Industry News

If you missed “What’s Next?” — the visually explosive multimedia keynote by Craig Anderton at the first Pro Audio & Radio Tech Summit — you missed out on a wide-ranging, clear-eyed summary of how technology is changing every part of pro audio right in front of our eyes…and where it’s all headed.

The keynote presentation and all other Summit content is now available for free on demand. Musician/author Craig Anderton is an internationally recognized authority on music and technology. He has played on, produced, or mastered over 20 major label recordings and hundreds of tracks, authored 45 books on musical electronics, written over a thousand articles, lectured on technology and the arts (in 10 countries, 38 U.S. states, and three languages), and done sound design and consulting work for numerous music industry companies. He is the current president of the MIDI Association, and a longtime columnist for Pro Sound News.

[See the Full Pro Audio + Radio Tech Summit]

The presentation, like all parts of the summit, including the extensive panels on podcasting, House of Worship studio creation, immersive audio, an in-depth discussion on the audio production of this year’s Grammys with the show’s audio team, audio for audio education and more, is available for the viewing through April 30.

Meanwhile, the Radio Track features sessions on hybrid radio, AoIP, virtualization, streaming, business continuity and trends in transmission. These topics will be of interest to any radio broadcast manager or engineer who manages technology or uses it to advance their careers and business missions.

Click here to view the agenda and register for free to see any part of the summit.

The post Anderton’s Multimedia Pro Audio Radio Tech Summit Keynote Available appeared first on Radio World.

To the southwest of Corpus Christi, Tex., is Falfurrias, home to a Class B AM that has been owned and operated by a New Jersey-based Hispanic broadcast ministry since fall 2019.

Now, Erick Salgado is saying goodbye to this station.

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On Wednesday (4/7), ViacomCBS confirmed that Peter Dunn, who led the CBS O&Os, and news division leader David Friend will not return to their positions and will be exiting the company.

Dunn’s attorney on Thursday issued a statement that clarifies Dunn’s departure from ViacomCBS.

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Search. Social. Mobile. Each has played their role in digital advertising and its evolution. Now there is the voice era. But, some brands may think of smart speakers in ways that don’t fully take advantage of the ways it can converse naturally with consumers, through a Voice AI platform.

Where are marketers on this opportunity, and where is linear media such as TV and radio? Andy Whatley, the senior vice president for global business development and partnerships at Instreamatic, the company focused on enabling voice interactivity and measurability in the audio ad market, has much to share on the topic.

Andy is the latest guest on the InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Andy Whatley, Instreamatic” on Spreaker.

Have you assessed the maturity of your consumer data? What about the level of capabilities seen across your organization?

It may be a fine time to do so. The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA Global) has just released its findings of a survey powered by EY that reviewed consumer data accessible to senior U.S. marketing leaders.

Your clients have a lot of work to do.

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Jack Mortenson, co-founder of Christian radio company Mortenson Broadcasting, died on April 1. He was 85.

According to his obituary from Milward Funeral Directors, the Rev. Jack Maurice Mortenson died at his home in Lexington, Ky.

“As the eldest son of traveling evangelists, Jack became intricately involved in his parents’ ministry at an early age by assisting them with musical presentations,” it stated.

His father was Dr. E. M. Mortenson. The family founded Faith Memorial Baptist Church in Canton, Ohio. “It was during those years at Faith Memorial that Jack and his father pursued their vision for Christian radio in founding Mortenson Broadcasting Co.,” the obituary reports.

“The company was founded with the mission statement of ‘Helping to make and keep the home sacred.’”

Their first station was WTOF(FM), “Tower of Faith,” launched in 1960 in Canton. The second was WHKK(FM) serving the greater Cincinnati area.

The company grew to 40 stations in 18 U.S. markets and also started one of the nation’s first networks of Black gospel radio formats. According to the company website, “MBC continues to lead a growing trend of transition from general Christian formats to formats directed to specifically targeted audiences. These specialized formats have included Christian teaching and preaching, Christian talk, Contemporary Christian music, Southern Gospel music, Urban Christian Talk, Urban Gospel and Hispanic, which is the latest and fastest-growing targeted Christian audience.”

Mortenson Broadcasting received the 2012 National Religious Broadcasters Milestone award. According to his obituary, Jack Mortenson continued to work until his hospitalization in mid-March.

The post Jack Mortenson Dies at 85 appeared first on Radio World.

The advertising sales division of Comcast Cable has launched a new “function” in a move it says will better serve advertisers’ evolving needs for audience delivery within a rapidly changing TV marketplace.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON FACEBOOK!

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On April 1, Hispanic consumer-focused Entravision Communications disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it would not be able to file its annual report in a timely manner to the financial regulatory agency.

There’s a good reason for this, and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is fully aware of the situation. Still, the NYSE had to move forward with handing Entravision a non-compliance warning.

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In a move that further cements the importance of quality metrics for social media advertising and for marketers, Twitter has integrated Nielsen‘s cross-media planning and measurement services into its video advertising platform.

It’s an “expanded integration” of Nielsen’s audience measurement and outcomes cross-media offerings, the company says.

The integration includes a new subscription to Nielsen Media Impact (NMI) and Nielsen Ad Intel, along with greater access to Nielsen Total Ad Ratings (TAR).

‘Together, these tools will enable Twitter to help video advertisers do more robust pre- and post-campaign planning, maximize ad inventory, understand cross-media planning, and deliver campaign results with increased speed and agility,” Nielsen asserts.

“With a highly engaged audience and powerful premium video content, Twitter is where advertisers can connect with consumers in the moments that matter most to them,” said Doug Brodman, Twitter’s Director of North America Agency and Platform Solutions. “Nielsen’s cross-media suite will make it easier to augment our client’s video strategy and planning with Twitter’s premium video inventory and optimize audience reach and frequency alongside other top video platforms. Ultimately, this expanded partnership brings increased transparency, clarity and value to Twitter’s video solutions for our agency partners and advertisers.”

To bolster its use of NMI and TAR, Twitter will use Nielsen’s National TV Ratings data for added insights of ad campaigns across platforms. “Each solution and dataset provides Twitter with unique tools and capabilities to strengthen one of its most brand safe and impactful surfaces for advertisers: Twitter Amplify, a video ad platform that gives advertisers pre-roll and sponsorship opportunities next to premium video content,” Nielsen explains. ‘The implementation of Nielsen’s measurement and planning tools, provides a holistic view of campaign performance across all video platforms including TV.”

“To compete in a fragmented ecosystem, publishers require tools that help them plan their cross-media media strategies efficiently as well as provide deeper analysis and more robust insights of an advertiser’s campaign across screens,” said Jay Nielsen, SVP of Planning Products at Nielsen. “Twitter’s use of NMI and Ad Intel levels the playing field and ensures they have the same metrics and tools as agencies and advertisers, facilitating alignment on a common goal and plan. With TAR’s expedited capabilities, Twitter will now be able to better monetize the incremental reach and frequency delivered by ads on their platform. Altogether, our expanded collaboration will help Twitter maximize their video platform and unlock more value for advertisers as this type of video consumption continues to grow.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. — On March 24, a Cumulus Media Classic Rock station with a 33-year heritage and strong brand affinity across Western New York and much of Ontario’s most populous areas found itself in the center of a controversy that attracted binational attention.

One of its morning hosts, against his own better judgment, made comments about how his toaster settings corresponded to the skin tone of some African American female celebrities. Not only were the comments aired live, but they also appeared in a condensed version of the “Morning Bull” distributed as a podcast. That proved to be an even graver error. And, it has now cost WGRF-FM “97 Rock” its Program Director and its entire wake-up program.

As RBR+TVBR first shared via Twitter Wednesday evening (4/7), Cumulus Media issued a statement to Buffalo media confirming that, “Upon further consideration following the racist incident that occurred on The Morning Bull Show, we decided to terminate the whole morning show in addition to the Program Director.”

This results in the exit of Rich Gaenzler and the female component of the Morning Bull, Chris Klein, who is heard in an audio clip of the incident widely distributed on Twitter to be egging on Rob Lederman. He’s the longtime 97 Rock morning show voice whose presence dates back to Norton in the Morning, the predecessor to The Morning Bull. Lederman prefaced his comments by noting, “I may get into trouble for this.”

That proved to be an understatement, as his comments not only led to the dismissal of Gaenzler and Klein, but also PD John Hager.

Hager’s dismissal is particularly noteworthy. In 2018, he was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in recognition of his years of service at WGRF. After starting as a part-timer, Hager took the overnight shift in 1983 and later moved to afternoon drive. In January 1985, a format change to Adult Contemporary led to Hager’s exit. But, he’d find his way back in September 1988, relaunching 97 Rock after an infamous April Fools’ Day prank at the former WPHD “brought back” the rock ‘n’ roll brand as a joke Buffalo hoped wouldn’t be.

Now, Hager is on the sidelines, victim of a morning show segment gone wrong.

While Lederman was immediately terminated, Gaenzler and Klein were suspended following the March 24 broadcast, which gained national attention after Marcel Louis-Jacques shared an audio clip of what Lederman said via Twitter. Louis-Jacques is the Buffalo-based reporter for ESPN NFL Nation and covers the Buffalo Bills.

The next morning, WGRF offered music in-between station liners and IDs. By 10:30am, midday host J.P. was on the air. Afternoon host Carl Russo took over at 3pm.

As dawn broke in Buffalo on April 8, all vestiges of the Morning Bull were erased from the WGRF website. Continuous music continued between station liners and IDs, as has been the case since March 25. The 97 Rock Twitter feed has been scrubbed of any Morning Bull posts, while the Morning Bull’s Twitter feed still exists but hasn’t been updated since March 24. Meanwhile, 97 Rock’s Facebook page has also seen all mentions of the Morning Bull removed — except for a 90-second statement from Cumulus/Buffalo Market Manager Jim Riley that served as a formal apology for Lederman and the Morning Bull.

Lederman’s comments led such local advertisers as Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and West Herr Automotive Group to cancel their contracts with Cumulus/Buffalo, Nexstar-owned WIVB-4 reported Wednesday.