This Week in
Small Market Radio
FREE AT
LAST: COMMISSION OKAYS FM FOR AM. After a
nearly-three-year battle, the FCC has issued a
Report and Order authorizing the use of FM
translators to rebroadcast the content of AM
stations under certain circumstances. See our
full report in this week's SMRN.
 THIS
WEEK IN MISGUIDED LEGISLATIVE OVER-REACHING. The
irrational assault on Arbitron’s Portable People
Meter (PPM) technology/methodology continues, as the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has
requested from the FCC any and all of the
Commission’s findings on the subject. In his
request, Arbitron President/CEO Michael
Skarzynski issued a statement saying, in part, "Arbitron
welcomes any opportunity to discuss the importance
of electronic measurement, the effectiveness of the
PPM technology, the value of the data it produces,
and our disciplined approach to the deployment of
the service across the United States."
THE
PPM PILE-ON CONTINUES (FLA. EDITION).
Not to be outdone, the Miami-Dade [FL] Board of
County Commissioners has adopted a resolution on the
Portable People Meter, sending a message to Congress
and the Florida legislature, among others, to
"ensure that the ratings methodology used by the
Portable People Meter ratings system designed to
measure radio station listenership does not
underrepresent minority radio listeners."
 RECAPPING:
RUNNING A CASH-HEMORRHAGING COMPANY IS WORTH $1.5
MILLION. Good news for all
radio operators who are losing money: you’re way
underpaid. That’s one way of looking at Mel
Karmazin’s new Sirius XM deal, which bumps his
annual compensation from $1.25 million to $1.5
million, plus options. (To be just like Mel, all you
need is somebody willing to pay you.)
 JULIUS
IN CHARGE. The new chairman has pulled some new
faces into the FCC, saying, "The FCC should be a
model for excellence in government, and this
extraordinarily accomplished team will help us
achieve that."
 FAREWELL
TO MR. ADELSTEIN. As new
FCC Chairman Genachowski unpacked, Commissioner
Jonathan Adelstein left for his new gig at
Agriculture.
 COPPS
WEIGHS IN. Meanwhile,
Commissioner and former Acting Chairman Michael
Copps said, "We welcome our new chairman, Julius
Genachowski, who begins what promises to be a
public-spirited and distinguished tenure as
chairman."S
 SMALL
MARKET REP FIRM GETS NEW ONLINE LOOK.
Regional Reps Corp. has a new website at
www.regionalreps.com.
Regional Reps President Stuart Sharpe told
SMRN, "Our new website is designed to make it
easier for radio stations, advertisers and
advertising agencies to do business with us. In
addition, we’ve included links to various industry
websites that will make it easy for visitors to make
new connections." |
= SUBSCRIPTIONS