February 2003 Archive
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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 February comment considers what we think copyright should be in the future.
RNW January comment considers our hopes for radio in 2003 with reference to regulatory and technological changes in train.
RNW December comment considers whether in view of recent US complaints about talk radio and media bias, the US needs to reintroduce some form of "fairness doctrine" for broadcasters.
2003-02-28: US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Michael Powell told the Commission's public hearing on US media regulations on Thursday that they had to set rules based on evidence not intuition and re-iterated his previously made stance that restrictions that the Commission could not justify would be thrown out by the courts.
The legal position of ownership restriction regulations, unlike most of the Commission's rules, said Powell, was that they had to be reviewed every two years by statute and it was legally presumed that a rule was not required unless the commission found otherwise.
"Unless we can re-justify each broadcast ownership rule under current market conditions," said Powell, "the rule goes away."
He noted that the Commission had lost on each of the five occasions in the past years when it had defended its ownership rules in court. Adding that there was a common theme that the commission had failed to justify the rules in the current media environment.
Powell said that all the rules would be thrown out if the Commission put in the half-hearted effort this time that it had into the last Biennial Review but everyone agreed that some broadcast ownership limits were critical to meet the public interest of a robust marketplace of ideas (RNW comment: ideas, we rather thought, weren't subject to a marketplace although certainly their promotion or suppression in mass dissemination is); he added that the right way to build rules was through gathering evidence.
Powell's stance was backed by fellow Republican Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy who noted the requirements put by the US Congress upon the Commission to justify its rules and described its record in the court over the past two years as "rather pathetic."
She noted the changes that had occurred since the rules were framed but added that they should not just consider the 85% of people that have access to cable and satellite but also the remainder that could only receive broadcast services.
She wanted, she said, to "ensure that free over-the-air services remained competitive and viable and continue to provide programming alternatives to those that rely only on broadcast to receive news, information and entertainment."
"I don't want," she added, "the competitive environment to drive the migration of quality programming to cable, and deprive the public of free access to these services."
Democrat Commissioner Michael Copps said the decisions could alter forever the US media landscape, adding that he was concerned because he thought they didn't yet know "the potential implications of our actions."
He was backed up in this by Virginia Commonwealth University sociology professor David Croteau who said they had enough evidence to serve as a warning and added that less regulation would be a windfall for " a few giant corporations" but was likely to be "a huge mistake for the rest of us."
Previous Abernathy:
Previous Copps:
Previous FCC:
Previous Powell:
2003-02-28: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a provisional agreement with Los Angeles-based Univision Communications Inc. and Dallas-based Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC) over the former's USD3.5 billion purchase of the latter.
Under the deal, the DOJ would not object providing Univision reduces its current 27% stake in Santa Monica -based Entravision Communications Corporation to 15% within three years and to 10% within six years and also converts all its Entravision stock into a new class of non-voting preferred stock.
Opponents of the deal had argued that the DOJ should consider radio and TV advertising in local markets together in considering the takeover but this was rejected by the Department, which stuck to its treatment of radio and TV advertising as separate.
The agreement has to be approved by shareholders in both companies - expected to be a formality at meetings of both companies scheduled for today - and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); should this be given, the takeover is expected to close in mid March.
According to the Miami Herald, there has been lobbying for approval of the merger by two Florida representatives, Miami-Dade Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who last year each took campaign contributions from principals of Hispanic Broadcasting and Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) , which opposes the takeover.
In contrast, reports the paper, Hispanic Democrats in Congress, some of whom also received campaign contributions from Hispanic executives, voted not to take a position on the merger.
The merger has been opposed by a number of Hispanic advocacy groups who fear it would stifle competition among Spanish-language media and also by SBS , which is opposing the deal in the courts on anti-trust grounds: its suit has been dismissed but it is appealing the decision (See RNW Feb 19 )
Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart each received the maximum USD1, 000 individual donation permitted from HBC President McHenry Tichenor Jr., who also gave USD 5,000 to the Republican Party of Florida's Federal Campaign Account and the former also received USD 1,000 from four other members of the Tichenor family.
SBS President and Chief Executive Raúl Alarcón Jr., his wife and parents also gave $1,000 each to Ros-Lehtinen and $5,000 to the Florida Republican Party Federal Campaign Account.
In other US radio business, Denver-based NextMedia has reported what it terms "significant revenue and broadcast cash flow increases at our radio properties" in its fourth quarter and full year 2002 results.
For the quarter, NextMedia's revenues were up 20.2% to $25.0 million and EBITDA was up 85.0% to $7.4 million; despite this the company's loss for the quarter was up sevenfold to USD27.2 million as a result of the application of Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 142. that led to a $43.0 million non-cash impairment loss on goodwill associated with certain of the Company's outdoor advertising assets
For the full year, revenues were up 27.3% to $91.3 million, EBITDA was up 48.4% to $23.9, and net loss increased nearly four-fold to $53.4 million compared to 2001 because of the USD43 million adjustment and also a $1.9 million non-cash gain on NextMedia's interest rate swap arrangements.
Pro-forma revenues for the quarter were up 13.5% to $27.8 million, pro-forma Broadcast Cash Flow (BCF) was up 25.0% to $10.5 and pro-forma EBITDA was up 51.7% to $8.8 million; the corresponding increases for the full year were a revenue increase of 8.1% to $104.1, a BCF increase of 5.8% to $38.0 million and an EBITDA increase of 10.3% to $29.9 million.
Within these figures, pro-forma radio division revenues for the quarter were up 19.0% to $20.0 million and pro-forma radio BCF was up 35.6% to $8.0 million whilst for the full year radio pro-forma revenue was up 14.7% to $74.0 million and pro-forma radio BCF was up 26.0% to $28.6 million.
Looking ahead, but with a caveat about no "material changes in economic conditions or extraordinary world events", NextMedia says it expects revenue for the current quarter to be up 6.0% and 8.0% and BCF growth to be between 9.0% and 12.0%.
On the deals front, Regent Communications, Inc. has announced a swap of its four stations in the Duluth, Minnesota, market for Clear Channel's five stations in the Evansville, Indian, market plus USD2.7 million in cash.
Stations involved are Regent's KKCB-FM, KLDJ-FM, KBMX-FM and WEBC-AM and Clear Channel's WYNG-FM, WDKS-FM, WKRI-FM, WGBF-FM and WGBF-AM and the deal is subject to regulatory approval.
Regent already owns WBKR-FM & WKDQ-FM in Evansville and WOMI-AM in nearby Owensboro, Kentucky, acquired from Brill Media in a USD 62 million deal that closed on Thursday (See RNW Feb 27) and also included the Duluth stations; Clear Channel has no stations in Duluth at present.
The companies will commence operation of the stations involved immediately under a local marketing agreement and Regent Chairman and CEO Terry Jacobs said the transaction upgraded its portfolio through providing it with a "full station cluster in a significantly larger market."
"We are exchanging four stations in a market ranked 197th in terms of radio revenues, for five stations in Evansville, the 121st ranked radio revenue market, providing us with the opportunity to realize significant revenue and cash flow growth over the long-term," he continued.
"In addition, this transaction further validates the strategic importance of the recent Brill transaction, as we were able to exchange the Duluth cluster to complete the Evansville cluster we acquired in that deal. Perhaps most importantly, today's transaction improves the overall economics of the Brill transaction (which was completed earlier this week), lowering the acquisition multiple while providing us with a stronger platform for growth. In total, today's announcement demonstrates our ability to opportunistically improve Regent's long-term growth characteristics on increasingly better financial terms."
Previous Alarcón:
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Entravision:
Previous Hispanic Broadcasting:
Previous Jacobs:
Previous NextMedia:
Previous Regent:
Previous SBS:
Previous Tichenor:
Previous Univision:
Miami Herald report:
2003-02-28: The latest Arbitron MeasureCast Ratings covering the week to February 16 show MUSICMATCH's artist match displacing Radioio from the top station spot and Stream Audio taking over top network spot; the ratings also include the return of Live 365 to the ratings and the absence, due to server communication issues of Internet Radio Inc., which had been in fourth rank in the week to January 19 before dropping out of the top ten.
The Live365 figures, which make it the fourth ranked network, are for its top 25 stations; Arbitron is currently working with Live 365 on reporting all its stations.
For the week to February 16, Arbitron-MeasureCast's top five stations ranked by Total Time Spent Listening (TTSL) with (in brackets) TTSL and Cume persons (a measure of the cumulative audience -CP) for the previous week - were:
1: Internet only artist-match MUSICMATCH - TTSL 311,356 (296,730); CP 132,552 (130,340). Up from second with higher listening and reach.
2: Adult alternative Radioio Eclectic - TTSL 283,365 (315,117); CP 61,586 (62,926). Down from first with lower listening and reach.
3: Classical format WQXR-FM- TTSL 237,263 (238,650); CP 35,704 (37,180). Same rank with lower listening and reach.
4: Hot Adult Contemporary Virgin FM - TTSL 207,817 (213,139); CP 47,024 (47,536). Up from fifth despite lower listening and reach.
5: Jazz format Jazz FM - TTSL 206,813 (215,721); CP 29,571 (33,213): Down from fourth with lower listening and reach.
The top five networks for the week to February 16 (Previous week's figures in brackets) were:
1: StreamAudio TTSL 1,366,223 (1,141,600); CP 197,209 (175,846). Up from third with higher listening and reach.
2: MUSICMATCH Inc. TTSL 1,323,120 (1,255,555); CP 389,570 (387,827). Same rank with higher listening and reach.
3: Clear Channel Worldwide TTSL 1,047,773 (1,505,375): CP 197,209 (216,557)- Down from first with lower listening and reach.
4: Live365.com - Top 25 TTSL 643,953; CP 136,022 not rated in previous week.
5: Warp Radio TTSL 628,764 (523,745); CP 152,761 (134,898) - Up from sixth with higher listening and reach.
* Moontaxi fell from fourth to sixth with TTSL of 577,107, up from 544,777 hours and CP of 88,217, up from 81,357
*Stream Guys fell from fifth to seventh with TTSL of 569,741, up from 558,742, and CP of 137,098, up from 125,759.
Arbitron has also released details of "Internet and Multimedia 10: The Emerging Digital Consumer", its tenth study in conjunction with Edison Media Research of the use of digital media by consumers; it shows that the "Internet Broadcasting" audience has now topped 100 million in the US with a levelling off in the digital divide between American ethnic groups in terms of ability to access the Internet, largely because of work done by public libraries and schools in providing access to minority groups.
It says that in terms of access at home or work, 70% of whites can use the Internet compared to 60% of African Americans and 48% of Hispanics but when other means of access are taken into account. 75% of the total population can access the Internet compared to 74% of African Americans and 65 percent of Hispanic Americans; the study says that 34% of African Americans and 24 % of Hispanics access the Internet at public libraries compared with 19 percent of White Americans and 32 percent of African Americans and 24 % of Hispanics access the Internet from schools compared with 25 % of White Americans.
Internet use has soared over the past five years but is now showing signs of levelling off says the report, which notes that over the last three years, the number of Americans listening to Internet audio broadcasting nearly tripled, while those watching Internet video has shown little growth.
Internet audio listeners, says the study are just as likely as the general population to say that terrestrial radio does a "very good" or "good job" of playing the music they like - 74% compared to 73% of all Americans- or providing a variety of programming - 69% compared to 70% of all Americans. It also says that around 12 million Americans say they would be willing to pay a small fee to listen to content provided by the one Internet audio source they listen to most with the most important factor being unique content.
Were Internet audio broadcasters to be treated as a US radio network, says the study, it could generate up to $54 million per year in advertising revenue based on the current weekly cumulative audience of approximately 20 million people, listening for an average of 5½ hours a week; this approximates to an Average Quarter Hour (AQH) audience of approximately 655,000 people.
Those who listened to streaming audio within the past month, termed "Monthly Streamies", have a significantly greater interest in digital devices than the general population says the study and said Bill Rose, vice president and general manager, Arbitron Internet Broadcast Services, commented, "Internet broadcasting is rapidly becoming a mass medium with an estimated 103 million people or 44 percent of the total population having ever used Internet audio or video."
"Considering the high degree of interest in digital devices exhibited by 'Streamies,' marketers of consumer electronics would be smart to consider advertising on Internet broadcasting to reach and influence their target audience."
The study also shows greater satisfaction with their Internet experience from broadband users than from those who dial up and the study estimates that some 33 million Americans plan to get broadband Internet access in the next year. These users, indicates the study, will spend significantly more time online and less time with traditional media.
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Arbitron-MeasureCast ratings:
Previous Edison Media Research:
Previous Rose:
Arbitron-Edison Media Study (490 kb PDF)
2003-02-28: From this weekend, BBC Radio 2 is to link up with the British Forces Broadcasting Service to support British troops stationed in the Gulf by broadcasting special programming to help them stay in touch with families and friends.
BFBS has set up a network of FM transmitters in the Middle East to provide a 24-hour-a-day service and it approached the BBC for co-operation in the service, the latest in a long tradition that saw Two-Way Family Favourites, first broadcast on the Light Programme (Radio 2's predecessor) in 1945, add around 7 million listeners in Germany to its 20 million in the UK. The programme ran up until 1980.
The first programme in the current tie-up will see Steve Wright pass on dedications and messages and play requests from listeners in the UK for friends and family in the Gulf on the second half of his Sunday Love Songs show on March 2; a similar service will be featured on Richard Allinson's last show that runs from Monday to Thursday.
Charles Foster, Controller of BFBS Radio, commented, "BFBS Radio is so important at a time like this. Our troops rely heavily on us for up-to-the-minute news and round the clock programmes made especially for them, many of which carry messages from their friends and families back home."
"Reaching out to those friends and families is another vital part of the service and I am delighted that BFBS has such solid support from BBC Radio 2 at this difficult time. Separation from loved ones is never easy but hearing a special message or a song that really matters can make a world of difference."
Previous BBC:
2003-02-27: Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) and Saga Communications have joined the ranks of US radio companies reporting strong results for the final quarter of last year and the year as a whole.
Although its losses increased, SBS net revenues for the quarter were up 16.7% on a year earlier at USD 35.7 million, the quarter's Broadcast cash flow (BCF) was up 25.2% at USD15.9 million, and EBITDA was up 15.5% at USD 11.9 million.
The loss for the quarter, with both periods adjusted on the basis of adoption of various accounting standards, was down to USD 2.10 million (USD 0.03 per share) from USD 2.95 million (USD 0.05 per share); for 2001 SBS had reported a net loss of USD1.23 million before the adjustments were made.
For the full year, SBS reported an adjusted profit of USD 10.8 million (USD 0.17 per share) compared to an adjusted loss of USD 6.9 million (USD 0.11 per share); reported losses were USD 89.8 million in 2002 and USD 9.4 million in 2001.
Full year revenues were up 15.2% to USD 133.9 million, full year BCF was up 25.3% to USD 59 million and full year EBITDA was up 23.7% to USD 45.4 million.
On a same station basis SBS quarterly revenues were up 16.7% for the quarter and 14% for the year with same station BCF up 27.1% and 23.5% respectively.
Commenting, Chairman and CEO Raúl Alarcón, Jr. said, "During the past year, we experienced substantial improvement in key operating measures."
"Highlighting our strong fundamentals, during the fourth quarter, our ratings, revenue and cash flow all increased. Led by our stations in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, we posted robust gains in audience share in the Fall 2002 Arbitron ratings." "These ratings advances, particularly in Los Angeles, where we operate a leading Hispanic radio cluster, bode well for our ongoing revenues."
"…As the nation's advertisers seek to infiltrate the nation's fast-growing Hispanic population, we are well positioned to benefit, given our leading market shares in the nation's top-ranked markets."
Looking ahead, SBS is forecasting net revenues for the current quarter to be up 7% to 8% over a year ago with BCF in the range USD10 million to USD10.3 million.
Saga's net revenues for the final quarter of 2002 were up 16.4% to USD 31.3 million and for the year were up 10.4% to USD114.8 million whilst broadcast cash flow was up 17.2% to USD11.3 million for the quarter and 11.0% to USD41.4 million for the year.
Same station revenues were up for 9.9% the quarter and 5.3% for the year with same station BCF up 14.0% and 7.6% for the quarter and year.
Saga profit was USD14.0 million (USD0.66 per share) for the year compared to USD 8.6 million (USD0.41 per share) in 2001; the 2001 figure on a pro-forma basis reflecting the adoption of financial accounting standard FAS 142 USD 10.6 million (USD0.51 per share). In percentage terms profit grew 62.9% on a historical basis and 31.9% when adjusted for the implementation of FAS142.
For the final quarter of 2002, reported profit was up 66.4% to USD 4.1 million.
Within the figures, radio revenues for the year were up 10% as reported to USD 102.4 million (on a pro-forma basis they were up 6.9% to USD 106.3 million; operating radio profit for the year was up 22.5% to USD 33.4 million as reported and up 8% on a pro-forma basis to USD 34.2 million.
Reported same station revenues for the year were up 4.3% to USD 93 million and same station profit was up 17.7% to USD 32.9 million.
For the final quarter, reported radio revenues were up 16.9% to USD 27.8 million with operating profits up 31.7% to USD 8.95 million; same station figures were an increase of 9.6% to USD 26.1 million for revenues and of 15.1% to USD 9.1 million for operating profits.
Looking ahead Saga says it expects net revenue and broadcast cash flow for the current quarter of approximately USD 26.0 - USD27.0 million and USD7.5 - USD8.0 million, respectively and for the year it predicts a 3% to 5% increase in net revenue and a 4% to 6% increase in broadcast cash flow.
In other radio business, XM Satellite Radio is to ask stockholders at its special meeting on March 27 to approve a proposal to increase its stock from 240 million to 615 million as part of its re-financing deal under which it needs extra shares to issue in return for financing from General Motors and other investors.
XM's regular annual meeting will be held on May 22 with the statement relating to this to be sent to investors in April. It now has more than 360,000 subscribers and says it is on track to exceed one million by the end of this year.
On the deals front, Regent Communications has announced the completion of its previously announced USD62 million cash purchase of 12 stations from the bankrupt Brill Media Company (See RNW Aug 24, 2002).
Chairman and CEO Terry Jacobs said the transaction would "enhance our long-term future growth and was done on attractive financial terms."
Previous Alarcón:
Previous Jacobs:
Previous Regent:
Previous Saga Communications:
Previous SBS:
Previous XM:
2003-02-27: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) public meeting on media regulation takes place today in Richmond, Virginia against a background of last-minute representations by various groups.
Amongst them is the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), which has appealed to the FCC to postpone issuing new broadcast ownership regulations "until the commission has held a series of public hearings nationwide that allow for the maximum possible public input into its deliberations."
NAHJ President Juan Gonzalez commented, "The American people have not been adequately informed about the profound changes that are about to occur. [FCC] Chairman Powell should seek the widest possible public debate before promulgating rules that will fundamentally alter the media landscape in our nation."
The NAHJ also noted that a recent action alert, by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), showed that revealed that since the FCC announced the review of the nation's broadcast ownership rules the major US TV networks had almost completely failed to cover the story with only one item being aired, a short summary on ABC's World News This Morning that aired at 4:30 a.m.
On the other side of the fence, the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) says its president and CEO John F. Sturm, who is to appear on the meeting's "localism" panels, will argue that newspaper-broadcast partnerships can aid local news quality.
The NAA says the success of the more than 40 newspaper-broadcast combinations in the US "shows beyond any question that repealing the long-outdated cross-ownership ban will greatly serve the FCC's localism and diversity goals."
Sturm will testify that with the ability to draw on their locally oriented heritage and journalistic expertise, co-owned broadcast stations are able to provide more in-depth coverage of local news and public affairs than other media outlets in their communities."
Speaking to the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on Wednesday, FCC chairman Michael Powell said there were no "hard and fast" rules as to the outcome of the rules but they had to correct current regulations since the DC Circuit Court had ruled against the Commission on every ownership rule so far.
He dismissed the idea of holding a number of public meetings again saying that although such hearings did have value "at some point it's time to be a commission and act."
RNW comment: As seems almost always the case, arguments at the hearing look likely to be made almost entirely from a perspective of sectional self-interests with very little dispassionate searching for truth.
Bearing in mind, however, the importance of this issue to a functioning democracy, it does seem to us that major US conglomerates have a very poor record in this case of coverage of the issue with limited cover in newspapers and almost none by broadcasters; that along, it could be argued, makes them not really fit to hold their current licences, never mind be allowed more.
Equally the NAA argument as presented seems to us one that could be argued by any near monopoly such as a Microsoft argument for the overall benefits of the dominance of its computer software; it would also apply to a cartel.
So far we have not seen clinching evidence from either side, although we do recognise that radio now has to compete with a wider range of technologies than in the past, with particular implications for smaller owners in smaller marketplaces.
But since any consolidation is likely to be a one-way street, that fact would favour caution; the caution would be somewhat assuaged if changes were made subject to continuing reviews at suitable interviews with any finding that the consolidation was against the public interest leading to automatic divestment orders.
Since the big conglomerates would then want to tie such orders up with appeals, we rather feel at this stage that the longer-term public interest lies in continued regulatory limits
If limits are to be removed, we feel that, at the very least, conditions should be laid down before allowing consolidation (maybe in areas such as reviews of meeting defined public interest goals such as local news cover--whoops, we forgot that doesn't matter in the US unlike most of the world -- or any increase in advertising charges in an area over and above the general inflation by a certain amount)whose breach would lead to automatic divestment order.
In such a case, orders could come with reasonable deadline set in advance beyond which any offer, however low had to be accepted.
It would also be reasonable to allow no appeal once the facts were established on the basis that the consoldiation had only been allowed under conditions that had been breached.
Previous FCC:
Previous Powell:
2003-02-27: The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) prompted by the development of major residential projects in close proximity to the AM transmission towers at Homebush Bay as a part of the Sydney Olympic Park master plan (See RNW Feb 18) has issued a call to State planning agencies to be sensitive to the risks of allowing urban encroachment onto the remaining metropolitan AM radio transmission sites across Australia.
"Suitable AM radio sites in and around major cities are few in number and extremely difficult to replace without affecting the coverage area of what the listening public regards as essential services," said ABA Chairman Professor David Flint .
Although broadcasters negotiate about sites directly with local planning authorities, the ABA is responsible for coordinating radio signals to minimise their interference, and Flint continued, "Our engineers have planned carefully and signals are tightly packed, especially around cities. Moving a transmitter changes the area its signal covers. This often leads to new interference with other broadcasts."
"Because of the way they travel, AM signals sometimes even need international coordination," he said, noting that ground conductivity has a major impact on how well AM radio waves are launched and salt water is considered to provide the best conductivity.
"AM radio transmitters are therefore often built in swampy areas, that have not historically been desirable for residential use," added Prof Flint. "Our cities have grown, but if housing developments crowd out the sites we use for broadcasting, it will be difficult to find alternatives. There are many pressures on city planners, but broadcasting services are an important part of most people's lives. The ABA is concerned that state and local governments may not appreciate the scarcity and value of the existing sites."
Concerning the Homebush Bay transmitters, where a recent survey of radiation to the Waterside apartments, which are due to be occupied in the Autumn of this year, recommended the re-siting of the transmitters, the ABA says it could be extremely difficult to find a suitable alternative site and technical specifications.
The Homebush Bay transmitters have been used for many years by Sydney AM broadcasters 2UE, 2SM, 2GB, 2KY, 2EA and 2CH and there have been no changes to the transmission characteristics of the services since 1985.
The broadcasters and regulators raised the issue of radiation with New South Wales planning authorities when they found out about the planned development and in 2001 the broadcasters objected to the Sydney Olympic Park post-Olympic master plan.
There is particular concern about the towers used by 2UE and 2SM since the apartments are within their "drop zone".
The matter is also affecting requests by 2CH and 2GB for daytime power increases; these have been put on hold until the issue is resolved
Previous ABA:
Previous Flint:
ABA web site
2003-02-27: Infinity has fired two Chicago veterans as part of its reorganization of its operations in the city that was forecast to include the axing of a number of general manager posts (See RNW Feb 12 ).
The general managers who are out are Don Marion, vice president and general manager of contemporary-hit WBBM-FM and Mike Fowler, vice president and general manager of oldies WJMK-FM; they will be replaced by Dave Robbins, president and general manager of Infinity's Columbus, Ohio, stations WLVQ-FM, WAZU-FM and WHOK-FM.
In addition, Harvey Wells, vice president and general manager of adult rocker WXRT-FM and comedy/talk WCKG-FM is also to be general manager of country WUSN-FM; he takes over the WUSN duties from Steve Ennen who was moved to Infinity's Spark Network Services unit as its president (Also RNW Feb 12)
At the top of the ranks, Rod Zimmerman, senior vice president and market manager for the Infinity Chicago radio group, remains at the head of all-news WBBM-AM and sports-talk WSCR-AM.
Lower down, Drew Hayes, operations director for WBBM and WSCR also takes on the role of WSCR station manager, Michael Damsky, general sales manager of WXRT, becomes its station manager and Terry Hardin, general sales manager of WCKG, adds the job of general sales manager of WJMK, replacing Todd Wegner, who was forced out.
Previous Viacom-CBS-Infinity:
Previous Zimmerman:
2003-02-26: US radio giant Clear Channel has turned a fourth quarter loss in 2001 of USD366 million (USD 0.61 a share) into a profit in the final quarter of 2002 of USD 184 million (USD 0.30 per share), although it has warned that the outlook for the current quarter is weaker than expected because of the likelihood of a war in Iraq.
Clear Channel revenues for the quarter were up 19% to USD 2.21 billion and for the full year were up 6% at USD8.42 billion; for the full year profits, before taking into account the effects of accounting standard changes, were USD725 million (USD1.18 per diluted share) compared to a net loss of USD 1.14 billion (USD 1.93 per diluted share) in 2001. Had accounting standard SFAS been adopted at the start of 2001, Clear Channel would have reported a profit of USD249 million (USD 0.41 per share) for the year.
