I encourage you to forward today's RBR onto a colleague or friend and Share the Voice. Have them Sign Up for a Trial Read on you. Have them Try it they will like it and thank you for it. Thanks, Jim Carnegie, Publisher and Broadcaster
SIGN UP HERE
|
|
|
|
|
Volume 23, Issue 107, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
|
Thursday Morning June 1st, 2006
|
|
|
Radio News ®
|
 Halyburton to Emmis NYC
Former Susquehanna Radio Sr. VP Dan Halyburton is heading to New York to head the Emmis three-station cluster. This should be quite a change, as Halyburton has spent the last 25 years in Dallas. "This is the ultimate job - three great radio stations in the greatest city in the world," Halyburton said in a statement. Emmis Radio president Rick Cummings said filling the NYC post was the most exhaustive search he's ever conducted, "but it was worth it because we got the right person," he said. That search began back in January, when Barry Mayo announced that he would not renew his contract when it ran out the end of February (1/18/06 RBR #12). Mayo has remained at WQHT-FM, WRKS-FM and WQCD-FM in the interim and assisted in the search for his successor.
RBR observation: Halyburton was one of several top managers at Susquehanna who decided to cash out and test the waters elsewhere when the radio group was sold to Cumulus Media Partners. Pretty much everyone in the business knows Dan and knows that he is one of the best managers there is. No doubt he talked to some others before accepting the offer from Emmis.
 Big Dan let slip the Big F
Veteran Big Apple airman Dan Ingram let the big one slip during a live interview over News/Talk WABC-AM New York, which was in the midst of a Memorial Day retrospective of its top 40 days. It becomes a waiting game for the station, in the middle of an ownership transition from ABC/Disney to Citadel, to see if the error will pull any formal FCC complaints. Ingram was talking about a lawsuit (he was protecting his name, which apparently had been co-opted by a DJ in Florida), and when discussing a court setback, he let fly with the f-bomb. It must have been a particularly emotional courtroom setback for Ingram, because even though the program was on tape-delay, the f-bomb got through because it was short-spaced to an s-bomb that preceded it. The s-bomb was bleepable, but there wasn't time to recover and catch the f-bomb.
RBR observation: What will be interesting is to see if a major email protest kicks off, complete with enthusiastically outraged complainants who live up to three thousand miles out of earshot of WABC. We listened to a playback posted on the Music Radio 77 website. Ingram immediately realized what he had done and seems appropriately embarrassed and surprised that he slipped up this badly (just as we feel when we give a piece of our mind to some of the less-talented drivers in our community before remembering that we have two small children in the back seat). However idiotic or unfortunate the utterance was, we would note that dogs did not howl for miles around, children did not walk out of school and take up smoking, and little old ladies did not suffer concussions from passing out where they stood. Would this qualify for a great big 325K FCC indecency hit? Would it? RBR believes the answer is No because it was a slip and Ingram through out his entire career is from the school to entertain and not use such language on the air. Those in NYC who have listened to Ingram for decades know his clean on-air entertaining profile. The big word is not in his on-air vocabulary.
FCC upholds CBS Super Bowl fine
Saying that the half time show staged at Super Bowl XXXVIII by CBS was indeed indecent, the FCC has denied the group's plea for rescission of the 550K fine it was charged for the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. Wrote the FCC, "The Order rejects CBS' claim that the halftime show was not indecent. The Commission affirms its finding that CBS' violation was willful and declines to reduce the forfeiture imposed upon CBS. Finally, the Commission rejects CBS' argument that the FCC's indecency framework is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, both on its face and as applied to the halftime show." Chairman Kevin Martin was joined by Debi Tate and Michael Copps in upholding the action. Jonathan Adelstein dissented in part, saying he wished the Commission had provided more clarity in defining indecency beforehand, and for not going far enough. "I dissent in part because I continue to believe the Commission has erred in fining only CBS owned and operated stations, not all stations that broadcasted the indecent material," he wrote in a separate statement. The full order can be read at fcc.gov.
