May 2008 Archive
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June 2008
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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 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?
RNW March comment - Considers copyright in view of increased feed for Internet broadcasters and the possibility of their introduction for terrestrial radio in the US and suggests we would benefit from different classes of copyright.
2008-05-31: GCap Media has sold its Xfm South Wales station to local group Town and Country Broadcasting, which already owns Wales stations Radio Pembrokeshire, Radio Carmarthenshire, Scarlet FM (Llanelli), Swansea Bay Radio and Bridge FM (Bridgend) for an undisclosed sum.
The sale has already taken effect and according to the UK Guardian the new owners are to re-brand the station Nation Radio and plan to move it from its current Cardiff base - it is co-sited with GCap's Red Dragon FM - to their studios in Neath.
Town & Country Broadcasting's group managing director Martin Mumford said the purchase represented a key strategic move that would allow it to enter the Cardiff market.
Town and Country was one of the original bidders for the licence and the UK Guardian said Town and Country's chairman and chief executive Jason Bryant, a former development director at Virgin Radio and managing director of talkSPORT, said that the station would be a "younger Virgin Radio" aimed at a mainstream audience of 15 to 44-year-olds and added, "It makes us a big and real presence in the marketplace and gets us into Cardiff, which is obviously crucial for us. We are very confident about making this into a big station. This is not a marginal station - this is going to be mainstream."
Town and Country has to change the name of the station as Global Radio, which is due to take over GCap on June 6, is retaining the Xfm brand and the Xfm stations in London, Scotland and Manchester.
GCap had put all the stations except for the London one up for sale in February as part of cuts, that also included the closure or sale of its digital stations The Jazz - which closed at the end of March - and Planet Rock (Sold - see RNW May 30) - announced by its outgoing chief executive Fru Hazlitt (See RNW Feb 11).
Previous GCap Media:
UK Guardian report:
2008-05-31: Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has made an undisclosed offer to buy Clear Channel's sports-talk station WTEM-AM and two other AMs - WWRC-AM and WTNT-AM, which carry syndicated political talk shows and infomercials - according to the Washington Post citing unnamed "people familiar with the discussions."
The paper says that the deal if it went through would give Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting - which it describes as a "fledgling but problem-plagued" radio operation a lock on the sports radio market in the Washington area: It notes that WTEM was the Redskins' flagship station for several years in the 1990s, before Snyder purchased the team and later set up his own radio company to control the team's broadcasting and adds that the three stations Red Zebra already owns -- known as Triple X ESPN Radio -- are so weak their broadcasts can't be heard without interference in many parts of the area.
The signal problems, says the paper, led to complaints from fans and Snyder tacitly acknowledged the problem last season by striking a deal with Clear Channel to place Redskins game broadcasts on Clear Channel-owned WBIG-FM, whose signal carries across the region.
It says the current talks grew from that deal but that a purchase of WTEM would only ease, not solve, reception problems since the station's reduced night power makes it hard to hear in parts of Northern Virginia.
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Red Zebra:
Washington Post report:
2008-05-30: GCap Media has sold its digital station Planet Rock to an unnamed buyer according to Queen lead guitarist Brian May who in a posting on his personal web site says that he had "just found out that GCAP, the owners of Planet Rock, have sold the station to a third party, without so much as mentioning their change of plan to us."
May adds that his side had been finalising arrangements with GCap's lawyers having agreed the principles of a deal a few weeks ago but then heard a rumour that someone else was involved.
"Planet Rock is now out of reach," he continues. "All I can say is I'm shocked and hugely disappointed. What a way for people to behave. I suppose that's what you can expect from the corporate world these days."
He then adds, "We have no idea if the people who have bought Planet Rock plan to keep it running or not. I guess we can just hope that it will still be 'saved', but without us ... It's such a shame ... we had such plans..."
When May announced earlier this month that he was involved in a rescue bid he commented to the UK Guardian that he regarded Planet Rock "as rather more than just a radio station - it is a symbol of free radio ... radio which is not run by large corporate organisations for the purpose of making tons of money, and has a free choice of what it plays."
GCap had posted no details of any sale when we last checked.
Previous GCap Media:
Brian May web site:
UK Guardian report:
2008-05-30: According to the UK Daily Telegraph, Canwest, which became the first non-European media company to be awarded a broadcast licence in the UK when it won the Solent regional licence (See RNW Sep 6 2005) and then won Bristol and Aberdeen licences with its Original brand, has put all the stations up for sale.
The paper adds that the move could also hit Channel 4 Radio's planned launch of its national digital radio network before the end of the year as Canwest has signed up to provide one of 10 stations on the 4 Digital national commercial multiplex
The paper quoted Rick Hetherington, president of European Operations at Canwest, as saying, "We have been approached about the stations, and anything is for sale at any time at the right price" but adding that Canwest was not in discussions to give up its slot on Channel 4's digital radio service, which is to be filled by an Original-branded station.
Previous Canwest:
Previous Channel 4:
UK Telegraph report:
2008-05-30: Irish radio drama is set to get a boost through a new "Dramarama" initiative for radio broadcasters and independent production companies announced by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) in conjunction with Learning Waves, a network member organisation representing all of the Independent Commercial Radio Stations in Ireland.
Dramarama is a series of 3-day workshops, which will run this summer, aimed at providing participants with the tools and the creative confidence to begin producing radio drama.
They will be organized regionally by Learning Waves to introduce and address the subjects of writing and production of drama for radio and will be led by experienced script writers, directors and actors.
The programme is a joint initiative of BCI Sound & Vision and Learning Waves and participants will be encouraged during the seminars to submit final applications for production funding to the BCI Sound & Vision Special Scheme.
BCI Chief Executive Michael O'Keeffe said of the initiative, "In the early rounds of Sound & Vision, it became apparent that there was a shortage of skills in the genre of radio drama. The Dramarama project, which is being funded under the Special Schemes element of Sound & Vision, is designed to address this skills gap. Through the Dramarama Special Scheme we aim to provide participants with the tools, practical guidelines and creative confidence to begin producing radio drama."
Previous BCI:
Previous O'Keeffe:
2008-05-30: UTV-owned talkSPORT has announced that Ex-Nottingham Forest and Liverpool striker, Stan Collymore is to join the station from the 7th June, the start date for the UEFA Euro 2008 soccer championships.
Collymore, who has been a soccer pundit with BBC Radio Five Live, is to get his own nightly show and a Saturday show in which he will interview top soccer personalities.
He will also be a match summariser on the station's Barclays Premier League and Champions League soccer coverage from the next season - starting in August.
At talkSPORT he will be re-united with the station's Director of Programmes, Moz Dee, who left Radio Five Live, where he was managing editor, in November last year (See RNW Nov 13, 2007).
Previous UTV:
2008-05-30: Arbitron, which announced last week that it had signed a Seattle Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings deal with Sandusky (Bellevue Radio - See RNW May 24) has now announced a similar deal for the company's Phoenix stations.
The deals will take effect when Arbitron introduces the PPM commercially into the markets and adds five more stations - KDKB-FM, KDUS-AM, KSLX-FM, KUPD-FM and KAZG-AM.
Previous Arbitron:
2008-05-29: Clear Channel Communications has announced that all the funding for the reduced price buy-out deal with private equity partners led by Bain Capital Partners, LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. is now in escrow with The Bank of New York.
Under the deal Clear Channel shareholders will receive USD 36 per share rather than the USD 39.20 agreed when shareholders voted to accept the deal in September last year (See RNW Sep 26, 2007) making the total for the company USD 17.9 billion rather than USD 19.5 billion. The company had already announced that the banks involved in the transaction had fully funded the debt portion of the financing and that it was ending legal action against them (See RNW May 23)
Clear Channel has now to put the revised deal to its shareholders and says it expects the deal to close in the third quarter of this year.
Previous Clear Channel:
2008-05-29: The US Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) has publicly supported "posting", announcing that its board has passed a resolution "enhancing Radio's accountability that includes recommended selling and schedule verification guidelines to create a stronger relationship with advertisers and accommodate the diverse and highly targeted nature of the Radio industry."
RAB says the resolution was endorsed at its semi-annual Board of Directors meeting in Los Angeles last and aims "to put to rest the debate for posting in Radio and instead focuses on delivering an outline for sound business principles and practices that will benefit Radio's standing in the media space."
Its President and CEO Jeff Haley commented in a release, "This is the beginning of a longer process around gaining greater credibility for Radio. We will work closely with the buying community and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA's) to develop and refine our proposal into a set of sound business practices that will enhance advertisers' confidence in Radio while protecting our industry."
Peter Smyth, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Media and Chairman of the RAB Board of Directors, added, "We put extreme effort into putting forth guidelines that are intentionally broad in scope, while providing advertisers and their agencies with accounting and verification practices of the highest integrity. We are very encouraged by the willingness of RAB member groups to engage in this discussion and institute accounting principles that will advance Radio."
In its "overview" of the proposals RAB comments, "The development of more stable measurement technology and the greater call for accountability mandate the need for an industry wide business practice. Radio advertisers have always received fair treatment from broadcasters but have not had the benefit of verification or a make good guarantee that other media have provided."
Amongst the guidelines RAB says among other things that:
*Radio Broadcasters will guarantee the GRP delivery of a schedule on a market basis, based on total audience delivered by the end of the schedule.
*Advertisers and Radio Broadcasters will agree on posting criteria before a schedule runs, including the verification of audience delivery and the accepted margin of error.
*Audience Estimates and post-buy analysis should be based on the broadest, most stable data available.
*Radio Broadcasters will be accountable proportionally for make-goods if the market delivery falls below previously agreed criteria.
Previous Haley:
Previous RAB:
Previous Smyth:
2008-05-29: The Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio - C3SR, self-described as the "only consumer group in existence today solely dedicated to advocating on behalf of satellite radio subscribers, has asked the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to "commence an investigation leading to appropriate enforcement actions" against Sirius and XM Satellite Radio, saying that the call is based on "certain new information" provided to the FCC by Sirius in a April 10 submission.
The group, which filed an opposition to the merger in October last year (See RNW Nov 5, 2007) was set up shortly after the two satellite radio companies announced their plans to merge and soon afterwards Corporate Crime Reporter reported that it appeared to be run not so much by law students and consumers as its site claimed but by a founder who works full time at the lobbying arm of law firm Williams Mullen (See RNW Apr 3, 2007). Mullen represents the US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in its opposition to the merger.
In its letter, which it has posted on its website, the organisation says "Highly Confidential" documents submitted by Sirius -redacted for public inspection to protect propriety information regarding its work on creating interoperable receiver requirements as required by each company's original licensing authority - "cast the proposed merger in a very negative light and call into question the truthfulness and candour of both Sirius and XM with respect to their dealings with the commission as licensees and during this proceeding."
It comments that in the absence of a merger, interoperability "would have improved the performance of the satellite market by increasing competition" but this improvement goes if the merger is approved.
RNW comment: Another case of NAB duplicity it would appear. And for any organisation that has any dealings with NAB to accuse any other organisation of lack of candour???
Previous C3SR:
Previous FCC:
Previous NAB:
Previous Sirius:
Previous XM:
C3SR web site:
2008-05-29: In a revamp of its daily consumer programme "You and Yours", BBC Radio 4 has announced that former BBC Radio Five presenter Julian Worricker is to join the programme, which will become less studio based and will broadcast more frequently from outside locations.
Until September 2007 Julian Worricker presented Worricker On Sunday on BBC Radio 5 Live, after which he left to travel around the world.
He, Winifred Robinson and Peter White, will each present an edition of the programme throughout the week and veteran John Waite, who has been with Radio 4 since 1986, will no longer be a regular presenter of the programme but will still appear on it presenting the station's investigative series "Face The Facts." Current regular presenters Liz Barclay and Sheila McClennon will leave the programme although Radio 4 says they will "continue to have a presence on other parts of the network."
The programme was launched in 1970 and attracts a weekly audience of around three million:
BBC Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer said of the changes in a release, "We're delighted to be welcoming Julian Worricker to You And Yours. It is one of the most important programmes on Radio 4, consistently broadcasting impeccably researched consumer stories. The programme's journalism often has a direct impact both on public policy and on the lives of its listeners."
The programme's editor Andrew Smith added, "You And Yours has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Julian is an excellent live, on-location broadcaster and his patient, intelligent approach to interviewing people of all kinds will be a further asset to the team."
Previous BBC:
Previous Damazer:
Previous Worricker:
2008-05-28: ESPN has fired Mark Madden from his Pittsburgh 1259 ESPN talk show following comments he made last week when it was announced that Senator Edward Kennedy had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Madden, who made his reputation with "bold, outlandish attacks on famous people" commented of the news at the start of his show last Wednesday, "I'm very disappointed to hear that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumour. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated."
It adds that at the urging of station general manager Mike Thompson, Madden apologized over the air for his remarks about two hours later but Thomson said no punishment would be imposed, commenting, "The fact is we took action right away. Frankly, it was a comment that was stupid. He admitted that. I don't think it requires any such thing as [discipline]."
The paper adds that at corporate level ESPN took a different view and his dismissal was ordered from ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.
ESPN's vice president for public relations Josh Krulewitz was quoted by the paper as saying the dismissal was within its contractual rights and added, "We had a chance to regroup and review the situation and consider it more thoroughly from all perspectives. This is the decision we have made, and we feel it is the right one."
The Post-Gazette notes that Madden had not been head on air on his 15:00 to 19:00 show since his comments appeared in it on Friday. It notes that after his replacement on Friday by Jim Colony, who usually did the sports news on Madden's show, and weekend host Ken Laird, the Monday broadcast, unlike that on Friday, dropped the "Mark Madden Show" description. It was co-hosted by Eddy Crow, co-host of the "Junker and Crow Show," heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Chris Mack, a producer who also co-hosts Pittsburgh GameNight and does hockey hotline shows.
The paper adds that Madden had been warned about his on-air manners in December after a listener sent in a tape in which he was especially rude
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report:
2008-05-28: A Federal judge has granted Clear Channel a temporary restraining order stopping its former executive Andrew Friedman from working for Tribune Co. on its broadcast operations.
Clear Channel had launched a lawsuit claiming that Tribune was involved in stealing trade secrets when it hired Friedman, who had been involved in its online business (See RNW May 23) and Crain's Chicago Business quoted Judge Joan Gottschall as saying that the company would "undoubtedly suffer irreparable harm if the (temporary restraining order) is denied and Friedman uses the knowledge of interactive content strategies for the benefit of Tribune" whereas Friedman "will suffer little to no harm, other than being unable to work in his chosen profession for a few weeks."
The parties are due to appear in court Wednesday to set a hearing date regarding Clear Channel's request for a preliminary injunction to keep Mr. Friedman away from Tribune until next year: The company claims that his contract had included a non- compete clause.
Tribune commented in a statement, "The court made no findings of wrongdoing by either LocalTV (The Tribune subsidiary for which Friedman went to work) or the Tribune, and both will continue to resist Clear Channel's attempts to interfere with their mutual business interests."
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Tribune Co.
Crain's Chicago Business report:
2008-05-28: UK media regulator Ofcom has again upheld no radio complaints in its latest bulletin in which it upheld three TV standards complaint, considered another resolved through action taken by the broadcaster and posted details of four TV fairness and privacy complaints that were not upheld.
Ofcom also listed without details 216 TV complaints against 154 items and 29 radio complaints against 29 items that it did not uphold or were considered out of its remit: This compares with 402 TV complaints- 127 against one programme -against 153 items and 28 radio complaints against 20 items that it did not uphold or were considered out of its remit in the previous bulletin.
Previous Ofcom:
Previous Ofcom Complaints Bulletin:
2008-05-27: This week we start our look at print comment on radio with three articles that from different continents and points of view suggest problems for commercial radio.
