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The long-awaited move to sell six Emmis radio stations in the Austin market has gotten the final green light from the Federal Communications Commission.

Earlier this month the FCC granted a waiver request submitted by Emmis Austin Radio Broadcasting Co. to transfer control of its licensed stations in the Austin Nielson Audio Market to Sinclair Telecable. Together, Sinclair and Emmis operated the cluster of stations for the last 16 years. In June 2019, it was announced that Emmis would sell the radio cluster for $39.3 million.

But first, the group had to run the FCC waiver gauntlet.

The waiver was being requested because, under the FCC’s local ownership rules, a licensee in the Austin market can have an attributable interest in up to seven commercial radio stations, with not more than four being in the same AM or FM service. Up until now, Emmis had interest in five FM stations in the Austin market, which is one more FM station than is permitted under the commission’s rules.

Of note: FCC rules allowed for common ownership of those six stations under local ownership rules in effect in 2003; that combination was grandfathered in when the latest local ownership rules were modified. According to the commission,  grandfathered combinations are allowed to continue as long as the station’s licensee does not propose a change that creates a new violation of the ownership rules. If such a change is proposed, however, that grandfathering terminates and the licensee must come into compliance with the new multiple ownership limits.

In this particular instance, Emmis needed a waiver from the commission to grant the application — or the partnership would have to divest one FM station in the market.

In requesting the waiver, Emmis said that the proposed transaction is not a sale of the partnership of its Austin stations but more akin to a corporate restructuring since Emmis and Sinclair Telecable are co-partners. The licensee argued that the continued grandfathering will serve the public interest by allowing the sustained operation of a thriving cluster, one which Emmis said offers market listeners diverse and distinct formats by one of its long-standing owners.

In this case, the FCC agreed.

The commission granted Emmis’ waiver request of the local ownership rules, saying that the move would not compromise viewpoint diversity and competition in the Austin market. The FCC also said that the structure of the Austin market itself favors grant of the waiver: The market is already highly diverse in terms of ownership and programming, the commission said, with at least 21 owners and 28 distinct program formats.

The move now gives Sinclair Telecable 100% ownership of those five stations, including KLBJ(FM), KGSR(FM), KLZT(FM), KROX(FM) and KBPA(FM).

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The post Emmis Succeeds in Efforts to Transfer Austin Stations to STI Telecable appeared first on Radio World.

This article originally ran in October of 2012 but it is always relevant, especially in Fire Prevention Week, this year Oct. 7–13. It has been modified and updated.

Photo: iStockphoto/Nick M. Do

A friend of mine for more than 40 years, Rich Walston, spent most of his professional life as a New York City fireman. We met as project engineers in the military. His scope of work was the firing area of the Nike missile system; mine was the integrated fire control which included the radars, computers, etc.

Working in parallel and integrating the two mission areas into functionality, we spent a lot of time together and cemented a lifetime friendship.

In discussing his firefighting work in New York, he tells us that in a populated area that dense, response time is absolutely critical to minimize loss of life and property and to limit the scope of the event. Literally a minute’s delay can mean the difference between a building or a block of conflagration devastation.

From his own experiences and a review of the 200-year history of the FDNY, Rich feels that their emergency response was almost always without exception triggered when someone else failed to follow or meet standards and/or plain common sense.

Building code enforcement was a major contributor. People’s greed in stealing gas service, disabling fire alarm systems, poor grease and cooking hygiene are ready examples. But sometimes a fire was caused by plain stupidity — cooking with a barbeque  grill in a tenement kitchen, using gasoline as a solvent indoors. Sometimes his crew felt there was no limit to the insanity they encountered.

The lunacy is somewhat amusing perhaps because it applies only to someone else in a far distant country called New York City. But does it ?

Let’s go into introspective mode here … When was the last time you checked the charge on all fire extinguishers in your station; the functionality of the fire alarm systems; the operation of all the ground fault interrupters (GFIs); the batteries in the emergency lighting (will they last 20 minutes, do they show the way to an exit); the functionality of the breakaway bars on emergency fire exits; the currency of the exit plans on the walls of every room (did the new studio construction or racks cause a rerouting or close in a fire exit)?