RBR observation: The lines are drawn. Will CBS pay up or try to book a judge and courtroom? Stay tuned. By the way anyone remember who played in Super Bowl XXXVIII?
|
|
|
The howls continue in Red Wolf v. Citadel
Red Wolf Broadcasting has been locked in a dispute with Citadel which it says dates back to an occasion where Red Wolf refused to sell a station to the big national group. Red Wolf has since challenged Citadel license renewals, and is now supplementing a petition asking the FCC to turn down its acquisition of the ABC Radio group. In the petition, it cites a former Citadel employee working in the New London CT market, who testified about alleged payola techniques there dating back to 2001. Red Wolf further alleges that the Eliot Spitzer payola investigation shows Citadel still engaged in payola as late as February 2006. Smithwick & Belendiuk attorney Arthur V. Belendiuk, after detailing how the payola seemed to work, wrote, "Citadel organized and operated the payola scam at the highest levels of the company. These are not the rogue actions of employees, but rather the concerted efforts of Citadel's top management. It is an unprecedented betrayal of the public trust." Belendiuk says that the FCC should kick off an evidentiary hearing before granting the ABC transaction, and at a minimum, should force the company to disgorge any ill-gotten gains. "To do less is to merely tax Citadel's ill-gotten gains and encourage similar behavior in the future."
RBR observation: Word on the street is that the FCC is looking into New York payola, and a chance for a settlement between the Commission and the principle companies in the griddle fired up by Spitzer has been set aside, at least for now. Citadel may still face action on this count, and for all we know the Red Wolf testimony will play a role. Meanwhile, this David and Goliath battle continues unabated. After Red Wolf's refusal to sell WMBW-FM in New London, Citadel tried to block a Red Wolf proposal to build a new FM translator in the market. Red Wolf claimed that Citadel went beyond the boundaries of the truth and got relatives and friends of employees with no direct stake in the matter to file "knowingly false" documents with the FCC. From these little acorns an oak of a dispute has grown. It'll be interesting to see if the FCC ever will step in and try to resolve it.
 Andrew Corp. sold for two billion
ADC Telecommunications announced a stock-swap deal worth two billion bucks to acquire broadcast and telecom equipment maker Andrew Corporation. The merger will make ADC a much bigger player in the broadcasting/cable world, where it currently is involved primarily in connectors and audio/video patching equipment, but the driver behind the deal is in telecommunications, where ADC is big in wired networks and Andrew in wireless equipment. In broadcasting, Andrew is a major maker of antennas, transmitters and related equipment. "Together, we're better positioned to assist our customers worldwide and capture growth opportunities that result from the convergence of our customers' next-generation wireless, broadband, video, data and voice services. We are proud to join forces with Andrew's talented employees to achieve our shared mission of providing innovative wireline and wireless infrastructure solutions that improve our customers' business performance," said ADC President and CEO Robert Switz, who will retain those titles post-merger. Andrew CEO Ralph Faison will exit to become a consultant to the combined company. Under the proposed merger, shareholders of Andrew will receive 0.57% of an ADC share for each Andrew share that they own. That valued Andrew at 12.76 per share, a 30% premium to the closing price on Tuesday, prior to the deal announcement before the market opened yesterday.
|
|
|
|
| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Shares trickling in to VNU
Following acceptance of a 9.7 billion bucks buyout by Valcon (5/22/06 RBR #100) by just shy of 80% of VNU shareholders, more shares have been trickling in to the extended tender. VNU and Valcon, which is owned by a consortium of equity funds, reports that more than 90% of all VNU shares have now been tendered for the buyout. The current deadline for the extended tender is June 9th, after which VNU says its shares will be delisted. Those shares have been trading on the Amsterdam stock exchange in The Netherlands and on the pink sheets in the US.
|
|
|
|
|
Ad Business Report TM
|
TNS: U.S. ad spend advanced 5.2% in Q1
 Total advertising expenditures in the first three months of 2006 increased 5.2% to 34.9 billion as compared to the prior year period, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Internet display advertising led all media forms in percentage growth, rising 19.4% to 2.31 billion as leading blue chip advertisers continued to expand their online marketing programs. For the quarter, the Top 100 companies, as ranked by total measured ad expenditures, accounted for 34.7% of all Internet display spending.
| Read More... |
Initiative Worldwide adds Chief Strategic Officer
Alec Gerster, Initiative Worldwide CEO, announced Janet Fitzpatrick has joined the company as chief strategic officer. In this newly created role, she will be in charge of the global development of Initiative's strategic product and related areas such as Initiative's Futures research team. She will be based in New York and report to Gerster. Fitzpatrick is the latest addition to Initiative's worldwide management team, following the recent appointment of Richard Beaven to head Initiative's North American ops. Fitzpatrick will focus on the company's overall plan to package the best practices and standards for strategic development worldwide and to ensure that Initiative captures and leverages the network's resources, talent and techniques across countries, businesses and media types.
|
|
|
|
| Media Markets & Money TM |
Fisher caught in Cherry Creek
Rapidly-growing small market western radio group Cherry Creek has made a bold move to dramatically increase its size, getting the five-market, 24-stations Fisher Regional Group of radio stations. According to brokerage firm Kalil & Co., the pricetag is 33.3M. It'll meld into a group which already counts 15 markets and 45 stations in its portfolio. Cherry Creek will be adding four Montana markets, including Great Falls MT, Billings, Missoula and Butte, along with a cluster in Wenatchee WA. The closing of this sale will make Fisher primarily a TV owner, with radio only in Seattle.
