Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • REC Home
  • Apply
    • REC Services Rate Card & Policies
    • LPFM Construction Completed
    • LPFM License Modification
    • New FM Booster Station
    • New Class D FM Station in Alaska
    • New Low Power FM (LPFM) Station
  • Initiatives
    • RM-11846: Rural NCE Stations
    • RM-11909: LP-250 / Simple 250
    • WIDE-FM
    • RM-11952: Translator Reform
    • RM-11843: 8 Meter Ham Band
    • PACE - LPFM Compliance
  • Services
  • Tools
    • Today's FCC Activity
    • Broadcast Data Query
    • Field strength curves
    • Runway slope
    • Tower finder
    • FM MODEL-RF Exposure Study
    • More tools
    • Developers - API
  • LPFM
    • Learn about LPFM
      • Basics of LPFM
      • Self Inspection Checklist
      • Underwriting Compliance Guide
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • FCC Rules for LPFM
      • HD Radio for LPFM
      • Transmitters certified for LPFM
      • Interference from FM translators
      • RadioDNS for LPFM Stations
    • 2023 Window REC Client Portal
    • myLPFM - LPFM Station Management
    • LPFM Station Directory
    • Spare call signs
    • REC PACE Program
    • More about LPFM
  • Reference
    • Pending FCC Applications
    • FCC Filing Fees
    • Radio License Renewal Deadlines
    • FCC Record/FCC Reports
    • Pirate Radio Enforcement Data
    • Premises Info System (PREMIS)
    • ITU and other international documents
    • Recent FCC Callsign Activity
    • FCC Enforcement Actions
    • Federal Register
    • Recent CAP/Weather Alerts
    • Legal Unlicensed Broadcasting
    • More reference tools
  • LPFM Window
  • About
    • REC in the Media
    • Supporting REC's Efforts
    • Recommendations
    • FCC Filings and Presentations
    • Our Jingles
    • REC Radio History Project
    • Delmarva FM / Riverton Radio Project
    • J1 Radio / Japanese Broadcasting
    • Japan Earthquake Data
    • REC Systems Status
    • eLMS: Enhanced LMS Data Project
    • Open Data at REC
    • Our Objectives
  • Contact

Breadcrumb

  • Home

Operational Status

Michi on YouTube

Most popular

fcc.today - real time updates on application activity from the FCC Media Bureau.  fccdata.org - the internet's most comprehensive FCC database lookup tool.  myLPFM.com - Low Power FM channel search and station management tool.  REC Broadcast Services - professional LPFM and FM translator filing services. 

Other tools & info

  • Filing Window Tracking
  • Enforcement Actions
  • REC Advisory Letters
  • FAQ-Knowledge Base
  • U/D Ratio Calculator
  • Propagation Curves
  • Runway Slope/REC TOWAIR
  • Coordinate Conversion
  • PREMIS: Address Profile
  • Spare Call Sign List
  • FCC (commercial) filing fees
  • Class D FM stations in Alaska
  • ARRR: Pirate radio notices
  • Unlicensed broadcasting (part 15)
  • FMmap - broadcast atlas
  • Federal Register
  • Rate Card & Policies
  • REC system status
  • Server Status
  • Complete site index
Cirrus Streaming - Radio Streaming Services - Podcasting & On-demand - Mobile Apps - Advertising

Industry News

Large Groups Wave a Caution Flag on Geo-Targeting

Radio World
5 years ago

Four of the most prominent radio groups in the United States say more research is necessary before the FCC can seriously consider allowing zoned FM broadcasting.

Their filing comes as something of a reality check after several other organizations have expressed general support for the idea. The four groups are worried about a zoned system causing confusion among FM listeners as well as the risk of “self-interference,” which would harm FM’s standing with consumers. GBS has been vocal about the potential benefits to FM broadcasters.

The companies — iHeartMedia, Cumulus, Entercom and Beasley — wrote, “Technologies that are not yet widely proven which could cause interference to the primary signal, as well as confusion among radio listeners as the primary signal is handed off to a localized signal, should not prematurely be adopted as a default standard without more real-world experience gathered with experimental authorizations.”

[Read: Let’s Investigate Geo-Targeting, NAB Tells FCC]

They commented on the petition from GeoBroadcast Solutions, which wants the FCC to allow FM boosters to insert programming different from that carried by the booster’s primary station. This would allow GBS to deploy its ZoneCasting product and let FM broadcasters send unique ads and program content to very localized listeners.

