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Freedom Of Information Act Request For Cable Television Price Survey Data, FOIA Control No. 2021-000888
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Auction of AM and FM Broadcast Construction Permits Scheduled for July 27, 2021; Comment Sought on Competitive Bidding Procedures for Auction 109
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Radio Milwaukee Promotes Several
From our People News page: Jordan Lee has been named station director of WYMS(FM)/88Nine Radio Milwaukee.
The organization announced several other changes. Dori Zori was named program director while keeping her morning show role; Music Director Justin Barney becomes assistant PD.
Left to right: Jordan Lee, Dori Zori and Justin BarneyThe announcements were made by Director Kevin Sucher, who said Lee has led 88Nine programming for more than five years.
“As station director, Jordan will be responsible for the development of new products that allow for greater music discovery and work towards the station’s mission of serving all of Milwaukee,” the organization said. “Lee also serves as the executive producer for specialty program Rhythm Lab Radio, which the station recently announced is available for nation-wide syndication.”
Zori becomes Radio Milwaukee’s first female PD. Lee joined Radio Milwaukee in 2008. The two co-hosted its morning show in 2012–2014.
Send announcements about radio management and engineering roles to radioworld@futurenet.com.
The post Radio Milwaukee Promotes Several appeared first on Radio World.
WRHU to Go Worldwide on February 12–14
The author is the chief engineer for Salem Radio’s WMCA in New York, WNYM-Hackensack, N.J., and Hofstra University’s WRHU in Hempstead, N.J. He is currently working towards a Doctorate in Education at Hofstra University.
Some time ago sitting in traffic in the Holland Tunnel, driving home from a routine maintenance visit to Salem Radio’s WMCA 570 AM transmitter site in Kearny, N.J., I had a wild thought. World Radio Day, the official UNESCO event celebrating terrestrial broadcast radio, was approaching in a few months. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could help a team of students turn the ambitious college FM station where I work into a worldwide radio network for just one day? At the time, it seemed like a silly, impossible daydream. But then again, WRHU Radio Hofstra University 88.7 FM is a place built on dreams.
First signing on the air in the late 1950s, WRHU (formerly WHCH and WVHC) has grown from its small studios underneath the campus’ Spiegel Theater to the broadcast powerhouse it is today. WRHU’s FM signal covers all of Nassau County on Long Island and parts of New York City’s five boroughs and the tristate area. Over the years, the station has won multiple Marconi Awards, enjoyed a high-profile relationship with the New York Islanders hockey team, and trained a multitude of passionate radio graduates who have worked their way into the New York broadcast market.
Housed in The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University, the station is powered by its 200-plus student volunteers. And this year, the station reached a new height — receiving the World Radio Day Award from the Academy of Radio Arts and Sciences of America.
General Manager Bruce Avery has spent the last 27 years of his career at the helm of WRHU. It was his passion for broadcasting and commitment to preprofessional development in an environment of mutual respect that helped grow the station to where it is today. Bruce has always stressed that WRHU is a student-run radio station supported by a diverse group of administrators, faculty, alumni and community volunteers.
WRHU Reporter Derek FuttermanTo pursue this idea of a worldwide broadcast, I knew that the students would have to be in charge. I consulted with my colleague, Operations Manager John Mullen, on the best way to approach this. John is no stranger to big, globally successful ideas, having been program director for WBLS and operations manager for Hot 97 and CD 101.9 during their heyday in the 1990s. John and I agreed that the students would be best served by a broadcast that was a celebration of live and local radio, and that it would happen in two parts.
The first would be an actual global broadcast. WRHU would reach out to stations across the United States and around the world to invite them to join us for our special World Radio Weekend broadcast on Feb 12, 13 and 14. Student reporters and DJs would have the opportunity to do a bidirectional simulcast with each partner station. To accomplish this, we would use all of our technological options — our connectivity choices include Comrex Access codecs along with Telos VX IP phones and QGoLive soft codec apps for smartphones. Our updated studios feature the latest Wheatstone gear and RCS automation — to connect the World Radio Weekend broadcast affiliates with WRHU’s campus studios in Hempstead, essentially building an ad hoc network of international stations.