An important aspect to any fire or emergency evacuation plan is the exact location of where one’s work group or the overall station staff is supposed to assemble outside the building … under the floodlight pole, next to the dumpster, by the boss’ reserved parking space, etc.

The fire plan is incomplete without this assembly location and the clear understanding that everyone will gather there following evacuation.

By way of example, a client in a rented office building was supplied HVAC via a rooftop AC unit. One beautiful fall day, the owner’s maintenance people were applying some variety of highly aromatic material on the roof. This noxious vapor was taken into the economizer air intake and spread quickly and heavily throughout the station space.

Folks began to be highly nauseous and (let me be euphemistic) got very ill such that everyone was instructed to get out.

Without a clear directive to go to an assembly point, one of the staff, who was feeling really ill, flagged a cab on the street and went home preferring to be sick in private rather than in front of their co-workers.

Within minutes, staff realized that this one person was missing. The fire department was called and in hazmat gear went through every nook and cranny of the multifloor building assuming that the missing party had been overtaken by the fumes.

Hours later, when a family member finally answered the phone and indicated that the staff member was at home, only then, was the search terminated.

Have an assembly plan and follow it.

FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Fire Administration, along with the National Fire Protection Association, encouraged individuals and families to have a fire escape plan, noting that hundreds of thousands of fires happen in American homes each year.

In 2010, a total of 362,100 residential fires resulted in 2,555 deaths, 13,275 injuries and more than $6.6 billion in property loss, according to an announcement.

FEMA officials called on people to check that all smoke alarms work. (The USFA recommends that residences be equipped with both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual-sensor smoke alarms.) Make sure there are two ways out of every room; create a fire plan for your home; and practice with family members.

While reviewing these exit plans, think about pragmatics. How many cubicles do you need to crawl past to get out? You don’t want to crawl yourself into a corner. Many stations have “Star Trek” doors to limit sound exchange. Do motion sensor doors open on fire alarm or will they lock station personnel in a fire space?

Several times while doing due diligence work, I have discovered that as a cost measure, an alarm service has been terminated. This may be acceptable for theft considerations but it also cut off the fire alarm calls. The station and personnel could be cinders before some passerby would have alerted the fire dispatch.

Check your fire insurance; coverage may actually be predicated on an automatic emergency fire alarm and call system being in place and operational.

Fires and stupidity. My two favorite broadcast stories in that area:

One: On a station inspection for the owners, I came upon a mountain of 50 boxes of copy paper at the end of a hallway, blocking the fire exit at that side of the building tighter than King Tut’s Tomb. I told the GM that these had to go right away; his response was that no one ever used that exit. We had harsh words. I told him I would personally cart the boxes out into the rain if these were not redistributed elsewhere in the building. He bought all these because they were a great price.

Two. On another due diligence trip I found wire ties permanently fixing fire extinguishers to the wall. Why? The staff were afraid the extinguishers would be stolen. My question: Has one ever been stolen without wire ties? The answer, no daaaahhhhhhhh.

At another station I discovered “required extinguishers” on far walls, located behind gear where no one could see them or know they were there. I had to explain to people that to be able to fight your way into a fire, you start at the escape exit. If you had to go to a far wall, you’d be fighting your way out and problematic if you’d make it. These safety devices should be near the doors.

They said they didn’t want to relocate them as it messed up the décor. DUMB.

BURN

In general, two things will burn in your station: physical material (wood, plastics, paper, etc.) and there are gasses released in the heat.

Your first line of response to any fire is the fire extinguishers in the space. These units are usually handheld, dry type and directional in dispersal. They come in ratings that match the four categories of fire types.

Given the flammable material and gasses that might be present in a station fire, the readily available combination Type A, B and C should be viewed as a minimum. A,B,C and E are best.

