Friday, September 23, 2016

READER COMMENTS: DOES PACIFICA’S “STINK” MAKE THEIR ARCHIVES WORTHLESS?


COMMENT ONE: VALUE OF THE PACIFICA ARCHIVES

Earlier this week we carried a story about the resignation of Sam Agarwal who was Treasurer for Pacifica Radio. Agarwal resigned from the embattled organization with a memo that said, in part:

…with each passing day, [bankruptcy] may be the only option left because of dysfunction in the Board, mismanagement and failure of leadership.

In the article I speculated on the impact of bankruptcy on the fate of Pacifica’s archives. In his/her comment, the Anonymous reader said the archives are worth nothing because of Pacifica’s damaged image:

I don’t see how the Archives are worth a single penny at this point. There is not a university in the land that would be crazy enough to touch anything associated with Pacifica with a ten-foot pole.

Universities are businesses, and they have images and reputations to protect. Even if they could legally and operationally take wholesale ownership of the Archives, they’d HAVE to know that the vast sea of crazies associated with Pacifica would endlessly make the University’s life hell for one reason or another.

Whoever ends up with legal control over the Archives will immediately face endless lawsuits about it. At least with the FM licenses, you could take them over, change the locks and post security.

KEN SAYS: I don’t buy the premise that the “stink” of Pacifica’s brand would keep a university, museum or a private collector from acquiring Pacifica’s archives. The historical merit of the priceless audio in the archives is not diminished by what Pacifica has become. Except for people in the biz like you and me, there is little awareness of Pacifica today.  Regarding the claim that …the vast sea of crazies associated with Pacifica would endlessly make the University’s life hell, a future owner of the archives would not have an obligation to anyone at Pacifica, assuming Pacifica even still existed.




The person who sent the comment is right, though, about the value of the station licenses. In September 2015 [link] I asked a friend of mine who is a media property broker for an outside opinion about the value of Pacifica’s five FCC licenses. The chart on the right from 2015 has the projected “stick value” of the stations.





COMMENT TWO: HYPING A STATION FEW CAN RECEIVE DOESN'T WORK

Every once in a while I get a comment on one of my older posts. This comment provided additional information about WAJC, a Christian noncom on the edge of the Twin Cities. There were two posts.  The first was posted on July 8, 2015 [link] and the follow up was posted on December 3, 2015 [link].

The posts tell the story of the Kevin and Jill Riche who dreamed of owning a Contemporary Christian (CCM) radio station in the Twin Cities. Kevin and Jill come from a Christian broadcasting family.  Jill is the daughter of the late Dr. Walter Martin, The Original Bible Answer Man, a well-known syndicated personality from the 1950s and 1960s.

Kevin and Jill applied for and won the FCC license and signed as The Remnant. Things didn’t work out so well for one major reason: WAJC covered only a thin slice of the Twin Cities metro. Though The Remnant was promoted as a “full power Minneapolis metro station” but reality proved this claim was total bullshit. They wound up selling WAJC for pennies. The reader’s comment extends the story:




NOTE THE SKYLINE OF MINNEAPOLIS IN THE LOGO
The Remnant’s [programming came from] a Northwestern student radio station (same college that runs KTIS). As soon as WAJC signed on even the kids at the school couldn’t pick it up.

It took years for this thing to sign on, and from pre-hype comments it was clear they had no idea what to do with it and no idea how to run a station. It was doomed from the start. - A church in Forest Lake bought it, which is another exurban town NORTH of the Cities. They can’t even get the station in their own city.

Dr. Walter Martin died in 1989. Sadly, since then he has had no ability to prevent or weigh in on the things done in his name. The efforts of the [Kevin and Jill Riche], although carefully packaged in the name of Walter Martin, never existed prior to his death, and are fully the products of their own dreams and aspirations.

COMMENT THREE: THE VOICE YOU HEARD WAS THE GREAT NORMAN ROSE

During the week of Thanksgiving I re-posted [link] the National Lampoon’s radio skit “Deteriorata,” a parody of Les Crane's 1971 spoken-word recording of Desiderata, a popular record at the time. I mentioned most of the cast and crew of the National Lampoon Radio Hour but I failed to name the voice on the hilarious parody. 

Then I got this comment from my friends at Kill Ugly Radio [link]:

Read by the great Norman Rose.

Norman Rose




KEN SAYS: Right as rain! Norman Rose was a legendary actor who was known as “the Voice of God.” In fact, Rose actually played God (the voice at least) in Woody Allen’s 1975 comedy film Love and Death. His voice also appeared in countless sci-fi films.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

TAKEAWAYS FROM TEN RANDOM CHARTS, GRAPHS & IMAGES


One of my most popular recent posts was TOP 10 MEDIA USAGE CHARTS & GRAPHS, published on August 9, 2016 [link]. Sometimes a good graphic illustration is the best way to convey complex information in a digestible package.  As part of my obsessive nature, I save charts and graphs that seem interesting at the time I saw them. Today we’ve got ten more for your education and perhaps a laugh or two.

