Radio World

Cheryl Thompson

NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting want to help stations do local investigative work. To that end NPR has created a “Station Investigations Team” with CPB backing.

Its purpose is to work with public radio regional newsrooms and topic teams. It is led by Cheryl W. Thompson, an investigative reporter who came to NPR in 2019 and worked at the Washington Post for many years. She is also president of Investigative Reporters and Editors, an organization that seeks to improve investigative journalism.

[Read: NPR to Modify “Consider This” to Include Local Content]

“The team, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, will include a producer and a data editor who will advise reporters who’d like technical help with skills such as data collection and analysis and freedom of information requests,” NPR announced.

“The team will also help facilitate stations’ opportunities to localize NPR investigations through webinars and open-source data.”

The announcement was made by Tamar Charney, acting senior director of collaborative journalism, and Kathy Merritt, CPB senior vice president, Radio, Journalism and CSG Services.

Charney said the investigative unit will support station-based reporters with resources to help them cover local issues “from the safety of the water where we live to the ability of our local health systems to respond to the pandemic.”

The initiative is a component of the Collaborative Journalism Network.

 

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New microphones come on the market thanks to the podcasting boom … Rosemary Harold says the FCC is without funds to enforce the new anti-pirate radio law. …

Bernhard Borghei discusses Vertical Bridge’s tower acquisition strategy … Tom Lawler talks about trends in audio processing …

The founder of AdTonos explains why he’s excited about audio interactivity … Kevin Curran offers an appreciation of the EV 635A.

These stories and more are explored in the Feb. 3 issue.

Read it here.

 

The post Inside the Feb. 3 2021 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

Ronald Reagan presidential inauguration, Jan. 20, 1981. Photo: Ronald Reagan Foundation

A new 60-second feature of Ronald Reagan quotes is available, tied to the 40th anniversary of his inauguration as president.

The “Ronald Reagan Quote of the Day” was announced by the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, which is leading a year-long celebration called “40 at 40.” Reagan was the 40th president and he was inaugurated 40 years ago, on Jan. 20, 1981.

The president — a former actor, movie star, union leader and governor — had numerous connections to radio during his career.

Early on he was a sportscaster for several stations, and he famously recreated Cubs games based on telegraph and wire reports. In the 1970s he used a daily radio commentary to help cement his political profile and his reputation as “The Great Communicator.” Once president, harking back to Pres. Franklin Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats,” he started the tradition of Saturday radio addresses from the White House in 1982 that continued until they sputtered out under Donald Trump.

Photo: Ronald Reagan Foundation

The clips are free, with the restriction that they may only be broadcast as part of the “Ronald Reagan Quote of the Day” feature; they aren’t to be used for other commercial or political purposes. And although not required, the foundation asks that each station air the “Quote of the Day” at least twice each weekday during daytime hours.

“We are granting geographic exclusivity, based on a first-come first-serve availability,” said Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller. “Stations must let us know they want to use these clips so we can ensure no other station in their market is already using them.”

Each month’s batch of audio clips will be available at least a week prior to the beginning of each new month at a Dropbox.

For information email mgiller@reaganfoundation.org.

 

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Technology experts David Layer and John Clark from the National Association of Broadcasters will keynote the radio track sessions of the Pro Audio & Radio Tech Summit on April 1.

The summit, announced this week, is a free one-day virtual trade show where radio and pro audio professionals can learn about new products and technology and network with colleagues and manufacturers. It is produced jointly by Mix magazine, Pro Sound News and Radio World.

David Layer

The radio keynote session “Hybrid Radio & Android Automotive” will provide a look at two technology topics that affect how your radio station is heard in the car, said Radio World Editor in Chief Paul McLane.

Hybrid radio combines one-way OTA radio reception with two-way online connectivity and streaming, to create a new kind of platform in connected cars.

Meanwhile, the Android Automotive OS is expected to create more powerful, modern infotainment systems. Over the next couple of years, Android Automotive will be in vehicles from Ford, GM, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

John Clark

David Layer is vice president, advanced engineering for the NAB. John Clark is executive director of NAB’s PILOT technology development initiative.

“We’re honored to have David and John headlining our radio track,” McLane said. “The changes that are happening in the car environment will have crucial implications for radio and other audio media. And we’ll be announcing panelists for the rest of our radio track sessions soon; those will explore trends in AoIP, virtualization, transmitter design and streaming for radio.”

The Pro Audio & Radio Tech Summit will also feature a virtual exhibition floor, live chat and a separate track of presentations showcasing technologies and trends in pro audio.

Registration for the event is open.

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I’ve heard from plenty of folks who think the boat has left the dock not only for digital on AM but for the entire AM band. Business and technical challenges facing America’s AM broadcasters have been well documented here and elsewhere.

You certainly won’t hear CEOs of big broadcast companies proclaiming their excitement around AM radio strategies unless it’s to count the cash they got from selling tower sites.

Yet when you talk with the handful of people who have real experience with the MA3 mode of HD Radio, their enthusiasm is notable. They say the signal sounds great, that coverage is strong and that they love how station metadata displays on modern dashboard displays.