The first, from the UK Media Guardian blogs, under the heading "Commercial radio: stop blaming the Beeb" began with comments from Paul Smith who after introductory remarks referred to "commercial radio's addiction; the need for someone to blame" and then continued: "A few have tried to slap the industry into sense including Fru Hazlitt, outgoing chief executive of GCap. Cast your mind back to last November when Hazlitt was appointed: The industry needs to stop distracting itself by worrying about the BBC... we have beaten the BBC for years in the past. We should focus on our core objectives and let the BBC focus on theirs."
"Nobody listened," continued Smith, "least of all Hazlitt's chairman Richard Eyre, who yesterday at the Radio 3.0 conference in London, called for the privatisation of (BBC) Radio 1 and Radio 2."
As for Eyre's suggestion that he, like us, obviously considers misbegotten, he writes, "The fact is this, in the nuttiest of shells: you can't privatise Radio 1 and Radio 2. Hand these two networks over to commercial radio, and they would instantly cease to exist. Commercial radio would never invest the money required to maintain the quality and diversity of output because there isn't a business model in existence that could generate the revenue required and profit desired."
And irrespective of the funding, he also notes that "unless there was a fundamental change in the laws of reality, commercial radio management could never preserve the character of either station; an inherent element of that character is the lack of 15 minutes of adverts every hour and breakfast sponsored by Soreen Fruity Malt Loaf. Instead of broad, deep, rich content, the UK would enjoy nationwide versions of Capital Radio and Magic 105.4. That's not a slight at either station, but only Mad Jack McMad would claim nothing had been lost."
He then concludes, "Commercial radio isn't "hamstrung" by a lack of national mainstream outlets at all; it's hamstrung by navel gazing, a lack of long-term strategy and a conscious decision to allow advertisers to determine fundamental programme decisions. Commercial radio needs to go cold turkey and stop blaming the BBC for its sorry lot in life."
Many of the comments posted agreed with one not only commenting on the adverts' presence but their nature: "Most of the youth commercial channels have adverts threatening to crush your car if you don't pay your road tax and Emily the student from London who thinks our army forces are doing a good job (I go to college in London and believe there are no Emilys in my college) and also the advert reminding us not to bring sausages in from foreign countries when coming home from holiday (add that to your holiday list suncream bathers books and yes don't bring back sausages)and then the new ones telling us how much to drink and on and on advert after advert of government propaganda threatening us 5 minutes a hour it is no wonder people are not listening - I listen to radio to be entertained not to be constantly reminded that a live in a police state."
Another was more forgiving of adverts:" I think I could suffer the necessary evil of ads on commercial radio if they tried to put out programming that was actually worth LISTENING to, rather than background aural wallpaper."
And another one dissented suggesting that there wasn't much choice from the BBC for those in their teens and early 20's or "an old geezer" who doesn't like Radio 2 but even then there was a sting in the tail: "Commercial radio needs more diversity instead of 70 odd local stations which all sound the same. This is why I think networking is a good idea. Oh, and to stop playing tracks they played only 15 minutes ago."
That last comment would seem in tune with one from Sutton Stokes in his Missoula Notebook in "New West Community Blogs". Writing on "radio on a journey", he comments about a trip he made from Missoula to Flagstaff with "with nothing but the radio to entertain you."
Noting that in such circumstances it is "important not to be too picky" he continues, "These days, as you scan up and down the radio dial, you are unlikely to find anything other than a commercial or an echoey voice explaining how the United States is "no longer" a Christian nation. So when you do find an actual song playing, it is important not to worry too much about what particular song it is and how much you think you will enjoy listening to it, and instead consider what clues this song offers as to the kind of radio station you have found. In other words, the particular song you have found may be awful; you might never normally choose to listen to such a song; but will a station that plays this song play others that you might actually like?"
"As we wound our way through narrow mountain valleys, and as large human settlements became fewer," he writes, "my choices of radio stations became even more limited. Up and down the radio dial, all I could find was preaching and static for minutes at a time. Now, stir crazy, alone with my thoughts in my king cab, I was glad whenever I found any station I could hear, never mind whether it was playing a commercial. The banal poetry of commerce lulled me into a peaceful trance. "Misses' tops, twenty nine ninety nine." "The drive-in is open during our renovations."
Which of course could be considered a recommendation to try satellite radio but enough of that and on to a school that has banned radios during classes. The school is in Rio Vista, Texas, and according to a report by Phillip Navarrette in the Cleburn Times Review a Middle School sixth grader had complained that a song being played during a PE class - rapper Lil Wayne's Lollipop song - was "inappropriate".
She said the PE teacher had given students permission to turn on the radio while they played but she was rebuffed in response to three complaints with the teacher listening a short while but saying she didn't hear anything inappropriate.
The sixth grader then complained to her mother who complained to the principal who has now banned radio music during classes on the basis that there is no control on what might be heard. Only music from sources such as CDs or tapes is now allowed in classrooms. The pupil's father - this is America after all - told the paper he had consulted an attorney but was unsure about taking legal action against the school district. The report, we regret to say, does not say what station was involved nor give any details to indicate how far the version of the song played had been toned down for airing at the time of day - the lyrics of the song (easily found online) would suggest that it would not normally be aired in the "raw" version.
Rather more offensive but unlike song lyrics constitutionally protected is talk host Michael Savage, subject of "The Most Savage Shock Jock of Them All" on AlterNet -which is producing its first ever book on "Shock Jocks: Hate Speech & Talk Radio."
The article by filmmaker and journalist Rory O'Connor and Aaron Cutler is an excerpt from the book and details various comments by the host - born Michael Alan Weiner to Russian-Jewish immigrants and possessor of two master's degrees and a Ph.D. in nutritional ethnomedicine from the University of California, Berkeley.
Apparently before he became a right-wing radio host he kept company with beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti; guarded Timothy Leary's LSD supply, and once posed naked in a photograph with Ginsberg, a well-known and very public homosexual.
The article describes the current Savage as a "homophobic, conservative" who has become so extreme that fellow conservative hosts such as Bill O'Reilly, who calls him a "smear merchant," and Neal Boortz, who refers to Savage as "the Antichrist" have attacked him whilst he in turn has attacked almost everybody - comments cited include a description of CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, an Israeli-born Jew as "probably the most despicable man in the media next to Larry King, who takes a close runner-up by the hair of a nose. The two of them together look like the type that would have pushed Jewish children into the oven to stay alive one more day to entertain the Nazis."
They also include such gems as saying the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami deserved the devastation because they were harbouring terrorists and of Arabs that the "racist, fascist bigots" should be converted to Christianity because "Christianity has been one of the great salvations on planet Earth. It's the only thing that can probably turn them into human beings."
Of his listeners the article quotes New Yorker editor Ben Greenman as saying, "People who listen to Savage say that he's a little extreme but that some of the things he says are also true. I think his show does encourage you to think for yourself, because he's so weirdly contradictory."
Finally to end on a positive note, a little luck for US National Public Radio which had a team of nine including "All Things Considered" co-hosts Melissa Block and Robert Siegel in Chengdu when the earthquake struck. They were there to prepare a series of stories for a programme on China's culture and emergence as an economic superpower but instead ended up raising the station's profile with their reports from the scene.
Block, reports Paul Farhi in the Washington Post, was "recording an interview with a clergyman in a church meeting room in Chengdu when she felt the building begin to shake. As she ran into the street, she kept her tape recorder going, narrating as she fled. ("The ground is undulating under our feet. . . . Bricks are falling from the building.") The audio of the moment was carried on NPR within two hours, making it among the first recordings of the disaster heard beyond China. It was later played on other news outlets, such as ABC's "Nightline."
On then to listening suggestions, which are primarily BBC although we will try and update later if we get time to listen to some of the podcasts we download.
First BBC Radio 3 and last Saturday's "Music Matters" in which Petroc Trelawny investigated the place of classical music in fiction and why it appeals to authors and also from Saturday "Jazz Line-Up" in which Julian Joseph presented a special concert given at the 2008 Coventry Jazz Festival by the BBC Big Band in celebration of its 10th birthday and "Between The Ears -A Map of Paradise", a feature on the notion of paradise - lost, sought and found.
