Industry News

Radiodays Europe had already postponed its 2020 event once, in hopes it could still do an in-person event this December. Now the organization has acknowledged that it cannot, and it has rescheduled to May of next year.

If the new schedule holds, its physical event will be held at CCL in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 2–4. Radiodays Europe is 10 years old and most recently drew about 1,500 people from 62 countries.

Whether large events can be held even in May seems uncertain; notably, the National Association of Broadcasters just recently decided it won’t be able to hold a physical event in April in Las Vegas, and pushed its spring show back.

The Radiodays postponement was announced by General Manager Peter Niegel. “It has been a very difficult decision to make, as back in March when we postponed the event for the first time we were anticipating it would be possible to hold an in person event in December,” he was quoted in the announcement.

“However, what we are continuing to see is that the situation country by country and within the radio and podcast communities is that quarantines, restrictions on travel and the continued spread of the virus mean an event in December is not in the interests of our participants, speakers, partners and hosts.”

Tickets to the 2020 event will be honored at the event in May. Radiodays Europe will also run a virtual “Christmas Lunch” on Monday Dec. 14.

 

The post Radiodays Europe Postpones Again appeared first on Radio World.

Churches in the United States should not look to the Federal Communications Commission to ease power restrictions on unlicensed radio signals that many churches now use to reach congregations.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has replied to a letter from Rep. Mark Green. The congressman from Tennessee sought pandemic waivers for houses of worship to transmit signals exceeding power levels allowed under Part 15 of the rules.

As Radio World has reported, COVID-19 has caused a great spike in interest by churches and other organizations to use FM and AM radio to reach people who wish to gather and yet stay physically spread out.

Because broadcast licenses are so hard to come by, unlicensed Part 15 systems naturally have attraction; but their effective coverage is limited. And providers of such systems, as well as licensed broadcasters, have expressed concern that new users don’t understand or choose to follow the relevant rules.

[Read RW’s recent coverage of Part 15 broadcasting and related opinions.]

Green in June asked for a temporary waiver allowing FM transmitters to operate with an effective range greater than 200 feet. He noted that churches were looking for innovative ways to gather and should be “be able to operate without the fear of heavy penalties threatening their services.”

Green — like Pai a Republican who speaks about the need for less regulation — wrote, “The coronavirus pandemic has forced houses of worship to find alternative ways to exercise [their] freedoms. The least the Federal government can do is to get out of their way, so they can serve their communities without fear of violating a government rule.”

But Pai said no. He wrote to Green, “These devices can be useful in providing a way for churches to continue to connect with congregations during this period of social distancing. However, one of the fundamental responsibilities that Congress placed on the commission under the Communications Act of 1934 is the protection of licensed stations. To this end, the commission long ago established carefully calibrated rules regarding the specifications under which licensed and unlicensed FM stations may operate.”

The chairman said that when granting applications for new FM stations or modifications of existing ones, FCC rules require that applicants demonstrate that they would not cause harmful interference, and applications must be supported with detailed engineering information.

“Additionally, our rules provide for public notice of these applications, and afford potentially impacted stations the opportunity to object to these applications if they believe that they will receive interference.”

Because of these requirements, Pai continued, Part 15 devices must stay within strict confines of FCC rules in order to protect licensed stations from harmful interference.

“A waiver of these requirements would undermine the commission’s goal of ensuring the integrity of already ­crowded FM radio spectrum, and would deny existing licensees the opportunities to defend their costly investments.”

Pai told Green that he is “proud of the work that licensed broadcasters have done during the pandemic. They have been providing vital information to listeners, while facing an unprecedented challenge from loss of advertising revenue. Moreover, as the recent tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic have demonstrated, licensed broadcasters provide up-to-the-minute information on natural disasters and are required to participate in the Emergency Alert System.”

These services and others, Pai wrote, could be hurt by waivers to allow churches to operate Part 15 devices above current power limits.

“I understand that this makes it more challenging for churches during this difficult time, but I want to emphasize that there are options available,” Pai continued.

“Churches can contact local broadcast stations to see if any would be willing to air their weekly services. Indeed, many local stations partnered with house of worship to broadcast Easter services. Churches also could explore using multiple Part 15 devices to cover a larger area if they continue to provide ‘drive-in’ style services.

“Or churches could look into ‘call-to-listen’ services where congregants would only need a phone to hear the service. Finally, if congregants have access to broadband at home, there are multiple, free streaming services that could be used (and have been used across the country).”

