|
July 18th, 1999
PACIFICA IN TROUBLE
The situation over at Pacifica radio has been bubbling and brewing for
quite some time now and last week it finally came to a head. There are all sorts
of stories, rumors, news reports and the like circulating around. No matter what
they all say, the fact is that Pacifica is in big trouble. Get informed. Take action.
The Radio4All site has a lot of information for you to process, including text of
some rather incriminating emails and a lawsuit against Pacifica Foundation:
http://www.radio4all.org/freepacifica/index.html
STATIC AT PACIFICA
full story online at Yahoo News
More than 50 people have been arrested this week in the latest battle for control
over KPFA, the oldest listener-supported radio station in the United States.
"It's actually quite sad that an organization that was founded on the principle
of free speech has fired its staff, censored its news, and turned its back so completely
on the principles," Eileen Alfandary, a former news director at the station,
told reporters.Police arrived in riot gear and arrested 44 protesters as well as
eight KPFA volunteers and staff who refused to leave the premises.
Bernstein, host of KPFA's public affairs program, "Flashpoint," was physically
removed from the newsroom and later taken from the station in handcuffs.
"I'm flabbergasted that I would be pulled from the air ... by people who founded
the station to stand as a bastion of free speech," Bernstein told reporters.
"I believe this is is about First Amendment rights. This is an absolute case
of censorship."
full story online at Yahoo News
In 50 colorful years at the forefront of radical radio, KPFA has had Alan Ginsberg
"Howl," played sound bites from Patty Hearst and unleashed the counterculture
couplets of The Grateful Dead. On Wednesday, the voices raised in protest at KPFA
were its own.
"We're going to stay here as long as we need to make sure they don't steal our
marvelous and scrappy, unpredictable radio station," show host Dennis Bernstein
told a crowd of several hundred demonstrators.
Bernstein, who was yanked off the air Tuesday night, was joined at the rally by "The
Color Purple" author Alice Walker, who called KPFA "the voice that reaches
us and the voice that speaks for us."
Dissent at KPFA has built since the dismissal of popular general manager Nicole Sawaya
in April. A management edict that the issue not be discussed on-air set the stage
for a series of showdowns that resulted in staff firings and the arrests of protesters
for trespassing.
Disaffected staffers and their supporters charge that nonprofit parent company Pacifica
Foundation is trying to force KPFA into a more conventional mold to attract corporate
donations. They also believe there is a move afoot - managers deny it - to sell KPFA,
which has a powerful 59,000-watt signal that reaches across the northern half of
California.
The unrest has gotten so bad that on Wednesday, the doors were locked and managers
were playing tapes of old shows. "Everyone at KPFA has been placed on administrative
leave until we're able to cool things off," said Pacifica spokeswoman Elan Fabbri.
full story online at SFGate
The battle for the future of the nation's oldest public radio station, KPFA-FM
in Berkeley, grew uglier when management tried to bar the public and certain reporters
from attending a press conference to discuss station changes.
The invitation-only press conference with Mary Frances Berry, chairwoman of the board
of directors of KPFA's parent company, the Pacifica Foundation, was blocked by a
security guard with a list, provoking shouting matches between the anointed and the
outcast.
A 20-year veteran reporter with credentials from KPFA Evening News was about to be
thrown out by guards when Berry arrived and overruled the guest list, allowing everyone
a free seat at the press conference, which was held at the Oakland Marriott hotel.
Since April, Pacifica and KPFA have been fighting over local control and the terminations
of station manager Nicole Sawaya, on-air talk show veteran Larry Bensky and "Across
the Great Divide" volunteer disc jockey Robbie Osman. Protests, legal threats
and bullets have all since landed on the front steps of the station made famous for
its leftist approach to programming.
CUMULUS BUYS NINE MORE STATIONS
full story online at Excite News
Cumulus Media Inc. announced that it has acquired nine radio stations from three
sellers to establish station clusters in three new markets for an aggregate purchase
price of $51 million cash. The stations are in Mobile, AL; Pensacola, FL; and McAllen-
Brownsville- Harlingen, TX.
CLEAR CHANNEL, DAME MERGE
full story online at Albany Business Journal
After a year's engagement, Clear Channel Communications Inc. and Dame Media Inc.
finally are ready to consummate their $85 million marriage.
Dame, a privately held company based in Harrisburg, Pa., had owned a total of 22
radio stations in New York and Pennsylvania.
This brings Clear Channel's holdings to a total of 625 radio properties throughout
the world. Of those, 241 were added last month, when Clear Channel bought Jacor Communications
of Covington, Ky.
HBC BUYS DALLAS STATION
full story online at Excite News
Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, announced that it has entered into an agreement
with SBT Communications Statutory Trust to acquire the broadcast license of a radio
station broadcasting at 94.1 MHz and serving the Dallas/Ft. Worth market, for approximately
$65 million in cash.
EMMIS BUYING SINCLAIR?
full story online at Yahoo News
Emmis Communications has emerged as a contender to buy Sinclair's radio station
group after inking a deal that paves the way for Emmis to acquire Sinclair's radio
and TV outlets in the St. Louis market.
