Industry News

As children, we are told to not judge a book by its cover. So as adults, when something arrives in the mail packaged in a cool little box with a trendy logo, we are conditioned to pass it off as nothing more than a slick marketing technique.

There are a few occasions, however, when a cool little box with a trendy logo contains an awfully nifty item.

The item in this case is the Tula Mic, from Tula Microphones, a combination microphone and handheld digital recorder.

It fortunately arrived when mobile/remote voice recording hit an all-time peak recently. Radio professionals and podcasters alike find themselves in places nobody ever assumed would become recording studios.

[Read: Movin’ on Up With the Movo UM700]

The Tula Mic boasts a throwback design that is, simply, fun to look at and use.

“Tula” is Sanskrit for “balance,” which speaks to the technological advances that are shrouded in its nostalgic design. Specifically, Tula uses Burr-Brown op-amp circuitry and noise reduction technology from Swedish software designer Klevgrand.

Klevgrand’s “Brusfri” noise reduction plug-in is built into Tula for learning and eliminating environmental noise characteristics.

From a basic design interest, Tula’s lithium ion battery charges via USB. The internal battery charge lasts about 12 hours.

A classy, foldable desk stand allows Tula to sit comfortably on a desk. The desk stand removes easily, and a mic stand adapter can be snapped on for more detailed and critical mic placement.

Tula is equipped with cardioid and omnidirectional capsules. The two polar patterns accommodate a single voice session or use with several voices in a group or interview setting.

Via its USB-C cable, Tula can be used as a USB mic for real-time miking and will work properly with any DAW running on Mac or Windows.

Familiar transport, control and volume buttons are situated on the sides of the mic along with a 3.5 mm TRRS jack that doubles as a headphone output or input for another source, such as a lapel mic.

Inside
Functionally, Tula is hardly a complicated tool, but it packs a punch under the hood.

Pressing record does what you’d expect. Plug in headphones and adjust the volume to monitor real-time recording or file playback.

Two LEDs on the front indicate input gain levels and record mode. Use the USB connection to move Tula’s files to a computer or use Tula as an audio I/O device. Pretty simple!

The ultimate Tula “cool” factor is found in its noise reduction function.

When in NC (noise cancellation) mode, Tula records two simultaneous versions of the audio file. One version is raw, with no noise reduction. The other version is recorded with the Klevgrand Brusfri noise reduction plug-in applied.

Brusfri reduces constant noises like HVAC system noise and functions quite well. I found the room noise had completely disappeared and the voice content was kept pristine with no additional artifacts or degradation. The Brusfri noise reduction even eliminated the drone of an airplane that was audible in the studio.

The NC feature works in real time when Tula is used as an I/O device as well.

Tula’s Art-Deco-ish form factor is fashionable and unique, and it travels well. Given that it serves as a portable recorder and a USB microphone, Tula should feel at home with anyone who is on the go and needs to grab audio on the fly or is in the studio and needs to record a quick VO. It records standard 16-bit/48 kHz WAV files.

There was some noticeable handling noise sensitivities, and I detected some “not-quite-large-diaphragm” coloration on vocal reproduction. But Tula offers a clean and bright overall vocal response.

A windscreen or “dead cat” might be needed, as Tula is sensitive to plosives and wind. Tula explains that windscreens that fit a Blue Yeti will also fit the square Tula.

The steel construction is robust and prepared for the bustle and abuse of field reporting or comfortable studio work. Eight GB of internal memory and the lithium ion battery guarantee 12 hours of continuous recording.

Tula is a stylish little device that until you use it for yourself, you didn’t know you wanted.

The author is the owner of production firm Audio Concepts and a Radio World contributor.

Product Capsule

Tula Mic

Thumbs Up: Cool design; built-in digital recorder; built-in noise reduction processing; interfaces with computer DAWs; solid construction

Thumbs Down: Susceptible to handling noise; not compatible with standard microphone windscreens

Price: $229

Info: Tula Microphones at www.tulamics.com.

The post Tula Mic: Old School and New School appeared first on Radio World.

Mark Persons is a frequent contributor to Radio World.

Paul, excellent editorial about 9/11 (radioworld.com, “Memories of 9/11 Haunt Me Still”). Thanks for telling your story of that fateful day when 2,996 innocent people died.

We all remember where we were that morning. I heard a news bulletin come over one of our local radio stations. Then to a television to see the horrific event unfold.

It shook me to the core thinking of how our country could be attacked. It is a sad commentary that others would try to gain by destroying so many lives.

