As I write
this column it’s the 31st of August and we are having the first rain in
what, in terms of Pacific Northwest measurement, is a very long time. At least my lawn will appreciate the moisture from
the sky, even if it means that the lawnmower will be pressed back into action for awhile.
This past weekend was spent with Kevin
Douglass who is the new DOE for the company that has been known as Bustos Media, owners
and operators of an AM and FM station here (and one of my clients). A whole lot of changes are ‘in the pipe’ that are certain to remove any thought of being
bored this fall. Kevin’s background is
with Jaycor and Clear Channel. He is
presently moving from Kauai to Sacramento. I
promise to get him to one of our Chapter meetings in the future, a fun guy with a lot of
stories to tell.
Our next meeting location has been
announced – It will be the Taste of NAB – and election of officers. Hope to see you all at the Clover Park Technical
College in Lakewood on the 10th of this month.
Our Chapter general remailer sprung to
life, like never before, with the announcement that a broadcast engineer was killed while
working on a transmitter (not in this market). A number of Chapter Members posted
comments proving that is this a sensitive issue. It’s
good to see this Remailer being put to use for us to chat about issues between meetings….This
is what it is for.
As for the fellow that lost his life, a contract engineer.
Jerold Campbell, 73, working at WDMS radio station
in Greenville, Ms, is believed to have been
electrocuted Thursday, August 19th while repairing the station's transmitter. This incident brought
up the matter of working on high-voltage/transmitter equipment while alone. It’s well known
that stations across the country do not have any procedure that forbids working on
transmitters alone…in fact they would likely object to the cost of a 2nd
person. In many cases, the
Engineer is placed in the position of ‘providing’ that 2nd person. Many feel that there
should be a law forbidding working on transmitters and other high-voltage equipment alone
and that stations should pick up the tab. What do you think?
I subscribe to a number of media-related
remailers and, from time to time, are some pearls to share – Here’s an example
…The topic had something to do with engineers that design broadcast equipment and
those that sell it –
“Great sales departments can sell
almost anything. The rest need the crutch of numbers." And, “Great
rocket scientists may have the best rockets, but they can't sell them!” Could this explain why many broadcast managers
purchase equipment based on factors other than superior performance?
The FCC recently cracked down on a
California station that was not monitoring the correct sources for EAS. Yes there are those that feel they can just
monitor whatever they like – Read the following very carefully - http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-301059A1.html To bring this home, if you have difficulty
monitoring a particular EAS source – You have an obligation to run this past the
Washington State SECC. Best way to do this is
by stating your case on the Washington State EAS Remailer.
If you are not a subscriber, drop me an email and I will get you on board.
Those that predict what the Sun will do
are out with prediction about what they think our nearest star is getting ready to do
– Read more here - http://www.news.com.au/technology/sun-storm-to-hit-with-force-of-100-bombs/story-e6frfro0-1225909999465 Certain those that are Hams and are interested
in the propagation that this brings with it are anxious for this to get underway…but
there is certainly a down side…the potential for failures of systems that we have
come to rely on.
Earlier in the year, at the EAS Summit in
WDC, we heard from folks promoting that FM Radios become part of all Cell Phones. The rationale for this is based on the notion that
FM radio stations will be providing citizens with information in times of emergency and
this capability should be in the hands of the majority that now carry these devices. The other goal (not talked about very much) is to
get more radios in the hands of potential listeners, many of which are younger folks who,
many are fearful, might not listen to radio as much as previous generations. The cellular industry is well organized and is
now fighting back. It’s anyone’s
guess how this will turn out. Lots of
bandwidth about this in the media publications.
In the event you don’t follow such
things – The younger generation these days is hooked on texting – In fact recent
studies have shown just how texting has become an addiction and the addiction is much like
being addicted to drugs. Statistics show 80
percent of all 15 to 18 year olds own a cell phone. And the rate of texting has
skyrocketed 600 percent in three years. The average teen sends 3,000 texts a month.
Neuroimaging studies show the same brain areas are stimulated with both texting and
using heroin. How can broadcasters overcome
this one?
Radio is not the only media system that
is impacted by the changing habits of younger people.
Many, under 45, are opting to drop paying for TV from Cable or Satellite
providers in favor of online video. Between
texting and on-line distribution of content, one has to wonder just how this will impact
our business….I think I know.
Certainly of interest to those that work
for Tribune’s two TV stations in Seattle is news that negotiations continue as the
company tries to exit from bankruptcy. Apparently
one of the issues is just who will lead the company in the future.
Looking at the business side of our
business – I keep reading about how revenues are up. In fact, there was a piece
in a recent trade magazine stating that Cap Ex spending is starting to come back. The ‘recovery’ is also predicted to be a
slow one. The one bright side is the coming
elections that, hopefully, will inject some needed revenue into our industry.
USA Today just underwent a RIF, laying
off about 130. The reason – less
advertising revenue and, to compound the problem, fewer readers are paying for newspapers
as free news proliferates on the Web. Quoting
their news-release - "We have to go where the audience is," executive editor
John Hillkirk said. "If people are hitting the iPad like crazy, or the iPhone or
other mobile devices, we've got to be there with the content they want, when they want
it." Sounds familiar, does it not?
Can you imagine how you would feel if
someone proposed to build a sky-scraper on Queen Anne or Capital hill that was only just
slightly shorter than the TV towers? Well
that’s what’s happening in New York City. The
proposed Penn Plaza building would be built just two blocks from the city's existing main
TV and FM site, the Empire State Building. A
similar concern was expressed with the construction of the WTC towers resulting in most TV’s
moving there. With the destruction of the
WTC, the TVs moved back to Empire. I’ve
not heard, but it’s likely that they proposed new building would have an antenna farm
on it’s roof also. Here in our area, the
good news is that the city would not likely allow a big structure on one of Seattle’s
hills. Then again, unlike NYC, we don’t
have all our TV and FM’s in one location.
Ever see a really old TV that had Channel
1 on it? Well, way back when, there actually
was a Ch 1, but that’s another story. Today’s
TV has gone from actual to ‘Virtual’ channels.
It’s my understanding a low power DTV in San Jose,Ca (KAXT-LD) is using
Channel 1 as it’s virtual channel. Cool!
The FCC told a station to pay-up recently
in Maryland. August 24, 2010: "The FCC's
Enforcement Bureau has sent a $4,000 forfeiture order to Nassau Broadcasting over contest
violations at WWEG/Myersville, MD, saying WWEG "failed to conduct a contest
substantially as announced or advertised."
Not
sure what drove this decision, but it’s interesting to note that Trinity Broadcasting Network has made a gift of 155 low-power outlets
to the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council. Trinity operates a full power TV in the Seattle market.
Talk about – in your face Mr. FCC…..Pirate
stations often are brash, but they usually don’t give advance warning to the FCC. The San Francisco Weekly recently reported that
Radio Valencia is about to begin broadcasting on 87.9.
The owner of the ‘pirate’ station claims that he is not worried
about being shut down by the FCC. 87.9 is a
favorite location for un-licensed stations. I
recently heard one in Federal Way on that Frequency.
A strong storm recently took the array at
WWVA in Wheeling WVA. The classic 400 foot
Blau-Knox towers were destroyed. The
following link will provide some pictures of the destruction:
http://www.wwva.com/cc-common/gallery/display.html?album_id=244870
According to NOAA, it was not a tornado,
as first suspected, but rather a wind burst that hit 70 mph. Wow, we have winds in that category here in this
area just about every winter.
You may recall this column noting the
death of Dave Young, a broadcast engineer in Bend, Oregon.
The station's owner, Jim Gross, announced that Wes Davis who comes to
central Oregon from NextMedia. The Bend Radio
Group consists of 4 FMs and one AM.
