Radio World

The author is senior news editor and head of the Eurovision News Exchange at the European Broadcasting Union.

Let’s face it — there are too many podcasts for any of us to listen to in our combined lifetimes. This wasn’t always the case — far from it — but it is true now. And there are podcasts for every taste and style. So, the first thing anyone wanting to start a new podcast has to do is consider who their target audience might be and what they want to talk about.

My colleague Laurent Frat who came up with the idea for the Eurovision News Podcast felt he knew the answer to the first question.

“As an avid podcast listener, I could see the enormous potential for community building among our dozens of member news organizations and I really thought it was the right time to delve into the most pressing issues facing journalism and more specifically public service media like the European Broadcasting Union and its Members in the 21st century,” Laurent said.

I arrived at the EBU in March 2021, having worked as one of the presenters of the highly popular Global News Podcast at the BBC World Service. So, it’s no surprise I was, of course, thrilled when Laurent asked me to work alongside him and the podcast editor, Cathy Milner, to develop his idea. I jumped at the opportunity.

We immediately decided we’d make the first episode entirely about the issue of media freedom and the challenges faced by journalists coming up against autocratic rulers determined to silence them and conspiracy theorists who see the news media as part of everything that’s wrong with society. This was at the time when journalists in the U.S. and Europe were coming under attack on their own streets by demonstrators protesting against new COVID restrictions or the results of the 2020 U.S. elections.

[Read More Guest Commentaries Here]

So, we had cleared that first hurdle of what we wanted to talk about, but who would our target audience be?

From the start, we agreed this fledgling podcast of ours would be primarily directed at the wider EBU community and more specifically the dozens of member networks in Europe and elsewhere that are connected to the Eurovision News Exchange — a network of public-service newsrooms operating in over 50 countries and providing tens of thousands of news stories per year.

If you’ve watched the news in Europe this week or news about Europe either on TV or on your favorite news website — chances are that you will have come across at least one if not five or ten of our news items.

Yes, we are the people who gather and share the images that you see on the news from the tensions at the border between Belarus and Poland to the harrowing scenes of the Kabul airport after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan to the proceedings at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

And, unlike traditional news agencies, we don’t usually commission and record that footage. Instead, we rely heavily on the news gathered and recorded by our member news organizations from ZDF in Germany to RAI in Italy to NOS in the Netherlands, RTVE in Spain, the BBC in the U.K. and France Televisions.

For 60 years now, they’ve been sending in their news items and in return they get the latest news — both live and recorded from the other members. It’s a genuine community of the largest newsrooms in Europe and the Mediterranean working together through us.

According to Laurent Frat, “In this challenging period for journalism it’s more critical than ever to build on and develop our already tight-knit EBU community, and it’s why we have made a point of featuring journalists and senior editorial figures from our member news organizations in every one of our episodes to date. As far as we are concerned The Eurovision News Podcast is just as much about them as it is about us.”

So far, we have produced four episodes of our new podcast and we are busy working on another two to conclude our first of what we hope will be many more seasons to come.

In this era of fake news and rising distrust in the news media we are determined to raise the curtain and go beyond the news stories to show our listeners the serious thinking, editorial rigor and determination that goes into producing and delivering the public service media news that we are proud to stand behind and call our own.

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

The post In Defense of Public Service Media News appeared first on Radio World.

Several prominent U.S. broadcast associations are asking a federal court to block an FCC order that mandates disclosures for foreign government-sponsored programming.

The request was filed Wednesday by the National Association of Broadcasters, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

They previously filed a lawsuit with the court challenging the FCC order. They’ve argued that the commission lacks the authority to “impose the investigatory requirements mandated by the order,” lacked justification for the rules and failed to address problems with undisclosed foreign governmental programming on cable systems and the Internet, “which is where the issue primarily exists.” They call the action unnecessary and overly burdensome, and in violation of the Communications Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the First Amendment.

[Related: “FCC Denies NAB Stay Petition on Foreign Sponsorship ID Rules”]

The FCC adopted amended foreign-sponsorship identification rules in April to target situations where a station broadcasts material sponsored by a foreign governmental entity. The new rules require disclosure of leased programming sponsored by foreign governmental entities.

The commission said its modified regulations further the critical goal of transparency and it applies them to foreign governments, political parties and their agents.

The post Broadcasters Ask Court to Block Disclosure Mandate appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC Media Bureau has okayed a petition from iHeartMedia regarding foreign investors that hold its stock.

iHeart had asked the bureau to approve foreign interests held by Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd. and related entities totaling 6.8% equity and 8% voting interests in iHeart. It also asked for advance approval for GMEI and its entities to increase those interests up to 14.99%.

In an earlier 2020 ruling, the bureau had authorized up to 100% overall foreign investment in iHeart; at the time it approved two groups to hold more than the usual limit of 5%. The PIMCO Group could hold up to 32.99% of equity and 19.99% of voting interests while the Invesco Group could hold up to 19.99% of equity and voting. In making those rulings the FCC said iHeart would need its approval for any further foreign investment above 5%.

But then iHeart said it learned last February that GMEI — formerly called Honeycomb Investments Ltd. and based in the Bahamas — had independently acquired about 9.6 million shares of its stock on the NASDAQ exchange, about 6.6% of equity and 8.7% of voting interests.

iHeart notified the FCC and sought approval for those percentages, plus advance approval for GMEI to go up to 14.99%. (GMEI itself asked for approval to go up to 49.99% but later withdrew that request and fell back to the 14.99% figure.) iHeart said this ruling would incentivize foreign investment and benefit U.S. trade policy by encouraging reciprocal investment opportunities for U.S. companies abroad. It also said GMEI represents no national security or law enforcement concerns.

[See Our Business and Law Page]

So in short the latest FCC ruling grants approval for GMEI and its related entities to hold more than 5% of iHeart’s equity and/or voting interest as well as advance approval to increase its interests up to 14.99%. The previous approvals also remain in place: aggregate direct and/or indirect foreign ownership of iHeart above the usual 25% benchmark is allowed up to 100%; (2) approval for the PIMCO Group to hold up to 32.99% of equity and 19.99% of voting interests in the company; and (3) approval for the Invesco Group to hold up to 19.99% of the equity and voting interests.

