March 2004 Archive
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February 2004
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April 2004 
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 March comment - More US moralizing - does the country really want to step back in time? We look back at a previous time of mass moralizing in the US and UK.
RNW February comment - Straws, camels and regulators - has the US lost its marbles over a breast? We consider what regulation concerning indecency makes sense and would be legal in the US in First Amendment terms.
RNW January comment - Suggests that convergence in media is a delusion when it comes to programming since human senses have not changed even if the signal if just a data stream en route to the eyes and ears.
2004-03-31: Two BBC radio veterans - Alistair Cooke, best known for his Radio 4 Letter from America series and Hubert Gregg, presenter of Thanks For The Memory on BBC Radio 2 since 1972 - have died aged 95 and 89 respectively.
Cooke, who filed his last "Letter" last month and gave up the series because of illness (See RNW March 3) had been presenting the long-running series - originally commissioned as The American Letter for a 13-week run - for 58 years during which he missed only three broadcasts. In a prescient comment in one of his Letters he had remarked, "I have noted. If you retire, you keel over."
He was born in Salford in Lancashire as Alfred Cooke and won a scholarship to Cambridge and then in 1932 a place at Yale on a Commonwealth Fund scholarship. Subsequently, after a brief spell as the BBC's film critic in the UK, he moved to the US in 1937, becoming a citizen in 1941.
He was present at the 1945 conference in San Francisco that led to the founding of the United Nations in- and had commented after recent reports of bugging of UN officials in the run up to the Iraq war that the same had been happening in San Francisco.
He was also known in the US as a host of Masterpiece Theatre on the Public Broadcasting System, for his work on the Omnibus TV series in the 1950s and for the BBC-produced "America: A Personal History of the United States" programme that ran in the early 1970s and won four Emmy Awards.
He was awarded an honorary knighthood in 1973 for furthering Anglo-American relations and in 1974 addressed Congress on its 200th anniversary.
The news of his death at his New York home at midnight on Monday was broken by his daughter and speedily attracted tributes from a wide range of people.
Amongst them was British Prime Minister Tony Blair who said, "He was really one of the greatest broadcasters of all time, and we shall feel his loss very, very keenly indeed. He was a remarkable man who was broadcasting the Letter from America right up to a few weeks ago. He will be deeply, deeply missed."
The BBC's Acting Director-General Mark Byford said, "Alistair Cooke was one of the greatest broadcasters ever in the history of the BBC - an outstanding commentator of the 20th Century.
"His insight, wisdom and unique ability to craft words enabled millions of listeners in the UK and around the world to understand the texture of the United States and its people. All of us at the BBC are saddened today."
Jenny Abramsky, Director of BBC Radio, added, "With his superb voice and masterly turn of phrase, Alistair Cooke, was the most brilliant radio chronicler of his age. His contribution to BBC Radio over decades was unmatched. Above all, his relationship with his listeners was unique. "
"BBC Radio is grateful for the decades of contributions from Alistair Cooke and we will miss him greatly."
BBC Radio 4 broadcast an hour-long tribute programme "Remembering Alistair Cooke" and posted a wide range of messages from listeners from round the world - his broadcasts aired on the BBC World Service as well as Radio 4 in the UK -on the BBC web site as well as a tribute from his official biographer Nick Clarke. All the British broadsheet newspapers have obituaries on their web sites including one from Clarke in the UK Guardian.
In the US, Current Magazine has a 1998 article on Cooke on its web site and obituaries are in a number of papers including the New York Times and Washington Post.
They are mostly encomiums although the UK Press Association report in the UK Independent notes that he came under attack when he questioned the wisdom of racial integration in the Sixties and in 1996, Cooke had to defend himself on air after protests from Radio 4 listeners about his "sexist" comments on rape in the American armed forces. In his later broadcasts there were comments that he was too party-political Republican in some remarks and a number of comments in the BBC's hour-long tribute suggested that his work lacked "sharpness".
Cooke's archives have been left by Boston University, going there as his official biographer noted, for "tax relief" reasons.
The other veteran who has died, Hubert Gregg, had worked on and off for the BBC for some 70 years and was a screen and stage actor, theatre director, author and songwriter as well as a broadcaster: He wrote two novels and was known for writing more than 100 songs, particularly "I'm Going To Get Lit Up When The Lights Go Up In London" - his first song which was written in 1939 and became a wartime hit - and "Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner".
BBC Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas commented, "Hubert Gregg was not only an extraordinary person but he was also a unique broadcaster."
"As a musician he was responsible for memorable songs such as 'Maybe It's because I'm a Londoner', and in Radio 2's Thanks for the Memory, he painted pictures of a bygone era with wit and style. He will be greatly missed by the Radio 2 audience - young and old alike.'
Previous Abramsky:
Previous BBC:
Previous Byford:
Previous Cooke:
Previous Douglas:
BBC web site - Cooke obituary:
BBC web site - Listener tributes:
BBC web site - biographer Nick Clarke tribute:
Current Magazine 1998 report on Cooke:
UK Guardian Nick Clark obit:
UK Independent/PA report:
2004-03-31: Salem Communications has announced that it is to move into Detroit with the USD 4.75 million acquisition of Urban AC WBAH-AM from Queens Broadcasting Corp.
Salem President and CEO Edward G. Atsinger III noted that with the acquisition Salem will become only the fourth US radio broadcaster to have a presence in every one of the US top ten markets.
"This is significant because these markets reach more than 31 percent of the U.S. population, generate approximately 37 percent of U.S. radio revenues, and are regarded by many as the most sought after properties in the U.S. radio industry," he added.
Previous Atsinger:
Previous Salem:
2004-03-31: Former Infinity President and COO and Clear Channel Regional SVP John Fullam has joined Greater Media as market manager for its Philadelphia cluster.
Fullam, who stepped down from his Infinity post in April 2003 (See RNW April 29, 2003) will continue to work for management firm EPG that he co-founded and which has agreed a two-year contract for him with Greater Media.
He said that although he planned to stay involved with the management business he would "devote most of my time over the next two years to helping Peter [Greater Media President and CEO Peter Smyth] and his team win - and win big - in Philadelphia.
Greater Media has also announced that Bill Weston, Program Director of Cox Radio's Classic Rock WKLR-FM and Operations Manager of its Alternative WDYL-FM in Richmond, Virginia, is to join it as Program Director of rock WMMR-FM. in Philadelphia.
Previous Fullam:
2004-03-31: Two UK advertising buying agencies, ZenithOptimedia and PHD Group, have come out in favour of GfK's meter system of radio ratings in preference to the diary system used by main ratings body RAJAR (Radio Joint Audio Research).
According to a report in the UK Guardian that presents the report as a "blow" to RAJAR in the run up to its court battle with The Wireless Group, which is claiming GBP 66 million (USD 120 million) in damages on the basis that the diary system severely under records its listening (See RNW Mar 17), the agencies conducted tests of the GfK system and found the figures to be "significantly more accurate" than those from the diary system.
ZenithOptimedia and PHD found the GfK audience figures to be significantly more accurate than those produced by RAJAR, which requires listeners to fill in a diary of their listening.
PHD, reports the Guardian, concluded that the GfK system allowed them to spend less money on radio advertising to reach the same number of listeners and a poll conducted following a test campaign run on behalf of Transport for London based on GfK and RAJAR figures found that the same level of consumer awareness was achieved for half the spend using the GfK system.
Wireless Group chairman and chief executive Kelvin MacKenzie told the paper he would use the findings in his court action, saying, "This is a real step forward because we now have findings of two independent agencies. I look forward to receiving by return a banker's draft from RAJAR for £66m, the amount of money I am due in lost revenues."
"NOP, PHD and TfL have proved the one thing we have been unable to prove regarding this technology: that it's an accurate, effective and economic system."
The paper reports that RAJAR said it was "intrigued" by the findings and added, "We are unable to comment on the findings of the research until we have access to the full details and we hope and expect that GfK will be prepared to supply then as soon as possible."
PHD director of strategic services Justin Gibbons said the findings could shock the radio industry into action adding, "This research definitely makes me more confident about using GfK to place radio campaigns, especially if it is coming in at half the price."
"This should hurry them [RAJAR] towards approaching the issue speedily. If radio stations think they are going to get their budgets halved, that will be a wake-up call. It is not that anyone has taken sides, it's that both agencies and radio stations are interested in this now. This makes it an industry issue."
