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To chat a little bit about her experience at CES and what she’s looking forward to in January 2024, when other broadcast media leaders attend the gargantuan Las Vegas affair with a laser-focus on things that can help Radio, Caroline Beasley sits in with RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

“It shows us what potential opportunities, and what potential threats are out there for our industry,” Beasley shares.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Caroline Beasley” on Spreaker.

Colorado is a popular place for Ethiopians immigrating to the United States to settle, with 30,000 to 40,000 living in the metro Denver area alone, according to a report by CBS News. It is also home to KETO(LP), Rocky Mountain Multicultural Community Radio, a low-power station that serves the local East African community in Aurora and nearby Denver on 93.9 MHz.  

It is a tiny operation with a limited budget but a commitment to serving immigrant listeners.

KETO’s parent, Ethiopian Community Television, recently received a $200,000 grant as part of the FCC’s $66 million Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program, intended to drive awareness and enrollment in the commission’s broadband affordability program.

“We are the only nonprofit organization with a low-power radio station to receive this grant,” said Endale Getahun, KETO’s founder and radio manager.

Diverse community

Since going on air on Sept. 11, 2017, which coincides with the Ethiopian New Year and Ashenda Tigray celebration weeks, KETO has been serving a range of immigrant communities in the Aurora/Denver area. It does this through local music and spoken word programming in Tigrinya, English, Somali, Swahili, French, Amharic and Afaan Oromo, among others. 

“We serve an international immigrant community. We are on air 24/7,” said Endale, who also answers to “Mike.” (East African culture uses first names rather than surnames.)

Endale “Mike” Getahun visited exhibits at the NAB Show this year.

An immigrant himself, Endale founded KETO in response to what he saw as a lack of non-mainstream voices on local radio. 

“There are a lot of diverse people in the community but the media seems to be one-sided in their content and music,” he said. “Immigrant communities have specific messages, events, issues and public service announcements that they need to hear on air, but our local radio stations are not really focused on that.” 

Meeting this need, he said, is why KETO has found an audience in Aurora and Denver. 

“Our audience is predominantly African-born immigrants, along with non-Africans from other parts of the world,” said Endale. Its programming is largely produced by volunteers, although some content comes from other sources. “The programming we air is governed by our budget, what our volunteers can make, and what we can get from other broadcasters on a non-copyright basis,” he said. Endale himself is a volunteer at the station. He makes his living in the local transportation industry and as a photographer/deejay at local events.

Today, KETO’s studio and office are in downtown Aurora at 1400 Dallas Street, after launching its operations at Aurora High School, which is still home to its Nautel VS-300 FM transmitter and 100-foot tower. Since KETO’s coverage doesn’t cover all of its target area, the service is also available to Roku streaming services users as an add-on to their Roku TV channel lineup using a channel search for “KETO FM.” 

Part of the studio equipment at the Dallas Street location. Local support

As an LPFM, KETO cannot sell commercials to raise funds, but it can offer underwriting announcements and give on-air recognition to its underwriters, including commercial entities and non-profit organizations that want to draw attention to their goods, services and viewpoints.

“Our programming and operations are funded by grants or support from the art organizations, the City of Aurora and Colorado Media Project,” Endale said. 

“We are also allowed to raise funds by having businesses underwrite our shows. But since COVID hit, this has fallen off, so we also raise funds from our members and local listeners.”

Despite its shoestring budget, KETO does its best to provide a professional, polished sound. Its facility includes an Axia AoIP network. “We also have RadioDJ automation, because our schedule is 50/50 live and recorded content.”

Metadata carries a social message that references civil strife in Ethiopia.

Dedicated to assisting local immigrants, KETO does its best to inform, educate and entertain them. For instance it puts a lot of effort into helping listeners register their children in the local public school system. It also gets behind immigrants seeking fairer pay at work.

“One union reached out to us because a lot of their immigrant members who work for the City at Denver International Airport were only getting minimum wage of $11.10 per hour,” Endale said. 

“A number of them came on the air to tell their stories, while our ability to talk to these people in their native languages helped them understand what was going on. As a result, the union got several more members, followed by the mayor agreeing to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.”

Endale behind the mic.

The station also “gives voice to the voiceless in the local Tigray community of Colorado and the ‘Tegaru Lives Matter’ movement in the United States,” he said. (A two-year civil war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia saw hundreds of thousands of people forcibly expelled, prompting accusations of ethnic cleansing, according to the Associated Press. A cease fire was declared in 2022.)

“A lot of our listeners drive taxis, Ubers, food delivery vehicles or local busses, so they can listen to us pretty well when they’re on the road,” said Endale. 