“While this, or similar technologies to provide for zoned broadcasting by FM booster facilities, may ultimately prove valuable,” the groups wrote, the FCC first needs to develop a record of the feasibility of the technology based on further experimental authorizations.

“Automatically authorizing such an unproven technology … is particularly premature given the proponent’s acknowledgment that listeners will experience some degree of ‘self-interference,’ as the booster signal is handed off from the primary programming to the zone programming,” they wrote.

They acknowledged that GBS referenced several studies of its ZoneCasting technology but said there has only been one “real-world” experimental test of the current iteration. “That is a slim basis for the commission to proceed with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to change the booster rule to allow automatic use of a barely-tested technology system with known downsides.”

They said that by moving to an NPRM as GBS has requested, the FCC would essentially endorse ZoneCasting “without the need for implementers to report back to the commission on the benefits, problems and/or weaknesses of the system.”

[Read: Stations Groups Push for Translators to Originate Content]

They said third parties should be able to “formulate legitimate comments based on either direct experience with the technology, or grounded in widespread experimentation in varied locations.”

Among their concerns is that the technology might generate confusion as listeners cross transition zones, particularly when driving through alternate programming zones while listening to FM radio in their vehicles. In that case, “Independent parties will need to study whether the end result could be to drive listeners to leave the medium, which could harm all broadcasters seeking to serve listeners via over-the-air FM transmission.”

They asked the FCC to allow more experimental authorizations and reporting, as it has done for other technologies like Single Sideband Suppressed Carrier Modulation, all-digital on AM, Modulation Dependent Carrier Level controls and HD Radio. “The commission also typically conditions continuance of the experimental authority on the lack of objectionable interference.”

The groups concluded by saying that zoned broadcasting “may ultimately be a promising technology” and that with a real-world record, the commission could consider rule changes.

 

The post Large Groups Wave a Caution Flag on Geo-Targeting appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

Absolute Radio 40s to Commemorate VE Day

Radio World
5 years ago

LONDON — The United Kingdom’s Absolute Radio is adding to its line-up of “decades” stations with Absolute Radio 40s, a pop-up service to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

Absolute 40s marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

The station, which will be entirely dedicated to the 1940s, will broadcast for one day on Friday May 8 and will play an uplifting mix of songs from artists including Billie Holliday, The Andrews Sisters, Judy Garland, Glenn Miller and Bing Crosby.

UPLIFTING MIX

Absolute Radio 40s will also include special news bulletins charting events as they unfolded on the day in 1945. Presenters from the main Absolute Radio service such as Dave Berry, Jason Manford, Leona Graham and Claire Sturgess will also be featured on the special station.

Paul Sylvester is Absolute Radio’s content director.

The pop-up service will take over Absolute Radio’s 1215AM frequency across the U.K. for 24 hours, and also be broadcast on DAB+ in London and online. Some of the station’s programs will be beamed to British armed forces around the world on BFBS Radio 2, and will also be made available to hospital radio stations across the U.K.

Absolute Radio’s Content Director Paul Sylvester explained the idea behind the station: “The 75th anniversary of VE Day is a momentous event in our history, and it’s tragic that celebrations have had to be rightly curtailed because of the Coronavirus. Taking the Absolute Radio decade strategy and creating this unique pop-up station for 24 hours is the simplest way that we can pay our own very small tribute.”

“The incredible music and compelling stories you’ll hear on Absolute Radio 40s will bring comfort and entertainment to those older listeners in self-isolation and remind the rest of us of the importance of this day,” added Sylvester.

The project is a co-production with TBI Media and has been made possible by a grant from the U.K. Government’s Audio Content Fund, which supports public service broadcasting on commercial and community radio.

Phil Critchlow is CEO and founding director of TBI Media.

TBI Media’s CEO and Founding Director Phil Critchlow explained the challenge they’ve had to overcome to create content for the station during lockdown: “Like everyone we’ve learnt a huge amount about recording and broadcasting remotely over the last eight weeks — much of that is being applied to this project. Alongside almost 80 pieces of music across the four hours of content, we have four separate presenters, and probably another 25 voices that need to be captured one way or another,” he said.

