The Wires (Apr 24, 2010)

Jay Posner TV/Radio Sports: For NCAA Tournament, 68 is greater than 96. Wait, the NCAA did something right? I'm not sure what expanding the NCAA basketball tournament from 65 to 68 teams starting in 2011 accomplishes, other than allowing three more undeserving power-conference teams into the field and creating three more play-in games for fans not to care about, but it sure beats the heck out of going to 96 teams.

Gary Lycan OCR: It's really no surprise to see contemporary hits (or Top 40) KIIS/102.7 FM No. 1 in the new ratings released April 20, but AMP Radio 97.1 FM grabs the headline because it's No. 5 overall ranking gave it the first 4.0 share since the summer of 1992 when 97.1 was KLSX and the home of Howard Stern.

Chicago Now: What the heck is going on with Chicago's AM radio stations? For some ungodly reason -- and I DO mean ungodly -- convicts are turning up all over the place as radio hosts. No, I mean real convicts. Not just your average car-jacker or B&E guy, I mean political convicts. It's no wonder Chicago is the laughing stock of the country. The city is so crooked that crooked politicians even infest the radio, fer cripes sakes!

NY Post: Hulu, the free online TV hub, may not be for much longer. The popular site is said to be planning to test a $10-a-month subscription service, dubbed Hulu Plus, as early as May 24 after coming under pressure from its big media backers

Inside Music Media: My long-time friend, John Parikhal, was interviewed five years ago by Steve Rivers regarding the future of radio. RIVERS: What are your thoughts on today's radio, and what are the biggest problems facing radio in the next five years? PARIKHAL: Radio's biggest long-term problem is simple and has very serious long-term consequences: It's not attracting talented people. It's driving them away

The Wires (Apr 23, 2010)

John Maffei: NFL DRAFT: Goethel, Canfield hope names are called

John Maffei: TUBE TALK: Chargers have five night games on national TV

Deseret News: The End of KENZ. "The End" has come to its end: KENZ radio (FM-101.9) - Salt Lake City - changed formats Wednesday, switching from an adult alternative music format to "Gen X" - with a focus on music from the 1990s

Inside Music Media: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has recently come out in favor of repealing radio's performance tax exemption. No matter what you may personally think of Pelosi, she is very powerful and that delicate standoff in the House that slight favors radio retaining its exemption is now in jeopardy. I'll go a little further. It's only a matter of a short time before radio will be paying more money to artists in addition to the fees it already pays ASCAP, BMI and SESAC without the current free pass

The Wires (Apr 22, 2010)

Radio World: For AM DXers, the Romance Lives On. Their QSLs these days might be via e-mail and audio clips, but their hobby survives. Read about it in the digital edition of the April 21 issue of Radio World.

Tom Taylor of radio-info: The NFL schedules for 2010-2011 are out, and Compass renews last year's NFL partnerships. It's also got all the Oakland Raiders games, and as you read two weeks ago, it has both the local and national rights. That gives Compass the Raiders games with Arizona, Denver, Indianapolis, Miami, Pittsburgh, San Diego and San Francisco. The renewals include Atlanta, Buffalo, Detroit, Dallas, Kansas City, Oakland, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Washington, which lets upstart Compass have "plenty of East coast and West coast options", says Sports GM/executive producer Michelle Salvatore. Westwood One will also be out with its NFL schedule, and then after this year - things get really interesting in terms of the rights. ESPN is supposedly interested in going for the whole enchilada, starting on the TV side. That could happen just with ESPN, or with ESPN and a partner.

"Consolidation means less content, fewer journalists and less diversity in content and staff", a Newspaper Guild exec tells the FCC. Guild president Bernard Lunzer says newspaper folks "are far from Luddites, trying to stop new ideas and the promise of the Internet." What they're worried about is the survival of newspapers and the character of their staffs. Lunzer tells yesterday's FCC Media Ownership Workshop in Tampa that the severe personnel cuts in newspaper newsrooms have disproportionately hit minorities. And he decries the "efficiency" of mergers and consolidation, for making too many people disappear, as in the case of the combination of the Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune and the former Alameda Newsgroup. Lunzer also says he's not against bloggers - but points out "the opinion side of the aisle.often relies on what is now called `legacy media' for facts." Yesterday's Tampa hearing happens as the FCC announces its next field trip - a Media Ownership Workshop held in Stanford, CA.

L.A. Times: KCBS ads masquerade as news: TV stations may call it "added value" advertising, but viewers are not the beneficiaries.

Mel Phillips: Although the NFL season doesn't kick off for 5 months, radio is already preparing for our national past time, starting with coverage of the all-important NFL draft which starts on Thursday night. In addition to the round-by-round ESPN blanket coverage on television, radio will be there too.

Randy Dotinga: The verdict is in: They like Mike(y)

Cox Ending USENET Service (Apr 21, 2010)

Effective June 30, 2010, Cox Communications will be discontining Usenet service to their subscribers.

Says Cox in their e-mail, "Declining newsgroup usage in recent years has highlighted the need to focus our resources on other priorities, such as increasing our Internet speeds and providing new services, including Cox Media Store and Share.

"We understand that our newsgroup subscribers may want to continue accessing Usenet. Therefore, we have worked with leading newsgroup service provider Giganews to offer special pricing for Cox subscribers."

The Wires (Apr 21, 2010)

Inside Radio: Vin Scully marks 60 years. The word ôlegendö gets a lot of use in radio, but Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully proves heÆs earned the title. Scully marked 60-years calling Dodgers games Sunday. He began as play-by-play announcer when the team was still playing in Brooklyn, NY.

More bankruptcies? Bet on it, say the experts. Citadel, Regent, NextMedia Group and Black Crow Media have each filed Chapter 11 over the past five months. But the wave of bankruptcies hasnÆt swept the industry despite predictions teetering companies would be running for the courthouse steps. Bankruptcy experts believe it may still be a matter of time.

NAB stands tough on royalties. Despite a vow made last week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to bring a bill that would levy a performance royalty up for a vote, the National Association of Broadcasters remains ôcautiously optimisticö it will defeat the effort. Pelosi has already received an earful from radio.

NY Daily News: Actor Kelsey Grammer is one of the names behind The RightNetwork, a new operation that is being targeted at "Americans who are looking for content that reflects and reinforces their perspective and world-view." The network is expected to launch this summer and is hoping to be available to on-demand cable offerings, online and mobile phones .

Full Throttle Country: Back in the 70's in Top-40 Radio, the staffs were much like PIRATE RADIO. We almost lived together. We hung out between shifts, ate together, played together and did great radio. Why? We were all moving in the same direction, real motivated and we loved what we did. Watching PIRATE RADIO, you can see what's missing from radio today.

Hear 2.0: "There is no such thing as Radio"

Today is 420 Day (Apr 20, 2010)

The Wires (Apr 20, 2010)

Jsonline.com: All-night radio hosts, like the Wolfman, are a thing of the past. Today, because of staff cuts and the technologies that replaced them, night owls and insomniacs are almost exclusively hearing nationally syndicated or prerecorded shows rather than live and locally generated overnight programming. Not long ago, the graveyard shift was where not-ready-for-drive-time radio talent cut their teeth. Midnight to 6 a.m. was when you made the mistakes you learned from. But it was also a place where personality and programming not normally heard at other times of the day were allowed to flower - Such creative programming was a small perk of the graveyard shift, a job that doesn't really exist anymore, except in smaller markets. "I wouldn't recommend radio as a career for anybody," Jeff Peterson said. Leonard Peace called this "a fair piece of advice. The industry has changed dramatically. It's a bygone era, and it's sad to see it gone." But Dave Luczak, morning show co-host on WKLH, believes "there are still ways of going about (getting a job in radio) if you really want to get into it and really love it. Talented people will find their way through the system," he said (read more - Duane Dudek - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

NY Times: With the Internet fast becoming the most important communications channel, it is untenable for the United States not to have a regulator to ensure nondiscriminatory access, guarantee interconnectivity among rival networks and protect consumers from potential abuse. Yet that's exactly where the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit left us all when it said this month that the Federal Communications Commission didn't have the authority to regulate the Internet - and specifically, could not force the cable giant Comcast to stop blocking peer-to-peer sites (read more - NY Times Editorial)