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NJBA Weekly Newsletter for Friday, June 18, 2010 63rd Mid-Atlantic Broadcasters Conference a Huge Success NJBA President Paul S. Rotella announced that the 63rd Annual Mid- Atlantic Broadcasters Conference, held in conjunction with the Maryland/Delaware/DC Association of Broadcasters, was a huge success, bringing together the most important broadcasters in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington DC. NJ State Senator Joseph Kyrillos kicked off the conference as Keynote Speaker. The two day conference was attended by over 300 broadcasters from around the state and offered owners, general managers, programmers, sales teams, engineers and on-air talent a chance to learn about the cutting edge issues impacting their industry with educational seminars and exhibits highlighting trends in marketing, sales, digital media, regulatory and Emergency Alerting System initiatives (EAS). Commenting on the industry this week, Rotella stated that “It is an exciting time to be involved in broadcasting. All of us feel great about serving in this most important industry, and you could sense the pride shared by all of us in broadcasting throughout the conference. The NJBA has received many letters and calls commending the Association for putting on such a terrific event and the NJBA wants to thank their super Sponsors, Board of Directors, Convention Committee, staff and membership for making the convention such a huge success.
Radio's Reach Tops 239 Million Over 300 Broadcasters Witness Installation of New Officers Millennium Radio New Jersey’s CEO Bill Saurer was installed as Chairman of the New Jersey Broadcasters Association (NJBA) last week at the 63rd Annual Mid- Atlantic Broadcasters Conference, which was held at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. Addressing the standing room only audience of New Jersey broadcasters in the Trump Theater, the new Chairman pledged his continued support of the NJBA’s important objectives, which include the installation of a modern, fully functioning EAS in New Jersey, as well as opposition to the job killing Performance Tax bill being floated in Congress. Mr. Saurer has been the CEO/President of Millennium Radio New Jersey since 2009 and is responsible for the operation of 12 stations throughout the Garden State, and several more across the country. Outgoing Chairman Robert McAllan of Press Communications installed the new leadership team, thanking all of his colleagues on the Board for their support and hard work during his tenure as Chairman this past year. Also elected to the NJBA leadership team are First Vice Chairman Scott Taylor of Pillar of Fire/Star 99.1; Second Vice Chair Robert Dunphy of Clear Channel New Jersey and Secretary/Treasurer Dan Finn of Greater Media New Jersey, Immediate Past Chair, Robert McAllan of Press Communications, along with Board Members Charles McCreery of Clear Communications, Bob Maschio of Coastal Broadcasting, Art Camiolo from Atlantic Broadcasting, Joe Bilotta of the Buckley Radio, Pat Delsi of the Broadcasting Pioneers, Rider University’s John Mozes , Dan Spears of BMI, and Dick Swetits of WHTZ Tower Corp. Dick Taylor, formerly of Clear Channel Communications was also elected as a Life Member, joining his colleagues Andy Santoro, Pat Delsi and Elizabeth Christopherson. Mr. Taylor has accepted the position of Assistant Professor at the School of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Roundtable Sessions Give Broadcasters Insight Into Issues This year’s conference included two roundtable discussions regarding emergency preparedness and the EAS as well as other regulatory topics. “Our EAS Panel of top industry experts and policy makers from the FCC, FEMA and NJOEM included Wade Witmer of FEMA, and the FCC’s Eric Ehrenreich, Sr. Attorney Advisor, Policy Division Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Our NJSECC Chair, Rich Archut served as moderator for this important session, which offered our members a timely and vital briefing on the new EAS compliance issues they will be facing over the next 18 months, including a preview of on the current and future EAS measures being contemplated and implemented by our Department of Homeland Security and Office of Emergency Management, as well as the National EAS test the FCC is