Radio World

To address misinformation about COVID-19 in local areas, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is awarding a total of $275,000 in emergency grants to 14 public media stations across the country.

The grants — up to $20,000 each — will go to public television and radio stations in areas with low vaccination and high infection rates or in hotspots with a growing number of coronavirus infections.

Funding will be used to produce or extend programming about the pandemic, to organize community outreach efforts about vaccines and to develop multiplatform public service announcement campaigns.

“Public media stations, locally operated, work with their communities through partnerships of trust,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB president and CEO. “General managers of stations serving America’s communities that are hard hit by the pandemic are committed to breaking through the cycle of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and are providing information that is saving lives.”

Some of the 14 grants include Mississippi Public Broadcasting in Jackson, Miss. The station will produce a series of radio and television broadcast specials focused on COVID-19. The station will also host a virtual town hall with medical experts and produce a social media campaign designed to combat information. Others, like Wyoming Public Media is Laramie, Wyo., will spotlight personal testimonials about COVID infections and increase newsroom reporting on the pandemic’s impact on the state economy. In the east, West Virginia Public Broadcasting in Charleston, W.Va., will orchestrate a multiplatform outreach effort to younger audiences in communities that have been vaccine hesitant.  The station will also work with kids programs like PBS KIDS to reach families with young children.

Other station’s include Arkansas PBS in Conway, Ark., Boise State Public Radio in Boise, KERA in Dallas, Nine PBS in St. Louis, KRSU in Tulsa, Okla., KOSU in Stillwater, Okla., Louisiana Public Broadcasting and WRKF in Baton Rouge, WBHM in Birmingham, Ala., WCTE in Cookeville, Tenn., and WJCT Public Media in Jacksonville, Fla.

 

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Getty Images/Dmitri Lobyrev Eyeem

The author of this commentary is communication lecturer and faculty director at WGSU(FM)  at SUNY Geneseo, Rochester, N.Y.

Many years ago, more than I care to remember, I heard a radio interview with a major rock artist of the time. I think it was the late Tom Petty. As I recall, the interviewer asked about his politics. His response was something along the lines of, “Man, I’m for everybody.”

It was an astute reply by a savvy public figure recognizing: a.) He was a music artist, not a politician or expert on all things; b.) He had fans of, undoubtedly, many political stripes; and c.) He didn’t want to alienate any of those fans, which was smart — if in a purely financial sense.

Four decades later, celebrities, corporations and, yes, even radio stations big and small seem to glom onto the latest social fad, fancy or frenzy by posting symbols such as colorful flags or raised fists.

Is it wise for radio stations?

Signaling virtue?

The marketers might say so. After all, what’s more important than connecting with the “youth audience” no matter the cause, wrongly viewing “youth” as a monolithic group.

I think they’re wrong — and that Tom Petty was right.

Customizing social-media logos, for instance, to conform with the latest cultural or social fad often represents, at best, virtue signaling — potentially alienating up to half a station’s listeners or more, if many — including those supporting a particular cause — view it as disingenuous corporate pandering, which, let’s be honest, it frequently is.

Consider the reactions to some of the most inane virtue-signaling social-media posts by big corporations. When followers asked Oreo, for instance, “But what does this have to do with cookies?!” … it’s a really good question. And how many radio stations shared rainbow-flag images in June but were too afraid to post the U.S. flag on Memorial Day, Flag Day and Independence Day, even though most of their listeners are Americans … living in America?

This isn’t to suggest that radio stations should avoid ever taking a stand on anything, which would be rather bland — especially for formats, such as talk, with consistent political slants.

But, for others, especially music-formatted stations, first know your audience, and ask yourself beforehand: Is it worth it? Do I really want to potentially alienate up to half — or more — of my listeners? Then think about your own motivation: Is it genuine? Or could it be seen as “jumping on the bandwagon” and pandering, if, deep down, there’s a good chance it is?

For many consumers, virtue signaling (“woke smoke” from “woke capitalism”) is growing wearying and off-putting, with a strong chance of backlash. So whether selling Oreo cookies or trying to reach radio audiences in especially challenging times for legacy media, why make the effort even harder by potentially alienating half your customer base? Instead, consider adhering to the venerable business-school advice: “Stick to the knitting“ — with what you know.

Tom Petty had it right: Just be “for everybody.”

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor“ in the subject field.

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Joe Schifano

This is one in a series of interviews with companies planning to exhibit at the 2021 NAB Show in October.

Joe Schifano is senior director of business development at NPR Distribution.

Radio World: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends that radio professionals should be watching for at the show?

Joe Schifano: The convergence of broadcast radio and IP delivery of audio. Automobile dashboards are becoming an entertainment center, and broadcast radio will need to remain a player in the automobile.

RW: What will be your most important news or message for attendees?

Schifano: The move of our Hub product from a standalone service to sharing the same platform as our flagship public radio product ContentDepot. The move to the ContentDepot platform will greatly improve the user interface. It will also enable us to share features of ContentDepot such as MetaPub, permissioning of programming, receiver monitoring as well as spot insertion.

RW: What specifically will be new? And how is it different from what’s on the market?

Schifano: We are in the final stage of upgrading our Hub product. What we are finding are that networks that have been supporting their own content distribution — satellite and/or terrestrial — do not want to be in the uplink business anymore. They want someone else to manage their distribution system so that they can concentrate on other parts of their business — like creating revenue.

The great thing about the Hub is that the content creator maintains control of the content, and who it’s delivered to, without the headache of managing an uplink operation.

No more cap-ex discussions or maintenance of an aging infrastructure. No more calls in the middle of the night because of an uplink problem that needs to be taken care of immediately. No more paying for never-ending support contracts on the system you purchased or worrying about software upgrades.

Promotional image for NPR Distribution Hub.

The only piece of equipment needed at the content provider’s location is an audio codec. Everything else is located at our facilities in Washington, D.C. Additionally, we are fully redundant with a manned location in St. Paul, Minn. Our new interface simplifies the process of scheduling programs, spots, cues and more. Localization of programming and spots becomes much easier, which in turn enables more revenue opportunities.

RW: Affiliates of the public radio satellite system have been in the process of completing a major receiver switchover. What’s the status of that?    

Schifano: The project is complete. Our headend was completely replaced, as well as all the receivers at nearly 400 public radio stations. We are now fully redundant at our primary location and backup location.

RW: Will your booth or customer interactions change because of the pandemic?

Schifano: Although we will have a team on the floor in the Central Hall, it probably will not be our complete team. At least for the October show, we will be making use of remote meeting technology to answer any questions that may come up.

After a long 18 months of the pandemic, our team is anxious to see both our existing customers as well as prospects in person. Although we have survived in the virtual world, we really are looking forward to things getting back to normal.

Readers looking for more information on NPR Distribution’s Hub service can visit https://www.nprds.org/hub.

The post NPR Distribution Improves Its Hub appeared first on Radio World.

Ben Palmer, right, succeeds his late father Mike as president of Arrakis Systems.

Benjamin Palmer has been named the president of Arrakis Systems, following the death of his father, founder Michael Palmer.

The firm’s ownership remains in the Palmer family. Siblings Aaron Palmer and Melissa Freeman also work at the company, in software development and automation respectively.

[Read: Mike Palmer, Founder of Arrakis, Dies at 69]

Ben Palmer joined the company in 2008 after graduating from Brigham Young University with a degree in manufacturing engineering. His roles have included worldwide sales manager, webmaster, sales engineer and vice president.

During his tenure, Ben Palmer developed software for the web-based Arrakis inventory control system, and was buyer and manager of purchasing for manufacturing. He developed software for employee time accounting, and created the Arrakis music libraries. He was the sole hardware design engineer for the DARC surface AOIP mixing console, ARC-5 analog console, Harmony Soundcard, Harmony Switcher and dual channel mic preamp; and completed the software design for the DARC Virtual AoIP console software product.

 

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Liz Muller and C.E. Simon

During the global pandemic and under lockdown, theatrical stage director and performer Liz Muller had to find a fresh medium to express her creative vision. In starting this new chapter, she co-produced four immersive audio podcasts — “Three Ghosts” and the trilogy “AFTERWORDS.”

“Three Ghosts” is a musical based on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The cast included 46 people worldwide, and they all recorded independently during the height of the pandemic. It was released Dec. 20, 2020.

“AFTERWORDS” is described as “emotional, hilarious, scary, sad and totally vulgar stories.” Episode 1, The Mouse & The Cat, was released on May 31, 2021.

No stranger to immersive productions in a theatrical setting, it wasn’t a stretch for Muller to take the leap into audio storytelling. She already had the basis with Pipe Dream Theatre, the production company she co-founded with collaborator, partner and composer C. E. Simon.

Live theater, immersive audio

However, it was a distinct challenge to be able to take live theatrical productions and adapt them to immersive podcasts.

Theatrical productions often involve 40 to 50 actors speaking their lines, vocalists, musicians, as well as a composer and sound designer.

As Muller explained, it was no small feat to be able to corral all of that talent, remotely, let alone secure recordings.

“To jump into 3D sound and decide to create immersive podcasts of that nature was an undertaking for certain,” said Muller. “Everyone’s got GarageBand, but a lot of people have never touched it, or they don’t have a microphone, or they’re recording on their iPhones, which is wild.”

She added, “Nobody is ever in a studio with me. I record the entire show, all parts, all voices, everything. And then I chunk it up into phrases, and I send it out to all of the cast members. And then they record themselves independently. Then I receive massive amounts of dialogue, and then compile it.”

Harnessing ambience

Muller said that because studio sessions weren’t possible, all of the voiceover work is recorded by the talent on readily available USB microphones and other devices. Studio treatments are encouraged, and audio is cleaned up afterwards.

“Most of our cast use their own USB microphones, since they are all over the world,” said Muller. “Some people are on their iPhones, and I’ve got them hanging a blanket up in a corner just to dampen the sound. And then we use effects and plugins, and get rid of gurgles, crackles, and whatever else is going on.”

Muller explained that there are a lot of variables when talent record their parts remotely.

“We still get these files with this crazy ambient noise and we’re like, ‘Are you at the airport?’” said Muller. “And it’s just like cleaning and mending, so that we can create the best product possible.”

Muller said that there’s also a challenge when you have so many recordings supplied from talent, all with different ambiences to contend with.

“Dealing with 50 different room ambiences is bonkers, and then getting that to sound like it’s even remotely in the same place. Sometimes it’s just trickery,” said Muller.

Theater informs storytelling

Muller said that C. E. Simon is involved in all aspects of the production. This includes writing, score, podcast sound design, Foley and mixing.

“He is the composer, he writes the script, he does all of the final podcast sound design,” said Muller. “He does all the Foley work and it comes from either libraries or subscription-based stuff. Or literally it’s us with a digital Tascam DR40, running around making noises and slamming doors and going up stairs, recording all of that.”

Muller and Simon both approach immersive audio storytelling much like they would approach a theatrical stage production or a musical.

“As a stage director, whenever I see words or hear music, I inevitably see the pictures of what people are doing,” said Muller.

“As Simon and I are working on the audio telling of a story, we look at each scene as we might as stage directors. Such as when there are two people in a room. They’re sitting down at a table and then they have to get up. There has to be movement. And now we’re just doing it with sound instead of visual.”

She added: “What we’ve learned is that it’s very hard to put a sound right in front of you. If there’s a human being in real life, right in front of you, you don’t hear sound like this. You hear sound globally, like it’s around you. A lot of times it’s more effective to pan it to the side or put it behind you because it’s a surprise.”

Some nuts and bolts

In terms of recording her own voiceovers, Muller uses a Shure Beta 58A mic through a Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface. The primary audio work is done in Logic Pro X. All of the assets from the remote talent are merged into Logic Pro by Muller. Muller then performs the pre-mixes for each scene, which includes the “comping” of the takes from the talent.

She puts together a first pass for timing, for tempo, and to capture the rhythm of scenes. Then she hands it off to Simon for further mixing and scoring. Simon uses the Accusonus ERA Bundle Standard for most of the audio repair. Once in the closing stages, Muller and Simon dial in the final mix of the podcast.

Muller said that if someone is planning to do immersive audio podcasts, especially on this scale, it’s a good idea to have others to help.

“Anybody jumping into 3D audio podcasts, get yourself a team,” said Muller. “It is not easy, and it’s time-consuming. It’s definitely different from working in stereo sound. But it’s so worth it.”

Ian Cohen covers pro audio, immersive audio, storytelling and music creation. He’s producer/host at Malibu’s 99.1 FM KBUU.

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The leaders of every state broadcast association with an annual summer or fall conference have been asking themselves the same questions lately, trying to determine the best and safest way to hold their events in light of the ever-evolving COVID situation.

