Radio World

Orban’s SmartRadio in use at online music station Studio Brussels

At Belgian public broadcaster VRT, online music station Studio Brussels launched a new digital channel, Stubru #ikluisterbelgisch, using SmartRadio. Three additional online radio streams from VRT, including ’90s and ’00s from its youth station MNM, were recently launched by VRT, also utilizing SmartRadio.

A cloud- and web-based radio-as-a-service platform developed by Broadcast Partners, SmartRadio provides a software-based product to broadcasters, consisting of microservices that run in a virtualized Windows environment. SmartRadio can operate either online for streaming and other services or can provide production, editing and streaming services to terrestrial broadcasters.

Orban Labs partnered with Broadcast Partners to add Smart Processing capability to this platform. Using Smart Processing, stations can select parameters for processing to create their own custom, unique “sound.” Algorithms used in Smart Processing are comparable to Orban’s Optimod hardware processors.

Radio World welcomes submissions for the Who’s Buying What column from both buyers and sellers. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Who’s Buying What” in the subject line.

The post Who’s Buying What: Online Station Studio Brussels Opts for SmartRadio appeared first on Radio World.

Tom LaBarge, CEO of GLxT Holdings

Tom LaBarge is CEO of GLxT Holdings and its manufacturing subsidiary GroundLinx Technologies. The company makes a system called Gradiance that it promotes as providing a new approach to electrical grounding.

Radio World: Don’t we know pretty much what we need to know about grounding?
Tom LaBarge: The necessity for electrical grounding has indeed been well known for over two centuries. But well known and well understood are not always synonymous.

The current industry specifications to achieve compliance in a grounding installation are woefully outdated and dangerously anemic with respect to the electronics-rich culture of contemporary society.

Even “enhanced” grounding systems exclusively rely on a humble ground rod — inspired by Ben Franklin — which, in fact, has only a single point of primary dissipation for fault currents, as well as no capability for high-frequency dispersion.

Regardless, engineers continue to specify not only antiquated technology, but also inaccurate models of grounding performance and on point-in-time resistance-to-ground measurements made with low-voltage, low-frequency test equipment.

“Significant research is now available that shows dissipation of dangerous fault currents can be accomplished very successfully if novel combinations of new materials and electrode structures are employed.” — Tom LaBarge

These meters cannot capture the dynamic characteristics of an entire fault event. Thus, the limitations of basic ground rods, combined with grounding system designs built only to achieve snapshot-quality resistance measurements, result in much less than optimal protection of the broadcasting plant.

However, significant research is now available that shows dissipation of dangerous fault currents can be accomplished very successfully if novel combinations of new materials and electrode structures are employed.

Such designs can properly manage high frequencies in these currents, as well as more efficiently disperse all aspects of a fault pulse over time through better management of differences of impedance in elements of a grounding system.

Existing technology — as discussed within the broadcasting industry for many years — is not able to achieve these essential results, thus causing increasing failures of critical equipment.

In fact, there is a tremendous amount of new information to review and understand with respect to effective grounding — particularly as the financial and operating demands of broadcasters evolve.

RW: You’ve said systems can fail “in spite of their adherence to commonly accepted design standards.” It sounds like the standards themselves need to change, no?
LaBarge: We absolutely advocate for standards to be changed — based on a new understanding of fault current characteristics, dramatic limitations of present grounding technology and the shortcomings of contemporary grounding system analysis techniques.

The quantity and sophistication of electronics required in broadcasting of any type, whether commercial, public safety, industrial or transportation, among many other uses, has leapfrogged the published performance goals of traditional grounding. We seek to be the change agents toward substantially improving protection of expensive equipment, and reduction in injuries and loss of lives.

RW: Your GroundLinx Gradiance system aims to provide a solution. What is it?
LaBarge: Through the use of novel combinations of materials not previously found in grounding devices, these products are capable, first, of non-sacrificially dissipating current frequencies exceeding 60 MHz, the point where copper begins to lose effectiveness, and second, creating an “impedance gradient” that dramatically reduces the possibility of reflection of a fault current, throughout the event, back into systems and devices that a grounding strategy was designed to protect.

Traditional ground rods are not able to offer these protective features. With GroundLinx Gradiance systems we’ve reimagined and redesigned the “business end” of grounding to protect the super-sensitive electronics of the contemporary broadcast plant at a significantly higher level.

An image from the GroundLinx Gradiance website. (Click on the image to view a larger version.)

RW: What are the major deficiencies in common grounding systems?
LaBarge: In a nutshell we can group major causes of the significant deficiencies into two megacategories: absence of research and development over several decades, and a general lack of understanding of the physics behind grounding performance overall. Additionally, within the world of traditional grounding, there is little consensus on system design standards.We’ve heard it said that if one puts 10 grounding design engineers in a room, 11 opinions will emerge.

In terms of industry codes, grounding has always been an exercise, necessary to achieve a stated resistance-to-ground target — which is of very limited value with respect to true, full-fault-event dissipation. This rote activity is repeated all over the world. As a result, the U.S. insurance industry alone reports over $1 billion in lightning losses every year. (This excludes fire damage initiated by lightning.) European Union organizations site “billions of Euros” lost annually due to lightning and fault current events.

Due to antiquated modeling, inaccurate representations of fault current behavior and a “We’ve always done it this way” attitude, the use of everything from highly insufficient conductor size or deployment, to exclusive reliance on soil moisture, to creation of “ground loops” that allow fault currents to return to structures and equipment, the range and amount of dangerous errors in grounding system design are rather amazing.

As an example, at a recent site inspection at an eastern U.S. larger-market television tower, three chain-link fence posts embedded in concrete were being used as grounding for this tower more than 1,000 feet tall. Not surprisingly, the facility suffers equipment damage exceeding $50,000 annually.

Reviews at smaller-market radio facilities nearly always show major disregard for grounding necessities. As a result, off-air time, or signal disruption events at a minimum, are far too common.
In all cases, the throttling of major fault currents into small ground rods, regardless of quantity, that have a huge disparity in impedance relative to surrounding soils (and possibly amendments) far too often results in completely insufficient dispersal of the fault, and therefore equipment damage, or worse.

We see this situation in well over 90% of the sites we review.

In our experience, U.S. broadcast facilities of all types and applications are generally designed to achieve compliance with the current published standards and codes. They are often tested and certified to comply with specified static/point-in-time resistance-to-ground readings. However, as I said, such measurement is only a snapshot of system performance made with simple test meters — which cannot emulate the performance of a grounding system over time during a major fault event where over 30,000 amps and 250,000 volts at frequencies exceeding 200 MHz may be encountered.

Broadcasters need to up their grounding game, and do so quickly.

RW: What else should we know?
LaBarge: Steep waveforms at the initiation of lightning strikes and fault surges are now understood to contain a simultaneous mélange of frequencies that often exceed 100 MHz. It is the inability to deal with this toxic onslaught that is often to blame for signal loss, equipment damage and worse. Immediate dissipation of the high-frequency barrage — before its reflection back into equipment can occur — is paramount. Unfortunately, copper is only optimally effective up to 60 MHz, and loses effectiveness quickly above that level. Therefore, rethinking of grounding system materials and structures, and overall grounding strategies, is necessary.

Quite simply, the “criticality” of greatly improved grounding in broadcasting operations through attention to fault frequencies and grounding impedance mismatches cannot be overstated. For operating consistency and financial prudence, we encourage radio broadcasting engineers to become far more “acquainted“ with grounding systems of their facility.

Information about the company’s grounding systems can be found at www.groundlinx.com.

Radio World welcomes comments on this or any story. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

The post Grounding: GroundLinx Advocates for New Approach appeared first on Radio World.

The author is membership program director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. NFCB commentaries are featured regularly at www.radioworld.com.

Many community radio stations are hosting virtual meetings for board members, volunteers and staff. It is a new world for many. But how do you avoid Zoom disaster?

Stations have long flourished on the aesthetic of community, which means face-to-face interactions and groups of people gathering together. For many, video conferencing is something their stations have never done before. However, there is no reason to stress out. The etiquette of virtual meetings is not much different than what you’re used to.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Remote Forever]

At the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, we have hosted weekly video conferences on Zoom since the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as webinars and meetings of various sizes. NFCB has been holding such gatherings for several years. As a facilitator, I have seen many video conference successes and fails. How can you and your organization do Zoom well? Here are a few recommendations.

Turn on Your Video
Little is more off-putting to fellow staff and volunteers than someone who won’t bother to turn on their video, or who has not worked out kinks with their audio and video before showing up. In this pandemic period, where so much is done through online meetings, video is crucial in building trust and engagement. Video also keeps you engaged; people can see you multitasking or being distracted, so consider this your time to give your all to the meeting at hand. Short of your background being distracting or inappropriate, video should be on. Body language, eye contact and rapport still matter.

Set Meetings to Mute on Entry, and Mute Yourself to Start
I once heard that unmute was today’s Reply All. And it is true! If your station is hosting meetings of five or more, your facilitator will make everyone’s day by setting the meeting to mute all initially. We need to remember that people are at all kinds of places when they join these meetings. People’s significant others and families may be in close proximity. Dogs are scampering about. As well, if you are attending a meeting, no one wants to hear your side conversation about breakfast or, worse, an unflattering opinion about someone on your call. Click Mute and save yourself embarrassment and worse.

Private Chat Is Not Private
Related to the above, do not say something in a private chat that you would not say in the public meeting to co-workers or other volunteers at your station. Also, do not be creepy. Those are rules of thumb for life, but apply doubly for Zoom, which permits meeting hosts to get full chat transcripts, including of those that are sent privately between two parties in a meeting. Thus, you will find stories like this one, this, and this one, where people are shocked to discover their meetings were littered with rude, profane or abusive backchannel conversations, and the perpetrators of such soon learn they are in hot water, or out of a job, for violating organizational policies.

Use Chat Liberally
Chat boxes are wonderful to share links, insights and other resources others can look back at later. Save your on-microphone time for something you do not wish to type out, or that will resonate more with other volunteers and staff when it is spoken, rather than typed.

There are many tutorials about lighting, headsets and other matters related to video meetings. However, the basic rules of video meetings are not far from in-person success tips. Zoom forward and help enhance your stations as much as possible!

The post Community Broadcaster: Four Zoom Tips for Community Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Jim Coloff, right, accepts a donation from Diya Pradeep of Cedar Falls, who for her 10th birthday asked friends to donate to the charity instead of giving her a gift. She raised $1,000.

