September 2002 Archive
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August 2002 -
October
2002 
Links- internally where there are follow-up stories we try, at the end of each story, to put a pertinent link to the top of the next relevant story. Regarding external links see note at end of page.
RNW September comment looks at the Opie and Anthony "Sex for Sam" stunt row and concludes that it should stimulate discussion on what regulations the Federal Communications Commission should apply in future but that there should be no sudden severe penalty imposed in this case.
RNW August comment considers RDS -Radio Data Services- and where they are a benefit and where they could be a fatal negative.
RNW July comment argues in favour of non-advertising funded public broadcasting.
2002-09-30: For this week's look at print comment on radio, we start with reports on how an individual's actions can impinge on a station or the perception of it.
The first case involved a column in the UK Guardian by Ron Liddle, editor of BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme that led to his being given a choice between the column and the radio job (See RNW Sept 28).
The problem related to the perception of bias in his radio post because of the views expressed in the column, although various people and newspapers pointed out other examples of bias that had not led to action or condemnation and suggested that this was a case not so much of bias as of who was upset.
As the paper said in a leader, "… there is a certain irony in the BBC's timing."
"As Yasmin Alibhai-Brown notes in a letter today, the corporation's vetting department was apparently relaxed about Mr Liddle writing a number of columns which, to put it mildly, challenged the liberal consensus. What was unforgivable was to show disrespect towards the Countryside Alliance. It took one growl from the Daily Telegraph for the BBC to throw in the towel. "
It also noted that other BBC contributors, including John Humphrys, a presenter on the show, also write columns, adding, "Mr Liddle writes pungent, opinionated articles which often cause strong reactions, favourable or otherwise."
"That is what makes him such a readable columnist. But it was always inevitable that these vehemently argued columns would be in tension with his BBC job, which requires qualities of detachment and impartiality."
In its comment on, and profile of, Liddle, which terms him a "self-publicist of the highest rank" the UK Sunday Times says, "The almost total disregard shown by the Today programme, promoted as the flagship of "serious, intelligent" BBC journalism, towards the Countryside Alliance's massive show of strength has been linked to Liddle's hatred for all things Tory, and foxhunting in particular."
"What brought matters to a head was this urban leftie-turned-country dweller using his Guardian column to proclaim that just the sight of a typical marcher was enough to make anyone despairing of new Labour remember why they had voted the Tories out."
The Sunday Times points out, however, as have most of the British broadsheet newspapers that Liddle has also not endeared himself to the governing Labour Party.
"…in contrast with his predecessors, it has been Liddle's stock-in- trade to raise hackles," said the paper. "When Tony Blair did his bleeding-heart "we are all guilty" stuff about the plight of Africa, Liddle threw left-liberal orthodoxy to the wind and declared it was because the continent had been - and largely still was - ruled by "a fantastic collection of conspicuously vile dictators; gangsters, incompetents, corrupt self-serving megalomaniacs, cretinous Marxist ideologues, half-wits, imbeciles, murderous tribal warlords and, plainly, the barking mad and the criminally insane". There is no denying his turn of phrase."
Liddle had also been in the public eye recently over a black eye following an argument over a Millwall Football Club shirt, but that was comparatively minor compared to a conflict in New York between Aston Taylor "Funkmaster Flex", a DJ on Emmis Communications Hot 97 in New York and rival DJ, Stephanie Saunders" Big Steph Lova", of Clear Channel's Power 105.
Taylor is facing a third-degree assault charge for an attack that Powers say took place outside's Hot 97's studios.
The battle, however, is not only in the courts according to a New York Times report by Lynette Holloway.
"Power 105 is using the moment to try to seize a hill," she wrote. "The airwaves crackled with news of the incident, as the morning drive team, Ed Lover, Doctor Dre and Lisa G., discussed the issue."
"'A man should never hit a woman," Ed Lover exclaimed repeatedly, with the rest of the team chiming in agreement.'"
Saunders used to work at Hot 97 until June 2001and has been working weekends at Power 105 since May this year and in June this year a breach developed between her and Taylor over an incident when rapper NAS was angered by a refusal by Hot 97's management to conduct a "mock lynching" of his archrival, Jay-Z, during his performance at the station's Summer Jam concert. NAS then went to Power 105 where Saunders put him on air to speak about problems at Hot 97.
Tracy Cloherty, vice president of programming for Hot 97, said the charges against Taylor were untrue adding that Saunders was dismissed from Hot 97 a year but staff members had seen her lingering around the building at all hours. She said that the station was seeking an order of protection "so that Ms. Saunders will keep away from our offices and staff."
On a less contentious note, writing in the Baltimore Sun, Gregory Kane marked the 50th birthday of Tim Watts, WWIN-FM's drive-time host. "It's tempting, and downright cliche-ish," wrote Kane, "to say that Watts, with nearly 25 years as an on-air radio personality in this town, is a Baltimore institution. But that's not quite the word. A Baltimore monument is more like it."
Kane then details his career moving between V-103, which he joined in 1978 when it was an "urban contemporary" station." He was subsequently canned there, moved to WWIN-FM and then repeated the process.
"Watts." He says, "became a near-legend in these parts when, early in his V-103 days, he talked a young woman who had climbed to the top of the station's tower out of committing suicide. These days, he distinguishes himself as Baltimore's top radio personality."
Another anniversary marked this week was the 30th year of BBC local radio getting onto medium wave, having started only on FM. Using this as a peg, Paul Donovan in the UK Sunday Times, delivers an appreciation of the virtues of AM.
"Today," writes Donovan, "we take it for granted that many BBC stations, from Cumbria to Cornwall, go out on medium wave, though sadly some are now shedding those frequencies and going back just to FM again."
"Medium wave," he says, "so often provides a much better signal, especially on small radio sets and in hilly areas."
He then details some of the other stations on AM before going on to conclude, "All this is worth remembering because radio industry bigwigs would have us believe that medium wave is dead. "
"Digital, FM and mobile phones are, they believe, the future. I am an enthusiast for digital's amazing sound quality and extra stations, but it is an improvement, not a replacement."
"To believe otherwise is to disregard one reason why so many people love radio, and that is what Horace Walpole called serendipity - never knowing what you're going to find when you cruise the airwaves in the safest form of promiscuity yet devised."
"If medium wave is dead, it is a decidedly twitchy corpse. Voice of Russia and Radio Canada International animate it every morning on London's Spectrum (558), a remarkable station that caters for 24 linguistic and ethnic minorities. Moscow and Montreal, sadly, are being carried only temporarily, though America's National Public Radio and an English-language service from Sweden go out on the same station overnight. In southeast England, one can hear Radio 4 (720), the BBC World Service (648), and country music (1035). "
"People everywhere else can also hear music from what used to be called "the Continent", wafting in as and when luck and the ionosphere permit. This 500- 1600kHz band is the listeners' lucky dip. Medium wave may no longer exist as a programme (having been dropped by Radio 4 in 1998), but medium wave still has a bright future."
RNW comment: As we commented in our item on a new digital receiver earlier this month(See RNW Sept 21 Streamium), we agree with the point made here, particularly in terms of the ability to receive signals from long distances.
Previous Columnists:
Previous Donovan:
Baltimore Sun - Kane:
New York Times - Holloway:
UK Guardian leader re Liddle:
UK Sunday Times - Donovan:
UK Sunday Times re Liddle:
2002-09-30: The US Congress is expected to vote this week on a bill that would delay royalty payments for Internet radio companies, many of whom say they will be forced out of business if the royalty payments decided in June by the US Librarian of Congress are enforced.
The payments become due on October 20 and webcasters would become liable then to payments of 0.07 cents per listener per song applying retroactively to 1998 when the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed.
The webcasters have appealed the decision, saying the charges are too high, and the recording companies have done the same, saying they are too low.
The webcasters say that payment should not be enforced until the appeal is heard and House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner introduced a bill last week that would push back the payment deadline for six months, giving a federal appeals court a chance to rule on the issue.
2002-09-30: Brandeis University president Jehuda Reinharz, who last month pulled adverts from Boston public radio station WBUR-FM in protest at its broadcasts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is planning to take his "concerns" directly to Kevin Klose, president of WBUR's parent, National Public Radio (NPR), according to the Boston Globe.
