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November 2007 Archive

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Streams list:
Radio Australia
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ABC, Anerica
(Links to audio)
BBC:

World Service:
(Links to audio services)
UK -Radio 1:
UK -Radio 2 :
UK Radio 3:
UK--Radio 4:
UK Radio Five Live:
BBC Where I Live (for local stations):
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Radio 2 Stream:
Radio 3 stream:
Radio 4 stream (FM):
Radio 4 stream (AM):
Radio 5 stream:

CBC,Canada
Links to audio streams:
Hourly newscast:

US National Public Radio:
News

Voice of America:
Audio News reports:

WORLD RADIO NETWORK (listeners area has on-demand audio reports from various broadcasters from round the world)

Music Streams
(Classical):
King (US)
RTE Lyric FM (Ireland):

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- October 2007 - December 2007 -
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 November comment - As Don Imus prepares to return to air, we look at issues of getting booted, coming back, and staying on air!

RNW October comment - Asks why there should be a problem with radio ratings using electronic metering and wonders whether it is just a matter of resources - and if broadcasters and advertisers are wise to rely on one ratings supplier.

RNW September comment - Considers whether we would develop radio today if it did not already exist and concludes it still remains a very valuable medium for information.

2007-11-30: According to the New York Post, host Don Imus is vowing vengeance on those who failed to defend him when he was fired by CBS Radio for his infamous "nappy-headed ho's" comments [RNW note the Post uses the term "joke" but the dictionary definition of this would seem to rule out the term if using language accurately] that led to his dismissal. The host returns to the airwaves on Monday on Citadel's WABC-AM, and in syndication with current rumours of around ten stations signed up including Greater Media's Boston WTTK-FM (See RNW Nov 17).
The paper quotes WABC general manager, Phil Boyce as saying of the host's scheduled return on Monday, "I think he will have some scores to settle."
The paper says that it is "doubtful Imus will ever forgive CBS chief Les Moonves, who fired him, or regular guest Tim Russert, the host of NBC's 'Meet the Press,' who was 'an invisible man' while Imus was under attack" and adds that Private eye Bo Dietl, who will join Imus in the 8 a.m. hour on Monday, also named Harold Ford Jr. and Al Roker as two Imus regulars who abandoned him.
"They turned their backs on him so fast," Dietl said "Al Roker had his stomach stapled - he should have had his mouth stapled.".
Dietl added that Imus's remark "brought attention to that Rutgers basketball team. They really benefited. It turned out to be a positive thing" but did say he expects "a kinder, gentler Imus" … but I don't know how long that will last."
As regards advertisers, the Post reports that the Hackensack University Medical Center which cancelled its multimillion dollar budget on WFAN when Imus was fired - will air the first spot on the new show and will be one of its is one of the biggest advertisers.
Imus is to be interviewed by Barbara Walters on ABC TV's 20/20 tonight.
RNW comment: The Post does not comment on other advertisers but a number of those who were large advertisers with his previous show including General Motors are waiting to see how things go before they make a decision and Verizon has said it has no plans to advertise on the Imus show.
Our view is that if Imus is stupid enough to go for settling scores rather than producing a good show for the long term he will probably gain audience in the short term and lose advertisers in the long one, which would be a form of poetic justice.
It would be interesting to find out if Citadel has any get-out clauses if it ends up losing money with the show, for which it has dropped previously highly-rated hosts Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby who did not have the syndication that Imus formerly enjoyed.
As for the Dietl attitude, which seems to be that the comment is OK as the outcome was positive for the Rutgers' team, contempt seems to be the appropriate word.
Previous CBS:
Previous Citadel:
Previous Imus:
New York Daily Post report:

2007-11-30: UK media regulator Ofcom has re-advertised the Plymouth FM licence that was awarded last year to Radio UK Holdings Limited, a consortium led by Macquarie Bank-owned (See RNW Mar 10, 2006). The award aroused local protest (See RNW Mar 21 and RNW Mar 18, 2006) and Macquarie decided not to take up the licence.
There were five bidders and the licence was the first won by Macquarie following other bids that had been fronted for them by former EMAP Performance chief executive Tim Schoonmaker. Previously one foreign-owned company had been awarded a licence since they were allowed to bid - the CanWest winning bid for the new Solent licence with an Adult Alternative format.
Ofcom has also published its planned timetable for the re-advertisement of local analogue commercial radio licences.
The list is:
January 2008 - Kingston-upon-Thames, currently held by Radio Jackie.
February 2008 - Wigan, currently held by Wish FM.
March 2008 - Yorkshire Dales, currently held by Fresh Radio (This licence may qualify for renewal depending on the outcome of the North Yorkshire local radio multiplex licence award, and thus may not be re-advertised.).
April 2008:
- Ullapool, currently held by Lochbroom FM.
- Medway Towns, currently held by KMFM (One of the four licences - this licence, Canterbury, Dover/Folkestone, and Thanet (see later adverts) held by KM Radio Ltd. qualifies for renewal and thus will not be re-advertised.)
- Greater London, currently held by XFM (currently qualifies for renewal since it is on a local digital multiplex and may not be re-advertised).
May 2008:
-Canterbury - currently held by KMFM.
-East Midlands - Heart FM (currently qualifies for renewal since it is on a local digital multiplex and may not be re-advertised).
-Dover/Folkestone.
June 2008-Wolverhampton, currently held by The Wolf.
July 2008 - Southport, currently held by Dune FM.
August 2008:
-Eastbourne, currently held by Sovereign Radio.
- East of England, currently held by Kiss 105-108 (currently qualifies for renewal since it is on a local digital multiplex and may not be re-advertised).
September 2008:
- Peterhead currently held by Waves Radio (currently qualifies for renewal since it is on a local digital multiplex and may not be re-advertised).
-Thanet, currently held by KMFM.
October 2008 - Huddersfield , currently held by Home FM.
November 2008 - Western Isles, currently held by Isles FM.
December 2008:
-Cambridge, currently held by STAR Radio.
- Liverpool, currently held by Juice FM (currently qualifies for renewal since it is on a local digital multiplex and may not be re-advertised).
January 2009 - Hastings, currently held by Arrow FM
Previous Macquarie Bank/Macquarie Media:
Previous Ofcom:

2007-11-30: The US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has now posted its response to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vote that would expand low-power FM radios (See RNW Nov 29 )with comments from Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton that in essence back those parts that NAB sees as of benefit to its members and opposes anything that it sees otherwise.
Wharton said the NAB was "pleased the Commission clarified that LPFM stations must indeed be locally-owned with locally-originated programming, and limits ownership to one station per licensee"
He then added over giving LPFM enhanced stature: "We share the concerns expressed by Commissioners Tate and McDowell about the Commission's decision to adopt interim processing guidelines without full notice and opportunity for comment, but we look forward to working with the Commission to find a solution that works for all."
On third-adjacent channel protection, he commented, "Though this is a recommendation identical to one made several years ago by the FCC, NAB continues to believe that statutory third-adjacent channel protections are critically important to protect listeners against interference. The idea that hundreds, if not thousands, of additional LPFM stations can be shoe-horned into an overcrowded radio dial without causing considerable interference simply defies the laws of physics."
RNW comment: Over the years we have considered the NAB close to dishonest over the third-adjacent channel issue and what "evidence" is has produced to sustain its case has been less than substantial.
In particular we note that the problem seems to exist to a greater degree in some places with full-power stations that would not now be granted a licence.
Maybe the FCC should take the NAB seriously, announce that in view of the LPFM objections it is to conduct relevant tests nationwide and, where there is an interference problem, revoke licences that are held by NAB members (for which there should be no compensation for the NAB members, who obviously would not wish to create such interference.)
Previous NAB:
Previous Wharton:

