Year: 2024

ASIA

Burli expands Newsroom Software offering first developed for Australian community broadcasters #IBC24

September 29, 2024 radionewsfeeds Comments Off on Burli expands Newsroom Software offering first developed for Australian community broadcasters #IBC24

As broadcast newsrooms feel the economic pinch, News Technology suppliers are constantly trying to improve their tools to help newsrooms share content, clean up audio and access newswires in the most efficient manner from any location.One of those companies is Burli, a newsroom software company from xxx (link to website)which was showing its latest upgrade at IBC 2024 in Amsterdam.Steve Ahern spoke to Burli’s Ian Gunn who explained the new background noise AI tools which are now built into the software and talked about how a product for sharing news content, developed for Australia’s Community Broadcasting sector, is now available to all newsrooms in the latest version of Buril Newsroom.Background noise cleanup tool“We’ve got some automatic cleanup of the audio so you can record a bulletin, even in a relatively noisy environment like this on a laptop, or maybe a journalist who’s at home can record a bulletin. “The system will send it off to our artificial intelligence, which will clean up the audio and video quality so that it sounds very nearly like something you might produce in a studio. That’s very new for us and we’ve been showing it here…”[embedded content]News sharing platformMost newsroom systems use a closed system, where computers are connected to a company’s network newsrooms and bureaus via a closed wide area network. The problem for the community radio sector when it wanted to develop its national news system, was that each station used different tools and systems which were not readily compatible. Burli solved this problem by modifying its software to deliver content and upload via a password accessed browser interface. The system is now working well for those community stations taking part, allowing them to contribute and extract news content from the system and from the CBAA’s Parliament House bureau and CSU’s National Radio Newsroom.IAN: “We’ve made it easier for reporting things, packaging, and then sending them to a variety of platforms. We also, separately from that, have a web-based platform which is designed for sharing news…  “Whether it’s a big group or it’s a group of independent stations, whether they are all under one umbrella or just completely independent stations who wish to share news resources, we’ve built this online-based platform that really is just a big pool of journalism resources from professional journalists. It’s a way to gather that, to organize it, to categorize the various content in it, and then make it very easy to send that into an editorial system like ours or another editorial system.. then be able to use that material to build their own bulletins.”STEVE: Sounds similar to what’s being done in the Australian community sector.IAN: “In fact, that’s where it comes from. It’s very much inspired by that. The community sector in Australia have built a ‘Build a Bulletin’ news sharing platform. “The same technology we use for that is now being used as part of the Burli news hub, which is being used elsewhere now to do very much the same sort of things. Groups of independent newsrooms, some of them with a fancy editorial system like ours, some of them with a different editorial system, some with none at all are now being able to share and pool their resources and have it either automatically appear in their system. To the journalist it’s just another newswire of material coming in, but to your independent producer it’s a website interface they go to and there’s this whole catalogue of material waiting there for them. It’s early days but we’re excited about the possibilities.” Related report: Community broadcasting sector expands news services and hires Canberra correspondent #CBAAConfDisclosure: Steve Ahern worked with Burli and the CBAA to develop the community sector’s news sharing platform and wrote the grant funding proposal for it. […]

AU & NZ

End of an era in NZ radio as Matt leaves his mark

September 29, 2024 radionewsfeeds Comments Off on End of an era in NZ radio as Matt leaves his mark

It’s the end of an era in New Zealand radio.14 years after first joining Radio Hauraki, Breakfast show co-host Matt Heath is leaving to take on a new role on Newstalk ZB’s Afternoons program, and he’s literally marked the occasion.Heath looks back fondly on his eleven years doing the brekky show with good mate Jeremy… Read More
The post End of an era in NZ radio as Matt leaves his mark by Sarah Patterson appeared first on Radio Today. […]

AU & NZ

From youth radio to acclaimed children’s author: Kristin Darell on the power of stories

September 29, 2024 radionewsfeeds Comments Off on From youth radio to acclaimed children’s author: Kristin Darell on the power of stories