Finding interested affiliates was also easy. It turns out that radio geeks come in all shapes and sizes. WRHU alum and JVC Broadcasting owner John Caracciolo and Neversink Media Group’s Bud Williamson were the first to offer us airtime. We wanted to feature local stations that served their listeners with live and local programming. Established names like Pocono 96.7, Long Island News Radio, WKNY Kingston and WALL Radio seemed like a natural fit for the broadcast. From there the list grew longer. KBOO community radio in Portland, Ore., agreed to join us for a tribute to WCBS engineer and WRHU alum Marc Weiner, who passed away in 2020. Marc was a beloved technical mentor and friend of both stations, so it only seemed fitting to honor his memory as part of our joint broadcast.
WRHU Reporter Crystal BermudezSince then, the list of international and domestic stations has grown considerably. Bush Radio 89.5 FM, a community megaphone in Cape Town, South Africa, eagerly joined the program, along with Bradford City Broadcasting’s 106.6 in the U.K.; Taipei, Taiwan’s FM100; Florida Man Radio; South Seas Broadcasting’s KKHJ in American Samoa; and GGFM in the Philippines. For the Spanish-language segment of the broadcast, Hofstra University professor and Latin American radio scholar Mario Murillo will connect us with his partner station WIOX, Roxbury, N.J., where he produces a weekly Rumba music show.
The WRHU student team, led by journalists Derek Futterman, Rachel Luscher and Crystal Bermudez, has been hard at work preparing “WRHU’s World Radio Passport.” Listeners will have the chance to hear shows featuring music, voices and stories from stations around the world, all co-hosted by WRHU students.
“We want the listener to sit back and let the radio take them on this amazing voyage around the world,” said Futterman ’23, a journalism major.
More than 50 industry professionals were also interviewed as part of the production. WRHU students have spent the last two months gathering stories and radio experiences from radio’s household names such as 1010 WINS anchor Lee Harris, Q104.3’s Jim Kerr, WNYC’s Paul Cavalconte, ABC Radio’s Todd Ant, and MaryKate “MK” Burnell of the “More Music Please” podcast. Matching the students with professionals in their fields of interest proved to be very rewarding for both interviewer and interviewee.
WRHU Reporter Rachel LuscherStudents from the station’s news and sports departments, led by Professionals in Residence Pete Silverman and Sara Hendricks, jumped at the chance to chat with some of the nation’s top talents. Shayna Sengstock ‘22, a WRHU student technical engineer, loved having the chance to interview veteran CBS engineer Mitch Glider. “It was really exciting to have the chance to learn about these amazing professionals and what they do,” she said. “They provided so much inspiration for my own career.”
WDST’s Lenny Bloch also enjoyed his interview with WRHU’s Grant Francis ‘21, responding with “Great kid, great chat!” Even Long Island music legends Richie Cannata and Liberty DeVitto got involved, talking about the crucial role of local radio in the region’s music history. Student Director of Music Programming Ed Mabeeza now has the challenge of scheduling the entire program in RCS Selector for the weekend.
None of this would have been possible without the support of the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication and Dean Mark Lukasiewicz. Hofstra has given WRHU its support for over 60 years. On Feb. 12, we look forward to sharing WRHU with the world.
The post WRHU to Go Worldwide on February 12–14 appeared first on Radio World.
GBS Wants to Test Geo-targeting in San Jose
Hoping to advance its push for the FCC to allow geo-targeting content on FM boosters, GeoBroadcast Solutions has applied for 90-day experimental authority to run two co-located, on-channel boosters in San Jose, Calif.
Its goal is to collect more field data about the company’s ZoneCasting FM booster system.
“The test will be conducted through Universal Media Access’ KSJO(FM) in San Jose, Calif., a South Asian/Indian broadcaster,” the company said in an announcement.
“The trial will demonstrate KSJO’s ability to add localized weather and traffic, news, advertising and EAS tests during short parts of a broadcast hour, and how seamlessly unrecognizable it will be to the average listener.”
The filing was made by Bert Goldman Goldman Engineering Management, who will install the equipment if the request is approved. GBS said Dennis Roberson of tech and management consultant firm Roberson and Associates will oversee and audit the process.
Bill Saurer is president and CEO of Universal Media Access.
“The requested testing will use a back-to-back booster configuration setup at different locations near the busy I-680 corridor,” GBS stated.
Goldman was quoted in the announcement saying the goal was to show that ZoneCasting “can be very simply implemented, in this case, adding only one booster location and can significantly improve coverage in low signal areas while providing geotargeted programming which can benefit hundreds of thousands of listeners without interference.”
As we’ve reported, the FCC currently is taking industry comments about the GBS proposal on geo-targeting. That comment deadline is Wednesday.
