The Wires (Feb 28, 2009)

ZD Net: Multi Monitor Mouse allows you to move your pointer across multiple monitors at warp speed. Speed up mouse interactions by 30 percent!. License: Free. OS: Windows XP/Vista, Microsoft .NET Framework

Tom Taylor of radio-info: The Senate votes 87-11 against a revived Fairness Doctrine. South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint wanted to push this issue here at the beginning of the 111th Congress and so he tacked it onto the D.C. voting-rights bill that’s a priority of the Democratic leadership. He was probably as surprised as anyone when it racked up 87 “yes” votes yesterday. Now the bill heads to the House, which will probably also vote to instruct the FCC not to ever resuscitate the Fairness Doctrine. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says a new Fairness Doctrine would be “government control over political speech.” No doubt talk radio will consider this a “win” for them – and they’re right. It’s also a win for the NAB, which doesn’t want the government involved in speech-content issues. But the FCC's still mulling over its confused-sounding "Localism" rulemaking. And Congressional Dems signaled through a 57-41 vote yesterday that they're going to push harder for ownership diversity.

Inside Radio: Colorado’s oldest newspaper, The Rocky Mountain News, publishes its final edition today. “Denver radio will undoubtedly see a lift,” says Entercom's Amy Griesheimer. Other GMs doubt there will be an immediate effect, but say long-term opportunities exist.

TV Tech: FCC Issues Rules for DTV Transition Delay. Stations will be allowed to shut off analog broadcasting before June 12, but, under the proposed rules, that cannot be prior to April 16.

TV Tech: The Mystique of Channel 6

TV Tech: AT&T Charges Customer $28,000 for Slingbox Access. An unidentified man was using his AT&T wireless modem to watch a football game via his Slingbox while on a cruise ship in the Port of Miami.

Inside Radio: Layoffs Hit Univision. The Spanish-language media giant announces it will dismiss about 300 employees, citing "continued economic challenges" and the "downward pressure" on advertising. Univision's move is hardly unique -- most other media companies have cut staff in recent months

Gary Lycan: KNX, KFWB pool their on-air talent -- On the radio: AMP Radio hits the air, plus updates on KLSX talk show hosts (read more - Gary Lycan - OC Register)

US News and World Report: Though most secular commercial broadcasters also oppose reinstating the fairness doctrine, Christian stations are more sensitive to the issue because they say it would force them to carry views they consider unbiblical, like the legitimacy of other religions or liberal stances on social issues. "The revival of the fairness doctrine is an existential threat to Christian radio," says Rep. Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican and a former talk radio host who has introduced a bill that would permanently bar the fairness doctrine. "Requiring Christian stations to carry competing worldviews on issues like marriage and sanctity of life—these stations are ministries, and it's not something they're prepared to do" (read more - Dan Gilgoff - US News & World Report)

Roadstar Radio 106.1 On The Air (Feb 27, 2009)

RoadStar Radio is about exposing talent around the world.

We play all the latest hits in Reggae, R&B and Hip-Hop

We are about doing what other radio stations can't afford to do

RoadStar Radio exists for the people! We don't play commercials for you all day long, we bring you the music.

We broadcast over the air locally, but our reach is global and our Online Broadcast reaches the entire world!

We currently broadcast live over the air and online continuously from 5PM - Midnight all week long, and broadcast music for the rest of the day.

The Wires (Feb 27, 2009)

Inside Radio: Supporters power-up LPFM quest. The rise of webcasting and podcasting has done little to quench the thirst of would-be low-power broadcasters. They're applauding a renewed effort in Congress to remove a third-adjacent protection from current low-power rules. That could add up to 3,000 new LPFMs.

Tom Taylor of radio-info.com asks: Is Clear Channel going to be the first to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection? I got an answer for Clear Channel...SELL ALL OF YOUR STATIONS!!!!