As critical as the ability to squelch a fire are two other important qualities: distance that the extinguisher can spray/reach, and the duration of discharge.

Engineers are differentiated from other mere mortals because they think better with more clarity and precision, so let’s put that talent to work and reflect on this. Break out of your normal complacency and think about the worst that can happen.

For example, your server room is 15 by 10 feet and has seven loaded racks in the space and a half mile of cable. One of those little boutique extinguishers meant for stovetop grease fires is not going to handle any issue in your server room. A couple of big multi units just outside the door should be the minimum. Also with the investment of seven racks of gear, it really is time to consider automatic fire suppression.

When a fire appears, sound the alarm to all personnel first so they can get out. Next summon the fire professionals. Then consider the fire.

If you must enter a fire environment, fight your way into it to extinguish or slow the spread of the fire. The fundamental idea is always to keep the fire in front of you and escape behind you. If the smoke is so thick you cannot see the flames, back out. Fire is often silent or masked by other mundane noises. The fire could be creeping up your pants legs before you would notice it in the panic of the moment.

I have had only one close encounter with a fire, and that was enough. Most surprising to me was how fast, how incredibly fast, the environment filled with smoke. To breathe and to see anything, you’re immediately crawling on the floor. From my vantage point as an electrical contractor, and given the now minimal costs of LEDs, I firmly believe that public places similar to airplanes should have crawl strips on the floor to take you out safely (a great new business for rug installers). This is more logical than wall-mounted fixtures that are mainly pro forma and often useless in a fire, although helpful in a power failure when they work.

In a station, income may be the dominion of the sales department, ratings start with programming. But safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Get out from behind your desk or bench and walk through your plant. Are you absolutely certain that those pull stations work? Are the batteries in standalone smoke alarms actually functional? Many radio stations are unmanned for large portions of the day and vacant throughout the weekend. No one is around to help the low-battery warning. How about the gel battery in your central system? Push the test button and check. Confirm on the maintenance tag that it actually has been serviced in the last six months. How about those old flickering fluorescent fixtures? Ballasts in these fixtures if ignited usually create acrid black smoke. You don’t need the local fire department axing away into your station because the fire alarm had triggered on smoke. Replace with new.

How about the use of electrics in your station? Have wannabe techies installed cascaded plug adapters with a myriad of cheap gear under their desks just itching to light up your highly flammable rugs?

As your check out your plant touch every heat generator repeating the mantra: Warm is okay, hot is not.

How about that big new neon sign behind reception? Where are the supplies? Are they properly ventilated and are they listed or something the sign shop just threw together?

Finally after you’ve done your review, run your plan through the final filter. Imagine that your loved ones lived in this space. Is there anything left that you would change to reduce fire danger and enhance safety? What would you correct? Then take action.

Send your own safety suggestions to radioworld@futuremedia.com.

Charles “Buc” Fitch, P.E., CPBE, AMD, is a frequent contributor to Radio World.

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The post From the Archives: Fires, Your Station and You appeared first on Radio World.

The cover of the conference brochure.

The 2019 Broadcasters Clinic will be held Oct. 15 to 17 at the Madison Marriott West Hotel in Middleton, Wis. The annual national meeting of the Society of Broadcast Engineers will be held in conjunction.

The “Madison clinic” is an industry tradition, kept vibrant even at a time when many regional events have disappeared. Its success has been thanks to an active leadership team, dedicated volunteers and ongoing association support.

Exhibitors and attendees have rewarded that investment by coming back year after year. Last year’s event won the award for Best Chapter Regional Educational Event from SBE.

This year’s clinic is dedicated to Gary Mach for 35 years of service to the Clinic Committee, from which he is retiring; organizers said his career has spanned nearly six decades “in every level of support from staff engineer to corporate engineer,” working for organizations including Wisconsin Public Broadcasting and PBS.

Last year’s event won the award for Best Chapter Regional Educational Event from SBE.

“The word ‘mentor’ only begins to demonstrate how he carried himself throughout his career,” WBA’s Leonard Charles said of Mach.