Our latest Radio World ebook explores the question of what’s next.

One of the people I interviewed is Neal Ardman, who activated the MA3 mode on WMGG in Florida in January, the first station to take the step since the commission approved the option. 

“The MA3 is the great equalizer in terms of audio quality,” Ardman told me. “When we flipped the switch, the sound is incredible. The station sounds like an FM.”

He pointed out that about 30% of cars in his area have HD Radio receivers, then echoed a comment we’ve heard from Dave Kolesar of Hubbard’s WWFD: “Our thinking is, would we rather be in a third of the cars sounding phenomenal, or in all of the cars sounding sketchy and marginal? We chose to be in the cars sounding great,” Ardman said.

It’s worth noting that some AM owners are watching these developments to see if multicasting on the digital AM signal is viable and, if so, whether that might eventually give them another path to obtaining more analog FM translators — similar to how current FM hybrid digital stations can use an HD2 to feed an analog FM. 

I’m sure we’ll hear plenty about that possibility. Note, though, that while existing digital AM receivers can receive MA3, they are not set up to receive multicasting, so this isn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

(Urban One tried unsuccessfully last year to obtain experimental authority to feed an FM translator from a digital AM multicast. For now the FCC has said, “Because the record does not establish that an audio stream on an HD-2 subchannel is currently technically feasible, we will evaluate requests to rebroadcast multicast channels on an FM translator on a case-by-case basis until a more fully developed record is available on this subject.”)

I hope you’ll read the free ebook and let me know what you think. 

 

The post Ebook Explores Digital Outlook for AM appeared first on Radio World.

NATE is encouraged by the reintroduction of a bill in the Senate to promote development of a skilled telecom workforce.

NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association commented on introduction of the Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act by Senators John Thune, Jon Tester, Roger Wicker, Gary Peters and Jerry Moran.

Those three Republicans and two Democrats are members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; they say they want to address a shortage of trained workers needed to fill jobs in the telecommunications industry. The bill was introduced a year ago but didn’t get out of committee.

[Read: Telecom and Workforce Development: Why It Matters to Broadcast]

Though proponents of the bill speak mostly about the need to build out 5G and broadband, the bill likely would have some benefits as well to the broadcast industry, which often draws on the same telecom workforce for tower work.

NATE President/CEO Todd Schlekeway said in a statement, “It is great to see this bipartisan group of U.S. senators come out of the gate strong in the 117th Congress through the introduction of this legislation.”

The organization says that if passed the law would be a springboard to greater collaboration between the federal government, state workforce boards, the higher education sector and industry “to accomplish the ultimate goal of developing a future pipeline of skilled technicians that the country sorely needs to meet its ambitious broadband and 5G deployment objectives.”

The bill would set up an interagency group led by the Federal Communications Commission that would work with the Labor Department and other government entities to push this issue. It would also require the FCC to publish guidance on how states can address the workforce shortage by using federal resources. And it would direct the Government Accountability Office to do a study into how many skilled workers will be required to maintain broadband infrastructure in rural areas as well as build the country’s 5G wireless infrastructure.

Schlekeway told Radio World that NATE “certainly feels like there is growing momentum behind support for telecom workforce provisions in a broadband infrastructure package that could emerge from Congress.” Last year, he said, was a difficult one for standalone legislation due to COVID-19 and the elections.

NATE formerly was called the National Association of Tower Erectors, but its name and mission have evolved. The nonprofit trade organization includes more than 1,000 member companies that construct, service and maintain hundreds of thousands of communications towers for broadcast and wireless, as well as distributed antenna systems, small cell networks and broadband.

 

The post NATE Welcomes Telecom Workforce Bill appeared first on Radio World.

Audio startup Tula Microphones has unveiled its first product — the Tula Mic, a portable USB mic that doubles as a mobile recorder with added benefit of embedded noise reduction technology. The stylized microphone is intended for use by content creators and work-from-home professionals.

The Tula Mic includes dedicated cardioid and omnidirectional ECM capsules, Burr-Brown op amps, a Texas Instruments audio codec and a 3.5 mm headphone jack that doubles as an input for a lavalier microphone. Also, the microphone sports 8 GB of internal memory, and a rechargeable battery, enabling up to 14 hours of audio recording on the go. The Tula records in WAV file format. The mic connects to other devices such as computers via USB-C, and is also compatible with Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android.

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

While the mic is designed for portable use, that inevitably means it will be used often in less-than-ideal acoustic environments. With that mind, Tula teamed up with Swedish music software company Klevgrand to create an embedded version of that company’s noise reduction algorithm, Brusfri, which gives users the option to reduce background noise onsite while recording, reportedly without unwanted artifacts.

The Tula Mic sports a retro-modern design developed by Red Dot Award-winning industrial designers in Barcelona, and math fans may note that Tula’s form factor features an exact Golden Ratio. The Tula is available in three colors: classic black, vintage cream and a vibrant red. The built-in base is detachable and the mic includes a universal adaptor for use on mic stands and arms.

