Radio World

A Radio World ebook recently explored trends in codecs and STLs. This interview is excerpted from that, which you can read here.

Eric Fitch

Eric J. Fitch is director of technical operations for Entercom New England. He has been a broadcast engineer for 35 years, working in Syracuse, Albany and Boston. Today he is responsible for 14 stations in five markets.

Radio World: What’s the most important trend in codecs?

Eric Fitch: Redundancy, backup and failover.

With more facilities being managed by fewer people, there is a huge need for systems to be able to recover from outages without human intervention.

Remote access via a web GUI, as well as having logging, SNMP and e-mail capabilities are critical for managing equipment at remote locations.

RW: How are these technologies helping you solve practical problems?

Fitch: We are able to connect our studios in Boston, Providence, Springfield and Worcester to their associated transmitter sites and the Westwood One Satellite NOC in Denver, which uplinks the WEEI Sports Radio Network and the Red Sox Radio Network, via GatesAir IPL-200 Audio over IP systems.

Our GatesAir IPL-200 systems have replaced our Intraplex T-1 STL systems. Each site has three ISPs to provide triple redundant paths for the audio streams.

We have a fiber-based MPLS system as the primary connection to each location. That is backed up by a wireless internet connection at the studio and cable modems at transmitter sites. We have a third connection to each ISP via our business network on a second fiber network from the studio.

The IPL-200 is able to have three separate audio streams that can failover if one or two of the streams drops, keeping the station on the air, while notifying us via e-mail or SNMP that there is a fault. The system has an optional redundant power supply, which is great if and when the UPS fails.

The ability to access all 28 nodes of the IPL-200 on our network from work or home makes configuring and troubleshooting a breeze. We can see when an ISP has a failure at any of our sites because there are multiple ways to log into the codec.

RW: What role are codecs playing in the new normal of at-home broadcasting?

Fitch: We are lucky that high-speed internet is available in most people’s homes. Just 10 years ago we were struggling with DSL and 56 kb dialup modems.

Now with cable modems and fiber service, we sometimes have better internet connectivity at our homes than we have at our studios and transmitter sites. The connections are so good that our listeners don’t notice that the hosts are doing the shows from home.

Consoles that are capable of doing multiple mix-minus feeds have been invaluable. We have been able to keep our staff healthy and sounding great on the air.

RW: What functions and features are being offered that engineers who haven’t bought a codec in awhile should know about?

Fitch: The ability to use multiple internet connections to back up the codec’s connection. The codec can use error correction and buffering to make sure that lost packets are recovered, which is a great asset. A cable modem can be backed up with a wireless hotspot to ensure a stable connection. The ability to remotely control the codec in the field from the studio and have the codec email if there is a problem.

RW: How many ways are there of making connections?

Fitch: We use whatever connection that is available to us: FIOS, cable modems, private MPLS networks, public and private WiFi and Plum cases that bond two cellular carriers.

RW: How have AoIP technology developments been reflected in codecs?

Fitch: Since we have 15 of our show hosts broadcasting from home due to COVID-19, ease of use and control is the most important function that I have seen. We have to make sure that the codecs are as simple as possible to set up and operate.

Three of our morning shows each have three co-hosts connecting to the studio before 6 a.m. That is nine simultaneous remotes using Comrex Access codecs. Having one-button pre-programmed connections is a necessity to make sure everyone can connect themselves.

We use Comrex Fleet Commander and Comrex Switchboard to monitor and connect all of the codecs that our hosts are using from home. We can see the quality of the connection and make changes on one app, so we don’t have to login to multiple codecs to check connectivity issues.

Newer consoles are able to provide multiple mix-minus feeds so multiple hosts and phone callers can all be on the air simultaneously. We used to struggle with one remote and one caller, now we do three remotes and two callers without batting an eye. No echo or “I can’t hear you” complaints any longer.

The board can be set up by anyone, since the mix-minus in done by the consoles automatically.

The post Codecs Offer Redunancy, Backup and Failover appeared first on Radio World.

