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FCC adopts notice of proposed rulemaking proposing changes to foreign sponsorship identification requirement

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A new WARC analysis has found that Generation Z is the most digital generation to date, spending two-thirds (67.7%) of total media time with digital channels, higher than any other age group.

These findings are published today by WARC, the international marketing intelligence service.

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U.S. financial markets finished in the red on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrials Average declining by 346.93 points, to 29,926.94. Nasdaq was off by 75.33 points, to 11,073.31. For media companies, not all was glum, as Salem Media Group saw its stock climb.

SALM finished the day’s trading at $1.76, up 8 cents. Meanwhile, Saga Communications shares were up 2 cents, to $23.60.

For a full look at today’s closing prices on Wall Street, please visit the Wall Street Report on the RBR.com homepage.

Companies can’t sustain or grow without the right people. Recruitment is one of the biggest challenges businesses are facing. With so many factors impacting the job market, what mix of recruitment advertising actually delivers results?

Marketron plans to tackle this question in a upcoming recruitment webinar.

The company’s Director of Sales Enablement, Jeff Ulrich, will review the trends and issues employers face in recruitment and retention. He will then lead a panel discussion with Erica Dreyer, Director of Integrated Media at NRG Media, and Kristin Valentine, EVP of Marketing at 24 Seven Talent.

“Attendees will learn the trends impacting hiring and what they say about the future, how the evolving concept of work is changing recruitment, which ad tactics perform best in helping companies acquire and hire quality candidates, how to position the right ad mix to attract applicants, and how to rethink approaches and strategies around recruitment advertising.

REGISTRATION: https://www.marketron.com/hiring-minds-want-to-know-webinar/

 

The webinar, titled “Hiring Minds Want to Know: How to Create the Ad Mix for Recruitment Success,” is intended for employers and is scheduled for Thursday, October 20 at 2pm Eastern.

There is no charge for broadcast media participants.

 

As someone who has been focused on digital for pretty much the last twenty years, Jared Lake, the SVP and head of media investments at Ocean Media LLC, is on the frontlines when it comes to what brands actively seeking audience through audio and video-based media are doing in 2022 with respect to media buying and planning.

For Ocean Media’s clients, the rise of Connected TV and SVOD and even FAST channels is real. But, is that coming at the expense of broadcast television? At the same time, interest — and dollars — in podcast advertising is up. How can broadcast radio capitalize?

Lake shares his thoughts in this RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Jared Lake, Ocean Media” on Spreaker.

None other than Nancy Pelosi has chimed in on the matter. The proposed buyer responded with a statement that “sets the record straight” on the subject.

Now, the Media Bureau of the FCC has issued a second information request for applications to transfer control of TEGNA to the entity led by Soohyung Kim.

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“Today we said goodbye to the legendary KGO.”

That’s the startling announcement that came in the 10am Pacific hour on Thursday from the storied news and information station serving the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market for 80 years.

A pre-recorded loop began playing in the middle of regular programming. It likely won’t stop until Monday, when “810 AM begins a new era.”

 

More details soon from RBR+TVBR … 

Radio World Buyer’s Guide articles are intended to help readers understand why their colleagues chose particular products to solve various technical situations. This month’s section focuses on automation, traffic and billing systems.

Dennis Maxwell is pictured in the Q-Lite 99.5 studio with Apex on the computer screen.

It was in the mid-1990s when the radio station that Dennis Maxwell was working for decided it was time to transition from turntables, cart machines and live deejays, to satellite automation. 

“Management at the station chose the Arrakis Digilink II system,” he recalled. 

“It was quite an adjustment for all of us, especially for those who had been spinning records since the early 1960s. Prior to starting college in 1971, I had worked a couple of years at this same station while still in high school in 1969. So I was pretty set in my ways as well. However, I was eager to try something new.”

He found the Digilink II easy to learn and dependable. “Plus, it allowed us to be on the air 24 hours a day.”
Fast-forward to 1999 when Maxwell helped form R&M Broadcasting. It hit the Sept. 1 of year with a Lite Rock station, Q-Lite 99.5/KHMB(FM). 

“We never considered any automation system other than Arrakis. We started out the Digilink IV, and transitioned to Digilink-Xtreme in 2006,” he said. 

“This system worked like a charm. We seldom ever had any issues with Xtreme, but if we did, the customer support staff was always quick to respond to help resolve the problem.”

A few years ago Maxwell began operating the other three stations in town, which were using another automation system. 

“Earlier this year my staff and I decided it was time to upgrade all four stations to the same system. Based on my almost 25 years of experience with Arrakis, it was an easy decision to go with their flagship automation system, Apex.”