“However, our FM signal isn’t always easy to receive inside buildings across our coverage area. That’s why I took the steps to put us online and on Roku and RokuTV. This proved to be very valuable during the pandemic, because the city and the state were relying on us to reach the immigrant community in the languages they understand. That’s when they underwrote a lot of our programs, which allowed us to upgrade our equipment.”

He believes KETO is a trusted media source for many in the Aurora/Denver immigrant community and a partner that they want to cultivate. 

“They call us up all the time to ask about the music we are playing, and to promote their upcoming events,” Endale said. “This is how we know that people are listening, along with the responses we get to our social media accounts.”

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The post KETO Travels Its Own Rocky Mountain Way appeared first on Radio World.

Consulting and research firm Jacobs Media and leading mobile application development company jācapps is welcoming a Director of Digital and Revenue Generation.

At the same time, Seth Resler is exiting his role as a digital strategy consultant.

Coming January 2024: The RBR+TVBR Winter 2024 magazine, featuring a cover story with Fred and Paul Jacobs discussing their annual CES tour for radio broadcasters and why the Las Vegas mega-convention and expo is now a must-attend event for all Radio CEOs. Make sure you’ll get the digital magazine delivered to your inbox by locking in your Radio + Television Business Report membership today!

 

Joining Fred Jacobs and his brother, Paul, at the Detroit-area based operations they run is the former Digital Sales Manager for Beasley Media Group’s stations in the Motor City: Chris Brunt.

Brunt is a veteran of the radio stations, and remained with the group following their acquisition by Beasley from Greater Media in October 2016. He had been associated with the radio stations since January 2003, joining from Sv3 Media Group in Rochester, Mich., a web development company.

“Over the past forty years, we have constantly adjusted and upgraded our services to adapt to our clients’ needs,” Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs said. “Today, the big need of our clients across both of our companies is digital revenue solutions. Chris is like the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of digital – he’s a revenue generation expert, and he understands everything from programming to programmatic.”

Brunt will also be developing revenue opportunities for jācapps’ mobile apps clients. “Chris will be developing revenue strategies as well as opportunities for our mobile app clients to broaden their reach,” jācapps Chief Operating Officer Bob Kernen noted. “While jācapps clients love our versatile mobile platform, we are now going to take things up a notch and help them generate even more revenue.”

Commenting on the departure of Resler later this month. Jacobs Media Vice President/General Manager Paul Jacobs said, “Seth has developed interests he wants to pursue, and we support him in this endeavor. As opportunities arise, he may serve as a consultant to Jacobs Media in the future.”

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) amends its amateur radio rules to eliminate the limitations on the symbol rate (also known as baud rate)--the rate at which the carrier waveform amplitude, frequency, and/or phase is varied to transmit information--applicable to data emissions in certain amateur bands. In place of the baud rate, the Commission sets a bandwidth limitation of 2.8 kilohertz in the respective amateur bands, consistent with the Commission's treatment of other wireless radio services, which also have service-specific bandwidth limitations. This bandwidth limitation will promote continued sharing in these amateur bands.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) that proposes to remove the baud rate limitation in the 135.7-137.8 kHz (2200 meter band), 472-479 kHz (630 meter band), the very high frequency (VHF) bands, and the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band in the amateur radio service. The VHF bands with baud rates are the 6 meter band (50.1-51.0 MHz), (51.0-54.0 MHz); 2 meter band (144.1-148.0 MHz); and the 1.25 meter band (222-225 MHz). The UHF band with a baud rate is the 70 centimeter band (420-450 MHz). Additionally, the FNPRM proposes to maintain the existing bandwidth limitations in the Commission's rules for these VHF/UHF bands and seeks comment on the appropriate bandwidth limitation for the 2200 meter and 630 meter bands.

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Issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order and Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to Entravision Holdings, LLC in the amount of $13,000 for violations of Commission rules.

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A maneuver by Senate sponsors of the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” to pass the bill by avoiding a vote of the full Senate this week has fallen short.

The push to use “unanimous consent” to pass the bill was led by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Edward Markey (D-MA) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM). However,  (R-KY) objected to its passage.

“Mandating that all cars have AM radio is antithetical to any notion of limited government,” Sen. Paul said on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

Paul said there is irony in seeing Republicans come to the floor to pass bills that place mandates upon American businesses, “therefore picking winners and losers.”

Sen. Rand Paul (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)

The Senate bill, which has already been approved by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, requires car makers to maintain AM broadcast radio without separate or additional payment, fee or surcharge. The act would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a rule mandating AM inclusion in all new vehicles. 

