Industry News

The author is the former chairman and chief executive of Greater Media.

The COVID-19 crisis has been devastating across multiple sectors of the U.S. economy — and the renewed threat posed by resurging rates of infection is troubling.

In the broadcast industry, where I’ve spent most of my professional career, big challenges are hitting radio markets and station groups all over the U.S., including in San Diego, America’s 16th largest radio market.

Total radio listenership in San Diego has been down by 40 percent, with commercial revenue plummeting and operating budgets slashed as a result. You’ve seen significant layoffs at radio stations and the disappearance of beloved on-air personalities with decades of listener engagement in San Diego.

This unprecedented series of events will test broadcast company leadership like nothing we have seen — in San Diego and nationwide. The broadcast industry is pivoting dramatically before our very eyes. So too are the restaurant and hospitality business, transportation and common carrier travel, retail, personal services and many other fields.

Stay close with your people

The transformative effect of COVID-19 on our economy won’t just be felt for a set period of time. It will change some businesses forever, inspire or motivate creative ideas for managing this new reality, and sadly inflict damage enough to end many enterprises completely.

Whether it’s broadcasting, manufacturing, service industries or retail, you cannot manage what you don’t understand. And the only way to genuinely understand how transformative events impact your team is stay as close to them and communicate with them as much as possible. That means reaching out and connecting daily with the men and women that make your company work. It means being present for them and being counted alongside them.

I’ve seen a number of incredibly valuable information tools emerge in the roughly five-month period during which COVID-19 has altered our social, behavioral and economic landscape.

This April piece from Harvard Business Review by three ghSMART management consultants demonstrates that the most important goal of managing through a crisis event is taking good care of your team. Significantly, these experts suggest that acting definitively with speed over precision is often necessary to keep pace with fast-evolving and impactful events.

A similarly timed report from MIT’s Sloan Management Review notes the importance of team leaders or middle-tier managers as organizational figures that “set the tone and serve as the voice of reality.”

What these company figures say and share and how they lead can be more influential than the actual CEO or other top-tier leadership. “Support the organizational stance; if you bash the organization or its leadership, employees will lose trust,” writes consultant Amy Leschke-Kahle, the piece’s author. “They need to be able to rely on their immediate leader for honesty and stability.”

And finally, consultant Jack McGuiness writes in Chief Executive magazine that practicing “positive accountability” is the most effective method for supporting teams working through unusual or uncomfortable circumstances. Bottom line: if you need to get someone back on track, begin the conversation with the things they are doing well.

Company or workplace leaders should be staying connected both literally and emotionally with their employees. Hold weekly town halls via Zoom or other remote technology. Have informal meetups online and make unexpected calls to staff just to check in and see how they are doing.

And always, always, be honest and forthright about what is happening with the economy and your company. In good times and in bad. When the news is encouraging or when the news is devastating.
There will inevitably be tough decisions made during such a 100-year economic weather event. But always remember to treat your people as you would wish to be treated. Information is an asset, not a liability. Share it properly and your team will hang in there with you.

Peter H. Smyth is now a senior consultant to American Media and is a member of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Read more about radio and the pandemic. 

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The author is support engineer at À Punt Radio.

VALENCIA, Spain — À Punt Radio is part of the Corporació Valenciana de Mitjans de Comunicació. In the recent past we have been supplied by AEQ with an IP audio network based on Dante technology.

We have worked really hard to define and implement a solution that is flexible, reliable, easy to use and maintain, and long-lasting all at the same time.

The Central Control Room

Though the system features automatic Dante redundancy, we are planning a parallel AES/EBU digital-audio network to provide for an emergency audio contingency that would allow operation and broadcasting to continue via some simple patch switching.

Routing is performed by an AEQ BC2000 digital audio matrix with TDM technology, IP connected with Dante to the studios. The destination is Forum Split digital mixers. Two of these studios, dedicated to live music and music editing, incorporate an additional Yamaha TF1 console connected through the Dante network.

In the central control room are two AEQ SysTel IP broadcast telephone systems, three audio codecs, two radio multi-receivers, two DVB-S2 (HD satellite) and DVB-C/T (cable and DVB-T, both in HD) receivers, and two TV sets, monitoring selector, two dual VU meters, two EBU monitors, two FM program and one streaming processors.