The paper quotes a university spokesman as saying the ads were pulled to "show our distaste with unbalanced reporting'' and would stay off the air until the university sees "some improvement" from the two broadcasting organisations.
In particular the university cites what it calls "slanted" reports from the BBC and others casting Israel as the aggressor, but it says Reinharz has rejected the idea of spearheading a national boycott of NPR.
The university has commissioned an outside review of its advertising and marketing budget to consider new ways in which it can improve its public image.
RNW comment: Bearing in mind that Israel is both occupying and settling Palestinian lands and considers it acceptable to launch rocket attacks on wanted individuals despite the number of casualties amongst other civilians, we think a much more sound case can be made that US media, and indeed the BBC and NPR in many cases, is biased pro-Israel than that the BBC or NPR are anti-Israel,
As has been pointed out a number of times in Northern Ireland, an equivalence to the Israeli actions would be if the British had bombed Dublin in response to IRA attacks.
They didn't, such an action would have, rightly in our view, have been soundly condemned in Boston in particular and the US in general, and we would suggest that a fair minded response by the university would be to make its case publicly and in detail base d on the overall cover carried by NPR.
Indeed we would have no problem with it taking a public-interest position that it had a duty to correct misinformation and placing factual counter-ads on WBUR, if it felt its case justified.
Had it so attempted, we would have condemned WBUR if it refused the ads; as it is, we feel that Brandeis is attempting to stifle freedoms that any half-worthy "university" should be defending. We can only hope against hope that this action dents its image and trust Klose to give a suitable robust response..
Previous Klose:
Previous NPR:
Previous WBUR:
Boston Globe report:
2002-09-29: The busiest area for licence activity last week was Australia, whilst for penalties it was the US, where the FCC imposed or upheld penalties for both indecency and technical offences.
In Australia, main announcement by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) concerned the winning bids for 16 new open narrowcasting licences and the allocation of 29 more for which only one application was received. They covered services in New South Wales, Northern Territories, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria.
The licences awarded, together with the bid amounts for the auctioned licences, are given below.
New South Wales
Murwillumbah - Town and Coastal Broadcasters Australia Pty Ltd -AUD4,000
Penrith -Kizhage Pty Ltd - AUD54,000
Northern Territories
Alice Springs - Wiseguy Pty Ltd - AUD18,000
Katherine - Antenna Radio Pty Ltd - AUD4,000
Queensland
Brisbane - Gumnut Nominees Pty Ltd - AUD104,000
Southern Australia
Adelaide - Maria Donato - AUD400,000
Barossa Valley - Ambersky Pty Ltd - AUD18,000
Tasmania
Burnie - Tasradio Pty Ltd - AUD11,000
Devonport - Town and Coastal Broadcasters Australia Pty Ltd = AUD44,000
Victoria
Benalla - Town and Coastal Broadcasters Australia Pty Ltd - AUD7,000
Geelong - Southern Narrowcasters Pty Ltd - AUD86,000
Latrobe Valley - Town and Coastal Broadcasters Australia Pty Ltd - AUD50,000
Leongatha - Town and Coastal Broadcasters Australia Pty Ltd - AUD7,000
Western Australia
Perth - Gumnut Nominees Pty Ltd - AUD210,000
Perth City - SEQ Broadcasters Pty Ltd - AUD30,000
Perth City - Gumnut Nominees Pty Ltd - AUD42,000
These licences raised a total of AUD 1089000 (Circa USD550,000)
The licences for which there was only one bid,for which the payment was AUD4,000 were:
Queensland:
Charters Towers -United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Emerald -United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Mitchell - Radio 4GG Gold Coast Pty Ltd
Prosperine - Town and Coastal Broadcasters Australia Pty Ltd
Roma Radio -4GG Gold Coast Pty Ltd
Sarina - Town and Coastal Broadcasters Australia Pty Ltd
St George - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Victoria
Ararat -United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Bairnsdale - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Euroa - Town and Coastal Broadcasters Australia Pty Ltd
Hamilton - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Horsham - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Portland - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Sale - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Stawell - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Warrnambool - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Western Australia
Dampier - Norsat Communications Pty Ltd
Derby - Mr Phill Rogers
Geraldton - Geraldton Newspapers Limited
Halls Creek - Mr Phill Rogers
Kalgoorlie = United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Warmun - Mr Phill Rogers
Bunbury - United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd
Dampier - Norsat Communications Pty Ltd
These licences raised AUD116000 (Circa USD55,000).
Other activity was mainly concerned with community licences: the exception was in Perth where the authority varied the area licence plan to improve the availability of commercial service 6IX in the southeast area by amending the specifications for its translator service at Rockingham.
In the Latrobe Valley area of Victoria, the ABA has decided not to allocate a community broadcast licence; it held that neither of the two groups who had applied, Gippsland Christian Broadcasters Inc (Life FM) that claims to serve the Christian community, and Gunai Media Aboriginal Corporation (Gunai), which claims to represent the Aboriginal population in the licence area, were able to satisfy the authority that "they could provide a broadcasting service that would meet the needs of their claimed community of interest". The ABA will review the situation in a year.
In Northern Tasmania, the ABA has invited applications for a new community licence for the Break O'Day area; applications have to be submitted by October 17.
In South Australia, it has allocated a new community licence for Port Pirie to Pirie Community Radio Broadcasters Inc (TRAX FM), currently broadcasting under a temporary licence; TRAX was the only applicant and its permanent licence will start on October 2.
Canada was very quiet for radio activity with the only action by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) concerning an application by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to add a 15,900 watts at Ville-Marie, Quebec, to broadcast the programming of CHLM-FM, from La Première Chaîne network at Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.
Ireland was quiet but in the UK, the Radio Authority has been active on the analogue, digital and Access Radio fronts.
On the analogue front, it awarded one licence and published an assessment of the award of another.
The first was the re-award, made under the authority's fast-track procedure when no other applications were received, of the Darlington licence to existing holder Alpha Radio.
The assessment concerned the FM licence for Worthing in West Sussex, which was awarded to Splash FM, which was competing against five other stations. (See Licence News March 3)
Authority members said they were "impressed by the composition of the board of Splash FM which, in their view, combined strong local credentials with extensive radio management expertise."
Splash is proposing a music-led, full-service station for listeners aged over 25 and the authority said it thought "the group's programme proposals to be well-developed, imaginative, and a fair reflection of the results of its survey research.
They also felt that they were economically sustainable, an important consideration for a new station in a town the size of Worthing", although they added that its "revenue projections were a little ambitious."
They were also impressed by plans for speech features, in particular with plans for a weekly programme targeted specifically at children and young families but said they felt "the group's staffing plan was structured in such a way that it placed insufficient emphasis on news."
This, they added, had been tacitly acknowledged by the group, which had said it hoped to increase full time news staff and the Authority said, "Members would strongly encourage the group to address this issue as soon as possible."
On the digital front, the Authority has announced the receipt of only one application for the Swansea Digital Multiplex.
It is from TWG Emap Digital Ltd, whose shareholders are The Wireless Group, with 70%, and EMAP Digital Radio Ltd, with the remaining 30%.
It is proposing to broadcast six channels in addition to the BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru services: They are
Contemporary hit radio The Wave (provider: The Wireless Group plc):
Adult contemporary Swansea Sound (provider: The Wireless Group plc):
Dance Kiss (provider: Emap Performance Ltd.):
Gold/easy Provider: to be confirmed:
Non-stop pop Smash Hits (provider: Emap Performance Ltd.):
Rock or country Provider: to be confirmed:
The Authority has also published its assessment of the award of the Norwich area digital multiplex to Now Digital Ltd. against competition from Emap Digital Radio Ltd (See Licence News, March 24).
It commented that in Members' view, the programme bouquet proposed by Now Digital catered well for the tastes and interests of the listeners in the area by the inclusion of the local analogue services and added that Now Digital will also be providing for more localised and specialist interests by means of a shared channel called 'Access Norwich', two elements of which have so far been firmly identified, with a third component currently under negotiation. SBN/Livewire will provide student broadcasting, and Abracadabra its service for younger children.
Members were pleased, it said, with the extent to which the certainty of digital channels in the bouquet were ready to broadcast, and the detail with which the proposals for new channels such as Access Norwich had been presented.