Within the group, radio was the weakest link: its revenues were up 10% USD 979 million (9% on a pro forma basis) in the final quarter; radio EBITDA was up 43% to USD428 million for the quarter, up42% on a pro-forma basis. By comparison outdoor revenues for the quarter were up 17 %and outdoor EBITDA increased 44 % whilst entertainment revenues were up 28% and entertainment EBITDA was up from a negative USD18 million in 2001 to a positive USD12 million in 2002.
For the full year, radio revenues were up 8 percent to USD3.72 billion and EBITDA was up 18 percent to USD1.59 billion (pro forma up 6% and 17%) whilst outdoor revenues were up 6% and outdoor EBITDA was down 4% and entertainment revenues were down 1% and entertainment EBITDA was up 5%.
Chairman and CEO Lowry Mays commented, "I am very proud of the financial results that we delivered to our shareholders this year, despite a challenging industry and economic environment. We are also proud of the value we have created not just for our investors but for our listeners and advertisers/customers over the past thirty years."
"We could not have achieved that success, and created that value, if we were not acutely sensitive to the needs of the listeners and communities we serve, and if we did not do a quality job of meeting those needs year in and year out."
Looking ahead Clear Channel forecast first-quarter EBITDA of between $370 million and $390 million, compared with $370 million a year earlier; it also said that there was a slowdown linked to concern about a war with Iraq.
In Canada, Nova Scotia-based Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited, which operates 42 radio stations across Canada, has announced revenues in the final quarter of 2002 up 41% to CAD 16.43 million (USD 10.6 million); full year revenues were up 25.5% to CAD 51.83 million (USD 33.3 million).
Profits were up 108% to CAD 2.2 million (USD 1.4 million) for the quarter (from CAD 0.09 to CAD 0.19 per share) and for the full year were CAD 8.87 million (USD5.7 million and CAD 0.75 per share) compared to a loss of CAD 3.78 million (USD 2.4 million or CAD 0.32 per share) in 2001.
The year's results benefited from a CAD 3.3 million (USD 2.1 million) gain on sale of the company's publishing and printing division and excluding this and 2001 restructuring charges, profit from continuing operations would be CAD 5 million (USD 3.2 million) in 2002 compared to CAD 800,000 (USD 514,000) in 2001.
Radio operating cash flow was up 69% to CAD 5.9 million (USD 3.8 million), around a fifth of the increase coming from acquisitions and more than half from improvements in existing operations, with the largest gains in Labrador and Newfoundland.
In other US radio business, syndicator Westwood One has announced the launch at the end of March of NBC News Radio featuring content, programming and leading journalists from the top rated television news network; this follows an announcement earlier this month of the launch of CNBC Radio Business Reports (See RNW Feb 12).
It is also to launch in April in conjunction with Gaylord Entertainment Company's Grand Ole Opry a two-hour weekly syndicated radio programme America's Grand Ole Opry Weekend that will feature performances from today's biggest Country Music stars recorded live from the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville, Tennessee.
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Gaylord:
Previous Lowry Mays:
Previous NewCap:
Previous Westwood One:
2003-02-26: Ned Sherrin, host of the BBC Radio 4 satirical show "Loose Ends" has indirectly accused the BBC of political censorship in a letter to the London Times.
Sherrin's letter is phrased in the form of an apology for apparent endorsement of a French anti-British joke: "What do you call a pretty girl in London?" "A tourist."
In his letter he apologises for what he terms an "unmeant, unpatriotic insult to so many lovely, young British women", saying that the joke was used only to set up ripostes written for him such as the anti-French joke, "What do you call a Frenchman advancing on Baghdad?" "A salesman."
"For some extraordinary, dumb reason the balancing jokes were censored in Portland Place," writes Sherrin.
Other jokes that were cut included two that at one time were more likely to be found in a different form in anti-lawyer jokes in America: "What is the difference between a road accident involving a hedgehog and a Frenchman?" "There are skid marks before the hedgehog" (read "skunk" and "lawyer"); and "What do you call 20 French politicians face down in the English Channel?" "A start." (Read "lawyers" and "The Hudson" or any suitable stretch of water in the US).
Previous BBC:
UK Times - Sherrin letter:
2003-02-26: Macquarie Radio Network's flagship station 2GB, Sydney, has increased even further its lead over rival talk station, Southern Cross Broadcasting's 2UE, in the latest Australian ratings from the AC Nielsen McNair survey; 2GB took its share up to 11.7% and went into the number one slot from second in the rankings whilst 2UE slid from sixth to 9th with its share down to 6.3%
Macquarie 's second station 2CH also did well, increasing its share from 5.2% to 7.1% and moving up to eighth from ninth rank.
In the Sydney breakfast slot Alan Jones took his share up even further - to 17.6% from 15% - whilst his 2UE rival Steve Price lost share and rank - down from 8.5% and fourth to 6.9% and fifth; ABC 702 was up to second rank from this with its share up from 10.1% to 11.6% and Austereo 2DAY lost breakfast share and rank, falling from second spot with a 12.2% share to third with 9.9%.
There was no consolation for 2UE in the morning slot this time: John Laws who was second in the previous ratings with an 11% share dropped share to 8.5% and rank to third behind top ranked 2-DAY with 12.1% and second-ranked 2GB's Ray Hadley with 11%, up from 9.8%.
Austereo fared badly in Sydney with 2-DAY losing its top rank to 2GB and Triple-M dropping from third to fifth; Triple-M also lost share amongst the 18-24 demographic, down from 201% to 15% and belying the optimism of Austereo's managing director Brad March at the time of the last survey results. DMG's Nova lost share slightly.
City by city, the top three were (previous % share in brackets):
*Adelaide: SAFM -same rank with 22,9 (23.1); 5MMM 13.9 (12.8) Up from fourth; 5AA with 13.6 (17) - down from second; *MIX with 11.3(14.4) fell from third to fourth rank.
*Brisbane - B105FM with16.2 (18.2); Triple M 14.0(12.5) up from third; NEW97.3 FM 12.4 (12.9) down from second:
*Melbourne -3AW 13.7 (11.6) - up from third; ABC774 13.1(12.1)- increasing share but remaining in second spot; Fox FM 11.5(12.1) down from top rank to third: * Nova dropped from fourth to fourth equal with Gold and its share down from 10.5 from 9.7
*Perth - MIX 94.5FM with 24.3 (23.3); All New 92.9 with 10.9 (15.2); 96FM 10.9 (11.9) -- no change in rankings:
*Sydney, 2GB 11.7 (10.2) - up from second; 2-Day with 11.5 (12.0)- down from first; ABC 702 9.0 (8.7) up from fifth; Triple M with 7.6 (9.1) fell from third to fifth; Nova remained fourth with share down from 8.8 to 8.6 and 2UE fell from sixth to ninth with share down from 8.4 to 6.3.
Previous Austereo:
Previous Australian ratings:
Previous DMG:
Previous Hadley:
Previous Jones:
Previous Laws:
Previous Macquarie:
Previous Southern Cross:
2003-02-26: A group of British artists led by DJ Paul Oakenfield has called on the British Government to ensure that its communications bill included measures to take action to aid diversity of music on British radio, particularly from the BBC.
In a letter to the UK Guardian they write, "We are concerned about the potential effects of the communications bill, which returns to the Commons today, on music choice on the radio (BBC London recently slashed five of its specialist music programmes)."
"The government's proposed changes to the radio sector make it all the more crucial that the BBC deliver on its local and regional remit to support the arts."
"The current bill offers a great opportunity for the government to do something. Yet it seems deaf so far to our pleas."
The letter goes on to say that an opinion poll last month found that more than two-thirds of 15-24 year olds wanted a wider variety of music played on general radio stations and that around 72% would support "measures to encourage local radio stations to cover local music."
The BBC told the paper that its local stations, including BBC Radio London, played a wide range of music and were fully committed to regional arts.
In the case of BBC London, specifically attacked by the group that has accused it of "dumbing down" in its change of format (See RNW Nov 19, 2002) its managing editor David Robey said audience figures showing a rise in reach and listening share had vindicated its decision.
RNW comment: Bearing in mind the skewing of commercial radio stations' output to a younger demographic and the commercial self-interest of those involved in this particular campaign, we are somewhat sceptical about this particular campaign. If anything, the underserved population in the UK is the older demographic and reasonable business judgements are likely to ensure that this continues to be the case in the commercial sector.
Ally with this the potential for such artists to offer their output free of copyright on Internet stations should they really be concerned about the availability of the music (tie-ins with CD sales boosted by the lower-quality sampling available on streaming audio would produce some returns for the artists) and we become even more sceptical about their case.