“As a longtime musician and songwriter, I’ve spent countless hours in recording studios and have a great respect and appreciation for good audio.” said Tula Founder and CEO David Brown, previously of the Soyuz Microphones brand. “I’ve long dreamt of designing a microphone that would bring high-quality sound to the masses. With the rapid growth of podcasting and YouTube channels and the more recent shift to remote working, it feels like the timing couldn’t be better for a product like the Tula Mic.”

The Tula Mic is available to order at US$199.

Info: www.tulamics.com

 

The post Tula Microphone Debuts for Podcasting, WFH Use appeared first on Radio World.

SiriusXM posted a net loss in its most recent business quarter but the company describes its full-year financial results as strong and expressed excitement about its audio strategies as well as its satellite radio penetration in new cars.

SiriusXM lost $677 million in the fourth quarter; but for all of 2020 SiriusXM had net income of $131 million. Still, that latter number was way off of the $914 million of net income the prior year, thanks to a big “impairment charge” associated with Pandora, primarily related to royalty costs.

[Read: SiriusXM’s New Satellite Is in Orbit]

Overall in 2020 the company generated revenue of $8.04 billion, up 3% despite the pandemic.

CEO Jennifer Witz, who succeeded Jim Meyer on Jan. 1, said in a statement, “SiriusXM turned in strong operating and financial results in 2020: we grew SiriusXM self-pay subscribers, revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow despite the pandemic. Our new car penetration reached approximately 80% in the fourth quarter and is set to rise above 80% this year, and the incorporation of 360L, our next generation in-car entertainment platform, is accelerating.”

She said SiriusXM, Pandora and Stitcher, plus the company’s investment in SoundCloud, now reach an audience of more than 150 million. She said the company is “bolstering our position as North America’s leading audio entertainment company” through new shows and podcasts, streaming channels targeting younger consumers and deals with NBCUniversal News Group, The Masters, the NFL and NBA. The company also recently extended its agreement with Howard Stern.

SiriusXM added 909,000 net new self-pay subscribers for the full year, ending with 30.9 million. Total subscribers are now 34.7 million.

The company’s Pandora segment saw ad revenue decline 1% to $1.18 billion, but said this was notable in the context of significant weakness in the ad market during the pandemic. And fourth quarter Pandora ad revenue jumped 22% to $425 million compared to the prior year quarter.

 

The post SiriusXM Hails Its 2020 Results appeared first on Radio World.

A new online event on April 1 will provide a spring convention feel to radio and pro audio professionals who want to learn about new products and technology and network with colleagues and manufacturers.

Future plc, the parent company of Radio World, has announced the Pro Audio & Radio Tech Summit, a free one-day online show produced jointly by Mix magazine, Pro Sound News and Radio World.

The event will feature a virtual exhibition floor, panel presentations, live chat and numerous media presentations showcasing technologies and trends in both radio and pro audio, on two separate session tracks.

“It’s been a challenging year across all entertainment and technology markets, but also a transformative one,” says Paul McLane, editor in chief of Radio World.

“We’ve seen changes in workflow, changes in how we collaborate, and rapid changes in distribution of all media. But users and manufacturers have stepped up, often in creative ways, to ensure that talented people have the right tools to produce quality audio and broadcast content. We plan to explore the state of the industry and highlight some of the trends and success stories from across the country.”

The event will use the vFairs virtual events platform, which provides attendees with an impressive convention-live user interface and facilitates interaction and networking.

The online event will include sessions, exhibit booths, live chat and a show lobby that emulates an in-person event.

The Pro Audio Track will feature sessions on remote production, the multipurpose house of worship studio, the rise of immersive music, audio networking technologies, and improved audio for education.

The Radio Track will feature sessions on hybrid radio, Android Automotive, AoIP, virtualization, streaming, and trends in transmission. These topics will be of interest to any radio broadcast manager or engineer who manages technology or uses it to advance their careers and business missions.

Learn more and register here.

The post Pro Audio & Radio Tech Summit Announced appeared first on Radio World.

A dramatic new transmission tower that stands above Istanbul, Turkey, includes 100 liquid-cooled Rohde & Schwarz FM transmitters.

The manufacturer said it was picked to provide FM infrastructure at the striking Camlica Tower by transmission service provider Kule Verici Tesisleri Isletim Ve Teknolojileri A.S. “after many other companies claimed the transmission challenge was impossible to achieve.”

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

R&S quoted the project management as citing transmitter efficiency and a small footprint as one of the reasons for choosing its model.

The visually striking TV/radio tower, about 1,200 feet high, is on a hill overlooking the city. According to news reports the structure replaces numerous older transmission towers, and features restaurants, observation decks looking out over the Bosporus Strait, and exhibits. It is expected to be a major tourist attraction.

See more photos of the structure.

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

 

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Quick: At what time of the day does most U.S. radio listening take place? It’s not the traditional drive time hours, despite what you might think.