The Authority has also announced the launch on September 21 of Shine FM, a new experimental analogue radio service for the community of Banbridge, Co Down, in Northern Ireland; Shine has a licence until December 23 as part of a pilot scheme to see how Access Radio might work in practice. Shine is the last of 16 stations to launch in the pilot scheme.
It also announced the departure of Mark Adair to join the BBC and the appointment of Fergal Sharkey to take over his Northern Ireland responsibilities (See RNW Sept 25).
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been fairly busy with fines and red-flags and has also released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for its 3rd Biennial Review of Broadcast Ownership Rules. It had voted unanimously to start its review of media ownership regulations earlier this month (See Licence News Sep 15) and is now asking for comment on various regulations. Amongst the issues on which it wants comment is the necessity for the current Radio/TV Cross-Ownership Rule in particular reference to competition between all media outlets.
It is making specific reference to news, public affairs and other non-entertainment programming and the implications for news provision of changes to ownership regulation. It asks, "Are combinations and stand-alone stations providing comparable quantities of such programming?"
"If TV-radio combinations produce a greater quantity of news programming than non-combined stations, does that suggest that a greater cross-ownership among TV and radio stations would produce more news and/or public affairs programming?" it continues.
"If the quantity of news and public affairs is the same or less on cross-owned stations, does it suggest the opposite?"
The FCC is considering a local single media ownership rule that is applicable to all or some media outlets where a holding includes a broadcaster; it would be dependent on the number of independent 'voices' in any particular market.
The Commission says it is "conceivable that certain media outlets are substitutes for diversity purposes, but are not substitutes from the perspective of advertisers or program producers" and asks for comment on possible ownership regulation options in that light.
Red flags have been placed on one of Brill Media bankruptcy sales, that of WSTO-FM, Evansville Indiana, and Blakeney Communications purchase of WXHB -FM, Richton, Mississippi, (See RNW Sept 27) but the Commission has finally given to go ahead for a Clear Channel Ohio acquisition that it red-flagged last year (See RNW Sept 26 ).
Penalties imposed, upheld, or amended were of USD14, 000 on Emmis, USD 12,000 on Entercom and USD7000 on Infinity for indecency offences (See RNW Sept 28); of USD 12,800 on Alpine Broadcasting for EAS violations (See RNW Sept 27 ), and of USD5, 000 on American Family Association for operating KBKC-FM, a non-commercial, educational FM station licensed to Moberly, Missouri, without a main studio (See RNW Sept 25).
Previous ABA:
Previous CRTC:
Previous FCC:
Previous Licence News:
Previous UK Radio Authority:
ABA web site:
BCI web site:
CRTC web site:
FCC web site :
UK Radio Authority web site:
2002-09-29: According to the UK Guardian, Rod Lidddle is involved in negotiating his departure from BBC Radio 4's flagship breakfast show following reprimands from the Corporation about a column he writes for the paper and that they declared incompatible with the radio post (See RNW Sept 28).
The paper says BBC sources believe he will step down from the Today show when he is made a firm offer concerning his future; it adds that he is in the running to present a new political programme on BBC2 but no decision has yet been made about the series.
The paper also comments on the matter, saying in a leader that "The surprise over the BBC's ultimatum to Rod Liddle to choose between his job as editor of the Today programme and writing a column for the Guardian is not that it should have happened, but that it took them so long."
It adds that the "pungent, opinionated articles" often cause strong reactions and says"… it was always inevitable that these vehemently argued columns would be in tension with his BBC job, which requires qualities of detachment and impartiality."
It also draws attentions to other columns written by BBC correspondents and comments on a danger of double-standards under which it is acceptable to write for right-wing publications but nut jumping on "any publicly expressed liberal or left leanings."
The Daily Telegraph, which sparked this row, also reports on the matter, saying that Liddle is self-described as "Leftish on the economy and Green issues and Rightish on foreign affairs but adding that "Colleagues insist that Liddle is apolitical when it comes to attacking Westminster - his editorship of Today has managed to antagonise politicians on all sides."
It says of his Guardian column," Regular Liddle readers will know that his article on the (Countryside Alliance) march was in many ways tame compared with previous pieces, many of which have expressed very un-Guardian sentiments on issues including asylum seekers, Northern Ireland and the Middle East."
Previous BBC:
Previous Liddle:
UK Guardian editorial:
UK Guardian report:
UK Telegraph report:
2002-09-29: One of the Irish politicians criticised in the interim report of the Food Tribunal inquiry into corruption, P.J.Mara, has resigned.
Mara, who masterminded the Fianna Fail party's victory in the general election earlier this year, denied allegations made to the inquiry by James Stafford, a co-founder of Ireland's first national commercial radio channel, Century Radio, that he was involved in a "cash-for-licences" list (See RNW Aug 2, 2001).
The tribunal had also been told of an Irish pound 46, 000 loan made to Mara by a financier involved in the Century radio project and of discussions about him becoming a consultant for the station (See RNW Sept 30, 2000). Mara was said in the Tribunal's interim report to have failed to co-operate fully with it.
Previous Century Radio:
Previous Mara:
Previous Stafford:
2002-09-28: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has now formally approved the bankruptcy sale of 12 of Brill Media stations to Regent Communications that was announced last month (See RNW Aug 24).
The deal for the thirteenth station that was up for sale by Brill, that of WSTO-FM, Evansville Indiana, was red-flagged earlier this week (See RNW Sept 27)
It has also upheld two indecency penalties, one of USD14, 000 penalty on Emmis Communications and another of USD7, 000 on Infinity and reduced another of USD 14, 000 on Entercom to USD 12, 999 on appeal.
The Emmis penalty related to broadcasts on two broadcasts on WKXQ-FM's Mancow Morning Madness, hosted by Erich "Mancow" Muller..
One involved a pornographic film actress describing "fisting " (the insertion of an arm into a sexual organ) and the other involved asking three women about their sex lives including questions as to whether they swallowed during oral sex. Emmis had already appealed against the decision but the appeal was rejected (See RNW Jan 9)
Emmis had argued against the penalty on the grounds of inadequate details of the offences provided in the complaints, that the Forfeiture Order violated the Administrative Procedure Act by shifting the burden of proof from the complainant to Emmis and that the bureau had exceeded its authority. All of Emmis's arguments were rejected and its petition for reconsideration was dismissed.
In the Infinity case it denied the plea for reconsideration of the USD 7, 000 penalty imposed in relation to a broadcast on the "The Last Damn Show" on WLLD-FM, Holmes Beach, Florida.
The Commission said that the order contained no factual error or omission but took up two points, the use of the word "pussy", and comparison with a dismissal of a complaint in a case concerning the broadcast of full frontal nudity in the film "Schindler's List."
RNW comment: The Commission includes with its judgement transcript of part of the offending show in which a male voice is heard making comments that we would regard as offensive on the grounds of both racism and indecency.
" We ain't going to have no more feedback problem. Fuck it. We're going to go all the way back where you all feel (Unintelligible) mother-fucking noise. (Unintelligible) Goddamn, where is my pussy eating niggers? Any my niggers into eating pussy? Y'all make some noise."
"Hey, where are the girls? If you're eating pussy, where you at? That's it. Oh, they all like it. I ain't eating any pussy tonight. If you all don't like it, fuck it. I ain't going to beg you. You like it? [Edit] And my dog don't give a fuck and we'll fuck you sucking up coke, you know. Trying to explain this shit away, niggers. I don't think y'all heard me."
On the basis of that excerpt, we don't think it would have been particularly unjust for the FCC to have had the power to increase the penalty one-hundred-fold, or maybe even remove the licence, for stupidity in wasting its time with such an appeal.
The Entercom case concerned a broadcast on The Andy Savage Show on KNDD-FM, Seattle, concerning comments on the ability of a penis to lift or pull objects; it had proposed a penalty of USD7, 000 for each of two broadcasts but Entercom had argued that the material in context was not "patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards." It had further argued for a reduction in penalty, should the forfeiture not be cancelled, because of the company's history of compliance and because the offence was "minor".
The FCC upheld its decision that the material was indecent, said it did not consider the offences "minor", but reduced the penalty by USD2,000 because of the company's record.
RNW comment: In this case, the offence is clearly on a lower level to that in the Infinity case, but the penalty is higher, highlighting the fact that the FCC penalties seem to bear little relationship to the degree of offence.
