Archived News and Articles - April 2005
Archive Date - April 31, 2005
NEW ROCK IS PASSÉ ON RADIO
Jeff Leeds – NY Times
Major radio companies are abandoning rock music so quickly lately that sometimes their own employees don't know it.
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Archive Date - April 29, 2005
ERIN DAVIS RETURNS TO CHFI-FM
David Bray – Broadcaster Magazine
Erin Davis will be returning home to CHFI-FM, back to the friends she made in her 15 years spent hosting that station's morning show. Most recently she had been co-hosting the morning show with Mike Cooper on EZRock 97.3. There (in the M-Fr. 6a-10a slot) she helped the station post a 12.4% share of hrs. tuned for Women 25-54 and a 7.6% share for A12+ (BBM Fall 2005). Erin signed off of EZRock for the last time this morning. She and Cooper will be joining forces in the jump to competitor CHFI.
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Archive Date - April 29, 2005
RTNDA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT WINNERS
Broadcaster Magazine
The Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada is pleased to announce that seven individuals will be honoured with the 2005 RTNDA Canada Lifetime Achievement Awards. The awards will be presented at RTNDA Regional Conferences in Saint John, N.B., Edmonton and Kelowna, B.C. in May, and at the Central Regional meeting in Toronto in June during the RTNDA National Conference.
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Archive Date - April 29, 2005
SIX SEEKING WOODSTOCK FM LICENCE
Several major radio chains are in the hunt for the 104.7 frequency, widely thought to be last FM spot in the area.
Hank Daniszewski – London Free Press
A new FM radio licence up for grabs in Woodstock is turning out to be a hot property. Six applicants, including several major radio chains, are vying for the 104.7 frequency, widely considered to be the last available spot on the FM dial in Southwestern Ontario.
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Archive Date - April 29, 2005
MIKE COOPER RESIGNS
Broadcast Dialogue
97.3 EZ Rock today announces that Mike Cooper has resigned his position as morning show host with the station. Terms of Cooper's agreement will bind him to the station for six months, after which time he will be available for employment. Cooper has not said where he will land in future. Brian DePoe, Program Director for EZ Rock says: "It's been terrific working with Mike for the past ten years. He's a real pro, and we wish him well with whatever he's chosen to do."
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Archive Date - April 29, 2005
RETIREMENT DOESN'T MEAN STOP WORKING
Center for Media Research
A newly released report, by the JWT Mature Market Group and ThirdAge, Inc. (an online survey of 1,680 adults 40+ years of age who currently work full- or part-time for pay), finds that personal fulfillment across all demographic groups is a very important factor in the decision to work in retirement. The report says that Baby Boomers and Aging Mid-lifers are working for more than pay. The new definition, now, of fully retired, does not mean not working.
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Archive Date - April 28, 2005
DMDS DELIVERS RELEASES TO U.S. RADIO
New Coldplay Single Delivered First For Capitol Records Along With Foo Fighters For RCA with Musicrypt’s DMDS
Broadcast Dialogue
Musicrypt Inc., the industry's leading digital music distribution company today announced the secure delivery of highly anticipated new singles “Speed of Sound” by superstar artists Coldplay (Capitol Records) on Monday April 18th at 9:00 am ET, and “Best of You” by Foo Fighters (RCA Records) on Wednesday, April 20th at 6 am ET to radio in the United States.
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Archive Date - April 28, 2005
INFINITY TO DEBUT PODCASTING RADIO STATION
FMQB
Infinity Broadcasting has announced the creation of KYOURADIO, the world's first podcasting radio station with content created exclusively by its listeners. The home of KYOURADIO will be 1550 KYCY-AM in San Francisco and streamed online at www.kyouradio.com beginning on Monday, May 16.
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Archive Date - April 28, 2005
WES MONTGOMERY, VETERAN BROADCASTER, DIES
Broadcaster Magazine
Veteran Alberta radio broadcaster Wes Montgomery has died after a brief illness. Montgomery, 66, died Monday in an Edmonton hospital.
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Archive Date - April 28, 2005
FOR WOMEN, A FAILURE TO NEGOTIATE
Their salaries may lag behind their male counterparts' because of poor bargaining skills. Here's how to correct that.
Pallavi Gogoi – BusinessWeek
Although women have certainly made plenty of progress in the workplace over the past three decades, the glass ceiling remains firmly in place at many companies -- especially when it comes to compensation. But some experts now suggest that the wage imbalance between the sexes could have as much to do with women's failure to negotiate well as any other factor.
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Archive Date - April 28, 2005
KARMAZIN IS SIRIUS ABOUT ADVERTISING
An Interview With the New Satellite Media Mogul
Scott Donaton – AdAge
Sirius Satellite Radio's ad revenue will rocket from $1 million to $100 million by 2007, CEO Mel Karmazin predicts, turning one of the hottest consumer electronics segments into one of the fastest-growing advertising mediums.
