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| Meredith Attwell Baker |
The final day of activity at the NAB RADIO SHOW began with a breakfast session featuring new FCC Commissioner MEREDITH ATTWELL BAKER. Interviewed by NAB Joint Board Chair STEVE NEWBERRY of COMMONWEALTH BROADCASTING, BAKER said that “there will always be a place for radio” because of its localism.
Responding to NEWBERRY’s question on mandatory public service obligations, BAKER drew applause when she said that “localism is what broadcasters do best…. I don’t think, especially in these tough economic times, that we should have new public service requirements.” She said deficiencies can be handled on a case-by-case basis.
On HD RADIO, BAKER said that the technology “holds a lot of promise,” especially in multicasting (she favors AMERICAN UNIVERSITY noncommercial WAMU/WASHINGTON’s Bluegrass multicast channel), and termed the dispute over a power increase for HD a “solvable issue” subject to engineering work to come up with a solution that does not cause objectionable interference.
“We should not be in the business of program regulation,” BAKER said, adding, however, that the industry should steer away from “indecent” programming. She also suggested that the industries should work to teach parents how to use content ratings and tools like the V-chip to protect children from indecent programming so that the government won’t have to get involved. On sponsor identification rules, BAKER said “people should know who’s trying to sell them what,” but declined comment pending resolution of two proceedings in the matter. Asked about ways to promote ownership diversity, BAKER suggested working with smaller lenders to try to get more access to capital for minority and female buyers.
On a lighter note, BAKER said that she grew up listening to Country KILT-F/HOUSTON.
Next Year, D.C.
ALL ACCESS hears that next year’s NAB RADIO SHOW will be held in WASHINGTON, at a hotel venue to be finalized soon. This year’s attendance, to be released later today, is reportedly off 5% from last year.
Panel Looks At Motivating Staffers
A panel on “Mentors, Motivators and Leadership” brought together some prominent programmers to discuss keeping morale high and productivity strong in tough times. The discussion ranged from the buzz in a station’s hallways to dealing with the PPM and the relative merits of live/local versus syndication.
Moderator TIM MOORE of AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT GROUP outlined four levels of employee, the “unconscious incompetent” (not able and don’t know it); the “conscious incompetent” (not yet able but aware of that; “where your greatest growth can be found… they’re easy people to motivate and lead”); the “unconscious competent” (competent but don’t know why); and the “conscious competent” (competent and understand how they got there).
CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 WIOQ (Q102)/PHILADELPHIA PD TRACY AUSTIN said that gifted and creative employees are “sometimes” harder to manage. “The big difference between the ones who make it (and those who don’t) is the right attitude.” She said that those who can’t schmooze and get along with others in the building “can’t survive in this environment.”
BONNEVILLE Adult Hits WARH (THE ARCH)/ST. LOUIS PD KEVIN ROBINSON noted the absence of youth at the convention and said “we need to find and cultivate new talent at all levels,” talent, management, and engineering. “We need to… bang the drum about our industry.”
“Lay all the digital stuff aside and listen to your radio station,” ROBINSON advised, suggesting that programmers focus on the on-air product rather than be distracted by the “shiny new toys” like Twitter and Facebook. “Be clear about what you want out of your staff… before you go onto the Twitter and Facebook… fix what you have on your Class C radio station and what’s between the records.”
Veteran programmer TJ HOLLAND said he is worried about the “massive overcorrection” of certain stations due to the introduction of the PPM, and said that he fears that stations will strip so much out of their presentation in a rush to just play music that the industry will relegate itself to “audio wallpaper.”
On syndication and cutting back on localism, AUSTIN defended her company’s “Premium Choice” programming by asserting that syndication “celebrates talent,” filling a need for the industry to develop major talent.
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