Category: Member News

NAB Ad Campaign Emphasizes Local Broadcasting

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Here’s the link to download the audio and video spots for your association

A new flight of audio and video spots is available to stations to highlight the role of local radio and TV stations in the United States.

The National Association of Broadcasters put out the spots focusing on broadcaster news and information.

This is part of its We Are Broadcasters initiative, launched in 2013 with the explicit goal of educating policymakers about their constituents’ reliance on local broadcasters. (One of its outreach efforts promotes use of the hashtag #BroadcastGood.)

“The new spots highlight the role local broadcasters have played in providing fact-based reporting and lifeline coverage of significant events nationwide over the past six months, including the COVID-19 pandemic, civil protests and unrest over racial equality, wildfires and hurricanes, and the 2020 political elections,” NAB stated.

Spots are available in English and Spanish. Find them here.

State-specific web ads available here

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In Point Reyes, all ears stay glued to local radio, a beacon amid the fog of fire

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POINT REYES STATION, Calif. — With evacuation warnings still in place, smoke from back burn fires drifted out of the oaks and pines above the tiny town of Point Reyes Station in Marin County on Friday, mixing with thick, coastal fog until the two were indistinguishable to most people.

But Amanda Eichstaedt, general manager of KWMR, the local public radio station, easily saw the difference. Like most topics related to this quixotic town of about 400 that abuts the West Coast’s only National Seashore, she was happy to share her knowledge — with everyone in about a 20-mile radius.

“We know that people totally rely on the radio,” she said of this Arcadian territory, where cellphones are spotty on a good day.

Since fire broke out here after an afternoon lightning strike on Aug. 18, Eichstaedt has turned the one-studio station into a vital source of information for the remote outpost and the rural towns that surround it. In a place where local news is otherwise a once-weekly paper or a conversation at the post office or local market, the radio station has long been a trusted source of knowledge when emergencies hit.

Across California, stations like KWMR fill a vital vacuum during crises, especially fast-moving wildfires. With their local knowledge — from where exactly back roads are located to quick access to the fire chief — these broadcasters are increasingly finding themselves to be crucial authorities in the worst moments, when power is out, danger is high and a radio wavelength floating through the air is a lifeline.

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Are other advertisers hurt by political commercials? You might be surprised…

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Fascinating new research that we plan to highlight in our association’s weekly member newsletter.  Feel free to do the same – since it bucks conventional wisdom and might be useful ammunition for TV sales staff.  The source is the school of business at Indiana University:

TV COMMERCIALS RUNNING AFTER POLITICAL ADS ARE NOT AFFECTED BY POINTED POLITICAL MESSAGING, UNIVERSITY STUDY SAYS

According to new research from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, companies that run ads immediately after political TV commercials should not worry about the spillover of political opinion tainting their messages.

“Our investigations provide insights into the previously unexplored ad-to-ad spillover effects and, more broadly, provides insights into how political messages influence consumers.  Nonpolitical ads that follow political ads benefit through a reduction in audience decline and an increase in positive post-ad chatter,” says I.U. assistant professor Beth Fossen.

Political spending on TV and digital outlets is expected to be about $7 billion this fall.

“The insights from this research enable advertisers to advocate for the inclusion of ad positioning in ad buys and, specifically, negotiate that their ads follow political ads.  Our results may also encourage advertisers outside of the television context to experiment with advertising next to political content, an experimentation that may be especially beneficial for online advertisers given that they commonly blacklist political topics to avoid having their ads appear near political content,” says I.U. associate professor of marketing Girish Mallapragada.

Details on the I.U. study – which might be useful to station advertisers squeamish about the political season – can be found here.

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Why TV Dominates Political And How Adding Radio Can Reach More Voters

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TV will once again reap the largest piece of political advertising this year, according to forecasters. But rather than trying to convince media buyers to buy radio in place of TV, broadcasters are embracing a strategy of adding radio to a TV buy to deliver more of what campaigns want: registered voters.

An analysis from Nielsen of a series of local media buys for political campaigns in 2018 found that a 20% reallocation from TV to AM/FM radio resulted in an average 22% reach lift among registered voters. The simple explanation for the boost, according to Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer for Westwood One and parent company Cumulus Media, is that AM/FM radio reaches voters without cable and light TV viewers. Declining TV ratings are also a factor, he says.

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NAB, Others Urge Hill to Fund Tower Crew Training

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Say it is key to 5G and ATSC 3.0 buildouts and closing digital divide

Facing 5G wireless buildouts, broadcast next gen (ATSC 3.0) buildouts and the C-band transition, communications associations are pushing Congress to pass legislation to help train the workforce that is needed for those infrastructure deployments.

That came in a letter to congressional leaders from associations including the National Association of Broadcasters; CTIA, the wireless association; and CCA, the competitive carriers association.

They said the shortage of properly trained workers jeopardizes those buildouts, which impedes the closure of the digital divide. “The ongoing pandemic illustrates so clearly how essential our industry and our workforce are, with so many Americans forced to work, study and play remotely. But we cannot do all that is necessary without an adequate supply of workers,” they said.

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More Lawmakers Push For Financial Aid For Broadcasters

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Did you know there was a Broadcasters Caucus in Washington? If not, you do now. Several members of that Caucus have sent a letter to the House and Senate leadership pushing for financial relief for broadcasters.

Representative Tom Emmer (left) of Minnesota and Representative Brendan Boyle from Pennsylvania, who co-chair the Broadcasters Caucus, sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging that a portion of the funding provided within the upcoming Coronavirus relief package be dedicated to support local broadcasters who have experienced financial hardship during the pandemic.

NAB CEO Gordon Smith praised the move. “During these unprecedented times, broadcasters have been hit hard by an unparalleled blow to the advertising revenue that funds local journalism and emergency news coverage. Ensuring that small broadcasters, including those that may be owned by station groups, have access to the Paycheck Protection Program will help them continue to serve their communities and provide lifeline information. NAB and America’s local radio and TV stations thank Reps. Emmer and Boyle for fighting to help broadcasters remain on the air and free to their local audiences.”

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What’s Next For Radio News?

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Come Sunday, August 30, some 962 affiliates of Cumulus Media’s Westwood One News will receive their final news update from the service. After that 11:30pm Eastern report, editors and journalists associated with the 5 1/2-year-old operation will be out of a job.

What happens next for all of those stations? While Westwood One is offering AP Radio News as a replacement, a host of competing organizations have ramped up their jockeying for soon-to-be former WWO News affiliates.

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Reps. Ask FCC to Table Broadcast Reg Fee Hike

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Said that is needed COVID-19 aid for key players in national pandemic response

A bipartisan House duo has asked the FCC to cut broadcasters some slack when it comes to regulatory fees given that TV and radio are critical components of COVID-19 response and that their ad revenue has taken a big hit.

Reps. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.) and Chris Stewart (R-Utah) wrote FCC chair Ajit Pai to ask the FCC not to increase annual broadcast regulatory fees during the pandemic.

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Planning a Studio Reopening? Recording Academy Has Some Tips

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Document lays out a bunch of good ideas that have application in radio too

What considerations should you weigh before reopening your studios?

Helpful guidance comes in the form of a document from the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing. While it targets recording and production studios, most of the advice has direct relevance to radio as well.

Just a sampling:

  • Evaluate rooms in the studio facility and make necessary adjustments to ensure social distancing.
  • Consider requiring individuals to wear cloth face coverings while inside the entire facility; in some parts of the country, face coverings may be required by law in outdoor areas as well.
  • Have work that cannot be performed with face coverings take place in an isolation room or an otherwise empty studio.

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More than 60 reporters attacked, arrested or harassed since George Floyd protests began, group says

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The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) said it has tallied more than 60 incidents in which journalists covering demonstrations over death of George Floyd during the course of his arrest by Minneapolis police were attacked, arrested or harassed by protesters or police in the past 48 hours alone.

RTDNA Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Dan Shelley called the situation “calamitous” and “harming the public at large.”

“Journalists shouldn’t be the story,” Shelley said. “It is calamitous to see all of these journalists who are merely serving the public by covering these incidents of civil unrest being wantonly attacked. … Journalists are representatives of the public and are there to serve the public and to tell the stories of the protesters and of the elected and other public officials trying to deal with the situation.”

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