Wall Street Journal: The Wall Street Journal reports that the Rocky Mountain News will publish a final edition on Friday, saying it was unable to find a buyer for the 150-year-old daily. Recent newspaper bankrupties have been filed by the Tribune Corp, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News and New Haven Register. The San Francisco Chronicle may discontinue publishing if costs cannot be cut

Roger Hedgecock will chair the newly formed "Free Radio Coalition" whose goal is to fight the possible reimposition of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine" - The coalition's formation, announced by Radio America President James Roberts, will seek to bring together radio talk show hosts as well as religious broadcasters in a united effort to prevent the attack on First Amendment rights that the re-imposition of the Fairness Doctrine would mean

Inside Music Media: The Right Way to Fire a Radio Employee -- There is no one in radio who doesn't know the economy is tanking and, face it, you can't pull the wool over anyone's eyes that radio didn't ask for the ass whooping it is getting. Too much debt -- this one is on the CEOs and their investment banks. Left out of the digital future -- not one had a game plan. The dumbing down of local radio by corporate suits some of whom have never run a radio station and some of whom were handed theirs from daddy -- like a silver spoon. The remarkable and incredibly shortsighted decision to cut radio's sales force when the industry badly needed to find new blood, more advertisers and sell its best story of cheap, quick and efficient advertising for local companies who also need a hand up (read more - Jerry Del Colliano - Inside Music Media).

FINEST CITY BROADCASTING Alternative XTRA-F (91X)/SAN DIEGO morning show co-host MAHONEY exits due to budget cuts. Reach out to MAHONEY at mahoney1075@gmail.com.

The Wires (Feb 26, 2009)

North County Times: Randy Dotinga. Tough times for Palomar's KKSM. Palomar College radio station KKSM, a longtime incubator for San Diego's top on-air talent, is facing some of its toughest times. KKSM's budget and underwriting have shrunk because of the economy, and its top boss may soon have to consider handing the station over to an underwriter for hours each day. Other options could be on the table. "It might get to the point where the listeners might hear something different if we have to close for a day or two or over the weekend," said Zeb Navarro, the station's general manager. That's a grim prospect for the only student radio station in the county not based at San Diego State or UC San Diego. KKSM/1320 AM broadcasts live every day from 9 a.m. to midnight, Navarro said, featuring student disc jockeys who are learning the radio business. Twenty-four volunteers work at the station along with the paid staff of Navarro, who works as a professor at Palomar, and a music director. The alternative-rock station is being squeezed by the economy, which is reducing subsidies from the college and underwriting from local companies. KKSM is a public radio station, meaning it doesn't air traditional commercials that urge people to take a certain action, like buy a car. But like KPBS-FM, it can run announcements touting underwriters. In fact, the hosts of two of its shows ---- "Doug Best Swings," a big-band show hosted by the former Escondido mayor, and the reggae show "YARD Sound" ---- pay for their time slots. For now, cutbacks haven't forced major changes at the station, Navarro said. However, the college "has asked us to be very frugal in our spending, and we're just being more aggressive in trying to find more underwriters for our station." Read the rest at his link above.

KSWB Analog Off The Air (Updated 9am, Feb 25, 2009)

The Wires (Feb 25, 2009)

NY Daily News: The Musicfirst Coalition, which wants commercial radio to pay royalties to artists when it plays their recordings, will kick off its 2009 campaign Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Washington - Meanwhile, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), representing radio, yesterday said it has signatures from 119 members of the House of Representatives opposing what the NAB calls a "performance tax"

Motley Fool: Should Sirius XM Radio be nationalized? With all of the head-shaking talk about nationalizing some of the largest financial banks -- like turning Bank of America into a literal bank of America -- is it outlandish to suggest that Sirius XM Radio would look better on the arm of Miss America? Of course it is. When did your inner capitalist shrivel up and die, kid? However, there are a few compelling reasons for the government to keep Sirius XM alive at all costs, even if it means going the nationalization route

Inside Music Media: Cumulus isn't the only radio consolidator standing at the great abyss. Most of them are. The question is not whether these groups will go bankrupt because they are already trading as a bankrupt stock. What's of interest is -- can they avoid dissolution? Can consolidators find a way out in the worst economy since the Great Depression? How much more collateral damage will there be as far as employee firings and the like? Let's dig in.

