Aggregator

Requested the substitution of UHF channel 29 for VHF channel 12 in the DTV Table of Allotments

The Bureau enters into a Consent Decree with Slingshot Broadcasting Corporation

Triton Digital has expanded the reporting and categorization capabilities within its podcast platform, Omny Studio.

“To provide publishers with a more comprehensive view of the content published by their organization and/or networks, Omny Studio’s reporting functionality has been enhanced to include granular visibility into the total number of episodes and total minutes of audio content published,” iHeartMedia subsidiary Triton notes.

Triton added that its users can now see an overview of the tools that accompany the content, including ad markers, transcriptions, and Headliner videos. “This information can be compared to previous reporting periods and tracked over time, making it easy for publishers to trend both the creation and growth of their show portfolios over time.”

Additionally, podcasters using the Omny Studio platform can now add custom metadata fields to their content, including categories. “By utilizing custom categories, podcasters can increase the discoverability of their shows, helping them to appear in relevant user searches and as a result, grow their audiences,” Triton says.

“We are confident that these expanded and enhanced capabilities will provide our users with the insights and flexibility they need to continue to both create and share engaging content while growing their audiences.” said Mitchell Secrett, Omny Studio Product Manager at Triton Digital. “These latest feature releases further Omny Studio’s position as the leading enterprise-level audio management platform in the world.”

To learn more about the Omny Studio platform, contact OmnyStudio@tritondigital.com.

This is in response to Michelle Bradley’s commentary, “Even More to All-Digital AM.” Ms. Bradley’s observations are right on the money.

The problem is not knowing the end game for the AM revitalization initiative. If Chairman Pai inferred that FM translators are part of a transition or “bridge” as he said to a Kansas Association of Broadcasters gathering in 2016 and not permanent, then when do AM broadcasters flash cut to digital and turn their translator licenses in? What is the sunset date for analog AM?

Michi made the point that, “The automotive and radio receiver industry needs to make HD Radio, standard equipment, not a ‘luxury option’ like with some manufacturers.” So, when is the FCC going to step in and mandate HD Radio in all cars? It’s the only way this will happen.

I totally agree when she indicated that moving a translator 250 miles is only going to harm the opportunity for more, new LPFM stations. Repurposing low VHF for other uses is an idea whose time has come. The majority of TV broadcasters don’t want the band. Existing Channel 6 TV stations can either keep their channel or change it but the FCC should not license any more TV stations on Channel 6, particularly to LDTV (or give it away free as white space to parasites like Microsoft). Let AM broadcasters migrate to the expanded FM band (formerly Channel 6) if they don’t want to stay on AM, forego their translators and open the channels up to LPFM.

The truth is that the AM revitalization initiative was an Ajit Pai pet project. I don’t think the Democrats are onboard with giving more translators to AM broadcasters or in letting these broadcasters keep their translators indefinitely. In fact, the AM revitalization initiative might look entirely different once Jessica Rosenworcel is made permanent chairman and another Democrat-appointed commissioner is installed. That may be a good thing for the future of FM broadcasting.

Daniel Brown
Owner, Zebra Radio (Part 15), 1610 AM
Retired TV station owner

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

The post Letter: AM Digital – What Is the End Game? appeared first on Radio World.

U.S. stock markets fell on Monday, with the Dow Industrials dipping 54.34 to 34,327.79. The Nasdaq composite index was down 50.93 to 13,379.05.

How did media issues fare to start the week? AT&T was off 2.6%, while Discovery Inc. shares finished the day with a 5% decline.

The Discovery dip was a mild surprise, as shares were on the rise ahead of the Opening Bell on word that it was acquiring WarnerMedia in a blockbuster Reverse Morris Trust-fueled merger. Yet, DISCA finished at $33.76, falling $1.79 per share on exceptionally heavy volume of 88.34 million against average volume of 15.2 million shares.

AT&T, which also saw exceptionally heavy trading volume, saw “T” slip $0.85 to $31.39.

Elsewhere, Urban One shares improved to $5.43, up 4%, as Saga Communications’ recent burst in share value appears to be fizzling. On Monday, a 7% decline put SGA at $21.84.

Also on the downturn is Audacy, which sits at $4.18 after a 4 cent decline.

Educational Media Foundation is primarily known as a buyer. Thus, it is rare when the owner of the KLOVE and Air1 Christian music networks decides to part ways with a property.

That’s just happened, in West Virginia.

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Early Monday, the big merger news in the cable TV industry became official: WarnerMedia is becoming part of Discovery Inc.

