FCC's Adelstein Seeks Payola Probe

Washington - Nov 5, 2003 - In a speech to the Federal Communications Bar Association, FCC Commissioner Jonathon Adelstein called for action in the recent pay-for-play practices in broadcasting. In his speech, he cited various practices used by radio stations to charge record labels and artists for radio airplay. The practice, when done carefully, falls legally within the scope of payola rules. More recently, some TV stations have begun a practice of charging to conduct interviews. One station in Tampa has charged $500 for a two-minute segment during the local news. A station in Mississippi has charged $2,500 for a four- to six-minute segment. These interviews have come under scrutiny because they are aired during the regular newscast and carry the appearance of news content when they are technically considered advertisements. A disclaimer appears in the closing credits identifying the segment as a paid feature, but Adelstein feels that is insufficient.

In his speech, Adelstein said, "It’s been 40 years since enactment of the payola statutes. It’s time for the FCC to probe whether our rules adequately deter potentially new forms of payola."

He went on to say that there is a real need for the FCC to review its sponsorship identification rules to make sure it addresses modern day pay-for-play practices in the most effective way possible.

FCC Announces AM Auction and CP Filing Window

NAB Announces Crystal Radio Awards Deadline

Copyright Office Seeks Comments

Chyron Sells Pro-Bel Subsidiary

Melville, NY - Nov 6, 2003 - Chyron has sold all of the stock in its wholly owned subsidiary Chyron UK Holdings Limited and its operating subsidiary Pro-Bel Limited, which constituted all of the company's signal distribution and automation business. The purchaser of the business is Oval (1883) Limited, a UK company jointly owned by LDC and certain members of the Pro-Bel management team.

The sale allows Chyron to reduce its debt and focus on its core competency, the development of real-time graphics systems. Among other products, Pro-Bel manufactures audio routing equipment.

New Owner for Continental Electronics

Dallas - Nov 4, 2003 – DRS Technologies has completed its acquisition of Integrated Defense Technologies (IDT). In the transaction, a wholly owned subsidiary of DRS was merged with IDT. The transaction was completed following approval by a majority of IDT’s stockholders at a special meeting held earlier today. IDT has owned Continental Electronics since 2000.

Continental has had several owners since it was founded in 1946, including founder James Weldon, LTV, Varian Associates and Tech-Sym.

More IBOC Tests in Mexico

Cincinnati - Oct 9, 2003 - Grupo Radio Centro hosted a demonstration on AM and FM IBOC and DAB broadcasting at Mexico's first broadcast convention, CIRT. Attendance at the convention was reported to be more than 1,000.

During the convention, Harris demonstrated AM IBOC and Eureka 147. The AM IBOC demo was installed at the Grupo Radio Centro located in Santa Catarina, Ixtapalapa, Mexico City. The station was XEN on 690kHz. This station already has three Harris transmitters: one DX-25U, one 3DX-50 and one DX-100. The antenna system is an omnidirectional antenna that is 108 meters tall.

Harris installed two audio processors - one for analog AM and the other for IBOC - a Harris Dextar Epal and Harris Dextar AM exciter. The system was first installed the stations DX-25U and later moved to the DX-100. This marks the first installation of IBOC in a DX-100.

KFRG Gets Back on Air After Fire

San Berndardino, CA - Nov 6, 2003 - Broadcast Electronics (BE) is supplying two FM transmitters to KFRG-FM, which lost its transmitter building and just about everything in it to the firestorm that blazed through California recently. The Infinity station is the LP-1 for the greater San Bernadino/Riverside area. It was added to the fire fatality list on Oct. 25 along with two other stations, KCAL-FM and KSGN-FM, broadcasting from Cloudland Forest Road. In addition, KECR-AM also suffered equipment losses from the fire.

After seeing that the fire had destroyed the transmitter building, KFRG Chief Engineer Kevin Scott called BE, which supplied Infinity stations with transmitters in the past and had an FM-30T 30kW on order for KFRG as part of a large, corporate purchase order from Infinity Broadcasting. BE shipped KFRG a new 30kW transmitter within hours after the call, several weeks ahead of schedule.

With the transmitter building in ruin, however, Scott wasn’t optimistic that he would be able to install the 30kW transmitter any time soon. He planned to bring a storage locker to the Cloudland site to serve as a temporary transmitter structure. He also needed a lower powered 10kW transmitter that could feed the four-bay antenna system to provide a 26kW ERP signal. KFRG is licensed for 50kW ERP.

A second call to BE started the expedited shipment of a new FM-10T 10kW transmitter. The transmitter was shipped via a white glove shipping method, getting to Los Angeles in 39 hours. Scott plans to use the transmitter during the next few months while rebuilding the site at Cloudland, at which time he'll install the BE 30kW transmitter and use the 10kW for backup.

The station has been operating from a temporary antenna at Box Springs since the fire, on a backup tower graciously loaned by KGGI-FM, a Clear Channel station. Concluding that a backup location is as important as having backup equipment, KFRG corporate officers are currently applying for a license to set up an auxiliary transmitter from Box Springs, with plans to purchase yet another BE transmitter for backup there.

Sonifex Receives Order for Portable Recorders

Irthlingborough, UK - Oct 10, 2003 - Sonifex has received an order from All India Radio (AIR) for 300 Courier flashcard portable recorders. The recorders are to be used throughout India for local broadcasting. They will be used in conjunction with the Dalet Radio Automation System.

Harris Inks Distribution Agreement with Desktop Technologies

Cincinnati - Nov 5, 2003 - Harris has been named a distributor of News Boss, an automation product by Desktop Technologies, a Sydney, Australia-based radio technology company.

News Boss, a newsroom automation system, was designed as a Microsoft Windows-based product. It is a radio-specific automation system that uses a true database for management of news data. News Boss is fully scaleable and configurable, with installed systems ranging from a single workstation to more than 80 users. The system's key features include dynamic newscast management, automatic capture of multiple wire services, ingest of satellite feeds, simple-to-use audio recording and editing, high-quality prompter for on-air presentations and WAN and Internet connectivity. News Boss is currently installed in over 280 worldwide locations (140 in the United States) in 22 countries.

APT Plug-in for Adobe Audition Sees Acceptance

Andrew Acquires Yantai Fine Cable Assets

Orland Park IL - Nov 3, 2003 - Andrew has acquired selected assets of Yantai Fine Cable Company, a manufacturer of products for telecommunications and broadband cable TV infrastructure providers. The assets have become part of a new subsidiary, Andrew Broadband Telecommunication (Yantai) Company that will occupy the former Yantai Fine Cable manufacturing premises in Yantai, in China's Shandong province. More than 300 former Yantai Fine Cable Company employees, including specialist cable engineers, became Andrew employees. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Principal products manufactured by Andrew Broadband telecommunications will include a braided 75 ohm subscriber access cable for broadband networks, a braided 50 ohm cable for broadband wireless, Wi-Fi, telematics, and microwave backhaul applications and a braided 50 ohm cable for in-cabinet wireless jumper assemblies.

Rohde and Schwarz Names Regional Sales Manager

Columbia, MD - Nov 4, 2003 – Tom Jordan, a broadcast industry veteran credited with deploying Leitch's first U.S. field-based professional sales force, and known for his service to industry organizations such as SMPTE, NATAS, the SBE and the AMA has joined Rohde and Schwarz as a regional sales manager.

Jordan will support a growing customer base, as well as generate new business. He will analyze and evaluate customer requirements as well as develop strategies to successfully respond to the rapidly evolving marketplace. Jordan's territories include the New York networks and the southeastern states reaching from Virginia to Florida.

Jordan most recently held the position of senior vice president of strategic relations for Leitch following a five-year tenure as Leitch's vice president of U.S. sales. Prior to Leitch, Jordan served as regional sales manager for Tektronix Television Division where he helped develop an automatic test set application for analyzing color TV camera performance.

Jordan’s experience also includes leadership roles at RCA Broadcast Systems and at Harris Broadcast Division where he led a team that developed the company's first studio color camera products, and at General Electric Broadcast where he developed the first automatic contrast compression system for color TV cameras and received a patent for a unique shading modulator design.

Jordan holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.

Beck Appointed Eventide General Manager

New York - Oct 10, 2003 - Eventide has formed a new Audio Software group and Jason Beck, who led the development of the Eclipse and Clockworks Legacy plug-ins, will lead the development team.

Beck recently announced the introduction of two new plug-ins for Pro Tools TDM for Mac, Eventide Reverb and the Octavox Harmonizer. Also, version 1.1 of its Clockworks Legacy plug-in bundle is available.

Sadie Appoints Thompson to U.S. Director of Sales

New York - Oct 10, 2003 - Ed Thompson will be responsible for the ongoing education of the audio community on the benefits of such advanced technologies as DSD. Thompson will help develop and implement a new, intensified sales approach, and strengthen relationships with Sadie's network of dealers and reps, along with prominent mastering and mixing facilities.

Thompson is an accomplished engineer with a broad range of experience, including time spent working at Ohio State University’s public radio and TV services, and doing music and sports audio mixing for such high-profile clients as ABC, CBS, NBC and ESPN. Thompson has been the recipient of two regional Emmy Awards, with a third nomination. Additionally, Thompson honed his skills as an engineer for renowned classical pianist Earl Wild, with credits on Wild’s Grammy-winning The Romantic Master: Virtuoso Piano Transcriptions as well as the 2002 Grammy-nominated Wild album Reynaldo Hahn: Le Rossignol Éperdu.

BSI Releases New Version of Simian

Minilink USB Interface Now Available

New York - Oct 10, 2003 - Neutrik's Minilink USB interface for the Minstruments series is a field-retrofittable link that enables PC-based communications between NTI's Minilyzer and Digilyzer and allows easier documentation and data acquisition of all device functions.

In conjunction with the upgraded firmware for the Minilyzer and Digilyzer, the instruments will be able to handle screen shots and provide data storage for post processing.

Hitplayer Now Available

New York - Oct 10, 2003 - Digigram has made Hitplayer available through its North American distribution network for systems contractor, installation and pro audio markets. Hitplayer combines two standalone audio players with IP network services into a solution for automated and interactive audio applications.