#10 NEW PODCAST RANKINGS FROM PODTRAC

Podtrac [link] continues to get traction with its podcast analytics. 



In July they first published podcast rankings by publisher. 
Last week Podtrac debuted a new chart  that ranks podcasts by name.



One question I have about the new chart is: Where are the analytics?







As we pointed out earlier in August [link] Podtrac’s publisher rankings are particularly useful because they include UNIQUE MONTHLY AUDIENCE metrics, a cumulative audience statistic that is similar to a Nielsen Weekly Cume. This provides a way to compare the reach of podcasts with other media platforms.

KEN’s TAKEAWAY: Public radio listeners love podcasts. Fourteen of the 19 entries on the new Podtrac chart originate from noncommercial public media organizations. Smart people like smart entertainment.

#9 MUSIC INDUSTRY REVENUE IS FLAT EXCEPT FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES





The Los Angeles Times included data (originally published by the Wall Street Journal) from Nielsen 360 music research that shows estimated revenue from various sources [link]. Overall music industry revenue is way down from 10 years ago but revenue from live performances continues to rise.

KEN’s TAKEAWAY: There is nothing that replaces a live performance. As folks look for authentic experiences, don’t ever underestimate the power of the human heart, mind and muse.







#8 THE COST OF TICKETS FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES CONTINUES TO RISE






According to the same source as #9, the average cost per ticket for a live concert has increased over 16% over the last decade. The average cost of a ticket in 2016 is $74.24.


KEN’s TAKEAWAY: Concert ticket prices are now beyond the budget of many people. If the trends from the past ten years continue they will reach the point where fewer and fewer people will be able to attend concerts despite the love from live performances.  The cost of tickets will likely boost live concert streaming.





#7 NIELSEN’S "COMPARIBLE METRICS" & THE MEDIA UNIVERSE

Nielsen measures usage of various platforms and correlates the data to show the relative size of each service. Rather than provide the information in an ordinal listing, Nielsen came up with this space age chart that is guaranteed to confuse almost any viewer. Smartphone Audio? Find it somewhere south of Neptune on the chart.

KEN’s TAKEAWAY: Despite the proliferation of new digital media sources, old-media TV and radio continue to have the largest reach.

#6 PUBLIC MEDIA NEWS SALARIES

This chart comes from the Public Radio News Directors (PRNDI).  Is shows annual compensation averages for various newsroom jobs at public radio stations in 2015. From what I can see, the bigger the title, the bigger the salary. I am surprised to see how little reporters and correspondents are paid because their work is so valuable.

KEN’s TAKEAWAY: Be glad you work in public media because most commercial media has given up on traditional news reporting. Support your local station!

#5 MANY PEOPLE THINK RADIO CONTESTS ARE RIGGED

NuVooDoo Research [link] often identifies factoids that seem obvious but are still surprising. We all know that “trust in media” has fallen in general but who knew almost half of the listeners to stations in PPM markets feel radio contests are rigged. Distrust by people between the ages of 18 and 34 is even higher.


KEN’s TAKEAWAY: The days of big radio contests are gone because ownership consolidation means less direct competition.  I worked almost twenty years in commercial radio and from what I observed rigged contests happened daily.

#4 MANY PEOPLE THINK CONTESTS ARE RIGGED BECAUSE STATIONS DON’T ANSWER PHONE CALLS OR EMAILS



From the same study as #7.

KEN’s TAKEAWAY: Poor customer service leads to distrust and skepticism, zapping the “good will” of the brand.





 #3 PANDORA & YOUTUBE LEAD STREAMING TIME-SPENT LISTENING



#2 WHO LIKES VINYL? YOUNGER PEOPLE

This chart comes from MusicWatch [link], a company that tracks recorded music consumption trends.  According to their research, about 5% of the 12+ general population is interested on vinyl records.

Younger folks (ages 18 to 34) have greater interest in acquiring new and used vinyl discs than boomers who grew up with vinyl.



KEN’s TAKEAWAY: Many people say that music on a vinyl disc sounds better than digital. Vinyl records seem more authentic because you can hold them in your hands. Vinyl is an old technology that is becoming “new” again.

