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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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COLONIE, N.Y. — On February 22, one of the most successful AM radio stations in the Northeast will celebrate 100 years of service. Today, it remains a vital link to consumers, and to the advertisers who wish to connect with them.

That said, the Capital District of New York State is home to a vibrant mix of radio stations, both locally owned and operated and under the control of the nation’s largest licensee of radio properties.

How powerful these stations can be for a local, regional or national advertiser was made known earlier his week at a gathering co-presented by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB).

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Over the last three years, a Minnesota-based nonprofit corporation tied to a private evangelical Christian college has been an active buyer and seller of radio stations.

Now, the entity comprised of religious noncommercial full-power FM stations and FM translators is growing again.

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What will radio infrastructure and workflows will look like when the pandemic is done?

It’s safe to assume that the landscape of radio will never be quite the same than it was before the pandemic. Remote and hybrid approaches will be much more common.

But what does that mean for radio workflow and infrastructure?

We asked a range of engineers to talk about which changes are permanent; how their own organizations have been affected; whether they have projects planned where the pandemic has caused them to change course; whether they are applying cloud solutions or other types of virtualization; and what constitutes a typical “hybrid” radio operation now.

Find out what technical leaders at Audacy, Salem Media Group, Alpha Media, VPM, Cogeco Media, Educational Media Foundation, Second Opinion Communications, Burk, Shively and MaxxKonnect Group told us.

Read it here.

The post After the Masks Come Off appeared first on Radio World.

There is power in impressions, particularly for the radio industry, according to a new Nielsen study.

The study, commissioned by the Southern California Broadcasters Association, found that ad agencies are increasingly relying on impressions to evaluate media. According to the study, impressions provide a brand-safe environment for advertisers looking for premium impressions at the local level.

[Read: Local Radio Ad Revenue to “Rebound Somewhat”]

And the interest in impression-based buying is on the rise. The study found that the shift to buying on impressions is accelerating: more than 50% of agency professionals are buying media this way.

The study looked at the benefits of impression-based buying and found that this purchasing style offers more granular, detailed information to those who are trying to evaluate radio advertising and digital buys using a common metric. In addition, the study found that impression-led buying also adds value to more dayparts and offers easier comparison across different markets.

“The importance of combining radio and digital advertising effectively cannot be overstated, and impressions are clearly where the industry is headed,” said Miles Sexton, president of the Southern California Broadcasters Association. “As radio continues to evolve within the digital ecosystem, the building blocks of a successful cross-platform campaign will include impressions.”

According to the study, impressions allow radio to add scale in a cross-platform environment. Impression-based selection also can be used to recommended best practices for converting to cost per thousand impressions (CPM) for radio buyers and sellers. The study also found that buying on impressions not only works regardless of market size but gives buyers and sellers an easier means of comparing one market to another.

More information on the study can be found here.

 

The post Study Looks at the Power of Impressions for AM/FM Ad Buys appeared first on Radio World.

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Centex Broadcasting, LLC enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation

ATW Media, LLC enters into consent decree to resolve political file investigation

Issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $3,000 to Seventh Generation Media Services, Inc., for failure to timely file a license renewal application for Station KLND(FM), Little Eagle, South Dakota

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