The Georgia Association of Broadcasters is one of the associations with an event on the fall calendar. The challenges to show organizers are reflected in its latest email to members:

“The GAB board of directors, along with our staff and partners, have been in deep discussion on how best to approach this year’s convention, GABCON, the GABBY Awards banquet and our Hall of Fame luncheon,” wrote Bob Houghton and David Hart, GAB president and chairman, respectively.

[Visit the Radio World Calendar]

“At this time, we are continuing to move forward with our live, in-person events as scheduled for Oct. 22–23. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to monitor the current public health situation and make adjustments if needed.”

Local rules in Atlanta mean that unless something changes by October, GAB attendees will have to wear masks indoors at the conference, regardless of vaccination status, except when eating or drinking. Masks will be available on site. Visitors must also consent to touchless temperature checks.

Houghton and Hart encouraged members to register for the event, saying that if a person later changes their mind and wants to cancel, they will get a full refund without penalty. GAB also is offering a 50% registration discount through the end of August.

Other upcoming regional events on the broadcast industry calendar include the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Broadcasters Clinic and the Virginia Association of Broadcasters Annual Convention, both in September; the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Sound Bites 2021 conference and the Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference, co-produced by the state associations of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, both in November; and the previously postponed Alabama Broadcasters Association conference in January.

Submit news about your event to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

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The author is chief engineer of Minnesota Public Radio.

Legacy T1 circuits have long provided radio broadcasters with a reliable way to contribute and distribute program audio. The telecom industry’s transition to IP has introduced challenges to broadcasters with existing T1 infrastructures.

While many of these TDM-based networking and transport systems remain in service, the price of T1 circuits continues to rise while quality of service has grown uneven. Telcos have also shortened contractual renewals for these circuits, with an obvious eye toward a T1 sunset.

Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media, with 46 public radio stations and 41 translators serving listeners in eight states, are among those that retain a high-performing T1 infrastructure for audio contribution and distribution.

[Read More Buyers Guide Reviews Here]

We currently operate a hybrid infrastructure that includes IP codecs from a mix of vendors.

Management of our long-distance connections to the PRSS NOC is among my key responsibilities. Our APM program portfolio, which includes BBC World Service, C24 and Marketplace, reaches nearly 17 million listeners each week. To maintain that level of listenership we need to ensure our programs reach ContentDepot in Washington, and for this we have long relied on GatesAir Intraplex T1 equipment.

With T1 services fading, we are transitioning these circuits to IP with GatesAir. We now uplink a number of live streams using Intraplex IP Link 200 codecs. Full-time 24/7 streams include the BBC World Service and our own C24 Classical Music Service. BBC is delivered from London, while we originate C24 in our St. Paul studios.

The reliability of IP-type circuits is proven, but giving up the circuit diversity that T1 offers was a concern. We have found that the IP Link 200 does the job well, including the transatlantic hop from London.

We have also established a bidirectional link between Washington and Los Angeles, and we intend to serve more points from St. Paul with additional codecs. We expect to have more than 20 IP Link 200s in service before long.

We’ve gained experience with codecs over the years, and the IP Link 200’s feature set is impressive. It’s ideal for our deployment strategy with its advanced functionalities, including two bidirectional feeds and additional front-panel monitoring/GUI features when needed.

Most important is GatesAir’s Dynamic Stream Splicing software, which lets us send multiple identical streams over two separate paths to borrow data from each other in compensation for packet loss. We also use Intraplex LiveLook software to monitor stream performance and network conditions. Both systems, notably DSS, have been invaluable to our daily operations and stream reliability.

The DSS software adds even more value when using public internet. Experience has confirmed that the IP Link 200 performs reliably and consistently over two public internet circuits with stream splicing. I expect that our first IP-based STL will be GatesAir as well.

Our initial goals with the T1 to IP transition have been modest. We wanted to efficiently and reliably deliver program audio from point A to point B, and show our staff the potential these units offer as we expand our contribution and distribution services. The IP Link 200 has encouraged us to look beyond T1 and transition more of our contribution and distribution services to IP.

Info: Contact Keith Adams at GatesAir at 1-513-459-3447 or visit www.gatesair.com.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

 

The post User Report: MPR Tackles T1 to IP Transition With GatesAir appeared first on Radio World.

As director of Omnia radio processing sales for Telos Alliance, I get to talk to some very IT-savvy engineers who have either moved their audio processing into virtual environments or are flowcharting future deployment.

From these conversations, I created a checklist of some things you should consider before virtualizing your audio processing.

Before we dive into the list, however, we should answer the most often-asked questions: “What is this virtualization business? And why is it useful?”

Virtualization

Virtualization is the concept of taking a server and, with the help of virtualization software, partitioning it so that it appears as several virtual servers running their own operating system, allowing the user to employ the server for several different applications instead of just one.

As applied to audio processing, imagine running hundreds of FM, HD or stream-processing instances, delivering content where needed and backed up on-premise or off-premise (cloud).

Why virtualize?

There are a number of good arguments for virtualization. Among them:

• Less dedicated broadcast hardware. Saves on IT costs and electricity, too.
• Backup, disaster recovery, redundancy and uptime. Think multiple servers to load balance or for failover, keeping your infrastructure more available and allowing for multiple backups or cloud deployment.
• Local studio rule changes. Send FM composite direct to transmitter sites over redundant paths using Omnia’s µMPX codec (MoIP or Multiplex over IP).
• Combine all efforts for FM-RDS, HD and streaming! Run multiple instances on one server. Smaller footprint, easier to manage, provides consistency.
• Spin up or turn off instances as needed, operate on-premise or in the cloud. Need a holiday stream?
• Sign-on a new station or format? Changes like these can be handled quickly.
• Future-friendly. With software, we can add new features as standards or operating systems change.

Just over a year ago, Omnia released its first virtual audio processing ecosystem, Omnia Enterprise 9s, which is designed for high-density or virtual deployment. It’s based on the sound, performance, features and interface of our famous Omnia.9 hardware audio processing platform.

Pictured in Fig. 1 is the interface of the Omnia Enterprise 9s, which, if you are familiar with an Omnia.9, is identical.

Fig. 1: Omnia Enterprise 9s interface showing Omnia.9 display metering with processing activity, I/O loudness readings, and frequency analysis for one station. Up to eight are available from this interface and NFremote.