Although we would welcome a combined initiative from local stations and artists to increase broadcast of the work of local musicians (and also poets, readings of authors and so on), we cannot see that any case has been properly made for this particular area of output to be given priotity by BBC local stations over such other programming as that for for children and of local ocmmunity issues.
Previous BBC:
UK Guardian report:
2003-02-26: Washington DC law firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLP has announced that it has filed an amicus brief in support of the University of Michigan's affirmative action policies on behalf of 18 US media companies including Emmis Communications Corp., Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., Radio One, Inc., and Susquehanna Radio Corp.
An attorney for the company Taylor said the filing argues that diversity in higher education is a compelling governmental interest and that the University's policies, currently the subject of two cases due to go before the US Supreme Court, are narrowly tailored to serve that interest.
She said among the reasons such diversity was "essential to the success of the media industry and to the public interest" included giving the companies to ability to hire "talented college graduates from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds", the addition brought to public debate by the different perspectives thus brought to bear on public issues and the fact that "Diversity in higher education also inspires America's future workforce to value and respect racial and ethnic differences present in our communities, values that are key to media's communications mission."
RNW comment: In this case we wish good luck to all the companies involved - and note the absence of the giants of US media from the list. The arguments have already divided the Bush administration with Secretary of State Colin Powell yet again the one out on a limb in opposition to White House support for the case against the University; irrespective of views on the balance of the argument - and as usual we find the President on the side of the privileged - it has to be to the credit of those involved that they see the issue as important enough to openly put some funding back up their views.
Zuckerman Spaeder web site:
2003-02-26: Irish state broadcaster RTÉ has announced that Séamus Crimmins, the founding head of its classical music Lyric FM channel, is to be seconded to the Irish Arts Council as its Arts Policy Director or 15 months from April.
Crimmins joined RTÉ in 1981 and has headed Lyric FM from its establishment in May 1999.
The managing director of RTÉ Radio, Adrian Moynes commented that he welcomed "welcome the initiative whereby Séamus is able to retain a key role with RTÉ Radio while joining the Arts Council in a new senior management position; I believe both organisations will benefit."
Previous RTÉ
2003-02-25: Beasley Broadcast Group has turned round fourth quarter losses of USD 3.5 million (USD 0.15 per diluted share) in 2001 into a profit of USD 3.2 million (USD 0.13 per diluted share) in the final quarter of last year; the quarter saw revenues up 7.5% to USD 32.7 million broadcast cash flow (BCF) up 7.6% to USD10.6 million and after-tax cash flow (ATCF) up 27.2% to USD5.4 million (USD 0.22 per diluted share).
The results included the effects of adoption of accounting standards SFAS 142, which had they been in effect in the fourth quarter of 2001 would have trimmed the loss to USD0.1 million (USD 0.01 per share).
Same station results for the quarter were up 9.7% to USD 32.7 million and same station BCF was up 8.3% to USD10.6 million.
For the full year, net revenue was down 0.4% to USD114.7 million but BCF was up 12.4% to USD 36.8 million and ATCF was up 34.1 % to USD 18.5 million (USD 0.76 per diluted share). Beasley's full year loss was trimmed to USD3.7 million (USD 0.15 per diluted share) compared to a net loss of USD22.1 million (USD 0.91 per diluted share); the loss reflects the adoption of SFAS 142 and included a charge of USD 12.1 million in the first quarter.
Same station revenues for the year were up 2.3% at USD114.6 million and same station BCF was up 14.9% to USD36.7 million.
Commenting on the results, Chairman and CEO George Beasley said that in the fourth quarter, "Beasley delivered its largest quarterly same-station revenue gain since 2000 with the help of double-digit revenue increases at our Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Augusta clusters."
"Steadily improving revenues throughout the year, " he added, "combined with a 5.5% reduction in station operating expense, helped us achieve our goals of growing cash flow, expanding our BCF margin, paying down debt and reducing interest expense in 2002."
"As with other advertisers and broadcasters, we are watching world events very closely as 2003 unfolds, and we will continue our efforts to competitively position our company for any economic and advertising climate that prevails."
For the first quarter of this year, Beasley is expecting revenues of around USD 24 million and BCF of around USD6.5 million; it says same station revenues will be down around 3% and same station BCF will be down around 5%.
Previous George Beasley:
Previous Beasley Broadcasting:
2003-02-25: A clampdown on pirate stations by the UK Radiocommunications Agency led to prosecutions increasing by 145% in 2002 compared to a year earlier, with convictions more than doubling to 49, up from 20 a year earlier.
The Agency carried out 1042 raids in the year against 209 pirate radio broadcasters and inspectors are currently raiding around three stations a day, with at least three successful prosecutions this month.
They involved a London and an Essex man who were each given 100 hours community service for offences in connection with the operation of South Essex pirate Klash FM, and a Dartmouth man who used ships' radio and was conditionally discharged for 12 months and ordered to pay £200 costs after pleading guilty to unlicensed possession and broadcasting.
The former two, who were also ordered to pay costs, pleaded not guilty and are appealing against their conviction.
The British government is proposing to strengthen the powers of the agency, already strong with penalties up to 2 years imprisonment and unlimited fines not only for the pirates but also for anyone providing premises or supporting them with advertising. Nightclubs that promote them can be closed (See RNW Dec 20 2002).
The clampdown has been defended by telecommunications minister Stephen Timms, who said that the tough approach was paying off.
"Pirate stations can put lives at risk by interfering with safety-of-life services such as air traffic control or emergency services. They also cause interference to legal broadcasters, damage property and annoy local residents," he said.
On the other side of the coin, music industry figures say the clampdown could have a chilling affect on British music; they point to the number of household names, both artists and DJs, whose success was in part due to the pirate stations.
They include veterans like DJ Tony Blackburn, who made his name on Radio Caroline before joining the BBC, and newcomers like Ms Dynamite, who won two Brit awards last week.
She began her career on London pirate stations and her first hit, "Booo!", was successful mainly because of plays by the pirates. Others who made their start via the pirates include two veteran Kiss FM DJs from its days as a London pirate station before becoming legal; Norman Jay, now a BBC DJ, and Jazzie B, who masterminded Soul II Soul's rise to the top of the British charts.
Jazzie B commented that the pirates were shop windows for British talent adding that without them there was nowhere for newcomers to show off their work.
Previous UK Radiocommunications Agency:
2003-02-25: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a number of appointments in its Enforcement Bureau: Heading the list is the new Chief of the FCC Enforcement Bureau's Investigations and Hearings Division, Maureen F. Del Duca; she was previously deputy chief in the division.
In addition, William D. Freedman has been named Deputy Chief of the division; a former broadcaster and partner at Morrison & Foerster, LLP, whom he left to take up the post, Freedman had formerly served at the FCC as an attorney with the Broadcast Bureau's Facilities Division and Hearing Division.
Other appointments made were of Rebecca L. Dorch as Regional Director of the FCC Enforcement Bureau, Western Region where she was Deputy Regional Director and of Mark Stone as Enforcement Bureau Legal Advisor On Common Carrier Issues
Previous FCC:
2003-02-25: A study commissioned by a packaging company that is investigating a new plant on the former Liverpool showground site 400 metres away from Australian Broadcasting Corporation's transmission tower in Liverpool, Sydney, has shown radiation levels above the Australian safe limit at five metres (16 feet) above the ground according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
It says the study, whose findings are disputed by the ABC, which says its tests showed radiation levels were well below those permitted under Australian standards, found levels to be safe at ground level but advised the company it would need to shield equipment in the factory to avoid malfunctions.
The tower is also near a new housing estate whose residents have complained repeatedly of interference from the transmitter affecting electronic equipment; the tower has been at its current location for 67 years.
Earlier this month the Herald reported on problems at the Homebush transmitter site in Sydney (See RNW Feb 18).
Previous ABC, Australia:
Sydney Morning Herald report:
2003-02-25: A California Highway Patrol study has put use of cell phones while driving as the leading cause of accidents that happen because a driver is distracted - with radio, tape or CD players just behind.
Such "distraction" accidents were way behind leading causes, speeding or driving under the influence of alcohol, and accounted for only one percent of all accidents.
Of the distraction accidents, cell phone use accounted for 11%, with radio, tape or CD equipment just behind at 10% followed by distracting children at 4 percent.
California reporting is limited on police forms to "one inattentive action per collision" thus not allowing for reporting of inattention caused through juggling a number of activities and it may also be inaccurate because drivers under-report causes such as cell phone use.
The survey may also under report the contribution of inattention to accidents whose main cause is other reasons such as speed, or being too close to another vehicle.
2003-02-24: Various ethical issues relating to radio form the backdrop to our look at radio through the eyes of various print reporters and columnists this week but first a take with a difference on the US media regulation issue.