Then from Sunday we suggest "Drama on 3" -" The Vertical Hour" by David Hare and the "Sunday Feature" - "Paradise or Nightmare - DH Lawrence in Cornwall" in which Lawrence biographer John Worthen looked at the writer's retreat to Cornwall following the controversy over his novel The Rainbow and the horrors of World War I
From Monday we suggest "Night Waves", a special programme on censorship plus "The Essay" - the regular Monday to Thursday 22:00 GMT programme - this week it is "New Archaeologies", a series of personal essays about the archaeology of the recent past.
Then from Friday, another of our regulars in "Jazz on 3" (22:30 GMT): This week Jez Nelson presents a special edition of the programme, exploring the rich avant-garde jazz scene of Holland
And finally from the station, next Saturday's "Feature" (11:15 GMT) -"Burney and Hawkins" in which Peter Holman explores an 18th-century tale of personal rivalry, character assassination and ruthless social climbing, bringing to life the characters of musical historians Charles Burney and Sir John Hawkins.
Later "Jazz Line-Up" (15:00 GMT) comes directly from the Inventions Studios as part of the Bath International Festival 2008 and in the evening "Opera on 3" ( 17:30 GMT) is performance given at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in April of the world premiere of Harrison Birtwistle's latest opera" The Minotaur."
Moving down a station BBC Radio 2 had a strong evening line-up on Monday with "The Record Producers" at 18:00 GMT looking at musicians who have carved out a second career; "Kaiser Chiefs Coming Home" - highlights from the Kaiser Chiefs' concert recorded at the Elland Road soccer stadium in Leeds at 19:00 GMT; A "Tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton" at 20:00 GMT; "Big Band Special" at 21:00 GMT; "Jools Holland" - a special on Chess Records - at 21:30 GMT and "Brass Britain" at 22:30 GMT.
Also from Radio 2 we'd suggest Tuesday's "Icons Revisited" on David Bowie.
Then to BBC Radio 4 and forensics to start off with in the form of this week's "Law in Action" from Tuesday (available as a podcast/MP3 or stream) and less legalistically LA Stories in which in "The Pitch" Paul Jackson talks to various insiders about persuading a US TV network to consider a new idea - including Anthony E. Zuiker's version of how he got the idea for CSI, which was turned down by two networks before CBS picked it up. The stories continue on Wednesday with a look at how producing most pilots during the same period causes logistical problems and then to Thursday with a consideration of whether the industry can continue to produce fully-blown pilots that never make it to air and extended series that are axed before broadcast.
Also from Radio 4 we suggest the afternoon 14:00 to 14:30 GMT half-hour with stories from the Hay Literary Festival followed in "Cosmic Quest" with a history of astronomy.
For music from the channel we go for the "Music Feature" from Tuesday: "Lost Albums" looks at the stories and music behind a number of albums that were never released including that of an unreleased solo album "Bambu" by Beach Boy Denis Wilson that fell victim to a lack of finance and competition from other Beach Boys' projects. It's finally due to be released this year, around a quarter of a century after Denis's death.
RNW note: We expect to update listening suggestions with non-BBC podcasts/MP3.
RNW note: We expect to update listening suggestions with non-BBC podcasts/MP3 downloads.
Previous Columnists:
AlterNet - O'Connor & Cutler:
Cleburn Times Review - Navarrette:
New West Community Blogs- Stokes:
UK Media Guardian blog:
Washington Post - Farhi:
2008-05-27: According to the UK Times, Channel 4 Radio is pinning part of its hopes for its digital radio plans on a branded plug-in DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) device for iPods and mobile phones and is in talks with manufacturers to create an E4 - the first channel it plans to launch - or Channel 4-branded device that will cost no more than GBP 20 (USD 40).
Since it won the licence for the second national commercial digital multiplex last year, a number of commercial rivals, notably GCap Media whose announcement that it was to close a number of digital stations led the BBC and Channel 4 to pledge support for DAB (See RNW Feb 12) , have reduced their commitment to digital broadcasting.
Channel 4 is reported to have held talks about co-operation with Global Radio, which has nixed GCap's plans to dispose of its interest in the national Digital One commercial multiplex, about combining their transmission services (See RNW Apr 17).
The Digital Radio Working Group - formed with representatives from the BBC, commercial radio, Ofcom, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and equipment manufacturers - to discuss the future for DAB is, says the Times, understood to be keen for an increase in the types of DAB devices available to consumers with a particular concentration on encouraging manufacturers to make DAB receivers standard in new automobile.
Roberts Radio has already produced a DAB plug-in for iPods - the ROBi - but this sells for around GBP 45 (USD 90) and PURE has produced the Highway DAB receiver cum FM transmitter that allows existing automobile FM radios to receive a DAB signal and costs around GP 60 (USD 120).
There has also been concern in the UK about the technical quality of DAB - the system removes interference that affects an analogue signal but at the 128mbps transmission rate chosen for most stations produces a signal inferior to that of a quality well set up FM system and it also lacks coverage in many rural areas (As some of the comments made in response to the Times report indicate).
Previous Channel 4:
Previous Global Radio:
UK Times report:
2008-05-27: The US Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concerning Equality of Employment Opportunity (EEO) says the "Commission's current EEO enforcement program is a stunning failure" and adds that the agency should require annual Employment Reports and that gathering EEO Data Will Lead to Better Commission Policy and Enforcement.
To back up its description it cites statistics from the Radio-Television News Directors Association ("RTNDA") which found that minorities comprised 21.5% of local television news staffs in 2006, down from 22.2% in 2005; that at non-Hispanic stations, RTNDA found that the minority workforce was 19.4%, down 1% from the previous year, 31 and only 3.6% of non-Hispanic television stations had minority general managers in 2006.
In radio the position was far worse it says: In 1995, the RTNDA reported that minorities were 14.7% of radio news employees, but that number actually had declined to 6.2% by 2006 and starting from this percentage, the MMTC has calculated that minority news employment at non-minority owned, English language radio stations is statistically zero - about where it was in 1950.
"How was it possible," it asks "for minority employment in radio journalism to completely collapse?
"The answer begins with the fact that most recruitment is still done by word of mouth. When the group of employees conducting word of mouth recruitment is homogeneous, the recruitment primarily reaches these employees' generally homogeneous family and social affinity groups. As a result, the homogeneity of employment rosters will increase."
It continues, "Because the Commission has chosen not to collect Form 395 data, it has blinded itself to whether word of mouth recruitment by a particular licensee is harmless or harmful. As a result, the Commission has "enforced" the EEO rule by imposing enormous fines on some of the nation's most diverse multicultural broadcasters for technical violations."
"This understandably." it adds "has bred cynicism among broadcasters, who are barred from pointing out the obvious fact that with a diverse workplace, their recruitment efforts have obviously been successful. At the same time - as shown above - the Commission has given a free pass to virtually every discriminator and serial violator. In a particularly deplorable example, the Commission botched its only large MVPD EEO case in 15 years by missing its own statute of limitations by two years."
"Thus, the Commission's current EEO enforcement program is a stunning failure. The
Commission has presided over the greatest purge of minorities in broadcasting history - a purge made even worse because it happened in radio journalism, a linchpin of program diversity. To restore the health of its EEO enforcement program, the least the Commission can do is reinitiate transparent EEO data collection."
Previous FCC:
MMTC web site - links to download of filing (10-page 205KB PDF):
2008-05-26: XM Satellite Radio, which earlier this month in its first quarter figures said that it had made a net loss of USD 129 million and had total available liquidity of nearly USD 425 million (See RNW May 13), has now warned in an 8C filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that a deal with Major League Baseball (MLB) could reduce "the company's unrestricted cash liquidity, and could have an adverse effect on our financial position."
XM has a multi-year agreement with MLB under which it has to keep USD 120 million in escrow - or "furnish other credit support" to this amount - and says that on May 16 it provided USD 120 million for an "escrow arrangement "from current operating funds - USD 57.5 million in cash and USD 62.5 million through borrowings - to replace a surety bond that expires at the end of June. It adds that it is "continuing to have discussions with MLB about this escrow and related matters and there may be further developments" and notes: "Interest under our revolving credit facility is currently 6.00% and is based on the prime rate. All amounts drawn under the facility are due on May 5, 2009 and are secured by a lien on substantially all of our assets."