ZenithOptimedia director of strategy and resources Frank Harrison said he now had a "great deal more" confidence about the use of meters but added that for the moment it would continue to use RAJAR data for decisions on radio advertising.
He added that it was vital that RAJAR move soon to a metering system, commenting, "It is important it doesn't drag as it does look like the technology is pretty much there. There isn't a reason for this to drag on for years."
"The diary system is a very blunt measure. The radio industry as changed dramatically since the diaries were introduced."
RNW comment: RAJAR dismissed the Wireless Group claims as "ludicrous" and whatever the Guardian may suggest it seems to us that the comment should stand. As we commented at the time, nobody is forcing advertisers to use the RAJAR figures and the obvious way forward is proper testing of systems allied with competitive pressures. If the GfK system is clearly superior and RAJAR sticks to diaries then GfK will take market share irrespective of lawsuits.
We stick to our judgment that the courts should toss the Wireless Group claim out on its ear, preferably with suitably biting comments about it.
Previous GfK:
Previous MacKenzie:
Previous RAJAR:
Previous Wireless Group:
UK Guardian report:
2004-03-31: The Virgin Group and Australia's Macquarie Radio Network have turned out to be behind two of the shelf companies that have entered bids for new Sydney and Brisbane for which keen bidding is anticipated (See RNW Mar 25).
In a 50-50 joint venture, Virgin Radio Australia, that is behind the GTShelfCo 1 Pty. Ltd. and GTShelfCo 3 Pty. Ltd. applications the two are trying to form a new FM network in the country and Macquarie Radio Chairman Sam Chisholm predicted to the Dow Jones wire that Virgin Radio would "significantly change the national radio landscape."
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying, "The recipe is there for Virgin Radio Australia to be something special and we believe the market is crying out for the type of network we can deliver. Macquarie's news and sales teams are acknowledged as leaders in this market and Virgin's brand and track record in radio is second to none. "Virgin Radio Australia will reap the benefits of this combined expertise."
Chisholm is to be deputy-chairman of the new company with Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson as chairman. Virgin already has a radio network in Thailand, Virgin Radio Thailand - Soft, Hitz, Smooth and EazyFM.
Macquarie owns two AMs in Sydney, 2GB, home of top-rated breakfast talk host Alan Jones, and easy-listening 2CH
The new Australian company says it will also bid for a Melbourne FM licence to be auctioned later this year and will consider other options to build a network.
It is expected to opt for an all-music format as has DMG with its Nova network, which already has a station in all major Australian capital cities except Bribane.
RNW comment: Laying aside the standard Branson hype, we rather doubt that the group will be committed enough to put in the funds necessary to build a successful network unless it is very fortunate in picking up some stations at the right price AND somehow managing to develop a format that can really succeed against Ausereo and Nova. We wouldn't invest a cent in it but suspect Branson will manage to profit somehow.
Previous Macquarie:
Previous Virgin Radio:
Sydney Morning Herald report:
2004-03-31: Eastlan has now added Clear Channel as a customer in an eighth market, Yuma, Arizona, where I has been measuring the audience in spring since 2002.
Last month Eastlan announced contracts for spring surveys in six markets (See RNW Feb 19) and earlier in the year gained its first top 100 market contract - for Dix Communications in Gainesville/Ocala, Florida (See RNW Jan 31) - and its first Canadian contract (See RNW Jan 21).
Commenting on the latest deal, Eastlan President Mike Gould said his company was "excited that the largest broadcaster in the United States continues to see value in Eastlan data."
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Eastlan:
2004-03-30: February US radio revenues were up 1% compared to a year ago according to latest figures from the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) that comments that "In a surprising twist, local Radio revenue figures are rebounding faster and stronger than national, the sector that traditionally signals the healthy return of advertising."
Within the 1% rise, local sales in February were up 3% on a year earlier but national ones dropped 4%; RAB's sales index for February, which is based on pre-dot com boom year 1998, was 143.3 for local, 133.6 for national and 141.5 for combined revenues.
On a year to date basis local revenues are up 1%, national revenues are down 2% and combined revenues are up 1%.
The indices for the year to date are 141.2 for local, 141.6 for national, and 141.3 for combined revenues.
RAB President and CEO Gary Fries, who last month had suggested the "beginning of a levelling out for radio" to be followed by growth after the first quarter, commented, "Radio's stronghold in the local marketplace has sustained the medium through the early part of 2004. We anticipate national growth to accelerate as the year progresses."
Previous Fries:
Previous RAB:
Previous RAB US monthly figures (for January)
2004-03-30: Adelaide morning host Leon Byner returned to the airwaves on Monday following eight-weeks of suspension by 5AA over alleged cash-for-comment arrangements (See RNW Feb 14).
Byner, who had failed to disclose payments he received to provide media training and other assistance to various companies and the city's mayor, Michael Harbison, admitted in a statement read out at the start of his programme that he broke Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) regulations by failing to disclose details of the arrangements but denied they were cash-for-comment deals and said he had only given advice.
"I am deeply sorry that I have failed to comply with these requirements because I've let down my employer here, I've let down myself and most importantly I've let down you, my listeners," Byner said on his morning show."
"An announcer who agrees to make favourable comments, or to refrain from making unfavourable comments about a particular business or person in return for cash, must disclose that arrangement to the station and to his listeners," he said. "These are sometimes called cash-for-comment arrangements. "I have never entered into any such arrangement and would never dream of doing so"
"Now I can't explain why I didn't disclose these arrangements perhaps, because they in no way involved cash for comments or anything close to it. Perhaps I didn't because I was under enormous stress through last year."
"Many of you may know that I've had major eye surgery and there was a very real risk last year that I might go blind."
Byner says he has now cancelled the deals and now only has two: the station web site under its "Presenters Interests" that has three entries for him, all in the AUD 10,000 to AUD 10,000 range (USD 7,500 -75,000) - to promote Peter Page-Holden, the Navi-safe company and Wallis Cinemas.
The matter is still under investigation by the ABA.
Previous ABA:
Previous Byner:
ABC Online report:
Adelaide 5AA web site:
2004-03-30: Progress Media's new "liberal" American talk network Air America is to be on XM's satellite services when it launches tomorrow.
An announcement said that it will be on XM America Left, Channel 167, along with shows from Ed Schultz and Alan Colmes and XM President and CEO Hugh Panero commented, "We are excited to provide a national audience to progressive superstar Al Franken and his spirited cohorts at Air America."
"Challenging our listeners, and giving them the best and broadest choices possible is our daily mission at XM. Where else are you going to find Al Franken and Bill O'Reilly, or opera and punk for that matter, living under one roof?"
Mark Walsh, CEO of Progress Media, which is launching Air America, said, "There is a great underserved market of Americans who want to hear compelling and funny talk voices expressing viewpoints long absent from the radio airwaves. Air America on XM will go a long way to correcting this imbalance at a particularly opportune time."
Previous Panero:
Previous Progress Media/Air America:
Previous Schultz:
Previous Walsh:
Previous XM:
2004-03-30: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it proposes to collect just under USD 273 million in regulatory fees for its 2004 fiscal year. The total is 1.5% up on the Commission's 2003 figures and as that year the Commission intends to publish general information only on its web site and not distribute it through surface mail.
Radio licences total around USD 19.3 million of this and of the radio total some USD 6.25 million will come from AM licensees, USD 12.75 million from FM licensees and USD 300,000 from construction permits.
Radio licence fees in some AM cases are unchanged and the lowest fee for a station is USD 350 for a class C AM in a market with a population fewer than 25,000; the largest is USD 8,775 for various classes of FM in markets with more than 3 million people in them.
Fee-assessment notifications to licensees in five categories - Media Services Licensees, Satellite Space Station Licensees, Interstate Telecommunications Service Providers, Cable Television System Operators, and Commercial Mobile Radio Service Operators - will, however, be sent by surface mail.
The FCC notes that in fiscal year 2003 it mailed fee assessment notifications to media services licensees for the first time but notes that in many cases licensees had erroneously submitted fee payments with an attached copy of the assessment notification they received rather than a completed Form 159 and also sent payment to FCC headquarters rather than to the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh.
This, it says, resulted in delayed payments that resulted in some attracting a 25% late payment penalty and this year it says it will include in the mailing a specific notice advising that payments sent without the completed form or to the wrong address may attract the late-payment penalty.
