Industry News

In May 2020, he was named VP of Broadcast Operations at RNN, the over-the-air news and information network based in the New York Tri-State area, born out of the former WTZA-62 in Kingston, N.Y.

Now, this individual with experience at a L.A. UHF station and, before that, at a Tribune property in Portland, Ore., is joining Sinclair Broadcast Group.

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Licensed to the municipality of Egypt Lake, Fla., is a Class B AM with 2,800 watts from 2 towers when the sun is up and 800 watts from 3 towers after dark. It serves the entire Tampa-St. Petersburg region, minus Polk County.

Giving it a boost in central Hillsborough County is an FM translator at 101.9 MHz.

Both have been sold by Neal Ardman‘s NIA Broadcasting. 

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With a Class A signal blanketing a one-time Spring Break destination that remains a popular winter burg, one blasted by Hurricane Michael in 2018, Horizon Broadcasting  serves Panama City Beach, Fla., with sports talk programming supplied by ESPN Radio.

The affiliation has been in place since late June 2017. Now, it is being solidified as a LMA-to-buy opportunity is being executed more than four years later.

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Hurricane season across the Gulf Coast of the United States puts Charlie Wooten on high alert.

Wooten, director of engineering and IT for iHeartMedia in Panama City and Tallahassee, Fla., is also a member of the iHeartMedia Emergency Response Team. He has seen the damage a Category 5 hurricane can do. He stood on the front lines as Hurricane Michael hammered the Florida panhandle in 2018.

That hurricane destroyed the three-tower AM array of WDIZ(AM) and knocked down the STL tower at the iHeart studios in Panama City. Only backup underground fiber circuits kept WPAP(FM) and WFSY(FM) on the air, Wooten said. Two other FMs in the cluster returned to the air within days utilizing a satellite feed to replace the lost STL.

“The iHeart stations were the only commercial stations on the air for over two weeks,” he said.

In 2019 the Society of Broadcast Engineers honored Wooten as the recipient of its Robert W. Flanders Engineer of the Year Award, citing his actions around the storm. “Because of Charlie’s experience, planning and system redundancy, the citizens of Bay County tuned in their radios the morning after the storm and found iHeartMedia signals live. Locals had access to critical information regarding, food, water and emergency health care.”

[Read: Jack DeWitt: An Engineer’s Engineer]

Wooten has had a wide-ranging and award-winning career. He has served as chief engineer for a radio station in Aruba, worked as general manager of a public radio station in Florida, and had a hand in building more than 120 broadcast facilities (RF and studio plants), including 30 in Eastern Europe while working as a broadcast engineering consultant early in his career.

The battle-tested technologist is 72 and has no plans to retire. Our interview with him is part of our series of profiles of leading industry engineers.

Radio World: Describe the scope of your job with iHeartMedia.
Charlie Wooten: I am responsible for all engineering, audio, RF and IT for the iHeart stations in Tallahassee and Panama City, Fla., which totals nine full-power FMs, four FM translators and one AM. We have HD on one station in each market.

RW: What is the biggest day-to-day challenge?
Wooten: Balancing my work priorities between two clusters 100 miles apart.

RW: What technology projects are you working on, and what’s next on the docket?
Wooten: iHeart is currently installing a software-defined WAN system to interconnect all transmitter sites and studios. This system uses two different paths, conventional wired internet and wireless internet, so that if one path fails, the system will seamlessly switch over to the other connection.

After this is installed, we will be moving to a playout system called Sound+, which will have playout equipment installed locally to retain redundancy and reliability. It is an ambitious project and requires many different programming elements be incorporated into the Sound+ platform.

RW: Are you moving more operations into the cloud, or planning to?
Wooten: Yes, we are leveraging cloud architecture, like most industries, but we are also leveraging local playout systems to improve redundancy and reliability.

RW: What are the primary challenges facing local radio engineering?
Wooten: Radio has dramatically changed in the past few years, so it’s important to continue to evolve and reach your audiences everywhere they are and how they want it.

RW: What types of hurricane preparation and planning have your Florida radio stations put in place?
Wooten: We have always had a hurricane plan locally since I came to work with the cluster in Panama City in 1997. We have continued to fine-tune that plan over the years. The plan worked out very well for us for all of the storms, although Hurricane Michael was a completely different animal and we had some new challenges we had to work through. Even with these challenges, iHeartMedia stations were able to continue delivering emergency information shortly after the storm.

