September 2003 Archive
- Front Page
- About this site
- Freelance bulletin board
- Site audio files
- Radio Stations
- Other links
- Story Archives Index
- Personalities Archive Index
- Organisations Archive Index
- Comment Index
- Your feedback
- Browsers and players
Prime
Radio Stations
Streams are
Real Audio in
all cases: Some have Windows
as well.
ABC,
Australia
Streams
list:
Radio
Australia
News
stream
ABC, Anerica
(Links to audio)
BBC:
World
Service:
Live
stream:
World Service bulletins
World
Service
Business Reports:
UK -Radio
1:
UK -Radio 2 :
UK Radio 3:
UK--Radio 4:
UK Radio Five Live:
Radio
1 stream:
Radio
2 Stream:
Radio
3 stream:
Radio 4 stream:
Radio
5 stream:
CBC,Canada
Links
to audio streams:
Hourly
newscast:
US National Public Radio:
News
Voice of America:
Audio
News reports:
WORLD
NEWS RADIO
(on-demand audio reports)
ZDTV Radio
Technical news -home page
Music
Streams
(Classical):
King (US)
RTE
Lyric FM (Ireland):
WQXR (links to stream):
E-Mail
us
August 2003 -
October
2003 
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 -Meters are likely to replace diaries for ratings soon. We consider the ratings future.
RNW August comment - Considers how different regulatory regimes have affected the success of digital radio.
RNW July comment - More of what - or is the technological fix a pipedream? Is technology that could potentially add thousands of broadcast channels a move forward or a delusion without the political will to give access to the airwaves?
2003-09-30: Scottish Radio Holdings, as expected (See RNW Sept 29), has bucked the trend and reported significant rises in its advertising revenues in its trading update
Overall it says its radio and press revenues are estimated to be 18% ahead of last year with like-for-like group revenues (in constant currency terms) up 5%, made up from a 6% rise in radio revenues and a 4% increase in press revenues.
Including acquisitions, notably its purchase of GWR's stake in Vibe Radio Services Limited, SRH radio revenues are estimated to be 21% ahead of last year.
In the UK public sector, BBC Radio Five Live has announced that Johnny Vaughan is to launch new radio debate show Fighting Talk on Saturday.
Vaughan, best known as host of the Channel 4 TV's The Big Breakfast, has been contracted for 22 editions of the live show, which will run from 11am and 12 noon on Saturdays.
Vaughan commented of the move," Vaughan said: "I'm really excited to be doing Fighting Talk on Radio Five Live. I've always been a fan of the station and this gives me a chance to preside over an hour of feverish sports debate. I can't think of a better way to spend Saturday mornings."
In the US, Christian broadcaster Salem Communications has lowered its third quarter guidance, saying it now expects net revenues in the range USD42.5-42.8 million compared to previous guidance of USD42.8 to USD 42.3 million.
It says station operating income will be in the ranger USD14.9 to 15.2 million, down from UD15 to 15.5 million.
Salem has also restated its credit facility, which now comprises a USD 75 million term loan, maturing September 2009 and a USD75 million revolver facility, maturing March 2010. The combined facility provides for a maximum total debt leverage ratio of 7.25x.
As a result of the completion of this facility, Salem has cancelled a contemplated debt offering, which will result in a one-time expense of approximately $0.7 million.
Its Chief Financial Officer David A.R. Evans commented, "We are pleased to have completed this transaction, which provides sufficient capital resources to support the company's continued growth. We are highly appreciative of the strong level of support and commitment that we received from our financial partners."
Also in the US, Clear Channel has made a move into another business: It has joined the ranks of broadcasters connected with the restaurant business and has licensed the name of its KFAN sports station in Minnesota to start a KFAN restaurant in Roseville, Minnesota, near St. Paul.
Clear Channel is to receive 5% of the restaurants sales, predicted by Grand Management in St. Paul, which is opening the restaurant, to reach USD 10 million in its first year but half the sum is to be returned in the form of advertising time. The restaurant will not carry the Clear Channel name.
Previous BBC:
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous GWR:
Previous Salem:
Previous SRH:
2003-09-30: The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) says it has received nine applications for the new Adelaide commercial FM, the first of four commercial FM licences it is to auction; the others to be issued will be one each in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.
There is a reserve price of AUD 1 million (USD 680,000) for the licence but with the level of interest bidding is expected to be fierce with particular interest centred on the two bids by DMG, the Australian arm of the Daily Mail and General Trust, owner of Northcliffe Newspapers.
DMG paid a record AUD 155 million in 2000 for a new Sydney licence and AUD 70 million for its Melbourne licence.
DMG is still building its Nova network but has said although it is keen on the licence it won't be bidding so aggressively this time.
The only application not from an existing broadcaster came from Hot Tomato, controlled by Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife, Anna Torv, and her brothers.
Austereo, the largest broadcast in the country, is barred from applying because it already has two licences in Adelaide and another potential bidder, Rural Press, which had expressed interest in the auctions, did not put in a bid for Adelaide.
The nine bids are from:
*ARN South Australia Pty Limited.
*Brougham Broadcasting Pty Ltd.
*CPS Radio Pty Limited.
*DMG Radio Adelaide Pty Ltd.
*Hot Tomato Australia Pty Ltd.
*Macquarie Radio Network Pty Limited.
*Northcliffe Radio Pty Ltd.
*Radio Adelaide FM Pty Ltd.
*Third National Network Australia Pty Ltd.
Previous ABA:
2003-09-30: Latest UK ratings from Gfk Media show BBC Radios 1 and 2 gaining audience during the summer and BBC Radio Five Live and talkSPORT both losing listeners, a drop Gfk put down to the absence of soccer.
Gfk's National Broadcast Media Survey for the period from May 19 to August 17 still lists BBC Radio 4 as the most listened to station wit 40% of UK adults in its audience.
Overall the weekly reach figures for the main UK networks from GFK for the period from March 24 - June 22 (with in brackets Gfk ratings for quarter April 21 to July 20 and then RAJAR figures to the end of June) in rank order were:
BBC Networks:
BBC Radio 4 - 18.05 million (18.05 million; 9.70 million): Unchanged 40% of national adult audience.
BBC Radio 2 - 16.45 million (15.74 million; 13.03 million): Up from 35% to 37%.
BBC Radio 1 - 12.93 million (12.62 million; 9.87 million): Up from 28% to 29%.
BBC Radio Five Live - 8.37 million (8.82 million; 5.80 million): Down from 20% to 19%
BBC World Service - 4.80 million (4.80 million) Unchanged 11%
BBC Radio 3 - million 4.27 (4.30 million; 2 million): Down from 10% to 89%.
Commercial networks:
talkSPORT - 6.28 million (7.16 million; 2.16 million): Down from 16% to 14%.
Classic FM - 6.12 million (6.81 million; 5.57 million): Down from 15% to 14%.
Virgin - 4.34 million (4.24 million; 2.80 million): Up from 9% to 10%.
Previous Gfk:
Previous Gfk ratings:
Previous RAJAR ratings:
2003-09-30: Arbitron's RADAR 78 (Radio's All Dimension Audience Research) Radio Network Audience Report just released covering the year from June 27, 2002 - June 18 this year shows no changes in rankings at the top with ABC Daytime Direction Network again retaining the top spot followed by Westwood CNN Max Radio Network and Premiere Pulse Network in third place.
The ABC Daytime network gained some 540, 00 listeners a week to end up with a weekly audience of 9.29 million up from 8.75 million in the RADAR 77 survey; its AQH rating rose from 3.7 to 3.9.
CNN Max increased its reach by some 127, 000 ending with a reach of just over 7.55 million and AQH rating up from 3.1 to 3.2.
In third place, Premiere Pulse Network gained some 28,000 listeners to end up with a weekly reach of 5.44 million and the same 2.3 AQH.
ABC Morning News Radio Network in fourth place gained some 42,000 listeners a week to end up with 5.26 million and the same 2.2 AQH and fifth placed Premiere Morning Drive AM Network gained 76, 000 listeners a week to end up with just over 5 million and the same 2.1 AQH.
During the RADAR 78 survey period, 75 percent of U.S. consumers, age 12+, heard one or more network radio commercials in the course of a week. Among the prime audience demographics sought by advertisers, the commercials that aired on the 37 radio networks reached 76% of Adults, age 12-34; 78% percent of Adults, age 35-49; and 72% of Adults, age 50+.
As in the past, radio did better among upper-income adults with 78% of adults living in households earning USD 75,000 a year or more are in the network audience each week
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Disney/ABC, America:
Previous RADAR (RADAR 77):
Previous Premiere Networks:
Previous Westwood One:
2003-09-30: Singapore radio ration WKRZ-FM has been fined SGD 15, 000 (USD 8,650) for broadcasting sexually explicit comments on its morning show in July this year.
