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Volume 22, Issue 133, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Friday Morning July 8th, 2005

Radio News®

Missouri Gov. allows 800 number,
internet site for auto ad disclosures
We had it first in yesterday's MediaMix-The power of State Broadcaster Associations demonstrated: Missouri Governor Matt Blunt yesterday signed legislation (in House Bill #487) which allows broadcasters to use an #800 number or Internet site to provide the required disclosure information for automotive advertising. Missouri is the only state so far to do so. The underlying bill has an emergency clause. So, this legislation became law with an effective date of 7/7. From the bill: "The requirements of this section shall apply regardless of whether a dealer advertises by means of print, broadcast, or electronic media, or direct mail. If the advertisement is by means of a broadcast or print media, a dealer may provide the disclaimers and disclosures required under subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of this section by reference to an Internet web page or toll-free telephone number containing the information required to be disclosed."
For a complete copy of the legislation go here.

Missouri Broadcasters Association President/CEO Don Hicks tells RBR/TVBR the signed bill presents a multiplicity of factors in play: "First off, this is really a consumer-friendly piece of legislation because the consumers were being ill-served by the previous regulations, which basically there was no way that anyone could comprehend or understand, or any way the complete disclosures could have been made in the copy of an ad in an understandable way. So this enables the consumers, particularly with automotive advertising, where there such a high percentage of people pre-shopping on the internet, they will be able to get the complete financial disclosures and have time to understand it.
| Read More... |

RBR observation: Bravo to Don Hicks and Missouri Radio and TV broadcasters. Now the 30 second spot makes sense and will also aid in all stations to improve and make better use of their websites in cross marketing. The auto industry should be very pleased and we trust other states will follow the 'Show Me State'. There is more to this issue.

RAB responds to TVB claims re: RAEL study
Indeed, as we predicted, the RAB has responded to Wednesday's claims from the TVB that RAEL's "Radio's Return on Investment Compared to Television" study actually provided data that strongly supports the effectiveness of television. Only by adding several layers of estimated costs does RAEL attempt to position the findings in a positive ROI light for radio." | Here is the Response: |

Schonfeld sees bigger 2006 ad budgets
Schonfeld & Associates have looked into their crystal ball, and what they see looks good for advertisers. A study encompassing 5K companies in over 300 business sectors sees advertising on the upswing in 2006. From foods to retail to computers to automobiles, things are looking up. It says big food companies of the diversified variety are looking at an 8.1% increase in 2006; pharmaceuticals will be up over 10%; telecom services will go up 5.9%; wireless communication providers will be up 9.1%; cable and DBS, looking to get ISP customers, are planning 15.9% in additional spending; PC makers will be up 11.7% accompanied by a modest 2.1% increase in software advertising; retail is expected to jump 5.9%; and automotive is heading up 7.6%. Look also for an ad war between competing catalog and Internet retailers. The study is called "Advertising Ratios & Budgets." It's designed for marketers for "monitoring competition and planning ad spending." Further info is available at saibooks.com.

Senate committee set to field shield panel
With Judith Miller now cooling her jets in the cooler - - at least one reporter's website is keeping running track of her time behind bars, tabulated to the second - - a Senate hearing on the topic of a federal shield for reporters and whistleblowers could not be more timely. The Senate Judiciary Committee is putting together just such a hearing. According to the Associated Press, it's penciled in for 7/20/05. Committee Chair Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) are said to be assembling witnesses, which may well include principals in the Valerie Plame case which is generating most of the heat. There is already pending legislation on the table for the committee to consider. The Free Flow of Information Act has bipartisan backing in both houses - - Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) are co-sponsors in the Senate, with Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) moving it through the House.

Nobody knows what goes on
behind closed doors
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), chairman of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee is taking heat for. While there has been relatively little activity in the light of day, and in front of the mics in the Committee's Russell Building digs, Stevens has been conducting "listening sessions" - - private meetings with stakeholders in the DTV transition and the revision of the Telecom Act of 1996. According to the National Journal, heavy-hitting industry execs have been in on the meetings, causing raised eyebrows in the watchdog community. NJ quoted Harold Feld, an exec at Media Access Project saying of the listening session moniker, "It's nice they have a name for it. It used to be called smoke-filled rooms." Watchdogs seem less than impressed with the fact that a number of them were invited into a session with Stevens - - NJ says the roster included frequent testifiers Common Cause, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and Free Press, plus more general groups like AARP and New America Foundation. They felt the granted access was more of an afterthought. However, Stevens' opposite on the committee, Ranking Member Daniel Inouye (D-HI), was said to have no problem with Steven's style.