RW: What critical infrastructure was most fragile when Hurricane Michael hit?
Wooten: Of all things, we had a battery problem with the generator, which had been tested with no problems on the Sunday before the hurricane hit on Wednesday. We were able to jump off the generator and get power back to the studio building.

All of the transmitter sites stayed on the air during the storm. They just didn’t have any audio. As soon as we were able to crank the generator and get power back on at the studio, WPAP and WFSY had audio, only because we have AT&T underground fiber that ran 100% underground from the studio to the local central office and from the central office, to the tower site 25 miles north of Panama City.

We lost part of the roof and building fascia to the offices, but the area where the studios and rack room were located did not suffer any damage. Luckily the STL tower fell away from our building. We were without commercial power at our studios for over a week and we are located 200 yards from a major substation. Our four FM transmitter sites stayed on generator power for over two weeks.

We had diesel fuel delivered to each site each morning and we actually took stations off for short periods at midnight to do oil and filter changes, which are required to insure reliable service.

Our Onan diesel generators operated flawlessly. One piece of flying debris put a small hole in the radiator of the WEBZ generator, but we were able to patch it until a replacement radiator could be located and installed.

RW: What aspects of your job have changed the most through the years?
Wooten: I have been a broadcast engineer since 1970, and the biggest change is the addition of IT to the engineer’s duties. This required me to learn about something I had not really kept up with in the ’80s as it became more prevalent in the ’90s and today.

IT is another aspect of broadcast engineering that is just as important as knowing how to change a tube in a transmitter or build a studio.

RW: What is your perspective on trends relevant to technical radio management?
Wooten: I think the more important question is, how will broadcasters find good people who want to be on their engineering staffs — making sure to have competitive benefits and salaries.

RW: How can the industry identify and develop new engineering talent?
Wooten: Frankly, I have been disappointed in some broadcasters who are not looking ahead and seem to think that engineering is becoming less and less important. While keeping the total station on the air, which today not only includes the transmitter, it also includes the internet stream and other digital means of delivery.

Finding and being able to retain the next generation of engineers should be one of the top priorities of broadcasters. Again, competitive benefits are a key part of attracting and retaining new engineers.

RW: Can you describe the regional structure? Do you have local help?
Wooten: I am part of what is called Region 16, which includes stations in the Florida Panhandle; Mobile, Ala.; Biloxi, Jackson and Hattiesburg, Miss.; and New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.

I report to a regional lead engineer and we all roll up to a regional senior VP of engineering. As far as the structure of the local engineering department, that would be only me, but I can also leverage other engineers in the region if needed.

RW: What impact has the elimination of the main studio rule had on your technical approach?
Wooten: That has had no change in our local operation. We continue to operate as we had before the rule change.

RW: Are you using HD Radio?
Wooten: In both Panama City and Tallahassee, we have one HD station with HD2 signals that feed translators.

RW: How can radio manage to maintain and grow its presence in the evolving car dashboard?
Wooten: Radio continues to dominate consumer listening in the U.S. with nine out 10 Americans listening. Even though there’s an increasing amount of apps available in the dash, including iHeartRadio, research shows that drivers overwhelmingly still want the ease of AM/FM radio and the simplicity that comes with just pushing a button on their dial.

iHeart is a key player in both AM/FM broadcast radio and in digital, and while we continue to work with all major OEMs and aftermarket head units to make sure the iHeartRadio app is available in dash, that needs to be in addition to AM/FM radio in the dash, not instead of.

RW: How much longer do you plan to work?
Wooten: Honestly I have not set a date for retirement. I am still physically able to work, although I am not as agile as I used to be. My wife will not retire for several more years, and I plan to continue to work at least until she retires.

RW: What has been the highlight of your career so far? And what other interests do you have?
Wooten: My international work in Eastern Europe as a contractor for the State Department from 1991 to 1997 after the fall of the Iron Curtain. I built a bunch of small community stations in the former Czechoslovakia and a station in Zagreb, Croatia. A lot of my friends don’t even know about this part of my career.

I have two hobbies, ham radio — call sign NF4A. I have been a ham since 1962 when I was 12. I also love to deer hunt. I am president of the Bear Creek Hunting Club, which has 15,000 acres leased in the Florida Panhandle.

