NJBA Weekly Newsletter, Friday, August 7, 2009

Special Seminar For NJBA Members Next Week

On August 12th, the NJBA, in concert with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, we will be sponsoring a Sean Luce presentation that will be webcast live, from 1PM to -4PM Eastern with an email and a phone number available for questions. The webcast sales seminar/webinar will address the challenges and opportunities to selling in the current economic climate in a four hour session titled The Perfect Storm: Maximizing Your "Air Force" and "Ground Force" Sales. There will be no cost to NJBA paid members and their employees/staff in good standing. The webcast will be archived online and accessible to registered participants for six months. This seminar will help you sell advertising in today's economy. You may still register to participate for this free member benefit by contacting NJBA Headquarters by COB today! 

Senate Considers Performance Tax

Beware New Jersey Broadcasters: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on the Performance Rights Act, the dim-witted bill that would for the first time impose performance royalties on broadcast radio. The Chairman threatened that "This is legislation that is going to move. The time to sit down and talk is now." We must ask: “Why?” Unless you want to destroy local radio and all of the unsurpassed benefits our citizens derive from our free broadcasts. NAB Joint Board Chair and Commonwealth Broadcasting President/CEO Steve Newberry quickly replied that “I believe this legislation will upend local radio broadcasting as you have always known it." Newberry said he has never seen such tough economic times in radio, but said that, beyond that, radio does provide compensation to artists with free advertising and exposure. He said, “Local free radio is the unique developer, exposer, promoter, and great popularizer of new and old music, to multiple new and old generations of listeners." After pointing out that radio's 235 million weekly listeners dwarfs the competition's audience, Newberry said, "At the end of the day, no one has been able to prove that the value of the music is always worth more than the value of radio's promotion. None of the witnesses here today can tell you that, and before this Committee passes legislation that will have a devastating impact on the radio industry, it seems to me that we should know the answer to that question. Performers are compensated through their "partnership" with radio. Newberry said of record labels, "They have spent millions of dollars to get their songs aired on the radio because they know that creates money for them." The NJBA plans on enlightening our Senators as to the foolishness of the Performance Tax, with the ongoing help of our dedicated broadcasters. 

Congressional Friends of Free Radio Step Up to the Plate

In a letter to their House colleagues, four co-sponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act -- Reps. Mike Conaway (R-TX), Gene Green (D-TX), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) -- ask those who haven't signed on to back the resolution to add their support. The letter says, "Just like any other industry, the recording industry is suffering both from the economic situation of this country, but also from the technological changes that have provided a la carte music service on iTunes, Amazon.com, and other online music services. But rather than adapting to the new technologies, the recording industry is trying to bite the hand that feeds it by imposing a new tax on its biggest promotional tool, as if free radio were immune to the economic downturn." Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report on the financial impact of the Performance Rights Act that, "Data on the amount of royalty fees currently paid by cable stations, satellite operators, Internet broadcasters, and other digital media suggest that the total cost of new performance royalties for commercial radio broadcasters affected by the bill could be substantial."  

Special NJBA PEP/NCSA Program to Start this Month

The US Department of Agriculture has enlisted the power of the NJBA’s PEP program to help spread the word about the dangers of the Asian long horned beetle, which was first discovered in New Jersey in Jersey City in 2002 by a citizen who noticed the large insect.  The area was found to be infested with the beetles that bore large holes in trees as larvae and eventually will kill the tree.  A second area was discovered in 2004 in Middlesex County, again by a private citizen who recognized the beetle and notified the Department of Agriculture.  It is vitally important to inform the public about this threat to trees, since they are our best defense against this invasive pest.  The Department's public information campaign will help alert thousands of people to watch for the beetle and call the Department of Agriculture if they spot it.  The campaign also will serve to give people the knowledge to identify the insect and the steps they can take to avoid accidentally spreading the beetle to other areas of the state. Your strong support of this campaign to save our trees is greatly appreciated.

EAS Station Funding is Needed in New Jersey

The NJBA has been hard at work tying to secure funding for the upgrade and restoration of a viable EAS system in the Garden State. We would like to especially recognize the leadership of Congressmen Chris Smith and Bill Pascrell for their leadership in recognizing the potential threat this deficiency poses to our citizens and for their support in procuring the necessary funding to rectify this unsatisfactory condition. We are also seeking funding to install a Primary Entry Point radio station for Presidential and Executive emergency messages as well. Incredibly, both New Jersey and Pennsylvania are without the critically needed stations, mandated by Congress to provide last ditch communications to the public in the event of a major catastrophe. A special meeting of stakeholders is being convened by Congressman Smith later this month.

Nielsen’s New Software Singles Out Cell Phone Households

A new feature for Nielson counters Arbitron’s current “cap” of 10% or 15% of cell phone only households in any given sample. (Nielsen’s pilot-testing in Lexington, KY showed 23% of households were “CPO.”-- Some markets may run even higher than that.) And the Nielsen ability to select for cell phone only (because it uses address-based sampling) is a not-so-subtle dig at Arbitron. To push one level deeper – Nielsen research shows that cell phone only households typically display higher levels of radio listening. So a client might conclude that Nielsen’s sticker-diary methodology and address-based sampling is going to look better for radio. Not to mention the sample sizes that are at least twice the size of Arbitron’s, in the 51 markets outside the top 100 where Nielsen is putting its nose under the tent. Nielson says expect a release sometime later this falls. 