The Media Bureau took input from a federal advisory committee on foreign participation, which found no concerns. iHeart will still have to obtain approval for additional foreign investors to hold more than 5% (or 10% for certain institutional investors).

iHeart estimated that following the FCC’s approval, direct and indirect foreign ownership of its capital stock would be “at a minimum, approximately 30% as to voting and 40% as to equity.” But that would not be an issue given the FCC’s previous ruling permitting iHeart aggregate foreign ownership up to 100%.

Read the ruling and the commission’s in-depth explanation of the case.

Comment on this or any article. Write to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post FCC Grants iHeart Petition on GMEI Foreign Investment appeared first on Radio World.

From our Who’s Buying What page: Triton Digital said radio group Fresh Media Bulgaria is using its audio streaming technology and services.

“Fresh Media Bulgaria will be able to provide Triton Digital’s cutting-edge Dynamic Ad Insertion technology to its publishers to effortlessly control and monetize content through precision-targeted audio ads,” the supplier said.

Fresh Media Bulgaria will also use Triton’s Supply Side platform Yield-Op to maximize revenue opportunities through programmatic ad buys.

Triton said Fresh Media Bulgaria is the largest radio group in the country. Its brands include BG Radio, Radio 1, NRJ, Radio City, Radio1 Rock, Veronika, Radio Nova and City TV.

The announcement was made by Fresh Media Bulgaria General Manager Nikolay Yanchovichin and Triton Digital Head of Global Revenue Stephanie Donovan.

Send news for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Fresh Media Bulgaria Deploys Triton Services appeared first on Radio World.

Manufacturer AEQ has named its distributors of the year.

Tommex is a an integrator in Poland that works in broadcast, corporate and multimedia AV environments. “It has been part of AEQ’s commercial network since 2019, and in the last 12 months its work has resulted in numerous installations of intercom systems in the country, both in production centers and in theaters or sports halls,” AEQ wrote in the announcement.

AEQ Distributors of the Year Tommex of Poland (left) and Jamiro Broadcast of Kenya. Falcon Technologies of India was also honored.

Falcon Technologies in India, broadcast division of the Eagle Group, has been an AEQ distributor for more than 20 years. Among its recent work are two large projects for the national radio television of India, which involved installations in 33 cities.

Jamiro Broadcast in Kenya is a recent addition to the AEQ distribution network. The company focuses on design, installation and launch of radio studios.

AEQ said that the work of its distributors and integrators has been particularly challenging because of the global pandemic. “But radio and television in the world have not stopped, they cannot stop, they are the source of information and entertainment for a very important part of the society.”

The post AEQ Names 2021 Distributors of the Year appeared first on Radio World.

Kenya’s Communications Authority is beginning the process of reclaiming unused frequencies across the country. CA Director-General Ezra Chioba made the announcement Dec. 22., saying the applicants and license holders have 30 days to bring their operations into compliance or their license would be cancelled.

According to The Standard newspaper in Nairobi, Chioba, who was appointed director-general in September 2021, came into office with an eye towards reforming Kenya’s regulatory framework for broadcasting. As part of this, he said the CA would begin repossessing unused broadcast licenses with the intent of redistributing them to new investors.

“We have in the last few weeks we reviewed and identified those culpable. Accordingly, we have decided to revoke target licenses. This will allow us to re-plan and re-allocate these resources to investors who demonstrate commitment to establish and offer viable broadcasting services,” Chioba said, according to The Standard.

[More Radio News from Around the World]

In the notice posted to the CA website, six groups of revocations are outlined, including the cancellation of license offers and revocation of FM frequencies for 60 broadcasters. That list includes large commercial stations like Capital FM, NRG Radio, and Mbaitu FM.

The frequencies in question, in some cases, are for additional transmitters, so the revocation does not mean that all the stations will leave the airways entirely.

In its report on the revocation, Capital FM’s owners stated: “We wish to assure our loyal listeners, clients and other stakeholders that the Management of Capital Group Limited is seized of the matter for total compliance,” using a legal phrase to say they were looking to ensure compliance.

In addition to the 60 license offers, the CA announced the revocation of four frequency assignments to license holders and 18 FM frequencies assignments to non-permit holders who had yet to apply for broadcasting licenses, as well as the rejection of 24 applications for commercial and community radio services who had yet to comply with licensing requirements including paying regulatory fees. Nineteen television licenses and three subscription-based broadcasting services were also marked for revocation of license offers for failure to act within the CA’s prescribed timeline.

Last year, Kenyan authorities announced plans to crackdown on “absentee” license holders and transfers of licenses without prior regulatory approval.

The post Kenyan Authorities Begin Reclaiming Frequencies appeared first on Radio World.

Gifts to yourself to start a new year right! John Bisset heads over to Ace Hardware with a few bucks in his pocket.

Also in this issue:

The FCC weighs the idea of EAS on the internet.

Buyer’s Guide looks at interesting applications of antennas and RF support products including a custom diplexed AM antenna system for CKSP.

And we feature winners of the Best in Market Awards for 2021.

Read it here.

The post Read the Dec. 22, 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

The Dec. 22 issue of Radio World features our Buyer’s Guide for antennas, RF support and power products. Buyer’s Guide features application stories like this one. 

CKNW(AM), a 50 kW station at 980 kHz, is an existing four-tower directional array located near Surrey, to the southeast of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

CKSP, a 600 kHz, 50 kW DA-D, 20 kW DA-N station operated by Sher-E-Punjab, a broadcaster specializing in South Asian news/talk content, was added to the site making use of two of the four towers. It required a diplexed directional antenna system designed and fabricated by Kintronic Labs to facilitate the simultaneous operation of both stations from the CKNW transmitter site.

According to Tom King, president/CEO of Kintronic Labs, project management of the diplexed AM directional antenna system project was conducted by Richard Sondermeyer of G.S.Broadcast Technical Services Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario. Final commissioning was conducted by Rob Elder, the Kintronic Labs field engineer.

The existing CKNW four-tower array is in the shape of a parallelogram, with two diagonally opposing towers oriented along a north–south line, and the other diagonally opposing towers oriented along a line rotated roughly 50 degrees clockwise from the center of the north–south line.

The NW tower is also the closest to the transmitter building, and its ATU building houses the CKNW power division/phasing networks as well as the tower matching network for this tower. The two towers on the north side of the array are those used for the new 600 kHz system, with the towers on the south side of the array detuned for 600 kHz.

The 600 kHz phasing and matching system was installed in a separate container located south of the CKNW transmitter building. The CKSP matching, filter and detune cabinets were installed in weatherproof housings and mounted on wooden platforms at the base of each of the towers.

The post CKSP Initiates Service via Diplexed AM Directional System appeared first on Radio World.

The following are in response to the Mark Persons article “Alike but Not Alike: Broadcast vs. Ham Radio.”

Well said

Having been an amateur radio operator for more than 67 years (and an occasional contributor to Radio World), I want to compliment Mark Persons on his article in the Oct. 27 issue.

It is the best explanation of the amateur radio hobby that I have ever read. There is nothing more that I could add to describe “hamming” to both the technical and non-technical, and I will rely on it to explain and recruit more hams to our hobby. 73.

John Seibels, K4AXV

 

Remembering the magic

I was a broadcaster first for a number of years and didn’t get licensed in amateur radio until 1990. In the early years, it seemed that many of the engineers I worked with were hams. Maybe not so much anymore. But one of them proved a worthy “Elmer” to me and got me up and running on ham over 30 years ago.

There are indeed many similarities, at least in the technical aspects. When I started in broadcasting, a Third Class License was required. Every person overseeing an air shift needed to take transmitter readings to ensure compliance in power output. Other “off-air” duties included making sure we powered down or up at the appropriate times to sunrise or sunset, check the tower lights and other similar tasks.

As time went on, the Third Class requirement was dropped, as were the requirements of the broadcasters to be knowledgeable of power readings, and such.

They were fun years: two turntables, three cart decks and a microphone staring you in the face. No automation, no computers. Even having time to use the bathroom on a six-hour shift was pretty much limited to the 4½-minute UPI news feed at the top of the hour.

My last years in broadcasting were distilled down to recording cuts and saving them with specified file names.

Of course, ham radio is more recreational. The content is not controlled by a station log but by the person on the other end of the QSO.

But there was still the magic of being on the other side of a microphone. If conditions were good, it was not unusual for me to work a number of QSOs before and after being on the air as a broadcaster.

I am grateful for the broadcast engineers I’ve known over the years, keeping us on the air with our broadcast stations as well as helping me get into ham radio. 73.

Scott McIntire, K7DXT

 

On the same frequency

I live in the Washington area and have been a pro broadcaster since 1979, but I didn’t jump into amateur radio until 2009. When I did it was with both feet. I even changed my ringtone on my cellphone to the Morse characters CQ, which hams use to call out over the air to talk to other hams.

As a frequent commuter bus rider, I often have to transfer at the Pentagon bus depot. Many of my fellow passengers are military folks who disembark there for their day of duties.

One morning my phone rang — “dah-dit-dah-dit, dah-dah-dit dah.”

I heard a loud guffaw went up from the back of the bus. One of the other passengers — either a ham or part of the Signal Corps — recognized the pattern and got my joke.

Broadcast radio and ham radio. Love ’em both.

Alan Peterson, KJ4IVD
National Production Director & Second Engineer
Radio America Network

The post Readers Celebrate Ham Radio appeared first on Radio World.

John Schmidt, P.E., is principal of John Schmidt Audio Video Systems Design in Hempstead, N.Y. For 36 years until retirement, he worked for ABC Television in New York as a senior audio video systems engineer, designing and supervising the installation of audio systems.

After reading a recent Workbench column, John offered a few suggestions to help the uninitiated create more problems than they solve when working with microphone cable shields.

Individuals involved in connecting analog audio equipment should familiarize themselves with two Audio Engineering Society standards: AES 48 and AES 54. These describe best practices in dealing with cable shields.

John’s first suggestion based on the guidelines is that the microphone cable shields need to be connected — typically to Pin 1 of an XLR connector, as seen in Fig. 1 — in a continuous, preferably isolated path from the mic to the input of the mic preamp.

Pin 1 is considered ground on a three-pin XLR.

Keep in mind that mics that utilize phantom power will not work without a shield (Pin 1) connection, as the cable shield provides a return path for the phantom power that operates the electronics inside the microphone.

Even if the mic does not use phantom power, failure to connect the shield may leave the mic circuit subject to hum or buzz due to capacitive coupling to one or the other of the active conductors, or interference due to RF pickup.

Now the issue moves to the line-level interconnects. Here there is a conflict between the practicality of the interconnecting equipment — which may not have been designed with best practice for grounding the shield connection (Pin 1 on the XLR) at the equipment interface — and requirements for RF immunity.

If all equipment was designed with proper termination of the shield connections for both its inputs and outputs, in accordance with AES 48, one would be advised to connect the shields of all input and output cables where they interface with the equipment at both ends. But as many of us have learned, this sometimes creates hum in the form of a ground loop.

At the expense of losing some RF immunity, connect the shield at only one end.

[Check Out More of Workbench Here]

If breaking the shield at one end solves your hum/buzz issue but leaves the equipment RF susceptible, try connecting the unterminated end of the shield to the metal case of the equipment through a small capacitor.

Transformer boxes can be useful, but John recommends specifying transformers with internal shields between the windings. Otherwise the capacitive coupling between the windings can pass interference.

Also keep in mind that some transformers have very poor frequency response when fed from a low-impedance source. If your circuitry is unbalanced, with the shield grounded at both the output and the input, and is carrying the return side of the audio signal, all bets are off, and you may really have a ground loop.

Finally, regarding analog video: Yes, the coax is fed with an unbalanced signal; however, most professional video equipment uses differential receive amplifiers, where the shield of the input is not grounded. The same is true for the unbalanced “composite” input of many FM exciters.