Now, Emmis is poised to hammer out a deal with Sinclair for the purchase price of
ABC affil KDNL St. Louis and six radio stations. At the same time, Emmis is clearly
eyeing the purchase of the rest of Sinclair's 51-station radio group, which is projected
to fetch about $900 million.
June 20th, 1999
FOX WITHDRAWS FROM NAB
full story online at Nando
The Fox network has pulled out of the National Association of Broadcasters, saying
the trade group would not lobby harder in Congress for relaxed rules governing ownership
of TV stations.
Fox, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., wanted the NAB to push for greater
deregulation in the broadcast industry, especially a rule that prevents a company
from owning stations that reach more than 35 percent of U.S. households.
Fox reaches just under 35 percent of U.S. homes with the 22 stations it owns.
Other networks have also protested the ownership rule. But locally owned stations
have been opposed to increasing the 35 percent cap because they fear that could give
the networks more clout over smaller stations.
FREE SPEECH BOUGHT AND PAID FOR
full story online at SFGate
The bad guys have serious TV journalism surrounded, but there are still a few
die- hards refusing to come out with their hands up.
Bill Moyers, for one. He's less prolific than he used to be because of heart disease
and his recuperation from heart surgery in 1994. But he still has the ambition to
look large at what ails his country.
His latest is "A Bill Moyers Special: Free Speech for Sale", in which he
suggests that the most effective "free" speech these days is the type bought
by the rich.
Moyers' concern is that big money is smothering the American democratic ideal of
vigorously competing arguments.
And the culprits may include NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS, which is to say General Electric,
Disney, News Corp. and, well, CBS.
CONSOLIDATION HURTING MINORITIES
full story online at LA Times
Judging by the numbers, it's a good time to be in radio. In fact, if you're looking
to make money, there's probably never been a better time.
Where else are you going to find a business that earned a record $15 billion in revenue
last year, then posted double-digit growth in the first quarter of this year? And
how many other multibillion-dollar industries have recorded 80 consecutive months
of revenue gain?
Clearly, radio is hotter than a $10 tape deck.
But that rising tide hasn't lifted all boats. Many minority broadcasters, driven
out by rising costs or bought out by well-funded national chains, have failed to
share in radio's explosive growth. And that's a trend that must be reversed if the
industry is to fully serve an expanding and diverse population, says William E. Kennard,
chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
"As more and more licenses get concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, it means
[less] opportunity for new voices, fresh formats, experimental formats to come to
the airwaves," he says. "There are a lot of small radio stations--mom-and-pop-type
radio stations--that are being pushed out of the market. And the opportunities for
new entrants to get in are more difficult."
Few critics blame overt racism for radio's retreat from diversity. Instead, most
cite the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which eased local ownership restrictions
and increased consolidation, usually at the expense of minority broadcasters, whose
numbers have declined 11% in the last three years.
HEFTEL CHANGES NAME
full story online at Excite News
Heftel Broadcasting Corporation announced that, effective June 8, 1999, it will
change its name to the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC). The company, the
largest Spanish language radio broadcaster in the United States, currently owns or
operates 42 radio stations
SINCLAIR UP FOR SALE?
full story online at CBS MarketWatch
Sinclair Broadcast Group shares rose 4 percent Wednesday on news that it's considering
a spinoff or sale of its radio assets, which include more than 50 stations. Sinclair
also owns 57 television stations.
"I think they're going to sell them [the radio stations]," said Elliot
Evers, broker at Media Venture Partners, a firm that arranges radio and television
station transactions. He says that some time ago, MVP brought Sinclair an offer for
the radio stations from a buyer he declined to identify.
TUNING IN RADIO LISTENERS
full story online at MSNBC
Do you remember which radio stations youíve listened to today? Thatís the problem,
some say, with current methods of measuring radio listenership: they rely on people
remembering what they listened to and writing it down.
Now, a little company called Mobiltrak has found a new way to measure peopleís listening
habits, and they are literally taking it to the streets.
Every time a customer drives on to the lot at Universal City Nissan, a nondescript
metal box picks up the frequency of the radio station the driver is listening to
and sends the information to a processing center. There, the data is compiled it
hour-by-hour and posted on the Web, where the car dealership can access it within
24 hours.
CLEAR CHANNEL, OTHERS BUY INTO XM RADIO
full story online at ExpressNews
full story online at Excite News
full story online at LA Times
The future of digital radio just took a major step forward.
XM Satellite Radio Inc., one of two companies planning to offer nationwide satellite-to-receiver
radio service, sold a $250 million stake to a group including San Antonio radio giant
Clear Channel Communications Inc., General Motors Corp. and DirecTV.
Washington-based XM will use satellites to beam digital radio service to subscribing
motorists. GM plans to install compatible digital radios in new cars and trucks.
.........
DIRECTV Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. and provider of the nation's
leading satellite television service, announced that it is investing $50 million
in XM Satellite Radio Inc.