A station can only be honored with the NAB Crystal Heritage Award after receiving five Crystal Radio Awards for outstanding community service. KCVM(FM) in small-market Cedar Falls, Iowa, is the latest station so honored.

How small is Cedar Falls? If one combines it with the population of the larger nearby city of Waterloo it is still only Nielsen Audio market 237. Yet, Jim Coloff, owner and general manager of KCVM, is able to run that station and three others in his cluster, make a profit and still devote hundreds of hours each year to public service for his communities.

“Yeah, I love small markets,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s more difficult than operating in a large market, but we all do have to wear more hats.”

[Read: Crystal Radio Awards Winners Announced]

“We have smaller staffs, we don’t have big budgets, but we sure have a diverse workday because we all do a little of everything. I will say we have fewer employee-type headaches so in that sense it may be easier! But if we’re doing the right job, we might be the only game in town, the only local media voice and the only local access these communities have.”

Magical Mix Kids

Coloff came by radio and public service naturally; his parents Tony and Sue Coloff started a station in 1978 in Forest City, Iowa. Jim joined the company in 1991 and partnered with his parents until purchasing the Coloff Media Group in 2017.

Fun at a Magical Mix Kids event.

“My parents, mostly retired at this point, used to work as volunteers for various causes when I was growing up. I was raised with the belief that you support the community that supports your business. So I immediately got involved and now I require the same of my staffs, here in Cedar Falls and in the other markets where we own stations.”

Coloff Media owns stations in other Iowa mini-markets including Britt, Charles City, Forest City, Manchester, Mason City and New Hampton. The group now includes 12 stations, all of which follow the “give back” directive from the Coloffs.

KCVM took its desire to help the community a step further 20 years ago when it began its own charity, Magical Mix Kids, a 501(c)(3) organization.

School fundraiser organizers are interviewed on 93.5 The Mix.

“Magical Mix Kids, named after the station’s designation as ‘93.5 the Mix,’ is similar to the national Make-A-Wish, but the difference is that our kids are not necessarily terminally ill,” said Coloff.

“Most of our kids are suffering from chronic and life-shortening conditions as well as terminal conditions. We feel the psychological and financial stress that is put on these families makes them deserving of a respite from their troubles. What better place to send them than Walt Disney World?”

“This is the biggest activity we’re involved in, and every year we send these kids and their families, about 80 or 90 people in all, on that trip. It takes the entire year to raise the nearly $100,000 it takes to accomplish that.”

Smart Hiring

Getting good personnel is a challenge in any market, and in a small town there’s always the danger that the best people will want to go elsewhere to make more money. Add to that Coloff Media’s special criteria for all employees.

Bob Westerman conducts interviews during a broadcast from the site of a flag mural on a local Amvets post in Cedar Falls.

“We’ve had some people who moved on to larger markets, but we scout like everyone else at the college level and we go to the recruitment fairs,” said Coloff.

“We check out the workforce development sites and work fairs, but I tell you, it’s not so much where we look but the kind of people we’re looking for that matters. We want people who need to make a difference in their community,” he continued.

“Of course they have to have talent, but we would take someone with less training and experience but who is willing to learn. And most of all they have to have already been involved their community. Some of our people have been with us 15, 20, 25 years, and it’s because they are talented enough but they decided that this community is where they want to raise their families.”

Kim Manning is manager of the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau and a frequent collaborator on promotions with KCVM.

“All we have to do is pick up the phone and call the station, and anyone there will be willing to help us, not just Jim,” she said.

Volunteering at a food event to help the needy are station staff, from left, Janelle Rench, Mark Simpson, Lori Payne.

“He has instilled this attitude across his entire staff; and if an event will benefit the community, they are always onboard. For example, we all worked together on Pedal Fest, which is a cycling event we started five years ago. It’s free and this year it’ll be every weekend in September. Jim Coloff attends just about every auction in town, and he’s active in Rotary Club and  other service organizations. He’s always there for anyone who needs him.”

The KCVM calendar can be found on the station’s site www.935themix.com, and in normal nonpandemic times is full of events like blood drives, Kiwanis meetings, fundraisers and pancake breakfasts.

Radio stations must still pay the bills and meet payroll. Here is what Coloff says about radio’s viability and how it is tied to his goals for the community.

“I can’t speak for every market in the country or every radio station, but I think if radio is done right, and if the stations are involved in their communities, and make that goal part of the culture of the radio station, radio can be a huge part of its listeners’ lives.”

“Our stations provide a locally connected community delivered via live and local audio, available on every distribution channel including terrestrial radio, mobile/PC stream, enabled devices and even video. I think a radio station can be a driving force in a community’s success in a lot of ways, but you have to be committed to spending time and resources on becoming involved and doing hyper-local programming.”

Ken Deutsch is a former disc jockey and former TV director who also ran a jingle studio for 24 years. In fact, he says he’s now a former almost everything. 

 

The post KCVM Is Part of Life in Cedar Valley appeared first on Radio World.

The author is Radio Marketing Specialist for Lawo AG.

Radio has always been a vital source of news and information when crises hit. California’s public broadcasters have traditionally been prepared for nearly any eventuality, such as disasters like earthquakes, floods and wildfires. And now they must be prepared to inform listeners during a pandemic as well.

KQED’s remote control center at Sutro Tower. The Sapphire mixer on the table is a remote control for the sapphire located in the station’s Master Control Room. The three screens are VisTool GUIs that control all of the mixing and peripheral devices in the three on-air studios used for the “Forum” call-in program.

In San Francisco, NPR member station KQED observed other stations in the U.S. where personnel were unable to access their facilities due to COVID-19 shutdowns, and took action to ensure remote access to their FM‘s Master Control Room and adjacent production facilities.

“We had to ask ourselves what we would do if one of our staff members tested positive for the virus. How would we produce our daily programming if the facilities were off-limits?” says Donny Newenhouse, executive director of broadcast engineering and operations at KQED.

“We knew we would need the ability to run our Master Control Room from a remote location. We also needed to remotely-control the three production studios where our daily call-in program, “Forum,” originates. All of these rooms have Lawo sapphire mixing consoles, so we called Lawo and asked – how can we do this?”

“There wasn’t an off-the-shelf solution to remote-control the sapphire consoles and also control the integrated networked systems, but our engineering staff had some ideas,” says Herbert Lemcke, key account manager/president, Lawo Corp. Americas. “A key aspect of the solution was to use KQED’s spare sapphire mixing surface as a remote for the one in MCR by using CANBus-to-IP converters to connect to and control the station’s console core and Nova73 router.”

KQED’s engineering space at Sutro Tower (the main transmission site for many Bay Area TV and FM stations) hosts the emergency remote setup, a solution already employed by KQED’s television operations, which have a backup TV Master Control at Sutro. Using the sapphire surface installed at the tower site, KQED’s operators can directly control the operation of the sapphire located in the station’s MCR for complete control of all satellite feeds and local programming sources.

The second part of the project — creating a “virtual studio” at Sutro for operators to produce the daily “Forum” call-in program — required a different kind of remote control. For this, Lemcke and Lawo R&D engineer Andreas Schlegel designed a touchscreen mixing console interface using Lawo’s VisTool GUI Building software.

This connects via IP from the Sutro Tower site to KQED’s downtown studios, which should give complete access to all mixing functions and console resources in the station’s three control rooms, including the codec pool, broadcast VoIP phone system, Dalet playout system — even talkback and mix-minus channels.

Lawo engineers were able to give KQED the solution they needed: the entire physical and virtual remote control solution was executed, tested and proofed in under a week’s time, and reports from operators on the virtual studio implementation have been very positive.

“With the combination of hardware remote control of Master Control, and VisTool virtual control of our studio mixing consoles, our contingency plans are in place and ready should we need them,” says Newenhouse. “But we hope we never will.”

The post Lawo, KQED Ready Remote Radio Master Control appeared first on Radio World.

Communications attorney Richard Hayes has been busy during the coronavirus pandemic, sending a letter to the FCC with a number of suggestions, many, if not all of which would help his clients survive. See here.

 He has now sent a more detailed letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai concerning, temporarily at least, relieving stations of EEO regulations while the coronavirus pandemic continues. This idea was outlined in the previous letter.

 Here follows the text of the latest letter.

Everyone in the radio industry appreciates your proactive stance in helping stations survive during this virus by eliminating unnecessary and burdensome rules. Please keep up the good work. There is more you can do and that is the reason for this letter.

I represent about 100 different radio stations across the country. They are struggling more now than they ever have in the 38 years I have been practicing communications law. Station revenues are down 50, 60, 70 and 80%. Many small stations, particularly standalone AM and FM broadcasters, were struggling before the pandemic and the likelihood that some will financially survive is doubtful. If the crisis continues, you can expect to see stations filing Special Temporary Authority requests to shut down until they can operate profitably. Some are already in advanced discussions to go silent.

Here is a big way you might be able to help. From what I have observed, the EEO program, as it applies to broadcasters, is a total waste of time. First, broadcasting is not a suspect industry which requires such monitoring.  Second, the EEO program is toothless. What other industry has to jump through these pointless hoops? Suggesting that the EEO program prevents discrimination is not supported by any data and no data has ever been provided to the public to show that the EEO program, as administered by the FCC, is in any way effective.

Widely recruiting for specialized positions is an empty gesture and solves no discrimination problems. Forcing stations to conduct meaningless EEO initiatives is also counterproductive. Before the pandemic, conducting a job fair when the station had no job openings really annoys the public and irritates the radio station. Now that we are facing extreme unemployment, I doubt that any of the EEO initiatives are appropriate. Stations will hire back their furloughed employees. I note that there has been some relief for broadcasters in this regard as the commission has stated that there will be a 90-day window in which stations may hire back their furloughed employees without having to recruit. They planned to do so, anyway. This relief doesn’t go far enough.

Yesterday [May 20], I completed an EEO Public File Report for a small cluster of stations in rural Indiana. That report was 324 pages long! All of those pages were necessary to complete the report. Two months ago, for the same cluster of stations, I prepared a detailed Audit Response. These reports provide nothing regarding the prevention of discrimination. They are composed of page after page of advertising “copy” with hundreds of pages showing the exact times each announcement was aired. The report detailed EEO initiatives with “copy” and exact times despite the fact that the stations have had to furlough employees and drastically reduce expenses just to stay on the air.