Zipporah Mondy

Zipporah Mondy completed the Technology Apprenticeship Program run by the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation in September of 2018. Her family owns KJIW(FM), which is licensed to Helena, Ark.

“My goal was to understand every aspect of the business so I could be an effective owner whenever my dad passed the baton to me,” she says.

Mondy answered our questions via e-mail about the apprenticeship experience and her experience of being young, Black and female in the field of radio technology:

Radio World: Where did you serve your apprenticeship?

Zipporah Mondy: I did two apprenticeships. I shadowed Ed Czelada, CEO of the Smile FM chain of stations in Michigan, and the consulting engineer for KJIW(FM) in Helena, Ark. I also job-shadowed Alonzo Pendleton at iHeartMedia in Memphis, Tenn.

RW: Describe the experience and what you learned.

Mondy: My experience was an awakening! I grew up in radio and was always around the technology of it, but when I got in the program, the dots connected and the lights came on for me.

We received a crash course on broadcast engineering from top industry professionals. The experience showed me so much about myself because I was not the super-smart math or science whiz with a strong background in electricity. I didn’t see myself as being able to do certain things.

However, Mr. Ed had my brother and I assist him in building radio antennas from scratch, which now sit at the top of my family’s 499-foot radio tower pushing 50,000 watts of power toward Memphis, Tenn. This was a huge deal!

Zipporah Mondy cuts stainless steel pipes for an antenna bay during her apprenticeship in 2018 for Smile FM, a network of non-commercial, contemporary Christian radio stations in Michigan.

I saw that I could build something … anything. I just needed to understand what I was doing. I realized that I could learn anything if I listened, focused and followed a master. I got to see firsthand the process of building a radio tower, and I had too much fun helping paint the tower before it went up.

I also learned a lot about artificial intelligence in the broadcast field. Our TAP class was assigned the task to research this topic and complete the program by presenting a live webcast on AI in broadcasting from the NAB headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The life of an engineer is so unpredictable. My brother and I loved going to the different tower sites and watching them troubleshoot and solve problems. We even had a random out-of-place chicken walking around the transmitter building one morning.

The program also exposed me to the Society of Broadcast Engineers and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. I later had an opportunity to be a founding member of the new SBE Arkansas chapter.

RW: Where did your interest in pursuing a technical career in radio come from?

Mondy: I grew up working in my family’s radio business. When I reached a certain age, I wondered what I would do if something happened to my parents. I realized how much I didn’t know in the business.

I started seeking to learn whatever I could in every area. I always liked the idea of getting more in the engineering part of it, but I spent most of my time helping where I was needed.

When I learned of TAP, I felt like this was my opportunity to dive in radio engineering completely focused. It was so exciting for me because it was the one area I didn’t know very well. I felt like I was starting a new career in the same place.

RW: Could you share some thoughts about why you think broadcast engineering has a low percentage of Black professionals?

Mondy: When I first saw Alonzo Pendleton, my eyes bucked wide. I was so surprised because he was a Black man and so was his assistant, Tony Guy. I had never seen black radio engineers, if I’m honest.

I think there are two main reasons for why there are few Black broadcast engineers: lack of exposure at a young age and the absence of fathers’ influence.

[Read: “Blacks Are Few in U.S. Radio Engineering”]

When I was growing up, my dad was constantly telling me and my siblings to learn computers. He got us books and software and always made sure we had a computer. He also had us hold the light while he would solder something, or would always tell us about pieces of equipment, even if we weren’t interested at the time. He drilled in our minds the idea of entrepreneurship.

This is not an uncommon story. Fathers or father figures play a huge role in exposing their kids to things. I’m not saying that to negate the mothers and grandmothers that do this too, but the absence of fathers really has an impact.

RW: What will it take to change that? Are programs like the NAB’s a positive step?

Mondy: Honestly, the way our culture is today, offering mentorships and apprenticeships would have to be a way of life for industry professionals. It would take master craftsmen (and women) caring enough of the next generation to take a young person under their wing and say, “Let me teach you how to do what I do.” That means real commitment from industry professionals, regardless if they’re a part of a school or program.

Again, I believe exposure is key. Young people have to be exposed to something before they can cultivate a desire for it. If there is no exposure, there is often not much interest.

For example, how many Black hockey players are currently on the NHL rosters? Not too many, since they are not exposed to it growing up.

I think education is a factor — more specifically, I mean developing skills. My dad always told us “learn a skill.” When I listen to the stories of engineers, I hear the skill sets they learned in school and they had the confidence to try certain things and fix broken things.

Schools used to have subjects like electric shop and carpentry. That’s how my dad learned fundamentals. Learning to work with one’s hands, build things, and solve problems does so much for that individual.

So there has to be a foundation of skill-building, a recruitment mechanism, or sphere of influence, to develop an interest in these fields early while young minds are impressionable.

To answer your second question, I definitely think the NABLF TAP program is a positive step. It gives a boost to those who desire to get into this field. NABLF will take a college graduate and link him or her to the professional industry. They bridge that gap for the graduate. I love that! I also think there should be more programs like this but geared to a younger age.

I think there would be a larger pool of applicants for TAP if young people were catching the bug earlier. This is also important because a lot of college students don’t know what they want to do. Broadcasters need to be more intentional with allowing young people in their communities to be exposed to every part of their business more frequently. It may be inconvenient on the front end but broadcasters have to think about the future.

RW: Where are you working today and what types of jobs are you performing?

Mondy: I still work for my family at KJIW(FM) in Memphis. I like to say my title depends on who calls and what’s needed. I work in sales and marketing, production, programming, and my brother and I tag team in IT. I guess you could say I’m the assistant general manager who enjoys going to the tower site.

RW: What are your future goals?

Mondy: Well, definitely on my bucket list: I want to climb to the top of our tower one day and change the light bulb! Ha ha ha! I want to extend my parents’ radio network. I would love to own a Christian-Spanish radio station and have stations in other countries. I want to have afterschool (or in-school) media boot camps, where I give kids in underserved communities an opportunity to have hands-on exposure to media and technology broadcasting. I would like to build a production and broadcast content-generating company. And I want to obtain a pilot’s license.

[Related: Read a free ebook about the radio engineering profession and the challenges of developing new engineers: “Engineering in Crisis.”]

The post “I Saw That I Could Build Something … Anything” appeared first on Radio World.

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

With Election Day just six weeks away, radio’s attention will be squarely on the many federal, state and local contests our audiences are watching. Racial equity, COVID-19 and the economy are front and center, and interest seems high. It is time to let our coverage roll.

However, there are some key issues that stations should be aware of, especially if you are in the noncommercial media space.

[Read: Community Broadcaster: Mask Off]

The first of the election matters every noncommercial station needs to pay attention to is documenting your election engagements. From candidate appearances on the air to interview requests to station decisions on said interview requests, your records should be meticulous. You’ll want to make note of dates and times, issues covered, and why requests were rejected. The exact terms of the recordkeeping are spelled out by the FCC, but Cornell’s Legal Information Institute has a readable explanation online.

For a full-power station, you will need to upload those within a day or so to your Electronic Public Inspection File. While noncommercial low-power FM stations do not have the same requirements as far as EPIF is concerned, LPFMs are still required to keep a political file on paper. Records need to be retained for two years.

The second big issue is related: underwriting. Many noncommercial stations rely on underwriting. This is the season when stations are approached by interest groups, candidates and unions to make underwriting buys. The FCC’s underwriting rules give stations discretion to decide from whom they will accept underwriting, and what rates they will charge. Someone being a candidate for public office does not automatically disqualify him or her from being acknowledged in an underwriting spot. However, the rules are strict related to opportunity. NFCB’s Underwriting Guide spells out some of these instances.

