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Volume 24, Issue 139, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Wednesday Morning July 18th, 2007
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Radio News ®
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 A buyout for Arbitron?
That's what analyst Jim Boyle at CL King thinks may be coming. With more and more groups signing PPM contracts, Boyle thinks Arbitron could be attractive to private equity funds. "As the de facto radio research monopoly accelerates its revenue growth, revives its historic 30%-plus margins in the coming years in a seemingly reliable fashion, has no debt and mounting cash, we suspect ARB should eventually and logically attract suitors from the many well-funded private equity groups," Boyle said in a research report to clients. He notes that six of the big private equity groups (PEGs) were involved in deals to buy VNU, Univision, Clear Channel and Ceridian, the latter the former parent company of Arbitron. If you look at those six funds which have an appetite for media and research deals, you see over 370 billion in assets and funds under control. "It seems to us that ARB's 1.6 billion in market cap should seem the size of a proverbial appetizer to large PEGs," Boyle says. But he also notes, "That might conversely keep ARB low on the radar screen of PEGs looking for much bigger deals."
The Dow Jones deal is done...maybe
Directors of Dow Jones & Co. were scheduled to meet last evening to consider approval of a tentative deal to sell the company, including the Wall Street Journal, to News Corporation for five billion bucks. But that's the easy part. The controlling Bancroft family meets Thursday to hear about the terms of the buyout offer. Their decision may not come until next week. After weeks of negotiations, the Dow Jones representatives who've been talking with Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation have a deal to present to the full board. With no other bidder in sight, Murdoch didn't boost his 60 bucks per share bid, so the five billion bucks price tag stands. And all details have been worked out on an agreement to guarantee the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, without actually barring News Corporation from picking its own management team. According to the Wall Street Journal, which has been following this very close, the deal was being presented to the full board last night. If it is accepted, which seems likely, the Bancrofts will get a full presentation on Thursday. That's where it gets interesting, since some family members don't want to sell to Murdoch - but are under pressure because there is no other bidder willing to ante up five billion. According to the WSJ, the outcome of the family vote is too close to call.
RBR observation: Most of the focus has been on the Dow Jones side, but is this a good deal for News Corporation? Bank of America analyst Jonathan Jacoby says yes. He says the Dow Jones deal is not that dilutive to News Corporation on an EBITDA basis and is actually accretive on an earnings per share basis. He also thinks it is strategic and does not signal any plan by Murdoch to go on a buying binge. Meanwhile, he notes that News Corporation has been shedding some non-core assets, such as putting its smaller TV stations up for sale and preparing to sell Gemstar-TV Guide. As far as Jacoby is concerned, News Corporation stock is a "Buy."
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 Bill so FCC can fleece
a fleeting utterance
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), pictured, is not going after violent content with S. 1780, the "Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act." He and his co-sponsors, Ted Stevens (R-AK), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Dan Inouye (D-HI), are merely trying to provide a legislative underpinning for the FCC to be able to drop the hammer on speakers of a fleeting expletive. Here's the scoop: It is a bill "To require the FCC, in enforcing its regulations concerning the broadcast of indecent programming, to maintain a policy that a single word or image may be considered indecent." The bill does not do anything else, not a single thing. It goes to the full committee for markup Thursday afternoon, 7/19/07. Rockefeller's planned assault on broadcast violence will wait for another day.
RBR observation: This means the FCC would be able to bring out its heavy artillery, the full 325K punitive fine, if it so desires, assuming that this bill makes it through both houses of Congress and gets an autograph from the president. You never can tell on Capitol Hill, but this bill has the virtue of being extremely uncomplicated, and if Rockefeller can keep it free of excess amendment baggage, it could well be a bill members of both parties can support. The bottom line is that if this passes, the arsenal of delaying tactics will be thinned yet again. We've been through a major round of consent decrees and we've had the narrowly focused court ruling that led to this bill. Sooner or later the whole indecency infrastructure is going to get its day in court, probably after the FCC uses its new six-figure fine on somebody who already signed a consent decree and becomes a repeat offender.