Interestingly, the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Cable report shows a big decrease in the number of promotional spots for Discovery+, the OTT arm launched January 4.

Is the coming tax-free merger the reason, or a mere coincidence?

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Amid the self-promotional announcements from iHeartMedia, including podcast pitches, there’s a shining example of how a brand has taken to AM and FM radio and established itself as a top-of-mind job search source.

Indeed, the use of spot radio is a success story worthy of sharing with CMOs across the U.S.

As seen in the latest Spot Ten Radio report for the week ending May 16, Indeed is the big No. 1 among fully paid advertisers, topping Progressive, Babbel and GEICO.

In fact, Indeed competitor ZipRecruiter may wish to increase its radio budget to better compete with its rival. While the job search category is burgeoning for radio, the spot differential as seen by Media Monitors suggests ZipRecruiter has room for growth — and for becoming a household name via AM and FM.

Warner Tillman is parting ways with an AM/FM combo that includes an FM translator and no less than four boosters designed to give that FM station coverage of Eastern Washington’s largest metropolis.

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DAYTON, OHIO — On June 21, 2007, a group of AM and FM radio stations were placed into the Aloha Station Trust.

Now, the final FM properties placed in this trust originally overseen by the late Jeanette Tully and now led by former Backyard Broadcasting head Barry Drake are being removed from the trust.

However, they’re not being sold. Rather, these “Big” Dayton-market properties are being donated.

Who’s getting WRZX-FM & WYDB-FM?

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Groups representing broadcasters and internet streaming companies are expressing reservations about how delivering EAS alerts through the internet would work and say the complexities of accomplishing the feat would be exceptional.

The FCC issued a Notice of Inquiry earlier this year to explore the feasibility of delivering EAS via the internet and how to leverage the capabilities of the internet to enhance alerting by radio and television broadcasters and cable systems. A review of comments from several groups indicates the complex nature of coordinating multiple technologies to offer advanced alerting in the United States.

The National Association of Broadcasters says “certain technical challenges and open policy questions make it extremely burdensome, and likely infeasible, to update the EAS system to enable alerts to consumers provided through the internet, including streaming services.”

[Read: FCC Will Explore EAS on the Internet]

NAB concludes “pure-play online content streamers are not well-positioned to participate in the existing EAS ecosystem for live streaming feeds or on-demand content.” The trade association adds that radio and TV broadcasters currently are very limited in their ability to offer any real enhancements to online alerts, according to NAB.

“We understand that the only online audio outlets that may retransmit EAS messages are websites and apps while simulcasting radio stations. Broadcasters may do so on their own website or through audio apps like TuneIn or digital media players like Roku TV,” NAB wrote in its comments.

NAB notes that “as a general matter, the streaming feeds at the broadcast station are originated upstream of the EAS encoder/decoder in the programming chain, meaning that an EAS alert is typically relayed only if it occurs while a station’s own programming is broadcast on-air.

“However, if an alert occurs during a commercial break in the on-air programming, when different content is inserted into the online stream, then the EAS alert is not usually retransmitted to the listener or viewer,” NAB commented.

The trade association urges the commission to report to Congress that EAS should not be extended to internet-based services at this time.

The Digital Media Association (DiMA) believes it may be it may be technically feasible to complete some, but not all, steps required for end-to-end transmission of EAS alerts through the internet, specifically, via the music pure-play streaming services offered by DiMA member companies.

“While receiving and processing EAS alerts may be technically possible, however, the national and global nature of these streaming services, which operate as apps on hardware devices or through websites relying on networks these services have no control over to transmit data, makes monitoring for, retransmitting, and delivering EAS alerts to end users infeasible, if not impossible,” DiMA wrote in comments filed with the FCC.

DiMA continues: “Further, for practical and technical reasons, doing so would not advance the purpose of the EAS. Music streaming services do not collect granular location data and, therefore, would not be able accurately target emergency messages to the relevant recipients. Rather than increasing the reach of EAS, streaming services’ involvement will duplicate and possibly interfere with activities of existing participants.”

The FCC in its notice of inquiry noted the apparent challenges of using the internet for EAS alerting, including the large geographic service areas of streaming services and how those companies would monitor alerts from state, territorial and local governments for EAS alerts in Common Alerting Protocol.

Digital Content Next told the FCC the group believes extending the EAS obligations to streaming services would be very complicated from a technical perspective given the number of devices and services where content is viewed or heard.

