April 26, 2011
Top Story
The Great Debate. Should We Care About Cell Phones With FM Chips?
Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan and Mark Ramsey Media President Mark Ramsey have been publicly sparring over whether or not it's even worth the effort to get FM radio chips installed in cell phones. The issue picked up steam when the NAB announced a campaign to feed radio station PSA's so they can help educate consumers about the chips. The campaign is called Radio Rocks My Phone. The NAB quickly adjusted its position to educational after realizing there was no way Congress was going to mandate the chip install.
Industry
Sponsored by
Radio Guy Gets AFLAC Gig. Ads Begin Tonight
KQRS sales manager Daniel McKeague beat out 12,500 others in a contest to replace actor Gilbert Gottfried as the new voice of the supplemental insurance company's duck mascot. McKeague is 36 years old. KQRS is a Citadel station in Minneapolis. His first ad airs tonight during NBC's talent show "The Voice." Gilbert Gottfried voiced the AFLAC duck for 11 years but was fired this year after making insensitive remarks on Twitter about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Study: "Consumers Only Want 2 FM's"
KnowDigital has just released a new "in-car streaming study" that takes a look at how consumers use their in-dash system during their daily drive. "Dozens" of consumers were involved in the study which concluded that people really only need five pre-sets in their audio system and only two of them would be used for a local FM station. The other three pre-sets would include a digital music library, continuous traffic and Pandora.
Arbitron Reports Q1 Revenue Increased 5.2%
Arbitron reports revenue of $100.9 million compared to $95.9 million during the first quarter of 2010. The company says revenue for the quarter "benefited from the commercialization of the Portable People Meter ratings service in 15 markets in the second half of 2010, which completed the Company’s 48-market PPM commercialization plan, and from the ongoing transition to PPM service pricing." Operating income in the first quarter 2011 increased 15.5 percent, to $29.1 million from $25.2 million in the first quarter 2010.
FRESH CONTENT: The New Way To Sell Radio
The three worlds of the typical radio account executive have all changed dramatically. New media have certainly changed the advertising landscape. Our traditional retail clients have come under enormous margin pressures from big box stores and online shopping And, the sales strategies that got us where we are today are now our industry’s bench mark rather than our competitive edge. Are your people in a position to sell radio the new way?
Man Exposes Himself At Orlando Christian Radio Station.
The Sun Sentinel is reporting the man is homeless with a long criminal history. 30 year old Donald Destin is accused of breaking into Christian radio station La Voix Evangelique D'Orlando, 98.9 SCA in Pine Hills. Police say he performed a sex act in front of the program host while threatening to rape her. Destin was arrested in the afternoon.
Cumulus Offering $610 Million in Sr. Notes
Cumulus plans to offer $610 million in senior notes due 2019 in a private transaction that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. The Notes will be guaranteed by certain of the Company’s existing and future direct and indirect domestic restricted subsidiaries and, in certain circumstances, may be assumed by a direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, in which case the Company will guarantee the Notes.
Liquid Compass Releases New App For Android
Liquid Compass has released its next-generation LC PRO-M mobile streaming app for terrestrial and Internet-only radio stations for smartphone devices running on the Android operating system. Broadcasters on the Liquid Compass Streaming Delivery Network can now offer tune-in options based on their listeners’ mobile device preferences—Android or iPhone. Additional devices are expected to be released in the coming months.
What Rob Curley Will Discuss At Convergence
With only 23 days left until Radio Ink's Convergence takes over the Microsoft campus, we're getting a taste of what keynoter Rob Curly will present to the select few who come to the show. Curley tells Radio Ink that he'll focus on "relevance, serendipity, a real and direct dialogue with your audience, and using social networks as a journalism tool. And what happens when a newspaper takes over drive-time on a local public radio station." Curley is part of a great lineup of keynoters and panels at Convergence 2011
Smulyan Says Mark Ramsey "Demonstrates A Frightening Lack of Comprehension."
