August 2008 Archive
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2008-08-31: Last week was rather busier than of late for most of the regulators albeit it was a matter of routine postings rather than any major developments in general although in Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Agency (ACMA) has released a draft of an Australian Radiofrequency Spectrum Plan for public comment and in the US the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is asking for comment on the idea that satellite radio receivers should be forced to build in an HD digital radio reception capability.
The plan would replace the current plan which was developed in 2005, and cover new spectrum opportunities for international mobile telecommunication, space research activities, radio astronomy, mobile-satellite services and harmonisation between space and future terrestrial services. The changes were agreed internationally at the International Telecommunication Union World Radiocommunication Conference held in October to November 2007.
Changes have also been proposed to reflect domestic developments, mainly associated with enhancing future flexibility for anticipated growth in radiocommunication services in Australian.
On more earthbound matters the ACMA has varied its Local Area Plan for Mudgee in New South Wales under which the Mudgee 2GEE commercial service will become available to listeners in the Ilford and Pyramul townships.
Under the change, 2GEE will move the site of its Kandos/Rylstone translator and gain an extended licence area towards the Bathurst and Lithgow although there will be no signal overspill into these areas. The overlap with the licence area of the remote commercial radio services 4RBZ and 4RBL will increase.
Giles Tanner, General Manager of ACMA's Inputs to Industry Division said that in "making its decision, ACMA took into consideration that neither Pyramul nor Ilford currently receive a licensed commercial radio service. ACMA believes the changes will allow people to enjoy the benefits of commercial radio that they did not have before, whilst also limiting the level of signal overspill into any neighbouring licence areas."
The ACMA has also found that two Queensland community services that it investigated following the receipt of complaints failed to encourage community participation.
Bundaberg Burnett Community Broadcasting Association Inc, the licensee of Bundaberg temporary community broadcasting service 96.3fm was the subject of other complaints including licensee's failure to keep a record of programs broadcast; broadcasting advertisements; and not continuing to represent the community interest but these were not upheld.
The ACMA noted that this was the first time that the licensee has breached a licence condition since the initial allocation of a temporary community broadcasting licence in December 2002 and said it does not propose to take any formal enforcement action but will continue to monitor the licensee's compliance with its licence conditions.
In the second case Tenterfield & District Community FM Radio Association Inc .whose 2TEN temporary community licence includes the local government areas of Tenterfield in New South Wales and Stanthorpe in Queensland, was also subject to a complaint that it was failing to represent its community interest,
This complaint was not upheld but it was found not to have formal structures in place to ensure that it was encouraging participation from members of the community in all aspects of the operations of the service.
The ACMA noted that 2TEN had already made improvements, including the establishment of formal sub-committees and has asked it to provide a report in February 2009 on the measures it has taken since the investigation was finalised to meet its licence obligations.
In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) posed a number of radio related decisions including (In order of province):
Alberta:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of low-power English-language religious FM VF8020, Rimbey.
British Columbia:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of English-language, low-power FM VF2467, Squamish.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Kispiox First Nation Community Radio's English- and Aboriginal-language Type B Native FM VF2065, Kispiox.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Northern Native Broadcasting's CFNR-FM, Terrace, and its transmitters VF2064, Fort St. James; VF2066, Dease Lake; VF2065, Kispiox; VF2078, Lower Post; VF2079, Masset; VF2072, Good Hope Lake; VF2077 Moberly Lake; VF2073, Quesnel; VF2110, Blueberry River; VF2111, Bruns Lake; VF2112, Doig River; VF2113, Fort Ware; VF2114, Iskut; VF2115, Kincolith; VF2116, Kitimat; VF2117, Kitkatla; VF2118 Gitanyow; VF2119, Prince Rupert; VF2120, Telegraph Creek; VF2133, Atlin; VF2134, Canim Lake; VF2135 Kitseguecla; VF2169, Smithers; and VF2235, Williams Lake.
Manitoba:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Arctic Radio (1982) Ltd.'s CHTM-AM, Thompson.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Riding Mountain Broadcasting Ltd.'s CKLQ-AM, Brandon.
Manitoba and Ontario:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Native Communication Inc.'s CINC-FM, Thompson, Manitoba, and its transmitters CICP-FM, Cranberry Portage; CIFF-FM, Flin Flon; CINR-FM, Norway House; CISF-FM, Swan Lake; CISI-FM, South Indian Lake; CIST-FM, St. Theresa Point; CISV-FM, Swan River; CITP-FM, The Pas; CIWM-FM, Brandon; CIWR-FM, Waterhen;
VF2106, Lac Brochet; VF2107, Poplar River; VF2108, Red Sucker Lake; VF2109, Tadoule Lake; VF2167, Pukatawagan; VF2168, Wabowden; VF2174, God's Lake Narrows; VF2175, God's River; VF2195, Cross Lake; VF2196, Berens River; VF2198, Garden Hill; VF2199, Shamattawa; VF2220, Brochet; VF2222, Nelson House; VF2261, Cormorant; VF2262, Duck Bay; VF2263, Grand Rapids;
VF2264, Pikwitonei; VF2265, Split Lake; VF2312, Churchill; VF2313, Moose Lake; VF2314, Oxford House; VF2333, Gillam; VF2334, Fox Lake; VF2335, Lake Manitoba; VF2336, Griswold Manitoba;
VF2337, Easterville; VF2338, Thicket Portage; VF2339, Bloodvein; VF2340, Hollow Water; VF2342, Sherridon; VF2382, Long Plain; VF2404, Jackhead; VF2405, Pauingassi; VF2406, Leaf Rapids; VF2407, Little Grand Rapids; VF2420, Camperville; VF2421, Dauphin River; VF2422, Ilford; VF2423, Lynn Lake; VF2462, Snow Lake; VF2503, Fisher River; and VF2504 Paint Lake - all in Manitoba plus CIKN-FM, Kenora, Ontario.
New Brunswick:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Maritime Broadcasting System Limited's CJCW-AM, Sussex.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2009 of the licence of Type B Native radio station CFTI-FM, Big Cove. The CRTC in making the short-term renewal noted "licensee's uncooperative behaviour in relation to its lack of response for additional information following the receipt of its application to renew the broadcasting licence for this undertaking. The Commission also notes that the licensee has failed to file annual returns over the course of the licence term."
Nova Scotia:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Jack McGaw Consulting Incorporated's low-power English-language travel and tourist service CIRH-FM, Halifax.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Membertou Radio Association Inc.'s English- and Aboriginal-language Type B Native service CJIJ-FM, Membertou.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Seaside Broadcasting Organization's CFEP-FM. Eastern Passage.
Ontario:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of 1333598 Ontario Limited's low-power English-language travel and tourist service CIPR-FM, Pigeon River.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Southern Onkwehon: we Nishinabec Indigenous Communications Society's CKRZ-FM, Ohsweken.
Ontario and Quebec - new stations to serve Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec:
The CRTC at a public hearing in May considered ten applications for new FMs to serve Gatineau and Ottawa, granting two licences. The applications granted were from Astral Media inc. and Frank Torres, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated:
The Astral application was one of four mutually exclusive applications for stations to use 99.7 MHz.
It proposed a 45,000 watts Soft Adult music format to serve Ottawa and Gatineau in competition with applications from Christian Hit Radio Inc. for a 2,400 watts English-language FM commercial specialty (religious) FM to serve Ottawa; Mark Steven Maheu, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated for a 30,000 watts English-language Pop Alternative music commercial FM; and Ottawa Media Inc. for a 4,800 watts English language Adult Album Alternative commercial FM to serve Ottawa and Gatineau.
Frank Torres' application was one of six mutually exclusive applications to use 101.9 MHz or 101.7 MHz and was for a 3,600 watts blues music English-language commercial FM in Ottawa.
Rejected were applications from Corus Radio Company for a 4,100 watts English language news/talk commercial FM to serve Ottawa and Gatineau; Fiston Kalambay Mutombo, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated for a 285 watts French-language Christian music specialty FM to serve Ottawa; Instant Information Services Incorporated to increase the power of English-language commercial tourist service CIIO-FM, Ottawa, which currently operates on 99.7 MHz, from 25 watts to 427 watts/ This would have changed it from an unprotected low-power service to a protected Class A service; Radio de la communauté francophone d'Ottawa for a 718 watts French-language Type B community FM; and Réél-Radio for a 158-watts French-language community-based campus FM in Gatineau.
In a dissenting note Commissioner Michel Morin said he agreed with the Astral Media selection but with choice limited because only two frequencies were available he continued, "After having selected a music station as our first choice, I feel that we should have opted without hesitation for a talk station for the sake of diversity, the competition that we must attempt to encourage and the lack of talk stations on the FM band available to the 700,000 English-language consumers in the Ottawa-Gatineau region."