The island state has been easing its straight-laced censorship laws recently in an attempt to sell itself as a centre for arts and the media but its Media Development Authority (MDA) found the show, which featured discussions on masturbation, cunnilingus and orgasm to be "obscene and in bad taste."
The station is owned by UnionWorks Pte Ltd, a joint venture between Singapore's National Trades Union Congress and Singapore Press Holdings, the publisher of the Straits Times; it fired the DJ involved, Pete Leung, the day after the show.
In the show he had invited female listeners to call in to talk about how they liked to experience orgasm and those who called in were asked to describe details of their sexual experiences with one caller being asked to simulate orgasm and another to masturbate herself.
The MDA said the broadcast had led to calls of complaint about its content, which it said was in breach of its Radio Programme Standards & Censorship Code.
Bernard Law, chief operating officer for UnionWorks, told the Straits Times, "We have paid the fine. We accept that what happened was distasteful."
Singapore MDA web site:
Straits Times report:
2003-09-29: The Senate may have voted against them but the Federal Communications Commission's new media regulations are far from dead and are still the top radio-related story in the US.
It seemed therefore sensible to start off this week's look at print comment on the medium with an insiders view on the likely prospects courtesy of a Boston Herald business report by Jay Fitzgerald.
He quoted Representative Edward Markey (Democrat-Malden) as saying that Congress was unlikely to substantially roll back the new rules, even though a court has currently stayed their implementation.
Markey suggested that Congress might well reject the increase in the national TV ownership cap from 35% TO 45% but not other planned changes.
These are being opposed by the House's GOP leadership, led by Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Republican, Texas) and a Presidential veto is also promised; to override this would need a two-thirds
Vote in Congress and this seems unlikely according to Markey, an opponent of the new rules, who spoke of "an uphill fight."
After dissatisfaction over regulation in the US, over to the UK where the Independent's Media Editor Vincent Graff writes of discontent with programme changes at BBC Radio 3, formerly primarily a classical music channel but now, under controller Roger Wright, in the middle of change.
The changes have attracted criticism from listeners, described by Graff as "perhaps the most conservative audience in the land" and also from Gerald Kaufman, the chairman of the Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport. Mr Kaufman, a frequent critic of the BBC.
Kaufmann comments that he is "very concerned about what appears to be a trivialisation of Radio 3."
…" There appears to be less and less music and more talk. I do not want to listen to all that chatter. I do not want to hear the little anecdotes and thoughts of Radio 3 presenters."
Bayan Northcott, the paper's classical music critic also criticised the network, saying, "With three or four exceptions, the general level of presenting is terrible. The attitude is to jolly along the audience and tell them, 'Don't worry, this music isn't so frightening'."
"They have lost any nerve to challenge their listeners and lead them. They are always trying not to offend so that people keep their sets switched on," he said.
In Canada, radio changes are also being introduced but this time getting a more favourable response judging by an article by Michael Posner in the Toronto Globe and Mail, that took a look at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio service and Jane Chalmers, vice-president of CBC Radio.
She took over from Alex Frame, who, says the article, "virtually reinvented the radio service in the 1960s, and then masterminded its operation for the next four decades."
As he came up to his retirement last year (see RNW Sept 27, 2002), Frame had to refashion CBC's radio programming to attract to a younger, more multicultural demographic rather than its aging mainly white audience, but, says Posner, execution of the plan had been sloppy.
Chalmers, suggests Posner, has a walk-softly style but can wield a big stick. She speedily removed CBC radio director of programming Adrian Mills - replaced by Jennifer McGuire - and also ordered a revamp of the flagship morning show Sounds Like Canada, now based in Vancouver with a larger role for host Shelagh Rogers. Chalmers also increased the dominance of women in CBC radio senior roles with the appointment of Krista Harris as director of production and resources, topping this up more recently with Linda Groen's appointment as head of current affairs.
And of radio itself, she described it as a naked medium, in the sense that it can't mesmerize audiences with pictures or techo-wizardry; everything rises or falls on the cogency of presentation -- the simple power of voice and idea.
Back in the USA, the San Francisco Bee's David Barton profiled National Public Radio host Terry Gross commenting perceptively on a skill that seems in little demand amongst many commercial talk radio hosts in the US, that she "speaks well, but she listens even better."
Gross has been with "Fresh Air", which has a weekly audience of some four million, since 1975 and is producing a book of transcripts of interviews carried out on the show.
Among the suggestions put to her was one about being used as an outlet for someone's opinion or to promote their work.
Back came an honest answer about the trade-off: "The person is on the show because they have a new book, record or movie that they want to promote -- that's the way the world works right now, and I don't find that difficult to accept."
"But it's my job to make sure that the listeners learn something. Usually, we like that new book or movie, and we're happy to tell our listeners about it. But sometimes it's not the best representation of their work, and there's not that much to talk about, but it's just the ticket to get to the person. Then I'll focus on their body of work, the sensibility of their work, or play their greatest records."
For those who wished to learn something about the way moralising Britain behaved fairly recently, the BBC Radio 4 programme on Child Migrants to Australia (that we recommended earlier this month - See Columnists Sept. 15) provided some disturbing content last week (It's still available -just - on the Internet).
To quote a brief segment of Elisabeth Mahoney's radio review in the UK Guardian, "The racist politics of what was happening were clear enough. The Bishop of Perth, encouraging the import of British children, argued that this would save Australia from "the menace of the teeming millions of our neighbouring Asiatic races". Pitted against such self- serving rhetoric were the sad autobiographies of those who had been brought in to fill up the country."
…" Many accounts mentioned the cruelty, both physical and mental, meted out by nuns. Children were routinely told that their mothers were dead, and letters from home were often withheld and always discouraged. One man breaks down as he recounts finding out his mother had died much later than he had been told, thinking of the letters he could have written, or received."
"Physical punishments were from The Magdalene Sisters' handbook of sadistic wickedness. 'I've seen a girl being stripped, laid on the bed, another nun held a pillow over her head and a leather strap was used against that girl's back and bottom,'" recalled one woman. Another was put in solitary confinement "'o think about God' for two months. '"I used to stand by the window,'" she said, 'and I used to count all the blue cars, all the red cars, all the white cars. Little wonder she never thought about God
RNW comment: If nothing else, it makes the late Garner Ted Armstrong, who died aged 73 last week, seem a saint rather than a rogue; his life may have included excommunication from his father's church, rows involving money and a downfall encompassing a masseuse, but he doesn't seem to have been in the same league when it came to cruelty as routinely seems to have been the case of many supposedly upright members of the Catholic church.
Finally, yet another BBC plug, as usual influenced by the availability of programming not just as a live stream but also on-demand on the Internet.
This week, we'd suggest BBC Radio 4's "The Towers of Silence", being broadcast on Wednesday at 10.00 GMT, a programme concerning the centuries old tradition of feeding dead bodies to vultures on top of the Towers of Silence in Bombay.
If too queasy for that, BBC Radio 2 could be worth a listen at 2100 GMT on Thursday when "Jammin" wreaks havoc on two of Midge Ure's hits.
Previous Columnists:
Previous Mahoney:
Boston Herald - Fitzgerald:
San Francisco Bee - Barton:
Toronto Globe and Mail - Posner:
UK Guardian - Mahoney:
UK Independent - Graff:
2003-09-29: Sirius has pledged funds to help keep Greenwich Village music cabaret The Bottom Line, from which it broadcasts the show "Live From The Bottom Line" continue operations.
Sirius on-air personality Meg Griffin, who is spearheading the drive to save the club, commented, "The Bottom Line is too important of a music institution to lose. Our goal is to help this historic club get back on its feet and do what it does best, showcase some of the music world's greatest names."
The club, opened by Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky, has been in operation since 1974 but has fallen on hard times since the attack on the World Trade Centre.
Pepper commented, "I am gratified that SIRIUS shares my passion for live music. Stanley and I founded the club to showcase great music by artists young and old. Thanks to SIRIUS, I hope to continue the tradition for another three decades."
The club is also in partnership with partners with WFUV-FM, the public radio station at Fordham University, to produce "Required Listening," "In Their Own Words" and other programs.
WFUV program director Chuck Singleton added, "We speak for the entire music community in our desire to see a resolution of this difficulty, so that there will continue to be a supportive home for intelligent song writing on West Fourth Street."
Previous Sirius:
2003-09-29: Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) today issues the latest in a run of updates from British radio companies and is expected to outperform other companies that have recently issued their updates with like-for-like radio revenues up around 6%. National advertising is expected to be up by some 10%.
SRH is among the UK groups bidding for the new Dublin City and County licence to be awarded in the summer of 2004. It has two bids from its Today FM subsidiary, for Indie/New Rock and Gold/Oldies services.
Other UK companies involved in bids for the licence are SMG with two bids - for locally-produced rock and classic hits services, Capital Radio with a bid for an Xfm, Dublin, licence for its "service of "predominantly guitar-led, non-manufactured music" and the Storm, which like Xfm is available on a number of UK digital services, with a format of new, classic and heritage rock.
In other Scottish radio business, Fife station Kingdom FM has acquired the Scottish radio assets of UKRD, giving it control of Clan FM, Lanarkshire, a quarter of River Fm in West Lothian, and 18% of the Go-FM consortium that is bidding for the new Glasgow commercial licence.
Previous Capital Radio:
Previous SMG:
Previous SRH:
2003-09-29: New York pirate station East Village Radio has gained some - welcome, or unwelcome - publicity in the New York Times in a somewhat tautologously titled report "In a Small Walk-Up, a Radio Signal Is Born. But Mum's the Word."
The 10-watt station is being financed by restaurateur Frank Prisinzano, whose empire includes three restaurants in the area.
The station, which is also available online, has a format of news and entertainment and Prisinzano, who was a club D.J. in college, commented, "The East Village has been extremely supportive of us. We wanted to return the favour to the neighbourhood."
He says he wants to make the station legal and has applied for a licence for the station but added, "The F.C.C. doesn't really come bother you as long as you're not stepping on anybody's toes. There is also a law on the books that anybody can broadcast during wartime, and I would say we're at war."
East Village radio web site:
New York Times report:
2003-09-28: The main current regulatory news last week was again from the US where debate continues over new media ownership regulations and the Federal Communications Commission approved, on a 3-2 party political vote, Univision's takeover of Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation. Elsewhere Australia was in long-term mode but other regulators were generally concerned with more routine matters.
In Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) has said that is has no current plans for extra commercial analogue licences but its general policy is "not intended to constrain decisions that may be made in future concerning digital radio systems."
It added that it does not plan to allocate an further analogue commercial radio licences until at least five years after the last allocation in its present licence round and even then may not start a further round of allocations.
In releasing the decision, ABA chairman Professor David Flint said that it felt, having completed the planning of all of the radio licence areas in Australia, it was "now appropriate to give some indication of our current intentions concerning that sector."
In addition the ABA noted, "The major periods of expansion occurred before World War II, in the case of AM radio, and from 1980 until the present in the case of FM radio."
"Although digital technology may soon open up new frontiers for expansion, further growth of analogue radio on the scale of the last decade is unlikely. Analogue radio spectrum is now heavily congested in the metropolitan areas and many of the more densely settled regions. While further increases in the number of services might be achieved, in congested areas where spectrum is scarce it can be expected to come at the cost of changes to existing services.
The ABA was also involved in a forum held in Sydney to consider what digital radio broadcasting system should be adopted and how DAB should be introduced into Australia (See RNW Sept. 26)
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been had a fairly quiet week: On the radio front in Quebec it approved new 575 watts FM transmitter at Victoriaville for CIRA-FM, Montréal.
It has also issued a public notice, with an intervention deadline for October 29, concerning a number of applications including Ontario applications to convert to FM the current AM transmitter CHYK-2 at Kapuskasing that rebroadcasts the signal of CHYK-FM, Timmins, and to allow oldies format CKDO-AM, Oshawa, to broadcast a minimum 30% of Canadian music rather than the normal 35% required of other formats.
In New Brunswick, following a call for applications for a low power FM to serve Fredericton,, the Commission says it has now received an application for a broadcasting licence to provide a regular protected class commercial radio service to serve Fredericton and calls for any other interested parties to submit an application for licences for the area.
In Ireland the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has now signed ten-year contracts with East Coast Radio Ltd. (trading as East Coast FM), related to the County Wicklow licence and with Corrmuda Ltd. (trading as South East Radio), related to the County Wexford licence.
It has also confirmed an extension until November 30th for Radio Kilkenny to continue operations. Radio Kilkenny, along with CKR- FM (Carlow- Kildare Radio) lost its licence following a re-drawing of boundaries. An extension had already been agreed with CKR-FM (See RNW Sept 16).
The UK was fairly quiet with the only Radio Authority release being its assessment of the award of the Carmarthenshire, Wales, licence to Radio Carmarthenshire / Radio Sir Gar; an opposing application from Carmarthenshire Sound / Sain Sir Gar had been withdrawn (See Licence News, Sept 14).
The Authority says its members considered that Radio Carmarthenshire Ltd. benefited from investors, including Haven FM, the licensee for the adjacent area of Pembrokeshire, who could offer relevant experience and a commitment to local radio and that the bid also presented a sensible business plan, which despite the competitive nature of the local market, was justified by the experience of the station in Pembrokeshire.
The station is to provide a full service station with a generous commitment to a minimum of 25% speech - in English and Welsh -during weekday daytimes, including such features as surf reports, local obituaries and 'Cool Cymru', a programme about contemporary Welsh bands. All the presenters being employed by the station, it notes, speak Welsh.
There has also been an announcement from Ofcom, the successor super-regulator that is to take over later this year, that it will extends the current pilot community (formerly access) radio scheme for another year until the end of 2004.
The Radio Authority set up the scheme and 13 groups are currently involved, operating 14 stations including two in Manchester operated by the same group.
In the US, as well as approving the Univision takeover of Hispanic Broadcasting (See RNW Sept. 24), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also reduced from USD 7,000 to USD 6,000 a fine on former California broadcaster Clarke Broadcasting Corporation (See RNW Sep 24)
Previous ABA:
Previous BCI:
Previous CRTC:
Previous FCC:
Previous Flint:
Previous Licence News:
Previous Ofcom:
Previous UK Radio Authority:
ABA web site :
BCI web site:
CRTC web site:
FCC web site :
UK Radio Authority web site:
2003-09-28: Controversy is building up in the UK over a BBC decision to allow a group of Radio One DJs to front an Amnesty International campaign against the arms trade next month.
The decision was made against a background of attacks over the Corporation's political impartiality in its reporting of the war on Iraq and follows a decision in February this year when presenters and journalists were barred from taking part in an anti-war march because of the need to appear independent and impartial (See RNW Feb 15).
The DJs involved - Jo Whiley, Zane Low and the Dreem Team - are each to host a night of films and debate as part of Amnesty's "DJ Saved My Life" event and have been told that they must not compromise their "political neutrality".
Amnesty says the event is part of its ongoing pressure for increased regulation of the arms trade.
Previous BBC:
2003-09-27: Australian commercial radio broadcasters have called for government aid in the transition to digital broadcasting, which they estimate would cost them around AUD 300 million (USD 200 million.
The call came from Commercial Radio Australia chief executive Joan Warner at a digital radio forum in Sydney (See RNW Sept 26).
"As the commercial radio industry has invested billions of dollars in setting up free to air commercial radio in this country and pays on average $12 million dollars a year in licence fees, we are firmly of the view that the needs of the existing in-band broadcast community must be considered first in any future planning for digital radio," she told the Digital Radio Study Group consultative forum that had been discussing which route and technology Australia should use in moving to digital audio broadcasting (DAB).
She added that it was essential for the Australian government to set aside spectrum to enable the consortium of commercial broadcasters, the ABC and SBS in conjunction with community broadcasters and narrowcasters, to run consumer trials of digital radio; so far the consortium has spent some AUD 1.4 million (USD 950,000) to establish consumer trials to start this year in Sydney.
Commercial Radio Australia, on behalf of the broadcaster consortium, has applied for spectrum on VHF Band III to start trials in Melbourne early next year followed by trials in other parts of Australia.
Once trials of technology have been completed and decisions made, the CRA says broadcasters should be given an appropriate transition/simulcast period to allow the migration of the current listeners and their 40 million radios to the new technology.
Previous Commercial Radio Australia:
Previous Warner:
2003-09-27: In more US radio deals, Clear Channel has added yet another station, albeit a small one, with the USD 300, 000 cash purchase of KBRQ-FM/Hillsboro, in the Waco, Texas, area from Chase Radio Partners. It has been running the station under a local management agreement and will now own five stations in the market.
Also adding to its clusters is Citadel Communications, which has announced agreement with 222 Corporation to acquire New Orleans radio station WCKW-FM; earlier this month Citadel closed on an eleven-station purchase from Wilks Broadcasting, announced in May (See RNW May 13) that included four stations in New Orleans.
No price was announced but Citadel chairman and CEO Farid Suleman commented of the deal that it "further enhances Citadel's position in New Orleans."
When the deal, expected to close in 2004, goes through, Citadel will own eight stations in Lafayette, and six in Baton Rouge as well as five in New Orleans.
In Missouri, Metropolitan Radio Group is selling WEW-AM, St Louis, to Detroit-based Birach Broadcasting for USD 1.35 million. WEW, which has a format of health and ethnic programming, first went on air in 1921.
Previous Citadel:
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Suleman:
2003-09-27: Although presented in a positive light, the latest updates from British radio groups indicate continuing uncertainty about an advertising recovery.
Capital Radio said it anticipated broadly flat revenues for the year to the end of this month compared to a year ago whereas those for the previous quarter were down 6%, leading it to anticipate like-for-like revenues to be down 4% for the full year to the end of September.
Capital said October revenue was likely to be up compared to a weak October a year ago and commented "With the recent optimism in the media marketplace we have seen some limited signs of improvement. However, we remain cautious and believe that it is too early to tell when the UK advertising sector will recover."
GWR, whose Classic FM flagship saw revenues down 12% in the first half of the year, said revenue for its local stations would be up 10.4% for the half year to the end of September, taking overall revenues for the period up 4%. Total GWR Group revenues are forecast to be broadly comparable with the same period last year.
GWR was bullish about digital radio, saying it continued to be encouraged by its uptake in the UK with recent announcements concerning Sony's entry into the portable DAB receiver market and support from major retailers confirming its view that there will be mass consumer uptake of digital radio.
"We believe GWR is the best placed UK radio operator to take advantage of the opportunities this presents," said the company.
Overall GWR says it is " are beginning to see improved short-term visibility of revenues" and is confident of delivering a satisfactory result for the year."
UBC Media in its update said it continued to trade in line with market expectations but noted a sharp recovery in airtime sales from June, adding prospects for the remainder of the year appear positive.
It also highlighted prospects for digital radio and chief executive Simon Cole commented, "With High Street retailers now reporting that sales of digital radios represent up to 50% of the market, the trend in the take-up of digital radio in the UK matches our expectations and underpins our confidence in the value of the portfolio of digital assets we have built up".
Previous Capital Radio:
Previous Cole:
Previous GWR:
Previous UBC:
2003-09-27: Clear Channel-owned Rochester, New York, WHAM-AM, says it is to continue employing its midday conservative talk host, Bob Lonsberry, suspended earlier this week when, to use the station's own words, he "poked fun at Rochester's African-American mayor, Bill Johnson, in a way that alluded to an orang-utan at the zoo" but it still doesn't say when he will be back on the air.
Station manager Jeff Howlett said that in the last few days, Lonsberry has provided WHAM with "sincere and compelling evidence that he has a much clearer understanding of the highly offensive, insensitive nature of his remarks" and WHAM management has chosen to stand by Lonsberry's decision to face his mistakes and address the issues.
Howlett also said that the station, which refused to put callers on air to discuss the matter, had received hundreds of calls, many supporting Lonsberry.
In a later statement he added, "I would like to apologize to our listeners, advertisers and employees for Bob's offensive remarks. Talk shows are by their nature controversial; however, there is a community standard to which we hold all of our on-air talent."
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle says Lonsberry himself in an unsigned faxed statement on WHAM-AM letterhead said, "I sincerely apologize for my offensive comments. I will be taking additional time off the air to reflect and begin diversity training. Further, I want to personally extend my heartfelt apology to Mayor Bill Johnson. I am sorry for the pain I've caused by my shameful comments."
The comments are part of a long history of disagreement between the two men, dating back the paper says to Lonsberry's career as a columnist with the Democrat and Chronicle and commentator at WHEC-TV
Lonsberry did not refer to the Mayor by name in his comments but Johnson commented that the host knew what he was doing - especially since he had made two comments, the first a month ago and the last on Friday a week ago.
Lonsberry had apologized during a two-minute taped message at the beginning of his show on Monday before a guest host took over, saying, "I mean neither the mayor nor anyone else any personal harm or insult. "And I would certainly apologize for any interpretation of my words, which would appear to be racist. I am not a racist. But then racism is in the eye of the beholder, not in the heart of the speaker."
RNW comment: The last tendentious sentence above would seem to indicate that Lonsberry needs more than diversity training -a good dictionary and training in respect for accurate use of language and truth would also probably help. We rather suspect however that this would put him and many of his colleagues out of business.
Previous Clear Channel:
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle web site:
WHAM web site:
2003-09-26: The Washington, DC-based public interest group Essential Information, which was founded in 1982 by activist Ralph Nader, has urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny Clear Channel renewal of the licences for 63 of its stations in Maryland; Virginia; West Virginia; and Washington, DC, on the basis that it is not fit to hold them.
In a statement, Jim Donahue, project director of Essential Information, says, "The FCC is required by statute to deny applications for license renewal if a licensee exhibits poor character."
"In the three years since Clear Channel became the largest holder of station licenses in the nation, it has demonstrated that it lacks the requisite character to hold broadcast licenses," Donahue said, adding that Clear Channel had "compiled a record of repeated law-breaking."
"Clear Channel and its subsidiaries have violated the law on 36 separate occasions over the last three years, demonstrating its poor character. Clear Channel is not qualified to hold a broadcast license under the FCC's own character rules," he added.
The group lists a number of violations it says Clear Channel was involved in including misleading the public about the rules for radio contests, deceptive advertising, broadcasting conversations without obtaining permission of the second party to the conversation, broadcasting obscene and indecent material during daylight hours when children are likely listening; illegally taking operational control of a radio station; repeatedly flouting the rules pertaining to the testing of the emergency alert system, maintenance of station logs, and antenna construction; conviction for animal cruelty in violation of state law for the purpose of promoting an on-air personality; pleading guilty to criminal mischief in violation of state law for the purpose of promoting an on-air personality; disturbing the peace in violation of state law for the purpose of promoting an on-air personality; defacing public property in violation of state law for the purpose of promoting an on air personality; and falsely causing a public emergency to be reported for the purpose of promoting an on air personality.
RNW comment: In essence, the group seems to us to be taking the obvious route as we have suggested before and logically concluding that if a licence holder breaches the conditions of the licence the ultimate penalty should be removal of the licence. We doubt that anything will happen in this case but if nothing else it may cause some serious thought in the boardrooms of some of the US media giants.
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous FCC:
Essential Information web site:
2003-09-26: Digital radio has taken more steps forward this week on three continents, Australia, Europe and America: In Australia, the Australian Digital Radio Study Group (the DRSG) is holding a consultative forum in Sydney today to hear views from "stakeholders on the issues affecting any future implementation of digital radio in Australia."
Attending will be representatives of members of the group - the Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA), the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), and the Australian Communications Authority (ACA)- who will give information about developments in digital radio technologies and approaches taken in various parts of the world in the implementation of DAB.
They will be followed by various speakers including representatives of Worldspace, Commercial Radio Australia and Austereo.
The DRSG was set up in May this year to advise the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts on the merits of the technologies available and their implementation in Australia. The technologies being looked at include Eureka 147, Ibiquity's IBOC, Digital Radio Mondiale and digital satellite and hybrid satellite/ terrestrial services, in overseas markets.
In the UK, more BBC digital transmitters have now commenced broadcasts: they are the transmitters in Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester and Idle, in Bradford, that together add around another 200,000 potential listeners to the service as well as improving reception for nearly 1.5 million people.
In the US, there have been more developments for iBiquity's HD IBOC(in-band-on -channel _ system with the announcement that Kenwood has delivered the first production run of 1,000 KTC-HR100 HD Radio tuners. The tuners are designed to be used by stations for internal listening and consumer-awareness promotions.
The system is also being promoted heavily next week at the US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Radio Show in Philadelphia where iBiquity will be taking orders for the tuners.
Three simultaneous HD displays will be staged at iBiquity's stand at the show featuring amongst other things displays of receivers from manufacturers such as Alpine, Delphi, Harman Kardon, JVC, Kenwood, Sanyo, and Visteon, an AM listening station showcasing a new HDC Codec, and live digital broadcasts from Beasley station WXTU-FM and WXTU-FM and WWDB-AM. There will also be discussion sessions about the likely impact of HD radio on Am and Fm stations.
Previous ABA:
Previous Austereo:
Previous BBC:
Previous Beasley:
Previous Commercial Radio Australia:
Previous iBiquity:
Previous NAB:
2003-09-26: The latest Arbitron Internet Broadcast Ratings just released show generally higher listening with a surprise leap up the rankings by contemporary Christian K-Love which was second compared to 13th a week earlier. MUSICMATCH and AOL retained their top station and network rankings.
For the week to Sept 14, Arbitron'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 (*Non Commercial) - TTSL 697,286 (586,913); CP - 206,309 (183,375). Same rank with higher listening and reach.
2: Contemporary Christian K-Love (Non Commercial) TTSL 326,935 (171,157); CP - 42,691 (32,849). Up from 13 with higher listening and reach.
3: AOL Top Country (Internet-only) Country format (Commercial) - TTSL 315,784 (277,173); CP - 112,741 (116,533). Down from second despite higher listening although reach was lower.
4: Smooth Jazz format AOL Smooth Jazz (Commercial) - TTSL - 295,668 (250,042); CP - 63,303 (57,760). Same rank with higher listening and reach.
5: Hot Adult Contemporary Virgin AM & FM (Commercial) - TTSL 276,311 (255,641); CP - 53,455 (53,589). Down from third despite higher listening although reach was slightly down.
*AOL Top Pop (Internet-only) Top 40 (Commercial) fell from fifth to sixth with TTSL (236,465); CP - 130,398 (150,167).