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Archive Date - April 27, 2005
JACOBS MEDIA: RADIO DOESN'T SUCK
Bram Teitelman – Billboard
Jacobs Media has concluded a Web survey of 19,263 rock listeners on their listening habits and thoughts regarding new technology. Their "Technology Survey 2005" concluded that most of the respondents defend radio, and don't think that it will be replaced by MP3 players or satellite radio, even though both are growing. It also suggests that radio stations should get involved with streaming, as Internet radio continues to show signs of growth.
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Archive Date - April 27, 2005
CORUS TO PODCAST MUSIC-BASED PROGRAMS
Broadcaster Magazine
Music enthusiasts everywhere can now access the real stories behind their favourite artists any time, anywhere, as Corus Radio announces its successful launch of podcasting. Popular music documentary programs The Ongoing History of New Music and Legends of Classic Rock are now available for download across Corus' new rock and classic rock stations.
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Archive Date - April 27, 2005
CABINET UPHOLDS ASTRAL-CORUS RADIO SWAP
Canadian Press
Astral Media Inc. and Corus Entertainment said Thursday they have won federal cabinet approval for an $11-million deal that will see the media companies swap radio stations in Quebec.
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Archive Date - April 27, 2005
FILE SWAPPING APPEAL BEGINS
Broadcaster Magazine
The music industry's appeal of last year's landmark file-swapping decision has opened in the Federal Court of Appeal.
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Archive Date - April 27, 2005
RADIO URGED TO EMBRACE NEW TECHNOLOGY
Joe Howard – Radio & Records
In a keynote address at yesterday's NAB2005 Radio Luncheon, Sun Microsystems co-founder and Chief Researcher John Gage encouraged the radio industry to use new media devices to expand its existing relationship with listeners. "The trust you build up, enabled by technology, is the essence of what we all can do in radio," he said, adding that radio must "look at the edge" of new technology and find ways to expand through new services.
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Archive Date - April 22, 2005
PRUNING TREE OF MARKETING THEORY
Cluttered verbiage obscures the real meaning and usefulness of terms. That's why I'm arguing for a simple, basic definition of "brand"
Christopher Kenton – BusinessWeek
For the past few weeks, I've been arguing for a reduction of the definition of "brand" to it's foundation. Brand, I believe, should be understood as a tangible symbol that distinguishes one company's products from those of the competition. All other notions, infused with theories about the complex relationship between company and customer, should be understood as derivative concepts -- separate from the core meaning.
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Archive Date - April 22, 2005
RTNDA ANNOUNCES DIVERSITY TEAM
Broadcaster Magazine
The Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada is bringing two industry veterans on board to head up their national diversity initiative. They will report to RTNDA's diversity committee.
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Archive Date - April 22, 2005
STANDARD TORONTO MAKES FUND RAISING HISTORY
Standard Release
The community has shown its overwhelming support of The Hospital for Sick Children by donating a world record amount of $ 3.2 million dollars during the Have a Heart for Sick Kids Radiothon.
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Archive Date - April 22, 2005
SUSQUEHANNA ON THE BLOCK
Tony Sanders – Billboard
Another long-time member of radio’s “old guard” is on the block. Susquehanna Radio (now Susquehanna Media) built its first station, WSBA York, Penn., in 1942, with funding from the Pfaltzgraff Pottery Company, the parent corporation that still owns that AM and 32 other stations in eight markets.
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Archive Date - April 21, 2005
ARBITRON TO NIELSEN: 'THANKS BUT NO THANKS'
Joe Mandese – MediaDailyNews
The continuing saga of Arbitron's and Nielsen's collaboration over the development of a portable people meter (PPM) system took a surprising twist on Friday, when after months of pleading, Arbitron said it no longer wants Nielsen's support of an important test of the system in Houston. "By the time Nielsen would make its decision, the Houston demonstration market will be up, running and producing audience estimates," said Pierre Bouvard, president of Arbitron's portable people meter initiative said in a notice sent to clients on Friday.
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Archive Date - April 21, 2005
INFINITY TO BROADCAST TO CELLPHONES
Sue Zeidler – Reuters
Infinity Broadcasting said on Sunday it planned to broadcast its programs to mobile phones in the United States, and include text data for subscribers.
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Archive Date - April 21, 2005
INTEL'S WIMAX: WI-FI ON STEROIDS
The chipmaker's ultrafast technology could transform the broadband landscape
Cliff Edwards – BusinessWeek
When Hollywood digerati took in the documentary Rize at the Sundance Film Festival in late January, they got a glimpse of the future. The movie, about dancers from the mean streets of Los Angeles, was streamed wirelessly to a mountaintop ski lodge from an Intel Corp. server 12 miles away. The technology behind the public-relations stunt: Intel's much-promoted WiMax -- a kind of Wi-Fi on steroids. As the documentary flickered across a big screen, the impressive feat of seamlessly delivering gobs of compressed data over the air wowed the audience nearly as much as the movie did.
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Archive Date - April 19, 2005
IPOD KILLERS?
New rivals take aim at the champ
Roger O. Crockett, Heather Green Tom Lowry, Moon Ihlwan, Andy Reinhardt and Peter Burrows – BusinessWeek
Sometimes wanna be your lover / Sometimes wanna be your friend - Jason Smikle couldn't get the song out of his head. A freshman at Temple University, the 19-year-old hummed the tune by hip-hop impresario Ludacris, in the shower, over breakfast, and as he walked to class. On a recent 80-degree day in Philadelphia, he started singing the lyrics while he and a buddy, who had just broken up with a girlfriend, relaxed on the campus quad. His friend whipped out his LG mobile phone, tapped a couple of keys, and presto, the melody wafted into the air. "So cool," Smikle recalls. He only wished he could download the song to his own phone on the spot. "It'd be very cool, when the moment called for it, if I could just get the song," he says.
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Archive Date - April 19, 2005
CC EXPECTS RATINGS BUMP FROM LIM
Paul Heine – Billboard
John Hogan is confident Less Is More will cause a ratings increase for Clear Channel stations, perhaps as soon as the Winter '05 survey. "Once they see our ratings go up, the rest of the industry will follow," he tells Billboard Radio Monitor.
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Archive Date - April 19, 2005
SIRIUS CANADA CONDEMNS ILLEGAL SATELLITE RADIO
Sirius Canada Release
SIRIUS Canada Inc., through its solicitors, has sent strong letters to certain retailers and/or distributors in Western and Northern Canada asking them to stop what appears to be the selling of illegal "grey market" subscriptions to satellite radio
service provided in the U.S. by one of SIRIUS Canada's shareholders, SIRIUS
Satellite Radio, Inc.
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Archive Date - April 19, 2005
CRTC CONSIDERS CANCON INCREASE
All Access
One of the issues the CRTC is set to tackle is a possible increase in Canadian Content requirements from 35% to 40%, according to Canadian Press. CRTC Chairman Charles Dalfen said Tuesday that while broadcasters are facing new challenges from satellite radio and the Internet, radio's strong performance means that "whatever is happening, from a business point of view, it is working and that to us is always important because it is much harder to ask people whose businesses aren't healthy to do more Canadian content."
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Archive Date - April 19, 2005
MARKETING RESEARCH BACK IN STYLE
Stuart Elliott – NY Times
For years, advertising research was perceived on Madison Avenue as a staid, even quaint, field with little practical relevance. Now, as clients increasingly hold agencies accountable for effective ads, the researchers are being eagerly sought out.
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Archive Date - April 18, 2005
IN CAR LISTENING IS RADIO'S HEALTHIEST LOCATION
FMQB
Calling it a "surprising contradiction of the conventional wisdom," Kurt Hanson's RAIN has posted an analysis of Arbitron radio ratings data that shows "In Car" usage of terrestrial radio increasing during the period that satellite radio has made significant inroads with the car companies.
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Archive Date - April 18, 2005
GREAT MARKETERS MARKET GREAT
Bob Liodice – Association of National Advertisers.
So what are the common denominators for successful marketers in today’s rapidly changing environment? How can leaders best respond to the challenges of putting consumers in charge … and for making marketing investments more accountable?
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Archive Date - April 18, 2005
CHRISTIAN ROCK IS ON A MISSION
It's about new audiences and a stronger genre, the promoter of Fishfest says.
Marc Weingarten – LA Times
Christian rock: two words that can scare off the most forbearing music fan. For years, the practitioners of this most hermetically sealed of subgenres have been content to play to their own constituency, which sales figures show has grown since 2001, but things are shaking up a bit.
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Archive Date - April 18, 2005
LESS PROVES HIGHER CPMS BUT FEWER DOLLARS
Joe Mandese – MediaDailyNews
Less apparently does mean more in radio advertising -- more CPMs. Clear Channel Communications, which embarked on a controversial plan to reduce the amount of commercial time on its radio stations, boosted the price of its ad time during the first quarter, its top executive confirmed in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. "Advertisers are paying more for 60-second spots with us than they did last year, and more than they did the previous month," John Hogan, CEO of Clear Channel Radio, the nation's largest radio broadcaster told the newswire service, adding that radio advertisers are also relying less on the medium's traditional 60-second ad units and more on 30-second spots.
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Archive Date - April 18, 2005
ROGERS TO OFFER LIVE TV ON MOBILE PHONES
Broadcaster Magazine
Rogers Communications Inc. will become the first Canadian telecom company to offer live television over mobile phones, the company said on Thursday.