XM says that under its business plan as it has previously announced, provided it meets projections, it does not anticipate any need for additional liquidity but that the plan assumes "the refinancing or renegotiating of certain of our obligations as they become due, including the maturity of our existing credit facilities and $400 million of convertible notes in 2009 and the MLB escrow arrangement."
XM's a deal with MLB involved it in paying USD 60 million a year for programming rights starting in 2005 and running for five years with the right to extend for another three years and also keeping the USD 120 million in escrow. The MLB deal was announced in October 2004 (See RNW Oct 21, 2004).
Previous XM:
2008-05-26: SMG-owned Virgin Radio ran without adverts on Monday, a UK Bank (Public) Holiday when its programming was sponsored by Magners Irish Cider.
Programming during its "Great British Bank Holiday Monday" that ran from 06:00 to 18:00 featured only British artists and bands.
Previous SMG:
2008-05-25: Last week was one when the regulators were more active in terms of reports and research than decisions and where in the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin J. Martin, having said two months ago that the decision on the Sirius-XM merger might come in the first quarter now says it might come in the second (See RNW May 24).
In Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) posted no radio decisions but amongst its other activities it posted a report - "Top Six Trends in Communications and Media Technologies, Applications and Services - Possible Implications" - on the six major technology trends that it says it has identified as ones it believes will have a significant impact on regulation of the media and communications sector over the next five to ten years.
They were an accelerating pace of change; diversity in the development of physical infrastructure; the spread of distributed connectivity; enhanced content and network management capabilities; the emerging Social Web; and continuing scientific and technological innovation.
ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said of these, "Changes in communications technology are out-pacing our notions of what we thought was possible just five years ago, let alone what guidelines or legislative frameworks would be required" and added, "This should not be seen as a criticism of the legislature - it is the very nature of convergence that it gets away from us and leads us to unexpected places in a veritable nanosecond. Regulatory pressure created by developing technologies is starting to bite into core legislative concepts and definitions, creating strained or 'broken concepts'. Ultimately, their 'elasticity' will expire at which time they will no longer function efficiently or effectively in a converged environment."
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) posted a number of radio-related decisions including the following (in order of province):
Manitoba:
*Approval of application by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to replace its AM transmitter at Pukatawagan, which re-broadcasts the programming of CBWK-FM, Thompson, with a 200 watts FM transmitter.
The CRTC noted that the Mathias Colomb Cree National Chief and Council has advised the CBC that the CBDS site is contaminated and they will proceed to decontaminate it by June 2008 with the result that the FM transmitter needs to be operational by this date.
Nova Scotia:
*Approval of application by International Harvesters for Christ Evangelistic Association Inc. to add a 250 watts FM transmitter at Wolfville to carry the programming of CJLU-FM, Halifax.
Ontario:
*Approval of application by United Christian Broadcasters Canada to add a 250 watts transmitter at Bancroft to carry the programming of CKJJ-FM, Belleville.
*Approval of application by Larche Communications Inc. to decrease the power of CICX-FM, Orillia, from 43,000 watts to 10,600 watts; relocate the transmitter and increase the antenna height. The new site would be where the company has another station and would result in considerable cost savings.
Prince Edward Island:
*Approval of application by International Harvesters for Christ Evangelistic Association Inc. for a licence for a 50 watts English-language, low-power specialty commercial FM in Charlottetown, with a 50 watts re-broadcasting transmitter in Summerside.
In Ireland, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has received three applications for a classic rock FM licence for the Dublin area (See RNW May 24) and in the UK Ofcom has received just one application for the North Wales digital multiplex - from Muxco North Wales Ltd (See RNW May 24) and earlier it awarded the Somerset digital multiplex licence to Muxco Somerset Limited (See RNW May 22).
It also announced the award to Qualcomm UK Spectrum Ltd. of L-band spectrum covering the UK that can be used for a range of services including mobile television and satellite radio or high-speed Internet on the move (See RNW May 20).
On the community radio front Ofcom announced the award of five new licences and also noted three cases in which it did not make awards.
The new licences went to:
TCR FM (Tamworth, Staffordshire) - offering a voluntary service providing education and training alongside locally focused music and speech-based programming that is aimed at younger people in the area.
Switch Radio (Castle Vale, Birmingham) - offering a community radio service which will address social isolation and deliver skills training and education locally.
Ambur Radio (Walsall) - a community station focused on the Asian communities but it will also provide some programming for the whole community, including other minority ethnic groups.
SACDA Radio (Sandwell, West Midlands) - offering a community radio service that produces and delivers programmes for African Caribbeans and other residents of the culturally diverse area of Sandwell.
Raaj FM (Sandwell, West Midlands) - a service to the Sandwell Panjabi community, with information and programmes for the varied social, cultural, educational, youth, religious, music, sports, disabled and minority activities and interests of this community.
The three bids that did not gain licences came from Okay FM (Rugeley & The Haywoods, Staffordshire); Saddlers FM (Walsall); and WCB FM (Walsall)
In another decision, Ofcom rejected a request from UTV to co-locate its Stockport station, Imagine 104.9 FM, with three other stations - Tower FM, Wish FM and Wire FM - that it already houses in Warrington. The regulator has allowed a number of similar requests for smaller stations recently and its guidelines say there is likely to be a stronger case for co-location where one of the stations has a licensed area with a population of fewer than 250,000 although it does not rule out such requests for larger stations in exceptional circumstances.
Imagine has a measured Coverage Area of 463,000 and because of this larger area Ofcom commissioned a four-week public consultation (See RNW Licence News Apr 6) which ended on 1 May and attracted 22 responses split evenly for and against the proposal.
Six responses, it says, including two from industry parties arguing that the station should be able to stand alone in its market, were confidential: The others have been posted on its website and Ofcom notes that most of the "yes" responses were from station advertisers wishing to secure the station's presence.
In refusing Ofcom said that a station for an area as large as this should, as per the spirit of the guidelines, be expected to operate studios within its own licensed area; that there is insufficient evidence of cultural affinity to warrant a challenge to that expectation; and that UTV did not convincingly demonstrate that co-location is required to ensure the financial viability of the station concerned.
Ofcom also published its "Nations & Regions Communications Market 2008" report, its third annual review of the markets for television, radio, and telecommunications.
In this it headlines the growth of broadband, noting that rural areas, which had been significantly behind urban ones, had now caught up and slightly overtaken them and that in larger cities there was a growth in homes relying on mobile phones only. Over the UK as a whole it said, 87% now have a fixed-line phone - from 92% a year ago - and of 12% that rely solely on mobile phones there is an increasing ability to access broadband through wireless technology.
In all it says a fifth of adults have now 20% of adults have accessed the internet using a mobile phone and 17% have used a mobile phone to listen to audio.
It also noted the increasing use of broadband to download video - nearly a third of UK adults it says have now taken advantage of such services; increasing take-up of digital TV -now in more than 85% of UK households, up 10% year-on-year; and of digital radio - some 20% of UK adults now report having a DAB radio.
In regional terms people in Wales listen most to radio - an average of 24.4 hours per week listening compared to 23.5 hours in England, 23.1 in Northern Ireland, 22.9 in Scotland.
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), apart from stil making no announcement regarding the planned Sirius-XM merger, has denied Applications for Review related to InterMart Broadcasting's Auction 25 bids for new FM Stations in Pocatello and Twin Falls, Idaho.
Idaho Wireless Corporation and Astounding Productions, Inc. were respectively the second highest bidders for the Pocatello and Twin Falls licences and had argued against the grant of the licences on similar grounds.
In Pocatello InterMart mad a down payment on its winning bid of USD 955,000 in time but Idaho Wireless filed a petition to deny on the basis that various agreements between InterMart and Citicasters Co. raised a substantial and material question of fact as to whether Citicasters was the real party in interest behind InterMart Pocatello's application. InterMart had disclosed the existence of these agreements to allow it to obtain a loan from Citicasters and also reported that it contemplated entering into a Joint Sales Agreement with Citicasters.
In Twin Falls, where InterMart made a winning bid of USD 838,000 it had entered into similar agreements that Astounding said raised the same issues.
In refusing to allow the applications to deny the FCC said that IWC and Astounding had not raised a substantial and material question of fact that Citicasters was the real party in interest behind InterMart's auction applications or in the auction.
Democrat Commissioner Michael J. Copps issued a concurring statement but in so doing notes his ongoing concern about the "Commission's approach to the type of "real party in interest" allegations raised in these cases. "
"The question," wrote Copps "is whether a person other than the applicant will be in a position to actually or potentially control the operation of the applicant's station. In making that determination, the Commission historically has examined whether the applicant has retained control over the station's basic policies regarding programming, personnel, and finances."
He continued, "It is not so much the standard itself but the application of the standard that gives me pause. These cases seem to have an air of unreality about them. They involve a wide range of potentially significant relationships-from the funding of auction bids to Local Marketing Agreements to Asset Purchase Agreements. Yet short of a written statement from the applicant stating "I hereby surrender control over my station's programming, personnel and finances," one gets the feeling that almost no combination of factors would cause this Commission to bat an eye."
The FCC was also involved in a number of enforcement actions including the following (In descending order of amount of penalty proposed or levied).
*Issued USD 8,000 forfeiture to Phillips Broadcasting, LLC, licensee of WAOC-AM and WFOY-AM, St. Augustine, Florida, for failure to maintain and make available complete public inspection files.
Phillips was issued with a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) for this amount in April and did not respond.
*Issued USD 1,500 forfeiture to Central Carolina Community College, licensee of WDCC-FM, Sanford, North Carolina, for failure to file its renewal application on time. The college had responded to an NAL for this amount by saying that the failure was unintentional and resulted from a failure by an employee who prepared the submission before the deadline to push the "send button." The FCC did not accept the argument and confirmed the full penalty.
*Issued USD 800 forfeiture to Martha S. and Miguel G. Campos of San Jose, California, operating a modified CB radio station on a frequency not authorized for CB use.
The Campos's had initially been issued with an NAL for USD 10,000 but argued that they were not aware of the severity of their violations, and that they do not have the ability to pay the forfeiture.
The NAL had been issued following various warnings linked to complaints of interference and the FCC rejected the former argument but reduced the penalty on the basis of ability to pay.
*Issued USD 800 forfeiture to Southern New Mexico Radio Foundation, licensee of WPXT310 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, for failing to operate station, an aural studio-transmitter-link, from its licensed location. It had initially issued an NAL for USD 4,000 but Southern had argued for reduction on the grounds that it displays a high level of public service, which should mitigate the forfeiture, that the statutory factors requires reduction of the forfeiture, that the fine is disproportionate to the nature of the offence, and that Southern does not have the ability to pay the forfeiture. The FCC accepted only the inability to pay argument and reduced the penalty to USD 800.
*Issued USD 350 forfeiture to Richard Ross of Titusville, Florida, for operating an unauthorized CB radio transmitter. Ross had initially been issued with a USD 10,000 NAL following oral and written warnings after complaints of interference but had continued to use his equipment, which was connected to an amplifier that had the capability to boost the power of the station to several hundred times the authorized power. The penalty was reduced on grounds of demonstrated inability to pay.
Previous ACMA:
Previous BCI:
Previous Chapman:
Previous Copps:
Previous CRTC:
Previous FCC:
Previous Licence News:
Previous Ofcom:
ACMA web site:
BCI web site:
CRTC web site:
FCC web site:
Ofcom web site:
2008-05-24: US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin J. Martin on Friday indicated that a decision on the Sirius-XM merger could be announced in the second quarter of this year but has refused to go into any further details.
His comment came when pressed by reporters but in March in similar circumstances he indicated a potential date of the first quarter.
In the meantime lobbying by various interests continues with the latest letters to the FCC on the topic including one earlier in the week from Missouri Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill and Maine Republican Olympia Snowe expressing concern that the merger could "possibly undermine competition and harm the consumer if certain conditions are not applied."
They are suggesting that a merged company be required to divest up to half of its spectrum and that the FCC should ensure open access to their technology so that other equipment manufacturers can develop satellite receivers and there is no block on the development of receivers that can handle both satellite signals and HD.
In another line [this does read like a National Association of Broadcasters' handout!] they want the commission to re-affirm its position that the satellite radio services are licensed as national ones and say the satellite services should be barred from using terrestrial repeaters to allow different local content in local markets.
RNW note: Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said earlier in the month when it and XM released their results that he might call off the merger if conditions proved too onerous (See RNW May 13) and divestiture of half the spectrum would certainly ruin the business plan behind the merger. It might have been more straightforward of the Senators to simply call for rejection "in line with lobbying by the NAB."
The value of the deal was around USD 4.6 billion when it was first announced in February last year but has now fallen to around USD 3.8 billion. Sirius shares were down 1.5% on Friday to close at USD 2.59 whilst those of XM were down 0.18% to US D11.02. Under the deal Sirius is offering 4.6 of its shares for each of XM.
Previous FCC:
Previous Martin:
Previous Sirius:
Previous XM:
2008-05-24: The US has lost yet another Smooth Jazz station with the flipping of Clear Channel's Baltimore WSMJ-FM to a Rock Alternative format after a short period airing Christmas tunes.
The station's web site carries a note saying "Thank You Baltimore! for your years of loyal support" and saying "All your favourite smooth jazz artists can be found on the air at 97.1 HD2 Wash -FM" with a link to the latter's web site.
WSMJ is to change its call letters to WCHH from May 29 and will have a website www.channel1043.com - not yet up and running. The station's shows will include Elliot in the Morning, currently on Clear Channel's WWDC-FM (DC101), Washington and WRXL-FM, Richmond.
Previous Clear Channel:
WSMJ web site:
2008-05-24: The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has received three applications for a classic rock FM licence to serve Dublin City and County and the Commuter belt.
They are from East Coast Digital Media Limited's "Classic Rock Radio"; Classic Rock Broadcasting Limited's "Radio Nova 100" ;and Dublin Rock Radio (Classic) Limited's "Rock Radio 100.3FM."
The applications will be put online from June 6.
In the UK, Ofcom has announced yet another area where the only application for a digital multiplex licence has come from a Muxco consortium. It is from MuxCo North Wales Limited which is 70% owned by Town and Country Broadcasting Limited with Muxco Ltd holding the remaining 30%.
The application proposes a podcast service from Folder Media Limited plus six local services in addition to BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru and would launch with network of two transmitters which Muxco estimates will provide total 'outdoor' coverage of 50% of the adult (aged 15+) population of the licensed area.
The services proposed are:
Coast FM - a Classic Hits service from GCap Media.
Champion FM - A Current and Classic Hits service from GCap Media.
Wales Live - a full service offering from Town and Country Broadcasting Ltd.
UCB UK - a Religious service from United Christian Broadcasters Ltd.
Traffic Radio - English - a traffic and travel service with the provider to be confirmed.
Traffic Radio - Welsh - a traffic and travel service with the provider to be confirmed.
Previous BCI:
Previous Muxco:
Previous Ofcom:
2008-05-24: A radio advert for Ginsters taking the line that exotic pasties are better than exotic holidays has won the top British radio advertising award, the Gold Aerial at the 13th such award ceremony held by the UK Radio Advertising Bureau, now part of the industry body The RadioCentre. The advert was also one of the India, Italy and Mexico series that won the Best Campaign award.
The advert is voiced by comedian Justin Lee Collins, produced by Sam Brock and created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty: It suggests that holiday sightseeing in India might not be that great compared to sampling exotic food at home. The script runs: "Experience India. Learn the Mysteries. Like where's the nearest English pub. Why not explore the exotic markets of New Delhi? Well, because you're scared of getting lost. Visit the incredible Taj Mahal - or just stay by the pool. After all, it's the tan that will impress your sister-in-law. Exotic India. You might as well not have bothered. Abroad - nice in theory, better in pastry. Try our delicious new Indian pasty for a vaguely Indian Experience. Ginsters: real honest food".
Other winners were Best Direction for a Bisto award from McCann Erickson; Best Sound Design for an advert for The Times from RKCR/Y&R; Tactical for a Honda advert from Wieden & Kennedy; and Multimedia for a Network Rail advert from RISE:
MP3s of the adverts together with the runners up are on the RAB web site.
Previous RadioCentre/RAB:
RAB web site - Aerial Awards - carries MP3 of Ginsters ad and links to other winners and their MP3s:
2008-05-24: Arbitron has announced yet another deal for its Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings service when this is commercialised. The latest deal is with Bellevue Radio Inc., (Sandusky Radio) which has signed a multi-year contract for PPM ratings services for its Seattle stations KIXI-AM, KQMV-FM, KKNW-AM, KWJZ-FM and KRWM-FM.
Arbitron has also re-affirmed its intention to make a decision next month regarding a change in its PPM commercialisation schedule.
Previous Arbitron:
2008-05-24: Hard on the heels of GCap Media's announcement that its Chief Executive Fru Hazlitt and board are to step down once the Global Radio takeover of the company is completed, another GCap executive has opted to leave the company.
Australian-born Duncan Campbell, GCap's programme director who formerly held the same role at GWR before it merged with Capital Radio to form GCap, is to become a regional programme director for Bauer Radio with responsibility for its Edinburgh stations Forth One and Forth 2.
He replaces Luke McCullough who has moved to Bauer's Northsound in Aberdeen.
Previous Bauer:
Previous GCap Media:
2008-05-23: Clear Channel's buy-out is now funded according to a release from the company that says the bank syndicate providing the debt financing for its acquisition by private equity buyers led by Bain Capital Partners, LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. has fully funded the debt for the USD 17.9 billion - USD 36 per share- deal.
The deal had originally been for USD 19.5 billion - USD 39.20 per share- but at that level put the banks into an immediate paper loss of billions of dollars based on a market price that hovered around USD 29030.
The bank syndicate involved - Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia - had a deadline of Thursday to comply with a settlement agreement agreed in connection with lawsuits filed in New York and Texas against them and have to May 28 to place financing into an escrow account, pending completion of the transaction.
The banks and buy out partners have agreed that Clear Channel Communications can specifically enforce all contracts related to the merger against any party and the legal action and appeals have been terminated.
Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays said in a release that the actions "actions significantly increase the certainty that our merger will close" and added, "Cash on the barrelhead for one of the largest LBOs in history is an enormous win for our shareholders."
In other disputes involving Clear Channel, the company has gone to court against Tribune Co. over its hiring of its former vice-president Andrew Friedman earlier this month, claiming that Tribune was involved in stealing trade secrets when it hired Friedman, who had been involved in its online business.
The federal law suit seeks to stop Tribune from employing Friedman in any Internet-related post until at least the end of the year when his employment contract with Clear Channel ends and also to restrain Clear Channel from inducing any other Clear Channel employees to break an employment contract.
Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman was quoted in its flagship the Chicago Tribune as saying the suit was worthless and adding, "We're finding that there are a lot of people who want to come work for the new Tribune, and we're going to hire the best of them, we're going to do it lawfully and we're not going to be intimidated by frivolous lawsuits."
Tribune had not publicly announced its hiring of Friedman as vice-president of its interactive division and according to the suit he "was deeply involved in the formulation and implementation of the confidential plans and strategies that Clear Channel uses to develop, market, implement, and distribute its online offerings."
Clear Channel alleges that he shared information with Tribune employees about business strategies and vendors and also deleted thousands of files and e-mails from his computer and it seeks the return of any documents including confidential information as well as damages.
Its EVP and chief legal officer Andrew Levin said in a statement, "Clear Channel will not tolerate the Tribune's interference with valuable business contracts belonging to our company and intends to pursue all legal remedies available to put a stop to it."
Previous Clear Channel:
Previous Levin:
Previous Mark Mays:
Previous Tribune Co.:
Chicago Tribune report:
2008-05-23: Arbitron at its monthly Portable People Meter (PPM) update call on Thursday defended the system as making "steady and solid improvement" in opening comments from its SVP/U.S. Media Carol Hanley and also received backing from CBS Radio President and CEO Dan Mason.
Hanley said that Arbitron continued to "exceed total sample benchmarks and the 18-54 guarantees that have been put forth," adding, "We are making, meeting, or exceeding 91 percent of the 18-34 age cell benchmarks across eight markets, and there is continued progress in April with the 25-34 and 18-24 demographic. All good news."
Responding to criticism of the lack of Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation and other PPM problems from Cox Radio, Inner City Broadcasting and Spanish Broadcasting System (See RNW May 22) Mason said the MRC approval, although it was a "great Good Housekeeping seal of approval-type thing" was not "currency" which he defined as the "the consensus between a buyer and a seller."
CBS Radio he said had "taken the stand that we want better measurement, and we like electronic measurement because it's the future. It's the future of the television industry -- it's already here -- it's the future someday in the outdoor industry, it's the future in the streaming industry, and we're going to be accountable, which means posting. So we've already decided that, and we're moving that train forward."
Mason also noted past and current services that had operated without MRC approval including Media Audit - used by "at least one of the major companies here that are very much against PPM" - and also Nielsen's C3 television ratings and the comScore and Nielsen NetRatings for streaming products.
Mason also, in response to a question from Arbitron president, Sales and Marketing, Pierre Bouvard, defended radio in general against criticism that it didn't work now, noting that it still covers 95% of America, "touches people every day" and provided services that other devices could not match.
"I mean, how useful was an iPod during [Hurricane] Katrina?" he asked. Noting that Entercom's WWL/New Orleans was the "only voice in Katrina" and adding, "It's absolutely absurd for people to say that a satellite or an iPod could ever replace the role of a local radio station."
He also noted of satellite radio that last year Sirius had USD 35 million of advertising-based revenues, which was "about one good, decent radio station in New York City. So before the satellite industry takes down the whole radio industry, they have to beat one station in New York."
There was some backing, however, for the naysayers with BMP Research Director Rosemary Scott saying she was concerned that "people who question the methodology of the PPM, including some very valid research questions, are treated -- I won't say with contempt, but they're treated as though we don't want electronic measurement, or as though we are not for technology or moving the industry forward."
He motivation, she said, was getting it right and Bouvard said Arbitron appreciated the feedback, commenting, If we didn't have customers giving us good input on what to focus on, we would be adrift. So all of this focus on PPM is very important because we're getting great feedback on what we need to focus on. So we need the feedback, and that's why we're doing these calls."
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Bouvard:
Previous CBS:
Previous Mason:
Previous Media Rating Council:
2008-05-23: Broadcast magazine's Radio 3.0 conference has been told by outgoing GCap Media chairman Richard Eyre, who stressed that he was speaking in a personal capacity, that the BBC should sell off its Radio 1 and 2 and put more cash into online initiatives targeted at young people.
The UK Guardian quoted him as saying, "If GCap is worth GBP 375 million (around USD 750 million) then Radio 1 and Radio 2 must be worth a billion (USD 2 billion)" and adding, "I know this is an enormous and hideous proposal for the people who have built them. But look - BBC management does not own Radio 1 or Radio 2 any more than I own GCap."
Commenting on the financial pressures on the corporation - rivals want part of its licence fee to be used to fund public service broadcasts on commercial channels and a reduced licence fee settlement, Eyre said the BBC could no longer do everything and said he would "much rather that they established their real priorities and attended to those excellently rather than sighing deeply and knocking 10% or 15% off everything" and said the money spent on the stations should be re-directed to online activities for young people whom he said the corporation neglected.
RNW comment: One wonders about the motivation of people like Eyre in calling for a sale of BBC stations and consequent diminution of the corporation and the degree to which this, despite any protestations to the contrary is to do with reducing competition combined with the perception of a possible financial opportunity. From our point of view it is a significant benefit to listeners to have a non-commercial player as well as commercial ones and we still take the view that although it is preferable to have both the sector that is least important in the UK is the commercial one, which has much less range.
Also speaking at the conference was Channel 4 director of radio, Bob Shennan who said he believed that E4 Radio, the first of its planned digital stations, would still launch this year. The launch has been postponed from an originally scheduled July launch and Shennan did not give a new date for launch.
"We believe we are going to launch E4 Radio in 2008, but because of the negotiations and conversations going on that involve pretty much every aspect of the radio industry and Ofcom, I think it's wise for us to hold our counsel on a precise date," he said, adding, "We would all love [a launch date], but there are short-term issues that are crucial issues that have to be overcome. I think it is really important that we see this as a long game for the future of radio. We are continuing to plan for the launch [of E4 Radio] in 2008."
Shennan, who denied suggestions that the radio division was diverting funds from core TV services, said that Channel 4 was still planning on a 2009 launch for its next two stations, Channel 4 Radio and Pure4.
Previous Channel 4:
Previous Eyre:
Previous Shennan:
UK Guardian report:
2008-05-23: US radio revenues in the first quarter of this year were down 5% on a year ago at USD 4.498 billion according to the US Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) which notes bright spots in network and off-air revenues.
Network revenues were up 7% to USD 274 million and Off-Air revenues rose 15% to USD 388 million but their increases were overwhelmed by a 6% fall in local revenues to USD 3.186 billion and not helped by an 11% fall in national revenues to USD 649 million - combined local and national revenues were down 7% to USD 3.836 billion.
Putting a brave face forward RAB's President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Haley commented, "Radio has always served a wide variety of advertising categories. We are encouraged that 1st Quarter has brought new and returning advertisers to Radio. Aggressive pursuit of brand extension opportunities, new programming formats, and interactive on-demand experiences, maintains Radio's relevance and provides advertisers a recession-resistant outlet to engage their consumers.",
The RAB said the fall in spending reflected the US economy in general with weakness in some areas and growth in others. It noted that in the markets that report advertiser detail to Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co. political advertising brought in nearly USD 20 million to boost bottom lines.
Other growth areas compared to a year ago were Insurance where companies increased their spending by 24% to USD 170.1 million; Specialty retail whose spending was up 20% to USD 57.8 million; Professional services, also up 20% - in its case to USD 129.3 million; and beverages - up 12% to USD 122.2 million.
Previous Haley:
Previous RAB & RAB figures (Apr 2008):
Previous RAB Quarterly figures (2007 and final quarter 2007):
2008-05-23: Cumulus Media has announced a new stock re-purchase programme allowing it to spend up to USD 75 million in buying back its Class A Common stock.
The company had indicated when a private equity purchase deal fell through that it would examine a stock repurchase (See RNW May 13) and its chairman, President and CEO Lew Dickey said in a release, "This new repurchase program once again demonstrates the confidence of the Board of Directors in the future of Cumulus and our belief that, based upon our assessment of the future prospects of Cumulus, our shares are currently undervalued. The Board feels strongly that further repurchases of our shares offers an excellent opportunity to enhance the long-term interests of Cumulus and our shareholders."
In another stock repurchase change, Emmis Communications has announced that its previously announced USD 50 million stock repurchase plan, authorized in August 2007 for Common Stock, has now been extended to add its Preferred stock to the plan.
Previous Cumulus:
Previous Dickey:
Previous Emmis:
2008-05-22: GCap Media has formally announced that its chief executive Fru Hazlitt is to step down when Global Radio completes its acquisition of the company, which is expected to take place on D-Day (June 6): It adds that when the acquisition is completed it intends to dissolve its current board and that Chairman Richard Eyre will step down alongside other Non-executive Directors Peter Cawdron, Tony Illsley, Sir Peter Michael, Peter Williams and Peter W Williams.
The company says that following discussions with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), it has been agreed that the assets of GCap and Global should be "held separate" while a regulatory review is completed and that Global's Chief Executive Ashley Tabor and Chairman Charles Allen will temporarily step down from those roles in order to take on the same responsibilities at GCap from June 9th.
Hazlitt commented in a GCap release, "The past year at GCap has been an extraordinary one. Despite the obvious challenge of taking on the role of Chief Executive just as we received a bid for the company, I believe we have achieved a lot and that the strategy we outlined in February has been a catalyst for change in the radio industry."
She added, "I have been impressed and humbled by the professionalism and determination of the team here and will always have the greatest of respect and admiration for what they have accomplished. This is a great business with a tremendous future and I wish the new management team every success."
Eyre commented, "The leadership Fru has provided for this company in the most testing of circumstances has been exceptional. She has exceeded the high expectations of the board. On behalf of the GCap Board, I wish the Global team success. We pass on to them some of the finest assets in UK media, a business with a refreshed and contemporary strategy, and most importantly, a world class team of people."
Global Radio announced that Richard Park will become its acting chief executive; COO Don Thomson will become acting chief operating officer and Owen McGartoll acting chairman during the "hold separate" period.
Tabor commented that Global would be in "great hands" during the period and said, "I look forward to completing the acquisition of GCap Media and starting to work with the great team there."
Previous Allen:
Previous GCap Media:
Previous Global Radio:
Previous Eyre:
Previous Hazlitt:
Previous Park:
Previous Tabor:
2008-05-23: North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan, who is heading Senate opposition to US media consolidation, together with Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy and Wisconsin Democrat Herb Kohl are asking the Government Accountability Office to conduct a "comprehensive study on the state of media in this country and the impact of increased media consolidation."
In a letter to GAO acting comptroller Gene Dodaro the Senators comment that there has been "galloping concentration" in US media and add that it is "high time we examine the real-life impact this consolidation has had on what Americans see, hear and read."
They add, "We worry that the percentage of independently produced and owned content on media outlets will continue to fall, thereby limiting the number of distinct media voices."
The senators want the GAO study to look at the sources of programming on radio and TV and subscription video services and how these have changed over the past decade, the factors affecting this including programme distribution and the impact of consolidation on independent producers and also the role the Internet plays in providing an outlet for independent programmes.
Previous Dorgan:
2008-05-22: Arbitron's commercial development of its Portable People Meter (PPM) radio ratings service has come under further pressure with the launch by Cox Radio and Inner City Broadcasting of an advertising campaign criticizing the system as being untrustworthy and the hiring by Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) of New York-based communications firm MirRam Group to "raise awareness regarding the potentially devastating impact of Arbitron's Portable People Meter on Spanish-language radio stations across the United States."
Cox and Inner City in their campaign compare acceptance of the PPM ratings to flying a plane that has not been certified by the Federal Aviation Authority and noted failure by Arbitron to gain Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for the system except in Houston.
The adverts say the US radio industry is ready for reliable, scientifically vetted Electronic Measurement but that Arbitron has shown - with some stations left out in Houston and sampling problems in Philadelphia - that it can't even handle two PPM markets and asks, "How can we trust them in radio's richest markets?
The PPM ratings have come under attack for their effect on ethnic stations and SBS noted "serious doubts" about the PPM in measuring Hispanic listening.
Arbitron has said that it is committed to gaining MRC accreditation for the PPM system but is continuing to agree contracts for its use without waiting to get accreditation outside the Houston market.
Previous Arbitron:
Previous Cox Radio:
Previous Inner City Broadcasting:
Previous Media Rating Council:
Previous SBS:
2008-05-22: UK sales of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) receivers have now topped seven million according to latest figures from Gfk released by the UK Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB) which says that at the end of April cumulative sales reached 7.05 million following a record Christmas period and growth of 28% year-on-year in quarter one, 2008.
DAB receiver sales are currently running at around two million a year and priced have fallen dramatically as new products have come to market - there now more than 300 DAB products available in the UK and the entry price has fallen to under GBP 15 (USD 30) , although the average price is considerably higher.
More than a tenth of all UK radio listening is now via DAB according to latest UK ratings.
Previous DRDB:
Previous Gfk:
2008-05-22: iBiquity appears to have gained some traction south of the border with an announcement of a "T