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BBiTV Resolves, Dismisses DISH Patent Infringement Suit

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

Broadband iTV Inc., the Austin, Texas-based company that considers itself as one of the pioneers of video-on-demand, has filed a dismissal of its patent infringement lawsuit against DISH Network LLC relating to video-on-demand, set-top box and related technologies.

In a brief statement, BBiTV CEO Clifton Kagawa said, “We are pleased to have the litigation completed and are proud of BBiTV’s patented technologies. BBiTV developed and owns a portfolio of more than 70 issued U.S. patents, comprised entirely of technologies developed by BBiTV inventor and Chief Technology Officer Milton Diaz Perez (pictured, top left), based on his work over several decades. BBiTV developed the underlying technology that all of its patents were derived from, and BBiTV has not acquired any of its patents from third parties,” explained Kagawa.

BBiTV is represented by lead counsel Robert Kramer and his team at the law firm Feinberg Day Kramer Alberti Lim Tonkovich & Belloli LLP.

FROM THE RBR+TVBR ARCHIVES:

Pioneering VOD Firm Wins ‘Patent Constructions’ Lawsuit Adam Jacobson A company that considers itself to be one of the pioneers of video-on-demand technology has claimed a small victory in its fight against AT&T, DirecTV, Dish Network and Amazon for copyright infringement of four patents covering streaming media innovations specifically tied to VOD services using the set top box and mobile app technology. A VOD Pioneer Files Another Patent Infringement Suit RBR-TVBR A company that considers itself to be a VOD pioneer in December 2019 filed a patent infringement actions against AT&T, DirecTV and Dish Network — actions that involves four patents covering streaming media innovations specifically tied to VOD services using the set top box and mobile app technology. Now, this same company has sued Amazon. A VOD Pioneer Slaps AT&T With A Patent Infringement Suit Adam Jacobson A company that considers itself to be one of the pioneers of video-on-demand technology has filed a patent infringement action against AT&T — an action that involves four patents covering streaming media innovations specifically tied to VOD services using the set top box and mobile app technology.
RBR-TVBR

Radio Industry Vet Makes Big Gift To University

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

He’s the head of Forever Communications and once was known for his role leading Keymarket Communications.

Now, he’s giving a sizable sum to a Pennsylvania private university for the creation of a state-of-the-art media center for students aspiring to achieve success in the fields of radio, video, podcasts, live streaming, and other forms of broadcasting.

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Adam Jacobson

Salem Says ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ With a Very Relevant Rewind

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

In a deal that’s just been consummated and filed for approval with the Commission, Salem Media Group is adding to its properties in Tampa-St. Petersburg by agreeing to acquire a Class B AM radio station in the market.

The facility, licensed to Brandon, Fla., will help Salem bring a third radio brand to the second-largest market in the Sunshine State. It comes with an FM translator.

And, if these call letters sound familiar, it is because Salem spun the AM and FM translator to this party just two years ago.

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Adam Jacobson

NEXTGEN TV Gets a Demo In D.C.

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

A Class A digital TV station serving the Nation’s Capital, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, has deployed NEXTGEN broadcast transmissions, making it the first facility in the market that’s home to the FCC.

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Adam Jacobson

‘Defective Singetons’ Tossed In New NCE Filing Window

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As previously reported, the filing window for applications for new noncommercial educational FM new station construction permits closed on November 9.

Some 1,282 applications were received; all were reviewed to identify singletons — applications that are not mutually exclusive with any other application filed in the window and can be accepted for filing. Some had defects, the Media Bureau says. And, those defective singleton applications have been dismissed.

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RBR-TVBR

Simington: Don’t Turn the Screw on Broadcasters

Radio World
3 years 5 months ago

“The reality is: It’s hard out there for broadcasters.”

So said FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington, speaking to a meeting of the Ohio Association of Broadcasters.

For the second time in a month, the Republican commissioner made public remarks that were notably sympathetic to radio and TV companies and their struggles when competing with big tech.

“Consider, you know, the smaller broadcasters. The folks who have one, two, or half a dozen stations. Consider how difficult it is for them to achieve efficiencies of scale — consider what their margins look like because they’re smaller operators. Now, is there a single online video platform that is a mom-and-pop operation? Of course not! Every single one is either backed by a massive tech platform, deep-pocketed venture capitalists, or a major network. If not, it’s out of business in a year. …

“Those platforms are competing with mom and pop broadcasters — or, shoot, even established station groups — with operating efficiencies, margins and capital markets backing of which broadcasters dare not dream,” Simington continued.