However, look closely and you will see one major difference: options for Stations 1 through Station 8. That’s separate processing paths for eight radio stations, all running on one server.

Checklist to Deploy Processing Virtually

1- Bandwidth — Not everyone has access to fiber. With the Omnia µMPX codec in the Enterprise 9s, you don’t need that kind of bandwidth to send the entire FM baseband with RDS and stereo pilot across a link. With µMPX, it passes at a low bandwidth of 400 kbps without degradation of the audio baseband or transcoding artifacts. FLAC can be sent at 800 kbps.

2- Secondary ISP — Seriously consider a secondary ISP to carry your content or composite signal in the event of main failure. You’ll find two NICs on the rear of the Omnia MPX Node for full redundancy capability. For that matter, Starlink (from Elon Musk) may soon become an option for transmitter sites way past “the end of the internet.”

3- Appropriate Server, CPU or Host — Assuming you are running a virtualized environment for your audio processing. In our cloud testing of Omnia Enterprise 9s, moving from one physical server to another requires little or no “hit” or downtime. For users deploying one instance of Enterprise 9: each FM and µMPX output requires four CPU cores and 500MB total RAM.

4- Handling I/O — In the Omnia Enterprise 9S environment, here’s what is available today:

Input  — Livewire, AES67 and Windows drivers. Stream receiver.

Output  — For true MPX out, including pilot and RDS, you will need to license the µMPX codec for FM transmission over some type of IP link with Omnia MPX Node hardware deployed at the transmitter site (Fig. 2). In that figure you also see an Omnia.9sg deployed (optional). The Omnia Enterprise 9s software can encode a lossless FLAC stream, which the 9sg can use to make composite at the transmitter site.

5- Handling EAS and PPM — EAS: If your studio or program feed is generated elsewhere, current solutions include having your EAS unit at the transmitter, on its own separate local audio processor.

Watermarking: Stations in PPM metered markets that want to virtualize their airchain will need a way to properly watermark their signal. Full market testing has rolled out in a couple of large markets for MRC accreditation with Nielsen. While not released yet, this initiative will put the watermark where it belongs, inside the audio processor. (Our Linear Acoustic TV processors have had Nielsen watermarking for some time.) This also eliminates maintaining a hardware watermark encoder.

6- Appropriate IT Department — Do I have the appropriate IT talent to maintain the IP paths to where audio, or composite, is delivered?

7- Can I get this in a container? — This is on our roadmap.

To help illustrate redundant paths to the transmitter site, Fig. 2 shows two ways to generate composite with Omnia Enterprise 9s on a server, feeding:

• µMPX Codec over IP to Omnia MPX Node: Omnia MPX Node encoder and decoders come with support for NET1 and NET2 ethernet jacks, for full redundancy using two IP paths.

• Omnia Enterprise 9s to Stereo Generator: The other path shown would send FM out from the Omnia Enterprise 9s as audio to an Omnia.9sg. FLAG encoding/decoding is another option to form your own STL.

Fig. 2: Two ways to generate composite with Omnia Enterprise 9s on a server.

It’s fascinating to see stations using this Omnia Enterprise 9s product in so many different ways and workflows. It’s a credit to the ingenious radio engineers in the industry that no two deployments have, so far, remotely been alike.

Questions about this article? Email Paul Kriegler at paulkriegler@telosalliance.com or Mary Ann Seidler at maseidler@telosalliance.com.

The post Virtualizing Your Audio Processing: A Checklist appeared first on Radio World.

Webster identifies the word as an adjective and gives the definition as being so in effect, although not in actual fact or name.

We hear the word a lot in today’s culture. Virtual reality has moved from hard-core gaming to the more mainstream with headsets and adaptors that can turn our smart phones into VR engines.

We ask our virtual assistants for directions or to change the channel on the TV. You can get a virtual pet or send someone a virtual gift card.

Since the start of the pandemic, virtual meetings have become everyday events. I have participated in countless virtual training sessions, virtual conferences and even the virtual NAB show earlier this year.

So it would seem that we now live in a virtual world, and perhaps some do. But not me. I’m more of a brick-and-mortar kind of guy — I like real things that I can see and touch, things that exist in the real world and not just in lines of code and ones and zeros.

That’s not to say, however, that I don’t find many of those virtual things useful. I very much do, and I appreciate them.

For example, in addition to some of the things I listed above, I use a very capable flight simulator, which you might categorize as a virtual airplane, to keep my flying skills sharp between real-world flights. Now that has value.

So you might say that I’m warming to the idea of a virtual world.

In our biz

In recent years, and especially since the pandemic came along, broadcast equipment manufacturers have been coming out with all kinds of virtual devices. Some of these things exist only in cyberspace, and some have real-world components.

One thing all these virtual devices have in common is that they all have real-world application. We’re not talking about video games here. We’re talking about top-tier products that perform critical functions in the broadcast infrastructure.

In that sense, they depart from Webster’s definition in that they do exist in actual fact … just not in the traditional physical form.

Apps like Wheatstone’s ScreenBuilder can pull information from many locations, inside and outside a facility, including from one or more virtual consoles, to produce a “one-stop” display of important data.

For some time now, AoIP has been making inroads into broadcast infrastructure. I have been involved with this personally and can tell you that all those virtual connections beat the heck out of punch blocks and switchers.

Our cable ladders are almost empty, now with just small bundles of Cat-6 wires rather than huge bundles of audio and AES cables. Most any engineer who has been blessed with AoIP infrastructure will likely sing its praises, especially the ease with which “wiring” changes can be made, often from the comfort of his or her home or office.

A number of manufacturers have come out with virtual mixers, virtual boards, virtual control surfaces or whatever name you want to give them.

I suspect that the impetus for most, which likely predated the pandemic, was for remote operation or facility consolidation. But when COVID came along, a whole new need for that kind of thing presented itself. People were working from home, far from the faders, switches and knobs that they would normally manipulate with skilled hands.

Dreaming big

In recent days, I have read of PPM watermark insertion that will soon occur “in the cloud.” That, apparently, is one of those hybrid applications I mentioned where some real-world hardware is involved.

It is intriguing, and I’m all for eliminating a piece of equipment in the air chain along with its connectors and potential points of failure.

Virtual consoles like this Axia IQs are now a real-world thing.

And of course we have seen audio playout or digital media systems moving into the cloud in recent years. That’s a little scary for me; I like everything to be under our own roof where I can lay hands on the infrastructure and be responsible for its safety and security. But undeniably, that’s the way it’s all going.

I think the days of the on-premises file server based digital media system are numbered. Maybe, just maybe, that’s a good thing. I’m adjusting to the idea.

Our phone vendor tells me that equipment manufacturers have warned that their on-premise system assembly lines will, in the next couple of years, be no more, and all our telco service will be cloud-based. Letters I get regularly from carriers confirm this —“traditional” telco services are going virtual, and we had better be prepared to make the switch.

Now, we’re seeing virtual audio processors. In the Aug. 11 issue of Radio World Engineering Extra, you can read about Omnia’s enterprise audio processor, which exists in cyberspace. This is another hybrid virtualization, as real-world I/O has to exist, at least for the time being. But how long will it be before our exciters could simply connect to the network with no real world I/O at all besides the obligatory RJ-45 connector? That’s an exciting prospect.

Last issue, I left you with the way-out-there idea of high-power RF over IP. I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen, ever.

But what about a virtualized transmitter? That would be a hybrid application for sure, and if you think about it, many of the components are already in place in some production transmitters: single-board computer, web interface, SNMP control and monitoring.

You would need real-world power amplifiers, combiners, low-pass filters and control/monitoring hardware for sure, but could we move exciter, control and diagnostic functions completely outside the transmitter cabinet and into the virtual world?

Is that something that could happen someday as we continue to virtualize broadcast infrastructure? It’s certainly something to consider.

Personally, I’m hoping for a virtual phasor and virtual ATUs. Now that would be cool.

But seriously, folks, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Way back in 2001 and again in 2006, Mario Heib presented papers at the NAB Broadcast Engineering Conference proposing a digital phasor with variable phase/variable output power amplifiers at the tower bases. I can see virtualizing every part of such a system other than the actual power amplifiers and matching networks.

We’re headed for a point where cutting-edge facilities will have mostly empty equipment racks. I think that is something to get excited about.

Cris Alexander, CPBE, AMD, DRB is director of engineering for Crawford Broadcasting and tech editor of Radio World Engineering Extra.

The post Broadcasting — A Virtual World? appeared first on Radio World.

An Oklahoma licensee received a $3,500 notice of forfeiture for failing to file a license application for an FM translator on time.

Potter Radio submitted a construction permit for FM translator K236CT in Pawhuska, Okla., in January 2018 with a three-year expiration date of January 2021. On Aug. 4, 2020, Potter requested six months of additional time in which to finalize construct the translator due to construction delays caused by COVID. The Media Bureau agreed and extended the permit to July 4, 2021.

But according to the bureau, Potter Radio did not file a required covering license by that date and as a result the permit expired.

[Read: LPFM Sees Call Sign Deleted After Unauthorized Broadcasting Claim]

Later that month, Potter filed a petition asking the bureau to reconsider cancellation of the construction permit. The bureau treated the request as a waiver and agreed to reinstate permit, giving Potter until August 13 to file a covering license. Potter did so on August 2.

But when a permittee fails to file a covering license application on time — as required by FCC Rules — and instead continues operating, the commission considers it an act of unauthorized operation. In this case, the unauthorized operation lasted almost a month, giving the commission the authority to hold the party in question liable for willfully acting without a license and thus liable for a forfeiture penalty.

The FCC’s forfeiture policy statement establishes a base forfeiture of $3,000 for failing to file a required form and an additional $10,000 for operation without authorization. The commission also has the authority to raise or lower that amount as it sees fit. Based on the Media Bureau’s review of the facts and circumstances, it issued a $7,000 base forfeiture before again reducing that forfeiture to $3,500 because as Potter Radio is providing a secondary service as a translator station.

As a result, Potter Radio is required to either submit the $3,500 forfeiture or file a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation.

 

The post For Willfully Operating Without a License, Permittee Handed $3,500 Forfeiture appeared first on Radio World.

Progressive Concepts said it has been named master distributor and service center for North America by Italian broadcast equipment manufacturer RFE.

The product line includes RFE FM broadcast transmitters. The new DS Series FM Broadcast Transmitters uses sixth-generation LDMOS technology with color touchscreen control, built-in stereo encoder and Cosmic Four-Band Audio Processor. Ethernet and AoIP connectivity support worldwide remote control and networking.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

The DS Series is available in power levels of 30 W, 50W, 100 W, 300 W, 500 W, 1 kW, 2 kW, 3 kW, and 6 kW. They are FCC and CCIR compliant and come with a two-year warranty.

Cosmic is a new audio processor made by RFE.

“This hardware component will be included as a standard feature in our FM transmitters, for audio signal control and stereo signal generation (A/D and D/A acquisition and conversion),” the company said. “This means higher audio quality and less distortion.”

Cosmic uses a DSP microprocessor to assure audio quality and extremely low distortion of 0.01%, the company said.

Extra “audio treatment algorithms” for the processing include AMC Automatic Modulation Control, in which the average deviation value is kept constant within preset limits in order to avoid annoying “overmodulation”

Peaks, as well as SFP Selectable Filter Profile, with which a drop-down menu lets you select four preset audio equalization profiles: Bass Enhancer, Hi Lift, Crystal Voice and Club.

Progressive Concepts is based in Illinois. Demos of RFE products are available.

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

Info: www.progressive-concepts.com or mailto:sales@progressive-concepts.com

 

The post Progressive Concepts Inks Deal With RFE appeared first on Radio World.

An image from the clearinghouse site shows the claims process. See the original at https://cbandrpc.com/resources.

The Relocation Payment Clearinghouse LLC is now accepting C-Band relocation claims through an online portal.

The RPC is responsible for collecting, reviewing and distributing payments associated with the relocation, as required by the Federal Communications Commission. This includes those who opted for the lump sum payment option.

“The RPC is ready to accept and review claims,” said Frank Banda, RPC program manager, in the announcement.

“If you have received your email invitation, we encourage you to set up your claimant profile as soon as possible. Setting up your profile and providing the requested information through our Coupa portal is the first step in requesting a lump sum payment or making a claim for reimbursement of actual relocation costs.”

This is the latest in a series of steps related to the FCC’s repurposing of the C-Band (3.7–4.2 GHz) by moving satellite operations to the upper portion of the band (4.0–4.2 GHz) and making spectrum available for other uses through auction.

The RPC website has information about how to establish a profile and submit a claim.

RPC LLC contracted with accounting firm CohnReznick LLP, law firm Squire Patton Boggs, satellite expert lntellicom Technologies Inc. and cable/broadband expert Reed Strategy LLC to perform the duties of the clearinghouse.