#1 AUDIO DEVICES HAVE BECOME MORE CONVENIENT

Advertising image from the early 1970s

KEN’s TAKEAWAY: “New” is a relative term.  Things that are “new” are only “new” for a while. In some ways 40 years isn’t that long ago.  But life depicted in this ad looks and feels ancient, like a vestige from the stone age. Today’s hot new thing will be old someday, probably sooner than later.  Keep your focus on what lasts, what is eternal.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

NONCOM TRIPLE A IS MORE THAN “SPINS”


Maybe you’ve wondered why some new songs zoom to the top of the charts and others languish in “bubbling under” categories and then disappear. Of course, the appeal of a song and reputation of the artist are major reasons why one song succeeds and another tanks. But, inside the world of music radio, including noncom Triple A, the number of “spins” as listed on airplay charts also makes a big difference.

Paul Marszalek
You might recall our post DO PUBLIC RADIO MUSIC STATIONS HAVE A PAYOLA PROBLEM? published in May 2016 [link].  In the article we discussed efforts by Paul Marszalek, a well-known and respected Triple A consultant and blogger who publishes TheTop22 [link].  His blog post exposed pay-for-play antics and ways to distort the charts.

According to Marszalek, some unnamed music companies are practicing a form of payola to give their songs extra clout on music charts. He alleges that certain companies are paying radio stations to play their songs. Marszalek says these songs are frequently played during “lunar” hours.  The goal is to increase the number of “spins” the songs have on various airplay charts. This makes the song appear more popular than it may really be.

Marszalek wrote on The Top 22 site [link]:

“Whether it’s money funneled through indie promoters or the more legal demanding of time buys, a few radio stations are engaging in the selling of spins…Multiple reports to TheTop22 tell of a few radio stations engaging in, and there’s no real other way to put it, pay-for-play arrangements.”

Ironically, it is sort of legal.  Payola is permissible if the station acknowledges that a song is being played for “consideration, with on-air messages This practice is particularly dangerous for listener-supported noncom stations because they violate the perceived trust and integrity stations must have for continued support.

THE BASICS OF “RADIO RECORDS”

Before we discuss Marszalek’s proposed solutions, I thought it might be helpful to look at the relationships between broadcast and online radio with music companies and airplay charts.

Each week, most stations that air contemporary music provide the number of “spins” (the number of times a certain song airs during the week) to companies who tabulate and publish the charts. For instance, I receive a weekly email from Brad Savage at WAPS, Akron/Cleveland.  At right is a sample of his weekly airplay report. The top current release on WAPS, The Head and the Heart’s All We Ever Knew, had 25 spins last week on Brad’s station.

Many music companies want to have a comparison from an outside source.  These companies subscribe to monitoring firms such as Mediabase for airplay information. 


Mediabase is owned by iHeartMedia (and iHeart’s bankers!). Mediabase then provides the information to music companies and chart publishers. The item below shows FMQB'S use of use of the data.  The spins are on the right side of the image.





Other chart publishes get more creative. The image on the right is a Triple A chart published by Billboard, a competitor with Mediabase.

Note that the “spins” are cross-tabbed with Nielsen Audio ratings data to provide an estimated weekly audience for each of the songs.

SOLUTIONS-IN-PROGRESS

Marszalek is changing the way chart entries are tabulated for his charts. He wrote:

We have long felt that ranking songs by the number of plays it achieves each week (spins) is a poor metric pf actual performance.





Beginning with this week’s chart (on the left), The Top 22 is scoring songs not only by the number spins but the estimated audience reach of the station. 


Marszalek says the weighting eliminates the overstated influence of lunar rotation – no matter where they are happening or whether they are paid for.










And, to what affect? I decided to compare The Top 22 chart with two other Triple A charts (results below). Other than one tune, a new one from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, all three charts are remarkable similar.







Tuesday, September 20, 2016

FORMER PACIFICA TREASURER: BANKRUPTCY MAY BE “ONLY OPTION,” ARCHIVES AT RISK


One of the few people at Pacifica who were in touch with reality, Sam Agarwal, has resigned as treasurer of the embattled organization, effective immediately. Agarwal had been on the job since December 2015. In a parting shot at Pacifica’s dysfunctional management, Agarwal said in his letter of resignation letter:

Although voluntary bankruptcy and reorganization may be the least desirable…with each passing day, it may be the only option left because of dysfunction in the Board, mismanagement and failure of leadership.



Most organizations with Pacifica’s problems would already be out of business. Red ink is everywhere.  No one even knows the amount of debt because Pacifica hasn’t completed an audit since 2014. Each of the five network stations has its own books. The time will likely come soon when voluntary bankruptcy is not an option either if folks in charge at Pacifica continue their deep denial.

When creditors start looking for things to liquidate, there are two big plums: the FCC licenses for the five stations and the Pacifica archives [link]. Though I have never seen a reliable estimate of the value of the archives, it is possible the value exceeds a million dollars.