Also, there are two main monitors for central control room listening, the BC 2000D audio matrix and two Netbox 32 audio-over-IP interfaces. The audio matrix installed is a scalable AEQ BC2000D router. It mixes, distributes and processes audio using TDM technology, sized with a total of 352 inputs and 352 outputs, 256 of which are AoIP Dante, 64 are AES/EBU digital and 32 are analog.

Eight patch panels are the matrix and AoIP interface inputs and outputs from and to analog and AES/EBU digital equipment connected to the matrix and AoIP. Also, an AES/EBU input and output from each studio is connected, providing an emergency wiring path.

There are four deployed IP networks: main Dante audio-over-IP network; a secondary Dante network; voice/telephony IP network connected to the WAN provided by the telco; and the control network for all the devices.

The CPUs for all computers can be seen in the central control room: the ones providing service in the central control room and the ones serving the controls, studios and booths using KVM extenders.

Typical wiring between the central control room and each studio is composed of:

• Two video distribution cables (plus four more for the cameras in the Studios 1 and 3);
• 16 Ethernet cables for primary Dante AoIP; secondary Dante AoIP; IP telephony system’s handset; studio’s AES/EBU audio input/output; four KVM extensions; two cables for the device IP control network; one more for the audio matrix control panel; and five spare cables.

For journalist booths, wiring is simpler, with only eight Ethernet cables plus the two video ones.

A design criterion shared by AEQ and À Punt Radio is not to skimp on Ethernet wiring so the networks can be physically separated, greatly simplifying configuration and maintenance, reducing failures, providing physical redundancies and leaving available infrastructure left for future implementations.

Four radio studios have been installed around a Forum IP Split broadcast digital mixer, with 16 faders, and a separate audio engine. Forum Screen software application was added to help control, as well as an R128 loudness meter. The console communicates with the central control room using Dante, Netbox interfaces and other AoIP devices. It features analog microphone, line and headphone inputs/outputs and AES/EBU I/O to connect to the rest of equipment.

Also, two studios have been equipped with a camera automation system to produce visual radio by means of data command through the mixer’s Ethernet interface.

Communications management (including VoIP telephony and IP/ISDN audio codecs) is performed using their respective control software. SysTel IP management application was installed on a PC with touchscreen. Audio codecs are controlled using AEQ’s Control Phoenix, a dedicated piece of software.

All the required local devices (CD and USB media players, effects modules, active monitors, etc.) have also been included.

Journalist Booths

For radio journalists Capitol mixing consoles are installed.

A TV set connected to the console, allows for direct recording of radio and TV broadcasted signals. A Tascam playback/recording unit is used to insert and extract audio files. A broadcast telephone system terminal, allows interfacing calls with the automation system or sending them on air.

Besides the central control room matrix input and outputs, audio signals from any other location on the network can be requested for recording and/or editing. In the same way outgoing lines to the matrix allows the sharing of live work with any other studio or even putting it on air directly if required.

Installation of the equipment was by AEQ System Engineering Dept. under the coordination of Bernardo Saiz, supervised by Francisco Calabuig and the rest of engineers at À Punt Comunicació.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information in the United States, contact AEQ Broadcast International in Florida at 1-800-728-0536 or visit www.aeqbroadcast.com. Elsewhere contact Gustavo Robles at AEQ in Spain at +34-91-686-1300 or visit www.aeq.eu.

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Small group owner Adams Radio Group has announced a change at its Salisbury/Ocean City Md., cluster.

Market Director of Sales Johnette Cochran has been promoted to vice president/general manager of the market group.

[Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com]

Adams Radio Group CEO Ron Stone said, “ She walked into a market and found herself operating as the top management person on site in the most unusual

of circumstances. She has proven herself during these ‘worst of times’ to be not only a terrific sales leader but also a terrific leader in general. I could not be prouder of what she has accomplished in the past six months and cannot wait to see the results as she is now fully unleashed.”

Cochran has worked in the past for Townsquare Media, Alpha Media and Guaranty Media.

Adams Radio of Delmarva includes WGBG(FM), WOCQ(FM), WUSX(FM) and WZBH(FM).

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Radio World will participate in September’s “Best of Show Awards Virtual Edition,” which normally is conducted at this time around the annual IBC show.

The program is intended to honor outstanding products and help raise awareness for the new products and services, this year honoring products launched or featured around the virtual IBC Showcase event.

The awards are supported by Future’s media and entertainment technology brands TVBEurope, PSN, Radio World and TV Technology.

Until Sept. 2, manufacturers and retailers can nominate products that have launched since the 2019 awards.

