Category: Advocacy

State Broadcasters Associations Urge Congress To Pass VOICES Act

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All fifty State Broadcasters Associations, joined by those of the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, are collectively urging US Congress to expedite the approval of the VOICES Act – pivotal legislation aimed at promoting diversity in media ownership.

They have officially requested support for H.R. 8072 and S. 4158, known as the Broadcast VOICES Act, which was introduced in April and seeks to reinstate the Diversity Tax Certificate Program at the Federal Communications Commission.

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Baltimore Bridge Collapse Reinforces The Essential Need For Local Coverage

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Like so many of us, I awoke on Tuesday to the horrific news of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that acted as a major artery across Baltimore Harbor.

My first instinct was to turn to a national cable channel so that I could better understand the alerts humming across my phone. But as the morning wore on, I found myself turning to the local stations in Baltimore and watching and reading their superb coverage on their websites.

Not only do they have the local knowledge and self-interest that elevates their coverage well beyond anything a national network or cable news channel might provide, but they are able to go deeper on everything from the heroic search and rescue operations; the victims and their impacted families and colleagues; the presumed cause (likely a tragic accident caused by a powerless and thus rudderless cargo ship); efforts to stop the flow of traffic and keep a number of cars off the bridge before the tragedy; complete coverage of the official press conferences; the helicopter footage supplied to all of the major cable channels and alternative routes for those individuals for whom this bridge was their daily commute.

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AM Act Gets 218th Voting Sponsor In US House, Ensuring Majority

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The AM For Every Vehicle Act has hit the magic number of voting co-sponsors needed to pass the legislation through the US House of Representatives. The House version of the bill, led by New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer, announced its 218th voting supporter.

The surge of four new co-sponsors came the same day that the NAB joined state broadcast associations to lobby for AM radio and other pressing broadcast policy issues – a huge victory for those who made the trip to Capitol Hill. The total number of sponsors now sits at 224, with four non-voting members of Congress among the ranks.

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Let The Lobbying Begin: Broadcasters Descend On Capitol Hill.

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More than 550 radio and television broadcasters from across the country are in Washington, DC today for the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual State Leadership Conference. The conference began Tuesday at Washington Nationals Park, minutes away from NAB headquarters, with remarks from policymakers, panel discussions, and briefings to prep attendees to fan out across Capitol Hill today (March 6) for meetings with legislators.

In his remarks to attendees, NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt highlighted the grassroots power of local broadcasters. He underscored the critical role local stations play in delivering reliable and trusted information to their communities, according to NAB press materials. LeGeyt also addressed key issues for broadcasters and pushed for passage of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) (S. 1094), which would create a limited safe harbor from antitrust laws in order to allow news publishers and broadcast news operations to collectively bargain with a covered platform over the terms and conditions of the tech platform’s access to digital news content. He also talked up the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which has received overwhelming bipartisan support.

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Fact-checking journalism is evolving, not stagnating

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“Misinformation is not like plumbing, a problem you fix. It is a social condition, like crime, that you must constantly monitor and adjust to.”

“Fake news” loves a crisis. It’s clear now that false information has played a role in recent events around the world from divisive elections to the COVID pandemic to the conflict roiling Israel and Gaza.

It is important to counter false claims and false narratives. And research now shows a lot more clarity about how to do this.

In a rather downbeat article in September 2023, The New York Times reported that “the momentum behind organizations that aim to combat online falsehoods has started to taper off.” It reported that the number of fact-checking operations around the world had “stagnated,” after rising from 11 in 2008 to 424 in 2022 and dropping slightly to 417 today.

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Why old-fashioned TV is still the winning ticket for political ads

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Anyone who has followed the fate of the TV business in recent years could not be blamed for thinking the medium is dying.

Consumers have been shifting away from traditional or linear TV viewing that is watched in real time to streaming video, where they can watch what they want on demand. In 2023, streaming surpassed broadcast and cable TV viewing for the first time, according to Nielsen.

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What Radio Is Watching For In Washington During 2024.

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There’s lots of unfinished business for broadcasters in Washington as the new year begins, from pending legislation in Congress to proposed rulemakings at the Federal Communications Commission. In the latest installment of Inside Radio‘s Radio Outlook 2024 series, we look at the top regulatory issues facing the industry this year.

Priority One: AM Radio

There is no bigger issue for the radio industry right now than pushing Congress to pass a bill that would direct the Department of Transportation to issue a rule requiring that AM broadcast stations be accessible in all passenger motor vehicles manufactured in, imported into, or shipped within the U.S. The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (S. 1669) is pending on the Senate floor. Yet without 60 votes lined up, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is unlikely to even bring it up for a vote. But supporters like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) are expected to try to attach the bill to a piece of must-pass legislation. Yet there remains bipartisan skepticism in the House where some lawmakers have said they are uneasy with such a mandate that favors one industry over another. Supporters think if the Senate passes the bill, it could give them the momentum they need in the House.

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Radio and TV: ‘Significant Contributors’ To U.S. Economy

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The local commercial broadcast television and radio industry generates $1.23 trillion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 2.52 million jobs through direct and stimulative effect on the American economy.

That’s the key takeaway from a new study from Woods & Poole Economics produced with support from BIA Advisory Services.

The analysis examines broadcasting’s impact on the economy through direct employment, its ripple effect on other industries and as an advertising medium for messaging consumers. Radio and television stations’ influence on the national economy, as well as information by state, is provided in the study, which was shared by the NAB late Thursday.

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Share Of Ear: In-Car Radio Listening Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels.

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Edison Research’s “Share of the Ear” Q3 2023: How America listens to Audio

The proportion of AM/FM radio listening that takes place in cars has surged back to pre-pandemic norms. In the four years before the COVID-19 outbreak (2016-2019), in-car listening represented 49% of all AM/FM radio consumption among persons 25-54. Now, after dipping to as low as 41% in fourth quarter 2021, half of all broadcast radio listening took place in a vehicle according to the Q3 version of Share Of Ear from Edison Research.

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How Network Radio Delivers A Bigger Bang For Advertisers.

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As national advertisers and agencies map out their 2024 media plans, Nielsen presented a deep dive on network radio for its clients on the buy and sell sides Wednesday. Using the media planning tool Nielsen Media Impact and data from the latest installment of its Audio Today series, the measurement giant showed how network radio can greatly expand a campaign’s reach and how it fits into the media plan.

To illustrate network radio’s ability to drive key campaign metrics, Nielsen showed how a Tier One national auto brand campaign that ran last year would have performed if 20% of the budget was spent on radio. Without radio in the mix, the $5 million one-month campaign using linear TV, connected TV and digital media reached 60.1% of the adults 25-54 target with a frequency of 4.0. It delivered 298,828,000 impressions at a $17 CPM. But when $1 million was reallocated to network radio, reach jumped to 75.5% with a frequency of 4.5, and 416,295,000 impressions were delivered at a $12 CPM.

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