The FCC has also confirmed a fine of USD 3,000 on non-profit NRS Enterprises, Inc., licensee of WJIG-AM, Tullahoma, Tennessee, for failure to register its antenna structure.
NRS had sought cancellation or reduction on financial hardship grounds and also said that the general manager who submitted a response to the original notice of violation in 1999 had resigned and it was unable to find out why registration had not been completed. It also said current management had taken steps to register the tower as soon as they became aware of the situation and the structure is now registered.
The FCC found the financial details supplied did not justify a reduction and also noted that no registration number was provided by NRS. It confirmed the penalty and also gave NRS 30 days to provide proof, including a registration number, that the tower is registered.
Previous FCC:
2004-03-30: According to the New York Post Opie and Anthony (Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia), whose show was taken off air in 2002 following the sex in St Patrick's Cathedral stunt (See RNW Aug 24, 2002), have told comedian Jim Norton, who was a regular on their show, they'll be back on air from June 1.
Although the show was taken off air the duo are under contract to Infinity until June this year and Infinity has continued to pay them.
Norton did not say who would be hiring the pair but said Opie and Anthony would be back on air everywhere else in the US on June 1 broadcasting out of New York, and start airing in New York on October 1.
Opie and Anthony's agent, Robert Eatman, was less definitive, telling the paper no firm deals were yet in place and saying, "That's not necessarily the case. I hope it is the case, we're hopeful that's going to happen."
Opie and Anthony on their web site carry details of the New York Post report but do not add any details: Earlier this month they were on stage at Caroline's Comedy Club for the "roasting" of Norton.
Previous Opie and Anthony:
Previous Viacom-CBS-Infinity:
Opie and Anthony web site (RNW note- As well as links to the New York Post report this also carries a scan of the report that will be there when the Post link is outdated and other items including Opie's report on what happened when Infinity cancelled their show and Anthony's comments on the indecency hearings. He makes a better case against the FCC in our view than the FCC has made against the broadcast.)
New York Post report:
2004-03-29: With Air America's "liberal " talk network due to debut in two days time - at noon ET on Wednesday, March 31 - there has been a spate of articles concerning it and we have devoted this week's look at print comment on radio to the topic.
In the case of Air America some were doubtful about its likely success, others pro, the Washington Post noted that it won't be able to be heard in the District, and the New Yorker posted a mock job application form.
First a view from the "liberal" UK Guardian in which columnist Gary Younge starts by asking if a "group of liberals" can beat Rush Limbaugh at his own game.
Limbaugh, he notes was made an honorary member of the US Congress when Republicans won the House in 1994 and two years earlier found his bags carried to the Lincoln Room personally by then President George Bush.
Limbaugh has around 20-million listeners a week who Younge comments, "tune in five days a week for three hours at a time to hear him berate "feminazis" and "commie symps".
"It is," adds Younge, "a mix of liberal-baiting, sarcasm, wit and bile that has proved remarkably successful, allowing Republicans to dominate talk radio since the early 90s."
He then quotes Al Franken, whose show will be going head-to-head with those of Limbaugh and his much-less successful conservative rival Bill O'Reilly, as saying, " Political talk radio has come to mean rightwing radio, but that doesn't have to be the case. I plan to take what they say, use it against them and hold it up to scorn and ridicule. That's my job. That's what I do."
Then moving into the politics of the matter, Franken adds, "I'd be lying if I said this wasn't part of the contribution to getting Bush out." On the style of the show, he continues, "I think our audience will want something different from the bile you get from the other side. People want to hear reason with passion and humor."
In the end though, although they may be hopeful for success for the show, many liberals are not confident according to John Nichols, author of Our Media Not Theirs, who is quoted by Younge as saying, "The liberal base is not a radio base. They tend to choose cable TV, the internet and frankly, they also have a social life."
Nichols then adds, "The left misunderstand the source of [Limbaugh's] success. He is a great radio personality. If you listened to him, you got the issues of the day. He was very timely."
And on what might lead to success for Franken, "People aren't going to listen if it gives the right message. They'll listen if it's great radio."
Unsurprisingly conservative Salem talk host Hugh Hewitt writing for Worldnet comes straight in with a biased approach, saying of Franken and his show, "The nation's news media is working overtime to help him succeed…The cover story of the New York Times Magazine this past Sunday was an extended appeal to the readers to give Franken a shot and to explain why he ought to succeed. I can recall no parallel attention ever being lavished on Rush, Sean Hannity or any other center-right host on radio or television. Clearly there is a lot riding on Franken."
Hewitt then says there are positives either way: Should Franken succeed it will boost AM radio but he then continues, "it is more than likely than Franken will fail, and that scenario as well has a silver lining: With all this hoopla and all this cheerleading from the bigs like the Sunday Times, if Franken still falls on his face, there will be no excuses. A lesson will be written in stone. That lesson: The left doesn't have a popular following, only special interests addicted to benefits or power or both."
Setting up the coconuts, Hewitt defines success in terms that pretty-well guarantee failure: "The first set of ratings to judge Al by will be available in early July after a 3-month period elapses. Given the push he's getting from free ink, he won't have any excuse for not starting strong."
Later Hewitt goes on to make more political points before descending towards abuse with the comment, "One example: A large segment of the left's coalition in America is the African-American vote. Does anyone seriously believe that Franken - the lily-white, privileged Minnesota boy turned acidic voice of west-side Manhattan - is going to bring south-central Los Angeles or downtown Detroit to his station?"
From south Florida came a whiff of perdition to both their house from Tom Jicha in his Sun-Sentinel column.
"Air America," he commented, "might be an attempt to start leveling the broadcast playing field. But given that the country is more polarized politically than ever before, the new radio network figures only to exacerbate the situation, since it's likely to shed more heat than light on the political process."
He then added, "The big name on Air America is Al Franken, who transformed himself from Saturday Night Live fringe player to political pundit with the publication of Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and its follow-up, Lies and Lying Liars Who Tell Them."
And of another host on the new network:" Randi Rhodes, is a familiar voice to South Florida listeners from her stints on WIOD, AM 610, and now WJNO, AM 1290. Rhodes is a hysterical shrieker who never heard a conservative conspiracy theory she found too far-fetched to share with listeners."
Jicha then quotes Tom Taylor of Inside Radio: "I think they're going to have an impact politically because radio has never had a daily rejoinder from the liberal perspective. However, talk and news are slow-build formats. A new music station can catch on more quickly because young people are always looking for what's new and hot."
And what might help it along? Taylor said. "You always tell the hosts at the established leader, `Don't respond.' But they'll be unable to resist the temptation. It happens every time." Every mention of the competition is free publicity, something a start-up with limited reach needs mightily. Backbiting also might induce some listeners to sample the rival to see how they respond to the response.
However South Florida's highest-rated and most prominent liberal talk host, Neil Rogers, was more skeptical, saying, "I wish them luck but I don't see it succeeding. Hard-core conservatives gather around the radio to listen to Rush. Liberals are too busy having a life for that."
In the Washington Post, Marc Fisher notes that until Air America puts its show on the web nobody in DC will be able to hear it because lack of potential outlets.
Fisher also comments on the nature of talk radio, writing, There are two kinds of talk radio, AM and FM. The AM kind is usually political talk, aimed at an audience that's generally too old to care much for pop music. AM talk is nationally syndicated conservatives such as Limbaugh, Schlessinger and Sean Hannity, and the dwindling ranks of local talk hosts, such as WMAL's Chris Core and WTNT's Paul Berry."
"FM talk is known in the industry as "hot talk" -- that's the ever-raunchier stuff inspired by Howard Stern and designed to appeal to young male listeners. (A very few talk hosts manage to bridge the two categories, most notably Don Imus, whose New York-based show airs on both AM and FM stations around the country.)"
And after running through what's on the AM and FM dials he concludes, "In Washington, Air America has nowhere to land."
From the New Yorker came Bruce McCall's take on the nature of the people likely to be working for the network with a mock - and mocking - employment application that began, "We are an equal-opportunity, pro-choice, antiwar, non-smoking, non-sectarian network with a fifty-fifty male/female staff that recycles. Always remember to buckle up for safety!"
"We respect your civil rights and your right to privacy and do not ask you to reveal any personal information. We rely on the honor system to inform us if you are a pervert, terrorist, or carrier of mad-cow disease."
He then ran through a questionnaire - see link below for the questions.