Adbiz©

Warnecke comments on 800 number,
internet site for auto ad disclosures
Matthew Warnecke, VP Mgr Network & Local Radio, MediaCom, who manages radio buying for Audi and Volkswagen, had this to say about Missouri Governor Matt Blunt yesterday signing legislation (House Bill #487) which allows broadcasters to use an #800 number or Internet site to provide the required disclosure information for automotive advertising (see story in Radio News): "Two things immediately come to mind-one is the creative will actually sound better because they don't have to have all that gobbley-gook at the end. Two is they can take advantage of a blend of 30s and 60s to use Less is More to the degree that they want. And that, in turn, means that they can perhaps keep costs from escalating because automotive tends to run in every break in every station. If you're a client who is taking advantage of 30s as another opportunity to speak to a customer base and your competition isn't there-guess what that means?" How about this savior of an idea moving to other states? "If it can be demonstrated that this is revenue-generating, then why not?"

St. Louis Ford agency comments on 800 number,
internet site for auto ad disclosures
Bob Wilson, Senior Partner/Account Supervisor at JWT/St. Louis (handles Ford dealers advertising locally) had this to say about Missouri Governor Matt Blunt yesterday signing legislation (House Bill #487) which allows broadcasters to use an #800 number or Internet site to provide the required disclosure information for automotive advertising: "I think basically it's going to make for a more efficient message and the time for the commercial will talk about the product and what we want to talk about, instead of taking time out to put the disclaimer in there. So from my point of view, an advertising POV, this is going to be a more effective usage of the dealers' money, of the Association." He adds, "The thing that concerns me is I advertise here in St. Louis. And my media center in St. Louis bleeds well over into Illinois. And I have dealers that I support in Illinois. It's going to make it very interesting for people over there in Illinois." They're all going to want to advertise via Missouri stations. "They are, they are! This is going to make radio so much more efficient for dealers."

RBR observation: Hopefully this crossover state ad issue/problem Wilson mentions will stir up more states to realize the sanity of what Missouri is doing. It's a total win-win for everyone-the stations, the consumers, the dealers, the automakers, the agencies. It will definitely bring more money into radio. Thank You to Don Hicks and Gov. Blunt from all of us in radio for the start of something great-this is indeed a solution.

RAB releasing PPM impact study
The RAB announced it will hold a press conference 7/20 in NYC to release the results of the Portable People Meter Economic Impact Study conducted by Forrester Research under the management of David Pearlman, President of Pearlman Advisors. Commissioned by the RAB's PPM Task Force in October, the study explores how Arbitron's PPM-based radio ratings service, currently being tested, would affect the radio biz. The study also examines the possible negative consequences if the industry doesn't adopt electronic measurement. The event is 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 20 - beginning with continental breakfast at the Waldorf-Astoria, Park Avenue.

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Media Markets & MoneyTM

Close encounter in California
The big trade between two of America's biggest radio niche players - - Religious specialist Salem and Hispanic specialist Univision - - is complete. The finale of the multi-station, multi-market swap sends KVVZ-FM San Francisco (the former KSFB) to Univision, while KSFS-FM Sacramento (the former KOSL) parks in the Salem portfolio. Univision also received an FM in Chicago in the trade, with AMs in Chicago and Dallas and an FM in Houston included in Salem's package. RBR estimated the total value of the trade at 110M each way.

Close encounter in Utica
The run of WRUN-AM as a member of the Regent Communications station portfolio has come to a close. According to broker John Pierce of John Pierce and Company, Northeast Public Radio is 275K poorer but one station richer, adding what is believed to be the oldest set of call letters in the Utica-Rome market to its portfolio. WRUN will be its ninth station. Regent retains an AM and three FMs in the market, per the 2004 BIAfn Radio Yearbook.

Bring out your dogs, bring out your ponies
It's time for analysts with interest in broadcasting to update their calendars. Two more public companies have announced the time for their quarterly dog & pony show to discuss Q2 2005 results. As it turns out, they picked the same day to announce same-day presentations, 8/3/05. Television group Granite Broadcasting Corporation will go first at 9:30 AM Eastern, followed by Cox Radio Inc. at 11:00 AM Eastern. Each company plans to provide access to the session via its corporate website, but as per usual, RBR/TVBR will listen in so you don't have to.

