June 2007 Archive
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- May 2007
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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 June comment - Boycotts and pork or a business approach. We suggest that a single royalty rate for digital - or analogue - audio is nonsense and that the system should be changed to provide tiered charges and a choice of collection agencies.
RNW May comment - Playing to strengths! We suggest radio has to accept the world as it now is and play to its strengths rather than waste effort in attempts to stifle competition.
RNW April comment - Imus's demise - what can be learned from it?
2007-06-30: SoundExchange has announced that it has proposed a voluntary cap USD 500 cap on the minimum fees charged against royalties for sound recordings played on Internet Radio.
The rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board require each webcasting service to pay a USD500 minimum fee "per station or channel" which could cost some companies who stream many channels or provide services to small webcasters millions of dollars.
SoundExchange Executive Director John Simson said of the regulations, "There was a lot of misunderstanding out there about how the minimum fee would apply, and frankly some people were wrongly stating SoundExchange's policy on this matter. We certainly don't want anybody to get unduly hurt by the minimum fee, but there is a value to music and a cost to administering the digital royalty program, and we wanted to ensure that everyone was treated fairly - artists, webcasters and record labels."
SoundExchange General Counsel Michael Huppe added, "The idea that the per-channel minimum might have a disproportionate impact on certain Internet Radio stations was never presented to the Copyright Royalty Judges. Nonetheless, at the request of Congress, we are trying to work with the small subset of affected webcasters, and are offering this proposal in the hopes of addressing those concerns."
SoundExchange adds that it is also currently in active negotiations with small commercial webcasters and non-commercial webcasters such as public radio and college stations to provide below-market rates under terms similar to those they enjoyed in previous years under the Small Webcaster Settlement Act and Simson added, "I've said all along, we are in this together. We want to see artists and labels fairly paid for the music they provide and we want to see Internet radio grow and flourish. There's no question the new rates set by the Copyright Royalty Judges are fair and are reasonable in the current market. In proposing these various accommodations to webcasters (especially small and non-commercial webcasters), SoundExchange has taken the initiative to attempt to address the concerns that have been raised by Congress and affected webcasters."
He also noted that, in yesterday's hearing on webcasting royalty rates before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business, the panel's ranking Republican, Steve Chabot of Ohio, concurred with Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez, (New York Democrat) when she commented, "I really don't think Congress is the best vehicle to resolve this type of issue."
RNW comment: This to us is the usual half-misleading self-serving twaddle from SoundExchange, which wants to retain the rights to the charges but avoid political fallout in the short term. We suggested in our June comment that a multi-tiered charge system would address the issue much better - and this would be one in which Congress would have to get involved.
In the meantime, the fact that SoundExchange feels it necessary to make the concessions it does should surely send the message that the rates were not properly thought through in which case Congress should extend the current rates for another year, cancel all back payments, and send the deal back for redrafting along the lines that SoundExchange is proposing as part of the agreement, not a concession from SoundExchange that can be withdrawn.
Previous Simson:
Previous SoundExchange:
2007-06-30: The US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), which had lobbied against any return of the former Federal Communications Commission "Fairness Doctrine", has welcomed a 309-115 vote by the U.S. House of Representatives in favour of an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Bill.
The amendment, introduced by Indiana Republican Mike Pence bars the FCC from using federal funds to reinstate the doctrine, which was introduced in 1949 of which the FCC said at the time: "The public interest requires ample play for the free and fair competition of opposing views, and the commission believes that the principle applies … to all discussion of issues of importance to the public."
NAB Executive Vice President, Government Relations Douglas S. Wiley had written to all representatives "to express our strong opposition to the so-called 'Fairness Doctrine'" and later added, "I write to you today urging you to oppose any attempt to resurrect this long-discarded regulation. Free speech must be just that - free from government influence, interference and censorship...The so-called Fairness Doctrine would stifle the growth of diverse views and, in effect, make free speech less free… Bringing back the Fairness Doctrine is unnecessary, unwarranted, and unconstitutional."
Commenting on the vote, NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton said, "Complementing the absolute explosion in alternative media outlets since the Fairness Doctrine was eliminated, broadcast viewers and listeners today enjoy a rich diversity of viewpoints from all sides of the political spectrum. We salute House members who today stood with our nation's Founding Fathers and embraced a robust press that is free and unfettered from government interference."
Previous NAB:
Previous Wharton:
2007-06-30: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Toronto morning host Andy Barrie has told his colleagues he has early stage Parkinson's disease that so far has affected his gait and handwriting but not produced tremors according to the Toronto Globe and Mail.
Baltimore-born Barrie trained as a combat medic after being given Conscientious Objector status by his local draft board during the Vietnam War but in 1969 received orders to go to Vietnam and after speaking to his brother, a career officer who had just returned from two years there, decided to move to Canada.
He received a General Discharge from the United States Army and is now a Canadian citizen. Barrie, who is 62, told his colleagues he had Parkinson's in an e-mail, saying of his condition, "I say 'have' as opposed to 'suffering from' or 'afflicted with' because neither is true" and added, "Disabled, but not unable. I love my work, and friends in the know have told me that the PD hasn't affected it. ... But it doesn't go away by itself, and it does get worse. So as optimistic as I want to be, I'm realistic too."
He then referred to an agreement with Metro Morning "go for three more" years and said as regards the immediate future, "Starting next week, I'm taking off for a good chunk of the summer, before I get back behind the mic in August. Till then, thanks for absorbing all this, for any advice you'd care to share or any questions you want to ask, and for being, all of you, such very human beings."
Previous CBC:
Toronto Globe and Mail report:
2007-06-30: The latest Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hearing on localism held in Portland, Maine, heard viewpoints made in similar form in past meetings re-iterated with local media defending their output and public interest commitments whilst activists from various organizations decried the commitment that was exercised. The meeting was the fifth of six such events the FCC has scheduled.
The Portland Press-Herald report on the meeting noted that since 1988 the paper and its sister the Maine Sunday Telegram plus all three network affiliate television stations have been bought by out-of-state companies and radio in Portland is dominated by three conglomerates - Citadel Communications, Saga Communications and Nassau Broadcasting Partners.
Of the commissioners speaking, Democrat Michael J. Copps, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Chairman Kevin J. Martin, who had been due to attend but remained in Washington where his newborn baby is hospitalised, suggested new rules that would specify requirements from broadcasters, commenting, "We have got to find a way in this country…to enhance the performance operations of consolidated media…I'm not talking about micro-regulation, but there can be some viable standards that are in the public interest
Copps also spoke of the importance of low-power FM stations, currently severely limited because of third-party adjacent restrictions put in by congress after lobbying by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), saying, "I hope there will be some discussion about the future of low-power radio and television, because in an age of consolidation, they are often the last bastions for media diversity and media democracy."
Copps fellow-Democrat Jonathan S. Adelstein criticized the actins of the Commission under former chairman Michael K. Powell, saying, "Frankly, the FCC has failed to protect the interests of the American people. The real broadcast license renewal process conducted by the FCC has been dwindled down to a postcard, rubber-stamp process. The end result is that today many stations are unattended and operated from remote locations; residents are discouraged from monitoring a station's performance; and dialogue between the station and its community is too often non-existent."
Copps, who has long been a critic of the effects of media consolidation, said many broadcasters were still motivated to serve the public interest but there were now fewer of them and the owners who remained were "less and less captains of their own fate these days and more and more captives of unforgiving Wall Street and Madison Avenue expectations. "
Adelstein also noted that the FCC had buried its own study on ownership until Sen. Barbara Boxer (California Democrat) demanded the FCC publicly release the document, which showed that locally owned TV stations provided more local news. "And while the commission has failed to complete a similar study of radio, we hear across the country that centralized playlists and payola are shutting out local musicians and unmanned radio stations have replaced local DJs," he added.
Republican Commissioners Robert M McDowell and Deborah Taylor Tate were less outspoken although McDowell did comment of hearing people's opinions, that "Localism is not just a good idea, it's the law. We want to know how we're living up to it."
Amongst media representatives Suzanne Goucher, president of the Maine Association of Broadcasters, defended the commitment of the state's broadcasters to serve communities, saying in a statement that broadcasters' recognition of their responsibilities was displayed by extensive coverage of recent storms.
