Feed aggregator

Regardless of the reason, a station must remain in compliance with its operating parameters. Or a civil penalty may be around the corner. 

That’s the lesson a low-power FM station in Kansas learned after it found its antenna was constructed at the wrong height. In February 2021, Sunflower Community Action filed an application to renew the license of KYOM(LP) in Wichita, Kan. In its application, the licensee revealed that the station’s antenna has been constructed at the wrong height — at 13 meters above ground level instead of the 24 meters that was authorized by the Media Bureau. 

After the station discovered the issue, Sunflower sought authority from the commission to remain silent and to operate the antenna at the lower level of 13 meters. FCC rules state that any change in antenna height of more than 2 meters above or 4 meters below the authorized value requires authorization from the commission. 

And, as the bureau has reminded stations before, a licensee is responsible for maintaining and operating its broadcast station in a way that complies with the original authorization. 

In an order released on Nov. 14 by the bureau, Sunflower acknowledged the violation and agreed to enter into a consent decree with the FCC, including submission of a civil penalty payment of $2,500 within 30 calendar days. If Sunflower abides by the stipulations laid out by the consent decree, its license renewal application for the station will be granted.

[Related: “LPFM in Queens Hit With FCC Penalty“]

The post Kansas LPFM Hit With $2,500 Penalty for Antenna Construction Error appeared first on Radio World.

Forecast, presented by Streamline Publishing’s Radio + Television Business Report and Radio Ink, is now a wrap. The capacity crowd enjoyed a full day’s worth of informative and engaging panel discussions and keynote speakers, and among the participants is Vince Bodiford.

Bodiford, who is based in Cheyenne, Wyo., is Chief Executive Officer and Head of Media for Bridge Media Network, the parent of NEWSnet, SportsNews Highlights, TravelHost TV networks, and some 84 owned-and-operated television stations.

Bridge Media Network is based in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, Mich. To learn more about its growth plans and the vision for both NEWSnet and its fledgling sports operation, RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson sat down with Bodiford for an exclusive one-on-one conversation at the Harvard Club.

We’re pleased to offer their chat in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM.

 

Bodiford has more than 35 years of experience in media and marketing. He has owned media outlets in Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming via his company, Golden Media, Inc. He has held leadership roles with Cabela’s, Inc., Gannett Co., CommunityMedia Corp., and GateHouse Media and is a noted expert in the automotive, retail, and media industries.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Vince Bodiford” on Spreaker.

Looking at AI from a business lens and what it can do — “create capacity” — is a centerpoint of how Graham Media Group is using generative artificial intelligence in the right way, and ensuring the TV station owner doesn’t run afoul of the law.

That’s a statement shared by the company’s CEO during the closing Executive Super Session at Forecast on Wednesday afternoon in New York.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

Ken Squire

Ken Squier, co-founder of Motor Racing Network and its first anchor, has died. He was 88.

“Squier, also known for his time broadcasting NASCAR on the CBS Television Network and later with TBS, had just entered hospice care earlier in the day on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, after a long series of illnesses,” MRN said in an announcement.

It said that Squier was personally selected by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., to build a nationwide network of radio stations starting in 1970.

“Of course, Squier started with the obvious, his family owned WDEV(AM/FM) in Waterbury, Vt., and Daytona Beach’s WNDB(AM), both of which still air MRN programming today, and then went on to add hundreds more stations to air the very first MRN broadcast of the Daytona 500 in 1970.”

It quoted MRN President Chris Schwartz saying, “Whether from a bed of a logging truck at the Morrisville (Vt.) Speedway, or high atop the grandstands of ‘The Great American Race’ in Daytona, Ken Squier’s eloquent voice entertained and educated millions of race fans, no matter the medium. His passion for stock car racing contributed mightily to its rapid growth throughout his 70-plus year career.”

 

The post Ken Squier, MRN Co-Founder, Dies appeared first on Radio World.

NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence is already bringing new opportunities for broadcasters, in particular radio station owners. But, what could bring monetary benefits could also yield a mess of legal troubles, an esteemed panel of industry leaders shared on Wednesday afternoon at Forecast.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) has circulated a letter to Members of the House of Representatives that urges them to oppose an amendment that would defund the federal advisory committee chartered by the FCC to help it develop policies to achieve greater equity in the telecommunications and electronic mass media industries.

 

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

NEW YORK — A provider of “currency-grade” smart TV data based in Los Angeles has found that some 94% of total streaming time during the third quarter of 2023 was driven by viewers who only (64.6%) or mostly (29%) streamed on their smart TVs.

It’s yet more evidence that broadcast television and radio executives need to accept FAST channels and OTT as sources of ad dollars that won’t be disappearing anytime soon, and are only growing by leaps and bounds.

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

For the first time in the U.S., students of the Atlanta University Center will have the opportunity to complete a four-year college degree in which the last two years of
the curriculum are devoted to equipping them with the skills to succeed in media sales,
operations, and marketing starting in the Fall of 2026.

 

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC’s newly created Office of International Affairs has announced its leadership team. They’ll oversee an office that will lead and coordinate the FCC’s overseas efforts, including its participation in the upcoming World Radiocommunications Conference, cross-border negotiations, foreign ownership and national security reviews, and licensing of submarine cables and international telecommunications services.

 

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Members of the Advanced Television Systems Committee Inc. (ATSC) have elected three media and technology executives to serve on the ATSC Board of Directors for three-year terms that begin in January 2024.

Mark Aitken, Senior Vice President of Advanced Media at Sinclair Broadcast Group, has been re-elected for a second three-year term. Also elected to the ATSC Board are Dr. Paul Hearty, Chief Standards Strategist at Samsung Research America, and Kerry Oslund, Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at the E.W. Scripps Company.

In addition, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers appointed Guy Bouchard as an ATSC board member representing IEEE. Bouchard, who is Chair of the Montreal Chapter of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, succeeds Dr. Yian Wu of Canada’s Communications Research Centre, on ATSC’s Board.

ATSC thanks board members who are completing their terms at the end of 2023:  Mark Corl of Triveni Digital and Jon Fairhurst of Samsung.

“ATSC is working to anticipate the needs of our members and the industry, supported by our board’s strategic direction. Our board of seasoned executives from the broadcast, cable and consumer technology industries provide a wealth of experience to help ATSC steer through ongoing change and growth,” said ATSC President Madeleine Noland, who also recognized Corl and Fairhurst for their contributions to ATSC.

She also acknowledged current board members whose terms continue in 2024:

• Lynn Claudy, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB);
• Zandra Clarke, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers;
• Jim DeChant, Production Distribution & Revenue Group, LLC;
• Fred Engel, PBS North Carolina;
• Adam Goldberg, Sony Electronics;
• Brett Jenkins, Nexstar Media Group;
• Brian Markwalter, Consumer Technology Association;
• Richard Friedel, Broadcast Advocate (2023 Chairman);
• Andy Scott, NCTA – The Internet and Television Association;
• Anne Schelle, Pearl TV; and
• John Taylor, LG Electronics USA.

PHILADELPHIA — For many Delaware Valley radio listeners, Carol MacKenzie’s voice is the first they hear on weekday mornings.

That’s a sentence that can be found verbatim on the website for Audacy Inc.’s flagship all-News radio station in its home market, the one-time Westinghouse (and, later, CBS Radio) station long known as KYW Newsradio. 

Today, however, Carol MacKenzie‘s fate as a morning anchor at the AM/FM combo, a role she’s had for 20 years, could be in doubt. Why? She’s filed a gender discrimination suit against the company, adding to its many corporate-level challenges as it steers itself into a fiscally fueled reorganization effort.

MacKenzie, a Lancaster native, has sued Audacy on the grounds that it engaged in both age and gender discrimination.

News of MacKenzie’s legal fight against KYW’s owner spread quickly across local media, with Philadelphia magazine among the outlets covering the high-profile radio journalist’s suit, in which she claims, “For 20 years, KYW has systematically paid MacKenzie less than her male and/or younger co-workers.”

As such, MacKenzie, who is 58 years of age, seeks back pay, liquidated damages, interest, costs, negative tax consequence damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and attorneys’ fees from KYW.

The host is represented by Scott Pollins of Pollins Law in Wayne, Pa., and sees a jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. MacKenzie’s lawsuit is an action under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, explaining the federal lawsuit against Audacy.

In the claim filed by Pollins on Tuesday, it is stated that MacKenzie “in the first several years” of her employment, was paid “about $20,000-$30,000 per year less than her similarly situated male co-workers.”

In about 2010, MacKenzie asked for a raise; she believed she was being paid less due to be being a female. Her boss at the time, Steve Butler, told her he could not pay her more than her male co-worker, Ed Abrams. Butler, MacKenzie claims, implied that KYW could not have a woman making more than a man.

Audacy did not own KYW at the time.

The lawsuit then notes that by 2011, at least two male reporters, John McDevitt and Ian Bush, the latter of who “was about 15 years younger than MacKenzie,” were making about $10,000 per year more than her. Furthermore, employment agreements were given to the men at the time but not to MacKenzie.

Again, Audacy did not own KYW in 2011, nor did it own the station in fall 2014, when Brandon Brooks was promoted to be a morning anchor “at a significantly higher yearly salary than MacKenzie was making as a morning anchor,” MacKenzie claims. In about 2018, MacKenzie found out that Brooks was making about $30,000 per year
more than her.

This claim directly involves Audacy, then-known as Entercom, which completed its tax-free Reverse Morris Trust-fueled merger with CBS Radio in November 2017.

The same can be said with what transpired starting in early 2019, as MacKenzie sees it. At that time, MacKenzie complained to KYW management about the gender-based salary inequity. KYW responded by lowering Mr. Brooks’ salary and modestly increasing her
salary, she claims in the lawsuit. Then came COVID-19, and Audacy asked KYW’s top paid anchors and reporters to take a significant voluntary pay cut due to the impact on KYW of the pandemic. MacKenzie agreed to the voluntary pay cut, which was a reduction of $20,000 per year.

With a hiring freeze in effect and reduced salaries in place, Audacy then, according to MacKenzie, hired Denise Nakano, who is about 15 years younger than MacKenzie. In about November 2020, Nakano was promoted to midday anchor, making about $20,000 per year more than MacKenzie.

There’s more: In about November 2020, Jay Scott Smith was a male full-time anchor making at least about $20,000 per year more than MacKenzie. “Upon information and belief, KYW continued to pay Mr. Scott Smith more than MacKenzie through March 2023 when KYW terminated him,” the lawsuit states.

Then came a SAG-AFRTRA investigation and audit of KYW’s compensation practices, in late 2021 and early 2022. MacKenzie believes the union’s investigation confirmed the systemic gender-based pay violations that KYW had engaged in for MacKenzie’s entire employment tenure. While this was transpiring, KYW in late 2021 offered MacKenzie a contract renewal that locked in a salary of $137,000 for 2022, $140,000 for 2023 and $143,000 for 2024.

MacKenzie refused the offer, on the grounds that the offer was “far less” than what her  male co-workers, including Mr. Scott Smith, and her younger female colleague, Ms. Nakano.

“Several months later” and in early 2022, KYW increased their offers to $150,000/year
for 2022, $152,500/year for 2023, and $155,000/year for 2024. MacKenzie subsequently signed a document indicating her agreement to those salaries.

Yet, even though she didn’t decline that offer, MacKenzie contends Audacy and KYW engaged in discriminatory salary determination, resulting in “significant harms and losses” for the woman who has enjoyed a long career as a reporter and anchor in both radio and television.

MacKenzie began her journalism career as a reporter at WLAN Radio in Lancaster. She’s also anchored and reported for WETM-TV in Elmira, N.Y.; WBRE-TV in Scranton-Wilkes Barre; WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H.; and at New England Cable News in Boston. Her documentary, “Honduras: Mission of Hope” — about a local group of volunteers who set up free medical and dental clinics — won awards from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters, the RTNDA, and Women in Communication.

“Although she has enjoyed getting to know the people in different towns and cities, Carol is glad to be back home in Pennsylvania,” her KYW biography reads.

Today, however, she’s not particularly glad to be at the station she has called home for two decades. And, with a jury’s approval, she wants Audacy to report to a court-appointed external monitor, quarterly for 36 months, on KYW’s compensation rates for anchors and reporters.

A summons was issued to Audacy on Wednesday; the company had not offered comment on the matter, while COO Susan Larkin was attending the Forecast conference in New York.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with the Commission's rules in a Report and Order on authorizing permissive use of the ``Next Generation'' Broadcast Television Standard. This document is consistent with the Commission's Report and Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

.

.

.

GatesAir, a Thomson Broadcast subsidiary, has appointed Carlos Lira Valdez to its international sales team. Lira, an experienced RF sales and engineering professional, will cover the CALA broadcast market, which stretches across the Caribbean and Latin America. He will report to David Hopson, senior regional director for GatesAir’s CALA sales.

According to a company press release, Lira has spent nearly 25 years in the media and entertainment industry, with several positions in the RF space. “His experience is well-rounded, having worked on the manufacturing side and with broadcasters over the years, including at TV Azteca where he launched his broadcast industry career,” said GatesAir.

Lira first worked as a support engineer before accepting a position with Harris Corporation in 2011 as a regional pre-sales engineer, working with CALA regional customers to prepare sales proposals and provide technical support for Harris transmitters.

Harris Corporation divested its broadcast division that year, and the Harris transmission business was reborn as GatesAir.

“While Lira left upon GatesAir’s formation, he is now reunited with the business he grew to love over his four years of hands-on work with the technology,” said GatesAir in the release. “In between, he worked his way through the RF chain, spending several years with Rymsa RF and Jampro Antennas while gaining valuable sales management and business development experience. ”

Upon his return to GatesAir, Lira said: “There is strong opportunity in CALA to help TV and FM broadcasters refresh existing transmission infrastructure, and transition analog broadcasters to digital television systems. CALA is an interesting region given the mix of digital standards being adopted.”

Looking ahead, GatesAir said Lira sees an opportunity to make in-roads for GatesAir’s Intraplex business unit, noting that Audio over IP adoption in CALA remains in the early stages.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

The post GatesAir Appoints Carlos Lira Valdez to CALA Sales Team appeared first on Radio World.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Circle City Broadcasting Owner, President and CEO DuJuan McCoy has been elected chair of the NAB Leadership Foundation (NABLF) Board of Directors.

McCoy assumes the seat previously occupied by Darrell Brown, former President of Bonneville International Corporation, who has served as NABLF Board chair since 2019.

An alumnus of the NABLF’s Broadcast Leadership Training program, McCoy purchased his first broadcast TV stations in West Texas in 2007 and earned the distinction of being the first African American to own Fox affiliates in the United States. McCoy has owned and operated over 20 broadcast TV stations and currently owns WISH-8 and WNDY-TV in Indianapolis, Circulus Digital Media, Circle City Broadcasting Entertainment Production Company and the All-Indiana Podcast Network.

McCoy currently serves on the NAB Television Board of Directors and is also the NABLF Board’s Fundraising Chair. He is a member of several local and national boards of directors, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and the United States Black Chamber of Commerce.

“For me to have hatched my station ownership career via the Foundation’s BLT Program in 2007, and now have an opportunity to come full circle as the Board Chair is truly a heartfelt honor,” McCoy said. “I’m excited about leading the Foundation into the next chapter of developing our future broadcast leaders. I’m a very proud product of the Foundation’s impactful programs.”

NABLF President Michelle Duke commented, “DuJuan’s career embodies the mission of the NAB Leadership Foundation to open new doorways for the next generation of broadcasters” said. His firsthand experience and knowledge of our programs will be invaluable in helping our Board of Directors guide NABLF to meet the needs of our industry, develop opportunities for our workforce and equip future leaders and innovators with the tools for success. I congratulate DuJuan on his well-deserved election to NABLF Board chair.”

Westwood One, the national audio arm of Cumulus Media, has extended its contract with jingle and audio branding company TM Studios. 

“Westwood One originally purchased TM Studios in 2009 and subsequently sold the company to former TM executives Greg Clancy, Dave Bethell and Chris ‘UK’ Stevens in November 2020,” it said in its announcement.

“Under the new agreement, Westwood One continues as TM’s exclusive domestic barter representation agent, and TM continues to supply Westwood One’s syndication partners, including many Cumulus radio stations, with station jingles, commercial jingles and production music.

“TM also acquires the additional assets of the Drake Chenault catalog and all intellectual property associated with TM’s former product lines HitDisc and GoldDisc.”

TM Studios has facilities in Dallas, Los Angeles, Manchester and other locations.

The announcement was made by Westwood One President Suzanne Grimes and TM Studios CEO Greg Clancy (the latter said in the release that “Westwood One has been like family to TM for over a decade.”)

[Related: “TM Studios Delivers Sound Package to KNX News in L.A.”]

The post Westwood One Renews Deal With TM Studios appeared first on Radio World.

With the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (PIRATE) Act, signed into law in 2020, a new era dawned for the FCC and its ability to issue larger fines against the operators of pirate radio stations in order to deter illegal operations. In continuing that mission, the FCC has issued $6.4 million in proposed fines against several pirate radio operators located in the Bronx and Brooklyn in New York City, and in the neighboring city of Mount Vernon.

In today’s actions, the FCC proposed the maximum penalty allowable under the PIRATE Act — upwards of $2.3 million — against Johnny Peralta for allegedly operating an unlicensed radio station known as La Mia Radio in the Bronx since 2018. A 2022-2023 New York pirate radio sweep by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau confirmed that La Mia Radio continues to operate.  

In addition, the commission has proposed the maximum fine against Dexter Blake for his suspected operation of a pirate station known as Linkage Radio in Mount Vernon, just north of the Bronx.

The FCC also proposed a forfeiture of $1.8 million against Matthew Bowen for 89 alleged violations of FCC rules due to continued operation of a station known as Triple9HD in Brooklyn.

The proposed actions in the form of notices of apparent liability, or NALs, require the operators to pay their fine or file a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. The parties are given 30 days to respond. 

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement: “In the PIRATE Act, Congress upped the ante. It increased the penalties for those who transmit unauthorized signals over the FM and AM radio bands because they can compromise public trust in this service and jeopardize the broadcasting of emergency alerts. This means higher fines and more regular enforcement seeps in our largest radio markets.”

Rosenworcel in the statement also credited FCC field agents for their work tracking the three alleged pirate radio operators. “(The proposed fines) also demonstrate that the agency’s field agents are taking their broadcast enforcement duties under the PIRATE Act, and that we are taking our responsibility as stewards of the public airwaves, seriously.”   

The FCC continues its campaign against pirate operators with these actions. The FCC recently confirmed a record fine of $2.3 million against operators of another unlicensed station in New York City.

While the Enforcement Bureau tally of fines against pirate operators has grown steadily this year, it is hard to determine how successful the FCC is in those collecting fines. History shows it’s not easy to collect money from “fly-by-night,” unlicensed broadcasters. The FCC says unpaid fines are referred to the Department of Justice for collection.

The PIRATE ACT also gives the FCC the authority to go after landlords that house the operations of suspected illegal radio stations. In March it issued letters to 16 landlords in the New York City area demanding proof that the illegal broadcasts on their properties have ceased and requesting identification of the individuals involved.

[Related: “FCC Pirate Radio Sweeps Turn to Miami“]

The post FCC Writes Up 3 More NYC Pirates, This Time With $6M in Proposed Fines appeared first on Radio World.

Macro strength, Micro stress. That’s the top-line assessment from MAGNA EVP/Managing Partner for Global Market Intelligence Vincent LeTang with respect to the economic data he’s looked at for Q3 and for what lies ahead in 2024.

LeTang presented the latest MAGNA data at the start of Forecast 2024 at the Harvard Club in the City of New York, and while the third quarter was strong and the lack of a recession in the U.S. puts the nation’s economy ahead of Europe, consumer confidence has eroded.

So has the strength of “traditional media,” with the decline of linear advertising sales — even with strong political dollars — predicted for next year.

 

Please Login to view this premium content. (Not a member? Join Today!)