The top five networks for the week to Sept 14 (Previous week's figures in brackets) were:
1: AOL Radio@ Network (Commercial) - TTSL - 6,730,160 (5,907,839); CP - 1,542,096 (1,588,754). Same rank with higher listening although reach was down.
2: LAUNCH TTSL (Non commercial) - 3,731,526 (2,795,477); CP -742,351 (680,247). Same rank with higher listening and reach.
3: MUSICMATCH Inc. (*Non Commercial) TTSL - 1,969,762 (1,657,963); CP -442,689 (397,228). Same rank with higher listening and reach.
4: The Adsertion Network (Sales Network) TTSL - 1,062,648 (926,558); CP - 134,010 (114,503) - Same rank with higher listening and reach.
5: Virgin Radio (Commercial) TTSL - 485,076 (437,301); CP - 74,785 (73,924) - Same rank with higher listening and reach.
Arbitron does not now rank Content Delivery Networks (CDN) alongside other networks but does report on them; for the week the top Content Delivery Networks were Live365 with TTSL 2,501,976, up from 2,312,551 and StreamGuys with TTSL 519,492, up from 500,929.
Previous Arbitron Internet Broadcast Ratings:
2003-09-25: Citing a slower than expected recovery in local advertising revenues, Viacom has trimmed its forecast for 2003 earnings growth from mid-teens to low to mid teens.
It has also said it now expects to deliver mid- to high-single digit growth in revenues and operating income for the full year, versus its earlier guidance of high single-digit growth for revenues and double-digit growth for operating income.
It does not split out any details for divisions, which include Infinity Radio, but adds that it continues to expect a record year for revenues, operating income, net earnings (before cumulative effect of change in accounting principle), and earnings per share in 2003, as well as strong growth for 2004
In other US business, Journal Communications, the Milwaukee-based company that owns the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, plus 38 radio stations and WTMJ TV, has gone public, selling 17.25 million shares at an offering price of USD 15 per share.
In addition to the offering its underwriters, led by Morgan Stanley and Robert W. Baird & Co. , were granted an over-allotments option to purchase up to an additional 2.6 million shares. The shares ended Wednesday up nearly 9% at USD 6.25
Previous Viacom-CBS-Infinity:
2003-09-25: An Arbitron-Edison Media study just released says that more than 50 million Americans - a fifth of the country's population, use streaming media every month.
The study, Internet and Multimedia 11: New Media Enters the Mainstream, says that Sixty-one percent of people who tune to Internet audio and 59 percent of those who watch Internet video prefer free programming supported by advertising.
It also says that weekly streamies own one-and-a-half times more DVDs than average consumers.
"Fuelled by increasing broadband penetration, Internet broadcasting is rapidly approaching mainstream status among Americans," said Bill Rose, vice president and general manager, Arbitron Internet Broadcast Services. "The growth in regular usage of Internet audio and video is compelling evidence that Internet broadcasting is becoming more of a regular habit. As such, marketers should consider including Internet broadcasting in their media mix since frequent users of Internet audio and video are very likely to try new products and services, make purchases online, and consume new forms of audio and video entertainment."
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Rose:
2003-09-25: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is to get CAD 10 million (USD 7.4 million) less from the government over the next six months than it had been expecting according to supplementary estimates released by Canada's Treasury Board.
Heritage Minister Sheila Copps had earlier said the CBC would get CAD 60 million (USD 44.5 million) in addition to the CAD 860 million (USD 637 million) promised to it by Finance Minister John Manley but this figure has been cut back by CAD 10 million, which is being redirected into a CAD 1 billion (USD 740 million) re-allocation of spending announced by Manley to finance social initiatives by the government.
Reacting to the cut, CBC President Robert Rabinovitch said in a statement that the cut clearly aggravated "a funding environment already under pressure" and that the effects would be felt in programming "at some level" as well as in "work-force adjustment."
On the radio side, the CBC has named Linda Groen, former executive producer of The Sunday Edition, as its new Radio head of current affairs.
Groen, a former newspaper journalist, moved to the CBC in 1989 as producer of its Morningside programme and then became executive producer of As it Happens. She takes up her new post on September 29.
Previous CBC:
Previous Rabinovitch:
2003-09-25: Conservative US talk host Rusty Humphries has now signed up to host the 0900-1200 show on Fisher Communications' KVI-AM, Seattle, following a court order that prohibited Citadel from hindering his search for work away from its KKOH-AM, Reno, Nevada, where he had hosted its afternoon show since 1998 (See RNW Sept 24).
Humphries is to start on October 10 in the slot, still listed by the station web site as occupied by Rush Limbaugh.
Humphries, who went to high school in the Seattle area, says he is making the move for personal reasons. He will continue his syndicated show for Talk Radio Networks.
Previous Fisher:
Previous Humphries:
Previous Citadel:
2003-09-25: The Indian government has been pushing Rupert Murdoch's Star News about queries over uplinking facilities for its news operation and the ownership and functioning of the Radio City FM station in advance of the ending this week of a month's extension given to Star to continue for the uplinking.
It had earlier come under pressure from Indian media groups about what they considered slack guidelines about investment by foreign media groups, particularly in relation to foreign investment by Star News.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry ha asked for a prompt reply from Star, which has been able to continue its uplinking through a number of extensions and an order from the Bombay High Court prohibiting the government from cutting off the link.
In the case of Radio City, the entire operation of the channel is outsourced to Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. (MBPL), a Star subsidiary whose ownership is unclear (See RNW July 18). The Ministry says it wishes to know the ownership of MBPL, its directors, and its debt-equity ratio.
Currently India only permits limited ownership and control of FM radio stations by non-Indian interests.
It also currently prohibits private FM stations from carrying news but has indicated that it may lift this prohibition, which is regarded as illogical since private TV channels can broadcast news bulletins.
It does, however, seem reluctant to allow foreign ownership of community radio, which has yet to build up but which could have be significant eventually, particularly in terms of the implication of allowing ownership by NGOs, many of which are foreign-funded.
Previous Indian Radio:
2003-09-24: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has finally approved - by a 3-2 party-line vote as widely forecast - the USD 3.2 billion Univision takeover of Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation subject to divestments.
These relate to the agency's finding that the combined company would violate the FCC's new Local Radio Ownership Rule in two markets - one each in Houston and Albuquerque, were the new rule effective and previous Department of Justice conditions relating to the divestment of much of Univision's holding in Entravision..
The Commission has said that the merged company must comply with the new radio ownership limit six months from its effective date of introduction but "found that the merger will serve the public interest, convenience and necessity. "
Opposition to the takeover had centred on arguments that it would give one company too much control of the US Spanish speaking market and that this should be considered as separate from the general market but the FCC said the "transaction would not adversely affect competition or diversity in any media market."
The agency added that "Univision's TV stations (Univision owns or controls 32 full-service broadcast TV licenses, but no radio licenses) and HBC's radio stations (it owns or controls 68 full-service radio station licenses (18 AM and 50 FM) and 6 FM translator licenses, but no TV stations) do not compete in the same product market" and noted that Spanish speakers in the US are now likely to have "more media options available to them today than ever in this country's history."
There was also comment that Clear Channel's holding in the company - it will have a 3.66% share of the combined company - would "ameliorate, not exacerbate, any competitive problems that may currently exist."
Principals in both Univision and Hispanic Broadcasting, which is now Univision Radio but will remain headquartered in Dallas, welcomed the decision.
Mac Tichenor, Jr., former Chairman and CEO of Hispanic Broadcasting, who has been named President of Univision Radio, commented, "We are thrilled to now be part of Univision, and eager to participate in and further the growth and success of this unique, multifaceted company. The benefits of this combination are numerous and far-reaching. Advertisers will benefit from the ability to conduct more effective, coordinated campaigns using multiple media. Our employees will see expanded professional opportunities, our audiences will enjoy expanded news, information and entertainment programming, and we will be able to better serve our communities, both locally and nationally, with even deeper involvement."
Univision chairman, president and CEO A. Jerrold Perenchio said, "The merger with Hispanic Broadcasting and creation of Univision Radio opens important new avenues of growth for Univision." "Univision's entry into the $20 billion radio industry presents tremendous opportunities for our employees, advertisers and shareholders. Approximately 60% of all national advertisers do not yet advertise in Spanish. We expect that Univision's new ability to offer advertisers the brand-building power of television in combination with the promotional power of radio will accelerate their development of Spanish-language marketing campaigns."
The three Republican Commissioners who voted for the deal - Chairman Michael K. Powell and Commissioners Kathleen Q. Abernathy and Kevin J. Martin - commented in a joint statement that the combined company would "give Hispanic media a better opportunity to compete against big media companies" and added, regarding calls for separate treatment of the Spanish speaking market, "The implications of treating Hispanics as an insular group removed from the general mainstream of news, entertainment, and information are troubling."