Iraq report card fuels the news
A report card on the progress of the Iraqi government toward meeting 18 benchmarks thrust the Iraq policy debate front and center, dominating the newshole for the week of 7/8-13/07, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism. In fact, it led to a rarity in the young history of this survey. It's the first time we can remember that the top two stories from the previous week were knocked completely off the chart, and we mean not even on one medium's individual top ten list (the stories were terror in Britain and the Scooter Libby commutation). The 20% grabbed by Iraq policy also contributed to quite a bit of coverage diffusion in its wake, especially if you add in other mideast and terrorism topics, which combine for 34% of all coverage. Two old scandals received new life, the attorney firing scandal, and the DC madam story, the latter thanks to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), who became the highest-ranking official to be tied in thus far.
| Top ten lists here |
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 Miss Jones is an author
New on bookshelves nationwide this month is "Have You Met Miss Jones," the autobiography of WQHT-FM "Hot 97" New York morning host Tarsha Jones, carrying the subtitle "The Life and Loves of Radio's Most Controversial Diva." The book recounts her attempt at a music career that morphed into a successful radio career, with lots of juicy details about her romances with various big names in Hip-Hop, including admissions about pretty much all of those relationships turning out badly. "Even though I've tried to wear glass slippers, somebody has deliberately knocked them off my feet. Because of that, I have walked the earth emotionally barefoot, and expressed my lack of self-esteem and rage in ways that clouded my judgment. I was a participant in a lot of drama. Didn't mean to be...it was never my intention," Jones says in the book published by Random House's One World/Ballantine division. According to a review by David Hinckley in the New York Daily News, Jones also dishes on some of the people she has worked with in radio. Kind words for Emmis Market Manager Barry Mayo, but not so much for his predecessor, Judy Ellis.
FTC opens childhood obesity examination
And you can bet that commercials aimed at children will be a big part of the all-day session at the Federal Trade Commission Conference Center in Washington. The session is called, "Weighing In: A Check-Up on Marketing, Self-Regulation, and Childhood Obesity." It will be long on regulators and academics and short on broadcasters. In fact, the closest thing to a representative will be Lynda Dorman of the CATV-oriented BET Foundation. aT any rate, if Ed Markey's (D-MA) opinion is considered, the self-regulators may be getting a low grade. Markey had praised Kellogg's unilateral decision to limit its marketing to the preteen set, and challenged other food manufacturers to do the same. Last week he said he had received responses from Coca-Cola Company, General Mills, Kraft Foods, McDonald's and PepsiCo. "I'd like there companies to 'supersize' their commitment to public health and take steps to refrain from targeting young kids with certain food marketing - if Snap, Crackle and Pop can do it, why can't Ronald McDonald?" he asked. "The vague and incomplete responses form these companies, at a time when our country is facing a serious childhood obesity crisis, again raise the question of whether voluntary industry action will be sufficient to combat this important public health issue." Markey said that of the named companies, only Coca-Cola had already unveiled a program with any impact, and that the others planned to announce initiatives at the FTC workshop.
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Engineer Field Trip. No Travel.
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Advertisement
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FREE webinars through August 2.Advanced technical information for better-planned, less costly HD Radio conversions. Will your stations’engineer be there?
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Westwood One dropped from index
As if Westwood One didn't have enough problems with Wall Street, its stock dropped yesterday after Standard & Poor's announced that WW1, which had ranked #400 in the S&P MidCap 400, had been bounced to make way for Warnaco Group, which was originally a corset maker, but whose clothing brands today include Anne Cole, Calvin Klein and Speedo. With WW1 out of the index, mutual funds tied to the index were selling their WW1 shares yesterday. The stock price declined 4.7% to 5.64.
Clear Channel resets record date
With time moving on for its proposed buyout by Bain Capital Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners and the Mays family, Clear Channel Communications has again reset the record date for voting on the going private transaction. Shareholders of record on July 27th will be eligible to vote at the special meeting of shareholders. However, CCU has still not set a date for that special meeting.
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Ad Business Report TM
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 Tastykake and WIP
form marketing pact
Tasty Baking Company announced a comprehensive partnership with Sportsradio 610 WIP-AM Philadlephia. Tastykake and WIP have joined together in a multi-year, multiple platform alliance that includes naming rights of 610 WIP's suburban Philadelphia HD studios, radio advertising, Tastykake promotions with WIP talent, in-studio signage, and online advertising. At the top of each hour seven days a week, 610 WIP personalities will remind devoted listeners that the station broadcasts "live from the Tastykake studios." "Our partnership with 610 WIP demonstrates that Tastykake will always find the most direct and personal way to speak to our consumers," said Charles Pizzi, CEO of Tasty Baking. "610 WIP is the 'go-to' sports source for Tastykake fans, and we're thrilled to be reaching those consumers more effectively through this sponsorship." Tasty Baking also announced today its new marketing initiative with Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley in an exclusive promotion for Wawa. Tastykake consumers have the opportunity to win a personal "meet and greet" with Utley and four tickets to an upcoming Philadelphia game, in addition to a myriad of runner-up prizes such as Wawa gift cards and Minor League Baseball ticket packages. These partnerships, in addition to the company's previously-announced alliance with Minor League Baseball, demonstrate Tastykake's commitment to reach its loyal consumers on an individual level through non-traditional marketing.
RBR observation: This is becoming more and more common - offering the advertiser a much broader opportunity in branding with the station. We also recently reported on Bonneville's All-News WTOP-FM DC selling Ledo Pizza naming rights for its "Glass-enclosed nerve center" newsroom.
Michelin consolidates media with MediaCom
AdAge reports Michelin North America has consolidated its 112 million media account with MediaCom. The marketer announced the decision of its four-month-long search yesterday. The shift includes brands such as BF Goodrich, Uniroyal, Michelin Maps and Guides and the TCI Tire Centers distribution network. "We are enthusiastic about our new relationship with MediaCom, and eager to apply the expertise and innovations they demonstrated during the search to our media planning and buying activities," Dave Murtaugh, director-corporate image, Michelin North America, said in a statement. "The scale and scope of our business matches MediaCom's strengths, and we expect they will improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of the media planning and buying for all of Michelin North America." Campbell-Ewald previously handled planning; it keeps creative.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 Cincinnati papers bite the dust
Even with a grandfathered newspaper-TV crossownership situation, E.W. Scripps Co. says it can't keep its Cincinnati Post and Kentucky Post newspapers alive. The dailies will cease publication December 31st when Gannett terminates its joint operating agreement. That will leave the Cincinnati Enquirer as the only daily newspaper in the Queen City. Scripps will still have WCPO-TV (Ch. 9, ABC) in the Cincinnati market. "It's always a difficult decision to cease publication of a newspaper, especially two with such fine traditions of journalistic excellence and community service as The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post," said Rich Boehne (pictured), COO for Scripps and, coincidentally, a former Post staff member. Gannett gave notice three years ago that the JOA would not be renewed. After exploring options, such as switching to a free circulation paper, Scripps decided to shutter the operation. According to circulation numbers posted on the Post website, circulation for the afternoon daily was only 28,549 last year, compared to 197,962 for the weekday Enquirer (and 288,030 for the Sunday edition). Back in 1976 the Post actually beat its morning competitor during the week, with circulation of 198,694, compared to 188,092.
RBR observation: Will this add to the weight of evidence in Washington for elimination of the crossownership rule? Perhaps not, since Scripps had a grandfathered crossownership and still couldn't keep the market's #2 daily newspaper alive. But it certainly shows again just how much trouble the newspaper business is facing.