Bill Hubbard

Also being saluted is WBA Clinic Committee member Bill Hubbard, recently retired from his own long engineering career. A charter member of Chapter 80, he recently was named the 2019 James C. Wulliman Educator of the Year by the SBE. Among other achievements, since 2013 he has contributed to the Media Technology Institute, a seminar to train new graduates in the basics of broadcast engineering. MTI was founded by Terry Baun who, in 2018, chose Hubbard to head the institute.

Below are sessions of interest to Radio World readers. See the full program, including TV-related presentations, at www.wi-broadcasters.org. For information about the SBE national meeting see sbe.org.

 

TUESDAY Oct. 15

8:30 a.m. — “War Stories: Tales from the Trenches”
Jeff Welton, Nautel

Show organizers remind us: “If you’ve seen any of Jeff’s presentations you will have noticed that he occasionally makes use of a ‘shouldn’t have done it that way’ photo — a picture taken demonstrating something that is done in a less-than-ideal manner.” He’ll share some of those and talk about what could be done to avoid such situations. “Names of stations shown will be withheld to protect the innocent.”

9:15 a.m. — “Possible Applications for Use of AM Broadcast Tower Space”
Tom F. King, President and CEO, Kintronic Labs Inc.

King will address solutions for using AM tower space for cellular telephone sites, broadband provider data services, LPTV antenna co-location for TV repack and other applications.

10:30 a.m. — “Faster, Cheaper, Better: Combining Today’s Lower-Cost Technology for Perfect Audio Now”
Kirk Harnack, Senior Solutions Consultant, The Telos Alliance

“While we’ve witnessed individual broadcast systems turn to networking for lower cost and better utilization, we’re now at the point where everything is connected with the same technology,” Harnack says. He highlights the latest implementations of networked audio and control. “We know something about VoIP and AoIP, but we’ll learn about MoIP and IoIP. Plus we’ll see how the IT industry keeps building upon existing and trusted protocols to bring reliability and cost-savings to broadcasters.”

11:15 a.m. — “Under the Hood, How AM HD Radio Works”
E. Glynn Walden, retired Senior VP of Engineering, CBS Radio

Walden, one of the fathers of IBOC, offers a brief discussion of how it came to be implemented as the U.S. digital radio platform over Eureka-147. He’ll then describe the Xperi AM HD Radio system including basics of OFDM and the elements needed to make AM HD radio work, including interleaving, error correction, reference carriers, the low-latency backup channel and instant tuning. He will also talk about performance in the presence of grounded conductive structures and the presence of interference.

1 p.m. — “Maximizing Your Content ROI with Podcasting”
Craig Bowman, Director R&D and Innovation, Futuri Media

Radio people know how to make great audio, so it follows that they should be able to make great podcasts, no? Well, not automatically. Bowman will discuss how radio can use podcasting and on-demand platforms to improve the ROI on content they are already creating while growing audience with original content.

1:45 p.m. — “Hybrid and Digital Radio: What Every Broadcaster Should Know”
David Layer, Vice President, Advanced Engineering, National Association of Broadcasters

“While the majority of radio listening still takes place on analog radios, broadcasters should be focusing on digital and hybrid (over-the-air plus internet) radio technologies as these represent radio’s future,” the organizers say. Layer will talk about radio technology work at the NAB dealing with digital and hybrid radio — “for the near term, making sure that broadcasters, manufacturers and service providers are all working together, and for the long term, helping to foster advances that will ensure radio’s prominence in autos for decades to come.”

2:45 p.m. — “Troubleshooting Interactive Scenario/Heavy Duty Workbench”
Facilitators: John Bisset, Telos Alliance Radio Products Sales Manager for the Western U.S. and author of Radio World’s Workbench; Greg Dahl, Second Opinion Communications

An interactive presentation will troubleshoot common and uncommon problems at a broadcast facility. “Attendees will participate in small groups, learning and contributing during a condition of equipment failure and the scenario surrounding the failure.”

