Thursday's Radio & Media News - June 20, 2013

NAB Asks FCC 'WTF Is Indecent?' As the FCC continues taking comments on the issue of broadcast indecency, the NAB this week offered a 42-page filing supporting broadcasters -- and asking for clarity on the indecency rule and more timely and transparent responses when dealing with indecency complaints. The courts have ruled that the FCC can take punitive action against indecent broadcast content, but have also told the Commission its rules and what will be enforced must be less vague and/or arbitrary. Citing changes in technology and consumers for undermining the basis for broadcaster-specific limits on "indecent" speech as noted in the 35-year-old Pacifica ruling, the NAB says the current rule has, "crumbled under the weight of changes in technology and media consumption." The NAB's filing Wednesday (June 19) devotes a section to "Current Commission Policy Does Not Comport with the Restraints Articulated in Pacifica." The NAB also specifically asks the FCC to unequivocally state that it will no longer treat fleeting or isolated expletives and images as actionably indecent. An example would be Red Sox player David Ortiz's recent f-word-ing adjective when reacting to the Boston Marathon bombing. Former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski offered support for Ortiz's emotional "this is our fucking town" comment. And who can forget when national radio and TV aired live a comment to President Obama from Vice President Joe Biden (who didn't know the microphone was on) "that's a big fucking deal" -- a comment later referenced, without repeating the quote, by Obama himself during a news conference. Addressing the government's concern that broadcasters may expose children to adult-oriented or otherwise inappropriate material, the NAB argues that "there is no principled way to focus solely on broadcast content" noting that "children in particular enjoy unfettered access to content via devices that they carry in their pockets and backpacks -- access that usually involves no subscription or special parental involvement." The NAB's bottom line, though, is that the Commission must eliminate (what the courts called) "arbitrary and capricious" policies and enforcement, clearly advising broadcasters of what will be cited by the FCC as a violation. Read the NAB's full June 19 filing here (pdf). RTNDA: FCC Indecency Policy 'Unconstitutionally Vague' One day after the NAB filed its extensive response to the FCC, the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) files its own comments -- saying the current Commission policy is "unconstitutionally vague." RTDNA says that creates "an impermissible chilling effect on protected speech." The association, reporting on the filing on its website, offers this excerpt from that filing: "The FCC's current indecency policies—the contours of which are presently unknown and unknowable to broadcasters, journalists, and program producers alike—are unconstitutionally vague and create an impermissible chilling effect on protected speech. The current policies, which represent an about-face from the restrained approach that the FCC previously applied, also far exceed the bounds of permissible regulation under the Supreme Court's decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation. Accordingly, the Commission's continued enforcement of these policies violates the fundamental First Amendment precept, incorporated by Congress into the Communications Act, that the government must tread lightly when venturing to regulate broadcast content. Due respect for First Amendment principles also requires the FCC to defer to licensees' reasonable good-faith judgments with respect to the types of programming that constitute news or public affairs, as well as the occasions on which it is appropriate to broadcast expletives and/or nudity in order to best present newsworthy program content to viewers and listeners. As it did some thirty-five years ago, RTDNA urges the Commission to exempt news and public affairs programming from the indecency regulation." Steve Craig Named APD/MD at Atlanta's '97.1 The River' Cox Media Group Atlanta names 20-year market veteran Steve Craig as Assistant PD and Music Director of Classic Hits "97.1 The River" WSRV-FM, effective Monday (June 24). Craig joined the station for weekends after returning to Atlanta, and most recently has been hosting middays. "It's like hitting the lottery, getting someone of Steve's caliber to join the River," says WSRV-FM Program Director Dave Clapper. "His knowledge for music, enthusiasm for the business and his reputation in Atlanta, makes it a no brainer for The River. We are so excited to have him as part of our team and look forward to continuing the success of the River with him on board!" Craig returned to Atlanta after a successful run as Assistant PD and midday host at WRXP-FM, New York. Prior to that, he was APD and middays for the entire 17-year history of Atlanta’s legendary Alternative "99X." Craig tells us, "I'm proud and grateful to be surrounded by the amazing management and talent at Cox Media Group. The company culture and programming philosophies are second to none. I'm incredibly excited about working with Clapper and