That’s the topic of a new blog post by Pierre Bouvard of Westwood One, who says misperceptions among ad buyers about radio listening can hurt those companies.

[Read: Determining How Many Ads a Station Needs to Run to Get Results]

“Some advertisers only buy drive times thinking they are getting most of AM/FM radio’s audience,” he writes —understandable given radio’s strength in vehicles.

But in truth 39% of AM/FM radio listening occurs during drive times, “a stark difference in perceived and actual AM/FM radio listening.” Middays actually are the most listened to time period.

The highest share of time spent among adults 25 to 54 is middays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with 26%, though the morning and afternoon drive times certainly are also strong. Bouvard notes that middays are helped by the fact that their defined time slot is five hours long.

“There is also a major disconnect about weekend listening. Advertisers perceive only 12% of all listening occurs during the weekend. The Nielsen reality is 21% — bigger than morning drive.”

He concludes that the common advertising rule to “only buy drive times” is actually myth that is “dangerous and harmful to advertiser sales growth,” missing 60% of the AM/FM radio audience, reducing reach and harming advertiser sales “lift.”

He also says that despite the pandemic, the share of AM/FM radio listening by daypart is very stable.

Read the post.

 

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A weekend ice storm has cost station KOEZ in Des Moines, Iowa, the top 100 feet of its tower, which unfortunately was also holding the station’s 10-bay FM antenna.

The photo above is not what you want to see when you get to your tower site.

Tom Atkins, VP and director of engineering for Saga Communications, tells Radio World that local Chief Engineer Joseph Farrington received an off-air alarm and a low transmission line pressure alarm late Saturday evening.

“He immediately switched to the aux antenna to keep KOEZ on the air,” Atkins wrote in an email. “Upon arrival at the transmitter site, he noticed a snapped upper guy wire and no tower lights above the mid-level of the structure.”

It was too dark to see anything on Saturday. He returned Sunday morning to find the top section of tower that held the main 10-bay ERI antenna was laying on the ground partially buried on one end.

“It appears the ice load was too much for the Phillystran supporting the upper section of the tower,” Atkins wrote. “We will be conducting a full investigation along with a tower inspection to determine the official cause.”

Ice on a tower member.

No one was hurt; and KOEZ, which airs an adult contemporary format, is operating at full power from the site utilizing its auxiliary antenna.

The post Iowa Ice Takes Down KOEZ’s FM Antenna appeared first on Radio World.

The author is executive director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. NFCB commentaries are featured regularly at www.radioworld.com.

Since last year, many radio stations have favored remote work due to the pandemic. It is expected they will keep staff at home still further into this year. So much isolation for staff and volunteers, though, is pushing us to think about maintaining a productive station culture.

Whether fully staffed or all-volunteer, local radio stations thrive, keep good people, and attract community interest in no small part by good word of mouth. A strong internal culture where people feel a sense of belonging and believe leaders care is key in this regard. Yet, fostering a station culture when everyone no longer is in person can be formidable.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: How Biden Helps Radio]

The consequences of not paying attention to station culture are serious. Recently the New York Times highlighted the problem of distance work creating staff problems. Longtime colleagues and peers are seeing their bonds fraying. Behavior people would never engage in at the station — from aggressive political posturing to disengagement at meetings to rude or uncompassionate treatment — have become the norm in some places. Instead of treating people like coworkers or fellow volunteers, experts note, people are treating these interactions like they’re dealing with online friends. However, these casual and sometimes pointed chats don’t vanish into the ether. As the Times points out, they are becoming the basis for harassment, discrimination and hostile work environment litigation — this time, with a digital footprint to demonstrate such.

For any business, these problems are daunting. For radio stations, especially local, community-based broadcasters, the many priorities related to content, technology and service crowd our to-do lists. Media itself is in the hot seat too, and its people surely are weighed down by the negative views the public increasingly says it feels about media. Station culture, as a result, only suffers.

How can your radio station have support its people and ensure a better culture when so much work is remote now? There are a few key issues.

Transparency is central to trust. Remember back when you were at the station and could walk over to someone’s space and talk about an idea, clear up a misunderstanding, or explain yourself? With that precious in-person interaction gone, it takes extra effort to let others know the full story to anything. Promoting communication and relationship-building is integral today at stations. Telling people about decisions and why they were made makes people feel more included, particularly when they can no longer have access to the traditional channels to learn and talk.

Handling conflicts consistently and proactively is necessary as well. At the station, disagreements can pop up from time to time, or more frequently. Managing conflicts fairly and evenly just as you would any station policy. And do not just let tensions simmer, or pretend like something didn’t happen. Handle it directly, lest it get worse later.

Finally, it’s important to be aware of the mental health and well-being of your volunteers and staff. Wellness vaulted from the realm of essential oils and yoga mats into the mainstream ages ago, so it’s time to embrace it. Isolation can have debilitating effects on your physical and mental health. You can offer your staff and volunteers many low-cost wellness resources to ensure they are happy and healthy. Such investments will create a more harmonious work environment, even remotely.