The stations are in the process of transitioning to the new system. “I can tell we are going to love it. Arrakis Customer Success Specialist Melissa Freeman has gone above and beyond to help us install the system, and train us to use it.”

[Read More Buyers Guide Reviews Here]

The post R&M Broadcasting Chooses Arrakis appeared first on Radio World.

Radio World Buyer’s Guide articles are intended to help readers understand why their colleagues chose particular products to solve various technical situations. This month’s articles focus on products automation.

Pubcasting industry veteran Chuck Leavens uses multiple ENCO DAD systems to run jazz-formatted WZUM in Pittsburgh and, separately, the nation’s largest nationally syndicated 24×7 jazz “white label” music service. 

DAD’s database architecture along with its DAD Command Language, or DCL, has allowed him to write scripts to automate various aspects of his nationally distributed continuous radio service, building a virtual footprint of contributing hosts from around the country. 

The host shares their content files via the internet, which are then curated by Leavens in Pittsburgh and automated out of the NOC at NPR headquarters in Washington. ENCO says coast-to-coast “virtual operations” were part of this user’s plan well before the pandemic began.

Leavens says he is impressed by the automation system’s reliability; outside of a failed hard drive, he said, only the local power company has had an adverse impact on his programming.

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Chuck Leavens

According to ENCO, “What’s amazing about PubMusic’s programming is how they enable local stations to brand the music as their own. At precise times, PubMusic inserts proper DAD-generated logic commands to alert location stations downstream when to automatically insert their own promos, underwriting, lead-ins and so forth, all backed by internationally recognized content curated by PubMusic.”

Local WZUM in Pittsburgh also is a customer, with its own local-interest stories, program  and host voiceovers.
“Another key piece of ENCO’s DCL is how it enables Chuck to program DAD to shift time across four time zones by stacking playlists, such that each local station gets the right content, every time,” the company says, 

Then he built a custom checking routing to ensure branches are reset properly to their timeframes, and to make playlists self-correcting. 

The post DCL Helps Leavens Serve Jazz Fans appeared first on Radio World.

Objections were filed against the decision to name one applicant as the tentative selectee for two separate noncommercial educational (NCE) FM construction permits in Florida.

The applications were part of the Federal Communication Commission’s 2021 NCE filing window. During that window, the Media Bureau designated several groupings of applicants as members of a mutually exclusive (MX) group.

The bureau noted that Ethree Group Inc. (EGI) was designated as a member of both NCE MX Group 52 and NCE MX Group 57. For both groups, the bureau identified the EGI application as the tentative selectee of the group after conducting a fair distribution analysis. 

But after that notification, multiple groups filed either an informal objection or a petition to deny EGI’s selection.

In the case of Group 52, the other application identified as mutually exclusive — Vida Ministry Inc. (VMI) — argued that the bureau improperly relied on EGI’s fair distribution attachment, which VMI said contained inaccurate service population totals based on a different transmitter site (in Big Pine, Fla.) instead of the proposed community of Key Colony Beach, Fla. 

VMI argued that without accurate population totals, the bureau should reject EGI’s fair distribution claim and declare the VMI application as the tentative selectee of NCE MX Group 52.

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A similar argument was made by REC Networks when it filed an informal objection to EGI’s selection as the tentative selectee of Group 57. In that case, a petition to deny was also filed by Montgomery Broadcasting Inc. (MBI) and Indian River State College (IRSC).

REC and IRSC argued that EGI’s fair distribution claims were flawed for several reasons: the population totals in the EGI application failed to account for the overlapping contours of at least six additional stations in the proposed 60 dBu service area (which would result in EGI providing first NCE service to 6,208 people, second NCE service to 19,539 people, and combined first and second NCE service to 25,747 people).

If these population totals are used, no applicant can claim a first or a combined first and second NCE service that is at least 5,000 more than any other applicant. As a result, EGI, MBI and IRSC should be reevaluated under a point system analysis, the objection said.

In each instant, EGI responded to say that its proposals are accurate. In the case of Group 52, EGI argued that it experienced filing complications and as a result, it mistakenly attached the exhibit for a different application. In the case of Group 57, EGI maintained that its proposal is superior to the IRSC application because both its first and second service population totals (as well as its total land and population area covered) are greater than IRSC’s.

In considering these issues, the bureau made it clear that applicant fair distribution claims must be readily ascertainable from timely application exhibits. 

