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There are thousands of stories all around you.

You simply need to understand what makes for good stories and how to use them for strategic communication, veteran public relations executive Rosemary Ravinal notes in this column.

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“Our second-quarter results demonstrate remarkable, continued growth across our business.”

Those were the opening words from Sirius XM CEO Jennifer Witz, who had many great highlights to offer before even starting her second sentence during the company’s earnings call held Tuesday for analysts and investors.

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On Monday (7/26), Democratic leadership at the FCC moved forward with the adoption of a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to refresh the existing record regarding the statutorily mandated collection of data on FCC Form 395-B — the paperwork used for EEO data collection by the Commission until the D.C. Circuit asked it to stop doing so 20 years ago.

Twenty-four hours later, Pew Research Center released statistics from the RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University that paint the present-day portrait of the local TV newsroom staff. What’s the diversity among those employed by TV news departments across the U.S.?

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For the 97 news outlets whose primary domain, its website, averaged at least 10 million unique visitors per month, traffic rose 11% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

That’s according to a fresh Pew Research Center analysis of the state of the U.S. news media.

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When the popular podcast “WTF with Marc Maron” (www.wtfpod.com) debuted 11 years ago, the iPhone was only on its third iteration and couldn’t muster downloads larger than 20 MB.

That’s an important fact in understanding the evolution of podcasting fidelity from tinny and flangey in the early ’00s, as the podcast’s producer Brendan McDonald describes, to the comparatively crystalline audio available from podcasts today.

“When podcasts were a fairly young medium, there were a lot of data concerns about them from users,” says McDonald, “people with early data plans or devices that did not hold particularly a large amount of data and did not have cloud storage plans yet. So, you had to be very mindful.”

[Read: True Crime Sound Design on “Anatomy of Murder”]

As MP3 compression technology progressed and the show upgraded to a server whose bitrate was 128 kbps, he found some listeners still preferred the original 22.05 kHz mono file, which was 32-bit at a constant 40 kbps.

Those longtime listeners can still find that format on the podcast’s website, while podcatchers and platforms like Spotify get a modern formatted file.

“I was like, if the default setting is [128 kbps] and I’m compressing down, [then] we’re getting like a VHS copy of a copy here,” he says. “Now we’re using a more standard, almost stereo MP3 style setting of 44.1 [kHz] stereo, 16-bit and 128 kbps — which is a much bigger file, but in the style that people are generally listening to podcasts now.”

No Pretense
McDonald has been with “WTF with Marc Maron” for all 1,200-plus episodes, and worked with the host in terrestrial radio in New York and Los Angeles before transitioning to the podcast format.

While he can hear improvements in the quality of the show and audio over that time period, the equipment he used to get the show to today has changed very little.

Maron, in his home studio, still tracks with a Shure SM7 microphone and a Samson MDR6 tabletop mixer with GarageBand. McDonald edits in Adobe Audition, the latest version of what was once known as Cool Edit he used in the show’s earliest days.

The only measurable changes to the show’s production, in fact, came with COVID-19. Maron and McDonald had to ease off their policy of only taping interviews in person, but maintaining the easy, conversational vibe that comes from conducting face-to-face interviews was a top priority during the upheaval of 2020.

“These interviews, and this show in general, really connect with people because the conversations feel so intimate,” says McDonald. “Marc, over the course of a decade, has gotten very good at that — basically creating an environment for people to feel like they’re comfortable and they can share with him. It doesn’t have a lot of pretense, it doesn’t have a lot of roadblocks to actual conversation, as opposed to feeling like it’s stilted or a list of Q&A. He wanted it to be personal; he wanted it to feel like two people connecting. And so that was really important to us.”

[See Other Interesting Features From Jim Beaugez]

Social distancing protocols meant that videoconferencing became a necessity. For interviews in which the subject has a home recording setup, McDonald is able to get a tape sync recording, but most audio now comes through Zoom with the Audio Hijack extraction tool by Rogue Amoeba (www.rogueamoeba.com) added to the mix. In the software’s Voice Chat mode, McDonald can select Skype, Zoom or another videoconferencing platform as the audio source and tweak the audio on the fly while Maron conducts the interview.

