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Volume 23, Issue 161, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Friday Morning August 18th, 2006

Radio News ®

Country moves on in LA;
Dees returns
Listeners got a shock yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles as Country ended and Emmis' KZLA-FM began promoting its new identity as "Movin 93.9," calling the new Rhythmic Pop Contemporary format "The Mix That Makes You Move." Perhaps the biggest news, though, is the return of legendary LA morning man Rick Dees, who was replaced on KIIS-FM in 2004 by Ryan Seacrest. "Emmis is the perfect fit. I've been presented with many opportunities, and the new 'Movin 93.9' gets me excited like I've never been before!" declared Dees. The veteran jock will do a live, local show for LA and continue to do his syndicated "The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40." Like New York, Los Angeles is now without a major Country station. Emmis says it will keep the format alive on an HD multicast and Internet streaming.

RBR observation: A surprise, perhaps, to listeners, but many in radio saw this coming. KZLA may have been the most listened to Country station in America, but it wasn't drawing the ratings and revenues that Emmis would like to see in the #1 US radio advertising market.

Realignment at Clear Channel Radio
Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan has restructured his management team, promoting three people to Executive Vice President of Operations overseeing a region of the country. It is Tom Schurr in the East (from Mississippi and Indiana to Maine and Florida), Charlie Rahilly in the Central Region (Upper Midwest and Dakotas, plus Michigan, most of Nebraska and part of Ohio) and Susan Karis in the West (the vast area remaining). Rahilly will also be representing the CC Radio stations in national sales opportunities and will be responsible for developmental sales, sales systems and traffic initiatives, Hogan said in a memo to managers. He said the three new Executive VPs of Operations complement the existing Executive VP team of Tom Owens, Evan Harrison, Jeff Littlejohn, Stu Olds, Jerry Kersting and Kimberly Cutchall. "Collectively they are my senior management team," Hogan declared. Why the new structure? Hogan said it will make CC Radio a "faster, more nimble company" ready to take advantage of new opportunities and "increases decision-making authority at all levels."

Entercom gets thumbs up
Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker has been crunching Arbitron numbers from the Spring book and declared Entercom the best performer of the public companies that she tracks. That is, of the general market groups. Spanish specialists Entravision and Univision gained the most overall. By Ryvicker's reckoning, Entercom's revenue-weighted share gain [Adults 25-54] was 2% year-over-year and she expects the company to monetize those rating gains in Q4 and into 2007. So, she is maintaining her bullish estimates for Entercom, which are higher than the Wall Street consensus. Clear Channel and Cox Radio were the biggest disappointments, the analyst said. "CCU posted a year-over-year share decline (-2%) among Adults 25-54. We are not sure exactly why this occurred, but it does bring more color to the 'units versus minutes' debate that began during the Q2 earnings season." As for the big winners, Ryvicker says Univision posted a 22% year-over-year gain and Entravision moved up 8%. She attributes that partly to enhancements to Arbitron's Hispanic sample, but mostly to new Spanish formats, particularly Reggaeton and Hurban, taking share from younger-skewing English stations.

Do they know something?
The Creative Group has conducted its once-a-year survey of the hiring plans of advertising and marketing professionals. About half of the respondents were from agencies, and the other half were in-house professionals. First of all, looking back, just under half have already been looking to increase their creative during the past year (and by just under half, we mean just under half: 49%). But even more are looking to expand within the next 12 months. 60% are planning to add staff, while 33% remain at their current level. A scant 4% are looking to downsize, and the remaining 3% haven't thought that far ahead yet. Looking again at the past 12 months, recruitment activity at these companies was up significantly at 18% and up somewhat at 31%, with the same 33% standing pat.

RBR observation: The good news is that companies do not increase their staff unless they expect to significantly increase their workload. Staffing pressure on advertising and marketing firms could well lead to inventory pressure on broadcast venues, just the kind of pressure we like. But are you ready for the bad news? We'll let The Creative Group's Dave Willmer tell you: "The job market for creative professionals remains strong, particularly for those with a deep understanding of Internet-based marketing, which is where many advertising and promotional dollars are being directed." Dang.