GBS added that this would be its fourth experimental permit and the second using this booster configuration.
The post GBS Wants to Test Geo-targeting in San Jose appeared first on Radio World.
‘Will Going OTT Burst The Sports Bubble?’
“One of the most invigorating parts of this job is when you start seeing data points that were unexpected and force you to re-think a core tenet.”
That’s the opening line from a newly released investor report on U.S. media from MoffettNathanson Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson.
He notes that from his Wall Street perch, MoffettNathanson has long preached the dogma that live sports “are the glue to Pay TV and, as such, will be the least likely content to go over-the-top.”
Umm … that’s proving to be untrue, to some extent. Now what?
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FCC Schedules Auction of 136 FM CPs
The Federal Communications Commission has scheduled an auction in July of 136 FM and four AM construction permits.
Auction 109 will open on July 27, 2021. It will include all of the FM permits that has been included in Auction 106 plus six more.
Auction 106 was postponed last year due to the pandemic and has now been canceled; applications to participate in that auction have been dismissed; so hopefuls will have to file a new application to take part in Auction 109. That window hasn’t opened yet.
Also up for auction in July will be four AM licenses — three in Illinois and one in St. Louis, Mo.
The commission has published proposed bidding procedures for the auction and has asked for comments, due March 15. Read the FCC notice here. And here is list of permits to be offered.
The Media Bureau also has frozen applications to modify any of the vacant non-reserved band FM allotments involved in the auction, as well as proposals to change channel, class, community or reference coordinates for them, and applications that fail to protect Auction 109 FM allotments.
A temporary freeze on AM minor changes that would conflict with the expired licenses of the four AM facilities remains in effect.
The post FCC Schedules Auction of 136 FM CPs appeared first on Radio World.
Home and Body: Seeking Consumers Via Spot TV
The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report is out, and for the week ending February 7 — inclusive of Super Bowl LV, the biggest advertiser using broadcast TV remains GEICO.
Not far behind it is category competitor Progressive. But, there are two new entrants — and that’s a good sign for a big spring for spot television.
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A Big Week At Radio For A Big Retailer
The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report has been released, and it shows a huge jump in commercial airings by one of the nation’s largest department store brands.
For the week ending February 7, Macy’s finished at No. 7, powered by more than 36,000 radio spots.
That’s the big news of the week, as language learning app Babbel dips behind Progressive.
Here’s the full report:
AWARN Alliance Elects 2021 Steering Committee
The AWARN Alliance has elected its 2021 Steering Committee, the organization’s governing body that provides guidance to the AWARN Alliance and its executive director.
The Alliance also clarified its core education, promotion and collaboration mission, while embracing its vision to “save lives and protect communities by leveraging advanced emergency alerting, news and information powered by ATSC 3.0 NEXTGEN TV.”
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Meet Deloitte’s New TMT Sector Leader
With Deloitte LLP Vice Chairman Kevin Westcott’s ascension to industry leader of its U.S. technology, media and telecommunications practice, a position opened up at Deloitte.
It needed a leader to specifically focus on telecom, media and entertainment.
Deloitte has found that person.
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Randy Michaels Officially Says ‘So Long, Frank.’
It’s known around Plattsburgh, N.Y. for offering “everything that rocks.” With a Class A signal, this FM also scrapes the Burlington, Vt., area across Lake Champlain.
Now, this property — with a broadcast tower just down the road from the infamous Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. — is being spun.
The seller? It’s none other than Randy Michaels.
The deal is hardly a surprise: The buyer has been operating the station for months.
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Cast Your Vote Today For ‘Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders’!
Streamline Publishing’s Radio + Television Business Report is pleased to once again acknowledge the individuals in command of local television with the opening of our 2021 nomination window for Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders.
As was seen in 2019 and in 2020, these television industry executives have demonstrated in various ways how to motivate their local and regional teams to success. They are all winners, and will appear in a ranked list based on RBR+TVBR reader voting and the RBR+TVBR editorial board.
These power players represent an industry that’s sprung to action in a time of crisis,
and they deserve full commendation for their leadership today.
You may cast your vote through Friday, February 26, 2021, at 5pm Eastern Time.
Gray TV’s Q4 Results Reveal Date Is Locked In
With the biggest media merger in recent months poised to potentially propel its stock price in the coming months, Gray Television has selected the day it will release its fourth quarter and full-year 2020 financial results.
BE SURE TO FOLLOW RBR+TVBR ON FACEBOOK!
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