The EEO program is a pointless burden which the commission cannot rationally defend (other than politically). That small, rural cluster of Indiana radio stations had to pull one employee from other critical duties for more than a week in order to assemble all of the EEO materials required for the report. Other employees such as news directors and traffic personnel were also required to divert their attention to the EEO report’s compilation. This is a total waste of resources, especially now.

Please consider suspending the EEO rules for the duration of the crisis. It would also be helpful if the entire EEO program was placed under review to determine if it is actually making any difference or if it just squandering limited financial and personnel resources for nothing more than a political benefit.

Thank you for your consideration.

 

The post Today, EEO Rules Are Harming Stations appeared first on Radio World.

Al Shuldiner, chief of the FCC’s Audio Division

Radio World talked with Al Shuldiner, chief of the FCC’s Audio Division, about how the commission was coping during the coronavirus shutdowns, as well as about various regulatory issues before the commission.

The commission effectively shut down its headquarters and moved to teleworking, like much of the radio industry. It sought to provide some relief to broadcasters, granting a series of waivers and extending the deadline for the quarterly issues and programs lists. It also eased the public file requirements placed upon broadcasters.

Chairman Ajit Pai said the commission was “acting quickly to make decisions” to help manage. During an online workshop in April, he said, “If there’s one area where bureaucracies struggle most, it’s doing anything fast. But during a pandemic, delays can be deadly. So the FCC has put a premium on making decisions as quickly as possible. We’re talking days, not months or years.”

Shuldiner said the chairman empowered the FCC’s division leaders to make regulatory decisions without the layers of review typically needed.

He spoke with Radio World’s Randy Stine in April.

Radio World:  You spoke with NAB members recently in an online chat about what the FCC has been doing publicly and behind the scenes in regards to coronavirus. Radio has been especially hard hit. What should radio broadcasters know?

Al Shuldiner: The FCC staff is very aware of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on broadcasters and the severe economic impact this is having on the radio industry. We are looking at ways that we can provide additional regulatory flexibility to help broadcasters navigate through this crisis.

Where stations have been able to provide us with specific information that the pandemic has impacted their operations, such as where stations have been forced to stop construction because key personnel have been infected and are quarantined or where parts have been delayed due to supply chain disruptions, we have provided regulatory relief where we can.

Similarly, we have worked with stations facing extreme economic problems to adjust their operations to save money. I encourage stations that are facing problems to contact us if they have approaches that might help save jobs or avoid taking a station off the air.

We have not provided relief in response to generalized requests based simply on unspecified impacts of the coronavirus, but we are prepared to respond quickly when broadcasters provide specific information and documentation that they have suffered a significant impact. And stations do not need to worry about making formal proposals. A number of stations have contacted me informally by email, and we have been able to provide prompt relief with minimal administrative delays.

RW: Will the FCC forgive or delay collection of regulatory fees, for radio stations hit by the economic downturn? How about the current license renewal process?

Shuldiner: We are looking at options to help broadcasters get through this economic downturn. I know there have been questions about regulatory fees, which Congress requires the commission to collect. While we are unable to waive these fees, the Media Bureau has been working with the commission’s Office of the Managing Director to help stations implement payment plans and to develop other relief to address cash shortages.

RW: Are there other postponements of deadlines or other regulatory processes? Are there Public File implications? 

Shuldiner: The Media Bureau delayed the deadline for stations to upload first quarter issues/programs lists to their online public inspection files. For stations that were required to file renewal applications by April 1, 2020, we did not grant a blanket extension of time, but we addressed extension requests on a case-by-case basis. We processed about 25 of these requests and in all cases, each was granted the day it was submitted.

We and the Video Division will monitor developments leading up to the June 1 renewal application deadline. I expect we will address any problems for that date on a case-by-case basis as well. Similarly, we have been able to handle a few construction tolling requests on an individual basis. I think the biggest current outstanding question about deadlines is the status of FM translator construction permits scheduled to expire in January 2021.

We are looking at the ability of AM stations to make those investments right now and understand the need to provide more guidance on this issue well in advance of the deadline. I hope to have input for broadcasters early this summer.

RW: Do the FCC modernization initiatives continue during the COVID-19 outbreak, like possibly streamlining the license renewal process?

Shuldiner: We are fully engaged in all our work, including ongoing rulemakings. I am not aware of any changes that have been proposed to the renewal process, but we are actively working to complete our rulemaking on the local public notices that broadcasters must provide for renewal and other applications. 

Our Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposed a number of changes designed to streamline our existing rules. We received a lot of supporting comments from interested parties and expect to release revised rules before the summer. In conjunction with the ongoing work in that proceeding and in recognition of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on broadcasters, we recently waived the requirement for broadcasters filing renewal applications in June 2020 to provide prefiling announcements of their renewal applications. 

We plan to continue to advance our important media modernization initiatives and to continue to provide the industry with regulatory relief where possible.

RW: The pandemic has led to a number of churches and other organizations doing local broadcasts to their parking lots. Have there been cases where you have relaxed Part 15 compliance?

Shuldiner: We have encouraged churches and other organizations that have asked us for permission to broadcast to an audience to use streaming or call-to-listen services, or to partner with an existing broadcaster rather than relying on Part 15 devices.

I was very interested to learn recently of an initiative where a broadcaster is working with local schools in the communities it serves to air lessons on AM and FM stations during part of the day to ensure children without access to the internet can continue to complete their schoolwork. Using existing stations for this effort avoids the need for special authorizations.

Also, often low-cost Part 15 equipment being offered to churches and other organizations is not legal for use in the U.S. A properly certified and labeled Part 15 device comes with a permanent, manufacturer-affixed label certifying that the device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules and displays an FCC ID number. Those devices should be able to provide a service radius of up to 200 feet under ideal conditions. Anything claiming to provide service beyond that distance is likely in violation of FCC rules.

Although we have provided a very limited number of special authorizations for governmental entities and medical centers with a public health need to broadcast using power levels that exceed Part 15 criteria, we are not able to provide other organizations with licenses for larger coverage areas, due to the public safety and broadcast interference concerns.

RW: If the FCC allows that option, what can you say to radio broadcasters concerned about possible interference?

Shuldiner: We review all requests to ensure they are on channels that minimize the potential interference. Any special authorizations we provide are on a noninterference basis. And the stations we have authorized at this point are operating at power levels that are extremely unlikely to cause interference. However, we remain prepared to address any interference that arises and will work with broadcasters to address any problems they experience.

RW: New rules were put in place last year to streamline the sometimes contentious process of working out interference complaints around FM translators. Can you report on how that›s going? Has the frequency of complaints changed?

Shuldiner: We have seen some additional claims from stations, but my sense is that the volume is pretty consistent with what we have seen for the last few years. The new rules have not created a spike in complaints but have helped us weed out some of the less sustainable complaints.

In our experience, most interference problems can be resolved by the stations, and our new rules strongly encourage stations to attempt to resolve problems without the FCC. But there are cases where we have found real interference problems and taken appropriate action to remedy the problem.

In the most contentious cases, the parties often do not act reasonably and engage in an endless war of pleadings and accusations. This is not an effective way to work with commission staff or to resolve the matter. I encourage all parties to work with us to find productive solutions.

RW: We’ve seen at least one ruling where it appeared that the company raising a complaint had provided documentation but that the petition to deny was refused because they didn’t follow every letter of the process. Is it possible the system is too stringent now?

Shuldiner: I don’t want to comment on the merits of a particular case, but we think it is important for stations filing interference claims to comply with the procedural requirements we adopted. We believe that will help avoid invalid claims and avoid wasting time and resources for all parties.

RW: The comment period on allowing all-digital on the AM band has closed, and most of the comments were clearly in support. It seems likely that the FCC will confirm its tentative plan soon. What can you share with us?

Shuldiner: There were a number of comments and reply comments filed in that proceeding. It’s a little premature to share the staff’s thinking on the outcome of the proceeding, but the staff members responsible for that item are reviewing the comments and hope to have more guidance for AM broadcasters later this year.

“We do not view waivers as a workable solution for something as significant as a new class of service, particularly when there is an open rulemaking on the same topic.” — Al Shuldiner

RW: What is the status of the FM Class C4 proposal? Is it possible a waiver approach could be used in the interim for those FM stations interested?

Shuldiner: Although a number of broadcasters have expressed support for a rulemaking on Class C4, there also has been significant opposition from other broadcasters, particularly on the issue of Section 73.215 of the commission’s rules.

We do not view waivers as a workable solution for something as significant as a new class of service, particularly when there is an open rulemaking on the same topic. We will continue to study this issue to see if we can determine a way to proceed.

“We recognize the transition from CDBS to LMS has not been a smooth one. No one is more frustrated with the pace of the transition or the glitches we have experienced than me.” — Al Shuldiner

RW: We are told by broadcasters they feel as if they are struggling with regard to Media Bureau databases for FM. Many filings have transitioned to LMS, but many CDBS records and fields apparently have not made the trip. Some broadcasters have found it necessary to run searches using both databases to be sure they pick up on all potential records, allocations and applications. What is the plan for completing this transition?

Shuldiner: We recognize the transition from CDBS to LMS has not been a smooth one. No one is more frustrated with the pace of the transition or the glitches we have experienced than me. I can assure you the Audio Division staff has put in a lot of hours to design and test the system, but sometimes we cannot anticipate all the problems.

It is important to note that information flows from CDBS to LMS but not the other way around. CDBS is still the best place to find older information, but anything that has been filed in LMS will not appear in CDBS.

Even with all of us teleworking, we are making good progress on the next phase of the LMS transition and hope to have the assignment and transfer forms working in LMS in the second half of the year. After that, we plan to transition our AM forms and historical information. As we move more and more functionality to LMS, the need to check CDBS will go away. But right now, it is best to check both databases for completeness.

I say thank you to all our users who have shown tremendous patience during this transition. But please do not suffer in silence — if people are experiencing problems, they should let us know so we can address them.

RW: One of the important tasks the Audio Division does is to process assignment and transfer applications for station sales. In January, one of your well-known attorneys who was responsible for supervising station sales, Mike Wagner, retired. Who in the Audio Division is taking Mike’s place, and have there been any issues with the transition?