Chellie Pingree, a former Maine State Senator and former president of lobbying group Common Cause, disagreed and spoke of a decline in local news coverage by radio stations." After the Telecom Act of 1996, half of the radio stations in the Midcoast area became Clear Channel properties -- operated by strangers a long way from Main Street," she said "This story could be repeated across Maine and across the country. Increasingly, there are fewer and fewer reporters covering our state legislature, local governments and local elections. I believe that there is much damage to be undone."
Another opponent of consolidation, Elery Keene of Winslow, Maine, commented, "I can remember when our newspapers, radio and TV stations were locally owned. I could talk to the owners personally, and they had a vested interest in the welfare of our community. The owners of our mega media systems do not. To them, Central Maine where I live is just a small profit centre, something that may show up on the financial statement. I appeal to the FCC to fix this broken system."
Previous Adelstein:
Previous Copps:
Previous FCC:
Previous Martin:
Previous McDowell:
Previous Powell:
Previous Tate:
Portland Press-Herald report:
2007-06-30: UK media regulator Ofcom says it has received 12 applications for community radio licences in West and South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire and has also posted the reasons for its award of five community licences and the Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire digital multiplex earlier this month (See RNW Licence News Jun 17).
The new licence applications are all for Yorkshire licences and have been made by:
Asian Community Radio (Bradford):
Peace Radio (Bradford):
Penistone FM (Penistone, South Yorkshire):
Radio JCom (Leeds):
Radio Paigham (Huddersfield):
RB FM (Barnsley):
Redroad FM (South Rotherham):
SINE FM (Doncaster):
TMCR - Thorne Moorends Community Radio (Doncaster)
Valley Radio (Keighley):
Vixen 87 (Market Weighton & Pocklington):
Wharfedale Radio (Burley in Wharfedale):
In the case of the five community licences awarded earlier in the month - to Drive FM, (Derry/Londonderry); Aldergrove and Antrim FM (Aldergrove and Antrim); Ballykinler FM, (Ballykinler, County Down) ; Holywood FM (Holywood, County Down) ; and Speysound Radio, (Badenoch & Strathspey) - the Ofcom panel listed a variety of reasons including experience. Support from local organizations and communities and the provision of education and training.
In the case of the Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire digital multiplex, which was awarded to GCap Media subsidiary NOWdigital against competition from MuxCo Home Counties Limited (See RNW Mar 30), the panel said it considered the business plan to be sustainable, with a strong security of income given that all of the proposed service providers have signed firm agreements and the majority are to be provided by GCap Media.
It also said it considered the proposed multiplex line-up offered a good balance of the largest (in geographical coverage terms) and most popular (in audience terms) existing local services and non-simulcast services designed to appeal to particular tastes and interests, and felt that together these services are likely to have appeal to a broad range of listeners in terms of age and musical tastes.
In particular it noted that NOWdigital provided evidence of a strong local demand for the provision of the Xfm service, while ratings data confirm the popularity of the two Chiltern FM services (for Bedford and Luton) and Horizon Radio, all of which will be available by way of this new local radio multiplex service.
Previous Ofcom:
2007-06-29: Clear Channel Radio has announced that Charlie Rahilly, currently an executive vice president for operations with it, has been promoted to the post of president of Premiere Radio Networks.
He takes over on July 11 from Premiere co-founder Kraig Kitchin, who is leaving the company but will remain for a transition period.
Commenting on the appointment, Clear Channel Radio president and CEO John Hogan said of Rahilly, "Charlie is a consummate professional of extraordinary experience, intelligence and talent. His track record is one of the best in the industry. He has led many of Clear Channel Radio's most strategic and successful markets and projects, and I am confident that he will have the same positive effect at Premiere."
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Hogan:
Previous Kitchin:
Previous Premiere Radio Networks:
Previous Rahilly:
2007-06-29: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday held the fifth of its localism meetings, this one in Portland, Maine.
It was to have been attended by all five commissioners but FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin whose newborn is in hospital in Washington pulled out. The meeting is still in progress as we publish.
Previous FCC:
Previous Martin:
2007-06-29: Bridge Ratings says its survey of Internet listening shows that the "Day of Silence" staged by Internet stations in the US on Tuesday to protest at increased streaming performance rates set buy the US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) shows that the campaign had significant success in terms of attracting support from stations.
It initial sample of 3,000 showed 21% saying they listened to Internet radio in a typical week.
On the Day of Action, the 630 who had responded positively were asked if they had listened and 55% of them said they had not and 62% said they had found their primary Internet station was silent on the day.
Of those that found their favourite station was silent, 72% said they tuned to another station that was streaming audio.
On Wednesday when Internet streams were back the percentage who said they listened to Internet radio rose to 89%, nearly double the figure for the day of silence.
The numbers tie in reasonably with an estimate by organizers the SaveNetRadio Coalition that roughly half the 28,000 or so webmasters in the US had taken part in the action. They also estimated that some 40.000 calls were made to lawmakers supporting the Internet radio bill hearings on which are scheduled this week and that would revoke the increases.
SaveNetRadio Coalition said Congress has received around 400,000 emails and 75,000 phone calls from Internet radio listeners over the past two months.
During the protest some sites went completely silent and others aired announcements on the issues. Live365.com featured on its site a photo of a man wearing headphones with tape over his mouth
The campaign has received more media attention than the similar protest in May 2002 in response to a similarly royalty rate ruling from a Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) five years ago and that was followed by a rate cut by the Librarian of Congress and the passage of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act for the period 1998-2005.
In its report on the protest the Los Angeles Times noted that the fee of USD 500 per channel that SoundExchange is to levy is as controversial as the copyright increase and noted that Yahoo Music general manager Ian Rogers, estimated the company would have to pay about USD 750 million in that fee alone.
Live365 Chief Executive N. Mark Lam whose company last year made its first profit since launching - of USD 7,000 on revenues of USD 8.7 million - estimates that his company will owe USD 7 million when the new rates come into effect on July 15.
It also quotes one of Live365's customers - Ted Leibowitz, a software engineer who runs BAGeL Radio from his San Francisco apartment, as saying that he estimates under the new rates he would have to pay more than USD 100,000 a year to keep going. He currently pays around USD 1,000 a year for the "indie rock" station.
SoundExchange executive director John Simson noted that the organization can make direct deals with websites and played down fears of a collapse of Internet radio on July 15 , saying that negotiations were continuing and adding, "We're going to be very busy the next two weeks."
Previous Bridge Ratings:
Previous Simson:
Previous SoundExchange:
Los Angeles Times report:
2007-06-29: XM Satellite Radio and the National Hockey League (NHL) have now formally announced that from the beginning of next month XM will become the NHL's exclusive satellite home.
The deal had already become public earlier this month when XM Canada said it expected a boost from XM becoming the exclusive radio broadcaster of the NHL (See RNW Jun 12).
At the moment XM and Sirius share NHL rights and
Previous XM:
2007-06-28: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has now officially called for comment on the application for the transfer of XM and Sirius licences to a new body that would be required were the merger of the two companies to go ahead.
The FCC notes that the transfer is specifically forbidden in its 1997 Order establishing the Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service ("SDARS") - the wording is "one licensee will not be permitted to acquire control of the other remaining satellite DARS license" - and asks for "comment on whether the language in question constitutes a binding Commission rule and, if so, whether the Commission should waive, modify, or repeal the prohibition in the event that the Commission determines that the proposed merger, on balance, would serve the public interest. "
It additionally notes that the "Applicants have the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed transaction, on balance, serves the public interest."
Sirius and XM meanwhile have made a further filing with the SEC of their adverts and various articles and documents published in support of their merger, which they say will offer consumers "More choice. Better pricing."
Comments have to be submitted within 30 days of publication of the call in the Federal Register after which there is an additional 15 days for reply comments.
Previous FCC:
Previous Sirius:
Previous XM:
2007-06-28: According to SMG Chief Executive Rob Woodward, the Initial Public Offering of its Virgin Radio business is on track for the autumn (fall). Woodward added that the company had received a number of offers for the business but gave no further details.
In a "100-Day Business Review" SMG says that the IPO is on track; that SMG has a Clear turnaround plan focusing on growing revenues through Broadcast, Content and Ventures; confirms it still regards its Primesight outdoor and Pearl & Dean cinema advertising businesses are still regarded as non-core; and says it has revised 2007 financial projections and that it has reduced senior management from seven to three in number.
Woodward said had had "a very thorough look at the business and taken some short term
remedial actions and reconfigured SMG to deliver sustainable growth" and said that over the next six months SMG would "focus on the disposal of the non-core assets…This will result in a content focused business that I am confident will be revived and transformed to become Scotland's most influential, relevant, innovative and trusted media brand."
Previous SMG:
Previous Woodward:
2007-06-28: In a number of executive changes in Chicago radio, Clear Channel has officially named Derrick Brown, former assistant program director and midday host at adult contemporary WLIT-FM, as program director for its urban adult-contemporary WVAZ-FM.
Brown, who takes up his new duties on July 16 succeeds Elroy Smith who stepped down at the end of last month after 15 years with WVAZ (See RNW May 23).
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder quoted WVAZ-FM vice president of programming and operations Darren Davis as saying of Brown, a Joliet native, "Derrick is a dynamic and creative thinker. His familiarity with Chicago and business acumen will prove very valuable for V103, especially as we head into a new world of electronic audience measurement."
Also changing program directors is Midway Broadcasting's urban news/talk WVON-AM which has dropped Jerry Riles after nine months in the post. Feder quoted Melody Spann Cooper, general manager of WVON and Midway's president, as saying a replacement, likely to be from outside the marker, could be named by the end of the week.
"In order to be more competitive in our niche, we have to bring in somebody who's cut their teeth in a large market," she said.
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Feder:
Chicago Sun-Times Feder columns:
2007-06-28: BBC Radio 5 has announced that Tim Lovejoy, who found fame on Sky TV's anarchic Soccer AM show,, is to join it from the start of the new soccer season and will present the station's football phone-in show "606", the biggest football phone-in show on radio.
His first show will air on August 8 and he will present the regular Wednesday evening show from then on through the season.
Radio Five Live controller Bob Shennan said of the hiring, "Tim has a natural understanding of and rapport with football fans and they respect him. He's a perfect signing for 606."
Previous BBC:
Previous Shennan:
2007-06-28: Arbitron has now signed an agreement with Clear Channel for the broadcaster to use Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings in 46 markets when the former rolls out the service in the markets.
The agreement runs to the end of 2011 and covers all Clear Channel stations in the markets concerned and also extends until that date Clear Channel's contract for diary-based ratings in all the markets that have not been converted to the PPM by the end of 2008 when Clear Channel's current diary ratings agreement expires.
Clear Channel is the single largest radio ratings subscriber for Arbitron and accounted for some 19% of Arbitron's revenues in 2006.
Arbitron has also announced that the PPM is to be used by Danish radio industry for its ratings under a five-year contract awarded to TNS Gallup, an international licensee of the PPM.
Leif Lønsmann, Managing Radio Director for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, and the chairman of the listener study steering group said of the agreement, "We have been working on this for almost ten years, and it becomes increasingly more relevant to have an agreement in place as more and more channels are appearing that cover the entire country. Danish Radio will now have more specific information on the types and numbers of people who are listening to the various programs."
Jim Receveur, General Manager for Radio 100FM and Det Danske Radiobureau added, "Electronic radio measurements will help lift the commercial radio market because the listener statistics will be more accurate, and the commercial stations will also be able to do more accurate campaign supply and evaluation. The advertisers can look forward to radio being planned and developed in the same manner as TV" and Jens Rohde, General Manager for TV 2 Radio said that for commercial radio "it is quite simply an historical breakthrough in making Danish radio more professional."
In a related development, the PPM encoding system will be used by the Danish television industry, beginning in the fall, to identify the programming sources for the set-top push-button people meters operated by TNS in Denmark.
Clear Channel has also agreed the sale of six more stations - WCHV-AM, WCJZ-FM and WKAV-AM, Charlottesville; WCYK-FM, Staunton; WHTE-FM, Ruckersville; and WSUH-FM, Crozet, all in Virginia. They are being bought by Florida-based Sistema 102, LLC but no price has been disclosed.
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Clear Channel:
2007-06-28: Radio One Inc. has now its first quarter figures which were delayed because of errors it had found in reporting its stock option practices and that it says after a review involved no "fraud or intentional wrongdoing" although the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet concluded its investigation: it also re-stated its financial reports from 1999 to the end of 2005 (See RNW Jun 16).
Revenues for the quarter to the end of March were up 1.1% to USD 82.5 million whilst operating expenses were up 4.5% to USD 61.6 million with the result that net income plunged from USD 2.6 million to USD 744,000 (from 3 cents to 1 cent a share).
Previous Radio One Inc.:
2007-06-27: Salem Communications has announced a senior management restructuring effective from the start of next month that will see President and Chief Executive Officer Edward G. Atsinger III stepping down from the first role but retaining the second; Eric H. Halvorson, currently a member of Salem's Board of Directors and Chairman of its Audit Committee, becoming President and Chief Operating Officer; Executive Vice President and COO Joe D. Davis becoming Division President, Radio ; Executive Vice President--New Business Development and Chief Financial Officer David A.R. Evans becoming Division President, New Business Development, Interactive and Publishing; and Evan D. Masyr, Vice President--Accounting and Finance becoming Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Commenting on the changes, Atsinger said in a news release, "Salem finds itself with opportunities and challenges in both our core broadcasting business and our developing new media businesses, and we have determined that each area requires uniquely-focused leadership. Our Board of Directors and I have analyzed a number of options and have agreed on a restructuring plan that will maximize the talents of our executive team and enhance our overall operational efficiency."
He also announced that he and chairman Stuart Epperson, who will retain his role, have agreed to new three-year employment contracts and said he was "eager to devote my full time to these key Chief Executive Officer responsibilities, both to enhance our current operations and prepare the company for long-term success."
In a 73-page Form 8K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) , Salem revealed details of the remuneration for various executives.
Atsinger will receive a base salary of USD 750,000 in the first year of the term (from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008), USD 850,000 in the second year of the term (from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009) and USD 850,000 in the third year of the term (from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010). He, Epperson and Halvorson will also be eligible for an annual merit bonus in an amount to be determined at the discretion of the Company's Board of Directors and will receive varying health care benefits and the right to a pay-off if employment is terminated because of a "disability" or without "cause".
Epperson will receive a base salary of USD 550,000 in the first year of the term., USD 525,000 in the second year of the term and USD 200,000 in the third year.
Halvorson will receive a base salary of USD 500,000 in the first year of the term, USD 525,000 in the second year of the term and USD 550,000 in the third year. He also received an option to purchase 45,000 shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock, to vest annually in three equal instalments commencing one year from June 25, 2007.
Davis will receive a base salary paid at the rate of USD 415,000 effective as of July 1, 2007, a base salary paid at the rate of USD 430,000 effective as July 1, 2008, and a base salary paid at the rate of USD 450,000 effective as of July 1, 2009 and gets an option to purchase 10,000 shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock, to vest annually in four equal instalments commencing one year from June 25, 2007.
Masyr will see his base salary rise from USD 225,000 per year to USD 250,000 per year and he also gets an option to purchase 20,000 shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock, to vest annually in four equal instalments commencing one year from June 25, 2007.
In the case of Evans, his employment continues on the basis of a three year term employment agreement that he entered into on September 1, 2005.
Previous Atsinger:
Previous Salem:
2007-06-27: An error during what was supposed to be a closed-circuit test of a new satellite emergency warning system led to the existing Emergency Alert System (EAS) being activated in Illinois on Tuesday at around 07:30 local time.
The test was being conducted of a 10-minure presidential alert message following installation of the new system on Monday as part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programme and the error led to several hundred radio and TV stations finding their programming taken over: Some ended up broadcasting alert tones followed by a return to normal programming whilst in some cases dead air followed the alert.
Illinois Emergency Management Agency director Andrew Velasquez said in a news release that he did not know "why the federal government used a 'hot' or active code rather than a test code when they sent out this test message."
WGN-AM, which is the primary station from which emergency alerts are relayed to other stations, was heard on a number of stations for a few minutes and CBS TV in Chicago said that on CBS2 the alert interrupted the audio of Harry Smith's "Early Show" interview with cyclist Floyd Landis. Its broadcast went to EAS attention tones sounded, followed by a radio broadcast in which an announcer said they needed to find out about the "beeping."