To Eric Meissner (Feb 24, 2009)

It's not too late for other folks to advertise your business on SDN, please choose a way to advertise your site:

Buy a Banner

Buy SDRN Naming Rights

Or else you'll end up like Eric Meissner contemplating a new career move.

Roger Hedgecock At Large on Sirius XM (Feb 24, 2009)

Roger's show will be on XM channel 158 live from 3-6pm beginning on March 9th. For the first few weeks of this year, the last hour of Roger's show was heard on XM channel 140.

Casey Kasem's Retro Countdowns on Sirius XM (Feb 24, 2009)

His 80s editions counting down the top 40 hits of a week in the 80s air on the 80s channel (XM 8) Sunday nights at 6pm. The show runs without commercials and minor edits to make the four-hour show run in two and a half hours.

His 70s editions air on the 70s channel (XM 7) Sunday nights at 9pm.

Both of the editions feature many top 40 charting songs that the oldies stations never bother playing, and many of which are interesting to hear.

You'll even hear the really bad pop songs that used to be popular back then such as "I Go Crazy" by the now deceased Paul Davis from a 1978 chart he played Sunday night, and "Baby Come To Me" by Patti Austin and James Ingram whose number one charting in 1983 was solely due to the song getting repeated airplay on the soap "General Hospital."

Those were once the worst songs in the history. I say "were" because if you tune in today's top 40 radio stations, you'll hear a lot of music that has no heart, no soul, no hook, and no interest. A lot of the rap that Channel, Z, and Blazin is even worse than what I heard last night. Even worse than the old love songs are stuff written by the overrated ego Spaff who likes to lie about me all over the Internet, which is why he's a scumbag whose only interest is himself.

Listen to enough infantile music by Spaff and you will "Go Crazy" like Paul Davis!

I still can't watch KGTV because I don't have a portable digital TV that doesn't suck like most of them on the Internet are today. All of the models out today have flaws such as rememorizing the channel lineup every time you turn it on, and it takes about five minutes.

I'm still suffering from ABC, CBS, and Fox withdrawl in my car. All I can get are 6, 15, 39, 49, 51, and all of the Spanish-language analog channels from Mexico and some from San Diego. I couldn't watch the Oscars last night at work because nobody had a TV that could get the digital signals. The local stations should just buy me a portable TV.

Top 5 Headlines Of The Week (Feb 16-22, 2009)

5. No number 5. You voted for the Democrats into office so they can tax me and you to death in Sacrademento so don't give me crap that this website is either all-liberal or all-conservative one way or another!

4. Channels 8 and 10 go digital. I can't get them in my car or at home anymore.

3. Tom Leykis is no longer heard on the radio in Southern California for now.

2. Rain rain rain on Monday. San Diego turns into a lake!

1. No number 1. Nobody cared about the Academy Awards Sunday night.

Thank god the holidays are less than three weeks away. Southern California radio is in the craphole with news like this!

The Wires (Feb 24, 2009)

PC Magazine: Even before freewheeling financial firms blew the wheels out from under the engine of commerce, getting people to pay for tunes and talk, however heavenly, faced tough terrestrial hurdles. Those challenges remain. Limited-purpose satellite-radio receivers must go up against devices that can, in various combinations, play and display all kinds of content, make calls, and run applications. Then there's Internet radio, which offers nearly infinite variety, extensive personalization capabilities, and pricing that starts at free and doesn't go much higher. Inexpensive content allied with powerful portable hardware creates a force that could blast a multibillion-dollar radio enterprise out of orbit.

XHTJB More Clear (Feb 23, 2009)