Industry News

A number of organizations with global interests are endorsing the idea of implementing Common Alerting Protocol as a standard emergency protocol, hoping to achieve universal use by 2025.

The World Broadcasting Unions is the latest. It announced that it “strongly endorses” a “Call to Action on Emergency Alerting.”

“The Call to Action requests a scale up of efforts to ensure that by 2025 all countries have the capacity for effective and authoritative emergency alerting that leverages the CAP, suitable for all media and all hazards,” WBU wrote.

“CAP makes public alerting faster, easier, less error-prone and more understandable. CAP helps a broadcaster be certain that an alert is authentic and authoritative, and to crosscheck alerts from diverse sources. CAP alerts can also be compiled on a map to show how different aspects of the emergency are evolving.”

Among those endorsing this idea is internet pioneer Vint Cerf. He noted that many online users may not receive messages designed for mass media dissemination.

“It easy for internet technologies to deliver CAP alerts to online users, and to life-saving online devices such as sirens, digital signage, bridge controls, bed shakers, etc.,” Cerf wrote in a comment posted on the campaign page. “Let’s build out a future where CAP-enabled alerting becomes a humanitarian feature of all major cloud services and computer operating systems worldwide.”

Organizations supporting this campaign include the International Telecommunication Union, the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, AccuWeather and the International Association of Emergency Managers.

“The CAP uses XML digital standard format for exchanging emergency alerts that allow a consistent alert message to be disseminated simultaneously over many different communication systems,” as described on this Red Cross information page.

CAP is operational in all of North America and most of Europe. The campaign has posted a map showing which countries use CAP or have it under development.

 

The post Campaign Aims for Global Use of CAP appeared first on Radio World.

An image from Dielectric shows a scale model of an antenna and an HFSS virtual version

Antenna manufacturer Dielectric is hoping that the Federal Communications Commission will approve a petition to allow computational directional FM antenna pattern modeling.

It said it expects the FCC to give its blessing this fall.

“The new rule paves the way for the first directional FM pattern verification rule change in 58 years — a rule change that passes the torch from physical to AI-driven simulated modeling,” the company stated in a press release. It said broadcasters would benefit through a more efficient and economical antenna modeling process.

The petition was written with consultant Merrill Weiss.

The company said FM broadcast antenna manufacturers currently must build physical models and collect measured data to verify patterns. Its petition proposes that the FCC allow them to transition to computer-based antenna modeling using computational methods, an approach used in other broadcast products including TV station antenna modeling, which has been allowed for the past four yearss.

Dielectric VP of Engineering John Schadler said in the announcement that this change is “simply long overdue. … FM is the only FCC service that still requires a physical range measurement, and anyone who has worked with range measurements knows that accurately measuring radiation patterns is extremely difficult. Simulated pattern verification is much more economical with less chance of error.”

Schadler said simulated antenna modeling will be more accurate. “Since simulations are done in a true free-space environment, any issues with the range or anechoic chamber and with the surrounding environment are eliminated, resulting in more reliable azimuth patterns and H/V ratios.”

The company says this approach also would save time, reduce the impact of human error and facilitate the accuracy of designs.

Virtual simulation, the company added, made it possible for Dielectric to ship more than a thousand TV antennas in the TV industry spectrum repack.

“Another fallout of the repack is that we created a new crop of engineers, HFSS computer simulation super users. ANSYS HFSS is a 3D electromatic simulation software tool for designing, simulating and evaluating high-frequency components,” Schadler said.

Dielectric highlighted the use of artificial intelligence in its process. “We are looking at how external scripts can be used to make smart decision geometry changes based on previous iterations. We see a lot of opportunity for AI and simulation in RF moving forward.”

The post Dielectric Expects FCC to OK FM Pattern Modeling appeared first on Radio World.

HD Radio is now available for the first time on a motorbike.

Xperi Corp. announced that HD Radio receivers are available on the digital dash display of the 2022 BMW R 18 Transcontinental.

“This marks another industry first for HD Radio technology, which recently announced it had entered the commercial truck category,” it stated.

The announcement was made by Jeff Jury, Xperi SVP and general manager, Connected Car.

The base model of that bike retails for about $25,000.

“BMW Motorrad continues to be ahead of the innovation curve when it comes to the consumer experience and making sure their motorbike owners have the listening experiences they want,” Jury said in a press release.

