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Volume 22, Issue 162, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher

Thursday Morning August 18th, 2005

Radio News®

Cable pushes the envelope...even on radio
WTRW-AM Two Rivers, WI owner Mark Heller tells RBR/TVBR that his minister dropped by the other day and noted that he'd just heard the word "nooky" air on the station. Heller said he couldn't believe that Scott Shannon would use that word on the air, but it turned out not to be the DJ, but rather a spot carried on ABC Radio's True Oldies Format - -

a spot for A&E's " Dog the Bounty Hunter." Heller had already complained to CNN and Westwood One about a spot for TNT's "Wanted" show that included "piss" and one for the "Friar's Club Roast" of Pamela Anderson on Comedy Central, with a bleeped cut of Jimmy Kimmel saying, "If Pamela Anderson got f----d by Tommy Lee, wait'll you see what we do to her." Even with the bleep, Heller said the word was obvious and he didn't think either the TNT spot or the Comedy Central one should be scheduled inside a CNN top of the hour newscast where stations are unlikely to be able to delete it. Sure enough, a short time later the A&E "nooky" spot also showed up in a CNN newscast. An ABC spokeswoman told RBR/TVBR that each spot goes through the network's standards and practices review and that the A&E spot was approved. "We simply didn't find the spot and don't find the spot offensive," she said. Westwood One declined to comment, except to note that it also has a standards review process for all spots. Westwood One distributes CNN Radio, along with CBS Radio and its own network programming.

RBR observation: It seems that the radio nets were caught off guard by the increasingly edgy content in the TV tune-in sector. The standards and practices departments tend to devote their greatest attention to such things as spots for Viagra and its competitors and making sure that ads for OTC pharmaceuticals comply with government regulations. No one expected to find objectionable content in an ad for A&E. But with complaints starting to come in from affiliates, they'll likely be paying closer attention to the cable spots. Some that are borderline may be kept out of live newscasts and scheduled for programming where affiliates can more easily opt out because of content objections. Besides someone has got to get a hold onto reality and not the TV programming they are putting out these days like 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' is a real dog and speaking of programming dog doo-doo.

GOP courting cable Talker
for intramural FL contest
One of the key 2006 targets for the Republican Party is the senate seat of Bill Nelson (D-FL). So far, Rep. Katherine Harris has thrown her hat in the ring. However, some in the GOP fear negative residue from her role in 2000's Bush v. Gore electoral battle may be too much to overcome, so they are courting MSNBC's Joe Scarborough as an alternative. Scarborough has a pedigree few Talk show hosts can claim - - four terms in the US House himself, giving him more time on Capitol Hill than Harris, who is currently in her second term. If Scarborough does decide to toss his hat in as well, do not expect Harris to pull hers out. According to the Pensacola News Journal, there is only one person she'd step aside for - - Gov. Jeb Bush. Scarborough is contractually bound to MSNBC until March 2006, leaving ample time for campaigning. On the other hand, the show is doing well, and he may not wish to leave. Scarborough himself isn't talking.

Trib TV revenues fell 7.8%
"Television revenues in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston continue to be impacted by Local People Meters," Tribune Company said in announcing that July revenues were down 7.8% to 110.8 million for its TV group in July. It also said that advertising revenue remains soft in most markets. "Weakness in the movie, telecom and retail categories was partially offset by increases in education and financial," the company said. Radio/Entertainment revenues (which includes only one radio stations) were up 7.7% to 43.2 million, "due to improved results at the Chicago Cubs." For the newspaper business, total revenues were down 0.7%, including an 8.2% drop in circulation revenues, even as ad revenues rose 1.5% to 281.9 million. Classified was up 3.7% and retail gained 1.2%, while national fell 1.7%.

Creator of Wobegon
won't be gone from KY noncom
Using the word "breast" and the phrase "get high" managed to get Garrison Keillor canned at WUKY-FM, a noncommercial station in Lexington KY. The show, "The Writer's Almanac," is a daily short feature consisting of Keillor's commentary on the history of writing, usually followed by a poem. According to the Associated Press, station management had not received any complaints, but made the move anyway in light of last year's record amount of FCC indecency fines. While Keillor's comments attracted no audience response, dropping the show did, and the program was promptly reinstated.

RBR observation: We'd have to guess that WUKY's management doesn't spend much time listening to many of the younger-skewing commercial formats, where many DJs are expert at pulling end runs around the existing FCC indecency rules. Otherwise they'd be aware just how mild these alleged infractions were. What the incident provides is solid evidence that there is indeed a chill in the public airspace right now.

Jim Cunningham dead at 87
If your career in radio goes back to the 1970's, or even the '60s, you are probably familiar with automation gear from Schafer Electronics. James Cunningham was owner and President in the mid-'70s, after founder Paul Schafer had sold the company and moved on to other projects. We've received word from California that Cunningham has died at age 87.

NAB pushes FCC on IBOC fast track
In the latest round of filings at the FCC on setting a digital radio standard, the NAB has urged the Commission to dismiss opposing views and adopt IBOC ASAP. Noting that a number of comments were filed regarding interference, the NAB said the FCC should treat such matters on a case-by-case basis. "In this regard, we note that the FCC has decided that the overall benefits of digital radio are worth dealing with individual instances of interference. Importantly, NAB points to the need to move AM IBOC forward with FM IBOC, so as not to risk leaving AM behind," the organization said in its filing.

Conference Calls Q2 2005

Susquehanna files mixed Q2
A day after delaying its quarterly report because of an SEC letter (8/17/05 RBR #161), Susquehanna Media has cleared things up and filed its Q2 numbers. Radio revenues were down 3% to 62.2 million and operating income decreased 13% to 16.8 million. Cable revenues increased 5% to 48.6 million, but operating income decreased 12% to 6.5 million. All in all, revenues were essentially flat, rising 500K to 111.8 million, while operating income decreased 25% to 18.3 million, due to the lower operating income at both divisions and recognition of a 2.1 million impairment to the value of its SusQtech (Susquehanna Technologies) operation. The company already has deals in place to sell most of SusQtech's assets. As was publicly announced months ago, it is currently assessing bids to sell its radio and cable assets.

Adbiz©

WPP taps head of Grey Worldwide
Former Euro RSCG CEO Jim Heekin has finalized a deal to join WPP Group's Grey Worldwide as CEO, succeeding Ed Meyer. The agency has been run for 35 years by Meyer, Grey Global Group's 78-year-old CEO and Chairman. When WPP bought Grey Global last year for 1.52 billion, Meyer was given a two-year contract. At the time, he agreed to find a new CEO to run Grey Worldwide. Heekin's hiring caps an 11-month search. WPP has been looking to fill the post since it acquired Grey Worldwide parent, Grey Global Group, last summer. Grey Worldwide NY is especially important because it handles a large portion of Procter & Gamble's advertising.

Outback narrows review to three
Outback Steakhouse said it is looking at three finalists for creative on its 90 million national broadcast account. Kaplan Thaler Group, Euro RSCG and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners remain; five undisclosed agencies were eliminated. Incumbent David and Goliath declined to defend.

George Foreman to launch
health & fitness equipment
George Foreman, the boxing champ also famous for marketing the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine and a line of clothing for big Casual Male Retail Group, is now co-chairman of George Foreman Enterprises (GFE), formerly MM Companies. GFE has entered into an agreement with Foreman giving the company exclusive future use of his name, likeness, and personal services. The company said it is now formulating plans to go public and produce a line of George Foreman health and fitness equipment. "George Foreman Enterprises, Inc. is a unique venture and great opportunity to create a lifestyle brand that harnesses the power of the George Foreman name," Seymour Holtzman, co-chairman and CEO of George Foreman Enterprises, said in a statement. "The worldwide brand recognition of George Foreman, along with his unparalleled successes as a product endorser, will resonate well with consumers in today's challenging marketing environment. People immediately connect with George, and this connection is the answer that all marketers seek. Our aim will be to capitalize on this asset."

Media Business Report

Time Warner goes south of the border
Doing exactly the opposite of what Carl Icahn is pushing for, Time Warner has expanded its magazine publishing business by acquiring Mexico's Grupo Editorial Expansion (GEE). Terms weren't announced, but the price tag was rumored to be in the 50-75 million range. GEE is described by T-W as "the premier publisher of high-end consumer and business magazines in Mexico." Its portfolio of 15 titles includes Expansion, GEE's flagship magazine and Mexico's leading business magazine, and Quien, a bi-weekly celebrity/personality magazine that carries more advertising pages than any other periodical in Mexico. The Latin American market isn't entirely new to T-W - - it already distributes Spanish versions of some US titles, such as People, in Mexico and Central and South America - - but this is its first local acquisition in the region. "Given the outstanding success that British publisher IPC [acquired in 2001] has enjoyed in the UK and Australia, we are confident in furthering our international expansion by acquiring GEE," said Ann Moore, Chairman and CEO of Time Inc., T-W's publishing unit. This is not the first time that GEE has had a US owner. Seller Editorial Medcom S.A. de C.V., a Mexican corporation, bought it from the Walt Disney Company in 1993. GEE had been owned by Chilton Publishing, which was acquired by Capital Cities prior to its merger with ABC, which then was acquired by Disney.

Media Markets & MoneyTM

What's cookin' in McCook?
GI Family Radio is getting a pair of FM stations in McCook NE. KSWN-FM & KIOD-FM are coming from Austin McCook LLC for an undisclosed price. According to brokers Jody McCoy and Tom McKinley of Media Services Group, the pair of stations will be run as McCook Family Radio under terms of an LMA commencing 9/1/05. McCook is located in an Arbitron-free zone in the southwestern corner of Nebraska.

LEN enters Augusta GA
A subsidiary of Latin Entertainment Group is moving into the Augusta GA market with a 686K deal for WNRR-AM. Anthony M. Hernandez, Antonio Hernandez, Scott Wood and Thomas McCoy are principals of the group, which is buying the station under the licensee name of Enye Radio Broadcasting of Augusta, Georgia LLC. The seller is Michael J. Sbuttoni's Eastern Broadcast Group. The entire purchase price will be made in payments, starting with rent checks for an LMA which began 7/1/05. 50% of that will count toward the total, with the balance making the segue into promissory note form.

Washington Beat

There may yet be a
SCOTUS air war
The nomination of John G. Roberts to the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) started off quietly enough, but in the time since his name was put forth, Senate Democrats have had a chance to do some research. Despite complaints about a lack of cooperation from the White House in complying with requests for certain documents, the Dems are getting material fro Archives, and some, particularly Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT), do not like what they see. "In influential White House and Department of Justice positions, John Roberts expressed views that were among the most radical being offered by a cadre intent on reversing decades of policies on civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, privacy, and access to justice," said Leahy, who went on to tick off a number of specifics. "He advocated overturning a Nixon-era Executive Order that assures non-discrimination in federal contracting; he mocked the efforts of women legislators to find a way to remedy the effects of sex discrimination; he wrote of a 'so-called right to privacy' and 'so-called fundamental rights;' he opposed efforts to make the voting rights act more effective; and he championed efforts to strip courts of their ability to grant remedies to civil rights plaintiffs, taking a position more extreme than conservative political appointees in the Reagan Justice Department."

RBR observation: A pitched battle among political watchdogs was expected to be waged over the airwaves well before Sandra Day O'Connor announced her intention to step down from the nation's highest bench. Robert's relatively quiet personality and history put a damper on that initially (notable exceptions notwithstanding). However, Democrats may be digging in their heels - - Leahy's comments were echoed by Howard Dean over at the Democratic National Committee. If that happens, the expected battle may take place in September when Roberts' confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin.

Media buyers said to be down on consolidation
Media Life magazine, a trade publication for media buyers, has polled its members and found overwhelming support for stopping any further deregulation of broadcast ownership rules. The mag said that most felt it dealing with large conglomerates harmed their negotiation platform. 75% agreed that further dereg was "absurd," and 80% thought that program quality is damaged do to less competition and less innovation. Over 80% think further dereg is doomed. 55% believe that if Chairman Kevin Martin continues on the deregulatory road blazed by predecessor Michael Powell, he'll follow the path all the way to a thumbs down by the courts. Another 27% think that new rules won't even make it out of the Commission. If Media Life readers are correct, Martin can expect little help from the White House - - 70% think broadcast ownership deregulation is off the radar screen of President Bush.

Programming

Garofalo joins "West Wing"
It's not likely that liberal Air America Radio talk host Janeane Garofalo would get a warm welcome in the current West Wing of the White House, but she's landed a role on NBC's "The West Wing." The activist actress will guest star in three episodes as a successful but controversial media strategist who is hired by Democratic Congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) as the new director of communications for his intense presidential campaign. "The West Wing" is from John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. John Wells serves as the executive producer. Aaron Sorkin is the creator.

Engineering

Old FM band gets revisited
The FCC has granted a full five-year experimental license to WA2XMN, the experimental station on 42.8 MHz at the Armstrong Tower in Alpine, NJ. Steve Hemphill, the Philadelphia engineer who came up with the idea to revive the old FM band and who built the WA2XMN Phasitron transmitter, says the plan now is to try to recreate Armstrong's networking experiments from Alpine to various New England mountaintops, beginning with Mt. Asnebumskit in Paxton, Mass, reports NorthEast Radio Watch. Needless to say, the same power applied to 42.8 mHz will send a signal further than the current FM band of 88.1 to 107.9 mHz.

Transactions

300K WBMI-FM West Branch MI from Independent Television Productions of Michigan Inc. (Peggy R. Warner) to Kevin and Alana Beamish. 15K escrow, 60K cash at closing, 225K note. [File date 7/12/05.]

250K WBVQ-FM Barrackville WV from Cat Radio Inc. (Richard H. McGraw, Karen McGraw) to Descendants Trust, Lauren M. Kelly, Trustee. Cash. [File date 7/12/05.]

Stock Talk

Stocks move up a bit
Oil prices retreated, so stock prices moved up on Wednesday. The Dow Industrials rose 37 points, or 0.4%, to 10,551.

Radio stocks were little changed. The Radio Index edged up 0.424, or 0.2%, to 206.725. Saga rose 2.2% and Salem fell 2.2% as the day's biggest movers.

Radio Stocks

**Here's how stocks fared on Wednesday**
Company	Symbol	Close		Change	Company	Symbol	Close		Change
Arbitron	ARB		42.56	+0.63	Jeff-Pilot	JP		49.86	+0.31
Beasley	BBGI		14.30	+0.15	Journal Comm.	JRN		15.92	-0.04
Citadel	CDL		13.51	+0.08	Radio One, Cl. A	ROIA		13.81	+0.15
Clear Channel	CCU		33.92	+0.56	Radio One, Cl. D	ROIAK		13.80	+0.10
Cox Radio	CXR		15.35	-0.12	Regent	RGCI		5.51	unch
Cumulus	CMLS		12.69	-0.03	Saga Commun.	SGA		14.10	+0.30
Disney	DIS		26.29	+0.03	Salem Comm.	SALM		18.59	-0.41
Emmis	EMMS		21.32	+0.04	Sirius Sat. Radio	SIRI		6.56	unch
Entercom	ETM		33.46	+0.01	Spanish Bcg.	SBSA		7.79	-0.11
Entravision	EVC		7.98	-0.09	Univision	UVN		27.11	+0.12
Fisher	FSCI		45.06	+0.32	Viacom, Cl. A	VIA		35.16	+0.30
Gaylord	GET		44.80	+0.48	Viacom, Cl. B	VIAb		35.04	+0.27
Hearst-Argyle	HTV		25.77	-0.20	Westwood One	WON		20.81	+0.09
Interep	IREP		0.68	-0.01	XM Sat. Radio	XMSR		33.04	+0.24
International Bcg.	IBCS		0.01	unch	-	-	-	-	-

Bounceback

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Radio Media Moves

CCRS ups two
Cheryl Cooper and Ruth Roman have each been promoted to Vice President/Research at Katz's Clear Channel Radio Sales - - Cooper in the East and Roman in the West. Both have had parallel careers of late, having joined Katz Media Group in 1999 and most recently serving as Co-Directors of National Research.

Goldberg to WSKQ
Spanish Broadcasting System announced the appointment of JoAnn Goldberg as Local Sales Manager of WSKQ-FM NYC, replacing the recently retired Bill Kehlbeck. Goldberg spent the last 20 years at Interep.

Two Bucs to WLVU
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Mark Royals and Jeff Carlson have moved to Genesis' WLVU-AM to host AM 1470's live "Motorsports of Tampa Pre-Game Show" before each Bucs home game. They were formerly on Clear Channel's WDAE-AM.