A third discussion point is about equal opportunity. A common question from stations is whether they must give equal time to all candidates, even write-in candidates. To be clear, equal time rules are a relic of the Fairness Doctrine, a policy eliminated in 1987. The policy around now is focused on equal opportunity. Equal opportunity is a right to reach the same size and type of audience, rather than a right for “equal time” on the same program. Judgments against stations tend to be the result of failures by the stations to extend invitations to matters like debates, or excluding those running for office.

And finally, there are the lines that supersede the FCC. Regardless of your broadcast license, IRS rules prohibit 501(c)(3) organizations from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign, either in support of or opposition to any candidate for elective political office. Federal Election Commission rules prohibit corporate contributions (including free air time) and regulate political debates and selection of debate participants.

Elections are an exciting time for radio, but it is critical to stay within regulations. In addition to avoiding possible enforcement actions, these policies helps us maintain trust and integrity with our communities.

The post Community Broadcaster: Four Election Day Issues to Avoid appeared first on Radio World.

Dear Editor:

I totally agree with Jeff Keith of Wheatstone that most broadcasters have an issue with processing for their streams vs. on-air chains. He makes excellent points.

My question is, what’s his advice for resolving these level and quality issues?

Most broadcasters put a lot of work into perfecting their on-air sound, but ignore the obvious issues with streams.

Given that premise, what are his recommendations to address these issues? What equipment does he recommend? Are there any easy solutions that don’t require a complete overhaul of the main studio to transmitter audio chain?

— Joel Widdows, Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

We invited Jeff Keith to reply; he wrote:  One of the messages that short article was trying to get across is that on-air processing is unsuitable for streaming, even though our experience has shown that many stations have chosen to use their main on-air processor, or a retired one, for processing audio for their web streams.

The best streaming audio quality always results from using purpose-built processing designed for that very specialized task, whether that processing is based in software or hardware.

When Wheatstone set out to develop our dedicated streaming product, Streamblade, we designed what we believe is the ideal combination of algorithms for streaming.

They accomplish the multiband gain-riding and spectral balance management of an on-air processor, but instead of pre-emphasis and heavy clipping for final peak control, Streamblade is equipped with extremely sophisticated final limiting and stereo width and bass management tools to ensure codecs always see ‘codec-friendly’ audio.

User feedback about Streamblade’s audio quality has been extremely positive, even when operating with streams at very low bitrates.

You can take a peek at Streamblade and read about its capabilities here: https://bit.ly/32Dw30h

[Related: “Audio Streaming Quality Matters” by David Bialik]

The post Letter: Processing Streaming vs. On-Air appeared first on Radio World.

Read about the early days of WWJ, which just celebrated its 100 anniversary; Ben Hill’s perspectives on being Black in radio engineering; and an experiment with dismal sounding audio featuring Michael Bolton.

Read it online here.

Prefer to do your reading offline? No problem! Simply click on the digital edition, go to the left corner and choose the download button to get a PDF version.

News Maker

“I Saw That I Could Build Something … Anything”

Zipporah Mondy talks about her TAP technology apprenticeship and her perspectives on the role of engineering today.

Do It Yourself

My Vacuum Tube Headphone Amp Project

Curt Yengst rummages in his discard stash and finds he can build something interesting.

Also in this issue:

• Codecs Offer Redundancy, Backup and Failover
• How Michael Bolton Can Be 300 Times Worse
• WWJ in Detroit: A Centennial Station

 

The post Inside the September 16 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

We’ve been touching base with various technology suppliers about the pending end of support for Flash.

Here’s what Radio World heard back from GatesAir; the reply is from Ted Lantz, vice president and general manager, radio and Intraplex Products:

“GatesAir has never operated in the Flash world, and that has long been a key differentiator of our transmission and codec products,” he said.

“HTML has been the primary language supported within the portfolio, which has been developed over the years to evolve and scale with the needs of the broadcaster as a whole.

“Today, HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript are all core parts of a standardized, brand-agnostic web infrastructure available on virtually every browser and web-capable device. It has proven to be a wise path for GatesAir to follow both from a product development standpoint, and for our customers that demand secure and reliable systems.”