Keyetv report:
2007-06-27: The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has accepted formal undertakings from Sydney 2GB licensee Harbour Radio Pty Ltd ( a Macquarie Radio Network subsidiary) concerning new training procedures on vilification put in place following an April ruling that it had breached the country's Commercial Radio Codes in remarks made on Alan Jones' breakfast show after an altercation involving a group allegedly of Middle Eastern or Lebanese origin in which two volunteer surf lifesavers were injured and needed hospital treatment (See RNW Apr 12).
Announcing the move, the ACMA noted that 2GB will introduce a comprehensive training program on vilification intended to ensure its future compliance with the code, supplementing changes introduced in the middle of last year.
The new training is to be provided to all presenters, producers and on-air staff to the satisfaction of ACMA and the 2GB Board of Directors will formally review and approve the compliance program for implementation and the ACMA welcomed what it considered "the considered and constructive approach taken by 2GB" in developing the program.
In addition the licensee will report to ACMA throughout the process on the development and application of the new regime and the Authority says that if it is not satisfied at any time that the new arrangements will ensure compliance with the code, it will revisit the matter to consider the heightened compliance options available to it.
RNW comment: In view of the attack by Alan Jones on the ruling in April, this is a slap in the face for him. Our view is that it is fully deserved and the directors are showing much more sense than their star host.
Previous ACMA:
Previous Jones:
Previous Macquarie Radio Network:
2007-06-27: Jones MediaAmerica TWC Radio Network has finally toppled Cumulus's ABC Daytime Direction Network from its top ranking in Arbitron's RADAR (Radio's All Dimension Audience Research) Radio Network Audience rankings just released by Arbitron.
The RADAR 93 survey, which covers the period from March 30, 2006 - April 4, 2007 rated 55 networks and the sample size was 160,000 diarykeepers compared to 140,000 diary keepers for RADAR 92: The increase is part of a scheduled plan to take the total up to of 200,000 diarykeepers by December this year.
In addition to the 12+ rankings, Arbitron is also now posting ratings for Persons 18-49 and Persons 25-54 and also includes language preference in the demographics.
The overall top five networks in the survey were:
1 - Jones MediaAmerica TWC Radio Network, which gained 138,000 listeners to end with an average audience of 6.669 million and an AQH up from 2.6 to 2.7.
2 - ABC Daytime Direction Network, which lost 102,000 listeners to end with an average audience of 6.601 million and an AQH down from 2.7.to 2.6
3 - Westwood WON I Network, which gained 507,000 listeners to end with an average audience of 6.201 million and an AQH up from 2.3 to 2.5.
4 - Dial-Global Complete FM Network, which gained 45 4,000 listeners to end with an average audience of 5.470 million and an unchanged AQH of 2.2.
5 - ABC Prime Access, which lost 142,000 listeners to end with an average audience of 5.255 million and AQH down from 2.2 to 2.1.
Premiere's top ranked offering was the Premiere Morning Drive Network in eighth place. It lost 38,000 listeners to end up with 4.752 million and fell a rank.
Also notable was the jump for the ABC Morning News Radio Network, which gained 825,000 listeners to rise from 15th to tenth rank with AQH up from 1.4 to 1.8
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Previous Citadel (Formerly Disney)/ABC, America:
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2007-06-27: The BBC, which is in the middle of cost cutting and job reduction programmes, has announced that its most senior managers have collectively decided to waive their bonuses for the 2006-07 adding that the total involved is around GBP 350,000 (USD 700,000).
The BBC failed to get the licence fee increase it had wanted and in a statement the BBC said its ten executive directors, who are eligible for bonuses of up to a tenth of their base salary, noted "the scale of the challenge the BBC faces as it enters the new licence fee period and were mindful of the likely impact of this on all of their colleagues." Also waiving his bonus is BBC Worldwide chief executive, John Smith, whose arrangements are on a different basis as he is part of the corporation's commercial wing.
They also noted that although the BBC has made progress on diversity, they would not meet some specific commitments they had made on workforce numbers by the target date.
Director General Mark Thompson, who waived his bonus the previous year, said in a news release, "Overall this has been a strong year for the BBC both creatively and managerially. All of my colleagues on the BBC Direction Group met the majority of their objectives and were eligible for bonuses as part of their contracts of employment. However, they and I have collectively decided to waive this contractual right on this occasion."
The total remuneration of the group, including bonuses, is published in the BBC's Annual Report covering the year to the end of March, which is due to be released on July 3.
Members of the group include Thomson's deputy Mark Byford and Director of audio and music, Jenny Abramsky. The five non-executive directors do not receive bonuses and are not affected.
Previous Abramsky:
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2007-06-26: Early indications are that many US webcasters today are streaming either silence or announcements concerning the increased performance rates set by the US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) to apply from July 15th with backdating of payments to 2005.
The action is part of a "Day of Silence" protest organized by savenetradio and is intended to give a flavour of what could happen to Internet radio if the rates remain unchanged...
The rates apply only in the US (RNW comment: Which makes it difficult for us outside the US to check on larger sites who stream inside and outside the US) and participants in the action include not only many small webcasters but also larger webcasters and aggregators such as Iceberg Radio's US streams, Launch, Live365, Pandora, Rhapsody and Yahoo! and some commercial broadcasters as well as college stations.
The event follows a similar event staged in May 2002 in response to a similarly royalty rate ruling from a Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) five years ago and that was followed by a rate cut by the Librarian of Congress and the passage of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act for the period 1998-2005.
Savenetradio web site:
2007-06-26: Veteran Australian broadcaster John Laws, now 71 and who began his broadcasting career in 1953 at 3BO in Bendigo has announced that he is to retire probably in November but certainly no later, prompting tributes and calls from leading politicians including Prime Minister John Howard and fellow broadcasters.
Laws, nicknamed "Golden Tonsils" with reference to his voice- albeit he is also said to be worth around AUD 100 million (USD 85million) made from it - announced his plans to retire on Monday on his morning show on Southern Cross Broadcasting's 2UE, Sydney, which has been his home for the past 18 years.
He had first joined the station in 1957 after working at a number of rural radio stations and was one of the first Australian DJs to play rock'n'roll. He is also credited with pioneering a practice of using contacts in the airline industry to bring him the latest pop releases from overseas, thus giving him an edge because they were not released in Australia for weeks or even months after their initial release.
Laws left 2UE for the first time after two years and ran a farm until moving back to Sydney in 1962 and joining 2GB where he worked for two years before rejoining 2UE. He left after five years to join 2UW, returning to 2UE in 1979 for another five-year spell before being lured away by 2GB in a bidding war in 1984 that made him the country's highest paid radio host.
He was lured back to 2UE in 1988 at which time the station was eighth in the ratings, and is credited with taking it back to the top rank. In 1993 the then-Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating termed Laws the "broadcaster of the century" at a dinner celebrating his 40th year in radio and after he had announced on air that he was going to retire the current Prime Minister John Howard phoned in to congratulate him for his work and say of his retirement, "I know you've given a lot of thought to this and the momentous decision - you'll be very greatly missed."
Laws responded by thanking the PM and adding, "I knew it was time to quit last week when I talked to you and you called me 'mate'." The two also talked about Prime Ministers Laws had interviewed and settled on a total of nine - Sir Robert Menzies, followed by Harold Holt, John Gorton, Billy McMahon, Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and John Howard. Laws termed Howard one of the "most enjoyable" and certainly the "trickiest" he had interviewed...
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbot, who was the first caller to be put on the air following Laws' announcement, said he had just been given what he regarded as "bad news", termed Laws a "mighty contributor" to society and added that although he suspected it might not be an absolute retirement. it made him wonder who would retire next
Federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd also called in to say he'd hear the news and add, "You can't retire. Institutions don't retire. They go on for ever" to which Laws responded, "If only. I don't want to retire. I just feel that I owe to family, and maybe to myself, to take it a bit easier than I've been taking it" and added that five AM does "get a bit wearying after 55 years."
When Rudd referred to the Federal Elections in October/November, Laws said he wanted to "wait around for that."
Another caller was actor Russell Crowe, a neighbour in the exclusive Finger Wharf development in Sydney's Woolloomooloo where Laws' home is valued at around AUD 30 million (USD 26 million).
Southern Cross Broadcasting managing director Tony Bell said in a report on the 2UE website, "John Laws has been the undisputed king of radio in Australia over the last 54 years, entertaining more people than any other broadcaster in the country's history."
His company's shares rose slightly after the announcement - Laws is said to get AUD 4.0 to 4.5 million ( USD 3.4 to 3.8 million) a year and whoever replaces him will get much less but the company is not expected to pay the remainder of his contract, which runs to 2010.
