Industry News

From Kennedy Space Center to Walt Disney World, iHeartMedia owns and operates a group of stations comprised of 16 unique audio offerings for FM radio listeners and those without HD Radio units who may choose to use the iHeartRadio app to consume local stations.

Now, iHeart has a new DMA leader for those 16 brands, and expands beyond her role as a Sr. VP for iHeartMedia/Orlando.

Being promoted to Area President for the Central Florida region, which includes the entire Orlando DMA, is Barbara Latham.

She adds oversight of the Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa trio that iHeart operates independently of its Orlando cluster. In the Space Coast, the company’s stations are comprised of Talk WMMB-AM, Top 40 WFKS-FM and Adult Contemporary WLRQ-FM.

Now, Latham will oversee those stations in addition to Orlando-based Adult Contemporary WMGF-FM, Top 40 WXXL-FM, Tropical WRUM-FM, Rock WJRR-FM, Talk and Alternative hybrid WTKS-FM “Real Radio 104.1,” News/Talk WFLF-FM and W226BT “WFLA,” Sports Talk W245CL “96.9 The Game,” Latin Rhythmic W246CK “Mega 97.1,” Urban W283AN “104.5 The Beat,” and Spanish-language News/Talk WRSN-AM 810 and W250CE “Acción 97.9.”

Additionally, Latham directs the activities of three HD multicast brands in Orlando: Smooth Jazz WLOQ (on WMGF-HD3), Country “104.1 The Bear” HD3, and Alternative “Alt 101.1” HD3.

Latham continues to report to Division President Linda Byrd, who previously had the Area-level role Latham is taking. According to iHeart, Byrd will remain in her role as Division President with expanded responsibilities.

“I am thrilled to be able to promote Barb to this position,” Byrd said. “We’ve worked together for 36 years and in many different capacities. She is one of the brightest and most competitive employees I know. Barb has always been a winner, and to her, there is no other option. No one deserves this opportunity more, and it makes me happy to put this team that I’ve managed for the last 21 years in her capable hands.”

Latham began her career as an Account Executive and Sales Manager for Hoker/Paxson Broadcasting in January 1985. A decade later, Latham joined the Clear Channel Communications family, taking on the role of GSM for its Jacksonville stations following Paxson’s sale of its stations to a Clear Channel precursor. Clear Channel is the predecessor company of iHeartMedia.

“I am so excited to continue my career in this new role in Central Florida with the Orlando team and reconnecting with the Space Coast team,” Latham commented. “My goal is to continue the tradition of success that I have been a part of under Linda’s leadership in various roles over many years. She created the model of excellence in Central Florida and all of iHeartMedia, for many of the company’s most heritage brands, on-air personalities/influencers, and sales success. I am driven and excited to continue that success in this new role as the Central Florida Area President.”

With layoffs seen by Radio across 2020, even before the pandemic forced lockdowns in communities across the U.S., how can those in the C-Suite keep their current teams motivated? What is the revenue outlook for one major audio media company?

A first-ever session on Clubhouse featuring two radio industry leaders tackled those questions and more.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

The author is IT and engineering manager at Riverbend Communications.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — KTHK is a commercial, 100 kW station owned by Riverbend Communications broadcasting KTHK(FM)/105 The Hawk throughout the southeast Idaho region including Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Rexburg.

The main 105.5 MHz FM signal, which has an ERP of 100 kW, propagates from a butte near Idaho Falls, and is supplemented with a translator on 105.9 MHz FM to service the tricky Pocatello geography.

It’s an overall challenging market to cover that was further complicated as our main tube transmitter, with a manufacturing badge dated 1978, had been increasingly hindered by component failures.

Parts became more expensive and harder to source with each passing year. The transmitter finally suffered an untimely critical failure, and an immediate replacement was ordered while the station ran on an auxiliary backup.

Fortunately, plans were in motion to replace this transmitter, and comparisons and evaluation had already been made that led to the decision of a GatesAir Flexiva FAX20 air-cooled transmitter.

The theory of operation seemed very sensible. Individual, hot-swappable power supplies for each power amplifier module will make future replacements quick and easy.

Redundancy is improved since the IPA and power amplifier modules for each power block are the same and interchangeable. General maintenance is swift and simple with occasional filter cleaning, with internal building temperature monitored by remote control.

Time was of the essence since the project changed from a planned transition to an immediate replacement.

We had two major concerns: factory lead times due to COVID-19’s impact on supply chains, and the weather condition’s effect on site accessibility. Nick VanHaaster, our GatesAir sales representative, as well as their manufacturing and shipping divisions, were helpful in sourcing a new transmitter quickly.

It is almost unavoidable with Murphy’s Law applying to emergency engineering, and we still ran into a major two-week delay with the freight carrier. Thankfully, the quality of the packaging materials and assembly alleviated most concerns. The two inches of snow expected at the tower site on the projected arrival date had turned into two feet of snow when the transmitter reached us.