In the case of Group 52, EGI’s application includes an exhibit that reflects the population totals of a community that is not its proposed community of license, the bureau said. Even though EGI filed an amended fair distribution service exhibit reflecting accurate population totals for Key Colony Beach, the bureau has consistently rejected these types of post-window amendments. 

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Since EGI’s application did not contain the required exhibit at the time the window closed, the bureau decided to rescind its tentative selection of the EGI application.

In the case of Group 57, the bureau said it is unable to rely on EGI’s calculations to determine if its proposal satisfies proper thresholds needed for a tentative selectee. In this case too, the bureau rescinded the initial selection of the EGI application as the tentative selectee.

For Group 57, the bureau decided to conduct a new fair distribution analysis in which MBI and IRSC are the two remaining applicants. From there, the bureau decided to proceed to a point system analysis, which is conducted whenever the bureau cannot make a definitive selection. 

The post Media Bureau Reconsiders Construction Permit Selectee appeared first on Radio World.

On July 12,  the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated a FCC order mandating disclosures for foreign government-sponsored programming. It was a victory for advocacy groups such as the NAB, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) and National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB), which teamed up to challenge the rules.

Now, the Commission is starting all over again in its quest to “strengthen the process for identifying foreign governmental entities.”

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Radio World’s “Guest Commentaries” section provides a platform for industry thought leaders and other readers to share their perspective on radio news, technological trends and more. If you’d like to contribute a commentary, or reply to an already published piece, send a submission to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The author is product manager of Amglo.

Jogn Fogel

It’s a regular part of your job as a radio station engineer or technician: ensuring that the lights on your station’s tower stay lit and flashing to remain in compliance of the FAA and FCC, and to increase safety for aircraft flying in your area.

Not much in this part of your career has changed over the years. You and your predecessors have been sure to inspect these obstruction warning lamps on your broadcast tower(s) to ensure the lights are changed out when they burn out. 

However, the advent of LED lighting today is giving stations like yours a decision to make: Replace the xenon flashlamps with LED systems, which are much more expensive but also longer-lasting? Or remain with tried-and-true xenon flashlamps? 

Track record

Let’s consider a few things you might want to take into consideration before making a decision. 

There are several reasons xenon flashlamps continue to be a smart choice for broadcast station towers today. For decades, these lamps have been counted on to emit bright flashes on towers that are 150–250 feet to 500 feet and beyond. Xenon flashlamp high-intensity strobes (also known as high-intensity obstruction lighting) continue to be crucial for pilots of all types of aircraft to be able to see these obstructions by day or night, depending on weather conditions or distance to an airport. 

credit: Sergio Souza

Xenon flashlamps last for many years before requiring a climber to go up and change them out. They last between 5 million and 7.5 million flashes (some reaching more than 10 million flashes!). 

Furthermore, these lamps and parts for fixtures are readily available and easy to obtain.

There are currently more options for xenon flashlamps for high-intensity strobes than there are LED versions. The reason xenon flashlamps continue to be the first choice for lighting broadcast towers is because stations making a switch to LEDs often require replacing fixtures with very expensive systems designed only for LED. 

With some radio groups having more than just one tower — often multiple transmitters in different places — this could be an expensive and time-consuming project for your budget. Towers with multiple lighting fixtures midway up would multiply expenses even further. 

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Additionally, you’ll also need clearance with the FAA and FCC to make these changes.

When it’s time to order new lamps, or when discussing the choice of lamps with your station’s tower service provider, ensure that the lamps are certified and that they have been tested by the manufacturer. The lamp manufacturer should have years of stable production in the industry, and they should also be doing quality assurance inspections before you receive the shipment. 

Like the programming that may be changing on your radio station, the lighting on the broadcast towers that transmits your station’s quality programming may also change. For the time being, you can still count on dependable xenon lamps, which last for millions of flashes, remain in FAA and FCC compliance and don’t entail the expense of replacing entire fixtures on multiple towers. 

Find more at www.amglo.com. The author welcomes emails to jfogel@amglo.com. 

The post Why You Can Still Count on Xenon Flashlamps appeared first on Radio World.

He’s spent 15 years with NBCUniversal, including six years at the helm of the NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises sports division.

Now, the President of Telemundo Deportes is calling it a career.

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He’s widely regarded as one of the radio industry’s foremost research minds, with years of experience at Arbitron, Nielsen Audio and, most recently, at Cumulus Media.

Now, Dr. Ed Cohen is taking a position as Chief Research Officer for the company behind SpotGPS, repped by Benztown. 

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DENVER — Sports-first live TV streaming platform FuboTV and the regional sports network (RSN) home to the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets, have secured a multi-year carriage agreement that will expand TV coverage of both teams.

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