"Following the Commission's decision," he wrote, "two new music stations will be added to the 12 existing stations, which will result in 14 music stations out of a total of 16... Why must we limit the talk radio market to two stations: the CBC's public station Radio One on the FM band and private commercial station CFRA, owned by CTVglobemedia, on the AM band? Why should 2 undertakings out of 16 comfortably rule over a quarter of the region's total listenership and dominate the FM and AM bands without having to face competition from a new talk station?"
Prince Edward Island:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Jack McGaw Consulting Incorporated's English- and French-language low power travel and tourist CIRB-FM, Confederation Bridge.
Quebec:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Mohawk Radio Kahnawake Association's CKRK-FM, Kahnawake.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Comité de la Radio communautaire huronne Wyandot inc.'s CIHW-FM, Village-des-Hurons.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2010 of the licence of Coopérative des travailleurs CHNC's French-language commercial station CHNC-AM, New Carlisle, and its transmitter CHGM-AM, Gaspé
In making a short term renewal, the CRTC noted that approval has been given to convert CHNC-AM, New Carlisle to FM and add FM transmitters in Gaspé, Carleton, Chandler and Percé and that in June it approved an application by the licensee to acquire the assets of the station - the new FM transmitters were not in operation at the time but have to be on air by March 3, 2010. It therefore extended the licence to the end of the broadcast year in which the new FM has to be operational.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Radio Essipit Haute-Côte-Nord Inc.'s Type B Native radio station CHME-FM, Les Escoumins, and its transmitters CHME-FM-1, Tadoussac; CHME-FM-2, Sacré-Cœur; and CHME-FM-3, Forestville.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2010 of the licence of RNC Média inc.'s French-language commercial station CHLX-FM, Gatineau, and also deletion of conditions of licence relating to its operation within the specialty FM format, which required it to devote at least 70% of its music programming to concert music (subcategory 31); devote at least 15% of its music programming to jazz and blues music (subcategory 34); and devote, in any broadcast week, 15% or more of the station's musical selections from category 3 (Special Interest Music) to Canadian selections, scheduling them in a reasonable manner throughout the broadcast day.
RNC had said the programming it offered attracted only a small audience and prevented the station becoming profitable. It is proposing to offer soft popular music format comprised of ballads and love songs that will enable it to attract a slightly younger audience and strike a better balance between the female and male audiences and also devote at least a fifth of its programming to jazz.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Radio communautaire de Harrington Harbour's English-language Type A community station CFTH-FM-1, Harrington Harbour and its transmitter CFTH-FM-3, Kegaska.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2010 of the licence of CJMS-AM, Saint-Constant. The CRTC notes that the short-term renewal will allow it to assess at an earlier date the licensee's compliance with the provisions of the Radio Regulations, 1986 regarding the filing of annual reports and its condition of licence relating to contributions to Canadian content development.
*Approval of application by Guy Simard, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated for a 17,460 watts French-language adult pop music commercial FM in Montmagny together with a 12,600 watts transmitter in Saint-Fabien-de-Panet, Quebec.
The application had been opposed by La Radio touristique de Québec inc., licensee of French-language low-power station CKJF-FM Québec , which currently operates on the 90.3 MHz proposed by Simard; Corus Quebec, licensee of CFEL-FM, Montmagny , which said the economic climate is not favourable for a new station in the market and said it would serve the area better were the CRTC to approve its application to add an FM transmitter in Montmagny and thus improve its coverage; and by Evanov Communications Inc., which proposed that the station use a frequency that cannot serve Quebec - where only 90.3 MHz and 106.9 MHz could support a commercial radio station serving the general public.
*Denial of application by La Radio touristique de Québec inc., licensee of CKJF-FM and CJNG-FM, Québec, to increase the power of CKJF from 12.7 watts to 79.4 watts and decrease the antenna height. It approved an application to increase the power of CJNG - which is on 89.7 MHz - from 12.7 to 20.4 watts and decrease the antenna height.
The CRTC noted that the power increases would change the status of each service from low-power unprotected services to regular Class A1 services and that they had been opposed by Radio-Classique Québec, Groupe Radio Simard and Evanov Communications Inc. on various grounds.
Radio Classique expressed concern about interference with its 92.7 MHz signal to which Radio touristique responded by saying the Department of Industry considers the applications to be technically acceptable and has made them subject to the customary conditions.
Radio Simard, which has filed an application for a new 17,460 watts commercial FM in Montmagny on the 90.3 MHz frequency used by CKJF and that these are mutually exclusive. Radio touristique responded by saying that the choice of 90.3 MHz in Montmagny was not mandatory as other frequencies, such as 94.7 MHz and 105.3 MHz, would be available.
Evanov noted that available spectrum in Quebec is very limited and that 90.3 MHz and 106.9 MHz are the only frequencies able to sustain a mainstream radio station, with 101.5 MHz as a low-power alternative. It requested denial of the applications because it would be in the public interest to issue a call for applications to use the last available frequencies in the market and because the applicant had not demonstrated that the existing technical parameters are insufficient to allow it to provide the service for which it obtained a licence. Radio touristique responded that the frequencies are being used very efficiently, since the programming of its radio stations is entirely local and contributes to the area's tourist industry, which is very lucrative.
The CRTC said that it did not consider that the use of 90.3 MHz , which is allotted specifically to the city of Montmagny , would be optimal and noted that Guy Simard expressed his willingness during the hearing to assist the licensee in finding a new frequency and ensuring the continuity of the service offered by Radio touristique de Québec. Accordingly it denied this part of the application.
Saskatchewan:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Harvard Broadcasting Inc.'s CFWF-FM, Regina.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Rawlco Radio Ltd.'s CJME-AM, Regina.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Shelley Thoen-Chaykoski's low power English-language birding, hunting and eco-tourism service, CFBA-FM, Foam Lake
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of White Bear Children's Charity Inc.'s CIDD-FM, White Bear Lake Resort.
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Natotawin Broadcasting Inc.'s CJLR-FM, Laronge and its transmitters CIRN-FM, Saskatoon; CJLR-FM-1, Montreal Lake;
CJLR-FM-2, Denare Beach; CJLR-FM-3, Prince Albert; CJLR-FM-4, Regina; CJLR-FM-5, Yorkton; CJLR-FM-6, North Battleford; CJLR-FM-7, Meadow Lake; VF2298, Black Lake; VF2299, Fond du Lac; VF2300, James Smith Reserve; VF2301, Shoal Lake; and VF2332 Beardy's F.N. Res. (Duck Lake).
Yukon:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Bethany Pentecostal Tabernacle's low-power English-language specialty service CIAY-FM, Whitehorse.
Yukon, British Colombia and Northwest Territories:
*Renewal from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2015 of the licence of Northern Native Broadcasting's CHON-FM, Whitehorse, and its transmitters CHCK-FM, Carmacks; CHHJ-FM, Haines Junction; CHOL-FM, Old Crow; CHPE-FM, Pelly Crossing; CHTE-FM, Teslin; VF2024, Burwash Landing; VF2027, Watson Lake; VF2028, Mayo; VF2035, Ross River; VF2038, Upper Liard; VF2039, Carcross; VF2049, Dawson City; VF2125, Beaver Creek; VF2126, Keno City; VF2127, Stewart Crossing; VF2128, Tagish; VF2147, Destruction Bay; VF2148, Whitehorse (Mayo Road Subdivision); VF2311, Lower Post; plus VF2306, Atlin, and VF2352, Good Hope Lake, both in British-Colombia; and VF2354, Aklavik; VF2414, Faro; and VF2498, Tsiigehtchic (Arctic Red River), all in the Northwest Territories
The CRTC also renewed from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2012 the licences of the following Type B Native FM's all of which may have failed to comply with regulations relating to annual returns in the years noted:
Northwest Territories:
Native Communications Society of the N.W.T.'s CKLB-FM, Yellowknife, and its transmitters VF2069 Deline, Fort Franklin; VF2070, Fort Good Hope; VF2071, Rae-Edzo; VF2080, Fort McPherson; VF2081, Fort Resolution; VF2082, Inuvik; VF2083, Aklavik and VF2102, Fort Simpson.
Nova Scotia:
Greg Johnson's CICU-FM, Eskasoni (2001 to 2004 and 2007).
Quebec:
Corporation Médiatique Teuehikan's CHUK-FM, Mashteuiatch (2001 and 2003).
Société de Communication Ikito Pikogan ltée's CKAG-FM, Pikogan (2001 to 2004).
Gespegewag Communications Society's CHRQ-FM, Restigouche (2007).
Radio Ntetemuk inc.'s CIMB-FM, Betsiamites (2001, 2005 and 2007).
