FCC requireing stations being maned 24/7

[Kent]

What surprises me is that no one, including the FCC, seems to have thought that there might be a better way to provide emergency alerts than the EAS. I've never worked for anyone who wants that robotic NWS voice going out over their station, though some put up with it. You'd think, with all the automation and high speed internet, that we could find something better. Dave Scott has an unattended weather system that sounds a lot better than EAS, though it still sounds a slight bit robotic to me.

 

[TomT]

Better way to do EAS?

1. Provide funding for NWS to return to live announcers. We're not talking that many people--most NWS offices serve large areas.

2. Improve NWS radio. My state plan has me monitoring two different NWS feeds (2 fm's in two different operational areas)--but with only 7 channels on narrowband VHF I have a heck of time getting one of them.

We could do this several ways--a new band, perhaps in those government frequencies just above Channel 13, or, much more practical, on a couple of channels carved out of Channel 6. (This band is used for FM broadcast in Japan and other parts of the world, so the radios are just a container ship away. it would also be a good place for new LPFM's, but that is another topic).

3. Make NWS "All Hazards" radio--and provide funding for staff. This was the plan just a while back, with training provided for the NWS people on running alerts for other government entities. (I talked to the radio guy from one of our local NWS offices--that was their main beef at the time--not enough funding for the added duties. But the recent FCC comments about CAP and not relying upon NWS for emergency traffic indicates to me that there is a turf war going on in Washington--and NOAA has lost.)

4. Use RDS for "command" alerting on car radios (and table radios, as well). This is done in Europe, and several companies are selling systems for "closed circuit" emergency warnings for universities. RDS/RBDS has a "text" message capability (in addition to the 8 character display you see on a car radio), and a flag can be sent to both auto-tune, and de-mute radios designed for this purpose.

Despite "just a reporter"s deliberate ignorance, Minot was a government failure, not a broadcast failure. But at 3 AM, not many people would have had the radio on anyway. One fellow who lived in Minot at the time of the train derailment (and who, while in radio, was not connected with CC); remembered being wakened by the "tornado" sirens.

Back to 24/7 operation in general: I have an FM in market 249, licensed to a town of 3,000. We were manned 24/7 until 4 years ago, we originally went 24/7 because of shift workers ( a number of chemical plants in our area). Never been able to sell the overnight. We could survive having to have someone babysit overnight, (at $7 an hour--not $10) but we are satellite fed--would serve no purpose. And it is increasingly difficult to find anyone interested in working in radio even if we did return to live local programming. All the old radio farts got real jobs; the kids have no interest. (At the request of some local community leaders, seven years ago we built a 900 watt non-com FM station for one of our local high schools. We've been able to recruit exactly 2 kids interested in radio since then. One is now our ops mgr.--but he's a full-time college student, as well as weekend news producer for a local V network affiliate. Once he graduates he'll be off to a bigger TV market in a flash--already been recruited by a group station that didn't know he was still in college!)

 

[LTT]

Actually I was the music director at KWKH in Shrevport in the mid 80s when Larry Scott did the all night truckers show. THAT show made about as much money in one shift as the entire station did the rest of the day. Of course the show could be heard from Chicago to Phoenix to Florida on a good night. But it did make a ton of money...

Keep in mind that Great Empire nickeled-and-dimed nearly everything on their stations. This is how they managed to make money in the overnights. They had sponsorships for pretty much everything they could sell. They had some cheap spots that were a constant source of revenue that targetted smaller businesses. They billed more in one year in Springfield, MO than any station in Tulsa, OK. So, why didn't more people try to copy the strategy? Simply put, it wasn't successful everywhere. It was a disaster in Denver and fared poorly in Tulsa. The stations began to sound more and more cluttered, and, as time went on, people got used to the more music approaches of competing stations like KXKT in Omaha and KRMD/KITT in Shreveport. Then, those stations began to lose audience, too. Notice that WOW is completely gone, and KWKH has had several formats over the last 10 years. Although it's back to doing classic country, it doesn't resemble the old KWKH much to me. I doubt trying such a strategy in Houston would be successful.

