tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65444548401615167482024-02-08T05:45:29.288-08:00Radio's Triumphs and TroublesCarlylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15924757753499656964noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544454840161516748.post-43419190468038663042019-05-01T15:00:00.003-07:002021-02-22T06:00:04.245-08:00A slightly geeky lesson, or..."How does our Audio online get to you?"<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A brief lesson in how streaming audio gets to you on the web
and on devices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">WION originates AM stereo at our studios.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(WGLM originates it's stream at theirs.) <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That audio is received in Jim Carlyle's Office on a Carver
AM stereo tuner.<br />
(At WGLM it's from a processed in-house source)<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The audio is fed into the office computer/streamer and sent
to two places.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1) Our carrier of the two streams at 48k and 128K in AAC+
format for tune-in radio app and other devices like
the Alexa, Google and our own phone and tablet apps.<br /><br />
2) The second destination is a different stream in mp3 format for backup, <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and to be used by older internet devices that don't decode the newer style of stream.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the sending computer, the data of song title and artist from our studios merge
with the audio and are sent for "multiplying" by the streaming
company, which actually supplies YOU with the audio you hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile another company takes the stream
and logs the songs we play, how m any listeners are online when, and for how
long, and they bill us for the royalties and provide the player that you see
online.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are many links in ANY streaming chain. There's the
originating software, (up and running now for nearly 3 months since restart,
it's very stable)...there's the STATION's internet connection to the outside
world, then there's the "Carrier" or "Server" that
multiplies the amount of streams, enough for all our listeners to have one when
they want, and of course that means there's THEIR servers that can have
troubles even if all the other links in the chain are UP and running.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today was audio day from HELL for us. Our local outgoing
streams are fine, but the company that keeps us legal with royalties has
continued issues. THEN, the OTHER company that carries the streams to your
devices went down and as of this writing still IS down.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Understand that streaming is an expensive and complicated
process. We chose the services we have because "other" services don't
allow local commercials to be carried which is of value to our listeners and
advertisers. Some don't allow network programming, and some don't allow
syndicated programming like we have on weekends. Thus, to have the most
services takes involving the most links in the chain.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There will be those times and those days beyond our control.
It's frustrating to us even more than you, but know that we monitor ALL parts
of the process and work with those people to get things back and running as
quickly as possible. And remember, the bottom line is, The Internet is
not a guaranteed delivery service. For the MOST reliable entertainment, we're
ON THE AIR for you<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>24/7/365, (minus time
for maintenance which keeps our equipment functioning at it's best.) </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you for understanding!</span></b></div>
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<br />Carlylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15924757753499656964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544454840161516748.post-56394590641106193412017-09-13T08:05:00.000-07:002017-09-13T11:52:09.953-07:00A tale of two situations....<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, Wednesday
September 13th 2017 was an interesting morning at WION! I received my usual news briefs on the radio
industry that many station owners get each morning, and I was on the air. What I didn't know was what a CONTRASTING
situation was developing.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>We'll call the hurricane part of this story, "Situation
#1." </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The radio "news" in my inbox today listed the stations off-air due to the
hurricane in <st1:state w:st="on">Florida</st1:state>. Out of about 20 main stations, only
five....FIVE were not owned by the "big corporate giants." I had thought about trying to donate to a "local" station recovering from the hurricane, hopefully one similar to ours, but...all
except the Catholic Church-operated stations were owned by companies bigger than
ours, either by number of stations, or ...by having "huge corporate" ownership. It was a real eye-opener.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Tie that information in with what I'm about to say, and
you'll agree WION (and WGLM, for that matter in Greenville/Lakeview) are rather
unique. During the height of the
hurricane on the west side of <st1:state w:st="on">Florida</st1:state>,
the EAST side was experiencing tornado warnings. Since I'm a radio geek, I thought I'd tune
in online to one of the stations south of Daytona which I know to be locally owned
down there. During this tornado warning,
they PROBABLY had the mandated EAS tones go off one-time as required by the FCC to warn listeners. Just SIX minutes in
to their local warning I began listening. No announcer. No news-break. Just the usual satellite
delivered music and commercials as if their county was having beautiful sunny
weather. Basically, they had the bare
MINIMUM amount of coverage and equipment to pass FCC inspection. Sad. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I guess I grew up and was trained in radio to be IN the
studio for emergencies. If there's
power, and there's a tower, we're ON the air at WION. It's what I was taught in my many previous
radio jobs, and it's what we still do today.