[Related: “Broadcast Devices Preps for End of Flash Support”]

The post At GatesAir, No Worries About Flash appeared first on Radio World.

The author is technical manager of National FM. This article is part of our recent Buyer’s Guide series on codecs and STLs.

BUCHAREST, Romania — National FM is a Romanian national FM radio network consisting of 40 frequencies covering most of the nation.

In 2007, at my yearly visit to the IBC show I met Simon Daniels from APT, a company that I knew nothing about.

At the time, we were using a software solution from another company to broadcast a morning show from one city to another. Simon told me that they had a hardware solution for “every now and then” audio transmissions.

One of APT’s tech wizards, I believe it was Willie Woodside, warned me that he wouldn’t recommend a 24/7 transmission via plain internet but that I should still try out a pair of their encoders. A couple of months later I received a message saying that a pair of APT Horizon codecs (renamed as APT IP Codec) were on their way to me for testing purposes … no strings attached.

After a few days of indoor testing I decided to put them on the air so I sent one of the units to another city 500 kilometers/300 miles away from the main studio.

Even knowing that the internet in Romania is one of the best in the world, I still had my doubts about the stability of the connection during a three-hour show. Remember that this was happening in 2008!

After a buffer increase, creating bigger delay but better stability, the Horizons became the main signal transport between our studios and we kept the software solution as a backup.

A few years later APT became part of WorldCast Systems and I was delighted to see that Simon and Willie were still there … answering my occasional emails.

In the meantime, we bought more encoders for our infrastructure. We are now using a pair of APT IP Codecs with MPX over AES to transport music from the main audio processor to our Bucharest transmitter site. The transmitter there is an Ecreso Helios FM 2000 (now named Ecreso FM 2000W).

Another pair of APT IP Codecs connect Bucharest and Oradea via the public internet.

Our sister network, Favorit FM, uses the APT Silver “simplex — one-way solution” to bring the signal from the studio to the satellite uplink site.

And … the big surprise … the pair of APT IP Codecs that started it all are still in service.

In this pandemic time, we built a mobile studio in our off-road Rover. It is able to broadcast from anywhere where there is an LTE (4G) signal. We are currently doing the morning show from outside, in a natural environment, until the situation stabilizes or winter comes.

The old Horizons are still doing an excellent job, over 4G or public internet, depending on what’s available in different locations.

We are very pleased also with WorldCast Systems’ Ecreso family of transmitters. We have in service more than 10 units, 100W, 300W, 750W, 1000W, 2000W and 3000W models. The web interface works like a charm and the options can be very helpful (sound processor or Smart FM option).

The company’s only products that we haven’t used so far are the Audemat monitoring equipment that look to be quite exquisite. But the Ecreso transmitters have great onboard monitoring tools for modulation, audio and other parameters.

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

For information, contact Tony Peterle at WorldCast Systems in Florida at 1-305-249-3110 or Christophe Poulain in France at +33-5-57-92-89-28 or visit www.worldcastsystems.com.

The post User Report: WorldCast Secures National FM appeared first on Radio World.

The MultiCam Airbridge+ is a hardware-based video controller, call-in manager, character generator and streaming engine. The company calls it a complete “all-in-one” video package.

According to MultiCam it can handle four live feeds and manage up to 12 guests in the waiting queue. Programming can be live or recorded for later use.

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

Airbridge+ provides operators scale and picture position controls of guests along with mix-minus and audio delay. There are also PTZ camera remote controls.

Would-be participants are sent an exclusive link for entering the system. MultiCam visual radio systems are compatible with audio consoles made by Axia, DHD, Lawo and Wheatstone and software automation from companies such as ENCO, RCS, WideOrbit and WinMedia. It works with video platforms and social media such as Dailymotion, Facebook Live Kaltura and YouTube.