Previous Emmis:
Previous Entercom:
Previous FCC:
Previous Muller:
Previous Viacom-CBS-Infinity:
2002-09-28: Rod Liddle, the editor of BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme, has been told he has to choose between his radio job and UK Guardian newspaper column after being rebuked by the Corporation over a column he wrote column printed on Wednesday (Sept 25) dealing with the Countryside Alliance demonstration in London last Sunday. He was told he breached the Corporation's strict impartiality rules and told writing the column was a "serious error of judgement".
The row over the column grew quickly after an editorial in the Daily Telegraph on Sept 25 criticised the Today programme for not covering the demonstration in its 8a.m. bulletin on Monday.
The Telegraph accused Liddle of "blatant bias, animus and even party allegiance, while running an important news programme for the corporation whose charter insists on the absence of all three".
In his column, which has been criticised for its polemical nature, he wrote, "You may... have forgotten why you voted Labour in 1997."
"But then you catch a glimpse of the forces supporting the Countryside Alliance: the public schools that laid on coaches; the fusty, belch-filled dining rooms of the London clubs that opened their doors, for the first time, to the protesters; the Prince of Wales and, of course, Camilla; and suddenly, rather gloriously, it might be that you remember once again."
The BBC in its statement said, "The piece was not acceptable from the editor of the Today programme. It does not square with the BBC's obligation to be impartial and to be seen to be impartial. Rod Liddle accepts this column was a significant error of judgment. We are discussing whether Rod continues the column or not."
The BBC also said that Liddle normally "cleared" his column each week with one of its senior news managers, but in this case the full column had not been scrutinised before publication. The decision on what goes into the news bulletin, however, is said not to have been his decision as it comes under a separate news department.
Previous BBC:
Previous Liddle:
UK Guardian - Liddle column:
2002-09-28: The business side of US radio was fairly quiet over the last week, with the biggest announcement coming from Westwood One, which has announced that it is increasing its stock repurchase programme by USD 250 million; this comes on top of share purchase already made of just over USD590 million and around USD120 million that is still available from previously authorised repurchase funds for its shares.
There were also a number of station deals but all were fairly small.
In North Carolina, Convergent Broadcasting has announced agreement with OBX Broadcasting, to buy WYND/FM in Nags Head and WNHW/FM in Hatteras. Terms were not disclosed.
In Oregon, Disney-owned ABC has announced that it has agreed to acquire Crawford Broadcasting Company's KPBC-AM and KKSL-AM but has not disclosed a price. KPBC is to become a Radio Disney output whilst Crawford will continue to operate KKL under a local marketing agreement.
In Texas, the Hanszen Broadcast Group has closed on its purchase of KMHT-AM and KZEY-FM in Marshall, again without releasing details of the terms.
In West Virginia, Legend Communications has sold WMOV-AM, licensed in Ravenswood, for USD 60, 000 to a new entrant to the radio business, Harold F. Parshall of Dayton, Ohio. The price did not include the station's transmitter.
In one other case, Saga Communications has confirmed that it is having discussions regarding entering into management or time-brokerage agreements for WISE-AM and WOXL-FM serving the Asheville, North Carolina, market. It has added that no definitive agreements have been reached.
Previous Disney-ABC:
Previous Saga (US) :
Previous Westwood One:
2002-09-28: The Flood Tribunal's interim report has found that former Irish communications minister Ray Burke received corrupt payment of around 200,000 Irish pounds (some GBP160, 000) from a number of businessmen, including developers, planners and broadcasters.
Some of his decisions said the report was in the public interest but it specifically said a number of decisions related to Century Radio were not.
Century Radio was awarded Ireland's first national commercial radio licence but it later went bankrupt.
The report noted in particular that Burke's decision to issue a directive concerning Century's use of the facilities of state broadcaster RTÉ that reduced the charges to around 40% of those originally proposed by RTÉ (See RNW Mar 10, 2001) and also his proposal of legislation to curb RTÉ's advertising were in Century's interest and not for the public good.
Burke denied taking any decision regarding such a cap (See RNW Mar 17, 2001)
The tribunal was established in November 1997 and has cost Irish tax payer 21.5 million euro (GBP 14.3 million) so far, although tribunal chairman Mr Justice Flood said almost 35 million Euro (GBP23.3 million) has been recovered by the Revenue Commissioners and the
Criminal Assets Bureau as a result of the inquiry.
His interim report will now go to Ireland's Director of Public prosecutions for a decision on future action.
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2002-09-28: EMAP's Kiss 100 London station has hired Adam F, son of 70's pop star Alvin Stardust, to host its Saturday night hip-hop programme.
He will be on the air from 11p.m. Saturday to 1.a.m. on Sunday morning and will be competing with the last hour of Tim Westwood's Radio 1 rap show, which airs from 9p.m. to midnight, and Xfm hip-hop All City show that airs from midnight until 2a.m. Sunday mornings.
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2002-09-27: Two of the major UK breakfast shows, those of Capital FM in London and BBC Radio Five Live, have announced their future hosts.
The main surprise is at Capital FM, where Chris Tarrant, who has hosted the show for 15 years but had said he was going to move on when his contract ran out this year, has done an about face and decided to stay.
He said the reason was the crowing by rival Jono (Jonathan Coleman) at Chrysalis's Heart FM that he and co-host Emma Forbes would take the London breakfast ratings crown.
Tarrant, who is to launch a new breakfast show in January next year, had said publicly that he was tired of getting up so early and wanted to spend more time with his family and his hobby, fishing.
Earlier this week he told TV host Frank Skinner he was definitely leaving the breakfast show.
Although details of the show are to be confirmed, he is expected to start at 7:30 a.m., an hour later than he currently does.
"I just can't help it, radio is in my blood and so is Capital," commented Tarrant. " I'm sorry to disappoint the competition, but I am not ready to hang up the Capital headphones yet!"
Capital Chief Executive David Mansfield commented, "We have been discussing a number of programming ideas with Chris and we are both delighted that he will be launching the station's New Breakfast Show in its first year"
Tarrant's current show ends on November 15, and he is expected to take a his first long break from Capital until the new shot starts; no announcement has been made as to whether he will host his traditional Christmas show this year.
Capital's shares were already performing well, boosted by a trading statement that said advertising revenues in the second half of this year would be up 2% on last year, bucking the general industry trend. Shortly after the announcement that he was to stay on, they rose by around 7%, later falling back a little but still ending the day up just under 5%.
At the BBC, Radio 5 Live has announced that Nicky Campbell is to host its breakfast show when Julian Worricker moves on to host a new Sunday political show (See RNW Aug 3).
Campbell last year got himself into hot water by announcing publicly that he expected to take over from (Sir) Jimmy Young on Radio 2 (See RNW Nov 2, 2001), thus bringing into the open the BBC's desire to replace Young.
His Radio 2 morning slot eventually went to Jeremy Vine (See RNW July 27).
Campbell will co-host the Radio 5 Live breakfast show with current co-presenter Victoria Derbyshire and he commented, "I am incredibly excited about doing the biggest show on Five Live, and I'm even more excited about working with Victoria, who's one of the best journalists in the business."
"It's been a secret ambition of mine to do Breakfast, and I'm just amazed that somebody else has had the idea as well."
Also on the move at the station is Fi Glover, who will move from her weekday late evening show to take over Campbell's current late morning slot.
She commented, "I am absolutely chuffed. It's one of the best jobs in British broadcasting, so when I was asked to do it I had to think about it for all of two and a half minutes."
"I will miss my late night audience, because they are special. I very much hope they will come with me to the daytime show."
Radio Five Live controller Bon Shennan said the moves would "present an exciting new sound to our schedule."
"Nicky, one of Five Live's biggest stars, will move to our flagship news programme, sharing the presenting role with Victoria who's a well-established favourite with our listeners."
"Fi's proved incredibly successful in her late night slot. Julian helped launch Five Live and will bring renewed authority and journalistic rigour to our new Sunday show."
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2002-09-27: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has red-flagged two more US radio deals.
One is the final station sale by the bankrupt Brill Media, which sold 12 of its stations to Regent for USD62 million (See RNW Aug 24) and whose remaining station WSTO-FM, Evansville Indiana to South Central Communications for USD 13 million.