“It’s actually brought me back to my early days of live radio production, in that now I can actually sit on the live call with Marc and I can tinker with the sound if I need to,” he says. “It’s been more work in the last year, but we’ve been able to make it work and largely have been very satisfied with the way things have sounded.”

The post How Marc Maron’s Podcast Adjusted to COVID appeared first on Radio World.

With third-party “cookie depreciation,” there’s now greater emphasis on first party data. As such, Nielsen has unveiled a new approach to measuring authenticated and unauthenticated web traffic.

This will see Nielsen become the only platform to validate first party server data with real consumer behavior.

The move means Nielsen will eliminate its reliance on digital identifiers while ensuring that advertisers and publishers “can continue to measure confidently in a dynamic, privacy-first media environment.”

The result, says Nielsen, will allow it to become “the leading platform to validate first party server data with real consumer behavior.”

“If the industry has learned anything since the rise of cookies, it’s that digital media measurement must remain scalable, flexible and useful,” said Mainak Mazumdar, Chief Data Officer at Nielsen. “Nielsen’s new cookieless measurement approach will further position the company to deliver deduplication across linear and digital as part of Nielsen ONE. Our new approach to measuring authenticated and unauthenticated digital traffic will enable us to scale across channels and platforms to ensure a comprehensive view of success and uncover areas for optimization.”

In the new world order, digital traffic will ultimately move into two distinct categories for measurement following the deprecation of digital identifiers:

• Authenticated: Traffic with identifiers on properties which have logged in environments or consented devices. To measure authenticated traffic, Nielsen will leverage all available identifiers and first-party data from participating clients, such as hashed email addresses, Unified ID 2.0 and select, verified self-reported demographic labels. This will ensure interoperability in the ad ecosystem, including with walled gardens, and simplify measurement for clients by reducing reliance on third parties.

• Unauthenticated: Logged out traffic or traffic on properties that do not have logged in environments or where no alternative identifiers can be provided. To measure anonymous traffic, Nielsen has developed a machine learning technique with  additional contextual data signals including time, browser, content and device information, as well as FLoC groups.  The model is validated against the panel for accuracy. Demographics  of unauthenticated behavior are also modeled and validated with panel observations for both representation and accuracy.

Late last year, Nielsen announced its ID Resolution System, which serves to unify the identity data that Nielsen receives in an interoperable way across the media ecosystem.  As part of the Nielsen ID System, the Nielsen ID Graph is calibrated against and validated by Nielsen’s people-based panels.

Auralex Acoustics is debuting the ProPOD Acoustic Decoupler, intended for use in decoupling monitors and other audio equipment weighing 50 pounds or less.

Earmarked as the first in a new line of decouplers that the company will unveil throughout 2021, the ProPODs come in packs of four. Each cylindrical stand consists of a powder-coated carbon-steel exoskeleton and a viscoelastic-polymer shock absorber, and is intended to improve the soundstage and presence of a user’s monitor, loudspeaker or subwoofer within the specified weight range.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

“We invested significant resources in the development of the ProPOD and are happy that it will help folks hear what their loudspeakers — and other components — actually sound like. The sonic benefits of the ProPOD are not subtle; it definitely removes the veil. We feel that it dramatically outperforms the competition — and at a more agreeable price point,” said Eric Smith, founder and president of Auralex.

The puck-like ProPODs are placed at corners or where need be. The powder-coated steel exoskeleton found on the decouplers is available in two color choices: matte black and pearl white. The ProPOD Acoustic Decouplers retail for $129.99 per set of four and are available through all Auralex retailers.

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Info: www.auralex.com

The post Auralex Debuts ProPOD Acoustic Decouplers appeared first on Radio World.

Last week Xperi noted that it is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the launch in a U.S. vehicle of HD Radio. This came in 2006, with HD Radio available as an option in BMW 2006 7 Series and 6 Series models.

Today, there is still a perception that HD Radio is a product not fully fulfilled, or just now finding its stride. Some may even deride HD Radio as a failure compared to DAB’s exceptional growth in the U.K. and in Norway, where FM radio was silenced for good.