Info: www.multicam-systems.com

The post MultiCam Releases Airbridge+ appeared first on Radio World.

iHeartRadio is highlighting its participation in an Alexa offering that lets users automate certain common operations.

The media company is one of four initial launch partners for Alexa Routines, which bundles several things that an Alexa user wants to do regularly, and points to partner content.

[Read: Smart Speakers Continue Home Invasion]

iHeart wrote about it this way in an announcement: “Starting today, you can use the iHeartRadio Routine to kick off your morning with “Stuff You Should Know.” When you dismiss your alarm, Alexa will turn on your smart lights, start your compatible smart coffee maker (no worries if you don’t have one — the Routine will still work without them), and start to stream Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant’s “Stuff You Should Know” podcast.”

Routines can be turned into shareable URL links so users can share them.

An Amazon blog post explains this in more detail and notes other routines such as one for NPR; read it here.

 

The post iHeart, NPR Are Part of New Alexa Routines appeared first on Radio World.

Pilot, an initiative of the National Association of Broadcasters, will continue its Media Technology and Innovation Scholarships program by offering up to four scholarships of $2,500 each in 2021. Students eligible to apply include current college sophomores, juniors, seniors entering graduate school and graduate students, for pursuit of studies related to broadcast engineering, media technology and innovation. The scholarships will be administered in partnership with the Broadcast Education Association.

“Pilot continues to stress the importance of attracting and educating top technologists to the broadcast industry,” said Sam Matheny, NAB’s executive vice president and chief technology officer. “These scholarships expand awareness of broadcast technology in the academic world, and can assist those students with interest in the technical elements of media to pursue their goals.”

BEA Executive Director Heather Birks added, “On behalf of BEA’s board of directors and membership, we are grateful for Pilot’s continued support. With the constantly changing environment, it’s more important than ever to assist students interested in media technology and innovation. We appreciate Pilot’s ongoing dedication to this crucial sector of academia.”

Inaugurated in 2018, the scholarship program targets academic areas that include broadcast television or radio engineering and technology as well as broadcast content creation, including sports and news production, web and online media, mobile media, media-related information technology, multiplatform audience measurement and media technology research.

The deadline for application is October 15, and scholarship winners will be announced in February 2021. Click here for further information and to apply.

The post Pilot Offers Media Technology and Innovation Scholarships appeared first on Radio World.

Getty Images PashaIgnatov

The list of rules affecting U.S. radio stations that have been eliminated or modified under FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has gotten quite long.

Pai released an update to his rolling list of commission accomplishments since he took the chair in 2017. His latest summary is posted here.

He updates this list periodically, and it covers many industry sectors. Certainly it is not an impartial report card; and certainly some of the accomplishments are the result of work that started before Pai took the chair.

But a perusal of the 14-page document with an eye on radio interests offers a reminder of just how many processes touching broadcasters have been killed or revised under Pai, who considers such elimination and streamlining to be a major part of his mission.

His tally now includes the elimination of rules about: paper filing of contracts, keeping paper copies of FCC rules, public inspection of paper files, license display, EOO mid-term reports, radio duplication, common antenna siting, broadcast application public notices, and the biggie for station owners, the requirement to maintain a main studio in a station’s city of license.

Also making Pai’s list are updates or streamlining to FM translator interference processes, low-power FM technical rules, NCE FM comparative selection procedures, and third-party fundraising for non-profit broadcasters.

And he lists actions involving pirate radio, EAS improvements and the creation of Blue Alerts.

Pai is a Republican who was appointed by President Obama and designated chairman by President Trump.

He updated his list in connection with Thursday testimony to an FCC oversight hearing of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee.

He doesn’t mention radio in the prepared testimony but, speaking more broadly, he highlighted commission efforts on “prioritizing bridging the digital divide, promoting innovation and investment, protecting consumers and enforcing the law, eliminating and modernizing outdated regulations, enhancing public safety, and addressing transparency and process reforms.”

He said that at 44 open meetings, the FCC has voted and adopted 260 items, “more than double the previous administration over the same time period.”

And he mentions the C Band migration, saying the FCC is “on track to commence an auction of 280 megahertz of mid-band spectrum from 3.7–3.98 GHz beginning Dec.8. Our efforts to make this critical spectrum available for 5G have been going very well. … Getting this essential spectrum out years ahead of schedule will promote American leadership in 5G, faster and more reliable wireless broadband connectivity for consumers, and the creation of millions of jobs, billions of dollars in investment, and stronger economic growth.”

The post Pai’s List of Radio Rule Changes Has Grown Long appeared first on Radio World.

The author of this commentary is a consultant and co-chair of the Audio Engineering Society’s Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery.

Many broadcasters want to deliver their content by stream as well as by traditional terrestrial broadcast. They care very much how the over-the-air sounds and want to deliver the best product. Over the stream — not so much.

Streaming has different parameters than over-the-air.

Can streaming sound good? Yes.

Can it sound great? If you want it to.

Should it sound the same as your air product? No!

[Read: Come on, Stream Providers, Do the Right Thing!]

Streaming is a different delivery medium with different requirements and results. While most radio broadcasters will maximize their efforts to sound good in the car for the coveted drive time ratings, streaming is the inverse. Listenership on streams tend to be during the times when people are at work. They may be listening on their smart speakers, computer or even their phone.

A broadcaster that is streaming should think about the audio processing. This should be different from broadcast and maximized for your streaming audience. A good CDN should be able to tell you what type of devices are listening to the stream. Yes, you can find out if your audience favors iPhone over Android, Google over Amazon. Try to sound appealing for that audience.

Cue points are very important. Listeners get annoyed when the “Now Playing” information is wrong, locked, or delayed. If you are covering ads whether for the whole audience or delivering Direct Ad Insertion, these cue points will tell the ads to play. Tune your cue point delay correctly so you do not hear what it is covering without cutting off the talent. Educate the talent about this. Can this be done? Absolutely! Is it being done? No!

I have been told by station management that stream quality doesn’t matter. I have been told that the streaming audience is too small! I have been told that over the air is what matters now.

My answer to all of these statements is that the stream matters. Yes, it is the conveyance for the future, but to quote others — the future is now! Make the investment. Large radio companies have created aggregators allowing their competitors to stream alongside of their stations. Are they doing this altruistically? No! They are inserting their own ads and promoting their streams, podcasts or websites. Wake up, radio!

Streaming should be a way of delivery and be the best presentation of the content. Streaming is not an “also ran” and anyone that refers to it that way is not respecting the content.

I apologize for the harshness of this, but it is past due.

The post Audio Streaming Quality Matters appeared first on Radio World.

Gary Mach, right, is shown at a past Broadcasters Clinic presenting Leonard Charles with a chocolate Cow Pie, a joking reference to Leonard’s presentation about working on AM directional arrays in the field.

Gary Mach has died. The longtime broadcast engineer was 78, according to an obituary in the newsletter of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.

Mach worked for many years on the WBA’s Broadcasters Clinic Committee. Last year’s clinic was dedicated to him.

“During his career, Mach worked every level of support from staff engineer to corporate engineer,” WBA wrote.

“He successfully completed several facilities upgrades during his career, in additional to countless engineering accomplishments, like rebuilding transmitters and studio systems.”

His career included working with Wisconsin Public Broadcasting and PBS. He designed the telecommunications facilities for the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts and the Center for Television Production, both on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus.

“Mach shared his skills and talents with the technical college system, the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Cellcom Communications, and many others. He continued consulting long after his retirement,” WBA stated.

He died in Green Bay, Wis. Here’s a link to a tribute page.

The post Wisconsin Broadcasters Remember Gary Mach, Engineer appeared first on Radio World.

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).”

 

 

The post FCC Won’t Raise Unlicensed Power Levels for Churches appeared first on Radio World.

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.”

 

The post Trump Nominates NTIA Advisor for O’Rielly FCC Seat appeared first on Radio World.

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.