“For example, consumers can receive content from streaming services on a wide variety of phones, tablets, laptops and televisions. Each of these devices may utilize different kinds of software. Also, software is frequently updated by the device manufacturer, which results in additional diversification of devices,” Digital Content Next commented.

The group, which represents a wide-array of internet publishing brands, said ensuring that emergency alerts can be delivered, viewed and heard properly on the myriad combination of devices, software versions and platforms would be immensely complex. “In order to monitor for and deliver EAS messages, streaming services would need to make different adjustments for each kind of device, software and platform,” Digital Content Next wrote.

In addition, streaming services “generally lack local network architecture and are not geographically proximate to their customers,” and “streaming providers would have to reconfigure their technology to have the capability to properly deliver geo-targeted local emergency alerts,” the trade association said, whose members include Disney, Bloomberg and ESPN.

The FCC is looking at ways to modernize EAS infrastructure after a mandate from Congress to broaden the capabilities of EAS and WEA [Wireless Emergency Alerts] in the United States and improve reliability to prevent false alerts.

Reply comments to the notice of inquiry on the feasibility of updating EAS or to improve alerts through the internet are due June 14.

 

The post FCC Collects Feedback on Using Internet for EAS Alerts appeared first on Radio World.

The Director of Sales for a pair of Sinclair Broadcast Group TV stations serving Asheville, N.C., and the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson-Clemson region of upstate South Carolina, is rising to VP/GM of the MyNetworkTV and ABC affiliates.

Be sure to follow RBR+TVBR on our new LinkedIn community page!

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What will emerge in mid-2022 as a new Discovery Inc., with WarnerMedia‘s assets merged into what will be a new company, is poised to surge past the company led by Bob Bakish and ultimately controlled by Shari Redstone and National Amusements, Inc.

That’s the biggest takeaway of the blockbuster Reverse Morris Trust-fueled merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc., announced early Monday, by S&P Global Market Intelligence’s TV Networks research analyst.

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The NAB on Friday filed comments with the FCC regarding a proposal to extend the Emergency Alert System to the Internet — including through streaming services. Congress is requesting a study of the issue.

But, the NAB cautions that updating EAS to enable internet alerts would be too complex, and likely infeasible, at this time.

Whether that is conjecture or a confirmed fact is perhaps up to debate. And, given the comments come on behalf of the biggest lobbying voice for broadcast media, there’s likely a tinge of defending radio and TV’s most important “go-to-now!” emergency traits before Congress.

That said, the concept of bringing EAS alerts to those streaming audio or video is clever, and likely one of concern for the American public.

Is it worth the investment in both time and dollars?

The NAB appreciates the Commission’s “forward-looking consideration of how EAS alerts may be disseminated through the internet,” consistent with legislation passed in this fiscal year. “The public interest benefits of expanded access to EAS alerts via internet services are plain, and we applaud Congress for requesting a study of this question,” the NAB’s top legal counsel say. “However, at least for the time being, certain technical challenges and open policy questions make it extremely burdensome, and likely infeasible, to update the EAS system to enable alerts to consumers provided through the internet.”

Before explaining why it would be so difficult, the NAB attorneys took the approach of demonstrating how broadcast radio and TV have a key role as “first informers” and are “essential service providers.” This empowers broadcast media to access disaster areas, the NAB says.

This led the NAB to illustrate the “reliability” of the EAS today, given how local radio and television stations “diligently implemented the ability to receive alerts from FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS), routinely test and upgrade their
EAS equipment as needed and take other steps — both voluntary and mandated — to
support EAS, and at their own expense. In addition, broadcasters are often the leaders (and in some cases the only engaged members) of their State Emergency Coordinating Committees.’

The NAB and individual broadcast companies also partner with the FCC and FEMA on various emergency-related initiatives and advisory groups intended to further
improve public alerting.

Today, to the broadcast media lobbying group’s knowledge, there are no pure-play independent streaming services that participate in EAS. Furthermore, the only online audio outlets that may retransmit EAS messages are websites and apps while simulcasting radio stations, and similar online video outlets while simulcasting local television news programming, as well as over-the-top (OTT) services that livestream local television channels.

Yet, wouldn’t it be prudent if Netflix, Hulu or similar over-the-top services offered EAS messaging?

To be clear, any on-demand service would be, today, technically impossible to integrate into EAS. Pure-play content streamers, in the NAB’s view, are not “well-positioned to participate in the existing EAS ecosystem” for live streaming feeds or on-demand content.

Here’s why, as the NAB sees it: “With respect to ingesting EAS alerts, the FCC states that
streaming services’ ‘large geographic service areas’ presents a monitoring challenge. Of
course, ‘large’ does not begin to describe the reach of a cloud-based service which is
available everywhere access to the internet is available. Video and audio streaming services
routinely have thousands or even millions of customers worldwide. NAB understands that the current web-based design and architecture of online streaming services does not typically incorporate or even contemplate any localized infrastructure that would enable a streaming service to monitor for EAS alerts based on either geography or the type of event.”

But, isn’t geotargeting and addressability the hallmark of digital media — and couldn’t Netflix easily incorporate EAS alerts using this granular data?

The NAB isn’t convinced of such a possibility, at least in the near-term.

The broadcast lobby also claims that streamers “simply lack the infrastructure and local presence to monitor other EAS Participants or alert originators for EAS messages.”

As Spotify inches closer to radio-like services, having recently hired veteran Los Angeles programming executive Kevin Weatherly, this could also change given the right technological advancements it wishes to invest in.

The NAB is steadfast in offering a “don’t count on it”-styled response to such suggestions.

“Even if such a mechanism could be created, requiring streaming services to somehow monitor, manage and prioritize all EAS alerts from the thousands of sources in every municipality (or EAS operational area) across the entire country would be extremely problematic,” the NAB said, adding that it also dismisses the belief that creating a process for streaming services to differentiate between market areas they serve when determining what kinds of EAS alerts to monitor, even with advice from state and local government officials, would help solve this problem.

Then, there’s the scenario of a Florida-based family watching a local newscast live on a streaming app — only the newscast is from a California-based TV station. “This could lead to dangerous confusion” if an EAS alert came on, the NAB says.

That said, the viewer could likely realize that, if locales in California were mentioned, they would be thousands of miles outside of harm’s way.

With Rick Kaplan and Larry Walke signing off on the NAB petition, the association concludes, “In light of all these challenges, NAB urges the Commission to report to Congress that EAS should not be extended to internet-based services at this time.”

It’s now up to legislators on Capitol Hill to judge for themselves if the NAB’s efforts have merit, or are simply crafted to defend one of the most valuable traits of over-the-air media — owned by companies whose revenues have been battered by digital entities.

Logos of Bonneville’s Denver stations

Add Bonneville International to the list of U.S. radio companies that have agreed to consent decrees involving their online political files.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau said it reached agreement with Bonneville International Corp. to resolve “the matter of … [Bonneville’s] public file derelictions.”

[Read: The FCC Can See Your Public File]

This follows the template that the FCC has taken with numerous other broadcast groups large and small, in which the companies have promised to implement compliance plans and follow the rules in future.

As Radio World recently reported, the commission as of early May had adopted about 135 of these consent decrees, covering approximately 2,100 stations, including those of major companies like iHeartMedia, Audacy, Beasley, Alpha Media and Salem.

As with those other large groups, Bonneville has agreed that the general terms of the compliance plan will apply to all of the commercial stations it owns. Bonneville owns 22 radio stations in six western U.S. markets

In addition, its four Denver-area stations whose license renewal applications prompted this review must file compliance reports later this year before the next general election.

 

The post Bonneville Joins FCC Consent Decree List appeared first on Radio World.

Most of the time we receive a reader e-mail or, on rare occasion, a hand-written letter from a RBR+TVBR Member, the topic of conversation is usually about our poor proofreading and copy-editing, our choice of wording in a Headline E-mail subject line, or request that RBR+TVBR gives up trying to win a Pulitzer Prize by offering up very lengthy stories on a very esoteric subject.

Today’s RBR+TVBR Mailbag, however, includes a letter that was worth sharing. The topic: the lack of presets on a brand-new Sport Utility Vehicle’s snazzy OEM in-dash entertainment system.

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Four years ago, 8 rack units brought to life the first ATSC 3.0 air chain. Then came a reduced footprint, in April 2019, followed by the 2020 arrival of the first 1-rack unit using a Blade server.

Now, a cloud application on Amazon Web Services (AWS) today is in place for what powers NextGen TV.

It’s the latest advancement since June 2017 for ATSC 3.0 Air Chain technology pioneered by DigiCAP.

The Seoul-based company provided Air Chain technology first moved forward with its ATSC 3.0 tools by working with the three major South Korean broadcast networks during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, enabling them to transmit live 4K over the air.

These first-generation Air Chains were eight rack units (RU) tall.

After the PyeongChang games, DigiCAP analyzed data from their 14 live ATSC 3.0 broadcast sites. Two years later, they introduced an improved version that was only two RU tall, a 75% reduction in size. But the inside changes were significant.

Sang Jin Yoon, SVP of Business Development at DigiCAP, noted, “We took data from extensive field tests at our Korean broadcast sites and analyzed the data using static and dynamic code analysis to holistically optimize our software.  In addition, we rebuilt the software to be more useful in the US, including improving the user experience by redesigning the system administrator, making our software compliant with the evolving ATSC 3.0 spec, and providing more meaningful system status information, and adding features to make DigiCaster more operation friendly.”

in June 2020, as the first commercially licensed ATSC 3.0 broadcast stations were launching in the U.S., DigiCAP introduced a new version on a single RU COTS blade. Yoon noted, “Every year COTS servers get less expensive and more productive. The use of software infrastructure in this configuration is a way to take advantage of the savings and efficiency boosts. Migrating from appliance to software is the unstoppable trend.”

Then, in February of this year, DigiCAP posted the first ATSC 3.0 Air Chain on Amazon Web Services (AWS). “This service will enable installations to go more quickly and let broadcasters pay for their Air Chains with a low monthly service fee instead of a large upfront equipment charge,” DigiCAP said.

Yoon concluded, “Our software infrastructure approach is catching on. Of the 28 US markets that have launched ATSC 3.0, DigiCAP has one or more users in over half of them. Add to that the 14 broadcast stations we have in South Korea and it makes a solid footprint for moving forward.”

Last week, with NewFronts staged ahead of virtual Upfront presentations scheduled for this week, Discovery Inc. CEO David Zaslav and WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar spoke at the eighth annual MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit.

What timing! With the May 17 pre-market confirmation that WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. will merge via a tax-free Reverse Morris Trust-engineered merger, the Wall Street firm’s leaders believe that “the rationale for today’s monumental news that
WarnerMedia will be merging with Discovery can be plainly found in our Q&As.”

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It was first reported early Monday, European time, by several business media outlets, with an announcement due no later than 12:30pm in London.

Like clockwork, the official word came from Dallas and from New York: Another blockbuster media merger had been consummated. Only this time, it involves two major players in a rapidly evolving MVPD arena seeking to remain as relevant in the connected TV world as it has been in the cable universe.

WarnerMedia and Discovery are merging.

To make this happen, WarnerMedia parent AT&T and Discovery Inc. will combine its entertainment, sports and news assets that include such brands as CNN, Home Box Office (HBO), TNT and TBS with Discovery’s array of channels, which include Animal Planet, HGTV, Food Network, TLC and ID.

The deal is also significant as Discovery on January 4 rolled out its discovery+ OTT platform, which has been heavily promoted across spot cable since its launch, Media Monitors data show.

For those who closely followed the merger acquisition of the former CBS Radio by Audacy, then known as Entercom Communications, terms of the Discovery/WarnerMedia deal are structured similarly in that a new entity is being created through a Reverse Morris Trust transaction.

Thus, AT&T will spin off WarnerMedia, and this will immediately enter into a merger upon closing with Discovery through an all-stock transaction that is tax free.

AT&T would receive $43 billion — subject to adjustment — in a combination of cash, debt securities, and WarnerMedia’s retention of some debt. For AT&T shareholders, they’ll receive stock representing 71% of the new company; Discovery shareholders would own 29% of the new company.

The Boards of Directors of both AT&T and Discovery have approved the transaction. The transaction is anticipated to close in mid-2022, subject to approval by Discovery shareholders and customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.

No vote is required by AT&T shareholders.

“The new company expects to maintain investment grade rating and utilize the significant cash flow of the combined company to rapidly de-lever to approximately 3.0x within 24 months, and to target a new, longer term gross leverage target of 2.5x-3.0x,” the companies said in a joint announcement. “WarnerMedia has secured fully committed financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and affiliates of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC for the purposes of funding the distribution.”

For AT&T and its shareholders, the company believes “this transaction provides an opportunity to unlock value in its media assets and to better position the media business to take advantage of the attractive DTC trends in the industry. Additionally, the transaction allows the company to better capitalize on the longer-term demand for connectivity.”

ZASLAV TO LEAD

David Zaslav

Discovery President/CEO David Zaslav will lead the proposed new company.

Discovery’s current multiple classes of shares will be consolidated to a single class with one vote per share.

The new company’s Board of Directors will consist of 13 members, 7 initially appointed by AT&T, including the chairperson of the board; Discovery will initially appoint 6 members, including Zaslav.