Where does HD Radio stands today? Jeff Jury, the Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Connected Car division of Xperi, offers his thoughts in a fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, hosted by RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Jeff Jury, Xperi” on Spreaker.

In mid-January 2021, the owner of three FMs and an AM serving North Central Washington state decided to put the AM and two of the FMs it owns on the market. He inked a representation deal with a broker, and awaited bids.

An acceptable buyer has been found, putting in motion the transfer of control of an AM/FM combo and a second FM serving the eastern Washington cities of Chelan, Manson and Wenatchee.

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Dielectric is coming to the 2021 NAB Show with NextGen TV on the mind – and a new product line that is ready to ship.

Announced last year, the Powerlite TFU-WB-LP Series is built with the unique parameters of NextGen TV in mind, with a series of elevation gains, azimuth patterns with high front to back ratios, and software tools to provide broadcasters maximum flexibility in designing and deploying ATSC 3.0 single-frequency networks (SFN).

Dielectric developed the series while working with consultants on theoretical plans for SFN deployments. Although its recently introduced antenna products were ATSC 3.0-ready, customers were requesting products specifically designed for the SFN business model.

“After extensive calculations and design process changes we launched our repack product portfolio with ATSC 3.0 power requirements in mind, but optimized for high-power broadcasting,” said Dielectric VP/GM Keith Pelletier. “There is more to the SFN than being robust enough to get the ATSC 3.0 signal out there. They require even bit distribution from two or more transmission sites throughout the broadcast market. That means supplying antennas with exceptional accuracy to ensure that coverage gaps between transmission sites are properly filled, and that signal strength is uniformly increased in the market.”

Dielectric has expanded its all-in-one Powerlite Series to provide customers with complete systems that help broadcasters maximize their NextGen TV investments. Like all Powerlite systems, the series brings antennas, transmission line, tunable filters and RF components into one affordable, all-inclusive package.

As ATSC 3.0 SFNs will comprise multiple low-power transmitter sites, Dielectric’s Proposal Generator software will help broadcasters configure systems that meet very specific network designs. Broadcasters can select the proper power level, directional pattern, height above ground level, and other pertinent design criteria for each location. These flexible parameters will help broadcasters make the most of their NextGen TV bit distribution, according to Pelletier.

“There are vast opportunities around how broadcasters can use their data bits, and this is completely novel compared to ATSC 1.0,” said Pelletier. “There is potential to support radio streams, enhanced emergency alerts, and additional TV and streaming services that together can communicate a stronger brand with local appeal. These new NextGen TV services will dramatically change and improve the over-the-air business model. We’re now introducing an expanded NextGen TV product line to help broadcasters maximize emerging opportunities that the ATSC 3.0 standard offers.”

The Powerlite TFU-WB-LP antennas are built in four-bay increments, with a maximum ERP of 100 kW for each antenna (higher power options are also available). The new series is adaptable to multi-frequency networks, and can serve both narrow-band and broadband RF configurations. The series can also work in concert with more traditional high-power high-tower antennas, which many broadcasters will want to keep in operation.

“Many broadcasters will leverage their primary antenna as the lighthouse, and will need to optimize their coverage by establishing higher power densities throughout the DMA,” said Jay Martin, Vice President of Sales, Dielectric. “Powerlite TFU-WB-LP antennas will operate seamlessly with the existing higher power antennas, but will be located near the perimeter of the DMA oriented back towards the main antenna. This antenna is designed specifically with that in mind, utilizing high front to back ratios. Also, the antennas are available in horizontal, elliptical or full CP versions. ”

Broadcasters can essentially design SFN antennas to optimize service within their respective DMAs, complementing the service provided by their primary antenna in these cases. “After they design systems using our intelligent configuration software, they can cleanly export the azimuth pattern files to a network planning software program, such as Progira Plan, to complete, evaluate and optimize the SFN system performance,” said Martin. “We will work with all customers to consider the best coverage and service options for their business models.”

Dielectric will demonstrate the Powerlite TFU-WB-LP Series at its 2021 NAB Booth (C7215) from October 10-13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.