REEL-TO-REEL TAPES IN STORAGE IN THE PACIFICA ARCHIVES
The historical value of the collection is impossible to calculate. Much of the material comes from the years when Pacifica actually mattered in the national conversation. The archives contain one-of-a-kind audio documenting social movements since 1949 including rare recordings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Upton Sinclair, Rosa Parks and Malcolm X. 

In an article published September 2nd in the Orange County Weekly [link] reporter Gabriel San Roman, raised the possibility that Pacifica can no longer provide the archives a safe home. The archives are currently stored in North Hollywood at 64 degrees with controlled humidity levels. Much of the historic audio is on reel-to-reel tapes and transcription discs.  

Brian DeShazor
Concern about the state of archives kicked into high gear in June this year when Pacifica imposed budget cuts, layoffs and a 25% cut in pay for remaining employees. Archives Director Brian DeShazor resigned because of the austerity measures.

News about the fate of the archives is now being heard nationally.  In early September Sally Kane, CEO of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB), sent a lett er to the Pacifica Foundation Board that said privatizing or selling the collection off would be "a fundamental betrayal of the values and spirit" that it represents.

Josh Shepperd, Director of the Radio Preservation Task Force, is also calling for action. Sheppard told the Orange County Weekly:


"I've never seen anything like this anywhere. It is the only archive of its type in North America. The recordings are some of the best primary sources for activist history."

Pacifica’s management has no interest in turning over the archives to a university or other nonprofit organization that could preserve and digitize the collection. Frank Torres, Interim Archives Director, told the Weekly:

"We're not going to send the entire collection to a university and lose access to it.” 

And this was all before Sam Agarwal resigned as Pacifica’s treasurer. If Pacifica is forced into bankruptcy liquidation access to the collection will be the least of their worries.



Monday, September 19, 2016

INTERESTING OPPORTUNITIES AT THREE GREAT PUBLIC MEDIA SHOPS


• SENIOR NEWS PRODUCER • KJZZ PHOENIX

When you think of the “gold standard” of public radio stations, KJZZ in Phoenix comes to mind.  KJZZ [link] is the NPR News voice for the Valley of the Sun.  Sister station KBAQ is one of the most successful Classical music stations in the nation.

Now KJZZ has a rare opening for a Senior Producer.  The assignment is to produce programming for KJZZ’s daily talk and magazine shows. In recent years KJZZ has been investing ample time and resources into local and regional news.

A couple of years ago KJZZ began The Show, a daily one-hour that has a tasty mix of news coverage, local issues and life in the Valley.  KJZZ also airs a local edition of Here & Now with Steve Goldstein on Wednesdays. KJZZ is home to Fronteras: the Changing America Desk, a CPB-supported journalism center that reports on border issues. The new Senior Producer will be a part of this team.

Among the things I like the most about KJZZ is their relationship with their licensee, Rio Salado College, part of Maricopa County Community College District.  Over the years wise management has kept the stations on the fringe of the District. There have been had very, very few licensee intrusions into station operations.  Of course, the fact that KJZZ and KBAQ pay their own way helps shield the station from cash-starved state budgets.

KJZZ is being assisted in this search by Livingston Associates. For consideration, visit the full job posting and apply online at http://liv.jobs. The deadline for applications is September 25th.

• HOST, OPERATIONS/PRODUCTION COORDINATOR • KKXT DALLAS


Full-time jobs at noncom Triple A stations don’t appear every day. This one at Dallas’ KXT [link] is especially inviting. As you probably know, KXT is one of the most listened-to “music discovery” stations in the nation. Sister station KERA is a fast-growing NPR News station.

The gig includes hosting air-shifts, assuring the best operational quality possible, do artist interviews, produce promo and imaging spots, and, of course, pitch during pledge drives. The job requires the combination of a great voice, organized mind and soul of a starving artist.

Specific skills being sought include ENCO radio automation systems, Adobe Audition CS6 audio editing software, and familiarity with ISDN and IP-based interconnection equipment.

More information is here [link].

• INVESTIGATIVE NEWS FELLOW • WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO

Applications are now invited for the Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellowship sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism [link]. 

The Simonson Fellowship is designed for a recent college graduate or someone in the early years of his or her career. It is a one year fellowship that begins in January of 2017. 

The chosen “fellow” will receive close supervision and coaching as an investigative reporter. 

He or she will prepare investigative news reports for statewide use on WPR’s two statewide networks, WPR.org, and Wisconsinwatch.org. The fellow may also appear on one of WPR’s talk programs.

Two or more years of experience reporting for broadcast is desired but not required. The salary range starts at $32,102 depending on qualifications and experience. Included is a comprehensive benefits package.

He deadline for applications is October 14th.  More information is available from Betsy Nelson, Wisconsin Public Radio, 821 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, 608-262-5221; betsy.nelson@wpr.org.