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Archive Date - April 18, 2005
LOGGER TAPES VIOLATION
CBSC Release
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) released its decision concerning the retention of logger tapes by radio station CJAD-AM in Montreal. The CBSC had received a complaint about the station’s broadcast of an episode of the Tommy Schnurmacher Show and the radio station confirmed the availability of the tapes; however, the station was unable to deliver tapes of the episode in question when requested to do so as a part of the CBSC’s review of the file. The CBSC Quebec Regional Panel found the broadcaster in breach of its obligation to retain logger tapes.
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Archive Date - April 18, 2005
CORUS ANNOUNCES 2ND QUARTER RESULTS
Broadcaster Magazine
Corus Entertainment Inc.announced excellent second quarter results today, highlighted by a 12% increase in Radio advertising revenues and a 21% increase in specialty Television advertising revenues. Radio segment profit increased by 29% while Television segment profit was up 15%.
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Archive Date - April 15, 2005
CLEAR CHANNEL EXPLORING DELIVERY SYSTEMS
Paul Heine – Billboard
To adapt to today’s shifting media landscape, Clear Channel Radio is moving aggressively to exploit alternate delivery systems for its content. “Anyone who thinks radio is only tall towers in big fields is thinking much too narrowly,” CCR president and CEO John Hogan tells Billboard Radio Monitor. “Any radio company that defines itself by a single delivery method is doomed.”
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Archive Date - April 15, 2005
BROADCASTING PUBLIC NOTICE CRTC 2005-30
CRTC Release
Call for applications for a broadcasting licence to carry on a radio programming undertaking to serve Grande Prairie, Alberta.
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Archive Date - April 15, 2005
RADIO LISTENERS STAY TUNED THROUGH COMMERCIALS
Bram Teitelman – Billboard
Nearly half of American radio listeners, or 49%, don't change stations when a commercial comes on when listening at home, while only 6% don't change channels when a TV commercial comes on. That's one of the findings of a joint study between Arbitron and Edison Media Research on spot load. Another finding of the survey shows that more radio listeners prefer three commercial breaks of four spots an hour than two commercial breaks of six spots per hour.
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Archive Date - April 15, 2005
DIGITAL AUDIO'S FUTURE LOUD, CLEAR
Paul Bond – Reuters
Satellite radio subscriptions are likely to climb to more than 20 million in the next five years, driven by early adopters of the technology with above-average incomes, according to a study released on Tuesday.
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Archive Date - April 14, 2005
FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR RADIO
CRTC Release
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has released today its statistical and financial summaries for commercial private radio in Canada, covering the results of the industry for 2000 to 2004. Overall, revenues for the 544 Canadian radio stations increased by 2.5% from 2003 to 2004, reaching $1.2 billion. From 2003 to 2004, their earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) decreased by 1.3%, going from $227 to $224.1 million, while the average annual growth of their EBIT was 7.6% over five years. Notably, from 2003 to 2004, revenues for English-language stations grew by 4%, and that of ethnic and Aboriginal stations by 5.7%, while revenues for French-language stations shrank by 4.6%. EBIT of English-language stations increased by 0.6% and that of French-language stations decreased by 19.3%, while ethnic and Aboriginal stations experienced a strong increase of 67.2%.
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Archive Date - April 14, 2005
WIDE AND WONDERFUL
Paul Heine – Billboard
Radio's playlist liberation movement hatched at a birthday party in Manitoba, Canada. A radio was blasting when Howard Kroeger, director of operations and programming for CHUM Broadcasting's Winnipeg stations, arrived at his friend's 40th-birthday bash—but the station playing wasn't one of his. It was a competitor's classic rock station. Unfazed, Kroeger used the occasion to conduct an informal focus group among the partygoers, most in their mid- to late 30s.
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Archive Date - April 14, 2005
TOP POL SAYS REWRITE TELECOMS ACT
Todd Shields – Mediaweek
The chairman of the U.S. House Commerce Committee on Tuesday called for a broad rewrite of the nation's telecommunications laws, ushering in a legislative debate with possibly profound ramifications for TV, radio and the Internet.
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Archive Date - April 14, 2005
RADIO FLAT; PREPARES FOR FUTURE
Jack Loechner – Center for Media Research
Expected Innovative Growth According to the current RAB report, grand total combined spot and non-spot Radio revenues for February 2005 remained flat compared to February of 2004 (28 days vs. 29 days), as the burgeoning industry positions itself for long-tem growth and expansion in the evolving media marketplace.
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Archive Date - April 13, 2005
BYRNESMEDIA CLIENT’S SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER
Lite 107 Release
“Musicians For Hope” was held at the “Bohemian Penguin” in Belleville on Sunday, April 10th. It was a 12 hour marathon of music for local resident, Gerald Bouder, who was injured at work in March.