"While the dissent makes reasonable points in this regard, such an approach would diverge from 30 years of FCC precedent declining to evaluate program format. Moreover, that approach could prove a limitless notion by opening up claims that there should be language-specific, or even viewpoint-specific, ownership rules."
They also commented," Both the FCC and the DOJ have long maintained that television and radio are separate markets. In this transaction, a pure television company is buying a pure radio company and thus there is no reduction in competition" and noted regarding the power of the combined group that, apart from the fact that most Hispanics spoke English as well, "for those who speak only Spanish, there are currently 26 Spanish language television networks."
"Univision will not monopolize Spanish media nationwide," added the trio. "The merged firm will own 51 of 222 Spanish language television stations and 67 of the 706 Spanish language radio stations. It will own three of the 26 Spanish-language television networks available today on broadcast, cable and satellite. These are not the numbers of dominance."
The dissenting Democratic Commissioners, Jonathan S. Adelstein and Michael J, Copps, each issued separate statements as well as a joint one in which they commented, "It's no bother to the majority that the proposed merger threatens significant harm for millions of Americans who rely on Spanish-language broadcasting as the primary means of accessing news, information and programming relevant to civic and cultural participation in our society."
…" The company is aptly named Univision - "one vision" - because that describes what is likely from Spanish-language media from now on. The degree of concentration in Spanish-language broadcasting resulting from this transaction threatens to endanger competition, diversity and localism for millions of Americans who speak only or principally Spanish. Whether they watch broadcast or cable TV, listen to the radio, buy CDs, or surf the Internet, they will face the monolithic Univision - a reach no other media company is anywhere close to attaining with its respective audience. The proposed transaction creates an opportunity for a single media company to serve as a media gatekeeper for millions of Americans."
"Common sense, empirical evidence, the Department of Justice's conclusions in this case, the Commission's own statements as recently as last year, and Univision's assertions to advertisers and investors suggest that Spanish-language broadcasting serves a distinct audience."
"It is pure fiction to assert that advertisers seeking to reach Latinos are just as likely to use English media as Spanish media, or that Telemundo, were it to be cut off from advertising its shows on HBC's radio stations, could be equally effective advertising on English-language radio stations.
…"After all of the adverse reaction to the Commission's recent weakening of its media ownership rules, we should have treated this merger as we have other major media mergers, with public hearings and an in-depth analysis of the practical and realistic effects on Spanish speakers of this proposed combination. Instead, the Commission once again fails to evaluate the public interest adequately and marches forward allowing further media concentration."
The two dissenting commissioners also brought up the issue of the potential effect on other Spanish media companies and anti-competitive behaviour with creative talent
Previous Abernathy:
Previous Adelstein:
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Copps:
Previous FCC:
Previous Hispanic Broadcasting:
Previous Martin:
Previous Powell:
Previous Perenchio:
Previous Tichenor:
Previous Univision:
2003-09-24: UK Emap in a trading update says that it expects revenues in the six months to the end of September to show underlying and total group revenues up 3% on a year before with revenue growth at all its divisions.
Its Consumer Media is forecast to do best with a 6% increase followed by Emap Communications, with a 4% increase and Emap Performance, which includes its radio operations, up 2%. Laggard is its French operation with only a 1% increase predicted.
On the radio front, Emap says it has seen airtime revenues up 9% in the first half of the year after an exceptionally strong first quarter, driven by national revenues. This largely reflected significant share gains in London across Kiss and Magic on the back of healthy audience growth.
Also updating it s figures has been the Daily Mail and General Trust, which specifically noted impressive results from DMG Radio Australia's stations in recent independent listener surveys.
Nova Sydney and Nova Melbourne it says continue to increase advertising revenues in competitive conditions and the regional stations have also made gains in advertising revenues.
Overall it was hit by a fall in advertising revenues and cautioned that is still faces "challenging trading conditions" in advertising markets.
Previous DMG:
Previous Emap:
2003-09-24: Tony Shryane, the BBC producer for the first episode of the BBC Radio 4 farming "soap opera", the Archers, now the world's longest running radio drama serial, has died aged 84 at his home. As well as producing the first episode of the soap on January 1, 1951, he produced another seven thousand plus episodes.
Shyrane started work with the BBC in its Effects Department and returned to the Corporation after service in the Second World War; He worked on the Corporation's first radio soap, The Robinson Family, and also on Mrs Dale's Diary and Dick Barton.
Shryane also devised a number of radio quizzes including crime quiz Guilty Party, literary quiz My Word, and musical quiz, My Music, the later two for television as well as radio.
He retired from the BBC in 1979 aged 60 but continued as a freelance producing My Word and My Music until 1984 when he had completed 50 years with the Corporation.
Commenting on his legacy, BBC Director of Radio & Music Jenny Abramsky said, "Without Tony Shryane, some of the most iconic programmes on Radio 4 would not have been created. "
"His is a lasting legacy and while his contribution to The Archers is rightly regarded as hugely important, we also remember his contribution across a whole range of BBC programmes such as working on My Word and My Music."
Previous Abramsky:
Previous BBC:
2003-09-24: A Nevada judge has ordered Citadel Broadcasting not to attempt to hinder talk show host Rusty Humphries, who had been afternoon host on its KKHO-AM, Reno, since 1998, in his search for a new job.
Humphries, who has said he move for personal reasons (See RNW Sept 10) was reported by the Reno Gazette-Journal to have been close to tears when the judgement was announced.
The judgement clears the way for Humphries to join Fisher Communications' Seattle station KVI-AM and he said he could start as early as next month, adding, "This town has been very good to me. This is very difficult for me but it was best for my wife."
Citadel has declined to say whether it planned action for breach of contract against Humphries, who says his contract has expired, or KVI.
Humphries' lawyer, Pat Lundvall, told the court the two sides had never reached agreement on a new contract and this left Humphries free to negotiate with another company so long as he did not compete with KKHO. She said KVI had told Humphries the injunction was needed before it could offer a post to the host.
The decision does not affect the syndication of Humphries show by Talk Radio Network.
Previous Citadel:
Previous Fisher:
Previous Humphries:
Reno Gazette-Journal report:
2003-09-24: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had reduced from USD 7,000 to USD 6,000 the penalty on former California broadcaster Clarke Broadcasting Corporation for transmitter-related offences at KTIQ-AM, Merced.
The initial penalty was levied in August last year in relation to offences in November 2001 when inspectors fount that the station's power was not being reduced at sunset.
Clarke argued for a reduction or cancellation based on a previous history of compliance but the FCC pointed out that it had issued two other notices of apparent violations in August 2001.
The agency did however reduce the fine on the basis that the company's replacement of its chief operator prior to the inspection had demonstrated "good faith."
The station was sold to Mapleton Communications in June 2002.
Previous FCC:
Previous Mapleton:
2003-09-23: The Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) representing US commercial radio companies and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) have announced approval by the New York Federal District Court of their ten-year agreement announced last month concerning copyright fees for airing the music in the BMI's repertoire (See RNW Aug 3).
The agreement covers the period from 1997 through 2006 and includes blanket and per programme licenses for over-the-air broadcasts and also includes a separate fee for streaming their over-the-air signal. Contracts are to be mailed to radio stations over the US within the next fortnight.
The two parties now estimate the total value of the deal at around USD 1.6 billion.
Previous BMI:
2003-09-23: UK Capital Radio has announced wholesale programming changes to come into effect next Monday at its flaghsip London station as it tries to increase its appeal to its core 25-34 audience.
The changes, spearheaded by Capital FM managing director Keith Pringle will, says the company in a news release mean that, "The station will super serve its adult 25-34 listening core, being true to their entertainment and listening needs but will deliver strongly across the commercially attractive 15-44 demographic."
In the changes, Andi Peters and Emma Forbes, who made their name on the BBC Children's TV show Live & Kicking, are back together for a new weekend breakfast show, their first spell together on radio.
Other weekend changes include a new chart show on Saturday mornings, Double Top 20 hosted by Mick Brown, which will air London's most 20 most popular tracks of the week mixed with a Top 20 from the past, and Saturday nights will include six hours of mixed dance tracks without adverts, followed by four hours of post club chillout and laid back tracks.
Capital's Album Chart with Jane Gazzo moves to Sunday nights and the current Hit Music Sunday show co-hosted by Kate Lawler and Peters has been axed.
In the week, Capital says "Daytime will see a more intensive music mix, while throughout the evening, Capital FM will be at the centre of the city's vibrant nightlife"; changes include a move from an early breakfast time to a mid-morning slot for James Cannon and 30 minutes of non-stop music every hour throughout the workday.
In the evenings Margherita Taylor will host a new entertainment and music led late show from Sunday to Thursdays.
Commenting on the changes, Pringle said, "When you're the most listened to station in town its easy to stick with a tried and tested formula. However, we know that to stay ahead of the rest we need to be constantly innovating and evolving to keep pace with London and Londoners. The development of our music policy and new shows across evenings and weekends will highlight our passion for music across the spectrum and give our listeners the quality radio they deserve."
