Ken Freedman (born February 18, 1959) is an American radio personality. The general manager of

WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...

, a freeform and

independent radio Independent radio indicates a radio station that are run in a manner,different from usual from the countries it broadcasts in. Conversely, in places such as the United States, where commercial broadcasters are the norm, independent radio is some ...

station based in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, he co-hosts the comedy program ''

Seven Second Delay ''Seven Second Delay'' is a comedy radio show broadcast on radio station WFMU. It has been hosted by Ken Freedman and Andy Breckman since the early 1990s. The show is self described as "on air radio stunts." In March 2022, as part of a radio ...

'' with

Andy Breckman Andrew Ross Breckman (born March 3, 1955) is an American screenwriter, comedian, and radio personality. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series ''Monk'' on the USA Network and is co-host of WFMU radi ...

, as well as hosting his own freeform radio program. He is a resident of

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

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 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 University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

's freeform outlet, where he marked the 1980 election of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

by playing

Lesley Gore Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein, May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She follow ...

's "

It's My Party "It's My Party" is a song recorded by American singer Lesley Gore on her debut studio album '' I'll Cry If I Want To'' (1963). It was released as a single on April 5, 1963, by Mercury Records. The song was written by Herb Wiener, John Gluck Jr. ...

" for eighteen consecutive hours. In December 1983, he joined WFMU as a DJ and succeeded Bruce Longstreet as general manager in August 1985. At the time, WFMU was licensed to and owned by

Upsala College Upsala College (UC) was a private college affiliated with the Swedish-American Augustana Synod (later the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and located in East Orange in Essex County, New Jersey in the United States, with an additiona ...

, and based in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...

. In February 1986, he launched a program guide/

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

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 Princeton Architectural Press (now PA Press) is a division of Chronicle Books. Founded by Kevin Lippert in 1981 in Princeton, NJ, PA Press has been a leading publisher of books on architecture, design, and visual culture for over forty years, ...

was compiled and edited by longtime WFMU radio host Dave "The Spazz" Abramson and was published in November 2007. 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. 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. In 1993 the station launched its website, and in 1997 it began streaming its broadcasts full-time. 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 The Free Music Archive (FMA) is an online repository of royalty-free music, currently based in the Netherlands. Established in 2009 by the East Orange, New Jersey community radio station WFMU and in cooperation with fellow stations KBOO and KEXP ...

, an open source library of copyright-cleared music and audio which launched in April 2009. In 2013, Freedman initiated the creation of a suite of software for broadcasters, journalists and online publishers known as the Audience Engine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freedman, Ken 1959 births Living people American radio executives Copyright activists Open content activists American radio DJs People from Highland Park, New Jersey People from Hoboken, New Jersey University of Michigan alumni