Ken Freedman
{{BLP sources|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ken Freedman
| image = WFMU General Manager Ken Freedman in 2008.jpg
| alt =
| caption = In 2008
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|02|18}}
| birth_place =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation = General manager of WFMU
| years_active = 1976—present
| known_for = Seven Second Delay
| notable_works =
}}
Ken Freedman (born February 18, 1959) is general manager of WFMU, a freeform and independent radio station. He co-hosts the comedy program Seven Second Delay with Andy Breckman, as well as hosting his own freeform radio program. Freedman is a resident of Hoboken, New Jersey.
{{
cite news
|url=http://blog.nj.com/iamnj/2007/10/ken_freedman.html
|title=Ken Freedman: Radio Head: Veteran manager keeps indie station on the air
|first=Donna
|last=Gialanella
|newspaper=The Star-Ledger
|date=October 14, 2007
|accessdate=February 19, 2022
}}
History
In 1976 he hosted his first radio program as a DJ at Highland Park High School station WVHP. He served as station manager of WCBN-FM, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor's freeform outlet, where he marked the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan by playing Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" for eighteen consecutive hours.{{cite web
|url=http://www.wcbn.org/history/wcbntime.html
|title=CBN History: Radio/Broadcasting Timeline
|publisher=WCBN Online
|date=May 10, 2005
|accessdate=February 19, 2022
|archive-date=March 1, 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301024429/http://www.wcbn.org/history/wcbntime.html
|url-status=dead
}}{{Better source needed|reason=Shows that this happened in 1980 but doesn’t directly connect Ken Freedman to the event.|date=February 2022}}
In December 1983, he joined WFMU as a DJ and succeeded Bruce Longstreet as general manager in August 1985.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}} At the time, WFMU was licensed to and owned by Upsala College, and based in East Orange, New Jersey.
In February 1986, he launched a program guide/zine called LCD (Lowest Common Denominator). A compilation book entitled The Best of LCD: The Art and Writing of WFMU, was published by Princeton Architectural Press was compiled and edited by longtime WFMU radio host Dave "The Spazz" Abramson and was published in November 2007.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}
File:Ken Freedman, Interview 1990 – History of FM and the current situation of WFMU.mp3
In 1989, he 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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}
In 1992, he founded the non-profit organization Auricle Communications, which purchased WFMU's license from Upsala in 1994 one year prior to the college's bankruptcy in 1995.{{cite web | url = http://www.wfmu.org/times/ | title = No Hits All the Time| author = Wolf, Jaime| work = The New York Times | date = April 11, 1999 | accessdate = June 10, 2008 }}
In 1993 the station launched its website, and in 1997 it began streaming its broadcasts full-time.{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/nyregion/24towns.html | title = Looking for Music, but Not 'Celebration,' to Remember Castro? Put the Radio On | author = Applebome, Peter |author-link=Peter Applebome| work = The New York Times | date = February 24, 2008 | accessdate = June 10, 2008 }}
Freedman pioneered the use of direct licensing for broadcasters, obtaining alternative copyrights and waivers to address restrictions placed on broadcasters by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In 2007, Freedman built on these direct licensing activities and founded WFMU's Free Music Archive, an open source library of copyright-cleared music and audio which launched in April 2009.
{{
cite web
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjTWFBNn1rA
|title=Ken Freedman's Open Source Marriage of Audio, Music & Radio
|publisher=Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
|date=May 9, 2005
|accessdate=February 19, 2022
}}
In 2013, Freedman initiated the creation of a suite of software for broadcasters, journalists and online publishers known as the Audience Engine.
{{
cite news
|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6648509/wfmu-wants-to-change-how-media-talks-to-its-audiences-and-raises-money-for
|title=WFMU Wants to Change How Media Talks to Its Audiences and Raises Money — For Free
|first=Andrew
|last=Flanagan
|newspaper=Billboard
|date=July 29, 2015
|accessdate=February 19, 2022
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:American radio executives
Category:Open content activists
Category:People from Highland Park, New Jersey