Tribune Co. newspapers to sell ads on Page 1
The Chicago Tribune reports that aced with a steady decline in revenue and cash flow, Tribune Co. plans to run ads on the front pages of most of its daily newspapers, breaking a long-standing tradition of keeping Page 1 of its biggest dailies ad-free. Chicago Tribune Publisher Scott Smith said Monday that his paper will offer select advertisers a 1.5-inch strip along the bottom of the Tribune's front page, a format that will be duplicated across Tribune Co.'s other papers. Smith did not say when the ads would begin to appear. The Los Angeles Times, Tribune's largest newspaper, reported on Saturday that it also planned to launch Page 1 ads. But Times Publisher David Hiller said the paper is still sorting out pricing and guidelines and that he had not determined when the paper would start selling front-page ads, the Trib said. Tribune's decision to sell front page ads isn't unique. The Wall Street Journal and USA Today already do. Both Hiller and Smith have faced stiff resistance to the idea of front-page ads from their editors, said the story. But as the company strives to close its 8.2 billion plan to go private in conjunction with Chicago billionaire Sam Zell, they face even greater pressure to reverse declining revenues and circulation brought on by competition from the Internet and other sources of news.
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
 Liberman scores in Southern California
KWIE-FM is headed to Hispanic multimedia specialist Liberman Broadcasting. The San Jacinto CA station, part of the Riverside-San Bernardino Arbitron market, is coming from Magic Broadcasting for 25M. Liberman has already put 1M into escrow to secure the deal and anticipates beginning an LMA on 8/1/07.
Second time around for Debut
WNIX-AM/WBAQ-FM in Greenville MS and nearby WIQQ-FM in Leland are now officially in the portfolio of Debut Broadcasting, headed by Steven Ludwig. The stations were acquired from The River Broadcasting Company, and follows closure on an earlier deal to acquire WNLA AM & FM in Indianola MS for 300K.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
Reps fire another salvo at XM/Sirius
Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Steve LaTourette (R-OH) have become the latest to object to the proposal to merge satellite audio services Sirius and XM. The grounds for opposing the merger, however, are pretty much the same as those others are citing. In a nutshell, why should the government sanction formation of a monopoly? The duo sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett. After noting the unique spot the DARS companies occupy on the entertainment spectrum, the duo noted, "With no viable competition in the national market, a combined XM-Sirius satellite radio monopoly could easily raise prices without losing existing subscribers. Even the promised price caps would provide only temporary protection to consumers, and are an acknowledgement themselves of the monopoly power resulting from the merger."
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Ronning Lipset Radio enters partnership with Corstarr
Ronning Lipset Radio announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Corstarr, the technology company behind the proprietary ad serving technology, Adcor. For online audio broadcasters, it allows them to set up one or multiple radio channels in their ad system, and schedule ads to run in their entire network or on specific channels for maximum gender and demographic targeting with accurate day-parting scheduling tools. Adcor's scheduling algorithm is able to intelligently pull "appropriate" audio ads based upon specific ad targeting needs, and ensures that the clients' stations won't serve up more ads than they are commissioned to run. For advertisers, the system allows them to receive reliable third party validation and tabulation of their audio ad impressions; view real time reporting hourly, daily, weekly or monthly; view and monitor specific channel performance in online networks with multiple channels; view click through rates with synced banners; and more.
HipCricket, McVay Media
strike mobile marketing alliance
 HipCricket, a mobile marketing company, and McVay Media announced an alliance to help their clients extend and translate marketing campaigns to the mobile phone screen. Together, the partners serve a network of more than 200 radio outlets, including groups such as Clear Channel, Cox, CBS, ESPN, and Fox Sports, TV networks such as NBC, ABC and brands such as General Motors, Disney, and I-Cruise. "Mike McVay is a visionary in this industry, and a partner we trust to help HipCricket offer its full service, turn-key solution to an even broader audience," said Ivan Braiker, CEO of HipCricket. "Given the glacial pace of revenue growth in the broadcast market, station managers are looking for ways to jump start both their top and bottom line. With thousands of successful campaigns under our belt, clients can quickly generate real dollars using a simple tool that offers repeatable results without having to add headcount to manage the technology or new infrastructure.
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| Ratings & Research |
3 Out of 4 internet users streamed video online in May
comScore says nearly 75% of U.S. Internet users watched an average of 158 minutes of online video per user during the month. Google Sites topped the monthly rankings with both the most unique video streamers and most videos streamed. May saw Americans view more than 8.3 billion video streams online, and Google Sites once again ranked as the top U.S. streaming video property with 1.8 billion videos streamed (21.5% share of streams), 1.7 billion of which occurred at YouTube.com. Fox Interactive Media ranked second with 680 million streams (8.1%), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 387 million (4.6%) and Viacom Digital with 237 million (2.8%). In total, nearly 132 million Americans viewed online streaming video in May. Google Sites also captured the largest streaming video audience with more than 64.9 million unique streamers, followed by Fox Interactive Media with 52.7 million and Yahoo! Sites with 35.0 million. Other notable findings from May 2007 include: Online viewers watched an average of 158 minutes of streaming video per streamer. The average video stream duration was 2.5 minutes. Nearly three out of four (74.3%) U.S. Internet users streamed video online. More than one out of three (35%) U.S. Internet users streamed video on YouTube.com. The average online video viewer consumed 63 video streams, or more than two per day.
 Back-to-School spending
to top 18 billion
Though the summer is still in full swing, families across the nation are already planning back-to-school shopping trips. According to the National Retail Federation's 2007 Consumer Intentions and Actions Back-to-School survey, conducted by BIGresearch, families with school-age children are expected to spend 563.49 on back-to-school merchandise, up 6.9% from last year's 527.08 average. Total back-to-school spending this year is expected to reach 18.4 billion. According to the survey, the electronics category will see the biggest increase in sales this year, with families spending 13.0% more on electronics than last year (129.24 vs. 114.38). Footwear will also see a higher-than-average sales increase, with sales expected to rise 10.3% over last year (108.42 vs. 98.34). Families are also expected to spend 94.02 on school supplies, up from 86.22 a year ago. Though the majority of shoppers will be purchasing clothing and accessories this year (95.4%), spending in that category is expected to be flat, with consumers spending an average of 231.80 on those purchases, similar to last year's 228.14. Clothing and accessories remains the largest spending category at 7.6 billion.
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| Transactions |
28M KTTB-FM Minneapolis-St. Paul MN (Glencoe MN) from Blue Chip Broadcasting Licenses, a subsidiary of Radio One Inc. (Catherine Hughes, Alfred C. Liggins) to Northern Lights Broadcasting LLC (James Ol Pohlad, Steve Woodbury). 1.6M escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 6/19/07.]
1.3M WGNU-AM St. Louis (Granite City IL) from Norman Broadcasting Company (Esther L. Wright) to Radio Property Ventures LLC (Burt W. Kaufman, Dirk L. Hallemeier). 75K escrow, balance in cash at closing. Duopoly with KXEN-AM St. Louis MO. [File date 6/18/07.]
N/A WKRC-TV Cincinnati OH; WIVT-TV Binghamton NY; WHP-TV Harrisburg PA; WXXA-TV Albany NY; and KAVL-AM & KVVS-FM Los Angeles (Lancaster, Mojave CA); KSJO-FM San Francisco CA (San Jose CA); WALK-AM & WALK-FM Nassau-Suffolk NY (East Patchogue, Patchogue NY);
| Read More... |
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| Stock Talk |
Dow just misses 14K
With the Dow Industrials setting new records this week, it seems like traders have forgotten about the rest of the market. The Blue Chip barometer closed just shy of the 14K mark on Tuesday, gaining 21 points to 13,972 as a new government report indicated that inflation is under control. But other stocks did not get much benefit. The S&P 500 was down for the day, although the Nasdaq Composite was up.
Radio stocks had a down day. The Radio Index declined 0.217, or 0.1%, to 152.074. Westwood One declined 4.7% as it was booted from the S&P MidCap 400 index. The day's best performer was Salem, up 3.5%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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53.27
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-0.21
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Google
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GOOG
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555.00
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+2.01
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Beasley
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BBGI
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8.21
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-0.16
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.61
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+0.11
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
34.43
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-0.44
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.10
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-0.06
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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34.39
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-0.49
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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69.15
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-0.32
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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6.16 |
-0.05 |
Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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7.14
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+0.05
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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37.76
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-0.05
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Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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7.14
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+0.05
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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13.91
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unch
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Regent
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RGCI
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3.33
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unch
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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8.92
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-0.01
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.00
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-0.01
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Debut Bcg.