 

 

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President Trump has announced his intention to nominate Nathan Simington to fill the seat being vacated by Michael O’Rielly, whose renomination was withdrawn by the president apparently because O’Rielly was critical of the president’s effort to regulate social media.

Simington is currently senior advisor at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is the president’s chief communications advisory arm, where he worked on 5G security/supply chain issues.

He also reportedly worked on NTIA’s petition to the FCC to come up with the regime for regulating social media that the president had called for and that O’Rielly had criticized.

[Read: Trump Rescinds O’Rielly Nomination at FCC]

Simington is formerly senior counsel to wireless company Brightstar, where the White House points out he “negotiated deals with companies across the spectrum of the telecommunications and internet industry, including most of the world’s leading wireless carriers.”

Before that he was at powerhouse law firm Kirkland & Ellis as an associate in its corporate practice.

O’Rielly can continue to serve in his post either until Congress adjourns or Simington has had a nomination hearing in the Senate and is confirmed in that body, whichever comes first.

If O’Rielly left before his mandatory exit, it would leave the FCC at a 2–2 tie, which Republicans clearly don’t want. And even if he stayed through the end of December, the FCC could be at a 2–2 tie depending on how long it took to vet and vote a successor given the intervention of a presidential election and a lame-duck Congress with few legislative days.

O’Rielly has already been vetted and voted in the Commerce Committee and had only been awaiting a Senate vote when the president abruptly pulled the nomination, likely over an O’Rielly speech to the Media Institute in which he raised concerns about the negative consequences of regulating social media company content, something the president has pushed.

But there had also been a hold on O’Rielly’s nomination placed by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who was unhappy with an FCC decision to allow Ligado to use spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial broadband. That was a unanimous decision, but O’Rielly’s is the only FCC nomination up for renewal and that hold was considered a signal to the whole FCC of Inhofe’s unhappiness rather than any desire to derail O’Rielly.

O’Rielly tweeted his support for his successor, saying: “I extend my sincere congrats to Mr. Simington for selection to join @FCC, and offer best wishes for a smooth confirmation process and successful term at the commission.”

 

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In this issue we continue our coverage of racial diversity in U.S. radio tech, focused for now on the experiences of Black engineers. We started last issue with a story featuring the experiences of three African American radio engineers. Here we sought out several broadcast companies and organizations to invite their perspectives and what, if anything, should be done about the situation.

It’s uncontentious to assert that there is a lack of Black engineers in technical positions across the U.S. radio broadcast landscape.

Radio is not unique in this regard. Its lack of diversity mirrors that of many technology-based industries. But a quick peek into any engineering session room at a major trade show makes clear how dramatic the disparity is.

“I’ve only worked with a few Black engineers through my entire career,” one corporate-level engineering professional told Radio World. It’s a common observation for many in the field.

A diverse workforce is the backbone of successful organizations in various industries, according to many business experts. So how can U.S. radio — often criticized for a lack of diversity in ownership and upper management, especially in commercial radio — better reflect the world around it by diversifying technical hiring?

Social activism during the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the issue of systemic racial inequities throughout society, and many companies in and out of radio are making public gestures toward doing better.

But for technical people, this comes at a time when the overall numbers of broadcast engineers and engineering jobs appear to be shrinking thanks to industry consolidation and retirements.

And data is scarce. The Society of Broadcast Engineers and the National Association of Broadcasters do not collect demographic information on membership. Nor do they collect data like the number of broadcast engineering jobs held by African Americans.

“SBE recruitment efforts are aimed at all within the broadcast engineering and media community, regardless of color, race or gender,” according to a statement from SBE.

But Mike Cooney, chief technology officer for Beasley Media Group, told us the broadcast industry is well positioned to attract a more diverse workforce.

“Given the incredible technological advances that continue to evolve on a daily basis within our industry, there are more opportunities than ever before. I think having engineering and technology-based training facilities and organizations dedicated to promoting diversity in the workplace are great ways to attract diverse candidates,” Cooney said.

Beasley Media Group, which has 64 radio stations in 15 markets, is committed to a diverse workplace and encourages anyone with a passion for pursuing a career in broadcast engineering to do so, Cooney said.

Recent attention to race and social justice should only spur more creative ways for the industry to achieve a more diverse workplace, he said.

Radio World reached out to several other leading radio groups. Queries to iHeartMedia and Entercom for comment were not answered. Cumulus Media “respectfully declined” to comment.

“Basic benchmarks”

The problem may not be a lack of candidates but a broken “pipeline.”

David Honig, president emeritus and senior advisor at the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, said that issue has existed for a long time.

“For decades there have been pipeline issues impacting African-Americans in all STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] career paths. African-Americans face entry barriers at every stage. High school course assignments, college counseling and lack of mentors,” Honig said, “plus out-and-out employment discrimination, both conscious and unconscious.”

Honig said a good starting point would be the development of partnerships and relationships, including internship and for-credit externships, for minority candidates.

Ernesto Aguilar, program director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, said radio broadcasters need to “look at themselves” when searching for solutions to improve diversity within their organizations.

“There are the obvious things, such as outdated recruitment efforts, problematic workplace culture and frankly not really trying that hard. But then there are more subtle issues. Quite a few organizations hire engineers purely as contractors with no benefits.

“In addition, contractors may not receive the investment that regular staffers do, so there can be power disparities, out-of-pocket expenses for training and issues that make these roles less desirable,” Aguilar said.

There are things Black job candidates can do, Aguilar said, that can benefit their job search and to find employment within engineering ranks.

“I’d encourage any prospective candidate of color to ask to see the diversity, equity and inclusion goals of anywhere they’re interviewing; to request a copy of the organization’s staff audit to see its hiring trends the last five years; and to talk with staffers of color.

“With that in mind, this is an opportunity for those broadcasters who are serious about diversity to have some of the basic benchmarks above,” Aguilar said.

The NFCB, which serves community radio stations within the public media system, in July released a guidebook to its members on issues of diversity. The Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Community Radio guide offers community radio stations “a simple, actionable framework to implementing training, setting up a DEI committee, doing programming audits, managing resistance to change at your station, and potential initiatives you can work on.”

Aguilar said it remains to be seen whether recent racial justice protests foster a greater practical commitment from broadcast managers and executives, mostly White, to hire and retain executives, leaders and staff across gender, race and generation.

Moving the needle

NAB Chief Diversity Officer Michelle Duke says one key obstacle facing Black applicants hoping to enter broadcast engineering is a lack of experience.

“When we have had students of color graduate from our Technology Apprenticeship Program, one issue we have faced with hiring is that many stations aren’t able to hire entry-level engineers,” Duke said, noting that it’s not a problem unique to minority candidates.

The NAB Leadership Foundation’s Technology Apprenticeship Program, a six-month program that includes a diversity component, provides hand-on training and prepares a person to take the Society of Broadcast Engineers Certified Broadcast Technologist Exam.

Addressing the lack of Black broadcast engineers begins with education, which won’t happen overnight, Duke said.

“It has to be a cohesive industry-wide effort to partner with organizations and schools that train student engineers. Building ties with organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers would give our industry more exposure to Black engineering students who are looking for their first job opportunity,” Duke said.

The next step, Duke said, is for the industry to find ways to keep potential Black engineers engaged.

“Either through hiring them or creating contract positions that these students can strive toward acquiring. We are doing our best to lay the groundwork, and we need radio stations and companies to work with us to get the best results,” she said.

“This takes time, but if the radio industry is sincerely interested in moving the needle, it can happen.”

Comment on this or any story. Email mailto:radioworld@futurenet.comwith “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

The post Is Diversity in U.S. Radio Engineering Possible? appeared first on Radio World.

The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, with Karina Canellakis, chief conductor, at left.

The author of this commentary is head of radio for the European Broadcasting Union, an alliance of public service media with 115 member organizations in 56 countries. Read about its mission here.

Each day, audiences across Europe access the music programming on public media through the EBU Members. In doing so, they can open a window on a vast variety of musical genres, accounting for around half the programming hours broadcast.

In the very beginning of radio, broadcasters needed to invest in live music-making, because commercial music interests were concerned that radio airplay would affect their sales. So studio ensembles, radio dance bands and radio choirs were born.

Of course, we have come a long way from those days, but the extraordinary investment in musicians and music continues. Even during this troubled year for the music sector, public media organizations have been seeking opportunities to bring live music back to their services.

Obligation and privilege

With an abundant amount of commercial music available elsewhere, for instance through streaming services, what can public media add to an already rich mix?

Because of the special way in which EBU Members are funded, there is the obligation and indeed the privilege of supporting national musical life. This can involve giving platforms to unsigned bands, providing experience and visibility to young composers and musicians, and commissioning new music.

Yes, in short, public media is there to take risks and to stimulate creativity on a national basis. Case studies have shown that the range of music played is wider than on commercial channels.

Public radio then provides opportunities for musicians and an enriched listener experience. And of course, within the EBU, it is massively important that these cultural events, produced nationally, can be shared on an international basis.

Through the extraordinary Music Exchange within the EBU, in a typical year around 5,000 hours of content is exchanged. This is not a typical year; but in the coming months we look forward to steadily rebuilding as more live events happen. Thankfully we are already seeing the green shoots.

Economic boon

In common with other broadcasters, EBU Members track audience trends and platform usage; but what has never been fully analyzed is the extraordinary economic impact of the investment which leads to the positive listener experiences recalled above.

We are therefore pleased to have commissioned work involving Oxford Economics and the EBU Media Intelligence Service, work that clearly demonstrates that, in addition to cultural and societal benefits, the investment yields a substantial economic benefit (see “The Economic Impact of Public Radio’s Music Activities,” Oxford Economics, 2020, free access with new user log-in).

Across the EBU Members, we can count more than 120 music ensembles, around half of them orchestras, the remainder choirs and smaller ensembles. This directly creates over 17,000 jobs, including 5,800 musicians directly employed, at the cost of more than 1 billion euros. Across the European Union, this accounts for around 20% of the overall investment in the music and radio sectors.

If we then factor in further impacts from the necessary procurement to support the activity, as well as staff spending, we can see a broader impact of more than 3 billion euros, supporting over 50,000 jobs.

Additionally, and not quantified in the report, there is a notable effect from public media encouragement of listeners to explore new genres, discover emerging musicians, namely in the purchase or streaming of a wide range of music genres.

The highly positive contribution here is around the support this gives to launch new careers and — in the process — contribute to building national cultural capital, in many cases resulting in exports through touring and international sales.

When we appreciate the choice of music on our radios, when we hear one of the many orchestras and choirs perform, we should certainly enjoy that special moment.

However, there is a wider picture, namely the substantial economic benefits of this activity, sustaining the artists involved and giving them a regular platform, but also nourishing the economies of the countries where such investment takes place.

An EBU webinar on Sept. 22 will explore “PSM Supporting Music: The Economic Impact.”

The organization also has released a List of Radio Ensembles run by EBU Members, including 56 orchestras, 47 choirs and 24 additional ensembles.

 

The post EBU Cites Benefits of Public Radio Music appeared first on Radio World.

A proposal to establish new disclosure requirements for broadcast TV and radio content sponsored or provided by foreign governments has been made by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

Pai’s proposal comes in the form of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which would amend section 73.1212 of the FCC’s rules to require a specific disclosure at the time of a broadcast if a foreign governmental entity provided the content.

[Read: FCC Releases Guidance on Requests for Fee Flexibility]

The current rules, according to the commission’s announcement, do not specify how and when foreign government sponsorship of content should be disclosed to the public. The proposed rules would provide standardized disclosure language for stations to use in such instances to specifically identify the foreign government involved.

“American TV viewers and radio listeners have the right to know if a foreign government is behind the programming they are consuming,” said Pai. “With some station content coming from the likes of China and Russia, it is time to update our rules and shed more sunlight on these practices. I hope my colleagues will act quickly to approve this proposal so we can help the American public be informed when they may be watching or listening to foreign-government propaganda.”

The existing rules date back to the Radio Act of 1927 and were designed to prohibit stations from disguising advertising as program content, the FCC says. Pai believes that these new rules would expand transparency by applying it to foreign government and political parties.

 

The post Pai Calls for Transparency on Foreign Government Sponsored Broadcast Content appeared first on Radio World.

Though much of college radio station activity has been hamstrung by COVID-19 limitations, early October will see the return of World College Radio Day.

Officially Oct. 2, the 10th annual World College Radio Day will feature rocker Bret Michaels as its Official 2020 Ambassador. Michaels is best known for his work with the band, Poison.

He said, “In this difficult time, there has never been a more important year, or a better year, for the hope that college radio brings. … Music itself is the soundtrack to life and helps drive us through these unprecedented times. When dorms and campuses may be quiet, this should be the time for college radio to be going strong.”

Michaels himself will work with his foundation, Life Rocks Foundation, to donate $10,000 to select college radio stations.