Corporation de Radio Kushapetsheken Apetuamiss Uashat's CKAU-FM, Maliotenam, and its transmitter, CKAU-FM-1, Sept-Îles (2005 and 2007).
Radio communautaire MF Lac Simon inc.'s CHUT-FM, Lac Simon, and its transmitter CHUT-FM-1, Val D'Or (2001 to 2007).
Saskatchewan:
FDB Broadcasting Inc.'s CFDM-FM, Meadow Lake (2002, 2003 and 2007).
The CRTC also posted a public notice, with a Sept 29 deadline for submission of interventions or comments that included the following radio-related items:
Ontario:
*Application by Bluewater Community Radio to relocate increase it's the height of the transmitter of English-language Type B community service CFBW-FM, Hanover.
There were no radio announcements from Ireland but in the UK, Ofcom has posted its Commercial Radio Broadcast Update for August that included four analogue changes of format; channel changes on four digital multiplexes; five change of control reviews; and the issuing of one "yellow card".
The last went to Shropshire station Sunshine 855, Ludlow, for a lack of local news bulletins.
The change of control reviews were for Xfm, South Wales, which has been sold by Global Radio/G Cap Media; Solent regional station Original 106, which has been sold by CanWest; and Ivel FM, Vale FM and Pennine FM, which have been sold by The Local Radio Company. All the acquisitions were allowed.
The analogue format changes were for LBC News; Vale FM; Time 106.6; and The Revolution.
Global Radio's AM station LBC News is to be allowed to simulcast the programming of its FM sister station LBC 97.3 during the hours of 1900-0700, Monday to Friday, and from 1800 Sat - 0700
Sun, and 1700 Sun - 0700 Mon, hours when it says the AM signal is at its weakest and most vulnerable to incoming interference.
The station broadcasts rolling news for the rest of the time but Global says the high cost of the service combined with its low revenue potential means that it is no longer possible to sustain rolling news as a 24-hour format.
Vale FM is to be allowed to regionalise six of its ten daytime local hours by sharing output as appropriate with Ivel FM; Tristar Broadcasting Limited's Time 106.6 is to be allowed to relocate the station from Slough outside the licence area to Sunrise Group's nearby broadcast centre in Southall. In allowing the move Ofcom said there were exceptional circumstances including the geographical closeness of the locations - nine miles apart - and the GBP 100,000 (USD 180,000) a year occupancy costs in Slough that contribute significantly to the station's losses making co-location a significant factor if the station is to survive.
Oldham station The Revolution is to be allowed to drop Adult Alternative Hits requirements from its licence conditions. The station said the addition of this was only made in February last year and the change had not worked out. It also noted that Xfm has now firmly established itself within the area.
The digital multiplex changes, each replacing 'Urban Choice' by 'Choice FM' , affect the North East England; North West England; South Wales and Severn Estuary; and West Midlands and Yorkshire digital multiplexes.
Ofcom has also invited applications for community licences in East and southeast England, excluding Greater London and other areas within the M25. The deadline for applications is November 18 and a GBP 600 (USD 1,080) non refundable fee has to accompany each application.
Ofcom warns that there is a severe lack of suitable FM frequencies in and around Greater London and other areas within the M25. Therefore in many cases applicants in overlapping, adjacent or even quite different locations may be competing for an FM frequency.
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as already noted has issued a Notice of Inquiry concerning the "Development of Devices Capable of Supporting Multiple Audio Entertainment Services", by which it means requiring satellite radio receivers to be capable of receiving HD Radio or any other technologies capable of providing audio entertainment services and requiring HD receivers to also be capable of handling the other services.
Somewhat confusingly for the rest of the world the FCC refers to DAB - the generic term for digital audio broadcasting - when it means HD whereas in most of the world it means Eureka DAB [are we being unkind so suggest that if Americans could not handle IBOC (in-band-on-channel) rather than the marketing translation of this to HD they might be confused by a rather more complicated real world that includes DAB - using MP2 encoding, DAB+ with AAC, which dare we mention it includes Reed-Solomon error correction coding; the DMB system (based on DAB) and DVB-H mobile TV systems, and Digital Radio Mondiale.
In the call for comments - a 60 day window from August 25 - the FCC notes the issues of costs involved and whether, and to what degree, the higher volume might lead to lower licensing fees for the intellectual property involved and whether it should -or had the power - to require reduced licensing fees to iBiquity if it mandated inclusion of an HD Chip. Sirius XM, it notes, has agreed to provide its intellectual property on reasonable terms to allow manufacturers to provide equipment that can handle the merged entity's signals and is committed to allowing device manufacturers to incorporate in SDARS receivers any other technology that would not result in harmful interference with the merged entity's network, including HD Radio, iPod ports, Internet connectivity, and other technology. [RNW comment: If it doesn't have the power to require very reasonable rates - and in view of the cheapness of an analogue receiver a dollar a set should be a maximum for combined licensing fees for both satellite and HD receivers, our view is that the FCC should keep out of this one and let the market decide.].
In other actions the FCC has actually made a refund to Fireside Media, owned by Dave Garey , which had submitted high bids on four FM construction permits in the FCC's auction 37 that it then withdrew - for stations in Whitehall and Eureka, Montana; Breckenridge, Texas; and Manville, Wyoming.
Under FCC rules a bidder who withdraws a provisionally winning bid during an auction has to pay a withdrawal sum equal to the difference between the amount of the withdrawn bid and the subsequent winning bid
In this case, following the auction the final withdrawal payment relating to the Eureka CP, which was sold in Auction 37 and interim withdrawal payments relating to the other three CPs that had not been sold were paid by Fireside from its upfront payment. The Breckenridge and Manville CPs were subsequently sold in the FCC's auction 62 but the Whitehall CP was not sold at that auction and has not been put on offer since.
As a result the FCC calculated that Fireside had to make final withdrawal payments of USD 108,892 - USD 41,137 for the Breckenridge CP and USD 67,755 for the Manville one but Fireside said it could not pay this on the basis of financial hardship.
Documentation provided substantiated the inability to pay and the FCC accordingly forgave the debt: It also said it would refund at least USD 8,659 of the USD 17,318 of Fireside's auction down payment that it currently holds and noted that Fireside is entitled to argue under its rules for refund of more of the monies involved.
In enforcement actions the Commission levied a number of penalties on radio stations including the following:
Alabama:
*Issued USD 18,000 forfeiture to Capital Assets, Inc., licensee of WRJX-AM and WHOD-FM, Jackson for failing to properly maintain a public file for the stations.
It had issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) for this amount to which Capital Assets responded by requesting a reduction on the grounds of a prior history of compliance and financial hardship. The FCC said that Capital had failed to provide documentation to justify reduction on the latter grounds and in terms of complaints noted that it had failed to comply with the rules for a significant part of the license term at three separate stations including these stations and WBMH-FM, Grove Hill. It confirmed the full penalty.
*Issued USD 9,000 forfeiture to Capital Assets, Inc., licensee of WBMH-FM, Grove Hill, for failing to properly maintain a public file for the Station.
It had issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) for this amount to which Capital Assets responded by requesting a reduction on the grounds of a prior history of compliance and because the omission had been due to the "negligence of a previous manager" since when it had hired a new manager with the issues/programs lists then being properly prepared and placed in the Station's public file. Regarding the issue of compliance the FCC notes that Capital had disclosed in the license renewal application for the station that it had retained no issues-programs lists in the station's public inspection files for seven years of the eight-year license term and had disclosed similar violations in the license renewal applications of WRJX-AM and WHOD-FM, Jackson. It confirmed the full penalty.
Illinois:
Issued USD 18,000 forfeiture to LaSalle County Broadcasting Corporation, licensee of WLPO-AM and WAJK-FM, LaSalle, for failing to properly maintain a public file for each station. It had issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) for this amount to which LaSalle responded by requesting a reduction on the grounds of a prior history of compliance.
The FCC in confirming the full penalty noted that LaSalle had disclosed in the license renewal application for the stations that it had retained no issues-programs lists in the station's public inspection files for seven years of the eight-year license term and had disclosed similar violations in the license renewal applications of WKOT-FM, Marseilles. It confirmed the full penalty.
*Issued USD 9,000 forfeiture to LaSalle County Broadcasting Corporation, licensee of WKOT-FM, Marseilles. Again it had issued an NAL for this amount to which LaSalle responded by asking for a reduction, primarily on the grounds of a history of compliance. As with its other stations (above) the argument was rejected and the full penalty confirmed.