The House version of the bill remains pending in committee for now, according to the National Association of Broadcasters. 

[Related: “Bipartisan Support for AM Radio Legislation Grows“]

Cruz took to the Senate floor on Tuesday and asked senators to join him in support of free speech, and in support of AM Radio. “It is widely enjoyed by Americans across the country. Over 80 million Americans listen to AM radio every month. They rely on it,” he said.  

The Republican from Texas continued: “I believe these automakers stood up to remove AM radio as part of a broader pattern we see of censoring views that are disfavored by Big Business. I think this is consistent with what Big Tech has done, silencing views they disagree with. And so this bill is all about preserving consumer choice and letting consumers decide. If you don’t want to listen to AM radio, turn it off.”

However, Sen. Paul said he disagrees with the premise of Cruz’s argument on the matter of free speech. 

“The debate over free speech, as listed in the First Amendment, is that government shall pass no law,” said Paul. “It has nothing to do with forcing your manufacturer to have AM radio. This legislation attempts to insert Congress’s judgment into a question best decided by American consumers.”

Paul took things a step further Tuesday evening by introducing an amendment to the AM For Every Vehicle Act to strip electric vehicle tax credits. The amendment was not voted on.

NAB said in a statement it appreciates the senators’ efforts to pass the bill. “NAB applauds Sens. Cruz, Markey and Luján for going to the floor of the United States Senate today to seek final passage of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, again demonstrating their leadership and steadfast commitment to advancing this critical legislation.

“With 192 cosponsors in the House and 44 in the Senate, the bill has gained remarkable momentum, highlighting the widespread recognition of the importance of AM radio to the American people. This bipartisan collaboration reflects a shared dedication to ensuring that AM radio remains a dependable and accessible medium for all. We thank Senators Markey and Cruz for their continued leadership and support of AM radio listeners and look forward to continue working with them to pass this critical legislation.”

[Read more stories about the future of AM radio in cars]

The post Attempt to Pass AM for Every Vehicle Act in Senate Falls Short appeared first on Radio World.

If at first you don’t succeed, why not try again? That’s exactly what Steve Hegwood has done with his plan to own — and operate — a 6kw Class A FM that must protect Class B WRXL in Richmond.

He’s filed paperwork with the FCC seeking its approval to allow him to own the “Streetz” of the Tidewater region.

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PORTLAND, ORE. — In 2016, Lisa Decker was lured from Seattle to take the reins as Market Manager of Alpha Media‘s radio stations in its home market. 

At the end of 2023, Decker will formally retire, concluding a career that included a stint as an account executive for KINK-FM in Portland under King Broadcasting in the mid-1980s. Who is succeeding her?

Look no further than Robert Dove, a former Pacific NW Region President for iHeartMedia whose 36-year career dates to when Taft Broadcasting owned KKRZ (Z100) in Portland and featured Gary Bryan as its morning “Zookeeper.”

Decker’s time at Alpha Media in Portland, with a group of stations comprised of KBFF “Live 95.5,” KINK, KXL-FM 101.1, KXTG “AM 750 The Game,” KUFO “Freedom 970” and KINK HD2 “WE 102.9,” came after a run as Director of Corporate Sponsorships for Classical KING-FM in Seattle.

Before that, Decker had called its quits in Radio, with a January 2014 decision to conclude a 2 1/2-year run as President/Market Manager of iHeartRadio’s Seattle cluster. It led Decker to shift to real estate.

Now, it appears Decker is saying goodbye for good to Radio, with a resume that includes a role as SVP/Regional Executive, Western Region for CBS Radio, and management roles as predecessor companies Infinity Radio and American Radio Systems.

Decker is a Portland native; from 1985-1987, she was an AE for KINK-FM; Decker would later hold LSM and GSM roles at the Adult Alternative station.

For Dove, the position at Alpha Media under President/CEO Bob Proffitt marks his own return to Radio, as from May 2022 through September 2023 he served as Managing Partner of MBT Marketing, focused on digital and social advertising opportunities. He departed iHeartMedia in December 2020 after five years in Seattle; from 2006-2016 he was Market President for the company’s Portland stations.

“I am very excited to have Robert lead us to new heights, opportunities, and successes,” Proffitt said. “He knows Portland like no other broadcaster, has deep relationships and
knowledge of our city’s intricacies, and will be a great addition to our team of Market Managers all across America.”

Dove said, “I’m very excited to join the Alpha Media team. As a native Portlander having the chance to work with some of Portland radio’s most iconic brands is very rewarding and fulfilling. I can’t wait to get started.”

Dove’s first day is January 1, 2024.