In so many of these posts I see many of the same points about the waste the air is overnights anymore. Not only is it a good place to "learn the ropes" (I did midnite to 6 all through college at KTTS in Springfield) but it should be important because in a lot of cities people listen at 3am because they're shiftworkers or getting up to start their work day. I used to hear from these people all the time about being "left out" of station promotions (who gives away decent prizes at 2:30 in the morning - no one!) or had no jock to call to ask for a song (not that stations play requests) or get a question about a station event answered by a real person.

"You can always reach a ranch hand at the McDonald's Ranch Line, 865-8765, at the Radio Ranch KTTS." Notice how they even sold the rights to their request line? Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge the people at Great Empire for doing what they could to make money. I just don't think the strategy is right everywhere.

My favorite was the sponsor for the Song of Inspiration at the top of the hour...it was usually sponsored by some funeral home!

Yes, Great Empire ran a lot of units per hour and sold everything. But they also provided a service to their audience with all those sponsored weather, news, traffic and elements. To loyal listeners they could set their clocks by the weather at :15 and sports at :45. And, to be honest, I never knew how their clock and programming worked ANYWHERE but it was hugely successful (and still is in Springfield). Those stations trying to bring the Ranch concept to their larger markets (like Denver) were doomed from the start. I'd never suggest trying to bring that style of radio to a market like Houston or DFW.

I believe Great Empire sold the KWKH AM/FM some time back and now several stations are all crowded in that Ranchhouse on Pines - I want to say CC bought it all up. And they are wasting the huge stick on the AM...but

My point was that the truckers show on KWKH made a lot of money with it's specific targeted ads with Larry Scott and that overnights don't have to be just music and a voicetrack. There are possibilities out there - new and old ideas - that would make it a viable shift once again in any market.

 

[davideduardo]

#1: How silly is it that we are even discussing the merits of paying $30k+ a year to provide for ONE person to insure the radio station isn't burned to the ground by **anyone** and that the station provide for the most simple "public interest, convenience and necessity?" If an owner can't afford $30k+ a year...close the damn station. Sell it to someone who has some business acumen.

What will happen is that the stations will just sign off at midnight... depriving the few listeners of any service at all.

#2: Stations make LOTS of money. A lousy owner with no clue turns 20% ROI.

That is just totally untrue. For decades and decades, around half of US stations have not turned a profit. Sometimes they last a while, sometimes the get sold, a few go dark. The average US radio station bills less than the gross of an average Pizza Hut store. This issue dates back to the financial reports in the 60's, in fact. It has nothing to do with consolidation or Clear Channel.

 

[davideduardo]

Excuse me David, but EAS has to enter the chain somewhere....how else would the LP-1 get the EAS notification from local officials? FAX? Only if they knew the correct fax number.. YES I KNOW HOW EAS is supposed to work..I have worked at LP-1s before....The local officials in the Minot incident had NO CORRECT numbers to contact CC.....so whose fault was it?? CC for not informing the local officials HOW to get ahold of them to spread information via EAS....It is NOT the local governments responsibility to have ANY EAS gear at all...Part 11 only covers broadcast stations and it is the STATIONS responsibility to notify the local officials on HOW to contact them and start the EAS process....but in this case, that was never done....

You act like some of us donot understand Part 11 of the rules or know HOW EAS is supposed to work....get real...I DO! BEEN THERE, made it work right!!!

EAS alerts can be sent without intervention in such a situation via the organizations capable of originating an EAS message, and they are received by the station via the EAS system, not landlines or faxes. The idea is that anyone could create a hoax otherwise. In Minot, the local officials did not know how to activate the EAS at the local stations and did not have the activation equipment installed.

The system purposely avoids phones and faxes, as a real emergency might happpen while a station is doing a contest and the line might be tied up for an hour... even the hotline might be tied up by the jock trolling or a real hotline call from the PD. The idea of the origination coding is to get the message out with less possibility of human error and far less chance of a hoax or false trigger.

Many stations are unmanned at night. If they had to be manned, they would just go off the air in those hours, as they produce no revenue. EAS can operate and should operate without intervention in the transmission from local authorities authorized to activate to the primary and secondary stations; the other stations can put the system in automatic mode, too. This is ideal in off hours, when there is no decision maker present and management prefers to defer to the primary station for triggering.

You don't really think that someone from NORAD is going to call stations on the request line and say "Incoming" when Pyongyang launches an ICBM across the Pacific?

"(b) The Local Area plan contains procedures for local officials or the NWS to transmit emergency information to the public during a local emergency using the EAS. Local plans may be a part of the State plan. A Local Area is a geographical area of contiguous communities or counties that may include more than one state."

This means local officials must follow EAS protocol to send a message via the system, not via a fax where the machine may be broker, out of paper, out of toner or tied up in receiving a 36 page press release from an obscure local organization.

 

[Radioman100]

That is just totally untrue. For decades and decades, around half of US stations have not turned a profit. Sometimes they last a while, sometimes the get sold, a few go dark. The average US radio station bills less than the gross of an average Pizza Hut store. This issue dates back to the financial reports in the 60's, in fact. It has nothing to do with consolidation or Clear Channel.

You can't tell me KHKS Dallas isn't outbilling a Pizza Hut.

 

[justareporter]

What will happen is that the stations will just sign off at midnight... depriving the few listeners of any service at all.

These so-called station are nothing more than satellite downlinks. They provide no service at all. They simply exist in space and time.

That is just totally untrue. For decades and decades, around half of US stations have not turned a profit. Sometimes they last a while, sometimes the get sold, a few go dark. The average US radio station bills less than the gross of an average Pizza Hut store. This issue dates back to the financial reports in the 60's, in fact. It has nothing to do with consolidation or Clear Channel.

It is true...some stations have gone dark. More should. Given current prices the average Pizza Hut probably pays more for cheese than the average radio station pays its morning team.

Seriously though, the assertion that half the stations don't make any money is just plain silly. Of course they do. Thanks to the creative accounting by clusters some stations appear not to make any money. I know of one particular dive in one particular little hell-hole spot on the map which bills somewhere between $750k-$1 million in a locale that can't AFFORD a Pizza Hut.

They do it $1 at a time and the owner just bought himself ANOTHER Jag. He is a nasty little man but he pays his people pretty well and his sales people very well and they go out and SELL. They have a small news department and their "talent" goes to everything. Last time I checked their "live" from 6a to noon and then 3-7p.

I am forever reminded by current events that in almost all cases if a station can't make money it is usually the fault of short-sighted, not-very-well-trained management.

Good, well trained, well paid and motivated people can sell anything and if that spreads to the rest of the station you can actually empower the staff to make it a good place to work.

 

[Kent]

EAS alerts can be sent without intervention in such a situation via the organizations capable of originating an EAS message, and they are received by the station via the EAS system, not landlines or faxes. The idea is that anyone could create a hoax otherwise. In Minot, the local officials did not know how to activate the EAS at the local stations and did not have the activation equipment installed.

The system purposely avoids phones and faxes, as a real emergency might happpen while a station is doing a contest and the line might be tied up for an hour... even the hotline might be tied up by the jock trolling or a real hotline call from the PD. The idea of the origination coding is to get the message out with less possibility of human error and far less chance of a hoax or false trigger.

When I worked at an LP-1 a few years ago, we still got a lot of our information via the telephone. However, you couldn't just call the request line and say there was an accident at the nuclear plant. We had a "bat phone" that had a direct connection to the nuclear plant, and that was where they were supposed to call us. If we had any questions regarding something going on at the plant, we picked up the "bat phone," and they were right there. There was no need to dial; it was a direct connection. We also had a totally separate hotline that they could use to contact us, and the police would do so to contact us for Amber Alerts. Management had a separate hotline. However, you had to have a code word, and any phone request had to be accompanied by a fax that had to have appropriate letterhead and it had to be sent from specific fax machines, and, yes, we had to check the top of the fax to verify its authenticity.

 

[justareporter]

Passing thought while re-reading posts. To the gentleman who couldn't get students involved in a non-com FM at the local HS...that is the fault of the HS. I know of HS radio stations that are buldging with students...and college too.

Might be that in a town of 3000 you have other issues. Try doing local heads doing the overnight with a live person.

Here's a thought...local news from local people. You mean to tell me you can't sell THAT?