RBR observation: A quick glance at the BIAfn Investing in Radio Ownership Report would seem to indicate that some spin-offs will be required in Great Falls. But there are no two ways about it: This looks like an outstanding move for Cherry Creek and, as a Kalil spokesperson pointed out, is a major indicator of the recovering health of broadcasting in general.
|
|
|
|
| Washington Media Business Report TM |
 Will the Martin FCC give broadcasters a digital break?
It looks like FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will make multicast must-carry one of the first issues to tackle once he has a third Republican vote in place in the form of Robert McDowell. The Michael Powell FCC already called this broadcast v. cable bout in favor of cable, so the fact that it appears to be up for reconsideration can only be good news for broadcasters. According to reports, the matter could hit the FCC agenda by mid-July or earlier.
RBR observation: If you side with cable, you believe that they are required by law to carry only the primary signal from a broadcast television station in the same media market. Broadcasters argue that cable is required to carry the entire broadcast stream within a station's allotted bandwidth, which in a digital world could be one high-definition stream or six or more split, or multicast streams. Cable doesn't want the multicast stations, if for no other reason, because they would offer more competition for its own channel offerings. Free marketeer Powell sided with cable on the initial FCC consideration, believing that mandating multicast carriage was an abridgement of cable First Amendment rights and would not stand up in court. Martin dissented at the time. The two Democrats, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, also voted against broadcasters back then, not because they disagreed with the multicast concept, but because they wanted public interest obligations tied in along with assurances that it wouldn't turn a given station into a network affiliate with five home-shopping side channels. The FCC has already grafted children's programming responsibilities onto multicast. We'd guess that if Martin pays some attention to their concerns, he could well get this through unanimously.
TV CPs ready to go
Seven lucky winning bidders of ten different stations have been deemed by the FCC to have properly dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's in their Form 301 applications for new full-power television stations awarded in Auction No. 64. That gives the rest of the US a few days to challenge the CP applications. If anyone present knows of any reason these prospective owners and their CPs should not be joined in full-fledged licenseeship, speak until 6/9/06 or forever hold you peace. The licensee/stations are Richland Reserve LLC (Greeley CO); Word of God Fellowship (Appaliachicola FL & Medical Lake WA); Entravision (Derby KS & Pueblo CO); Cooper Fowler Media Company (Topeka KS); George S. Flinn III (Duluth MN & Jackson MS); Koplar Communications International (Osage Beach MO); and KEZI Inc. (Bend OR).
|
|
|
|
| Ratings & Research |
PPM tracks Enron surge for KRTH-AM
 The conviction of former Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling was big news nationwide, but the trial just happened to be in Houston where Arbitron is testing its Portable People Meter (PPM). Arbitron notes that PPM was able to quickly report the audience impact of the high profile verdict on News/Talk KTRH-AM, where listenership jumped as people tuned in to hear the outcome of the 56-day trial. Nearly three times the normal audience was tuned in last Thursday from 11:00-11:15 am as the verdict was read.
| View the Chart |
Web poll shows XM, Sirius in dead heat
In the satellite radio wars, the Jacobs Media 2006 Technology Poll shows XM and Sirius at parity - and the momentum arrows are pointing toward Sirius. While Howard Stern's exodus from terrestrial radio and multi-year contract has been highly debated, he emerges as a major reason for Sirius's gains, and potential growth.
| Read More... |
|
|
|
|
| State Association News |
 NYSBA 45th exec. conference set
The New York State Broadcasters Association's 45th Executive Conference will take place at the Sagamore Resort Hotel on Lake George, June 25th - 27th. The second annual Hall of Fame dinner (June 25th) will honor "Cousin Brucie" Morrow; NBC's Gabe Pressman; legendary DJ Hal Jackson and news anchors Ernie Tetrault (Schenectady) and Irv Weinstein (Buffalo). Also that night former NAB President Eddie Fritts will be honored. On Monday morning (June 26th) gubernatorial candidates William Weld; John Faso and Thomas R. Suozzi will speak along with Andrew Cuomo, the NAB's Marcellus Alexander, CNBC's Ron Insana and the New York State Lottery's Nancy Palumbo. On Tuesday morning, both TV and radio sessions will be held concurrently. TV executives will attend panels on "Monetizing Alternative Platforms"; a TV syndication panel and a "Retail Advertising Panel." TV Syndicator Roger King (King World) along with his "latest find" Rachael Ray will also address the audience. Radio execs will be treated to sessions on capturing more retail automotive ad dollars featuring retail automotive experts and a panel discussion of "Working Together for the Future of Radio."