“Can we seriously think, at this moment, with the arrows pointing in the directions that they are, that we should be making it harder for these small, regulated entities to operate? You are all already burdened by a raft of regulations designed for a bygone era while your insurgent online competitors have functionally none of the same constraints. Should we now turn the screw?”

[See more of our coverage of the FCC.]

Simington noted that the FCC will soon again consider media regulation in a quadrennial proceeding. Echoing frequent arguments made by the NAB about how the commission defines broadcasters’ marketplace, Simingon said that the commission needs to recognize that online media platforms are growing rapidly “and threaten dominance over traditional media platforms,” and that “broadcast advertising revenue has flatlined, having been siphoned off from higher margin online platforms.”

The commissioner said he is “not necessarily” arguing for more regulation of big tech — “Not everything is a regulatory problem. Maybe this one is. I don’t know” — but he said regulators need to be “clear-eyed about where the power has shifted. It is away from broadcasters. Away from networks. Even away from traditional MVPDs. And toward online platforms. And if we are going to talk about serving as a check against uncontrolled concentration of media power that is presumably antithetical to consumer welfare — well. The conversation need not end at online platforms, but it must at least start with them.”

His full text is posted.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Simington: Don’t Turn the Screw on Broadcasters appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

Media Bureau Order Fuels Foreign Sponsorship ID Fight

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

In August, the NAB; Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC); and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging a FCC order mandating disclosures for foreign government-sponsored programming.

On Wednesday (12/8) the FCC’s Media Bureau, led by Michelle Carey, issued an Order denying a stay petition filed by the three groups — a move that only furthers growing tension between the nation’s largest broadcast media advocacy group and the agency now officially led by Jessica Rosenworcel.

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Adam Jacobson

Best in Market 2021 Program Guide

Radio World
3 years 5 months ago

Read about all the products nominated for our awards program, including the Radio World winners announced in the fall of 2021.

This is the award program that normally is held at the spring NAB Show, which was postponed to this fall and later cancelled.

The guide is a great way to catch up on the new products of 2022 across radio and related industries.

 

The post Best in Market 2021 Program Guide appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

Media Bureau To Evers: Sell WPYO, WSUN In 60 Days

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

In what some may call a direct admonition of Elliot Evers‘ “CXR Radio Station Trust” and its lobbying efforts to the FCC conducted by respected communications attorney David Oxenford, the Chief of the Media Bureau has ordered the divestment of two FM radio stations in Florida to transpire no more than 60 days past the current deadline date of December 17.

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Adam Jacobson

Gary Wachter Dies, Engineer in Southwest U.S.

Radio World
3 years 5 months ago

Colleagues are remembering Texas-based radio engineer Gary Wachter, who died in November. He was 65.

According to his friend and fellow engineer Melissa Hussel, Wachter had carcinoma cancer and died at home. He is survived by his son, Matt, of South Carolina.

Wachter was chief engineer of Service Broadcasting in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and a familiar face at SBE Chapter 67 meetings.

Hussel said Wachter, whose mother was a German citizen, was born in Waco but spent part of his childhood in Germany. He remembered hanging around the projector booth of the movie theater on a military base, fascinated by the carbon arc projectors; late in life he would find enough parts to make his own at home.

Back in the United States Wachter entered the radio business in high school and was on the air in Corpus Christi using the name Wires Wachter; he worked at KEYS(AM) and KRYS(AM) as well as the local PBS station.

Discovering he enjoyed technical work more, he took an engineering job at KTSA(AM) in San Antonio around 1976, working there until 1984 as chief engineer, a stint that included a full studio buildout and installation of a Kahn AM stereo system. Subsequently he worked as chief at KFYI(AM) and KKFR(FM) in Phoenix, where he built out studios in a former TV station.

Around 2000 he came to Dallas and started as chief at Service Broadcasting, which owns KKDA(AM/FM) and KRNB(FM) nearby. Wachter led a facility move from Grand Prairie to Arlington, Texas, that involved another studio buildout, and handled an FM antenna upgrade for KRNB.

“He was very driven,” she said. “A fellow engineer once said that his transmitter suite was ‘so clean, you could eat off the floor,’ and he wasn’t wrong. Gary had a high work ethic, and always went above and beyond.”

Colleague and longtime friend Mike Chittenden said Wachter also wrote a software program for a Gentner VRC transmitter remote control and a screener program for Telos phone systems.

Messages to his family can be posted at the website of Rolling Oaks Funeral Home.

The post Gary Wachter Dies, Engineer in Southwest U.S. appeared first on Radio World.

Paul McLane

Late Form Leads to $3,000 Forfeiture for Auction Winner

Radio World
3 years 5 months ago

All those forms — long and short, pre- and post-auction — must be filed on time when applying for a new construction permit with the Federal Communications Commission.

That’s the situation a licensee finds itself in after applying for a new FM broadcast construction permit in Hugo, Colo.

ScarboroughRadio LLC took part in the July auction (known as Auction 109) and was deemed to be a winning bidder of the Hugo permit. Winning bidders were required to file a post-auction long-form application — specifically FCC Form 2100, Schedule 301. And bidders were reminded through a Public Notice that if a winning bidder fails to submit the required application before the deadline — and also fails to establish a good reason for the delay — their application will be dismissed and they will be subject to a forfeiture payment.

In Scarborough’s case, it submitted its long-form application more than two weeks past the deadline, according to the FCC. It also did not request any sort of waiver to explain the late filing.

As a result, the Media Bureau sent a notice of apparent liability for forfeiture to Scarborough after finding that the licensee violated the FCC rules by failing to file the post-auction Form 2100 application on time.

[See more of our coverage of FCC actions.]

Ordinarily, as the Media Bureau has said, a winning bidder that fails to file the required long-form application on time is deemed to be in default. That typically means that the application is dismissed and the licensee is subject to payments laid out in the commission’s rules.

But sometimes special circumstances might lead the bureau to determine that a late-filed application can still be accepted. In this case, the bureau noted that Scarborough complied with all previous Auction 109 requirements. The bureau also noted that the licensee made a late payment on the balance of its auction bid just before filing its long-form application. And it said that the FM licensing process was not significantly delayed by Scarborough’s late filing.

“We find it in the public interest to avoid a delay in implementing new service to Hugo, Colo., by having to re-auction the FM construction permit, and therefore on our own motion grant a waiver as discussed below,” the bureau said in the order it released.

However, even though the commission agreed to accept the late-filed long-form application, the bureau still found that Scarborough failed to comply with the rules and said it would grant the construction application on the premise that Scarborough will submit a $3,000 forfeiture.

The licensee has 30 days to either pay or file a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Late Form Leads to $3,000 Forfeiture for Auction Winner appeared first on Radio World.

Susan Ashworth

Digital Radio Tackles Green Challenge

Radio World
3 years 5 months ago

The author is project director for WorldDAB.

With the recent COP26 conference in Glasgow highlighting the global need to tackle climate change, a new study from Germany has showed how digital radio can help broadcasters reduce energy usage. Describing DAB+ as “green radio,” the report says on broadcasting a single service, between 70 and 90 percent of energy can be saved by switching from FM to DAB+.

The Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting (BLM) and the Bavarian Public Broadcaster, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), in partnership with network operators and receiver manufacturers, compared the energy consumption of broadcasting and receiving radio programs via FM and DAB+.

In Bavaria, all services by private radio providers and BR are available via DAB+. With around 13 million inhabitants, 16 percent of Germany’s population lives in the state.

The studies showed that, with a comparable supply, the energy consumption when broadcasting a program via DAB+ is significantly lower than FM. BR would save around 75 percent per station, while Antenne Bayern would save 85 percent in energy if its audio service were broadcast exclusively via DAB+. Other providers in Germany see similar potential reductions.

Given the extensive infrastructure that radio broadcasting operates, the research found that the cumulative resulting effect is considerable.

The report also identified that significant energy savings would also be possible by replacing Germany’s 122 million FM radios. Although most new receivers are often equipped with additional functions such as displays or wi-fi, their power consumption has dropped by around 40 percent in recent years.

The findings of the report, “Green Radio: A Comparison of Energy Consumption on FM and DAB+” were featured at the recent WorldDAB Summit, which saw the publication of an English-language translation of the report.

[See our coverage WorldDAB Summit 2021]

Concentration of DAB Stations Across Germany as of January 2021 (Courtesy WorldDAB)

Speaking at the Summit to 500 delegates from around the world, Veit Olischläger, head of technology, media management and public relations at BLM, said: “As we know, climate change is a challenge for all of us. We asked what broadcasters can do — so we made an examination of the potential savings of energy consumption for transmission, FM versus DAB+, and reception.”

“Broadcasting via DAB+ saves up to 90 percent of energy,” added Olischläger. “And regardless of DAB+, the greatest energy saving effects would be achieved just by replacing older FM sets.”

In Bavaria, 42 percent of the population aged 14 and over already have at least one DAB+ receiver in their household.

Radio World invites industry-oriented commentaries and responses. Send to Radio World.

The post Digital Radio Tackles Green Challenge appeared first on Radio World.

Bernie O'Neill

‘Gate City’ Opens Doors to NEXTGEN TV

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

Tournament Town has turned the page on how local broadcast television can be distributed and received by viewers.

Thanks, in part, to broadcast data network builder BitPath, the NEXTGEN TV train has rolled into Greensboro-Winston Salem. And, the market debut for NEXTGEN TV involves Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Hearst Television.

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Adam Jacobson

From Frito-Lay To MadHive for a Marketing Veteran

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

Until August, he was Chief Marketing Officer at Publicis-owned Epsilon. Earlier in his career, he spent some 3 years in a similar role at what is now TEGNA Marketing Solutions.

Now, he’s the CMO for a SaaS provider working with broadcast media in the digital realm.

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Adam Jacobson

The Large Advertiser Difference For TV, With Shaky Audio Trends

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

“As we reach the end of 2021, advertising growth is showing much faster expansion than previously anticipated, driven primarily by growth in the U.S., U.K. and China.”

That’s the highly optimistic conclusion of distinguished Global President of Business Intelligence at groupM, Brian Wieser, who recently appeared on the InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. 

Where do television and audio advertising measure up? He’s crunched the numbers and has some intriguing conclusions. For audio industry players, the future isn’t so bright.

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Adam Jacobson

Skip Dillard: The New Kid On ‘The Block’

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

NEW YORK — When it comes to radio programming executives most closely associated to superserving the African American consumer across the New York Tri-State Area, none perhaps comes close in recent memory to Skip Dillard.

For the past year, Dillard has served as VP of National and Community Partnerships for iconic Adult R&B FM WBLS and its hip-hop sibling, WQHT (Hot 97), under the ownership of Mediaco, the joint venture between Soo Kim’s Standard General and Jeff Smulyan’s Emmis Communications. For 12 years before that, Dillard was VP of Programming and Operations Manager for WBLS and Emmis-owned WLIB-AM in New York.

Now, Dillard has moved to 345 Hudson Street, and is now the Brand Manager for recently launched Rhythmic Adult Contemporary and classic hip-hop formatted WXBK-FM “94.7 The Block.”

The move solidifies the musical direction of the station, which is mass appeal and designed to attract Millennials who were raised on Ice Cube, Jay-Z, SWV, Ja Rule, 2PAC, and Aaliyah. Dillard will oversee WXBK’s full portfolio of broadcast, digital and live experience assets.

In explaining the selection of Dillard to lead “The Block,” Audacy/New York SVP/Market Manager Chris Oliviero said, “Skip knows the music, the artists, the community and this city and has a depth of knowledge and relationships that make him the premiere choice to be the building block for this new brand. His arrival solidifies our commitment to making classic hip hop and throwbacks a vibrant sound on the New York dial, and we are excited to welcome him to The Block.”

Dillard added, “I am truly grateful for the opportunity to join the Audacy team here in New York City. There’s nothing quite like the chance to build a new, fun and exciting station for the greater New York City area that will be rooted in the community. I am honored to accept the challenge.”

Dillard’s career in radio began at Hampton University’s WHOV-FM 88.1 as a student, working at the Smooth Jazz FM serving the Norfolk area. Early in his career, he worked in multiple radio markets as both a talent and programmer. Among the stations on Dillard’s resume: WPGC-FM in Washington, D.C.; WOWI-FM in Norfolk; WMXD-FM in Detroit: WBLK-FM in Buffalo; and WYLD-FM in New Orleans. He was recently reappointed to his second two-year term to serve on the FCC‘s Communications Equity and Diversity Council.

In a recent interview with AllAccess.com, Dillard was asked when and why he decided to go into radio. He replied, “I was a music junkie who’s love of radio as a child drove me to try out for my college radio station at Hampton. I failed the first audition, but someone said, ‘let’s give him one more try.’ After graduation, it seemed like every door opening for me was coming from the radio industry regardless of whatever else I tried (law enforcement, Air traffic controller, Ad agency rep, video producer, etc.).”

Also asked what frustrates him the most about the radio and the music industry, Dillard replied, “Lack of vision at times from the top and lack of investment in people. We’re also sometimes too slow to innovate.”

Now, Dillard will have the chance to innovate at a station that on October 22 dropped Country to embrace programming that would have broader appeal in the Big Apple.

Adam Jacobson

Sennheiser HD 400 PRO Studio Headphones Debut

Radio World
3 years 5 months ago
Sennheiser HD 400 PRO Studio Headphones

Sennheiser has introduced its new HD 400 PRO studio reference headphones, intended for use in mixing, editing and mastering applications.

Built around a lightweight, open-back design fitted with soft velour ear pads, they are the first open studio headphones in Sennheiser’s PRO line, and offer a wide frequency response of 6 to 38,000 Hz.

The Sennheiser-developed 120-ohm transducers include a diaphragm made from a proprietary polymer blend; working with the headphones’ driver magnets, according to Sennheiser, the diaphragm is expected to provide deeper bass. Distortion is below 0.05% (measured at 1 kHz, 90 dB SPL), and the headphones are said to accurately reproduces audio beyond the audible frequency range.

[Check Out More Products at Radio World’s Products Section]

The headphone transducers sit at a slight angle, aiming to emulate the triangular listening position used when listening to monitor loudspeakers in a studio. This, along with the open-back design of the headphones is intended to provide a neutral soundstage.

The headphones are built around an ultra-light frame; the earcups feature soft velour earpads and the open, circumaural design offers ventilation for ears during long mixing sessions. The headphones come with a 3-meter coiled cable and a 1.8-meter straight cable, both fitted with a 3.5 mm (1/8″) jack plug for portable sources. A 6.3 mm (1/4″) adapter is included, ensuring that the HD 400 PRO connects to a typical mixing desk or audio interface.

The HD 400 PRO is available now and retails at US $249 (MSRP).

Send your new equipment news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Sennheiser HD 400 PRO Studio Headphones Debut appeared first on Radio World.

Mix Editorial Staff

T-R-R-S: A new computer wiring protocol?

Radio World
3 years 5 months ago
A comparison of Tip-Ring-Sleeve and Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve plugs.

Consultant Frank Hertel of Newman-Kees RF Measurement needed to create a special audio interface recently.

He said he was not aware of a protocol for wiring Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve connectors, which are prevalent on laptop computers with only one audio jack.

The first image shows the difference between the typical Tip-Ring-Sleeve, with which most readers are familiar, and Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve connectors.

What surprised Frank was that the positive voltage for powering the electret mic is on the Sleeve of the Tip-Ring-Sleeve-Sleeve connector, and the Shield/Common/Ground connection for the electret mic and left and right outputs for the headphones are on one of the Ring connections, the one closest to the Sleeve (which, remember, is the positive voltage for powering the electret mic).

Therefore, if you want to connect any audio source other than the electret mic, you will need to add a DC blocking capacitor between the Sleeve and the hot phase wire of your external audio source (since that source does not require a DC voltage).

The hot signal wire from that source connects to the Sleeve of the Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve connector, through the blocking capacitor.

Frank said with a laugh that the protocol seems so foreign to the common one we used for years, in which the Sleeve is the connection for the Shield/Common/Ground. He suspects someone had a hangover when they decided to come up with this one.

He adds this note: When connecting an external audio source via the DC blocking capacitor, you may need to attach a resistor between the Sleeve (input) and the Ring (Shield/Common/Ground). If some current doesn’t flow between these connections, the computer’s input may not be activated. If you find that a resistor is required, a 2.2 K-ohm should do the job.

Computers vary. The best approach may be to add a 10 MFD DC blocking capacitor in series with the high lead of the external audio device, as well as the 2.2 K-ohm resistor connected across the Sleeve and the Ring terminals.

What is your experience? Email your thoughts to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

Stop the sound of silence

Contract and projects engineer Dan Slentz enjoys sharing clever, inexpensive ways of doing things.

He told us about a freeware silence sensor from Pira.cz. The software monitors the presence of an audio signal on a stereo program line or PC soundcard. When no signal is present for a specified time, pre-defined solutions activate.

This is useful for monitoring an STL feed or hard-drive playout system where continuous audio is required. If the audio drops below your chosen threshold, the Pira.cz Silence Detector will switch to a backup and notify you with an email alert.

