by Tom Taylor | tom@in3media.com | 609.883.3321

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Pushing a rock up the hill

“Zero progress in listeners’ understanding of HD Radio” – researcher Mark Kassof.

He says there’s “a continued knowledge gap” out in the listening public – and an awareness gap. In 2008, 67% of 18-64s had “heard of” HD Radio, at a time when HD Radio Alliance members were pounding their promotional spots. Today that figure is 54%, down 13 points from 2008. Mark Kassof says “included in that 54% is 16% who have only heard of HD Radio, and don’t know anything about it.” That percentage is “essentially equal to the 14% we found in 2008.” 8% say that HD Radio “delivers more channels and choices”, and that’s identical to 2008. Another 6% think HD Radio is satellite radio, roughly the same as 2008. Kassof finds that “the #1 image of HD Radio is that it delivers better audio quality. 20% express that view, essentially flat from 2008. But for many, better sound quality is not something they actually know about HD Radio” – it’s something they infer from HDTV. The updated telephone survey of 670 people in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 64 was conducted from January 4-8. The margin of error is plus/minus 4%. Mark Kassof & Company says “the results show a decline in awareness and zero progress in listeners’ understanding of HD Radio. The industry still has much work to do, promoting HD Radio and selling its benefits.”

That’s despite the record labels, movie studios and TV content producers spending over $90 million lobbying the House for passage of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy) and the Senate for PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property). The new-media coalition of Google and others spent only about one-fifth that – but they have the Internet. Following Wednesday’s blackout of thousands of websites, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has backed away from PIPA. In the House, Judiciary Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R-Texas) "will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution." The Future of Music Coalition is "pleased that Congress has hit 'pause'...it is crucial that lawmakers recognize and understand the legitimate concerns of a broad array of stakeholders."

CBS soft-launched Washington DC all-newser WNEW-FM (99.1), Sunday at noon.

Wise move – if the new studio’s ready, why wait for the already-once-delayed 5am official launch this morning? Let the new crew hit the air and test things out, with a little less pressure. Another thing – there’s snow and icy weather, delaying the opening of federal agencies until 11am today. Local breaking news like that is vital to many Washingtonians. CBS may be hoping they’ll get in the habit of switching back and forth between the traffic reports at 99.1 and Hubbard-owned rival WTOP (103.5 and various outlying signals). Yesterday, DCRTV.com reported the sneak-launch of 99.1. One immediate problem surfaced with the streaming, which offered very low program levels, very hot audio for the spots - and spots constantly being dropped in. The Washington-Baltimore Board of Radio-Info.com has been monitoring the frequency since before it started the “History of Rock & Roll” documentary stunting, shortly after Christmas. Now the battle is joined.

Back to “Z” – Harrisburg's "Channel 106.7" WMHX goes "Z Country.”

The 106.7 frequency licensed to the chocolate-sweet town of Hershey, PA was once country “Z107” WRKZ – and now Cumulus has it doing country again. In between, it’s been “Cool Pop”, AC “Mix 106.7” and most recently classic hits Channel 106.7. Friday’s 1:06pm changeover began with ‘N Snyc’s “Bye Bye Bye” and continued with Brad Paisley’s “This is Country Music.” Cumulus is tackling Clear Channel’s country “Bob 94.9” WRBT and country “Red 102.3” WCAT-FM, Carlisle (held for Cumulus by trustee Potential Broadcasting). It would be great to share the recent ratings for “Bob” and “Red” with you, but Harrisburg has been a “client exclusive” market for a while now, so only subscribers are privy to the numbers. Presumably that’s a function of Cumulus not subscribing. “Z Country” is born with a 10,000-song sign-on bonus for listeners, and the slogan of “90s to Now.” The always-busy Central PA Board of Radio-Info.com has plenty to say about “Z Country.”

The tipoff was the “backward” stunt – leading this Arizona station to “Rewind.”

Flagstaff OM/PD Dan “Kennedy” Baisden says after months of research, “we saw an amazing amount of response asking for a station that played the biggest hits of the 1980s and 1990s on the radio.” The result – Grenax Broadcasting’s KFLX, Chino Valley and translator K281BE, Flagstaff became “Rewind 92.5 and 104.1.” The slogan is “Feel Good Favorites from the 80s and more.” The previous “Canyon” had been stunting by playing some of its hot AC tunes backward, a logical lead-in to “Rewind.” Baisden, one of Edison Research’s most recent class of “30 under 30”, will do middays on “Rewind.” Stan Pierce is the market manager for owner Grenax. The Arizona Board of Radio-Info.com has been following the Canyon-to-Rewind storyline.