REMOTE GEAR

“In every case it’s about quickly making the best of the equipment available to each contributor,” Critchlow added. “We always briefly ask what resources are available — you’ll be surprised how many people have a mic they use with GarageBand — but not pushing things too far, where the way a voice is captured begins to get in the way of a contributor’s thought process.”

Critchlow explained his current technical set-up: “Where broadcast is concerned, we’re using Comrex devices, with a broadcast quality mic attached for anything that’s going live. For pre-records, the best option is a Zoom or similar call with contributor recording locally to a WAV recorder via a quality broadcast mic and sending the content for syncing afterward.”

He said the best results for microphones come from a tight cardioid polar pattern mic. “These can often be much more forgiving in a reflective domestic setting than a more expensive studio capacitor mic — so a dynamic mic like a Beyer M201 is great, providing you use a pop shield. Where time allows, we’ve actually been posting mics and WAV recorders to contributors, with return-to-sender pre-paid packaging enclosed.”

Critchlow advised that for remote recording, the biggest difference that can be made is talking to the contributor about where they are in their house.

He explained: “The objective is to avoid any reflective surfaces that create a reverberant “roomy” sound — so moving them out of the kitchen into a room with plenty of soft furnishings. Asking for curtains to be closed, and a blanket or duvet to be put on the table they’re sitting at, can make a huge difference. Also suggesting that electrical appliances that may be running close by are switched off — it’s surprise how a washing machine in the next room isn’t heard by a contributor but is heard by their mic!”

“For post-production we’re now using Reaper almost exclusively,” said Critchlow. “We’ve come up with a process of sharing all content and edit project files on Dropbox. This allows, in this case, four people doing the editing at various stages to quickly pick up, make changes to and pass on a Reaper file for others to finalize and add to the master program. The masters can also then be passed around as an edit desk before finalization.”

Critchlow said: “Absolute 40s is a huge team effort across TBI Media and Absolute Radio. While these are uncertain and challenging times, it continues to be a huge privilege to be creating content that can make a real difference to people — particularly in this case where some of the audience is likely to be older and potentially isolated from their friends and family.”

The post Absolute Radio 40s to Commemorate VE Day appeared first on Radio World.

Will Jackson

Telos Highlights Virtual Showcase

Radio World
5 years ago

The Telos Alliance will stream a series of four webinars this month, in lieu of the spring NAB Show.

The first focuses on what’s new with Omnia, including putting processing in the cloud with Omnia.9 PTN, as well as products including Volt and Omnia.11.

Subsequent webinars will cover Telos Infinity IP Intercom; an exploration of the new Axia Quasar flagship console; and tools for Next Gen TV, where the company’s Linear Acoustic and Minnetonka Audio products have application.

The four-day series starts May 18. Find information here.

 

The post Telos Highlights Virtual Showcase appeared first on Radio World.

RW Staff

Kim Guthrie Departs Cox Media Group

Radio World
5 years ago

Kim Guthrie will leave Cox Media Group, the company announced.

Guthrie is president and CEO and has been with Cox for 22 years, but it was only in December that she was named president and CEO of this new iteration of Cox, so her tenure in this role was short.

[Read: Cox Assesses Radio Listening]

Late last year Cox Enterprises completed the sale of its radio and TV stations, along with other assets, to the new media company Cox Media Group, majority owned by private equity funds, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

The decision to leave was hers, according to today’s announcement.

Executive Chairman Steve Pruett, who came aboard in December, becomes interim CEO until a permanent leader is appointed. The company said “Guthrie will work with Pruett on an orderly transition.”

Cox owns 54 radio stations in 10 markets, among its other media holdings.

 

The post Kim Guthrie Departs Cox Media Group appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

FCC Chairman Will Participate in NAB Show Express

Radio World
5 years ago

The NAB Show may have gone virtual this year, but the flesh-and-blood chairman of the Federal Communications Commission will still participate online.

The National Association of Broadcasters announced that Chairman Ajit Pai will take part in a “keynote conversation” with NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith on Wednesday, May 13 during the NAB Show Express Welcome event.

[Read: “Welton Is More Than Just Tips n Tricks,” interview with award recipient Jeff Welton]

“The industry’s top regulator and the head of NAB will discuss communications policy issues before the FCC, including spectrum policy and media ownership,” NAB announced.

The opening session will be streamed on nabshowexpress.com at noon Eastern on May 13 and available on-demand following its conclusion.

Smith will also deliver his annual “State of the Broadcast Industry” address and present several awards including the Engineering Achievement Awards and Crystal Radio Awards.

 

The post FCC Chairman Will Participate in NAB Show Express appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

Station Groups Push for Translators to Originate Content

Radio World
5 years ago

FM translators would be allowed to originate some programming content for the first time, if two dozen radio companies get their way.

The group of licensees, under the joint name “Broadcasters for Limited Program Origination,” told the FCC in a filing that “to serve the public interest with increased program diversity,” both FM boosters and translators should be allowed to originate programming for up to 80 hours a week.

Translators and boosters currently rebroadcast only the primary station’s programming. Boosters, which operate on the frequency of their primary station, have been in the news because they are the subject of a separate proposal from GeoBroadcast Solutions. It wants the FCC to allow limited unique programming on synchronized boosters to allow a new geo-targeted or “zoned” capability. The FCC has been taking comments on that.

But the filing by the group of 24 licenses takes the idea much farther.

Allowing FM translators to originate any local programming at all would be a big change, particularly now that so many stations have them in the wake of the AM revitalization effort. AM stations with FM translators would be included under the proposal.

[Read: Let’s Investigate Geo-Targeting, NAB Tells FCC]

“The Broadcasters for Limited Program Origination seek a uniform FCC rule change for both FM boosters and FM translators to allow each to originate programming content provided that the primary station is retransmitted for no fewer than 40 hours in any calendar week,” they wrote.

“Further, rather than restrict new uses of FM booster stations to the GeoBroadcast Solutions content-specific programming, an FM booster or translator should be able to split off programming whenever such split programming content serves its listening audience, provided the primary station continues to be rebroadcast on the FM booster no fewer than 40 hours in any calendar week.”

The proposal was filed by attorney John Garziglia of Womble Bond Dickinson. The 24 licensees own 108 full-service stations and 85 FM translators.

The stations believe the FCC should not concern itself with restricting which kinds of content should be allowed.

“As with FM booster stations, the FCC should not restrict FM translator licensees in their programming content decisions,” they wrote. “Some radio stations may choose to broadcast different localized advertisements. Others may broadcast localized city council meetings for two or more communities in their coverage areas. The broadcast of multiple localized high school sports games may be what serves a particular station’s listeners. Another station may broadcast two different kinds of ethnic entertainment programming at certain times of the day.”

While this filing was made in response to the GBS proposal, it is a much different beast.

Indeed, the group of licensees said they “take no position as to whether the GeoBroadcast Solutions technical proposal … is wise as a radio listener reception matter. Such concurrent broadcasting of different content on the same frequency within the same service area may be an interference disaster.” Rather, they wrote, their goal is “to provide diverse programming over FM translator and booster radio facilities without the FCC’s heavy thumb restricting their choice of content.”

If the GBS concept of originating limited separate programming on same-channel booster stations is acceptable “as a regulatory matter,” then so should be the origination of limited separate programming on FM translators.

The companies also argue that, because the commission’s new translator interference rules “have redefined the coverage contours of FM stations,” the extended coverage contours out to the greater of the 45 dBμ contour or a 25-mile radius from the translator site should now apply to what is regarded as a fill-in station for the purposes of the FM translator rules.

And further marking this proposal as a potential big change, the group would like the commission to designate four-letter call signs with the suffix “-FX” for translators that originate limited programming content. “FM translators originating programming will be serving listening audiences just like any other broadcast station,” they wrote.

The broadcasters in the filing are Miller Communications/Kaskaskia Broadcasting; the Cromwell Group of Illinois and Hancock Communications; TBE LLC; SSR Communications; Port Broadcasting; the Fingerlakes Radio Group and Chadwick Bay Broadcasting; Blackbelt Broadcasting; Mazur LLC; The Original Company, Old Northwest Broadcasting and The Innovation Center; Virden Broadcasting; Lovcom Inc.; Genesee Media Corp.; Viper Communications; Mountain Top Media; Eastern Shore Radio; and MTN Broadcasting and Eldora Broadcasting.

Among familiar broadcaster names on the proposal are Randal Miller, Bud Walters, Terry Barber, Mark Lange, Matt Wesolowski and Cindy May Johnson.

 

The post Station Groups Push for Translators to Originate Content appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

NAB’s Dennis Wharton Retiring After 24 Years

Radio World
5 years ago
Dennis Wharton

Dennis Wharton has been spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters longer than anyone in its history. But he’ll retire from that role come July.

Wharton, executive vice president of communications, has been with the association for 24 years. Ann Marie Cumming will become the association’s primary spokesperson, and Wharton will continue to serve as a senior advisor, according to President/CEO Gordon Smith.

In an email to the NAB Board of Directors, Wharton described his tenure at NAB as “the privilege of my professional life,” noting he had been “in the catbird seat for countless moments in broadcast history,” including the launch of HDTV, radio performance royalty fights, “wardrobe malfunctions, and media consolidation battles. According the NAB announcement, he’s is most proud of the unparalleled public service of local broadcast stations, on prominent display during the COVID-19 crisis.

[Read: NAB Campaign Targets Coronavirus Aid, Federal Ads for Local Stations]

Smith called Wharton “a fervent advocate for local broadcasting” and made special note of his enthusiasm and good humor. “We wish Dennis all the best and are fortunate to have him stay on as an adviser to NAB.”

In Wharton’s letter, he praised the NAB board, his co-workers, local broadcasters, state broadcast association executives and reporters who covered NAB through the years. He reserved special gratitude for colleagues on the NAB communications team, which he has overseen for more than two decades.

Wharton joined NAB in 1996 as vice president, Media Relations, and subsequently was promoted to senior vice president in 1997 and executive vice president in 2006. He has overseen NAB departments that include media relations, research and public service. Wharton joined NAB after a 16-year journalism career in Ohio and as Washington bureau chief for Variety, where he covered legislative and regulatory issues related to broadcasting, cable and Hollywood movie studios.

[Read: COVID-19 Response Toolkit Now Available From NAB]

Michelle Lehman

NAB also announced it will merge the association’s communications and marketing departments into a new Public Affairs department, led by NAB’s Michelle Lehman, executive vice president of marketing. In her new role, Lehman will be responsible for NAB’s media relations, public service and research divisions.
She also spearheads the “We Are Broadcasters” campaign and directs marketing campaigns to promote NAB events and activities, overseeing the association’s brand, messaging and digital strategy.

Lehman began her career in Washington, on Capitol Hill serving as press secretary for former Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and then for the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee, under the leadership of former Ranking Member Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn). She also served as associate director of technology policy for a boutique public relations firm, as well as vice president of public affairs and chief spokesperson for the National Beer Wholesalers Association before joining NAB.

Lehman has tapped Ann Marie Cumming, senior vice president of communications, to serve as the primary spokesperson of the organization. In this role, she will be assisted by Zamir Ahmed, vice president of media relations, who has been with NAB since 2011. Cumming, who joined NAB in 1994, will oversee media relations and the research division led by Vice President of Research Dan McDonald.

The post NAB’s Dennis Wharton Retiring After 24 Years appeared first on Radio World.

Cristina Clapp

FCC Waives an EEO Requirement for Rehires

Radio World
5 years ago

The FCC has announced a partial waiver of an EEO rule to help facilitate the rehiring of people who lost jobs in the coronavirus crisis.

Its Media Bureau waived the “broad outreach” requirements of Equal Employment Opportunity recruitment rules in certain circumstances. The rules ordinarily require broadcast stations employing five or more full-time employees to engage in broad recruitment outreach for all full-time job vacancies.

[Read: FCC Eliminates Its Own Engineering Division]

“The Bureau finds good cause to waive this requirement to allow affected broadcast licensees … to return operations to full strength once circumstances permit the re-hiring of released employees,” it announced.

“Specifically, broadcast licensees and MVPDs may rehire full-time employees who were laid off due to circumstances related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic without first conducting broad recruitment outreach, if they rehire such employees within nine months after the date they were laid off.”

It emphasized that this partial waiver pertains only to employees who were released due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It cited the “challenging economic conditions directly resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including significant layoffs and workforce reductions in the media industry.”

The FCC believes this waiver “will not have a material adverse impact on the commission’s goals of ensuring equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination.”

 

The post FCC Waives an EEO Requirement for Rehires appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

On Its 70th Anniversary, EBU Maintains Initial Vision

Radio World
5 years ago

The author is head of radio for the European Broadcasting Union.

GENEVA — As a medium, radio is perfectly adapted to cross national borders — indeed, it does so quite naturally.

Graham Dixon. All photos courtesy of the EBU.

Likewise, using the power of radio to bring people together, sharing output and appreciating a shared experience, is a quality of radio, which has been recognized from the earliest days.

If ever radio should have a patron saint, who realized its potential, it should be Oskar Czeija, intendant of Austrian Radio from 1924–38.

He travelled Europe, meeting the directors of other radio broadcasters, and established the sharing of cultural material, including the Salzburg Festival. It was his strong belief that sharing across national frontiers would bring the world together and develop mutual understanding.

HISTORY

One of the key factors of radio is bringing to its listeners a sense of time and place, connecting them to their own communities, but it can also provide a wide window on the outside world, bringing them in contact with ideas, cultures and events which they could not otherwise access. Czeija’s vision still holds good today for the European Broadcasting Union, allowing listeners to access unique material.

The Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. It was the first event to be broadcast live internationally.

But content was not always king. When the EBU was founded after the Second World War — at a hotel in Torquay, England, in 1950 — the primary preoccupations were around technical and legal issues, establishing the framework for effective operation. In the first meeting, television was not mentioned, though it was soon to come on the scene.

Content, and therefore some sense of audience focus, soon followed, for with the second meeting of the EBU, it was proposed that some exchange of television programs take place. In words which would not sound out of place in today’s straitened times, the EBU President Sir Ian Jacob, responded, “Nobody should feel discouraged from taking any initiative which was thought in the interest of broadcasting provided that such activities did not lead to other tasks being neglected or to demands being made for extra staff or financial resources.”

Technician Fritz Zvacek is pictured with headphones.

It was an early example of “more with less.” Consequently, there was an experimental link between England and France later in 1950, and then the television medium came into its own with the shared transmission of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Two years ago, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of a regular EBU concert series, which has since blossomed into the EBU Music Exchange, the world’s largest concert hall, with around 5,000 hours of output being exchanged across all musical genres. This service, available to members and associates around the world, enhances the schedules of broadcasters with unique and attractive material, from the New Year’s Day Concert from Vienna, to the Metropolitan Opera, the Last Night of the Proms, and — in 2019 — rare archive material from Oasis and a live performance from Coldplay.

OBJECTIVES

Across the summer, all the major European classical festivals are visited on a regular basis, and special topical events are regularly organized, such as a celebration of women in music and, for 2020, extensive Beethoven events.

The history of the growth of DAB radio remains to be written, but it is already clear that it has provided broadcasters in many countries with the freedom to develop new channels, often serving more hard-to-reach audiences of specific interest groups.

The radio industry has been able to move beyond the limitations of FM, and the EBU has played a major part in bringing about the standards, which now constitute DAB. Likewise, at the moment, close attention is being paid to supporting the ongoing presence of radio in cars, and issues around radio reception on new platforms, including voice-activated devices. The recent lobbying with the European Parliament has successfully led to digital radio receivers becoming obligatory in vehicles from the end of 2020.

In defining its strategy for the fast transforming media environment, the EBU has defined four key areas of activity. These are providing members with unique material, particularly for music, news and sport; promoting knowledge-sharing and networking; supporting members by functioning as a hub of expertise; and finally, establishing beneficial partnerships on behalf of members, for instance, with the U.S. tech giants.

The media world has developed in ways that the EBU’s founders would never have imagined, and their thinking —  formed in a monopolistic world — would not have answered today’s challenges. What does not change is the sense that as broadcasters, working together solely to serve the public, we are stronger together. We are stronger together when dealing with third parties, but also stronger together when making the case for public media.

CONNECTION

The first international television link between France and the United Kingdom took place in 1950.

As I write, the world is concerned with coronavirus, and social media is full of opinions. Under such circumstances, who can we trust to give us rational, reliable information, with expert opinion, debate and analysis?

And once we have consumed sufficient news, where can we find entertainment and music, compiled and curated with sensitivity toward how listeners are feeling in different communities? EBU Members are dedicated to responding to these demands for the benefit of the public.

A document from Radio Vienna in 1931 with a photo of Oskar Czeija, intendant of Austrian Radio from 1924–38.

When radio came into being and defined its public purposes, it was agreed that these centered around informing, educating and entertaining. All three still stand and provide a sense of direction for the EBU Members. However, I would add a fourth purpose, namely, connecting.

In a world where people can become isolated, where they need to feel a connection with others who share their interests and humanity, providing universal services, which bring people together is a vital societal contribution. The commitment to togetherness across the EBU to achieve these common aims has endured for 70 years.

Whatever devices enter the market in the coming decades, the human and societal imperatives will remain unchanged.

The post On Its 70th Anniversary, EBU Maintains Initial Vision appeared first on Radio World.

Graham Dixon

FCC Deletes Call Signs of Two California FM Stations

Radio World
5 years ago

The Federal Communications Commission took a decisive step this week when it deleted the call signs of two California FM stations and ordered them to immediately cease operations.

The decision came down to a question of character and the ripple of consequences that come from breaking commission rules.

In the case of KAAX(FM) and KYAF(FM), the story started rather benignly when Avenal Education Services and Central Valley Educational Services requested to modify the authorization of their stations from noncommercial educational status (NCE) to commercial stations. A seemingly simple loophole stymied that request: Avenal and Central Valley were not incorporated prior to filing their station operations.

[Read: Alleged Deception Costs FM Broadcasters Their License]

But it was the details revealed in a previous proceeding that contained the bite that lost owner William Zawila his modification requests.

The FCC looked closely at the findings from a hearing in which the permits and licenses of three other FM stations were revoked after Zawila and two other groups were accused of disingenuous stonewalling and various misrepresentations in their dealings with the commission.

In a proceeding that included six stations (including KAAX and KYAF) questions were raised about misrepresentation, failure to maintain a public file and various technical rule violations against both Avenal, Central Valley and Zawila. During that hearing the Enforcement Bureau found that Avenal and Central Valley were not legally formed nonprofit entities that were qualified for a construction permit for an NCE station. Although the two companies filed their applications in 1988 and 1989, they were not incorporated until 1999 and 2001.

But Avenal and Central Valley answered, no, they actually were in the right and were free to attempt to convert KAAX and KYAF — two stations that are located amongst vast agricultural fields in Central California — to commercial stations by merely by notifying the FCC that they were hoping to have that conversation take place. Zawila challenged the FCC chief administrative law judge’s findings in that earlier proceeding. But the commission ruled against him based on lack of evidence.

Now jumping ahead to May 2020, the FCC again found that Avenal’s and Central Valley’s initial applications for construction permits were flawed because neither applicant was incorporated at the time of filing. And neither can fix the situation by simply applying to convert from NCE to commercial status.

Keep in mind that the FCC is watching closely when it comes not only to character but to the willingness to follow FCC rules. In its findings, the commission found that these two entities cannot attempt to correct their initial errors by attempting a conversion to commercial status. Nor can the two hide the fact that the Avenal company that was incorporated in 1999 has since been dissolved, and that the versions of that corporation incorporated in 2003 and 2015 are currently suspended. Same with the Central Valley Educational Services: the company incorporated in 2001 and the version incorporated in 2015 are also suspended.

The final nail in the coffin for the two entities: as of the date of the FCC’s decision on May 1, 2020, Avenal and Central Valley are still not valid California corporations.

All this led the commission to dismiss the construction permit request and the request to modify from NCE to commercial status, to revoke the stations’ ability to broadcast going forward, and to delete the two station’s call signs.

In an-all-caps demand in its letter to the two entities, the FCC said both KAAX and KYAF must cease broadcast operations immediately. But Zawila and company cannot walk away entirely. Until their towers are dismantled, Zawila and the companies are on the hook for keeping the lights on.

 

The post FCC Deletes Call Signs of Two California FM Stations appeared first on Radio World.

Susan Ashworth

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 958
  • Page 959
  • Page 960
  • Page 961
  • Current page 962
  • Page 963
  • Page 964
  • Page 965
  • Page 966
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

REC Essentials

  • FCC.TODAY
  • FCCdata.org
  • myLPFM Station Management
  • REC site map

The More You Know...

  • Unlicensed Broadcasting
  • Class D Stations for Alaska
  • Broadcasting in Japan
  • Our Jingles

Other REC sites

  • J1 Radio
  • REC Delmarva FM
  • Japan Earthquake Information
  • API for developers

But wait, there's more!

  • Join NFCB
  • Pacifica Network
  • LPFM Wiki
  • Report a bug with an REC system

Copyright © REC Networks - All Rights Reserved
EU cookie policy

Please show your support by using the Ko-Fi link at the bottom of the page. Thank you for supporting REC's efforts!