It came in an article in the New York Times by Brent Staples, headed, "The Trouble With Corporate Radio: The Day the Protest Music Died."
After running through a little of the history of deregulation and the voice tracking techniques used to give a show local flavour when it's nothing of the kind, Staples, who later reverts to his comments about the deleterious effect of consolidation on the range of music played in the US, details some of the problems that he sees as having arisen from consolidation.
Some are political - as when Florida Republican Rep Mark Foley found it much more difficult to get on air after the number of local stations in his area had been reduced from five to one.
Others are much more worrying in their potential if the report is true since it could have lead to many deaths through inadequate staffing at a station: Staples reports that when a freight train carrying ammonia derailed, releasing a cloud over the city of Minot, North Dakota, the police tried to phone the town radio stations, six owned by Clear Channel, because the emergency alert system failed. According to news reports, he says, no one answered the phone at the stations for more than an hour and a half; three hundred people were hospitalized and pets and livestock killed.
(RNW comment: If that is so,and there are no extenuating circumstances,in our view Clear Channel should have lost all its licences in the city automatically as not being fit to hold them.
It should also have had to show cause why every single licence it holds nationally should not have been revoked. If it isn't so, then we should expect to see a correction in the Times soon).
Staples also mentions the virtual absence of "liberal" talk show hosts on US radio, something that we reported last week may be addressed by the formation of a new talk network (See RNW Feb 18).
During the week we noted a response to the New York Times report that we cited on the matter, from former Texas agriculture commissioner Jim Hightower, whose show was said to have been a "failure."
Hightower responded by writing to the Times to say, "This is the second time in recent weeks that you have referred to the "failure" of my radio career, which is now into its 11th year and going strong."
"In fact, I'm still very much alive on the radio."
"My daily commentaries are broadcast on more than 100 stations across the country and abroad."
Still on US politics, an item in a Robert Feder in the Chicago Sun-Times concerning the ethics or the reporting of politicians' activities by those who owe them a debt caught our eye.
It related to a public excoriation of Infinity's WBBM-AM morning news anchor Felicia Middlebrooks by rival morning host, Don Wade of WLS-AM, the ABC-owned talk station.
Wade termed Middlebrooks, who was helped to secure a new contract with the station by the Rev. Jesse Jackson after she had overplayed her hand and was off air (See RNW Mar 18, 2002), "Jesse Jackson's million-dollar mouthpiece."
He then called for WBBM to take Middlebrooks off-air "whenever a Jesse Jackson controversy erupts."
The controversy in this case related to the Chicago night-club E2 tragedy and news stories questioning Jackson's relationship with one of the owners of the nightclub and his criticism of the city's safety enforcement.
Feder notes that since Jackson's role in her contract renewal became public, Middlebrooks has been under orders not to read any stories that involve him but adds that from time to time, she still does.
Middlebrooks did not comment and WBBM Operations Director Drew Hayes reacted not by taking up the point but by going into attack mode: "I would expect a competitor who has half the audience of 'Newsradio 780' to behave like that," he said.
The other ethical issue that has been getting considerable cover over the past few months is the question of how stations should react when a star is accused of criminal behaviour, in this case relating to airplay of songs by r'n'b superstar R. Kelly, who was indicted on 21 child pornography charges in June last year.
Although it has been getting over in the US, a Toronto Star article by Ashante Infantry and a number of responses is the best debate we've picked up on the issue.
In the report, Infantry notes that KISS-FM in Toronto dropped Kelly from its playlist in June, calling it, "…an easy decision - the singer/songwriter didn't have any current hits."
Things changed last month when the "Ignition-Remix" track from Kelly's new album took off; the station opted to play the record despite the objections of morning show DJs Mad-Dog and Billie.
"I think it's a great song, but it creeps me out because a lot of it's euphemisms for sexual intercourse," said Mad-Dog.
Kiss program director Julie Adam commented, "It's a really uncomfortable situation, but it's my job as program director to play songs that are popular and to make sure that the content on the radio station is appropriate and that we follow regulations and rules," said Adam.
"And the song itself is perfectly fine. Where the argument to stop playing him fell down was a) he is charged and not convicted, and b) if we're going to pull the artist off the air because of something he's done in his personal life, are we going to hold that true to every artist? We have many convicted and charged artists on the air."
Adam went part of the way to meeting the DJs objections, deciding that staff who were uncomfortable playing the track did not need to talk about the artist or even introduce the track; they could just play it
Other stations gave a similar rationale for playing the track, although there were suggestions of reconsideration should Kelly, who is pleading not guilty, be convicted. Kelly denies that he is the man on a videotape that purports to show him having sex with a minor.
Chicago Sun-Times pop-music critic Jim DeRogatis, who was sent the tape anonymously and forwarded it to police, commented on the character of Kelly and his music, "Here is this freakish guy who is accused of a horrible crime and we're getting off on listening to him sing `Stick your key in my ignition, baby' and `I want to wax you like I wax my car.'"
"You have to wonder above and beyond the industry continuing to push this guy, just how much are listeners thinking about what really went on here? Of course they haven't seen the videotape. This is not Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee (the celebrity couple whose private sex tape was released on the Internet). (The girl) has the disembodied look of a rape victim. She is not enjoying this. Certainly she is not asking to be urinated on at 14 years old. It's a really sad and disturbing piece of film."
Readers reaction as published was clearly in favour of the track continuing to get play with a number of comments separating the acts of the musician and the music itself and asking about the wider implications of any ban although some respondents disagreed and took the view that playing the music supported the musician as well as the music.
RNW comment: Whilst Kelly is only charged, although it seems to us that in this as any case the more justice is delayed, the more it is thwarted, we can but take the view that the principle innocent until proven guilty should apply to Kelly and to any other individual.
Should he be found guilty, we would still tend to the view, although no fans of Kelly in this case, that art should not be condemned because of the behaviour of the artist - an exclusion that clearly would not apply were the art itself to have involved illegal acts.
We would, however, feel it inappropriate at this stage for a station to force a DJ or host who felt strongly otherwise to promote such an artist. Any comments, e-mail us!
Previous Columnists:
Previous Feder:
Chicago Sun-Times - Feder:
New York Times - Hightower letter:
New York Times - Staples:
Toronto Star - Infantry:
Toronto Star - Readers' responses:
2003-02-24: US bird lovers are taking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to court over what they term "unreasonably delayed" action in complying with mandatory duties imposed by various statutes concerning the impact of transmission towers on migratory birds.
They say the Commission has repeatedly flouted a number of environmental laws and refused to do anything about it when approached.
The lawsuit was filed by the Forest Conservation Council, Inc., Friends of the Earth, Inc., and the American Bird Conservancy, Inc. saying that "during nocturnal migrations in fog and mist, flocks of migratory birds are attracted to these towers and collide with them and their guy wires, sometimes killing thousands of birds on a single night."
"The cumulative impact of tens of thousands of planned and existing towers may kill as many as four to five million birds every year," it continues.
The Towerkill organisation says that an absence of proper studies means no accurate figures can be given; its estimates are based on projections from figures for towers that have been studied.
It adds that the higher the tower, the worse the risk for birds, although it notes that a relatively short tower constructed on a hilltop may have the same impact as higher towers on flat ground.
The petitioners want the Federal Communications Commission to review the risks to birds before towers are constructed; they also want existing towers to be fitted with devices that would keep birds away such as coloured lights and infra-sound devices.
They say the National Environmental Policy Act requires the FCC to issue a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) concerning the impact on migratory birds of communication towers it has registered; current FCC guidelines require tower builders to estimate the risks to endangered species, but not migratory birds in general or particular.
The petitioners say the FCC is failing to comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act which requires it to take action to minimize avian mortality caused by registered communication towers.
They also say they have made strenuous efforts at the administrative level to compel the FCC to comply with its statutory but the agency has simply ignored the Petitioners' grievances and it is clear that further efforts to obtain remedies from the FCC would be an exercise in futility.
A further allegation is that the FCC has unlawfully excluded at 5,828 Gulf Coast communication towers from any environmental review.
Previous FCC:
Towerkill web site:
Lawsuit details (184 kb PDF):
2003-02-24: Radio Haiti Inter, which includes political commentary and investigative reporting in its output and is one of the island's most popular stations, has gone off the air because of threats against its staff.
Station owner Michèle Montas, widow of Haitian journalist Jean Dominique who was shot in April 2000 along with the station's caretaker, said in a statement read on air that the station would shut "because we have been subject to constant threats."
She said they had lost three lives - her husband, the caretaker who was killed on the same occasion as her husband,, and her bodyguard, who was killed on another later occasion when armed men attacked her home- and refused to "lose another one."
Montas said she did not know when they would be back on air but she would not choose exile a third time; she and her husband fled Haiti twice during the dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier following attacks on Radio Haiti Inter.
