NJBA Weekly Newsletter Friday, September 18, 2009

Let Us Never Forget

The thousands of deaths from 9/11 included broadcast engineers working on the 110th floor of the World Trade Center. As you stop to think about where you were that terrible morning in 2001, think about the guys who were just doing their job for their stations. We call engineers “unsung heroes” and most people usually have no clue about how extensive their contributions are. But we as broadcasters recognize their essential work, and along with all of the other victims and heroes in the ongoing War on Terror, the NJBA remembers their contributions and sacrifice today, and always.

FCC Gets Involved in Performance Tax Fight

The National Association of Broadcasters today filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission dismissing a complaint filed by the MusicFIRST Coalition as nothing more than a "carefully crafted public relations document" that runs counter to the First Amendment, the Communications Act, and precedent set by both the U.S. Supreme Court and the FCC. As such, it should be summarily dismissed. We intend to join our fellow state associations in filing Joint Reply Comments in support of the NAB and in opposition to MusicFIRST's claims that the radio industry, led by the NAB, has conspired to publish false information regarding the performance tax issue and to boycott artists who favor such a tax. Some 30 comments were filed. There are a host of reasons why MusicFIRST's proposed remedies are beyond the Commission's authority and contrary to the First Amendment. Radio broadcasters' views on the pending legislation are "completely consistent with the public interest in promoting continued access by all Americans to free, over-the-air radio. The FCC itself has recognized that the radio industry's ability to serve the public interest "is fundamentally premised on its economic viability. The U.S. Supreme Court and the Communications Act affords broadcasters the broad discretion to select or reject editorial programming or advertisements. A broadcaster's right to refuse advertising has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, which stated in its CBS vs. DNC decision that "neither the Communications Act nor the First Amendment requires broadcasters to accept paid editorial advertisements." Additionally, the FCC's own public manual, The Public and Broadcasting, clearly states that broadcast stations "are not required to broadcast everything that is offered or otherwise suggested to them."

Speaking of the Performance Tax

Only three NJ Congressmen (Reps. Rothman, Holt and Payne) have not joined our cause, thanks to our NJBA member’s vigilant efforts and support of the NJBA’s initiatives. NJBA President Paul Rotella has been “camping-out” in the halls of Congress, working hard to get the three remaining Members to support their constituents, who are overwhelmingly opposed to this backward legislation. We anticipate a Senate mark-up of S. 379 later in the month of September. Please call them at (202) 225-3121 and tell them it’s not too late to become one of the good guys and protect free over the air radio for all of New Jersey! Hey, even Dick Army, the former Republican House Majority Leader, gave a “so long”, resigning as the RIAA’s lobbyist-in-chief. But watch out for a late November “Add-On” to must pass legislation that could have the Performance Tax slipped in during the cover of darkness!

NAB Radio Show Opens Next Week

Today, the world of radio faces challenges unique in complexity, intense in difficulty, and great in number. Competition for ad dollars and a weakened economy call for unprecedented new technology, upgraded innovation, and dynamic new business strategies to drive the industry forward. Today the question remains... What can be done with the technology of tomorrow?  Go beyond the dial with your peers at the NAB Radio Show and declare today as an industry reinvention. Learn how to survive a rapidly arriving new media landscape, fight for tomorrow’s listeners and profit from a future still to be written.  The revolution returns to Philadelphia September 23-25! For more information, visit www.nabradioshow.com.

Please Don’t Forget to File the Right Form

If any of our members are interested in obtaining a copy of the NAB's political time form PB-16, please be advised that the PB-16 form is the same as last year.  Two little wrinkles:  One, anyone running an NAB-produced Performance Rights Spot can download the tailored PB-16 form from the noperformancetax.org website.   Two, for NAB member stations, the for-sale PB-16 publication is now available free of charge.  TV members can call (202) 429-5347.  Radio members can call (202) 429-5400.    

 

EEO 1 Reports Due September 30th

This is the deadline by which broadcasters subject to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) reporting requirements must file their EEO 1 Report (Form 100).  We encourage you to consult with counsel expert in this regulatory area and to visit http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/jobpat/e1instruct.html.

FCC Fees Due September 22^nd

In order to avoid a 25% late-payment penalty, the FCC warns all annual regulatory payments must arrive at their St. Louis processing center by September 22.  Earlier this month the agency declined to relax payment rules to help recession-weary broadcasters.

 The  Trenton Report from The Marcus Group:  SPEAKER ROBERTS STEPS DOWN 

Breaking the usual tranquility of Trenton before Labor Day, Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts announced he was removing his name from the ballot in November and would leave the Speaker's post at the end of his term. The Speaker, along with the Governor and Senate President, are the most powerful positions in state government. Roberts' decision set off an immediate scramble to succeed him. Leading contenders on the Democratic side are Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, Democratic State Chair Joe Cryan and Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski. Should the Republicans win control of the Assembly in November, Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce and Assembly Republican Conference Leader Peter Biondi are the likely contenders for the top spot.

Roberts has served in the Assembly for 22 years and will be missed in corridors of the State House.

 

Sales at Sirius are Down over 33%

And that’s the good news! Sirius XM Radio reports 185,999 customers cancelled April - June and the company ended second quarter with 18,413,435 subscribers. That’s a decrease of 1% from a year ago. It’s also the first time ever satellite radio has seen its net customer base shrink. In fact, the combined Sirius/XM did just $12.5 million in ad sales in the second quarter, down from $18.7 million last year. That’s probably equivalent to what CBS-owned “1010 WINS” or maybe WCBS-FM in New York did last quarter. It’s really a tiny number for a company that did $608 million in Q2 revenue. But they did charge their shrinking customer base increased fees.

 

More and More Taxes

Last week Senator Bill Nelson, D-Fla., sent a letter to the editor of the St. Petersburg Times in which he stated his intention to offer an amendment to healthcare reform “eliminating the tax break drugmakers get for TV advertising.”  You probably recall that a similar idea was considered, and rejected, last June when the House Ways and Means Committee drafted their version of healthcare reform legislation.  Senator Max Baucus, D- Mont., Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee has stated his intention to release the compromise legislation drafted by the so called “gang of six” Democratic and Republican members of the Committee later this week.  Chairman Baucus would like the committee to begin “marking up” the legislation next week.  Senator Nelson has not indicated whether he intends to introduce his amendment in committee, before the full Senate, or both. It is absolutely essential that members of the Senate Finance Committee, of which our own Senator Menendez is a member, hear strong opposition to this proposal from their constituents in the media/advertising industry. Please call the Senator at 202-224-4744 and tell him that the Nelson amendment must be opposed because it is a tax on advertising and if adopted is unlikely to stop with prescription drugs. 

 

Michael Jackson: Artists Should Not Trust Record Labels
In a surreal report released late last week, it was revealed that prior to his death last month, the King of Pop told interviewers that it was “Time for artists to take a stand against record labels.” In a video interview filmed by director Brett Ratner that recently surfaced, Michael Jackson lashed out at record labels. Asked about his greatest lesson learned, Jackson replied: "Not to trust everybody. Not to trust everybody in the industry. There are a lot of sharks and record companies steal. They cheat. I have to audit them. And it's time for artists to take a stand against them.” Bravo.

 

NJBA Files Opposition to FCC Rule on Form 323

Your Association joined with 46 other State Broadcasters Associations, in opposing the FCC's request that OMB approves the use of revised FCC Form 323, the Ownership Report for commercial broadcast stations.  We urged that the OMB’s consideration of the revised form was premature at best and unacceptable at a minimum under the strictures of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 ("PRA").  The FCC waited 125 days after it adopted its Report and Order significantly revising its requirements for completing and filing the 323 form, 46 days after the deadline for filing petitions for reconsideration of the Report and Order, and one day after the deadline for filing PRA-related comments on the form itself before making the form available to the public for comment.  This failure by the Commission to provide a timely opportunity for public input and to address the issues raised by that input, we submitted, constituted a violation of the PRA.  We also argued that the FCC did not adequately establish the need for the revised form in all of its particulars, or identify and accurately quantify all of the burdens imposed on the broadcast industry as a result of the revised 323 form.  For example, we pointed out that, contrary to the FCC's assurances to OMB that no privacy concerns were involved; the new form would require potentially thousands of individual broadcast officers, directors and "attributable" investors to submit their social security numbers to the FCC in order to obtain Federal Registration Numbers to be used for the ownership report filings.  We noted that the FCC's sister agency, the FAA, was the target of hackers earlier this year with the result that approximately 45, 000 social security numbers were stolen.  We also expressed our concern that the FCC apparently did not assess the deterrent effect that the FRN requirement would have on the willingness of persons to invest or continue to invest in broadcasting.  Lastly, we pointed out a number of ways that the use of the revised form created extra work, above what was required under the current form.  For example, the revised form eliminated the ability of filers to upload "universal" exhibits, thereby requiring the keying in of enormous amounts of largely duplicative data on multiple reports.  The NJBA will continue to monitor this matter and alert NJBA members when OMB has acted.            

 

Apple adds FM to iPod Nano
For the first time since its launch of the iPod eight years ago, Apple will include a built-in FM tuner in one of its models. The iPod nano will feature an FM radio with live pause and iTunes Tagging announced CEO Steve Jobs today in a surprise appearance at Apples' annual showcase of new devices. To be sure, Radio keeps getting cooler every day!

 

There’s a New Sheriff in Town

FCC Chairman Genachowski has appointed P. Michele Ellison to take the helm of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. For the past 12 years, the new enforcement chief has been the agency's deputy general counsel and has served as co-chair of the Commission’s Localism Task Force. Last week, the FCC issued several fines to broadcasters for failure to observe some basic FCC rules.  As there are many FCC rules to observe, broadcasters should use the misfortune of others who have suffered from these fines as a way to check their own operations to make sure that they meet all of the required Commission standards.  In the recent cases, fines were issued for a variety of violations, including the failure to have a manned main studio, the failure to have a working EAS system, incomplete public files, operations of an AM station at night with daytime power, and the failure to have a locked fence around an AM tower. 

AM Stations Could Ramp Up on FM Translators

The days are numbered for AM stations needing special permission to rebroadcast on an FM translator. At the start of next month the prohibition of putting AMs on FMs will be off the books. Use of FM translators has long been sought by AM operators facing limited nighttime coverage. Any Broadcaster who is currently engaged in cross-service translator operations will have to file a notification, pursuant to Section 74.1251(c) of the Commission’s rules, formally specifying their AM primary stations. 

 

 

And Now: Heeeeere’s the Chairman!

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has launched a video blog as part of the commission's move to use new media to improve communication. In the first installment, Chairman Genachowski says he wants to ensure the FCC can help "unleash the power of innovators and entrepreneurs in the United States. You can view his brand new video blog is available at http://blog.broadband.gov/. Break a leg, Sir.

 

Creative Help for Twenty Bucks

You have some copy. But, you’re not exactly sure if it’s going to work. Or, you just want another set of eyes to help you through a creative challenge. You have a produced spot. But, you want to make sure that it’s making the right impact. Or, you just want another set of ears to make sure the read is right. This is where ScriptFix and SpotCheck come in real handy — at a very affordable price. For just $20 per script or spot, you can leverage the power of our team’s expertise and experience to make sure that anything that gets on the air is a winner. You can check out their service at creative@xhangradio.com or call them at 503.734.8709. This is not a commercial, but Xhang Radio Creative’s principal, Doug Zanger, is a friend of the NJBA and has worked closely with the Radio Heard Here folks and the RAB.

Levy Celebrates 30 Years as NJ Broadcaster

Monmouth-Ocean talk show host Bob Levy celebrated 30 years of hosting his Sunday morning “Topic A with Bob Levy” talk show on WOBM-AM/FM (1160/92.7). It started in 1979 just on the AM station and now has a solid four hours (7-11am) on both stations. Levy also co-hosts the weekday “Bob and Marianne in the Morning”, with his wife. Congratulations from all of us at the NJBA!

 

Our Thoughts and Prayers

The NJBA wishes to express our condolences to NJBA Chairman Robert McAllan and his family on the passing of Bob’s Mom, Grace McAllan.  Mrs. McAllan passed away on August 28, 2009 and we send our thoughts and prayers to our colleague and the entire McAllan family.

David Gorman Passes Away

David Gorman, a long-time consulting engineer and a founder of the Phasetek Inc. manufacturing firm, died Sunday. David co-founded Phasetek in 1990 with his son Kurt and Matthew Nelson, to produce equipment such as AM phasing and branching systems. Dave did the phase & branching systems for many AM radio stations in NJ. Dave Gorman was most recently the VP/Sales of Quakertown, PA-based Phasetek. The NJBA extends its condolences to the Gorman Family.