contemplating. “No other business is so public spirited and essential to the success of a community”, said Rotella. “And New Jersey Broadcasters are eager to be a part of the solution to the many challenging opportunities posed by the current economic and political climate in New Jersey.” The Radio Advertising Bureau, along with Holland Cooke and BroadcastOneSource provided great educational content for our members and a cadre of leading FCC attorneys including NJBA Counsel John Garziglia, who moderated a panel which included David Oxenford, Scott Flick, Roy Stewart and NAB counsel Scott Goodwin, briefed station owners and GMs on the ever changing regulatory environment broadcasters must deal with in today’s radio and TV industry. Pinky Kravitz Earns NJBA’s 1st Lifetime Achievement Award This year, the New Jersey Broadcasters Association established the NJBA Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize the lifelong contributions of local broadcasters who have dedicated their life to the service of their audiences and who are uniquely New Jersey. Long Time NJ Radio Legend Pinky Kravitz was the NJBA’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Commenting on this unique honor, NJBA President Paul S. Rotella recalled that “Pinky Kravitz has been called the most significant radio personality in the history of New Jersey, and more Mr. Atlantic City than Mr. Peanut ever was. It is entirely fitting that he be our inaugural inductee into this prestigious honorarium. For almost 53 years, he has broadcast his trademark Pinky’s Corner radio show five days a week, which these days originates live from the Borgata and airs on Atlantic Broadcasting’s News Talk WOND-AM 1400. He writes a column every Thursday for Atlantic City Weekly; and tapes his TV Show, WMGM TV Presents Pinky every Wednesday night which airs on Saturdays at 7:30pm on TV40.” Rotella said. “In addition, Pinky will be our first inductee into our recently established New Jersey Broadcaster Hall of Fame, which we have created this year, and will hopefully become a part of our Annual New Jersey Hall of Fame”, Rotella added, “Pinky is an important and impartial advocate for Atlantic City and indeed, all of New Jersey. All New Jersey broadcasters owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his ongoing contributions to our craft, and for his unwavering service to the community and the audience he so dearly loves.” The Best of the Best Awards! This year, we received a large number of submissions for our Best of the Best awards contest. In the Best Commercial category alone, we received 38 entries! More importantly, all of the submissions were terrific and it was a very difficult task for our cadre of seasoned radio professionals to discern which nominee was actually the “best” of the best. Our esteemed panel of judges came from around the industry. The NJBA would like to thank them for their generous donation of time and talent in judging our great entrees. The Best of the Best Award for Best Promotion was won by Millennium Radio New Jersey WKXW NJ 101.5 (Ray Handel & The Jersey Boys-Casey and Rossi) for Empty Wallet Funeral; Millennium Radio New Jersey WSJO SOJO-104.9 (Kristen Lucca & Meredith Chambers) came in second for the Summer of SOJO Tour; and Clear Channel Radio WSUS 102.3 and WNNJ- 103.7 (Ken O’Brien) was a very close third place for Hunger Knows No Season. The Best of the Best Award for Best Public Affairs was won by Press Communications WWZY- The Breeze 107.1 and 99.7 (Anita Velardo- Host/Charlie Torres- Producer) for The Breeze Knows: Teen Driver Safety; Coming in second was Pillar of Fire WAWZ Star 99.1 (Rev. Rea Crawford) for Star 99.1 Cares: Safe Kids U.S.A., and third place was Millennium Radio New Jersey WKXW NJ 101.5 for Welcome Home. The Best of the Best for Public Affairs-TV went to New Jersey Network for Due Process: Crises on the Cellblock; Produced by Sandra King & Raymond Brown. Accepting the Award on behalf of NJN is Janice Selinger, Acting Chief Operating Officer for NJN. The Best of the Best Award for Best News went to Millennium Radio New Jersey WKXW NJ 101.5 for The Obama Inauguration, and tied for second was Press Communications WWZY- The Breeze 107.1 and 99.7 (Anita Velardo, Charlie Torres, Erin Vogt & Desiree Berenguer) for Women Work for a Better Tomorrow and Greater Media New Jersey