Shuldiner: Mike Wagner’s retirement was a big loss for the Audio Division, but I spoke to Mike recently and was pleased that he is enjoying his retirement. In March, we were very lucky to have Chris Clark join the Audio Division from the Media Bureau’s Industry Analysis Division. Chris is our newest assistant division chief and has taken over responsibility for the assignment and transfer application process. He also is involved in our ongoing license renewal process and other matters.

The staff’s move to full-time telework in March made the transition a little complicated for us, but the overall transition has been pretty smooth, and the feedback I have received from broadcasters indicates our processing has not been an impediment to completing transactions. We are fortunate to have a skilled group, headed by Annette Smith, that can keep the process moving forward, even while working remotely. Chris and Annette are available to the public to answer questions and resolve problems relating to pending applications.

“We were told the FCC’s move has been delayed from the end of June until the end of the summer, but we are waiting to see if the pandemic has any further impact on that schedule.” — Al Shuldiner

RW: The FCC was scheduled to move from the Portals to a location north of Union Station in Washington, D.C., this summer. What is now the status of that, and do you expect to have any attrition of Audio Division personnel from the move?

Shuldiner: We were told the FCC’s move has been delayed from the end of June until the end of the summer, but we are waiting to see if the pandemic has any further impact on that schedule. I don’t expect any significant attrition as a result of the move. I know we have a few people that are getting closer to retirement age, so we may see a few retirements in the future. But we have been fortunate to have had a few engineers and attorneys join the Audio Division over the past year and a half. With that additional staff, we are well positioned to continue to handle our work even if we experience a little attrition from the move.

RW: Reasonable, accommodating and flexible. Several communication attorneys have used those words to describe the FCC in recent weeks. Do you sense a change in how some broadcasters perceive the FCC?

Shuldiner: I like to think that the Audio Division is always responsive and helpful. We have a tremendous group of talented and dedicated individuals. We cannot accommodate every request we receive, and sometimes we have to deny requests or take enforcement action against bad actors. But we try to be fair and reasonable.

The pandemic has allowed us to have more detailed discussions with broadcasters about individual needs and situations. And it has given us the room to be creative to find solutions to unusual and extreme problems. I hope we will be able to maintain that approach when we return to regular operations and that the radio industry will continue to view us as a resource that is looking for reasonable solutions.

The post FCC Seeks to Keep the Wheels Turning appeared first on Radio World.

Quick, how does the loudness standard used at Spotify differ from that of public radio’s PRSS?

The answer can be found in a new reference list put together by RTW. The equipment manufacturer gathered info about several dozen audio delivery standards for content used by streaming and broadcast organizations.

“While aligning the perceived loudness of content in broadcast and digital delivery platforms such as Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music and more is a good initiative, one of the consequences is a wealth of new delivery standards,” it stated in its announcement. “RTW sets out to provide an overview.”

[Read: A Quality Audio Crisis in the Music Industry]

It noted that loudness standards in broadcast have been in the news for the past decade but that many new digital streaming platforms have emerged in that time. “And in recent years, the companies behind these new platforms have also started to recognize the need for recommending specific loudness deliver specifications to its content providers.”

It noted that Spotify, Netflix, Apple, Sony, Amazon, Tidal and Google (YouTube) have their own loudness delivery guidelines. “Some of them are similar in terms of Integrated Loudness (LUFS), but may vary slightly with regard to True Peak (dBTP), and then again some are simply the same.”

The Public Radio Satellite System is one of the many organizations included, as are numerous global TV industry sectors. RTW said that it found nearly 50 specifications including 35 for broadcast.

The loudness delivery specifications on the RTW page include Loudness and True Peak targets. Depending on content type and destination, parameters such as Short Term Loudness, Momentary Loudness and Max Loudness Range may also be included, it said.

RTW’s Senior Director of Product Management Mike Kahsnitz was quoted saying that the list is aimed at content providers. “For instance, if you make music and would like to submit your content to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal and Deezer, you should not just bounce one file for all of them.”

The guide is here.

 

The post RTW Publishes List of Loudness Standards appeared first on Radio World.

The Multicultural, Media Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) have provided an outline of strategies they believe the FCC should implement to ensure multilingual populations receive critical information during emergencies, including pandemic and natural disasters.

MMTC and LULAC made two specific recommendations for the FCC to ensure that they deliver and maintain emergency communications to multilingual populations.

[Read: Multilingual Emergency Broadcasting: A Moral Imperative for the Radio Industry]

The first is for communications during a pandemic, when systems are not adversely impacted. In this case, the organizations believe the FCC should survey communication providers’ resiliency, redundancy and multiple language capabilities before, during and immediately after the emergency. Based on the results, the FCC should design and implement a training regimen to assist providers in meeting the information needs of multilingual populations in the event of such an emergency.

The second recommendation focuses more on hurricanes and tornadoes that take down electric wireline or wireless grids for communication. For this MMTC and LULAC want to see the FCC adopt the “Designated Hitter” system, which ensures that at least one commercial or noncommercial full power radio station is able to remain on air during and after a hurricane with the responsibility of distributing critical multilingual information.

Here’s what the organizations wrote about the “Designated Hitter” idea:

“For communication during and after a hurricane or tornado that takes down the electric, wireline or wireless grids — as happened with Hurricanes Andrew (1992), Katrina (2005), Maria (2017), Florence (2018), and Michael (2018) — the commission should adopt a radio station ‘Designated Hitter’ system. When radio is the last resort for mass communication, the Designated Hitter paradigm contemplates that at least one commercial or noncommercial full power radio station, able to remain on the air during and after a hurricane, will have arranged in advance to broadcast life-saving multilingual information.

“Initially, these arrangements would be made in radio markets that have no more than one full service in-language station (defined as a commercial full power FM, or an AM with at least 1 kw day and night) and where there are more than 50,000 persons likely to speak the target language). This paradigm is necessary if one or more grids go down, leaving radio stations with generators as the only channels capable of mass communication. The ‘Designated Hitter’ concept is the only method that can prearrange and generally assure the provision of life-saving multilingual information during and after a hurricane or tornado.”

 

The post MMTC, LULAC Urge FCC to Consider Multilingual Needs During Emergencies appeared first on Radio World.

A $4.7 million grant will help fund the creation of two more regional public radio newsrooms, NPR announced.

The organization said philanthropists Eric and Wendy Schmidt are donating to NPR’s Collaborative Journalism Network. Eric Schmidt held leadership positions at Google and Alphabet; Wendy Schmidt worked in marketing in Silicon Valley and started a residential interior design business; she is president of the Schmidt Family Foundation.

[Read: CPB Funds Noncom Election Reporting/Engagement Effort]

One newsroom will be in California, the other in the Midwest serving stations in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. The goal is to “increase local coverage across the states, especially in underserved communities” and expand investigative reporting capacity.

NPR announced the California regional newsroom in February. That collaboration will be led by KQED in San Francisco and includes KPBS in San Diego, CapRadio in Sacramento, KPCC/LAist and KCRW in Southern California, with NPR as the national partner. The newsroom will serve the 17 public radio stations in the state.

The 25 public radio stations in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska will have access to content from the Midwest regional newsroom, which will be led by KCUR in Kansas City, St. Louis Public Radio, Iowa Public Radio and NET in Nebraska with NPR as national partner.

NPR officials said these newsrooms will focus on investigative reporting, hiring small teams of investigative journalists to work with station reporters on their public service investigations.

The California news hub is the second regional collaboration with local stations under NPR’s Collaborative Journalism Network. The first was the Texas Newsroom. Separately public stations in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana joined to launch the Gulf States newsroom. The Midwest makes four, and NPR said more are in the works.

 

The post Schmidt Grant Helps Fund Public Radio Regional Newsrooms appeared first on Radio World.

It’s doubtful that any of the major radio broadcast groups in the United States included a pandemic on the list of emergencies they worried about when creating preparedness plans. Yet the coronavirus outbreak quickly demanded changes in operations at most stations.

The solutions that broadcasters have adopted are likely to have long-term implications. Managers say these new workflows will influence how stations operate after the pandemic ends.

Better Than Imagined

Maintaining critical infrastructure during the emergency, while coping with staff cuts, furloughs and medical absences, certainly challenged engineering leaders. Most broadcast groups also froze capital expenditure spending and placed numerous projects on hold.

One chief technology officer told Radio World his company’s build-out projects were “paused but not cancelled” pending a recovery.

The use of remote technology for air staff accelerated early in the crisis as broadcasters faced social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders.

One veteran broadcast engineer said in some cases, “Entire air staffs at radio stations are working from home, and working better than anyone imagined,” which leads him to believe “these short-term fixes could turn into long-term strategies.”

The versatility of the cloud also is being stretched in new ways, including ingesting production remotely through virtual private network capacity.

“This was like having a day or two to plan for a hurricane, since some studios were emptied out the same day a staff member tested positive for COVID-19,” said a corporate engineer. “We were mapping major technical changes that had to happen within 24 hours in many cases. It got ‘real’ really fast.”

Another engineering executive said it was “like going from 100 on-air studios to 4,000 home studios,” all with the same network security concerns. Most broadcasters established VPN or other remote access protocols for employees to connect to station servers from home.

Gaps in cybersecurity became a major focus of radio technical staffs worried that audio feeds could be hijacked from home computers protected by less-robust security systems, according to several engineers.

“Our first focus was getting everyone out of our buildings,” one said. “Beginning with sales then programming. Then you’re faced with moving the air staff to at home work and that’s the heavy lift, especially with live shows. Fortunately we can voicetrack the music stations. Everyone was VPNing in from distance. In some cases people just yanked the desktop from their work desk and took it home.”

It was a big job for many broadcasters. In Washington, WAMU Director of Technology Rob Bertrand said that by late April, “We finally got everyone out of the building. Hosts, producers, engineers, call screeners, editors, reporters … from national talk shows to regional podcasts … all from home,” he wrote in an email. “It’s been great to be able to breathe a sigh of relief that everyone is safe and we are able to keep going while the dust settles around the question of when and how to reopen everything.”

Video Conference Tools

Video conferencing is the new norm, and remote broadcasting from home studios has become routine for many broadcasters.

“The Bert Show,” a syndicated morning show distributed by Westwood One, used BlueJeans video conferencing to bring members of the morning show together on air.

At least one broadcaster utilized StreamYard, a live streaming studio app, to allow for the simultaneous stream distribution of remote content to YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn and Facebook, which they hoped would stimulate listener engagement.