The post Wooten Manages IHM’s Florida Panhandle Engineering appeared first on Radio World.

While Philip Falcone‘s Sovryn Holdings snaps up a New York City LPTV property from Charles Wong, he’s also signing off on a deal involving one of several “special” low-power facilities being sold by Mako Communications — a low-power CP that doesn’t need to be built until 2023.

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The NAB is giving its support to several proposed changes to U.S. radio technical rules. But it opposes one change that it thinks would undermine interference protections.

The Federal Communications Commission in July adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that identifies seven technical rules it wants to eliminate or revise. As we’ve reported, various engineering observers who commented to Radio World have said they see these changes as beneficial.

Now the National Association of Broadcasters has weighed in.

It asked the FCC to stipulate that rule changes will not cause existing stations to be in violation and that any stations adversely affected should be grandfathered to avoid being forced to modify operation.

With that caveat, NAB supports most of the proposed changes: It said the FCC should eliminate the maximum rated power limit for AM transmitters; clarify and harmonize the definition of NCE-FM community of license coverage; harmonize the second-adjacent channel protection requirement for Class D FM stations; eliminate protection of mid-band common carrier operations in Alaska; and modify the definition of “AM fill-in area.”

But it also identified a few areas of potential concern.

It wants the FCC to grandfather the operation of any stations near the Canadian or Mexican borders that may become short-spaced or otherwise non-compliant as a result of the changes. Also it said the commission should clarify how distance figures in the rules regarding cross-border stations are to be calculated.

Last, NAB laid out an argument for why the FCC should not eliminate the regulatory requirement to consider “proximate” transmitting facilities.

In that proposal, the commission wants to eliminate a rule that says applications proposing the use of FM transmitting antennas in the immediate vicinity (60 meters or less) of other FM or TV broadcast antennas must include “a showing as to the expected effect, if any, of such approximate operation.” The FCC thinks this is unnecessary because broadcast radio antennas in this situation are unlikely to create interference problems if otherwise compliant. It calls the rule seldom-used and says it rarely prevents interference.

NAB disagreed and says the requirement provides an important legal tool for defining interference protection rights.

It said the rule helps to ensure that intermodulation distortion products are not generated and radiated as a result of a newcomer station collocating, or nearly collocating, with existing stations. It said IMD is a common outcome of collocation, particularly when an FM collocates with other FMs or Channel 6 stations, and that it can cause interference to other stations as well as aviation and land-mobile, including public safety.

“It is critical that such interference is anticipated, considered and corrected prior to the commencement of regular broadcasting,” it told the commission. “NAB believes that eliminating the rule is tantamount to instructing applicants not to worry about the potential effects of their operation on existing stations.”

Eliminating the rule could also muddy whether a newcomer station is responsible for correction. “A policy does not carry the same weight as a rule, and NAB believes that Section 73.316(d) provides important legal ‘teeth’ to its longstanding, but uncodified, policy with regard to the responsibility of newcomer stations to correct any problems they create.”

NAB believes the commission needs an enforceable rule codifying its “last in time, first in responsibility” policy.

[Read a PDF of the NAB filing.]

The post NAB Supports Most Proposed Tech Rule Changes appeared first on Radio World.

The acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission says the latest data about broadcast ownership in the United States “makes clear that women and people of color are underrepresented in license ownership.”

Jessica Rosenworcel commented on a new FCC report (PDF) summarizing data collected in 2019.

The lack of diversity, she said, “requires attention because what we see and hear over the public airwaves says so much about who we are as individuals, as communities and as a nation. However, changes in the law, technology and court decisions like FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project make addressing this complex. But we have a charge to promote diversity under the Communications Act and we need to honor it.”

She called for an effort to identify ways to encourage more diversity, including reinstatement of the Minority Tax Certificate Program.

The report covers about 4,600 AM stations, 10,900 FM stations and full-power, low-power and Class A television as of 2019.

The FCC released this chart summarizing the majority ownership interest of commercial broadcast stations in gender, race and ethnicity:

As shown above, women held a majority ownership interest in 8% of commercial broadcast stations, while men held a majority ownership interest in 65%, the FCC noted. White persons held a majority ownership interest in 76% of commercial stations while persons belonging to racial minority groups held a majority ownership interest in 4%. Hispanic/Latino persons held a majority ownership interest in 6% of commercial stations while not Hispanic/Latino persons held a majority ownership interest in 73%.