"We live in a world of perception not reality," he added. "The reality is that Capital plays a huge breadth of music, but this is often not recognised. It takes time to change perceptions; you need to actively keep doing things that point people in the right direction. This means playing the right tracks, promoting the right artists, putting on the right competitions and the right events. Capital FM is not just a pop station aimed at teenagers. It champions the very best of today's music across a wider range of styles than any other station."
Previous Capital:
Previous Forbes:
Previous Pringle:
2003-09-23: US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Michael Powell defends the new media regulations produced by the agency as being produced because of duties laid on the agency by Congress rather than part of a deregulatory agenda in an interview carried by the New York Times.
"We didn't initiate this as a deregulatory plank of an agenda, which is the way it is portrayed," he said. "Trust me. Every chairman knows you don't want to tinker with the media. It's the third rail."
"I cringe a little when I read that I am the architect. This was not my deregulatory plan. This was a duty, and that's all I ever considered it. For me, I do not personalize it and am not particularly bowed by the controversy. I am frustrated by it."
Powell is said by the paper to have "mused inconclusively about how much longer he would be at the agency" commenting, "I've gone through various moments about wanting to leave. I have a kid who is starting high school who was 6 when I started this. I've been in public service for 20 years."
…"It's not always fun. It's not necessarily that much longer. There is an election ahead.
"I have a tired family, tired children and a tired spouse. Candidly, I once said I would be in this job for three years and then leave. That was three years ago."
He then dampened the impact of the comment by adding, "There is no urgency in terms of quitting and going into the private sector. It will be there when I am ready."
In the interview Powell accuses his opponents of misrepresenting his views, distorting the facts, and of attacking him as a tactic rather than dealing with the issues; he also says that the debate became lopsided because of the strong views of opponents of the new regulations and suggested the public was more upset with the media than the rules themselves.
He also said that on principle he had deliberately avoided doing any political spadework in advance of the new rules, something the article suggests was an error.
It quotes an anonymous source, described as "a friend and former top official at the commission" as saying, "He came into office with the best opportunity an F.C.C. chairman ever had, and he has squandered it. He spent the first two years talking vaguely deregulatory rhetoric. And then, when he started to do things this year, he never used the bully pulpit. It was a combination of stubbornness and unwillingness to fight, and I think he fundamentally misperceived the job."
"The saying about him is he can talk about nuclear physics, but he can't count to three," said another former top official who remains friendly with Mr. Powell. "This is like the story of a guy who is a great high school ballplayer, comes to the majors and then can't hit a curve ball. You expect him to hit .380, and then he hits .150."
Previous FCC:
Previous Powell:
New York Times report:
2003-09-22: We start this week's look at print comment on radio with two positive features about US satellite radio, one from the Financial Times in the UK and the other from the New York Times and if they are right the future is bright for the medium.
In the Financial Times, whose report is more oriented to business, Demetri Sevastopulo quoted Jim Collins, head of corporate communications at Sirius, as saying, "We are talking about an industry that is at the tip of the iceberg. It is just beginning to take off. The potential is absolutely huge."
Sirius is of course significantly behind XM Satellite Radio in the race for subscribers - it recently passed 105,000 while XM had nearly seven times as many thanks in part to getting its service out first.
The two companies notes Sevastopulo have very different strategies but both are very conscious of their dependence on the driving audience and the importance of their links with the motor industry - XM has a 12-year exclusive contract with General Motors to install AM/FM/XM radios in its cars whilst Sirius has contracts with Daimler Chrysler, BMW and Ford.
Each presents their alliances positively with Sirius President and CEO Joseph Clayton noting that they have more exclusive deals and XM that the rollout by Sirius partners has been slower than its own by GM.
In terms of their current offerings, there are more XM receivers on the market, but in the longer term the most significant difference is the attitude to adverts; Sirius is staking its future on the premise that people will pay extra - its subscription is USD 1.295 per month - to avoid advertising clutter and is keeping its 66 music channels (it also has 44 news, sport and entertainment stations) advert free while XM is more like terrestrial radio with adverts on half its 69 music channels; it has another 41 news, sport and entertainment channels and charges USD 9.99 a month,
XM also has only two satellites than Sirius, which a three - but has more terrestrial repeaters to deliver its service to areas where satellite reception is difficult. Neither company is yet breaking even and the paper says future success is by no means guaranteed for either.
In the New York Times, Barnaby J. Feder revisits satellite radio 15 months after first sampling XM and he finds much has changed, from a significant fall in receiver prices and availability of more models with a particular growth in the availability of factory-installed systems.
He takes the view that "The major decision is whether to get satellite radio, not which service to choose" and says the service is a luxury albeit not particularly expensive.
Moving into more positive tone, he continues, "That said, free radio may seem unbearably monotonous once you have tried XM or Sirius. Unlike free radio, there is always something entertaining available somewhere in the diverse world of satellite broadcasting. And once you have locked in on something you like, you can drive forever without ever losing the digital signal."
In his case a family of five, including children aged 9-13, came down in favour of XM for a variety of reasons including fewer blips in the area where they had used the system, because they found its organization of channels "slightly more intuitive" ( although he noted Sirius was smarter in breaking "classical instrumental music into symphonic and chamber music while XM opts for the vaguer categories of "traditional classical" and "popular classical."), and also content on the basis that Sirius's promotions were "nearly as annoying as paid advertising."
Feder also notes that "Sirius appears to be hungrier to find underserved audience niches" but then added that its "single comedy channel seemed rarely to run more than a few minutes without broadcasting routines unsuitable for children."
He also says that "None of the differences between the two services may be as important as what kind of car you want to drive, so that may be the determining factor in the satellite service you select" and concludes, "In the end, almost everyone can find reasons to prefer one of the two satellite radio services, but it will be a rare subscriber who is not happy with either one."
After the positive start, a more negative view of radio came from the new Toronto Star radio critic William Burrill who began his column by writing, "I think I got the gig as radio critic because I'm just back from a nearly two-year absence due to a weird tropical disease I picked up in Panama which put me in the hospital for a month, nearly killed me and, in fact, actually DID kill me for a minute or so."
" You know. Out of body. The tunnel. The whole bit."
"This uniquely qualifies me to be radio critic because:
*I can do the job lying down with my eyes closed.
*I've listened to - and in a previous life as an author, been on - a whole bunch of radio shows.
*Most importantly, I believe my editor feels that anyone who has actually been dead - even if only for a while - will be able to tolerate and withstand most local radio broadcasting, especially those CBC interviews that go on for ever. You think you see light at the end of the tunnel but never actually get there."
His first assignment was "to listen to local talk radio and see how they're handling their election coverage" and he wasn't very impressed by much of it, noting how little actually had anything to do with the election, a lot of it was "ripped" from the Star (or maybe that was a plus!).
He did note that CFRB morning host Ted Woloshyn in response to a call about Toronto's gun registry was "quick to point out "that report you refer to was in the Toronto Star and was disingenuous in the way the facts were provided."
"Disingenuous is a good word for Woloshyn to master," commented Burrill, " since, as his TV ads prove, he doesn't know the difference between 'prolific' and 'profound.'"
Gerry McCarthy in the UK Sunday Times also has a dig in his weekly column, in his case over an Irish state broadcaster RTÉ's programme, The Current Affair, and a widely used technique.
After noting the ease with which it is now possible to cut and paste material, he continues, "So take the high points of a day's broadcasting: the most penetrating interviews, the zaniest quotes. Stick them all together, add links, and what do you get? A greatest hits compilation or a ghastly incomprehensible mess? Both, judging by Donal O'Herlihy's nightly round-up."
… "O'Herlihy snips out extracts from the day's talk shows, segments of interviews, news stories and callers to phone-in programmes, and re-presents them as entertainment."
"In one sense, The Current Affair can only be appreciated by a radio anorak. If you've heard the shows already, if you understand who the speakers are and can grasp the significance of what they are saying, then you can also gauge just how far O'Herlihy is stretching his soundbites. But the average listener is not thus prepared."
"This is not satire. Satire only works when the audience knows the person or institution being satirized. This is a kind of meta-radio: witty but unintelligent, heavily contrived and deeply indifferent to the world."
In the US the current debate about radio continues to be more about ownership regulation than actual content and an AP report by David B. Caruso we noted in the Chicago Tribune notes that some of those formerly put out of business by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are now getting satisfaction from the pressure they have been able to put on the agency over the matter.
In particular he mentions Radio Mutiny veteran Pete Tridish (a pseudonym- he was born in New York as Dylan Wrynn); Philadelphia pirate operator Mutiny was closed down by the FCC five years ago and Tridish helped found The non -profit Prometheus Radio Project that helps low power FMs to set up in the US.
It's also managed to get a Philadelphia court to stay the introduction of the new FCC regulations (See RNW Sept 4).