The River team and looking forward to helping exceed the standard we’ve set for engaging rock radio in Atlanta." Craig will also continue to anchor weekends on "97.1 The River" and host daily specialty features. He will also oversee programming for WSRV-FM’s Alternative HD2 multicast station "The Other Side Of The River." New 'X' for Fort Myers, WTLT-FM Flips from AC 'Lite' to Rock As quickly as Beasley Broadcast Group merged Fort Meyers Active Rock “99X” WJBX-FM with Hot Talk "96 K-Rock" WRXK-FM, Sun Broadcasting has nabbed the "X" brand with a flip of AC "Lite 93.7" WTLT-FM to Active Rock "93X" -- telling listeners in the market, “They tried to kill it, but we brought it back to life.” WTLT-FM's new offering is being promoted as "New Rock. New Address." WTLT-FM is licensed to Sanibel, Florida, broadcasting to the Fort Myers-Naples market on 93.7 FM, with studios in Fort Myers. The new "93X" is online here, also with a re-direct from the former "Lite" url. Currently it's just a splash screen announcing the new station and format but does include a link to listen. Meanwhile, some are noting that this is the third station to drop the "Lite" branding in the past month, following similar moves in Chicago and Dallas. CPB Holds Up Radio Funding After Pacifica Misses Deadlines CPB is withholding financial support for the Pacifica Foundation’s five radio stations after Pacifica missed deadlines "for fixing errors and shortcomings in its accounting and operations," reports Current.org. The errors were discovered during a CPB audit last year that cited Pacifica for insufficient accounting practices, misreported revenues and failure to comply with CPB rules on open meetings and financial transparency. "The withholding of CPB funding hits Pacifica at a precarious time as its stations struggle to raise enough money to pay rent and staff." Pacifica’s New York station -- "Free Speech Radio 99.5" WBAI-FM -- fell short of its on-air fundraising goal in May by 45 percent, or $343,000. The station can’t cover its June payroll or rent for its antenna, according to a June 9 email by General Manager Berthold Reimers to members of WBAI's board. The station will extend its fund drive, wrote Reimers, who added, "This is our only choice until we can figure out other means or else we will have to shut down the station." As we previously reported, WBAI was also struggling to pay antenna rent in February, and at the time Reimers hoped to draw on $130,000 in Community Service Grant (CSG) support from CPB, which was to be delivered in March. But, says Current.org, CPB withheld that money and grants to all other Pacifica stations because it has not received requested documentation from the Berkeley, California, based foundation. A September 2012 audit by CPB’s Office of the Inspector General found Pacifica in violation of several criteria for receiving CSG payments. The foundation had overstated its nonfederal financial support from October 2008 to September 2010 by about $2 million, which resulted in CPB erroneously awarding Pacifica an excess of $133,240 in CSGs. CPB will adjust Pacifica’s CSG payments in 2014 to recover the excess money previously awarded, according to Michael Levy, EVP of Corporate and Public Affairs. CPB also withheld a CSG payment scheduled for earlier this year because Pacifica has not provided its Annual Financial Reports or documented that it is properly tracking use of CSG funds. It could still receive those funds if it complies with CPB’s requests, says Levy. Update: There are now reports that Pacifica’s WBAI-FM, New York, is laying off its entire staff (including management), and has sent out notices that they will be be out of work as of July 15. Reportedly, one staff member says the layoffs are because "the Labor Department got wind that they were refusing to pay us." Echo Nest Study: Music Tastes Related to Other Life Choices The Echo Nest has issued results from new research into "Musical Identity" -- understanding who you are as a music fan and what your taste in music says about you. "We’re building ways to understand your music taste, or 'Musical Identity,' and relate that to your taste in politics, movies, and other areas," says the report on the study. But, says The Echo Nest, before we get to that, what is “Musical Identity?” And offers this answer. "Our music taste is so personal. It’s an important part of defining and communicating who we are. Unlike the passive listening experience of broadcast radio or listening to a CD, online music is a two-way conversation. Not only are you listening to music, but music listens to you too, whenever you search, skip, rate, favorite, ban and share what you hear. By analyzing this expression of your musical taste, we can better understand who you are as a fan — your 'Musical Identity'." Musical Identity, says the report, "has always been a powerful indicator of other things about you. Broadcast radio’s formats — Urban, Hot A/C, Pop, and so on — are based on the premise that a certain type of music attracts a certain type of person. However, the broadcast version of Musical Identity is a blunt instrument, grouping millions of people into about 12 audience segments. Now that music has become a two-way conversation online, Musical