• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Saga's not so "smoove" VT

C

CatFM

Did anyone catch the sloppy VT job on WJZA yesterday? I wondered why their TOH ID ran at 12:40. The answer came a little bit later at 12:51 when the time check was given as 1:11. If a 20 minute fudge factor is the best they can do, maybe they shouldn't give the time at all.
 
I think that WJZA/WJZK has the exact same Smooth Jazz feed that Dayton's WDSJ 106.5 has...It always has the same music and things like that, just different station IDs in place. Not sure if they're doing the time in-house or not...that sounds stupid to VT the time to start with... ::)
 
Also, too...the computer systems radio stations use have been known to drop entire segments of programming or commercial sets due to a computer malfunction (power surge causing a reboot, you name it).

Or...it could also be a new board op on duty (possibly a jock at one of the other stations there) who inserted or deleted something they shouldn't have done incorrectly figuring how the program timing would be affected.

Yep, it makes your programming sound stupid. But it does and will happen.

It used to happen a lot more years ago, but it is becoming more rare as stations become accustomed to the nuances of operating these programs.
 
Anyone remember Arrow 105.7? Heard more than just a few times where music sweeps were back-announced, but it wasn't the songs they'd just played. (Everybody confuses Billy Squier with Three Dog Night, though.....hehehe)
 
xmusicmatt said:
I thought 103.5/104.3 ran the BA Smooth Jazz satellite format? Or did they go to vting in house?
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, the Midday guy is local, but obviously not live.

They really need to pay attention to the "machine" running their programming. Not only does it sound stupid to be 20 minutes off with the time, it also isn't legal to run the TOH legal ID at :40.
 
CatFM said:
it also isn't legal to run the TOH legal ID at :40.
Click to expand...


That's open to tremendous interpretation. One consultant had us on four clocks, and clock four had the legal ID buried in the BOTTOM of the hour stopset....
 
That sounds like a consultant. Of course, they don't have to pay fine. You can try to interpret the FCC Rules & Regs anyway you want, but the wording is very specific.
 
CatFM said:
That sounds like a consultant. Of course, they don't have to pay fine. You can try to interpret the FCC Rules & Regs anyway you want, but the wording is very specific.
Click to expand...

Agreed. They should be watching it more closely. However, the FCC's Legal ID rules say the ID must run "as close to the top of the hour as possible at a natural break in programming". OK, define that. It's really not clear, which is why some music stations ID at 8-10 minutes before the hour. It's not really that specific.
 
They should only have voice trackers Monday through Friday for mid days and evenings and they are local. The rest is network except for the syndicated shows Saturday evening, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. Fritz is live and in living color! The Saturday morning countdown is also off the bird.
 
Jason Roberts said:
CatFM said:
That sounds like a consultant. Of course, they don't have to pay fine. You can try to interpret the FCC Rules & Regs anyway you want, but the wording is very specific.
Click to expand...

Agreed. They should be watching it more closely. However, the FCC's Legal ID rules say the ID must run "as close to the top of the hour as possible at a natural break in programming". OK, define that. It's really not clear, which is why some music stations ID at 8-10 minutes before the hour. It's not really that specific.
Click to expand...

It's very clear. The only time there wouldn't be a natural break to insert an ID would be if a program such as the old "Mystery Theater" was on, or maybe even something like a Presidential Debate. Any program with a continuous flow that could not be interrupted without breaking that flow would qualify. Inserting an ID between songs or spots would not qualify. A natural break happens between every song or spot. The stations that have been running IDs at :50 in stopsets have been in the gray area for years, but the FCC has obviously left them alone.

In the late 70s I worked for a Top 40 CBS affilliate and we ran CBS news on the hour, but we ran a TM jingle ID into the last song of the hour at about :56 or :57, then let the last song fade or end cold into the CBS News opening sounder. Was it legal? By the rules, no. It would have had to be right before the news opening at the top of the hour. What more of a natural break in programming could there be than shifting from music to news?
 
CatFM said:
Jason Roberts said:
CatFM said:
That sounds like a consultant. Of course, they don't have to pay fine. You can try to interpret the FCC Rules & Regs anyway you want, but the wording is very specific.
Click to expand...

Agreed. They should be watching it more closely. However, the FCC's Legal ID rules say the ID must run "as close to the top of the hour as possible at a natural break in programming". OK, define that. It's really not clear, which is why some music stations ID at 8-10 minutes before the hour. It's not really that specific.
Click to expand...

It's very clear. The only time there wouldn't be a natural break to insert an ID would be if a program such as the old "Mystery Theater" was on, or maybe even something like a Presidential Debate. Any program with a continuous flow that could not be interrupted without breaking that flow would qualify. Inserting an ID between songs or spots would not qualify. A natural break happens between every song or spot. The stations that have been running IDs at :50 in stopsets have been in the gray area for years, but the FCC has obviously left them alone.

In the late 70s I worked for a Top 40 CBS affilliate and we ran CBS news on the hour, but we ran a TM jingle ID into the last song of the hour at about :56 or :57, then let the last song fade or end cold into the CBS News opening sounder. Was it legal? By the rules, no. It would have had to be right before the news opening at the top of the hour. What more of a natural break in programming could there be than shifting from music to news?
Click to expand...

Cat:

The wording may seem clear to you. But, what makes the whole thing totally unclear...if the FCC's interpretation of the rules, which has been the problem all along. The Commission makes a rule and refuses to define it.

The problem is: the FCC leaves it up to the station to determine what "a natural break in programming" is. That's why a music station can run a legal at :50. The station is determining (right or wrong) where its' "natural break" is, and the FCC doesn't slap them down for it.

You can't say the "F" word. But, let it come out loud and proud in a song...and no one complains...it never happened! No enforcement. Which is why so many TV companies are going to court to argue "fleeting" obscenities. The FCC won't draw a line, unless forced to politically by Congress. The original charter of the FCC was to be a "radio traffic cop", with powers of enforcement. Now, unless forced to do its' job, the FCC is like a cop who spends too much time in the donut shop.

I don't disagree with you, basically, on wording. But when the people who are supposed to enforce the rules fail to do so, what's supposed to be clear is opaque.
 
gr8oldies said:
The last station to be cited for ID violations was...
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, you and Jason are both correct. The FCC is just one of the government agencies that practices "selective enforcement" on a very uneven basis. A good case in point was the revocation of the WBBY license. That should be a good reason for every licensee to practice some "CYA" just in case they happen to be the next target when the FCC actually does practice some enforcement.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom