Disappearing Voices

May 12th, 2012

IS SAMPLE SIZE COSTING RADIO REVENUE?

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized

5-10-2012

They are as secretive as the names of the Navy Seals that killed Bin Laden, with NDA’s signed all around to make sure details of their meetings are not leaked to the pesky radio trades. However, once complete, Arbitron and its Radio Advisory Council, hold a 30 minute conference call to highlight a few of the discussions from the meeting. Yesterday, Lincoln Financial CEO and RAC chair Don Benson (pictured) said the dialogue at the meeting was “spirited” and the feedback to Arbitron was “direct.” Two major concerns according to Benson are Arbitron’s sample size and how quickly things get done. Benson said Arbitron’s sample size is a “significant” concern and “we need to be in a better place” on sample size.

Benson made it clear that broadcasters are not happy with Arbitron’s sample sizes. And, when asked if he thought the sample size was costing the radio industry revenue, after a very long pause, Benson said the industry needs stable ratings. “I think that having stable ratings, that aren’t volatile, that have a higher degree of reliability make for a more stable, reassuring medium to purchase. I think that it is important that we have quality there and the we have confidence there and that we have a level of assuredness there. Getting to a better sample is going to get us to a better place and going to make our industry look more solid. If you are sitting there as a media buyer and you see volatility in numbers, I think it makes you, at times, a little uncertain. We are asking for investigation into helping the sample in hopes of getting it to a more stable point, or what council feels is a more stable point.”

Benson said the discussion about sample size was not hostile nor was it docile. “I think there was a great focus. To come back to what we were talking about dealing with sample size, also the desire to move things along at a faster pace. The need for speed. That is the need for speed and getting sample size issues addressed. We didn’t specifically offer ideas to Arbitron on how to go solve problem. We shared what our concern for the problem was, how genuine our concern was. They listened. They are off to do homework, to come back to us as quickly as possible with options on how to increase share and different ideas for that.

Benson said when you have that many people in one room, you have a bevy of different ideas. ”I think what we want to see is feedback from Arbitron. We shared with them our feelings about this issue in a very open and frank dialogue and we need to hear from them their outlook and their suggestions on how to get to improving sample size. We are going to wait for them. Were there different opinions? Sure.I think we are just going to wait and see what information we get back from Arbitron before we form an opinion. I think the sample issue is a significant issue and is one that is a concern, and a sizable concern for everybody. We are just waiting for feedback from Arbitron on what they see and what might be involved in getting to a better place on the sample issue. Then, we will just evaluate based on the information they give to us.”

Arbitron meets with the Radio Advisory Council two times per year. Both sides have agreed to add a third meeting.

May 10th, 2012

DO CONSUMERS REALLY WANT AN FM CHIP IN THEIR SMART PHONES?

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized

5-8-2012
by Ed Ryan

I’m always skeptical of polls and surveys. It was just yesterday that one poll said President Obama has a 7-point lead over Mitt Romney. Another poll had Romney up by 4. How can that happen? Who should you believe? Plus, how do you ever really know if someone being polled is telling you the truth? Because you send them a dollar in the mail, they are going to give you all straight answers?

Results from a Harris Interactive survey, regarding the FM cell phone chip, commissioned by the NAB, were released Tuesday. Broadcasters are saying consumers want FM chips in their cell phones. You’ve probably read that headline in many of the other trades today. The wireless industry says there’s no demand for such a thing. Who should you believe?

I live in Florida. Our house is stocked with candles, a lot of peanut butter, flashlights, buckets of batteries and more than ten radios just waiting for that next Hurricane to sweep us into the Gulf. If we lose power for 3-5 days, where would I charge my iPhone, if it even had an FM chip, so I could listen to local radio? I can listen to TuneIn now until the battery dies. I’m guessing most people will listen to their battery operated radio and save the cell phone battery for calls to family or to see if the liquor store is open yet.

The NAB has been lobbying members of Congress to get them to buy into the argument that FM chips in cell phones save lives. How could it hurt, but is that really the reason? A handful of NAB board members even attended a recent congressional roundtable discussion about the issue. It’s hard to speculate where the chip issue will end up with Congress, and the NAB has backed off on any plans to ask Washington to mandate the chips in all cell phones. The wireless industry is very skeptical. It sees no need to move the idea forward, mainly because it doesn’t see the demand coming from consumers. And, carriers such as AT&T and Verizon didn’t even attend the congressional roundtable.