The post HD Radio Gets Its First Motorbike appeared first on Radio World.

Several broadcaster advocacy groups are asking the FCC not to implement its new rule about investigating the sources of programming content, pending the outcome of a legal challenge.

The National Association of Broadcasters, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters have asked the Federal Communications Commission to stay the implementation of its report and order that requires every TV and radio broadcaster now to independently investigate every programming lessee to determine whether the sponsor is a foreign governmental entity or its agent, “even where the leased programming poses no colorable risk of foreign sponsorship.”

The three organizations recently filed a petition for review of the FCC order in an appeals court.

“The commission should stay the order’s implementation pending the completion of judicial review. This case satisfies the requirements for a stay,” they wrote.

“Petitioners are likely to succeed on the merits because the order flatly contravenes Section 317 of the Communications Act, violates the Administrative Procedure Act and unduly burdens speech in contravention of the First Amendment.”

They said this FCC order will require many broadcasters “to spend tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire and train employees to conduct the required investigations, as well as engage counsel to review their lease agreements and negotiate with lessees to bring existing leases into compliance with the order.

“These unrecoverable costs unreasonably and unnecessarily burden the operations, resources and programming arrangements of broadcast stations across the country … [T]he likely harm from requiring broadcasters to undertake these efforts for thousands of lease agreements— the vast majority of which have no possible connection to foreign governmental entities— outweighs the benefit of such a requirement.”

The post Hold Off on Foreign Sponsorship ID, FCC Is Told appeared first on Radio World.

The author of this commentary is chair of the Digital Radio Mondiale consortium.

Though not out of the COVID-19 woods yet, there is an increasing feeling of great separation between the sad times of the 2020 and the possibly more positive, life-affirming “after the pandemic” feeling of 2021.

Things have changed in our radio, or audio, media universe. There has been a clear increase in use of technology and gadgets. Streaming and podcasting have ballooned. Even the older generation has caught up technologically with the savvier youngsters. Boomers and Millennials Zoom weekly together (at least a third over 65 years old in the U.S. do so, according to OnePoll) and use “hearables” (earbuds, headphones etc.).

Radio usage has remained high all this time, as radio has proven a great utility staple, valued for its immediacy, simplicity, companionship and, lately, mood enhancement and escape.

Crossing Digital Currents

This has not remained unnoticed by the tech giants appropriating and using radio formats or even setting up what could only be described as “radio stations.” Thus Amazon  is reported to be building out a live audio platform meant to disrupt traditional radio and rival the likes of Clubhouse or Spotify’s new live audio platform, in Axios at the end of August (“Scoop: Amazon Quietly Building Live Audio Business”). The idea is for Amazon to be paying podcast suppliers, celebrities, musicians to stimulate live conversations and events (old-style chat and live radio shows), all to be accessed through Amazon and possibly on gadgets like Alexa. In other words, a sort of curated radio content but on subscription. Attractive radio on payment, a sort of Netflix for the ears. Is this then the way to integrate radio into the new media reality?

Not oblivious to these developments, radio stations themselves have invested in streaming and developing a stable of attractive podcasts. Different research studies show that listeners are engaging more actively with broadcasters if they also enjoy streaming or podcasting. They seem to be (at least in the U.S.) younger, more mobile, the kind of listeners which advertisers are interested in.

[Read: EBU Puts Radio Finger in the Air?]

So, radio stations linking to the social media or OTT space are doing it for various reasons: it is the trend (they can become “digital,” though not truly digital in the broadcast sense), there is a need to attract or keep audiences for public stations and maximise advertising profits for the private stations. In the specific case of commercial stations, this blend of broadcast and podcast, or IP type of presence, is a very useful way of increasing revenue in an industry enjoying increased popularity but lower ad dollars during the pandemic.

Even in a place like India, where radio has only a fraction of the advertising pie (2–3%) and where ad revenue has been greatly affected by the pandemic, this blend is important. Getting advertising on radio “extensions,” like podcasts, has become a necessity as radio still commands a key place for Indian advertisers. “Radio is a preferred partner for brands owing to its mass, local reach and high engagement,” says Megha Ahuja, VP – digital media planning, Carat India.(“Changing the Frequency”)

We seem to be witnessing crossing currents with social media and big tech veering towards radio, but increasingly on subscription, and radio trying to maximise use by using platforms while trying to maintain its universality. Are these currents then intersecting or merging?