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DBTB
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1.80
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unch
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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10.60
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+0.36
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Disney
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DIS
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34.68
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+0.21
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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3.17
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-0.01
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Emmis
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EMMS
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9.00
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+0.17
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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4.14
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unch
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Entercom
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ETM
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24.12
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+0.12
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.16
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-0.04
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Entravision
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EVC
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10.91
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-0.04
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Westwood One
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WON
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5.64
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-0.28
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Fisher
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FSCI
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50.35
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-0.45
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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12.82
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+0.15
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]
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Below the Fold
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Media Business Report
Cincinnati papers bite the dust
Scripps says it can't keep its Cincinnati Post & Kentucky Post newspapers alive...
Tribune Co. newspapers
To sell ads on Page 1 since it is aced with a steady decline in revenue...
Media Markets & Money
Liberman scores in
Southern California as KWIE-FM is headed to Hispanic multimedia...
Ratings & Research
Back-to-School spending
To top 18 billion...
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Stations for Sale
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Hispanic Stations-Connecticut
Two full-time established AM stations serving the Hartford & Bridgeport Markets.
Contact Dick Kozacko,
Kozacko Media Services
607-733-7138,
[email protected]
MCH Enterprises, Inc.
CA Coast FM: $1.5M
NV Boomtown: $895K
www.mchentinc.com
805.680.2265 (cell)
 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
[email protected]
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Radio Media Moves
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Duo for Entercom in KC
Entercom has hired two veteran managers as Vice President and Co-Market Manager in Kansas City. David Alpert, formerly VP/Market Manager for Cumulus in KC, will head up KMBZ-AM, KCSP-AM, KQRC-FM, KRBZ-FM and KYYS-FM. Herndon Hasty, who had been VP/Market Manager for Wilks Broadcasting in KC, will be responsible for KXTR-AM, KUDL-FM and WDAF-FM.
"Brain Gain"
in Des Moines
That's what Saga Communications is calling the promotion of five staffers at its Des Moines Radio Group and a new hire from Missouri. The newbie is Jamie Harris, coming in from Wilks Broadcasting in Kansas City as Events Manager. Scott Allen Gojkovick moves up to Sr. Marketing Manager, Tiffany Tauscheck to Marketing Manager, Jill Olsen to Sr. Promotions Director and Chris Beck to Assistant Promotions Director.
Burgess aboard
NAB Board
Ion Media Networks President/CEO Brandon Burgess is the new Network Representative to the NAB Board, and will also serve on the NAB Executive Committee, where he replaces Disney's Preston Padden. Padden will remain on the NAB Television Board of Directors.
Duffy to Nielsen
The Nielsen Company announced that Tom Duffy has been named Vice President, Industry Services, ACNielsen. He had been Director, Business & Industry Partnerships for TDLinx. At ACNielsen, Duffy will be responsible for all internal and external marketing for supporting trade associations and other partnership organizations.
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More News Headlines
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Warner Music Group won't bid for EMI
The waiting is over. Warner Music Group announced late yesterday that it will not make a takeover bid for EMI Group. The announcement came after EU regulators had stepped in and activated a legal deadline that required rival bidders to put up or shut up by Thursday, since there is a pending deal on the table for Terra Firma Capital partners to buy the record company for nearly five billion bucks. So far, only 3.8% of EMI Group shareholders have accepted the Terra Firma offer, which has the backing of EMI's board. That could now increase rapidly, since it is certain that Warner won't be making a topper offer. Warner did leave the door open to bid, should the Terra Firma bid fail and anyone else steps up to bid for EMI.
Liberman settles lawsuits
Liberman Broadcasting and its parent, LBI Media, disclosed in an SEC filing that they have settled a lawsuit brought by some current and former employees in Los Angeles, one alleging violation of California labor laws pertaining to meal and rest breaks and another lawsuit alleging violations of overtime pay rules and wrongful termination. Liberman denies any wrongdoing, but says it has agreed to a proposed settlement of both lawsuits to avoid significant legal fees and other expenses. If the settlement is approved by the court, Liberman says it will pay a maximum of 825K, including legal fees.