The Harris survey is part of an NAB effort to educate the public, and perhaps, politicians about the chip, which is already in some cell phones, although it’s doubtful consumers that own phones with the chip even know it. The survey was conducted online in April and early May of this year and included about 4,400 participants. A 2010 survey, which the recent study is compared to, included about 2,600 adults. 70% of the 2012 respondents say it’s important they have a cell phone chip in their phone during an emergency. Although it’s a high percentage, that number is down from 73% in 2010.

Another question is probably the real reason broadcasters want to be on the phone. After verifying, in the survey, that 85% of the respondents either always or usually have the cell phone with them, another 78% say they would pay a one-time .30 fee so they could listen to radio on their phones without using their data plans. At the end of the day, it sounds like broadcasters just want to have a piece of that real estate just like Pandora and Slacker and TuneIn etc want a piece of the automotive dashboard real estate.

And finally, one of the more interesting statistics from this survey was the answer to the following question: How often, or at all, do you listen to your one of your local radio stations? 24% said all the time, 33% said frequently and 21% said sometimes for a total of 78% (the same as in 2010). That’s a far cry from the number Arbitron consistently touts which is in the high 90’s. In March Arbitron reported a RADAR survey of 395,000 resulted in a 241 million people - or 93% - who listen to radio.  It just goes to show if you survey enough people and ask them slightly different questions, mix up the age groups a little bit, you are guaranteed to get different results.

Take a look at the NAB/Harris Study HERE
E-mail me your comments directly or leave them down below.

March 29th, 2012

FCC announces victory for community radio and Local Community Radio Act

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized

March 19, 2012

We did it! Today the FCC announced the biggest victory for community radio since we led the fight to pass the Local Community Radio Act more than a year ago. The FCC will dismiss thousands of applications for translators (repeater stations) to clear the airwaves for community radio. Across the country, hundreds of channels that would have gone to giant networks will now be preserved for our communities to use. This victory would not have happened without years of effective advocacy from Prometheus and grassroots activists. And we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you! (Scroll down to read our full press release.)

Today’s announcement will help hundreds of local groups to build their own community radio stations for the first time. But our work isn’t over. We still have another fight ahead at the FCC, and we are leading a grassroots campaign to help community groups apply for radio licenses and build their stations. Today’s win creates a historic opportunity, but to take advantage of it, we need your help.

Will you donate today to help us continue our work?

Electromagnetically yours,

Stephanie Thaw (and the rest of the Prometheus staff collective)

P.O. Box 42158
Philadelphia, PA 19101
United States

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For Immediate Release

FCC Decision Opens Radio Airwaves for Communities Nationwide
New rules create opportunities for hundreds of new community radio stations

March 19, 2012

Washington, DC– In a victory for communities nationwide, today the Federal Communications Commission announced that the agency will open the airwaves for community radio. To make room for a new wave of local stations, the FCC will clear a backlog of over six thousand pending applications for FM translators, which are repeater stations that rebroadcast distant radio stations. The decision will allow for the first new urban community radio stations in decades.

“Today the FCC has opened the door for communities to use their own local airwaves, and that will be transformative,” said Brandy Doyle, Policy Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. “We commend the Commission staff for the care and diligence they have shown. We also wish to thank Chairman Genachowski, Commissioner McDowell, and particularly Commissioner Clyburn and her hardworking staff for their efforts on behalf of communities.”

The announcement concludes the first hurdle in implementing the Local Community Radio Act, passed by Congress in 2010 after a decade-long grassroots campaign. The FCC is on track to accept applications for new Low Power FM (LPFM) stations nationwide as early as Fall 2012. Community groups are gearing up to apply for the licenses, which will be available only to locally-based non-profit organizations.

“For our migrant communities here in Arizona, community radio would give a voice to people who rarely get to speak for ourselves in the media,” said Carlos Garcia, Lead Organizer with Puente Arizona. “Anti-immigrant voices dominate the airwaves. Community radio can help us tell our own stories, share news and information, and get organized.”

Broadcast radio remains one of the most accessible means of communication in the US, with 90% of Americans listening at least once a week.

“Radio is a great tool for reaching working people - it’s free to listen, easy to produce, and people can often tune in on the job or while doing housework,” said Milena Velis, Media Organizer and Educator with Philadelphia-based Media Mobilizing Project. “In Pennsylvania, we’re facing big challenges, from education cuts to rural poverty to environmentally destructive shale drilling. We see community radio as a way to bring people together and create solutions from the ground up.”

Low power community stations are non-commercial and cost as little as $10,000 to launch, putting these stations within reach of many communities who have limited access to other media outlets.

Hundreds of pending translator applications will be dismissed in Philadelphia, Phoenix, and dozens of other cities, in compliance with the rules released today. The FCC plan will preserve channels by dismissing translator applications that would preclude future community radio stations in certain markets where the FCC has determined that space for community radio will be scarce.