3:45 p.m. “Taking Your HD Signal to the Next Level Using Generation 4 Exporter and Importer Technology”
Kevin Haider, Product Line Manager, GatesAir

A walkthrough to better understand the differences between Generations 3 and 4 of HD Radio technology. Haider will address features such as the advantages of running a combined importer and exporter, and tools to help time alignment of the FM analog and digital audio.

7 p.m. — “Nuts and Bolts Session: Building the Perfect Pi”
Tim Wright, Cumulus Chicago

What’s cooler than solving a technical need by creating your own solution based on a Raspberry Pi microcomputer? Wright has developed various solutions at the Cumulus Chicago facility. Projects include Environmental monitoring, Axia Livewire routing control, making an older series XDS satellite receiver SNMP compatible, STL/TSL backups and a programmable studio clock/status display. Bring your laptop and your “wish list” projects for brainstorming.

WEDNESDAY Oct. 16

8 a.m. — “Broadcasting: What is Coming Next”
Steve Lampen, Consultant

What will the worlds of audio, video, broadcast and beyond look like in 10 years? In 20 years? “This presentation will depress some and excite others,” Lampen says. “I would love to hear your opinion on my predictions. Will we look back and laugh?”

8:45 a.m. — “Develop a COBO Plan for Your Station”
Manny Centeno, Project Manager, National Public Warning System (NPWS)

Centeno will provide a framework and best practices for developing a solid Continuity of Broadcast Operations Plan for your company or station to be prepared for major disasters.

1:30 p.m. — IT Security
Moderator Jeff Welton, Nautel
Panelists: Alex Hartman, Optimized Media Group; Chris Tarr, Entercom Milwaukee; and Wayne Pecena, Texas A&M University

This is a topic that unfortunately never goes out of fashion; indeed broadcast groups seem to be victimized by attacks ever more frequently.

3 p.m. — SBE Annual Membership Meeting

4 p.m. — Emergency Preparedness: From Tabletop to Action Plan
Tom Kujawa, recently retired Chief of Police for UW-Green Bay

Run a tabletop exercise at your facility to learn where the gaps are, identify solutions and refine your disaster planning in realistic ways. Chief Kujawa leads an interactive session that teaches you how to simulate a real-time, realistic event.

5–8 p.m. — SBE National Awards Reception & Awards Dinner
(requires separate registration)

THURSDAY Oct. 17

The clinic in Madison is a longstanding and popular conference.

8:30 a.m. — “Real Time Monitoring of RF System Performance”
Dan Glavin, Dielectric Broadcast

“RF transmission systems are expensive and require annual maintenance to alleviate catastrophic failure, particularly for older systems,” Glavin says. “There are many monitoring systems that effectively measure VSWR and other performance issues in real time; however, fault location is not provided and requires additional resources.” He will discuss an IP-connected system providing broadcasters a way to monitor the RF system in real time, under full power with fault location.

The post A Radio Sampler of the WBA Broadcasters Clinic appeared first on Radio World.

Tickets are now on sale for Radio TechCon 2019, which will take place Nov. 25 at IET London: Savoy Place. The U.K.-based conference is an opportunity for radio and audio engineers, technologists, managers and producers to get a crash course in the latest and future technologies that will impact the broadcast industry.

Areas of interest at this year’s conference will include the technological future of radio; the technology behind Brexitcast; a UX and UI mini-mastercalss; an inside look at Wireless’ new studios; the science and practicalities of acoustics; and a behind-the-scenes look at BBC’s latest radio technology.

In addition, the conference will offer chances to see presentations from sponsor companies, network with other radio industry colleagues and visit exhibitors at the mini trade fair.

Radio TechCon tickets cost £150 + VAT, which covers entry to all talks, the trade fair, lunch and cake. Discounts are available for members of The Radio Academy, the IET, Community Media Association, Student Radio Association, Audio UK, Sound Women Network, the Institute of Acoustics, AES and delegates from Radio TechCon’s Radio Technology Masterclass 2019.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.radiotechcon.com.