Although Laws is expensive, and his ratings have fallen in recent years following the move of then 2UE breakfast host Alan Jones and Laws' former understudy Tony Hadley to Macquarie Radio Network competitor 2GB - which can target a Sydney audience without tailoring its programming to include regional affiliates, Laws has both attracted an advertisers' premium and income from syndication of his show to those regional affiliates.
That syndication is expected to continue whoever succeeds Laws with names touted including his regular fill-in - Channel Ten sports broadcaster Tim Webster and Ian 'Macca' McNamara, host of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's weekend radio program, "Australia All Over".
Previous Tony Bell:
Previous Hadley:
Previous Jones:
Previous Laws:
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Previous Southern Cross:
2007-06-26: UK Chrysalis Group has announced agreement for a GBP 170 million (USD 340 million) sale of its radio operations, which include the Heart, Galaxy and LBC stations and its share in regional DAB digital radio multiplex operator MXR Holdings Limited, to Global Radio, a newly-formed investment vehicle leaving the company only operating its Chrysalis Music business.
Chrysalis is to convene an extraordinary general meeting to gain shareholders approval for the sale and says that in the meantime both the radio and music operations continue to trade in line with the Board's expectations for the 2007 financial year.
It notes that the sale represents a multiple of 16.7x Chrysalis Radio's reported EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and amortization of intangible assets) for the financial year ended 31 August 2006 and will result in net proceeds of an estimated GBP 163 million (USD 326 million) with a profit of around GBP 95 million (USD 190 million).
The return of capital to shareholders it says will be between 54 pence and 60 pence a share before tax - between GBP 90 million and GBP 100 million (USD 180-200 million) - depending on the amount to be used to reduce the continuing group's debt and a payment into Chrysalis's pension plan to take account of the change to the employer covenant.
Chrysalis adds that "In light of the simplified structure of the Continuing Group" it will no longer need its current Group management structure and expects to save around GBP 3.5 million a year in corporate overheads, to be achieved in a staged manner over the next 12 to 18 months.
Chrysalis said its Radio Chief Executive Phil Riley is expected to continue running Chrysalis Radio after the sale and is expected to resign from the Chrysalis Board when the sale goes through and it will announce details regarding the composition of the remainder of the board in due course. Other radio executives including commercial director, Don Thompson are also expected to stay on after the sale goes through.
Group chief executive Richard Huntingford, said in a release, "We believe that the sale of Chrysalis Radio as a complete entity meets the objectives of our strategic review of facilitating its participation in the longer term development of UK commercial radio and deriving good value for shareholders. This has been a thorough review process which has delivered a good result."
He later told the UK Guardian that he would be leaving the group and would be stepping down in the autumn (fall) once the deal had gone through but said radio group executives including chief executive, Phil Riley, and the commercial director, Don Thompson, will stay on after the sale is completed.
The paper quoted Huntingford as saying, "Chrysalis had TV, radio, books and music - now it's just a music business. It won't need a group plc management structure and it won't need a group chief executive or group finance people. We've got to get this transaction concluded and execute the return of capital to shareholders, which won't take place until autumn. But I will be leaving some time later in the autumn."
He added that the radio business, which he built up after joining Chrysalis in 1987 - it won its first licence in 1993, the start with a Birmingham station of its Heart brand which now also has stations in London and Nottingham - would be better off in private hands, saying, "Consolidation led by private groups is definitely the way forward for the commercial radio industry."
Chrysalis Chairman, Chris Wright said, "Chrysalis Music is well placed to build upon and exploit its position as a leading international, independent music business. It operates in a growing market and has valuable positions within it. As with Chrysalis Radio, we will continue to monitor the performance and positioning of this business, for the benefit of all stakeholders."
Global Radio plans to use Chrysalis Radio - currently the UK's third largest commercial radio operator, with eight major market FM licences, one AM licence and 31 DAB digital radio licences - as a platform for further expansion in UK commercial radio.
It is incorporated in Jersey with a wholly-owned subsidiary Global Radio UK Limited and was formed for the transaction.
Its chairman will be Charles Allen, the former Chief Executive of ITV plc. and directors are Ashley Tabor, son of betting entrepreneur Michael Tabor who is expected to become CEO and is currently Chief Executive of music publishing, artist management and rights ownership business Global Talent Group but also with a radio background; and Owen McGartoll, an executive director of companies in the Barchester group: Global Radio investors overlap with Barchester Healthcare, the group backed by Irish entrepreneur Denis Brosnan.
Previous Chrysalis:
Previous Huntingford:
Previous Riley:
Previous Wright:
UK Guardian report:
2007-06-26: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has now posted further details of its localism hearing to be held in Portland, Maine, on Thursday from 16:00 to 23:00 local (21:00 -04:00 GMT) at Portland High School with various panel sessions followed by public comment.
Sessions will commence with a panel "Perspectives on Localism "with members including C. Edwin Baker, Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School; Ben Haskell, Executive Vice President and Academic Dean, New England School of Communications, Bangor, Maine; various local broadcasting and newspaper executives and staff; Katharine Heintz, Ph.D., Consultant, Children Now; Chellie Pingree, Former President of Common Cause; Dennis Ross, Owner/Manager, WJZP Community Radio Station; and Shelby Scott, Former President, The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).
This will be followed with a second panel at 20:00 (01:00 GMT/29th) on the same topic with members including more media executives and staff and Spencer Albee, Portland-area Musician and Promoter; Cynthia Finney, Business Manager, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1837; Reverend Peter Panagore, First Radio Church of Maine; Daniel Panici, Professor, University of Southern Maine; James B. Shaffer, Dean & Professor of Business, University of Southern Maine School of Business; Tim Stone, Trustee, WSCA- LP, Portsmouth, New Hampshire Community Radio Station; and Anthony Vigue, Manager, South Portland Community Television.
Previous FCC:
2007-06-25: Issues of talk and fairness form the core of our look at print comment on radio this week, issues that have come to the fore because of the publication of a report from the Center for American Progress and Free Press that comments on the overwhelming dominance of talk radio by conservatives.
The report says that of the 257 news/talk stations owned by the top five commercial station owners, "91 percent of the total weekday talk radio programming was conservative, and only nine percent was progressive" and the response from some quarters had been to call for the return of the Federal Communications Commission's "Fairness Doctrine."
Writing in the Orlando Sentinel under the headline "Talk radio doesn't need Fairness Doctrine", George Diaz - fairly obviously - does not go for the idea of fairness in this context and centres his column on the theme of people hearing what they want to hear and "filtering out any piece of information that does not suit our agenda."
He terms the "doctrine" archaic and notes that it goes back to 1934 and called for stations to offer "equal opportunity" to all legally qualified political candidates running for office… The intent was to ensure even-handedness during a time of limited radio frequencies."
Diaz says the dumping of the practice during the Eagan administration "has helped spawn some of the talk-show insanity that thrives today, but that does not mean the beast needs to be tamed"
Diaz then continues - in a descriptive digression before going back to the point - "If anything, the beast grows stronger with the Internet explosion and the boundless stream of blogs that come with the package deal…If you don't like what you hear or read, you can simply click it off with no worries."
He then draws a parallel with music stations, commenting, "If 91 percent of radio stations in America chose to play Celine Dion, I would look for the 9 percent solution elsewhere on the dial, hoping to find something palatable to my ears… Talk radio pushes more hot buttons than music because of the content. But once you start trying to homogenize and balance content to extremes, we lose the essence of free speech."
Diaz then comments on the limitations on what can be said, citing the example of Imus, and ends by noting comment from Sean Hannity that "The Fairness Doctrine would kill talk radio as we know it."
"Finally," he ends, "something liberals and conservatives should agree on."
In CSNNews.com Randy Hall says of the report- "The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio" - that the Center for American Progress (CAP) and Free Press call not for re-instating the Fairness Doctrine but more diverse ownership with Free Press research director Derek Turner saying the "potential one-sidedness on the radio dial in terms of political programming is strongly and directly related to ownership and market structure" and arguing that "increasing diversity and localism in ownership will produce more diverse speech [and] more choice for listeners."
Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott said they wanted "not less speech, but more speech. We want more voices on the radio" and suggested that the way to achieve this was to restore national and local caps on ownership. Scott also noted that "Verizon Wireless pays USD5 billion or more to be able to use the public airwaves however they like" but by contrast, "the broadcasters pay zero, and therefore, we need that billion dollars' worth of public service. Right now, they're not giving it to us."
Tim Graham, director of media analysis with the conservative Media Research Center - the parent organization of Cybercast News Service - said the study had "huge holes in it" the biggest of which "is excluding public radio talk shows. It's simply inaccurate to argue there's little or no progressive talk in major markets with National Public Radio affiliates airing Diane Rehm's show, or 'Fresh Air with Terry Gross,' or the other national and local left-leaning talk programs."
Graham said that "for CAP and Free Press to argue that commercial broadcasters should pay fees to public broadcasting for a lack of balance - and then raising no question whatsoever about the tilt or the need for balance within public broadcasting - shows amazing liberal hypocrisy.
"In fact, Free Press has vociferously opposed any congressional attempt to question the balance of public broadcasting as 'partisan meddling,'" he added. "So what do they call their lobbying?"
After comments on talk radio, on to the Washington Post for a report that on its surface has little if any link. It concerns the ratings success of Washington D.C. public station WETA-FM following its return to classical after two years airing news and talk.
"The station," reports the Post, "saw its audience more than double in the first Arbitron report since the format change. And, equally important for perennially cash-strapped public radio, the size and number of listener donations to the station soared with the switch back to classical.
What is also significant is the age of the audience - two-thirds are 55 or older according to the ratings and, maybe more surprising, the station has doubled the proportion of black and Hispanic listeners compared to its news and talk incarnation.
Station General manager Dan DeVany says he is not concerned about the audience and can point to a jump in listener donations - from 3,000 during the last pledge drive under the news-talk format to 6,150 pledges during the first classical fundraiser - as more than making up for the concern about listener age.
RNW comment: And there in our view is the crucial link. Commercial stations tend to want a younger demographic because that's what the advertisers in general want whereas WETA needs pledges rather than advertising. This inevitably skews US commercial radio albeit when it comes to talk we suspect that this will also tend to have an older audience.
The equation therefore when it comes to serving the public interest - which in our lexicon means the public of all ages - also skews commercial radio to attracting specific younger groups rather than maximizing overall audience.
Maybe the arguments over radio in all its forms and formats needs to be considered in an overall context and just maybe the current balance - of public support for NPR on the one hand and allowing fairly free rein to commercial talk on the other - is a reasonable compromise.
The main area of concern to us is not the nature of the radio so much as the ignorance of an audience who listen primarily to that which re-enforces their existing prejudices and the absence of sufficient concern about getting the facts correct when building opinion that depends largely for its force on the "presumed facts" on which that opinion is based.
Which takes us on to differing perceptions and inaccuracies, starting with last week's "On the Media" from WNYC. This focussed on Russian media and as well as being reasonably illuminating about the various pressures that exist in Russia to prevent media from reporting too freely also contained some pertinent and in our view quite well made arguments from Vladimir Mamontov, editor-in-chief of- Izvestia who in defending the Kremlin's view of the relationship between a free press and political stability (not one we share) made some quote coherent comments on US media as not being as different as many would like to think.
Still on the theme, we next suggest the BBC Radio 4 "Sunday Supplement" that aired within Sunday's "Westminster Hour."
In it Simon Hoggart considered various famous comments that weren't, specifically the "Yo! Blair" comment supposedly made by President Bush to British PM Tony Blair.
Except that, as proven by the tape played, Bush said "Yeah" not "Yo!", and the meaning is thus completely changed. Unfortunately the Yo! Fitted many preconceptions rather better and will probably now never be corrected in the minds of most people.
After that we suggest the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "All in the Mind" from Saturday. This looked at the use in US courts of brain scans and asked whether the technology is half-baked and whether people can be categorized as criminals on the basis of innate qualities rather than on the basis of actions and the meaning for such concepts as free will, privacy, and personal responsibility for actions.
Changing tack slightly we next suggest BBC Radio 3's regular Monday to Thursday series "The Essay" - which airs at 22:00GM. This week the topic is "Conflict and Culture" and it features Prof Julian Jackson of Queen Mary, University of London, looking at the impact of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1 both in terms of the distress and hardship it caused and also its impact as a catalyst for artistic and cultural development.
Until tonight last week's Essay in which Professor Justin Champion considers the question "What Are Friends For?" is on the web site.
After those we suggest some slightly oddball programmes from BBC Radio 4 - first a quartet from Sunday's output -"Something Understood: Sent to Spy" in which Mark Tully explores the psychology of spying; "Miss Buttolph's Marvellous ...", the tale of the collection of menus owned by the New York Public Library that was started just over a century ago by a Miss Frank A Buttolph; "Oh! Dad" in which Lloyd Robson explores the poetry of the late Robert Mitchum; and "Feedback", in particular for its look at the BBC Trust report critical of the Corporation's coverage of single issue campaigns and its impartiality.
From today (10:00 GMT) we suggest "Endangered Sounds" in which Simon Fanshawe explores how familiar sounds have changed with the times and considers some that have gone such as the sound of a police car bell.
Also from BBC Radio 4 we suggest next Thursday's "In Business: Car Crash" (19:30 GMT) on the US auto industry.
Then we suggest BBC Radio 2 for "Revelations - The Genesis Story", the first of a two-part series that began last Saturday and Thursday at 21:30 GMT for "Well Met in Woolton", a programme marking the time when John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at a Quarrymen gig at a sunny garden fete in Woolton, Liverpool, on 6 July 1957.
After this we suggest some comedy to provide relief - from Radio 4 last Saturday's "The Joke Book" in which Barry Cryer explores the history of the joke book; also from Saturday BBC Radio 2's lunchtime comedy hour "Out to Lunch " ; this Thursday's Radio 4 and "US Comics Confidential" at 10:30 GMT including an interview with Phyllis Diller, who turns 90 this year and the Friday evening Radio 4 comedy slot (17:30 GMT) where the "Now Show" is back, although this is only available as a stream not also an MP3 as previously.
Previous Columnists:
Cnsnews - Hall:
Orlando Sentinel - Diaz:
Washington Post on WETA:
2007-06-25: Britain's commercial radio companies are lobbying for a switch-off of analogue radio and industry body the RadioCentre is to call for media regulator Ofcom to set a date for this according to the UK Sunday Telegraph.
The paper says GMG Radio chief executive John Myers thinks the move should be made as early as 2015 - three years after TV has made the move and quotes RadioCentre chief executive Andrew Harrison as saying, "If you've got every home wired up to broadband, every home with a digital TV, everyone with a 3G phone and an iPod, the traditional analogue radio is going to look very old-fashioned. In five years' time Britain will be a digital economy, and radio should play its role in that."
On the other side of the coin, the paper says the move is likely to spark a debate about whether listeners should be forced to junk their old radios and upgrade to a technology many see as unnecessary, or even inferior. It also notes that the BBC is not pushing for a date and will tell Ofcom's consultation on the future of radio that it wants a cross industry working party and a review in 2010.
RNW comment: This seems yet another case where those who have much to gain and little to lose are quite happy to shift costs onto others - in this case the cost of purchasing new radio receivers and scrapping old ones.
We doubt, were the government to propose - quite fairly, we would suggest, that commercial radio companies have to pay through their licences a quarter - not even half - the cost of a new radio receiver for every old analogue one handed in, after analogue switch-off the companies back-tracking would see them heading into space in reverse.
Harrison's comments are the usual claptrap unless and until people en masse all choose to buy broadband, digital TV, 3G phones and iPods or their equivalents.
In the case of digital TV, we suspect that, even though the spectrum released is much more valuable for telecommunications, were the government to agree to a similar funding of a quarter of the cost to individuals (including a new aerial in many cases or a satellite receiver in some districts) of switching over it might have been less keen but here we would point out in terms of reception that it is possible to purchase a digibox to convert digital signals to analogue for use of existing TV's and other equipment such as a video recorder for less than is charged for a DAB radio receiver.
As far as switching off analogue radio is concerned, we remain of the view that in worldwide terms benefits from the universal nature of short-wave, AM, and FM will remain for many years.
If commercial radio companies wish to hand back analogue licences bearing in mind the potential for gaining more from them through the use of technology such as DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) they should make the decision on a sound business basis without any indirect subsidy through forcing mass purchase of new equipment by the public at large.