After initial inspection, it was determined that the transmitter could be safely transported in the original crating covered in tarps for temporary waterproofing. With the transmitter arriving in two crates, the weight could be distributed on a flatbed trailer and towed by a 4×4 truck with tire chains.

Compared to the amount of work that went into removing the old tube transmitter, installation was very quick. After running new rigid transmission line to the combiner and three-phase delta power via top access, the transmitter was on and running into a dummy load within hours.

We have seen noticeable improvements in performance and efficiency. The difference in broadcast clarity was immediate, while reduced power consumption has had an immediate impact in utility cost savings.

The operation has been perfectly stable, with no issues since the transmitter came to air. In addition, the ground footprint is significantly less than the old tube transmitter, leaving room for another rack and future infrastructure.

This transmitter utilizes the GatesAir Flexiva FAX50 exciter, which is as easy to configure. The exciter is fed audio via composite from an Omnia processor, and the transmitter is output via Myat 3 1/8-inch rigid transmission line to an ERI combiner installed two years ago. From there, it is combined with another solid-state transmitter and run to a directionally polarized Jampro antenna bay.

Overall, this transmitter has exceeded high expectations. When it comes to installation, functionality, operation, broadcast clarity and efficiency, the affordability borders on unique. Even after the warranty expires, our expectations are that parts, labor and most importantly main transmitter downtime will be drastically diminished.

We look forward to adding more of the Flexiva line of solid-state transmitters to our fleet, and the additional savings in operating costs we will see in the future.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information, contact Keith Adams at GatesAir in Ohio at 1-513-459-3447 or visit http://www.gatesair.com.

The post User Report: GatesAir Springs Into Action for KTHK appeared first on Radio World.

His legal name is Keith Stover. For a generation of Pittsburgh radio listeners, he’s also known as Keith Clark. In recent years, Keith has been a minority owner of a pair of FM radio stations serving the Columbia, S.C., market.

Now, he’s taking majority ownership interest in the five-year-old Midlands Media Group.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Black Lion Audio has released its first USB bus-powered, portable audio interface, the Revolution 2×2. The 2 x 2 USB-C desktop unit offers 24-bit/192 kHz capabilities and utilizes the company’s new Macro-MMC clocking technology.

BLA’s new Macro-MMC clocking technology is based on its numerous clocking products and modifications, with the aim of providing quality A/D-D/A conversion.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

Additionally, Revolution 2×2 internally integrates the company’s PG-i technology, with all power rails being highly filtered in every active stage. According to the company, with power being decoupled across all of the interface’s circuitry — preamps, converters, internal power supply and the clock — noise contamination from other devices plugged into the audio interface itself is discernibly reduced.

In terms of its analog circuitry, Revolution 2×2 is built with high-end integrated circuits with Vishay, Nichicon and Wima capacitors being used. Internal gain-staging has been optimized for a low signal-to-noise ratio, and all analog I/O connections are fully decoupled and balanced.

The interface comes with the Revolution Software Suite, which includes PreSonus’ Studio One Artist DAW, as well as select plug-ins from Brainworx (bx_digital), iZotope (Elements — includes Nektar, Neutron Ozone, and RX8), and Plugin Alliance (Lindell Audio 6X-500 hardware-modelled preamp and passive EQ).

Revolution 2×2 is shipping, but initial supply is reportedly constrained due to the shortage of the components chosen by the company’s engineers, according to Black Lion Audio chief operations officer Preston Whiting. The interface runs around $399.

Info: www.blacklionaudio.com

The post Black Lion Audio Unveils Revolution 2×2 Audio Interface appeared first on Radio World.

On December 10, 2020, the Commission released a Report and Order in its proceeding to
encourage the provision of new and innovative Broadcast Internet services enabled by ATSC 3.0 — the “Next Generation” broadcast television standard often referred to as Next Gen TV — that can complement the nation’s 5G wireless networks.

The rule revisions clarify and update the regulatory landscape in order to foster the efficient and robust use of broadcast spectrum capacity for the provision of Broadcast Internet services consistent with statutory directives.

The R&O revised section 73.624 of the Commission’s rules, and made other changes.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

News Corp has agreed to acquire Investor’s Business Daily from O’Neil Capital Management.

Once the deal closes, the venerable financial news and research business will be operated by News Corp subsidiary Dow Jones.

Investor’s Business Daily (IBD), which operates the Investors.com website, was founded by William J. O’Neil in 1984. Today, digital represents more than 90% of IBD’s revenues and subscriptions.

The transaction is valued at $275 million. The valuation, News Corp says, represents nearly 100,000 digital subscribers across its platforms, and “minimal overlap” with Dow Jones’s existing subscriber base. IBD publishes a weekly print edition.