Tridish is cautious about how far the current success may translate into eventual victory, commenting, "Eventually, the weight of the system always seems to wind up catching up with you."
Prometheus believes the new regulations will make public access to the airwaves more difficult to obtain and one staffer Hannah Sassaman commented of the giant media groups, "They need to be curtailed in how far they can spread their arms over the countryside. It will change the way broadcasting sounds in America if it is all centralized out of the big cities."
The FCC says that the new rules will not increase the likelihood of media domination by a few large groups and says other rule changes have increased the number of LPFM licenses.
US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) senior vice president Dennis Wharton also contested the Prometheus viewpoint, saying, "We don't buy into their claim that radio has somehow lost its local flavor. The reality is that the most successful stations today are highly committed to serving their local audiences."
RNW comment: The NAB and FCC responses seem to us examples where spin predominates over honesty and in the NAB case of setting up its own coconut shy rather than responding to the full arguments being made.
The FCC increase merely brings forward some applications (See RNW Licence News Aug 31) rather than changes the fundamentals including the limitations of the numbers of possible low-power FMs that came with the introduction of third adjacent channel protection requirements for which there was a heavy NAB lobby (See RNW Dec 19, 2000).
The comments would also have more strength had there been significant airing in the US by the main public channels of dissenting views concerning the war against Iraq before action was taken and indeed of the pros and cons of the proposed new media rules. In each case, we suggest democracy was badly served by the media whatever the rights and wrongs of the actions actually taken.
Finally our pick of a couple of programmes - apart from the interactive drama The Dark House - see below - well worth a listen this week, both on BBC Radio 4 but concerned with music.
The first is Le Squeezebox, also tomorrow (1230GMT) that follows American cartoonist Robert Crumb's quest to find out why there were so few women accordion players.
The second is the Friday Play (2000GMT) that is based on the singing Belgian nun Jeanine Decker, known for her hit Dominique, who after success left the convent and eventually killed herself in 1985 having made a suicide pact with her lesbian lover. Both remain available on-demand online for a week after their airing.
Previous Columnists:
Previous McCarthy:
Chicago Tribune - Caruso:
New York Times - Barnaby Feder:
Toronto Star - Burrill:
UK Financial Times - Sevastopulo:
UK Sunday Times - McCarthy:
2003-09-22: BBC Radio 4 is to take another step into interactive radio drama tomorrow with The Dark House (22:00 GMT) co-produced by producers Izzy Mant, a theatre/radio director who specializes in new drama writing, and Nick Ryan, a sound designer and composer. It was developed in collaboration with BBC Radio Drama and BBC Creative Research & Development.
The channel previously experimented with interactive drama in a different mode in 1981 with Wheel of Fortune, which was broadcast on BBC Radio3 and 4 with billions of choices available through switching between channels at the end of a one-minute segment (See RNW April 17, 2001).
The new drama used a different technique of allowing voting to determine which character takes over the story in a mystery drama centred round three main characters Lucy, Kelly and Jim, who are trapped in a haunted building.
Each will try and convince the audience of trustworthiness and listeners, having decided which character to put their trust in, can vote by text message or phone to choose which character's perspective is heard in a chilling ghost story.
The voting system can handle up to 10,000 calls a second and computers then toll the votes; every three minutes during the 45-minute drama there is a "switch point" at which the character with the most votes takes over the story.
The programme has been recorded using binaural techniques in which microphones are placed near the actor's ears and various permutations are on the recording for the computerized selection.
Mant likens the technique of the programme to choosing different camera angles to watch a soccer game rather than influencing the play itself.
Helen Boaden, Controller of Radio 4, who commissioned the drama, commented, "The Radio 4 audience is very technically literate. We're asking listeners to interact through their mobile phones if they want to change the perspective of their characters and shift from one to the other. "
"I'll be interested to see how this experiment goes because I think drama is, by definition, an interaction. Your imagination interacts with the words you hear."
Previous BBC:
Previous Boaden:
BBC Radio 4 "Dark House" web site:
2003-09-21: Last week again saw controversy continuing over new US media ownership regulations as we have already reported and also saw the FCC closed at the end of the week because of Hurricane Isabel; elsewhere matters were more of a more routine nature.
In Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) is proposing to make capacity available for additional community and national radio services at seven locations in the Illawarra, South East New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory based on a redefinition of the area using 2001 census figures rather than the figures from 1999, based on the 1996 census, used for the existing area plan. The new plan will also include changes for existing services. In terms of locations, the proposed chances include:
Bega:
Reserving capacity for two additional national radio services to serve the Batemans Bay/Moruya area, changing specifications for commercial channel 2EC Bega to improve its coverage in outlying areas and making capacity for an additional community radio service in Eden. In addition existing community service, 2BAR Bega, would be allowed to move transmitter site from Old Bega Hospital to Dr George Mountain
Canberra:
Make channel capacity available for additional FM transmitters for community stations 1RPH to serve the city of Wagga Wagga, NSW, and for 1WAY to serve the area of Tuggeranong, Australian Capital Territory, and also give Queanbeyan community station 2QBN the option to change its current technical operating conditions to serve the communities of Sutton and Bungendore.
In addition additional open narrowcasting services would be made available in Canberra and two frequencies, currently listed as available for community services would instead be reserved for Canberra national radio service, 2PB to convert to FM; the existing AM frequency would continue to be reserved for a national radio service.
Cooma:
Make available channel capacity for an additional transmitter for the community radio service, 2MNO Cooma, to serve the town of Bombala, NSW, change the polarisation of the 2XL and 2SKI commercial radio services in Bombala from mixed to vertical to prevent interference to WIN3 Narooma television service and also change the frequency of the existing Bombala open narrowcasting service in order to avoid potential interference from the proposed Illawarra high power national service.
Goulburn:
Reserve channel capacity for an additional national radio service to serve the city of Goulburn, make channel capacity available for an additional community radio service to serve the town of Braidwood, NSW, and vary the nominal transmitter site of the 2GN and 2SNO's transmitters to Eurodux Road, Brushy Hill in Braidwood.
Nowra:
Make channel capacity available for an additional community radio service to serve the town of Sanctuary Point, NSW and vary the existing technical specification of commercial radio service 2ST Nowra in order to rectify signal deficiencies in the north of its licence area and to make available an additional FM transmitter for 2ST to serve the south east section of its licence area.
Wollongong:
Reserve channel capacity for one additional national radio service to serve the Illawarra area and move existing SBS service, 2EA, to an alternative channel in order to be able to transmit with a maximum ERP of 2 kW.
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been involved in licence renewals and amendments rather than the issue of new licences.
In order of province decisions included:
Alberta:
Allowed oldies CKMX-AM, Calgary, to reduce to Canadian musical selection content 30% rather than the normal 35%.
British Columbia:
Approved a 20 watts transmitter in Quesnel for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to allow CBU-FM Vancouver to rebroadcast the national English-language network service, Radio Two.
Allied with this is the revocation of the licence of the North Cariboo Community FM Stereo Society, Quesnel, which currently rebroadcasts CBC Radio 2.
Allowed oldies CISL-AM, Richmond, to reduce to Canadian musical selection content 30% rather than the normal 35%
Refused an application for a 50 watts commercial low-power English-language FM in Port Alberni; the Commission accepted that the only local commercial station in the market, CJAV-AM, Port Alberni, one of the few remaining independent local radio stations in British Columbia, was struggling to become profitable and that the market could not sustain two commercial stations without causing an undue negative impact on CJAV.
Manitoba:
Approved power decrease from 100,000 watts to 63,700 watts and contour changes for CJZZ-FM, Winnipeg, whose transmissions have been moved to a different site because of overlapping noise problems at the originally scheduled transmitter site.
Newfoundland and Labrador:
Approved the deletion of CKXD-FM, Gander's, transmitter CKXB Musgravetown; Station owner Newcap had said the ageing equipment broke down frequently and the cost of repairs was prohibitive; it also noted that the coverage are was also served by its stations CKVO-AM, Clarenville, CKGA-AM Gander and VOCM-FM-1 Clarenville.
Ontario:
Renewed from 1 December 2003 to 31 August 2007, instead of the maximum term of seven years, the licence of CICZ-FM Midland; the shorter period was imposed because the station had broadcast during a week in November 2001 only 29.7% of Canadian music instead of the required 35%.
Allowed a new ethnic FM station for Ottawa/Hull (Gatineau) to temporarily operate from a different transmitter site from a lower tower but increase power from 800 watts to 1500 watts; this will reduce coverage for the temporary period.
Allowed oldies stations CKOC-AM, Hamilton and CKSL-AM, London, to reduce to Canadian musical selection content 30% rather than the normal 35%.
Saskatchewan:
Allowed oldies CKJH-AM, Melfort, to reduce to Canadian musical selection content 30% rather than the normal 35%.
In Ireland the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has received 61 ex