In New York, the FCC granted an application from Ithaca Community Radio, Inc. for a construction permit for a new non-commercial educational (NCE) FM to serve Watkins Glen. The application was opposed by Ithaca College, licensee of NCE station WICB-FM, Ithaca, on the grounds of potential interference with its signal, and also by two individuals - one of whom signed his letter - in this case the applicant's counsel provided a letter saying the signature was forged - and the other unsigned. Both these individual objections were accordingly dismissed whilst that of the college relied on a different methodology to assess interference and was also dismissed.
In Pennsylvania, the FCC dismissed objections to the renewal of the licence of non-commercial educational station WRKC-FM, Wilkes-Barre, on the grounds that the station's general manager, Sue Henry censored the content of several syndicated programs formerly broadcast by the station because she did not agree with their political content.
Henry had responded that she discontinued the programming because their commentary was inconsistent with the mission of the licensee, King's College, a private Catholic institution and noted that another station in the market still carried them.
The FCC noted that it has not been involved in determining programming content, dismissed the objections, and renewed the licence.
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2008-08-30: Chicago radio has seen an influx of new management this month, some of it triggered by the promotion of Darren Davis, Clear Channel's vice president of programming and operations in Chicago, to SVP of Programming for Clear Channel in which role he will oversee 148 mid-market stations.
He was also programme director for adult-contemporary WLIT-FM and smooth jazz WNUA-AM. He is being succeeded in is programming and operations role and also as WLIT PD by Tony Coles, who'd been working for Clear Channel in Portland, Ore., as a regional vice president of programming as well as operations manager and program director.
The PD role at WNUA will be taken by veteran host Rick O'Dell who retains his midday slot and also the role of music director at the station.
Also taking over a PD slot is Rick Vaughn, most recently program director of WIOQ-FM in Philadelphia: He takes over at rhythmic Top 40 WKSC-FM from Rick Gillette, who is moving back to California after two years in the role.
Another move on the way is at CBS Radio where Mike Peterson has resigned. He was PD of country format WUSN-FM and also of AC WCFS-FM and, according to Robert Feder in the Chicago Sun-Times, is leaving to run his family's business, a shade tree nursery, in Oregon.
Feder says that until a replacement is hired programming at the two stations will be overseen by vice president and general manager Dave Robbins.
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Chicago Sun-Times - Feder column:
2008-08-30: British comedy producer, writer and performer Geoffrey Perkins has died aged 55 in a road accident in London.
Perkins who made his name producing "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for BBC radio worked on some twenty radio programmes including the comedy "Radio Active", which was developed from an Oxford University production based on a parody group called Hee Bee Gee Bees.
After his work in BBC radio he also produced The Uncyclopaedia of Rock for Capital Radio and became a director of leading independent production company Hat Trick Productions before returning to the corporation as BBC TV's Head of Comedy.
He left the BBC again to become creative director of Hat Trick Productions in 2001, producing a number of shows for the corporation. His latest production, Harry And Paul, with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, is due to start on the BBC next week.
BBC director of vision Jana Bennett said she was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the news and added that he was "was an outstanding creator of countless comedy hits on the BBC and elsewhere, and a very distinguished former BBC head of comedy."
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BBC report:
2008-08-29: Global Radio owned Capital 95.8 has appointed Lisa Snowdon, who has been filling in since Denise van Outen quit (See RNW Aug 4) as its breakfast show co-host with Johnnie Vaughan.
Snowdon, who presents "Britain's Next Top Model" on Living TV, will be the fourth partner for Vaughan since he took over from Chris Tarrant in 2004.
Capital 95.8 managing director Paul Jackson said of the appointment, "Lisa has been outstanding in recent weeks and we have received an amazing response from our listeners."
He added that she was "a fantastic talent, with a natural flair for radio and works brilliantly alongside Johnny. We are thrilled to have her as part of the Capital 95.8 team."
Snowdon said she "couldn't think of a better way to start the day than with Mr Vaughan and the breakfast gang. He keeps me on my toes and has me in stitches for the whole four hours. I have grown up with Capital and having the opportunity to work with Johnny on London's most iconic breakfast show is a dream come true for me" and Vaughan added, "I'm delighted to have Lisa as my new co-host. Her enthusiasm for her new role is self-evident and she's a natural behind the mic. Lisa is a great addition to the Capital breakfast show."
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2008-08-29: Former Catholic priest and KGO-AM radio host Bernie Ward has been sentenced to jail for than seven years and three months by a federal judge in San Francisco.
The 57-year-old had pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of distributing child pornography, following an investigation that began when an online dominatrix who reported him to police because of concerns about images he had of young children.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker passing sentence noted that federal law requires at least a five-year sentence but described the case as a "personal tragedy" and added that prison may not be the best way to help Ward or children exploited by pornography.
Ward had admitted sending between 15 and 150 pornographic images, which he said were part of research for a book, by e-mail but the judge said that he was disturbed by some aspects of the case commenting of transcripts of a conversation with the dominatrix in which Ward said he was aroused when his daughter walked in the bathroom while he showered, "I find it extremely troubling that a parent would say the things he wrote in those messages" and asking why, when Ward "encountered his own predilection (for child pornography), didn't he seek treatment, seek help?"
Federal prosecutors had asked for a nine-year sentence and Justice Department lawyer Steven Grocki said Ward's actions were not "an aberration. ... This is recurrent behaviour" and added that Ward "These images depicted these minors suffering the most horrific torment… He traded in the currency of human suffering.''
Ward's lawyer Doron Weinberg, arguing for the minimum five-years sentence, described the conversations as role-playing - Ward said he had downloaded the images as part of his research for a proposed book on hypocrisy among Americans who preach morality - and said the actions were an aberration in the life of "a very good man (who) has touched the lives of thousands of people" as a broadcaster and fundraiser for charity.
Ward himself said at the hearing, which was attended by his wife and four children, "I regret my actions, the harm they caused my family, my friends and this community."
The judge said he would go along with a defence request that Ward serve his sentence - seven years and three months - in the minimum-security prison in Lompoc (Santa Barbara County) and prosecutors did not object.
San Francisco Chronicle report:
2008-08-29: Macquarie Media has recorded profits for the year to the end of June up six-fold, boosted by an AUD 255 million (USD 218.8 million) profit on the sale of its 60% of Taiwan Broadband Communications.
Net profit was up 625% to AUD 273.8 million (USD million 234.9 million) on revenues - boosted by its acquisition of the television assets of Southern Cross Broadcasting (Bought in a Southern Cross acquisition that saw Fairfax Media subsequently take over Southern Cross's metropolitan radio stations - See RNW Jan 18) - up 145% to 449.1 million (USD million 385.4 million) whilst net profit from continuing operations was AUD 19.7 million (USD 16.9 million) compared to an AUD 1.9 million (USD 1.63 million) loss a year earlier. Operating revenues were up 80.8 % to AUD 568 million (USD 487.4 million) and EBITDA was up 46.5% to AUD 216 million (USD 185.3 million).
Like-for-like media operations showed a revenue increase of 5.4% with like-for-like EBIDTA up 8.2%.
The former Macquarie Media Group's regional radio operations are now part of Macquarie Southern Cross Media (MSCM), which was formed through integration with the Southern Cross TV operations and whose operations revenues were up 7.8% to AUD 353.7 million (USD million) with EBITDA up 12.2% to AUD 119.7 million (USD million).
Within MSCM radio operations revenues were up 9.4% to AUD 170 million (USD 303.5 million) and radio EBITDA was up 13.5% to AUD 66.2 million (USD 56.8 million). TV operations revenues were up 6.3% to AUD 163.8 million (USD 140.6 million) with EBITDA up 10.6% to AUD 53.5 million (USD 45.9 million).
Chief Executive Mark Dorney said of the results, "It has been both a busy and positive 12 months for MMG. Our high quality media businesses have produced a strong Group result and we have been able to complete integration of the strategic acquisitions made during the period."
He added, "It was a transformational period for our Australian operations. Acquiring and integrating SBC's television operations added another medium to our regional media platform.
MSCM is now Australia's largest regional media group, with a potential reach of 7.5 million Australians. In the majority of its markets, it is the only combined radio and television provider.
MSCM remains on track to deliver AUD 9 million (USD 7.7 million) in annualised cost synergies in the 2009 financial year."
"MSCM," he said, "continued to deliver positive earnings growth over the period, which includes eight months of earnings from our television operations. Both radio and television benefited from solid local advertising growth throughout the 2008 financial year. As expected, national advertising in the December 2007 half was boosted by the Federal Government information campaigns and the 2007 Federal Election. Whilst these factors had largely passed when we acquired control of SCB television on 26 October 2007, they positively impacted our radio business."