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Archive Date - April 13, 2005
QUEBEC JOCK TO PAY $300,000 IN SUIT
CTV
Controversial former Quebec City radio host Jeff Fillion is being ordered to pay more than $300,000 in a defamation lawsuit.
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Archive Date - April 13, 2005
XM & AOL COMBINE FORCES
FMQB
XM and America Online announced that they will team up to create a new online radio service together. The two companies will share content to create what they are calling "the world’s largest combined digital radio network." The new service will offer both a free, online web radio component, as well as an enhanced version that will be available to AOL members as part of their membership, or as a paid service to non-AOL users. The co-branded service will launch this summer as part of AOL's revamping of AOL.com.
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Archive Date - April 13, 2005
CANADA'S 'MEDIA IDOL' COMPETITION
Trisha Richards – Broadcaster Magazine
CTV is challenging members of Toronto media outlets to go before Canadian Idol judges in a friendly "Media Idol" competition.
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Archive Date - April 12, 2005
OPEN YOUR MINDS TO DIGITAL
Dan Mason
An open letter to all analysts who cover radio:
Please sharpen your focus! You should be writing about all of the great digital products that are coming to radio with the new technologies. Your focus shouldn’t be on a 5 percent pricing increase. Do you really believe that “less is more” will increase the value of a radio station on its own merit?
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Archive Date - April 12, 2005
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
Southern California Broadcasters Association Release
To the Editorial Board of the NY Times:
When did it become permissible to do reporting without doing accurate field work? To cite an urban myth and pass it off as fact? Yet another reporter from yet another "prestige" publication has leapt onto the "bash radio" bandwagon wielding impressions rather than facts. They are entitled to their opinions -- if they would just call them that: personal opinions.
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Archive Date - April 12, 2005
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CRTC 2005-4
CRTC Release
The Commission will hold a public hearing commencing on 6 June 2005 at 9:30 a.m., at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 6700 Fallsview Boulevard, Niagara Falls, Ontario, to consider the following applications. The deadline for submission of interventions/comments is 12 May 2005.
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Archive Date - April 12, 2005
RADIO REDUX
Larry Magid – CBS News
First it was AM, followed by FM, and then, satellite radio. Along the way we picked up streaming audio on the web and "Podcasting" to iPods and other portable music players. Now there is a new way to listen to radio.
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Archive Date - April 12, 2005
ARBITRON'S COHEN TALKS CELL PHONES
FMQB
In response to a Jacobs Media poll that stated there is a "crisis for Arbitron" in trying to reach cell phone only households, Arbitron VP/Domestic Radio Research Dr. Ed Cohen told FMQB, "Essentially, we are moving as fast as we can."
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Archive Date - April 12, 2005
IS PODCASTING THE NEW RADIO?
Pat Nason – UPI
Podcasting is catching on with U.S. consumers, and if the word doesn't ring a bell with you, just wait a bit - you may be getting in on podcasting before long, and you might even be doing it already without knowing the name for it.
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Archive Date - April 11, 2005
THREE ROUNDS TOE TO TOE
John Silliman Dodge - FMQB
I recently saw Million Dollar Baby starring Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, a superb movie which really isn’t about boxing at all but uses boxing as a metaphor for the larger struggles and the quest for glory we all go through. Now I’m in a boxing metaphor kind of mood and ready for a vigorous debate. Want to go three rounds toe to toe just for the fun of it? Good. You take the part of terrestrial radio and I’ll be satellite radio. Ready? Ding goes the bell.
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Archive Date - April 11, 2005
EXPLORING THE RIGHT TO SHARE, MIX AND BURN
David Carr – NY Times
The tickets for the event Thursday sold out in five minutes on the Internet, and on the evening itself the lines stretched down the block. The reverent young fans might as well have been holding cellphones aloft as totems of their fealty.
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Archive Date - April 11, 2005
A RADIO-CENTRIC PPM SERVICE?
Paul Heine – Billboard
Suppose Nielsen decides against forming a joint venture with Arbitron on the Portable People Meter, thereby leaving the radio industry virtually alone to foot the bill – with no PPM cost sharing from the TV industry? How would that affect the price of electronic audience measurement for radio?
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Archive Date - April 11, 2005
17-20% OF 18-34'S ARE CELL-PHONE ONLY
Paul Heine – Billboard
Arbitron’s inability to invite cell phone-only Americans to participate in its audience surveys is of paramount concern to radio stations that that live off the 18-34 demo. The issue received major floor time at the Arbitron Advisory Council’s just concluded spring meeting in Washington, D.C.
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Archive Date - April 11, 2005
L.A. EXEC LEAVES CLEAR CHANNEL
Roy Laughlin's abrupt split fuels talk that despite successes, he may have clashed too often with corporate bosses.
Geoff Boucher – LA Times
Roy Laughlin, the high-profile vice president of Clear Channel Los Angeles and the general manager of top 40 powerhouse KIIS-FM (102.7), has parted ways with the nation's dominant radio company.
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Archive Date - April 9, 2005
INVASION OF THE ROBO-DJS
Radio stations are hoping computer-generated, iPod-style playlists will stem audience declines. Cool idea, but probably not cool enough
Burt Helm – BusinessWeek
The latest recipe for success in broadcast radio? Dump a thousand or so random songs into a playlist. Hit shuffle. Then, more often than not, kill the live DJ and replace him with a computer. The stations' monikers are common male names, like "Bob," "Ben," "Hank," and most commonly, "Jack."
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Archive Date - April 8, 2005
COMBINED INDUSTRY INTERNET RADIO RATINGS
Kurt Hanson and Paul Maloney – Radio & Internet Newsletter
As regular RAIN readers are well aware, there are currently numerous sources of information on the audience size of Internet radio webcasters -- (1) estimates from comScore Arbitron Online Radio Ratings for four top webcasters, (2) actual numbers, derived from server logs, from AndoMedia's Webcast Metrics for another 20 or so webcasters, and (3) self-reported releases, based on server logs, from individual webcasters like the BBC Radio and Virgin Radio UK.
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Archive Date - April 8, 2005
ALBERTA'S FIRST MODERN ROCK RADIO STATION
Broadcast Dialogue
Yesterday morning at 10 am MDT, Sean the engineer put down his coffee cup and unfiltered cigarette long enough to pull on his short-shorts and rubber boots, wade through the giant monster truck mud bog that surrounds the broadcast site, and flip the switch on Alberta’s first modern rock radio station, Edmonton’s SONIC 102.9. (CHDI)
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Archive Date - April 8, 2005
HOWARD STERN BEGS VIACOM TO FIRE HIM
FMQB
Calling it a "slam dunk" for Viacom, syndicated morning man Howard Stern was pleading today to be let out of his contract. "I am begging Viacom, openly, over these airwaves, to fire me," said Stern this morning as he discussed the comments made by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) that those who flagrantly violate FCC indecency standards should be subject to criminal prosecution rather than a regulatory process.
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Archive Date - April 8, 2005
NEXT ON THE BBC: WHATEVER YOU WANT
British consumers are embracing the Beeb's digital "on-demand" services
Kerry Capell and Heather Green – BusinessWeek
Robert Smith, a PhD student from Lancaster, is one of millions of listeners worldwide tuning into the British Broadcasting Corp.'s digital radio shows each week on their computers. Thanks to the BBC's Radio Player, Smith, 38, no longer has to worry about missing live broadcasts of cult soap opera The Archers or Radio 1's world-music show. All he needs to do is go to the BBC Web site, click on Radio Player, and he can tune in anytime up to seven days after a broadcast. "Now I can listen to what I want, when I want," he says.
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Archive Date - April 8, 2005
THE NEXT DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Monica Rivituso – SmartMoney
In technology, there's always something bigger and better around the corner. And when it comes to wireless, that something is WiMax.
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Archive Date - April 8, 2005
JACK/BOB: WHEN TO CO-OPT
Sean Ross – Edison Media Research
The first 18 months of the Jack/Bob phenomenon went, for the most part, unnoticed by American broadcasters. Those who were aware of it often dismissed Jack/Bob as either something that made sense only in Canada, or as the latest successor to the short-lived all-‘70s, all-‘80s, and Jammin’ Oldies land rushes.
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Archive Date - April 8, 2005
INTEREST BODES WELL FOR REFORM
Michael Geist – Toronto Star
Last week, almost 24 hours before the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in MGM v. Grokster, a highly publicized file-sharing case that pitted Hollywood against the technology community, dozens of people began lining up, prepared to brave a cold Washington, D.C. night in order to attend the hearing. Outside, the steps of the Supreme Court were filled with protesters representing both sides of the copyright issue.
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Archive Date - April 7, 2005
CANADIAN BROADCASTING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
CAB Release
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) welcomes the tabling of Reinforcing our Cultural Sovereignty - Setting the Direction for the Canadian Broadcasting System, the Government’s response to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s report on the Canadian broadcasting system.
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Archive Date - April 7, 2005
ANALYST: RADIO SPOT LOADS "LIGHTER FOR ALL"
Tony Sanders – Billboard
Clear Channel has plenty of group-owner company in lightening its spotload inventory. A study by a Wachovia analyst, citing Media Monitors data, shows that “other radio groups, public and private, are now paring back their spotloads. Almost every group had a lighter average drivetime inventory load in the top twelve markets.”
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Archive Date - April 7, 2005
PETER JENNINGS HAS LUNG CANCER
CNN
ABC news anchor Peter Jennings has been diagnosed with lung cancer, his colleagues were told Tuesday.