“We are pleased that the FCC has taken such a careful approach to preserving channels for community radio,” said Doyle. “And we’re particularly glad that the FCC has taken our recommendation to ensure that the frequencies set aside are in populated areas, where they are needed. This will make a big difference in San Antonio, Sacramento, and 12 other mid-sized markets, where stations too far from the city would have reached only tumbleweeds or farmland.”

The FCC had stopped processing the pending applications in response to a 2005 petition filed by Prometheus and Media Access Project. The new processing plan includes several changes proposed by Prometheus to improve the outlook for community radio.

Also today, the FCC released a set of proposed rules for new community radio stations, asking for public comment on the proposals. That release begins the final rulemaking procedure which must be completed before the agency can accept applications for new stations.

The Prometheus Radio Project has been the leading advocate for low power community radio since 1998. Prometheus led a decade-long grassroots campaign to pass the bipartisan Local Community Radio Act, succeeding in 2010. Over its history, Prometheus has supported hundreds of communities in licensing, building, and operating their own radio stations.

# # #

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March 29th, 2012

ARBITRON SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH CALIFORNIA. MUST PAY $400K

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized

ARBITRON SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH CALIFORNIA. MUST PAY $400K

3-26-2012

The state of California alleged that the Portable People Meter discriminated against California radio stations with African-American and Latino audiences. A consumer protection lawsuit was filed. California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera alleged the implementation of the PPM beginning in 2008 violated the state’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Unruh Civil Rights Act by dramatically undercounting minority audiences, causing sharp declines in advertising rates and revenue for many broadcasters. Several steps need to be taken by Arbitron, which will be monitored by California.

The AG’s office says stations serving primarily African American and Latino audiences were disproportionately affected by the sample audience recruitment methods Arbitron began using with its switch to the PPM in 2008. “Of the 18 stations serving minority audiences in Los Angeles, 16 experienced ratings decreases in excess of 30 percent under the initial PPM system. Three of these fell by over 70 percent. One Los Angeles radio station whose audience is mostly African-American (KJLH), was rated 0.0 for a significant portion of the day immediately after implementation of the new PPM ratings. One Spanish- language radio station (KLVE) that had previously enjoyed a number one ranking in the Los Angeles market saw its ratings plummet by more than 50 percent under Arbitron’s PPM ratings for September 2008.”

Arbitron released a statement that said, “the agreement is not an admission of fault or concession of liability or wrongdoing by Arbitron regarding any allegations of law or fact alleged in the Complaint, and Arbitron denies such allegations.” Arbitron must submit written reports to California attorneys within fifteen days of the end of each quarter in 2012 disclosing whether they are in compliance.

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said, “Through this settlement, Arbitron has agreed to take important steps to ensure that minority radio stations are reasonably treated in order that they may fairly compete in the California marketplace. In a city as diverse as Los Angeles, it is important that all of our residents and our businesses be equally represented and able to compete in our field of commerce. Only then will all Californians have a voice.” And S.F. City Attorney Dennis Herrera said, “Assuring the integrity of broadcast rating methodologies is essential to protect media outlets that serve California’s diverse communities. These measures set all-important ad rates and revenue, and largely determine the success or failure of media outlets in a competitive industry.”

The settlement mandates that Arbitron meet concrete metrics in its efforts to ensure that its audience sampling methods are fair and representative of California’s diverse media markets. Specifically, Arbitron will improve its sample-audience recruitment by increasing address-based outreach to 65 percent of its total recruitment activity by December 31, 2012. Previously, recruitment was conducted primarily via land-line telephone, a survey method that failed to adequately include minority households. Arbitron will also take all reasonable steps to increase minority participation in their sample audience panels in five California major media markets. Additionally, Arbitron will begin incorporating country of origin as a standard demographic characteristic collected from participating Hispanic households-an additional benefit to Spanish-language media outlets.

The $400,000 Arbitron has agreed to pay out will be distributed as follows:
$150,000 to the State of California
$150,000 to the City of Los Angeles
$100,000 to the City and County of San Francisco.

Currently 9 markets are accredited by the Media Ratings Council. None of those 9 markets are in the state of California.

February 7th, 2012

WHY WAS ARBITRON DROPPED IN FIVE MARKETS BY MRC?

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized

WHY WAS ARBITRON DROPPED IN FIVE MARKETS BY MRC?

2-2-2012 (updated)

The real answer to that question is nobody knows and nobody is willing to go on the record to discuss why. Most people we spoke to yesterday are frightened to say anything, on the record, that could even be perceived as negative toward Arbitron, the only ratings game in town. Unwilling to explain specifics, the Media Ratings Council has dropped Arbitron in Cleveland, Portland OR, Riverside-San Bernardino, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater. We called several of the markets that were delisted where market managers also say they were not told why their markets are no longer accredited by the MRC either. They also say nothing will change and this is only news for the radio trades, nothing more. Technically Arbitron does not have to receive the stamp of approval from anyone. One market manager told us, “advertisers will continue to buy and Arbitron is the only method we have to determine ratings.”

Arbitron has 48 markets using PPM and now only 9 of them are accredited by the MRC. We called MRC Executive Director and CEO George Ivie to get details on why they withdrew the ratings accreditation in those five markets and Ivie would not take the call. The woman that answered the phone said he would not be making any comments about the details of why they did this to Arbitron and referred us to the press release on the website. The MRC press release said, The board reached this decision upon consideration of a recommendation from an MRC audit committee based on its review of the 2011 Arbitron PPM service audit results, which showed certain issues related to internal controls of the service and declines in service performance metrics.”

Nine PPM markets remain accredited by MRC: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Houston (DMA), Kansas City, Milwaukee-Racine, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia,

Phoenix, and St. Louis. Arbitron currently plans to have all 48 PPM markets undergo new MRC audits in 2012.

November 29th, 2011

CLEAR CHANNEL DUMPS JONES IN PHILLY

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized

CLEAR CHANNEL DUMPS JONES IN PHILLY

11-29-2011

We reported late last week that Power 99’s Jonesy Jones got herself in hot water when a Philadelphia business owner filed a lawsuit against her and Clear Channel. Jones allegedly called out a local business owner saying she had beaten up teenage kids. The woman, Tracey Parson, owns the Kiddie Kare day-care chain and her name was given to Jones by a caller to the show. Parson says she was misidentified and started receiving death threats and losing business immediately after her name was broadcast. Yesterday Jones was gone from Power 99, her picture taken down off the station website. A call to Power 99 General Manager John Rahm was not returned yesterday.

In a defamation lawsuit Parson said families pulled their children out of the four Kiddie Kare day-care centers she owns in Philly after callers to the show misidentified her as a mother who had beaten up teenage girls. The complaint alleges that Jonesy and Power 99 embarked on a “coordinated campaign of contriving controversies - which were designed to destroy people’s lives, reputations, and livelihoods.” Parson was told by station employees that tapes of the segments do not exist.

The story began back in October when teenage girls from North Philly got into a fight with some girls from South Philly. Parson, who was at  a business meeting, learned during the meeting that her daughter had been involved but was uninjured. The mother of a South Philly girl allegedly picked up the girls from her neighborhood afterward, found a North Philly girl, and jumped her, the complaint alleges. Police say Parson was never a suspect.

November 14th, 2011

FORMER NEIL ROGERS PRODUCER MAKING WAVES ON THE INTERNET

Posted by Iyanna in internet radio

FORMER NEIL ROGERS PRODUCER MAKING WAVES ON THE INTERNET

Jorge Rodriguez is the former producer for the late South Florida talker Neil Rogers and sunsentinel.com has a feature on Rodriguez who, like many others being displaced, has turned to Internet. He tells the paper, “The Internet has really taken a chunk out of the terrestrial radio market and is responsible for a lot of talented people losing their jobs. But the same element responsible for us losing our jobs has also become the vehicle that has allowed us to continue our jobs.”

The paper quotes the Edison/Arbitron study which says one in five Americans are now streaming audio weekly and the number who listen to Internet radio in their cars has nearly doubled in one year, and now reaches an estimated 57 million people age 12 and older per week. Rodriguez’s network, called SoFloRadio, is also home to Nicole Sandler, who you may remember was arrested during U.S. Rep. Allen West’s town hall meeting after she was accused of disrupting the meeting. Rodriguez was fired from Beasley’s WQAM- AM in 2009. His online network now has 12 original shows.

Rodriguez’s network, called SoFloRadio, is also home to progressive talk show host Nicole Sandler, who made headlines in April when she was arrested during U.S. Rep. Allen West’s town hall meeting for allegedly being disruptive (charges were later dropped). There is also a wine and beer show on Thursday evenings and a sex and relationship show hosted by longtime South Florida radio personality Gina Martell.

October 12th, 2011

The BW Moving Images Snapshot October 11, 2011

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized


…Our latest updates. In a flash.

Tylon “U-Savior” Washington just returned from the 41st Annual Congressional Black Caucus in DC where he moderated the successful and well-attended panel “Lest We Forget”: Documenting and Memorializing African-American History. The panel was hosted by Congressman Donald M. Payne (D-NJ) Click here to view highlights.