Does it make us any extra money?
NO. Does it help us in ratings
against the big boys of broadcasting?
NO. Is it what RADIO should
do? YES.
What I heard, or rather, "didn't hear" was appalling. My view of this recent disaster in our
country is that local radio got an "F" grade in helping the listeners
and community. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Because of corporate ownership and lack of news departments (my bet, anyway) many of the Florida radio stations that WERE offering coverage were simulcasting the local TV stations
(2, and 7, I believe.) The TV stations promoted this as I watched on free-to air satellite feeds, and even suggested
snapping a picture of their screen and the radio logos, so you could know where
to tune on RADIO for coverage provided by TV. I guess that's an "effort" for radio to inform, anyway. TV, meanwhile was working
together, two stations that probably usually compete to combine forces in
meteorology, reporter-pool, and general information. I spoke about this on the WION morning show, and
I give them, an A+ for their tireless efforts...but, let's face it. With cell
towers going "down", and people obviously not near their TV sets,
coverage by TV was probably viewed more out of market than near the super
storm.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>In this electronified,
messaging-crazy, bump-into light poles while texting society, RADIO still has the potential to help in
emergencies and in every day life. But, unlike the one station I monitored with no live announcer during a Tornado Warning, it takes owners who care, and
maybe...just maybe...owners who care enough to build an EVERYday audience through
localism to justify staffing the studio during emergencies, knowing your
efforts will reach people in your town. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>And, that brings me back to WION. Situation #2. Quite the contrast.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>No, we
don't have a fulltime news department.
We DO choose our sources wisely and give you the <st1:state w:st="on">Michigan</st1:state> News Network, CBS, and we cover
local weather emergencies LIVE. We always have. Many times we beat the sirens
and the EAS system in getting the word to listeners. We even get it on social
media ahead of most "big" stations and authorities. Of that we're proud. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How would WE react in a storm of the recent hurricane's
damage potential? I can't promise we'd
be "on" through it, but I can say that we'd make every effort. It's why we have a generator. It's why our
towers have been maintained for standing in strong winds. It's why we have a backup internet service if
the (AC powered cable) internet goes down. It's why we don't "bundle" our phones with cable, and still subscribe to copper lines running into our studios. I know we'd make every effort until the building was targeted by the
storm. We were announcing the severe
thunderstorm and tornado warnings just before the <st1:city w:st="on">Portland</st1:city> tornado of a few years ago when
other (bigger) stations were on automation.
We try very hard to get you information when it's possible to work with
authorities and pass credible info on to you.
</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Sad, however what the image of ONE station down south, and
OTHERS that are off the air do to broadcasting, either by negligence, or by
being so "big" there's no plan in place when a whole bunch of
stations are in one building, and are hit by a huge storm. That's one argument for NOT having studio
consolidation, which the FCC is close to allowing more-of in their relaxing of
the "main studio requirement" rule. Granted, there's not much they can do if their studios are destroyed by water and wind. I'll give you that, but to lose the signal of ALL stations in a "cluster" because of penny pinching and consolidation of studios is deplorable.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Then...on the GOOD side, and by contrast...an incredible
morning at WION.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I put a poll on our listener pages and on facebook about HOW
you listen to our station. AM, FM,
phone, smart device, internet radio, etc. It got quite the attention. This same morning, as the old I-phone app for WION expires with the rollout
of the new IOS, a <u>fan of our station</u> informed me the NEW IOS app was in
the app store! The author of it (and WION fan) is Scott
Greczcowski of Satelliteguys.us and he wanted to make sure we didn't drop
support for our i-tunes listeners, so WITHOUT asking for pay, he designed the
app with some online service, and it looks and works GREAT! Now THAT'S loyalty...from way out on the
East Coast!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Later in the morning show a note comes from "Chuck"
listening as he drives through <st1:state w:st="on">Virginia</st1:state>
using our android app! And, a note from
our <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ionia</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> Clerk stated that September should
be "WION Month" since it's the month we brought this (small town) AM