In a rare rebuttal from a radio CEO, it appears Jeff Smulyan has had enough of Mark Ramsey's online ramblings. Smulyan reveals some stunning company details about his streaming experience and takes Ramsey to task for a recent blog he posted criticizing the NAB for its recently released 'Radio Rocks Your Phone" campaign. Smulyan says Ramsey "demonstrates a frightening lack of comprehension on this subject" of cell phones. Here is the Smulyan letter.
Fisher’s New Start Up Picks Up John and Jeff Show.
Fisher Entertainment, a company recently formed by Glenn Fisher has taken over the syndication of “The John and Jeff Show.” Fisher’s prior company (that was sold in 2001 to now defunct NBG Radio) originally launched the John and Jeff show in 1999. Hosted by John Boyle and Jeff Carroll, the show was heard on most of the “Free FM” stations owned by CBS, prior to the demise of the Free FM format. Clear Channel’s KNEW 910AM San Francisco will start broadcasting the show live starting this Thursday.
Gulf Renewal Project Running Radio Ads About BP Money
A new radio campaign begins this week on conservative radio stations in the Gulf states. The Gulf Renewal Project is hoping the ads will educate residents and make them aware that under current law, BP fines for the oil spill will go to the federal treasury, unless Congress takes action to dedicate the money to restoration in the Gulf.
PSA Deadline This Saturday
The National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation and the Broadcast Education Association are accepting entries from college communications students for a public service announcement competition that highlights the importance of free speech. The 30 second radio and television spots must address "What freedom of speech means to me."
Pandora Creator Opens Up To Radio Ink
In the upcoming (5/2) issue of Radio Ink magazine, Pandora creator Tim Westergren discusses the privacy issue, traditional radio and "personalized radio" among many other topics in our exclusive interview. Here's a quote from the issue as Westergren differentiates over-the-air radio from Internet radio. "Unlike traditional radio stations that broadcast the same content at the same time to all of their listeners, we enable each of our listeners to create up to 100 personalized stations."
Non-Discrimination Clause Can Work
In his April 20 Commentary “Defining Discrimination: Has the FCC Gone Too Far?” Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads questioned the viability of the FCC’s advertising nondiscrimination rule. The rule requires broadcasters to include a race/ethnic nondiscrimination clause in their sales contracts, and to certify at license renewal time that they have observed this clause and, thus, have not knowingly taken discriminatory advertising. David Honig, Executive Director of the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council offered up this response to Eric.
NAB Holding Webcast on License Renewal Process
The webcast will be Tuesday, April 26 at 3:30 p.m. EDT. On June 1, 2011, the FCC kicks off another cycle of broadcast license renewals. The FCC has made several changes to the license renewal application, and this is the first chance for the current FCC leadership to review your station's qualifications for license renewal.
Convergence Technology
Sponsored by
Clear Channel iHeart Radio App Review.
Recently Clear Channel released its new iHeartRadio app for the iPad. We reached out to our audience via Twitter and Facebook looking for someone outside the Radio Ink organization to review the new iHeartRadio iPad App. Joe Zeff stepped up to the plate and took the assignment. Zeff is the president of Joe Zeff Design, an iPad design shop outside of New York City.
Radio Ink Welcomes Scott Wallace as Day One Host of Tech Summit Tuesday, May 17.
Radio Ink is pleased to announce Scott Wallace will be hosting the opening day of Tech Summit May 17th on the campus of Microsoft. Scott is a second-generation broadcaster with over 25 of experience in the industry with extensive knowledge of broadcast operations/engineering and information systems, telecommunications, e-business, project management, Internet technologies, and infrastructures.
RAIN Publisher Kurt Hanson Joins Radio Ink's Tech Summit as Host.
Fresh off another successful RAIN conference, held in conjunction with the NAB convention in Las Vegas, the widely respected Internet and streaming expert, Kurt Hanson, will host Day Two of Radio Ink's Tech Summit. Tech Summit will be held on May 17-18 at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, CA. It immediately precedes the annual Convergence conference presented by Radio Ink at the same location on May 18-19.