Product placement
continuing to surge
Advertisers more and more are trying to move from around to within broadcast programming, resulting in huge growth margins for the product placement business. According to PQ Media Research, placements globally grew 42.2% in 2005 and will come pretty close to matching that pace by the end of this year. The 2005 total revenue for product placement was pegged at 2.21B. It is predicted to hit 3.07B by the end of the year, a 38.8% growth rate. PQ's Patrick Quinn said, "This trend is significant in that there is a new media order emerging worldwide in which fear of ad-skipping technology, doubts about traditional advertising's effectiveness, and declining government media subsidies have fueled a dramatic increase in the value of seamless brand integration." According to PQ, the USA is home to the lion's share of PP revenue, raking in 1.5B, over two thirds of the world total, and growing at a 48.7% pace. PQ says the top categories are transportation & parts, apparel & accessories, food & beverage, travel & leisure, and media & entertainment. By 2010, PQ expects the total global PP take to reach nearly 14B.

RBR observation: There is no earthly reason for TV to have all the PP fun. Radio and the print media can dig their forks into this pie too. I say this, refreshed from a mouth-watering sip of Famous Olde Tyme Diet Barq's Root Beer (It's Good!), and after moving my in-office supply of Morton Salt and McCormick Pepper (do they have some kind of LMA going?) out of the way so I can reach my store-brand CVS dual power hand-held calculator. I'm working with my Audiovox CD plus cassette player turned off, because I'm distracted enough thinking about getting into my Hyundai Sonata and taking off for a vacation at North Carolina's fabulous Outer Banks resort area. See how easy that was?

Show biz bigs take anti-terrorist stand
News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, Viacom/CBS Chairman Sumner Redstone and Univision owner-to-be Haim Saban are among 85 celebrities from the world of show business who took out a full page ad in yesterday's Los Angeles Times calling for a united stand against terrorism. Other names on the list were perhaps more familiar to the general public: Michael Douglas, Nicole Kidman, Danny DeVito, Dennis Hopper and Sly Stallone, to name a few. The ad declared a strong stance against terrorist organizations, but did not suggest what sort of actions should be taken against them. Here is the text: "We the undersigned are pained and devastated by the civilian casualties in Israel and Lebanon caused by terrorist actions initiated by terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas. If we do not succeed in stopping terrorism around the world, chaos will rule and innocent people will continue to die. We need to support democratic societies and stop terrorism at all costs."

HD Radio 2006

CC Radio adds HD-2 multicasts to 18 more markets
Clear Channel Radio announced 269 of its radio stations in 66 markets are set to air HD digital multicasts. These additional stations represent the third wave of a larger launch begun in January. The new channels will also be made available at the company's HD2 streaming site www.clearchannelmusic.com/hdradio/ as they go live. In each local market, Clear Channel Radio's HD2 multicasts either complement existing on-air programming or bring entirely new music or spoken-word genres to local listeners. In some cases, local programmers will draw from programming created by the Format Lab within the company's Content Research & Development Group. In other cases, the channels are programmed fully locally. Clear Channel Radio has 300 stations offering their primary broadcasts in HD.

Wall Street Media Business Report TM

Entravision switches auditors
We've seen several cases this year of publicly traded radio and TV companies changing outside auditors to save costs by switching from a big name auditing firm to a cheaper no-name. This, however, is the reverse - Entravision is apparently out to enhance how it is viewed by investors by switching to one of the big name firms. It has dismissed McGladrey & Pullen (ever heard of them?) and engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers as its independent registered public accounting firm. As protocol requires, McGladrey & Pullen supplied a letter to the SEC agreeing with Entravision that there had been no dispute over accounting leading to the change.

Ad Business Report TM

Ad campaign targets male drunk drivers
A nationwide crackdown on drunken driving aimed primarily at men ages 21-34 began Wednesday as federal authorities reported that alcohol was a factor in 16,885 traffic deaths last year. Acting Transportation Secretary Maria Cino announced an 11 million campaign of television, radio and Internet ads. The campaign - "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest." - is the largest such effort ever and will coincide with increased roadside sobriety checkpoints between now and Labor Day, reports USA Today. The ads show authorities pulling over three men driving in vehicles filled with beer, wine or liquor and tell viewers: "Make no mistake: You will get caught, and you will be arrested." "Everybody in this country's going to hear about this campaign," Jim Champagne, Louisiana's top highway safety official and chairman of the Governors Highway Safety Association, told the paper. "We will be using sobriety checkpoints at a level that we've never done before." Paid media runs Aug. 16-20; 23-27 and Aug. 30-Sept. 3.
| See the timeline here |

Media Markets & Money TM

Brotherly love for K-LOVE
Educational Media Foundation will be bringing its K-LOVE Contemporary Christian format to Philadelphia via WSJI-FM Cherry Hill NJ. According to broker John Pierce, it's getting the staion from Tom Moffitt's Broadcast Learning Center for 2.5M. EMF has been known to work both sides of the reserved/unreserved FM divide. In this case, the station is tucked well within the confines of the reserved band at 89.5 mHz.

Washington Media Business Report TM

This talking head courtesy
of the US Government
PBS, which by now must be used to taking heat from conservative lawmakers, who seem to rarely let a session of Congress go by without some attempt to reduce or eliminate the noncommercial broadcast service's funding, is now taking heat for using the services on-air of a conservative Bush administration political appointee. The person in question is Karen Czarnecki, whose day job is with the Department of Labor, and who moonlights as a panelist on PBS's "To the Contrary." She is identified on the show as a "conservative commentator," according to TPM Muckraker.com, but is never linked to the Department of Labor. Apparently, according to TPM, the administration required the omission before it would sign off on allowing Czarnecki to be on the show. Journalism ethicists who spoke with TPM said there is nothing wrong with a government employee participating in a political program, but argued that her dual relationships must be disclosed so the audience can make a judgment as to whether she is speaking for herself or shilling for the administration a la Armstrong Williams or Maggie Gallagher. Although there is no reason to think that this is a pay-for-say situation, the ethicists expressed surprise that this situation was allowed to continue in the wake of the earlier flaps.

90M committed to House races
Capitol Hill Republicans have set aside 40M worth of airtime to defend their majority in the House of Representatives, responding to 50M already put in layaway from Democrats in their effort to wrest control away from the incumbents. Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to do that, and key battleground races will draw the lion's share of the cash from both parties. According to the Associated Press, Midwest and Northeast contests figure to be the site of the heaviest fighting. AP mentioned several incumbents who figure to be recipients of national aid, including Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Curt Weldon (R-PA), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rob Simmons (R-CT), Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Geoff Davis (R-KY) and Mike Sodrel (R-IN). Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Clay Shaw (R-FL) also figure to get defense money. But the Republican plans aren't entirely defensive, with cash earmarked in an attempt to unseat Chet Edwards (D-TX), John Spratt (D-SC) and Leonard Boswell (D-IA) as well as to compete for several open seats.

Entertainment Media Business Report TM

Radio duo goes video
Syndicated radio morning yucksters Bob & Tom are adding video to their repertoire. Comedy Central will air "Bob & Tom Radio: The Comedy Tour" on September 16th. The hour-long special includes footage from a live comedy event featuring 18 comics on stage, along with clips from inside the studio of their radio program. The radio show featuring Bob Kevioan and Tom Griswold is heard in over 150 US markets.