Dorney also commented on the development of cross media sales initiatives which he said "have been tailored to best serve the markets in which they have been launched. These innovative cross media sales ideas were shared across the Group in June 2008 at the combined sales and television conference. Being able to offer our advertisers an integrated, creative offering across both radio and television, and thus increase the effectiveness of the offered product, provides MSCM with a market-leading offering in regional Australia."
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2008-08-29: Global Radio, which acquired the Xfm brand when it took over GCap Media, is to re-brand its Xfm station in Scotland as part of its Galaxy Network some time in the next few months although it has not yet given a date and will continue to broadcast as Xfm for the moment.
Staff were told in an e-mail by Darren Henley, managing director for Global's Classic FM, Xfm and Choice - all acquired from Capital, that the focus would move as the launch approached, adding, "I know that there has been a lot of uncertainty and change over the past few months for everyone in Glasgow - and I really do appreciate the very professional way in which you have all carried on working so hard and your willingness to embrace change."
The move is being seen in some quarters as a potential death knell for Xfm - the South Wales station was sold to Town and Country Broadcasting in May by GCap (See RNW May 31) which in February had put up for sale all the Xfm licences outside London (See RNW Feb 11) although Global then halted the sale of the Manchester and Scotland stations.
Any attempt to re-brand the London or Manchester Xfm stations will be more restricted by licence conditions but Global could try to get a re-branding past the regulator or consider a sale. In a UK Guardian blog, Xfm founder [in London] Sammy Jacob, who is now NME Radio managing director, said of the station that once they sold out to Capital radio in 1998 "it never really had a clear focus. It was pulled left, right and centre, with different management imposing different visions; trying to make it what they wanted it to be rather than what it should have been. It undermined what we set out to do. Like any brand if you don't have a clear vision then it is just going to dilute and whither away."
Another former GCap station is also in the news with an announcement that Planet Rock, which was bought by businessman Malcolm Bluemel in June (See RNW June 5), is to move out of GCap's Leicester Square premises in October and re-locate with UBC Media in Marylebone in October as part of a re-launch.
GCap had agreed to allow the digital station to use its facilities until it found a new home and Bluemel commented of the move, "Planet Rock is now completely in charge of its own destiny with our very own location in the heart of London. This is a dream come true for us. We can now provide rock fans with essential rock listening, artists can come into the station at any time we choose, we can do it our own way and give our listeners exactly what they want. There is a close knit passionate team at Planet Rock, headed up by Trevor White, and all of us look forward to building on the amazing progress this fantastic radio station has already made."
UBC Media CEO Simon Cole said he was proud to provide services to Planet Rock and build facilities for them inside its Lisson Street premises.
Another former GCap station, The Jazz, which was closed down but is being re-launched In other UK station news, Marketing Week has reported that First Radio Sales has won the national airtime contract for the re-launched Jazz FM that is due to debut in October.
Guardian Media Group (GMG), which bought the Jazz FM stations, re-branded the analogue stations as "Smooth FM" outlets and dropped the brand from various digital multiplexes last year although it retained the service online at jazzfm.com but this year announced that it was to bring the service back on a number of digital multiplexes: The announced closure of GCap's The Jazz digital station on the Digital One national commercial multiplex was reported to be a significant factor in the decision.
Subsequently The Local Radio Company, run by former Jazz FM chief executive Richard Wheatly agreed a three-year deal with GMG to re-launch Jazz FM. This is scheduled for October 6 on digital radio in Glasgow, London, the west midlands and North West England. The station will also be launched on the Sky and Freesat digital platforms as well as the Internet.
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2008-08-28: Clear Channel says 38 of its stations are to take part in the "Build the Dream" Radiothon being held today in collaboration with the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial to mark the 45th Anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream Speech".
The event will feature celebrities, athletes and elected officials including Ice Cube; Aretha Franklin; Samuel L. Jackson; and Nia Long plus radio personalities including Doug Banks, Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner and also former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
In a release Doc Wynter, SVP, Urban Programming for Clear Channel Radio commented, "This is the first time in history that Clear Channel has participated in a radiothon of this magnitude. We are proud to be a part of the commemoration and cannot think of a better way to honour Dr. King's rich legacy than to join forces with the Foundation to raise funds for the Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C."
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2008-08-28: Figures posted this week by Statistics Canada flush out those posted last month by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) that showed total revenues for Canadian AM and FM stations combined up 6.2% on a year earlier to reach CAD 1.5 billion (See RNW Jul 24).
Statistics Canada note that this outpaced advertising market growth as a whole for the third time in five years: It also noted that within the radio figures the percentage increase for the five largest census metropolitan areas was smaller at 4.0% (Total CAD 699.4 million) than those for other census metropolitan areas - up 8.3% to CAD 393.5 million and non-census metropolitan areas - up 7.4% to CAD 380.3 million.
In terms of Profit Before Interest or Tax (PBIT), the rate - of 19.8 cents per dollar of revenue - was the third best for 30 years, behind the figures for 2005 and 2006 and that within the figures FM maintained its dominance, generating 94.6% of PBIT from 78.3% of advertising revenues in 2007, a little above the figures for 2006.
PBIT as a percentage of revenue was largest in the five largest census metropolitan areas at 25.7%, down from 26.8% in 2006; that for other census metropolitan areas was up from 13.4% to 14.8% and for non-census metropolitan areas rose from 13.8% to 14.2%.
Previous Statistics Canada:
2008-08-28: Adverts placed on behalf of the Barack Obama presidential campaign have been pulled from a number of radio websites after ClickZ reported that they were appearing alongside such gems as "Celebrity Tramp Stamps" and links to content labelled "Red Light Girls," "Chicks on Toilets," and "Thong of the Day.
The adverts were mainly on Clear Channel rock station sites and ClickZ said they had been paid for by the Democratic National Committee and the Illinois Senator's campaign and asked people to "Register To Vote For Barack Obama And Other Candidates For Change." They said they were "Paid for by the Democratic National Committee and Obama for America and Authorized by Obama for America" and appeared in a number of swing states including Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia according to Web ad tracking service The Media Trust Company.
Many were placed by the media firm Centro whose CEO Shawn Riegsecker told ClickZ News, "The content on these sites is clearly objectionable and the ads should not have been displayed there. As soon as we were alerted to this issue, we removed the ads immediately. The DNC and Obama for America maintain very high editorial and content standards of where their advertising is displayed and we should not have placed an ad there,"
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2008-08-27: CBS Radio is to place more emphasis on digital media in a re-organization of top management responsibilities that will see David Goodman, president of digital media and integrated marketing, devote all his time to extending radio to multiple digital platforms.
Ina memo to employees CBS Radio president and CEO Dan Mason, comments of the change in duties for Goodman, who set up C BS Radio's deal with AOL Radio and its player development, "Seeing that digital has become an ever increasingly important part of our business we're lucky to have someone with David's expertise and insight leading our efforts from a technology and revenue generating perspective."
He then adds, "Our stations are benefitting from partnerships that are a direct result of David's passion and belief in our online capabilities and I'm confident he will lead us down a path of success."
Other changes include putting Michael Weiss, president of sales, in charge of the Altitude Group that was formerly overseen by Goodman; expanding the duties of the Group's executive VP Rich Lobel to include similar duties for the Digital Media Group; and assigning day-to-day management responsibilities for the group to Sue McNamara, executive VP of sales.
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2008-08-27: Global Radio-owned GCap Media in Devon is broadcasting messages on its Gold AM services in Exeter and Torbay saying that, because they exceeded ownership limits in the area when they bought 18 Classic Gold stations from Classic Gold Digital Ltd in June last year, they are to cease broadcasts on the AM frequencies at the end of this month.
The message refers listeners to sister station Gemini FM or suggests listening on DAB digital radio or the Internet to the Gold service as an alternative.
GCap had already said in relation to its AM Gold stations that they would close them when their transmission contracts run out
Some blog comments on the closures as well as suggesting that the listening figures for the stations have fallen so much that the sensible thing to do would be to close them all and go for an oldies national digital station also stray into comment on the other stations that the combined GCap/Global Radio will have to sell as part of the approval of the deal.
These include West Midlands stations BRMB, Beacon, Mercia and Wyvern FM, which are currently sharing an overnight show and could easily form the nucleus of a Midlands' station network. Amongst those interested in a purchase is reported to be former BRMB programme controller and operations director Mike Owen who says he is putting together a consortium to buy the stations.
He told RadioToday.Co.uk, "Buying BRMB, Beacon and Mercia as well as the potential of the AM services would be a golden opportunity. We already have the financing in place to handle the business elements of an offer and I am totally confident the stations would make money. It will be brilliant to recreate stations in the Midlands that dominated the market 25 years ago!"
In further GCap-Global radio developments, the UK Guardian says that Global Radio group chief executiveAshley Tabor has set November 1 as the target date for the merger of the sales operations of the two companies, with the new team to be based in Leicester Square, the current home of GCap's Capital Radio and Classic FM.