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Archive Date - April 7, 2005
RIM STILL AT CUTTING EDGE
Firm's gadgetry is unequalled and indispensable - That's a superior combination for driving revenues up
M. Corey Goldman – Toronto Star
The Blackberry reigns as the wireless e-mail device of choice. The name is now synonymous with both the produce and the product. No competitor has yet come close to squashing the Blackberry's popularity.
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Archive Date - April 6, 2005
FRESH AIR DETECTED ON U.S. AIRWAVES
Antonia Zerbisias – Toronto Star
Not all media players are blinded by the right and competing for the conservative crowd.
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Archive Date - April 6, 2005
AS SATELLITE RADIO TAKES OFF
Lorne Manly – NY Times
Just a blink after the newly emergent titans of radio - Clear Channel Communications, Infinity Broadcasting and the like - were being accused of scrubbing diversity from radio and drowning listeners in wall-to-wall commercials, the new medium of satellite radio is fast emerging as an alternative. And broadcasters are fighting back.
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Archive Date - April 6, 2005
IN THE INTERNET'S HIGH-SPEED LANE
Widespread adoption of broadband access is driving new ways to meet, talk, shop, study, and work. And the under-25 set is a prime force
Olga Kharif – BusinessWeek
It has been a while since 18-year-old Abe Hassan read a book of fiction or went to bed before 10 p.m. After his parents signed up for broadband Internet access, Hassan began making daily rounds of the social-networking Web site LiveJournal.com, where he can talk to any of its 6.6 million other members. "It has been a complete transformation of my lifestyle," he says. "Now, I am up until 1 or 2 a.m. or later, because there's always someone around [on the site]."
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Archive Date - April 6, 2005
WXRK FLIPS TO MAINSTREAM ROCK
Paul Heine and Bram Teitelman – Billboard
WXRK (K-Rock) New York dropped its modern rock format, flipped to a wide version of mainstream rock and launched a new, separate Internet channel Monday (April 4) shortly after 10:30 a.m.
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Archive Date - April 6, 2005
CLEAR CHANNEL FLAGS MUSIC LIBRARY
FMQB
In an ongoing effort to clean up its airwaves, Clear Channel has taken to the task of flagging its internal music library with a new color coding system for users with access to the 63,000+ titles located on the Clear Channel Audio Delivery System. The alert system was implemented as a self-preservation maneuver amidst the current climate regarding indecent content by the FCC and to make sure its stations are doing everything possible to prevent the airing of material in songs that would violate the FCC's rules between the non-safe harbor hours of 6 a.m. - 10 p.m.
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Archive Date - April 6, 2005
K-OS AMID THE CHAOS
GTA rockers, led by k-os and Billy Talent, win big - Some glitches, but a solid broadcast and great host city
Ben Rayner – Toronto Star
Awards shows tend to be critical punching bags, but even the most strident cynic must be forced to concede the 2005 Juno Awards wound up being a respectable affair.
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Archive Date - April 5, 2005
CANADA'S MUSICAL BEST
Toronto Star
Juno award winners:
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Archive Date - April 5, 2005
NEW SERVICE BRINGS RADIO TO PHONES
Start-up MSpot hopes to take on the fledgling satellite radio industry with a new service that delivers streaming news, talk and music programming to mobile phones.
David Becker – CNET News
Palo Alto, Calif.-based MSpot is set to launch its MSpot Radio service on Monday, initially targeting customers of Sprint's PCS Vision mobile phone service.
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Archive Date - April 5, 2005
NO FISTFIGHTS FOR JERRY SPRINGER ON RADIO
Mark Glassman – NY Times
Hello, America and everyone across the sea," said Jerry Springer on Friday morning. "Let's play radio."
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Archive Date - April 4, 2005
SLAIGHT IN HAND
`He saved my life and everybody else who was trying to play rock and roll at the time. He did, baby, he did.'
Jennifer Wells – Toronto Star
Tony Viner, poolside, Wesley Chapel, Florida, 30 degrees. "The story he always tells about me, which isn't true, is the day we launched Q107. He and his wife and my wife went out to a restaurant to celebrate after having celebrated much in the afternoon. He claims that I insisted on changing the radio in order to pick up Q107 and that I was later found adjusting the air conditioner ... I vehemently deny that story."
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Archive Date - April 4, 2005
WDRQ DROPS POP TO BECOME '93.1 DOUG-FM'
Radio & Records
ABC Radio's CHR/Pop WDRQ/Detroit today abandoned its CHR/Pop format in favor of an Adult Hits "playing anything" format that mirrors the many "Jack-FM" stations throughout North America, adopting the name "93.1 Doug-FM." Station President/GM Steve Kosbau confirmed the change this afternoon, explaining that it was not an April Fools' Day stunt.