Ratings & Research

Software providers readying Arbitron PPM rollout
Arbitron says more than a dozen firms are on track to upgrade their systems from diary-based ratings data to Portable People Meter based ratings information. "Not only does Arbitron have to get its software reporting systems ready for Portable People Meter ratings, there are many other buying, planning, research, sales, traffic and presentation systems that the radio industry relies on that we want to see ready for PPM when it arrives" said Pierre Bouvard, President, Sales and Marketing, Arbitron. "We've provided our third party providers with test data files, extensive documentation and lots of support to help them get their systems ready for the rollout of the Portable People Meter," said Cory Flahaven, PPM product manager, Arbitron. "A PPM ratings service will be delivering 13 four-week reports each year. Each of these reports will feature the full complement of demographic, socioeconomic and race/ethnic breakouts that today are only delivered quarterly or semi-annually. We want the rest of the industry to be as ready as we are for our next generation electronic measurement system."
| View the Chart |

Digital media use grows by triple digits
among AAA listeners
When it comes to how people listen to music, FM Radio is still king, but the use new digital technologies has grown at a break-neck pace over the past two years. SBR Creative Media, consultant to leading Triple A stations nationwide, has released the results of its second national music and radio listener web study.
| Read More... |

Coming Next Week...

Engineered for Profit
As HD Radio is becoming a reality for a growing number of radio stations nationwide, so also are the logistical challenges of integrating digital transmissions into an existing infrastructure. As with analog, the goal of any station is to ensure the maximum amount of power produced by the digital transmitter is radiated from a suitable antenna into free space, where it can be picked up by the listening audience. Henry Downs, Technical Director of RF Components and Subsystems Development for Dielectric Communications, offers ways to do just that.

.....and

Special report:
The explosion of Hispanic formats and networks
Spanish-language radio in the US used to mean a full time AM that was akin to the old full service station with a little talk, news, music, sports and community service. It has since evolved from that very thin basic radio model into a plethora of different formats that are hyper-targeted based on age, ethnicity, political, informational, sports and current events interests. We look at: Hispanic listeners in the U.S. are at different levels of cultural assimilation, and those levels vary by market; What are Spanish-language stations doing to keep listeners from migrating over to the pure Urban or Pop Rock stations where the young focus? On the Television side, a proliferation of Hispanic television stations in the last 15 years have brought on new networks to provide content. We look at Language and targeting younger generations: Until recently, the only game in town was Univision and Telemundo, but now with multicast digital platforms many non-Spanish language broadcasters are looking to place Hispanic programming in place-some bilingual.

One On One

David Kennedy
After a long career that took him to the CEO position at Susquehanna Media, David Kennedy is now wrapping up loose ends after selling off the company's radio and cable assets for the founding family. What's next for this well-known radio veteran? Inquiring minds want to know. Yesterday we asked: Where do you see it going now? Is there still a lot of opportunity in this business? (8/17/06 RBR #160).

Okay, so what is next for Dave Kennedy?
You may have seen the line that Dan Rather used when he announced his departure from CBS-he said something like, "It just isn't in me to sit around doing nothing." I identify with that. I've been blessed to have had a pretty good run so far and I really don't see it coming to an end. I continue to have a great deal of interest in our business and I see many opportunities in a number of areas. To that end, I intend to explore those that look interesting and try to further develop ideas that excite me. That may be a long-winded way of saying I don't know yet, but I hope it's also a way of saying that I really have no desire to retire. I love a challenge and I know that I can always count on this business to provide one for me.

What are you most proud of about the time that you had at Susquehanna?
When I think back on my career, the first highlight for me was getting my first job, that weekend air shift. I couldn't believe I was getting paid for doing something that I liked so much. I think it was all of $1.85 an hour at that time, but to me that was a big highlight I'll never forget. Getting hired by Rick McDonald at WLQR in Toledo was a highlight and, as you know, I ended up staying with Susquehanna for 33 years. Being permitted to contribute to the growth of the company in increasingly responsible positions over the years, from the station level to the corporate level. Each of those promotions was a highlight. But it really wasn't just the promotion, it was realizing that the people that you worked with were actually supportive of you at all levels of the company and happy to continue to be a part of what you were doing. For me, that was the real highlight of those promotions. Others, as I think back, have included seeing various stations that I've been involved with go on to win ratings battles and become successes in their markets; also, some acquisitions and sign-ons that were successful. In addition, I've really been very privileged to serve the industry at various positions in both the NAB and the RAB. But most of all, I think it's been the pleasure and the honor of working with so many exceptional people over the years. When I think back on the past, I think more about the people than the events or the accomplishments themselves. It's the people who've really made the difference.

