Radio AM to FM: June 6, 2003
Media Changes
The Federal Communications Commission voted to relax media ownership rules last
Monday, and while the rule changes focus primarily on newspapers and television
stations, there will be a few changes in store for radio.
If the rules stand, that is. It appears that some members of Congress took thousands
of complaints lodged by the public at least somewhat seriously, and are threatening
to block the rule changes through a variety of means from a full veto (actually
called a Resolution of Disapproval) to a bill that would reverse the ruling.
Of course that should all be taken with a grain of salt, considering that the
whole problem began with Congress and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which
mandated that the FCC review its rules every two years and repeal or modify
any that cannot be defended as needed for competition.
If the rules stand, among other things, Infinity wins and Clear Channel loses.
Infinity wins because the new rules allow for a company to own two television
stations in a market the size of Los Angeles in addition to eight radio stations.
Former rules called for a total of eight combined radio and TV stations; the
change means that Infinity doesn't have to sell KFWB (980 AM)
after all.
Clear Channel loses because the FCC will now count local marketing agreements
(LMAs) toward the cap. LMAs are agreements in which one company programs and
markets a station for another owner and is the method which Clear Channel uses
to control the programming of 14 stations or so in the San Diego area.
Additionally, another rule change affects how a station is counted in a market.
Old rules said out-of-town signals -- even weak ones -- can be counted toward
the total number of stations in a market. The new rules are based on geography,
so Clear Channel could no longer own every commercial station in a particular
market as it does in Minot, North Dakota, for example.
Of course the rules grandfather-in any existing condition, so the rule changes
won't mean companies would have to sell anything; they just can't do it again.
Could Have Been Worse
The FCC had been considering a rule change that would have allowed ten radio
stations to be owned in a market the size of Los Angeles -- as long as 60 stations
remained. That idea has been dropped for now.
Disappointed
Clear Channel president Mark Mays released a statement stating
that the company is "deeply disappointed" with the FCC vote, and that
the commission "chose politics over the public interest."
Sorry, Mark, you're too late with that statement -- they (and Congress) did
that in 1996. Or is that what you're referring to?
Reader Response
Last week's question from T. A. Bross regarding a station that played music
from the '30s, '40s and '50s brought no less than eight e-mails suggesting that
he probably meant KGRB (now KALI, 900 AM) and/or KBOB
(now KRCV, 98.3 FM). The stations were co-owned by Robert Burdett
and his wife Georgia, at least until their divorce when Georgia got the FM and
Robert got the AM. Family infighting caused him to lose control of KGRB just
before Mr. Burdett's death, and the station went Spanish in 1996.
Bob Stone and Gary Floyd were among the air
personalities, and while the broadcasting equipment was called "antique"
by those who saw it, it perfectly matched the era of recordings they played
... including transcriptions of original network big band broadcasts. As reader
Lyle Whited of Torrance pointed out, the stations "had a record collection
that would make Chuck Cecil envious."
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Copyright © 2003 Richard Wagoner and The Copley Press.
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