Convergence Begins in 4 Weeks. Are You Registered?
The most talked about and forward thinking gathering in Radio begins in 5 weeks on the campus of Microsoft in Silicon Valley. Convergence introduces and educates radio industry outside-the-box thinkers on everything from social media to making money from your stream to the latest craze, "personalized radio". Don't be left sitting at home while your competition is learning how to win. Learn more about Convergence and take at our complete agenda.
Internet Pioneer to Keynote Convergence
Michael Robertson, tech entrepreneur and founder/CEO of cloud-based music service MP3Tunes, will deliver a keynote address at Radio Ink's Convergence conference, set for May 18-19 at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, CA. Robertson founded MP3.com in 1997, bringing online music into the mainstream for millions of consumers. By the time it was sold to Vivendi Universal, the company was bringing in $80 million in annual revenues.
Internet Star Rob Curley Returns to 2011 Radio Ink Convergence This May
Curley riveted the crowd in 2010 with his talk on the Sun's innovative and highly adaptable approach to news both in print and on the paper's huge and constantly updated website, demonstrating apps and upcoming initiatives and explaining the "hyperlocalism" that has brought the Sun success even as newspapers in general decline. That concept -- hyperlocalism -- is key, says Curley, to succeeding in the wildly competitive new media world. And at Convergence 2011, he'll offer an updated look at his own team's projects and a new perspective on change and competition in the digital world.
Convergence Keynoter: Shel Israel
Shel Israel, author of top social networking book Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods and a leading social media consultant, joins the lineup at Radio Ink's Convergence 11, set for May 18-19 at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, CA. He's set to speak at Convergence about "Why Broadcast Radio Should Join the Social Media Conversation," looking at the opportunities for radio in this fast-expanding and ever more influential media arena.
Convergence Keynoter: Slacker CEO Jim Cady
Radio Ink is pleased to announce that Slacker Radio CEO Jim Cady will be a keynote speaker at Convergence 11, which will be held May 18-19 at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, CA. Cady is taking the Internet radio space by storm with his Slacker Radio concept. "Our thought is to deliver the consumer more personalized content with a lot less work," Cady told Radio Ink in an upcoming cover interview. "Hence the name. We cater to what we refer to as 'busy music lovers.' We give consumers the ability to listen to content they want with a variety of choices."
See the Radio Ink Tech Summit Agenda
Radio Ink's Tech Summit will be held this year on May 17-18 at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, CA , immediately preceding Convergence 11, which will be on May 18-19. Tech Summit presents new media's best and brightest technologists sharing the latest and most innovative trends. This conference will cover both the technical and business aspects of new radio technology in a way that stimulates better understanding of each sector by engineers and managers alike. It's a unique opportunity for radio managers and their technical teams to convene in a single forum that charts a coherent course toward future growth. Click here for the complete Tech Summit agenda.
Radio Ink
Mighty Red II: New Features Never Before On ANY Radio
Radio Ink debuts the Mighty Red II, bringing back the little HD radio with mighty HD sound. New features on the Mighty Red II include Artist Experience -- cover art, artist info, and more -- onscreen ads that can be synced with audio, Live Pause, and song and ad Bookmarking. It's a great gift for clients to show them what's really possible with HD Radio. Click the headline to order now.
Get The PastBlast iPad App
PastBlast, the new iPad app from Radio Ink is available now in the Apple App Store. Historical audio, photos, and more from every era of radio's history, with navigation through a beautiful, fully equipped retro radio studio. Click the headline to see it, or get it here.
Updated: Radio Pros Available
The economy is slowly turning around, and broadcasters are beginning to hire again. Put your name in front of the industry with a free listing in Radio Pros Available. And we'll be happy to post your aircheck or demo, or a link to your website. Click the headline to learn more.