Nelson Peltz has proven to be a thorn in the side of Bob Iger and The Walt Disney Co. for some time, and just days ago launched a proxy fight with the company in the hopes that shareholders will vote him onto the Board of Directors.

Peltz just picked up the endorsement of another key investor in Disney.

Ancora Holdings Group, another “activist investor” in the company that is parent to ABC Owned Stations and ESPN, on Tuesday pleaded with the company to add Peltz to the Disney board.

“In an effort to avert an election contest following a year of distractions and disappointing performance, we hope you join us in encouraging the Board to pursue a viable compromise with Trian Fund Management, L.P. and Nelson Peltz,” Ancora wrote in an open letter to fellow shareholders shared by various business news publications on Wednesday. “Mr. Peltz (or a qualified designee) would make a fantastic addition to Disney’s Board.”

The media giant’s board would benefit from the addition of Peltz, Ancora argued, following an “extended period of absentminded governance, ineffective succession planning, polarizing actions and sustained value destruction.”

Ancora also said that, “while it has been argued that challenges largely stem from the tenure of [former chief executive] Bob Chapek, the Board was in the driver’s seat before, during and after that time.”

Trian holds 1.8% of Disney’s publicly traded shares; Ancora is not among the top 10 institutional investors in Disney, based on data reflecting the end of Q3 2023.

Disney shares ended Wednesday’s trading at $91.50.

Some stakeholders are weighing in on the recently-released U.S. National Spectrum Strategy, which seeks to modernize spectrum policy and identify spectrum that can be better utilized. 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission, released the strategy last month, which calls for a study of various wireless technologies.

NTIA says the National Spectrum Strategy will advance U.S. leadership globally while also providing Americans with the best services that advanced wireless technology offers. “These technologies will improve not only consumer wireless networks but also services in vital economic sectors such as aviation, transportation, manufacturing, energy and space,” NTIA said in a release. 

The new spectrum strategy, which creates an Interagency Spectrum Advisory Council to advise NTIA on spectrum policy matters, identified 2,786 megahertz of spectrum across five spectrum bands for in-depth study to determine suitability for potential new uses. 

The spectrum target includes more than 1,600 megahertz of midband spectrum — a frequency range in high demand by the wireless industry — for next-generation services, according to NITA. 

Wireless mic maker Shure says it appreciates the work by NTIA and the FCC. Shure says it was the only company that provided feedback on the needs of wireless audio throughout the process. 

Shure outlined four key points in its feedback for the U.S. National Spectrum Strategy, mentioning the Program Making & Special Events (PMSE), which includes wireless microphones for broadcast and In-Ear Monitor systems.

The company says continued access to spectrum around 1 GHz for audio PSME is critical for its long-term future.

“We want to ensure that spectrum needs are considered so that the right support can be provided for events and content creation, which are vital to the economy,” said Shure’s Global Head of Spectrum & Regulatory Affairs Prakash Moorut. “The U.S. needs to continue to be a leader on spectrum sharing, which is allowing so many applications like PMSE to flourish.”

Shure, which supports spectrum sharing, says “potential future technology for audio PMSE cannot completely overcome the lack of spectrum.”

Meanwhile, SBE President Ted Hand says the group is pleased with the NTIA “taking a proactive approach to spectrum strategy and putting in place a plan that addresses the importance of this valuable resource to maintain a competitive edge” in the wireless industry for the United States.

“While the current plan has a minimal impact on the broadcast industry, we understand that this is the first stage of a long-term spectrum plan and stand ready to partner with the NTIA, FCC, and other organizations to capitalize on the SBE’s valuable frequency coordination knowledge to ensure success at every step,” Hand told Radio World in an email.

The National Association of Broadcasters has also been an active participant in the discussion on spectrum strategy. “We are pleased to see that the resulting strategy is principally focused on improving the efficiency of federal spectrum use and does not seek to target existing commercial spectrum use,” NAB said in a statement released to Radio World. 

NAB says it is still considering whether to comment on the implementation of the strategy.

“We hope this new council will regularly seek advice and input from the private sector, including the broadcast industry, as it considers policies that could impact commercial spectrum use,” NAB said. 

Following publication of the Spectrum Strategy, NTIA will work with the FCC and other federal agencies to prepare and publish an Implementation Plan within 120 days. 

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The post Shure, Broadcast Groups Weigh In on New National Spectrum Strategy appeared first on Radio World.

A proprietary commingled Identity (ID) product that integrates “best-in-class identity assets” from multiple providers into one graph has been released by VideoAmp.

As the company sees it, the offering provides advertisers and content owners with greater assurance they are reaching the demo and advanced audiences they are targeting across platforms.