2007-11-30: CBS has named Anton Guitano as Senior Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations and Chief Financial Officer of CBS Radio to succeed Walter Berger who will remain with the Company working on special projects under the direction of Fredric G. Reynolds, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CBS.
Guitano is a 29-year CBS veteran who most recently served as Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer of the CBS Television Stations Group. In his new role he will be responsible for establishing the financial strategy and direction of the division and overseeing all of CBS Radio's financial functions at the local station and corporate level.
CBS Radio President and CEO Dan Mason, making the announcement, commented, "Anton is one of the strongest financial executives in the Company with a record of success at every step of his career. Additionally, he has a proven background in local operations that will extend the scope of his contributions far beyond finance.
CBS Radio is also extending its station web site operations through a deal with AOL's Truveo that will give the stations access to a host of new searchable video content. As part of the deal more than 35 CBS Radio stations have already integrated Truveo's video search engine online with more scheduled to launch in the coming weeks.
The search engine indexes generated video from popular video uploading sites such as YouTube and Dailymotion and also video from many major media companies including the main US TV networks, the BBC and Skynews.
Previous CBS:
Previous Mason:

2007-11-29: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) late on Tuesday approved rule changes that would expand low-power FM in the US, possibly eliminating third-adjacent channel protection, a move welcomed by the two Democrats on the commission but arousing dissenting statements from the two Republican Commissioners.
Chairman Kevin J. Martin, who is also Republican, said in his statement, "Today's item facilitates LPFM stations' access to limited radio spectrum by significantly reforming our LPFM rules."
He added," The limited number of channels in the radio spectrum bands and the high start-up cost of building a station are significant barriers to entry in broadcasting. It can be very difficult for anyone-in particular a new voice-to find an available channel and gather enough capital to build a new broadcast station" and said the commission was taking "several important steps to improve our Low Power FM rules to better promote entry and ensure local responsiveness without harming the interests of full-power FM stations or other Commission licensees."
Democrat Commissioner Michael J. Copps, approving the changes, commented on the effects of consolidation in radio that had left "homogenized content, national play lists, outsourced news, a dumbed-down civic dialogue, and shameful levels of minority and female ownership" and added, "That's why low power radio is such a breath of fresh air. It is a positive response to what ails us. These are truly local stations run by local organizations. They provide an outlet for local voices and local talent. They cover issues of importance to local and very often under-served communities. Low power is truly radio of the people, by the people, and for the people. We cannot let it perish from the earth."
His fellow Democrat Jonathan S. Adelstein in his statement commented, "When the FCC created low-power FM (LPFM) service in 2000, some argued that there was no viable business model for such a localized medium, while others argued that LPFM stations would undermine the economic stability of existing full-power FM stations. Time, however, has revealed that neither prediction was accurate. There continues to be great public demand for radio spectrum, especially LPFM stations. Full-power FM stations continue to be scarce, and they remain as valuable financial assets. In spite of initial and considerable scepticism, LPFM stations have proven to be a great success story of communications policy. Creating LPFM is one of the few steps that the Commission has taken in recent history to democratize the public airwaves."
He also commented, "Perhaps more than any measure in this item, I am especially pleased that we have tightened LPFM ownership rules. Simply put, we cannot allow what has happened to commercial radio to happen to LPFM. Accordingly, I strongly support the fact that we reinstate the restrictions on local LPFM ownership. In doing so, we explicitly recognize that "doing away with the locality restriction could threaten its predominantly local character, in particular the hallmark of the LPFM's station's local character, its local origination of programming." And, equally important, we clarify that repetitious, automated programming does not meet our local origination requirement."
úThe Republicans Deborah Taylor Tate and Robert M. McDowell raised concerns about potential interference with full power stations with Tate commenting, "At present, there are several bills pending before Congress and it would seem appropriate to wait on their instruction before moving forward, especially before moving beyond what is included in the legislation regarding 3rd adjacent channel interference. I also think that we should have a rational basis for setting the standards for Low Power FM, perhaps using the minimum operating guidelines for the required number of hours of operation."
She concluded, "I dissent from this Order's finding of a ten application limit on translators, from the finding regarding second-adjacent channel waivers, and from the portion of this Order that places Low Power FM in a superior position to full power. I find no justification in the record for such a complete shift in well-established policy. Low Power FM licensees provide a great service to their communities, but they accept their license knowing that they are a secondary service, and accept both the risks and rewards that status entails. "
McDowell said he dissented on three grounds, adopting immediate policies for waiving second-adjacent channel protection; establishing "a licensing presumption to protect certain operating LPFM stations from subsequently proposed city of license modifications where there would be no alternate channel available to the LPFM station "; and limiting further processing of FM translator applications submitted during our Auction 83 filing window to 10 proposals per applicant.
Previous Adelstein:
Previous Copps:
Previous FCC:
Previous Martin:
Previous McDowell:
Previous Tate:

2007-11-29: Yahoo and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit may shut down their Web radio services because of the increased rate they are having to pay for music royalties according to a report from Bloomberg.
The report, which says Yahoo and AOL stopped directing users to their radio sites after SoundExchange, the Washington-based group representing artists and record labels, began collecting the higher fees (RNW comment:We had no problem finding links)- they have gone up by 38% - in July, says that although Yahoo and AOL don't release details of the finances of their radio units, Pandora Media Inc., the largest privately owned Internet radio company, is losing money according to its founder Tim Westergren.
He added, "At the new rates we're losing tons of money. If we don't think there's a real answer that's going to happen, it's our fiduciary responsibility to stop.''
Bloomberg quotes Ian Rogers, general manager at Yahoo's music unit, as saying, "We're not going to stay in the business if cost is more than we make long term" and also quotes Jeffrey Lindsay, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York as saying that Internet radio sites have been dealt a "severe blow" by the rate increases and adding, "It seems very unlikely that at this stage a solution will be reached.''
Lisa Namerow, managing director of AOL Radio in Dulles, Virginia, said, "The current math doesn't add up. If the rates remain as they are, it would be very challenging to sustain a business that is profitable.''
RNW comment: This may well be a negotiating tactic but it increasingly seems to us that the best bet for the Internet music companies is to get together very urgently, set up their own internet system that makes sense to up and coming artists and then just go with them, produce and promote their own CD/DVD sales- making a virtue of the additional of a high quality physical product, and cut out the recording companies completely. In the short-term it would cost them but in the long-term we think the recording companies would lose. We certainly wouldn't be buying shares in the latter anyway.
Bloomberg report:

2007-11-29: The WorldDMB will hold a meeting in Australia for the first time tomorrow when its technical committee, which includes representatives from industry body Commercial Radio Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), meets in Sydney. The chairman of the committee Lindsay Cornell said there was great deal of international interest in Australia's plans to introduce digital radio in 2009, particularly its decision to go for the advanced audio coding version.
"Our goal is to encourage international cooperation on the successful introduction of digital radio worldwide and we are very interested in the work being done in Australia," he said. "DAB+ allows more content options, both high quality audio and new multimedia services, which offer significant enhancements for consumers in the digital age."
This meeting will be preceded today by a digital radio seminar staged by Commercial Radio Australia that will provide provides an opportunity for digital radio equipment suppliers, broadcast infrastructure suppliers and receiver manufacturers from Australia and overseas to make presentations to the industry.
Also today Commercial Radio Australia in conjunction with the Advertising Federation of Australia (AFA) are running the last in this year's series of radio creative workshops targeted towards creative writers for radio ads in advertising agencies.
The free workshops are part of a continuing strategy by Commercial Radio Australia to help improve the education and training for creative personnel in radio stations and advertising agencies and ultimately deliver better radio ads: So far workshops have been held in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner said feedback from participants at the workshops throughout the year has been very positive with creative directors reporting a marked improvement in standards and added, "Australia is now being recognized as a source of great innovation in radio advertising, and the radio industry is keen to provide ongoing support and training for agencies and radio stations."
Previous Commercial Radio Australia:
Previous Warner:
Previous WorldDMB:

2007-11-29: BBC Radio 4 has named the four guest editors who will take over its programme between Christmas and the New Year: For the period as in past years they will be responsible for between a third and half of their programme and will have the assistance of regular staff.
Thus year's editors are the former Director-General of the domestic security service MI5, Dame Stella Rimington; singer, songwriter and keyboard player Damon Albarn of Blur and who is also the leading man behind the music of Gorillaz and The Good, the Bad and the Queen project; historian and author Professor Peter Hennessy; and Sir Martin Evans - winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine for his work in stem cell research.
Previous guest editors include Bono, Professor Stephen Hawking, Anthony Minghella, Yoko Ono and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and the programme's editor Ceri Thomas said they " never fail to surprise us with the breadth of their interests and the quality of their ideas", adding, "We've got a fantastic line-up this year."
In addition to the guest editors, one edition of the programme will also be edited by a group chosen from its audience, in this case a team from Dyfed Powys Police.
Rimington said of her decision to accept the invitation, "I couldn't resist the opportunity to take the agenda out of the hands of those who usually set it - namely the politicians - and instead have some of the issues that I think are important aired and debated."
She will deal with declining trust in politics; Albarn finds lessons for Britain in Mali's approach to recycling; Hennessy will track the evolution of political satire; and Evans will investigate the consequences of the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl
Previous BBC:
Previous Thomas:

2007-11-29: Mega Media Group, whose radio division Echo Broadcasting Group, Inc. earlier this month announced a long-term lease of Island Broadcasting Company's 87.88MHz frequency covering New York City, has hired former Clear Channel and Emmis DJ Star, real name Troi Torain.
Mega says it is creating a new station -" Pulse 87" - using the frequency and will feature the "Star & Buc Wild Show", which is co-hosted by star and his stepbrother Buc Wild - real name Timothy Joseph.
Torain in a statement said he was "excited to return to the New York City airwaves and look forward to working with Mega Media Group and Pulse 87."
He did not directly refer to his dismissal by Clear Channel, made following a row when he made on air threats to the wife and children of rival DJ Emmis Hot 97 DJ Raashaun Casey. - DJ Envy - and threatened to find and sexually abuse the rival's daughter, who was then four (See RNW May 12, 2006).
He did comment, "I am excited to return to the New York City airwaves and look forward to working with Mega Media Group and Pulse 87. Times have changed and I am ready to deliver the great entertainment that my listeners have come to expect from me, while also offering responsible social commentary. The Star & Buc Wild journey continues!"
The new show will debut on January 12 when Pulse switches from its current Russian ethnic programming to a top 40 format and an AP report quoted its chief executive Alex Shvarts as saying it would be "a clean, interesting, edgy show for New Yorkers."
Previous Torain:
Newsday/Associated Press report:

2007-11-28: Sirius and XM Satellite Radio have responded to a letter opposing their merger that was sent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by a coalition of consumer groups by saying they stand by their arguments that the merger would benefit consumers and say they are confident the Commission and Department of Justice (DOJ) will allow the merger to go ahead "by the end of the year."
The Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and Free Press had said in a 20-page filing that the proposed merger would create a monopoly that would "unleash the market power of the satellite digital radio service providers at the expense of the public" and also attacked the proposed a la carte pricing put forward by the satellite companies as "ill-defined and deceptive."
They say the proposals do not "protect artists or retailers from the exercise of market power" by the satellite companies and content, using data from the FCC, that satellite radio does not compete with terrestrial radio.
The merger they say would produce a monopoly and they accuse the satellite companies of shifting ground to defend their position and producing internal data that addresses the wrong questions and is contradicted by publicly available date.
Regarding the contention by the companies that a merged entity would provide cheaper and better value services for subscribers they say the satellite companies "tried to sweeten the pot with an offer of price regulation that adds little value for consumers and is riddled with uncertainties, which, given their track record they will likely exploit to the detriment of the public, and fails to address a broad range of competitive concerns beyond price."
"Federal regulators," they conclude "should reject the merger."
Previous Sirius:
Previous XM:

2007-11-28: Shares in Arbitron, which had fallen on Monday by 3.6% to close at USD 48.91 plunged at one point to USD 34.81 on Tuesday as the implications of delays in introducing its Portable People Meter (PPM) electronic metering services (See RNW Nov 27) took their toll.
They ended the day down nearly 15% at USD 41.70, valuing the company at around USD 1.18 billion.
At its conference call with analysts to explain the decision the company came under criticism for making it with Barton Crockett of JP Morgan commenting that the radio industry was never going to be completely happy with the system and adding f the delay, "Now that there's blood in the water, they may get harder on you [Arbitron] rather than easier."
Arbitron President and CEO Steve Morris commented of the critics that he couldn't do anything about those who were "vocal and venomous" and adding, "All we can do is address the overall needs of the market. If we can address the concerns, I'm confident the industry will be anxious to move forward," he said.
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Morris:

2007-11-28: GMG Radio has announced that Graham Dene, the former Emap Magic FM drivetime host whom it signed up in February (See RNW Feb 22) for its London Smooth Radio- one of five "Smooth" stations owned by the group - is to host the station's breakfast show from January 1.
Dene is on "gardening leave" from Emap, having presented on Magic until September.
A sixth Smooth station is to launch in the north-east on January 8 with Tom Davies, formerly breakfast host on TFM, Middlesborough, and BBC Radio Newcastle, hosting its breakfast slot.
On the business front, GMG Radio has announced that it has short-listed four media planning and buying agencies to bid for the media buying business for its 13 stations currently held by Brilliant.
As well as Brilliant, the others on the list are MediaCom, PHD and MediaEdge:cia: All of them will put their proposals in a two-day process on December 13 and 14 with a decision expected before Christmas:
Previous Guardian Media:

2007-11-28: Former Clear Channel Power FM DJ Star (Troi Torain) who was fired after making sexual and racist remarks about a rival Emmis DJ's daughter and wife (See RNW May 12, 2006) is to return to host a morning show in New York along with his half-brother Buc Wild (Timothy Joseph) according to the public relations firm 5W.
5W, whish is representing the station concerned, says it will give details in a news conference today. Clear Cannel has said the station is not one of its stations.
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Torain:

2007-11-28: The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday delayed the start of its previously announced Open Meeting and dropped from the agenda a planned item on minority ownership regulations.
The dropping of the item from the agenda was praised by the two Democrats on the commission and Jonathan S. Adelstein issued a statement that said he was "pleased that the Commission has backed off its fig leaf attempt to address minority and female ownership. It was an obvious effort to provide cover for more media consolidation, which would only have take media outlets further out of the reach of women and minorities."
He added that it was "high time we create an independent, bipartisan panel that will look at these issues in a comprehensive and substantive fashion. Media sharecropping is no substitute for media ownership. Given the crisis we face in ownership, we need real actions, not just token gestures."
His fellow Democrat Commissioner Michael J. Copps said he was pleased the commission had "avoided a premature vote on minority and female ownership" adding that urgent but not reckless action was needed and continuing, "We should start by getting an accurate count of minority and female ownership. We also should heed the call of Commissioner Adelstein and many others to convene an independent panel to review the proposals. Most importantly, given the destructive impact of media consolidation on opportunities for minorities and women to compete for a share of the people's spectrum, we must act on these issues before voting on any proposals permitting big media to get even bigger."
No reason was given for dropping the item from the agenda but there had been criticism earlier this month of a short deadline proposed by Commission chairman Kevin J. Martin for a limited change that would have allowed newspaper-broadcaster cross-ownership (See RNW Nov 14).
A number of lawmakers who said Martin's plan for a vote on the regulation before the end of the year did not allow sufficient time for proper consideration (See RNW Nov 17).
Previous Adelstein:
Previous Copps:
Previous FCC:
Previous Martin:

2007-11-27: Arbitron, which has come under criticism over under-reporting of black and Hispanic stations in its pre-currency Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings in New York, has announced that it is to delay the commercialization of the PPM in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas: The decision does not affect PPM ratings in Houston and Philadelphia and Arbitron says it intends to introduce the PPM service in Atlanta, Detroit, Washington D.C. and subsequent markets as originally scheduled.
Under the new schedule the PPM is now slated to be "currency" in September next year for New York, Nassau-Suffolk, Middlesex-Somerset-Union (it was scheduled to become currency in these markets next month); Los Angeles, Riverside; Chicago (it was to have become currency in these three markets in March next year); San Francisco and San Jose (It was to have become currency in these two markets in June next year. In Dallas the delay is least - to December next year from an originally scheduled September. The September survey ratings covering the period August 21 - September 17 are scheduled to be delivered on October 8 and Arbitron says it plans to precede their delivery with two pre-currency monthly reports in July and August for Los Angeles, Riverside, Chicago, San Francisco and San Jose. The Dallas December survey, covering November 13 - December 10, is to be delivered on December 31 next year and be preceded by pr-currency reports for October and November.
The use of the diary system will be extended to cover the delay and Arbitron says that during the delay it will "continue to work with customers, the Media Rating Council, other industry organizations and community groups on the research and business issues related to the Portable People Meter radio ratings service in local markets."
President and CEO Steve Morris said Arbitron remained "confident in the audience estimates that the Portable People Meter service is producing" but added, "However, over the past three weeks, feedback from our customers, the Media Rating Council and other constituencies has led us to conclude that the radio industry would be better served if we were to delay further commercialization of the PPM in order to address their issues."
"We already have a number of initiatives in the pipeline for implementation in the first quarter of 2008 that we believe will improve the performance of our PPM samples," said Morris. "Our intention is to expand significantly this list of improvement initiatives by working closely with customers, industry organizations and community groups. We expect that the Media Rating Council will be a particularly valuable source of guidance and advice on the more technically oriented aspects of this review and improvement process and we intend to work closely with the members of the MRC over the next several months."
Regarding the demographics where there is a perceived problem Morris said the company planned to use the delay time to "work closely with community leaders to review the workings of the Portable People Meter service and to gather their insights as to how we might improve compliance among persons 18-34, including ethnic young adults, across the diverse communities of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and subsequent markets."
The decision, says Arbitron, is expected to reduce per share earnings for 2007 from between USD 1.35 and USD 1.45 - its previous guidance - to between USD 1.30 and USD 1.35 and for 2008 by 22 cents to 33 cents per diluted share.
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Media Rating Council:
Previous Morris:

2007-11-27: Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, has turned to BBC Radio 1 to boost its image and recruitment and has allowed reporter Andy West to conduct interviews with its Head of Recruitment and two officers as part of a week long series of special reports on the Service that began on Radio 1's Newsbeat on Monday: A special documentary is to air on Thursday from 10.30pm as part of Colin Murray's Radio 1 show.
The service has already used BBC Radio 1 in a similar manner a year ago when, at the time of the release of the latest Bond film -"Casino Royale" - it allowed Murray to interview two of its officers, a man and a woman, about life as a real British spy. Those interviews went along to a degree with the Bond image with the woman saying there was "a lot of adventure and it's also quite glamorous" and the man commenting on a "Q figure whose team is responsible for innovative technology and gimmicks and gadgets and things like that."
Then, as this time, the service, which controlled West's movements to prevent him from seeing anything that could be sensitive to active operations or compromise staff or agents, insisted on anonymity for its staff.
The recruitment head - "Mark" - spoke of the need to recruit a wider range of staff from different ethnic backgrounds and said they were sometimes "hindered" by the James Bond association "because I think it gives people a false impression of what working for the organisation is actually like, so it does tend to turn up quite a lot of thrill seekers and fantasists and we're really not interested in them."
He said this was because people with a different background could go to places that those from a white background could not but denied that this was a call for more Moslem staff although the female operational office whom West was allowed to interview was a Moslem in her 20s from the Midlands.
The officer - named "Yasmin" and whose voice, like that of the others was distorted to prevent identification - she sounds like a cross between a butch public schoolgirl and feminine public schoolboy, said her job was "to identify, target and recruit people from abroad who will provide us with secret intelligence - for a particular part of the world - I can't tell you which one."
Of working with informants (agents) abroad she said the service will "will do everything in our power to make sure our agents are safe" and added of the approach to them, "We absolutely never ever threaten or blackmail or coerce people to work with us ... that is the most counter productive tactic you can ever use."
The station web site carries streaming audio of the reports.
Previous BBC:
Radio 1 Newsbeat - MI6 page:

2007-11-27: XM Satellite Radio is not interested in signing Don Imus nor will it hire more high-priced talent after [if] its planned merger with rival Sirius gets regulatory approval according to Reuters.
The agency quotes XM Chairman Gary Parsons, speaking to Reuters Media Summit in New York on Monday as saying, "Imus appears to have found a home that he's happy with, and he's back on the air, so I don't see any value from our standpoint."
He added, "We're not actually looking to add much of any new high-priced content to the platforms," Parsons said. "We have what we consider to be a very high-quality set of offerings that cost us an adequate amount."
Previous Parsons:
Previous XM:
Reuters Report:

2007-11-27: Clear Channel Radio's Total Traffic Network is to add ten more markets to its traffic service, taking the total coverage to 80 metropolitan markets
Being added are Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Des Moines, Iowa; Ft. Pierce, Florida; Greenville, South Carolina; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Huntsville, Alabama; Lexington, Kentucky; Madison, Wisconsin and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Jeff Littlejohn, Executive Vice President of Distribution Development for Clear Channel Radio, said demand was high for the service and added that with the addition of the new markets it "extends its leadership and offers the most coverage in the industry by providing over 194 million people with the most reliable traffic data for use on a wide selection of devices."
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Previous Littlejohn:

2007-11-26: This week we begin our look at print comment on radio looking both backwards and forwards. The looking backwards came from Justin Bell who in the Edmonton Sun looked at the 80th anniversary of CKUA, founded in 1927 at the University of Alberta - initially allowing the University's Faculty of Extension to broadcast educational talks throughout the province with music programming soon added: It is what Bell terms "A true institution in the radio world."
The station was brought into Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) in 1945 and four years later Jack Hagerman, who broadcasts as John Worthington, a name he took up after filling in for a union job while in management, joined the station having previously worked in Saskatoon.
He commented of it at the time, "It was a sea change when I came here. The station I came from in Saskatoon was a quite a bit like WKRP." [RNW Note: As in the US TV sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati" that ran from 1978-82.].
Hagerman, who moved up from announcer to chief announcer, program director, and station manager formally "retired" 25 years ago and was selected to host the 80th anniversary celebrations at the weekend at the Myer Horowitz Theatre on the University of Alberta campus, celebrations that included recreations of radio shows from the past.
He says the station's commitment to its founding principles is part of the reason for its success and the devotion it inspired from Albertans, commenting, "We stayed close to our roots in the idea that we were not intended to be a popular outlet to sell lots of airtime. We were intended to be educational."
That devotion may well have saved the station that was "cut loose" in 1995 by Ralph Klein, Albertan premier from 1992-2006) and in 1997 was put in the hands of a government-appointed board and went off the air but a public outcry, letter-writing blitz, and a CAD 1 million fundraising campaign over the span of two weeks brought the station back (Currently the CAD is approximately the same as the USD) .
That devotion remains important for the station which gets around 60% of its budget - CAD 1 million a year - from its annual fund drives.
Current CKUA general manager Ken Regan says of this, "If we don't respect our listeners to the extreme, if we aren't relevant to our listeners, they just don't give us the money. They appreciate the product."
He says they are planning for five, ten and fifteen years ahead and concludes, "I think there's no question there's a lot of pride among people who work at CKUA. That's no small thing, particularly in media, to last 80 years."
Next one view of the future from Sam McManis of the Sacramento Bee albeit we noted the item in an Ontario paper, the London Free Press.
Pegging his report to the Hollywood writers' strike, he offers the advice "Don't overlook radio's diverse offerings" for those whose regular TV diet may come to an end.
"People, people. Time to think outside the idiot box," he writes. "No, we're not saying to read a book. Nothing that drastic. Rather, can we interest you in ... radio? You remember radio, don't you? It's that other medium, the one about which Grandma could prattle on for hours."
"These days, when we think about radio," he continues, "it's usually of bloviating talk-show hosts or scatological shock jocks, industry-controlled music or boring stuff like, you know, news" but he then goes on, "But we're here to tell you that radio offerings -- comedy, dramas, documentaries -- have never been more entertaining, diverse or plentiful. Credit podcasting for that. Even if your local stations are blandly corporate, chances are you can download whatever niche interest you have to your computer or MP3 player."
McManis suggest ten shows, mainly from US public radio including "This American Life" from Public Radio International and "StoryCorps" from National Public Radio but also including podcasts offered by organizations best known in print (the 30 minute podcast "The New Yorker: Fiction" hosted by Deborah Treisman, fiction editor of the New Yorker); archive material ("Dragnet" from Old Time Radio, Humphrey Camaradella Productions) and in a different vein "The Onion Radio News."
His last suggestion is "Poetry off the Shelf" from NPR of which he comments, "Oh, come on. A little poetry never hurt anyone. All you have to do is listen -- not, like, read it or anything. You may even come to enjoy it."
Finally still on the subject of diversity of offerings a service that with a little luck may bring back classical music to parts of California: It's commercial-free Mexico-based station XLNC-1 that Randy Dotinga concentrates on in his column in the North County Times.
Dotinga begins by noting the problems for those who want music that is seen as attracting a demographic unwanted by advertisers… "Like, say, rock 'n' roll oldies (aaaaaah!), golden oldies of the '30s and '40s (eeeeek!) or classical music (aaiiiieee!). If you wander up and own the dial, you'll find that these kinds of music are pretty much impossible to find."
The reason, writes Dotinga, is "Because the suits who run radio stations figure that listeners who supposedly spend the most money ---- those who aren't yet eligible for AARP ---- won't bother to listen. Advertisers, they fear, will stay away, because they have no interest in older folks, no matter how many tune in."
He then notes of classical music that San Diego lost its classical station around a decade ago and there are only a couple of options:" KPBS's sleepy overnight music feed from Minneapolis (specifically programmed not to startle night owls with any moments of actual passion or excitement) or try to pull in L.A.'s KUSC, which reaches some parts of the region at 91.5 FM."
XLNC-1, now broadcasting at 90.7, expects to switch to a stronger transmitter at 104.9 FM before the end of the year he writes and this means, "North County listeners will be able to tune in without interference for the first time and hear a station that's quietly offered classical programming to both sides of the border for seven years."
Lisette Atala, the station's U.S.-based executive director, says the station, founded by the late businessman Victor Diaz, has had trouble catching on and gaining enough financial support. It has only 5,500 paying members, and Atala said it reaches 65,000-70,000 listeners on the U.S. side each week because of the weak signal.
The content? "? Plenty of opera and classical music, although without on-air hosts much of the time. XLNC has long been a low-budget, no-frills operation, and some listeners are sure to hope for more in the way of commentary about the music."
And for the future Atala said the station hopes to beef up its programming and work more closely with local classical music venues, such as the San Diego Opera, commenting, "We believe passionately that this kind of format should not die, and it should be the opposite, especially in these times when we're living with stress and lack of beauty in our lives."
After that to listening suggestions and we realise from the above how fortunate people in the UK are to have BBC output available with a much wider range than is on tap almost anywhere else apart for those with a good broadband service that means the Internet can bring the BBC and other stations well into reach: Even satellite radio in the US (particularly if public broadcasting channels are excluded) offers nothing like with for all its channels, since it mainly slices and dices musical formats rather than offering the BBC's range of programming.
So to take the "classical" station first - dip into BBC Radio 3's online schedule any week for a range of classical, jazz, and world music plus intelligent speech and drama. This week we'd suggest the noon GMT "Composer of the Week" in which Donald Macleod explores the music of Miklos Rozsa and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, best known for their work for Hollywood: The story's one of a silver lining in that their moves to the US resulted from work they had to turn to because of poverty - Rozsa wrote fanfares for Pathé newsreels and Korngold turned to arrangements of Viennese operetta.
Rózsa's film work began with Knight without Armor (1936) and ran through from notables of the 40's including The Thief of Bagdad (1940) ; 50's including The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Quo Vadis? (1951) , and King of Kings (1961); 60's including El Cid (1961); 70's including Last Embrace (1979) and 80's with his last film Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) ; whilst that of Korngold includes Captain Blood (1935) ; The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939); Of Human Bondage (1946) and The Magic Fire (1956). For a single programme we suggest Wednesday.
Also from Radio 3 of the regular 19:00 GMT weekday "Performance on 3" we would suggest Wednesday's "A Tribute to Sibelius" or Thursday's "The Britten Sinfonia at the London Jazz Festival."
For more London Jazz Festival, Friday's "Jazz on 3" comes from the festival and features highlights from the Adventures in Sound event at the Southbank Centre with a line up including Gutbucket from New York. We would also note that last week's "Private Passions" featured Iowa-born jazz bassist Charlie Haden.
Then for poetry we first stick with Radio 3 and suggest "The Essay" (Monday through Thursday 23:00 GMT) that this week marks the 250th anniversary of William Blake's birth by considering his works and Jenny Uglow's profile of him on BBC Radio 4 - "The Poet of Albion" (11:30GMT Tuesday): Also linked to Blake are the Radio 4 "Afternoon Readings" this week, a series of short stories under the heading "Blake's Doors of Perception" (15:30 GMT weekdays): They're followed (at 15:45 GMT) by stories of the Dickin Medal, often termed "The Animals' VC."
Still with the literary BBC Radio 4's "Book of the Week" (09:45 GMT) this week is "The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street", Charles Nicholl's account of a little-known episode of William Shakespeare's life.
Going further afield for literature, Radio Netherlands "Radio Books" when we just checked had MP3s of six readings whilst the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "Book Show" has the past week that includes a stream but not an MP3 (for copyright reasons) of "First Person - The Land of the Green Ghosts" Pascal Khoo Thwe's Burmese Odyssey. Last Friday's edition amongst other items looked at the role of political satirists.
Then for documentary starting with music-related ones from BBC Radio 4 - last Saturday's "The Nun who Nurtured Reggae", the story of Sister Mary Ignatius Davies, who ran the music programme at a school for wayward boys in Jamaica for 64 years until her death in 2003 and is credited with nurturing the talents of many of the key players in Jamaican reggae plus from later on Saturday "The Archive Hour", an edition "The Sounds of Flanders" in which BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner discovers a collection of First World War propaganda recordings and considers their impact on the ordinary civilians and soldiers.
Then on Tuesday at 13:30 "The Music Feature" on Radio 4 is "Wheatstone, His Sighing Reed ..." in which Dr Bernard Richardson recalls the great Victorian physicist Sir Charles Wheatstone - of Wheatstone Bridge fame - who also developed the concertina.
And on Saturday Radio 4 has "The Best DJ You've Never Heard ..." in which Martin Bashir profiles Howard Stern.
Finally three less than cheerful items starting with "Mind Changers" (BBC Radio 4 11:00 GMT) on Wednesday and "The Stanford Prison Experiment" - an experiment that produced behaviour so extreme that Philip Zimbardo closed the experiment: He also testified in defence of one of the soldiers accused of abuse at Abu Ghraib because of that experience.
At the same time on Thursday the in "Crossing Continents" Julia Rooke tells the story of Leila, who lives in Tehran: She was Sold into prostitution by her own mother at the age of nine, sentenced to death by hanging nine years later but saved by human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr. A story that says much about both poverty and "justice" in Iran.
And from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "Spirit of Things" on Nov 18 (Still on the site for another two weeks) excerpts and discussion of Tom Keneally's new play "Either Or" that explores the moral dilemmas encountered by evangelical Christian Kurt Gerstein, a Nazi SS officer implicated in the gassing of Jews during the Second World War.
Previous Dotinga:
Previous Columnists:
Edmonton Sun - Bell:
North County Times - Dotinga:
Ontario Free Press/Sacramento Bee - McManis:

2007-11-25: With Thanksgiving reducing the working week in the US and a quiet time elsewhere last week's most important posting by the regulators came from the UK where Ofcom has posted its latest proposals for commercial radio in which it proposes to retain requirements for local output but also allow more sharing of programming between stations in the same area (See RNW Nov 23).
There was only one radio announcement from Australia where the Australian Communications and Media Authority has ruled that Macquarie Bank Limited and Macquarie Regional Radioworks Pty Ltd breached media control rules for some eight months in relation to a loan made to allow Elmie Investments to purchase five regional radio licences ( See RNW Nov 22).
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in a generally quiet week posted only one radio decision, the administrative renewal to 31 December of the licence of CHIM-FM, Timmins, and its transmitters in Timmins, North Bay, Iroquois Falls, Kirkland Lake, New Liskeard, Sault Ste Marie, Elliot Lake, Wawa, Chapleau and Kapuskasing, Ontario, and Red Deer, Alberta.
It also posted a public notice with a deadline for the submission of interventions or comments of December 28 concerning Peachland Communications Society's application to add a 37 watts transmitter at Cochrane to broadcast the programming CHIM-FM, Timmins, Ontario.
There were no radio postings in Ireland but in the UK Ofcom, as well as posting its "The Future of Radio - The Next Phase" consultation document has also published its latest Broadcast Bulletin in which it upheld one complaints against radio (See RNW Nov 20) and posted its reasons for the award earlier this month of the Oxfordshire digital multiplex licence to GCap Media's Now Digital (Oxford) Ltd. against competition from Muxco (See RNW Nov 11). Ofcom said that it considered Now Digital's timetable for launching its services was realistic; its business plan was credible; and noted that its portfolio of proposed services included the simulcast of the commercial analogue services as well as BBC Radio Oxford plus five further formats that are not currently available in the area and would thus "broaden local digital choice by offering a variety of local radio services specific to Oxfordshire on DAB for the first time, augmented by a spread of new stations and formats which would provide a genuine extension of choice to local listeners."
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was still in the news regarding media ownership regulations and the proposed Sirius-XM merger. Regarding the latter minority-owned private equity firm Georgetown Partners L.L.C., which has asked the Commission to make it a condition of any approval of a Sirius-XM merger that it require the combined entity to turn control of a fifth of their combined channels over to a minority-controlled entity (See RNW Nov 14) has now accused the satellite companies of misrepresentation in their filings to the FCC and has also played a political support card in terms of obeying the same indecency rules that apply to terrestrial broadcasters (See RNW Nov 22).
In relation to media ownership, Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell has dismissed criticism that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been rushing into the enactment of new media ownership rules as unfounded, commenting that the Commission was "rushing toward a decision in media ownership the way a slug races across a garden." (See RNW Nov 21).
McDowell's view was not shared by many politicians including Wisconsin Democrat Senator Russ Feingold who wrote to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin J. Martin to express his concern that the commission appears to be "again rushing this proceeding with inadequate or selectively chosen information." (See RNW Nov 20).
Also in relation to ownership rules the FCC has posted notice of an open meeting on Tuesday at which this issue and that of low-power FM rules are on the agenda and has also posted a number of enforcement actions including radio-related ones that included penalties or proposed penalties (in descending order of amount) as below:
USD 7,000 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) to Paul Smith's College, licensee of WPSA-FM, New York, for failure to file licence renewal application on time and operation after licence had expired. The licence was renewed.
USD 750 NAL to Moundbuilders Christian Radio Corporation licensee of low power FM Station WJHE-LP, Heath, Ohio, for failure to file licence renewal application on time and operation after licence had expired. The licence was renewed.
USD 500 NAL to Priority Radio, Inc. licensee of FM Translator Station W246AQ, Collingswood, New Jersey for failure to file licence renewal application on time and operation after licence had expired. The licence was renewed.
USD 500 NAL to the State University of New York College at Oneonta, licensee of WUOW-LP, Oneonta, New York, for failure to file licence renewal application on time and operation after licence had expired. The licence was renewed.
The FCC has also issued a notice in which its Media Bureau seeks comments on conditions it made in relation to the acquisition of Univision by Broadcasting Media Partners, Inc., an investor group that includes investment funds controlled by Providence Equity Partners, Inc., and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.
Because of Providence's 16% share in Freedom Communications Holdings, Inc. and Lee's 25% in Cumulus Media Partners LLC., the Univision acquisition would have resulted in violation of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rules in five markets for Providence and of the radio/television and local radio ownership rules in three markets for Lee. The FCC approved the acquisition subject to the post-merger Univision coming into compliance within six months, either by suitable divestitures.
The companies were subsequently granted a further month to come into compliances and have converted their voting stock in the companies concerned into non-voting stock, and say no further action is now needed.
In the case of another deal, the USD 260 million acquisition of various CBS Radio licences by Entercom (See RNW Aug 22, 2006) the commission has denied applications filed by Royce International Broadcasting Company (which in 1995 finally lost a nine-year battle to get the FCC to overturn the sale of its KWOD-FM, Sacramento to Entercom to halt the sale - See RNW Jan 25). It has also granted Entercom's request for a six-month temporary waiver in regard to divestitures required to bring it into compliance with ownership limits. Entercom has retained a brokerage firm to search for a buyer of at least two of the stations and the FCC has assigned the CBS licences to Entercom on the basis of full compliance with radio ownership rules in the Rochester market within six months.
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2007-11-25: Canadian broadcaster Bob Hutton, a Vancouver morning host for three decades and also a TV host in the early 1960s, has died aged 87 in Ontario.
After working as a radio dispatcher for Yukon Southern Airlines and in the forestry business he got his first job in radio as an announcer at CFJC-AM, Kamloops, when he was 19 and was later asked during the Second World War by CKWX-AM's then programme manager who heard him whilst on a walking tour, to audition.
He sent in a disc and was hired, working for the station until 1955 when he moved to CKNW, remaining there until he retired in 1973.
The Vancouver Sun quoted Stocker, who runs CKNW's Orphans Fund, as saying, "He had an incredible personality and his audience loved him to pieces. His legacy went on at the station when I arrived in 1974."
She then read a passage about him from "The Top Dog" book that traces the history of radio: "When Bob Hutton moved over to CKNW in 1955 in one of the most astounding convulsions in the history of Vancouver radio, so did all of his listeners. The Vancouver audience at CKNW went from third in the morning to first."
The paper says he was noted for his pranks and when he switched from CKWX to CKNW he rode an elephant to move from one station to the other.
An interview with him in which he talks and reminisces about his career and radio in his time is available on the sound-click.com music web site.
Soundclick.com site (Hutton page audio including two-part Hutton interview):
Vancouver Sun report:

2007-11-25: In further Sydney radio changes, morning host Bianca Dye and breakfast newsreader Sami Lucas have now left DMG's Nova FM.
Dye is to travel the world with her boyfriend Alex Dean and Lukis is returning to her Brisbane hometown where DMG is expected to find her a slot with its Nova station in the city.
Dye will be replaced by Harlee McLeod, who will move from Nova FM in Melbourne next year.
Previous DMG:

2007-11-24: Shares in GCap Media, the UK's largest radio group, fell by more than 15% at one point on Friday and ended the day 14.2% down at 132.5 pence following the release of interim results to the end of September allied with an announcement that chief executive Ralph Bernard is to step down as soon as a replacement is appointed.
GCap reported underlying revenues down 2.2% at GBP 100 million (USD 206 million) but like-for-like underlying revenues, which exclude the revenues of Century stations that it has sold were up 4.5% and underlying pre-tax profits were down 3.4% to GBP 5.6 million (USD 11.54 million).
Overall the company cut its loss before tax by 34.6% to GBP 5.1 million (USD 10.5 million a basic loss per share of 0.4 pence compared to 5.7 pence a year earlier): It is proposing an interim dividend of 1.5 pence per share, just under half the 3.1 pence of a year ago.
GCap added that it was on track to achieve the GBP 7.3 million (USD 15.1 million) cost savings it announced in May and Bernard said of the results, "During the half we have made significant strategic progress. The deal we have signed with GMG [An airtime sales agreement that it took over from Global Radio - see RNW Oct 30: This starts on January 1 next year and will allow GCap to offer its national clients access to a combined total of nearly 200 million hours of listening representing 40 per cent of commercial radio's total weekly hours.] is particularly important. It leaves GCap in a strengthened position as the industry landscape changes, with new entrants into the market and the prospect of sector consolidation. We have made the planned investments in our key brands such as the One Network and Capital 95.8 and have strengthened our online offering, with the launch of initiatives like the personalised radio player mi-Xfm."
He added, "We continue to focus on maximising efficiency and the savings we have identified so far, together with the revenue initiatives we are undertaking, mean that we are on track to target an operating margin of 12-14% by March 2009. The outlook remains stable within the context of the limited visibility of the radio industry and at this stage we have seen no evidence of any impact from the difficulties in the financial markets."
Barnard began his commercial radio career in 1973 when 19 stations were launched, jointing Radio Hallam as a journalist: There he was responsible for a documentary on alcoholism "Dying for a Drink" that was broadcast over the Independent Radio Network.
He later moved to Hereward Radio in Peterborough before becoming the programme controller for the launch of Wiltshire Radio in Swindon in October 1982, rising to become its managing director.
He then saw a chance to take over nearby Bristol station Radio West, which was struggling financially, and succeeded in getting regulatory approval and in October 1985 Wiltshire Radio re-launched as GWR Radio (Great Western Radio), a company that Bernard built up into a leading position in UK commercial - including the launch of Classic FM in September 1992 - before its merger with Capital Radio into GCap Media.
This was completed in May 2005 and at first Bernard took the role of Executive Chairman, and David Mansfield from Capital Radio that of CEO: Mansfield stepped down in September 2005 and Bernard took over both roles. As well as his role in building up the GWR group, Bernard was the commercial radio pioneer of DAB digital radio. This was launched as a result of BBC backing with commercial radio unsupportive - apart from Bernard - on financial grounds.
GCap says it is launching a search for a successor both internally and externally. Internally GCap's London managing director Fru Hazlitt, the former Virgin Radio chief executive, is probably the leading contender with group operations director Steve Orchard and Capital managing director Paul Jackson, another former Virgin managing director who has just joined GCap, also likely to be contenders.
Externally potential candidates include former Chrysalis Radio chief executive Phil Riley; Emap Radio managing director Dee Ford, depending on who buys Emap's radio assets that are currently up for bids; and maybe GMG Radio chief executive John Myers.
Previous Bernard:
Previous GCap Media:

2007-11-24: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has announced plans to integrate its English-language services under an executive vice-president, English services, a newly-created role to be taken by its English television vice-president, Richard Stursberg.
The move was proposed by outgoing CBC president Robert Rabinovitch and mirrors similar changes made in 2005 by the Corporation's French-language services in which Sylvain Lafrance, formerly head of French Radio, took a combined role after his TV counterpart Daniel Gourd, stepped down: At that time Rabinovitch had said there were no plans for similar changes at the English language service.
The current move follows an announcement by CBC Radio vice-president Jane Chalmers earlier this month that she intends to retire at the end of the year: Her deputy, current CBC Radio programming head Jennifer McGuire, has been promoted to the new post of executive director of CBC Radio. She, CBC-TV programming head Kirstine Layfield and CBC News publisher John Cruickshank will all report to Stursberg. The CBC has yet to name a replacement for the head of CBC news, Tony Burman, who resigned in June and whose role is being split into the two separate roles of "publisher" of CBC News and editor-in-chief.
Sturburg told CBC staff that there were no plans for job cuts and that the CBC's English language operations - online, radio and TV - will continue on their own paths.
He said the decision is part of an overall CBC integration plan, adding, "What this is about is actually finding ways of taking the content … and making sure that it is more broadly available across all platforms as they develop. As media evolves … one wants to make sure that you can adapt and move forward so you can meet the public on whatever platform they want to be on… The real trick for media companies over the course of the next little while is to say 'How do we retain the great strengths of the services that we have, but position ourselves so that we can respond effectively as public tastes change?' "
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2007-11-24: Checks carried out by the Washington Post of 60 of the thousands of e-mails sent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opposing the merger of Sirius and XM Satellite Radio appear to show that the e-mail campaign instigated by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) are of little or no value when it comes to assessing public feelings about the merger.
The Post says that its check resulted in most cases in unanswered phone calls and recordings saying the phones were disconnected and of the ten people who were reached "nine said they never sent anything to the FCC, and only one said she remembered filling out something about Sirius but did not recall taking a position on a merger."
Betsy Vargovich of Orofino, Idaho, said she was behind an e-mail sent in her husband's name and did remember visiting a Web site about Sirius but did not recall what side of the issue she took. "When I saw Sirius pop out, I picked it up to see what it was," she said, adding that she was eager to do anything she could to keep her Sirius service without interruption.
NAB Executive Vice-President Dennis Wharton said his group has the name, date, postal address and numerical Internet address of the e-mailers, including those contacted by The Post, to show that the electronic letters were sent by actual people and added that it inspired the sending of 8,500 e-mails to the agency by buying pop-up ads on consumer-oriented Web sites such as CarMax.com, Staples.com and PriceGrabber.com in August and September.
He noted that the e-mails were sent after people clicked on an ad with the headline, "The XM Radio/Sirius Merger will create higher prices. Stop the Monopoly!" The ad invited users to choose either, "Yes, I'd like to help stop the monopoly" or "No, thank you" and Wharton said those who clicked "yes" were asked to type in their contact information and later received a confirmation e-mail "detailing their action and providing a copy of the letter to be sent to the FCC" with them then being given "another opportunity to opt out of the process and cancel submission of their letter,"
"I have a high degree of confidence in this," Wharton said. "They [the e-mailers] had to physically type in their name and address. It was a fairly rigorous process."
The Post says that online experts say it is not unusual for e-mailers to forget what they have -- or have not -- clicked on and quoted B.R. McConnon III, chief executive of the online advocacy firm Democracy Data & Communications as saying, "The Internet makes things so easy. People move through the process like they were clicking on next, next, next."
The satellite companies were less convinced and Kelly Sullivan, a spokeswoman for both companies said, "The timing and pattern of delivery of these comments is highly unusual and suspicious. The letters lack any apparent common tie or indication of the source of the effort, all of which calls into question the legitimacy of the filings."
The Post noted that many lawmakers, concerned at the volume of e-mails received - they rose to 318 million last year from 200 million e-mails and postal letters in 2004 - are taking measures to block e-mails not written personally by constituents with such barriers as requiring e-mailers to fill out a special form on their web sites.
Stuart W. Shulman, a political scientist at the University of Pittsburgh commented of the e-mails to government departments and lawmakers: "It's a problem. If someone sends a meaningful comment, which is what the agencies are seeking, it becomes difficult to find."
RNW comment: It will certainly remain unclear whether there was any deliberate misleading in this case but even our limited experience of having to delete hundred of junk e-mails a day to this site alone (never mind the additional ones we get elsewhere) means that we have to waste time trying to scan them to see if there is a genuine message (as per the note on our left-hand column). Mass e-mailings are to us simply a waste of resources that - were it technically possible - probably should get the same treatment as unsolicited faxes relating to which the US does impose fairly severe penalties on the basis of the annoyance and cost (paper and printing out) they impose on recipients. Faxes, can of course, be tracked back to a company whereas e-mails can't so the best default position is probably just to ignore them, a sound default position in our view for anything emanating from the NAB in view of its general habit of pushing propaganda to the limits of truth.
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Previous Wharton:
Washington Post report:

2007-11-23: UK media regulator Ofcom is proposing to ease its local programming requirements for commercial radio stations and also allow smaller stations to share a large proportion of programming, apart from breakfast time, with other nearby stations.
The plans, listed in "The Future of Radio - The Next Phase" follow responses to Ofcom's 'The Future of Radio' consultation published in April this year and will be subject to a further consultation with a deadline for submissions of December 21 this year after which Ofcom will publish the outcome of the consultation and then update current localness guidelines and contact each commercial radio licensee regarding these changes.
In the 249 page report, Ofcom's Chief Executive Ed Richards and chairman Lord David Currie comment in a foreword that "Over the last three years radio has occupied two parallel universes" - one the experience of millions of listeners for whom things have seldom been better and another that of station owners who have been facing declining revenues and also increased transmission costs because of the partial migration of radio to digital.
They note that "The current [regulatory] framework is designed to ensure that commercial radio in the UK serves diverse tastes and interests; that it meets the needs of local audiences and that it is protected by ownership rules from the kind of excessive concentration which would jeopardise the plurality of voice which audiences value highly. In the 2003 Communications Act, Ofcom was also given the responsibility to expand the scope of radio. "
"Achieving this balance," they say "requires Ofcom to make judgments about the likely further development of digital radio. In The Future of Radio consultation document we argued that while it is not yet time to consider establishing a date for a switch-off of analogue radio, we need to think about providing the flexibility for such an outcome. This remains a subject of the utmost importance, but it is also one which requires the direct involvement of Government, as well as Ofcom, broadcasters, manufacturers, consumers and other stakeholders."
Ofcom says on this basis it is delighted that James Purnell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has recently announced the formation of a new Digital Radio Working Group, to carry forward this discussion.
In its localness proposals Ofcom says it has decided "protect a minimum amount of local radio programming" and adds that it "is not convinced by the argument that the market alone would provide this content without regulatory intervention."
On this basis it is proposing that all FM local radio stations should provide at least ten hours of locally-made programming each weekday - its original proposals were for four, eight or 13 hours of local programmes depending on market size - but also to allow smaller stations to share a large proportion of this programming (outside breakfast) with other nearby stations; including breakfast) and at least four hours on Saturdays and Sundays and allow them outside of locally-made programming requirements to broadcast network programming for a maximum of three hours a day during weekdays at day time and more at weekends.
Richards commented of the proposals, "Our research shows that localness is still important to listeners and we believe that this should be protected…"We are confident that our revised proposals strike the right balance between easing financial pressures faced by industry and safeguarding the interests of listeners."
In regard to the Digital Radio Working Group, this is expected to include representatives of government, Ofcom, the BBC, Channel 4, commercial and community radio; transmission operators; manufacturers and listener representatives: It will consider under what conditions digital listening will be the norm, the barriers to digital's growth, and how the barriers can be tackled.
Purnell said in a statement, "Digital radio offers more choice to consumers and the British radio industry is leading the world in the transition to digital. There would be great advantages for both consumers and business to completing that transition, but there are also a number of obstacles.
"I have asked the group to develop a consensus about whether, how and when those obstacles could be overcome."
Previous Currie:
Previous Ofcom:
Previous Richards;
Ofcom report (1.07 MB 249 Page PDF):

