Industry News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A multimedia initiative that enables Members of Congress in cities where Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned stations have a local news department to speak directly to their constituents on a regular basis has returned.

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NEW YORK — Comcast-owned FreeWheel has officially launched a new Certified Partner Program.

Its purpose is to certify and organize buyers, sellers, data partners and technology partners within FreeWheel’s platform to create a more efficient and effective media supply chain for the TV ecosystem.

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Focal recently expanded its Alpha Evo studio monitor line with the new Alpha 80 Evo and Alpha Twin Evo powered monitors, joined by the additional debut of its Sub One subwoofer, designed for the Evo and Shape monitor lines.

Like the original Alpha 50 Evo and Alpha 65 Evo, released last year, the Alpha 80 Evo and Alpha Twin Evo are based around a Slatefiber cone, made by Focal in France from recycled carbon-fiber. Alpha 80 Evo and Alpha Twin Evo offer a new 1/4-inch (6.35 mm) TRS jack input, a user-disengageable automatic standby power mode and, on the Alpha 80 Evo, inserts for wall and ceiling mounting. The fully analog monitors are equipped with two class D amplifiers whose high-current capacity reportedly allows full control of signal dynamics.

The new monitors feature a 5/8-inch thick (15 mm) MDF cabinet and incorporate internal braces. The bass-reflex design, with a new larger cabinet vent, has been designed aiming to ensure acoustic integration in a variety of studio spaces. Offering integrated mounting points, the new Alpha Evo line can potentially be incorporated into an immersive mixing system.

The Alpha Twin Evo sports dual 6.5-inch Slatefiber woofers and a 1-inch Aluminum inverted dome Tweeter, while the Alpha 80 Evo has a 8-inch Slatefiber woofer and 1-inch Aluminum inverted dome Tweeter.

Meanwhile, the Sub One, with its 200 watts (RMS) amp, is intended for partnering with any of the monitor models from both the Alpha Evo and Shape powered monitor lines for a 2.1 system, as well as multi-monitor immersive sound setups. For the Sub One’s speaker drivers, Focal engineers have chosen double-skinned Slatefiber cones.

Currently shipping in North America, the three models have SRPs of Alpha 80 Evo $549 each ($1,098 a pair), Alpha Twin Evo $659 each ($1,318 a pair), and Sub One $999 each.

The post Focal Augments Alpha Evo Studio Monitor Line appeared first on Radio World.

What do the longtime Miami-based singer known for “Conga” and “Coming out of the Dark” and a longtime Inside the Beltway figure who once worked on antitrust litigation and merger reviews as an associate with Howrey LLP have in common?

Both have thoughts worthy enough for sharing at a House Judiciary Committee hearing conducted virtually on Wednesday morning. The subject: the American Music Freedom Act, which would implement a royalty payment scheme on top of what broadcast radio already pays for the right to play recorded music on its AM and FM stations.

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Of the witnesses that appeared in a virtual House Judiciary Committee hearing held Wednesday morning to debate the “American Music Freedom Act,” NAB Chairman/CEO Curtis Legeyt perhaps provided the most objective commentary as to why the proposed legislation is unjust and would impose financial burdens on radio stations of all sizes across the U.S.

In particular, Legeyt slammed the world’s recording industry goliaths for failing to come to the table after four years of opportunities to work with the NAB and broadcast radio in the U.S. on a “win-win” royalty scheme.

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The leader of CNN Worldwide has abruptly tendered his resignation, a decision largely tied to his revelation that he developed an improper relationship with his “closest colleague” — an individual he had worked with for more than two decades.

Jeff Zucker, the president of the entity that oversees CNN and CNN International, is out, effective immediately.

In an employee memo shared by CNN.com, Zucker said, “As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo‘s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years. I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today.”

While Zucker did not reveal the name of that longtime colleague, CNN reports that it is with Chief Marketing Officer Allison Gollust, who is remaining at CNN.

Gollust issued a memo of her own. She said, “Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years. Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time. I’m incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do everyday.”

The memo was dispatched shortly after 11am Eastern, taking employees by surprise.

Shortly thereafter, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar sent an internal email to all at CNN stating that an interim leadership plan will be revealed shortly. “Both of these organizations are at the top of their respective games and are well prepared for their next chapters,” he said.

Zucker has been associated with CNN since 2013. He is widely known for his tenure at NBC, where he rose from a TODAY producer to network president.

Workbench explores how an Octopus can help you check components.