“As a privacy-safe solution to a cookie-less future, VideoAmp leverages clean room technology to safely ingest high-quality identifiers like hashed emails, signed-in users, IP addresses and device IDs in a way that never exposes a consumer’s personal identifiers to VideoAmp, its partners or clients,” it says. “VideoAmp’s ID graph is supportive of advanced targets leveraging first-party data, providing clients with a comprehensive solution to reach and engage with their most valuable audiences across platforms. This identity solution, along with the use of VideoAmp’s big data solutions, underpin their advanced currency solution.”

Megan Pagliuca, Omnicom Media Group North America’s Chief Activation Officer, noted, “The capability to directly match our census-level Omni ID with VideoAmp’s new commingled identity solution, will deliver better scale and more accurate plans for our clients by improving match rates with our partners on advanced audiences. OMG’s clients will now be able to dive deeper, beyond demographics, with some of the most premium content producers in the world, enabling them to deliver more relevant ads to the right consumers.”

VideoAmp Chief Technology Officer Tony Fagan added, “Every use case for advertising measurement and currency today hinges on identity as the lynchpin for quality, accuracy, and effectiveness. With the advancements and speed of innovation in this space, we wanted to implement an identity solution that not only keeps up, but sets a new standard for targeting and precision. The better we get at identity, the better we get at everything. We didn’t find a solution that accounted for the gaps and discrepancies we were seeing, so we created one. The launch of our commingled identity solution means more impressions delivered to advertisers’ intended audiences, so they can deliver better ROI.”

 

Entravision Communications, which has its roots in Hispanic-targeted broadcast media properties, has received a proposed fine from the FCC for violations of its rules.

The company now has the opportunity to appeal, seek a reduction of, or pay the fine.

 

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Joe Castiglione, who has called Boston Red Sox baseball games on the radio for a record 41 seasons, has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Castiglione will be honored during the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation as part of Hall of Fame Weekend, July 19-22, 2024. Castiglione becomes the 48th winner of the Frick Award, as he earned the highest point total in a vote conducted by the Hall of Fame’s 15-member Frick Award Committee.

The final ballot featured broadcasters whose main contributions came as local and national voices and whose careers began after, or extended into, the Wild Card Era. The 10 finalists were Joe Buck, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Tom Hamilton, Ernie Johnson Sr., Ken Korach, Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, Dan Shulman and Castiglione.

“Bringing knowledge and passion to the booth every day for more than four decades, Joe Castiglione has given voice to the greatest era of Red Sox success in the broadcast era,” said Josh Rawitch, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “Starting with the team in 1983 in Carl Yastrzemski’s final season, Joe has connected generations of Red Sox fans with a delivery that has become part of the New England fabric. His calls of the team’s four World Series wins in the past 20 seasons provided fans with memories that will echo forever throughout Red Sox nation.”

Castiglione began his career at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio. After moving to Cleveland to work for WKYC-TV, he began calling Cleveland Indians games in 1979 before working Brewers games in 1981 and then returning to the Indians’ booth in 1982.

Joining the Red Sox radio team in 1983, Castiglione has shared the microphone with partners including Bob Starr, Dave O’Brien, Jerry Trupiano and Will Flemming while also teaching broadcast journalism at Northeastern University, Franklin Pierce University and Emerson College.

Inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014, Castiglione is the longest tenured broadcaster in Red Sox history and has called historic moments that have included both of Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout games and four no-hitters. In 2022, the home Fenway Park radio booth was named in his honor.

The 15-member Frick Award voting electorate, comprised of the 12 living recipients and three broadcast historians/columnists, includes Frick honorees Marty Brennaman, Bob Costas, Ken Harrelson, Pat Hughes, Jaime Jarrín, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Al Michaels, Jon Miller, Eric Nadel, Bob Uecker and Dave Van Horne, and historians/columnists David J. Halberstam (historian), Barry Horn (formerly of the Dallas Morning News) and Curt Smith (historian).

The list of 10 Frick Award finalists was constructed by a subcommittee of the electorate that included Brennaman, Costas, Hughes, Halberstam and Smith. The Ford C. Frick Award is voted upon annually and is named in memory of the sportswriter, radio broadcaster, National League president and baseball commissioner. Frick was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970.

 

As RBR+TVBR first reported on September 2, the co-owner of what was one of the most active media brokerage firms in the U.S. has pled guilty to filing a false tax return. Three days later, Susan Patrick commented to RBR+TVBR on the matter, apologizing for “the pain and embarrassment” her actions caused.

Today, Patrick Communications is no more. And, as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Tax Division of the Department of Justice sees it, Patrick is recommending prison time.

 

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