And finally from Chicago, Ed Schwarz's column with what we rather suspect is an accurate summary of the prospects for both Air America and a show from former Education Secretary and Drug Czar Bill Bennett whose "Morning In America" which is scheduled to hit the air from April 5th.
"My personal feeling; I will be surprised if Franken and Bennett are still sitting on their radio shows one year from start-up," writes Schwartz. "Neither has the commitment or the interest in being a radio talk show host for the rest of their professional lives. They're using the medium for cross purposes. A year from now we won't remember either was here."
But on to programming to listen to and different kinds of talk from the BBC: First two jigsaw items, one from BBC World Service whose The Jigsaw in Pieces presented by Edward Stourton attempts to document the three years after 9/11 by talking to as many of those directly involved as possible
Its final part The World After Iraq considers the situation in that country and its dependency on the US electoral process and together with the three previous segments is still on the BBC web site.
Jigsaws of a different kind - the puzzle ones - were the subject of a BBC Radio 4 feature, The World's Most Difficult Puzzle, on Saturday that looked at the launch in 1965 by Springbok Editions, subsequently bought by Hallmark, of a jigsaw of Jackson Pollock's Convergence. Its success changed the world of the jigsaw puzzle in the US.
Also worth a listen from Radio 4 is the last edition of Law in Action to be hosted by Marcel Berlins, a look over the programmed during the 15 years he hosted it.
But back to America and politics, the Friday Play this week at 2000 GMT will be Monica and Linda, research for which involved playwright Laura Streusel in sifting through 2,000 pages of telephone transcripts for a reconstruction of what happened when Monica Lewinsky confided in her friend Linda Tripp about her liaison with President Clinton.
And with current US politics, Saturday's weekend edition on National Public Radio considered among other issues an assessment of Richard Clarke's testimony on 9-11 discussed by Linda Wertheimer with guests Vincent Cannistraro, a senior counter-terrorism official in the Reagan administration, and Daniel Benjamin, who directed counter-terrorism for the National Security Council under President Clinton.
And finally back to Air America and yesterday's Broadcasting House on BBC Radio 4, which came from New York and included a report on Air America including comments from Al Franken and right-wing host C Gordon Liddy who apparently will be calling in to the first show.
Previous Columnists:
Chicago Ed - Ed Schwartz:
New Yorker - McCall:
S. Florida Sun-Sentinel - Jicha:
UK Guardian - Gary Younge:
Washington Post - Fisher:
Worldnet - Hewitt:
BBC World Service - Jigsaw in Pieces Index:
2004-03-29: Former and current staff of Britain's first pirate offshore radio station, Radio Caroline, which marks its 40th anniversary today, have been marking its birth over the past weekend.
The station is now available on the Internet, the Sky digital TV platform, and WorldSpace and was also until Saturday on terrestrial airwaves through a restricted service licence (RSL) that began on February 29th; the last day of broadcasts included The Steve Merchant Show co-hosted by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, co-creators of Golden Globe award winning TV series The Office.
Another terrestrial broadcast period using an RSL is planned for later this year.
At the time Caroline was launched the BBC had a monopoly of UK radio and Irish entrepreneur Ronan O'Rahilly - for a short period before Andrew Oldham took them over a manager of the Rolling Stones in conjunction with a friend - found it impossible to get airtime from the corporation or pop station Radio Luxembourg for artists on the record label he had created.
He was given the idea of going offshore at a time when international waters began three miles off the British coast through hearing of the Voice of America, which was operating at sea from the official US vessel the MV Courier. Subsequently O'Rahilly gathered information about this operation from the US Embassy and also from Jack Kotschack, the owner of the marine station, Radio Nord and the owners of Radio Veronica, a Dutch offshore radio station.
He bought an ex-ferry Fredericia - later renamed after US President John F Kennedy's daughter Caroline - which was converted at the Irish port of Greenore, which was owned by his family.
The first broadcast was made on Easter Sunday, March 29, 1964 with a pre-recorded announcement from Chris Moore and then unknown actor Simon Dee of "This is Radio Caroline on 199, your all day music station" followed by the Rolling Stones' Not Fade Away that was dedicated to O'Rahilly
Others who were on Caroline in its history included Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everett, John Peel, Johnnie Walker, and now-
hypnotist Paul McKenna.
Recordings played that year included The Animals' House of the Rising Sun; The Beatles' Can't Buy Me Love; Chuck Berry's No Particular Place to Go; Swinging Blue Jeans' Good Golly Miss Molly and The Zombies' She's Not There
The effects of Caroline's informal style of presentation were revolutionary at the time and it became very popular with listeners, at one time claiming to have an audience greater than that of BBC radio.
The British government took a very different view and a combination of legislation in the form of the 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, which speedily shut down other pirate operators who had gone on air in the wake of Caroline, financial pressures and new competitors including BBC Radio 1, which took on many of its DJs, eventually took Caroline off air when the company that serviced its ships seized them and took them to take them to Holland to be impounded for debt.
It had a brief reincarnation two years later when O'Rahilly persuaded two Swiss businessmen who had equipped the vessel Mebo 2 as the base for Radio North Sea International to rename their station Caroline but again ran into political problems, finding the government jamming its signal.
O'Rahilly was unable to fight the effects of this but claims that the campaign he ran against the then-ruling Labour Party was a factor in its subsequent unexpected defeat.
Caroline was then off air for years although land-based pirate stations in the UK -the first two were Radio Free London and Radio Free Caroline - continued on air, and being closed down. It had another rebirth as an offshore station, mainly through an arrangement with Dutch owns who broadcast to Holland in the day and Radio Caroline in the evening but in 1974 the Dutch also passed anti-pirate laws and the ship - Mi Amigo , the second ship to be completed at Greenore - was moved.
It continued to broadcast for another six years until, by now almost a floating wreck, it Mi Amigo broke anchor again on March 19th 1980 and eventually sank; all the crew were rescued by the lifeboat Helen Turnbull.
There was yet another rebirth in 1983 on a converted side trawler, the Ross Revenge, which was redundant following the British cod wars with Iceland, but after other sagas of storms, boarding by the authorities, destruction of equipment, and yet more hostile legislation the last broadcast was made from the Ross Revenge in November 1990.
Caroline was subsequently re-launched on land and now operates legally from studios in Maidstone, Kent, via its website, Sky satellite and WorldSpace satellite services.
Previous Radio Caroline:
Radio Caroline web site:
2004-03-28: Last week was fairly quiet for the regulators in general with the main news from Australia where the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) announced details of the auction of new commercial FM licences for Sydney and Brisbane (See RNW Mar 25); it has also made a number of other radio announcements.
They include an invitation for applications for a new community licence for the Gosford area of New South Wales.
The ABA also announced that it is proposing to make FM channel capacity available in Kyogle, New South Wales, for Lismore commercial station 2LM-AM and also in Lismore for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Lismore for a future national radio service.
In addition, the ABA has put on its web site its Broadcasting Planning Manual (BPM), which replaces the Authority's Interim Australian Broadcasting Planning. Sections in the manual include those on Technical Planning Guidelines, Broadcast Planning Instructions, and Technical Planning Parameters and Methods for Terrestrial Broadcasting. As well as being available for download - some 30 MB in all - a CD-ROM is also obtainable for a "nominal " fee.
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has had a fairly quiet week as regards radio announcements and decisions.
Those it has announced (in order of province) include:
Ontario: Notice of application to change the frequency of CFWC-FM, Brantford, and increase its power from 50 to 250 watts, which would change its status from a low power unprotected service to a protected class A1 FM station.
Quebec: Notice of application, with deadline for interventions of April 27, for contour change and power increase from 567 to 2,559 watts for CHME-FM, Les Escoumins.
The Commission has also published a list of ownership transfers and changes of effective control authorized between November 1, 2003, and February 29 this year under its streamlined procedure.
There was nothing from Ireland or the UK and no new indecency penalties proposed in the US.
There the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has however has denied an application by Country Mountain Airwaves, L.L.C., licensee of KTHQ-FM, Eager, and KQAZ-FM, Springerville, Arizona, for a review of the FCC staff's grant of a Modified Construction Permit, License to Cover Permit, and Minor Modification of Licensed Facilities for KWKM-FM, St. Johns, to KM Radio of St. Johns, L.L.C.
KWKM had constructed its tower approximately 900 feet away (280 metres) from the coordinates approved by the Commission but staff had accepted that this was an error and not a case of misrepresentation as alleged by CMA.
It also concluded that, because construction had not been completed by the permit expiry date, KM had operated the station without authority and has proposed a penalty of USD 4,000 for this breach of its rules.
In Kentucky it has denied an application by Kentucky Public Radio, Inc. for review of a May 2000 decision that granted Educational Media Foundation ("EMF") permission for a new FM translator station at New Albany, Indiana.
Previous ABA:
Previous CRTC:
Previous FCC:
Previous Licence News:
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2004-03-28: The antics of "Jackass" TV personality Steve-O (Stephen Glover) during a stunt on a Toronto's The Edge has led to the station suspending morning hosts Dean Blundell, Jason Barr and Todd Shapiro without pay.
According to the London Free Press, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Weeman of MTV's Jackass, who were in the city promoting the Don't Try This at Home tour, were scheduled to co-host the Dean Blundell show shortly after 7 a.m. but turned up late and according to program director Alan Cross reneged on promises they had made to adhere to guidelines on graphic content and foul language.
The paper says Steve-O urinated on the studio floor and performed a gag he called Unwrapping the Mummy, using duct tape and his genitalia.
It says the station is to levy an internal fine on the show and management will meet this weekend to discuss how long the suspension will last and whether the show will return Monday.
Steve-O's lawyer Jason Berk said that given the group's reputation - the stunt should not have come as a surprise, commenting, "If you want to run an ultra conservative radio show or even a safe, conservative show, be careful about the people you pick to come on."
RNW comment: We'd tent to agree, particularly since a quick check of the reccord would have shown previous arrests but of course we suspect the group would soon whinge if if stations then sensibly gave no publicity to them.
London Free Press (Ontario) report:
2004-03-28: Clear Channel has applied to move the transmitter for its 50,000-watt News/Talker WWVA-AM, The Big One, out of Wheeling, West Virginia, to Stow, Ohio, some 130 miles (200 Km) away.
Station general manager Scott Miller told the Akron Beacon Journal that the signal, which can be heard from as far away as Toronto, would still be heard in Wheeling, saying, "We'd just be under a different signal strength here in Wheeling. The call letters and the talk-radio format would remain the same, but I don't know how it will take shape in the Ohio market.''
The station, which went on the air in 1925, is best known for broadcasting, Jamboree USA, which started in 1933 and is the second-oldest country music program after the Grand Ole Opry.
WWVA switched formats from country to talk in 1996.
There is almost certain to be local opposition to the move since Clear Channel is already involved in controversy over its decision at the end of last year, shortly after its licence renewal, to axe two local talk radio programs hosted by George Kellas and Jim Harrington and also eliminate the news director position at Wheeling.
One local web site is carrying a draft letter to be sent to all FCC commissioners asking for an investigation. In part it says, "In the Ohio Valley, Clear Channel Wheeling has taken control of the local airwaves, holding licenses to seven different radio stations in this metro area."
"Serious, balanced coverage of important Ohio Valley issues is now greatly diminished because of recent actions by Clear Channel Wheeling. The station's former commitment to local news is now compromised with the elimination of a full time local, professional news department and the absence of local programming during key hours."
"The FCC recently renewed the license of WWVA - AM 1170, its 50,000 watt station formatted as news/talk. A stipulation for licensure is a station's ability to serve the public interest. Significant changes have occurred in recent weeks which challenge the mandate of WWVA to serve the interest of the Ohio Valley public."
RNW comment: Bearing in mind the flak over indecency and the money US broadcasting takes out of politics via election adverts, it would seem to us that the FCC has it's priorities in the same shape as its knickers. As logical a concern as indecency in a healthy democracy would be news services and on this basis it would seem more reasonable to remove all Clear Channel's Ohio Valley licences on the basis of fitness than to levy heavy fines for indecency.
In this case we rather hope against hope that enough of a stir is created in Ohio over both the transmitter and news moves to force the FCC do give Clear Channel a shot across the bows. Let's see if Michael Copps does take up this one, which will get less publicity than his anti-indecency campaigning.
Previous Clear Channel:
Akron Beacon Journal report:
Ohio Valley site calling for Clear Channel investigation:
2004-03-28: Whatever the results of the US Presidential election may be in the long term, in the short term it's good for income for US broadcasters and particularly, as pointed out in an article in Hispanic Business, for the Hispanic media.
The report says that the report from the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute showed that up to 6.7 million Hispanics are expected to vote in the November election, up 700,000 since last time.
Entravision president and COO Philip Wilkinson said the Hispanic sector's growth has changed the parties' ad budgets for the Hispanic media over the last 20 years.
"They have gone from not spending anything during the 1980s and 1990s to making their first efforts (to influence Hispanic voters) in the 2000 elections and those of 2002," he said.
In the 2002 legislative elections, notes the report USD 16 million was spent in the Hispanic media but this only accounted for 2.3 percent of the television ad investment from political parties during the campaign whereas Hispanics make up 6 percent of the electorate.
Previous Entravision:
Hispanic Business report:
2004-03-27: Following a two-day meeting in Washington DC, the Arbitron Advisory Council has expressed its support for Houston tests of the company's Portable People Meter but noted that the company still faces challenges with the 18-24 male demographic in its diary keepers and the cost of surveys "bounce" in small markets where only two surveys a year are conducted.
Arbitron has proposed to smooth the "bounce" factor by using the same number of diaries but releasing results on a rolling, 12-month average similar to that it uses in its RADAR surveys.
Regarding the diary keepers, it is planning a payment incentive in the markets with lowest responses.
Previous Arbitron:
2004-03-27: Victoria, Australia, racing station Sport 927-AM has launched legal action against radio rating service A.C. Nielsen demanding compensation for the effect of the publication of low ratings in the first survey this year.
According to the Nielsen figures, Sport 927 had only an 0.6 share of Melbourne listeners in the survey, a drop of 60% between December last year and February this year but Sport 927 managing director Noel Crowe told The Australian that independent research conducted by Newspoll showed a 22 per cent lift in the cumulative audience.
He said the figures - Nielsen gave the station, which is owned by the racing industry, a cumulative audience a 1.6% share and weekly audience of 147,000 at the end of last year whilst Newspoll ratings in January and February this year showed it with 221,000 in Melbourne alone and a total of 327,000 throughout Victoria - had reduced revenues by "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Sport 927 dropped out of the official ratings surveys five years ago because of cost - around AUD 100,000 (USD 74,000) a year and what it called unacceptable methodology for measuring the audiences of special interest or niche stations.
Crowe argues the diary system doubly punishes stations that do not officially participate in surveys because diary keepers have to write in the names of stations they have listened to with the aid of a list when it comes to participating stations but from what they can recall when it comes to other stations, thus putting the latter at a disadvantage.
"For years advertisers and media buyers have been demanding that radio gets fair dinkum about accurate audience measurement," Crowe told the paper. "The diary measurement system is archaic, yet the commercial radio industry last year decided to keep going with the system instead of switching to electronic people meters.
He then referred to discrepancies between meter recording systems and official diary figures in the UK where the Wireless Group is suing ratings organization RAJAR for GBP 66 million (USD 120 million) in damages for revenues that it claims were lost because RAJAR underestimates his audience (See RNW Mar 17).
In the case of 927 he conceded that new rival sports station SEN 1116, could have affected the audience for its breakfast program but not at other times when his station has exclusive cover of racing.
"Racing audiences do not fluctuate like that," he says. "We know that from the people in pubs and TAB agencies listening to us, and from TAB turnovers."
The station is making three demands from Nielsen - that it is not referred to in any future surveys in which it is not participating, acknowledge that its methodology for measuring the station's audience in Survey 1 this year was flawed and produced an inaccurate result, and payment of damages for lost revenue.
Nielsen Media Research managing director Peter Cornelius told the paper his company was working with industry body Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) on a response.
The paper says that any resolution or agreement about future practices is likely to be extended to cover other non-participating stations such as Sydney racing station 2KY.
The Australian report:
2004-03-27: Yet another UK radio company has reported strong results in a trading update, this time Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) which says like-for-like group revenues for the half-year until the end of March will be up 10% with radio revenues up 12% and print ones up 8%. When acquisitions are included both radio and press revenues are expected to be up 14% on a year earlier.
The like for like revenue came from a 10% increase in national revenues, 13% in local ones and 12% in sponsorship and promotions income.
SRH says it is too early to forecast how the full year will turn out but the group has had an encouraging first six months with good performances and it looks forwards to a satisfactory result for the financial year to 30 September 2004.
It adds that it is in a strong position to continue to develop organically and by acquisition, and that the group's prospects remain attractive.
The figures follow a report of strong radio revenues from GWR (See RNW Mar 26) and Emap (See RNW Mar 24)
Previous SRH:
2004-03-27: Interep has cut its losses in the final quarter of 2003 from USD 11.3 million (USD 1.16 per share) to USD 6.3 million (USD 0.61) per share a year earlier despite a 2% fall in commission revenues to UD 23.6% but for the full year losses increased from USD 17.8 million (USD 1.88 per share) to USD 36.7 million (USD 3.77 per share) on commission revenues up 0.4% to USD87.8 million.
It put the revenue fall in the final quarter down to a general softness in advertising and the effects of Citadel's decision to move its business to rival Katz Media (See RNW Oct 4, 2003) .
The full year figures included a USD11.6 million write-off on deferred representation contract costs related to Citadel and a USD1.2 million write-off on deferred financing costs.
Commenting, Chairman and CEO Ralph Guild said, "I am proud of our performance despite a challenging year in which we faced unusual circumstances and an uncertain economic climate." "We expect 2004 to be a growth year for our industry and our company. Interep is committed to increasing our broadcasting clients' share of national radio advertising this year by bringing more and new customers to radio advertising through aggressive new business initiatives. Radio is unsurpassed in its ability to drive sales, and I am confident that advertisers will continue to allocate more dollars to this medium."
In other US radio business, XM says DirecTV is selling its holding in the satellite radio company. DirecTV owns 9 million shares in XM, some 5% of the total, and is expected to get around UD 230 million.
XM has also announced plans to redeem USD 50 million of its 12% Senior Secured Notes due 2010; this will be done with funds from XM's equity offering that was completed in January and follows the elimination of USD 135 million in debt earlier this month.
Previous Guild:
Previous Interep:
Previous XM:
2004-03-27: The 4th District Court of Appeal has now set April 7 as the date for oral hearings on whether conservative talk host Rush Limbaugh's medical records can be used in a case for doctor shipping against him.
Both sides have now filed briefs with the appellate court citing cases in support of their cases.
Limbaugh lawyers argue that under Florida law, the prosecutors should not have seized the records as they did but should have used subpoenas, giving Limbaugh notice that prosecutors were seizing his medical records and giving him a chance to respond.
Previous Limbaugh:
Palm Beach Post report:
2004-03-27: Quebec City radio talk host Robert Gillet who was amongst those arrested at the end of 2002 in "Operation Scorpion", a crackdown on a juvenile prostitution ring (See RNW Dec 21. 2002) has been found guilty of paying for sex with a 17-years-old prostitute but cleared of charges of paying for sex with and forcibly sodomizing a 15-year-old prostitute.
Gillet had admitted having sex with the 17-year-old but said she had told him she was 19 and the prostitute had told the court she had told clients she was 18. The prosecution had argued that Gillet had not taken reasonable steps to assure himself of her age.
The trial was moved to Montreal from Quebec City because of publicity surrounding it and Gillet said as he left court that he "didn't know what had happened."
He later told Radio-Canada, "You cannot imagine the 15 months I've been through" and added that he had contemplated suicide, saying, "If I had had a gun at home I wouldn't be here today."
Gillet has been allowed to remain free until pre-sentencing arguments are heard on March 30: Because of a clean record, is expected to be fined or given a conditional jail sentence although the maximum penalty is five-years.:
Previous Gillet:
2004-03-26: The US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has come out strongly supporting legislation out forward by Representatives Chip Pickering and Gene Green that would formally prohibit the satellite radio companies from ever putting out local content through their terrestrial repeater network and also directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate whether plans by Sirius and XM for dedicated traffic and weather services for specific regions of the US are against their FCC authorizations (RNW comment: Hardly surprising since NAB has been pushing this line for some time: Indeed it wouldn't be surprising if NAB had virtually drafted the text!)
Green says one goal of the proposal - the "Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act" - is to ensure that satellite companies do not "endanger the vital public service local radio broadcasters provide during emergencies" and NAB President and CEO Eddie Fritts picked up on this saying, "Localism is the hallmark of our free, over-the-air radio system, and this bill will ensure that satellite companies be held to the standard upon which their licenses were granted."
The satellite companies say the move is unnecessary since they have no intention of transmitting locally and add that forbidding them to carry the planned traffic and weather services would be a disservice to the public.
They point out that, as required under FCC rules, all the services are put out on their satellite transmissions.
Previous FCC:
Previous Fritts:
Previous NAB:
Previous Sirius:
Previous XM:
2004-03-26: A new study by Arbitron and Edison Media Research has added further impetus to the development of online "radio" which so far this month has seen AOL involved in an online advertising deal and a former UK radio executive move to download site Napster.
The report, "Internet and Multimedia 12: The Value of Internet Broadcast Advertising," is based on a January 2004 survey of 2,290 telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of Arbitron's Fall 2003 radio diary keepers.
It says that some 51 million people a month are now using Internet broadcasting in the US and that half are in households with an annual income of USD 50,000 plus: In all it says those involved account for more than 40% of online expenditure.
Bill Rose, vice president and general manager, Arbitron Internet Broadcast Services, comments,
"Internet broadcast consumers spend more time online, shop more often online and spend more money when they do shop."
"The irony is that these consumers also go out of their way to eliminate most advertising from their online experience. Internet broadcast commercials may be the best way to reach these key consumers while purchasing decisions are being made."
The report also showed Internet broadcasting to be comparatively effective in reaching the younger male demographic and Larry Rosin, president, Edison Media Research commented, "Internet broadcast consumers skew younger and are more often male. They also spend ten percent less time with television on a daily basis, making Internet broadcasting a key medium for reaching this hard to reach audience."
There is particular optimism about internet audio from AOL which has just announced an online audio advertising deal (we hesitate to call it radio since much of it is downloading items chosen by would-be listeners rather than programming in the traditional sense) with Ronning Lipset Radio that will involve the fledgling Internet radio advertising agency in selling advertisements to marketers who want to reach the audiences of Internet audio services from AOL, Yahoo, and Live365.com.
Announcing the deal AOL Music VP and GM Evan Harrison, who oversees the AOL Radio@ Network, said, "The growth of Internet radio in the past year has been explosive, it is quickly becoming the soundtrack to our members online experience. Ronning Lipset is poised to help advertisers extend their reach across a vast network and kick-start what is sure to be a blossoming audio advertising business."
Eric Ronning, one of Ronning Lipset's principals says that one of the things holding back Internet audio broadcasting has been that most media buyers demand audiences above a certain size and individually those streaming audio are below this. Together, however, they exceed the cut-off point.
"[The] Timing has never been better to bring traditional advertisers to the online radio table," he commented. "Online radio now replicates traditional radio in terms of TSL. But since this medium exists on the Internet, the audience has easy access to search, shop, share and anything else they regularly do online."
In the UK, former Capital FM programming controller and BBC Radio 1 Executive Jeff Smith has moved to Napster, which has been turned into a legal download service and will launch in the UK later this year. He will become Napster UK programming director with responsibility for sourcing music for its site and liasing with record labels.
He noted that record companies were already releasing songs for download before they went into retail and said what he would be doing was an extension of what he had done in radio in that it helped people find their way through a huge range of tracks.
Another area likely to be exploited by download services is that of ring-tones with versions of some music already collecting more from ring tones than track sales.
Various radio companies have moved into this market already, some of them seeing it as an ideal companion to music sales.
In the UK Chrysalis earlier this month announced that is was forming a standalone company to sell digital downloads for mobile devices (See RNW Mar 16) and GWR announced a "hear it, buy it, burn it" service (See RNW Mar 3).
In the US Clear Channel announced this week that it has teamed with ClearSky Mobile Media, Inc. to offer special musical ring tones and other wireless services to Top 40 radio listeners.
The web sites of Clear Channel's chart stations have been customized with a ring tone selection that is specific to the play list and audience of each station, marking the wireless industry's first direct tie-in with radio.
Clear Channel Radio SVP Linda Byrd said it wanted to "become the clear leader in offering ring tones from all genres and formats
"Every day, millions of people discover new music and enjoy their old favourites by listening to Clear Channel Radio stations," she added "Connecting our radio listeners with their favourite ring tones and screen savers is the logical next step for Clear Channel. Through our radio stations and their Web sites, we have an unprecedented way to educate consumers on these value-added services and drive purchases."
[RNW comment: The use of the term "educate" in this context would in our view indicate that Ms Byrd could do with some "re-education" - or maybe she's so far into "B…sh.." she only recognises it when FCC'd. We'd prefer a plain "tell people about" and let them decide if they also want to become consumers.]
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Chrysalis:
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Edison Media Research:
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Previous Rose:
Previous Smith:
2004-03-26: UK GWR in a trading update says it expects its like-for-like analogue radio revenues to be up 8% on the previous year in the 12 months to the end of March and up 7% in the final quarter.
Its local radio group, which generates some 70% of total revenues, expects revenues up 6% in the quarter with local revenues for the group up 8% for the year whilst national revenues for it up 3%.
National station Classic FM did even better with final quarter revenues up 13% on a year earlier and GWR says the overall trading outlook continues to improve with strong advance booking levels that give it a positive start to the next financial year.
It also notes that GWR's Classic FM and national rock station Planet Rock were the most frequently cited commercial stations in responses to a survey by the UK Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB) that showed nearly three-quarters of those who had bought a digital receiver saying they did so to receive new digital stations with 45% also citing improved reception quality as a reason.
The DRDB says the UK leads the world in terms of DAB digital radio with more broadcasters, products, and listeners. So far around half a million receivers have been bought with the total expected to top a million by the end of this year.
DAB is also growing elsewhere in the world with expansions of Dab approved in Sweden, an Italian law passed year that will set rules for digital broadcasting now waiting final signatures and DAB transmitters already in operation in parts of Tuscany, Bologna and Naples with Palermo, followed by Perugia and Pisa to follow.
The Netherlands has also started regular DAB transmissions and in France the National Assembly has now voted on a bill to set a framework for the start of digital transmissions.
Previous DRDB:
Previous GWR:
2004-03-26: US radio companies are continuing to boost their non-traditional revenues (NTR) according to the fifth Annual NTR Survey just released by the US Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB).
The survey indicated that there was a dramatic increase in NTR activity in mid-sized markets but a fall in the largest ones.
Nearly nine out of ten respondents said they planned to boost NTR efforts even more during 2004; within the sector event marketing was the most popular form of NTR with 93% of stations and nearly three-quarters of respondents saying they expected increases in this activity although the survey noted a 2% decline in training related to this area. The pattern for this was of more attention to main events but a decrease in the total number of annual station events.
Cause-related marketing also increased but again there was a training fall, this time by 4%.
For the fourth year in a row, time management was identified as the biggest hurdle to overcome in NTR selling.
RAB President and CEO Gary Fries commented, "NTR continues to be a vital part of radio revenue growth. Radio has traditionally delivered results with events in the local marketplace, and the acceleration we are seeing in that direction is a natural progression that will be of benefit to the industry and its clients."
Previous Fries:
Previous RAB:
2004-03-26: Salem Communications is building up its Atlanta cluster to five stations with a USD 16.4 million purchase of Christian teaching/talk format WAFS-AM from Moody Bible Institute.
Salem President and CEO Edward G. Atsinger III said of the purchase, "Atlanta continues to be perceived by the radio broadcast industry as one of the most attractive radio markets in the country. The opportunity to acquire a strong coverage station on either band -- AM or FM -- has been extremely rare. WAFS-AM is an excellent facility with a good quality signal both day and night. This station represents a substantial opportunity for Salem."
Previous Atsinger:
Previous Salem:
2004-03-25: A survey of rock radio listeners in the US conducted by Jacobs Media and Edison Media Research shows the vast majority of them, although many are concerned about indecency on US airwaves, think the government should not be involved in regulating radio programmes.
Of the 13,700 rock listeners interviewed in the survey 70% said the investigation of some radio shows was an overreaction to the Janet Jackson incident and few are ever offended by what they hear on the radio.
Fred Jacobs, President of Jacobs Media said the survey argued, "quite convincingly that while some of the material on the radio may be shocking, it's what the audience wants."
"These Rock radio listeners are telling us in overwhelming numbers," he said, "that they want to decide for themselves whether to listen to a radio program or not, and they believe that the marketplace, not the FCC or 'watchdog groups' should make the decision on what's available on the radio. The study implies the people being offended by edgy morning radio shows are not the people listening."
Among the findings of the study were that 55% of rock listeners said they were never offended by what they hear on morning shows with only 11% offended more than rarely, that nearly three-quarters were of the view that people should be allowed to listen to Howard Stern if they wished to and a majority in all sub-groups, including women and parents agreed with this view.
Nor did many want to take "offensive" material off the air to protect children - nearly 80% were opposed and only 11% supported the idea: In addition, nearly 90% of those polled took the view that it is the parents' responsibility to keep material they find indecent away from their children.
Previous Edison Media Research:
2004-03-25: Keen bidding is expected for two new commercial FM licences - in Sydney and Brisbane - that the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) is to auction on April 15th and 22nd respectively with figures up to AUD 200 million (USD 150 million) being touted.
The ABA has received six applications for the Sydney licence and eight applications for the Brisbane licence.
For Sydney they were:
Daily Mail (UK Radio 1) Pty Ltd;
Harbour View Radio Pty Ltd;
Sydney Radio Company Pty Ltd;
GTShelfCo 1 Pty Limited;
Southern Cross Communications Limited and
HR Broadcast Investments 2004 Pty Ltd.
In Brisbane the applicants were:
Daily Mail (UK Radio 2) Pty Ltd;
River View Radio Pty Ltd;
Brisbane Radio Company Pty Ltd;
Star Broadcasting Network Pty Ltd;
ARN Brisbane Pty Ltd;
Hot Tomato Australia Pty Ltd;
GTShelfCo 3 Pty Limited; and
HR Broadcast Investments 2004 Pty Ltd.
Each licence has a reserve price of AUD 1 million (USD 750,000) but they are expected to fetch far more with the Sydney licence expected to fetch around AUD 100 million (USD 75 million) the Brisbane licence value being touted as around AUD 70 -100 million (USD 52 -75 million).
The last Sydney licence fetched a record AUD 155 million, paid by DMG for its Nova FM (See RNW May 25, 2000) and the last Brisbane licence - now 97.3 FM - fetched AUD 67 million (then USD 53 million-See RNW May 31, 2001) by ARN - a joint venture between APN News and Media and Clear Channel International,
This time bidding is expected to be particularly from DMG, which lacks a Brisbane station for its Nova network.
Should ARN win it plans to switch its 4KQ AM station to FM band as was done with Gold 104.3FM in Melbourne and then sell the AM licence.
So far no announcements have been made about who is behind the bids by shelf companies HR Broadcast Investments 2004 Pty Ltd, bidding in both cities Brisbane Radio Company, which is only bidding in Brisbane, GTShelfCo 1 Pty Limited, which is only bidding for the Sydney licence, and GTShelfCo 3 Pty Limited, which is bidding only in Brisbane.
Company searches show them to be registered to two firms of solicitors -Mallesons, Gilbert and Tobin and Holding Redlich.
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2004-03-25: US National Public Radio (NPR) has announced that Bob Edwards, host of Morning Edition since it began in 1979 and an 30-year NPR veteran, is to leave the show at the end of April to become senior correspondent for NPR News.
Although he made positive statements about the programme Edwards was not enthusing about the move and was quoted in the Washington Post as saying, "I would have loved to have stayed with 'Morning Edition' But it's not my candy store."
The paper also reported the host as saying NPR's announcement that he would become a senior correspondent for NPR News was premature, "
Now 56, Edwards joined the three-years old NPR in 1974 as a newscaster and later co-host of All Things Considered before moving to Morning Edition
From May until a permanent replacement is named, the show will be co-hosted on an interim basis by Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne.
He has won two Gabriel Awards, the 1984 Edward R. Murrow Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for "outstanding contributions to public radio"; an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence; and the 1999 George Foster Peabody Award for his hosting duties at Morning Edition.
Commenting on the move in an NPR statement Edwards said, "I am proud to have served with my Morning Edition colleagues, who perform a daily miracle at ridiculous hours when resources are not abundant. I am grateful for the many years of support from NPR member stations and look forward to continuing to visit them and meet our listeners. That audience is the best and the brightest in broadcasting, and it's a challenge to meet its expectations."
NPR's senior vice president of programming Jay Kernis described Edwards as "a true pioneer in public radio" adding, "his distinctive presentation style has been a hallmark of NPR."
He added that Edwards in his new role "will have more time to pursue stories that are of interest to him, place those stories on different NPR news programs, and get to wake up at a normal hour for the first time in a quarter of a century. We are fortunate that his unique voice and reporting style will now be heard on many NPR programs, including Morning Edition."
Edwards gave the news to Morning Edition staff on Tuesday at a planned meeting after the show's first live run had ended, saying he had known for two weeks but had been asked not to make the news public.
Later he told the paper he thought Kernis had been primarily responsible for his "ouster" and added that he thought Kernis did not like his style but did not think he would actually lose his job.
"I think it's a style thing," Edwards said. "I think he's tired of listening to me."
About NPR he was more positive, saying, "The great thing about NPR is that everyone else is closing [foreign] bureaus. TV news and newspapers are hurting while commercial radio stations have stopped doing news -- and we've been growing."
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Washington Post report:
2004-03-25: Clear Channel has fired another DJ, this time for remarks made concerning interracial dating.
The comments came from Raqiyah Mays, a Saturday host at New York WWPR_FM, Power 105, while she was running a station contest in which listeners could win tickets to an Usher concert by making a confession.
"I made a confession of my own," Mays told the New York Daily News. "I said I was concerned about interracial relationships when the African-American community has our own inner work and healing to do. If I see a white woman dating an African-American man, I feel, as do many African-American women, that there is one less black man available to us."
A transcript of the "confession" on air read, "My confession this hour is that... I'm a racist. I really am. I have a problem with white people. Not all white people, but a lot of white people.... I can't tell if they are being real with me or not. And then I hate when the black guy is walking down the street with the white girl. I hate both of them. C'mon, there's a man shortage."
Power-105 officials said in a statement that the station "decided to release her based upon inappropriate remarks she made to listeners during her broadcast on Saturday.
"The station received many E-mails, phone calls and messages from listeners who were displeased and felt alienated as a result of her actions."
RNW comment: Honesty, it would seem, doesn't always pay, and Mays has been treated harshly for it. The sentiments cannot be that uncommon and we'd rather people admit prejudice honestly than be hypocritical, a reason why we abhor the current use of "discrimination" when "bigotry" or Prejudice" would be far more honest even if sounding more ugly.
Better news however for Sandra Tsing Loh, who was fired by Santa Monica public station KCRW-FM after the word "fuck" was not beeped out of a commentary (See RNW Mar 6). She was offered her post back when details were clarified but declined to return.
She has now been hired by Southern California Public Radio 's Pasadena public station KPCC-FM.
In a statement Southern California Public Radio president and CEO Bill Davis commented, "We're thrilled to have someone of Sandra's calibre join the KPCC family. While she's made a lot of people laugh over the years, her essays have considerable depth and insight as well."
Loh is also to continue her occasional work on Minnesota Public Radio's "Marketplace" programme
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New York Daily News report:
2004-03-25: The UK commercial radio trade body, the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) has appointed former Channel 5 TV chief executive and BskyB Head of Programming David Elstein to succeed Lord Eatwell as its chairman.
Elstein takes over on April 1 from Eatwell, who has been chairman since January 2000. He said in a statement issued by the CRCA "I am delighted to become CRCA Chairman. Despite my background in television I have a keen interest in radio and I look forward to working with CRCA as new legislation, under the guardianship of a new regulator, opens up exciting possibilities and challenges for the UK commercial radio industry."
CRCA chief executive Paul Brown commenting on Lord Eatwell's departure said the CRCA was "enormously grateful for the valuable contribution John [Lord Eatwell] has made to the Association specifically and to commercial radio in general over the past four years."
Of Elstein's appointment, he said, "His deep knowledge of the UK media industry and obvious enthusiasm for broadcasting creativity make him ideal for the role."
Among his other roles Elstein is Elstein is chairman of Screen Digest, the British Screen Advisory Council and Really Useful Theatres; is on the boards of NTL, the Sports and Leisure Group and Kingsbridge Capital as a non-executive director; and is also a Visiting Professor at Stirling University and Westminster University.
Recently he chaired the panel set up by the Conservatives to look into the future funding and organisation of the BBC: Last month it recommended replacing the licence fee with a subscription.
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2004-03-25: In to its last month before Arbitron drops the service, its Internet Broadcast Ratings has recorded no changes at the top in the latest release with MUSICMATCH retaining top station spot and AOL top network and only a little shuffling in the top five stations
For the week to March 7, 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 1,025,612 (1,007,128); CP - 324,143 (323,392). Same rank with higher listening and reach.
2: Hot Adult Contemporary Virgin AM & FM (Commercial) - TTSL 375,120 (314,943); CP - 73,146 (71,567). Same rank with higher listening and reach.
3: Country format AOL Top Country (Commercial) -TTSL 260,092 (271,818); CP 104,546 (107,490). Same rank with lower listening and reach.
4: Smooth Jazz AOL Smooth Jazz (Commercial) - TTSL 243,183 (246,670); CP - 53,598 (52,926) Up from fifrth despite lower listening although reach was up.
5: AOL Top Pop (Commercial) -TTSL 238,842 (250,178); CP 53,598 (132,282). Down from fourth with lower listening and reach.
*AOL Love Songs (Commercial) fell from fifth to eighth with TTSL 211,862 (247,354); CP - 63,374
The top five networks for the week to March 7 (Previous week's figures in brackets) were:
1: AOL Radio@ Network (Commercial) - TTSL - 6,001,034 (6,214,854); CP - 1,495,474 (1,515,208). Same rank with lower listening and reach.
2: LAUNCH (Commercial) TTSL - 4,761,826 (4,904,173); CP -1,063,599 (1,049,561). Same rank with lower listening but higher reach.
3: MUSICMATCH Inc. (*Non Commercial) TTSL - 2,508,816 (2,477,555); CP - 577,379 (579,131). Same rank with higher listening but lower reach.
4: The Adsertion Network (Sales Network) TTSL - 899,635 (747,450); CP - 104,592 (101,167) - Same rank with higher listening and reach.
5: Virgin Radio (Commercial) TTSL - 618,823 (532,842); CP - 96,847 (96,204) - 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 2,955,042, up from 2,942,736 and StreamGuys with TTSL 612,159, up from 534,118.
Previous Arbitron Internet Ratings (month of February):
Previous Arbitron Internet Broadcast weekly ratings:
2004-03-24: In a case of the biter bit, syndicated Emmis Chicago host Erich "Mancow" Muller is expected to file a USD 3 million law suit against a man who has lodged 66 complaints against him according to Robert Feder in his Chicago Sun Times column.
The paper notes that David Edward Smith's complaints have led to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) citing Emmis and Muller for indecency offences six times. Recently the FCC bluntly rejected an Emmis ple for reconsideration of USD 28,000 against it (See RNW Feb 20)
Feder says the lawsuit is to charge Smith among other things with business interference and filing "spurious complaints" with the FCC that are "repetitive, malicious, untrue, and designed merely for the purpose of harassment [and] to cause [Muller] economic ruin."
In a statement, Muller commented, "Judgment day has come for those who hide in the shadows, twisting Bible verses and hiding in government offices while using another government office to attempt to destroy my radio station, my wife, my widowed mother and my future children."
"Although I studied to be a minister, my time of 'turn the other cheek' has now ended. I firmly believe the 'zealots' have done numerous illegal things that will be revealed in the courts. I have garnered a massive war fund and will not quit until my First Amendment right to free speech is restored. I ask for everyone's prayers during this tough time. All profits from this battle will be donated to the Boy Scouts of America and other Mancow charities."
Smith commented, "Why is the focus on the guy who's blowing the whistle instead of the guy who's breaking the law? I am simply following the procedure set up by the FCC to file grievances. Mancow is trying to censor his critic, which is ironic for a free speech advocate in a democratic society."
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Chicago Sun-Times - Feder column:
2004-03-24: Entercom is strengthening is WEEI-AM, Boston, sports station with agreement on a USD 14.5 million purchase from FNX Broadcasting of alternative rock WWRX-FM in Providence, Rhode Island.
WWRX will then simulcast the WEEI signal - which