Industry News

Broadcasters are pushing back hard on the Federal Communications Commission’s potential restoration of the mandate that broadcasters file data on the diversity of their workforces and that the data be available to the public, including by blaming Big Tech for some of broadcasting’s diversity recruiting problems.

The annual collection of Form 395-B data on workforce composition (race and gender) has been in limbo for two decades. The filing of the form was suspended in 2001 following an appeals court decision vacating part of the FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) requirements. Even though the FCC in 2004 revised the regulations on filing the form, broadcasters still did not have to file it due to unresolved issues about data confidentiality, issues the FCC is trying to resolve under Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.

In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) issued last July, the FCC said it wanted to “refresh” the record on Form 395-B data collection and related ”legal, logistical and technical issues” of potentially lifting the suspension.

But according to an ex parte filing at the FCC, executives from the National Association of Broadcasters, accompanied by 40 broadcasters — general managers, owners and others — from large and small companies and markets met with staffers for all the commissioners to push back on reinstating the form.

[Related: “FCC Could Recommence Race and Gender Reporting for Broadcaster”]

The broadcasters said they are all for improving diversity, but said restoring the form “would do nothing to help achieve this aim, and in fact, could distract the FCC and industry from more effective actions.”

They suggested one of those actions would be for the FCC to “boost interest” in TV and radio jobs given that broadcasters already were doing “everything in their power to attract and retain diverse talent” against a Big Tech industry draining the workforce.

“Several broadcasters described the hurdles they face in trying to attract a diverse pool of qualified job candidates, or for that matter, any pool of qualified applicants,” the broadcasters told the FCC. “In their recent experience, many job applicants — regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender — are more interested in working for one of the Big Tech companies or some other outlet they perceive as more relevant or cutting-edge, and that typically can afford to pay higher salaries.”

The NAB has also argued to the FCC that the form would pressure broadcasters to give preferential treatment to candidates of a particular gender or race.

Taking quite a different view of the issue was the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC), which had its own meeting last week with FCC officials.

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MMTC took issue with some of the broadcaster pushback, saying that while “career-building opportunities that extol the benefits of broadcast employment are useful, they are not a substitute for enforcement of the EEO Rule.”

While the broadcasters told the FCC that they “already do everything in their power to attract and retain diverse talent,” the MMTC didn’t see it that way. “[N]o amount of career enthusiasm can overcome the ill-will of an employer who chooses not to recruit or equally employ people of color or women,” the group said.

As to the suggestion the form would force broadcasters into unfair hiring practices, the MMTC said: “The reporting of EEO data — whether anonymously or publicly — does not ’pressure‘ licensees to hire preferentially on the basis of race or gender.”

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The post Broadcasters Blame Big Tech for Diversity Deficits appeared first on Radio World.

Salem Media Group will hold its annual stockholders meeting at its principal executive offices, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, on the first Wednesday in May.

The announcement comes on a day when the company’s shares were dipping from a three-year high on Wall Street.

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Its brand has been battered and bruised from a fictional HBO Max series that saw the death of “Mr. Big.” Layoffs came, and sales plummeted.

It hasn’t been great of late for Peloton. Now, a spot cable effort is being used to revive the home cycling athletic brand.

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He’s been associated with a Hearst Communications heritage Rock n’ Roll radio station serving “Charm City” for eight years and has a resume that includes roles at Saga Communications and a top-level role at former WMXJ/Miami and WQSR/Baltimore owner Sconnix Broadcasting. 

Now, this veteran radio industry figure who once served as OM of WIP/Philadelphia and Station Manager of WBZ-AM in Boston has decided to say “Good Morning Baltimore” to his staff one final time come March 31.

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Ferrofish recently introduced its updated A32pro and A32pro Dante multiformat converters and routers. The two new converters feature a newly designed black finish, updated front panel with remote control options and GPIO options for redundancy and DSP expansion.