Across all users including radio, there are approximately 20,000 registered earth stations in the contiguous U.S. that are classified as incumbents for purposes of the C-Band transition, according to the FCC.

As of May, approximately 1,500 earth station operators, some with multiple licenses, had taken the “lump sum” election, according to data from the FCC. Those licensees that did not accept that option were able to work with their satellite provider or recoup justifiable filter, dish and labor expenses from the clearinghouse, for expenses associated with the transition or relocation.

 

The post C-Band Clearinghouse Opens Its Claims Portal appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters has released a letter concerning protocols for the upcoming show, Oct. 9-13.

In the letter signed by NAB EVP & Managing Director, Global Connections and Events Chris Brown, he said “we will require all attendees and participants to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.”

He added, “We think this is a positive step in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and will provide further details on implementation as well as other safety measures under consideration.” The letter did not address protocols issued at the end of July.

Brown cited consultations with “health and safety experts, gathering feedback from a range of exhibitors and attendees, and review of the safety measures recommended by national and local health authorities, including Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak’s important announcement this week regarding large events.”

Sisolak announced that large venues could eschew a mask requirement in exchange for COVID vaccination proof.

The NAB looks to be following the lead of the CES which earlier in the week announced a vaccination requirement for its show in January.

The Audio Engineering Society, with its annual show co-locating with the NAB Show, has also announced a similar vaccination requirement policy, excerpting the NAB letter in its announcement.

 

The post NAB Show Will Require Vaccination appeared first on Radio World.

The organizers of California Public Radio Day are bringing it back for a second year.

The effort aims to raise awareness and financial support for public radio. The date is Thursday Aug. 26.

“After a successful inaugural year, California Public Radio Day is returning with 30 stations coming together to commemorate the day,” they said in an announcement. Thirteen stations participated last year.

“In the single-day celebration aimed at creating awareness for the vital public service public radio brings to the community, stations across the state, from San Diego to Arcata, will collectively encourage listeners to support their local stations.”

California Public Radio Day will take place on August 26. On social media the campaign uses hashtag #CaliforniaPublicRadioDay.

The organizers said events of the past year have only underlined “the importance of access to trustworthy public media for everyone in our communities.”

Participating stations are Cap Radio (Sacramento), DubLab (Los Angeles), KALW (San Francisco), KAZU (Monterey Bay), KCBX (San Luis Obispo), KCHO North State Public Radio (Chico), KCLU (Santa Barbara), KCRW (Santa Monica), KCSN (Northridge), KDFC (San Francisco), KDVS (UC Davis), KFCF (Fresno), KISL (Avalon), KJCC (San Jose City College), KKJZ (Long Beach), KMUD (Redway), KPBS (San Diego), KPCC (Pasadena), KPFA (Berkeley), KPFK (Los Angeles), KQED (San Francisco), KRCB (Santa Rosa), KUSC (Los Angeles), KVCR (San Bernardino), KVPR (Fresno), KXLU (Loyola Marymount University), KXFM (Laguna Beach), KZSC (Santa Cruz), KZYX (Mendocino), UCLA Radio (UCLA).

 

The post Aug. 26 Is the Second “California Public Radio Day” appeared first on Radio World.

LBA Group has hired Juan Macias as its chief technology officer.

He is former lead senior RF engineer with American Tower, senior broadcast consultant for the FCC repack and lead RF designer for Malaysia’s AIM/IoT infrastructure, the company said.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

“Macias brings over 20 years of experience in the radio frequency field, with an iNARTE Certification as a Telecommunications Senior Engineer and as an IEEE Senior Member,” LBA wrote in its online announcement.

“Originally from Mexico, Macias had been involved in multiple RF, GPRS, GSM, CDMA and IoT projects worldwide for Iusacell and others.”

Among his jobs will be “developing new offerings in the escalating 5G world to position LBA as a leading resource for 5G RF safety and compliance, IoT, DAS and other evolving technology areas.”

Send People News announcements to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post LBA Group Hires Macias as CTO appeared first on Radio World.

David Oxenford

Attorney David Oxenford blogs often about developments in the U.S. radio industry, and he has thoughts about the just-completed FCC auction.

He notes that almost a third of the available channels drew no auction interest at all, as we’ve reported, and he wonders if the results say something about the FCC’s local ownership rules.

Ninety-seven channels were sold, but 42, including four AM stations, went unsold in the auction. The commission will raise more than $12 million from the auction, but $9 million of that is from just two FM CPs in particularly desirable areas.

“The 42 channels that were unsold range from channels allotted to small communities in states like Wyoming or Alaska that were predicted to serve very few people, thus having opening bids as low as $750 that no one was willing to meet,” Oxenford writes on his blog, “to channels in somewhat bigger communities including channels in New York state and Colorado that had opening bids of $75,000, indicating that they would serve a substantial number of people, but the prices were apparently deemed too high to justify for companies looking for a business return.”

[Read: iHeart Snags a Sacramento FM CP in FCC Auction]

“This lack of interest may also say something about the FCC’s local radio ownership rules.”

Oxenford said he has been told that parties would have been interested in bidding on channels that went unsold but “because of the FCC’s ownership limitations, they were precluded from owning those stations. So instead of providing new service to the public, these channels will lie fallow, providing service to no one.”

He notes that comments on whether changes should be made to the FCC’s radio ownership rules are due Sept. 2 in the commission’s latest rule review. Some broadcasters want the FCC to lift the subcaps that limit how many stations one company can own in a market.

“The results of this auction may well be instructive on the issues that the FCC will be considering,” Oxenford wrote.

“In comments filed in 2019, parties talked about stations in their smaller radio markets that are essentially nothing but a transmitter and a computer — providing no real local service — when local owners who do cover the issues of importance to local communities are precluded from using these channels to provide new services, as the ownership rules do not permit such ownership.”

“There are still broadcasters who want to serve local communities, and as recent congressional activity has suggested, a recognized need for such local services,” he writes.

Read his blog.

 

The post Spectrum? Who Needs Spectrum? appeared first on Radio World.

The radio technology marketplace is hit by the global shortage of chips. Mark Lapidus talks about why you should reach out to friends right now. Michael Saffran thinks radio is guilty of virtue signaling.

Also, the wireless mic industry debates WMAS technology; the NAB and SBE have raised some caution flags.