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The post Radio TechCon 2019 Opens Registration 
 appeared first on Radio World.

Gary Cavell (center) of Cavell, Mertz & Associates was presented the 2019 Jules Cohen for Outstanding Broadcast Engineering. BTS President Ralph Hogan (right) presents the award to Cavell as the society’s Vice President Lanny Nass looks on.

The 2019 edition of the IEEE BTS Symposium wrapped up on Thursday, Oct. 3, but not before handing out a pair of awards to well-known industry veterans Gary Cavell and David Layer.

[Read: BTS Explores Tech’s Role in Content Wars]

Cavell was the recipient of the 2019 Jules Cohen Award for Outstanding Broadcast Engineering. Cavell is the president of Cavell, Mertz & Associates and has spent his 40-year career in the industry working in radio and television engineering management, facility design and construction, program production and system station system development. Earlier this year, Cavell was recognized with the 2019 NAB Radio Engineering Achievement Award.

The NAB’s David Layer (left) is presented the 2019 BTS Symposium Matti Siukola Best 2018 Symposium Paper Award by BTS Presidnet Ralph Hogan. The award is presented the year after the paper is delivered.

The organization then honored Layer with the 2019 BTS Symposium Matti Siukola Best 2018 Symposium Paper Award for his paper, “Pilot All-Digital FM Field Test Project.” Layer is the vice president of advanced engineering for the NAB. Layer is a past recipient of Radio World’s Excellence in Engineering Award.

For more information about this year’s IEEE BTS Symposium, click here.

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The post Cavell, Layer Feted at 2019 IEEE BTS Symposium appeared first on Radio World.

.

The Media Bureau announces that it has opened MB Docket No 19-282, captioned "Use of Common Antenna Site – Sections 73.239 and 73.635."

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Issued order conditionally granting applications for licensee subsidiaries of Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. to emerge from bankruptcy

Friday, Oct. 4, College Radio Day. is a day to recognize college radio stations nationwide. And every day afterward, it is essential to appreciate these community radio organizations and the way in which they serve their respective campuses and communities.

College Radio Day has been celebrated for nearly a decade. It kicked off in 2010 through the coordination of Rob Quicke of William Paterson University’s WPSC(FM) and Peter Kreten of WXAV(FM), Saint Xavier University. It has since evolved into an annual event where hundreds of college stations around the United States and, occasionally, other countries promote the work of college stations to educate and entertain.

In the age of Spotify, there have been a few think pieces that ask if college radio still matters. Certainly college radio matters. Not only do the stations provide valuable broadcasts locally, but they are wonderful institutions that give students opportunities to learn to produce media and, writ large, how to cultivate in themselves leadership and critical thinking skills. Although college radio is facing many challenges, it is incumbent on us to recognize its importance as an educational resource.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Just Give]

College radio is one of the most unique parts of the noncommercial radio system. Unlike a nonprofit specifically formed to operate a radio station, college radio stations have a licensee with a massive number of departments, funding priorities, needs and administrative and educational demands on university finances. Rarely does a campus radio station get a dollar devoted to its support; in many cases, stations may be partially or wholly funded by student fees or other monies divided up among whole divisions of campus life. While those funds are surely appreciated and valued, it should not be too surprising when college radio gets lost in the sauce of a campus soup that includes libraries, athletics, intramural sports, student government and so much more.

In this context, visibility for a college radio station really counts. In August, the University Station Alliance, led today by Virginia Dambach (who replaced now-retired head Craig Beeby), conducted a survey on trends in reporting structure among institutional licensees. A takeaway was that 82% of responding general managers reported that their stations are either “appreciated and respected” or “beloved” by their universities. The remaining 18% was split among, in order, licensees knowing what the station does, generally; distant relations; and ignored.

USA points out that reporting relationships may be a clue to better bonds. In its survey, 60% of respondents indicated they report at or above the associate vice presidential level while 40% report below the vice presidential level. More tellingly, the number of station general managers who report directly to one of the top institutional officers rose from 14% to 20% of respondents between USA’s 2009 survey and the 2019 survey.

