NJBA Weekly Newsletter Friday, June 5, 2009

Broadcasters Heard Here!

This past Wednesday was a great day for New Jersey Broadcasters as we saw the 218th co-sponsor of the Local Radio Freedom Act joined the ranks of
legislators who recognize the unparalleled value of free over the air
radio in America. NJBA President Paul Rotella personally visited with our entire Congressional Delegation this week to reinforce our message, and as of now, we stand at 223 co-sponsors. But we cannot rest on our laurels. In fact, we must
continue to be ever vigilant against further assaults on our livelihood by organizations hostile to our industry.  An important by-product of a very decisive victory is that it will send a signal to Capitol Hill that if we can stop this type of legislation, they can count on us to stop other types of legislation that are wrong-headed and injurious to the radio and television broadcast industry. Thank you for all of your great efforts and leadership in this vital mission. The entire Board, Congressional Visit Delegations, and our dedicated Executive Committee, especially Bob McAllan, Andy Santoro and Dick Taylor, have done a terrific job in keeping our efforts on track and focused. Special thanks to Millennium Radio's Matt Ryan, Eric Johnson and Bill Saurer for their support in producing the radio spots that got most (but not all) of NJ's Congressmen to sponsor our resolution, and of course, our deepest thanks to all of our member broadcasters for airing them across the Garden State! (Let's push for 300 or more cosponsors!) 

Dedicated NJ Congressmen Help Make Majority for Local Radio Freedom Act

The NJBA wants to especially recognize and thank Congressmen Pascrell,
Pallone, LoBiondo, Andrews, Sires, Smith, and Lance for their leadership
in rejecting the interests of foreign owned record companies. We want to express our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for their support and advocacy on behalf of not just New Jersey broadcasters, but indeed, all citizens of the Garden State. We are hopeful that the rest of New Jersey's Congressional delegation will continue to study the legislation and realize how important it is to New Jersey's economy and residents and join their colleagues in supporting H. Con Res. 49 as soon as possible. 

Close Isn't Good Enough in Engineering

Here is a classic and sad example of why the NJBA’s ABIP program is so vitally important for all Broadcasters: The transmitter for Minority Business & Housing Development's WYGG-FM Asbury Park NJ was only about 272 feet from its licensed coordinates. And the antenna was only about 100 feet too high. Add in the fact that it was located on the roof of a building in Asbury Park and was not labeled as an RFR hazard, and that the roof was routinely accessed by various and sundry workman, and you have an engineering nightmare. FCC agents who uncovered this also found an inadequate public file. The total FCC fine for this laundry list of infractions: $25K. Please take advantage of the ABIP program and avoid the horrors of inspection nightmares! An ounce of prevention…..

Meredith Attwell Baker will be nominated to fill an open GOP seat on the FCC. Baker is the daughter-in-law of former Secretary of State James Baker. She’s also been the person in charge of the converter coupon program for the DTV transition. Ms. Baker ran the policy-making National Telecommunications and Information Administration, inside the Commerce Department. It has literally billions of dollars in broadband stimulus money to hand out. Incoming Chairman-designate Julius Genachowski will be paired with a Republican in a Senate confirmation hearing sometime this month. That could be incumbent Robert McDowell, who’s getting his wish to be re-nominated. A second round of Senate hearings would presumably be for Meredith Attwell Baker and for the other new Democrat Obama has chosen – South Carolina public utility commissioner Mignon Clyburn, daughter of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn. Meanwhile, Jonathan Adelstein, the departing Democratic commissioner, is eager to get over to his new post at the Agriculture Department. 

NJ National Guard Honors Armed Forces Families

Seaside Height’s Casino Pier and Waterpark helped host a special Armed Forces Appreciation day this week down the beautiful Jersey Shore! NJBA President Rotella helped greet the great members of our Armed Forces at the occasion held this past Saturday. The event sponsored by the attraction’s generous owners and the NJNG was enjoyed by many children of our active duty service men and women. It was a beautiful and fun filled day. The Casino Pier/Waterpark in Seaside and Jenkinsen’s Boardwalk Attractions in Point Pleasant are faithful sponsors and supporters of the New Jersey National Guard and will be hosting another event for active duty families this Labor Day in Point Pleasant. Congratulations to all of our cherished Guard families!  

More Trouble at Arbitron

Amidst shake-ups, hirings and firings this week, Arbitron faced another setback as the beleaguered radio ratings firm, failed to hit its own minimum sample sizes in April for measuring African-American and Hispanic audiences with the Portable People Meter -- a passive electronic measurement device -- in a number of top markets. The shortfalls will doubtless provide additional ammunition to PPM critics -- including the NJBA, minority broadcasters, industry organizations, and the Federal Communications Commission -- who say Arbitron's PPM ratings underrepresented key demos. To round out the bad news, last week Arbitron revealed that it will delay the release of ratings from New York City for April because an incorrect population estimate was manually entered during the ratings calculations. Furthermore, similar errors apparently occurred in ratings for October 2008 and for the period from December 2008-March 2009. New figures for the last period will be issued on June 8. This troubling news cannot help Arbitron’s accreditation efforts. 

DTV in One Week

NJBA President Paul Rotella attended the FCC Meeting in Washington this Wednesday where The FCC highlighted its final effort to educate the public about the June 12 DTV transition by opening 400 walk-in informational centers at stations around the country and sending out some 200 field workers to hold clinics and assist broadcasters. Meanwhile, the NAB last week began airing a series of "countdown" ads, which will run every day during the last week before the analog shutoff. 

NJN Honors NJBA Life Member

NJBA Board Life Member Elizabeth Christopherson was honored this past Tuesday at the NJN Annual Benefit Celebration for her devoted and selfless service to the citizens of the Garden State over the course of her distinguished career in broadcasting.  Former Governor Tom Kean introduced Elizabeth with a stirring re-cap of her many achievements at NJN including her Emmy award winning productions which resulted in a heartfelt ovation of appreciation by the impressive crowd of dignitaries, luminaries and great New Jersians, which included NJBA Chairman Andy Santoro, Board Members Robert McAllan, Dick Swetits and NJBA President Paul Rotella.  The NJBA wishes Elizabeth our congratulations and very best wishes for continued success.

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