As readers can see, this is not a trivial issue.

John Schmidt’s website is www.john.schmidt.audio/main/.

A better way to model

On Oct. 29, Radio World reported on a proposal by Dielectric and other antenna manufacturers to allow computer modeling of FM directional antennas.

The FCC has opened a notice of proposed rulemaking to take industry comments about this. It says more than 2,000 full-service FM stations, more than 20 percent of them, use directional antennas. The change would allow any of them that replace existing antennas to avoid the expense of field measurements. It would apply not only to applicants for new FM facilities but to FM licensees applying for facility modifications.

An image from the Dielectric presentation to the Broadcasters Clinic about computational modeling of FM directional antennas.

John L. Schadler, a friend and former co-worker of mine when I was at Dielectric, outlined the studies that support this proposal in a presentation for the Broadcasters Clinic in October.

John’s presentation is available online and is fascinating. Of particular interest are the computer simulations John shows of FM coverage. Adjustment of parasitics or spacing yields nearly instantaneous display of the FM coverage pattern. These measurements, done physically on a range or in an anechoic chamber, currently take hours or days. In just a few minutes, patterns can be reliably modeled, modified or adjusted to meet coverage restrictions.

Final thought

Kuala Lumpur engineer Paul Sagi has followed our discussion of converting to LED lighting. He writes that heat is not the only enemy of LEDs; the wrong type of power supply can also shorten their life. LEDs work best on a constant current supply, rather than a constant voltage supply, which can also reduce their service time.

Got a great ideas? Share it! Tips for Workbench qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.

John Bisset, CPBE, is in his 31st year of sharing reader tips in Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award.

The post Workbench: The importance of microphone cable shields appeared first on Radio World.

The author is assistant chief engineer for Radio One Dallas.

When our station KSOC became the first in Texas to broadcast in HD Radio, we knew that we needed to be on top of our audio quality in order to best take advantage of the new technology. But like many stations we really had no idea where much of our music came from.

We knew that, although the songs in our playout system were all stored as uncompressed WAV files, at least some had originated as MP3 files. We wanted to find a way to identify those songs so that they could be replaced with pristine, uncompressed audio files.

It’s important to use the best-quality source material for on-air broadcast, but especially so when you are broadcasting in HD. The GIGO principle applies: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Kirk Harnack, senior solutions consultant at Telos Alliance, had this to say about broadcasting previously compressed source audio on an HD Radio station: “Audio that’s been psychoacoustically encoded and decoded is now missing the ‘low-hanging fruit’ that the original encoder identified and eliminated or modified. If we cascade another psychoacoustic audio encoding algorithm after the first one, the second encoder will not have the benefit of the natural audio’s content that was easy to eliminate.”

So it’s in our interest and that of our listeners to ensure that the audio we broadcast, which will be processed by the HD Radio encoder, hasn’t already been subjected to a lossy compression algorithm. With hard drive space as abundant and affordable as it is today, storage space is no longer a reason to obtain our music in a compressed format such as MP3.

But short of listening to every song in the library with a critical ear in a studio, how could we determine which songs had once been psychoacoustically compressed? All of our songs are now stored as WAV files so just looking at the file extension or the file size gives no hint whatsoever.

It turns out that there are certain clues visible in the spectrogram of an audio file that can help identify the formerly compressed songs. The most obvious one is the cutoff frequency used by the encoder.

When a file is compressed to MP3 format, the algorithm attempts to remove parts of the audio that the designers of the standard felt wouldn’t be missed by the human ear in an attempt to reduce file size.

Part of this is the cutoff of all audio content above a certain frequency. That frequency varies according to the bitrate of the MP3 compression scheme.

From my tests, it seems that a bitrate of 192 kbps results in a cutoff of audio above about 18 kHz. A rate of 128 kbps cuts off above 16–17 kHz. This is easy to see when looking at the spectrogram of an MP3 song.

See Fig. 1. Notice that at 17 kHz, the audio levels of this file are already in the noise floor.

Fig. 1: Spectrogram of “Crystal Ball” by Styx as MP3

Looking at the uncompressed version of the same song in Fig. 2, we don’t get to the –67 dB level until we reach the 21 kHz frequency range.

Fig. 2: The same song, linear uncompressed.

Put on your SoX
This finding allows us an opportunity to examine our library programatically. There is a command-line audio utility called “SoX” (for “sound exchange”) that we can use along with a scripting language to open files and examine their frequency content.

I decided to see if I could figure out how to use this utility to check out all our audio. The hope was that it would identify the songs that may have once been compressed so that we could examine these more closely and replace them if necessary.

I ended up with a Python script that loops through a folder with the audio files, opening each and using SoX to create a temporary file from the song after applying a high-pass filter at, say, 17 kHz. Then a second process takes the RMS amplitude value from this temporary file and compares it to a value previously discovered by experimentation. If below this nominal value, the file is flagged as a potential candidate for replacement.

These files can be examined manually with a program such as Audacity or Adobe Audition that offers a spectrogram view. The spectrogram can be examined and the file can be played in a controlled studio environment so that a determination can be made as to the need for replacement of the audio.

The line that creates the temporary high-pass-filtered audio file (filtered at 17 kHz) looks like this:

sox [original_filename] [output_file_name] sinc 17k

The code that does rest of the heavy lifting (determining the RMS value of the high-pass-filtered audio file) is a little scary looking:

sox output.wav -n stat 2>&1 | sed -n 's|^RMS amplitude:[^0-9]*\([0-9.]*\)$|\\1|p' >>../rms.txt

All this really does is take a look at the temp file (output.wav) and call up the stats of the file. Then the sed program searches the resulting statistical output for the phrase “RMS amplitude” and writes the numerical value of that stat to a file called rms.txt. The rest of the code, not shown here, inserts the name of the song or audio file alongside the RMS value of that file. We end up with a list that looks something like Fig. 3.

Fig. 3

In this case, any song with a value below 0.001 is suspect. Subsequent inspection of those songs’ spectrograms confirmed that they had a “flat top” at about 17 kHz, thus we know that, although they are WAV files now, they have likely been compressed at some point in the past. Those songs should be replaced with known linear audio.

It should be noted that at high bitrates such as 320 kbps, this method won’t work as well because the frequency cutoff is close to 20 kHz.

If you’d like the complete Python script, email me at swalker@radio-one.comand I will send it along.
Comment on this or any story. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post What’s in Your Audio Library? appeared first on Radio World.

(Getty Images/Pias Rahman)

The author is vice president and secretary of Seven Ranges Radio in St. Mary’s, W.Va.

The FCC is discussing adding requirements for backup power at radio stations and other key communications providers, in order to maintain service during emergencies.

A worthwhile idea — but it’s not going to happen without federal money.

In 2012 a “derecho” hit our market of some 20 stations. This straight-line wind event shut down power for a wide area. The next morning, only my suburban B-1 FM and an AM station in town were on the air carrying emergency information.

For most small to medium-market stations, the proposal is not going to happen unless the government pays for generator installation. Even for a small plant, generator installation can start at $7,000 and go up from there. And these small systems need continual, annual maintenance.

And that’s in “fly-over” country. In the East and West, infested with bureaucrats, installation costs may be double or triple that in order to satisfy all the government agencies.

I own three stations in Market No. 242, two FMs and a full-time AM, plus a fourth Class A FM at a small town some 40 miles out of the market. Also in this market are another five AM stations, five non-com FMs and seven commercial FM signals.

In town we have a full-time AM and a Class A FM. The AM tower is at the AM/FM’s studios. Our suburban B-1 is at a combined studio/transmitter site 20 minutes from downtown. Our fourth FM is programmed from there. Both studios have generators, and  that out-of-town FM has one at the transmitter site.

We installed our first generator some 25 years ago at our suburban B-1, not specifically for emergency broadcast but because the local public utility was so unreliable. It proved its value in 2012 when the “derecho” toppled several transmission towers at the local power plant. We were on generator power for a week.

But the transmitter site for our in-town FM has no backup. We’ve talked about installing a generator, but between COVID slowing sales and a certain government agency sucking up around $7,000 each year in “fees,” that’s been put off again this year. On our same tower at that site are a local non-com plus translators for four of the six AM stations in town.

But we are in better shape than the rest of the market. The “big group” owner in town doesn’t have working backup at any of their three FMs, nor at their studio. The other group owner can power three of their four FMs if someone goes out to start the generator manually. But they have no backup power at the studio.

One AM — also locally owned by former NAB board member John Wharff — has backup power for his station and its associated translator. His was the only station on-air in town the day after the derecho. But that’s the roster.

Come another big storm, our two AMs and my suburban B-1 will be the only sources of emergency information.

Require backups?

Should the FCC require communications providers including broadcasters to have backup power provision? Comment to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post A Genset Mandate? Only if Uncle Sam Pays appeared first on Radio World.

Peter Skiera

From a radio station that streams from underwater to a station composed of stream-of-consciousness thoughts from a New Yorker calling exclusively from payphones, there is a wealth of unique, charming, niche and bizarre internet radio stations out there online.

Radio World spoke with Peter Skiera, the creator and author of the “Recommended Stations” website that uncovers and highlights stations that listeners might not be able to uncover on their own. “Given that there’s over 61,000 internet radio stations from around the world, people understandably get overwhelmed trying to find stations, and they never discover many really good stations,” he told Radio World. “I figured it was time somebody sifted through all of these stations and made recommendations.”

The interview has been edited slightly for length and clarity.

Radio World: For the uninitiated, can you tell me a bit about the Recommended Station list and what it offers listeners?

Peter Skiera: The point of my monthly Recommended Station list is to make radio and music enthusiasts aware of different, interesting, great radio stations they probably would never have discovered on their own. Last month I recommended a station that specializes in music from the early 20th century. This month I recommend two holiday stations, both very different from what one would normally expect from a holiday station. Next month’s Recommended and Hitchhiker Stations are associated with outer space.

Once someone joins the Patreon membership platform for $1, they get access to all of the stations I’ve recommended, as well as future recommendations and occasional blog content. I just want to try to recover my website and blog expenses since this endeavor is entirely self-funded. I don’t accept advertising on my website, no companies sponsor my articles, and I don’t earn a commission for recommending a station or a CD or LP.

RW: Before we get to an explanation of what a “hitchhiker station” is, could you share the backstory on the creation of this service?

Skiera: There are people who recommend audio equipment, books, movies, restaurants, cars so why not internet radio stations? Given that there’s over 61,000 internet radio stations from around the world, people understandably get overwhelmed trying to find stations, and they never discover many really good stations. I figured it was time somebody sifted through all of these stations and made recommendations.

So I started writing Recommended Station articles for an audio company’s blog about every six months, highlighting between six and nine standout internet radio stations, really going into great deal detail about them, including interviewing station founders or music directors to get the story behind the station.

A couple of readers emailed me suggesting I put out a monthly Recommended Stations newsletter rather than writing an article every six months. It was a good idea, but finding and vetting stations is a lengthy process and there was no way I could come up with six or nine stations every month for a newsletter. I got the idea to do one Recommend Station a month along with one Hitchhiker Station and linked my recommendations to Patreon to help support my music-related blog. As far as I know, I’m the only person in the world who recommends internet radio stations on a monthly basis and purposely seeks out bizarre stations.

RW: Tell us a bit about the unearthing of a Hitchhiker Station? What do these stations do?

Skiera: I call them “hitchhiker” stations because searching internet radio is akin to picking up hitchhikers on the highway. You don’t know if the person getting into your car is a college professor or a serial killer. Honestly, I think I get more excited when I find a Hitchhiker Station than I do a Recommended Station because they’re so rare. I love discovering bizarre stations that would not exist were it not for the internet. Granted, they’re not stations you’d probably listen to for an extended period of time, or perhaps not at all, but it’s fascinating to learn about them.

RW: It’s surprising to hear how many free internet radio stations are out there. Can you tell me a bit about some of the niche stations you’ve found?