South Central already owns four stations in Evansville, and the deal has been flagged on market share and revenue concentration grounds.
Similar concerns have led to a flag for Blakeney Communications purchase of WXHB -FM, Richton, Mississippi,, from Radio Broadcasters, LLC
The FCC has also reduced to USD12,800 from USD 16,000 a penalty on Alpine Broadcasting Ltd., licensee of Station KKIT( FM), Angel Fire, New Mexico, and Alpine Broadcasting Ltd. Partnership, licensee of Station KXMT( FM), Taos, New Mexico, for failure to have Emergency Alert System (EAS) at the stations
Alpine did not deny the offences but asked for a reduction on various grounds including its previous record of no violations and financial situation.
The FCC dismissed all the arguments, including the financial ones, but agreed that the prior record justified a reduction in the penalty.
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2002-09-27: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has announced that veteran CBC journalist Jane Chalmers is to replace Alex Frame as new vice-president for CBC Radio when Frame retires on November 1 after 40 years with the Corporation.
Chalmers, who last year was named director of current affairs and weekly programs for CBC-TV, was described by president Robert Rabinovitch as having been "tireless in her pursuit of greater regional reflection and service on all our English networks."
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2002-09-27: Arbitron has expanded further in Mexico, adding Monterrey as a third market following its deals to start ratings in Mexico City last year and in Guadalajara in July this year (See RNW July 24).
Arbitron says it has signed long-term commitments with Grupo Radio México, Grupo Radio Centro and ACIR that include all three markets, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. These broadcasters operate seven stations in Monterrey.
In addition, several national advertising agencies and media buying service companies currently participating in Arbitron's Mexico ratings services have extended their contracts to include Monterrey.
The Monterey surveys will be carried out using Spanish language diaries that are to be completed by some 2,200 Monterrey residents, with processing of the information being carried out Arbitron's Columbia Research and Technology Center. First ratings are expected in February 2003.
"Opening Monterrey, our third market in Mexico, demonstrates our continued commitment to the Mexico media marketplace," said Arbitron president and CEO, Steve Morris.
"Our focus is to provide the tools to help the diverse Latin America media marketplace to prosper and grow."
"We view Mexico as the cornerstone of our Latin American strategy," said Clara Carneiro, Arbitron's vice president, Latin American Marketing.
"With our expansion into Monterrey, we will continue to create a new radio audience measurement standard for Latin American broadcasters and agencies."
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2002-09-27: UK GWR Group has now formally confirmed it is selling London News Radio (LNR) to Chrysalis and also buying Chrysalis's Galaxy 101 dance station in a complex deal that will reduce its debt by GBP19.2 million, taking it to less than GBP100 million.
The deal involves GWR, which owns 49.9% of LNR, is buying the rest of the company from ITN and Reuters and then selling it to Chrysalis for GBP 23.5 million, which includes the discharge by Chrysalis of £6.6 million indebtedness of LNR to GWR.
Chrysalis will then be paid GBP12.5 million for the Galaxy station and GWR will also pay GBP 5.6 million to exercise an option the buy the 50.1% of Eastern Counties Radio Ltd's dance station Vibe that it does not already own.
Following this Galaxy 101 and Vibe will be combined into a new joint venture company with Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH), Vibe Radio Services Limited (VRSL), which will be 51% owned by SRH and 49% owned by GWR.
VRSL is buying Vibe from GWR in return for a 49% interest in VRSL and a cash payment of £5.86 million.
SRH says the value put on Vibe and Galaxy combined is £36 million meaning SRH will invest £18.36 million for its 51% stake and have the right to appoint three directors while GWR will appoint two.
GWR has also released a trading statement forecasting flat revenues for the six months to September 30 this year with UK like-for-like revenues down 2% for the period compared to 2001.
Classic FM provided a bright spot within the overall picture, with its revenues up 8%.
"We continue to experience volatility in the market, with little visibility of future revenues," said GWR in the statement. " However, our current expectation for the fourth quarter of 2002 is for modest growth overall with Classic FM showing some strength compared to the market."
Concerning debt levels, it added, "Over the six months ended 30 September 2002 the Group's debt has been much reduced from £164m down to below £100m, principally following the disposal of our investments in Australia and, as announced today, London News Radio."
"As a result, on an annualised basis the Group's interest charge has been reduced by over £1m pa. As previously stated the Group's strategy is to focus on its core UK assets. We continue to review all aspects of the group and we are actively pursuing a number of ways to realise value for shareholders from our European operations."
Commenting on the transactions, Ralph Bernard, Executive Chairman of GWR, said: "GWR is delivering the goals it has set itself: total focus on core UK radio assets; creating a platform to deliver further shareholder value in anticipation of opportunities afforded by forecast change in legislation and substantial debt reduction. SRH is one of the leading radio groups operating some of the most
successful stations in the UK. We are very pleased to be entering this exciting phase of development in UK radio in partnership with SRH. Today's transactions remove a loss and cash flow burden for the group and joins Vibe and Galaxy in a logical partnership to take advantage of their undoubted potential."
In its trading statement, SRH says like-for-like revenues for this year to the end of September this year are estimated to be around the same as for 2001, as press revenues increased by around 2%, offsetting a 2% drop in radio revenues. SRH's radio revenues for the year were made up of 39% national advertising, down from 41% a year earlier, and 43% local advertising, up from 42% for 2001; the balance of revenues came from mainly local sources including sponsorship and promotions.
If acquisitions are taken into account, SRH estimates radio revenues to increase by 18% and the combined radio and press revenues to increase by 12%
Stock market reaction was muted with all three companies falling back a little on Thursday: Chrysalis, which may also have been affected by news that Chris Tarrant is to remain as breakfast host in competition with the Heart FM team (See RNW Sept 19), was down 2.4%; SRH was down 1.28% and GWR was down 0.6%
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2002-09-27: UK Radio Authority chair Richard Hooper, who had hoped to head the new British media super-regulator OFCOM, has been named as deputy chairman of the body, which is chaired by Lord Currie of Marylebone (See RNW July 26).
Also appointed as non-executives of OFCOM were Oftel chairman David Edmonds, former Channel 4 news editor Sarah Nathan and former BT director Urmila Banerjee; Ian Hargreaves, former editor of the Independent newspaper, is to be appointed at a later date.
OFTEL still has to appoint a chief executive. It will combine the work of five existing regulators, the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC), the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the Office Of Telecommunications (Oftel), the Radio Authority and the Radiocommunications Agency. It is expected to employ a staff of around 900, some 200 less than the current total for the five regulators.
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2002-09-26: UK Chrysalis has confirmed that it is "in advanced negotiations" to purchase London News Radio, which includes London LBC talk AM station and its sister FM, News Direct; it has also confirmed that it is in what it terms, "separate advanced negotiations to dispose of the Company's Galaxy 101 station in Bristol."
LNR is currently controlled by GWR, which issued a statement saying it was "in advanced discussions regarding two possible separate transactions involving London News Radio and Galaxy Radio Wales and West Limited".
The confirmation came in a board statement after reports, principally in the UK Guardian, that said a deal would be done within by the end of the week and put the value of LNR as between GBP20 -30 million.
LNR had been put up for sale at the end of last year by its shareholders, GWR, Reuters ITN, and DMG (See RNW Dec 21, 2001). It had attracted no firm takers at the price being asked and, after DMG dropped the idea of re-branding the station as Metro Radio (See RNW Feb 23) a deal to sell the AM station to Bloomberg's also collapsed in July (See RNW July 13)
According to the Guardian, GWR is likely to use most of the proceeds it receives from the sale to pay down debt. It adds that the Galaxy station is likely to be merged into Vibe, GWR's dance brand.
Regarding LBC, it said "One industry insider said Chrysalis wants to return LBC to its roots as one of the most talked about stations in the capital."
LBC was Britain's first licensed commercial station when it launched in 1973, just before Capital Radio, and, has had a long but troubled life. After a shaky start amidst industrial troubles, it was re-launched in 1978, again in the middle of industrial problems.
In 1986 it went public through a merger with Crown TV, and three years later, when legislation permitted the addition of an FM outlet, it was again re-launched, this time as LBC Newstalk 97.3 FM and LBC Talkback.