DIRECTV's investment is part of a $250 million combined investment in XM that was
announced by XM. Additional XM investors include General Motors Corp. (the parent
company of Hughes), Clear Channel Communications Inc., and a private investment group
comprising Columbia Capital, Telcom Ventures L.L.C. and Madison Dearborn Partners.
DIGITAL RADIO PASSES TEST
full story online at Excite News
related story online at InteractiveWeek
Lucent Digital Radio announced that it has successfully tested its In-Band On-Channel
(IBOC) Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) system, live and over the air, with National
Public Radio (NPR) member station WBJB-FM. The tests showed that there was no degradation
of the host FM analog channel during the transmission of the digital FM signal over
the same band. IBOC, which is the leading candidate for the U.S. standard for DAB,
uses existing radio spectrum allocations - no new allocations or auctions are required.
DIGITAL RADIO PART II
full story online at Excite News
Lucent Digital Radio and Electronics Research Inc., a leading radio equipment
manufacturer, announced that they have agreed to jointly develop combiner technology
that can be used in Lucent's In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB)
system.
A combiner is a device used for adding together two radio signals -- an analog signal
and a digital signal -- for transmission over the air using the same antenna. In
the IBOC system, the device will combine the existing analog host signal and the
new digital FM signal.
Lucent Digital Radio (LDR) is already utilizing a prototype IBOC combiner in tests
of its IBOC system at National Public Radio (NPR) member station WBJB-FM in New Jersey.
Previously, LDR had announced that it had successfully tested its IBOC system live
and over the air at WBJB-FM with no degradation of the host FM analog channel during
the transmission of the digital FM signal over the same FM band.
DIGITAL RADIO PART III
full story online at Excite News
Nautel Limited, a world leader in development and manufacture of solid state radio
transmission equipment, and Lucent Digital Radio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lucent
Technologies, Inc., announced an agreement to co-operate in implementing both laboratory
and field testing of transmitter technology to facilitate In-Band-On-Channel (IBOC)
Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB).
The two companies will jointly conduct laboratory testing at Nautel's research and
development facilities using Lucent Digital Radio's prototype waveform generator.
Plans are also underway for real world field testing at commercially operating AM
stations in the United States.
CLEAR CHANNEL BUYS VA, IA STATIONS
full story online at ExpressNews
Clear Channel Communications Inc. isn't taking a breather from radio acquisitions.The
San Antonio-based company has agreed to buy five radio stations in two deals worth
$13.85 million.The moves come one month after closing a $4.4 billion pact to acquire
Jacor Communications Inc. Clear Channel is buying WCYK-FM, WVAO-FM and WVSY-FM, three
radio stations in Charlottesville, Va., for $6.35 million from Clark Broadcasting
Co. The company also said it will buy two radio stations, KWMT-AM and KKEZ-FM, in
Ft. Dodge, Iowa, for $7.5 million. KWMT Radio Inc. is the seller.
CHANCELLOR SELLS BILLBOARDS
full story online at CBS MarketWatch
full story online at Excite News
Chancellor Media's decision to sell its outdoor billboard business to Lamar Advertising
marks yet another twist in what has been a hectic year for the radio giant.
Lamar Advertising said it's buying Chancellor Media's billboard unit for about $1.6
billion in stock and cash. The deal will make Lamar the nation's No. 1 outdoor firm
in terms of display faces with approximately 118,500 outdoor advertising displays
in 39 states, and third on a revenue basis -- behind Infinity and Clear Channel.
Chancellor will hold about 30 percent of Lamar after the deal.
The move comes just months after Chancellor put itself up for sale, changed its
mind, and then cancelled a consolidation with LIN Television. Last year Chancellor
was gung-ho for billboards, paying $930 million for Whiteco Outdoor Advertising and
$610 million for Martin Media.
SPECIAL INTEREST, NOT PUBLIC INTEREST
full story online at LA Times (archived story)
Who's watching the store? In 1996, when Congress passed the Telecommunications
Act and President Clinton signed it into law, my curiosity was aroused. There were
such long lines of lobbyists and their ilk outside the meeting rooms where markups
of the bill were taking place that something important had to be going on.
Yet every time I tried to read the bill, I was confused and bored. The language of
the legislation was tortured in a way that only lobbyists could love. They had crafted
the bill, wrangling over each sentence, while congressional staffers, who often privately
admitted they lacked expertise, only pretended to preserve the public interest. "During
the debate on the communications bill, everyone was protected but the consumer,"
said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "I saw senators leave the room to ask special
interests how to vote."
Those special interests got heard because they are major sponsors of the game called
representative democracy. Cable and local telephone companies alone gave $22.8 million
in political contributions during the five years leading up to the passage of the
Telecommunications Act, which rewrote the ground rules for their industries.
That money "helped buy them a seat at the table when the groundbreaking Telecommunications
Act of 1996 was being negotiated," reports the lobbyist monitoring group Common
Cause. "So it isn't surprising that the bill, which was supposed to make telecommunications
industries more competitive and more responsive to consumer needs, hasn't worked
out that way."
|
Main Page