The post World College Radio Day Approaches appeared first on Radio World.

Hybrid radio is about to take a much bigger place on the American radio stage.

Audi of America announced it is collaborating with iHeartRadio to bring the capability to drivers in North America.

iHeartRadio is rolling out hybrid radio compatibility via more than 600 stations in the United States and Canada.

Hybrid radio allows users to keep listening to favorite stations even when out of range of the signal. It also enables metadata-driven graphics and other capabilities.

Audi is introducing hybrid radio on certain 2021 vehicles, which begin to go on sale in the U.S. this month. The company has been an early advocate for this technology approach.

The details

“Equipped on select 2021 Audi vehicles with the new MIB 3 infotainment suite, Hybrid Radio seamlessly allows listeners with an Audi connect Prime or Plus subscription to switch between broadcast and digital radio signals when they have entered or exited radio signal territories for uninterrupted listening,” Audi announced.

“When the vehicle is cycled off and on again, it is able to retain the radio station, picking up the digital radio channel via internet connection. Collaborating with iHeartRadio brings the experience to life.”

An image from an Audi receiver shows available stations. A small box labeled “Web” indicates reception via the WiFi channel instead of OTA.

As Radio World has been reporting, platforms that combine OTA and internet connectivity are starting to take a bigger role in the competitive landscape.

The open standards organization RadioDNS has been active in raising awareness and encouraging adoption of hybrid platforms.

[Related: “Hybrid Radio Picks Up Momentum,” June 2020 overview article}

Getting support from the largest radio company in the country is an obvious big step forward for the hybrid format in the United States.

The announcement was made by Pom Malhotra, director, Connected Services, Audi of America, and Michele Laven, president of Strategic Partnerships Group for iHeartMedia.

Laven was quoted saying, “The innovative functionality Audi is introducing via their Hybrid Radio experience allows yet another way for that companionship to be seamlessly extended beyond the range of the broadcast signal keeping the consumer connected to their favorite station, no matter where the road takes them.”

In the case of these Audi customers, the hybrid platform uses an integrated 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot to maintain a radio station when out of range of the signal.

[Related: “RadioDNS Aims to Establish Metadata Consistency”]

 

The post iHeartRadio Will Support Hybrid Radio in North America appeared first on Radio World.

Thanks to a new contract extension, SiriusXM says “nearly all” new General Motors vehicles soon will be available with the satellite service.

The new agreement runs through 2027. “GM will increase vehicles equipped with SiriusXM to nearly all Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles beginning with model year 2021,” it stated.

[Read: SiriusXM Adds Volkswagen to the 360L Family]

Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac customers purchasing or leasing new or preowned SiriusXM equipped vehicles will continue to get a three-month trial subscription to SiriusXM All Access.

General Motors also will continue to expand its deployment of the SiriusXM 360L hybrid radio platform, which is more personalized and provides on-demand content capabilities.

The announcement was made by Steve Cook, EVP, Sales and Automotive, for SiriusXM, and Santiago Chamorro, VP for Global Connected Services at GM. SiriusXM also noted that GM was the first to begin factory-installing SiriusXM, in 2002.

 

The post GM Extends Deal With SiriusXM appeared first on Radio World.

Russell M. Perry will receive the NAB National Radio Award during the 2020 Radio Show.

He is described by the National Association of Broadcasters as “a trailblazing media entrepreneur, a champion of journalism and a celebrated humanitarian in his community,” according to NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith in the announcement.

The association noted that Perry began his radio career in 1993 with the founding of Perry Publishing & Broadcasting Co. and the purchase of an AM station in Oklahoma City, Okla.

[Read: Radio Show Announces Virtual Lineup]

“Since then, he has grown the company into the largest independently owned African-American broadcasting company in the nation, with 22 radio stations across the southeast United States.”

Earlier he was co-publisher of The Black Dispatch, and in 1979, became the owner and publisher of The Black Chronicle, a paid weekly newspaper serving Oklahoma.

Perry has also held high posts in Oklahoma state government as the secretary of commerce and secretary of economic development and special affairs. He’s active in efforts to promote and restore African-American-owned commerce in Oklahoma City.

Past honors include induction into the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and American Urban Radio Network Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

The Radio Show will be held virtually this year over a full week in early October; it is produced by the NAB and the Radio Advertising Bureau. Info is at the Radio Show website.

 

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