Is Paige a lightning Rod in Williams case?
Department of Education Secretary Roderick Paige has defended his department's arrangement with Armstrong Williams to promote No Child Left Behind, and at the same time has ordered an internal investigation into the matter. In that, it appears the ED staff will have lots of company.
The soon-to-be-exiting Paige said that it was common for government agencies to contract with PR firms to explain policy. "All of this has been reviewed and is legal. However, I am sorry that there are perceptions and allegations of ethical lapses. This is disappointing to me and to this Department as a whole."
"That a public relations contract has caused the good work of this Department to come into question is deeply disturbing to me." he continued. "And it is certainly not the legacy I wish to leave behind. In addition to my staff's initial fact-finding efforts, I have also asked for an expedited Inspector General investigation in order to clear up any remaining aspects of this issue as soon as possible so that it does not burden my successor or sully the fine people and good name of this Department."
Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee has gotten into the act, led by Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Ranking Member Tom Harkin (D-IA). They want a record of ED PR expenditures going back to 2002.
...The envelope, please
If you think the ED/Armstrong Williams case is on or beyond the border of good journalism ethics, how about this report from Iraq: BBC says that operatives for PM Iyad Allawi took about 20 reporters into a room and handed them each an envelope containing the equivalent of about 100 dollars. The gesture was characterized as "just hospitality," saying the failure of westerners to appreciate it was more of a cultural schism than anything else. "If we wanted to bribe the press, we would have to pay a lot more," said a spokesperson. Still, it seems significant, since 100 dollars was said to be about half the monthly starting salary of a Iraqi cub reporter.
Broadcaster and motivational speaker Vicki Hitzges to keynote RAB2005
Motivational speaker Vicki Hitzges will present the Saturday luncheon keynote at RAB2005, the world's largest conference devoted exclusively to Radio sales, marketing, and management, presented at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, February 10 to 13 by the RAB.
During her keynote, Vicki will address the most challenging issues facing today's Radio managers, including how to thrive in a competitive environment; how to remain motivated and upbeat; and how to maintain a positive attitude under the most trying circumstances. Her practical ideas are immediately applicable.
Eastlan wants people to buy on the bayou
Ratings firm Eastlan is entering Billy Tauzin territory - - part of it, at least - - announcing that it will provide radio ratings for the Houma-Thibodaux-Morgan City portion of Louisiana, a hitherto unrated part of the state just west of New Orleans and north of the Gulf of Mexico. Owen Weber's Guaranty Broadcasting is backing the endeavor, which they hope will raise the profile of the "Tri-Parish" area comprised of the Parishes of Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary. The fairly well-populated area - - its 240K 12+ residents would place it about #170 among all rated radio markets - - tends to get lost in the shadow of the Big Easy.
Democracy Radio CEO Tom Athans responds to attack on Ed Schultz
On Friday a right-wing website, Newsmax.com, posted an effort to defend the Bush Administration's hiring of Armstrong Williams, by attacking Jones Radio Networks' progressive talker Ed Schultz. The attack can be read here: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/1/13/121535.shtml
Democracy Radio CEO, Tom Athans, released the following statement:
"The difference between taxpayer-funded government propaganda and private investment in a new media venture is as obvious as the difference between Ed Schultz and Rush Limbaugh.
The twisted attack on Ed Schultz by the right-wing monopolists who once controlled the talk radio market belies their fear of Ed's phenomenal first- year success. They understand that a new format in radio is emerging that will break their stranglehold over the nation's radio airwaves.
Democracy Radio raised support and seed capital from investors who were concerned that a single ideological viewpoint dominated an entire channel of the media. We would love to have had some conservative contributors to our network, but Georgette Mosbacher, Bo Derek and Wayne Newton did not step forward. We would still welcome their support."
Webcast Metrics releases Internet radio rankings
Ando Media released the Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker for the month of December 2004. Audience figures listed on the Ranker are gathered directly from webcasters' media servers, making Webcast Metrics the only third-party audience measurement platform that accurately measures Internet radio listenership - eliminating the need for sample-based estimates that are common in terrestrial radio. The Webcast Metrics list of subscribing stations continued to grow in December. Among the new additions was progressive talk network Air America Radio, which placed fourth with an average quarter hour (AQH) of 2,599. (Monday to Sunday 6am - 12 mid daypart). Digitally Imported retained the first position with an AQH of 18,027.
Webcast Metrics measures Internet radio audience using industry-standard metrics such as AQH, cume, average time spent listening (ATL) and total listener hours (TLH). Webcast Metrics subscribers have detailed access to their stations' audience data with monthly, weekly, daily and hourly reports.
Affiliates that represent multiple channels of programming and CUME for those channels is the number of unique listeners unduplicated across all the channels reported.
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