The best way forward for the commercial companies in our view would be to jointly commission the design and manufacture of a suitably cheap receiver - we think la basic portable model could fairly easily be put on sale for GBP 15 (USD 30) if the commitment were large enough - with a discount of around a third of this to anyone sending in their old analogue receiver.
Until then, Ofcom should politely thank them for their suggestions; note that last week it said it will start charging for both analogue or digital spectrum (See RNW Jun ) and thus allow the market to determine the efficient use of spectrum; and then put the RadioCentre submission in a suitable dust-gathering file.
Previous Harrison:
Previous Myers:
Previous RadioCentre:
UK Sunday Telegraph report:
2007-06-24: Last week saw a steady run of announcements from all the regulators with the most significant coming from the UK with an announcement that broadcasters are to be charged fees relating to the amount of spectrum used and that the BBC will be charged for the analogue spectrum it uses for its radio services.
In Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has decided not to renew one community licence and is proposing to impose additional licence conditions before it renews another (See RNW Jun 22).
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had a steady week that included the following radio-related postings (In order of province):
British Columbia:
*Renewal of Burns Lake & District Rebroadcasting Society's radiocommunication distribution undertaking that distributes, in non-encrypted mode, the programs of Open Learning Agency (Knowledge Network), CHAN-TV, Vancouver, CBU-FM, Vancouver and CHFI-FM, Toronto.
Ontario:
*Short-term renewal 31 August 2009 of licence of CKEY-FM, Fort Erie and its transmitter CKEY-FM-1, St. Catharines.
In relation to the short-term, the Commission says it considers that the main issue to be dealt with is the licensee's apparent non-compliance with its condition of licence related to the provision of local programming.
This followed an analysis of the station broadcasts during the week of 29 May to 4 June 2005 that showed only 1 hour and 22 minutes of news programming broadcast whereas the licence requires a minimum of three hours.
The licensee subsequently hired additional news and on-air staff and contracted in and also rescheduled news, weather and sports reports and content, on an hourly basis.
A subsequent analysis of the broadcasts of 26 February to 4 March 2006 showed compliance in terms of the total hours of news broadcast but revealed concerns concerning local content - only four stories of 187 broadcast were held to be local and there were no reports on any local sports or local community event that related directly to the local service area of Fort Erie and the Niagara Falls region.
In response to this finding, the licensee said it had taken additional measures including the exclusion of entertainment news and surveillance material from calculation of time devoted to news; programming an additional 10% of news content each week, to reduce the possibility of a shortfall; replacing the news staff with a new morning show team that provides regular local surveillance such as traffic, weather, local school closures as well as two newscasts each hour; development of development of an hourly community calendar focussing on events and activities such as concerts, entertainment and lifestyle information of relevance to the Niagara Peninsula; and development of a policy that requires all on-air staff to ensure that at least 30% of all spoken word content is local.
The licensee did note that it faced particular challenged as a youth-oriented station and that spoken word in general and hard news content in particular is neither a core element for a CHR (contemporary hit radio) format, nor an important element for the format's primary youth and young adult target audience.
The CRTC agreed that there were challenges in developing relevant news and information content for a young audience but noted that a number of successful stations of this type are currently operating in compliance with the relevant licence conditions, partly by providing sufficient levels of local news and information, albeit in non-conventional styles of presentation.
The CRTC also posted notice of a public hearing to be held in Quebec on August 27 for which the deadline for the submission of interventions or comments is 26 July. These included the following radio-related applications.
*Across Canada: Application by Astral Media Radio Inc. to acquire the assets of certain radio and television programming undertakings (two TV and 52 radio) across Canada, from Standard Radio Inc. The transaction value is CAD 1.043 billion (USD 975.2 million) of which USD 1.026 billion (USD 959.3 million) is for radio assets
The CRTC notes that the proposed tangible benefits package for the undertakings involved in the transaction amounts to CAD 61,585,568 (USD 57.6 million) pertaining to its radio assets with an additional CAD 1,666,850 (USD 1.56 million) for its television assets making a total of CAD 63,252,418 ( USD 59.1 million) .
Astral proposes that 50% of its total radio benefits be allocated to the Radio Starmaker Fund and 33% to FACTOR. The remaining amount would be divided between certain initiatives involving: Canadian Music Week, North by Northeast, the Songwriters Association of Canada, the Canadian Songwriters' Hall of Fame, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Dixon Hall Music School and "The Beat" in association with ImagineNATIVE.
Additionally, Astral proposes to fund a self directed radio artist development program, a self directed small market internship program as well as provide funding to the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, Radio Enfant and the Canadian Communications Foundation.
British Columbia:
*Application by Standard Radio Inc. for licences to operate commercial digital radio programming undertakings associated with CKZZ-FM, Vancouver; CISL-AM, Richmond
These applications were filed to normalize Standard's operations for the purpose of the application by Astral Media Radio Inc. to acquire the assets of certain radio stations from Standard.
*Application by 0759969 B.C. Ltd. for a licence to operate an 8.9 watts English-language low power Special Interest Music and Folk and folk-Oriented music commercial specialty FM in Salt Spring Island.
*Application by Salt Spring Island Radio Corp. for a licence to operate a 340 watts English-language low power Special Interest Music and Concert music commercial specialty FM in Salt Spring Island.
*Application by CHUM Limited to acquire the assets of CFBT-FM, Vancouver, from The Beat Broadcasting Corporation. The value of the transaction is CAD 45 million dollars (USD 42 million) and Tangible benefits of CAD 2.7 million (USD 2.5 million) were proposed by the applicant.
Ontario:
*Application by Rick Sargent for a licence to operate a 32 watts English-language FM tourist radio FM in Caledon and a 50 watts English-language low power Eclectic Adult Contemporary music commercial FM in Bolton.
Quebec:
*Application by Amie du Quartier for a licence to operate a 3,168 watts French-language FM Type B community-based campus radio programming undertaking in St-Jérome.
* Application by RNC MEDIA Inc. (previously known as Radio Nord Communications inc.) to acquire from its wholly owned subsidiary Radio Couleur Jazz inc., the assets of the French language radio programming undertaking CKLX-FM, Montréal, Quebec, as part of an intra-corporate reorganization involving the wind-up of Radio Couleur Jazz inc.
Saskatchewan:
* Application by Messiah Lutheran Church for a licence to operate a 46 watts English-language FM religious (church) FM in Prince Albert.
In Ireland, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has announced the signing of ten-year contracts with Digital Radio Limited for the provision of two digital radio services to be broadcast on cable and MMD systems (See RNW Jun 22) and also signed new ten-year contracts with four existing community and community of interest radio services (See RNW Jun 20).
In the UK as already noted, Ofcom has announced that it is to start charging broadcasters an annual fee- "Administered Incentive Pricing" - related to the amount of spectrum used for both digital and analogue broadcasts (See RNW Jun 20).
Ofcom also released its latest Digital Television Progress Report -covering the first quarter of this year - and amongst other things showing not just a high take-up of digital TV -- 80.5% of households now receive digital television services on their primary set - but also provide a boost for radio since the digital TV services also carry digital radio channels.
Ofcom also published its latest broadcast bulletin has upheld one complaint against radio and considered another resolved through action taken by the broadcaster (See RNW Jun 20).
In the US, President Bush has said he is to nominate Republican Deborah Taylor Tate to serve a second term on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Commission has also announced that it is to hold an Open Meeting in Portland, Maine, on June 28th when it is also holding a media ownership hearing in Portland.
It also posted a number of enforcement decisions including (In descending order of amount involved):
*Issued forfeiture of USD 3,200 to Del Rosario Talpa, Inc., licensee of KNCR-AM, Fortuna, California, for operating KNCR at an unauthorized location.
The FCC had found when responding to a complaint that the station had been broadcasting from a transmitter approximately two miles from its authorized location and issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) for USD 4,000.
Del Rosario Talpa had responded by arguing for a reduction on the basis that its only violation was its failure to notify the Commission within 24 hours of beginning operation with emergency facilities after it had been evicted on short notice from its licensed site - it noted that it had subsequently been given Special Temporary Authorization to operate from the new location- and on the basis of a history of compliance and financial difficulty in paying the amount. The FCC noted no figures had been provided to substantiate the last argument but trimmed the penalty to USD 3,200 on the basis of a history of compliance.