Tabor also announced in an e-mail to staff that GCap's national sales director Simon Daglish was leaving the company and will be replaced on an acting basis by his current deputy John McGeogh.
Daglish is joining Channel 4 where the paper says he is expected to take charge of advertising and sales across all of the broadcaster's digital radio stations.
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RadioToday.co.uk report on Owen bid:
UK Guardian report:
2008-08-27: Radio One Inc. has gained approval to transfer the listing of its Class A shares from the NASDAQ Global Market to The NASDAQ Capital Market. The transfer is effective from the start of business today and the shares retain their "ROIA" symbol.
The company announced last week (See RNW Aug 22) that the shares had failed to maintain the minimum value of USD 5 million for a period of 90 days as required for the NASDAQ Global Market and that it had applied to transfer the listing to the NASDAQ Capital Market: It also noted that the transfer does not affect its Class D shares - more than 96% of its public float, and that these will continue to trade on the NASDAQ global market.
Previous Radio One Inc:
2008-08-26: We start this week's look at print comment on media with sports and first a New York Times article by Bryan Curtis on the break up of Mike and The Mad Dog.
Under the headline "Talking Sports the Way Men Really Talk Sports", Curtis runs briefly through the rumour and reports that led up to the announcement.
He then comments of the announcement that Chris Russo (Mad Dog) had left for Sirius XM Radio, "As a shell-shocked Russo put it that evening, 'It's a very strange day in my life.' It was for all of us. For the 'Mike and the Mad Dog' show was not just a New York institution (it was the highest rated radio show in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic in the afternoon) and a clearinghouse for instantaneous sports opinions. The true genius of Mike and Mad Dog was how they, perhaps better than anyone else, captured the fraught way in which men talk to each other about sports. In the age of highly theatrical, ESPN-style shouting, we will perhaps never again have such a theatre for real angst and aggression, for small moments of joy followed by gratuitous insult."
Of the partnership he comments, "Both thought their opinions were valuable enough that they should be broadcast without interference by the other guy. It was the other guy, however, who gave the show its emotional crackle. Francesa, round and toad-like, was the more oracular of the pair, able to instantly summon obscure sports facts. (He had trained as a researcher at CBS.) Russo, who was skinny and vibrated like an old radiator, was no slouch: he was the product of a boarding school education and an eager student of the sports pages."
He then expands on this…" Sports fans will recognize the basic teacher-yahoo dynamic, but Mike and the Mad Dog had a far more complex relationship. 'Each guy would play both sides of the coin,' says Mike Tirico, the host of a show on ESPN Radio and the play-by-play announcer of 'Monday Night Football.' Disaster lurked around the corner. In 1991, Russo lambasted CBS's coverage of the N.C.A.A. basketball tournament, which not coincidentally happened to feature Francesa. They had it out on the air. The following year, Russo puckishly deleted Francesa's name from the show's opening titles; in a meeting with station management, the two came close to trading punches."
He then comments, "Like Don Meredith and Howard Cosell before them, Mike and the Mad Dog seemed to have settled into a kind of lucrative détente " but ends by commenting that ". Sports talk has become such a big industry that you can no longer trust its authenticity" but that "Mike and the Mad Dog, to the last, were the real deal."
Our next sports choice is very much a political one: In his Sunday Times Radio Waves column, Paul Donovan picks on a point in terms of the Olympics cover in the UK, commenting about the London 2012 Olympics; "If our national team in four years' time is still called, wrongly, "Team GB" and not "Team UK", then at least some broadcaster somewhere will explain why this is, and challenge it. As far as I could tell, grazing 5 Live, talkSPORT, the BBC World Service and other stations over the past fortnight, only Radio 2's astute Ken Bruce bothered to ask why the official name of our national team specifically excludes Northern Ireland - and neither he nor his aide, Lynn Bowles, could answer it."
Donovan then follows with praise for The World Service: The World Service, thankfully, has shunned the term. "We have not used the term 'Team GB' as part of our output because we broadcast to the whole world," it says. "It's a good point you raise, and we've mentioned it to our team in Beijing, who will explore it for our daily Sportsworld programme."
Donovan goes to details some of those who misused the term Great Britain -- the talkSPORT spokesman's response - "It's my understanding that 'Great Britain' is used to mean the UK as a whole" betrays, if thought about it for a moment, a combination of ignorance and stupidity - and then goes on to comment, "Other words were also misused, though with delicious comic results."
One example he cites came from a World Service reporter who said of Usain Bolt that "he literally exploded on the world athletics scene this year".
Donovan who understands the words literal and literate comments, "If true, this would certainly have prevented him from taking part." And of the same athlete in regard to a reporter who said that "after his victory, Bolt 'went ballistic in every sense of the word', which means he would now be a bullet."
Maybe metaphorically but not literally a few reporters need to be given a bullet!
They certainly could do with more care in the use of adjectives and various forms of speech at times, but at least have the justification in many cases of speaking extempore whereas it can presumably be assumed that those issuing news releases or making promotional postings should have thought about what they are writing before they are sent out.
Take the following from iBiquity CEO Robert Struble in his company's posting headed "Thoughts on Radio's Digital Future. Digital Over the Air and Digital Online: We Can Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time."
After warning people to "Beware of pundits, advisors or bloggers advocating false choices" Struble continues, "Recently, some radio industry commentators have made the assertion that broadcasters must drop everything and focus on internet streaming and getting their content online. In this narrative, any time spent on HD Radio implementation (or much of anything else for that matter) is wasted, because being digital online is the only way to save our great industry."
Fine you might think except that he continues, "Preposterous I say. We are capable of and need to do both" and only someone in the part-ordered recesses of his mind would be able to work out what the two parts of "both" refers to from the preceding paragraph.
Struble then goes on to argue that radio broadcasters are in "two fundamental businesses", of being "content developers" and "spectrum owners." That would be fine except that we thought the spectrum was leased by the government not owned by them. But we cavil and maybe rather than going on to take Struble's thoughts apart - our views are that the whole is stronger at stating the obvious than making any new suggestions or doing much more than a B- booster job - we should move on and let someone else do it.
Amongst those who did was Mark Ramsey, the Hear 2.0 President who agrees with some of the obvious from Struble: "It's fair to say, as Struble argues, that we would be foolish to put all our eggs in the Internet basket. Personally, I think what we do on our good-old air have a lot more consequence to our future than anything online, since the brand begins in the ears of our audiences and goes online only from there."
He then writes, "At issue, however, is whether HD Radio deserves a basket at the front of radio's menu of choices, if indeed it warrants a basket at all. It's the potential distraction that concerns me."
And of Struble's two fundamental businesses and comment, "In the digital world, both are precious and actions must be taken to maximize their value" Ramsey comments, "While this is technically true, it misses the entire point of our digital age. Namely, you, my radio friends, are not in charge. The audience - the consumers - are in charge. And they will do what's in their interests, not ours. They will listen where they want, not where we want them to. They'll listen to what they want, not what we push on them. They will do so on devices of their choosing, not ours. They will hear music and information on their timeline, not ours. They will hear it in the fidelity of their choice, not ours."
He then goes on to argue that "This is not about HD or Internet or WiMax or Wi-Fi or whatever. This is about the migration of control from us to them" and in the context of Struble's views on maximizing the value of radio's content says, "maximizing value is about making choices and bets about the future based on measurable trends and consumer insights, few of which are favouring HD."
Ramsey also notes Struble's comment "And digital pipes are worth more than analogue pipes, without question, because you can do more with them." are worth more " to which he responds, "Digital pipes are NOT worth more 'because you can do more with them.' An actor isn't worth more if he's got talent, he's worth more if he's popular… bandwidth (not necessarily "digital pipes") is worth more because its owners have grand plans, big investments, and bold designs on innovations which uniquely solve consumer problems via profit-making strategies that are in tune with their times or ahead of them."
Ramsey concludes somewhat tartly, "It is not about us. It is about the audience. Nobody cares what we own. Besides, what are 'digital pipes' worth when there are no listeners at the other end?
Indeed we can 'walk and chew gum at the same time', but what if we're buying the gum from iBiquity and walking in circles?"
And for a final comment on the impact of the Internet on radio, we move to Ben Fong-Torres in his Radio Waves column in the San Francisco Chronicle.
He comments of stations that not long ago they "never mentioned the competition and didn't accept commercials (that is, business) from other stations, even if they had different formats. And, as the Internet grew, they resisted any connections (not unlike other traditional media), unable to comprehend any value to streaming their programs to people outside their markets, listening in by way of a computer. How would that help them sell local advertising, or boost their local ratings?"
He then continues, "Now? It's a digital gold rush. You can 'Listen Live' to virtually any radio station in the country - and beyond. And, now, when you tune in to one station, that station happily shows you to a magic door, behind which dozens or hundreds of other stations, all in the corporate family, await you."
Fong-Torres notes CBS Radio's move onto the Internet in partnership with AOL ; the formation by Clear Channel in "partnership with Katz Media Group, its ad sales subsidiary, to form the Katz Online Network, which will soon offer one-stop access to the two companies' 1,200 affiliates, including stations owned by Cumulus and Entercom."
From CBS he quotes David Goodman, president of CBS digital media and marketing, as saying, "It was important to us to offer a suite of services, in a continuum of audio. At one end, you have people who just want to sit back and listen to music, but want more choices. On the other end, we offer more tools and apps for those people who want a deeper level of personalization, and want to exercise their creativity."
Goodman also commented in defence of radio's content, "Programs like Pandora are just playlists. A real radio program is the stuff between the music."
RNW comment: All the more important then to get that stuff right but even then we have our doubts about the comparative value of radio in a world of downloads and organizations of Pandora. They won't, of course, ever be able to replace the immediacy of radio when it comes to the bits between which to us makes it even more small minded of stations to neglect news and local news in particular, even on music formats, whatever the accountants may say in the short term.
But that takes on to our listening suggestions - comparatively little of which is for music since we calculate that most people have a fairly clear idea where to get what they want in those terms.
To introduce the first - the Friday 19:50 GMT BBC Radio 4 "Points of View" slot, which is currently being presented by Katherine Whitehorn, we quote from Gillian Reynolds' radio column in the UK Daily Telegraph.
"Katharine Whitehorn's essays on 'A Point of View'," writes Reynolds, "are salted with experience, peppered with perception and spiced with sense. They are also the nearest this slot, once Alistair Cooke territory, since his demise a revolving pulpit for sundry pundits, has come to offering a conversation with the listener.
"Whitehorn is daring. She challenges received opinion on such things as euthanasia or identity cards with allusive wit and laconic logic. She also has the gift of articulating, pithily, those half-formed doubts that linger long after official spokespersons or callers to phone-ins have departed the airwaves."
Reynolds concludes by hoping that the station will "hang on to her" but then writes, "Since she is old, sounds posh, understands that radio works best when the listener is included, rather than kept at arm's length by the speaker's expertise, they may not."
Reynolds also recommends a BBC 6 Music show - Adam and Joe (08:00 to 11:00 GMT on Saturday) with a kick at the start rather than the tail. The duo, she writes, "deserve a big audience but I hope they don't get one. They are too funny, inventive, disrespectful, joyous. They are also intelligent, which bars them, thank heavens, from Radio 5 Live, which on Saturday mornings resembles the intellectual achievement of a chimps' tea party. But if Radio 1, or the new Capital, or Radio 2, or even Radio 4 in one of its desperately 'young' moods were to sign them up, they would change, become frantic, be obliged to fit in. At the moment they chat without putting each other down."
Moving on we next suggest a number of BBC Radio 2 programmes starting with Monday evening and "The Record Producers", which examined the work of Brian Wilson and the following "Suzi Quatro's Heroes" that this week in the fifth of six programmed profiled Felix Cavaliere, the lead singer, writer and keyboard player from one of her favourite groups, The Young Rascals. And from Tuesday we suggest the continuing "Living in Harmony" series on close-harmony singing (The second of six) followed by "Street Corner Soul" - the story of doo wop (The first of four programmes).
And finally from the station we go for next Saturday and Coldplay live in the BBC's Radio Theatre (18:00 GMT).
Moving to BBC Radio 3, where the Proms continue to dominate the schedule, we note last Saturday's "The Wire", which featured a repeat of the drama "The Moonmen" and was followed by another repeat that is well worth a second listen in the "Between the Ears" slot. This was "Rock's DNA - Portrait of a Guitar Chord", an exploration of the Jimi Chord.
Also from the station we suggest "Composer of the Week" (11:00 to noon GMT), which this week is on Ralph Vaughan Williams and the "Sunday Feature", which last Sunday was "Vaughan Williams: Valiant for Truth", a portrait of the composer and man presented by Stephen Johnson.
From BBC Radio 4, we go first for two programmes we caught on Monday - one on the way to sleep after an overnight shift which we found interesting enough to hold on for the end and the other caught on the way to an overnight shift and heard on the road in part but which we have been spurred to get again from the web site to see if the whole matches the little we heard.
The morning programme was "Fry's English Delight" in which Stephen Fry looked at the words and sayings from Britain's maritime history that have made their way into common speech but whose origins are frequently completely unknown to those using them. The evening one was the comedy "Tomorrow, Today! What Price Utopia?" - set in 1961 but about a BBC producer with the task of producing a soap to be set in 2006.
We also suggest, taking our cue from the Fry programme Tuesday's "Word of Mouth" in which Peggy Reynolds amongst other things looked at the way the British misuse words taken from other languages.
Other programming that has caught our ear or eyes from BBC Radio 4 include last Saturday's "Archive Hour" - "With God on Our Side" in which the former Bishop of Edinburgh considers what happens to people's faith when their life is on the line as in war. [The lines so much beloved of various American hosts that "there are no atheists in a foxhole" is of course as accurate as much else of their bigoted blether.]; Two musical programmes with Tuesday's "Music Feature" - "40 Years from Folsom" in which Matthew Bannister recalls Johnny Cash's historic 1968 concert at Folsom Prison in California and Friday's (12:30 GMT) "For One Night Only: Bernstein in Berlin" in which Paul Gambaccini recalls the concert by musicians from East and West that was conducted by Leonard Bernstein on Christmas Day 1989, six weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall; and a different perspective on Sound in next Saturday's "Beardyman and the Mimics" (09:30 GMT) in which Champion beatboxer Beardyman, aka Darren Foreman, a master of vocal artistry ventures on a personal journey to unveil the secrets of animal vocal mimicry.
Which takes us to the regular afternoon programming on the station with the 14:30 GMT "Afternoon Reading" - this week showcasing various contemporary writing and the following "A Guide to Garden Birds."
In potentially linked vein we also suggest "Parkmasters" from Monday morning in which historian Tristram Hunt explores the people and ideas behind Britain's public parks, looking in this programme at John Claudius Loudon and Derby Arboretum.
That was followed by the regular "Book of the Week", which this week had Adam Nicolson reading from "Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History", his account of one of Britain's most celebrated gardens, which was bought by his grandparents Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson in 1932.
After that a little reminiscing and documentary starting with "Something Understood" from last Sunday in which BBC Foreign Correspondent Jonathan Charles reflected on whether travel really does broaden the mind and also from last Sunday "The Frost Collection" in which David Frost and guests Max Hastings, Charles Kennedy and Esther Rantzen looked back at some of the most memorable interviews of his long career.
And the medical with Sunday's Analysis "Trust Me, I'm a Patient" in which Michael Blastland considered the pros and cons of Consumer-driven health care with some patients demanding treatments of unproven worth, regardless of cost [Ironically in the UK often promoted most by two newspapers who see no contradiction in leading one day on a call for lower taxes and the next on demanding National Health Service provision of very expensive treatment that may prolong life for only a short time.]
Also of interest here we found Monday's "Placebo" in which Ben Goldacre investigated the latest research on the placebo effect and the following programme "The Stanford Prison Experiment" in which Claudia Hammond looked at Philip Zimbardo's experiments in a mock prison, which produced behaviour so extreme in terms of maltreatment that he had to abandon it and which led him to shocked recognition of similarities in the abuse conducted at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
We'd also suggest from Tuesday "Jatropha the Wonder Plant" on a plant that has grown in the tropics for centuries and is being touted for use as a bio fuel and "Great Lives" in which in biographical discussions with Matthew Parris' guests nominate a subject- this week the guest was Bob Harris and he nominated rock'n'roll DJ Alan Freed whose career disappeared amidst a payola scandal and who died a penniless alcoholic.
Then going towards the end of the week we opt for Thursday and "The Ancient Novel" in which Tibor Fischer at the International Conference on the Ancient Novel talks to leading academics about this relatively unknown literary genre plus "In Business" in which Peter Day reports on a business war game held in London by leaders of the British pharmaceutical industry who were concerned that it was failing to keep up with biotechnology. Later that evening "Jon Ronson on..." is on "Bad News" in which he looked at how people take bad tidings - it includes the tale of a man told he had terminal cancer and who opted to spend his last six months expensively living it up, only to find that the doctors got it wrong.