TVBR TV News

Online simulcast for
CBS Evening News
"The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" will become the first network evening news broadcast to be simulcast live on the Internet, beginning September 5th when it debuts on the air. In addition, the complete broadcast may be viewed as an on-demand program any time after the live simulcast or, as has been the case for the last few years, viewers may build their own broadcast by choosing individual reports from each program. To access the simulcast, viewers will be asked to register so that they view it when the television broadcast is aired in their time zone. The live simulcast and on-demand versions of the broadcast will be ad-supported and free to all. The deal doesn't leave out affiliates - stations will receive a cut of the revenue. NBC and ABC so far are not offering simulcasts of their evening news but do post the programs after they run. NBC posts its Nightly News with Brian Williams after 10 p.m. ET (free, ad-supported) and offers a free online-only newscast, The Early Nightly. ABC offers World News Tonight's newscasts at 6 a.m. the next day with its 4.95 subscription package and offers an online World News webcast.

| Other components that will be available |

TVBR observation: The model has been cast and reach will be improved. Believe it or not, eventually all television stations and cable networks will be simulcasting on the net. Some for free, some ad supported. We've all heard it before - it's not about how it gets to the viewer/listener anymore, it's about the content and getting it to them in as many ways as possible. Advertisers will pay for that exposure and the technology is there to show the exposure was made. We've made it a global marketplace, well, it's a global media marketplace too. When someone watches CBS Evening News while traveling overseas, it should be counted as part of the total reach and it will. Ad dollars from new and traditional media all add up in the same column. Congrats to CBS for taking the "live" plunge.

Transactions

4.25M WWHV-FM Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News (Virginia Beach VA) from On Top Communications of Virginia D.I.P. (Bryan C. Rice, chief restructuring officer) to Red Zebra Broadcasting LLC (Daniel Snyder). 212.5K escrow, balance in cash at closing. [File date 7/28/06.]

1M KXJB-TV Fargo-Valley City ND (Valley City ND) from Catamount Broadcasting of Fargo LLC (Ralph F. Becker) to Spirit Television LLC (Michael A. Wach). Cash/loan repayment. SSA/option with North Dakota Television LLC's KVLY-TV. KXJB is a CBS affiliate on Channel 4; KVLY is an NBC affiliate on Channel 11. [File date 7/28/06.]

1M KXJB-TV Fargo-Valley City ND (Valley City ND) from Spirit Television LLC (Michael A. Wach) to Parker Broadcasting Inc. (Barry J.C. Parker). Cash. Buyer retains SSA/option with new owner of KVLY-TV. KXJB is a CBS affiliate on Channel 4; KVLY is an NBC affiliate on Channel 11. [File date 7/28/06.]

Stock Talk

Oil down, stocks up
With Middle East hostilities cooling down, oil prices have dropped and stock prices are on the rise. The Dow Industrials gained another eight points on Thursday to 11,335.

Radio stocks also moved up. The Radio Index gained 0.888, or 0.7%, to 135.456. Salem was the champ, up 6.1%. Cumulus gained 2.2%.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Thursday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		36.27	+0.28	Hearst-Argyle	HTV		21.93	+0.40
Beasley	BBGI		6.96	-0.01	Journal Comm.	JRN		10.81	+0.08
CBS CI. B	CBS		27.45	-0.11	Lincoln Natl.	LNC		59.98	+0.56
CBS CI. A	CBSa		27.40	-0.12	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		5.72	-0.12
Citadel	CDL		8.76	+0.01	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		5.84	-0.05
Clear Channel	CCU		27.87	-0.02	Regent	RGCI		4.02	-0.04
Cox Radio	CXR		15.20	+0.03	Saga Commun.	SGA		7.50	+0.10
Cumulus	CMLS		9.60	+0.21	Salem Comm.	SALM		11.47	+0.66
Disney	DIS		29.90	+0.19	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		3.75	+0.10
Emmis	EMMS		11.90	-0.14	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		4.35	-0.03
Entercom	ETM		24.29	+0.20	Univision	UVN		33.48	-0.02
Entravision	EVC		6.98	+0.09	Westwood One	WON		6.96	+0.13
Fisher	FSCI		40.15	-0.36	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		11.46	-0.02
Gaylord	GET		41.87	+0.24	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