station back to life some 13 years ago! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How can an owner and on-air host NOT be pleased with all of
that in one morning? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Top that off with
the fact all lit took was a discussion of our upcoming broadcast from Ionia
High School Homecoming with the students of the Link Crew organization, and yet
ANOTHER sponsor sends me a text wanting to be on the list of advertisers for
that event, putting us OVER what we donated last year to the group through our
advertisers!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Does any of this help ratings? NO. We
don't participate in ratings. Is it what radio SHOULD be doing? YES! And, it proves that listeners here care about
their local AM station, and what we do to give back to our community. Notice I said, "AM Station"....yes,
our FM is nice, but 212 watts barely reaches the edge of the county...the AM is
still the most-powerful signal of our two. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>So, on a day when "corporate" radio in Florida is listed as
MIA due to a huge storm and damage to their multi-station facilities, and when
another station in the path of a hurricane's aftermath during tornado warning is absent of staff to inform the public, it WION proud, as we
stand-out from the (radio) crowd.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>We hope....HOPE...that you will tune in not only in
emergencies to us, but each day. and that you understand our 13 years here is
only possible because you support the advertisers who pay our bills. Without
them, we wouldn't be the contrasting situation to a studio with "lights
on, nobody's home" which seems to be more the "norm" these days.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Keep listening. Keep shopping locally, and keep in touch by
using our new I-phone app, and the good ol' Android app we've come to know and
love, or any online smart-method you choose.
We LOVE serving you, in good weather...and bad.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>-Jim Carlyle</b></span></div>
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Carlylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15924757753499656964noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544454840161516748.post-26915734287252160502013-10-07T15:25:00.001-07:002013-10-07T16:14:59.821-07:00Bigger Buses, More Guitars for the Music industry on the backs of local radio? Just Say NO!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It's time congress stops listening to big business and
starts responding to common sense. Yes,
I said "Congress" and the phrase
"common sense" in one sentence. Since your heart stopped when that
happened, let me explain. (Even more the
need to explain as I'm posting this during a partial government shutdown.) </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Yet another effort to 'tax' local radio for playing music
has surfaced in Congress. You'll find information posted from the <st1:state w:st="on">Michigan</st1:state> Association of
Broadcasters and links on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/i1430">our facebook page. </a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The recording industry is crying "poverty" on the
backs of local radio nationwide, and
wants us to <u>pay to play</u> the music for you, beyond what we already
pay! You may not be aware, but for years
and years, radio stations have paid the <u>publishers </u>of the songs we play,
via the big three licensing organizations, BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC. Stations providing a streaming service, as we
do, also pay the recording industry through an organization called 'Soundexchange'. Artists, on the other hand are traditionally paid by their recording companies, by the public attending concerts, and the sale of the artists' music on CDs and downloads. Radio, meanwhile brings that same music ('advertising' it) to the public's ears, FREE. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>We <u>buy</u> our own music. It is not provided by the music
industry. We pay for the electricity to play it, the talent to introduce it,
and the FCC licenses that bring it to the general public at <u>no charge</u> to
you the listener! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This proposed financial
load on local radio is just not possible! Many stations like <a href="http://www.i1430.com/">WION</a> serve our communities
24/7 on a minimal staff, producing "radio miracles" that are visible
in our in raising money for local
causes, helping local businesses survive with creative, lively advertising, and
in providing live and local information in times of local emergencies. Smaller, local stations excel in all these
fields even better than big-city stations, and we're the ones that will be hurt
the most by a "performance tax." </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Speaking as a smaller station, we can't just
'appropriate" money from somewhere in our budget to feed the latest music
industry stars, because they want larger
buses, better houses, and more guitars!