*Issued two forfeitures each of USD 2,400 to KITZ Radio, Inc., licensee of KGTK-AM, Olympia, and KITZ-AM, in Silverdale, Washington.
Both were for failure to maintain a complete public inspection file.
During an inspection at KGTK the FCC had noted that there were no copies of the current FCC authorization to operate the station and no radio issues/programs lists for calendar years 2005 or 2006 and general manager indicated that he did not know why these were missing.
The FCC issued an NAL for the base amount of USD 4,000 to which KITZ responded by saying that the NAL was factually inaccurate and arguing for reduction on the basis of a history of compliance and good faith efforts to comply with the Rules. The FCC reduced the amount on the basis of a history of compliance but rejected all the other arguments.
*In the case of KITZ-AM, an NAL for USD 4,000 had also been issued initially and similar arguments for reduction were made in this case by KITZ.
The FCC responded as it had for KGTK, reducing the penalty on the basis of a history of compliance
In a number of decisions concerning non-commercial educational stations and low-power FMs, the FCC has:
*Dismissed a petition from American Family Association for reconsideration of an Omnibus Order issued in March this year that applied the Commission's non-commercial educational ("NCE") comparative selection criteria to seventy-six groups of mutually exclusive NCE FM applications and tentatively selected one winner in each group. American Family sought reconsideration of 20 of the decisions but the FCC refused, saying that petitions to deny the allocation could be filed in individual cases. The other parties involved in this decision were Billings Community Cable Corporation; Coos Bay School District 9; Henderson State University, Iowa State University, Temple University and the universities of Kentucky, Nevada, Northern Iowa and Wyoming; Lincoln High School; Marshalltown Education Plus, Inc.; Merritt Island Public Radio; Spokane Public Radio; and Southwest Allen County Schools.
*Dismissed a petition from Moody Bible Institute of Chicago contesting the FCC's tentative decision to grant the application of Hyles-Anderson College (HAC) for a permit to construct a new non-commercial educational FM at Crown Point, Indiana.
The two had made mutually exclusive applications for the permit and the FCC had opted for HAC's application because under its points system HAC had five points to Moody's 14. It noted that HAC's governing board, which is elected by the membership of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, had undergone a gradual change in ownership such that the original parties to the application no longer retained more than a fifty percent interest in the application as originally filed. The Commission waived the Rules to avoid the assignment of a new file number, an action that would have resulted in the dismissal of the HAC application for this "major" ownership change.
It also noted that at the time of HAC's initial application in 1989 the Rules contained no definition of attributable interests for NCE stations because attribution was generally immaterial to NCE stations prior to the advent of the point system and rejected Moody's arguments, all of which related to the ownership changes.
*Dismissed a petition from Talking Information Center (TIC) contesting the FCC's tentative decision to grant the application of the University of Massachusetts (UMass) for a new non-commercial educational FM in Marshfield, Massachusetts.
In this case the FCC had awarded UMass five points and TIC three after the Commission excluded two points that it determined TIC had claimed in error.
TIC disputed the Commission's finding that the attributable interest of a TIC board member in another radio station precludes an award of two points for diversity of ownership to TIC and also argued that UMass did not submit sufficient documentation to support receipt of two points for local diversity of ownership.
The FCC quoted the rules regarding the UMass points and found TIC's argument without merit and also rejected TIC's argument that an officer and director who was also the sole principal of WATD-FM, which is licensed to the same community as the proposed new station had said he would resign from TIC if it were granted the CP, noting that TIC never accepted the resignation, and that the positions at TIC and WATD-FM continued beyond the snap shot date. .
*Rejected call from Mount Pisgah Adventist Educational Media for reconsideration of dismissal of Mount Pisgah's application and grant of CP for new low-power FM in Candler, North Carolina, to Montmorenci United Methodist Church (MUMC).
Mount Pisgah had argued that through its relationship to the broader United Methodist Church, MUMC has prohibited attributable interests in at least one LPFM station, as well as in other full-service broadcast stations.
The FCC rejected Mount Pisgah's arguments on this and also re-confirmed its ruling that Mount Pisgah's application was inadmissible, saying that it had offered no evidence to indicate that it was considered by itself or others to be an unincorporated association at the time of its filing.
In addition in Texas, the commission has renewed the licence of Farris Broadcasting, Inc.'s KNEL-AM, Brady, rejecting an objection by H. Clint Low who had claimed that the station "aired a political advertisement that was highly slanderous and false" about him and that the licensee employs a newscaster who frequently broadcasts unverified and erroneous information regarding local government meetings.
Previous ACMA:
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Previous Tate:
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2007-06-24: SMG's plans to float Virgin Radio (See RNW Apr 13) have been dampened by reports that UTV pulled out of a move to buy the station after deciding it was worth no more than GBP 60 million (USD 120million) whilst SMG's then board wanted GBP 100 million (USD 200 million) for it.
The Glasgow Sunday Herald says UTV is understood to have turned its attention to Virgin after merger talks with the whole SMG Group were ended (See RNW Mar 1) and it seems probable that it reduced its valuation after discovering from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group the full extent of restrictions on use of the Virgin brand.
The paper adds that that if "this means Branson's hold over Virgin Radio is even more restrictive than the City currently believes, it could be damaging to SMG's plans to float Virgin Radio" and says that Virgin's Radio's book value is GBP 105 million (USD 210 million) but some sources say the group would settle for between GBP 70 million and GBP 90 million (USD 140-180 million) in a flotation.
It adds that one source commented, "There's not a single human being in the City of London who thinks the IPO(initial public offering) is going to happen" and notes that Glasgow-based SMG is "desperate to offload Virgin, as well as its Primesight and Pearl & Dean advertising businesses, to reduce its debts in order to invest in the STV television business."
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2007-06-24: Clear Channel has agreed to use Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) system in the top 50 US markets according to the Associated Press, which cites a "person familiar with the agreement" but adds that they requested anonymity because the deal has not yet been made public.
Clear Channel had resisted using the PPM system on the grounds of cost and the technology used and had led a call for competing systems which were then winnowed down to one rival, the Media Audit/Ipsos system that uses a cell phone: Clear Channel together with Cox, Cumulus, Entercom and Radio One have announced that they are to fund a test of the Media Audit/Ipsos system in Houston from October this year until January 2008 (See RNW Feb 10) but the Arbitron deal could see support for the rival waning. The Media Audit has so far not commented on the reported Clear Channel-Arbitron agreement.
Arbitron already has agreements on varying levels with other major broadcasters including CBS Radio, Cox Radio, Emmis, Radio One Inc, and Spanish Broadcasting.
Cox, Radio One and Clear Channel had all resisted using the PPM and Clear Channel backed down at the last moment down over use of the PPM in Philadelphia, the first city where the PPM ratings replaced the former diary system (See RNW Mar 9) .
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2007-06-23: The US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)has opposed legislation introduced by Pennsylvania Democrat Mike Doyle and Nevada Republican Lee Terry - both members of the both serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee that oversees telecommunications policy - that would repeal the third-adjacent -channel protection currently required under the "Radio Broadcast Preservation Act" after heavy lobbying by NAB.
Identical legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senators John McCain (Arizona Republican) and Maria Cantwell (Washington Democrat).
The act also required an independent study of the separation required to prevent interference to existing full-power channels and the study that was conducted in 2003 by the Mitre Corporation and Comsearch concluded that there would not be significant interference but was attacked by the NAB.
Congressman Doyle said the regulation has dramatically restricted "Diverse, informative, thought-provoking, locally-oriented programming" and added of the new legislation, "Enactment of this legislation would improve the quality of life in communities across the country by providing new and different programming - and especially programming addressing local interests and events - to these communities. In addition, the establishment of hundreds of low-power radio stations across the country would also help keep residents better informed during natural disasters and other local emergencies."
Terry commented, "Low-power FM has the potential of making our communities stronger. Low-power FM radio offers the opportunity to broadcast when some might not otherwise be able to afford to do so. This is extremely important for non-commercial groups like schools, churches and neighbourhoods."
For the NAB, spokesman Kristopher Jones said in a news release, "While NAB does not oppose LPFM in areas where low power stations would not cause interference, we will actively oppose today's proposed legislation. The 232 million weekly listeners of local radio should not be inundated with the inevitable interference that would result from shoehorning more stations onto an already overcrowded radio dial."
RNW comment: if not a direct lie, the NAB statement as so often from this organization is misleading t