For more information about the Best of Show 2020 Virtual Edition, visit the FAQ page. To nominate, visit the official website.

The post Nominations Open for Best of Show Virtual Edition, Fall 2020 appeared first on Radio World.

The spring 2020 Nielsen Audio Market Report will be the final one for nine small radio markets.

Nielsen Audio will discontinue its syndicated market report for Battle Creek, Mich.; Bend, Ore.; Billings, Mont.; Grand Junction, Colo.; New Bedford-Fall River, Mass.; Texarkana, Texas-Arkansas; Tri-Cities, Wash. (Richland-Kennewick-Pasco); Twin Falls-Sun Valley, Idaho; and Yakima, Wash.

The company released a statement:

“Like most commercial businesses, Nielsen Audio continually reviews the economic viability of doing business in all markets. If the audio marketplace in select markets cannot financially support measurement, we discontinue producing our syndicated market report in those markets. That is just business as usual, the typical expansion and contraction of our rated audio market list, which is the case with these nine markets.”

See the most recent list of Nielsen radio market populations and rankings [PDF].

The post Nielsen Drops Nine From Its Rated Market List appeared first on Radio World.

From Radio World’s People News column: Bill Richards is retiring after five decades in the broadcast industry.

He is product manager of a test division at RCS, where he has worked for nine years. Earlier he held key programming roles at Premiere Radio Networks and what was then called Clear Channel, now iHeartMedia.

“As product manager of RCS’s Test All Media division since 2011, Richards has been one of the key figures driving the group forward in the field of media and research technology,” the company stated in a press release.

“Richards has been responsible for overseeing the tremendous growth of Test All Media, which he founded in 2008 and was later acquired by iHeartMedia.”

Prior to his role with RCS, he founded Bill Richards Radio Consultancy (BRRC), which created Rate the Music, an online research software that was acquired by iHeartMedia. Earlier he was  VP programming programming for Premiere, and then SVP of programming for Clear Channel.

“Throughout his tenure, Richards has held programming and consultant positions at well-known stations including KLUC in Las Vegas; KDWB in Minneapolis; WNCI in Columbus, KKBQ/93Q in Houston, KYUU/X-100 in San Francisco; and KIIS-FM in Los Angeles,” the company stated.

“He has also been recognized with numerous prestigious national industry awards throughout his impactful career as a programmer, including Billboard Magazine PD of the Year at KIIS-FM, Billboard Station of the Year at KIIS-FM, multiple Marconi Station of the Year awards at KIIS-FM during his tenure and Billboard Station of the Year at KLUC.”

He’ll spend time in Florida with his family.

Send People News information to radioworld@futurenet.com.

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The Consumer Technology Association has announced that CES 2021 will take place as an all-digital experience rather than be held in Las Vegas, meaning that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry will continue into the early parts of 2021.

“Amid the pandemic and growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it’s just not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CTA. “Technology helps us all work, learn and connect during the pandemic — and that innovation will also help us reimagine CES 2021 and bring together the tech community in a meaningful way. By shifting to an all-digital platform for 2021, we can deliver a unique experience that helps our exhibitors connect with existing and new audiences.”

CTA bills the new format as an immersive experience that will allow attendees to discover the latest technology, bringing the global event to people’s homes and offices.

There was some initial hope that CES 2021 would be able to conduct its usual in-person gathering in Las Vegas, but as COVID-19 continues to linger in the U.S. and other places around the world, CTA is following in the footsteps of NAB, IBC and other major conferences to go virtual.

CTA says that it plans to return to Las Vegas for CES 2022, where it will combine the best elements of a physical and digital show.

Shapiro offered more detail on the decision to take CES 2021 virtual in a LinkedIn post.

CES 2021 will take place from Jan. 6–9. For more information, visit www.ces.tech.

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The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association will soon lose its Number 2 executive — and its Number 1 advocate for broadcast engineers.

I realize that the latter title doesn’t actually exist on her résumé. But anyone who knows Linda Baun won’t dispute it.

Linda will leave the WBA and its foundation in September, taking early retirement and moving to Indiana to be closer to family.

In sharing this news with colleagues, she led an email with the quote, “Life happens when you’re planning something else.” She wrote to her boss Michelle Vetterkind, the president/CEO of the association, that “life-changing issues necessitate that I vacate my position.”