2003-02-23: Last week was yet another where the main story, even though it did not move very much, was the US debate over media regulation; elsewhere things were fairly quiet although Canada had a steady flow of radio-related activity.
In Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) was involved only in community licence decisions.
In New South Wales, it has opted not to allocate a community broadcasting licence in Cootamundra for now but instead to encourage the sole applicant, Cootamundra Workskills Incorporated, to apply for the frequency to operate a temporary service; the ABA is to review the matter in a year's time.
In Tasmania, it has extended the deadline by which community radio service 7HFC Hobart has to change frequency until the end of this year.
In Canada, radio actions by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) included:
Alberta:
Renewal of the licence for Peace River Broadcasting Corporation's CKYL-AM, Peace River, including an amendment to delete authority for transmitters CJRA-FM Rainbow Lake and CKLA-FM La Crete and a related renewal of the licence of Peace River's licence for CKHL-FM High Level and the addition FM transmitters at La Crete and Rainbow Lake to rebroadcast its signal.
British Columbia:
* Approval of applications by Burns Lake & District Rebroadcasting Society to operate an 82 watts transmitter in Ootsa Lake (Tatalrose) to distribute the signal of CJFW-FM Terrace and also to operate a 110 watts transmitter in Burns Lake to distribute the signal of CHFI-FM Toronto.
*Approval of an application by Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc. (AVR) to operate a 10,000 watts AM transmitter in Abbotsford Broadcasting will distribute the programming of the Vancouver Aboriginal-language radio station. The frequency was previously licensed to Rogers Radio (British Columbia) Ltd. (Rogers Radio) to operate CFSR-AM Abbotsford and the Commission notes that when it approved CFSR's conversion to FM Rogers agreed to make its transmitting facilities available for use by another party without charge for a period of seven years.
Ontario:
*Approval of a change of ownership of Bea-Ver Communications Inc., licensee of CFCO-AM, CKSY-FM and CKUE-FM Chatham, through a redistribution of shareholdings amongst existing shareholders and their companies.
*Approval of a power increase for CIQB-FM Barrie, from 795 watts to 2,600 watts.
In Ontario, the Commission also decided that it requires additional information from the licensee before making any decision on the renewal of the licence of CKEY-FM Fort Erie and its transmitter CKEY-FM-1 St. Catharines.
Saskatchewan:
Approval of a licence for by Harvard Broadcasting Inc. to operate an English-language radio network originating from CKRM Regina, that will broadcast regional and provincial news and information of interest to the residents of Saskatchewan.
*Approval of an application for a very low-power (of 0.075 watt) English-language FM in North Battleford that broadcast music related to exhibits or special events at the Western Development Museum and internal information pertaining to the museum.
Yukon Territory:
Approval of an application for 5 watts English-language developmental community FM radio station in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory that would broadcast local community programming.
There was nothing from Ireland and in the UK, the only Radio Authority release was its assessment of the award of the Stoke-on-Trent digital multiplex to the sole applicant TWG Emap Digital Ltd (see Licence News Dec 15, 2002).
It noted that the proposed Non-stop pop Smash Hits channel from Emap Performance Ltd. was not to be provided from the start of the service rather than later on and Members also considered that there was some bias towards services targeting younger listeners in the programming line-up; they hoped that the group would be able to recruit services attractive to older age groups when considering programme providers to fill the remaining capacity on the multiplex.
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now arranged details for its public hearing on deregulation in Richmond, Virginia, on February 27.
The morning session will hear statements from all five FCC Commissioners before moving on to a Summary of Broadcast Ownership Rules and Key Issues moderated by Thomas G. Krattenmaker, currently Senior Counsel in the Washington office of the law form Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo PC.
After this the hearing will move on to three panel discussions focusing on the Commission's policy goals of broadcast regulation - diversity, localism, and competition; the public will be allowed to comment during "open microphone" sessions after each panel.
First up will be a panel on Diversity Issues whose participants will include Alfred C. Liggins, Radio One, Inc. president and chief executive and Andrew Jay Schwartzman of the Media Access Project.
The second panel will be on Competition Issues and the third on Localism Issues; this will include Clear Channel President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Mays and Jenny Toomey of the Future of Music Coalition.
A live audiocast of the hearing will be available through the FCC's Web site
Apart from the media regulation issue, the Commission was also involved in dropping one penalty, confirming another and also issuing a red-flag and requirement for a classification change (See RNW Feb 21).
Previous ABA:
Previous CRTC:
Previous FCC:
Previous Licence News:
Previous UK Radio Authority:
ABA web site:
CRTC web site:
FCC web site :
UK Radio Authority web site:
2003-02-23: According to Radio and Records, satellite broadcaster Sirius is to distribute 11 million copies of a strategy "manifesto" that takes a dig at terrestrial radio in the US.
R and R says the 11-page document also has an implicit dig at rival XM with a line, "Lyrics shouldn't fall silent because of a few words from some sponsor" - XM carries commercials on some of its music channels whilst all those of Sirius are commercial free.
On terrestrial radio, Sirius says, "Music shouldn't fade out at state borders; a song shouldn't be repeated over and over until you can't take it anymore; when was the last time someone spun a song just because they believed in its ideas?"
It also hits at the influence sponsors have over radio content: "Corporate sponsors want music that appeals to their demographic. Broadcasting companies want to keep the corporate sponsors happy, and program directors just want to keep their jobs."
"Real music gets fed into this marketing meat grinder, and the next American idol comes out the other side."
Previous Sirius:
Previous XM:
R & R web site:
2003-02-23: The co-hosts of UK local station Plymouth Sound's breakfast show are off-air following an on-air spat that led the station's programme controller Gavin Marshall to cut short their show and take over himself.
According to the UK Times Martin Mills and Vicky Compton refused to make up and were sent home until they do, although they are not formally suspended.
The row, reports the paper, began during a discussion about customer service in clothes shops, with Mills insisting that shops were obliged to give refunds for undamaged items and Compton equally adamant that they were not.
Mills said: "She started throwing rubbish at me, in the way people always do when they can't come up with rational arguments. Then one of our listeners phoned up on Vicky's side and I told her she was a dozy woman, or something along those lines. I didn't mean all women, it just got taken the wrong way."
After this a trading standards officer called in to support Mills and Compton accused her co-host of always having to be right. "There have been a few times that I've come close to leaving the studio, but I've always let it go over my head, she said. "This time I had to get away from him, I really wanted to slam the door, but they're all soundproofed, so they don't slam. I was seriously thinking of leaving altogether."
She said she was determined to return to work on Monday but would not apologise and commented that Mills had been much worse since he gave up smoking.
"I'm quite nervous about going in on Monday, and I hope they don't ask me to apologise, because I don't think I've done anything wrong," she said. "I just don't see why Martin has to be so nasty all the time."
Mills who yelled, "And put the kettle on while you're out there," as Compton left said: "It was a bit unprofessional really. We have very different opinions about everything, and this time it just went a bit too far."
"I suppose I am a bit cocky, and I do think I know it all, but I was only joking. It's just the way my sense of humour comes across."
"I'm sorry I upset Vicky," he added, "but at the end of the day I was actually right. Someone accused me of not liking women - that's rubbish, I love women, I've got five of them: one to do the cooking, one to do the cleaning, one to sleep with . . ."
RNW comment: That last remark either says something about Mills' sense of humour or about a stunt: Next week will presumably tell whether both remain obdurate.
And for those who wish to relate anyuthing to age, Mills is 38, Compton 27.
UK Times report:
2003-02-23: The Santa Barbara Foundation is in the final stages of purchasing KDB-FM, the Santa Barbara classical music station according to the Daily Nexus, newspaper of the University of Southern California (USC) in Santa Barbara.
Early last year, the university launched a campaign to raise USD3.6 million to purchase the station, which had been owned the Pacific Broadcasting Company since 1971 (See RNW Jan 24, 2002); Pacific had been trying to sell the station for several years for financial reasons but the university considered a purchase in 1999 but was unable to raise the funds.
While the university was trying to raise funds with its 2001 appeal, the station was bought from Pacific by a number of Santa Barbara area classical music fans, who intended to sell it to USCB with the intention that its classical format could be preserved: It had been feared that the station would be sold a groupt that would change its format.
Again the university failed to raise the money -- its only raised around USD 320, 000 in a year - and it officially admitted it could not raise the funds in April last year (See RNW April 5, 2002); it subsequently withdrew and released KDB's owners from an agreement to sell to the university, allowing KDB to seek other potential buyers.
The purchase by the Santa Barbara Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1928 to "enrich the lives of the people of Santa Barbara County through philanthropy" has been significantly aided by a donation from local businessman and philanthropist Michael Towbes.