Skiera: I’m also amazed at the number of stations, and the list keeps growing every day. Many people have no idea about all of this free content. I’d be very surprised if you couldn’t find at least one internet station streaming your favorite music.

Examples of some of the stranger stations I’ve uncovered: There’s a station in Washington state that streams live audio from a microphone that’s 23 feet underwater. Trying find that on your AM or FM dial. Then there’s the internet station that has outdoor weather instruments connected to an analog synthesizer, so when you tune in you hear the current weather conditions expressed as a continuously changing frequency.

In the U.K., there’s an internet station that plays nothing but radio station jingles. But I think my favorite Hitchhiker Stations is Payphone Radio Network. The New Yorker who started it calls in and records his thoughts about whatever happens to be on his mind at the time and then plays the recordings over his internet station. The kicker is, he calls in exclusively from public payphones! Yes, Virginia, there are still payphones.

RW: When it comes to curating a list, is there a catalogue of criteria that you are looking for before including them on your list? Does distinctiveness, listenership or other qualities come into play when making a recommendation?

Skiera: My stations have to sound good. Some stations stream at low bit rates or have audio problems like random noise or large gaps of silence. I won’t recommend those. They also must stream reliably. I’m not interested in the guy who streams out of his garage three days a week between midnight and 5 am for seven months out of the year.

The station’s format is the real key. There are a ton of internet stations with the same format, be it classic rock, oldies, country, classical, rap or what have you. Most of them play the same songs. The stations I write about have to do something different.

Perhaps they mix in other types of music not normally associated with the genre, or they have a really different format altogether, or maybe the station’s founder has an interesting backstory that motivated him or her to start their station. Just about anything that makes a station stand out from the other 60,000 radio stations usually gets my attention.

This month I’ve been listening a lot to a Canadian internet station I discovered called “Easy Listening Christmas,” playing artists like Percy Faith, Hollyridge Strings, Manheim Steamroller, Ray Conniff Singers, etc. It’s old-school holiday music for sure but it won’t put you in a coma for Christmas.

RW: How do find out about some of the more obscure radio stations hiding in various corners of the internet?

Skiera: Believe me, it’s not easy. There isn’t a “bizarre” station category one can search under. Most of the time I find my Hitchhiker Stations purely by accident. I will be searching for a particular station and up pops a list of stations in the search results. I scroll through them and see a station with a curious name and tune it. Bingo! I found myself a Hitchhiker Station. But they are few and far between. On average I sample 10 internet stations a day. Sometimes I can audition 100 internet stations and not find a single Hitchhiker Station among them.

RW: Can you share a bit about your music blog and the kind of music/stories you gravitate to?

Skiera: Ordinarily, I try to keep my blog articles (which are free) music-related. I devote a lot of time researching and crafting each one.

In October I traveled to Minneapolis to visit some Prince landmarks and wrote an article about it. In December I posted an article examining strange holiday music, including an album of Christmas music played on hand saws and a group of 80 harmonica players who recorded several Christmas songs in a garage!

I recently posted an article featuring Dean Martin’s backup singers, The Golddiggers. I tracked down five of the original members and interviewed them about the Christmas record they released in 1969 and about working with Martin. I also spoke with the producer of the record.

I also plan to post an exclusive, extensive interview I did with composer Paul Zaza who scored the soundtrack to A Christmas Story among many others.

I love music and radio. I love learning. I love painting pictures with words. And I love interviewing people. Everyone has a story to tell. It could be about anything. I enjoy telling people’s stories as it relates to the subject matter.

Case in point: A few months ago, I recommended a U.S. station called Crooner Radio and interviewed the station’s founder who I knew nothing about beforehand. In the course of my interview, I found out he knew Frank Sinatra and other big-name crooners, some of whom gave him previously unreleased recordings to play on his internet station. He is also a singer himself but never made any records. I love opening a door and finding a wonderful surprise.

RW: Can you been interested in music/radio for some time?

Skiera: I worked in radio broadcasting for almost seven years in various capacities throughout New England, including operations manager, DJ, promotion director, talk show producer, news announcer and board operator. I was a DJ at my college station, WERS(FM), I interned at WBCN(FM) in Boston, and my first radio job was with WPRO(AM) in Rhode Island. Radio is still very dear to my heart. I also worked in consumer audio at companies like B&W loudspeakers, Rotel, and Cambridge SoundWorks.

I took accordion lessons for a year when I was a teenager and piano lessons about 20 years ago, but I didn’t stick with either. I’m not gifted musically. I’m very jealous of people who have mastered a musical instrument. It’s truly a gift from God. Maybe when I retire 20 years from now, I’ll be able to dedicate the time necessary to learn an instrument.

RW: Is there anything else you’d like our readership to know about the kind of work you’re doing here?

Skiera: Internet radio is the new shortwave. You can tune stations a few miles away or from almost any part of the world without needing a shortwave radio and fiddling with an antenna. All you need is a stable Wi-Fi network and an internet radio or an app on your smartphone or computer. I live in an area with poor terrestrial radio reception, so internet radio is a godsend for me, and the sound quality is excellent.

There are so many music lovers who have no idea how much internet radio has to offer (and for free) or who are afraid of the technology. It’s my mission to make the medium less intimidating and expose great — and strange — internet stations for people to enjoy. As my website’s motto says: Stop Searching. Start Listening.

The post Delving into Quirky, Compelling Corners of the Internet Radio Universe appeared first on Radio World.

TASCAM has introduced a new line of analog cassette tape.

You read that right.

It’s been a long time since we got a press release about a new line of cassettes, but TASCAM says “many aspiring and professional audio recording aficionados adamantly maintain that analog recording and the ‘good old days’ of tape will never be replaced by today’s random access digital solutions.”

The TASCAM 424 Studio Master High Bias Type II Cassette tape is being issued in a limited edition. It is meant as a companion to the company’s Portastudio series cassette recorders.

“The 424 Studio Master C-60 was developed for the 50th anniversary of TASCAM as a tribute to their rich heritage,” the company said in the announcement.