Next, with COVID easing, you may see guests returning to your studios. If so, you know the importance of a “cough switch” on each microphone.

Dan found a compact, reasonably priced aluminum box that permits the user to toggle the mic on and off, so the box has dual usage — for the “Voice of God” in a stage manager’s TV studio setting, or a momentary mute cough switch for individual mics in an interview studio. Built for the pro audio industry, it is from AudioMan Products. At audiomanproducts.com, scroll down to “Push to Talk Ver. 2.”

Dan says the muting of the mic is quiet — no pops or clicks when the mute button is depressed. Plus, construction is solid, and it’s built with Neutrik XLR connectors.

The AudioMan Push to Talk Ver. 2 will work with dynamic or phantom-powered condenser microphones wired with balanced three-pin connectors. I’ve saved the best part for last: Push to Talk Ver. 2 is just $59, and quantity discounts are available.

An ideal addition to any talk/interview studio.

What’s the frequency, Workbench?

Finally, Tektronix is offering a free download of its colorful Worldwide Spectrum Allocations poster. We thank Brad Ohdner of Tektronix for sharing this resource with Workbench readers.

You can download this Tektronix Frequency Allocations Chart.

John Bisset, CPBE, has more than 50 years of broadcast experience and is in his 31st year at the Radio World Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award.

Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.

The post T-R-R-S: A new computer wiring protocol? appeared first on Radio World.

John Bisset

New Emergency Alerting Toolkit Introduced for IPAWS

Radio World
3 years 5 months ago

A new IPAWS planning toolkit has been made available for alerting authorities and broadcasters interested in learning more about the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.

Using the program planning toolkit, alerting agencies can create a customized plan tailored to their agency’s operational capabilities. The kit contains step-by-step directions for creating an alerting program plan and offers customized resources, best practices and program templates to aid federal, state, local, tribal and territorial groups as they’re developing their individual alerting programs.

[Read more from us about IPAWS]

The toolkit was developed by the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate, working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s IPAWS system.

“Getting information to the public in a timely manner saves lives,” the IPAWS staff wrote in an email introducing the new application.

“The new toolkit will assist public safety agencies in developing comprehensive alerting plans that minimize alerting delay challenges; plan for future alerts, warnings, and notifications enhancements; facilitate interoperability across different technologies; and improve information sharing among emergency management and public safety officials.”

The post New Emergency Alerting Toolkit Introduced for IPAWS appeared first on Radio World.

Susan Ashworth

Gray Television Expands National Investigative Unit

Radio+Television Business Report
3 years 5 months ago

ATLANTA – Gray Television has expanded its National Investigative Team, known as InvestigateTV.

This saw a series of promotions and additions to the team.

  • Lee Zurik rises from Director of Investigations to Vice President of Investigations. Lee oversees the National Investigative Team in addition to anchoring and reporting at WVUE-TV in New Orleans.
  • Executive Producer of Investigations Jamie Grey is promoted to Managing Editor of
    Investigations. Jamie has been with the team since 2018 producing stories, coordinating coverage and leading training events.
  • Greg Phillips, News Director at WMC-5 in Memphis, is now Executive Producer of Investigations. In this position, Phillips returns to his investigative background, which
    includes eight years as Assistant News Director/Special Projects Director with the investigative team at WVUE.
  • Gray has hired Daniela Molina as Investigative Producer. She is a recent graduate of the Arnolt Center for Journalism at Indiana University. This past year, she worked with InvestigateTV on its “Bridging The Great Health Divide” initiative.

The National Investigative Team intends to add an additional reporter and a photographer early next year.

“The expansion of our National Investigative Unit reinforces our commitment to strong
investigative journalism,” Gray Television Senior Vice President Sandy Breland said. “We’re proud of the work of this unit that is having a real impact in the communities we serve.”

The National Investigative Team/InvestigateTV produces stories for Gray’s 113 television stations and the InvestigateTV OTT App on Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV. Early
this year, the team debuted a weekly InvestigateTV show that airs on all Gray stations.

InvestigateTV launched in 2018 and provides innovative, original journalism from a
dedicated investigative team and partners, including ProPublica, News21 at Arizona State
University’s Cronkite School of Journalism, and NerdWallet. It is available on Roku, Amazon
Fire, at InvestigateTV.com and across Gray’s broadcast and digital media properties.

RBR-TVBR

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