And in Workbench, a noise-cancelling mic for sports remotes that would make MacGyver proud.

Read it now.

The post Inside the Aug. 18, 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

Getty Images miragec

Quite a few devices in my broadcast technical environment report alerting information by email. I and others have come to depend on these alerts as what my Ops Manager Eric Thomas refers to as “the rhythm of life” as far as the radio station is concerned: pattern changes, tower lights on, like that.

In many cases these alerts come from old-school email origination clients without the ability to authenticate themselves.

These devices need a mail transfer agent or MTA that simply trusts and forwards, something you would never expose to the open internet. In addition, providers like Gmail and vtext have a variety of ways to detect and reject emails that are suspicious. It’d be nice if my mail was accepted without complaint or being bounced.

Like many firms of size, our company email has been SaaS outsourced to Microsoft 365, which requires meaningful email client authentication. The various broadcast devices I need to serve would never play nicely with an MS or Gmail directly. The system I want must live inside the private address, protective firewall environment of the corporate IT department. And it would be nice if it didn’t cost much.

This article takes you through the build process step-by-step for a send-only MTA. All it does is route alerts from your various non-authenticating devices to real-world email providers on the outside. It will not and should not receive mail.

Almost Anything Will Work

To begin the project, I found an old mid-tower Dell box in the recycling bin at the office. So my core system was free. So far so good. My application is low stress and almost any x86 castoff will work.

I updated the BIOS using the Dell tool and installed a 250-gigabyte flash drive. It could easily have been smaller, but it’s what I had. The box already sported a mighty 4 gigabytes of RAM. When this machine shipped it had Windows 7 Pro on it. It still had the hologram license sticker. Vintage 2013, Intel Core i3. Old, unsuited for office use, but more than good enough for this.

The next step was to load Ubuntu Linux 20.04 Desktop on it. Download a copy at ubuntu.com. The 2.7 GB download is an .iso file for which you’ll use your favorite DVD burner application to copy onto writable disk media or a thumb drive. Connect the box to a network segment that provides DHCP. Boot your boneyard PC from the media you created and install. If you see the choice, elect the “minimal” install. This skips the usual office desktop applications which aren’t needed for this.

Write down your username and password choices (because if you don’t, you’ll be repeating the install). Then open a terminal with CTRL-ALT-T key combination and make your first use of “sudo” which means, more or less, “super user do.” From the terminal you can invoke administrative privileges this way, needed for installation and configuration.

From now on, things you are expected to type will be bold, like… sudo apt upgrade, which will install the latest patches in case they aren’t in the .iso you downloaded. You might as well start from the latest and greatest. Everything is lower-case and yes, case matters. Do not type any punctuation marks. Answer “Y” when prompted and watch the process.

Next is the utility for remote terminal access… sudo apt install ssh, giving you the same terminal functions by IP address using an app like putty.exe. Check from another machine to confirm access via SSH. You can discover the machine’s DHCP assigned address with… sudo ifconfig which will probably complain that you need net-tools. Might as well add those using… sudo apt install net-tools.

You now have a generic Ubuntu Linux install. And for the record, this could probably be a Raspberry Pi just as easily as the scrap pile Dell I am using.

DNS Stuff

The process beyond this point requires two prerequisites:

1. You need a real registered host.domain hostname for your machine. Maybe you have a domain (and access to DNS records to assign its address and other attributes), or for a few bucks, just buy a name. If you buy one, make sure the name registrar provides DNS hosting. Most do for small operations like this.

1. You’ll need an actual registered (static) IP address, at least initially, to facilitate the creation of certificates and mail encryption keys, required for delivery to name brand mail service providers. Don’t worry, your MTA will retreat to the safety of a private address (i.e., 10.x.x.x, 172.16.x.x, 192.168.x.x) inside a proxy once it’s set up. But to get the needed badge of validity, it must stand on the street corner of the real internet for a few minutes.

Start with the prerequisites by choosing a name for your newly configured box. I suggest mail.your_domain_name.com. Obviously, replace “your_domain_name” with your domain name. If you chose some other name during OS install, don’t panic. Use the inbuilt nano Linux text editor to change it: sudo nano /etc/hostname. Replace the text as appropriate with the new hostname. Do the same with /etc/hosts: sudo nano /etc/hosts.

Commands are along the bottom edge of the little nano text editor. CTRL-O to write, RETURN, then reboot.

Using the config tool provided by your domain DNS host, create an A record using the full hostname you gave the mail server. Associate it with the public, registered IP address you will use temporarily. Create an MX record pointing to the same hostname.

Keep in mind that DNS records may take a bit of time to propagate across the internet. I suggest leaving the records you create permanently in place, even though they won’t point to the eventual resulting system anymore. Some mail providers check to see if your hostname is a real box.

Now let’s install the MTA software: sudo apt install mailutils.

When you eventually get a choice dialogue box, choose “Internet Site,” which is the default. Then tab to OK. If it asks for a system mail name, it’s the same name you gave the server you are installing on.

To do what we want, Postfix will require a bit more configuration. Proceed to the text file /etc/postfix/main.cf: sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf.

You’ll need to locate a few lines of the file for editing, so this would be a good time to test out the CTRL-W command in nano to find, first: mydestination = $myhostname, your_domain_name, localhost.com, localhost.

Substitute your domain name as indicated. $myhostname is a variable set earlier in the file by a “myhostname =” statement. Might be good to check that info is correct, but Postfix usually gets this right on install.

Then find… mynetworks =  and change it to read mynetworks = 10.0.0.0/8 172.16.0.0/12 192.168.0.0/16 to allow all the ranges of non-routable private addresses. These are the mail originating devices allowed to use your MTA for outbound messages.

The example config I show gets the whole universe of private IPv4 addresses. If you wish, you can restrict down to the individual device by using a complete address and /32 as the CIDR mask. Or anything in between. This is your gatekeeper. Let paranoia be your guide.

At this point save your changes to main.cf and restart postfix to allow the software to read the changes: sudo systemctl restart postfix.

Testing, testing…

Let’s test your server from the terminal (CTRL-ALT-T) with… echo “This is a test of email” | mail -s ” This is the subject line of the test” your_email_address.

Some receiving domains will probably accept the mail. Outlook.com (MS 365) might, but it’ll probably show up in junk or clutter. Vtext.com (Verizon email to text conversion) probably will as well and display in cellular text. Google Gmail won’t accept it at all; it’ll get bounced. So there is more to do. Time to enable encryption, certificate validation and transport layer security (TLS).