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“In 1979, TASCAM/TEAC created the 144 Portastudio, the world’s first portable home studio integrating a mixer and multi-track recorder. The 144 truly revolutionized home recording for the masses, and an infinite number of artists and musicians created their music on a Portastudio. The 144 Portastudio and other follow up Portastudios such as the 244, 246, Porta One, Porta-02, 424 series and more used inexpensive and easily found Type II High Bias cassettes. In the early 1980s TASCAM created the legendary ‘gold reel’ cassettes, which are now collector items. But today, any high bias type II cassettes are very hard to find.”

The 424 cassette was developed with National Audio Company Inc., a manufacturer of cassette tape and duplicator of recorded music cassettes. TASCAM quoted Steve Stepp, president of National Audio Company, saying, “These new cassettes are, without a doubt, the optimal media to use on vintage TASCAM Portastudios.”

The design recalls the original TEAC shell with miniature gold reels.

Submit announcements for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post TASCAM Offers a New Cassette Tape appeared first on Radio World.

(Photo Illustration by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Groups representing Deaf and hard-of-hearing people told the FCC it needs to mandate that emergency alerts appear on wireless devices, and recommends that streaming services like Netflix and Hulu carry them as well.

That came in comments on the FCC’s inquiry into how to improve its EAS emergency alert system.

The FCC is under orders from Congress to report back on the feasibility of extending the EAS mandate to over-the-top video given the rise in popularity of video streaming services.

The groups focused mainly on wireless and the need for those who have cut the TV cord to be able to get alerts via their smartphones, but in a footnote, they also said: “It is also recommended that messages be sent through streaming services so as to be accessible even for consumers who have cut the cord.”

[Previously: FCC Asks: Should Legacy EAS Be Redesigned Altogether?]

They also put in a pitch for government grants to nonprofits (like themselves) “that have direct engagement with the disability community,” so that they can “encourage further training and awareness on how to enhance emergency communications, awareness, preparation, and responses.”

Among the 20 groups joining in the comments were Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, AccesSOS, American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, and the Clear2Connect Coalition.

Streamers have argued their OTT services should not be required to participate in that system, saying it would not appreciably increase the number of people who get such alerts, but would appreciably increase the burden on streamers if they were required to deliver them. And the obligation would not just be on the major streaming video services, they said, but Peleton, and even online instructional yoga videos.

Broadcasters and cable operators agree that streaming companies should not be required to carry the alerts.

Cable broadband operators have told the FCC that the combination of already-required broadcast, cable and wireless alerts “are more than sufficient to convey timely and relevant emergency and public safety information to the public.”

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Disability Groups: Streamers Should Carry Emergency Alerts appeared first on Radio World.

Ten college radio stations have been named recipients of the 2021 Spirit of College Radio Awards.

The program is from organizers of the annual World College Radio Day event.

“The Spirit of College Radio Awards are presented by the College Radio Foundation in recognition of truly outstanding and spirited efforts made by college radio stations on World College Radio Day, which happened on Oct. 1 this year,” they wrote in the announcement. “The theme for this year’s WCRD event was ‘In Tough Times, We Thrive.’”

“Stations are voted for by the team that organizes World College Radio Day, who seek to shine a spotlight on college radio stations that not only go above and beyond to celebrate the annual WCRD event but also embody the passion and mission of college radio.”

The announcement was made by Rob Quicke, founder of College Radio Day. The list includes seven stations in the United States along with stations in Costa Rica, Greece and the Philippines.

The recipients:

• Aggie Radio 92.3 KBLU LP Logan — Utah State University (USA)
• RADIO-E — Universidad de Costa Rica (Costa Rica)
• The Revolution, Rev 89 — Colorado State University- Pueblo (USA)
• UPFM — University of Patras Radio (Greece)
• UST Tiger Radio — University of Santo Tomas (Philippines)
• WKNC 88.1 HD-1/HD-2 — North Carolina State University (USA)
• WLMC Landmark College Radio — Landmark College (USA)
• WMSC 90.3 FM — Montclair State University (USA)
• WOLF Radio — University of West Georgia (USA)
• WWSU 106.9 FM — Wright State University (USA)

The post Winners Announced in Spirit of College Radio Awards appeared first on Radio World.

Local radio revenue in the United States will increase 16% this year from its pandemic trough of 2020, and should continue to climb in 2022 though at a slower rate of about 6%. That’s according to projections from BIA Advisory Services.

The research company released this chart showing recent and projected local revenue from radio’s over-the-air and digital platforms.

After the obvious ditch in 2020, BIA thinks radio local ad revenue will edge up to $12.79 billion this year and $13.54 billion in 2022. That’s still shy of where it was in 2019.

BIA projects that the digital portion will be 16% next year compared to about 14% three years before.

More broadly, BIA increased its 2022 U.S. local ad forecast across media to $173.3 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $161.5 billion.

“The 2022 forecast indicates an 11.4 percent increase over 2021 due to faster than anticipated growth in digital advertising and a strong political year,” it said in its announcement.

SVP and Chief Economist Mark Fratrik called 2021 “a year of fluctuations,” with strong growth in the first half, then a stall when the Delta variant emerged. “We’ve taken pandemic concerns plus inflation and supply chain issues into account to prepare our local media estimates and, overall, we are bullish on ad revenue for 2022.”

Over-the-top (OTT) will grow about 57 percent this year, “surpassing the growth of mobile as consumers continue to embrace various streaming services on their TV screens.” Mobile, direct mail and PC/laptop continue as the top paid media channels for 2022.

Local television is slated to grow about 28 percent in 2022, boosted by political ads.

BIA also said political spending is expected to be “very large” next year.

The post Local Radio Revenue Projected Up 16% This Year appeared first on Radio World.

Eleven engineers who developed recommendations for loudness in internet audio streaming and on-demand applications are being honored by the Audio Engineering Society.

The inaugural AES President’s Award, which recognizes group collaborations, went to David Bialik, Rob Byers, Jim Coursey, Eelco Grimm, Bob Katz, John Kean, Scott Norcross, Robert Orban, Shawn Singh, Jim Starzynski and Alessandro Travaglini.