Mike Cooney, CTO and executive VP of engineering for Beasley Broadcasting, said the company’s immediate focus was getting everyone home, especially in clusters with employees that tested positive for COVID-19.

“The transition to home was fairly smooth. I would say probably better than I could have hoped. We have a lot of people working on their home computers, so we had to implement a lot of security changes and installed a lot of VPNs,” Cooney said.

Beasley was not immune to the job cuts that have affected many companies. It eliminated 67 positions, including five broadcast engineers, in early April, according to a company announcement. That included one “corporate-level IT person,” Cooney said.

Operations at stations have continued without much interruption, Cooney said, even though the overall “on-air sound at times hasn’t been totally smooth.”

Beasley utilized remote gear “from some of our largest sports stations currently not being used” to supply some air staff with home studio equipment, Cooney said. “We did purchase about 10 additional Comrex units for air staff to use from home,” he said.

Cooney said that in the future he expects to see more “reciprocal agreements” among radio competitors within markets, to work together during a crisis.

“I think radio needs to stop competing against each other during a crisis like this pandemic. The landscape changes when things like this happen. I see a day when resources are shared, and that maybe even means sharing studios. It could bring some further consolidation, but groups could share generators, towers and maybe even engineering staff. But radio stations could still compete,” he said.

“I see a few things coming out of this — a more collaborative environment between radio groups, more shared workspace for employees and many more staff working from home.”

“Radio needs to stop competing against each other during a crisis like this pandemic. The landscape changes when things like this happen.”

— Mike Cooney

Cooney chairs the NAB’s Technology Committee and says the developments lend urgency to the group’s work dealing with the cloud.

“We have spent a lot of time focused on the ability for broadcasters to do more in the cloud, and looking at EAS and PPM encoding. We know you can do automation and processing in the cloud, but we think being able to remote control EAS and PPM encoding is a logical step,” Cooney said. “It would give a broadcaster the ability to easily run a broadcast facility from another market during an emergency.”

A More Remote Workforce

Jason Ornellas, director of engineering at Bonneville International, said even though engineers typically look for “solutions and answers, it’s hard to imagine such a scenario” as a pandemic.

Bonneville, which owns 21 stations in six markets in the U.S., quickly transitioned all employees in administration, sales, marketing and digital to remote work through VPN and Microsoft 365 in the cloud.

“We ordered remote home studio broadcast kits to make the home studio as turnkey as possible for our on-air talent’s convenience to make them feel comfortable and safe from their home. Tutorial videos were produced to show unpacking and setting up the equipment as well as using RCS Zetta2Go,” he said. “The file servers are providing everyone with a sense of being on the network from home.”

The home studio kits included an EV RE320 microphone with stand, XLR cables, RodeCaster Pro Board, Tascam headphones and Comrex BRIC Link II. (The Sacramento cluster is one of the case studies featured in Radio World’s “Broadcasting From Home” webcast series.)

Bonneville said in a press release in April it did not anticipate staff cuts. Ornellas said technical staff is needed now more than ever.

“I think long term you will see a lot more remote workforce. When we rebound, which I believe radio and audio will, virtualization, software-based solutions and cloud initiatives will be the forefront. Our vendors recognize that,” Ornellas said. “There is nothing like a real emergency to get things moving in a creative way. Some of our technical priorities have changed.”

Some industry observers expect there will be newly discovered cost savings and efficiencies as a result of the new virtualization adopted by broadcasters, which corporate owners might be anxious to implement.

“When we rebound — which I believe radio and audio will — virtualization, software-based solutions and cloud initiatives will be the forefront.”

— Jason Ornellas

“This crisis is likely to change the way we think about every single radio position in the building, including sales and programming. It is likely owners and managers will take a hard look at what lessons we learned,” said one corporate technical employee.

Remote work in general “will likely increase for broadcasters because everyone is going to be accustomed to a new normal,” another engineer said

“This pandemic has forced everyone to think about how they do their jobs. Everything has been hyper-focused right now on how to do things as efficiently as possible and I think some of that will hold over once this is over,” he said. “So the first step is getting through this crisis and then putting everything back together.”

Bertrand of WAMU said, “It was remarkable, while working to transition the live products of our talk show teams and local hosts to their homes, to walk through a fully vacant newsroom and then hear a record volume of content on the air and see it on our websites. It does make me wonder if we might adopt a more distributed work model for our journalists in the long term.”

He said WAMU grappled with questions about how, why and when to deploy automation functions, but decided that emergencies are when a live and local voice is more important than ever to its audience.  “Even if that voice is simply checking in between network elements, they are a reassuring companion for so many people who are seeking a foothold in this time of crisis.”

For WAMU’s complex national and local talk shows, he said it was a feat to move to 100% remote production, but he doesn’t foresee that being a new normal.

“Similarly, we have now proven that complex live newscasts are possible from home; and while this model might be helpful in storm responses in the future, it has also been challenging. I’m not sure that we would attempt to permanently distribute our entire journalism operation to quite the extent that has happened; but we have proven that it is possible,” Bertrand said.

“It does make you start to think about the cost of real estate per square foot, versus the alternatives. My dream is that this opens up new collaborative opportunities across the public media ecosystem; that we might all be stronger together in the aftermath of this pandemic.”

How do you think our industry and its technical workflows will change in the long term due to the coronavirus crisis? Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

The post Virtualization and Cloud Come to the Forefront appeared first on Radio World.

John Wordock, executive editor of the Westwood One Podcast Network

On Westwood One’s blog, John Wordock, the executive editor of the Westwood One Podcast Network, offers some guidance for podcasters on how to produce content that engages and retains listeners.

He also details ways to utilize Apple metrics, a dashboard tool that provide podcast publishers and show producers a look at past episodes, duration, devices, total time listened, time per device, and average consumption. (To access the dashboard, log into the Apple ID account used to publish the podcast and select “Podcast Analytics” from the drop-down menu on the left.) “Think of the Apple dashboard as a digital focus group letting you track actual behavior,” Wordock says.

In his post, Wordock recommends:

• Focusing on storytelling and preparation: “Want to produce a great podcast? Then prepare, prepare, prepare,” he says. “If you publish an interview podcast, do your homework, know your questions beforehand, and anticipate the answers. If you produce a scripted show, do table reads with your producer, pick apart your episode, and look for ways to improve your story. If you fly solo, bounce your ideas off a spouse or friend.”
• Getting creative with preroll ads: “Because listening decisions are made so quickly, avoid starting an episode with ad copy if possible … tease what lies ahead in the episode,” Wordock continues. “Introduce the theme. Promote your guest. Telegraph what to expect ahead. Doing all this before the first ad will buffer the audience from being bombarded by a commercial early on.”
  
• Experimentation: “The beauty of having Apple metrics at your fingertips? You have instant insight into how content performs, how your listeners react, and how ads are received,” Wordock says. “You see what works — and what doesn’t. You can use that information to format your podcast moving forward and make tweaks … so test things out. Experiment.”
• Holding the audience: “Strive to hold 80% of your audience to the mid-roll [promotional] position and use it as a draw for advertisers,” he stresses. “Look at the percentages on the right side of the dashboard. They tell a story. Consumption rates under 70% are fair. Good listenership sits around 80%. If you have a podcast reaching 90% or higher, congrats! You’re my hero.”
• Dealing with dips: “Through the Apple dashboard, you will spot potholes in the listening pattern,” Wordock explains. “What is that dip? Oh, it’s where the host read the ad copy. So how can you stop your listeners from fast-forwarding through the ads and leaving large divots on your data screen? The best podcast reads are often seamless and connect with the topics being discussed. The transitions are smooth and easy.”

To read in more detail about each of Wordock’s points, visit the Westwood One blog entry.

The post Westwood One’s Wordock on Maintaining — and Monitoring — Podcast Audiences appeared first on Radio World.

VALENCE, France — Radio Méga has been broadcasting from a fully functional, autonomous mobile radio studio since June 2019. Hosting three people plus a driver, the studio is equipped with a Focal PA system, a Digigram Iqoya Talk IP 4G codec and an iPad to play effects and other sound clips.

Radio Méga’s tricycle studio can be used on a public square to meet listeners more easily. All photos courtesy of Radio Méga.

Radio Méga is a community radio station based in Southern France. Since its establishment in 1981, its goal has been to “create links with listeners, wherever they are.” The station has a main studio in Valence, which features an Axia IQ audio console and WinMedia automation software Version 2.18. It also has a secondary studio in Romans-sur-Isère about 32 kilometers (20 miles) away, as well as a host of gear for mobile broadcasts.

TRYCICLE STUDIO

The “tricycle studio” idea came from Raphaël Terribilé, a former schoolteacher working at Radio Méga since 2003. He now has his own show, “Rock à la Casbah,” and is one of the five Radio Méga employees. The station also has 80 volunteers.

Radio Méga’s tricycle studio can also be used inside a building, like here in a museum — as long as the entrance doors are high and wide enough.

“We have always gone out to meet our listeners around Valence,” explains Terribilé. “We are generally hosted in office and state buildings such as city halls. But we noticed that many people didn’t dare come up to talk with us. So I had to find a way to eliminate this distance and encourage our audience to meet us.”

Instead of equipping a van or a caravan as a radio facility, Terribilé decided to use a three-wheel electric cycle to host the studio. The structure is designed to support the weight of the passengers and technical equipment.

“The ‘fun’ factor is huge and people are curious — our studio is really open to the world, there’s no obstacle, and listeners are not afraid to meet us anymore,” he added. “Sometimes, I drive right in the middle of the road, disturbing car or truck drivers, but they rarely honk at me. I usually get a thumbs up! Moreover, this mobile approach is fully environment-friendly.”

Radio Méga always prefers, when possible, to deal with local suppliers. The Urban Arrow Tender 1500 three-wheel electric tricycle is a Dutch model that is 3 meters (10 feet) long and 1.2 meters (4 feet) wide, weighs 230 kilograms (507 pounds), and has an autonomy of 40 kilometers (25 miles). It’s fitted with a wooden structure purpose-built at Lycée Amblard, a Valence vocational high school.

“Assisted by Mr. Gallot, the wood crafts teacher, and Ms. Lombard, the applied arts teacher, first-year students designed and built the box, engraved with Radio Méga logos. They stepped up to the challenge and pushed the project further than the first drawings we gave them to explain our concept.” The total cost was more than €20,000 (US$21,622).

A Radio Méga project in Sénégal offered the station the occasion to test the new Digigram Iqoya Talk IP 4G codec.

TECHNICAL SETUP

The wooden structure, which hosts three announcers, has gooseneck microphones and four speakers from French company Focal. It also features a Digigram Iqoya Talk IP codec/mixer. Sounds are triggered from an iPad mounted on a special support. The students successfully resolved all issues, including weight and cable-run problems.

Radio Méga acted as a beta tester for the Digigram Iqoya Talk IP 4G codec. “The company was about to release it, and they lent us a unit, to get our input — we asked them for modifications on the mic preamps, for example. We were even able to use it in harsh conditions,” he said. “In the Sénégal desert, for example, for an operation we had there. The system works fine: we use it with two different SIM cards simultaneously, as double streaming, for redundancy. It also automatically switches when a problem appears, and total latency is usually less than 60ms.”

The three-wheeler uses a camping/car battery to power the amplifiers; the Iqoya Talk has its own batteries (two of them, plus a third one, for spare, they are hot-swappable). In addition, there is a lockable wooden trunk above the right wheel arch, to put headphones, microphones and cables in when they are not in use. The Iqoya Talk codec and the iPad have their own briefcase.

Driving the tricycle studio from location to another between shows.

Built from January to June 2019, the tricycle/studio was inaugurated on June 23, for the “Hors les murs” show (“Outside the Walls”). It then was presented to the Nantes Festival de l’Info Locale, and was seen (and heard) on the Drôme roads at least once a week during the summer and the fall. The station has also used the mobile studio in the winter, for example during the “Jazz sur le Gril 2020’ festival; even if it’s harder to manage the broadcasts with the cold and rain.

ATTENTION

The Radio Méga three-wheeler was on show during the Salon de la Radio event in Paris last January, and attracted a lot of attention, including that of CSA President Roch Olivier-Maistre.

“We mainly use the studio outside, but we can also get into specific places if needed,” said Terribilé. “Sometimes, entrance doors are not high enough, and once at a museum, for instance, I had to deflate the tires to get the trycicle into the venue.”

People now expect Radio Méga to come to them with the three-wheeler, even for a “simple” interview… A major project took place during four weeks in May last year. This was the first ‘Traversée de la Drôme à vélo.’ (“Crossing the Drôme With a Bike”).

In collaboration with regional and national education organizations, Radio Méga trained a total of 500 middle school students as radio journalists. As part of the project, they were required to prepare and host their shows on-air, to interview people in villages, dealing with cultural aspects, patrimony or local initiatives.

Radio Méga then aired the shows and also made them available as podcasts. They also taught the students how to build a related multimedia website with text and pictures. Some pupils even created short videos about the crossing. All this is perfectly in line with Radio Méga’s philosophy: To be close to its listeners in a spirit of sharing and openness.

The post Radio Méga Creatively Connects With Listeners appeared first on Radio World.

KXSU(LP) at Seattle University is heard on 102.1 MHz.
Photo
: KXSU Seattle University

The FCC in April modified the technical rules covering low-power FM stations. It expanded the permissible use of directional antennas; permitted waivers of protections of television Channel 6 by a specific group of reserved channel stations; expanded the definition of minor change applications for LPFM stations; and allowed LPFM stations to own boosters. Read more about the changes here.

Michelle Bradley, founder of REC Networks, is an engineer and longtime LPFM advocate.

Radio World: What’s your overall assessment of the outcome and the scope of its impact in the LPFM community?

Michelle Bradley: While the FCC did not address three major issues that are impacting LPFM stations right now —the ability to address building penetration issues, the ability to reach “local” listeners in rural areas and the disparity in how LPFM stations protect FM translators vs. how translators protect LPFMs — the changes will benefit current LPFM stations by giving them more flexibility in moving locations, reduce the need for waivers and improve LPFM service in the southern border region. It will also open some additional opportunities for new LPFM stations in the next filing window.

RW: A concern was raised during the process that LPFMs might be required to conduct a proof of performance in order to use directional antennas, which would would be too costly for most of these stations. What was the outcome?

Bradley: The proof of performance issues came up as a result of concerns that LPFM stations would not properly install directional antennas correctly. The need for this language was a carryover from our proposals that involved the use of contour protection to protect other stations (which in most cases were rejected in the commission’s decisions to not allow for 250 watt LPFM stations or the use of contours to protect translators).

Michelle Bradley, founder of REC Networks

As we were getting very close to the adoption of the Report and Order, I did work very closely with the commission to address the issue of the proofs and verification, especially since the commission had previously allowed directional antennas for state highway public safety departments (there are currently no stations using directional antennas) and second-adjacent-channel waivers.

In those specific cases, staff stated that because the public safety stations still had to meet minimum distance separations and second-adjacent channel short-spacings had a remediation policy, those concerns were already addressed, such as the rule language around second adjacent channel interference remediation.

I had stated that in the case of stations near Mexico, recourse was already available through international notification process and that directional antennas installed for that purpose were not to protect specific stations. The FCC staff agreed. This is what resulted in the three exceptions to the proof rule for public safety, second adjacent and international agreement.

I do note though that for the previous concepts of LP-250 and proposed rules to allow LPFMs to use contours towards translators, I asked for a similar remediation rule to the one that FM translators use right now for LPFMs that decide to use contours. That was never addressed in the Report and Order.

RW: How many LPFMs do you think are likely to take advantage of the directional antenna option?

Bradley: Very few LPFM stations would benefit from directional antennas. This includes a subset of LPFM stations near the Mexican border and those where the directional characteristic of the antenna would benefit in a second adjacent waiver. New or modified LPFM stations proposing operation in the “reserved band” (88.1–91.9 MHz) could use a directional antenna to protect a full-service or low-power TV station on Channel 6. Despite that, the FCC is now allowing LPFM stations to obtain consent from the affected Channel 6 TV station, consistent with the current rules for FM translators.

Directional antennas could also be engaged in very rare cases of mutual interference between two properly spaced stations and could serve as a method for LPFM stations planning to use solar in order to reduce their transmitter power output (power consumption).

The use of directional antennas overall should be few and far between.

RW: What is the benefit of permitting waivers of protections for Channel 6?

Bradley: The waiver for Channel 6 puts LPFM on a more level playing field with FM translators. I originally proposed that LPFMs use the translator rules for Channel 6. The FCC’s original proposal to eliminate all Channel 6 protections was a complete surprise. The rejection of the total elimination of Channel 6 protection was spearheaded by ABC (WPVI) in ex parte after the comment period closed. I also note that the issues of FM to Channel 6 protections (and vice versa) are also being discussed in a separate proceeding for “Franken FM” stations. The waiver process is consistent with what I originally asked for. ABC also asked that any LPFM station seeking a waiver send a notification letter to the affected Channel 6 station. This was supported by NAB. After consideration of the issue and the number of potential waiver requests, I agreed it was a reasonable request. FM to Channel 6 will likely be revisited at a later date.

RW: The mention of boosters stands out; is that something you see a lot of demand for? 

Bradley: Boosters in LPFM only impact an extremely small subset of stations that have large lobes in their protected service contours due to what I call “foothill effect,” but because of terrain are unable to put service into those areas.

Currently, there are only four stations, all in Southern California, that have been authorized boosters, all of which I was involved with. One of those boosters is already on the air.

Boosters are very complex, especially in areas where terrain is not has “hard” as Southern California, where synchronization would need to be used. In addition, most of the country has much smaller service contour lobes and it would be impractical to squeeze a second signal inside the LPFM service contour. My request for codification was to assure the stability of the existing Southern California LPFM boosters and to have a process in place and in those rare cases where a booster would help fill in coverage for a terrain challenged LPFM, the option is available without waiver.

RW: What else should we know?

Bradley: I do remain concerned that the FCC does not want to pull the “training wheels” off of LPFM and let those who with the resources to have access to the more flexible methods allowed to other secondary users of the broadcast spectrum while still remaining in compliance with the statutory requirements of the Local Community Radio Act.

“The LPFM service has evolved and matured, and it is not the same service that former Chairman William Kennard pictured back in 1999 when LPFM was first proposed.” — Michelle Bradley

At one time, getting a contour study done normally involved a high-dollar engineering firm. In this day and age, with the use of various resources including those provided by the FCC, the ability to do contour studies has become more accessible, with less dependence on topo maps, slide rules and five-figure software packages.

While I understand that they want to keep LPFM simple, it’s important to realize that more than half of the LPFM applications filed in the 2013 window were assisted with “hired help.” This tells me that the resources to do contour studies are out there and within reach of LPFM applicants.

The use of consultants and/or engineers became necessary in 2012 when in implementing the Local Community Radio Act, the FCC allowed LPFM stations to use the Living Way method of waiving second adjacent channel protection rules. As I told the commissioners a while back, the LPFM service has evolved and matured, and it is not the same service that former Chairman William Kennard pictured back in 1999 when LPFM was first proposed. Yet, for some reason, the current FCC seems to want to hold it back.

The post FCC Tweaks LPFM Technical Rules appeared first on Radio World.

The author is a senior development engineer at Wheatstone. He worked at Audion Labs helping Charlie Brown co-develop VoxPro. Audion Labs was purchased by Wheatstone in 2015.

I suppose that for all of us there are inflexion points in our lives where you meet someone or experience some new thing that changes your life thereafter. Charlie Brown was such a turning point for me. He was also my introduction to radio.

At the time we met, Charlie had been retired from a successful 33-year career in broadcasting where he had worked at Seattle’s top stations as a morning man, holding court and ruling the airwaves in a top 40 format. His love of radio and wanting to bring the best content to his listeners drove him to create the VoxPro DAW in 1992, bringing it to market in 1994 (as a Mac application). Replacing reel-to-reel machines with computer software was at the time a hard-sell, but his own and other early adapters’ use of the product made it a reality.

Charlie and I were brought together through two degrees of mutual friends — he was looking for a programmer to complete the rollout of VoxPro to the Windows platform, and I was freshly unemployed from my third dot-com implosion in a year.

It was the summer of 2001. The venue, Audion “Laboratories,” was a 12-foot x 20-foot cabin on the back of Charlie and Kimberly’s property on an island in Puget Sound. A 40-minute ferry ride involved in getting there. I thought, “How amazing, perhaps even impudent, to think that you can develop a new product with a skeleton crew and no budget and bring it to market.” I had been burned at several venture capitalist-funded start-ups but I was willing to take a chance with Charlie.

So Charlie led me through that process, and he introduced me to the radio family. He wasn’t technical, but he had excellent instincts about technology. He was unfailingly kind, generous, optimistic, and infinitely forgiving of my many shortcomings and missteps. We had a wonderful journey together at Audion (“Audion-and-on-and-on …”) for 14 years, during which time I got to see his idea, VoxPro, become the preeminent audio editor in radio. He was a model of the well-lived life, an example of what persistent hard work and the willingness to take a risk can bring. I will miss him greatly.

Charlie is remembered by a city that loved him in this Seattle Times article published on Friday, May 15.

 

The post Remembering Charlie Brown appeared first on Radio World.

Though impassioned letters were sent pressing the Federal Communications Commission to outright waive regulatory fees for media companies in 2020, the proposed regulatory fee schedule for the fiscal year 2020 has duly been released — although the door has been left open (thanks due apparently to the FCC chairman) for those wanting to express their thoughts on the proposed regulatory fees for FY 2020.

Those proposed fees were released as part of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to collect $339 million in FCC regulatory fees for fiscal year 2020 — the exact same amount that the commission proposed to collect in FY 2019.

Each year the commission is required by Congress to assess fees to cover direct costs, indirect costs and support costs. These regulatory fees also cover costs for entities that are exempt from paying regulatory fees (like amateur radio operators and noncommercial radio) and entities whose regulatory fees are waived.

But 2020 has been a year unlike any other.

Discussions about the FY2020 fee schedule have been in the headlines for months, with attorneys and state agencies pressing the commission to consider the impact of regulatory fees on media companies.

Radio stations can expect two key items when reviewing this year’s proposal. One is a familiar regulatory fee schedule where fees are broken down based on media classification and size of the population that the station serves. The other is that proposed fees for 2020 are either exactly the same or slightly higher than the fees collected in 2019, with some fee hikes only $25 higher year over year.

At one end of the spectrum are proposed fees for an AM Class C radio station that reaches less than 25,000 listeners. The proposed fee for that station type in 2020 is $620 — exactly the same amount as it was in fiscal year 2019.

At the higher end — specifically an FM station with certain Class B or Class C definitions that serves more than 6 million listeners — the proposed regulatory fees will be $21,375, which is $875 higher than the 2019 regulatory fee of $20,500.

(See the chart for the proposed fees for FY2020 for all classes of stations, which can also be found on page 42 of the NPRM).

[Read: Hayes Urges FCC Not to Collect Mass Media Regulatory Fees This Year]

Earlier this year, attorney Richard Hayes told Radio World that in his 37 years as a communications attorney he’d never witnessed anything like the “almost-total business shut-down occasioned by the coronavirus. This crisis is an existential one for many broadcasters.” Hayes pressed Congress to request that the FCC suspend the collection of the 2020 mass media regulatory fees outright to help stations struggling from complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similar concerns were expressed by the New Jersey Broadcasters Association, which called on the commission to hold off on any regulatory fee increases. President and CEO Paul Rotella said that an increase in annual fees for broadcasters is not warranted. “[T]his is certainly not the appropriate time to put any further financial burdens on broadcasters,” he said in a letter to the commission.

[Read: “This Is Not the Time to Raise Fees”]

NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith was blunt about the struggles that broadcasters are facing — from taking out loans to make payroll to cutting staff — during the virtual opening of the 2020 National Association of Broadcasters Show on May 13.

In a subsequent online conversation with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, even the chairman himself said the commission has been exploring regulatory relief for media companies, including changes to fee structures.

When the NPRM was released, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly issued a statement saying that he sympathized with those who have filed comments opposing increased fees. He also thanked Chairman Pai for including questions in the FY2020 fee proposal to allow commenters to offer suggestions for mitigating the burden of regulatory fees during the pandemic.

“Determining regulatory fees is a somewhat delicate matter, with the need to balance statutory requirements and constraints with the realities of the marketplace, where increasingly higher fees continue to squeeze licensees,” he said. “At the same time, we need to do our part to meet the requirements set in place by Congress, while being mindful of how federal spending affects our licensees and seeking ways to keep costs down within our own operations.”

Comments on the FCC’s proposed regulatory fees can be left in the FCC electronic comment database using Docket 20-105. The comment deadline is June 12.

 

The post FCC Proposes Regulatory Fees for 2020 Amid Uncertain Media Marketplace appeared first on Radio World.

Legal, unlicensed broadcasts under Part 15 are a buzz topic right now about radio engineers.

Here’s what Larry Wilkins, director of engineering services for the Alabama Broadcasters Association, writes in his e-newsletter this week:

Broadcast engineers have been approached lately by churches and other organizations about setting up a low-power transmitter for use during COVID-19. The question of legal operation is covered in FCC Part 15.

The quick answer allowed coverage area is approximately 200 feet for an FM transmitter. The full answer is much more complicated than that: 250 µV/meter @ 3 meters (also measured as 48 dBuV/m). The same is true on the AM broadcast band, where devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters).

[Read: Part 15 Broadcasting Is Not Without Problems]

Although an operator does not have to obtain a license to use a Part 15 transmitter, the transmitter itself is required to have an FCC authorization before it can be legally marketed in the United States.

Be careful with the type of antenna used with the unit. The standards in Part 15 are not based solely on output power but also take into account the antenna characteristics. Thus, a low-power transmitter that complies with the technical standards in Part 15 with a particular antenna attached can exceed the Part 15 standards if a different antenna is attached.

Wilkins added to make sure you are on a vacant frequency in your area and verify the audio level feeding the transmitter is correct (not too high or too low).

Below are recent related articles from Radio World:

Look for FCC Certification When Choosing a Part 15 Transmitter

Low-Power Radio in the Parking Lot: What You Need to Know

Check Out These Unexpected Uses for Low-Power Radio

 

The post Low-Power Transmitter Guidance From Larry Wilkins appeared first on Radio World.

The author is chief engineer for KOZY(AM), KMFY(FM) and KBAJ(FM).

As has been addressed in previous articles in Radio World, many churches and other groups are starting to broadcast “drive-in church” services and other events.

As a local contract broadcast engineer I have received several inquiries about how to do this. As Radio World has pointed out in your recent articles, the only option is under the FCC Part 15 rules, which allow for low-power signals in the AM or FM band. After explaining rules and limitations, those I’ve talked to have instead opted for live streaming services.

[Read: Look for FCC Certification When Choosing a Part 15 FM Transmitter]

Clearly, most, however, don’t seek out advice of local radio professionals, and instead seem to simply be searching the internet for “Drive-in Church” etc. This is where the trouble lies, as this search brings up thousands of churches that are doing this, countless articles published in church and religious magazines and websites telling how easy it is, along with a raft of YouTube videos of pastors, ministers, church assistants, youth ministers and others showing how easy it is. Basically they tell you to order an FM transmitter from eBay, or Amazon, and plug it into the church’s audio board and you’re on!

One problem with this approach is the FCC’s lack of ability or desire to stop the sale of illegal FM transmitters in the USA via these sellers because so many of the transmitters being sold are illegal in the USA. Many use misleading advertising “Long Range FM Transmitters,” “No License Required,” “FCC Compliant,” “Perfect for Churches,” so forth and so on.

An FM Part 15 transmitter sold in the USA must be certified by the FCC. Most sold are not.

Over the years I have done testing on many of these transmitters and found that not only are they substantially over the legal limit (sometimes by a hundred times and more) but they also generate spurs and harmonics. This, of course, causes interference to other, licensed stations on the FM band, as well as into public service frequencies and most often into the aviation band causing interference with aircraft communications and navigation. In fact interference in the aviation band is one of the common ways these illegal transmissions are discovered and tagged by the FCC. Airport tower operators contact the FCC to complain!

I suggest that local engineers keep their eyes and ears open for churches and other organizations advertising drive-in broadcasts. We have a local arts center starting live broadcasts of concerts with no live audience in the theatre to an audience in cars in the parking lot.

If there are any, do a bit of legwork with a field intensity meter and spectrum analyzer and see if those broadcasts are legal. The Part 15 limit is 250 uV/m at 3 meters from the transmitting antenna. Basically if you can hear them more than 250–300 feet from the site they’re not legal.

Then look for harmonics, spurs and overmodulation. Usually these transmitters either have no modulation indicator, or it amounts to a blinking LED, and are horribly inaccurate. Operators with no experience tend to overmodulate substantially causing splatter to adjacent frequencies. Usually if they’re illegal it’s blatantly obvious. Then reach out politely and let them know they are violating FCC rules. If it’s in your ability and desire offer to help them make their broadcast legal.

Based on my observation there may be thousands of brand new illegal FM transmissions on the air over the past few weeks.

 

The post Part 15 Broadcasting Is Not Without Problems appeared first on Radio World.

I wrote a list of cyber best practices that appeared in a Radio World ebook in November, “Cybersecurity and Studio Disaster Recovery,” before the current global crisis. RW asked me to revisit and update it given that broadcasters have rushed to find new ways of doing business centered around remote operations and heavy use of the internet.

There are thousands of announcers, account managers, inventory and scheduling staff, programming and music directors, operations directors, engineering managers and other station personnel operating from their homes. How are we handling the IT security and defenses of our operations?

Many of us had to scramble to facilitate multiple work-at-home solutions. Safe practices may have been ignored because the priority was saving businesses or informing our communities.

[Read: Is Your EAS Equipment Secure?]

So now is a good time to assess and reassess. Remember, holes may exist now where they didn’t before, because of emergency actions you took to allow for outside access to systems in your building or transmitter site.

As I wrote in the original version of this article, cybersecurity is a top priority for businesses of all sizes; a lack of readiness and defenses can lead to serious financial and operational consequences. Cyber extortion (ransomware) is big business and is not going away anytime soon. The following questions and thoughts are a place to start in hardening your broadcast organization’s infrastructure and preparing for the worst case.

#1. 

Do you have a security-aware culture in your facility? In your organization? Be honest. Knowing that your IT staff or outside contractor installed a new firewall or virus program last year doesn’t mean you are fully prepared. It does not necessarily mean you have a constant security-aware culture that involves regular routines such as:

Backing up crucial data to both a local machine and the cloud and ensuring at least one of the backups is *not* connected to the network source it is backing up.