Another passing to report – This
time Jimmy Jontz a broadcast pioneer at KBOI in Boise. Jimmy was credited with
designing and building KBOI television. He
was 90.
This past month also saw the passing of
Elliott Klein. In addition to being a
consulting engineer, Mr Klein also owned a station in Idaho. Elliott was 61.
Good news from Everett – the KRKO
towers are back up after being knocked down by a vandal about a year ago. Many of us have memories of this transmitter site
as it was the location of a Chapter 16 meeting. Congratulations
to Andy and the crew at KRKO.
I recently received my bill for receiving
television – and – again – the cost has gone up. I also was prompted to dig out that UHF TV antenna
to see what I could do with over the air TV. Granted
I would miss some of the channels that are not over the air…but there must be a limit
somewhere. The problem is that you only watch
10 to 20 channels while these providers give you a
zillion channels and charge you for it. Never
thought I’d see the day. Many folks,
faced with the same decision, have opted for an outside antenna and enjoyed the $900/year
savings. Knowing that I will indeed retire
one day, this decision is only being put off….for awhile.
I am still hearing stories about towers
causing death to birds. Could it be that
those that don’t like the looks of towers are just trying to find an excuse to ban
towers? I ran across a statistic the other day – More birds are killed by
flying into windows than by towers. Perhaps
then we should start demanding the elimination of windows?
The Society of Broadcast Engineers has named
John Luff of Sewickley, PA its
recipient of this year's SBE Broadcast Engineer of the Year award. Luff has been a
member of SBE since 1984. He was nominated for the work he has done in the broadcast
engineering industry as well as with SBE Chapter 20 in Pittsburgh. Luff is currently
a media technology consultant and has his own company, HD Consulting. His past work
experience includes senior vice president of business development at AZCAR, founder and
president of Synergistic Technologies Inc., engineering manager at TPC Communications, as
well as volunteer service as chairman of SBE Chapter 20 and conference vice president with
the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.
The SBE also announced that Charles 'Buc' Fitch, P.E., CPBE, AMD has been
named its 2009-10 SBE Educator of the Year. Fitch has been a member of SBE since
1975 and has held SBE certification since 1976. He was nominated for his more than
40 years of contributions to educating the industry through articles, presentations and
mentoring, not only in mainstream technical areas of broadcasting but also important
adjacent technologies such as the National Electrical Code (NEC), project management and
collateral regulations. He currently writes a recurring feature in Radio World
called, "Certification Corner," which is aimed at helping readers understand and
prepare for the SBE certification exams.
Winners will be recognized at the Society's National Awards Dinner
on October 27 in Madison, Wis. The event is part of the annual SBE National Meeting,
which is being held in conjunction with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Clinic, hosted by SBE
Chapter 24 and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) at the Madison Marriott West
Hotel.
This
item comes from Montana – “Bozeman radio station burglarized -- by former
employee, police say.” A former employee of a Bozeman radio station is in the
Gallatin County jail after admitting to stealing several thousand dollars worth of
broadcast equipment from the station's studio. Travis
Patrick Malone, 35, was terminated from Gap West Broadcasting, which owns the station, on
June 21, according to court records.
Nearly a month later, on Wednesday, July
28, a radio station employee told police he saw Malone walking along Mendenhall Street
carrying a directional antenna and some cable typically used for commercial radio
broadcasting. During a search of the man's residence later Wednesday, police found
an FM
transmitter, FM exciter, electronic voice microphone, mixing board, other audio production
equipment and clothes that matched those the program manager saw Malone wearing when he
was walking along Mendenhall, according to the documents.
Malone is being held at the Gallatin County Detention Center on $10,000
bond.
Well
folks that’s all for this month.
Hope
to see you all at the next meeting at Clover Park Technical College on Sept 10th
in Lakewood.
Clay
Freinwald, K7CR, CPBE. |