The A32pro Series is intended for signal conversation and distribution for recording studios, live audio playback systems and broadcast audio facilities, and can also operate as a digital audio format converter and signal router. Audio signals can be freely converted between all analog and digital formats while being simultaneously routed to multiple destinations in blocks of eight channels, allowing for use in a range of professional audio applications. Multiple Ferrofish units can be connected in series to provide large numbers of audio channels in a minimal amount of rack-space thanks to redundant power supplies.

Ferrofish AA32pro Dante Multiformat Converter

Featuring the latest generation of ESS Tech AD/DA converters, the A32pro and A32pro Dante offer multiple connectivity options in a single 1U frame. Both products feature 32 analog inputs and 32 analog outputs on fully balanced 25-pin D-sub connectors. On the digital side, both devices have support for up to 64 channels of MADI I/O via dual SFP slots, which can accommodate either optical or coaxial MADI SFPs and can run in tandem for added redundancy. Up to 32 channels of ADAT optical I/O is provided in each direction with full support to double sample rates of 96 kHz.

A dual-slot bay is provided for future DSP expansion, providing additional processing powered for both unit’s on-board SHARC DSP processor. They also offer a selection of remote-control option,s including Ferrofish’s free REMOTEFISH app. REMOTEFISH can control one or more Ferrofish devices, including all inputs, outputs, monitoring, routing and settings. The A32pro Dante includes 64×64 Dante I/O channels on dual Ethernet ports with redundant functionality.

Other features include a Stereo TRS Main Out with dedicated DAC monitoring path, 32×32 ADAT I/O channels on TOSlink jacks with 96 kHz support, 64×64 MADI I/O channels on LC Multimode SFP module, user exchangeable (with Optical Singlemode and Coax SFP module options available). The units feature word clock I/O on BNC connectors with proprietary jitter reduction circuit and MIDI I/O on 3.5-mm TRS connectors. The GPIO port is included for remote presets for switching and alert monitoring on dSub15. Also included is a dual stereo headphone quarter-inch TRS outputs with HQ-amp modules and a dedicated DAC.

Beyond a four-screen multitouch user interface, the converters feature an illuminated touch-sensitive high-res encoder.

The post New Ferrofish Multiformat Converters and Routers Make Debut appeared first on Radio World.

A well-known Netherlands-based provider of broadcast software products to radio and television companies has agreed to suspend all of its operations in Russia.

The decision was sparked by the ongoing war in Ukraine, which saw the Russian military destroy the main broadcast communications tower in Kyiv, the nation’s capital.

Raoul Wedel, CEO of Wedel Software, confirmed via LinkedIn on Friday that his company will be putting a halt to all of its Russian operations. “Today’s news out of Tsjernihiv and Borodyanka is heartbreaking and are all war crimes,” Wedel said of Russian military incidents that prompted him to stop his company’s activities in Russia. “No company, person or organization should financially support a regime deliberately killing innocent civilians.”

Roughly 20 employees are impacted. “We are sad that the freedoms promised in the 90s did not prevail,” Wedel added.

Via e-mail communication, Wedel confirmed to Weekly Tech Roundup that his company has had a portion of its research and development in Russia for eight years. Interestingly, prior to that it was in Ukraine, for five years. “I have been in the region many times and have many friends an connections there,” he said. “The decision was on one hand heartbreaking, and on the other hand I feel we have no choice. People must unite against these war crimes. We have employees in Donetsk, Rostov on Don, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. None of them support this war and they are just trying to provide for their families. One is actually emigrating because he does not want to pay taxes to the government.”

Wedel notes that the decision will not impact his company in the short term. But, he added, “We will need to regroup our R&D in the near future. Even if the war were to end soon, the country will remain unstable and sanctioned as long as Putin is in power. I hope this story will make more companies consider cutting all their ties with Russia.”

 

An AM/FM pair serving a small city due north of Amarillo is being spun. The deal value includes the studio building and land, station equipment and the broadcast tower.

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(Getty Images/Carolyn-Hebbard)

I’ve never quite gotten over the fascination of having a supercomputer in my pocket.

This is a kid who was thrilled to get his first electronic calculator, even though the most impressive thing I really ever did with the thing was to spell out “shell oil” upside down with the LCD digits.

Growing up, I too hoped for jetpacks and Dick Tracy wristwatches. But I don’t think I really expected ever to be able to have a face-to-face video conversation with my brother from hundreds of miles away on a high-quality screen in my hand.

Now such capability and many others are part of everyday life — if not exactly humdrum, then at least commonplace.

And just when I get accustomed to all the things I can do with my current iPhone, Apple comes out with an even better one. I have barely scratched what my current one can do, on its own or with third-party apps added. But I try to pause and appreciate how incredible these tools really are and how much information we can call on at will, compared to all of the humans who have lived before us.

I’m musing on this because of our story this week, in which I asked a bunch of our friends and readers to tell us about their most useful smartphone apps. Check it out, and let me know your own faves.

Meanwhile, thanks to the internet, I now know that the website Dr. Mike’s Math Games for Kids lists more than 230 words that work for the Upside-Down Calculator Word Game. My childhood “shell oil” would be:

710.77345

That information makes me happy.

The post Indeed There’s an App for That appeared first on Radio World.

It’s another steady-as-she-goes week for advertisers using national radio to reach consumers.

That said, a popular heritage convenience store chain is now in the Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report … and it’s a place we paid $3.59 a gallon for gasoline while visiting St. Petersburg, Fla., on Friday.

Our shout-out goes to Circle K, which has a formidable footprint of quick-mart and fill-up sites across the U.S. With 7 Eleven stores expanding of late and competition in Florida from Philadelphia-area legend WAWA, the convenience store category is hot.

Furthermore, as Mintel research conducted in 2011 shows, African Americans overindex in their frequency and purchasing of goods at convenience stores, compared to the total population. This hasn’t changed today, giving the category a unique opportunity at Radio, given the R&B and hip-hop formats that make FM a prime listener destination in markets with a sizable Black population.

Overall, Circle K is No. 10 on the latest Spot Ten Radio report. It’s the lone new entrant, as Indeed remains the big No. 1 and both Progressive and Babbel continue their strong use of spot radio. In particular, Babbel spots were heard Saturday evening on WWLL-FM in Sebring, Fla., and have been heard on stations in Cambria, Calif.

This illustrates the continued importance of national radio in a media mix, and how brands can capitalize on reaching unique audiences in non-rated markets.

An unidentified presenter in the Radio RMF Ukraina studio as posted to the station’s Facebook page.

Just 30 hours after the idea was developed, RMF Ukraina began broadcasting on FM from Przemyślu, Poland, which is about 6 miles from the border with Ukraine.

The station was launched on Mar. 2 by RMF Grupa, part of the Bauer Media Group and the largest radio group in Poland.

“The Office of Electronic Communications immediately selected the frequency and issued approval for temporary broadcasting, which was agreed to by the KRRiT chairman. We are also very grateful to Emiel, which prepared the broadcasting station from which the program is broadcast within a few hours,” stated Andrzej Mielimonka, president of Multimedia Sp. z.o.o., which oversees the RMF Maxxx network.

From Przemyślu, the station can reach people queuing to cross the border with information in Ukrainian and English about procedures for entering Poland, sources for assistance, healthcare, and job opportunities. The station does not carry advertising.

Public service broadcaster Polskie Radio is also working to reach displaced Ukrainians on both sides of the border. The broadcaster’s international service has long produced Ukrainian-language programming, which is distributed online and via longwave. It also has added real-time transmissions from UA: Ukrainian Radio’s first channel to its DAB multiplexes across the country.

The post RMF Launches New Station for Ukrainian Refugees appeared first on Radio World.