It continued to perform badly and in January 1993 receivers were called in. The station was taken over by a consortium led by Dame Shirley Porter's son but lost its licence in September of that year to the LNR consortium, backed by Guinness Mahon that was to take over in October 1994.
LNR then bought LBC in April 1994, ahead of the date it was to take over the licences and then, a month later, Reuters bought the LNR. They re-launched the station in October 1994 with a new format that performed very badly and attracted criticism;
Two years later, most of Reuters holding was bought by GWR, ITN and the Daily Mail & General Trust. The station's most recent re-launch was in 1996, when AM station London News Talk became LBC 1152.
In ratings terms, its peak audience was as an AM with nearly 2.5 million listeners a week in he mid 80s but it now has less than three quarters of a million for both stations combined.
In other British radio business news, EMAP has reported a 7% fall in radio revenues in a trading statement ahead of the release of its interim results for the six months to the September 30th, due out in November.
EMAP's stations have been harder hit than some other stations, according to the company, because they have a higher percentage of national advertising, which has done worse than local advertising.
The radio fall contrasted with a radio advertising market that was more or less flat and a 2% rise in advertising revenues expected for UBC Media, the programme maker and digital radio group.
Overall UBC says it expects an operating loss for the six months to the end of September of less than GBP30, 000 compared to a loss of GBP234, 000 in the same period of 2001, adding that it expects to break even for the full year.
Total turnover at GBP4.9 million is around a fifth up on the 2001 figures and it says there was a "particularly strong performance at Classic Gold Digital with revenues expected to be up 58% for the six months to approximately £2.2 million."
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2002-09-26: Disney-ABC's Chicago news-talk station WLS-AM has appointed radio veteran Michael Packer as operations director to succeed Mike Elder, who resigned in July, to become programme director at WRKO-AM, Boston.
Packer was a DJ in San Antonio, Houston and San Francisco, before moving into talk radio, working in the format as a host and programme director with stints in Los Angeles, Detroit and Houston. He has headed a Detroit-based talk radio consulting firm since 1966.
He told Robert Feder of the Chicago Sun-Times that his first priority would be to familiarize himself with his new staff and the market.
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2002-09-26: US Pacifica Radio is to move its headquarters back from Washington, D.C. to Berkeley in California by next March, some three years after it had moved from the latter where staff at KPFA had been fired amidst protests and demonstrations(See RNW Jan 9, 2000).
The network was founded in Berkeley and Pacifica's interim board members, who had voted 12-1 in a weekend meeting in Houston for the return, told the Berkeley Daily Planet that the return was poetic justice.
"It's important to right the wrongs of the past," interim board member Leslie Cagan told the paper. "One of those wrongs was the theft of the office from Berkeley."
The board had voted in March to return by the end of this year but a faction of the board halted the move in a 7-4 vote last month because of the cost of the move.
Interim treasurer Jabri Zakiya said a move would cost several hundred thousand dollars and remained opposed but Executive Director Dan Coughlin presented a budget for 2003 that estimated the cost of the move at $120,000.
He estimated that, because Pacifica owns its Berkeley headquarters and rents the Washington HQ, the move would save $73,900 a year and pay for itself within two years. As a sweetener to the Washington board members, who had opposed the return to Berkeley, the board agreed to establish a national news bureau in Washington.
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2002-09-26: Clear Channel has finally been given the go-ahead for its acquisition of WBRJ- AM, Marietta, Ohio, that was red-flagged by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in August 2001 (See RNW Aug 24, 2001).
The acquisition of WBRJ from Daugherty Broadcasting Company, will give Clear Channel two AMs and four FMs in the Parkersburg, West Virginia - Marietta, Ohio Arbitron metro (WBRJ-AM, Marietta, Ohio, and WLTP- AM, Parkersburg, West Virginia; and WDMX- FM, Vienna and WRZZ- FM, Elizabeth, both in West Virginia plus WNUS- FM, Belpre and WRVB-FM, Marietta, both in Ohio.
The six Clear Channel stations would, using BIA figures for 2001. says the FCC, control just under 56% of the metro's market and with Burbach L.L.C., West Virginia, two companies would account for nearly 83% of the market, not including the revenues of WVW-FM, Williamstown, West Virginia, for which Clear Channel has a joint sales agreement.
Clear Channel and Daugherty had argued for the deal on various grounds, including the question of advertising in other media and out-of-market advertising; the FCC, most of which were rejected despite the decision to allow the deal. Democrat Commission Michael J. Copps dissented from the majority decision.
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2002-09-25: The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) and US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have both been active concerning complaints about radio broadcasters, with the former ruling against Toronto station CFNY-FM (The Edge) over its broadcast of the song "Cubically Contained" by the Headstones.
The CBSC received a complaint, forwarded by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
To whom a listener had complained about the broadcast of the song at 8:10 p.m., when his four-years-old son was listening in the room with him.
The complainant said that the station "aired a song containing very clear and audible obscene language." Subsequently, upon being told that his complaint was being forwarded to the station, he responded," I fear that this is becoming a ceaseless treadmill of bureaucratic nonsense. I complained to the CRTC/CBSC this time because I have complained directly to CFNY in the past and got no response. And now I find out that when I complain to the CRTC/CBSC I get sent all the way back to a direct complaint with CFNY."
"All I want," he added, "is to be able to hang out with my son, listen to the radio and not have to hear words like 'fuck' and 'shit' BEFORE 9:00PM."
The station subsequently responded to the complainant by saying that it did not think the song contravened Canadian codes, adding that no edited version of it had been made available. It said in part, "Moreover, the CBSC has noted that 'under the present Codes, matters of taste must be left to be regulated by the marketplace. Such choices remain those of the listener. This is the time when the on/off switch is the listener's coping mechanism.'"
The complainant commented about this in an e-mail to the CBSC," Wow, that is a great suggestion. So, instead of being able to have the radio playing in my home while my two kids are awake, I can just turn it off and live in silence."
"Just to satisfy my curiosity, I would love to know exactly what are the limits in terms of appropriate language on the radio. I mean, can a station play any unedited song at any time? It appears that they can. And, why not since there are no real consequences for doing so. If anyone complains, you simply pass them from impotent agency to impotent agency until they give up and go away."
The CBSC, in making its decision, pointed out that songs are just as subject to the broadcaster Codes as any other form of programming, and that potentially offensive songs, if unavailable in edited form, would not be playable at certain times of day when children could reasonably be expected to be listening.
In such cases, it said, the decision becomes "in black and white terms, whether to play or not to play" and it ruled that in this case, to play the song at a time when children might be expected to be listening, the Council's codes had been breached.
In the US, where the Opie and Anthony Sex in St Patrick's case recently highlighted the issues of what is permissible on radio, DJ Mike ``Mikey'' Esparza has been replaced following his playing of a self-produced song extolling sex acts with 9- to 12-year-old girls about which a complaint had been made.
Esparza had been working from his Dallas base on afternoon drive shows for three Clear Channel stations, San Jose's KSJO-FM (92.3), Walnut Creek's KFJO-FM (92.1) and Monterey's KMJO.
He's still being aired in Dallas, where he does mornings for Clear Channel's KEGL/FM, and San Diego, where he works nights on KIOZ-FM. According to the San Jose Mercury News the San Jose stations say the move was just a programming change.
The paper quoted Ed Krampf, who manages Clear Channel's 10 Bay Area stations, as saying, ``We just want to go local. We want someone who is relatable in the Bay Area in terms of content, who knows what works and what doesn't work.''
It also quoted Jim Richards, the former manager of KSJO-FM, who now manages Clear Channel's 12 San Diego stations, as saying of the song, a parody of the style of R. Kelly, the Chicago singer who was arrested for allegedly making videotapes of sex acts with underage girls, "I think it's being taken a little out of context by the people who are making the stink about it, because it's not sung from Mikey's point of view."
"It's sung from R. Kelley's point of view and based on his arrest, it's innocent until proven guilty, but it appears that he might enjoy such things, I'm not sure Mikey enjoys such things.''
Less than two months ago, Esparza was suspended for a week over jokes cracked about story of a seven-years-old Philadelphia girl who had escaped following her kidnap by chewing through duct tape (See RNW July 30)
Clear Channel has also come under attack in Sacramento where mayor Heather Fargo is reported to have encouraged a letter-writing campaign to the FCC petitioning for revocation of the licence of talk station KSTE, whose hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty she had termed racist over comments she says they made during discussion of an article that terms=ed the city the most diverse in the U.S.
