Re: [IRCA] Another perspective on AM IBOC, from the broadcasters' mailing list

[Scott Fybush <scott@xxxxxxxxxx>]

kevin redding wrote:

> You have a dog in the fight. Nothing super wrong with the corporation  
> you work for, its just another big corporation just like the one I  
> work for, but mine isn't in radio. If I worked for that corporation I  
> would try to put lipstick on the IBOC pig also. I don't blame you for  
> not trying to put an upbeat face on this IBOC discussion one bit.

Just for the record, I don't, in fact, have a dog in this fight - or 
rather, I do enough little things for enough different dog-owners that 
they're all nipping at each other.

The division of Clear Channel that owns Inside Radio/100000watts.com, 
for which I work on a consulting basis, is completely separate from the 
broadcast division. I'd be surprised if Mark Mays even knows my little 
division exists. We're at about the same level as the billboard division 
or the concert venues, before those were sold. My paycheck from 
100000watts.com (which, as yet, isn't even including HD Radio 
information in our data, though we're considering it) is as closely 
affected by what Clear Channel Radio does with AM IBOC as Kevin's 
(assuming he's still working where I think he is) is affected by the ad 
revenue at the Weekly Standard or subscriber figures at BSkyB, just to 
pick a couple of random unrelated News Corp. properties. (And again, 
just for the record, I own no shares of Clear Channel stock nor that of 
any other broadcaster.)

The actual broadcasting that I do these days is for WXXI, which is a 
community-owned public broadcaster. Our main FM signal (WXXI-FM 91.5) 
will be adding HD shortly, and I'll be involved in that effort from the 
programming and promotion side, but I'm actually arguing internally 
*against* any plans to put HD on our AM signal (WXXI 1370), since it 
won't bring any benefits to the station that I can see. So if I have any 
dog in the AM IBOC fight there, it's from the "anti" side.

(I do think public broadcasters like WXXI have the most to gain from FM 
multicasting, since we have more content available to us than we can 
possibly fit on our existing analog signals, along with demand from our 
audience to hear that content and a willingness from said audience to 
buy new receivers to hear it.)

And yes, I write for Radio World as a freelancer. The long slow slog 
towards IBOC has given me plenty to write about for the last few years, 
to be sure, but I'd have a lot to write about whether it succeeds or 
not. Contrary to some of the views expressed here, I don't think the 
news pages of RW have been cheerleading for IBOC. The editorials are a 
different matter, but I have nothing to do with those.

I also do some consulting, and in that role I have advised several 
stations about adding FM IBOC where it's made sense (primarily in the 
public radio arena), as well as advising others not to do so. I have yet 
to advise any client to add AM IBOC - and yes, they've asked.

So, that's where all my dogs are (except for Freckles, the NERW Wonder 
Dog, who's probably curled up in a pile of laundry downstairs enjoying 
the sunshine, and she doesn't much care for radio in any form, digital 
or not.)

I'll ask again that you address what I have to say based on what I'm 
saying, not on who you think I work for, where I live, how far my 
hairline has receded (too far, thanks), or any other extraneous factors.

I speak only for myself in any of these discussions, and I've always 
made it a point of pride when dealing with any employer or potential 
client to make sure that I'm not compelled by contract to muzzle what I 
have to say in forums like this, or to spout a corporate line with which 
I may disagree.

That said...we're in agreement on most of your points about the problems 
MW IBOC faces. That's why I'm interested in ideas like the ones in the 
Richard Johnson post that kicked off this thread. They may or may not 
bear fruit - and believe me, Richard's getting kicked around something 
fierce over on the BC list where the post originated - but if we're ever 
to have the "magic bullet" radio that can do some sort of adaptive DSP 
and run forever on a single AAA battery, it's more likely to come out of 
dialogue like that than out of sad-sack predictions that we'll all be 
hauling our Drakes and R390s to the scrap dealer in six months' time.

s
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