|
|
|
|
| Transactions |
150,030 WVOG-AM New Orleans LA. 60% of F.W. Robberts Broadcasting Company Inc. from Fred P. Westenberger (60% to 0%) to Eric Westenberger (10% to 45%), Christopher P. Westenberger (10% to 25%), Lisa W. Jordan, Fritz N. Westenberger (each 10% to 15%). 87,517.50 payment from Eric Westenberger, 37,507.50 payment from Christopher P. Westenberger, 12,502.50 payments from Lisa W. Jordan and Fritz N. Westenberger. [File date 5/8/06.]
127.5K WNQM-AM Nashville TN. 51% of WNQM Inc. from Fred P. Westenberger (51% to 0%) to Eric Westenberger, Christopher P. Westenberger, Lisa W. Jordan, Fritz N. Westenberger (each 9.75% to 22.5%). 31,875 payment by each child to father. George McClintock continues to hold 10% of station. [File date 5/8/06.]
127.5K WITA-AM Knoxville TN. 51% of WITA Inc. from Fred P. Westenberger (51% to 0%) to Eric Westenberger, Christopher P. Westenberger, Lisa W. Jordan, Fritz N. Westenberger (each 9.75% to 22.5%). 31,875 payment by each child to father. George McClintock continues to hold 10% of station. [File date 5/8/06.]
|
|
|
|
| Stock Talk |
Stocks rebound a bit
Stock prices moved up on Wednesday from Tuesday's sell-off, even though the release of the minutes from the Fed's latest meeting raised the prospect of further rate hikes. The Dow Industrials rose 74 points, or 0.7%, to 11,168.
Radio stocks also recovered some ground. The Radio Index was up 0.991, or 0.6%, to 155.735. Saga had a good day, up 9.1% with no news to account for the move. Most other radio stocks posted more modest gains.
|
|
|
|
| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
|
Arbitron
|
ARB
|
|
39.86
|
+0.44
|
Hearst-Argyle
|
HTV
|
|
22.16
|
+0.12
|
|
Beasley
|
BBGI
|
|
7.27
|
+0.17
|
Journal Comm.
|
JRN
|
|
11.52
|
-0.23
|
| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
25.91
|
+0.40
|
Lincoln Natl.
|
LNC
|
|
56.18
|
+0.60
|
| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
|
25.90
|
+0.35
|
Radio One, Cl. A
|
ROIA
|
|
7.37
|
-0.22
|
| Citadel |
CDL |
|
9.51 |
-0.14 |
Radio One, Cl. D
|
ROIAK
|
|
7.33
|
-0.25
|
|
Clear Channel
|
CCU
|
|
30.80
|
+0.06
|
Regent
|
RGCI
|
|
4.17
|
+0.04
|
|
Cox Radio
|
CXR
|
|
14.07
|
-0.22
|
Saga Commun.
|
SGA
|
|
10.09
|
+0.84
|
|
Cumulus
|
CMLS
|
|
11.58
|
-0.07
|
Salem Comm.
|
SALM
|
|
14.47
|
+0.26
|
|
Disney
|
DIS
|
|
30.50
|
+0.30
|
Sirius Sat. Radio
|
SIRI
|
|
4.50
|
+0.11
|
|
Emmis
|
EMMS
|
|
16.06
|
+0.08
|
Spanish Bcg.
|
SBSA
|
|
5.46
|
+0.03
|
| Entercom |
ETM
|
|
26.66
|
-0.17
|
Univision
|
UVN
|
|
35.95
|
+0.29
|
|
Entravision
|
EVC
|
|
7.86
|
+0.10
|
Westwood One
|
WON
|
|
8.02
|
-0.07
|
|
Fisher
|
FSCI
|
|
43.77
|
+1.17
|
XM Sat. Radio
|
XMSR
|
|
14.42
|
+0.18
|
|
Gaylord
|
GET
|
|
43.82
|
+0.26
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bounceback
|
 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
|
|
|
Below the Fold
|
Ad Business Report
TNS: U.S. ad spend advanced
5.2% in Q1 Internet display ads led all media forms in growth...