WCTC- 1450 AM Good Time Oldies (Mike Pavlichko & Tom Ortuso) Rutgers Football: A Changing of the Guard. The Best of the Best Award for Best Commercial was claimed by Greater Media New Jersey WDHA/WMTR Classic Oldies (Michael Cocheo) for Eastern Pest Services; Coming in second was Press Communications (Dan Turi & Tom Rowe) for Great moments: The Beatles--Beachwood Dental; and Pillar of Fire WAWZ Star 99.1 (Izzy Knight & Beth Becall) captured third place for Phrases from Mom –Project Porch-Light. NJBA Awards 5 Scholarships to NJ Students The NJBA has a deep commitment to the Broadcasting Industry, and that includes the Future of broadcasting. We are happy to report that we feel the future is bright, especially given the caliber of our 2010 Scholarship recipients. Special thank you to Greater Media New Jersey, Millennium Radio New Jersey and Atlantic Broadcasting, as well as to all of the members of the NJBA for their generous scholarships. This year’s talented recipients are: Miss Lindsay Rassmann (Recipient of the Eric Van Ness, Anthony V. Marano and Howard Green scholarships); Miss Ashley Henderson (Recipient of the NJBA Cleo “Don” Brooks Memorial Scholarship); and Mr. Felipe Henriquez (recipient of the NJBA Annual Scholarship Award) Congratulations to this great group of future New Jersey Broadcasters! NJ’s Johnson & Johnson Earns NABEF Recognition The NAB education foundation’s Celebration of Service to America Awards ceremony was held in Washington, DC this week. NJBA president Paul Rotella attended the black tie gala to honor the broadcasters cited for their outstanding dedication to community service, which is a rich tradition with roots deep within our industry. Among the honorees was New Jersey’s own Johnson & Johnson, which received the NABEF’s very first Corporate Leadership Award. With nearly a 125-year track record of putting needs and well being of people first, Johnson & Johnson has built a reputation as a company dedicated to making people healthier and safer, here in the Garden State and around the globe. The NJBA is honored to acknowledge the contributions of J&J and congratulates this great New Jersey Company on its achievement. Performance Tax: It’s Not Over Till It’s Over The fight goes on. And don’t believe any of the chitchat about this issue going away. QuickNews believes the rumors of the Performance Tax’s demise in Congress to be greatly exaggerated. Source on Capitol Hill have reported a flurry of stealthy activity by new opponents of the radio industry in their efforts to “quietly” build momentum for this outrageous measure and the free-over-the-air radio industry better remain eternally vigilant against theses powers of radio darkness, or should we say, radio silence!.
The
GAO has revised its February 26, 2010 report to Chairman
Conyers chiefly by adding a supplemental letter from the
GAO to Chairman Conyers from The U.S. Copyright Office.
That letter well demonstrates why the Copyright Office
is no friend of broadcasters in the fight over a
performance tax. The letter asserts that the ad market
for radio is cyclical; that the downturn in advertising
revenue has come to an end; that radio ad revenue is
predicted to increase at compound rates over the next
several years; and that there is no shortage of people
seeking to buy radio stations. The letter goes on to
state that no similar recovery is forecast for the
recording industry and that illegal downloading and
on-demand listening, even on a paid basis, are permanent
factors working against the sale of copies of music.
What is most disturbing about the Copyright Office's
approach is that they have denigrated the promotional
value of airplays by music radio stations. For decades,
that value has been viewed as the underpinning of the
mutually beneficial relationship between the record
labels and the radio industry. Another thing that is
disturbing about the Copyright Office's letter is the
implication that the radio industry, while not at fault,
should bear most of the burden in making up for the lost
CD sales due to unlawful downloads. The fact that the
letter has emerged now may suggest that the recording
industry is ready to make a big push before the August
recess. The NJBA will continue to contact our Members of
Congress in Washington to reaffirm our unwavering
opposition to this industry destroying measure.