Send Us Your Opinions We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to [email protected]

I find it fascinating to read about spot loads, less is more or we should really use :30s because its more efficient for the station. All the while, the group owners put more emphasis on revenue with less regard to content and the realities of today's marketplace. Let's look at some of the factors governing the client side:

Clusters- what if you are the 4th spot in a given cluster, but are paying the same rate as the client in the first position? Yes, the computer randomly places it, but it never shows up on the invoice, so who really knows? What if my creative is really crap? Will the station refuse to take the order? NOT! Who does that hurt? What if my clients product really needs the :60 to tell the story and make the point? A :30 just does not have enough time to make the point. Branding? Yes, use :30s, but to force the client into a smaller box will hurt radio's future. About the future, from the station side. RBR ran an article about Integrated Marketing, in which the concept of "just spots" does not work. It takes all of a station's resources and marketing skills to outdo the many other formats available. Let's not forget the other influences for the budget...online usage is up double digits, satellite radio IS making an impact, NTR is trying to find new dollars, and now the addition of online auctions for unsold time will tend to force average rates downward, the rate difference between TV and radio is starting to blur in some markets and it all means that there may not be any one formula for radio's success and it may not lie in corporate's budgeting. The answer will lie in the creative minds of managers on the street to be fluid and adjust to market ebbs and flows and becoming more responsive to more technologies that are taking radio dollars. Perhaps a creative seller will embrace new technologies and present the ultimate media mix to the client! If so, who do you think will win a larger share of the budget??

Stan Elgart
Felsgart Communications

Below the Fold

Wall Street Media Business Report
Entravision switches auditors
Is apparently out to enhance how it is viewed by investors...

Ad Business Report
Ad campaign targets male
Drunk drivers, a nationwide crackdown on drunken driving...

Media Markets & Money
Brotherly love for K-LOVE
Educational Media Foundation brings Contemporary Christian to Philly...

One On One
David Kennedy
Okay, so what is next? Here are the clues...

Ratings & Research
Software providers readying
Arbitron PPM rollout says more than a dozen firms are on track to upgrade...

Stations for Sale

CD Border 25kw FM
Profitable competitive op.
Small/dual market FM with huge upside for turnaround operator.
595K 781-848-4201 or [email protected]

Radio Media Moves

New PD in Connecticut
Cox Radio announced that Eric McDonald has joined the company as Program Director for WCTZ-FM "The Coast" in Fairfield County, Connecticut (Stamford-Norwalk market). He had been at Nassau's WIKE-AM & WMOO-FM Montpelier-Barre, VT.

Red Zebra
hires Gardner
Red Zebra Broadcasting announced that Randy Gardner has joined the company as Commercial Production Director. Gardner comes to Red Zebra Broadcasting from Bonneville's now-defunct Z-104 in DC and will serve as Commercial Production Director for Red Zebra Broadcasting's Triple X ESPN Radio (94.3 FM/WWXT, 92.7 FM/WWXX, 730 AM/WXTR) the new home of The Washington Redskins.

More News Headlines

Huntsman Entertainment hosts Broadcast at Musicians Hall of Fame
Huntsman Entertainment has selected the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum as the venue for this year's edition of Live from Nashville!, a multi-station remote broadcast during fall awards week, November 4-6. Live from Nashville! was created in 1987 to connect stations to country talent from a full-service remote.

International

TV crews to be
charged in suicide
Police in India say several TV cameramen and reporters are going to be charged with assisted suicide for supplying matches and diesel fuel to a distraught man who then set himself afire. The crews did not aid the man, who was badly burned and died later in a hospital. But they did rush back to their stations and aired dramatic footage of the man as he ran screaming while afire. Police seized videotapes and say they have shots that show people from the TV crews supplying the matches and fuel before the man set himself aflame. Conviction for assisting a suicide carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison in India.

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RBR Radar 2006

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

Ad Agency Buyers comment
on ratings RFP issue
Clear Channel, which is leading the Next-Generation Electronics Ratings Evaluation Team RFP process, kicked everybody off the evaluation team that signed with Arbitron for PPM and also suspended negotiations with Arbitron on the new ratings system until it gets accreditation from the Media Ratings Council. CBS Radio, Emmis, Greater Media, SBS, Beasley and Bonneville are still off the RFP team. We asked a few buyers: What do you think about the RFP issue/controversy? These Ad Agency executives Sound Off, Irene Katsnelson, Annie Chen, Agnes Lukasewych, Rich Russo, Matt Feinberg, Natalie Swed Stone and Kim Vasey. Read their Agency Observation
08/17/06 RBR #160

Wi-Fi Walkman ready for retail
MarketWatch says within the next few weeks, Australian-based Torian Wireless will begin showing U.S. retailers a Wi-Fi "Walkman." The InFusion is a portable, battery-powered device which tunes in Internet radio stations. It also has an FM radio, an audio recorder, and an MP3 player. It does not have a built-in speaker. The retail price could be as low as 229 dollars.

RBR observation: There are a lot of niche players who'd like to take this on. Again, as RBR has been saying for 4 years, Technology Waits for No One.
08/17/06 RBR #160

Farallon wants Emmis
to go Dutch again
Now that Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan has pulled his bid to take the company private, Farallon Capital is left holding a big stake that it had expected to cash in. So, the big investment fund, which is advised by Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw, is proposing Plan B so if you want to read the letter see
08/17/06 RBR #160

The bloom is off the satellite rose
Both XM and Sirius have seen their stock prices plunge this year, but traders seemed not to react to a negative front page article in the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ story detailed problems with churn, possible receiver recalls and high talent/programming costs - issues that RBR readers are quite familiar with. In fact, it appears that the problems plaguing the satellite radio companies are already well known in the financial community. Warning that a potential time bomb is awaiting Sirius - all of those one-year subscriptions from the holiday season last year as Howard Stern prepared to move to satellite are about to come up for renewal. Can Sirius keep those subscribers and not see its churn rate jump?
08/16/06 RBR #159

State Broadcast Association
President for one of the nation's top broadcast associations seeks a replacement for its retiring executive. Applicants must have broadcast management experience; knowledge of broadcast governmental, legal and regulatory affairs; an awareness of small and medium market broadcaster needs; ability to plan and coordinate a convention, workshops, seminars, and solicit event sponsors. Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
See Radio Careers

Talk Radio Network
Seeking professionals in three areas to join our TRN team. First: Executive Producer on topical subjects, Second: Board Operator with 2 years experience with Telos call-screening software and Third: Staff Engineer that can take initiative. This is a fast paced high pressure environment, must be able to think and act professionally in emergency situations. EOE. For complete details all three positions
See Radio Careers

General Manager
Saga Communications, a top of the line radio and media company really has a rare opening at Rock 102 and Lazer 99.3. Saga carefully reviews all GM applicants but this opportunity necessitates being extra picky. Considering only GM's with a documented reputation for effective leadership and management to oversee these facilities that are accustomed to high standards at all levels. Excellent facilities, benefits and quality of living in Springfield, MA. Saga a top of the line company committed to excellence in media today. EOE.
See Radio Careers

Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? RBR's - Media HeadHunters is the place that key media firms use to get results. See www.mediaheadhunters.com and get results with service--Period.

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