Where Is Digital Radio in This?

Digital radio is definitely of the new digital age, as the audio quality of broadcasts and the extra features make it an almost new digital platform accessible primarily in the car (where analog AM and FM suffer interference) and then on mobiles and in the homes. In DRM, available on all broadcast bands, the FM sound quality in AM is evidently superior to any old-style analog sounds your grandparents might have enjoyed. Internet content, images, multilanguage content, not to mention disaster warnings, education bites or fully illustrated lessons with sound and pictures and traffic info are all possible and available. Particularly the potential to deliver education through audio and visual material, even from the internet, but without requiring internet, has come to the fore in pandemic times, especially in places still learning about podcasting.

And if only digital radio is available, you can create your own podcast by recording favorite programming and playing it later, while the program schedule is available at a touch of a button. All this can be done using terrestrial waves and not glass fibers and valuable bandwidth, another commodity in short supply. Regulators feel the bandwidth pinch already with all the podcasts and other frilly bits in demand. And so do policy makers who hope that flying the unfinished 5G banner for broadcasting or waiting for another miraculous technology will get them off the hook. They seem to be hoping that the big investment and change needed to roll out digital radio will be thus unnecessary. This probably also drives the big buzz around social media among broadcasters. But in absolute terms, this is still minute compared with radio listening. If radio could offer more using digital standards, while keeping its core values and heart, the media landscape would be richer.

Son of Broadcasting

The miraculous blend technology is already here. It is called digital radio and needs to be supported and deployed seriously, so that informative, local, exciting and engaging or educational radio, and not music by subscription, remains available to all. The switchover to digital radio has been slow, with varying degrees of success in the U.K., U.S., Europe, where the switch-off dates are being kicked into the long grass (see recent decision in Switzerland). Other countries, like India, have had a great head start. The hope is that complicated evaluations and analysis will not detract now from sticking with the complete open, not company-owned DRM standard (in FM, too). This decision would give confidence to the receiver industry (who will not engage in producing them unless there is a clear official commitment and announcement), to the listeners.

Digital radio (e.g., DRM and other recognized open standards) is a neat solution, more robust, doing away with the blight of interference experienced in analog. DRM offers more channels, more choice and many digital extra benefits. There needs to be a communication step change so that decisionmakers take the right decision, while there is increased acceptance of a mixed media landscape in which broadcast and podcast can co-exist and enhance each other.

So, you might want to accept an “invitation” to Clubhouse (its clever trick) or subscribe to many podcasts (and probably listen to just a few) but you are still very likely to still switch on your (digital) car radio and enjoy so much more, while stuck in traffic.

The technology has to work but  the digital content, well linked to social media, must be attractive to start with. Podcasting remains the son of broadcasting, but sons often want to emulate and surpass their fathers.

 

The post Making Digital Radio Part of the New Multimedia Landscape appeared first on Radio World.

The leadership for the guys across the street would prefer you don’t show up. They don’t want you to soak up the information and engage in the conversations about the future of Hispanic Radio.

Your colleagues will be sorry they missed you. They were looking forward to sharing the experience and the entertainment at the 12th Hispanic Radio Conference with you!

Your wallet will be thinner. If you don’t register before 5 pm on Tuesday, September 14, you’ll pay $300 more when the price increases!

This is the agenda, and these are the speakers, you can’t afford to miss!

We all have regrets – don’t let this be one of them.

The clock is ticking – don’t procrastinate.
Register NOW while you can still save $300.

And don’t forget to book your hotel room before they SELL OUT!

BOCA RATON, FLA. — Streamline Publishing, founded in 1986 with the creation of radio industry sales and management trade publication Radio Ink and today a diversified publisher of print and digital titles focused on the art and media industries, has
elevated Deborah Parenti to the role of President of the Radio, TV & Podcasting Division.

In this role, Parenti will extend her leadership responsibilities across the three brands that have helped make Streamline Publishing a trusted source for news, information, and insight in the radio, television, and on-demand audio industries: Radio Ink, Radio + Television Business Report, and Podcast Business Journal. The Radio, TV & Podcasting Division also presents the annual Hispanic Radio Conference and Radio and Television’s Financial Summit: Forecast in New York.