How a station relates to campus higher-ups and their regard for the station as a part of the school’s brand is meaningful. University-licensed radio stations are in a curious place of late. While some are flourishing, others are being sold off by their home universities. To hear those in the college radio space relate it, religious broadcasters are most frequently the ones showing up to make offers. Such is not an unreasonable assertion: many of the biggest religious broadcasters have considerable resources, the nonprofit status to acquire said licenses and are noncontroversial to most people. And a cash-strapped university might be willing to consider such an offer. However, it’s up to those who care about stations, especially alumni, to constantly share college radio’s value proposition.

There are no shortage of college radio stations doing solid work. Jim Rand and the team at the University of Maine’s WMPG; Jennifer Kiser and student and staff leaders at the University of California Santa Barbara’s KCSB; and KBCS, Bellevue College’s powerhouse station, which recently appointed Dana Buckingham as manager, all are doing incredible campus/community collaborations and award-winning radio. May we together salute them, and the many college radio stations like them, doing cherished and thought-provoking media.

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The post Community Broadcaster: Changemakers appeared first on Radio World.

RUBI, SPAIN — Radio Rubí 99.7FM is the municipal station of the city of Rubí in Spanish Catalonia. Radio Rubí started its activities in November of 1979, with a primary mission of being a public service for the inhabitants of the city, providing an ample variety of content including news, sports and culture while allowing for the active participation of the citizens. In 1996 the station was bestowed with the Rosalia Rovira Award as the best municipal broadcaster in Spanish Catalonia.

From its beginnings, Radio Rubí has counted on equipment and technology from AEQ: mixing consoles, audio codecs or automation systems. A station with the profile of Radio Rubí looks for durable, reliable equipment that is easy to operate and cost efficient.

Radio Rubí is replacing its broadcast production equipment. As part of the renovation, it was decided to migrate its previous AEQ MAR4 automation system to the current AEQ AudioPlus platform in all their studios and news room.

AEQ AudioPlus offers new functionality and performance that adapts to the real needs, technical skills and budget of the majority of different broadcast stations at this day and age. AudioPlus incorporates everything necessary for manual or 100% automated playout, including remote control at a variety of levels. The same is valid for the actual content acquisition and programming — both musical and advertising. These functions can be accomplished completely automatically or manually, including the editing of contents.

The head of the technical department at Radio Rubí, Jordi Alba, explained, “The AEQ AudioPlus automation system is a perfect match for us and is an indispensable tool in our daily operations.”

Unlike other brands of applications that initially may be perceived as less expensive, this tool of the trade is suitable for small- to medium-sized stations. The capacity to produce and the quality of the programming generated are comparable to systems that the large networks are deploying but costing a fraction of what such stations may be investing in their automation.

The application is designed for Windows OS and uses SQL databases. The software comes with an efficient auto-installation wizard and is compatible with low-cost audio boards as well as more sophisticated choices, including Dante AoIP multichannel network connectivity.

The project to transition the AEQ MAR4 platform to the new AEQ AudioPlus system was coordinated by Mr. Xisco Caballero and Mr. Oscar Bastante of Radio Rubí and the AEQ System Services team at its headquarters.

For information, contact Peter Howarth at AEQ Broadcast International in Florida at 1-800-728-0536 or visit www.aeqbroadcast.com.

The post User Report: Radio Rubi Migrates to AudioPlus appeared first on Radio World.

From 1972–1974 I hosted a late-night telephone talk show on WOHO(AM), Toledo, Ohio. I was young, energetic and desperate to be heard over the airwaves. Fortunately I outgrew that compulsion by 1975, but for the time being I’d nap every afternoon and go into the station after dinner and meet with my producer who was responsible for lining up in-studio guests. These included professional wrestlers, comedians, people touting dubious weight loss programs, and conspiracy nuts who were eager to discuss their theories on alien abductions.

What is up with all the anal probes, anyway?

Then there were the occasional celebrities I’d get on the phone like Dionne Warwick, Captain Kangaroo, Moe Howard and Soupy Sales.

This program was called “Rap,” which at the time was slang for “talk,” not as it connotes today, “shouting inane rhymes about bitches and booty while flashing guns and jewelry.”

[Read: Adventures in 1970s AM: Visit to the Big Station]

We held trivia contests every Friday, a highly anticipated event by our callers who represented many walks of life. A lot of them worked the late shift at a hospital or the power company. Waitresses and cooks at diners were big fans too. Also in the group of folks that tuned in were students up studying, cab drivers, housewives with insomnia and so many more.

Our discussion on any given evening might center on an upcoming election or how to discipline teenagers. It might be open to all topics. On one of the latter evenings a woman named Betty called and proceeded to launch into a highly-detailed account of her recent ingrown toenail surgery. Normally I would have cut her off early in this narrative, but the way she told it, complete with sound effects, made for compelling radio. Another listener was a cross-country trucker who described the hallucinations he experienced after taking amphetamines while driving at 60 miles per hour.

Women confessed to affairs they had not yet admitted to their husbands. Men talked about their fantasies, one of which involved Raquel Welch and warm butter. A young man named Paul owned up to several crimes such as breaking into a store and defacing public property. One woman took the opportunity to “come out” as a lesbian, a brave move. That call brought the expected scorn from the religious right, yet also a surprising amount of support from similarly oriented people.

The “R” might be for “Rap.”

There is a phenomenon that many of my brethren in radio have discovered, namely that people listening to you over the air believe they know you and are your friend. I recall one wintry Friday night “Jill” called in and asked, “Hey, why don’t you meet some of your listeners for coffee after you get off the air?” At first the idea seemed absurd. Who would want to do that? As more callers chimed in, I decided I had little to lose because frankly I didn’t think anyone would show up. We, the audience and I, decided on a location, a local Big Boy that was open all night. Because none of the people who wanted to meet me had any idea what I looked like, I made up a ridiculous description: six feet four inches tall, 103 pounds, porkpie hat, and a tattoo on my left arm that said “Spiro Agnew.” I promised to be at the restaurant at a certain time and even promised to buy muffins for anyone who showed up.

I parked my car in the lot of the restaurant and trudged through the snow to the door. I entered the vestibule, stamped my feet and shook the snow off my coat before slipping into to a back booth. The waitress knew me and shortly brought me a cup of hot chocolate. I looked around and while there were a lot of people there I didn’t see anyone looking for me so I just relaxed and enjoyed a warm beverage on a frigid night.

After about 10 minutes a woman carrying a baby came over to me and said “Are you Ken R.?” I nodded and she started laughing. “You were kidding about being six feet tall and having a tattoo!” Then she turned to her friends and said “C’mon over, guys, he’s in the booth!” About 15 other folks came over and crowded in there with me. A couple of guys had to pull up chairs when there was no more room in the booth. I had forgotten about the silly self-description I had broadcast, but we all had a good laugh over it. We introduced ourselves and ended up having a jolly time.

And yes, I did buy muffins for anyone who asked.

Ken Deutsch is a writer who lives in sunny Sarasota, Fla., and has a book of these tales available, Up and Down the Dial. 

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The post Adventures in 1970s AM: Diary of a Mad Talk Show Host appeared first on Radio World.

Discover how at 75, Woofferton, the U.K.’s last public shortwave site is providing essential info to listeners globally via analog and digital broadcasts. Read about this and more in the October issue of Radio World International.

FACILITY
Radio Minerva Enters the Digital Age

Local independent station inaugurates new on-air studio

ONLINE
DJ-Run Internet Radio Station Thriving

BlastTheRadio.com started after John Mielke lost his on-air job

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

• In-Car Updates From Radioplayer, BBC Sounds
• Belgium’s Wallonia-Brussels Federation Redefines Radio Landscape
• Media Asset Management: Automation, Traffic/Billing

The post Inside the October issue of Radio World International appeared first on Radio World.

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