Sadly, remote station work is not going away soon, so it is up to stations to reimagine work to ensure the best stations possible.

The post Community Broadcaster: Distant Tension appeared first on Radio World.

Fig. 1

San Diego engineer Marc Mann offers some great tips to augment our suggestions in the Oct. 14 issue for keeping your condensate A/C systems clear for drainage.

First, Marc noted that the photo depicted in that column (Fig. 1) showed the condensate drain hard-piped.

Unfortunately, this is more the rule than the exception. It appears that the cleanout cap was not screwed on but secured using PVC cement.

Changing the tubing and cap to a threaded type will permit direct access to the drain for cleaning with a bottlebrush and/or compressed air.

The photo also shows a water-detecting puck on the floor. This is great; but if water overflows the evaporator pan, it’s too late.

Consider installing an evaporator pan overflow pipe switch that fits into the condensate line; it will turn off the A/C if water rises in the drain tube due to a clog. An example is the Rectorseal Safe-T-Switch available on Amazon.

Marc also likes to add an easy visual method to check if the condensate is indeed flowing.

As shown below, he adds a vinyl tube (with inside diameter of 1 inch) to the drain. PVC nipples placed on either end are held in place using hose clamps.

Fig. 2: A screw-on drain cap and a see-through section of tubing help guard against wet encounters caused by clogged condensate drains.

On even moderately humid days, you can verify that the condensate water is flowing and leaving the pan to wherever it is discharged. It takes but a few moments to confirm flow. The clear tubing also lets you see when dirt, algae or scum begins to form so you can use a bottlebrush to clean out the drain.

These low-cost methods can help you reduce the chances of a wet encounter of the worst kind.

Budget processor

Inovonics founder and industry innovator Jim Wood is active on a couple of Part 15 experimenter groups online.

“Being an admittedly elderly fellow, I got my start in radio when AM was just about the only game around,” he told us. “In my home town of San Jose, the only FM station of license there was doing elevator music — Muzak or some similar service. Anyway, I’ve always had a soft spot for AM radio, ‘the radio’ I grew up with.”

As a service to wannabe broadcasters, Jim developed a budget audio processor intended for Part 15 and LPAM applications. This was a “labor of love” project in his semi-retirement, and he has sold about 80 over the past few years. The Schlockwood 200 mono processor has XLR or TRS 1/4-inch phone plug ins and outs. It can be used as a ham radio voice processor!

You can view it at his site www.schlockwood.com.

Jim said his second product in the AM arena is under development with promising early results. It’s an AM mod-monitor, again for the experimental broadcast crowd. Jim doubts this will have the appeal of the processor but it’s a fun project.

Radio World honored Jim as an industry innovator in 2017. It’s encouraging to see his innovative spirit continues!

Unwanted connection

Speaking of building things, San Francisco’s Bill Ruck read our column this summer describing a DIY cable tester by Buc Fitch.

Bill recalls that in his youth he’d mooch mic cables from friends and associates for events he engineered. He quickly learned to test those cables before using them, because the event was not the time to troubleshoot faulty cables.

Later, when Bill had more money, he started buying Belden 8412 and making his own. Bill continued to check them but got tired of fumbling with a VOM. So in desperation he cobbled an XLR tester, similar to the one described by Buc Fitch.

Bill included what he found to be an important feature: He tested the connector shells for connection to any of the pins. He learned from experience never to connect the XLR shell to Pin 1, to avoid ground loops.

In practice, you can’t do this with a Cannon XLR connector, but the Switchcraft A3M and A3F have a convenient place to do this.

Over the years, Bill writes that he has found all sorts of miswired configurations as well as unbelievably bad workmanship hidden inside that XLR shell.

Remember your boots

We’ll wrap up this column with a postscript from David Morgan, director of engineering for Sinclair TeleCable–Norfolk whose tips for generator maintenance we shared recently.

From a webinar I did for the SBE on generator maintenance, David adds that the little rubber boot on the positive battery terminal not only guards against corrosion but also prevents accidental shorting of the battery terminals.

How can this happen? Very easily, when you are working with metal tools like wrenches in close proximity to the terminal.

Is your rubber boot missing? You can find replacements at most auto supply stores.

As we enjoy the winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s also important to check that your block heater is working. As a part of his preventive maintenance, David checks the temperature. Block heaters can and do go bad, and he has replaced one himself.

Battery age is another point to consider. After getting burned a few years ago by trying to squeeze a little more useful life out of an older battery, David now makes it a rule to replace his generator batteries after three years.

The specific gravity of the individual battery cells can be a good guide to replacement. Hydrometers for measuring this can be found on Amazon for less than $15.

David also plans to add hardware cloth to keep mice out after several set up house inside his big 180 kW Kohler. He has also seen mouse pieces in the metal fan guard grating as well as other places inside the genset. That block heater is an excellent welcome sign!

Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify for SBE recertification. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.

John Bisset has spent more than 50 years in the broadcasting industry and is in his 31st year writing Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance. He holds CPBE certification with the Society of Broadcast Engineers and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award.

