(AUDIO) Broadcasters Headed to Washington to Discuss FM Chip

4-13-2012

A group of broadcasters including representatives from The NAB, Clear Channel and Emmis are headed to Washington April 24th to have a roundtable discussion with Florida Congressman Gus Bilarakis (pictured) to discuss, among other things, getting the FM Chip in all cell phones. Bilirakis is the chairman of the subcommittee on emergency preparedness, response and communications subcommittee on Management, Investigations and oversight for the house committee on Homeland SecurityThe good news is this topic is still on the radar for broadcasters. The bad news is the cell phone industry is not committed to attending the meeting. Listen to our interview with the Congressman about the meeting later this month.

Broadcasters are no longer looking for a mandate from lawmakers, they are however, continuing to plug away on the safety issue. They consider radio essential in getting local information out to the public when a weather disaster hits. We spoke to Bilarakis yesterday about the hearing he has planned, what his goals are and what he expects to hear from broadcasters. The NAB, Emmis Interactive, Intel and iBiquity are hosting a press conference Monday at noon in Las Vegas to discuss HD chip technology for cell phones.

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LEADERSHIP)How to Discuss a Problem with Your Manager

(by Dan McCarthy)

When you?ve been a manager for a long time, or are used to working with lots of managers, you sometimes forget how hard it is for an employee to approach their boss to discuss something that?s bothering them. For many employees, the thought of ?confronting? a boss can be so intimidating, that they will come up with all sorts of other ways to cope with the situation, including:
- Avoidance
- Being a victim
- Passive aggressiveness
- Discussing the problem with their co-workers, friends, and family
- Dropping subtle hints hoping the boss with get the message
- And sometimes, even looking for another job or quitting!
Yes, it?s true, some employees would rather leave an otherwise good job instead of initiating a discussion with their manager to discuss whatever?s bothering them.

Here?s a recent conversation I had with a young employee:
Employee: ?I think my boss isn?t happy with me. She?s going to fire me?.
Me: ?Really? What?s she upset about??
Employee: ?I don?t know, but I can tell she?s upset?.
Me: ?Have you talked to her about it??
Employee: ?OMG, I can?t do that. Do you think I should quit before she fires me??
Me: ?Quit? Seriously? You don?t even know what?s going on! Why don?t you just sit down and talk with her??
Employee: ?Ha, easy for you to say! You do this HR touchy feely stuff all the time. Where would I even start??
And that?s when I realized I didn?t have a good grasp as to where this young employee was coming from. I?ve written plenty of posts on How to Discuss an Employee Performance Problem but have never really provided guidance on how to have a similar conversation sitting on the other side of the table.
Why talk to your boss? Why is talking to your boss better than the other alternatives mentioned previously? Because there really can?t be a bad outcome ? you?ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Let?s use the scenario above ? you sense something is bothering your boss ? maybe she?s been abrupt with you, critical, avoiding you, or whatever. If you don't do anything, the situation usually doesn?t improve and you might end up doing something stupid, like quitting or losing your temper.

However, if you talk to your boss, chances are, one of four things will happen:
1. Your boss may have had no idea that whatever he/she was doing or not doing was having an impact on you. In other words, they might have been clueless, and by you bringing it to their attention (in a respectful, constructive way), they can easily correct it. As a manager, I can?t tell you how many times I?ve been on the receiving end of these kinds of discussions. Unless you?re a total jerk, you welcome the opportunity to clarify your intentions and fix your behavior.

2. Your boss may be dealing with some other issue that has nothing to do with you, and again, was unaware of his/her behavior. Bosses are human and can have bad days and personal problems, just like anyone else.
3. In either scenarios #1 & #2, your boss may be perfectly happy with your performance, and you?ll feel much better knowing that (and withdraw those job applications on Monster).
4. Your boss may actually be upset with you ? and for some reason, has been avoiding telling you. Unfortunately, many bosses also don?t like confrontation and aren?t very good at it. In this case, you?ll at least have an opportunity to find out what the problem is. Once you know that, you can work on making it better. If it?s something you can?t make better or don?t want to, then at least you?ll know where you stand and can pursue other options for the right reasons.
How to approach your boss
1. Make a 30 minute appointment to talk to your boss. As a manager, I prefer this approach over the drop in ?do you have a minute?, although it really depends on your boss?s style. In either case, it?s always better to try to catch your boss during a less hectic time of day and when she/her is having a good week.
2. Decide what you want to say and how you want to say it. Talk your concern over with a mentor and decide how to present the issue in a constructive, assertive, specific, and factual way. I?d even suggest role playing the discussion with your mentor or a trusted friend. Do not discuss it with your co-workers, your manager?s manager, or HR unless it?s a serious violation, i.e., harassment.