Kelly returns
After three years away, Rick Kelly has returned to Beasley's KSTJ-FM Las Vegas to host mid-days.

Lisa Hirsch joins Sirius
She's now Director of Talent and Industry Relations. Hirsch is a former top Director of Marketing and Production Management at Virgin Records and Senior Director of Artist Relations at Universal Records, and will be responsible for the procurement of all musical and non musical guest appearances for Sirius' originally produced channels.

International

Nielsen International acquires KADD in
South Korea
Nielsen Media Research International has acquired Korea Advanced Digital Data Inc. (KADD) and its subsidiary, BasisNet, South Korea's largest advertising monitoring and intelligence companies. With the acquisition of KADD and BasisNet, Nielsen Media Research International now offers Advertising Information Services in all major Asian markets, creating the most precise, comprehensive measures available of Asia Pacific advertising trends across all major media.

August Digital Magazine
Now Available

News / Talk
Is a teapot the proper Venue for the VNR tempest?

Engineered For Profit
Entercom VP/Engineering Marty Hadfield tells it like it is

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RBR Radar 2005

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

Dole goes to bat for reporters shield
Ex-US Senator and Republican 1996 presidential standard-bearer Bob Dole has taken to the pages of the New York Times to express support for a bipartisan bill which would create a national reporters shield, allowing reporters leeway when trying to protect the identities of anonymous sources.
RBR observation: The only people who need fear whistle-blowers are those in danger of being the object of the whistle. Maybe that's why there seems to be a shortage of politicians who are willing to stand up and speak out against this bill. That's the cynical view, anyway. Maybe it's just so obvious that the shield is a necessary tool for journalists that everyone who goes on the record takes the high road. The test will be putting on the floor for a vote. Will that happen or will this go into the same holding cell as the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004...we mean 2005?
08/17/05 RBR #161

Spot loads down, rates up
Harris Nesbitt analyst Lee Westerfield confirms that radio inventory was cut in July - - by an average of 7.5% in the top 10 markets, with Clear Channel cutting far more - - a whopping 26.5% from a year ago. And he notes that "yield per minute" is increasing, as reported by CCU and some other groups in their quarterly conference calls. Even so, says Westerfield, "We caution investors that radio may at best be able to achieve our +1.6% growth forecast for the year."
RBR observation: But back to the yield-per-minute news, which is where the long-term good news lies. Westerfield calculates that revenue per minute increased 7-8% in July for the top 10 markets. That's what will make LIM worthwhile for Clear Channel and for other groups who are also cutting inventory to push up prices. It will, however, take time.
08/16/05 RBR #160

Tepid growth for broadcast
That is what Veronis, Suhler sees projects a shift from advertiser-supported media to media where consumers make their own selections - - with more marketing dollars following them to those new media entities. As such, projecting unimpressive growth for broadcasting over the next few years. "We believe the broadcast radio sector is transitioning from a growth business to a mature one," the report says. With radio revenues expected to rise only 2.7% this year (which is higher than many Wall Street estimates), VSS is projecting that radio revenues will rise at a compound annual rate of 4% through 2009. The forecast isn't much better for TV. VSS sees the spikes in even years (election/Olympics) becoming less pronounced than in the past five years due to such challenges as DVRs and increased competition from cable and the Internet.
08/16/05 RBR #160

MBR -- Is Rupert about to Blinkx?
News Corporation was working on an acquisition in the Internet search arena. In his view, it was a very important acquisition, although he said he doubted that Wall Street would think it very significant. Blinkx, a privately held Internet search engine (blinkx.com). What apparently makes the company so attractive to Murdoch is that its voice recognition software searches podcasts, Internet videos and, yes, even TV, not just text. RBR observation: The connection is obvious. With Blinkx, News Corp. would be able to provide viewers with a way to search for programs of interest on its broadcast and cable networks - - and likely license it to other broadcasters (both radio and TV) as well. Rupert and his Team with Roger Ailes see beyond today or just now. It is today, tomorrow, next week and next year.
08/16/05 RBR #160

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General Manager

Saga Communications Brad Eure retires and we seek his replacement with a radio professional that has passion and commitment to the radio business to take the leadership at WWWV / WQMZ & WINA Charlottesville, VA. Saga, we believe in our people. Interested then tell us about yourself. -

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