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Pilot, NAB’s technology innovation initiative, announced the winners of its fourth annual Pilot Innovation Challenge. The program will provide support to the winners to develop an AI prototype for Pilot in order to enhance broadcasters’ audience engagement.

Individuals, teams, companies, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations submitted concepts to address the challenge prompt to “build an AI character that can have conversations with individual viewers, listeners or consumers.”

This year’s winners are:

• DeepTalk: A Conversational Agent for Broadcasters — Michigan State University: NextGen Media Innovation Lab, College of Communication Arts and Sciences; i-PRoBe Lab, Department of Computer Science and Engineering; WKAR Public Media. DeepTalk is a conversational agent, like Siri, that can be trained through deep learning to deliver news in the voice of a local broadcaster.
• Jukebot — University of Minnesota: Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Jukebot is a chatbot API capable of answering simple questions and getting feedback from users for music stations.

Pilot is allocating a total of $150,000 between the two winners. Winners will also receive relevant mentorship, feedback during development and a trip to the 2020 NAB Show to demonstrate their prototype.

Innovation Challenge finalists included:

• AI-Driven Interactive News on Mobile Devices — Embody Digital
• Leveraging Conversational AI to Grow Audience, Deepen Engagement and Shape Content Strategy — University of Georgia: Department of Statistics, Institute for Artificial Intelligence; Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication New Media Institute
• Kuralt.AI: 3D Broadcast Avatar — University of North Carolina: Reese News Lab, Hussman School of Journalism and Media

Pilot Executive Director John Clark said NAB looks forward to working with the winners to develop their prototypes and ultimately provide broadcasters the ability to better serve their communities through AI.

 

The post Pilot Announces Winners of the 2020 Innovation Challenge appeared first on Radio World.

Dear Editor,

Scott Dorsey writes, “It is time for some weeding out, so that stations that can take advantage of the actual advantages of AM are able to do so.”

Dave Kolesar sees digital transmission as the salvation of the AM band (Dec. 4, 2019 issue), but AM problems are more social than technical. There are perhaps 20 times as many AM stations as there were in the 1950s, but far fewer listeners. Receivers haven’t improved; in fact on the whole they have got worse. Much of the problem is sheer overcrowding.

The one major benefit of AM, where AM shines over all other possible delivery methods, is long-distance reception over skip and the ability to deal with severe multipath on rugged terrain. Any digital system for AM broadcast that cannot contend with skip reception or degrades reception in mountainous areas is destroying the one advantage that AM has.

Yes, it’s possible that IBOC MA3 is a great improvement over MA1, in that MA1 not only was inaudible over skip but made adjacent-channel stations unlistenable. MA3 is much less likely to destroy reception of distant stations, but the digital carrier is still destroyed by Faraday rotation.

If your station is not audible on skip, and you’re not in a mountainous area where FM is problematic, you probably shouldn’t be on the AM band. I know a lot of AM stations realize this and would like to move to the FM band but cannot. The FM band is too crowded too.

But we need to sit down and face the real truth that there are too many stations on the AM band broadcasting junk programming that people are not actively listening to. It is time for some weeding out, so that stations that can take advantage of the actual advantages of AM are able to do so.

The NAB doesn’t want to talk about this. The FCC doesn’t want to talk about this. All anybody wants to do is promote technical solutions to the wrong problem.

I would be strongly in favor of digital systems that were able to cope with skip transmission, such as DRM. But there’s an easy way to dramatically improve listenability of the band, it’s just that nobody wants to talk about it.

Scott Dorsey
Kludge Audio
Williamsburg, Va.

The post AM in Digital? It’s a Tech Solution to the Wrong Problem appeared first on Radio World.

ANTWERP, Belgium — As a part of the Stadsfeestzaal events hall and shopping mall’s radio advertising campaign, Belgian broadcaster TOPradio hosted six hours of live radio on Friday, Nov 29 — “Black Friday.”

TOPradio broadcasts six hours live from a mobile studio. All photos are courtesy of Topradio.

“The organizers wanted to go beyond a traditional radio campaign and opted for a full Black Friday concept,” said Wouter De Vries, TOPradio DJ and producer. “So we set up the live broadcast alongside the commercial campaign and promoted it on the airwaves and on social media.”

De Vries added that, with TOPradio being awarded 15 FM frequencies in April 2018 the station now also has a dedicated frequency (104.2 MHz FM) for the greater Antwerp area.

“This was the perfect occasion to highlight TOPradio’s new FM frequency. We enjoy good reception and have gained many listeners,” he said.

“This Black Friday broadcast may mark the beginning of future collaboration with Stadsfeestzaal,” said Wouter De Vries, TOPradio DJ and producer.

“Although we also broadcast on DAB+, the majority of our audience still tunes into FM. And the Stadsfeestzaal is a beautiful venue, on the Meir, Antwerp’s prime shopping street.”

For the Black Friday show, Flexivent, a company specializing in mobile event solutions, supplied the FlexStudio mobile broadcast studio remote trailer, which has space for a presentation desk and all the needed technical equipment.

RadioStudio.be managed the technical integration of TOPradio’s broadcast bubble. “We put in place a Lawo ruby package with an eight-fader ruby mixing console,” said Tom Callebaut, manager of RadioStudio.be.

“For TOPradio’s Aeron playout system, a dump data PC, a copy of TOPradio’s music files databank, in the mobile studio provided the musical content. In addition, the Lawo Ember+ protocol ensured swift communication between the digital components in the studio.”

A huge billboard stage in Antwerp’s shopping street announced the TOPradio broadcast and the DJ sets.

[Read About Qmusic and Joe’s New Studios]

The station used two Neumann KMS 105 condenser microphones for presenters and guests. The Lawo ruby’s AES signal was encoded by a DEVA Broadcast 9000TX audio encoder and transmitted via 4G to TOPradio’s main on-air studio in Ghent.

The station aired between 2 and 8 p.m. with three presenters and a social media editor, providing pictures and stories for Facebook and Instagram.

Radiostudio.be managed the installation of the studio.

There was also a DJ station in the Stadsfeestzaal venue so DJs and media personalities could perform in front of an audience.

“The Black Friday mobile broadcast was a huge success, both for the organizers and TOPradio,” concluded De Vries. “This may be the start of future collaboration.

The post TOPradio Hosts Live Broadcast for Black Friday appeared first on Radio World.

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We already knew that Geoffrey Starks believes “America’s broadcasters should look like America.” But on Monday the FCC commissioner took that message in person directly to the NAB Joint Board of Directors.

The commissioner spoke to members of the NAB board during its meeting in Miami. According to a copy of the remarks released by his office, Starks addressed topics of public interest, media diversity and the future of broadcast.

Starks, one of the two commissioners in the Democratic minority on the FCC, said that the proliferation of information options available to consumers does not make it less important for broadcasters to focus on what it means to serve the public interest.

[Related: Read what Geoffrey Starks told the Media Institute Free Speech Gala in November.]

“Not at all. In fact, I think this is your competitive advantage.” He cited data that most Americans still get their local news from local TV stations, and that most of the news consumed online is originated by traditional sources like broadcasters or newspapers.

He also said, “We must find effective ways to move the needle on ownership diversity.” He made note of three House bills. One would reinstate the tax certificate program, which Starks strongly supports, to incentivize sales of stations to women and minorities and encourage investment of capital. Another would improve broadcast ownership data collection and direct the FCC to complete its EEO rulemaking. The third would require consideration of market entry barriers for “socially disadvantaged individuals” being excluded from media ownership.

Starks also complimented the NAB for its Broadcast Leadership Training program and hoped the association can build on it.

[Related: “Pai Lists His Accomplishments of Three Years”]

On EEO, he was critical of the FCC for “failing to make good on its statutory mandate to collect workforce diversity data from broadcasters. It is still not clear to me how, for nearly 20 years, the FCC ignored Congress’s will by not collecting this information,” and said he’d work to re-open the issue. “Until we can adequately quantify the problem, we cannot adequately address it.” He rejected arguments that collecting EEO data or adopting policies to promote diversity would be unconstitutional.

And Starks asked the TV industry to take data privacy and security issues into account as it deploys ATSC 3.0.

“All those features rely on consumer data that will be collected by broadcasters and device manufacturers. How will that data be kept secure? How will it be stored, anonymized or sold? How will consumers be fully aware of what data are being collected and how it is being used? What about the algorithms and machine learning that will be employed to manipulate consumer data to produce targeted ads, viewing suggestions, and the like?”

He advised TV broadcasters to “widen your aperture to be aware of and conscientiously think through complex issues involving data and privacy that are going to dominate our shared future.”

Read the full speech.

 

The post Commissioner Starks Takes Diversity Message to the NAB Board appeared first on Radio World.

SAN FRANCISCO — KQED(FM) recently began a project to remodel and expand our studios in San Francisco. The plan is two-phase. The first was to move the station’s operations to a temporary facility, followed by a transition back to our newly remodeled original complex.

Caroline Smith, producer, Forum, uses the Telos VSet 12 handset and Broadcast Bionics’ XScreen (her left screen) at the KQED temporary studios.

I created an initial plan so that the system could be configured well in advance of our move. Then the team at the Telos Alliance took my plan, checked that it made sense from a technical standpoint and added a few important modifications to achieve a modern and highly reliable on-air telephone system, one befitting a 24-hour news and information operation that is often the number one station in the San Francisco market.

Good hardware with a good plan is still lacking without good implementation. To this end, we also opted for on-site configuration and training by Telos Alliance Support, and the experience that we received from team member Shaun Dolan was above and beyond helpful. Many configuration pieces of the VXE system had to be worked out on-site, such as the network configuration using non-Cisco switches for the phones and programming the Asterisk server and VXE for the new SIP trunk.

The new SIP trunk provided by TPx had a few temporary numbers — actual KQED numbers would not be available until the studio moved. With Shaun’s help we were able to preprogram all of the numbers we would eventually be using. At cutover time, the training I received came in handy. I set up a VSet-12 phone at my workbench and pre-programmed multiple “shows” to include all of the numbers expected in the SIP trunk. As TPx moved the numbers one at a time, I was able to test them immediately. Some of the numbers didn’t work, and thanks to my training I knew where to look for problems and make the necessary corrections to a few typos that I had made during the process. All the talk show lines, including the toll-free number, worked as expected. I believe the SIP trunk provider, TPx, was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the KQED cutover went.

Programming the VXe system phones to work with the many studios and shows is a breeze. The lines are displayed clearly on the phones, and the users easily can understand which lines are available for different purposes. We set up the VXe system to flash a light in the control rooms instead of using the ringer. This ensures that the studio engineers never miss a call due to the ringer being turned off.

Our talk show people learned how to operate the new phones much more quickly than I expected. They are happy with the new phones operation and information filled displays, as well as the overall quality of the VSets. They were used to the old Telos producer/talent software, but quickly came to like the Broadcast Bionics xScreen software. They especially like that, through xScreen, they can see how many times someone has called into the show. They know the show is really popular when the regular callers are crowded out by a bunch of new callers. Broadcast Bionics worked with KQED to optimize xScreen for our needs. We really appreciated their willingness to listen to our suggestions for their product and improve it for our needs. The transition to the new studio was so smooth, our listeners and callers were unaware that anything had changed.

People are now used to the new equipment and work flows at our new studio location. But of course, this new location is only temporary while the old studio complex facility is being fully remodeled and expanded.

Early 2020 we start the planning for reconstructing the newly rebuilt facility. For the move back I expect we will get another new VXe and Asterisk phone system and make the one we are using today a backup in a fully redundant system. After our last experience, I’m sure we will get Telos back out for another configuration.

For information, contact Cam Eicher at The Telos Alliance in Ohio at 1-216-241-7225 or visit www.telosalliance.com.

The post User Report: Telos Supports Smooth Transitions in San Francisco appeared first on Radio World.

Erika Beasley

Beasley Media Group has promoted Erika Beasley to vice president of digital content. She will now oversee the content creation for Beasley’s digital platforms.

Prior to this announcement, Beasley was corporate digital content director for local markets. Before that role, she spent more than three years as the Fayetteville, N.C., vice president and market manager. She also had a two-year stint as general sales manager for the Tampa market, preceded by nearly two years as local sales manager for Philadelphia stations WXTU(FM) and WRDW(FM) — now WTDY — and eight years as account manager for WXTU and WRDW. 

Her first gig with the family business was in 2004, when she was hired as a traffic manager for the Ft. Meyers, Fla., stations. 

Beasley Media Group Chief Content Officer Justin Chase said she has contributed to “the company’s digital transformation” and noted that her work “speaks for itself.”

Beasley graduated from North Carolina State University and continued her education through the National Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcast Leadership Training program and the BMI & Radio Advertising Bureau’s Rising Through The Ranks program, where she was recognized with the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio Group’s Rising Star Award.   

She also has served on the board of the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters.

The post Beasley Names VP of Digital Content appeared first on Radio World.

There are clear rules regarding the broadcasting of live and prerecorded programming. And for those stations that don’t follow those rules, there will likely be consequences.

That was the case for Salem Media Group after the Federal Communications Commission began an investigation into a possible violation of the commission’s live broadcast rules. According to the FCC, Salem violated its live broadcast rules by broadcasting prerecorded programming as “live” without announcing before the broadcast that the programming was prerecorded.

[Read: Alleged Deception Costs FM Broadcasters Their License]

Salem agreed to settle the matter by entering into a consent decree and pay a $50,000 civil penalty. The company admitted that it failed to announce that the programming was actually prerecorded and agreed to implement a compliance plan to help ensure future compliance with commission rules.

In announcing the consent agreement, the FCC reiterated that it has a “longstanding goal of protecting consumers by ensuring the public knows when certain program material is ‘live’ rather than taped, filmed or recorded.”

The commission specified that any time there is an impression that the event is occurring simultaneously as the broadcast, a broadcaster must clearly identify if it is actually taped, filmed or recorded. “Doing otherwise may mislead the public,” the FCC said.

 

The post Salem Agrees to $50,000 Fine After Violation of Live Broadcast Rules appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters said its opponents have given the FCC no reason to deny NAB’s request that it clarify its disclosure requirements for third-party political ads and follow NAB’s “rationally tailored approach.”

That came in a reply to comments on its request for that clarification.

NAB joined with Hearst Television, Graham Media Group, Nexstar, Fox, Tegna and Scripps to ask the FCC to narrow its definition of non-candidate ads on “any political matter of national importance” (i.e. “issue” ads) and the disclosure obligations on broadcasters to identify the issues in those ads.

That came in NAB’s petition for reconsideration of the FCC’s order resolving complaints against broadcast groups for failure to properly identify political ads.

Broadcasters want to narrow the interpretation of “national importance” by specifying that the term applies only to national political actors in position to take national action, which would exclude ads targeted at state and local races.

Commenters opposed to NAB’s request said the association’s interpretation of “political matter of national importance” is contrary to statutory intent and language, but NAB said campaign finance reform disclosures are about soft money and issue ads influencing federal elections and should not apply to “thousands of state and local elections merely because they may mention issues discussed at the national, as well as state or local, level.”

Besides, NAB pointed out, the FCC’s overbroad interpretation of the disclosure requirement would be “virtually impossible to administer.”

“Even the opposition recognizes it would be ‘impracticable’ for stations to draw ‘fine distinctions between federal and state issues,’ which is precisely what the Political File Order requires,” said NAB.

 

The post NAB to FCC: Ad Clarification Opponents Have It All Wrong appeared first on Radio World.

The 16th European Digital Radio and Audio Show drew to a close on Saturday Jan. 25.

The exhibition floor at the 2020 edition of the European Digital Radio and Audio Show.

According to organizers, the three-day event attracted 8,100 visitors, an 8% increase over the 2019 gathering. It also played host to 183 exhibitors.

Sporting the theme “Solid Radio. Liquid Audio,” some 500 speakers animated the conferences, workshops and masterclasses. Session topics ranged from virtualization to advertising and from media education to diversity in radio.

LOOKING AHEAD

While many of the sessions that made up the three conference tracks were in French, a few were in English. One such panel was “The Future of Audio Under GAFA Hegemony.”

The “The Future of Audio Under GAFA Hegemony” session analyzed the future of radio in relation to the arrival of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

Moderated by consultant Gary Kline, the session looked at the future of radio and how broadcasters should adapt to changing consumption patterns and expectations with the arrival of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

The panel also featured Alexandre Saboundjian, CEO, Targetspot;  Philippe Generali, CEO of RCS; and James Cridland, radio consultant and founder of Podnews.

In addition, the 2020 event showcased Germany and Austria’s work in the industry. More than 15 German and Austrian exhibitors were present, including Audi and its e-tron automobile, featuring its latest infotainment system.

NEW ENTRY

A new entry to this year’s lineup was the POD.Village, a space dedicated entirely to podcast professionals and podcasters.

There was also an In-car XP stand on embedded digital radio and audio experiments in the automotive industry, while the DAB+ pavilion offered updates on digital terrestrial radio around the world.

Charlie Gawlie accepts the “Product of the Year” award at the show. Also pictured are Alexi Saillant (left) and Paul Guibouret of SAVE Diffusion. The company is Tieline’s distributor in France.

As in previous years, organizers held a ceremony to honor notable talent and products. Tieline took home an award for its Via codec in the “Product of the Year” category and IP-Studio won the “Service of the Year” award for its virtualization studio.

The 2021 edition will take place Jan. 21–23 at Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, where Italy will be the country of honor.

The post European Digital Radio and Audio Show Eyes Future appeared first on Radio World.

This document summarizes public notices that announce the procedures and upfront payments amounts and minimum opening bids for the auction of certain FM broadcast construction permits as well as a temporary freeze on the filing of minor change applications for FM stations. The Auction 106 Procedures Public Notice summarized here is intended to familiarize applicants with the procedures and other requirements for participation in Auction 106.

This document amends the broadcast ownership rules to reflect the mandate of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which vacated and remanded the Commission's 2018 Incubator Order and 2017 Order on Reconsideration in their entirety, and the definition of eligible entities adopted in the Commission's 2016 Second Report and Order. This document implements the Third Circuit's mandate and clarifies which rules are currently in effect.