Meanwhile, take a look at the logging that Postfix provides, as it will tell you exactly what happened in the interaction with any outside service. Linux provides a nice utility to look at the last few lines of a log file and even monitor it as lines are added: sudo tail -f /var/log/mail.log (note: your install may name this log file differently, but it will be in the folder /var/log). Also notice that the -f argument makes the utility display new lines as they are appended in real time. You can have more than one terminal instance open at a time, allowing you to watch what happens with the gmails of the world in real time.

Next up is the authentication piece that real email services will be looking for from your MTA.

Let’s get the needed credentials from the free Let’s Encrypt folks. Consider making a contribution to their efforts. sudo apt install certbot.  As always, press “Y.”

Then sudo ufw allow 80. This tells the UFW firewall to open a port for HTTP. The command should answer with confirmation that it opened the port. Certbot’s process will reach out and “Let’s Encrypt” will reach back over port 80 to confirm the host presence at the address claimed, using the DNS records you created. But certificate information doesn’t include IP address directly, so a later move to a private address inside the firewall shouldn’t break anything.

Now let’s create a certificate that identifies this server as within the domain you’ve placed it in and provide a public key to go with the private key that’ll be stored on this host. sudo certbot certonly –standalone –rsa-key-size 4096 –agree-tos –preferred-challenges http -d your_domain_name (those are double dashes, by the way).

When complete, you should see this:

 

If it doesn’t work, check your DNS configuration, or maybe just wait a while and try again. When it completes, pay attention to certificate expiration.

Now let’s tell our server where the keys are kept. Back to the postfix config file we go:

sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf.

Under # TLS parameters find:

smtpd_tls_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem

smtpd_tls_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key

 

and change it to:

smtpd_tls_cert_file=/etc/letsencrypt/live/your_domain_name/fullchain.pem

smtpd_tls_key_file=/etc/letsencrypt/live/your_domain_name/privkey.pem

 

Finally, to further satisfy Gmail, add the line: “always_add_missing_headers = yes”.

Save, exit nano then restart postfix: sudo systemctl restart postfix.

If all went as described (it should have), then you have a mail transfer agent. Any mails from your devices, pointed to the private address the server has, will be forwarded to whatever mail service is indicated.

Finally, you can disconnect from the public internet (the registered static IP), bring this server inside the firewall and give it a private address.

Use the desktop “settings” tool to change the IP. So long as port 25 is open through the firewall, you are all set. Just point your various reporting devices to that same private address and watch the alerts flow.

If it doesn’t work, check your DNS configuration or maybe just wait a while and try again. When it completes, pay attention to certificate expiration. In my case, using GoDaddy DNS, I had to assign the IP address to my machine that is associated with the your_domain_name DNS entry. Your DNS provider may work differently. The error messages that certbot sends are helpful for Googling.

Now let’s tell our server where the keys are kept. Back to the postfix config file we go.

# Raspberry Pi differences:

1. Enable SSH terminal access using the raspi-config tool
2. net-tools are already installed in the Raspi Lite .iso
3. Use raspi-config to change the hostname
4. mailutils does not include postfix when pulled from the raspi repositories. sudo apt install postfix

It doesn’t take a lot to create a functioning MTA out of equipment already on hand. Having that functionality will ensure that important status and warning messages get through, which will make the engineer’s job easier and provide for faster responses to anomalies.

The post A DIY Mail Transfer Agent appeared first on Radio World.

Dear Radio World,

The advice that appeared at the end of a March Workbench column about resetting a generator fault remotely is something I discourage strongly.

Besides clearing the fault and possibly the run-time and error logs, cycling the DC power to the controller may also clear the real-time clock and reset the exercise timer, and may leave the generator in an offline state until the clock and timer are manually set.

As stated in the tip, you have no idea why it faulted in the first place. Attempting a restart without an inspection or a person present could result in catastrophic damage to the genset, a fire (if there was a fuel leak), or even harm to a technician who might be working on the unit and could have even been the cause of the fault or shutdown.

If there was a mechanical failure, running the engine without repairing the damage first could make things even worse.

I bet a generator technician reading the tip would cringe. Of course your local generator sales person would love to take this opportunity to sell you a new generator.

My own home standby generator, a Kohler 14RESA, resets just the clock and exercise timer if the battery is disconnected; the run-time and error logs are maintained in nonvolatile memory. But it won’t run until those two items are set. For safety reasons they tell you to disconnect the incoming AC power as well as the battery whenever you service the unit, but I find it more convenient to do neither of those things but just press the OFF button when doing the annual maintenance (oil, spark plugs, and filter changes).

Radio World welcomes letters to the editor about any article or relevant radio industry issue. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line.

The post Letter to the Editor: A Genset Reset Rethink appeared first on Radio World.

Several organizations that push for diversity and civil rights are urging Congress to reinstate the minority tax certificate program.

“Supporting these pieces of legislation would eliminate barriers and create new opportunities for women, people of color and socially disadvantaged individuals to own local TV and radio stations,” they wrote to congressional leaders.

The letter supports H.R. 4871, the Expanding Broadcast Opportunities Act of 2021 introduced by Reps. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Steven Horsford of Nevada, and S. 2456, the Broadcast VOICES Act, introduced by Sens. Gary Peters of Michigan and Robert Menendez of New Jersey. All four are Democrats. Menendez has been pushing for reinstatement since at least 2008, when he introduced a similar bill.

The bills would authorize the Federal Communications Commission to reestablish what would now be called a Diversity Tax Certificate Program.

Individuals who donated broadcast stations for the purpose of training socially disadvantaged individuals in the management and operation of stations would be eligible for a tax credit equal to the fair market value of the station.

[Read: NAB Gives Thumbs Up to Minority Tax Bills]

The joint letter is from the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, the National Urban League, United States Black Chambers, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Hispanic Federation.

“From 1978 to 1995, when the diversity tax certificate was instituted, it was an effective mechanism for bringing more people of color into station ownership,” they wrote.

“During this time, broadcast ownership by people of color increased by more than 550%. The elimination of the diversity tax certificate in 1995 disproportionately affected that rate. According to data from 2017, women make up less than 6% of broadcast TV station owners, and people of color account for less than 3%. Similarly, women own just 7% of broadcast radio stations, and people of color own less than 3%.”

 

The post Minority Advocates Speak Up for Tax Certificate appeared first on Radio World.