The FCC has followed its standard practice in refusing comment where an investigation may be pending.
In Missouri, the FCC has reduced to USD5,000, a USD7,000 forfeiture notice issued in May to American Family Association, licensee of Station KBKC-FM, a non-commercial, educational FM station licensed to Moberly, for operating the station without a main studio.
The action follows a visit to the station for an attempted inspection during which the FCC agent found a note at the transmitter site listing a telephone number in Tupelo, Mississippi.. On calling it he was told by AFA employees that the station had no main studio and that its public inspection file was in the Little Dixie Regional Library in Moberly. The file did not show a waiver for the main studio requirement.
AFA had acknowledged the facts but asked for cancellation or reduction of the penalty, saying it had made a request to operate the station as a satellite of KAKU, FM, Springfield, Missouri, before KBKC was built.
It later sold KAKU but forgot the amend the waiver request but that it had gone ahead in building the station and commencing operations without the waiver because the station complied with standards normally applied in granting waivers and it anticipated of a waiver being granted.
The Commission dismissed AFA's arguments but reduced the penalty because it had disclosed to the FCC in February 2002 that it was operating KBKC as a satellite.
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2002-09-25: Mark Adair, the member of the UK Radio Authority with special responsibility for Northern Ireland, has resigned to become the BBC Secretary, Northern Ireland.
His Northern Ireland responsibility has been taken over by another Authority member, Fergal Sharkey, former lead singer of teenage punk band the Undertones, who later became a record company executive.
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2002-09-25: Illinois radio host, John Judson McGrody, who hosted the Sunday morning radio show "The New Releases" on WFMT-FM, had died in his Evanston home after shooting himself according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.
Indianapolis-born McGrody, who was 49, started his radio career at the University of Wisconsin's station whilst taking his degree in mass communications. He subsequently worked for 13 years in Columbus, Ohio, including producing broadcasts for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. He moved moving to Chicago when his wife, Lisa Flynn, who was also a host in Columbus, got a job with WFMT-FM in 1991.
In Chicago he continued to produce broadcasts for the orchestra, later gaining work at WFMT as a writer and producer.
Chicago Tribune obituary:
2002-09-24:Disney's ABC Radio Networks' new Daytime Direction Radio Network has toppled Westwood One's CNN Max from the top rank in Arbitron's RADAR 74 (Radio's All Dimension Audience Research) ratings, covering the period from July 25, 2001 - June 19, 2002.
Daytime Direction, and another ABC operation, ABC Morning News Network, were making their debut in the RADAR figures that measure national radio audiences in programmes aired d on 33 US radio networks,
Of the top five networks for the 12 plus audience in the RADAR 74 survey, ABC's Daytime Direction Network reached 8.844 million with an AQH audience of 3700; second ranked Westwood CNN Max Radio Network reached 6.818 million with an AQH audience of 2,900, up 2.7% on its previous figures; and ABC Morning News Radio Network reached 5.578 million, an AQH audience of 2,400; ABC's Young Adult Radio Network reached 5.427 million, an AQH audience of 2,300 and Premiere's Morning Drive AM Network reached 5.082 million, an AQH audience of 2,100.
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2002-09-24: Research carried out for the British Commercial Radio Companies Association by media strategy advisers Oliver & Ohlbaum says that changes to British media regulation proposed under the government's draft communications bill is likely to weaken local commercial radio according to the company's managing director Mark Oliver.
Writing in the UK Guardian, he says, "The radio industry was given to believe that policymakers wanted commercial radio to attract investment, provide a strong local voice and increase the diversity offered - all within a lighter touch regulatory regime. "
"In fact, what is being proposed is likely to weaken commercial radio by narrowing the range of services offered to listeners, redirecting investment away from local markets and reducing its effectiveness as a provider of local information compared with local newspapers and regional TV."
Oliver said he looked "in detail at the impact of the government's ownership proposals on 35 local markets where ITV, local commercial radio and local newspapers all represent a significant voice competing for audience share and advertising revenue" and the conclusions were depressing.
"…I found that the proposed changes are likely to see no real liberalisation compared with the existing rules. The effect of this will be to encourage leading radio groups to expand through increasing their UK-wide coverage rather than through greater investment locally."
"In this new economic environment," adds Oliver, "regulation on local content, format diversity and national networking will inevitably have to become even more heavy-handed. This is at best unstable and at worst unsustainable."
He then goes on, "It doesn't have to be like this. The rules requiring plurality among significant local media operators don't have to rest so heavily on keeping the ownership of local radio licences fragmented. A much more straightforward set of rules to maintain local media plurality (to a minimum three media voices, as the government wishes) could be established."
"Radio ownership could then be left either to competition policy or to a more relaxed formula, which, as the government desires, would encourage greater innovation, investment, employment and better services."
"Ministers should revisit what their officials are offering and ask them to look again at the proposed industry alternatives. In particular, they should require an ownership framework that reinforces localness, not one that will counter it. This is not a matter that can be left for the new regulator, OFCOM, to decide."
RNW comment: We rather fear, on the basis of the "He who pays the piper" rule, that this research may be affected by the desire of the UK commercial companies to get the government to drop the three-plus-the BBC rule.
Unfortunately the article as published doesn't give any details to back up its conclusions and without these it is reduced in impact.
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2002-09-24: Around a third of US Internet radio stations have ceased webcasts in the past year, taking the number of US webcasters below half the Internet total for the first time according to a new study by San Francisco company, BRS Media Inc.
Figures from the study quoted in the Washington Times show that an estimated 3,940 US webcasters are now streaming music, down 1,770 on the total of 5.720 a year ago.
The study also says that some US webcasters are moving their operations outside the US as a result of the royalty ruling by the Librarian of Congress in June this year.
Among them, according to the report, is Vince Garcia, who started www.VinceGarcia.com, an Internet radio station that plays 1970s rock, in Los Angeles two years ago. He's now moved the servers that carries the song files to Europe but operates the site his home.
Cherry Shephard, who runs www.WorldGospelOutreachRadio.com from her home in Butzbach, Germany, where she is stationed in the U.S. Army, has moved to servers in Sweden from her original servers in Colorado.
"It's not that we don't want artists to get their money. We just don't agree with the idea of paying all this money in royalties and, being a small company, we weren't in a position to pay it," said Mrs. Shephard.
Garcia says the royalties would have cost his station USD10, 000 a month and other sites are reported to also be considering making a move but the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) says moving out of the US will not give relief from the costs.
"This will not affect webcasters' responsibilities to pay for transmissions to listeners in the U.S.," said John Simson, executive director of SoundExchange, the group set up by the RIAA to collect and distribute royalties paid by webcasters.
Webcasters are still hoping for some relief from a bill put before the US Congress to exempt webcasters with annual revenue of less than $6 million from paying royalties this year but it is opposed by the RIAA and some webcasters still think the best bet would be a suitable agreement with the recording companies.
Among them is Connecticut webcaster www.Beethoven.com whose director of interactive media Kevin Shively commented, "Up to now, a reasonable middle ground has not been met."
He was sceptical, however, about moving outside the US, in part because royalty rulings are likely to be introduced in other countries in the future.
"We've invested too much to make this a viable industry to move. It needs to be a viable industry in the U.S.," he said.
Previous RIAA:
Washington Times report:
2002-09-24: The BBC World Service has announced that it is to dedicate a study of its history during the Cold War to its former managing director Austen Kark, who was killed in a UK ail crash in May this year (See RNW May 13).
PHD student Alban Webb has been awarded an "Austen Kark Memorial Scholarship" to carry out the five-year study under the supervision of Peter Hennessy, Attlee Professor of contemporary British History at Queen Mary, University of London, and a regular presenter of the BBC Radio 4 Analysis programme from 1987 to 1992.
Research from the series will be used for a series of lectures to be broadcast to mark the Service's 75th anniversary in 2007.
Previous BBC:
Previous Kark:
2002-09-24: Arbitron has announced that its Portable People Meter (PPM) is to be deployed in Canada next year under an agreement with BBM Canada to use the system to measure television audiences in Montreal and Quebec.
BBM, which is owned by its members, provides both radio and television ratings information to around 1,000 member companies across Canada.