3. Describe the behavior (not your assumptions about possible intentions) and the impact of the behavior on you. Try to be as specific as possible. Example: ?Barb, yesterday, when I said hello to you, you walked right by me without saying anything. In the past, you?ve always said hello when we see each other, but I notice lately you haven?t been. It?s making me feel like you?re mad at me for something. Is there something I?ve done to upset you??

4. Listen, don?t be defensive, and ask clarifying questions. Again, best case scenario is there isn?t really a problem and your boss wasn?t aware of the impact of his/her behavior. If there really is a problem, and the problem is you, then great, you?re on the road to solving it! Study up on 18 Tips for Receiving Feedback.

5. Work with you manager to solve the problem. Offer your own suggestions, and ask your manager for ideas. Ask your manager to describe what it would look like when you are meeting expectations. Read 10 Ways to be a Great Follower.
6. Thank your manager for his/her time and willingness to discuss the issue with you. If appropriate, set up a 15 minute follow-up meeting to check in and make sure things are back on track.
I hope that helps to give more employees the confidence to talk with their managers ? or maybe even their parents, teachers, or anyone in a position of authority. Good luck!

Dan McCarthy has been in the field of leadership development for over 20 years. He is currently the Director of Executive Development Programs at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics (WSBE). Reach Dan by e-mail at daniel.mccarthy@unh.edu
Dan's website is www.greatleadershipbydan.com

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Copps: "It's Time To Discuss FM Chips in Cell Phones."

The recent rash of natural disasters highlighted two very important items. The first; Radio stations become the eyes and ears of a community. Through their terrestrial signals local broadcasters stay on the air for many hours giving updates, talking to emergency personnel and provide an outlet for listeners to search for loved ones, report on their own community or just vent. It's business as usual for broadcasters. The second; power goes out, people get stranded and the lines of communication get fuzzy, overloaded and, at times, fail.

Yesterday at a workshop addressing network reliability FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said something the NAB and Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan have been saying for a very long time. He said it's time to look into putting FM chips in cell phones. "We share a duty to think creatively about how we can arm consumers with additional ways to communicate during disasters. While it may be somewhat beyond the scope of today's meeting, I'd raise just one example. I think the time is here for a thorough, calm and reasoned discussion about FM chips in handsets. We all acknowledge the need for redundancy in communications?especially emergency communications?and last week, during the earthquake, a lot of folks were only able to get  information through radio broadcasts when the phone networks got congested. What are the pros and cons of an FM chip? To what extent have other countries had experience with this? There will be a lot of questions to answer, but with the stakes so high, we should be open to discussing any and all reasonable ideas. And we must understand the sense of urgency that this requires, given the passing of a decade between 9/11 and now. Public safety has waited too long. Citizens have waited too long."

Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan who has been a big proponent of the FM Chip idea was very pleased. "For those of us who have studied this issue for so long, it is clear that in an emergency, radio is the ONLY way to alert the public. Cell systems go down, cable systems and power go out, and even when the cellular system stays up, an emergency guarantees the system will be jammed.  Radios in cell phones are ubiquitous all over the world, only in the United States have FM chips been blocked or deactivated. Today, many, if not almost all smart phones sold in the US have FM chips that have been turned OFF by the carriers. It's time to turn those chips on!"

It was also music to the ears of the NAB. "NAB welcomes Commissioner Copps's timely call for a discussion on the merits of radio-enabled smartphones. With the 9/11 anniversary looming, it's notable that broadcasting remains the unchallenged leader in delivering emergency information to the masses faster and more reliably than any other communications platform. While cellphone signals jammed and power was down during Hurricane Irene and the recent East Coast earthquake, it was the robust 'one-to-many' transmission architecture of local broadcasting that kept listeners and viewers in touch and informed. Radio chips in cellphones require no additional spectrum and could be activated immediately in many devices. From a public safety perspective alone, it's time to give citizens access to lifeline information provided by America's hometown radio stations."

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