The music industry seems to think local radio can be a source of "easy money" to
them. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>On the contrary!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>We, as local stations are called on more and more each year
to operate on smaller staff sizes, to produce our craft heavily utilizing
multi-tasking, and investing in extra technical help to squeeze more
years out of our existing broadcasting
equipment, all of which we're expected
to do while still providing <u>outstanding</u>
service to you! Every year our regulatory fees to the FCC go up, and every year
our costs to run all the "gizmos" that bring you your favorite
station go up, too.<u><o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In <a href="http://www.i1430.com/">WION's</a> case, you <u>know
</u> as listeners, our station has <u>increased</u> our service to you over the
past 5 to 10 years, even in the face of a poor economy! Instead of cutting back, this <u>small town station</u> has added
streaming <u>and</u> mobile apps, a new fm signal, beautiful am-stereo, bigger
coverage, better online presence, and more involvement in the local community.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Please help us fight "big business" (in this case,
the music industry) at our small-town local level and preserve the element of "<st1:city w:st="on">Americana</st1:city>" provided by your hometown <i>having</i> a station that cares about <u>you
and your community.</u> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.infomi.com/gov/us.html">Contact your federal legislators.</a> Thank the ones who are
signed on to the "<a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hconres16ih/pdf/BILLS-113hconres16ih.pdf">Local Radio FreedomAct"</a> and let those <u>not</u> on that list know that you value your local
radio station and want it left unburdened by unfair financial bullying from the
music industry. We work hard for you,
and hope you'll do the same for us with an e-mail, call, or letter to support <u>local
radio</u> and defeat any effort at what amounts to a "performance
tax." </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>If a radio station can be forced to pay for playing songs, <u>your</u>
business could be in line for the <u>next</u> outrageous tax, and we'd like to
still be here to help you when that happens!</b></span> </div>
Carlylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15924757753499656964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544454840161516748.post-62022632201036704242013-02-23T18:30:00.002-08:002013-10-07T15:49:55.076-07:00ANTIQUE TO ANDROID: AM RADIO IS STILL A “SOUND” BET!<br />
(from "Carlyle Tech" Blog)<br />
<br />
The discussion over the AM band's viability gains more publicity each month. Manufacturers are reducing the quality of the AM sections in their radios, home receivers, and in-dash stereos. Broadcasters are apathetic about improving AM's quality without some hope of investment in improved equipment by manufacturers (broadcast and consumer) and, there's the ever-looming discussions about moving AM broadcasters to another band. It's been called the “Chicken and the Egg” question on many a radio internet discussion board as broadcasters point fingers at the manufacturers...and vice-versa, with the FCC empanelling discussion groups on the matter. We, the (smaller) AM broadcasters are then left<br />
to wonder, “Who makes THEM the expert on AM, and are they really qualified to discuss our future if they're not working in the trenches of AM today?”<br />
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If, on the other hand I was the one who was asked if AM can be revitalized, my answer would be a definite "yes!" And the how and why? "With careful attention to detail, and... <i>B</i><i>ecause you can!"</i><br />
<br />
<i></i>What happened to the day in which we, as broadcasters performed our respective jobs to the best of our abilities because it brought pride in our product and work? Add some good talent to the overwhelming availability of quality used (secondary-market) broadcast equipment; and there's no reason even small stations with small budgets can't sound their best 100 percent of the time!</div>
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Our AM, (the first of 3 stations I now own) is a prime example of “it can be done!” It's also a great example of AM's still being a viable entertainment and information source. Our station was revived from the dead. Off the air from the death of the former owner. Two weeks to go before license revocation. Tired transmitter, pathetic processing, and the worst wiring of audio, ever! But...we dug it up the corpse. Got it breathing. Told our town it was alive, and that we were here!<br />
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There was no client list. No clients at all. No accounts receivable, no web presence, no logo, no listeners, and...for the most part, no faith in our survival. I'm sure there was many an office-pool against our lasting very long, but we<i> did</i> survive, and now we're going on 9-years of AM! Yes, as some of you may know, we have an FM translator, but we've only had it for 3 of those years. Stay with me, and I'll tell you how this little station came to be a shining example of local AM broadcasting, and with <i>great</i> sound, to boot!</div>
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Part of the job of AM station owners is educating the audience. Educating them that we exist! This job can be both time-consuming and difficult. In our case, we had to re-educate our town to the fact that AM can sound great. Since operating the station was a full-time job for me and the same was planned for my business partner in the future, we naturally wanted the best sound we could create on a limited start-up budget. We asked our engineers to find the best older processing possible, since the budget wouldn't afford newer equipment. We chose classic CRL from the 1980's and 90's, and never looked back. From our sign-on in 2004 until today, we've kept our AM sounding bright, clear, crisp, clean, yet warm and inviting! Because of carefully choosing our used processing, while we were new in town listeners to the "new" WION often remarked, “I'm hearing things in the music I've never heard before!” and yet this was long <u>before</u> we turned on CQUAM Stereo!</div>