The FCC continues its recent explorations of how to improve EAS while, separately, a campaign is underway to encourage more countries to use Common Alerting Protocol.

Fred Baumgartner says ATSC 3.0 could be a radio content provider’s Holy Grail.

Thresa and Michael Gay offer a growing line of problem-solvers. And Dan Houg samples the joys of semi-retirement.

Read it here.

The post Inside the Feb. 2, 2022 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

It’s known for “Michigan’s Positive Hits,” with 21 radio signals across the Mitten State offering Worship Music to fans of the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) genre.

Now, it is agreeing to purchase the property and license associated with a Class A FM licensed to the city of West Branch.

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As first reported by Communications Daily via Twitter late Tuesday, considerations of the nomination of Gigi Sohn to serve as a Democratic Commissioner on the FCC — along with two other nominations — were removed from the agenda for today’s Executive Session of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee.

With confirmation of the report yet to arrive as Midnight struck in Washington, daybreak brought the reason for the last-minute agenda change: An influential Senator had suffered a stroke, but is expected to fully recover.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N. Mex.) on January 27 suffered a stroke. He underwent brain surgery and is expected to fully recover, representatives of the legislator said Tuesday.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Luján was diagnosed with a stroke in the cerebellum, which is in the back of the brain. “Decompressive” surgery was performed to relieve pressure on the brain at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. A full recovery can take from a few weeks to a couple of months.

Luján is 49 years old and in his first term as a U.S. Senator.

Given the timetable for Luján’s return to Washington, the FCC’s 2-2 leadership will likely be in place through at least May. That’s because the support of Sohn is far from bipartisan, with Democrats largely supporting her nomination by the Biden Administration to take the final seat on the Commission and Republicans in unison against her nomination.

Until Luján’s ailment, a 14-14 vote — something that would signal Democratic approval as they are the majority party in the Senate — was anticipated on Sohn’s vote. Luján has been a supporter of Sohn, and without his vote her path to the Commission would most certainly be derailed.

Also off the hearing agenda are considerations of the nomination of Mary Boyle to serve as a Commissioner on the National Product Safety Commission and that of Alvaro Bedoya to serve as the Federal Trade Commission’s Commissioner.

The February 2 hearing was to be Sohn’s second in front of the Senate Commerce Committee, and comes following the Biden Administration’s reaffirmation of its nomination of the “net neutrality” advocate.

Sohn’s role with Locast, where she served as a board member of the “virtual Over-the-Air” television services provider that purported to be a non-profit before a New York Federal judge’s decision led to its demise, remains a bone of contention with Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). However, Sohn has agreed to excuse herself from two specific matters because of a potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.

First, Sohn would recuse herself from matters involving retransmission consent or television broadcast copyright for the first three years of her term. Second, Sohn agreed to recuse herself for four years from a docket concerning the rules governing retransmission consent.

That led the NAB to give its affirmative nod to Sohn’s seating as a FCC Commissioner. In contrast, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association is still concerned, wondering why she won’t recuse herself from other matters she has spoken out against. The NCTA’s concern has not let to its formal objection of Sohn’s nomination, however, as it takes an approach similar to that of the NAB.

A Groundhog Day shadow is passing over the nomination of Gigi Sohn to the FCC, but it likely has to do with another shadow that passed over the committee this week.

Signaling that there would not be enough Democratic votes to secure a favorable report of her nomination to the full Senate, it has been stricken — literally — from the agenda for Wednesday’s (February 2) vote on a host of nominations.

That is according to a note late Tuesday from the committee. Also pulled was the nomination of Alvero Bedoya to the open seat on the Federal Trade Commission and Mary Boyle to be a commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The reason appears to be the absence of committee Democrat Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who suffered a stroke and is in the hospital, though he is expected to make a full recovery. “[T]he speedy recovery of Sen. Luján remains first and foremost priority,” said the committee before reporting the dropped nomination, all likely to need every Democrat to get approval.

“[T]he list of nominations to be considered at tomorrow’s Commerce mark-up has been recalibrated to take into consideration the need for all Democratic votes in order to move certain nominees forward,” said a committee spokesperson.

Perhaps the delay is so legislators can contemplate the issues raised by cable and telecom ISPs Tuesday. Both NCTA President Michael Powell and USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter wrote the committee to raise concerns about Sohn’s recusal offer related to broadcast copyright and retrans.

A version of this story appeared first in our sister publication Broadcasting & Cable.

The post Gigi Sohn Nomination Pulled from Confirmation Vote appeared first on Radio World.