NJBA Weekly Newsletter Friday, March 5, 2010 

NJBA In DC

Board Members Dick Taylor, Scott Taylor, Pat Delsi and Dick Swetits were led by NJBA Board Chairman Bob McAllan this week as broadcasters from around the country convened in Washington at the NAB Leadership Conference. These dedicated Board members, along with NJBA President and CEO Paul Rotella met with our entire Congressional delegation to emphasize the concerns New Jersey citizens have with the growing regulatory and tax burdens faced by broadcasters around the Garden State. The NJBA Delegation expressed its gratitude to those Members of Congress who have supported our efforts to defeat a Performance Tax. “We are extremely grateful that you are a co-sponsor of the Local Radio Freedom Act, H. Con. Res. 49. “read a recent resolution passed by the Board.  Congressmen Smith, Pallone, Sires, Pascrell, LoBiondo, Andrews, Frelinghuysen, Adler, Garrett and Lance have shown their dedication to their constituents by supporting New Jersey radio and each of our member broadcasters will communicate with their respective constituencies the fact that these Congressman have taken this vital step to preserve freedom Free-Over-The Air-Radio to the people who live and work in the Garden State by Opposing the Performance Tax, which would devastate the local New Jersey radio industry, and deprive New Jersey residents access to emergency alerts, local news and information, as well as great free entertainment every day of the year.  “The NJBA and our valued members will continue to let the public know that these champions of radio freedom supported New Jersey radio in our campaign to secure passage of the bill and we will be announcing your support of the Local Radio Freedom Act to our loyal listeners,” said Rotella. “Our Board passed this special Resolution of Appreciation as a tribute to these leaders reflecting our gratitude for their faithful support on this very important matter and we will long appreciate your leadership on this issue.”  Look for more details on these important meetings in next week’s edition of QuickNews.

EAS Summit a Success

NJBA President Paul Rotella, along with his fellow EAS NASBA Committee members sponsored a very successful EAS Summit in the nation’s capital, bringing key lawmakers and policy makers together with state broadcaster leadership and emergency management personal from around the country together to highlight the growing problem America is facing with our ailing Emergency Alert System. “We are making progress” said Rotella after meeting with top FEMA, DHS, and FCC officials. “We have a lot more to be done in this critical area of broadcaster concern, but we certainly moved the ball down the field” Rotella said that the NJBA will not be satisfied until New Jersey has a modern and reliable EAS and will continue to fight for this important initiative. “It’s everyone’s responsibility to be prepared for times of national, state or regional emergency, and our broadcasters, along with law enforcement are working together to make our federal and state leaders aware of this crisis in emergency preparedness.” Citing the efforts of the NJBA Board of Directors and other key stakeholders like SECC Chairman Rich Archut and State Police/OEM personal like Bob Schroeder and Nick Morici in this effort, Rotella plans to meet with state officials in Trenton next week to report the progress made in Washington and to keep seek more support of our efforts in New Jersey.

Andy Santoro Honored By NJBA with Life Member Award

NJBA Chairman Robert McAllan nominated Immediate Past Chairman Andy Santoro for Life Membership at our last Board meeting citing Andy’s many years of faithful service to the membership of our association. The motion was unanimously approved and Andy now joins Pat Delsi and Elizabeth Christopherson in this select group of NJBA honorees. Santoro is a highly accomplished Radio executive and is the immediate past Chairman of the Board for NJBA.  He served on the NJBA board for over 17 years, filling two terms as Chairman, and he led the association’s search committee for a new NJBA president two years ago with fellow Board members Joe Bilotta and Bob McAllan. When you talk about the history of New Jersey Radio, Andy’s name is always part of the conversation. His effective and creative leadership, vision and operational savvy served New Jersey Radio for 29 years.  Over 100 Senior Managers/Sellers and many on-air personalities and support staff working at various NJ stations today, were hired and trained by Andy or were members of his broadcast teams over the years.  The NJBA congratulates Andy on this milestone in his professional career and thanks him for his years of selfless service and dedication to the NJBA and applauds his continuing service to our association.

Performance Tax Opposition Continues to Grow

Four additional House Democrats have voiced their opposition to performance tax legislation, NAB announced today. The growing Congressional opposition comes as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) continues to lobby in support of legislation that would require local radio stations to pay an additional fee for every song aired free to listeners. Reps. Travis Childers (MS-1), Mike McMahon (NY-13), Bill Owens (NY-23), and Mark Schauer (MI-7) are the newest co-sponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act, a bipartisan resolution now supported by 256 House lawmakers and 27 U.S. Senators, which expressly opposes "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge" on local radio stations for music aired free to listeners. "Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings," reads The Local Radio Freedom Act. The resolution was introduced by Reps. Gene Green (TX-29) and Mike Conaway (TX-11) in the House and by Sens. Blanche Lincoln (AR) and John Barrasso (WY) in the Senate.

Congressional Powerhouse Supports Broadcasters

In a speech delivered to Broadcasters attending the NAB State Leadership Conference this week, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Emeritus John Dingell, D-Mich., expressed his opposition to performance-tax legislation, explaining that "such a tax would be of less benefit to recording artists than to record labels, many of which are based abroad." The legendary leader correctly characterized the P-Tax as more “punitive” in nature, and could not see how anyone could justify its passage. NAB EVP Dennis Wharton called the PRA a "job-killing bill that threatens a musician's number one promotional vehicle." With regard to spectrum-reallocation proposals at the FCC, Dingell noted that TV broadcasters already returned a significant amount of spectrum in the DTV transition. "I remain unconvinced by arguments that broadcasters are using their remaining spectrum inefficiently," he said. As a one-to-many transmission medium, broadcasters are ready to make the case that we are far and away the most efficient users of spectrum in today's communications marketplace.  The NJBA looks forward to working with policymakers to help expand the roll-out of broadband without threatening the future of free and local television, mindful of the fact that local TV stations just returned more than a quarter of our spectrum following the recent transition to digital.

Recording Artists Fear P-Tax

As Congressional opposition to the foreign owned record label-led performance tax effort continues to grow, so too does the number of musical artists that recognize the promotional power of free radio airplay. Only local radio provides an unparalleled promotional platform for the record labels and performing artists. “New and emerging artists will be silenced and their creativity stifled if any type of Performance Tax is imposed on local radio stations by Congress”, NJBA President Paul Rotella told members of the NJ delegation this week. “It would cripple our EAS and cost New Jersey thousands of jobs” said Rotella: “Another new tax is the last thing New Jersey needs.” The NJBA and NAB are hopeful that Congress will ultimately reject RIAA's reckless campaign against New Jersey and America's hometown radio stations. Opposition to the P-Tax is growing among honest observers of the movement and more and more people are clamoring to their congressmen to “keep the music free”, and to “leave our radio alone” We agree!

Senator Frank on the Mend; NJBA Sends Best Wishes

The Record reports that Sen. Frank Lautenberg capped “a week from hell,” after  having his first chemotherapy treatment for a cancerous tumor in his stomach last week, but that he is confident he’ll be able to keep working on his priorities in Washington. “I feel terrific,” the 86-year-old Democrat said during a brief telephone interview from New York City’s Mount Sinai Medical Center. “A situation like this, you can’t treat any part of it lightly. On the other hand, curability is a terrific goal and I’m confident of that with the medical help that we’ve got.” The NJBA Board of Directors passed a Resolution at their meeting last week extending its’ very best wishes to our long time friend Senator Lautenberg for a complete and speedy recovery and prompt return to the United States Senate. Get well soon Senator Frank!

The Trenton Report: From the Marcus Group

Just as every year about this time, the swallows return from Argentina to Capistrano, and bills from prior legislative sessions return to the bill hopper in Trenton. A bill intended to regulate sweepstakes but that could impact on-air promotions is a perfect example. A2402, which regulates operation of sweepstakes in New Jersey, has been reintroduced. We first saw this bill introduced in 2006 in a version that would have had an unintentional negative impact on radio contests. NJBA was successful in securing amendments that prevent unintended consequences, so as the bill reads now, broadcasters should see almost no changes to the way they conduct their broadcast business. NJBA will remain on guard to ensure the bill is not amended back to its original, unacceptable form.

Gov Directs Congressional Delegation: Put New Jersey First

Governor Christie told the state’s congressional delegation Monday that he’s ready to criticize Republicans and Democrats if he feels they’re not voting in New Jersey’s best interests, which right now involves getting more money from Washington. “I talked to everybody in the delegation,” Christie said. “I said there are going to be times when we agree and disagree. … One thing they told me is they want me to be louder, and I’m looking forward to that.” The Record reports that the Gov is already building a profile beyond New Jersey’s borders. He attended his first meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington this week as a hot political commodity, admired by fellow Republicans for his brash talk and strict spending freeze. An AP report confirms that Most New Jersey voters surveyed approve of the job Gov. Chris Christie is doing. A Fairleigh Dickinson-PublicMind poll released Wednesday shows 52 percent of the respondents support the new governor's policies. Republicans approve by a ratio of 10-to-one. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats approve and 33 percent disapprove. Independent voters approve of the governor 43 to 17 percent. Voters in the public pension system were less kind. Thirty-five percent approve of the new governor but 46 percent don't.

Keep NJ Radio Free!

The following Congressmen are threatening to put your favorite New Jersey radio station off the air! It’s that simple. The P-Tax will cost NJ thousands of jobs and send $30 million to foreign owned record companies, giving little or no fees to artists and hurt keep new music from ever hitting the airways. They need to hear from you loud and clear so that we may continue to serve the communities we love and keep New Jersey radio free. Call them today and tell them to leave radio alone. Just say no to the Performance Tax. Call these Congressmen today and make your important opinion known: Steven Rothman (D-9^th) 202-225-5061; and 201-646-0808; and 201-798-1366; Donald Payne (D-10^th) 202-225-3436; and 908-629-0222; and 201-369-0392; and Rush Holt (D-12^th) 202-225-5801; and 609-750-9365. Tell them: The Performance Tax is not fair to you, and it’s not fair to New Jersey. 

Happy Birthday, FM!

It was on March 4, 1941 that the first FM station signed on in Nashville. Inside Radio tells us the station was known as “W47NV” and operated as a sister to the country powerhouse WSM (650). It wasn’t until more than a year later when an FM signed-on by New York’s WOR (710) sold the first advertiser on the new technology – the watchmaker Longines-Wittnauer Co. sponsored the top-of-the-hour time check.

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.

Broadcast House, 348 Applegarth Road, Monroe Twp., NJ  08831 (888) 657-2346 FAX: (888) 652-2329, njba@njba.com