Listening to the KVEC Stream

I’ve asked our program director and news director Ben Greenaway to answer recent questions from bloggers about listening to KVEC online. This is what Ben has to say:

To listen to KVEC on-line, start at http://www.920kvec.com. There are two ways to open the on-line audio stream. You can choose “Listen Live” under the “Programming” menu item, or click on the little tower icon and “Listen Live” text next to the KVEC logo. Some browsers require you to click twice on that logo, some browsers require you to enable pop-up windows. Once you’ve clicked “Listen Live,” a media player will open, and you’ll hear KVEC after a brief delay while it loads.

To listen to KVEC on-line, you’ll need a high-speed internet connection (DSL, Cable Internet, ISDN, etc.), and web browser like Internet Explorer, or Mozilla Firefox. Newer computers will already have an audio player installed, such as Microsoft Windows Media Player, or RealNetworks RealPlayer. If you don’t have an audio player, you’ll have to install one before you can listen to the station on-line (downloadable at Microsoft.com or real.com). KVEC suggests you contact a professional computer technician if you require assistance with any of these products.

It’s our goal to remain relevant in a time when change is affecting broadcast media. KVEC was one of the first Central Coast radio stations to offer streaming, and the first to offer regular podcasts of its programming. That said, there are growing pains associated with new technologies. When the stream was originally set-up, we were only able to broadcast our local programming—that meant silence for several hours between First News in the morning, and The Dave Congalton Show in the afternoon. It also meant long gaps during commercials and news breaks within those programs.

Recently The Sean Hannity Show and FOX News have been added to the stream, and music fills the hours around those programs, creating a 24-hour listening experience for you. We look forward to adding more shows to the stream in the near future.

As we develop this new technology, technical problems will go away. Occasionally, glitches halt the server that “broadcasts” our stream. In that case a program may need to be restarted, or a setting adjusted. And we fix the problems as soon as we detect them.

You are welcome to email me with your comments or suggestions regarding the stream: bengreenaway@clearchannel.com. If you refer to a specific glitch, it’s helpful to include exactly what time it happened, and what software you were using (ie Microsoft Explorer or Mozill Firefox).

Thank you for listening to KVEC, and for being part of the first-generation of on-line listeners.

Ben Greenaway
Program Director, AM-920 KVEC
http://www.920kvec.com
BenGreenaway@ClearChannel.com

Monday Wrapup

Tom and I enjoyed hosting our monthly Listener Lunch at Edna Valley Market on Monday and thanks to Delron for serving up another great buffet on the patio. We’ll do another one in late April and start signing people up this week. Meanwhile, check out EVM for breakfast and lunch — great soup, sandwiches, salads, etc. Good food. Cheap. In and out. The kind of place radio people can enjoy. Corner of Broad and Tank Farm in SLO.

Ben Greenaway is off on a well-deserved vacation starting Thursday. He’ll head back to Germany with his wife who is from there. Our own Tom Madsen will be helping to fill in on some days during Ben’s absence so Tom will be doing double duty on a couple days this month.

Very pleased with the show today. Dr. Louise Murray, director of medicine for the ASPCA, called in from New York and fielded listener phone calls on the pet food contamination issue. Very disturbing news in that even pet treats have now been found to be infected. The problem, according to the doctor, seems to be in the wheat gluton and experts think that the wheat, from China, is contaminated, perhaps by pesticides. I would encourage concerened pet owners to check out http://www.aspca.org to get the most-up-to-date information.

We also had a lively discussion with Cathe Olsen, who admitted she wasn’t the best mom for homeschooling and she’s glad her two daughters are now in public school. But many parents called in to sing the praises of homeschooling.

Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee sounded hopeful that there will be a positive resolution for employees at ASH and he surprised Tom and I when he came out firmly, as a Ph.D, on the issue of global warming, saying it is a serious problem that had to be addressed. He also predicted that California will be seeing a lot of the presidential candidates now that our primary has been moved up to February 2008.

Kathy Orton and Teresa Tardiff also put the community spotlight on CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, a very important group of volunteers who speak out for children caught up in our local court system. CASA needs volunteers, especially men. To volunteer, donate, or just to find out more, check out http://www.slocasa.org.

Program note: Michele will be back on Wednesday at 6 to discuss the most events surrounding the U.S. Justice Department. Gordon Mullin has also been added for the 13th to call for a revised U.S. tax structure.