Parenti has served as EVP/Publisher of what was formerly known as Streamline Publishing’s
audio division since joining the company founded by Chairman/CEO B. Eric Rhoads in January 2007. She assumed leadership of Radio + Television Business Report with its acquisition by Streamline Publishing in February 2013. The company launched Podcast Business Journal in the late 2010s.

“Deborah has been a tremendous asset to Radio Ink for nearly 15 years and, more recently, has shown exemplary leadership in growing both RBR+TVBR and Podcast Business Journal into premier destinations for their readers,” Rhoads said. “With solid experience as a leader of radio stations in her home of Dayton, Ohio, and in Philadelphia, Deborah has proven that her expertise as a top-notch marketer and broadcast media sales and management professional can drive the growth of three distinct publications for the audio and visual media industries. We congratulate Deborah on this well-deserved promotion.”

Parenti’s career in the radio broadcasting industry started at “high-flyin'” WING-AM in Dayton, where she rose to VP and Assistant General Manager following roles in promotion, marketing, and research. She later joined Stoner Broadcasting, serving as General Sales Manager at Stoner’s WDJX-FM 99.7 in Louisville before returning to Dayton in 1990 as VP/General Manager of WWSN, as the first woman to manage a radio station in that market. Under her leadership, the station would become WMMX “Mix 107.7,” a station that today remains one of Dayton’s most listened to FM radio choices.

Later, Parenti would become VP/GM of American Radio Systems’ Dayton group, earning a
major profile in the February 1997 issue of Working Woman magazine for her role in
developing one of the first consolidated radio sales platforms, “Radio First!” In September
1997, Parenti would leave her hometown of Dayton for a position as VP/GM of Beasley
Broadcast Group’s country-formatted WXTU-FM in Philadelphia. From 1999-2010, Parenti was a board member of Vox Radio.

Today, Parenti is again based in the Dayton area.

She said, “I am extremely honored and grateful to have the good fortune of working with Eric and our incredible team of professionals. The opportunity to engage with and learn from people across so many levels of a business I love, as well as the chance to make what I hope is a positive impact on it, is something I never take for granted.”

Parenti is a Board Member of the Alliance for Women in Media. She completed NABEF’s
Broadcast Leadership Training Program in 2001. She also sits on the College Broadcasters Inc. advisory committee.

Ed Ryan retains the role of Editor-in-Chief for Radio Ink and Podcast Business Journal. Adam R Jacobson retains the role of Editor-in-Chief for Radio + Television Business Report.

Streamline Publishing and its products play a substantial role within two industries:
radio/television/on-demand audio and the world of art and art collecting. It prides itself on
seeking innovative solutions that break traditional molds. In addition to its radio, TV, and
podcasting titles, it is the publisher of Fine Art Connoisseur and PleinAir. The art division is also the organizer of various events closely aligned with its art brands.

A lighting connector can be used to make a connection between StudioHub and AES3 digital audio.

Mike Johnson is the principal engineer for Mike Johnson Broadcast Technology in Portland, Ore. He read our column about the CATV F-to-RJ45 adapter and realized he had something to contribute to the discussion.

While Mike was helping build out the new facility for All Classical Portland in 2014, a coworker showed him an adapter he had discovered to make the connection between StudioHub and AES3 digital audio simple.

The solution is to use the three-pin XLR DMX lighting standard, which was later adapted to work over RJ45 cables. Like the CATV adapter we described, it uses the first pair in the Category cable. The adapters are available as short, three-pin XLR male or female plugs on one end to RJ45 jacks. The photo shown here is typical; you can find that connector at markertek.com, type DMX-5XF-CAT5 into the Search field.

The DMX standard started out with a five-pin XLR, but it didn’t need all five pins. Sweetwater has a discussion on understanding DMX.

These DMX adapters eliminate the need to use a dual XLR-to-RJ45 adapter dongle for AES3 digital, which results in an unnecessary, awkward right channel XLR connector (since the AES3 signal only travels on the left analog connector). The DMX adapters are short and can be plugged directly into the equipment, making for a neat, uncluttered conversion.

A little strip tease

San Diego’s Marc Mann says Frank Hertel’s choice of silicone-jacketed wire in his LED fixture dimmer project reminded him of an interesting experience.

First, Marc notes that to his knowledge, silicone-covered wire was reserved for premium test leads, as the flexibility of the jacket allows the probe clips to remain in position. The silicone formulation is also heat-resistant.