12 headed to Germany
For the 14th year in a row, the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation will conduct a two-week, expenses-paid fellowship to Germany this fall for broadcast journalists. Sponsored by the RIAS Berlin Commission, the German/American Journalist Exchange Program will run from September 29th through October 13th, featuring briefings with top-level political, business and media figures in Germany and with NATO and European Union officials in Brussels. Participants will travel to Berlin, Dresden, Prague and then Brussels. During the program, the American journalists will also meet with German broadcasters and tour German radio and television stations. The following 12 individuals have been selected to participate in the program this fall:
Cheryl Bacon,
video editor, KTTV/KCOP TV
Doris Bergman,
producer, NY1 News
Deb Brunswick,
news assistant, CNN
Noel Cisneros,
reporter, KGO-TV
Kathy-Ann Gobin,
producer, WTNH-TV
Deanne Goodman,
anchor/reporter, KTVZ-TV
David Louie,
business editor, KGO-TV
Paul Martella,
associate producer, KTTV
Petra Mayer,
associate producer, NPR
Sandy Rathbun,
reporter, KVOA-TV
Marilyn Torres,
reporter, RCN News
Robert Wilson,
reporter, KSFY-TV
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SmartMedia Magazine
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Coming in September
FALL NAB ISSUE
SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION:
NAB RADIO SHOW
Radio Roundtable:
Radio execs find solutions.
Media Markets and Money:
What's attractive to equity capital these days?
Ad Biz:
Gennele Niblack, Katz Political President
Sales:
Dial Global's Eileen Decker on radio ad sales
News/Talk:
Valerie Geller: "Video streaming on your station's website"
Political Advertising:
Gregg Skall: "The FCC rules on political ads-Network exception issue"; Greg Pinello, GMMB.
Engineering & Technology:
Conditional Access for HD Radio
New Media:
Money-making opportunities for on-demand web video
For advertising
information, contact:
June Barnes
[email protected] 803-731-5951;
Jim Carnegie
[email protected] 813-909-2916 or
Carl Marcucci
[email protected] 703-492-8191.
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RBR Radar 2007
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Reps concerned about
private equity deals
A pair of powerful US Reps are concerned about private equity companies, saying the term "suggests a financial management style focused on cutting costs, increasing revenues and the ultimate resale of the enterprise," which may conflict with the public interest obligations of FCC licensees. On the other hand, they note, such enterprises are somewhat insulated from Wall Street pressure to boost stock prices, which could be a plus. They want to know how the ins and outs of such companies when cutting deals on the FCC's turf.
07/17/07 RBR #138
Warshaw in; Goodman out
Jeff Warshaw will replace Dean Goodman as CEO of the new company backed by American Security Capital Partners (ASCP) to buy 187 stations from Clear Channel for 452.1 million dollars - the single largest package of the Clear Channel Radio divestitures in medium and smaller markets. Relations between Goodman - former President of Ion Media Networks and its predecessor, Paxson Communications - and his equity backer had been deteriorating for a couple of months as ASCP delayed approving the management team that Goodman had chosen and resisted buying TV stations as well.
RBR observation: Don't shed too many tears for Dean Goodman. He got five million bucks when he left Ion and millions more when Citadel Capital took Ion private and bought out all of the public shareholders, including Dean. Now he gets a few million more from ASCP to walk away. With his own cash and that of the investors he had brought to the table (including Eddie Fritts, Larry Patrick and Carl Hirsch), Dean will be able to build a substantial radio and TV company without having to answer to a private equity partner. More in RBR.
07/16/07 RBR #137
One on One: deCastro details
The Content Factory plans
A day after the announcement that Dan Patrick teamed with longtime broadcasting industry entrepreneur Jimmy de Castro's "The Content Factory" (7/13/07 RBR #136), de Castro gave RBR an idea of where he's taking Patrick's content and what might be in store for the future as far as talent and offerings. Read the details in this special page RBR report.
07/16/07 RBR #137
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