Feb. 5
Norway,
which announced last year that all analog FM transmissions will cease
in 2017 -- the start of the end is to be January 11, 2017 -- is already
seeing some FM stations disappear.
In
their place is all-digital broadcasts on an entirely new band known as
DAB+ which is being used in Western Europe, Australia and China but
which was not authorized for broadcasts in the United States.
Radio
in Norway is far different than in the United States, with broadcasts
dominated by networks affiliated with the government. The first stations
to shut down, though, are independent, and seem to be doing so out of
cost-cutting motives; RadioWorld.Com
says that the FM stations owned by Bauer Media featured two local
broadcasts while the replacements will be just one national digital
station.
Prior
to the decision to adopt the HD Radio system for digital broadcasts in
the United States, there was debate on whether we, too, should go with
DAB. In the end FCC was swayed by arguments that keeping traditional
radio alive benefits listeners today, while HD Radio can broadcast in a
fully digital mode as well, making today’s frequencies viable in the
future.
BMW AM
I
gave BMW engineers some flak last year for being unable to do what
engineers at other carmakers can do: provide AM radio reception in a
hybrid car. Yet still the BMW i3 arrives in the hands of buyers without
that AM capability. It would seem that BMW shares engineering with the
diesel group over at at Volkswagen.
It
turns out, however, that AM reception is not impossible, it is just
turned off. BMW considers this a “feature,” as explained by company
spokesman Dave Bunchko when the issue first materialized:
“We
learned from our experience with MINI E and BMW ActiveE that the
electric motor causes interference with the AM signal. Rather than
frustrate customers with inferior reception, the decision was made to
leave it off. HD Radio is standard on the i3 and through multi-casting,
many traditional AM stations in key markets are available on secondary
and tertiary HD signals.”
Interesting
that Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and all others were able to
make it work. Regardless, AM is available on the i3 after all, as long
as the owner can do some tinkering. You can read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/BMW-AMRadio, though without owning one I have no clue what is involved in accessing the system.
And, He’s Gone ... Again
I’ve gotten a few letters and emails on the subject, so it’s worthy of an explanation.
Fans
of Art Bell, original host of Coast to Coast AM heard overnights
locally on KFI (640 AM), were excited when he returned to the air via
SiriusXM satellite radio in September, 2013. That show lasted six weeks
before he decided to end it. Then they were excited when he launched an
internet program -- later carried by KABC (790 AM) -- in July of last
year. That program ended December 11th.
As
always, the reason was “security,” as he and his family were allegedly
subject to trespassing on his property -- and threats -- from someone
he believes wants him off the air. Far be it for me to doubt him, but
personally I think he -- while a popular host with a true knack for
entertainment -- is a few kilohertz short of a frequency.
Jan. 29
The
Radio and Television News Association of Southern California honored
numerous broadcast stations in the area at their 66th Annual Golden Mike
Awards held January 23rd at the Los Angeles Universal Hilton Hotel.
The
Golden Mikes are presented annually by the RTNA, the non-profit group
representing broadcast newsrooms in Los Angeles, San Diego, and all of
the other markets from Fresno to the Mexican border. The group also
coordinates pool coverage of major events and fights for broadcast
coverage in courtrooms, and provides scholarships for the next
generation of broadcast journalists.
The
Golden Mike is Southern California's most prestigious -- and most
coveted -- broadcast journalism prize. What sets the Golden Mikes apart
from other competitions is the Standard of Excellence: Unlike most
awards contests in which winners are determined by selecting which entry
is the "best" among all those submitted in each category, winners of
the Golden Mike Awards must also meet the Standard ... if the judges
decide that no entry in a category meets this "Standard of Excellence",
then no award is given.
Awards
are split by news department size, Division A being radio stations with
six or more full-time news staff members and Division B consisting of
stations with five or fewer full-time newspeople. Here are the 2016
winners, recognizing the accomplishments of 2015:
Best News Broadcast over 15 Minutes (Div. A): KNX (1070 AM) (B): No Award
Best News Broadcast Under 15 Minutes (A): KPCC (89.3 FM); (B): K-BEACH (88.1 HD3)
Best Sports Segment (A): KFWB (980 AM); (B): KVTA (1590 AM)
Best Traffic Report (A): KNX; (B): No Award
Best Sports Reporting (A): No Award; (B): KCLU (1340 AM, 88.3 FM)
Best Spot News Reporting (A): KFI (640 AM); (B): KCLU
Best Live Coverage of a News Story (A): KNX; (B) No Award
Best Documentary (One Division): KNX
Best News Public Affairs Program (A): KPCC; (B): KKJZ (88.1 FM)
Best News Reporting (A): KPCC; (B): KVPR/Fresno (89.3 FM)
Best News Reporting by a Radio Network or Content Syndicator (One Division): Westwood One
Best Hard News Reporting (One Division): KPCC
Best Feature News Series Reporting (One Division): KVPR
Best Investigative Reporting (A): KPCC; (B) No Award
Best Serious Feature Reporting less than one minute (One Division): KFI
Best Serious Feature Reporting one minute or longer (One Division): KPCC
Best Light Feature Reporting less than one minute (One Division): KFI
Best Light Feature Reporting one minute or longer (One Division): KPCC
Best News Special (A): KPCC; (B): No Award
Best Entertainment Reporting (A): KPCC; (B): KCLU
Best Business and Consumer Reporting (A): KNX; (B): KCLU
Best Government and Political Reporting (A): KPCC; (B): No Award
Best Medical and Science Reporting (A): No Award; (B): KCLU
Best Use of Sound (A): KPCC; (B): KCLU
Of
note is K-BEACH, the student-run station out of Long Beach State,
winning Best News Under 15 Minutes for its Hi-Definition News. That’s
two years in a row for the station, which broadcasts as a secondary HD
channel on KKJZ’s digital stream. That’s right ... students. Maybe there
is a future in radio!
Holiday Ratings
The
results are in: KOST (103.5 FM) owned the airwaves in Los Angeles
during the December Holiday season which basically covered most of
December. For the month, KOST was more than twice as popular as the
second-highest station, with a 12.3 percent share of the audience
compared to KBIG’s (104.3 FM) 4.7.
And you wonder why it starts to sound a little like Christmas earlier and earlier every year ...
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