Towbes was also one of the seven shareholders who had purchased the majority interest --around three-quarters of the stock - in KDB in the hope of a university deal. They are giving all or part of their stock holding to the Foundation and Towbes' donation will cover the cost of purchasing the remaining shares.
Chuck Slosser, SBF president, told the Daily Nexus they would not have been able to purchase the station if it was going to drain Foundation resources and they had to be sure the deal would not interfere with its other operations.
He added that KDB would not be able to depend upon SBF funding: "We will own the station as long as it is a viable business and continues to be profitable or at least break even," he said.
KDB is one of only around 30 totally classical music stations left in the US: the Foundation deal has precedents, however, with stations such KING FM in Seattle, Washington being owned by Beethoven, a non-profit corporation - and WCLV FM in Cleveland, Ohio, being owned by the Cleveland Foundation.
Previous KDB:
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KDB web site:
2003-02-22: UK radio has outperformed rivals with a 2.5% increase in advertising income to GBP563 million (USD 890 million) in 2002 according to the UK Radio Advertising Bureau; radio sponsorship and promotions grew much faster, ending up 14.8% higher at GBP 71.3 million (USD 113 million).
In the final quarter of the year commercial radio revenues were up 4.2% on the final quarter of 2001 at GBP147.6 million (USD 233 million) with national advertising revenue up 3.5% and sponsorship and promotions revenue up 9.2% to GBP17.9 million (USD 28.3 million).
The Radio Advertising Bureau says its growth was helped by significant expenditure increases by a number of major companies including Sainsbury's, News International, Telewest, Toyota and Ford.
Sainsbury's more than tripled its 2001 spending on radio of GBP 2.6 million (USD 4.1 million) to GBP 8.6 million (USD 13.6 million) in 2002; BT and News International each spent a similar amount on radio to Sainsbury's. The British government remained the biggest spender, putting nearly GBP 20 million (USD 31.5 million) into radio's coffers.
Michael O'Brien, Director of Marketing Operations at the Radio Advertising Bureau, commented, "Given the continued economic uncertainties, we are very pleased to report 2.5% growth in radio revenues during 2002. With TV revenues expected to be flat during the same period we are confident that commercial radio will yet again have increased its share of total advertising spend."
Radio is also expected to outperform the market as a whole in the long term with the UK Advertising Association predicting radio to be ahead of the advertising marketplace as a whole for the next ten years, helped in part by the growth in digital radio.
Radio has also been doing well in competition for audiences with television. A recent study by the Radio Advertising Bureau found that only radio and new media were growing their share of media attention; it also found that advert avoidance was far lower on radio than for TV and newspapers and that people were listening using an increasing variety of sources including satellite TV, the internet, and mobile phones.
It says 12% of adults listen to the radio via the Internet, 15% via the TV and 2% via a mobile phone but one in three 16-24 year olds said they would listen to the radio via their mobile phone if they could.
Since 1999 total radio listening in the UK is up around 10% with the largest growth in weekday evenings - up 12.4% - although breakfast still attracts the largest audiences. A positive sign for the future was shown by the increase of 15.6% in weekday evening listening among the 15-42 demographic.
Previous UK Radio Advertising Bureau:
2003-02-22: Salem Communications has announced that, following its 2003 block booking renewals, it expects a 5% growth in 2003 same station block booking renewals.
More than 95% of its block programming contracts were renewed and the company says block revenues will amount to around 35% of its total broadcasting revenues in 2003.
Commenting on the renewals, CEO Edward G. Atsinger, III, attributed the success to Salem's combination of a national station platform and focused programming strategy and noted that many of its block programmers had been customers for more than 25 years.
Previous Atsinger:
Previous Salem:
2003-02-22: Following condemnation by BBC World Service journalists of comments made by its deputy general secretary, John Fray, accusing the Corporation of being a "lackey" of the Foreign Office, which funds it (See RNW Feb 21), the UK National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has retracted the accusation.
The NUJ said in a statement, "Although the NUJ stands by its criticism of the dismissals as a gross violation of the BBC's own procedures, and a betrayal of free speech, the NUJ recognises that its statement contained unfortunate implications."
"The NUJ wishes to withdraw the remark that the BBC was laying itself open to accusations that the World Service was acting 'as a lackey of the government', in this matter."
"The union is aware of the level of concern provoked by its original statement and is certain that its members in all parts of the BBC World Service will continue their long tradition of defending the highest broadcasting standards of independence, accuracy and fairness; standards the NUJ has always sought to protect, even in times of war."
The union is still saying the BBC did not stick to its procedures including the right to be represented at a formal disciplinary hearing, with a subsequent right to appeal and says the BBC needs to explain why it failed to follow its own rules.
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2003-02-22: The battle for KWOD-FM, Sacramento, that has been underway since 1996 when Entercom signed a deal to acquire the station from Royce International Broadcasting now seems to be in its final phase.
Entercom filed a transfer with the FCC that was posted a week ago and now hopes to take control some time next month if the transfer is approved.
Previous Entercom:
Previous Entercom-Royce International:
2003-02-22: British DJ John Peel's "Home Truths" on BBC Radio 4 goes out this morning without an interview with a Southampton nude rights campaigner who was barred by the corporation when he refused to cover up whist waiting in BBC Southampton to record the interview.
Steve Gough, who claims he had a human right to go around naked, had cycled some five miles (8km) - in the nude - from his home to the studios and was warming up when he was asked to cover up because he might upset staff on his way through offices to the studio. When he refused, the interview was cancelled.
Previous BBC:
2003-02-22: Maryland's State Finance Committee has voted down by a 6-5 margin a bill that would have forbidden employers in the state from including non-compete clauses in contracts of employment.
The vote means the bill won't make it to consideration by the full legislature but its sponsors are hoping that they can get it passed in future.
2003-02-21: Cox Radio has joined the ranks of companies exceeding expectations in their fourth quarter results; it reported revenues for the quarter up 6.3% to USD 108 million, broadcast cash flow up 19.9% to USD 44.8 million and profits up 26.9% to USD17.3 million, with the per share figure up 21.4% at USD 0.17 per share.
For 2002, Cox revenues were up 6.4% on 2001 at USD 420.6 million, broadcast cash flow was up 11.7% at USD 166 million and profits were up 122% at USD 45.9 million with the per share figure up 119% at USD0.46 per share. In 2001 net income was reduced by USD37.3 million (USD 0.37 per diluted share) through amortization of goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives, net of tax. No amortization of these items is recorded in 2002 pursuant to the adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting, SFAS 142 but net income for 2002 includes a USD13.9 million (USD 0.14 per diluted share) after-tax loss related to the cumulative effect of accounting change as a result of adopting SFAS No. 142.
President and CEO Robert F. Neil said Cox was "pleased to report record revenues, broadcast cash flow and earnings for both the fourth quarter and full-year 2002, reflecting the results of our long-term focus on building strong local brands."
"During the quarter," he added, "we experienced sequential ratings gains in 13 of our 18 markets in the recent Fall ratings book, marked by impressive ratings performances in Atlanta, Miami and Tampa. We are also pleased with the operating leverage that we have been able to demonstrate this year with BCF margins increasing from 37.7% to 39.6%. "
Looking ahead, Cox is forecasting this year first quarter net revenue growth of 6% and broadcast cash flow growth of 6%. It expects to report diluted earnings per share of $0.08 for the first quarter of 2003, $0.01 ahead of 2002 before cumulative effect of accounting change.
Neil said of the prospects, "Given the uncertain economic and geo-political climate, we continue to remain cautious in our outlook. However, we have very strong competitive positions within our markets and a solid foundation of ratings that will fuel our growth in 2003. As always, our focus remains on delivering consistent results to you, our shareholders, and operating our stations with long-term value creation in mind."
He also told investors on the company's conference call that he's seeing advertisers wait longer to book, saying the uncertainties concerning a possible war in Iraq meant that this would probably continue.
In other US radio business, Concord Media is selling WBPM-FM, Kingston, New York, to Cumulus for USD3.5 million; the deal follows agreement earlier this month to sell four stations in Florida - News/Talk WJGR-AM, Sports WZNZ-AM and Gospel WZAZ-AM in Jacksonville plus Christian AC WBGB-FM in Ponte Vedra Beach-to Salem for USD 9.5 million.
In Illinois, Citadel Communications, owned by Forstmann-Little, is paying Livingston County Broadcasters Inc., USD 5.5 million in cash for Country WLDC-FM in Dwight and Oldies WJEZ-FM in Pontiac.
In Utah, Disney-owned ABC Radio is paying Mercury Broadcasting USD 3.7 million in cash for talk KALL-AM, Salt Lake City; it is to use the frequency for its Radio Disney format.
In Arkansas, Archway Broadcasting is paying USD 3.6 million in cash to Malvern Entertainment Corp. for Country KCDI-FM, Bryant.
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Previous Cox:
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