They were honored for technical achievement in drafting TC document TD1008: “Recommendations for Loudness of Internet Audio Streaming and On-Demand Distribution.”

“This award recognizes that contributions to the goals of the AES are often made collaboratively in groups,” the society wrote in its announcement. “The President’s Award may be given to a group of individuals in recognition of diligent and significant joint efforts on behalf of the Audio Engineering Society — those efforts making substantial contributions to the science or application of audio engineering.”

The society held an online ceremony last week honoring all of its recipients.

Its highest technical award, the AES Gold Medal Award, was presented to Richard Factor and Tony Agnello “for making the world sound better — and often weirder — through the continuous development of signal processors that inspire users and delight listeners.” Factor is co-founder and chairman of Eventide Audio, Agnello is managing director.

AES Fellowship Awards were presented to Ian Dennis, Mark Ethier, Paul Gallo, Leslie Gaston-Bird, Alexey Lukin, Doug McClement and Valerie Tyler.

AES Board of Governors Awards were given to Aníbal Ferreira, Valerie Tyler, Joel Brito, Paul Womack,  Jonathan Wyner, Ruud Kaltofen, Bert Kraaijpoel, Michael Fleming and Bill Crabtree.

Those and other award announcements can be viewed on the AES YouTube channel. The awards ceremony program with recipient bios is online.

The post Loudness Recommendations Are Honored by AES appeared first on Radio World.

BIA Advisory Services has released its 2020 list of the top-billing radio stations in the country.

The chart is below. Again this list is for last year; BIA’s list is usually issued earlier but like every other business, the company has seen its normal routines disrupted lately. Its list for 2021 won’t be out for a while.

At $62 million, Hubbard’s WTOP(AM) in Washington leads the 2020 list of estimated revenue by a whopping margin, way ahead of the No. 2, iHeart’s KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, and more than twice everyone else’s number.

Compared to 2019, WLTW(FM) moved from fourth to third in the rankings, but KBIG slid from third to seventh. WSB(AM) in Atlanta entered the 2020 rankings in fourth place, and WCBS(AM) in New York City was knocked out of the top ten.

The top 10 in 2019 were:

1. WTOP(AM)
2. KIIS-FM
3. KBIG-FM
4. WLTW(FM)
5. WHTZ(FM)
6. WFAN(AM)
7. WINS(AM)
8. WCBS(AM)
9. WBBM(AM)
10. WBZ(AM)

The post WTOP Was Top Biller Again in 2020 appeared first on Radio World.

A FM translator station in Rhode Island that allegedly failed to file a license renewal application on time is being told to pay a $5,000 monetary forfeiture, down from an original amount of $7,000.

Federal Communications Commission rules state that broadcasters must apply for a license renewal no later than the first day of the fourth month before the expiration of the license. If a station has not filed a license renewal application on time, the station has no authority to continue operation past the expiration date unless it receives a Special Temporary Authorization (STA) from the commission.

In the case of DiPonti Communications, licensee of FM translator W276DF in Westerly, R.I, the license was set to expire on Nov. 8, 2017. The issue was complicated by the fact that the station’s prior licensee — Harvest Broadcasting Association — received a one-year, short-term renewal on Nov. 8, 2016, as part of a consent decree with the bureau. (Harvest and DiPonti filed an application for consent to assign the license from the former to the latter on Nov. 3, 2016, several days after the consent decree and several days before the short-term renewal grant.) The Media Bureau also granted Harvest’s request to relocate the station from Vermont to Rhode Island so the station could rebroadcast DiPonti’s station, WBLQ(AM).

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The next steps moved smoothly: DiPonti constructed at the new Rhode Island location, filed a covering application to license the new facilities and received a covering license by the bureau that reminded the licensee that the station license would expire on Nov. 8, 2017. The bureau made clear that the covering license the station received did not extend the station’s license term — even though the license substituted the new Rhode Island facilities for the prior Vermont facilities.

That meant that DiPonti should have filed a license renewal application by July 1, 2017, which would have been the first day of the fourth full calendar month prior to the Nov. 8, 2017, expiration date. But DiPonti did not do so — not until three years later on Sept. 11, 2020. It also did not request an STA to continue operating under terms of the expired license until Sept. 16, 2020.

While DiPonti acknowledged that the 2020 application was late, the licensee did not realize that the license had expired when it did.

On Sept. 21, 2021, the bureau released a notice of apparent liability proposing a forfeiture of $7,000 — $3,000 for failing to file the renewal application on time and $4,000 for operating without authorization.

Soon after DiPonti asked the bureau to consider reducing the amount because that there was a discrepancy between expiration dates in the consent decree and in the FCC’s Licensing and Management System (LMS) database. But the FCC disagreed and said that an LMS error could not have caused the violations because that database did not come online until 21 months after DiPonti missed the renewal filing deadline.

DiPonti filed another petition for reconsideration and argued several new points, including that DiPonti was not responsible for Harvest’s misconduct that resulted in the short-term renewal; DiPonti’s broadcasts after the expiration date provided a public service without causing interference to any other stations; DiPonti had a clean record of compliance; the bureau incorrectly discounted the LMS database error since the same incorrect information appears in the existing Consolidated Database System; the violation was for a shorter period of time than the bureau suggested; and DiPonti was unaware that its license had expired because the commission continued to assess regulatory fees that showed the station as properly licensed. To support these arguments, DiPonti submitted copies of regulatory bills, database printouts and a covering license document.

After assessing DiPonti’s second petition, the Media Bureau agreed with some of the licensee’s arguments, including the suggestion that the station was serving the public interest and that DiPointi’s violations do not constitute serious violations.

As a result, bureau adjusted the forfeiture in light of DiPointi’s history of compliance and admitted that there is a remote possibility that a database error might have contributed to the confusion. As a result, the bureau said DiPponti is now liable for a forfeiture of $5,000.

The post FM Translator Issued $5,000 Forfeiture for Late Filing, Unauthorized Operation appeared first on Radio World.