Zimmer’s hot AC “Lazer” in Manhattan, Kansas becomes CHR “Kiss.”

It’s now “Kiss FM, Nothin’ but the hits” for KLZR (105.9). So far, the Great Plains Media station is keeping its 32-year-old KLZR call letters, on a station that’s been rock, then “Lazer Rock” alternative in the 1980s, CHR (the first time), hot AC, and now CHR again. The pre-launch stunt was all Lady Gaga, and last Friday they settled into CHR, as “105.9 Kiss FM.” The website is here.

High bid on eBay is now $81,550 for Scott Mahalick’s Las Vegas-area FM.

Friday’s TRI told you that the Alpha Broadcasting programming executive owns a chunk of Aurora Media’s KXLI, Moapa, Nevada (94.5). That station’s the former KVBE, and last Summer it became one of two Vegas-area Jelli-branded stations (June 30, 2011 TRI). Since then, KXLI has been “100% User-controlled Rock Radio.” (The other Jelli station around Sin City is LKCM-owned KYLI, Bunkerville, branded as CHR “Jelli 96.7.”) Mahalick explains the situation to Vegas Inc. – “I thought I’d try [eBay] and see what happens…I looked at [auction house] Christie’s to do something more dramatic and grandiose…But doing it this way makes it more accessible and available. We’ll see what happens.” The “buy-it-now” price is $8,950,000 and the auction ends Sunday evening, January 29. Of course, if there is an acceptable offer, then the FCC must approve the buyer. Follow the bidding on eBay here.

Valdosta DJ Stephon Edgerton is shot and killed outside the station.

It happened shortly after his Friday evening shift. Edgerton called himself “Juan Gatti” on the air, and he’d worked at the Rivers family-owned urban WGOV-FM (96.7) for six years. The Valdosta Today website says the circumstances were ugly - Another employee says a man wearing a ski mask came up to Edgerton, fired one shot to his head and two to his torso. Even though Edgerton was wounded, he called 911 and gave the emergency service a description of his attacker. He was later pronounced dead at a local medical center. Edgerton had worked at WGOV-FM for six years, and is survived by his wife and three children. The Georgia Board Radio-Info.com had the sad news on Saturday.

It happened last Wednesday on McGraw Milhaven’s morning show on the Rull family-owned talk KTRS (550) – a caller referred to a recent comment by NFL St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Some fans suspect Kroenke might spirit the franchise away to another city, though he did say earlier in the week that he’d “put a lot of jack in the market.” The Wednesday caller said “I ain’t gonna say nothin’, but the only thing I could do other than jack is lead, like the dude in Kirkwood. I don’t blame him a bit for what he did.” That’s a reference to a gunman who killed six people at the Kirkwood, Missouri city hall in February 2008. KPLR-TV says KTRS radio did the right thing – they called the police, which led to the arrest of a man in Arnold, Missouri, just south of St. Louis.

Lesson #1, Even if a station or a cluster runs a contest offline but uses its own airwaves to promote it – the FCC still has oversight. And #2, the FCC warns Clear Channel that because of its “substantial revenues and its previous violations of Commission rules”, there might be “even higher forfeitures…if such misconduct persists.” The base amount for a contest fine is $4,000, but the Enforcement Bureau runs the fine up to $22,000. It does, however, let Clear Channel off the hook on a claim of contest-rigging – because the ultimate winner was selected by “audience and website viewer vote.” The case in point was a “Make your own commercial” contest run in 2008 with client Chevrolet. The FCC got the complaint in July 2008, alleging that CHR KIIS (102.7), AC KOST (103.5), hot AC KBIG (104.3), alternative KYSR (98.7), R&B oldies KHHT (92.3) and talk KFI (640) misled the audience about the rules. Was the end date March 10 or March 21? As always, the Commission wants stations to “fully and accurately disclose the material terms of a contest.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger watches his pay rise $10 million since 2009, to $31.3 million.