The second image assesses the same categories but for noncommercial broadcast stations:

Women held a majority ownership interest in 12% of noncom broadcast stations while men held a majority ownership interest in 75%. White persons held a majority ownership interest in 89% while persons belonging to racial minority groups held majority ownership interest in 3%. Hispanic/Latino persons held a majority ownership interest in 3% while not Hispanic/Latino persons held a majority ownership interest in 89% of noncommercial stations.

The report also provided charts specifically for various categories. For example, the image below shows majority ownership interest for commercial FM radio stations:

The full set of charts including those for noncom FMs, AM stations and various TV categories is posted on the FCC website.

The post Latest Data Confirms Underrepresentation, Rosenworcel Says appeared first on Radio World.

Nine former FCC chairs are expressing support for reinstating a tax certificate program intended to encourage investment in broadcast ownership by women and people of color.

The National Association of Broadcasters distributed a copy of their letter to the media, highlighting the support of these former commission chairs. They include seven Democrats and two Republicans.

The letter supports the Expanding Broadcast Opportunities Act of 2021 introduced in the House and the Broadcast VOICES Act in the Senate.

[Related: “NAB Gives Thumbs Up to Minority Tax Bills”]

A Diversity Tax Certificate Program would give a tax incentive to those who sold a majority interest in a radio or TV station to underrepresented broadcasters.

The letter was signed by Newton Minow (1961–1963), Richard Wiley (1974–1977), Reed Hundt (1993–1997), William Kennard (1997–2001), Michael Powell (2001–2005), Michael Copps (2009), Julius Genachowski (2009–2013), Mignon Clyburn (2013) and Tom Wheeler (2013–2017).

“In each of our administrations, one of the most critical goals was advancing diversity and competition in broadcasting,” the former FCC chairs wrote, noting that a similar program was in place from 1978 to 1995.

“The greatest barrier to diversity is access to capital, which is why the Tax Certificate Policy was so important. It provided that a licensee who sold his or her station to a minority entrepreneur could defer payment of capital gains taxes upon reinvestment in comparable property. This relief benefitted buyers, sellers, and consumers.”

They called the former policy “highly successful” because it helped minority ownership in broadcast TV and radio quintuple. “But in the years since the repeal of the policy, the frequency with which broadcast properties have been sold to minorities has fallen dramatically.”

The post Former FCC Chairs Give Support to Diversity Certificate appeared first on Radio World.

What are some of the biggest brands using spot television and spot cable to best connect with consumers, and grow their sales? The latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Reports are out for the week ending September 5.

What categories and products are leading the way with viewers?

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Don’t change the local radio ownership rules. That’s the plea from the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters.

Jim Winston, president of NABOB, said, “The reasons given for eliminating or radically relaxing the commission’s local radio ownership rule are not adequate to justify increased consolidation of ownership in local radio markets. The AM radio industry would be greatly injured by the proposals that have been put forth. We are pleased to see iHeartMedia and other companies rejecting these proposals.”

The association is thus at odds on this issue with the National Association of Broadcasters, which has pushed the commission to raise or eliminate the caps.

[Related: “Give Us Subcap Relief, NAB Again Tells FCC”]

NABOB filed comments in the FCC’s 2018 quadrennial review of its broadcast ownership rules.

“Any change in the local radio ownership rule to allow increased consolidation will have a significant negative impact on African Americans and other minority station owners and entrepreneurs,” NABOB wrote.

“Any elimination or relaxation of the subcaps rule would be particularly damaging for the AM radio industry as a whole, in addition to being damaging to African American AM station owners.”

The organization said that ownership of broadcast radio and TV stations has been “in steady decline” since Congress repealed the minority tax certificate policy in 1995, the Supreme Court decided the Adarand case in 1995 and Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

“The proponents of elimination or relaxation of the subcaps rule have put forth justifications for these rule changes that are not supported by the facts. Advertisers are unlikely to shift dollars away from Facebook, Google and other internet companies to broadcast media.  Advertisers recognize that the two media deliver audiences in very different ways.  Advertisers seeking to buy radio can buy it now regardless of who owns the stations.”

The post NABOB Opposes Lifting Subcaps appeared first on Radio World.