Focusing on serious nonfiction and the publishing industry, Book TV airs continuously each weekend from Saturday at 8 a.m. to Monday at 8 a.m. on C-SPAN2. Highlights and featured authors for this coming weekend: Saturday, October 12 (All times Eastern) 8:30 a.m. …

The Comics Journal has an excellent audio archive up for Halloween, an interview from ’83 with William Gaines, the late publisher of Tales From the Crypt and Mad Magazine. Dirk Deppey writes in: Along with editor Al Feldstein, Gaines was the publisher responsible for perhaps the first genuine Renaissance in …

And some thoughts on John Lennon's birthday.