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Archive Date - April 4, 2005
XM REPORTS STRONG SUBSCRIBER GROWTH
TechWeb News
XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. on Friday reported a big boost in the number of new subscribers to its digital-radio network in the first quarter.
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Archive Date - April 3, 2005
ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET?
Ari Rosenberg – MediaDailyNews
Have you ever met Spencer Longshore? You would know if you had. He is the kind of guy who sticks to you like a middle linebacker with a free shot at the quarterback. Wham - one meeting and he hits you with all he has collected from his 30-plus years in the business selling advertising.
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Archive Date - April 3, 2005
THE FUTURE OF WI-FI
Cory Treffiletti – OnlineSpin
Today's fun fact... there are currently more than 30 million Wi-Fi users in North America. There are approximately 118 million users worldwide, generated via more than 125 million Wi-Fi hotspots around the world (stats courtesy of Pyramid Research via BusinessWeek Online).
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Archive Date - April 3, 2005
THE ARGUMENT FOR P2P
Jim Meskauskas – OnlineSpin
Peer-to-peer computing has become the coolest application in the Internet Age since the browser itself. It has made real what the Internet promises to do and how it will deliver on those promises. No one could have foreseen just how immensely popular these applications would become. Looking back, it seems almost awkwardly obvious.
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Archive Date - April 3, 2005
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
(Not Daylight Savings Time)
Matt Rosenberg – Guide To Geography
Every spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and "lose" an hour during the night and each fall we move our clocks back one hour and "gain" an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an "s") wasn't just created to confuse our schedules.
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Archive Date - April 3, 2005
YAHOO! MUSIC, CANADA IS HERE
Free comprehensive music site tailored to Canadians
Yahoo Release
Yahoo! Canada Co. an affiliate of Yahoo! Inc., today unveiled Yahoo! Music, Canada, its new and unique digital music destination offering Canadians a customized listening and viewing experience through Internet radio, music videos, music news, interviews, performances and much more.
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Archive Date - April 3, 2005
3 CHOSEN TO REVIEW CRTC'S POLICY: SOURCES
Telecom industry seeks rule changes - New technologies spark action
Tyler Hamilton – Toronto Star
The former head of Microsoft Corp.'s Canadian Web portal and a prominent communications lawyer from Toronto are among three panellists who will conduct a sweeping review of Canada's telephone regulator, industry sources say.
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Archive Date - April 2, 2005
LOYAL EARS PODCASTING PLATFORM FOR RADIO
Radio Ink
In a joint effort with Los Angeles-based Bridge Ratings, Loyal Ears has designed a turn-key application that will facilitate free or revenue-based download podcasts for listener consumption.
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Archive Date - April 1, 2005
CHUM-FM LAUNCHES PODCAST OF MORNING SHOW
Broadcaster
Beginning Monday, May 2, CHUM-FM will offer a special downloadable version of its morning show designed specifically for MP3 users. The new daily podcast means CHUM FM listeners can enjoy the best of Roger, Rick & Marilyn anywhere, anytime.
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Archive Date - April 1, 2005
ABUSIVE COMMENTS BREACH CODE OF ETHICS
CBSC Release
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released its decision concerning comments made about immigration and immigrants on the Doc Mailloux show broadcast on CKAC-AM (Montreal). On the December 2, 2003 episode of the program, the hosts and callers discussed the issues of immigration and the integration of immigrants into Quebec society. A complainant alleged that the host “made nasty comments, tainted with insulting racism of the first order.”
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Archive Date - April 1, 2005
MIW REVEAL RADIO GENDER STATS
Phyllis Stark – Billboard
Women are still scarce in upper management positions at radio according to a new gender analysis study by the trade group Mentoring and Inspiring Women (MIW). As of late last year, women were managing 15% of U.S. radio stations, up just 1% from the previous year.
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Archive Date - April 1, 2005
XM TARGETS CELL PHONES, PDAS, MP3 PLAYERS
Tony Sanders – Billboard
In advance of his March 30 presentation at Banc of America, XM Satellite Radio chairman Gary Parsons told a CNBC viewership that his group’s objective is to permeate “cell phones, PDAs, MP3 [players] and the like”—especially by means of the new “connect-and-play” chip that links an XM antenna to a consumer product such as a clock radio or stereo amplifier. Parsons said the connect-and-play chip “may be the first way that MP3 players and cell phones decide to add XM capability.”
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Archive Date - April 1, 2005
RADIO PERSONALITY DON ROSE DIES
Associated Press
Dr. Don Rose, who entertained Bay Area radio listeners for nearly two decades, died Wednesday. He was 70.
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Archive Date - April 1, 2005
RADIOYOURWAY GREAT FOR RADIO JUNKIES
Ron Harris – Associated Press
Today's technology consumer devours lots of different media, and that has taken the luster away from some old-fashioned information stalwarts — namely AM/FM radio.
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