This kind of treachery cannot stand. My thanks to our nation’s all-volunteer military for taking up the challenge of avenging 9/11. Many service members died in the process. Ceremonies are held each year in my hometown honoring all Americans involved. It is a sobering reminder that the War on Terror is not over.

Mark Persons 
Brainerd, Minn.
www.brainerdvfw.org

Radio World invites industry-oriented commentaries and responses. Send to Radio World.

The post Letter: Sept. 11, 20 years ago appeared first on Radio World.

An all-important referendum on whether or not the nation’s largest multimedia company superserving African American consumers can move forward with its second casino gaming resort is being put to voters on Tuesday.

Does polling suggest that the plan may not win voter approval?

It appears some shareholders may be concern that Richmond voters will say no to Urban One‘s plan.

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

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) will recognize nine distinguished industry leaders and celebrities for lifetime achievement on November 9 during the LABF’s GIANTS OF BROADCASTING & ELECTRONIC ARTS virtual awards ceremony.

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

For 23 1/2 years, she was one of the most recognizable anchors at the ABC affiliate serving Atlanta — the flagship television station of Cox Media Group.

In April, two masses on her brain and subsequent surgery to remove them revealed she had the most common type of brain cancer.

On Thursday night, Jovita Moore lost her battle against the aggressive, incurable disease. She was 54 years of age.

Moore has been an omnipresent figure at “Channel 2 Action News” since April 1998, when she exited WMC-5 in Memphis. There, Moore spent 4 1/2 years as an anchor and reporter. From October 1990 until October 1993, she had been an anchor/reporter for KFSM-5 in Fayetteville, Ark. Moore started her career in news with an internship at The New York Times.

At WSB, Moore moved to the main anchor desk in 2012.

WSB announced Moore’s passing on Friday, explaining that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, which is non-hereditary and is not tied to an individual’s diet or lifestyle, unlike smoking.

Among those expressing their sadness over Moore’s death is Ed Gordon, the Emmy Award–winning broadcaster who presidential interviewer who is the author of the book “Conversation in Black.” Gordon participated in the RBR+TVBR Black Media Symposium in 2020.

“I was coming to Atlanta, Jovita and I had agreed to catch-up and go to dinner a few weeks before she fell ill,” he said in a Twitter post in which he expressed his “profound sadness.” Gordon added, “We corresponded the night before her operation. None of us knew just how serious it was. Such a vibrant soul, I will miss her.”

If you would like to honor Jovita Moore’s memory, you can do so with a donation to Our House Atlanta or The National Brain Tumor Society, two organizations that are very important to her.

Moore is survived by her mother, her two wonderful children and stepdaughter, who she called the most important accomplishments of her life.

Why are advertising agencies not concerned about supply chain disruptions, while some major brands — “the typical agency clients” — have already begun to cut back on ad spend due to these challenges?

It’s a question MoffettNathanson Senior Analyst Michael Nathanson ponders, because he’s not sure who to trust. “We believe the difference in these views is that the agencies are not just exposed to media spend, but have a variety of businesses serving broader marketing needs for their clients,” he notes.

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

FM antenna manufacturers and users may soon be able to use computer modeling to verify the patterns of directional antennas.

The Federal Communications Commission meeting agenda for November includes consideration of a proposal to do just that. As we reported earlier, antenna maker Dielectric has urged the FCC to take this action.

[Read: Dielectric Expects FCC to OK FM Pattern Modeling]

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel describes the idea as regulatory relief for FM broadcasters.

“When seeking a license, FM radio stations using directional antennas are required to provide physical measurements to verify their directional pattern,” she wrote in a summary of the Nov. 18 meeting agenda.

“To do this, stations must either build a full-size mockup of the antenna or build a scale model. We will consider a proposal that would allow broadcasters to verify patterns using computer modeling rather than real-world testing. This will decrease regulatory costs and achieve regulatory parity between FM and other broadcasters.”

The Media Bureau has also opened MB Docket 21-422, “Updating FM Broadcast Radio Service—Directional Antenna Performance Verification.”

Read the Dielectric filing (PDF).

Dielectric has said that this would be the first directional FM pattern verification rule change in 58 years. Its petition was written with consultant Merrill Weiss. The company notes that TV stations have been able to do this for the past four years.

Dielectric VP of Engineering John Schadler says simulated antenna modeling will be more accurate, save time, reduce the impact of human error and facilitate the accuracy of designs.

The post Dielectric’s Proposal Is on FCC Agenda appeared first on Radio World.

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council recently sent wrote to the acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission with “seven compelling initiatives” that it said the FCC could take to advance diversity and inclusion in mass media.