2007-11-23: The BBC Unions are to ballot their members on a call for industrial action following moves by the corporation to push ahead with plans for compulsory redundancies: They had dropped plans for such a ballot last month after the corporation backed down on plans to start cutting 2,500 posts without consulting unions.
The unions - BECTU, the NUJ, and Unite - say their decision was prompted by a BBC Vision - the TV production division - announcement that it was to begin selecting people for compulsory redundancy, despite the fact that more than 300 people expressed an interest in taking a voluntary pay-off. In a joint letter to the BBC they say they are prepared to suspend the ballot if the BBC will suspend its compulsory redundancy process and enter into meaningful negotiations.
The BBC in response says it will not negotiate under duress and adds that given the information it has provided to the unions they will understand "exactly why we cannot suspend the process of selection for compulsory redundancy."
"Industrial action," it says, "will not serve the licence fee payer not will it change the economics of running the BBC."
NUJ General Secretary, Jeremy Dear, said: "We've been very clear with the BBC that any attempt to force through compulsory redundancies will result in a ballot for industrial action. Our members are already deeply concerned about the strain they will be put under as a result of the BBC's cutbacks. Now management is piling on the pressure by leaving thousands of people uncertain about whether they will have a job in the New Year, even though it appears that many of these cuts could be dealt with through voluntary redundancies. "
He added, "When a negotiated settlement is within reach it is madness for BBC to force experienced staff out the door. At a time when the BBC needs top-class management it is suffering from poor decision making. We urge the BBC to rethink its decision which makes a mockery of the voluntary redundancy process and to come back to the table to discuss how we can deal with these changes without resorting to industrial action."
The Unions say they were told 343 staff had volunteered for redundancy in News, and 303 staff in Vision, more than the BBC's target for cuts of 328 in News but fewer than the 440 it wants in Vision, but the corporation will not guarantee that those who have come forward as volunteers will be allowed to go. In addition to these cuts, the BBC is also threatening compulsory redundancies in BBC Scotland; the World Service, and other areas and plans to withhold unpredictability allowances from new staff from the beginning of next year and also change the pension scheme from April 2010.
Unions want the trawls for volunteers extended, and more effort made to retrain and redeploy threatened staff in the 700 new jobs that the BBC plans to create in the next five years and BECTU General Secretary Gerry Morrissey said, "The BBC has left us with no option than to ballot our members for strike action. I am confident that we will get an overwhelming 'Yes' vote and that very successful strike action will take place at the beginning of January."
The BBC issued a statement saying it was "difficult to understand, particularly given the very positive position with volunteers in some areas of the BBC where compulsory redundancies are now much less likely, why our unions (NUJ, BECTU and UNITE) have decided to ballot for strike action. It's important to say that the vast majority of staff will not be affected by the proposed job reductions."
"A strike," said the BBC "will inevitably hurt the people who pay for our services. It will not change the overall economics of the BBC. The bottom line is that increasing expenditure in one area means reducing it in another."
Previous BBC:

2007-11-23: Administrative staff at Indian state broadcasters Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR), who had walked out on Tuesday, called of their action on Thursday following assurances by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting P R Dasmunsi that their demands will be taken up by the Group of Ministers within a week.
The administrative workers want pay parity with engineering and programming employees whose scales have been increased. Programme transmissions were not affected by their action.
Previous AIR:
Previous Indian Radio:

2007-11-22: The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found that Macquarie Bank Limited (MBL) and Macquarie Regional Radioworks Pty Ltd (MRRW) were in breach of Australian media control rules from 5 September 2005 to 8 May 2006 but that no criminal offences were committed and no further action needs to be taken.
The breaches occurred in relation to a AUD 9 million (then USD 6.7 million) loan to facilitate Elmie Investments Pty Ltd 's purchase of five regional radio licences in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and centred on whether Macquarie had been in a position to exercise control over Elmie as this would have taken it over permitted ownership limits in each of the licence areas involved (See RNW Feb 21, 2006). The licences were subsequently sold in 2007.
The ACMA found that there were breaches until May 8, 2006, when the terms of the deal were revised in reaction to concerns it had raised in relation to convertible notes held by Macquarie Regional Radioworks that the ACMA found had no effective block on conversion, thus giving it voting interests that exceeded 15%.
The ACMA added that it accepted statements by both Macquarie companies and their directors concerning legal advice given to them that the finance arrangements did not at any time give rise to any issues of non compliance and also that during the period of the breach Elmie's owner Stuart Simson retained actual control of Elmie.
ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said of the ruling, "ACMA regards compliance with the media control rules as a most serious obligation placed on licensees under the Broadcasting Services Act. Industry participants should be aware that ACMA intends to closely examine any future arrangements which mirror the several elements observed in this investigation. Any such examination would have particular regard to the new provisions in the Act which give further guidance as to the circumstances in which control might exist.2
Previous ACMA:
Previous Chapman:
Previous Macquarie Bank/Macquarie Media:

2007-11-22: Minority-owned private equity firm Georgetown Partners L.L.C., which has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make it a condition of any approval of a Sirius-XM merger that it require the combined entity to turn control of a fifth of their combined channels over to a minority-controlled entity (See RNW Nov 14) has now accused the satellite companies of misrepresentation in their filings to the FCC and has also played a political support card in terms of obeying the same indecency rules that apply to terrestrial broadcasters.
It specifically accuses them of misrepresenting the record of support and opposition to the merger and also of "failure to address the fact that not a single third party entity that is on record with the FCC opposes Georgetown's proposed solution to the fundamental flaws in Sirius/XM's proposed merger, as currently structured."
In its filing Georgetown comments, "If this merger is approved as structured, the Commission will have approved the creation of a single entity with control over all 300+ nationwide satellite radio broadcast channels, thereby enabling this entity to exclude any programmer or message, for any reason, from the national satellite radio marketplace. This would be the first time such absolute control in this country is created over such an important and fast-growing medium."
It goes onto say that Sirius and XM urge the Commission to reject Georgetown's minority-based spectrum divestiture remedy, citing, in part, "...the impressive record of content providers and organizations representing the interests of underserved communities supporting the merger", a response that Georgetown says it based on an incomplete and of date reading of the record that is very different from the picture shown by a complete and current review.
Georgetown also refers to what it terms "the risk to family-oriented programming from a Sirius/XM satellite monopoly, in light of Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin's long track record of promoting programming considered by the FCC to be indece

November 2007 Archive

Prime Radio Stations Streams are Real Audio in most cases: Some have Windows Media as well. Radiofeeds UK -for comprehensive list of UK broadcast radio stations on the Internet

Prime Radio Stations
Streams are
Real Audio in
most cases: Some have Windows Media as well.

Radiofeeds UK -for comprehensive list of UK broadcast radio stations on the Internet