The post Workbench: Tips for Avoiding Wet Encounters appeared first on Radio World.

A new advisory committee created by the National Association of Broadcasters is planning to analyze and tackle issues of diversity, equity and inclusion within the broadcast industry.

The new committee will report to the NAB Board of Directors and will consist of senior-level broadcasters including women, people of color and board members from NAB and the NAB Leadership Foundation (NABLF) who are focused on advancing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in broadcasting.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Diversity Was Radio’s Story of the Year]

“NAB is committed to ensuring diverse voices are represented in radio and television broadcasting and that every employee has the opportunity to excel in their career,” said NABLF President and NAB Chief Diversity Officer Michelle Duke when announcing the creation of the DEI Advisory Committee. “This new committee will help NAB continue moving diversity and equity forward, and provide guidance for the broadcast community in creating a more inclusive workplace.”

This isn’t the association’s first foray into inclusivity. Last summer the Leadership Foundation created a website called the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resource Center focused on helping media companies construct and maintain a diverse and inclusive workplace. The NAB is also advocating for congressional support of a tax certificate program that would provide a financial incentive to those who sell their majority in a radio or TV station to minority owners.

Among the committee’s first steps will be an overall assessment of the broadcast radio and television industries’ diversity and inclusion efforts. From there the DEI Advisory Committee will advise NAB and NABLF boards on strategies, initiatives and partnerships to increase the effectiveness of inclusion efforts, the NAB said. The committee will also support NAB staff advocacy efforts at both the Federal Communications Commission and in Congress as well as identify a diverse group of industry experts on various topics for NAB conferences and speaking engagements.

DEI Advisory Committee members will serve a two-year term with one opportunity to renew, the NAB said. Members also have the opportunity to participate in NAB’s board development training program, which works to enhance board leadership skills and prep committee members to become successful directors.

Inaugural members of the DEI Advisory Committee include Sandy Breland, Gray Television; Trila Bumstead, Ohana Media Group; Caroline Chambers, Graham Media Group; Alysia Cox, Cox Media Group; Estevan Gonzalez, KSWV Radio; Corey Hanson, WALA, Meredith Media Group; Michele Laven, iHeartMedia; DuJuan McCoy, Circle City Broadcasting; Heidi Raphael, Beasley Media Group; Oscar Rodriguez, Texas Association of Broadcasters; Sharon Tinsley, Alabama Association of Broadcasters; Grady Tripp, Tegna; and Joel Vilmenay, WDSU, Hearst Television.

 

The post New NAB Committee Will Address Diversity and Inclusion appeared first on Radio World.

A new free ebook explores what will happen next, now that the Federal Communications Commission has given the OK for U.S. AM radio stations to turn off their analog signals and switch on all-digital HD Radio if they wish.

Which broadcasters might implement the technology? What would your station need to do to convert? How can you estimate costs; what guidance can your transmitter manufacturer provide? 

The ebook, co-sponsored by Xperi, includes interviews by Radio World’s editorial team with several broadcasters who have firsthand experience of airing the MA3 mode of HD Radio, plus experts at NAB, Cavell Mertz, Nautel and several other radio companies.

Read it here.

The post AM All-Digital: Ready to Go appeared first on Radio World.

Marcus Doucette takes requests for “Let’s Hear It,” a weekly request show.

The author is a partner at Inrush Broadcast Services.

MILWAUKEE — 88Nine Radio Milwaukee (WYMS/88.9 MHz) is a catalyst for creating a better, more inclusive and engaged Milwaukee through music and stories created for a culturally open-minded community. Their studio facility, built in 2013, is located in the Third Ward neighborhood. All of their programming, including their subchannel 414 Music exclusively devoted to local music, originates from those studios today.

When 88Nine moved into their new space, the studios were filled out with a combination of Telos Hx1 hybrids and an Nx12 talk show from the old building. In a call back to the 1970s, POTS service was dropped directly into the new building and distributed to studios via Cat-6 patch panels.

However, being forward-thinking in both programming and technical areas, Radio Milwaukee adopted the VX in early 2015.

To allow staff a chance to establish a comfort level with the new system, the VX first replaced the Nx12 in the main air studio while the scattered Hx1 hybrids remained. The staff found the transition to be seamless as the phone module of the Axia Element console displayed the lines identically. A VSet12 12-line phone was also deployed in the air studio for talent that was more comfortable with a more traditional phone instrument.

The improved audio quality and increased reliability of VoIP was immediately noticeable, all while operational telecom expenses were reduced dramatically.

When the VX was implemented in 2015, it connected to our VoIP provider Flowroute directly over the public internet, and has performed flawlessly ever since. In 2020, as we planned our migration to Flowroute’s more robust peering infrastructure, we chose to forgo this direct connection.

We instead made the VX an endpoint on the facility’s newly commissioned Asterisk-based VoIP PBX and trunked the PBX to Flowroute. This will allow the staff to make extension-to-extension calls (when they’re finally back in the building) and enables unified telecom administration.