Previous Columnists:
Previous Donovan:
Previous Fong-Torres:
Previous Reynolds:
Previous Struble:
Hear 2.0 - Ramsey:
iBiquity - Struble:
New York Times - Curtis:
San Francisco Chronicle - Fong-Torres:
UK Sunday Times - Donovan:
UK Telegraph - Reynolds:
2008-08-26: A strong performance by radio and New media - whose revenues were each up 15% to GBP 34.6 million (USD 63.5 million) and GBP 5.8 million (USD 10.7 million) respectively - has more than outweighed a 4% fall in TV revenues to GBP 18.3 million (USD 33.6 million) to give UTV Media a 8% overall revenue rise to GBP 62 million (USD 113.8 million) for the six months to the end of June according to its interim results just released.
Pre-tax profits before exceptional items was up 12% to GBP 10.4 million (USD 19.1 million) within which non-television operating profits rose 32% to GBP 9.9 million within which radio operating profits were up 31% to GBP 9 million and New Media operating profits rose by 51% to GBP 900,000.
Within the radio revenue rise, GB radio revenues were up 5% to GBP 25.0 million of which GBP 12.1 million (up 18% ) was from talkSPORT whilst Irish radio revenues were up 47% to GBP 11.6 million (USD 21.3 million) with like-for-like revenues up 24% to GBP 9.4 million ( USD 17.3 million).
UTV said its new Belfast station U105 continued to make good progress and losses were down from GBP 400,000 to GBP 300,000 (From USD 734,000 to USD 551,000) and added that With strong revenue growth, reduced losses at U105, and the acquisition of FM104 in Dublin on 10 April 2008, operating profits from its Irish radio division were up by over 65% to GBP 3.6 million (USD 6.6 million).
Its GB radio it noted had increased its revenues 5% to GBP 25.0 million (USD 45.9 million) with talkSPORT revenues up 18% to GBP 12.1 million (USD 22.2 million) whilst local station revenues were down 5% to GBP 12.9 million. In Scotland, losses at its new Edinburgh station were down from GBP 900, 0000 to GBP 600,000 (From USD 1.65 million to USD 1.1 million) and it says it plans to break even by the end of next year.
Group Chief Executive John McCann said of the figures, "Good news stories about media companies are rare at the moment; however the group is pleased to announce significant growth in both turnover and pre-tax profits in the first half of 2008. I am particularly pleased to report strong performances in both our radio and new media divisions. This is further indication that the group's decision to diversify away from a pure television offering was indeed the right one. This strategy has been key to protecting the group against the current market volatility and leaves us well placed to take advantage of opportunities arising from an upturn."
"While advertising remains a difficult environment," he added, "we expect to markedly outperform our peer group over the next quarter. With a strong management structure and clear strategic vision, we are confident in the group's ability to deliver robust revenue and profit figures in the face of uncertain macro economic conditions."
Previous McCann:
Previous UTV:
2008-08-26: Clear Channel Phoenix KYFI-AM talk host Bruce Jacobs has come under attack by police officers after attacking the widow of an office shot dead by a suspected illegal immigrant gang member.
12News in Phoenix reports that Julie Erfle was left to bring up her two young sons after her husband Nick was shot and has since taken up the issue of "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" and lobbied in Washington DC in favour of legislation to support the policy.
The Clear Channel host is amongst critics of the policy, terming it amnesty for illegal immigrants and 12News reports that Jacobs told his audience he was ashamed of Julie Erfle, adding, "I'm sure if her husband were alive today knowing how his legacy is going to be used or his memory is going to be used to further the cause of the very thing he took an oath for, to uphold the law, he would be ashamed of you."
Erfle's fellow police officers have defended her with Nate Gafvert, vice president of the Mesa Police Association, saying that Jacobs "you cold heartedly attacked a hero's wife and family" and Nick Erfle's former co-worker Sgt Pete Marconi terming the attack "the worst of yellow journalism."
The critics want a written and on-air apology but, says the report, Jacobs has responded by saying he has "unbelievable sympathy" for Julie Erfle and her children as individuals, but standing by his criticism of her politics.
RNW comment: Unless the quotation is incorrect, the host is being disingenuous in his response or just doesn't understand his own language. He is quite entitled to disagree with the policy but, unless he was a close acquaintance or friend of the dead officer and knew his views and politics differed from those of the widow, has no grounds whatsoever to defend this attack.
Nick Erfle could honourably swear to uphold the law and do so but still disagree with particular laws and his widow has every right to campaign for changes to the law in the circumstances, be it for harsher or more lenient laws.
Unless the host can substantiate his comments about her husband's being ashamed of his widow's actions, he should have apologized, albeit he could still have maintained his disagreement over the laws involved. He didn't and Clear Channel should take the honourable course and fire him - not for his views on the issue but for a personal attack that cannot be justified and in the circumstances has no place on air. It won't happen of course, but it would be very pleasing were local businesses en masse to withdraw their advertising from Clear Channel until it does.
Previous Clear Channel:
12news report:
2008-08-26: A freelance BBC soccer reporter is facing the loss of his job after saying during a BBC Radio Manchester update on a Bradford v Rochdale game that the latter "were making more holes in the Bradford defence than in a Spanish aircraft."
The comments by freelance Chris Price, who also works behind the bar at the Comedy Club, led to complaints and the BBC apologised, terming the comments, made after last week's crash at Madrid airport in which more than 150 people died, "inappropriate."
The Manchester Evening News quoted Price as saying "I honestly thought I was being descriptive. It wasn't meant to be funny; it was just a descriptive phrase. If people are offended by what I said, then of course I apologise but I never intended to offend anyone" but also that he made a "horrible mistake'."
Mike Brookes, media officer for Rochdale Football Club, told the paper, "I did that job for the BBC for the best part of 15 years and you have to try and be a bit quirky. But there is being different and then there is crass stupidity. It was unprofessional and stupid."
Previous BBC:
Manchester Evening News report:
2008-08-26: In more Australian radio results, both Austereo and Macquarie Radio Network have reported increased revenues but while the former's profits were up 5.1% to AUD 48.8 million ( USD 42.1)those of the latter were down 17.9% to AUD 4.42 million ( USD 3.81 million ).
Macquarie did have some good news however as The Australian and other papers reported that Sydney 2GB host Alan Jones, who has had treatment for colon cancer, will be back on air by the middle of next month.
It quoted Macquarie Radio CEO Angela Clark as telling it that "At the latest, he will be back on air on September 15" and adding "At this point, he's planning to continue his existing shift." There had been speculation that Jones would cut back on his five-hours-a day stint, which covers the Sydney breakfast slot and then runs an hour into the morning slot.
Macquarie is more dependent on the Sydney market - where it noted that radio advertising had been down 1.7% year-on-year - than Austereo but overall it reported revenues up .6%, boosted by revenues from its recently launched online sites.
Chairman Max Donnelly, said it had "been a difficult year with regards to the advertising market" although but added that the "radio business has produced solid results." Last month "the network released a profit downgrade in which said earnings would be 15-20% below its 2007 figures.
Austereo in its preliminary final report said its revenues from ongoing operations were up 5.4% to a record AUD 266.7 million (AUD 230.2 million) with EBIT up 7.0% to AUD 86.8 million USD - 74.9 million. Per share earnings were up 9.3% to 13.93 cents).
It said that its leading share of capital city audiences rose to 22.9% and under 40 audiences increased to 34.2% whilst in the 25-54 demographic, the group held a 28.9% share. Total capital city radio revenues it said were up 5.65% and the company said it also "maintained leadership of online radio sites."
Chairman Peter Harvie commented "Year on year, the group grew in all key measures and the expanding cross-platform transition is one of the most successful in the media category" and added, "In June, iPod downloads of the top rating radio show, Hamish & Andy, exceeded half a million… We are also now realising the potential of the combination of radio and online technologies both as compatible media and as new audience platforms."
CEO Michael Anderson commented that interactive opportunities were now opening up new horizons for audience reach and advertising responses, saying, "In the past year, combined radio and online advertising campaigns have almost doubled. We are also now prepared for the impending launch of digital radio which will further enhance the medium."
"Our success," he continued, " is ultimately determined by the strength of our on-air personalities, music and relevant content and a continued focus on talent development is positioning us well, building future business opportunities. In the course of the year, we introduced new talent and programmes, providing strong upside potential for the group. We now deliver our content across multiple platforms, including conventional radio receivers, mobile phones and computers."
Looking ahead Anderson said, "Radio has a record of resilient performance. For the July to December 2008 half, we believe that capital city radio growth will be in positive territory, in a range below 3%...Austereo is uniquely placed, through its current leading ratings and sales share, to capitalise on future advertising market uplift."
Austereo began a share buy-back during the year and at the end of June had bought 927,710 shares being purchased for AUD 1.3 million (USD 1.1million) at an a