Raise your hand if you don’t have at least one pair of test leads with a soldering iron burn on the jacket! Marc chose the silicone-covered wire when he needed to make some six-foot leads for his power supply. He purchased some 16 and 18 AWG (American Wire Gauge) wire from Ali Express and eBay. Each length of cable was manufactured off-shore.

This 18-gauge wire actually measured 20-gauge; note the red arrow.

When he stripped the lead off the 18 Gauge wire, the wire pulled straight out of the jacket. Not just one strand, but all of the strands. No matter how cautious Marc was to strip just the jacket, the wire still pulled through — the silicone jacket was not bonded to the wire!

The wire was also mismarked. Although the jacket said 18 Gauge, it was actually closer to 20 AWG.

Marc then discovered that he did not have 100 percent copper wire, rather CCA or copper-clad aluminum.

From another website, Marc learned that the advantage to CCA wire is that it is lighter and more flexible. The cost of CCA versus oxygen-free copper wire is also much lower.

So Marc warns buyers to confirm the composition and specifications of the wire you are buying, especially from online sources. If your application is critical, such as in a high-power transmitter, the variations could make a difference.

Little light, big impact

Glynn Walden, too, dropped us a note about Frank Hertel’s LED dimmer circuit, and commented how far LEDs have come since his first experience.

Glynn was in his fourth year of engineering studies at Florida International University, when someone brought in a new diode that emitted a visible red glow when it was placed on a curve tracer! Glynn says this was around the time that the 555 Integrated Circuit (IC) was replacing all of the old mechanical timers.

He writes that he could never have dreamed that this little light-emitting chip would one day replace the incandescent bulbs in a console, let alone the headlights in your car or the light bulbs in your home. Or, for that matter, the beacons on a tower.

Agreed. We are fortunate to be living in such a time where the innovations and improvements just keep on coming.

Glynn is retired from CBS Radio as a senior VP of engineering, but he is probably best known as the father of the in-band, on-channel digital broadcast system now known as HD Radio.

Filter reminder The Filtrete Smart app will remind you about scheduled filter changes and provides other tips and alerts.

Speaking of improvements, 3M’s Filtrete pleated air filters division offers an app that lets you set reminders for changing filters or ordering replacements. The app can also take into account air quality in your region so you’re changing filters based not only on time but on air quality.

In online reviews, users say the app saves them money because they don’t change filters too soon. Filtrete also has a filter model with a built-in sensor linked by Bluetooth to your phone, though according to some of the reviewers, the reliability of this new feature seems questionable.

In any case, if you’re looking for a quick reminder for filter replacement, this app may be for you. It’s available on at Apple Store or Google Play, or search “Filtrete Smart App.”

On a related note, I had my home air conditioning system serviced recently and I noticed the technician jotting something on his hand. I asked what it was and he told me it was to remember the thermostat set point when he was resetting the thermostat after his testing.

He told me that he was using the “original palm pilot.”

John Bisset, CPBE, has spent over 50 years in broadcasting and is in his 31st year writing Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance. Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com. 

The post Workbench: This Adapter Simplifies AES Connections appeared first on Radio World.

From our People News page: John Davis will join Wheatstone’s support team. He will be based in Houston.

He currently is sales and support manager for Logitek Electronic Systems, where he has worked for almost 20 years and been a familiar voice on the phone or face in the company’s convention booths.

“John has a background in AoIP support of almost 20 years and has previous experience in broadcast automation as the marketing manager for OMT Technologies,” Wheatstone said in the announcement.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

“In addition to his automation and IP audio networking background, he brings to Wheatstone 18 years of on-air experience with Cox Radio Inc. He continues to fill in on weekends at Cox Radio’s Houston stations.”

Davis also worked earlier for Nationwide Communications and Sundance Broadcasting, and he is a partner in LFD Communications, a Texas PR and marketing agency, according to his LinkedIn bio. He studied journalism at Arizona State University.

“I’ll be leaving Logitek with nothing but respect for Tag Borland and company,” Davis wrote in a social media post, “but I’m excited for the future.”

Send announcements involving radio technology and executive management hires to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post John Davis Joins Wheatstone appeared first on Radio World.

There’s strong stability across the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten TV report, with many of the advertisers seen active in the last several weeks staying within the Top 10 for the week ending September 12.

There is one big new entrant, however. And, it involves a dental care brand that’s seeking to take share from the likes of Colgate and Crest.

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