Check out BW Moving Images’ all new exclusive promo! Click here to learn more about the small business that makes big things happen. Special thanks to Melvin Van Peebles who came to visit on set, Joe Galbo who conducted the interviews and Ana Perero our gifted director of photography.

Support Diary of the Dragon: The (R) Evolution of Fred Ho a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. If sending a check please make checks out to FRACTURED ATLAS.  In the memo line please write DIARY OF THE DRAGON. Please MAIL CHECKS TO: A Black Waxx Nation, P.O. Box 349, NYC 10185. Please do not mail checks directly to Fractured Atlas. If you’d like to make your tax-deductible donation online via credit/debit card at Fractured Atlas’ website, click here.

Join Tylon “U-Savior” Washington & Marsha Coleman Adebayo on Tuesday, October 11 in DC at the world famous Busboys and Poets Bookstore. Coleman-Adebayo will sign copies of her new book “No Fear” and Washington will talk about the documentary film of her life he’s slated to direct. For more information on the event, click here.

Want to take your radio show to the next level? Go Pro Radio Networks is not just the all-new 24 hour online radio network that delivers quality broadcasting wherever you are whenever you want featuring radio shows dealing with a range of topics including politics, entertainment, hobbies, literature and sports. It’s also a resource hub for radio shows to help develop, promote and engineer their way to the top of the internet radio game. To find out more about the services we provide, click here.

BW MOVING IMAGES. IF IT MOVES, WE SHOOT IT.

WWW.BWMOVINGIMAGES.COM

October 12th, 2011

Two Ways In Which Pandora Is More Radio Than Radio

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized

Written Apr. 8, 2011 by Sean Ross in Content + Internet Radio + Terrestrial Radio with 0 Comments

The release of Tuesday’s Infinite Dial report from Edison Research and Arbitron showing that 10% of respondents nationally had listened to Pandora in the previous week, may prompt some extra cognative dissonance for those who feel that time spent with Pandora is coming from the iPod or its predecessors, not from traditional listening to music radio.

I’ve written recently that trying to separate the time that listeners give to their own music vs. somebody else’s is increasingly a fool’s errand. If radio TSL is down, it is cold comfort that an iPod might conceivably have lost even more listening. But a few things have convinced me recently that Pandora, for whom Edison does several research projects, belongs in the radio stack, not the “successor to 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, and iPod” pile.

1) In recent years, those discovering and using Pandora have very much had a shared experience of the sort that radio used to specialize in providing. This was driven home at a recent Country Radio Seminar panel — a live focus group of “real” radio listeners. It wasn’t a very talkative bunch. But when moderator Charlie Cook asked the Pandora listener on the panel to describe it, she snapped to attention, describing it in detail, and in pretty much identical words to anybody else you’ve ever heard describe the service. With the increased amount of national radio programming, I’ve been waiting for radio to ramp up its shared experience quotient, creating an Infinite Dial of Musicradio 89 WLS and 77 WABCs for our age. But, clearly, that isn’t the only sort of shared experience radio can offer.

2) It’s been the case for a while that if your Pandora listening starts with a mainstream music choice, it will continue among those lines and may even be a little more conservative and gold-based than what you would hear on a comparable terrestrial radio station. While Pandora’s personalization and the ability to skip songs leads some people to think of it as “the other,” it’s actually the culmination of what many radio programmers have been trying to do for the last 35 years, since listener music research took hold on a large scale: progressively eliminate more and more of the “bad songs.” It’s just that Pandora users have the advantage of deciding for themselves what the “bad songs” are, even if their own tastes aren’t all that different from what 100 respondents typically decide.

October 12th, 2011

DRM Consortium to Demo Short Wave DRM for South Africa

Posted by Iyanna in Uncategorized

Oct 11, 2011 10:03 AM, By Doug Irwin, CPBE DRB

russels - Oct 10, 2011 - The DRM Consortium will make its first ever DRM transmissions for Southern Africa in the French and English languages on Oct. 11, 2011, on the occasion of the Digital Radio Conference organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels. The two-day conference will include two live studio discussions on the possibilities and future of digital radio from the multimedia radio studio of the European Parliament. The programs aim to showcase multiplatform and distribution techniques in front of a studio audience of Digital Radio Conference delegates.

Both the French and English programs will be carried live on DRM SW 21800 from Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean and should be heard in South Africa, Angola, Zambia, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique. The English program will also be carried at 1800 GMT into Southern Asia on DRM SW 12085, at the end of the daily regular BBC/DW transmission.

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