Commenting on the merger, Zaslav said, “During my many conversations with [AT&T CEO] John Stankey, we always come back to the same simple and powerful strategic principle:  these assets are better and more valuable together.  It is super exciting to combine such historic brands, world class journalism and iconic franchises under one roof and unlock so much value and opportunity.  With a library of cherished IP, dynamite management teams and global expertise in every market in the world, we believe everyone wins … consumers with more diverse choices, talent and storytellers with more resources and compelling pathways to larger audiences, and shareholders with a globally scaled growth company committed to a strong balance sheet that is better positioned to compete with the world’s largest streamers.  We will build a new chapter together with the creative and talented WarnerMedia team and these incredible assets built on a nearly 100-year legacy of the most wonderful storytelling in the world.  That will be our singular mission: to focus on telling the most amazing stories and have a ton of fun doing it.”

‘DTC’ PLAYER DESIRE

The new company, which could remain named Discovery or see a new name by the end of 2022, seeks to compete globally in the fast-growing direct-to-consumer business.

And, it will very much seek to bring “compelling content” to DTC subscribers across a portfolio that today includes discovery+ and HBO Max.

With cord-cutting a factor that companies such as WarnerMedia and Discovery must accept, rather than battle, as viewer consumption platform habits evolve, the merger immediately signals their combined desires to compete directly against Netflix, Amazon Video, Disney+ and Hulu on their own turf.

Further, AT&T and Discovery note, “The new company will be able to invest in more original content for its streaming services, enhance the programming options across its global linear pay TV and broadcast channels, and offer more innovative video experiences and consumer choices.”

 

 

Advisors

LionTree LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisors and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal advisor to AT&T.

Allen & Company LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisors and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal advisor to Discovery. Perella Weinberg Partners and Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as advisors to the Independent Directors of Discovery.

RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisors and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal advisors to Advance.

Here are several of the recent letters to the editor published by our Opinion section.

Show Some Trust

Getty Images/Olivier Le Moal

Dear Editor:

Kudos to Chris Imlay’s commentary in the Feb. 3 issue, “The Integrity & Ethics of Broadcast Engineers.”

His letter seems apropos given the description of the case. Shouldn’t the FCC itself have made measurements?

Might I add a note to the FCC: If you insist on concluding all broadcast engineer interference investigations are inherently biased, why did you scale back the FCC field offices?

It sounds like the commission wants to have it both ways: no engineering presence but rejecting consulting engineers’ findings.

Rolf Taylor, Rocket Engineering and Consulting

 

A Mic Under Fire

Re the article “In Appreciation of the EV635A” in the Feb. 3 issue:

My appreciation for the 635A was on Feb. 12, 1974. A Delaware & Hudson freight train that had left Binghamton, N.Y. earlier that afternoon derailed four miles north of Oneonta. It had been traveling at 32 mph when the brakes were applied. Eight bulk propane tank cars were involved in the derailment.

I ran into my station in town, grabbed an EV635A to which I had added a coiled cord and cassette tape deck, and bolted to the site.

Shortly after 4 p.m., a propane car buried underneath the others blew. I was doing a take when the force of the explosion threw me into the air, dislodging the 635 from the cassette deck.

A photo of the train wreck, post-explosion.

My clothes were burned and I was semi-conscious. The tape deck rolled until the cassette ran out.

The EV? It stayed wrapped around my arm, its coil burned into my coat. It was unharmed, if a bit soot covered!

A copy of the tape exists today and is still somewhat chilling to hear.

Timothy Braddock, Oneonta, N.Y.

 

AM Is No Albatross

I’m sure many of us have witnessed the practice of branding an FM translator as “Big 93 FM” or some such while pretending the supporting AM signal does not exist.

Ponder this: Your FM translator has a serious failure and you are off for three days (or longer, if you have an overseas sourced transmitter or an antenna failure in winter).

If you had continued to mention your AM frequency, at least your more alert listeners would know they could still find you on AM. The opportunity to promote the AM as having a wider listening area is another value-added tool.

Adding “… and on 1090 AM” costs nothing.

The goal of AM revitalization is to strengthen and invigorate AM, but it appears that just the opposite is happening as owners actually discourage AM listenership by pretending it is an albatross.

I don’t know who is feeding you this bad advice, but please stop listening to it.

Bob Hawkins, Contract Engineer, Edinburgh, Ind.

Submit Letters to the Editor at radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post Letters: Ethics, AM Albatross, EV635 appeared first on Radio World.