Identity can become considerably more precise, powerful, and predictive. For example, did you know that it’s possible to predict with relative accuracy a person’s political affiliation based on what they listen to? Well, it is, and we did it." Says Jim Lucchese, CEO of The Echo Nest, "We see Musical Identity, an understanding of each music fan as an overall person, as the next key driver of digital music growth. Listening is unlike any other way in which people express who they are, and we have spent years of research and development forming the deepest understanding of Musical Identity based on that behavior, and on music itself." Read the full report from The Echo Nest here. CRTC: Fiscal 2012 Canadian Radio Revenues Inch Up The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has released a report on 2012's radio revenue for the 675 commercial radio stations in Canada. Revenue for the fiscal broadcast year, which ended August 31, 2012, "increased marginally over the previous year despite competition from satellite, online and mobile services." Total revenues for AM and FM stations increased by 0.4 percent, from $1.61 billion in 2011 to $1.62 billion in 2012. Expenses declined by $3.7 million during the same period. As a result, profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) rose from $311 million to $323 million, and the PBIT margin improved from 19.3 percent to 19.9 percent. In 2012, these stations employed 10,050 people and paid $681 million in salaries. Canada's FM radio stations continued to generate the majority of total revenues. The addition of 11 new FM stations in 2012 brought the number operating in Canada to 546. In 2012, these stations earned $1.31 billion in revenues, slightly up from $1.3 billion in 2011. Revenues for English-language FM stations remained virtually the same at $1.04 billion, while those for French-language FM stations increased by 1.7 percent to $251.8 million. Revenues for ethnic FM stations grew by 1.9 percent for a total of $20 million. The number of AM stations in Canada declined from 134 in 2011 to 129 in 2012 as some stations converted to the FM band. This trend is reflected in the total revenues, which declined by 1.6 percent to $306 million compared to $311 million in 2011. Earnings for English-language AM stations remained relatively the same at approximately $275 million. In contrast, ethnic AM stations saw their revenues increase by over three percent to $25.2 million. In its recently released Three-Year Plan (LINK), the CRTC announced that it will be reviewing its commercial radio policy in 2013-2014. This review will be launched in fall 2013. Radio BDC Launches 'The Social Countdown' RadioBDC, the live, streaming radio station of Boston.com, launches "The Social Countdown" -- a daily show that puts listeners in complete control of determining the most popular music in Boston and beyond. The Social Countdown takes from some of the biggest social media and online music subscription services to determine the biggest alternative tracks of the moment. We're told that RadioBDC listeners, as well as artists, can vote on Boston.com for their favorite songs, showing in real time the most popular music of the moment. "The Social Countdown is a new spin on a traditional concept that’s been used in radio for decades," says Paul Driscoll, Director of Operations and Program Development at RadioBDC (Boston Dot Com). "We have the smartest and most tech-savvy listeners in the city, we trust them and their feedback is vital to us. The Social Countdown is another way for their voices to be heard, and it legitimizes the way radio countdowns are done for the first time." "The Social Countdown" will air weekdays at 5pm, starting Monday, June 24, hosted by Adam12. Hivio 'Radio Ideas Festival' Explores Future of Radio Asking the questions "Is radio special? And what does it mean if it isn't?," consultant and event co-founder Mark Ramsey opened the first hivio ("Hi*vee*oh") "radio ideas festival" on radio's future in San Diego today. Offering "Ideas to Transform and Disrupt Radio," the event started with a look at the medium's recent past, showing radio usage on a steep decline over the last 33 years, but pointing out that radio isn't dead, but also is no longer "special" -- affected by the same external forces as other media. Ramsey urged radio to plan for the future based on reality rather than myths, developing "unique and compelling content" and utilizing new platforms to disseminate them. Radio should be in the content business, he said, not the tower business. Ramsey listed the 14 "jobs" of radio -- the things listeners "hire" the medium to do, in the manner of the "theory of businesses" (offered by a Harvard professor) in which being "hired" means by consumers for certain specific tasks. He specifically cited among the "jobs" -- from most to least vulnerable -- Favorite music; Soundtrack: Background to other things; Now: A sense of immediacy; Inform and Educate; Changing Mood; Discovery; Culture Immersion; Companionship; Easy Convenience; Local, Belonging: A sense of community, hard to duplicate; Betterness: Something to make life better; and Star Access. Much more coverage of the event (including video) is available from hivio.com.