Washington Beat

No more war in Biltmore Forest
An 8M deal sending WOXL-FM into the Asheville NC cluster of Saga Communications - - with two AM stations - - has finally been waved through by the FCC, after clearing aside blocking attempts by Sutton Radiocasting Corporation and Willsyr Communications LP. The seller was Liberty Communications, which won the hotly disputed license at auction. Sutton, owner of WNCC-FM Franklin NC, raised what the FCC said were resolved issues and was brushed aside as moot. Willsyr, a competitor for the license and essentially was hoping to have the allotment put back up for auction, also failed to gain traction with a variety of maneuvers. For one thing, the FCC agreed with Saga and Liberty that Willsyr lacked standing to so much as file a petition to deny - - the FCC said Willsyr's claim to be a "disappointed bidder" lacked any legal basis. Other allegations, including an old one that Cumulus was backing successful bidders for the station, were brushed aside as either dealt with already or unsubstantiated this time. "After reviewing the record," concluded the FCC, "we find that grant of the Assignment Application is consistent with the public interest."

Ratings & Research

Whiting says Nielsen does listen
In RBR/TVBR's recent interview with Nielsen Media Research President and CEO Susan Whiting, we asked her how she answers critics who say Nielsen is arrogant and non-responsive.

"Well I think that none of us want to be characterized as being arrogant or unresponsive, and everybody here is actually focused on trying to manage and stay ahead of client requests. The issue is that we have many clients who compete with each other and I have often found that when we have to make a decision and people don't like the answer, then that's when we're often called arrogant. And I do hear it and it is the last thing I ever want to hear about a business and particularly a business that I'm responsible for. So we have a lot of initiatives in place to improve the business everyday. We try to report back the progress on those. We do listen, but often when competing clients have different views on how we should resolve an issue, you hear that the resolution ends up being depicted that way. The only thing that I know that we can do is to try to make sure we're improving the service, that we're listening to clients, that we're explaining our decision and that it's clear to clients what we're investing in the future. If we do all of those things I think that's all any business can do," Whiting said.

Transactions

700K WMSR-AM Manchester TN. 100% of Coffee County Broadcasting Inc. from Donald hershman, Bill Bouldin, Kenneth Duke & Johnny Murray (each 25% to 0%) to Rob Clutter, Tiffany Clutter (each 0% to 50%). 3.5K deposit, balance in cash at closing. [File date 6/6/05.]

165K KVMA-AM Magnolia AR from Magnolia Broadcasting Company Inc. (Ken Sibley) to Noalmark Broadcasting Corporation (William C. Nolan Jr., Edwin B. Alderson Jr.). 16.5K earnest money, balance in cash at closing. Superduopoly with KMRX-FM/KIXB-FM El Dorado AR, KWDO-FM Waldo AR. [File date 6/6/05.]

Stock Talk

Broadcasters see red after London attacks
Although most stock indexes showed a remarkable recovery after the London terrorist bombings sparked a steep morning sell-off, broadcasting issues for the most part seemed unable to hitch a ride back up to black ink territory. Most of the small group of gainers were looking at small change - - hey Beasley, Clear Channel and Sirius. Don't spend that penny all at once.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Thursday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		42.90	-0.05	Jeff-Pilot	JP		50.40	-0.02
Beasley	BBGI		14.35	+0.01	Journal Comm.	JRN		16.61	+0.07
Citadel	CDL		11.75	-0.04	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		12.53	-0.21
Clear Channel	CCU		30.91	+0.01	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		12.57	-0.20
Cox Radio	CXR		15.48	-0.13	Regent	RGCI		5.87	-0.08
Cumulus	CMLS		11.74	+0.08	Saga Commun.	SGA		14.20	-0.29
Disney	DIS		24.45	-0.34	Salem Comm.	SALM		20.25	-0.05
Emmis	EMMS		17.47	-0.03	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		6.64	+0.01
Entercom	ETM		32.41	-0.42	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		10.01	-0.06
Entravision	EVC		7.86	-0.09	Univision	UVN		27.47	+0.14
Fisher	FSCI		46.00	-1.00	Viacom, Cl. A	VIA		32.58	-0.11
Gaylord	GET		45.79	-0.34	Viacom, Cl. B	VIAb		32.39	-0.05
Hearst-Argyle	HTV		24.39	+0.02	Westwood One	WON		20.07	+0.02
Interep	IREP		0.49	-0.01	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		34.55	+0.31
International Bcg.	IBCS		0.01	unch	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

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Arbitrends

Stations for Sale

South Georgia Cluster
Two AM/FM combos
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Zoph Potts, Snowden Associates
(252) 940-1680
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June Digital Magazine
Now Available

National Sales:
EDI - Electronic Data Interchange, sometimes synonymous with Electronic Invoicing
Kathy Crawford, MindShare President, Local Broadcast, speaks her mind on EDI, specifically stating what solutions she needs from the software and keying entries to get stations faster payment in an exclusive column. States straight up, "Lest you should all think that our work is done in the world of EDI. Think again!" EDI- the focus of the future of national spot dollar. Who is and who isn't involved. From the rep firms to the software companies, we get answers. The Clock is ticking on EDI. Closure in '05?