It noted that the FCC was the first federal agency to require its licensees to practice employment nondiscrimination, but continued: “At no time since 1968 has it been more important that the FCC immediately affirm that it cares about issues of racial justice … The FCC’s long and malodorous history of minority exclusion should both haunt and motivate all of us. … It is not uncommon for the agency to take 10 or 20 years, or more, to act on a proposal to advance opportunities for multicultural communities and consumers.”

This text is excerpted.

1. Access to more competitive technical facilities. Broadcasting has been the heritage technology for minority media entrepreneurs, and minority broadcasters have been the voices and conscience of their communities. Yet minority broadcasters generally must compete while using inferior technical facilities, such as AM daytimers, lower-powered outlets and stations unable to cover the full market due to the transmitter’s location in a distant suburb or exurb.

Within the administration’s first year, the commission should act on a host of pending proposals that would advance minority broadcast ownership, including granting an FM booster rule change that would authorize FM radio geo-targeting; creating a new station class (“C4”) that would double the power of hundreds of small FM stations; and repealing the “Rural Radio Policy” that needlessly deprives small broadcasters of the opportunity to improve their signal coverage.

1. Correct the Deficiency in the Radio Incubator Program. In June 2021, the commission established the Radio Incubator program. However, the program has one deficiency: Incubation of a station in a geographically vast but sparsely populated market with 45 stations would entitle the incubating company to a local ownership cap or subcap waiver in very large markets.

The commission should [allow] … incubation waivers only in similar-sized markets.

1. Ubiquitous Equal Procurement Opportunity. In 1992, Congress directed the FCC to create the Cable Procurement Rule to ensure that businesses owned by women and minorities would have a fair chance at winning major contracts. The regulation yielded solid results and drew no opposition. …

The commission should issue an NPRM in a fast-track new general docket, encompassing the industries regulated by the Wireline, Wireless and Media bureaus, and propose equal procurement opportunity across all FCC-regulated industries that is modeled after the Cable Procurement Rule.

1. Tax Certificate and Tax Credit. There is widespread recognition that the 1978–1995 Tax Certificate Policy was by far the most effective vehicle for advancing minority broadcast ownership. In its 17 years of operation, the policy quintupled minority broadcast ownership. Another desirable tax initiative, tailored for small businesses, would provide that a company donating a station to a training institution (e.g., an HBCU or HSI) would receive a tax credit equal to the station’s value.

The commission should request that Congress restore and improve the Tax Certificate Policy and create a tax credit for donating a station to a training institution.

1. Include Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact Statements in all rulemakings of general applicability. …

What gets measured gets done. The commission should seek comment looking toward adoption of a universal policy where every rulemaking of general applicability will contain a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact Statement.

1. Ubiquitous Equal Employment Opportunity. In the first decade of FCC EEO jurisprudence, and under the leadership of Chairman Richard E. Wiley and Commissioner Benjamin L. Hooks, 14 cases were designated for Section 309(e) evidentiary hearings over evidence of employment discrimination. Yet despite the continuing prevalence of low minority representation in influential broadcasting jobs, the commission has not brought a single discrimination prosecution since 1994.

The commission should conclude its 23-year-old broadcast EEO proceeding and start to prosecute licensees that recruit new employees primarily by word of mouth to the friends and family members of their homogeneous staffs … Further, the commission should consider several additional broadcast EEO regulatory reforms that are fully pled and endorsed by 44 national organizations, and ready for adoption. …

1. Universal Access to Multilingual Emergency Information. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, MMTC and the League of United Latin American Citizens … have repeatedly asked the commission to ensure that basic, lifesaving information in widely spoken languages such as Spanish will be available in the wake of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane that could take down the electric and wireless grids. … It is simply unconscionable that a person’s lack of English fluency can become a matter of life or death in an emergency situation. …

Read the full letter in PDF form at https://tinyurl.com/rw-mmtc-now.

The post Seven Initiatives for Racial Justice in Media appeared first on Radio World.

Forget about that Halloween Night Non-Stop Dance Party sponsored by a local or regional advertiser you can grow a relationship with, Audacy Inc. CHR/Pop programmers.

A hot Young Adult actress known for her roles on Mad Men and Netflix’s just-concluded Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is taking over your airwaves Sunday evening as part of a company-wide takeover tied to Cadence13‘s new podcast movie studio division.

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

If investors truly want to gauge the financial health of the broadcast media industry, all they need is a full day of undivided attention to no less than eight CEOs.

Thursday, November 4 has emerged as a monster day for Q3 2021 earnings releases for publicly traded radio and television companies.

The latest company to add their third-quarter conference call to the day’s calendar: Univision Communications.

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