Media Markets & Money
Fisher focusing on TV
With small market Radio Sale...
Washington Media Business Report
Commissioner Martin's FCC
Give broadcasters a digital break?...
Ratings & Research
Satellite radio wars
Web poll shows XM, Sirius in dead heat...
|
|
|
Stations for Sale
|
Full Class B in Philadelphia
95M. Contact Todd Fowler ([email protected]) or Ed
Seeger ([email protected])
843-972-2200.
Western New York
Small market AM/FM combo. Outstanding and attractive RE and equipment. No local competition. Positive cash flow history. 1.25M.
Contact Dick Kozacko
(607) 733-7138 or [email protected]
|
|
|
Radio Media Moves
|
Knight time for Williams
Jeff Williams has joined Knight Broadcasting, which owns two stations in California and is buying two more, as Director of Operations. Williams was most recently PD of Clear Channel Channel's AMs in Santa Barbara.
Upped on Long Island
Jim Condron has been promoted to Vice President and General Manager at WALK-AM & FM on Long Island. Condron has been with Clear Channel for nine years, including the past three as General Sale Manager of the WALK combo.
Changes at Journal
J. Pat Miller has been named program director for KSRZ-FM in Omaha effective June 19. Miller replaces Darla Thomas who transfers to Journal Broadcast Group Tucson Operations as operations manager. Miller was previously with Nebraska Broadcasting LLC in Lincoln.
|
|
|
More News Headlines
|
Whoopi's co-pilot is Paul 'Cubby' Bryant
As we had heard, (5/31/06 RBR #106), Whoopi Goldberg's NYC affiliate for her 7/31 syndicated AM drive launch is WKTU-FM. Her host will be longtime Z-100 New York DJ Paul 'Cubby' Bryant on "Wake Up with Whoopi." The current AM driver "Goumba Johnny" we hear will move to afternoons with Hollywood Hamilton on KTU.
FNR celebrates
One-Year Anniversary
Fox News Radio (FNR) is celebrating today the one-year anniversary of its five-minute news service. Since the launch on June 1, 2005 (6/2/05 RBR #108), the network increased its five-minute stations to 331 from 58, making it the fastest growing radio news service ever. FNC is also the supplier for all Clear Channel news/talk stations and is a RADAR-rated network. FNR provides news affiliates with a five-minute newscast at the top of every hour, and a minute at the bottom of every hour. During breaking news, Fox News Alerts are fed up to six times per hour. FNR provides anchored coverage of major news and events, ranging from presidential news conferences to natural disasters, as well as unanchored coverage consisting of raw feeds of breaking news events. The service also includes access to Fox News reporters.
|
|
|
Download Now
May '06 RBR/TVBR Solutions Magazine
|
This pdf requires
 version 6.0 or later. Use this button to update now.
|
|
|
RBR Radar 2006
|
|
Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
|
Mel puts his money
where his mouth is
RBR may have expressed doubts about whether Sirius Satellite Radio can meet its promise to Wall Street to be cash flow positive by year end but CEO Mel Karmazin is a confident man. In a filing with the SEC, Karmazin reported that he bought a million more shares of Sirius stock yesterday for 4.468 million bucks.
RBR observation: We would not be so bold as to suggest that Mel decided to buy yesterday because of our story. Rather, he was likely prohibited from making any insider transaction while negotiating the settlement of the lawsuit that CBS Corporation brought against Sirius over Howard Stern. That litigation was settled last week, with Sirius paying two million to CBS for the rights to Stern's old terrestrial radio shows, likely freeing Mel to unleash his pent-up desire to buy more stock.
05/31/06 RBR #106
|
|
|
|
 |
Staff Engineer
One of the Nation's Top Syndication Companies has immediate opening for Staff Engineer. Ability to take initiative, work unsupervised, quickly analyze and repair issues, learn quickly and document all work required. This is a fast paced high pressure environment, must be able to think and act professionally in emergency situations. EOE
See Radio Careers
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Help Desk
|
Having problems with our epapers?
Please send Questions/Concerns to:
[email protected]
If you wish to remove your name completely from our database use this link __UNSUB__
RBR Epaper -- 108 annual
or just 9 a month
|
|
|
|
©2006 Radio Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved.
Radio Business Report -- 2050 Old Bridge Road, Suite B-01, Lake Ridge, VA 22192 -- Phone: 703-492-8191
|
|