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RBR Radar 2005

Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.

David Lee Roth to
replace Stern in NYC, LA?
That's what the editor from NYC/NJ's "Steppin' Out" Magazine Chaunce Hayden told Neil Cavuto on The Fox News Channel Wednesday. Hayden heard from a high level source at Infinity Roth would replace Stern in NYC and LA after Labor Day and the other markets would have to "fend for themselves," meaning find their own syndicated or home-grown talent for mornings. The entertainment magazine man confirmed rumors that Stern would be leaving after Labor Day because "they can't sell him." He stated that the sales department told him they will be going into a Fall Sweep and when that sweep is over, they can't have Stern on the air. "When those Fall books come out, Stern will be on Sirius, so they can't sell that Fall book," Haydens aid. Infinity spokesperson Karen Mateo tells RBR/TVBR, "We're talking to a number of people to replace Howard Stern, however, there are no imminent announcements at this time."
RBR observation: We doubt most buyers would agree with that Fall Book assumption. Simple: You can't sell what you don't have on the air. Fall 2005 you have Stern and then the results are out year end and Happy New Year Stern is gone and you have nothing. But, Infinity CEO Joel Hollander has said in the past that Stern will stay on until the contract was up unless "[Sirius CEO] Mel Karmazin comes in with a big check." Logic would be in favor of putting Roth on if he is the presumed Stern replacement and have a product to market and sell during the first half of 2006 with Fall 2005 ratings and build from there. Another major financial blow Infinity on the FM side in NYC needs like a Jill format.
07/07/05 RBR #132

Infinity out of touch -
RBR Bounce Back
By, Paul Blake
A reader writes Infinity CEO Joel Hollander, and copies RBR - As a long time, very loyal listener of WCBS-FM, the format change to "jack-fm" has been extremely disturbing to me. To want to have "jack" as a format on an Infinity station in New York is an understandable goal for Infinity. Trends, and formats do change over time, and I do understand the need to maintain profitability for the Corporation. However, as I and others have pointed out, Infinity had several other, less popular stations on which to place the "jack" format. Reasoning that "jack" would draw listeners away from WCBS-FM holds very little credence, as the fans of WCBS-FM are not likely to be interested in a format which plays (in my humble opinion) a mishmash of music, much of it music which "oldies" fans would not wish to listen to under any circumstance, and minus the ON AIR-PERSONALITIES which make New York radio unique and different from stations in ANY other market. ." Publisher note: Yes there is a lot more Mr. Blake, your normal New Yorker rips on Infinity in his letter. RBR reaches further than the radio business we reach the people as they know where to call and write with their local needs as their voice too is heard to the radio medium. 07/07/05 RBR #132

RBR First
Introducing FigMedia 1
In our RBR observation - Battlefield Mgt. now Needed - on why radio stocks and the companies are in the 'Read'em and Weep' column of business, 07/05/06 RBR #130. One key element missing today in many of radio's upper management structure is the front line management with programming experience, but as quick as one could put out an S. O. S. - RBR confirmed late last night that Bill (Fig) Figenshu, Citadel Broadcasting's West Region President parted company and formed FigMedia 1 effective immediately. The departure will surely leave a major gap in Citadel's upper management structure with 70 stations under Fig's guidance. 07/06/05 RBR #131

Radio revenue inches up 1% in May
Radio revenue inched up 1% across nearly all sectors in May, according to the RAB. Grand total combined spot and non-spot dollars, local ad sales, national sales figures, and total combined local and national ad sales all grew by 1% in May 2005 over May of 2004. RBR observation: Really not much to brag about but more to be concerned about.
07/06/05 RBR #131

Research Director
Univision and TeleFutura TV stations 4-6 years broadcast research required in medium to Top 10 market. Bachelor degree required. EOE. No phone calls, please. See TV Careers

General Manager
Small-market radio cluster in the beautiful Northwest. Dominant stations with a fantastic team with excellent benefits. If you have genuine passion apply.
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