The VX still performs flawlessly behind the VoIP PBX. Creating additional extensions has been a breeze and we’ve been able to quickly add phone numbers in Flowroute, map those numbers to extensions in the PBX, and add them to the VX.

Since 88Nine is a fully Axia-based facility, this can all be done remotely in a matter of minutes — one of many conveniences afforded by VoIP and AoIP during the pandemic.

In the main studio, the VX has been an integral part of “Let’s Hear It,” a weekly request show hosted by Marcus Doucette for many years. It also allows 88Nine to continue interacting with their local community on a more individual level through frequent contesting and listener contributions.

After the VX deployment in the main air studio, we began looking at expansion to the other studios. A backup control room also featured an Axia Element console with a phone module, so a VSet telephone was purchased and it was configured as a mirror of the main studio.

However, the staff found that they preferred to only use the Element phone module for control in that environment. With the versatility of the VX ecosystem we were able to use the VSet in a production studio that already featured an Axia iQ console. Creating the additional studio and show in the VX was just as simple as the main studio. It was far more time-consuming to remove the Hx1 and its wiring than configuring the new hybrid in the VX!

During the pandemic, the VX has been indispensable.

Pledge drives at the station normally featured a full phone bank of volunteers and multiple hosts on a stage, pitching for the station. This year, during two different pledge drives, access to the studio space was severely restricted. The VX served as a simple method for getting multiple hosts on the air, with one staff member in the studio and others into a dedicated VIP line. Other calls are handled on the additional hybrid channel and regular call-in group.

The Omnia audio processing built into VX makes these phone calls sound clean and full.

In the future, the remaining production rooms will have VSets installed so the VX can handle telephony for the entire studio facility. Retiring the remaining POTS hybrids won’t have the same cost savings as with the main studio since these last few lines are already running on ATAs [analog telephone adapters], but it will continue to simplify management and provide a consistent studio experience for the staff. We’re pleased with the VX’s ability to grow and change with the facility over the years and we rest easy given its flawless track record since it was installed.

For information, contact Cam Eicher at The Telos Alliance in Ohio at 1-216-241-7225 or visit telosalliance.com. For integration information, contact Brian Sapp at Inrush Broadcast Services in Chicago at (312) 872-8911 or visit inrush.net.

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

 

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Shure MV7 microphone shown in a promotional image. It is available in silver, shown, or black.

When a Shure representative contacted us to promote their new MV7 podcast microphone, we were interested to learn that one of its users is New York Public Radio. So we pursued a Q&A with Jim Stagnitto, director of engineering for the organization, which is the home of WNYC and WQXR, to ask about the mic but also get an update on the station’s remote operations.

Radio World: We did a story a while back about how the pandemic had affected NYPR’s workflows. Can you update readers; to what extent is NYPR is getting back to normal?

Jim Stagnitto

Jim Stagnitto: NYPR has announced that we’ll remain in work-from-home mode until at least the end of our fiscal year in June, and make firm plans to return once the availability of a vaccine is confirmed.

This situation has revealed something to us that we would not have considered for normal operation — that is, having talent broadcast from home on a daily basis using the various codecs in our equipment storehouse.

Remember, it’s not just point-to-point audio of our on-air talent that’s needed for the creation of our shows; there are remotely located show directors, producers and screeners, and they all need computer access, intercom, telephone screening and call selection, and integration of remote interview guests.

We’re finding that it works; and it has been working reliably, thanks to all of the efforts of our broadcast and IT engineers.

RW: Shure tells us that the station is using one of its new models as part of the WFH strategy. What has been your experience with it?

Stagnitto: The first month of the COVID-19 lockdown, it was madness. We were making a lot of our solutions up on the fly.

Fortunately, we had enough codec kits and ancillary equipment to get us started quickly. I can’t say enough good things about all of our equipment suppliers; they were right there for us, ready to help with whatever we needed, and we were able to deploy more remote kits pretty quickly.

We’re now up to 25 kits in circulation using hardware-based codecs, along with mics, stands and other equipment. These traditional kits can be mighty expensive. Certainly, we did not budget for this type of expansion of our remote gear.

Now, with the work-from-home scenario going much longer than originally expected, we have increased need to deploy a lot more remote kits for both WNYC and classical WQXR. They would need to have high-quality connectivity and sound on a lower budget.

One way to do this is to utilize software-oriented codecs, and we’ve been looking into different ones we could deploy. A typical kit would be shipped to talent in a flight case and could possibly have a tablet type computer, a pair of headphones and a Shure MV7 Podcast Microphone with a desk stand. That’s pretty much all that would be needed.

For the record, in order to do this review, Shure kindly provided us with sample MV7 microphones, and once we saw what the mics could do for us, allowed us early access to purchase a number of units, so we could fabricate our remote kits as soon as possible.

In the studio, one of our standard in-house microphones is the Shure SM7B. For our kits, we were looking for something that would come close to the quality of the SM7B and had tested some of the current USB microphones on the market.

Rear view of the MV7 (black model)

Some were very good, however we’ve found that the Shure MV7 performed best for our use case — it doesn’t sound exactly like an SM7B, but the Shure MOTIV software gives you the opportunity to tailor the sound of the microphone so you can get a sound similar to what we get in our studios.

An added benefit of the MV7 is the touch panel control on the microphone body that lets the user adjust the microphone’s gain, headphone volume and monitor mix. Should you want to operate the system utilizing the MOTIV software you would have an option to lock these settings, and more, as a preset.

Our plans are to configure the microphone settings in advance, lock them and ship the kit. All the recipient will have to do is plug the mic into the tablet’s USB port, follow the directions to connect back to our Master Control and begin speaking.

RW: How has the organization’s approach to content production and remote work in general evolved — what has been learned since the earlier days of the pandemic?

Stagnitto: The pandemic has changed how we’re handling production. You can have producers receiving remotely recorded sound files, editing them in their at-home system, and then electronically sending them back to our main studio to go into our on-air play-out system. With the proper attention to detail, it’s working amazingly well.

Many of our hosts are recording and broadcasting live from typical New York City apartments, and this is another place where the performance of the MV7 microphone excels. It is a dynamic microphone, tuned for the voice — it’s not going to pick up a lot of subway rumble or street noise as you might with a condenser microphone. We don’t have to worry about putting up a lot of sound absorption materials in somebody’s apartment. The microphone has a very tight cardioid polar pattern, so off axis audio is very efficiently rejected.

We’re aware that we are in our talent’s homes, so if we can use the technology to help us get as close to a studio sound as we can without turning their living room into a studio, that’s a big plus.

RW: What else would your engineering colleagues be interested in knowing about that microphone or the broader workflows now at the station?

Stagnitto: With the MV7, Shure gives the user most of the tools they need to tailor and process the sound of the microphone; to be able to use the microphone in a less-than-optimum physical space.

It really is an “all in one” package. If you feel you need to use mic processing, you can do so, using Shure’s downloadable MOTIV software. Using this, you can access the MV7’s processing, including a built-in compressor, equalizer, and limiter. Once you get a sound you like, you can save your settings as a preset.

The software package also has a setup page for those who simply want to choose some preconfigured presets using all of the above mentioned audio tools. In addition, if you have the need to simultaneously feed a second audio device, the MV7 has a direct analog XLR output of the dynamic microphone.

In a traditional remote broadcast package, using a computer and a software-based codec or recording package, you would start with a good quality microphone, possibly followed by a mic processor, and a separate USB audio interface to connect to your computer to both send and receive audio. With the MV7 Podcast Microphone you’re giving the broadcaster or podcaster all of this. Everything that is needed to create a good quality product from home, built into one unit.

The post Shure MV7 Finds a Home at NYPR appeared first on Radio World.

Rob Babin has been named senior VP, radio, at Cox Media Group. He succeeds EVP of Radio Bill Hendrich, who retired.

The announcement was made by President/CEO Dan York, who called Babin “a collaborative and agile executive, with deep industry and CMG expertise and passion for everything he does.”

[Read: Daniel York Named Cox Media Group President and CEO]

Babin will oversee the company’s 65 radio stations in 11 markets. “He will focus heavily on achieving CMG’s Radio strategic growth objectives while maintaining CMG’s industry leading content, impactful community engagement, and growth-focused culture,” according to a statement. Cox Media Group also owns 35 TV stations plus various streaming and other digital platforms.

Babin’s past roles include regional VP for five Cox radio markets (Miami, Houston, Tampa, Fla., San Antonio and Long Island, N.Y.); VP/market manager for CMG Miami radio; director of sales and general sales manager for CMG Atlanta radio (WSB, WSB(FM), WALR, WSRV); and general sales manager for CMG Orlando radio (WWKA).

“In his most-recent role, Rob was VP/market manager for CMG Atlanta’s award-winning and market-leading radio brands: WSB, WSB(FM), WALR and WSRV; and CMG Athens radio: WRFC, WGAU, WGMG, WXKT, WPUP and WNGC.”

He is a board member of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau.

 

The post Cox Names Rob Babin Head of Radio appeared first on Radio World.

French media regulator CSA announced this month that the national DAB+ broadcast authorization across France will become effective on July 15, essentially setting the earliest day by which national broadcasters in France can go on air.

According to a WorldDAB summary of the CSA announcement, the first stage of the national broadcasts is set to cover highways in mainland France (often referred to as “metropolitan France” in French), starting with highways between the country’s two largest cities, Paris and Marseille, crossing Lyon.

A total of two multiplexes are set to launch in France in the summer of 2021, hosting 12 and 13 stations respectively. The 25 broadcasters that have been selected to broadcast nationally on DAB+ have already been determined, and include the six Radio France national radio stations.

WorldDAB said the CSA’s DAB+ rollout plan, the nodes and arcs strategy, which also includes continued regional rollouts alongside the launch of national services, aims to bring population coverage in France up to 40% by the end of 2022.

The post France Edges Closer to National DAB+ Launch appeared first on Radio World.