 

[davideduardo]

That is just totally untrue. For decades and decades, around half of US stations have not turned a profit. Sometimes they last a while, sometimes the get sold, a few go dark. The average US radio station bills less than the gross of an average Pizza Hut store. This issue dates back to the financial reports in the 60's, in fact. It has nothing to do with consolidation or Clear Channel.

You can't tell me KHKS Dallas isn't outbilling a Pizza Hut.

And for every KHKS, there are 100 stations billing $30 or $40 k a month, many of which making no money or losing... some just enough for the manager and owner to make a salary, but no return on investment.

 

[davideduardo]

Seriously though, the assertion that half the stations don't make any money is just plain silly. Of course they do. Thanks to the creative accounting by clusters some stations appear not to make any money. I know of one particular dive in one particular little hell-hole spot on the map which bills somewhere between $750k-$1 million in a locale that can't AFFORD a Pizza Hut.

Obviously you have not been in radio long, or do not have a financial background, so I will pardon your labeling me a liar.

In the 50's through the 70's, stations had to file an annual FCC financial report. No taxes or fees were assesed, but the FCC wanted to have a measure of profitability to balance against ownership and programming requirements. At no time over nearly 3 decades did more than half of US stations make an operating profit. Lying on an FCC report is what is called "lack of candor" and could cause licence revocation, so I doubt many stations lied or fiddled with the reports.

Since the 80's, especially since Docket 80-90, there have been way too many stations in every area in the country. It is a natural assumption, proven by the pre-consolidation studies, that even less stations make money now.

As one who has done due diligence on many a station, I know how many stations truly lose money, and how that affects operation by deterioration of the physical plant, etc. Most stations are not a good investment and not a good business. The documentation is easy to find, but you would prefer to use an anecdote about one owner and his jag rather than listening to fact.

 

[Radioman100]

That is just totally untrue. For decades and decades, around half of US stations have not turned a profit. Sometimes they last a while, sometimes the get sold, a few go dark. The average US radio station bills less than the gross of an average Pizza Hut store. This issue dates back to the financial reports in the 60's, in fact. It has nothing to do with consolidation or Clear Channel.

You can't tell me KHKS Dallas isn't outbilling a Pizza Hut.

And for every KHKS, there are 100 stations billing $30 or $40 k a month, many of which making no money or losing... some just enough for the manager and owner to make a salary, but no return on investment.

Fine David, but why specifically can't KHKS "afford" to be fully staffed and fully live? They just laid off the jocks for two dayparts in favor of voicetracking.

 

[Kent]

Fine David, but why specifically can't KHKS "afford" to be fully staffed and fully live? They just laid off the jocks for two dayparts in favor of voicetracking.

I think you're missing his point. I don't think he was ever arguing Clear Channel couldn't afford to staff its major market clusters 24/7. Besides, even with these potential new requirements, the now heavily voicetracked KHKS and the remainder of Clear Channel's Dallas stations would likely be compliant. I haven't seen David speak up for Clear Channel with respect to this issue other than possibly arguing that standards should be uniform to all operators, whether it's Clear Channel, Cumulus, or the mom and pop in a one stoplight town.

His point is that commercial radio, as a whole, has been a money losing operation (and, yes, it has been well documented), and there are stations, especially in more rural areas, that would likely start signing off in the overnights rather than stay fully-staffed. Some people I know seem to think it's a good thing for stations to sign off in the overnight if they can't afford to staff it. While I don't think I agree with them, I say more power to them, and it's an opinion I respect.

 

[justareporter]

I prefer not to take things personally so I will patently ignor the gentleman who suggests that I have neither a long radio background or a financial one.

Neer assume.

As for stations making money...they do. Operating "profit" is a slippery slope. Good accountants can show either a profit or a loss.

My recollection is that most stations EBITDA was good in the 80's....and they are even BETTER now in the major markets down through the 100's. Yeah...they probwbly stink in market 227.

And you should learn to be polite.

 

[kendro]

The EAS problems will eventually be addressed through directive. This happens in many critical infrastructure industries. The National Communication System sounds like a good name if one were to gander.

As far as staff reduction and process automation, the reduction of seats (overall wages and related costs) is a huge cost reduction. The front cost of the automation hopefully balances the same quarter with these gains. This leaves you with a current dollar change of near zero and a nice set-up for next quarter postings.
Everything that happens today was planned locally and approved somewhere at least three months ago. These decisions are not knee jerk!

How does any of this relate to the FCC's current frenzy about public trust? It doesn't.
There is a growing disconnect between what the public expects and what the current rendition of the radio industry is willing to provide. The FCC's issue is with the industry's inability to self-resolve that disconnect.

Although I don't have the answers, I hope you (collectively) do find them. I have great respect for many of you and feel the many and varied talents you possess could be a great asset to the public under a different business culture.

 

[justareporter]

nicely written. We may disagree a little but I acknowledge and applaud your comments.

 

[fredcantu]

The debate over profitability reminds me of the creative accounting used in Hollywood.
James Garner's contract called for a share of the profits from the Rockford Files.
The show ran 130 episodes on NBC and later was syndicated.
According to the pencil pushers the show never turned a profit so Garner's share was ZERO.

Never underestimate the power of an accountant.
Just ask Enron.

 

[davideduardo]

Fine David, but why specifically can't KHKS "afford" to be fully staffed and fully live? They just laid off the jocks for two dayparts in favor of voicetracking.

Probably they feel, perhaps even backed with some kind of research, that listeners in some dayparts and in some formats find DJs annoying and prefer not to have them. This can, of course, be a Kool Aid flavor that is savored with the idea that more money will be made.

 

[davideduardo]

I prefer not to take things personally so I will patently ignor the gentleman who suggests that I have neither a long radio background or a financial one.

The form in which you accuse the average broadcaster of chicanery and lack of candor makes only two conclusions possible: 1) you have little background in the financial side of broadcasting and /or 2) you have the oft-seen "one year's experience twenty times over."

Neer(sic) assume.

The evidence of your post, demeaning to broadcasters and accusatory to me, speaks for itself. And it speaks poorly of you.

As for stations making money...they do. Operating "profit" is a slippery slope. Good accountants can show either a profit or a loss.

Aside from the fact that I have done due diligence on more stations than you have probably worked for, the fact is that most of the unprofitable stations are small. Either unviable ones in larger markets (rimshot A's, daytimers, fulltimers on 1600, etc.) or in over radioed smaller markets. While the owner may get a salary and a car trade, there is as often as not no profit on operations before non-operating charges (BCF). In fact, the predecessor to the company I work for created a Top 10 group out of buying unprofitable stations and rebuilding them.

But the fact remains that during the decades when the FCC required financial reporting, and during which time "lack of candor" was the worst act in the Commission's eyes, resulting almost always in license revocation, half the stations in the US were not profitable. Cheating on the FCC forms was dangerous; cheating on tax returns is similarly dangerous and rare is the case where we hear of a tax cheat at a station as discovered in an IRS audit. Why? Such a conviction would put ser4ious character qualification issues against the licensee and still be grounds for either a strike application or a lack of renewal.

Anyone who has managed or owned stations knows that many, even in the largest markets, do not make money. Add in the cost of capital, and the situation is even worse.

Of course, the figures for radio profitability were printed each year in Broadcasting from the FCC data, and later from the NAB surveys. It's interesting that nobody ever questioned it over the decades until you popped up with an anonymous screen name.

My recollection is that most stations EBITDA was good in the 80's....and they are even BETTER now in the major markets down through the 100's. Yeah...they probwbly stink in market 227.

Most US stations are not in the top 200 markets. In fact, 2/3 of all stations are not in the top 200 markets.

And you should learn to be polite.

I am seldom polite when called a liar.

 

[justareporter]

It's interesting that nobody ever questioned it over the decades until you popped up with an anonymous screen name.

I don't think anyone cared.

I am seldom polite when called a liar.

I would never be so rude as to call you a liar. I would call you patently incorrect and leave it at that.

The form in which you accuse the average broadcaster of chicanery and lack of candor makes only two conclusions possible: 1) you have little background in the financial side of broadcasting and /or 2) you have the oft-seen "one year's experience twenty times over."

My guess is that you have plenty of experience but little understanding. This also ends my contributions (such as they have now become) to this "thread."

I have a personal standing rule that I do not engage in character discussions or engage in what amounts to cat fights.

You want to have an intellectual discussion on issues or exchange of ideas....I'm there....otherwise I can't be bothered.