Five years before 96.9FM became the home of Nova Sydney, the licence was up for grabs … and Hitz FM was one of the frontrunners.The legendary youth community station had already transformed Melbourne’s radio landscape. Now, it wanted to do the same in Sydney. But it had some competition on its hands, with FBi and… Read More
The post From youth radio to acclaimed children’s author: Kristin Darell on the power of stories by Sarah Patterson appeared first on Radio Today. […]

US

FCC Report 9/29: Potential St. George Move-In Shut Down For Circumventing Reallotment Procedured

September 29, 2024 radionewsfeeds Comments Off on FCC Report 9/29: Potential St. George Move-In Shut Down For Circumventing Reallotment Procedured

FCC Actions
The FCC has approved a 2019 petition filed by Xperi, NPR, and the NAB to allow FM stations to operate their HD Radio sidebands at different power levels without experimental authorization, although stations on 107.1 to 107.9 are currently exempted due to concerns raised by users of the adjacent Aeronautical Radio Navigation Spectrum (108.0 – 117.95 MHz) until further testing is completed.

In the petition it was said that with asymmetric sidebands a digital FM station can limit the power of one digital sideband to protect the adjacent analog FM station on that side while concurrently increasing the power of the other sideband in order to expand its overall digital coverage and improve its building penetration. They say that many more digital FM stations could increase power on at least one sideband above the current limit of -14 dBc with 6,120 of 10,875 digital FM stations studied able to increase power on both sidebands to -10 dBc under the current rules with an additional 3,496 stations could increase one sideband to -10 dBc if asymmetric sidebands were allowed.

As part of the grant, stations will need to notify the FCC of asymmetric operation indicating the digital ERP of of the upper and lower digital sidebands as well as the total digital ERP.

An Order to Pay or Show Cause has been issued to World Harvest Communications Inc. Gospel “Tap On Radio” 1070 WKMB Stirling NJ for not paying FCC regulatory fees since 2010. WKMB current owes $32,367.36 plus additional accruing interest.

The commission has dismissed the applications of Community Service Broadcasting Foundation’s 90.9 KKBX Caliente NV to relocate to Dammeron Valley UT and SSR Communications’ application to modify the COL on its CP for 100.7 KCAY Dammeron Valley to Ivins UT. An Order To Show Cause has also been issued to KCAY as to why its authorization should not be modified to specify operation as a Class A on 107.7 in Caliente as opposed to a C3 on 100.7 in Dammeron Valley.

An FCC engineering analysis rejects the proposed changes as the COL change from Dammeron Valley to Ivins for KCAY is an intra-urbanized area move that does not provide a preferential arrangement of assignments as it does not provide service improvement. The commission then states that SSR’s chain of modification applications and amendments since winning the original allocation of 107.7 Caliente in Auction 109 circumvented the Commission’s reallotment procedures and the amendment to change COL to Dammeron Valley was granted by staff error.

“SSR’s January 3, 2022, community of license modification to Channel 299A at Dammeron Valley violated the requirements of section 73.3573(g)(2) because the move to Dammeron Valley on Channel 299A was not mutually exclusive with the original auction allotment on Channel 264A at Caliente. SSR’s December 14, 2021, application to change its assigned channel from 264A to 299A in Caliente was a permissible channel substitution consistent with our rules. We find however that the immediately ensuing January 3, 2022, application to change the KCAY community of license from Channel 299A at Caliente to the same channel at Dammeron Valley was a major change subject to dismissal pursuant to the A109 Public Notice because the proposal was not mutually exclusive with the original auction allotment on Channel 264A at Caliente. We find also that the June 6, 2022, amendment specifying Channel 264A in lieu of Channel 299A at Dammeron Valley was not in compliance with 73.3573(g)(1), because the proposal would only be allowed under the conditions set forth in the 2006 Community of License Order as clarified in Rural Radio, specifically the need to demonstrate that the community of license change represent a preferential arrangement of assignments under section 73.3573(g)(1). Thus, the combination of the two granted applications specifying KCAY’s community of license change to Channel 264A, Dammeron Valley, and the subsequent upgrade to 264C3 at Dammeron Valley violated the requirements of our Rural Radio policy. Based on the foregoing, we dismiss the SSR Application.”

The KKBX application would result in a net population gain of 479 persons that is considered well-served by at least 21 reception services while the loss area is considered well-served by at least 6 reception services and 20 persons would lose a potential second NCE service making it also a non-preferential arrangement of allotments pursuant to section 73.3573(g)(1) of the FCC rules.

License Cancellations

Jimmy Dale Media has turned in the licenses of “Sports Radio 1340” WFMH and simulcaster 1460 WMCJ Cullman AL. No explanation was given.

Silent Notifications

MARC Radio’s Hip Hop “Magic 101.3” WTMG Williston FL (Tower collapsed from Hurricane Helene)
North Face Broadcasting’s 1450 KNOC Natchitoches LA (Transmitter failure)

AM Changes

As it prepares to add sister Sports “1230 The Game” KLAV to its tower site along with a move to 1240, […]

ASIA

Melbourne Radio Wars: A Breakfast Battle #RDA24

September 29, 2024 radionewsfeeds Comments Off on Melbourne Radio Wars: A Breakfast Battle #RDA24

“There’s three world class stations all fighting for a share of the same Melbourne audience,” said Wade Kingsley, founder of The Creative Coach and co creator of the podcast Game Changers Radio, speaking at RadioDays Asia 24. Kingsley says we can learn strategic lessons from this breakfast battle by analysing the decisions made by the main three market players, stations KIIS 101.1 (ARN), 101.9 THE FOX (SCA) and NOVA 100 Entertainment.First some background about the audience in the larger Australian markets in Melbourne and Sydney. The Australian market size (10+) is similar in both markets, over 4.8 million. The audience segment 25-54 years, with a slight female skew is 49% of total listeners in Melbourne and Sydney.The first move was made in late November ’23 when ARN signed breakfast team Kyle and Jackie O with a new $200m contract for 10 years. Next Jase and Lauren were let go from ARN to make way  for Kyle and Jackie O to be networked into Melbourne. Jase and Lauren were then signed by NOVA and have a 7 week start in a ratings period. At FOX Fifi, Fev and Nick start the battle in first place.Kingsley said the ratings so far show that KIIS breakfast hasn’t improved since the arrival of Kyle and Jackie O. Jase and Lauren have taken most of their audience across to Nova.The following are five lessons your station can learn from the Melbourne Radio Wars, said Kingsley.1. Remove long term personalities from your teams at your peril. You may have a view on the future potential of your talent that may not line up with what your audience think. The problem is they might not tell you until they’re gone. You need to go deeper than surface level research.2. Marketing doesn’t solve every problem you have. They spent $3 million marketing a product that’s more sexualised and over the top, asking the audience to make up their own mind about Kyle and Jackie O. It’s tempting to think you are heading in the right direction because you’re spending a lot. The marketing needs to have a clear “job to be done that aligns with your most important strategic challenge” approach.3. Manage expectations internally and externally. Better to play the safe game and be quietly confident rather than noisily incorrect. This especially applies for marketing efforts for your brand. Your Sales team are the best indicator of how others feel about the change.4. When fighting over the same audience, there may not be enough to go around so someone will go hungry. Consider how you can find a niche/ angle that you can build from. Possibly Kyle and Jackie could have focused more on the male audience.5. Friends who are funny still wins on breakfast radio. Think about who your audience would prefer to spend time with. The closer you have those people on the air, the closer you are to success.The team from the podcast Game Changers Radio have proposed a battle plan from the perspective of: A. Market Leader, B. Existing show new market, C. Same show new home. With the next ratings due out this week, all eyes and ears will be on Melbourne to see what survey 6 results bring for all the three warring stations.Listen to the Game Changers: Melbourne Radio Wars podcast here […]