July 2006 Archive
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Links- internally where there are follow-up stories we try, at the end of each story, to put a pertinent link to the top of the previous relevant story. Regarding external links see note at end of page.
RNW July comment - in "The "cost" of broadcast spectrum - will spectrum pricing hit broadcasters?" considers moves to price spectrum to improve economic efficiency in its use and the potential impact on broadcasters as costs are likely to rise.
RNW June comment - in "Advertisers, demographics and maybe damaging the future." says broadcasters must think digital and that neglecting young and older groups less attractive to advertisers may damage them.
RNW May comment - in "Real choice: Quality, the internet, and the need for public service broadcasters" argues that public broadcasters are if anything even more important as the internet allows wider listening horizons.
2006-07-31: We start this week's look at print comment on radio with a rare report on co-operation between the satellite and terrestrial radio companies in the US courtesy of Sue Zeidler of Reuters.
In an analysis she comments on the common interest the rivals share in fighting bids by the recording industry to promote laws that would increase their royalties and restrict technology allowing recording of digital radio signals.
Earlier this month (See RNW Jul 17) XM asked a federal court to throw out a multi-billion dollar suit filed against it by the major US record companies over its "Inno" receiver that can also store around 50 hours of songs and Zeidler comments that the lawsuit is "part of the music industry's aggressive legal strategy to curb copyright piracy in the digital age that has left it embroiled in battles to block various new technologies from MP3 players to peer-to-peer file-sharing technology."
She adds that "While the industry scored a victory this week in winning a USD100 million settlement from long-time file-sharing foe, Kazaa, some industry watchers believe it has overreached in turning a legitimate business like XM into an antagonist" adding that XM's new alliance with over-the-air broadcasters could hurt the recording industry's legislative efforts.
Zeidler quotes Clear Channel as saying of the action, "Every time new technologies are developed that would enhance consumers' lives, the content community complains the sky is falling" and adds that a dozen chief executives from radio companies - including Clear Channel, Cox Radio, Entercom and Emmis - sent a letter last week urging Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to postpone consideration of the Perform Act (Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music), which would restrict ability to record off-air digital transmissions, citing the uncertainty of the pending XM lawsuit.
The Act, sponsored by California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, would make digital rights management (DRM) technology mandatory for all broadcasts or Internet streams of music that uses statutory licensing, and has been termed by the lobby group The Electronic Freedom Frontier (EFF) "yet another petulant scrawl by the RIAA on the statute books, placing their short term interests over the freedom to innovate and the future freedoms of America's musicians and customers."
Specter reports Zeidler has told Feinstein he thinks it unwise to try to move the bill through the committee unless a consensus is reached.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) claims that the idea behind the bill is to equalize royalty rates for all types of broadcasts - currently the satellite radio companies pay less than broadcasters pay to stream their terrestrial signals but the terrestrial broadcasters are exempt from charges for their terrestrial broadcasts.
After a tale of co-operation, one of scepticism, this time about HD digital radio, that we noted from Mark Ramsey, the president of hear2.0, the audio entertainment strategy company, and Mercury Radio Research.
Referring to a Kagan Research report that in headlines says HD radio expected to generate USD1.6 billion in revenue by 2011, the bulk of which is expected to come from advertiser based secondary channels, Ramsey says he'd love to review the "the original report in its entirety to give it the kind of analysis it deserves."
He goes on to suggest that it is puffery from radio industry sources and says that what he hears from industry sources, "There is no established model for how stations or groups plan to derive revenue from HD radio"; "There is no plan to spend more than subsistence sums on investments in HD radio programming"; and there "is no guarantee that these radios will be offered by the automakers because they want to provide only what their customers want, and audience based demand is so far lacking."
He also says that for the moment there is no desire to add inventory to HD channels because the industry is using "advertising free" as a come-on to entice people to purchase receivers and adds that few receivers are in circulation and "Even with millions of HD radios in circulation there would be no "local sales" model since millions of radios nationwide don't amount to any significant numbers at the local level."
"There is no strategy regarding how the radio industry can sell HD radio without cannibalizing listeners and dollars from the very stations which are now the cash cows," writes Ramsey. "Remember, you have to go through the current station to get to its HD-2 channel. And who is most likely to go there first? The ones who go to your current station, of course."
He also notes that the absence of commercials is a major factor in driving satellite radio sales not s much by "more choice" and that the evidence is against HD radio attracting new income but plenty of evidence that "the focus on HD radio is distracting broadcasters from focusing on obvious web opportunities, and this is causing us to lose ground on the web relative to other radio alternatives which might be much more potent in the future than satellite or HD."
New technology concludes Ramsey, succeeds because consumers want the products not because of what an industry wants and in some cases for the average consumer what exists already is "good enough" and asks if radio is "one of those things?"
Next some more questions, this time from Jim Schutze in the Dallas Observer about plans for a frequency swap for Dallas public station WRR-FM, a swap that he says would simply make the station worth less.
"Get this," writes Schutze, "WRR makes money. It is owned by Dallas City Hall, and it makes money. I know. It's amazing."
He adds that station general manager Gregory Davis did not want to talk to him about the plans but he sent the station "an open records demand anyway for its financial numbers" and these, when he got them showed that "In the last five years, WRR has posted profits averaging more than half a million bucks a year."
WRR he says, even though owned by the city, "is licensed as a commercial station" and "is licensed as a commercial station." Of the deal on the table, he says that Salem wants WRR's 100,000-watt signal and tower and in return would offer a non-commercial frequency and tower plus around USD 50 million, leaving the city with a "non-commercial tower and signal, worth much less because now the new WRR can't sell ads."
Schutze says of the puffery [our word, not his] from Salem's agent to the effect that the city would get a signal with coverage close to that of the current signal and that it's "a no brainer for the city" that looking at the figures, WRR costs USD 3-4 million a year to operate and that even if the city put the entire USD 50 million into something returning 5% per annum, it wouldn't cover the costs.
He also comments that some arts group were frank in saying they'd like a slice of the money if the deal is ever done and concludes that if it is, "Great! We've taken the one successful, profitable city agency we could find and screwed it up and hobbled it so that ultimately it will die. And somebody outside City Hall will make a whole lot of moolah on the deal."
Finally comment, before moving onto listening suggestions, from Paul Donovan in his UK Sunday Times "Radio Waves" column, about London station LBC's latest version of the phone -in - a three hour show "Iain Lee's Triple M Show with No Presenter" that was promoted on the basis of being the first ever such show without a host and where, if nobody rings in there will be nothing to hear except dead air.
Donovan quotes Lee as saying, "We want to try three hours without an agenda, giving callers unedited power to express themselves. It could be either pure brilliance or utter tedium."
He goes on to suggest he rather fears the latter, writing, "From what I heard last week of his shows - which go out on weekday afternoons and Sunday nights - I have no doubt which of these two possibilities will come to pass. Lee said he wished he were in television "because the pay is better and the chicks are better-looking"; called his show the previous day "awful" and "atrocious"; described some of his present show as "boring" (true); told us he was "grumpy" and had a headache; dismissed one caller as a "right-wing idiot"; and spent much time lambasting Jon Gaunt, a populist talkSPORT phone-in host. True, he won't be there tonight, but what of his callers? They were often inarticulate and inaudible. Sometimes there were only grunts, clicks and pauses.,, Almost every conversation was characterised by ping-pong insults, assertions masquerading as argument, trivia, dire sound quality and continual querulousness."
So on to suggested listening and, apart from noting that "The Proms" and programmes on WOMAD continue on BBC Radio 3, we start with BBC Radio 4 and the most recent "Archive Hour" that on Saturday in "Putting It Simply"looked at the way that science has been seen and heard on radio and television.
Then plenty to go at in two BBC Radio 4 Series that have just ended runs but are posted on the channel's web site.
The first is Documentary that a week ago aired "A Date with Bevin", looking at plans by Jewish terrorists shortly after the end of the second World War to assassinate the British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin and that included comments from former members of the Stern Gang and Irgun on their plans.
The second is the "Bottom Line" business series that ended its latest run on Saturday with a look at the growth in children's retailing.
Sticking to series of programmes we next suggest the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "Street Stories" that for the last three Sundays has been running a series "Single at Sixty" on women aged around 60 who have never married. All three programmes will be on the site for the rest of this week.
Also from the ABC we'd suggest, perhaps as a counter to various past selections of its "Religion Report" (last week's programme with the intriguing title, "Floyd Landis:Mennonite in tights" was of course prepared before there were any suggestions of drug taking or naturally high testosterone levels but is also misleading as the programme is more about women bishops and such other mainstream religious matters) and "Spirit of Things" (which last week in" Spiritual Classics, Part 7" was on Sikhism) last week's "All in the Mind", which was "Breaking the spell: Daniel Dennett on Religion", Dennett's version of the evolution of religion - a double whammy against him for the fundamentalists. Also from ABC, we suggest last week's "Night Air", which was "Satan call God" in which a radio-deity and audio demon engage in theological conversation with interruptions from the cosmic PA.
Then back to BBC Radio 3 for Drama - a new production of "Salome" in "Drama on 3 " yesterday, this time with the emphasis on the family drama in the story as opposed to Oscar Wilde's sexual rendering of it - and from Saturday in the "Between the Ears" slot "Doing the To Do List", a rather eccentric rendering - that can be dipped into and out of - of the need to bring order and the pleasure of ticking off that which has been done, although the "have baby" part of the list apparently didn't get the tick.
On Wednesday we'd suggest Radio Netherlands and its "Documentary" programme - "Casting the Net", which looks at the sole surviving major wild eel fishery in Europe, Loch Neagh in Ireland, and how the fishery has been affected by a 90% decline in eels arrving in the Lough after their long migration from the Sargasso Sea.
Then back to BBC and Radio 2, which tomorrow in two programmes marks two real stars - first Katherine Hepburn, in the first of four "Putting on More Style" programmes (19:30 GMT) then at 20:30 GMT the final of the four-part series about Edith Piaf presented by Petula Clark.
The station is also carryin coverage of this year's Cambridge Folk Festival - on Saturday Stuart Maconie's show was live from the event (it's on the website) and on Wednesday there are two more hours from 18:00 to 20:00 GMT.
On Friday (18:00 GMT the station has "The Good Life: Tony Bennett at 80" - a title descriptive enough to need no more comment,
And finally comedy with the last of the current series of "The Department" on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday at 22:00 GMT, and "The Now Show" - last week's is still on the site as a stream or MP3 until than - on Friday at 17:30 GMT.
Previous Columnists:
Previous Donovan:
Dallas Observer - Schutze:
hear2.0- Ramsey:
Reuters - Zeidler:
UK Sunday Times - Donovan:
2006-07-31: The anniversary of the world's first voice and music "broadcast" by the Canadian-born pioneer Professor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, is to be celebrated this week in Marshfield, Massachusetts, which takes in Brant Rock, the location of the 420 -foot radio tower that was used for his first broadcast on Christmas Eve 1906 - and in January 1906 by Marconi for the first transatlantic wireless communication that was sent using Morse code to its sister tower in Machrihanish, Scotland.
The official site for the celebrations, hosted by Marshfield Broadcasting Co's WATD-FM, notes that Fessenden, who was demonstrating the feasibility of a wireless telephone, did not pursue the concept of "broadcasting" and the value to him of multiple receivers installed in ships was to document reception.
Events planned from Friday to Sunday include demonstrations by ham operators and a live remote broadcast by WATD from the mansion at the Daniel Webster Estate and Heritage Center featuring radio pioneers sharing memories on their times on the air as Radio Personalities plus a gala cocktail party and celebration dinner at the Daniel Webster House.
The latter will include a performance by the Massasoit Radio Players of a 15-minute play "Miracle at Brant Rock" that was written by Scott Wheeler, a member of the Fessenden Centennial Committee (abbreviated as the FCC).
He told the Boston Globe, "Fessenden deserves credit for being the first voice and music broadcaster, the first disc jockey, the first person to play live instrumental music and talk and recite poetry" by radio, adding, "We're trying to hit it big in every way, so everyone knows this Canadian guy with a big white beard is the father of communication."
"It's a wonderful thing to picture people at sea sending and receiving Morse code, and suddenly they hear a man's voice and a recording of a Handel piece and playing `O, Holy Night' on the violin, and throwing off their headphones and saying, `Captain, you have to hear this!' ", said Wheeler.
Amongst those present for the celebrations will be Peter H. Glaubitz, of Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania., who said that he decided to come in honour of his grandfather, Hugo Julius Glaubitz, who was Fessenden's mechanical engineer and designed and oversaw construction of the radio tower.
Previous Fessenden:
Boston Globe report:
WATD - Fessenden official site:
2006-07-31: The soccer World Cup boosted BBC Radio Five Live in June with its online listening up nearly 45% and bucking a general fall in online and download cum podcast figures - overall listening online was down 3.4% on the month before to 19,291,346 hours, with live listening down 0.83% to 13,183,668 hours and on-demand listening down 8.52% to 6,107,678 hours:
In terms of network listening in June this year, the rankings were - Total listening hours - live plus on-demand and percentage change compared to May 2006 then to June 2005:
Radio 1 - 5,901,966; -4.6%; + 61.8%
Radio 2 - 3,720,037; -5.6%; +54.9%
Radio 4 - 2,677,876; -8.6%; +24.2%
Radio 5 Live - 2,069,558; +44.2%; +165.4% up a rank
BBC 7 - 1,494,415; +3.1%; +35.3%
Radio 3 - 799,689; -8.13%; +17.5%
6 Music - 678,118; -3.8%; +14.1%
1Xtra - 524,651; -2.1%; -0.2%
Asian Network - 219,140; +2.7%; +16.4%
5 Live Sports Xtra - 701,283; -21.1%; +137%
The top five on-demand programmes were:
1 - "The Archers" on Radio 4 with 636124 listens - down -120606 on May;
2 - "Chris Moyles" on Radio 1 with 466493 listens - down -70,252;
3 - "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" on Radio 4 with 302618 listens -in May it was eighth with 142690 listens on Radio 4. In addition repeats on BBC 7 then put it in11th rank with 129,956 listens while this month the BBC 7 version was in 13th rank with 103,229 listens;
4 - "The Afternoon Play" on Radio 4 with 213,752 listens - down 2,410;
5 "The Essential Selection" on Radio 1 with 192,819 listens - down 36,485 and dropping from third rank;
This pushed the "Essential Mix" on Radio 1 down from fifth to sixth rank with 190.769 listens, up 12,903.
Amongst daily podcasts cum MP3s the top five were:
1- BBC News "Radio Newspod" with 582,068 listens, up 22,282;
2 - Radio 4 "Today 8.10 Interview" with 352,839 listens, down 14,392;
3 - Radio 1 "Scott Mills Daily" with 312,406 listens, up 74,958;
4 - World Service "World News Bulletin" with 180,813 listens, down 3,254;
5 - World Service "The World Today" with 117,551 listens, up 12,823 and up from sixth rank;
This pushed the Radio 4 "Today lead interviews" - with 104,693 listens, down 1,780 - down to sixth rank
And as a postscript we note that two more podcasts were added to take the total to 54 including an additional daily podcast, "Today in Parliament" that was in last rank - 12th - with only 386 listens; So far its only in audio, although the corporation has now also started video downloads -vodcasts
Previous BBC:
Previous BBC Online figures:
2006-07-30: Last week the main regulatory news came from the US where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is to face a court battle with CBS over the USD 550,000 penalty levied over the incident of Janet Jackson's breast (See RNW Jul 29) and also formally released the full text of its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking it adopted last month and is asking for public comment on US media ownership regulation (See RNW Jul 25).
In Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), has been involved in the prosecution of a pirate operator in Sydney (See RNW Jul 28): It also ruled against one community station over broadcasting adverts and another for the way it dealt with a complaint.
The ruling concerning broadcast of an advertisement involved Radio Eastern Sydney Cooperative Ltd, licensee of 2RES, and an advert for a restaurant broadcast on its Monika Geetmala (Voice of India) programme in January. The complainant had also said the station often breached the limit set for sponsorship announcements but as he did not provide specific details this complaint was taken no further.
The material considered an advert was a four-minute interview with the proprietor of an Indian restaurant during which the menu and buffet dinner and its cost were discussed and listeners encouraged to visit the restaurant. The complainant said there was nothing new or of community interest in the interview but the station responded by saying the restaurant had introduced a totally new concept in Indian food and that it was not considered advertising as no details of location or phone number were given.
The ACMA disagreed and concluded the interview did amount to an advert and the licensee has subsequently ensured that the programme presenter is aware of his obligations: On this basis, the ACMA considered no further action was needed although it will continue to monitor the station.
In the second case Hobart FM Incorporated, the licensee of 7THE in Hobart was found not to have breached codes in relation to broadcasting material - in the Serbian Program of May 21 last year - which may have stereotyped, vilified or attempted to demean a group of persons on the basis of ethnicity, nationality or religion; in relation to the factual accuracy of a news and current affairs broadcast; and in relation to clearly distinguishing factual material from commentary and analysis.
It was, however, found to have breached the Community Broadcasting Code of Practice because it had failed to respond to the complaint within 60 days.
The station says it has now taken action to prevent recurrence and this was considered adequate.
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) was involved in a number of routine radio-related decisions that included (in order of province):
Alberta:
Approval of new FM transmitters at Peace River (2,900 watts), High Prairie (1,400 watts), Fairview (850 watts), Valleyview (1,400 watts) and Saddle Hills (2,500 watts) for CKYL-AM, Peace River.
O.K. Radio Group Ltd., licensee of CFGP-FM, Grande Prairie, opposed the addition of a transmitter at Saddle Hills, alleging that this Hills is an attempt by CKYL's licensee, Peace River Broadcasting, to obtain a broadcasting licence to serve Grande Prairie "by the back door." Crude Communications Inc also expressed concern on a similar basis.
In response, Peace River Broadcasting confirmed that CKYL would not abandon its current listener base in an attempt to become a Grande Prairie radio station and noted that CKYL has served the area surrounding Grande Prairie, which is known as Peace Country, for more than 51 years and stated that the signals of Grande Prairie radio stations are received clearly in the Peace River radio market. On the basis of the response, the CRTC approved the application.
Manitoba:
*Approval of new 31 watts FM transmitter at Fisher River for Native Type B station CINC-FM, Thompson.
Nova Scotia:
*Approval of application by Bedford Baptist Church for a 50-watts low-power English-language religious FM in Bedford.
Ontario:
*Approval of new 49.3 watts low-power FM transmitter at Madoc for Type B community station CKOL-FM, Campbellford.
*Approval of application by Sur Sagar Radio Inc. to extend the deadline for it to bring into operation its transitional digital radio undertaking at Toronto by a year until 31 March 2007.
Prince Edward Island:
*Approval of application to relocate the transmitter, increase its antenna height, and increase the power of CFCY-FM, Charlottetown, from 73,300 watts to 100,000 watts
Quebec:
*Administrative renewal until 31 August 2007 of Astral Media's French-language commercial stations CHIK-FM, Québec; CKMF-FM, Montréal; CIGB-FM, Trois-Rivières; CHRD-FM, Drummondville; CFEI-FM, Saint-Hyacinthe; CIKI-FM, Rimouski, and its transmitter CIKI-FM-2, Sainte-Marguerite-Marie; CJOI-FM, Rimouski; CJDM-FM, Drummondville; CHEY-FM, Trois-Rivières; CITE-FM, Montréal; CKSM-AM, Shawinigan; CFZZ-FM, Saint-Jean-Iberville.
The CRTC has also posted a public notice - with a deadline for comments of August 28- relating to an application by Radio communautaire du Saguenay inc to add a 60 watts FM transmitter at Saguenay (zone La Baie) to broadcast the output of CKAJ-FM Saguenay (zone Jonquière).
In another public notice, with a deadline for comments of August 30, there were the following radio applications:
Alberta:
*Application to renew the licence of English-language commercial station CKLM-FM, Lloydminster, and its transmitter CKLM-FM-1, Bonnyville. The licensee is proposing that its obligation to broadcast Canadian selections as 40% of its category 2 musical content should be reduced to 35%.
*Application to renew licence of English-language commercial station CJSI-FM, Calgary.
British Columbia:
* Application by Aboriginal Christian Voice Network to renew the licence of low power Christian music commercial specialty station CIAJ-FM, Prince Rupert.
Ontario:
*Application to renew the licence of CFXJ-FM, Toronto.
In Ireland, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has announced the allocation of more than Euros 10 million (USD 12.7 million) - Euros 468,000 (USD 568,000) of it to 41 radio projects in funding for programming in the second round of its Sound & Vision Scheme (See RNW Jul 27).
It also advertised a new quasi-national Christian and religious service to be broadcast primarily on AM, announced that two community licence applicants were to be invited to an oral hearing and the receipt of six applications for other community FMs (Also Jul 27).
In the UK, Ofcom, which is moving from input to output-oriented regulation with a consequent focus on content sampling, has published two more content sample reports.
One concerned The Local Radio Company's Warminster, Wiltshire, station 3TR FM, which has a locally oriented music and information format with a target 25-54 audience.
Ofcom said of its sampling that this did "not reveal local output in much abundance" and "presenter links were largely taken from newspaper stories/trivia, entertainment and showbiz news" and specifically notes that "During the sample period there didn't appear to be anything broadcast that indicated Warminster had an armed services community."
"Most 'local' stories, " it said, "seemed to have greater resonance with the wider region of West Wiltshire rather than the immediate Warminster area. However, where a story did contain a direct focus on Warminster or a feasible Warminster angle, this was exploited and brought into focus for listeners."
In its conclusions Ofcom accepted that the station was operating within its format but noted that the format requirement included "output of relevance to the local armed services community" and said this was "one aspect of the output where we would like to see some remedial measures taken and we will pursue this with The Local Radio Company group."
The second report related to Emap's Belfast station Cool FM, with a rock and pop format aimed at 15-35 year olds. Again Ofcom found that it was operating within format, having noted that its format did not have a high level of requirements "in relation to speech obligations and specialist music provision
Ofcom also published its latest Broadcast Bulletin in which it upheld two standards complaints against radio and gave details of a third complaint not upheld (See RNW Jul 25) and issued a consultation document about future pricing of spectrum used for terrestrial television and radio broadcasting commenting that this "addresses the issue of whether, how and when the prices paid for spectrum used for terrestrial broadcasting should reflect the opportunity cost of using spectrum for that purpose, with the objective of ensuring, in the long term, that spectrum is used as efficiently as possible."
Ofcom comments that "Broadcasting is almost unique among major spectrum users in not currently having to pay AIP (Administered Incentive Pricing, or AIP - the charging of annual fees for the holding of spectrum that reflect the "opportunity cost" of the holding of that spectrum) and says that it is important to understand that its primary purpose in applying AIP "is to ensure that the holders of spectrum fully recognise the costs that their use imposes on society by holding spectrum (or seeking to acquire additional spectrum), when making decisions."
"AIP, or its equivalent," it says, "is not only paid by most commercial users of spectrum, but also by many government and public agencies, including for example the police, fire and ambulance services, and the MoD. Broadcasting is one of the few remaining areas of spectrum use where AIP has not yet been applied."
To give an idea of the relative use of spectrum it notes that currently terrestrial television broadcasting currently occupies 368MHz of spectrum in the band 470-854MHz; analogue terrestrial radio currently occupies around 20MHz of spectrum and terrestrial digital radio broadcasting (DAB) currently occupies 12.5MHz in bands below 1GHz whilst 2G and 3G mobile telephony currently occupies only 70 MHz (7%) of spectrum below 1GHz, and only 350MHz of spectrum below 3GHz. [RNW note- Third generation spectrum auctioned in the UK in 2000 fetched GBP 22.48 billion (See RNW Ap 28, 2000): This is currently around USD 42 billion, giving an idea of the value of spectrum used for broadcasting).
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has finally, as noted, collected the USD 550,000 in penalties relating to Janet Jackson's breast but is now facing a court challenge over the matter and also proposed penalties totalling USD 61,000 relating to eight licences that it renewed but where there were breaches of its regulations, mainly relating to public file documentation (See RNW Jul 29).
It earlier cancelled a USD 3,000 penalty it proposed to levy on American Family Association (AFA), licensee of KBMP-FM, Enterprise, Kansas, for failing to respond fully to a Letter of Inquiry ("LOI") concerning an apparent violation of the main studio rule by KBMP (See RNW July 26).
Also as noted it formally released the full text of its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking it adopted last month and is asking for public comment on US media ownership regulation in light of issues raised when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in June 2004 ruled against several rules adopted by a partisan 3-2 majority by the FCC in its 2002 Biennial Review Order).
Previous ACMA:
Previous BCI:
Previous CRTC:
Previous FCC:
Previous Licence News:
Previous Ofcom:
ACMA web site:
BCI web site:
CRTC web site:
FCC web site:
Ofcom web site:
2006-07-30: US radio revenues in June, like those a month earlier, were up 1% on a year ago in June, with the rise as then due to a rise in national and non-spot revenues according to the US Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB).
Within the figures national revenues were up 1%- in May, local revenues were down 1%, total combined local and national advertising was flat and- non-spot revenues up 17%.
For the second quarter the total was down 1% - in April it had fallen 4% - with national revenues 2% down on a year earlier; local revenues down 1%; and non-spot revenues up 8%.
Year to date figures now show the grand total flat within which national revenues were flat; local revenues were down 1%; total combined local and national revenues were down 1%; and spot revenues were up 8%.
RAB's Ad Sales Index that equates pre-dot.com boom base year 1998 to 100 showed June figures of 137.3 for total combined local and national with the local index 139.8 and the national index 137.3 and the year-to-date figures as total combined local and national, 141.1; national, 145.0; and local, 139.7.
Previous RAB & RAB figures:
2006-07-29: Arbitron has announced that it is to release the results of the Spring 2006 ratings survey for New Orleans and Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula on Monday, August 14 after a hiatus following the carnage of Hurricane Katrina.
Because of the situation it had cancelled the Summer, Fall and Winter 2005 books for the former - then ranked market 46 - and the Fall 2005 report for the latter, which was rated in the Spring and Fall.
Arbitron says that according to updated New Orleans and Biloxi population estimates compiled by Claritas that it has accepted as satisfactory, the New Orleans 12 plus population, which was 1,079,300 pre-Katrina, is now down 20% to 864,100, taking it from 46th rank to 58th: It also notes that the 12 plus black population is down 35.6% from 391,200 to 251,900.
For the Biloxi market, the population reduction was only 1.6% - from 308,300 to 303,400, lowering it from 139th rank to 143rd. The black population went down by 3.1% from 61,400 to 59,500.
Arbitron says that over the next fortnight it will prepare and release a white paper detailing population estimates, survey execution and sample performance metrics for these markets and will also hold meetings with customers discuss the white paper.
Owen Charlebois, president, Operations, Technology and Research & Development said that they had focussed their review on two areas - population estimates and how well they were able to conduct the survey: He commented of the latter, "The consent, return and response rates for these markets as well as the distribution of in-tab diaries by geography, demographic and race/ethnicity are certainly within our research quality standards. "We are confident that the Spring 2006 reports in these markets are reliable measures of radio listening and that they reflect current radio audiences in these markets."
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Charlebois:
2006-07-29: CBS TV has now paid the USD 550,000 penalty imposed on what was then Viacom by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in relation to the exposure of a Janet Jackson breast during the 2004 Super Bowl half time show (See RNW Sep 23, 2004) but is filing an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In a statement CBS said it had paid only because this was a prerequisite to the filing and it continues to dispute the contention that the incident was legally indecent.
In other enforcement actions, the FCC has proposed penalties totalling USD 61,000 relating to eight licences that it renewed but where there were breaches of its regulations, mainly relating to public file documentation.
In descending order of amount of proposed penalty the stations are:
WSSA-AM, Morrow, Georgia: Penalty proposed of USD 11,500 for failing to retain all required documentation in the station's public inspection file.
WCHC-FM, Worcester, Massachusetts: Penalty proposed of USD 10.000 for failing to retain all required documentation in the station's public inspection file.
WERS-FM, Boston, Massachusetts: Penalty proposed of USD 10.000 for failing to retain all required documentation in the station's public inspection file.
WHJJ-AM, Providence, Rhode Island: Penalty proposed of USD 10,000 for failing to retain all required documentation in the station public inspection file.
WWZN-AM, Boston, Massachusetts: Penalty proposed of USD 10,000 for failing to retain all required documentation in the station's public inspection file.
WXCT-AM, Morrow, Georgia: Penalty proposed of USD 4,000 for failing to retain all required documentation in the station's public inspection file.
KNBU-FM, Baldwin City, Kansas: Penalty proposed of USD 4.000 for failing to retain all required documentation in the station's public inspection file. The FCC also admonished the Licensee for providing inaccurate and contradictory responses to staff inquiries.
FM translator Station W267AD, Bryson City, North Carolina: Penalty proposed of USD 1,500 for failing to timely file a license renewal application.
Previous CBS:
Previous FCC:
2006-07-29: Charges of endangering the welfare of a child - the 4-years-old daughter of rival DJ Envy (See RNW May 12) laid against former Clear Channel DJ Star (Troi Torain) are to be dropped in six months provided he performs three days of community service and complies with an order of protection that bans contact or communication with the child or her parents according to the New York Times.
The paper quoted a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office as saying prosecutors made their decision "because it spares the 4-year-old victim from any further attention or exposure."
Envy - Raashaun Casey, who works for Emmis's Hot 97 - and his wife, wife, who is partially of Asian origin, did not comments but John C. Liu, a city councilman of Chinese descent, who had demanded that Torain, who is black, be punished, said he was disappointed by the decision.
He added that the issue was not whether Torain "would have actually done anything to harm the child directly, but whether someone listening on the public airwaves would have somehow gotten it into their head that they were going to get a cash reward" for harming a child.
Torain asked if he regretted his language or wished to apologize, told the paper, I'm done with that line of questioning. You've got a decision by a court. What more are you looking for? Case dismissed means not enough evidence to go forward, or however else you want to interpret that."
The Times says Torain compared himself to Lenny Bruce and others involved in free speech cases [RNW comment: Which means that he's either both unable to discriminate between free speech and abuse thereof and ignorant of Bruce's work as well as an ignorant, misogynist bigot or just relying on others' ignorance] and said, "If you're in the media you'd better know what happened to me," Mr. Torain said, "or else you'll just be another sheep sitting around, and all of a sudden one day you'll be told that you don't represent the demands of a certain community and then you're out of a job."
He told the paper he had no plans to try and get his old job back but would stay in New York and added, "I most certainly will be back on radio, and television as well. I've got a great television deal in the works."
Torain is also involved in another court case, this time involving Keysha Whitaker, who as "Prozac Girl" on the then syndicated "Star & Buc Wild Morning Show," says that she was lost her job because she drew the line at being spit at in addition to abuse thrown at her.
The Connecticut Post says that Whitaker, whose character was based on her real-life bout of depression, has filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, defamation and violation of the Americans with Disability Act.
Clear Channel hired Star following his dismissal by Emmis in 2003 (See RNW May 22, 2003) and the show began airing on WPPH-FM in Hartford in April 2004: The suit says Whitaker was hired in February that year to play the role of Prozac Girl at a salary of USD 60,000 a year and was to be paid a further USD 20,000 lump sum each time the show was syndicated to a new locale
According to the suit during a May 2004 broadcast Torain spat on show producer Miguel Candelaria and said, "all of you in here are going to get anointed with my spit".
Whitaker said she would resign if Torain insisted on "anointing her with his saliva." It adds that three days later, Candelaria shot a "phlegm-laden" launch at a character named "Crossover Negro Reese" a newsman and Torain then threatened to spit on Whitaker, who again objected.
As a result, the suit charges, Candelaria demanded a letter of resignation from Whitaker, stripped her of her office keys and walked her out of the building and it adds that Torain called Whitaker after she left and told her she was fired because she "is sick," "disabled" and has depression.
The Post reports that after listening to arguments from both sides for around an hour .S. District Judge Janet C. Hall rejected Clear Channel Broadcasting's request to dismiss the case against the company; Torain, and Candelaria but did dismiss an assault charge because the suit claims only an oral threat was made and that Star did not actually attempt to spit on her. Hall added that Whitaker's lawyer could resurrect that claim if he can show Torain did attempt to spit on his client.
RNW comment: If the allegations are correct and IF Whitaker took the matter up with Clear Channel rather than the station, our view is that the company is clearly unfitted to hold broadcasting licences and we would find it appropriate were it to find its licences for all stations that aired the Star and Buc Wilde Show at the time were revoked. If, however, the matter was not taken up with the company, it seems to us that its culpability is significantly reduced although we agree that the damages suit should have been allowed to proceed as the presumption in view of the Torain's history has to be that Clear Channel must have been aware of the likelihood of unreasonable behaviour and should therefore have set suitable procedures in place.
The same should apply in our view to any TV or other broadcasting company considering hiring him: It ought to fear in advance that if it hasn't set curbs in place its licences could be at risk and that its defence against lawsuits would be very weak.
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Torain:
Connecticut Post report:
New York Times report:
2006-07-29: Its radio operations and Trader Media group boosted UK Guardian Media Group (GMG) in its 2005-06 year to April 2 whilst its newspapers faced difficult advertising conditions.
Overall GMG revenues were down 0.7% to GBP 700.3 million (USD 1.31 billion) but its pre-tax profit from continuing operations was up 23.6% to GBP 66.4 million (USD 123.8 million) and overall its profit after tax, exceptional items and discontinued operations went up 4.1% to GBP 45.9 million (USD 85.6 million).
In divisional terns its national newspapers - The Guardian and Observer - reported losses before exceptional items up 3.8% to GBP 19.3 million (USD 36.0 million) on revenues up 1.5% to GBP 237.4 million (USD 442.6 million): Losses after exceptional items, primarily associated with new printing arrangements for the papers, which were re-launched in the full-colour "Berliner" format, GBP 49.9 million (USD 93.0 million). GMG said digital revenues within the total were up 41% but did not quantify this although it did note that its web site is by far the most popular UK newspaper site with a 10% market share.
Regional newspapers did worse with turnover down 7% to GBP 126.8 million (USD 236.4 million) and operating profits before exceptional costs were down 37.2% to GBP 21.6 million (USD 40.3 million) but its Trader Media outperformed its competition with revenues up 0.5% to GBP 303.3 million (USD 565.5 million) with operating profit up 2.8% to GBP 119.5 million (USD 222.8 million).
Radio performance was strong with revenues up 13.9% to GBP 27.9 million (USD 52.0 million) and operating profit nearly tripled - from GBP 1 million (USD 1.86 million) a year earlier to GBP 2.7 million (USD 5.0 million).
Chief Executive Sir Robert Phillis, who is to step down at the end of the month because he is to undergo a bone marrow transplant (See RNW Jan 15) said of the results, "This has been a year in which the benefits of our diverse portfolio have enabled us to undertake a significant programme of renewal, underpinned by major long-term capital investment. The fact that this programme has been completed at a time of economic uncertainty, accompanied by further rapid technological developments across the communications sector, says much about the resilience of our strategic plans."
Chairman Paul Myners, added, "These are a very satisfactory set of financial results in what have been difficult trading conditions across the media sector in general, and the national and regional press in particular. It has also been a year of very considerable investment in both our traditional publishing activities and in the digital/electronic publishing future. This is a tangible manifestation of the Group's long-term vision, creativity, innovation and courage."
Previous GMG:
Previous Phillis:
2006-07-28: XM Satellite radio has again announced significant subscriber increases - it has now topped seven million - and a greater loss in its second quarter results - up to USD 229 million from USD 147 million for the second quarter of 2005 but including one-off losses of USD 105 million in de-leveraging and other non-operating charges without which it would have trimmed the loss to USD 124 million.
During the quarter, running to the end of June, XM added 398,012 net subscribers - out of a gross addition of 926,281- and ended the quarter with 6,899,871, up 56% on a year earlier.
Revenues for the quarter were up 82% on a year earlier at USD 228 million driven by subscriber growth and increases in average revenue per subscriber: Its subscriber acquisition cost, however rose by 28% to USD 64 and cost per gross addition was up 14.3% to USD 112.
XM notes that its adjusted EBITDA loss (non-GAAP) improved to USD 46 million from an adjusted EBITDA loss of USD 88 million a year ago.
CEO Hugh Panero said of the figures that with more than seven million subscribers XM had "achieved yet another major milestone as the leader in satellite radio" but the company has cut its end of year subscriber forecasts yet again: It had already reduced a forecast of 9 million to 8.5 million in May (See RNW May 25) and has now cut the figure to between 7.7 million and 8.2 million, adding that it will refine this range at the end of the third quarter when it expects to have a firmer sense of regulatory progress and availability of product for the fourth quarter[RNW note: A reference to the compliance problems it and rival Sirius have with interference on some models that use FM to move the satellite signal to an analogue car radio.] , as well as retail sales trends.
It adds that it "still expects to achieve positive cash flow from operations for the fourth quarter 2006 and the full year 2007, although its ability to do so becomes challenging toward the lower end of the subscriber range."
Commenting on the performance, Panero said, "Despite near-term challenges, XM's revenues grew in the second quarter by 82 percent compared to the same quarter last year and we were able to significantly bring down our adjusted EBITDA loss year over year."
Previous Panero:
Previous XM:
2006-07-28: The BBC has announced that following six months of tests at BBC Radio Lincolnshire it is to adopt a pocket computer phone system at all of its radio stations.
Radio Lincolnshire had teamed up with Maastricht-based Technica del Arte to transform a pocket PC phone, the XDA, into a professional recording device capable of sending high quality sound down a mobile phone line or from a wi-fi spot.
The device is on the shortlist for an IBC Innovation Award to be judged at a ceremony in Amsterdam in September and Andy Griffee, BBC Controller of English Regions, said: "This new technology means that journalists are totally self-contained. They no longer need to waste time travelling to and from base - they can prepare and broadcast quality radio direct from the scene of the story without going anywhere near a studio, isdn line or mobile transmitter."
"This has revolutionized newsrooms and newsgathering in Lincolnshire, and will do the same across the country," he added.
As well as audio the system can be used to send pictures for use on web sites and 'first break' video footage for television.
As well as issuing the phone to its staff, Radio Lincolnshire has also provided selected members of the public with the technology, which has also been tested by the world famous RAF aerobatic team - the Red Arrows - who recorded and sent back more than 30 items for Radio Lincolnshire from pre-season training in mainland Greece and Cyprus and early season displays in the Middle East.
Previous BBC:
2006-07-28: Westwood One, the CBS-operated syndication company, is to cut around 70 jobs in a move to "increase productivity". The cuts follow cuts of around 100 posts at CBS Radio (See RNW Jul 13)..
An internal memorandum by Westwood One President and CEO Peter Kosann says the action is part of "several steps" it has to take to face the problems of an advertising market that has "proven to be both challenging and ever-evolving."
Westwood One is currently evaluated its services to Metro Networks affiliates in its smaller markets as part of its plans to trim local costs although it says it intend to continue to provide "quality services" in the markets.
Previous Kosann:
Previous Westwood One:
2006-07-28: Former WUOM-FM salesman Jeremy Nordquist has been found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement from the Michigan Public Media station and now awaits sentencing at the end of next month.
He was found not guilty on a charge of embezzling up to USD 20,000 and, although the conspiracy conviction carries a sentence of up to five years in prison the Ann Arbor News says he is not expected to be jailed and notes that two others found guilty in allied prosecutions - Michael Coleman, the former deputy director at Michigan Public Media, and Justin Ebright, the former director of development - were sentenced to probation.
Coleman, now the general manager at public radio station WDET-FM, Detroit, pleaded no contest in May to a misdemeanour charge of embezzlement under USD 200 as part of a plea agreement in which a felony embezzlement charge was dropped and last month was placed on probation for two years of ordered to pay USD 3,500 in restitution to Michigan Public Media (See RNW Jun 24).
In May Ebright had been sentenced to o two years probation, 50 hours of community service and to make USD 10,000 restitution after entering a guilty plea to a charge of embezzlement under USD 20,000 (See RNW May 20).
Nordquist maintained he was only following the lead of Coleman and Ebright and was the only one of the three to take the charges to trial.
Previous WUOM:
Ann Arbor News report:
2006-07-28: The unlicensed operator of a Sydney Greek-language radio service has been fined AUD 4,000 plus court costs of AUD 65 (USD 3,100 in total) and had his transmitter confiscated by a Sydney court.
George Leoudis of Hurlstone Park, New South Wales, had pleaded not guilty to the unlicensed operation: His case was initially referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) after he had been sent a number of warnings and ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman said that while "ACMA's default approach to compliance is to negotiate and resolve matters, we have had a number of recent court successes, across a number of the Acts we administer, and this judgment should be seen as further evidence of our willingness to prosecute when necessary."
Previous ACMA:
Previous Chapman:
2006-07-27: The battle over digital radio standards for the world's most populous area will move a stage further next month when the Asian Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) holds its second Digital Radio Convention with some 40 experts leading discussions and workshops on the various competing systems.
The opening session of the four-day event being held in Kuala Lumpur from August 14 will introduce the essential features of the current systems - DAB-Eureka 147, DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale),iBiquity's HD Radio, ISDB-TSB (The Japanese Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting system that combines digital TV and digital audio broadcasting system), WorldSpace and DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast), plus the planned expansion of DRM into the DRM+ standard to cater for services operating up to 120MHz and subsequent sessions and workshops will be held on the various systems.
ABU Secretary-General, David Astley commented of the convention, "An increasing number of radio broadcasters in the region are embracing the transition to digital transmission. This convention will provide an excellent platform for broadcasters and industry players to network and understand the business issues as well as new technical developments. We would particularly like to address those issues that seem to be holding up the wide-scale adoption of digital radio technologies in the Asia-Pacific."
The principal sponsor of the event is the Harris Corporation and other sponsors and exhibitors include various manufacturers and industry bodies including Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), DMB, iBiquity Digital Corporation, and WorldSpace and representatives of the four digital radio standards consortia - WorldDAB, ISDB, HD Radio and DRM.
So far most of the countries in the area have opted for or indicated preferences for DAB/DRM and DMB although HD has had limited success with some installations in Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand.
Previous DRM:
Previous Harris:
Previous iBiquity:
Previous WorldDAB:
Previous WorldSpace:
2006-07-27: The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has announced the allocation of more than Euros 10 million (USD 12.7 million) in funding for programming in the second round of its Sound & Vision Scheme.
The largest part by far goes to TV projects - 39 of them get a total of Euros 9.59 million (USD 11.6 million) with the highest single award being of Euros 694,000 (USD 842,000) for an animation programme "Fluffy Gardens /Gairdíní Cadáis" from Monster Animation Ltd. for RTÉ TV- whilst 41 radio projects share Euros 468,000 (USD 568,000).
17 of the radio awards, which rang from Euros 2,800 (USD 3,400) to Euros 30,000 (USD 36,000) are for awards of Euros 10,000 (USD 12,700) or above, with four of Euros 20,000 (USD 24,300)or above - of euros 30,000 (USD 36,000) to Aileen O Meara & Tim Hastings for a documentary "Across the Counter" for RTÉ Radio One; of Euros 22,000 (USD 26,700) each to Raidio na Life for a factual documentary "Seó an Phobail" for Raidió na Life and to The Media Co-op/Near fm 101.6 for another factual documentary "Special Broadcasts" for Near FM; and Euros 20,000 (USD 24,300) to Conn Ó Muíneacháin for a general documentary "An Líonra Sóisialta" for Flirt FM.
Within the radio awards, documentaries - arts, factual, general, history, music, nature and sports - take 83% of the funding with three drama awards sharing the remaining Euros 52, 000 (USD 63,000): In language terms the split is 68% to English-language programmes and the remaining 32% to Irish language and bilingual projects.
BCI, Chief Executive Michael O'Keeffe said of the awards, "The increase in applications for funding in this second round of Sound & Vision is very encouraging and underlines the significant interest in the scheme from both broadcasters and the production sector. There was also an improvement overall in the quality of applications received in terms of presentation, research and in creatively addressing the themes of Irish culture, heritage and experience."
The BCI has also made a number of licensing announcements and advertised for applications for a new quasi-national Christian and religious service to be broadcast primarily on AM with supplemental low power VHF-FM transmissions.
Regarding Community licences it has said that it is to invite two applicants for licences in its second phase of community licence adverts - Community Radio Youghal and Raidió na Life - to attend private oral hearings with the Commission's Executive in September: it also announced the receipt of six applications for community FM licences advertised in May.
Four are from existing licensees - Inishowen Community Radio for a Donegal licence; NEAR FM for Dublin north-east; Phoenix FM for Dublin north-west; and South West Clare Community Radio (Raidió Corca Baiscinn). In addition new applicants Ballyhoura Community Radio is applying for a Limerick licence and Jet FM for one in Shannon.
Previous BCI:
Previous O'Keeffe:
2006-07-27: UK media regulator Ofcom has started the process of inviting applicants for short-term restricted service licences (RSLs) for stations during Ramadan and Eid in 2007.
Ofcom is currently conducting a consultation on restricted radio services and how it should best decide between competing applications (See Licence News Apr 30) but says that until a decision is made about introducing new procedures it will continue with its practice of accepting short-term applications up t a year in advance, which means in this case Tuesday 12 September - Monday 9 October 2006 as Ramadan will commence in mid-September next year.
Applications have to be accompanied by a GBP 400 (USD 740) fee but Ofcom says that if its decides on a new procedure for deciding between competing applications it will let applications know what this and allow them to withdraw their application.
Previous Ofcom:
2006-07-27: Clear Channel says that is now offering HD Digital Radio broadcasts from 300 of its stations, an increase of a half over the past nine months, and expects to be offering HD in 95% of its stations in the top 100 US markets by the end of next year.
So far Clear Channel has HD stations in 34 markets including all of the Arbitron top ten markets.
Previous Clear Channel:
2006-07-26: Bridge Ratings says that a new study shows 45% of those it polled - it used a sample of 2,500 aged 12-54 - naming terrestrial radio as the preferred source for discovering new music.
Despite the Bridge headline "Terrestrial Radio Still Primary New Music Discovery Destination" closer examination of the figures shows significant cause for concern as "traditional" radio fares increasingly worse amongst younger demographics - whilst 61% of those 35-54 named it as their preferred source compared to 11% listing Internet radio, none satellite radio, 7% peer to peer and 21% traditional retailers - the figures then dropped back dramatically.
For those 18-34 they were 35% for traditional radio, 18% for Internet radio, 1% for satellite radio, 25% for Peer-to-Peer and only 8% for traditional retailers.
The picture was slightly better amongst those aged 12-27 - we would speculate this might be because of parental curbs on Internet use - where the figures were 38% for traditional radio, 10% for Internet radio, 1% for satellite radio, 29% for Peer-to-Peer and only 2% for traditional retailers.
Bridge Ratings President Dave Van Dyke commented of the study, "As far as new music discovery, teens have a stronger affinity for On-line virtual community networks like MySpace.com and P2P trading than other demographics do, but a significant number of teens still discover new music through their current-based terrestrial radio stations!"
"Internet radio," he added, "did not show as well as we might have expected; Overall only 13% of the sample used Internet radio in this way. Among all age groups, 18-34 year olds used Internet radio more often for new music discovery - but less than 1 in 5 do so."
Bridge notes that a year ago a similar study showed Internet radio doing much better - it was named a preferred source by 27% of all those polled - but the expanding use by young people of sites such as MySpace and Napster has cut into this significantly: These "on-line virtual communities," it says, "are fast-becoming excellent sources of discovery for music consumers 12-34 years of age.
Of satellite radio, Bridge comments, that it is not perceived or used as a new music discovery destination but is used by most people "much like terrestrial radio is often used - for familiarity of music content."
Previous Bridge Ratings:
Previous van Dyke:
2006-07-26: BBC World Service has appointed Ghanaian-born presenter Vera Kwakofi as Project Manager of its new BBC Africa Radio Awards that aim to celebrate the achievements of the best of the stations and individual broadcasters in the continent.
The Awards are to be launched in September this year and overall winners will be announced at an awards ceremony next year with awards for Radio Station of the Year, New Radio Station of the Year (launched since September 2004), News Journalist of the Year, Sports Journalist of the Year, Local On-Air Campaign of the Year, Interactive/Talk Show of the Year and Young Broadcaster of the Year (entrants must be 20 years of age or under on 31 December 2006).
Entries will first be judged on a regional basis with the winners selected by an independent panel of judges, chosen for their knowledge of the region and its media: In addition three listeners will also take part in the judging process as prize-winners of a competition running on the interactive programme, Network Africa. The winning regional entries will be put forward for the overall prize.
Kwakofi commented, "Having worked in radio in Ghana, I know how important radio has become to the growth of a democratic culture, as radio has helped make people more aware of their place and role in the development of their country.
"With this competition," she added, "the BBC is recognizing the vibrant radio scene that has flourished across Africa and the hard work that has gone into the growth of radio in Africa. I am honoured and excited to be part of this project."
Previous BBC:
2006-07-26: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has cancelled a USD 3,000 penalty it proposed to levy on American Family Association (AFA), licensee of KBMP-FM, Enterprise, Kansas, for failing to respond fully to a Letter of Inquiry ("LOI") concerning an apparent violation of the main studio rule by KBMP.