FCC Announces Increase in Annual Regulatory Fees

The FCC has released its Order setting the amounts of the annual regulatory fees for broadcasters - though the window for making those payments has not yet been set.  Look for that window to be set in the near future, as payments will probably be due in September.  Broadcast fees are based on the class of facility and the population covered by the station.  All fees are based on the status of the station as of October 1 of 2008.  In its order, the FCC declined a request to broaden the categories of broadcast stations that were suffering from financial hardship justifying a waiver of the rules.  Stations seeking a financial hardship waiver must provide the FCC with sufficient financial information, including profit and loss statements and a showing of how much the station's owners were receiving as compensation, for the Commission to make a determination that the payment of the fees would pose an undue hardship on the station.  The FCC did say that bankruptcy or receivership, or the fact that a station was silent or dark would be viewed as evidence of financial hardship. 

PPM Keeps Driving Format Decisions

Tom Taylor reports that’s been going on since Philadelphia, the very first PPM market, when Clear Channel shredded Spanish tropical “Rumba 104.5” to go modern rock as WRFF – and then soon after, when CBS triumphantly brought WCBS-FM back as a classic hits station, replacing “Jack.” Now here’s Clear Channel-Minneapolis altering its entire strategy with KTLK-FM (100.3) and going all-classic rock on Saturday and Sunday. The template for FM-based talker KTLK-FM was Pittsburgh’s WPGB (104.7). Like KTLK-FM, it’s centered on Rush and Hannity and Glenn Beck, along with the local Quinn & Rose and Michael Savage. Remember the good old days when format used to drive ratings?

State Broadcaster Coalition Challenges McCain Feingold

RBR/TVBR reported that a group of ten state broadcaster associations led by Don Hicks, President of the Missouri Broadcasters Association, wonders why broadcast (along with cable and satellite) is singled out by McCain/Feingold provisions preventing corporations and unions from taking their political messages to the airwaves. The group, through attorneys at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, has filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in an effort to defend broadcasters’ First Amendment rights.  The case, concerning electioneering communications sponsored by corporations and unions, is Citizens United v. FEC. The broadcasters’ friend of the court argument is that the law in unconstitutional since it only applies to some media. WCSR attorney Lawrence H. Norton explained, “Our clients’ brief gives the Court a unique perspective on the threat to First Amendment rights when the government determines which media may be used for political speech.” The restriction itself speaks volumes about the power of radio over print media since newspapers were excluded from the legal ban. If the drafters of McCain/Feingold thought newspaper, magazines, the internet and other advertising venues were effective, they would have included them in the ban. They did not, a compelling tribute to broadcasting’s status as the Big Dog when it comes to effective advertising. 

SEC Aims to Curb 'Pay to Play' Practices

At the July 22 Securities and Exchange Commission open meeting, the SEC commissioners voted unanimously to propose measures aimed at restraining investment advisers from making political contributions to state or local government officials in exchange for contracts to manage public pension plans and similar government investment accounts. Public pension funds hold $2.2 trillion in assets representing one third of all U.S. pension assets. In this crack-down on so-called "pay to play" practices, the proposal would restrict investment advisers from making political contributions to elected officials who are in a position to hire investment advisers, soliciting contributions for such officials or paying a placement agent to solicit a government client on behalf of the investment adviser. Executives or employees would be permitted to make contributions up to $250 per election per candidate if the contributor is entitled to vote for the candidate in question. The rules would apply to the adviser itself, as well as to certain executives and employees of the adviser, and the restrictions would apply to contributions made to incumbents as well as candidates.

The NJBIZ Business of the Year Awards Accepting Nominations until September 11

The NJBIZ Business of the Year awards, presented by Amper, Politziner & Mattia, will recognize the state’s most dynamic private, for profit businesses and business leaders who share a commitment to professional excellence, business growth and the community. Finalists in each category will be selected by an independent panel of judges, and will be recognized at a formal awards dinner on December 7, 2009.
Contact: Reema Elghossain, 732-246-5713 or relghossain@njbiz.com to find out how you can nominate a great New Jersey broadcaster for these prestigious awards. 

Quick News Will Be On Vacation

As you may recall, our association headquarters experienced extensive damage over the winter from a broken water pipe that flooded the Broadcast House. We are taking the next few weeks to repair and restore our Broadcast House to a suitable condition. Because of the nature of the work to be performed, it will be necessary to vacate the building during most of the remediation process. Accordingly, please be advised that the NJBA office will be closed for restoration and needed repairs commencing the week of August 10^th and remain closed through the week of August 24^th.  During that time, we will be conducting business from a remote location and, of course, the NJBA staff will be monitoring phones and emails. We will also be suspending Quick News for at least two weeks while normal operations are disrupted. We anticipate all repairs and conditions back to normal by August 30^th, God willing! Look for Quick News to return on September 4^th. Have a great summer break New Jersey!

NAB Wants to Know: What's Working for You?

Imitation is said to be flattery and the NAB wants to encourage stations to borrow ideas from one another. During good times and bad, broadcasters are making a difference in communities across the country and seizing opportunities in this digital age. Have you come up with innovative ways of bringing in new revenue? Found a way to prevent layoffs? Have you discovered a unique way to keep costs down? Are you finding new opportunities using the power of technology? The NAB would like to highlight your station or company's great work in our newsletters, conferences and programs. Please send your stories about "What's Working for You?" to the Nab at their special web site:

http://www.nab.org/AM/ASPCode/forms/RallyStories.asp and let them know about your successes and innovative ideas in this challenging environment. One station will win two registrations to the NAB Show, April 10-15, 2010, along with a hotel room for two nights at a sanctioned NAB Show hotel. Entry deadline is September 30. Random drawing to be held October 6. Winner to be announced in the October 12 edition of the NAB Pulse.

Book Your Hotel for the NAB Radio Show Today and Save

The NAB Radio Show® offers special rates at the show's official hotels! Make your reservations online - hurry, rooms are going fast! The Show is set in Philadelphia and will be held on September 23^rd through the 25^th. Get more details at the NAB website:

http://www.nabradioshow.com/2009/about/hotelinformation.asp