Baker Hostetler served as legal advisor to the purchaser in the transaction.

Investment Bank, Canaccord Genuity, served as financial advisor, and Norton Rose Fulbright served as legal advisor to O’Neil Capital Management, the seller, in the transaction.

DuJuan McCoy has become known across the U.S. as the owner and day-to-day leader of two Indianapolis TV stations.

Now, McCoy is widening his territory just a little bit. He’s just agreed to purchase low-power TV stations in two other Indiana DMAs from HC2 Holdings.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

On Sept. 20, 1988, after nearly four years as an Adult Contemporary station serving Western New York’s biggest market, “97 Rock” returned to the airwaves.

Under new call letters that eventually became WGRF-FM, the station’s switch to Classic Rock programming was warmly received. Its morning host Larry Norton became a Buffalo institution through his December 2015 retirement.

Today, “97 Rock” and its owner, Cumulus Media, are dealing with a different type of notoriety for the longtime leader. One of its current morning hosts made a poor decision during a bit on Wednesday. Twenty-four hours later, the host was no longer a Cumulus employee, and the “Morning Bull” show was pulled in favor of music and liners.

A FORTY-FIVE SECOND MISTAKE

Rob Lederman lost his job for saying something during Wednesday’s installment of the “Morning Bull” that raised eyebrows, the blood pressure of many, and the attention of one Marcel Louis-Jacques, who shared an audio clip of what Lederman said via Twitter.

Louis-Jacques is the Buffalo-based reporter for ESPN NFL Nation and covers the Buffalo Bills.

To exacerbate matters for local Cumulus Media management, Louis-Jacques didn’t catch the utterance live: Its on the 52-minute condensed “Morning Bull Podcast” for March 24, and starts at the five minute mark.

The topic at hand: the settings on a toaster. Lederman, responding to Rich ‘Bull’ Gaenzler, ironically prefaced his comments by noting, “I may get into trouble for this.”

Lederman explained, “I have them to the attractiveness of the women that I find to be attractive. So, I will never go to a Serena Williams level, but I’m very comfortable with … a Halle Berry level … I need a little bit of mulatto still coming through.”

Lederman was asked by a female morning show member if Gayle King wasn’t in his realm. Lederman replied, “Gayle King is not even on my toaster level.”

The hosts then continue on with the conversation.

A direct link to the March 24 podcast is no longer available.

That said, the “Morning Bull” twitter feed remains active, frozen in time from Wednesday morning. Gaenzler’s Twitter feed was last updated March 21. Meanwhile, the “97 Rock” Twitter feed as of 3:45pm Thursday continued to feature as its featured photo a photo of Gaenzler and Lederman promoting the “Morning Bull.”

Gaenzler and a third co-host, Chris Klein, were suspended. On Thursday morning, WGRF offered music in-between station liners and IDs. By 10:30am, midday host J.P. was on the air. Afternoon host Carl Russo took over at 3pm.

While WGRF did not address the incident on the air, Buffalo’s news media treated Lederman’s firing as a lead story ahead of Wednesday’s 11pm newscasts and the publication of Thursday’s edition of The Buffalo News.

Asked for comment, a Cumulus Media spokesperson said the company “operates from a clearly defined set of programming principles and there is no question that Rob Lederman’s comments made on The Morning Bull show are in direct violation of those principles. We swiftly terminated him and suspended the remainder of the show’s on-air talent. We apologize, and deeply regret the incident.”

In response to follow-up questions regarding what’s next for WGRF, the company spokesperson said Cumulus has no additional information to share beyond the statement.

According to the Buffalo News, WGRF lost Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center as an advertiser as a direct result of Lederman’s comments.

Meanwhile, the newspaper spoke with Lederman, who said he was “horrified” by his commentary after listening to a recording of it. “I could easily see how someone could be offended by that. I get that. It sounds terrible, and it is terrible.”

He added that his words were guilty of “ignorance as opposed to malicious intent … I never saw myself as anything close to even thinking a racist thought. It’s just not who I am. So when I heard that, and heard how it sounded, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that sounds terrible.’ Now, can I take back those words? No. If you listen to them, were they meant to be hurtful? Absolutely not.”

Lederman has been associated with “97 Rock” for 30 years and worked alongside Norton.

While Gaenzler was suspended, and is assumedly returning to “97 Rock,” Pegula Sports & Entertainment moved forward with dismissing him as the official Key Arena host for NHL Buffalo Sabres games, and for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League. Concurrently, the University of Buffalo Division of Athletics decided not to bring back Gaenzler as a public address announcer for football games in 2021-2022 and beyond.

Add three more low-power TV properties to the list of stations that HC2 Holdings is paring down from a roster that will live on as a leaner, but still active, set of broadcast facilities it intends to operate.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON TWITTER!

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)