It had already reduced the proposed penalty from USD 10,000 to USD 3,000 last month (See RNW Jun 27) and now says it finds no evidence that AFA intentionally failed to respond but rather that its omission was "was based on an openly expressed albeit mistaken understanding of our requirements" and that AFA made efforts to respond as rapidly as possible. On this basis it says it does not believe a monetary forfeiture is justified and has cancelled the penalty.
Previous FCC:
2006-07-26: XM is to pay its newly appointed President and COO Nate Davis (see RNW Jul 25) a base salary of USD 500,000 a year to begin with rising by USD 50,000 a year for the next two years to USD 600,000 in the third year according to a filing by the company.
It also says that on July 20 it granted Davis a 10-year option to purchase 400,000 shares of XM Class A common stock at USD 11.92 per share- the closing price that day - and also 200,000 shares of restricted stock: The options will become available in equal instalments on each of the first , second and third anniversaries of the grant, although this could be moved earlier under certain conditions, but Davis will not be allowed to sell restricted stock shares - apart from to fund the payment of taxes due to their vesting - until the average closing price of our Class A common stock over any seven consecutive trading days equals or exceeds 150% of XM's stock price on the date of grant.
The filing also reveals that if XM chooses to terminate Davis's employment without cause or if he resigns for good reason, including a change of control, he is to receive his base salary and all applicable benefits for two years from the date of the termination and also to pay a pro-rated discretionary bonus, based on the percentage of base salary awarded as a discretionary bonus in the previous year, for the portion of the year prior to termination. Should XM choose not to offer to renew his contract, all options previously granted will vest immediately and be exercisable for 18 months and if XM does offer a renewal but Davis opts to leave any restricted shares and options scheduled to vest on July 20, 2009 will immediately vest and any vested options will remain exercisable for three months but all other non-vested options and restricted stock would be forfeited.
Previous Davis:
Previous XM:
2006-07-26: Former Emmis Chicago WKQX-FM host Erich "Mancow" Muller is to add Chicago public television to his resume with spells as an occasional contributor to WTTW-Channel 11's "Chicago Tonight" when Chicago Sun-Times columnist Debra Pickett is off air.
His first commentary was aired last night and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder quoted the programme's executive producer Mary Field as saying of Muller, "He is charismatic, bright and a self-described libertarian -- and we are always looking for fresh voices and diverse perspectives. We will be introducing him to a new audience, and we hope, in turn, that some of his younger fan base will tune in and discover the program."
Muller is still of the radio airwaves in Chicago but his "Mancow's Morning Madhouse" is aired elsewhere through syndication and Muller also continues to deliver commentaries on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends."
Previous Muller:
Chicago Sun-Times - Feder:
2006-07-25: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has now formally released the full text of its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking it adopted last month (See RNW Jun 22) and is asking for public comment on US media ownership regulation in light of issues raised when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in June 2004 (See RNW Jun 25, 2004 ) ruled against several rules adopted by a partisan 3-2 majority by the FCC in its 2002 Biennial Review Order (See RNW June 3, 2003) :The full report was released a month later (See RNW Jul 3, 2003).
In the new document - for a 2006 Quadrennial Regulatory Review - the FCC asks for comment on its rules on local TV ownership limits; local radio ownership limits, the Newspaper-Broadcast cross ownership ban; the radio- TV cross ownership limit; the Dual Network Ban; and the UHF discount on the National Television Ownership Limit.
The FCC is to hold six public meetings about the issues raised and has extended the comment period to run 120 days.
All of the Commissioners issued statements, those of the Republican majority containing no dissent but those of the Democrat minority dissenting in part.
Chairman Kevin J. Martin, noting the delay since the court stayed the previous rules and instructed the commission to respond, says the FCC should "should take into account the competitive realities of the media marketplace while also ensuring the promotion of the important goals of localism and diversity" and adds that "the Commission will look carefully at the relationship between media ownership and localism as it moves forward with this rulemaking."
Commissioner Robert M. McDowell commented that the rules "must take into account the dramatic changes that have occurred in the media landscape since the Commission adopted them" but added, "At the same time, we must ensure that the rules continue to promote the long-standing values of competition, diversity and localism that lie at the foundation of our nation's broadcasting system."
The third Republican commissioner, Deborah Taylor Tate, wrote of a recent trip to China driving home "how interconnected today's media world really is" and added that "…we must realize that the world is indeed interconnected and that American companies must be able to compete in order to continue to be global leaders in the media marketplace."
Of the two Democrats, Jonathan S. Adelstein wrote, "Unfortunately, the manner in which the Commission is launching this critical proceeding is totally inadequate. It is like submitting a high-school term paper for a Ph.D. thesis. This Commission failed in 2003, and if we don't change course, we will fail again… The large media companies wanted, and today they get, a blank check to permit further media consolidation. The Notice is so open-ended that it will permit the majority of the Commission to allow giant media companies to get even bigger at the time, place and manner of their choosing. That is the reason I have refused to support launching this proceeding until now, and it is why I am dissenting from the bulk of this Notice. This Notice is thin gruel to those hoping for a meaty discussion of media ownership issues. "
He said the process - which he termed "such a shallow" one -"lacks commitment to three basic building blocks of a successful rulemaking on media ownership - an issue that affects the daily lives of every single American. First, the process does not commit to giving the public an opportunity to comment on specific proposals before any changes to the rules are finalized. Second, it does not commit to completing the localism proceeding and rulemaking before changing the ownership rules. Finally, it does not commit to making any final decision in a comprehensive manner. Given the history of this proceeding, these failings are astonishing."
Adelstein also highlighted issues of localism saying it would "be unacceptable to finalize any decisions regarding media ownership until we complete our localism proceeding, which began in 2003 in direct response to the millions of Americans who expressed outrage at the Commission's relaxation of media ownership rules " and further commented on the need for rule changes to be handled in a comprehensive final order to ensure "consistency" and "an urgent need for the Commission to complete research papers and reports, which provide professional and objective information about current market conditions, trends and future expectations of the radio, television and newspaper sectors."
His fellow Democrat Michael J. Copps said all could probably agree on the need to start the proceeding and commented of the 2003 proposals, "A majority of Commissioners approved stunning-there is no other word for it-rules that would allow one corporation to own, in a single community, up to three TV stations, eight radio stations, the cable system, the only daily newspaper and the biggest Internet provider. How can it be good for our Country to invest such sweeping power in one media mogul or one giant corporation? "
Of the current proceeding he commented, in terms that indirectly make very clear his expectations, "We'll undoubtedly have some hearings and some research this time-I think at least that part of the lesson has been learned. But Americans know the difference between a fig leaf and a real commitment… If you see hearings in your hometown, instead of a just a few pre-selected cities, you'll know. If you see FCC Commissioners come to listen to your point of view personally, instead of expecting you to hire a $500 an hour lobbyist to get heard, you'll know. If the FCC contracts for independent, well-funded studies and seeks public comment on those studies, instead of buying a few-half hearted, time-crunched papers that slide into the record without comment, you'll know. And, critically, if the FCC shows you the specific rules that will reshape the American media before forcing a vote, instead of rushing from this short document to a final vote, you'll know."
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Text of Notice - 36 page 285 KB PDF:
2006-07-25: XM Satellite Radio has announced the appointment of Nate Davis, former President and COO of XO Communications, to the newly created position of President and Chief Operating Officer.
Making the announcement XM CEO Hugh Panero said he knew "first hand the kind of action-oriented, business leadership that Nate will bring to his new role" and added, "He has a deep understanding of our business as a member of our Board of Directors since 1999. He has a truly impressive track record in operational management and a unique background in finance, technology, and launching new and innovative products. I can't think of anyone better qualified to help take XM to the next level."
Davis said in a statement he was "passionate about XM and the wonderful content it delivers to its subscribers" and added, "While there are near term operational challenges to work through, the growth opportunities in front of us are tremendous."
XM has also announced that it has agreed a new five-year music licensing agreement with the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) but did not give details of the amounts involved.
In other US radio appointments, NextMedia has promoted Jeff Dinetz, nephew of President/CEO Steven Dinetz, to the post of President and COO of its radio division to replace Skip Weller who announced his resignation last week.
A 25-year radio industry veteran Jeff Dinetz has overseen NextMedia operations in Decatur, Illinois; Saginaw, Michigan; Wilmington, Delaware; and the Coastal Carolinas since 2000.
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2006-07-25: According to the Sydney Daily Telegraph quoting an unnamed former employee of Austereo's 2-DAY FM, the station's breakfast show hosted by Kyle and Jackie O has recently been "continually" airing bogus calls.
The allegation follows an admission that last Friday the show used calls from two fakes - friends of an unnamed producer - to fill a half-hour : In the segment a caller named 'Cindy' told another bogus caller posing as her brother that his wife was supposedly going to leave him.
Austereo general manager Helen Davies, reports the paper, said on Friday the producer had been reprimanded and hosts Kyle and Jackie O were "unaware" the callers were phony. It adds that other segments are now thought to involve bogus calls and says it's claimed by the former employee that a call last year in which Jackie O made a call to her personal trainer to tell him he smelt of body odour was in fact made to an Austereo executive.
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2006-07-25: Shares in GCap Media fell by 7.5% on Monday following another trading update in which it warned of a decrease in revenues of around 6% year-on-year for the quarter to the end of June: Excluding flagship London station Capital Radio revenues were down 3%.
Making the announcement GCap said that in its announcement of last years results (See RNW May 25) it had identified four factors affecting its revenues - short term effects of our inventory policy at Capital Radio; audience declines at our core heritage stations; post merger disruption and weak advertising conditions.
The inventory policy, it said, had affected revenues in the quarter but it added that its "Board remains confident that management are taking the right steps to improve audience performance with improved presentation, music and general content across the station; with the arrival in August of a new Programme Director and the roll-out of a marketing plan."
It warned, however, that while it had "addressed internal factors" a worsening advertising market was the main factor for the revenue fall and added that the "difficult conditions look set to continue into July and August."
Of July, which is forecast to be down 14% (down 8% excluding Capital Radio), it said it believed the results showed "like June, an exceptional decrease primarily due to lower advertising spend around the World Cup. "
"Recent trading has been weaker than we expected," it concluded, adding, "Visibility remains limited and the GCap Media Board takes a cautious view on market conditions in the near term. However, against the backdrop of a difficult advertising market we remain committed to our strategy which we believe will deliver long term value for the business."
GCap did have some consolation at its annual general meeting when only 11% of its shareholders failed to rebel over the GBP 1.13 million (USD 2.06 million) paid to former chief executive David Mansfield for loss of office (See RNW Jun 27). It had explained in its annual report that this resulted from a 2001 contract, saying, "Shareholders will recall the environment for media companies at that time, where securing the services of management was more difficult in the sector."
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2006-07-25: Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) says it has now raised USD 56 million for its "The Next Standard" capital investment campaign with a gift of USD 3 million from wealth management company UBS to complete construction and launch programming at The UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio.
Most of the funds - USD 48.5 million - have gone to MPR's expanded headquarters and broadcast facility in downtown: The expansion more than doubled the space in the organization's previous headquarters and houses new technology, public space, production facilities and broadcast studios, editing suites, a digital archival facility and multimedia conference rooms.
MPR President Bill Kling said the organization was "grateful for the generosity demonstrated through this campaign, the largest and most significant in our history" adding, "It will ensure that Minnesota Public Radio is able to deepen the public service we provide. This capstone gift from UBS is a powerful investment in Minnesota Public Radio as a convening organization and in the advancement of individual and community life in Minnesota."
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2006-07-25: British media regulator Ofcom in its latest Broadcast Bulletin upheld two standards complaints against radio and gave details of a third complaint not upheld: Regarding TV it upheld three standards complaints and considered four TV standards complaints resolved by action taken by the broadcaster as well as upholding two TV fairness and privacy complaints - one of them in part - and giving details of two further TV fairness and privacy complaints that were not upheld.
This compares to no radio complaints upheld in the previous bulletin in which two TV standards complaints were upheld ; two further such complaints considered resolved and details given of a TV fairness and Privacy complaint that was not upheld.
In addition Ofcom listed with no details a further 171 TV complaints involving 147 items and 26 radio complaints involving 26 items that it were out of its remit or not upheld. The totals compare with 187 TV complaints involving 161 items and 41 radio complaints involving 39 items that it said were out of its remit or not upheld in its previous bulletin.
The radio standards complaints upheld involved London Greek Radio and GWR FM, the former relating to a complaint about the presenting of programmes up to March 2006 by a Conservative Councillor Andreas Tambourides who at the time of the broadcasts was the outgoing mayor of a Borough and was facing re-election as a councillor in the May 2006 elections.
The station said that Tambourides was employed simply as a newsreader, did not carry out any interviews, and had been instructed not to read items that related to the local elections in which he was a candidate but Ofcom noted that UK regulations prohibit politicians being used as newsreaders or presenters unless it is editorially justified in which case his or her political allegiance must be made clear to the audience.
It added that this was to ensure that news was presented and perceived to be presented with "due impartiality" and that this was particularly important at election times when it was important that no candidate or party gains an electoral advantage due to either the candidate being seen to be the face or voice of the news or by the insertion of the candidate's own political views into the news.
Ofcom said it was reassured by the steps the station had taken to ensure that the news did not reflect the presenter's views but that nevertheless its rules had been broken.
However because of the steps taken and because Tambourides ended his duties on April 1 it said the potential for electoral advantage was minimal and opted to impose no sanctions.
The GWR FM complaint concerned a bingo-based competition aired by the Bristol and Bath station in which listeners were invited to cross off the names of music artists, listed on individual game cards, as they were announced by the station.
A listener complained that she had called the station believing that the name of each of the artists listed on her card had been read out, was put on air and read out each artist listed and was announced as the winner of GBP 10000 (USD 18,500). On the following day she was contacted by the station to be told that she had not won as three of the artists listed on her card had not been announced by the station.
Station owner GCap confirmed that the complaint had not held a winning card and said that she had been told before she was put on air that the award was subject to checks. It admitted that it should have had a "more robust system" in place for checking before a person claiming to be a winner was put on air and said that in this case it decided not to mention on air that the woman had not in fact won because it believed the original announcement would have led to most other players discarding their cards and thus that "to have resuscitated the competition in such circumstances would have been impractical and unfair". Instead it decided to run a further competition with the same prize.
Ofcom said they appreciated why GWR had decided not to resuscitate the competition but nevertheless listeners who had participated were entitled to know that the prize had not been won, why not and that the station had opted to resolve the matter by running another competition with the same prize. In not announcing these details, it said, the station had breached its rules.
The radio complaint not upheld but where details were published involved BBC Three Counties Radio and an item in which a mother had a pre-arranged conversation about a will in which her daughter was identified as a beneficiary.
The woman's full name was disclosed but subsequently it emerged that the woman and her daughter were not speaking to each other and she complained about infringement of her privacy.
Ofcom said it "considered that this was an unfortunate case where private and potentially sensitive or embarrassing information had been disclosed in the programme without the complainant's consent" and added that it was clear that the programme makers were acting in good faith and that any infringement of the complainant's privacy was obviously unintentional." It said that the there was no evidence that prior to broadcast the woman had said that the information she was providing was in any sense private and not to be disclosed and ruled that there had not been an unwarranted infringement of privacy.
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2006-07-24: "Is there hope for US radio?" was the underlying theme of a number of print articles we noted last week and led us to the them for this week's look at print comment on the media.
First however praise for a California station owner who has been resisting the lures of profit to keep his classical music format on the air - and who has also said he doesn't want his children to sell up and live off the profits.
The owner is Saul Levine, whose family-owned Mt. Wilson Broadcasting Inc. operates classical station K-Mozart, or KMZT-FM - and also pop standards KKGO-AM - and who was featured in a Los Angeles Times report by David Colker.
Colker says that Levine, who paid around USD 25 for the licence and launched the station that he had built on Mt Wilson on land leased from the US Forest Service for USD 350 a year in 1959, could now get USD 100 million or more for it. This is largely because the station, which under Federal Communications Commission rules that took effect in 1962 would be restricted to around 680 watts, can operate at almost 18,000 watts.
Mary Beth Garber, president of the Southern California Broadcasters Assn., commented of this, "He has the rights to one of the most powerful signals in Southern California. It's one of the few stations that can be heard all the way in Palm Springs."
The value of the station relates to is power and not its format and Colker quoted arts consultant Bob Goldfarb who conducted a survey of classical music radio stations for aNational Endowment for the Arts report, as saying of many FM licences in California that were bought with the help off leveraged buy-outs: "A station, after it was bought, had to not only earn a profit but also service the debt that eventually got into the nine-figures rang