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More recently, those CRL and other analog processing boxes from the 1980's and 1990's have been reworked with new components, and refurbished for more years of use, and they're working their hearts-out for us like brand new, providing a nice smooth yet strong sound for our AM signal and our newly-added internet stream.</div>
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A couple years into owning and operating WION, we investigated the possibility of correcting an historic error in judgment by both the original ownership and the FCC regarding the station's coverage, and returned our daytime signal to Non-Directional, bringing in a larger daytime audience and more coverage on a major interstate. Yes it took investment on our part, along with good engineering and legal representation. Those are two areas in which an owner should never cut corners. A few years after that, came the work of acquiring an FM translator, moving it from south of town to our own property, and upping its power. For us it was a two-step process, and not inexpensive for a small operator, but we did it! (Again with the patient help of great engineering and legal representation.)</div>
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I will not say the FM saved our station. I will, however state for the record that in its first year, it brought in 17 new clients from a nearby town which is under-served by our AM due to today's noise on the AM band, yet the town is still in our primary coverage area. The Translator's main purpose was to satisfy those people who would NOT tune-in AM because of it's “stigma” as a talk-only band with horrible sound quality. Which brings me to what AM really needs: (after owners who care) An awareness campaign at least as large as the recent digital TV conversion campaign, one that is backed and pushed by the FCC, the NAB, state broadcasters' associations and AM station owners. </div>
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AM, believe it or not is <i>new</i> to some people! We've had youngsters of our clients ask their parents, “what <i>is</i> AM, anyway?” And that is one thing which tells me there is a need to educate our country about AM's existence and potential. (Probably for the first time, since the AM band never needed this before.) But, we won't win people over with badly processed and ignored AM signals and web streams.<br />
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Anyone who has visited the internet stream of WION-AM in Ionia, Michigan has been amazed at the sound. Most most people would never know it's AM. Full AM stereo. With attention to detail in its delivery. We <i>tell</i> people it's AM for the purpose of public education to AM, and to help create a positive spin on AM stations like ours. We've had NO complaints from any listener, and no comments from the public such as, “I don't like listening to AM.” or, “I'd listen on the stream if it wasn't AM.” On the contrary! Our AM stereo signal on the web is proving to today's modern digital-era listeners that analog AM can sound spectacular.<br />
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So, if the FCC is going to have a panel of “experts” discussing the future of the AM band, my question to them would be, “Why doesn't the FCC start helping AM broadcasters win the public's ears with a public-awareness campaign of at least the size and impact that was given to the digital TV conversion? We don't need to move to another band! We need people to know that many small and large towns turn to AM for emergencies, information, and general entertainment. Many areas of our country have ONLY an AM station for their radio service. Some residents rely heavily on it. Others still need to be told it exists. Either way, public education to AM's existence and potential will help!</div>
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As far as sound quality goes, you're welcome to laugh if you want, but I'll risk saying it: Many a “digital” station doesn't sound as good as our little 'ol analog AM 1430! (which, at night, by the way still uses feed cables for two towers from the 1960's, and an equally old matching network connecting to our three towers and still sounds great!)</div>
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Our recipe? Attention to detail, combined with pride in our work all the way from the studio to the towers. This means that first of all, we are owners that <i>care about our station. </i> We have to be. We're not part of a corporate monster that can toss stations and people aside to save money. We invested our LIVES in our station. Electronically, it all starts with owners' knowledge of the potentially excellent quality of sound that AM broadcasters can produce for the public. Then, add the deployment of quality equipment (well maintained used will work fine) and, excellent legal and engineering backup. The result is excellence in radio "sound" and programming quality.<br />
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From a business standpoint we've also witnessed that when a quality product is on the air, it attracts quality people to the door who want to be part of our team! That's why both our salespeople came to with us, how our team of engineers came to us, and how we've grown for nearly nine years. People enjoy being part of a “winning” business team.</div>
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The one thing I've not addressed in our own “recipe” for being a success with listeners is the <i>programming.</i> It's "that word" that gets thrown around all too loosely anymore. We have to be <u><i>local.</i></u> We can't be what every other station on the dial is being today. If we, as station owners only give our towns the same syndicated programming that the next town has, our stations are doomed to be forgotten.<br />
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We could have programmed typical AM fare consisting of talk shows; (mixing up times and sprinkling in network news) but we didn't. We operate a local morning and afternoon show, all locally programmed music with a music scheduler and local music director, then we add-in network news of our choice for top-of-the-hour updates, and carefully selected feature programs for weekends. Parts of the day have "information blocks” that keep our listeners tuned to us. Some features are even locally produced. It's compelling programming that brings our listeners back day after day. We verify this by maintaining a “listening business list” of offices, stores, restaurants, auto service establishments and others who regularly interact with our station by phone, fax, and e-mail. That list proves we're getting our station heard by business owners, their employees and their businesses' clients. It's also a great sales tool, given that we're not a rated market. None of our clients ask, “where are you in the ratings?" but they DO ask, "who listens to you?" </div>
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What we have created in our station is exactly what used to exist in the 1970's and 1980's. A GREAT sounding AM station broadcasting in CQUAM AM stereo because we CAN. A station with a good following locally, a solid list of clients, and never a complaint on the street to our staff.<br />
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Now that were streaming actual AM stereo on the web, not a single complaint has been received of it <i>being</i> AM. <a href="http://www.i1430.com/comments.html"> In fact, it gets compliments on the sound</a>, originating in my office from an ordinary consumer AM stereo receiver.<br />
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So you see, it <i>can</i> be done. Yes it's a good idea to augment your AM with an FM translator. Yes, you augment your AM with streaming so you're available 24/7 to your local and long-distance audience, but it all <i>starts-with a good quality AM station.</i></div>
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<i><u><b>And what do we as AM operators need from the FCC and Congress?</b></u></i></div>
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<i>Help with Public Relations. Why NOT start an AM awareness campaign in the U.S.?</i></div>
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<i>Less regulations on AM stations hopping FM translators to be used as fill-ins. Make it easier for AM's to buy translators from farther away so we can get them IN to our primary coverage area, and deploy them without the the rules on intermediate hops.</i></div>
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<i>Protect our Translators. If proper engineering was studied when adding a translator, (as was the case with ours) frequencies are well chosen. Give protection to our FM translators such that we don't live in fear of having to eventually change frequencies or lose the service.</i></div>
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<i>Stop allowing stations to be “spun off” into trusts by big corporations doing big deals, only find crying that nobody will buy them or deal with buying from the "biggies." This practice has contributed to the corporate attitude of : “Small AM's aren't worth running or saving” which seems to be the view of some big broadcasters after mergers. How about working with small broadcasters (or those waiting for licenses) to help them acquire the "spin-off" stations so they're operated by people who WANT them? </i></div>
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<i>When a government mandate comes down that costs the small broadcaster money, how about helping us with financing? The Federal Government mandated the new EAS system, then offered NO help to broadcasters for the purchase or implementation of the new system. Many a broadcaster, including we, had to literally <u>beg </u>at our bank to finance the new E.A.S. Yet, when it came to television, the same government offered to buy converter boxes for </i><u>everyone from the rich, to those on welfare.</u></div>
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<i>Stop thinking “Digital is the Answer” to everything. (stop acting like changing to a digital MEDIUM is the answer to AM's issues. it's not.) and let us broadcast the best damn signals, sound and programming we can by removing the fear of our (AM) method of broadcasting being thrown-away by “expert panelists” who are likely not working in the trenches of every day AM radio. </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>Oh, and one last thing. If we're truly a “green thinking” country, then nobody should be considering moving our broadcasting off of the current AM band if for no other reason than to NOT fill our landfills with millions and millions of (AM) radios sold since the 1920's. (like what's happening now with TV's.)</i><br />
<i><br /></i><i><a href="http://www.i1430.com/">Visit our station website</a> to learn about our station, listen via the pop-out player, or go to the "listen" page for better options in 'net listening. WION turned 60 years old on February 1st, 2013 with a huge on-air celebration as we marked 60 years of the same call letters in the same town all that time! </i></div>
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Carlylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15924757753499656964noreply@blogger.com0