Arbitron says it will begin deploying the system early next year, with first ratings reports expected in the fourth quarter.
Previous Arbitron:
Previous PPM:
2002-09-23: Cynicism or scepticism, depending upon your viewpoint, are the introductory themes for this week's look at newspaper comment about radio over the past week.
Looking on the upside, comments in a New York Times article, "Gentler Shock Radio, for Now" by Lynette Holloway, concerning the fallout from the Opie and Anthony sex-in-St. Patrick's stunt, are mainly sceptical.
The title sums up the article quite clearly as does the first sentence, "Perhaps shock radio is behaving a little bit better these days. But how long will that last?"
After commenting on what is termed an "out-of-character response from the normally quiet Federal Communications Commission", Holloway continues, "The incident has had a sobering effect on shock radio, if only temporarily, people in talk radio say."
"Some radio personalities are thinking more about what they say on the air and check borderline material with their programmers out of concern that public opinion has turned against them."
She then quotes Drew Lane of the" raucous Drew and Mike Show" on WRIF-FM in Detroit as saying, "It's sort of a wake-up call. I don't think we are going to change our style, but I think we're going to think things through more. We might run things by the program director."
His view was supported by Michael Harrison, the editor of Talkers Magazine, who said the firing had "caused that part of the industry to reconsider how far they can go because they see there is a line they can't cross."
The question, of course, is how long it will be before things slide back to where they were before; the case in point was not unusual for the show's content as such but because of the upset it caused.
"This had to do with venue," said Al Peterson, editor for talk radio at Radio and Records. "It drew attention because St. Patrick's Cathedral is a cultural icon. A large percentage of people in the industry even said that they crossed the line. If it had happened in a subway, would anyone have noticed? Remember, this was the third year of this contest."
Paul Heine, the executive director of Friday Morning Quarterback, said, "A lot of programmers and personalities thought that the announcement of the cancellation of `The Opie and Anthony Show' was another stunt. Sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral was unprecedented and other personalities who work in edgy, blue humour were somewhat appalled, but everyone expected them to get a slap on the wrist and the station to get fined. It shows that Infinity was under a severe amount of pressure."
He thought, however, that the duo would eventually return to the airwaves, despite pressures from various lobby groups. "I think they'll be back, but it will be a while," said Heine. "They're just too hot for most large publicly traded companies right now."
In our view, the next example, subject of Paul Donovan's column in the UK Sunday Times, edges further along the road to deserving cynicism, both about the presenter involved and the BBC.
It involved a lengthy plug for a popular shampoo that Jonathan Ross aired on his Radio 2 show.
As Donovan writes, Ross, who had denied receiving any payment for the plug, raved about the product, saying, "For a whole year, it has made my hair glossy and kept it dandwuff-fwee."
Donovan then gives more examples of Ross's paean of praise for the product that its female "star" advertisers (paid) describe as producing "outstanding, dandruff-free, kissable hair" and then points out that the comments were a "flagrant breach of the BBC's rules."
He quotes the BBC's Producer's guidelines, "No undue prominence should be given to any branded product, and there must be no element of plugging. References to trade and brand names should be made only if they are clearly justified editorially."
"But in today's increasingly cynical, hypocritical, commercially driven BBC," continues Donovan, "what price the guidelines - even if they carry a preface by Greg Dyke, the director-general, who laughingly talks about the "moral responsibility" and "contractual obligation" in observing them - when there are ratings to be won and under-40s to be drawn to a radio station that, only five years ago, they would not have dreamt of listening to? "
"The more interesting point is why Ross gets away with it - gets away with murder, in fact, in matters from taste and decency to plugging products. The reason is that he makes everything funny; with the result that half of you is for- giving him while the other half is condemning. He is a sparky, naughty, irreverent, spontaneous, brilliantly entertaining broadcaster. So was Chris Evans, but he mocked mainly others, while Ross mocks mainly himself."
Donovan then comments on other radio personalities who have been allowed to get away with things and concludes, "But there is only a limited number of times you can do it. If Ross, who earns £2m a year and has no need to get any extra from Procter & Gamble, did it again, there would be a lot more protest than there has been this time."
RNW comment: Valuing public broadcasting as we do, we do not think it should ever need or be allowed to pander to personalities in this manner. In our view, contracts for those such as Ross should automatically include clauses that prohibit totally the broadcast of commercial messages (as indeed, non-commercial stations are regulated in the US) with any flagrant case involving automatic ending of all contracts without compensation and no paid return to the public broadcaster's airwaves being permitted for a period of two years minimum. If it benefits commercial broadcasters, so be it! They are in business whilst the BBC is licence funded and in our view, should be forced to accept harsh regulation on commercial matters as a quid-pro-quo. Fines would only take funding from programming for which the public has paid, so the only sensible penalties have to be on people.
While on the downside of radio, some more comments from the Sunday Times, this time from Gerry McCarthy in his column on Irish Radio. After comments about matters becoming more complex than when there was "a silly season and a not-so-silly season", McCarthy continues, "This is the conference season which means, among other things, that various academics and experts congregate for shop talk and recreation before the unpleasant matter of students starts up again. Since the politicians have mostly vanished again, the sound of academic pundits being coaxed into radio studios is the theme of the week."
"Certain facts stand out. One is how bad at communication the majority of academics are. This applies to both ends of the spectrum: the quantum physicists whose work can't be translated into any human language and the ones who have dumbed down so far that they've gutted their speech of any content."
"Neither type makes much sense. The scientists who think that the phrase "order of magnitude" mumbled very fast passes for everyday discourse is not going to be comprehensible to many, while the dumbed-down ones are an insult to the intelligence."
After those comments, however, McCarthy moved into positive territory with his comments on broadcaster Pat Kenny, coming up with comment on one interview that we found irresistible.
"…Kenny, while admitting that he knew he was taking several steps too many, couldn't resist the question about teleportation. Would Scotty soon be beaming us all from place to place? The problem, as the professor explained, was randomness. Not only are there an awful lot of electrons in a person, but there's always a probability that some will misbehave. Which means that three-quarters of you ends up in the living room with the rest finely scattered across the Andromeda galaxy."
Back onto radio technique, though, McCarthy makes a profound point about professional skills: "With a scientific topic, Kenny almost always sounds interested, probably because he is. That interest communicates itself easily to the listener. As long as the expert isn't being utterly opaque, Kenny can nudge their communication skills, tease their level of discourse up or down a notch as necessary and generally do a good job of conveying the flavour of an abstruse subject in a comprehensible manner."
And from the US West Coast, courtesy of a Los Angeles Times article by Steve Carney, comes a comment on KPWR-FM morning host Big Boy, Chicago-born Kurt Alexander, who was named major-market personality of the year in the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Marconi Awards this month (Full winners list is on the NAB web site).
"I love to laugh, I love to enjoy myself, and at the same time I know I have responsibilities and am very serious," said Big Boy. "My job, first, is to entertain.
The station itself was contemporary hit radio station of the year and its success also relates to professionalism.
The success of Big Boy and the station as a whole relies on tenets that seem basic but are often forgotten, said Jimmy Steal, KPWR's program director and regional vice president for Emmis Communications-Los Angeles, adding that it makes sure it knows its audience intimately and stays consistent in offering what it wants, from music to the types of products advertised.
Still on positives about radio, Sue Arnold in her UK Observer radio review column praises Stephen Fry's The Incomplete and Utter Guide to Classical Music currently being aired on Classic FM.
"The first accolade," she writes, "must go to Classic FM for having the nous to give Fry the time and space - two hours every Sunday for 20 weeks - to do the thing properly."
Commenting on the series itself, the terms it "the musical equivalent of the Sellars and Yeatman classic (1066 and All That), both being the products of enthusiasts who love their subject, know it inside out but are fed up with the academic pretensions that so often accompany it.
"All the other accolades," says Arnold, "go to Fry, whose pithy and quirky observations keep you amused and informed in equal parts. I particularly like the potted histories that explain what was happening while, say, Pope Gregory I was scoring his chants or Hildegard of Bingen was sucking the end of her quill."
"'That wonderful music,' says Fry, 'came from a time when half a groat could buy you the best seat at a hanging, drawing and quartering and you'd still have change left over for a leprosy belt.' "
To end up wit