FCC STRESSES “LOCAL PROGRAMMING” IN REVISED NCE APPLICATION PROCESS • NICO LEONE MOVES TO KERA

Local service is becoming increasingly important at the FCC when determining which organizations will be awarded noncommercial FM stations (NCE) licenses, including LPFMs.

According to a report in Inside Radio [link], the Commission will consider new rules to simplify the process at the final public meeting for 2019 on Thursday, December 12^th.

Under the current rules, applicants have faced an arcane system when competing for “mutually exclusive” licenses. Mutually exclusive means more than one organization has applied for the same license.

Currently the FCC uses a point system to determine the winners. Using this criteria is time-consuming and costly. The applicant with the deepest pockets often wins.

The proposed rule simplifies the process and seeks to ensure that NCE and LPFM stations are not (hopefully) local outposts of national networks rather than organizations that are truly active in a community.

Other changes in the proposed rulemaking include extended time to build a new NCE or LPFM station, clarifying routine changes in an applicant’s governing board, Improving the tie-breaker process and reducing the need for mandatory time-sharing.

You can access the FCC’s proposed new rules here.

American Family Radio stations and FM translators

Ironically, the FCC still enforces a 1988 ruling that allows certain noncommercial licensees to deliver their programming to NCE and LPFM stations via satellite or online distribution. 

These “slave” stations operate 24/7 with programming that originates from far flung places. 

The 1988 rule provides the loophole that allows organizations such as the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and the American Family Association (AFA) to feed bulk programming to hundreds of NCE stations and FM translators without local content or local service.

This is important because “slave" stations owned by EMF, AFA and other similar organizations clog up the radio dial and prevent expansion of public media.

The 1988 rule was based on the now dated assumption that people in rural areas do not have access to noncommercial broadcasts. Spark News covered this situation in 2016 [link].

NICO LEONE IS THE NEW PRESIDENT & CEO OF KERA, DALLAS

Nico Leone

One of the most effective public radio station managers, Nico Leone, has been chosen to be the new President and CEO of NPR News/Talk KERA and Adult Alternative KKXT. 

CORRECTION

Leone replaces Mary Anne Alhadeff who is retiring. Jeff Ramirez remains VP, Radio.

Leone comes to KERA from NPR News/Talk KCUR in Kansas City. He had been GM at KCUR since August 2012. During his years at KCUR, Leone has done impressive work.

He led the effort to create Election 2020: Listening to America. At the PRPD conference in August, CPB announced that it had awarded a $1.9 million grant to KCUR to be the national leader of the project.

During his tenure at KCUR, Leone worked out a $5 million deal to bring full-time Classical music radio to Kansas City. KCUR acquired KWJC 91.9 FM from William Jewell College. The new Classical station will debut in 2020.

In the Nielsen Audio PPM ratings for November, KERA continues to be one of the top radio news sources in the Metroplex.

Commercial News/Talk WBAP leads the market with a 4.4 AQH share and 460,500 estimated weekly listeners. KERA leads commercial News/Talk KRLD and Talk KLIF in the November book.

KKXT is well established as the top Adult Alternative station in the market.

Also in the November PPM ratings, commercial Classical station WRR added estimated weekly listeners.