Intelligence Briefs

For the first five years he conducted Alternative FCC Compliance Certification inspections, 90% of the questions Ken Benner was asked pertained to FCC-required public files. As he notes in this exclusive Media Information Bureau column, some 90% of the radio station personnel he worked with "had virtually no idea of what was required or where to turn to become compliant."

"Have you ever wondered how radio, television and other media outlets decide what shows to broadcast or to cancel?" That's the opening pitch in a letter randomly received last week at a Florida household from Nielsen. Here's the scoop on how the nation's dominant audience measurement company seeks PPM panelists.

The world has never been more connected, and U.S. audiences have never had as many options to access content as they do these days. In short, consumers in the U.S. seem like they can’t get enough content, and the possibilities for marketers to reach them, while fragmented, is an opportunity that is just too good to pass on. That's the key takeaway from the Q1 2018 Nielsen Total Audience Report.

The FCC today selected a new Chief Economist, and in doing so chose a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute — the think-tank that directed the FCC's transition following the 2016 presidential election. Another prominent figure at the AEI is Roslyn Layton, who writes in this column about the importance of the Commission's mid-band spectrum strategy.

Patrick Communications Managing Partner Larry Patrick is in the news today for his brokerage firm's representation of the buyer of a trio of radio stations from Alpha Media. As that deal was being finalized, Patrick took a moment while at his part-time Wyoming home prior to a trip to Washington, D.C., to collect his thoughts on a radio industry combatant many not often thing of. Could you be a guilty party?

In this Media Information Bureau encore presentation, we chat with Lauren L. Darr, President of LOI International, on many landmark examples that range in price and difficulty. For Darr, Landmarks are only limited by one’s imagination.

The FCC's Media Bureau on Monday released a Public Notice that one media broker believes is highly important for every radio industry C-Suite executive to read. Specifically, the Media Bureau is now seeking comment on "THE STATUS OF COMPETITION IN THE MARKETPLACE FOR DELIVERY OF AUDIO PROGRAMMING." What does that mean? Here's the scoop.

Washington's favorite acerbic octogenarian from Arizona is back with another fun column that asks the questions few are willing to voice in public. In this Media Information Bureau column, Ken Benner gifts RBR+TVBR Members with this fact: "Have you recently pulled up the FCC website? If not, please do it now. The first most prominent item that pops up includes how to file a complaint."

Larry Patrick, Managing Partner of Patrick Communications, is one of the nation's foremost media brokers. With this week's sale of WBEB-FM in Philadelphia by Jerry Lee Radio, thoughts flooded his mind about other stations in a similar situation. Call them orphans, "sole station owners who cannot sell to anyone," Patrick says. Here's what he says to say on the matter.

Last week, the FCC proposed changes to its rules governing children’s programming. "While the proposal is not as sexy as internet regulation, it is an important and overdue step toward updating the law to reflect the realities of the modern video marketplace," says Daniel Lyons, a visiting fellow at a D.C. think tank with lots of FCC sway.

Fifty years ago, on July 15, 1968, longtime Boston radio industry figure Clark Smidt had the pleasure of signing on a 3kw FM radio station operated by the University of Hartford. Today, he recalls many of his experiences since then while assessing the present state of radio in New England in this special column penned for the Media Information Bureau.

The NAB on Thursday was one of the first groups to offer a comment on the party-line approval of an NPRM that will likely set in motion reforms to the FCC's "KidVid" rules. Now, NAB EVP/Legal and Regulatory Affairs Rick Kaplan has spoken up, and he's practically praised the FCC for proposed legislation that appears to have little opposition.

As many broadcast television executives will note, interactive TV is more common than ever. As such, individual consumers have more input than ever when it comes to the things they enjoy watching — and highly dislike. That said, advertisers have rushed to respond to this personalization trend, and noted media ecologist Jack Myers warns "the days when mass reach is king are rapidly coming to a close." What does this mean for you?

Featured Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner is infatuated with government "complexification." We're sure it's not in our dictionary, but it is a fitting word Benner uses to describe something so confusing, you will end up sending a check to the U.S. Treasury out of sheer frustration and lack of comprehension. In this column, Benner tackles the FCC's efforts to improve EEO compliance.

The latest installment from featured Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner is all about the money. Specifically, Benner has combed through all of the Alternative FCC Compliance Certification Inspections he and his wife conducted over a 15-year period. The amount of dollars that broadcasters didn't have to pay to the Federal Communications Commission, as a result of a forfeiture, is staggering.