Apple may be ready to fully integrate FM Radio into its iPhone and iPod, since it could provide "useful information to the listener." This according to an Apple spokesman. (Can anyone say EAS?) The NJBA and NAB have been strong advocates of integrating FM radio technology into the amazingly popular devices. The iPod Nano already has an FM receiver built into it and current and future iPhones and iPods include FM receivers, but, unfortunately, they remain inactivated. It would be prudent to activate them and allow these great tools to play a life saving role in, helping relay broadcast of AMBER Alerts and other critical information to the public including severe weather warnings, as the summer hurricane season begins. New Jersey a Pretty Good Place to Be! A new Quinnipiac Poll shows that most New Jersey residents think the Garden State is a pretty good place to live. Over 78% of our residents enjoy living in Jersey, and enjoy the abundance of great natural resources available within an hour or two's drive, like the great Jersey shore, still an unbeatable summer treat at any price, anywhere! Do You Have What it Takes? Well, do ya? Come down to the NJ National Guard booth on the boardwalk in Seaside this summer and find out. The Guard is sponsoring the "The Guard Fitness Challenge", which is turning out to be the most popular attraction on the beach this year. It's a great way to show off all of those well-tanned muscles and the Prizes are great! The booth is located near the Casino Pier and the competition is free to enter, so show us what ya got New Jersey and have fund down the shore this summer! Find out more information at www.NationalGuard.com or 1-800-Go-Guard. Paul Gets Promoted to Colonel During last week’s conference, NJBA President Paul Rotella was shocked to learn that he was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel by the Governor of Kentucky. Paul’s colleague and friend Gary White from the Kentucky Broadcasters Association nominated Paul for his work and fierce advocacy on behalf of the broadcast industry in New Jersey and around the country. The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, which has been around since 1813, is irrevocably dedicated to and is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes and recognizes outstanding community service. Notable Colonels include Winston Churchill, Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George Bush, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Elvis, General Omar Bradley, Betty White, Mohammad Ali and Johnny Depp. Paul thanked KBA President Gary White and Governor Beshear for this wonderful honor and was deeply moved by his commission, which was presented to him by newly minted NJBA Life Member Dick Taylor, who made the presentation to Paul in Atlantic City last week at KBA president White’s request. Paul said the award was so nice that he couldn’t hang it on his mantel, but that he would have to build a whole new house around it to compliment the honor! Thanks Gary, and special appreciation to the fine Governor and citizens of the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the wonderful men and women of Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels! What Would We Do Without You? Last week, we all gathered in Atlantic City for a great time to celebrate the industry we are all committed to and we all love. Your participation and ongoing contributions to the success of your Association is most gratifying and all of us at the Broadcast House we want you to know of our deep appreciation for your support. Many people were responsible for helping to make the 63rd Annual Mid-Atlantic Broadcasters Conference a fun-filled and informative industry sensation. In addition to our Board of Directors, Staff, Sponsors, Speakers, special guests, and Award Winners, we would like to recognize the following people for their contributions to our success at this time: Convention Committee Members: Eric Johnson, Dan Hendrickson, Chip Weinman, Lisa Reynolds, John Mozes, Robert Taylor, Robert McAllan, Art Camiolo, and of course, Mary and Debbie from our staff! (What would we do without them?) Special thanks to Eric Scott, David Glazer, Travis Heitchew, and Janine and Pam at B & B Trophy. Very special thanks and our deepest appreciation to our Marquis Conference Sponsor: Timeless Cool Music; Opening Reception Sponsor BMI and the NJ National Guard Quartet and SFC Rowton; Lunch Sponsors Arbitron and Citadel; as well as the Partnership for a Drug Free NJ and Shout Down Drugs Winner Ashley Taylor for her wonderful performance of her original song, Wake Up; The New Jersey Hall of Fame and Steve Edwards, Steve Gorelick and Gary Gellman for facilitating and allowing us to screen their fantastic film: Sounds Like New Jersey; (And thank you Gary for also taking such wonderful pictures of our event); NYBA Chairman Bob Ausfeld and President Joe Reilly; BFA President Jim Thompson and VP Carl Butrum; David Coskey from the Borgata; MRC’s George Ivie; Pinky Kravitz and his friends and family; Matt Ryan; Mrs. Brooks and her family; and Villanova’s own Schawn-Paul Rotella, Rick Stefany and Maria Campanile for helping with our very successful BFA iPad raffle and general conference administration, and for Ricky’s great recording of our event; and, of course, our loyal session Sponsors: Timeless Cool, New Jersey National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, NJ Housing Mortgage Finance Agency, Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, BMI, Ocean First Bank, U.S. Department of Justice, FM Alert, Arbitron, Comlabs Communications, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey and Sage Alerting Systems. Finally, we would also like to thank the management and staff of Trump Plaza, and especially Bob, Sharon and Tim for their many courtesies, superb planning, and flawless execution of our conference events. Thank you all very, very much for making this a very special Conference and we’ll see you all next year! God bless you New Jersey broadcasters! QuickNews is provided for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal or tax advice pertaining to any specific factual situation. Legal and tax related decisions should be made only after proper consultation with a legal professional of your choosing. |