1. Updates and patches are run regularly on all devices such as firewalls, switches, PCs, IOT, etc. We say this all the time but so many facilities do not do it.
2. An ongoing awareness and training program for all existing and new employees across all departments. Many attacks arrive via a simple email. Educate everyone about what to look for.
3. Antivirus and antimalware software installed on every machine — sounds like Security 101, right? I find machines all the time that are not running both and/or not updated recently with the latest security databases.
4. Implemented security restrictions and locked all outside access except where needed. Don’t laugh. I find VPN and Remote Desktop active on machines often, and no one remembers who they were for or what the original purpose was.
5. Block all known malicious IP addresses and keep that list constantly updated.
6. Keep track of every employee or contractor to whom you gave outside access. Make sure you have a list of their names, systems given access to, and method (VPN, TeamViewer, VNC, public IP, etc.)

This is just a sample listing of key things a security-aware organization should be doing. There are many more. IT trained professionals in cybersecurity know what to do. There are also many excellent sites online with guidelines that dig deeper than we can here.

[Read: IP Security Considerations for Radio Broadcasters]

#2.

Along with #1 above, when was the last time you had a serious sit-down with your IT team, administrator or outside contractor to discuss cybersecurity? How often do you meet? In that meeting, did you know what specific questions to ask? If not, it is time to put together a list of questions. This article can help you get started.

Given the current COVID-19 situation and the fact that you’ve made changes internally to allow for remote access, now is the time for a video conference with the team to inform and discuss any weaknesses. As a team, you can decide what loopholes should be closed now — prioritize any risks should they exist.

#3.

Have you considered hiring a third-party outside security consultant to help with assessing your internal and external systems for their penetrability? Have you asked a trusted security expert to attempt to penetrate your network and systems to ensure you are defended properly?

I know several broadcast-related companies that send phishing emails with fake viruses and ransomware to employees to test their cyber training; see 1(C) above. If the employee clicks on the suspicious attachment, they are provided further training on how to spot these things. The email gateway still ranks as one of the top arrival vectors for attack, so it is critical that everyone have some training on how to spot that one email which can cause you untold hardships.

#4. 

Is your network segregated to minimize the damage if something should get through? I often find that networks within the station are combined, on purpose or by mistake. I’ve been in several facilities where they claim their networks are segregated, yet we find that’s not the case.

For example, a PC with a double-NIC (two network cards for separate networks) can be compromised and certain viruses can jump from one network to the other. So the machine that handles traffic but must connect to the automation system — and it is using two network cards — might not be as safe as you thought. Or that one PC that has Remote Desktop on it so someone can get into the network but only though that one “external” machine … well, it may not be the “firewall” you think it is.

There are ways to handle remote access properly and securely. Your trained IT staff or outside security contractor can help you with this.

During the COVID-19 crisis many stations have found themselves needing remote access to their automation playout systems. Normally, as a cyber best practice, these machines are locked down and disconnected from the public internet. If remote capability existed, it was usually through very secure login and VPN methods. I’ve seen many stations in the past month or so that did not have remote access set up allowing their client and server playout machines to be connected to the outside internet. This was done in a hurry and under emergency conditions; some buildings were cleared out almost overnight. If you are one of these facilities, follow #2 above. Make sure management is aware of these temporary weaknesses and address a plan to close the gaps looking forward. You may need this capability in the future, but now you’ll have time to prepare better with more secure access procedures.

#5.

Backup, backup, backup. I mentioned this, but it is so important to preventing disaster that it deserves its own reference. It is imperative that you regularly backup all critical files, and do so to locations that cannot be reached by the virus. There are several cases where ransomware found its way to a network backup and encrypted the very files that were supposed to protect the operation!

Do you backup every 24 hours? Do you maintain backups offsite? (That’s not only a good idea for protection against the virus but also for events such as fire, hurricanes, other things that could keep you from accessing the studio or transmitter location). With backups you can reinstall critical software and data and potentially alleviate the need to pay a ransom. Or it may simply be less costly in time and resources to restore a machine using a recent backup then using a decryption tool. Therefore, very regular backups are crucial.

If for example, you need to restore your music and spot commercial database and audio files quickly, you’ll want that backup to be very recent. Otherwise, you may lose the past several days or weeks of new material — and this could cost the station financially.

I often come across TOCs that supposedly are making backups but are not. The backup tape machine hasn’t worked in who knows how long, the NAS drive is full, the software that runs the backups hasn’t been running for weeks or months, or perhaps the directories selected for backup are not correct.

The takeaway here is that you should ask yourself or your IT administrator for proof that backups are being run, and run often, on a regular recurring basis.

#6.

If you are attacked, do you have the tools in place to quickly detect and determine its origination point within your facility? Do you have the tools (and instructions to staff) in place to isolate the virus or ransomware quickly? Do you use a security event manager? What is your “first 15 minutes” plan?

As mentioned, network segregation is critical in situations where you become infected. If the business network is infected, for example, do you have a way to prevent this attack from spreading to other business networks in your building or within the company (for larger networks or group operators)? Do you have different offices tied together using a WAN/MPLS or other means that might allow the virus to hop over and then start spreading again in an entirely different location?

If you believe a virus is crawling through your network, do you have a plan in place to stop it immediately from moving further along to the next server or PC? Do you know how to kill your network shares immediately? Do you have a plan to yank users and machines from the network in seconds?

What if an attack happens at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning? Do you have the technology or people in place to alert the proper team leaders? And do you have a response go-team on call including holidays?

This is not make-believe or a far-out fantasy. These attacks are happening regularly to small and large operators, and of course, in all industries.

#7.

If your data becomes encrypted, do you have a plan of action filed away so you know what to do? Have you thought about whether you would pay a ransom if presented with such a demand?

There are different schools of thought on whether to pay. Many have paid, and many have not. It is reported by Symantec that only 47% of those who pay the ransom to the bad guys get their data back. It is also claimed by several reputable security firms that if you do pay this time there is a chance you will be hit again because the data kidnappers know you will give in. (Of course, we all know you will be fully protected after the first successful ransom, right?).

Let’s say you don’t pay; better have your recent backups ready to go. Do you have a backup system that provides for restoral easily and quickly? Do you have a go-team put together who will be ready to restore systems and a chain of command to direct team members on what to do and when? (See #6).

If you decide to pay, most ransoms are paid with bitcoin; do you know how to purchase bitcoin? Do you know from where? It can take a few days to obtain bitcoin, depending on how you buy it. Major cities have bitcoin-capable ATMs that can speed this up. The average ransom ranges from a few thousand to much higher. Do you have a source for that kind of money in a hurry should you need it?

Now is the time to think about these things and have a plan written down. If you don’t, you may be scrambling at the last minute while your critical systems are down. That kind of delay can cost you money because your operations are down. If you work with an outside security expert or have such staff internally, and you are not sure what your plans are should you get attacked, ask for one. Do not be unprepared.

On a positive note: Did you know that some ransomware attacks use a software variant that has a free cure? There are free decryption tools out there that might work in your case. Something to check first.

#8.

Some ransomware attacks are widespread. We’ve all heard about them. You’ll see them on TV and on most credible news and IT websites quickly. In some cases, these large-scale attacks are shut down and decrypted within 24 to 48 hours by law enforcement or white hat hackers. If you are affected by one of these large-scale attacks, check with your security provider, consultant, vendor or IT staff to see if there is a fix before paying any ransom.

#9.

If you are in the United States, contact the nearest field office of the FBI or Secret Service and report your ransomware event and request assistance. They may be able to help you. If you are in Europe, go to the Europol website and it will direct you to the local agency in your country. If in Australia, report your event to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Most countries have a governmental agency that wants to hear from you.

#10.

Ask for help. I say this often. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Whether you are a managing director or engineer and IT director, it is OK to ask for resources to assist you with cybersecurity. You have friends who know things. You have vendors who know things and who have internal resources to assist you with this. There are local IT firms with experts. Consultants. Lots of free advice on the internet. The United States and many other governments provide free information on ransomware, viruses and other forms of malware.

Now, more than ever, we are all coming together to help one another. I’ve seen hundreds of posts online (on the various broadcast-related social platforms) from broadcast engineers, offering advice and asking questions on every imaginable topic related to COVID-19. If you need help with setting up a SIP connection to a mobile phone, there are plenty of people who will help you. Do you need help with remote access to a specific playout system? Just reach out to your vendor or another engineer. Some vendors are offering free versions/use of their remote packages. Every manufacturer and engineer are working together to help one another. I’ve said this before: This is what we do every day; we help stations stay on the air. Even from home!

I walk into too many facilities that are not prepared defensively and that starts at the top. Go back to #1 above. Make sure you have a security-aware culture. Many stations have had to make tough decisions recently on what rules to relax and where the cost/benefit/risk balance lies. This is a decision that is unique to every facility. We are all having to do things differently now than before. Make sure you’ve kept track of what you’ve done so you can go back and close the loopholes. Prepare a list of necessary hardware/software that you can present for approval for things you may need to do this again but with additional security (if needed).

Gary Kline is a broadcast consultant who has held technical positions with several major broadcast organizations, most notably as senior VP of engineering at Cumulus Media. He has provided engineering support and consulting in the United States, Canada, China and several South American countries. He is a past recipient of the Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award.

 

The post 10 Cybersecurity Questions to Ask Yourself appeared first on Radio World.

GatesAir in cooperation with channel partner New-Tek, has signed a deal for the delivery and installation of Flexiva FAX transmitters to Bulgaria broadcast operator NURTS.

Part of the broadcaster’s continued FM modernization initiative, the upgrade consists of 11 transmission sites.

As per the accord, New-Tek will install Flexiva FAX air-cooled 5-kW and 10-kW FM radio transmitters in redundant 1+1 or 2+1 configurations, depending on the technical requirements of each site.

GatesAir says the Flexiva transmitters will deliver two national channels for Bulgarian National Radio, replacing tube transmitters in operation for more than 30 years.

New-Tek has already completed several site installations since the rollouts began in 2018, with installations continuing through 2020. The company specifies that all Flexiva transmitters in the network will share the same hot-swappable power supplies and amplifier modules.

GatesAir has been working with NEW-TEK and NURTS since 2003.

The post Bulgaria: NURTS Modernizes With GatesAir appeared first on Radio World.