She has been with the association since 2006, involved in all manner of its operations including its Awards for Excellence program and Awards Gala, Student Seminar, winter and summer conferences, and numerous other events and training sessions. She coordinated the association’s EEO Assistance Action Plan, ran numerous committees and handled administration of the WBA office.

But outside of Wisconsin — and maybe inside the state too — she probably is best known for her work in helping to run the Broadcasters Clinic. That regional engineering-focused event existed long before she arrived but she is one of the people who has worked hardest to keep it relevant while many other regional events have dwindled. Clinic Committee Chair Kent Aschenbrenner calls her “the heart and soul” of that event.

Linda established her national engineering profile while working for 15 years for the Society of Broadcast Engineers; she did great work as its certification director at a time of significant growth in SBE’s certification programs.

She also is the spouse of Terry Baun, the retired broadcast engineer whose honors include the SBE Lifetime Achievement and Broadcast Engineer of the Year Awards, and whose dedication to the education and support of engineers she shares.

“Terry instilled in me the love for the engineers,” Linda told me. When she had the opportunity to become SBE certification director, he encouraged her to “run it like it was my company.” And his influence in her professional career did not stop there; Terry sent Linda’s résumé to the WBA when the association was looking for a vice president. “Did I mention he didn’t share that with me, before he did this deed?”

Michelle Vetterkind said Linda “earned a well-deserved reputation for always going above and beyond what our members expected of her and the extra special personal touches she added to every event.”

I can speak from my own experience that the phrase “personal touch” is exactly right in describing Linda.

In the WBA press release, Linda is quoted saying, “Who knew that working at a college station, a small-town radio station doing farm reports and logs, could lead me to a Christian station, the Society of Broadcast Engineers, and ultimately to the WBA?”

So I add my appreciation for Linda Baun. The industry is better for her and her work. Congratulations, Linda — don’t forget to bring an ample supply of cheese curds with you.

PS: Linda Baun is often heard to end her phone calls with “I just want to do the best job I can for our broadcast engineers.” I wrote that sentence last evening, intending to use it in the text above. A few hours afterwards, I received an email from her answering another question, in which she wrote: “Being a part of the SBE certification committee and the SBE was truly a wonderful experience. ENGINEERS are the BEST.”

See what I mean?

Paul McLane is the editor in chief of Radio World.

[Related: “Broadcasters Clinic in October Will Be Virtual Only”]

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Mid-size station group owner Spanish Broadcasting System has announced that it will be deregistering its common stock. The stock has been trading “over the counter.”

The company explained in a release that it was necessary to “reduce expenses and operate with utmost efficiency” during the global pandemic.

[Read: User Report: SBS FM Stations See Efficiency With GatesAir]

Furthermore, the decision would eliminate “the significant costs and administrative burdens of preparing and filing current and periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.” The company noted the number of stockholders is relatively small, less than 300, allowing it to file a Form 15 Certification and Notice of Termination of Registration.

SBS is focused on the Spanish-speaking audience owning stations in markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Puerto Rico and it also provides programming and operates a small TV network, MegaTV.

The post SBS to Deregister Stock appeared first on Radio World.

NAB’s technology innovation initiative, Pilot, has announced it is accepting submissions for the fifth annual Pilot Innovation Challenge. The Innovation Challenge is just one of Pilot’s initiatives meant to support different parts of the innovation cycle.

The prompt for the 2020 Pilot Innovation Challenge is: “Develop a working prototype to improve real-time decentralized collaboration while managing live and recorded audio/video from multiple sources for media production in a limited bandwidth environment. Broadcasters should be able to implement the prototype as a supporting element within their current environment.”

More directly, contestants are tasked with creating prototypes that address limitations caused by remote television and radio operations while being able to support current production environments.

“This year’s challenge looks to answer a timely question that has surfaced in the broadcast industry,” said John Clark, Pilot executive director. “We are eager to see how technologists, many of whom are facing similar challenges, innovate to enhance remote production and overcome hurdles caused by physical distance, varying bandwidth speeds and remote operations.”

Individuals, teams, companies, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations can apply. Up to five finalists will be selected by a panel of industry experts, who will be notified by the end of September. The winners will be announced during the NAB Show New York Digital Experience in October.

Funding up to $150,000 will be allocated between as many as two winners. In addition to funds, winners will receive relevant mentorship, development feedback and a trip to the 2021 NAB Show in Las Vegas to demonstrate the prototype.

The deadline to apply for the 2020 Pilot Innovation Challenge is Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. ET. For more information, visit www.nabpilot.org/challenge.

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