The Disney proxy filed ahead of the March 13 annual meeting in Kansas City shows onetime ABC Radio boss Iger with a steadily growing paycheck. In 2009, his base was nearly $2.8 million, his “performance-based bonus” was $9,260,000 and his “annual equity awards” were just over $9.5 million. So total comp for 2009 was $21,578,471. That swelled to $28 million in 2010 – and now to $31,363,013 in 2011. Almost all the gain was performance-based bonus, which the corporate governance folks say is better – incentives should be aligned with company goals. The Disney proxy also reminds us of the death of board member Steve Jobs, who attained that position when Disney bought Pixar. We learn that the Apple chief had asked not to be compensated as a director, and that he won’t be replaced on the slate of ten directors offered by management. Check the Disney proxy here.

Thank goodness for emergency generators and planning, says one poster on the Seattle-Tacoma Board of Radio-Info.com – both Cougar Mountain and West Tiger Mountain lost their outside power Thursday night, but “that’s why they have a single massive generator for each site, and an equally large fuel supply.” Most Seattle stations have main or auxiliary operations at one or both of those mountain antenna farms. Even so, Fisher’s “Smart talk” KVI (570) was down for a while (AMs have different challenges from FMs located on mountains), and many stations outside Seattle had static. The Shaw Northwest Broadcasters site listed these stations as having been dark at least part of the time - KASB Bellevue (89.9), KVTI Tacoma (90.9), KXXO Olympia (96.1), KDDS Elma (99.3), KSWW Elma (102.1), KXXK, Hoquiam (95.3), KDUX, Aberdeen (104.7), KLSY South Bend (107.9) and KANY Ocean Shores (93.7). The Oakville, Washington 97.7 that Fisher operates as KOMO-FM was off, too. (Fisher has a standing deal to buy KOMO-FM, which simulcasts its all-news KOMO/1000.) The Seattle-Tacoma Board of Radio-Info.com has several active threads about the severe storms, keeping a census of who was on and off - here.

iHeartRadio adds two prestigious Los Angeles pubcasters.

Clear Channel says KCRW, Santa Monica (89.9), with its mix of eclectic music and strong personalities, is "one of the most respected broadcast stations in the world.” The University of Southern California's classical KUSC (91.5) is "one of the largest and most-listened-to classical stations in the country." President of Clear Channel Digital Brian Lakamp says both stations will begin to stream on the iHeartRadio platform in February. Bob Pittman spotted the potential in iHeartRadio and pushed for a re-launch last September. Since then it's added stations from Univision, Cumulus, Greater Media and New York pubcaster WNYC.

TRI’s “No Names, Please” –

Murphy’s Law of voicetracking - Marty Ronish says "I was working at a small station in a mid-range market, recording the overnights on our own local automation. I had a pulled muscle in my back and could hardly speak, so I said on the voice track, 'If my voice sounds funny it’s because I have a pulled muscle in my back.' The next morning, I got to work and found out that we had gone off the air at midnight just after the playback, because someone had deleted a wrap line in the automation code. An alert listener heard me say I was in pain - and then go silent. He called the station and got no answer [I was already home]. So thinking I’d had a collapse, he called the police. They broke in, set off the alarm, and the alarm company started calling down the list – GM, PD, etc. All of the bigwigs were awakened, three of them rushed to the station, and I slept blissfully through it all." These days, Marty Ronish says "I produce the national broadcasts of the Chicago Symphony and the national series America’s Music Festivals, and I blog at Scanning the Dial." Ready to share your own true story, from your own early days, or as recently as last week? Email Tom@in3media.com.

Springfield, Missouri – Journal Broadcast Group’s country KTTS continues a string of lofty age 12+ AQH shares, tracking back to Spring 2010 - 11.5-15.8-18.8 and 17.2. Sister rhythmic “Power” KSPW also finishes in double digits this time, up 8.5-7.7-8.4-10.7. Clear Channel’s hot AC “Alice” KTOZ rolls into third place, 4.8-4.2-5.0-6.3.

Salisbury-Ocean City, MD – Clear Channel is 1-2 on the Delmarva Peninsula, led by AC “Q105” WQHQ, 5.6-6.6-6.8-8.1, and then country “Froggy” WWFG, 6.6-7.1-9.2-8.1. Resort Broadcasting’s talk WGMD has a big book to grab third place – 5.6-4.7-4.6-6.9.

Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX – “Urban Magic KTCX remains in command of the market for the 24th consecutive survey”, says ratings student Chris Huff. Cumulus-owned KTCX dominates, 18.3-19.6-19.9-18.0. Then there’s Clear Channel’s country “Kicker 95.1” KYKR, 6.6-6.8-8.9-8.6. And Cumulus CHR “Q94” KQXY, 8.2-7.7-7.7-7.4. Further down, Cumulus country “KD101” KAYD is up into seventh place, 3.7-3.7-4.3-4.9.

Tyler-Longview – “Country KNUE celebrates its first #1 book since Fall 2006, and its highest share since Fall 2005”, reports Chris Huff. Townsquare is 1-2, this time. Country KNUE (“New country and your all-time favorites”) grows 7.5-7.9-7.4-9.0, and urban AC “Hot Jamz” KISX, 8.8-9.2-10.9-8.1 drops back into second place. Reynolds-owned rhythmic “Blaze” KBLZ is not far behind, 6.9-9.7-6.9-7.8.

Lake Charles, LA and Texarkana, TX/AR are also just out, on the Ratings Page of Radio-Info.com here.

Arbitron keeps these six newly-delivered markets as “client-exclusive”, to be seen only by subscribers – Burlington-Plattsburgh VT/NY. Corpus Christi, TX. Concord, NH. New Bedford-Fall River, MA. Lebanon-Rutland-White River Junction, VT. And the state capital of Vermont, Montpelier.

» Arbitrons Newest Fall Arbitron Diary Markets back to top » 138. Springfield, MO - 335,900 140. Salisbury-Ocean City, MD - 326,600 141. Beaumont-Port Arthur - 326,500 144. Tyler-Longview - 319,000 227. Lake Charles - 158,700 257. Texarkana - 115,300 Click on the city to review recently released Arbitron ratings. View a complete list of Arbitron markets here.

» Buzzing on the Boards at Radio-Info back to top » It’s John Records Landecker doing nights again at Chicago’s WLS – Only this time, several decades later, it’s WLS-FM (94.7), not “the Big 89” WLS, and Landecker will be succeeding another legendary Chicago jock, Dick Biondi. The Chicago Board of Radio-Info.com says Biondi “gets pushed back to the 11pm-2am shift”, and some folks online aren’t happy. Landecker recently gave up a weekday shift on talk/classic hits WIMS, Michigan City, Indiana (1420), near his home. That lets him accept the fulltime offer from Cumulus SVP programming Jan Jeffries, with whom Landecker worked in the 1980s. TimeOut Chicago’s Robert Feder says Greg Brown’s afternoon drive shift will now run 2:30pm to 6pm, clearing the way for Landecker to take 6pm to 11pm. Biondi will also host a new weekend show about the history of WLS. Biondi asked management to give him time to think about the new shift, but he tells Feder “I’m going to go into the new show and give it everything I’ve got.” Biondi is now 79. Cumulus market manager Michael Damsky says being able to feature Landecker and Biondi “is like having Mantle and DiMaggio.” Follow the buzz on the Chicago Board of Radio-Info.com. Clear Channel-Cleveland makes talent changes at Majic and WGAR, and the Cleveland Board of Radio-Info.com notices. Specifically, Mark Nolan is succeeding the deceased Chuck Collier in middays at classic hits “Majic 105.7” WMJI. One poster calls Nolan “a worthy successor to Collier”, having guest-hosted on Majic since 1995 and done weather for the “Lanigan & Malone Morning Show.” Somebody else notes that Nolan’s hiring is bad news for Jim Hart. Meanwhile, Shotgun Taylor will replace Collier at the other station he worked at – country WGAR (99.5). Taylor will handle 2-7pm, the shift he took over on an interim basis following Chuck’s death last September. Also, Kat Jackson comes back to WGAR to do nights. In Greenville, Mississippi, Delta Radio owner Larry Fuss changes call letters of WNLA-FM to WIBT, and that’s got the Mississippi Board speculating about a potential change in slogan and/or format at the urban AC station. The WIBT calls were last attached to Clear Channel’s rhythmic CHR in Charlotte. Larry Fuss has an app at the FCC for his Indianola-licensed station to change from a Class A at 105.5 to a C2 at 105.7 – moving northwest and expanding the signal to better cover Greenville. TRI believes you can expect the station to move from urban AC more toward urban contemporary. The local economy in Squamish, British Columbia can’t support another FM, says Canada’s regulator, and it rejects an application from Matthew Gordon McBride. McBride proposed a new FM at 89.1, but two competitors successfully argue that the area’s potential radio revenues aren't robust enough to license another commercial signal. Westwave Broadcasting said the McBride operation couldn’t hit its projected revenue. Rogers Broadcasting runs three area stations and says it's able to service the market because of its cost synergies – something McBride wouldn’t have. Rogers also alleged that CRTC didn’t follow its own procedures in regards to applications in small markets. So no station for McBride, who proposed a “rock music format that would target listeners between the ages of 25 and 54, with a core audience of listeners aged 35, skewed slightly to men.” Read the CRTC decision here. » Sound Bites back to top » Two shows expand – • ESPN Audio’s Mike & Mike are doubling the length of their daily “best-of” show on the ESPN2 cable channel from 30 minutes to an hour. The ESPN Audio morning guys will be seen 2-3pm (Eastern) as part of a revised lineup that includes the 6-10am live simulcast of their radio show. So Mike & Mike will now be five hours of ESPN2. • “The Real Side with Joe Messina” doubles from one hour to two, thanks to what FoxRock Syndication Service calls “good old-fashioned grass roots listener demand.” Talker Joe Messina promises “no right side, no wrong side, just the real side.” » Faces on the Radio back to top » Chico Bormann walks away from his afternoon hosting job at Cumulus Media’s “ESPN 1260 The Score” WRIE in Erie. He tells the Erie Times-News “They weren’t going to pay me what I felt I needed, to continue doing what I was doing. I was making $40 a day. As I told a buddy, that’s a nice name for a show on The Food Network, but it’s tough to make a living that way.” Cumulus market manager Jim Riley says they’re sorry to see Bormann leave the former Citadel cluster, and that they plan to replace him with another local sports talker. Mario Lopez bumps the syndicated Billy Bush, in Los Angeles, and you wonder about the syndication potential. Lopez, the host of TV’s “Extra”, will do nights for Clear Channel’s hot AC “104.3 MyFM” KBIG in Los Angeles. Mario will broadcast 7-11pm from L.A.’s “The Grove” – the same upscale shopping mall where they sometimes shoot “Extra”, with co-host Maria Menounos. He’s got quite a challenge, from KBIG’s description – it’s a “music-intensive program”, but will also feature Lopez’ “unique blend of entertainment stories, celebrity interviews and listener interaction.” Lopez replaces the Billy Bush radio show that was previously syndicated by Westwood One and inherited by Dial Global. Lopez continues hosting the MTV reality competition named “Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew”, and he’s written a fitness book and a couple of “Extra Lean” healthy eating books. Geraldo’s new show for KABC (790) will be “L.A.-only.” We knew that Rivera embarked on a radio career two weeks ago at New York’s talk WABC (770), and one poster on the New York Board of Radio-Info.com now says “I was pleasantly surprised” at what he heard, from 10am to noon. We later confirmed that Geraldo was scheduled for 10am to noon on Cumulus sister KABC, Los Angeles (790) – but it wasn’t clear whether it was the same show that aired in New York. Now Cumulus says Rivera will typically host the KABC show from studios in New York, but it will be a separate program just for L.A. Geraldo debuts on KABC January 30. He'll follow John Phillips (9am to 10am). Geraldo tells the Orange County Register that his first L.A. guest will be former Malibu neighbor Cheech Marin. Got an idea or newstip for this TRI Newsletter? Email Tom@in3media.com. Tom Taylor » Classifieds back to top » Are you an award winning journalist seeking a new position? Are you an award winning journalist seeking a new position? Do you have years of experience in a traditional newsroom? Do you have the training and talent to decide what people need to hear? Do you use jargon to demonstrate your competence in the language of news? Are you cynical, stubborn and committed to the playbook of traditional journalism? If so, you should send your materials to Michelle Komes-Dolge, News Director, WNEW-FM, Laurel MD. Are you willing to throw out the rule book? Can you write clear, colorful and interesting stories? Send something that blows us away to: Merlin@merlinmediallc.com. We are currently staffing Philadelphia, and markets yet to be named. Let's reinvent the news business together. Merlin Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer.