NJBA Weekly Newsletter Friday, April 17^th, 2009

FCC Commissioner Calls for Probe into PPM   

Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein repeated his call for the FCC to launch an investigation into how Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) measures minority audiences. Adelstein insisted that the Commission has legal authority to make such a probe. Of course, the NJBA has raised serious methodology issues and concerns to Arbitron regarding its apparently flawed deployment in New Jersey.
The Commissioner commented that “we’ve heard widespread concern that the Portable People Meter rating system established by Arbitron has started to pose a threat…..I’m hopeful the Commission will soon launch an inquiry I’ve long sought into this audience measurement system so that all the facts and its effect on diversity will be evaluated and brought into light,” Adelstein said. ‘Some folks say we don’t have authority,” he continued. “Apparently they haven’t read the Communications Act. We have clear authority over all signals transmitted by broadcasters under Section 309 of the Communications Act to ensure that they are in the public interest. Because encoded broadcast signals are required for PPM to operate and the audience measurements are used as currency throughout the broadcasting industry, we have legitimate questions about whether to allow unaccredited systems to be used over the public airwaves, potentially impairing the Commission’s important goal to promote diversity and fair competition under the Communications Act. In light of the challenging economic times, and the fact that the Commission relies on Arbitron market definitions and ratings data, we need to ensure their accuracy and reliability. The Commission can’t be left in the dark and we can’t allow damage to occur in an industry that we’re trying to expand,” Adelstein insisted.  

April 21^st Set for DTV Only Required Monthly EAS Test

NJN will be running a DTV only Required Monthly EAS test (RMT) during the early morning hours of April 21. This test should take place around 1 am. Since the switch to DTV is scheduled for June 12, NJN's test is designed to make sure that broadcaster monitoring NJN TV as part of their EAS monitoring assignment are ready for the transition. NJBA requests all Member broadcasters who do not receive this test to contact Mary at 609-860-0111. 

The Trenton Report from The Marcus Group

Gloomy fiscal news continues to dominate the Trenton scene. As the appropriations committees in the Senate and Assembly conduct department by department hearings on Governor's Corzine proposed budget, it has been revealed that state tax revenue expectations are down another $605 million since the last revenue estimates. The Governor has cautioned the Legislature not to overreact to these last numbers until the Treasurer sees how the April 15 personal income tax numbers come in. Look for more refined revenue projections and budget cuts in the weeks ahead. With the budget committees meeting virtually every day, other legislative committees are generally not scheduling meetings this month. We expect much more intense legislative activity on all fronts in May and June as the lawmakers race toward their summer recess. 

Nationwide Goes with Radio

Inside Radio reports that the insurance company says radio will be part of a new national ad campaign launching this week. Nationwide says the ads will return to its long-running "on your side" tag line, which had been shelved for the past five years, seeking to appeal to concerned consumers with nostalgic advertising. 

Real Estate Brings New Ad Buyers!

Almost 25% of radio listeners aged 25-54 plan on buying or selling real estate in the next 12 months. It seems like Realtors would be a good source for new targeted advertisement campaigns, especially on weekends when most Americans go home shopping.

Bergman Retires From ASCAP Post

After 15 years at the helm, Marilyn Bergman is stepping down as President and Chairman of the Board at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). A successor will be elected when the ASCAP board meets later this month. Bergman was the first woman ever to serve on the ASCAP board – and then was elected President and Chairman. The NJBA wishes her well on her retirement. 

NJBA Promotes FM Chips in All PDAs and Cell Phones

In a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps, NJBA President Paul Rotella encouraged both bodies to require American Cell Phone and PDA manufactures to install FM chips in these popular devices. “There are well over seven hundred million cell phones with FM radios globally,” said Rotella, “Currently, only a handful of FM radio enabled cell phones are in the U.S. market. This could increase potential annual advertising revenue for radio stations in the US by $300mm to $900mm or more. In addition, EAS messaging via the radio delivery system would bolster our nation’s national defense posture. Accordingly, we would encourage both DHS and FCC to consider extending Americans’ access to radio EAS information via mobile phone handsets.” Some mobile phones now include an integrated FM antenna and don't need a wired headset or connections to external speakers, and that some Bluetooth circuits now include FM radio capability, meaning there's no need to make room for an FM receiver in the mobile phone's case. Everyone involved, including the American public and public safety officials, as well as the mobile phone and broadcasting industries, stands to benefit.

BlackBerry Loves IHeartRadio

Clear Channel's new iheartradio streaming-audio application has been downloaded by BlackBerry users more than 250,000 times, enough to put it in the second-place slot in BlackBerry's App World. According to Radio Ink: iheartradio is tops among media applications, leading apps from Pandora, CBS, Viacom, MySpace, and Facebook. And the people who are downloading iheartradio are using it, with an average of 73 minutes a week of listening. This news compliments the popular iPhone app known as iRadio, which is the iPhone’s most popular application.

Third Circuit Demurs on Cross Ownership Rule

In an act of judicial independence and dashing the hopes of many broadcasters and publishers, the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over all of New Jersey’s Federal Courts, deferred ruling on the FCC’s relaxation of its present cross ownership regulation so as to give the incoming Obama Administration’s FCC Commissioners an opportunity to review the decree again. Those in favor of the “regulation relaxation” of newspaper-broadcast cross ownership in America’s biggest markets (which was made by the FCC in 2007) have only 21 days to advocate their positions directly to Court, which will be collecting comments from interested parties over the next three weeks.

Oprah Show is Lure for Email Scammers and ID Theft

Beware of increasing fraudulent e-mail, purportedly from The Oprah Winfrey Show, notifying recipients of their nomination for the “Oprah Millionaire Contest Show.” To participate, recipients are requested to mail their contact information such as full name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address; however, no mailing address was provided. Verified contestants are then required to purchase airfare and a ticket to attend The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as complete a forthcoming contest form containing personal questions. The contestants are then promised a seat for The Oprah Winfrey Show in April and asked to provide their responses to the personal questions for a chance to win a million dollars.

Our Thoughts and Prayers

Quick News is saddened to report the passing of Richard McAllan, who was the late brother of former NJBA President Robert McAllan. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire McAllan family and the NJBA sends our condolences to Bob at this difficult time.

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.