KBA'S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

September 30, 2021

EXCELLENCE IN BROADCASTING AWARDS

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FINALISTS

Congratulations to the the following 2021 Excellence In Broadcasting Award finalists. Winners will be announced during a virtual awards ceremony on Monday, November 22, 2021.

RADIO DIVISION FINALISTS

Best Digital Product:

Tom Rogers, Scott Brown and Beth Mann, The Edge Media Group, "YourSportsEdge.Com."
Adam Fuller, WQXE-FM, "Furever Friends."

Best Locally Produced Commercial:

Heather Riley, Tess Cowan and Bill Booth, WPKY-FM, "Founders Day Promo"
Bill Booth, Becky Williamson and Sean King, WKDZ-FM, "Bikes & Moore "Mad Scientist"."

Best Morning Show:

Derek Gregory and Bridget Kehrt-Groce, WCVK-FM, "Christian Family Radio (WCVK) - Derek & Bridget in the Morning"
Brian Walker and Trisha Caudill, WQXE-FM, "Brian & Trisha in the Morning."

Best News Coverage:

WHAS-AM, "Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Decision Coverage"
Dave Begley, WANV-AM, "London News Now."

Best Sports Play by Play:

Jeff Sisk, WHOP-AM, "WHOP-AM Hopkinsville PBP Jeff Sisk"
WHAS-AM, "Kentucky Derby 146."

Best Talk Show:

Trevor Rice, Dustton Walker and Dale Thornhill, WTTL-FM, "The Untold Stories of Hopkins County Sports"
Michelle Tyrene Johnson, Laura Ellis and Rick Howlett, WFPL-FM, "In Conversation."

Station of the Year:

WCVK-FM
WQXE-FM

TELEVISION DIVISION FINALISTS

Best Digital Product:

WKYT-TV
WYMT-TV

Best Locally Produced Commercial:

Phillip Pennington, WLKY-TV, "Kentucky Derby Museum"
Amber Gardner-Rojas and Atlee McHeffey, WNKY-TV, "South Central Bank - Moments."

Best Evening Newscast:

"WLKY 11 p.m. News"
"WKYT News."

Best Morning Newscast:

"LEX18 News at Sunrise - Kentucky Derby 146" WLEX-TV
"WLKY Morning News."

Best Sportscast:

WLEX-TV, "LEX18 High School Sportszone"
Willie Hope and Camille Gear, WYMT-TV, "Sports Overtime."

Best Weathercast:

Kevin Harned, WAVE-TV, "WAVE 3 News,"
Chris Bailey and Adam Burniston "WKYT First Alert Weather Day."

Rookie of the Year:

Dakota Makres, WYMT-TV
Grace Finerman, WKYT-TV.

Station of the Year:

WKYT-TV
WLKY-TV

KBA MEMBERS IN LEADERSHIP AT RTDNA

CONGRATS TO ANDREA STAHLMAN & ROBERT THOMAS

Congratulations to Andrea Stahlman, News Director at WLKY-TV in Louisville, who wrapped up a 1-year term as Chair of the Radio Television Digital News Association last week at the Associations annual conference in Denver, CO. Andrea now will move into the role of Chair of the Radio Television Digital News Foundation for the final year of her three-year leadership cycle.

“Andrea, you have led through unprecedented times, and you have done so with empathy, strength, and vision,” newly elected Chair Allison McGinley said of Stahlman. “You encouraged open discussion while deftly finding and coalescing common ground. You supported change and evolution without neglecting the importance of foundation or history. We thank you for guiding our board and our association. We thank you for your time and talent.”

Congratulations also to Robert Thomas, VP/News Director at WKYT-TV in Lexington, who was elected to represent Region 8 on the RTDNA Board of Directors.

EXTINCTION ALERT? RECRUITING INTO LOCAL TELEVISION TODAY. IS "THE GREAT RESIGNATION" REAL?

BY: TY CARVER

A television station Executive Producer candidate literally started to cry during a recent phone interview to discuss local news management opportunities. Yes, really. Perhaps for the first time during my decades-long career, I made a candidate cry. A diverse, very intelligent, and extremely good at what she does up-and-coming candidate at that. Perhaps some of you more experienced local news hiring manager leaders may think to yourself “well, she is not cut out for this business then.” I am here to tell you, she actually is. Or, was. And I am also here to tell you our media industry will lose her, amongst a Walking Dead-like horde of other talented media professionals, to another industry and/or media vertical very soon. In the end, I advised this candidate to do what is best for her. I mean, this was really all I could do/say, right? She is done. Poof. Gone. READ MORE

JEFF SCHMIDT'S SALES TIP OF THE WEEK

DIFFERENTIATE OR DIE

A 1,200-mile road trip with our son is an awesome experience in many ways. One of the not-so-awesome experiences was my discovery of how much BADvertising there is out there. (Bad Advertising). 1,200 miles provides a view of hundreds of billboards. This is not about attacking the medium, it’s a strong encouragement that we can, must, and should do better with our messaging. I heard radio ads with similar messaging.

When you see or hear an ad and that little voice in your head says, “So what, who cares, what does this mean to me?” You know the message is off target. Or the voice in your head after hearing or seeing an advertiser claim says, “Well I would hope so.”

One billboard proudly proclaimed, “The Number One Team in the region” It featured a picture of a half dozen people in suits. Team of what? What does this mean to me? I mumbled under my breath. Another for a car dealer showing a team picture – “New Name, same great team.” Again, who cares? Why does this mean something to me? It seems in both cases the purpose of the ad was to satisfy the ego of the people in the business by putting their pictures on a huge display board. Certainly, didn’t speak to me. Then there were the radio ads that claimed: “We have friendly knowledgeable salespeople.” Well, I would hope so, what’s the alternative, grumpy idiots?

Your client can have the greatest product in the world, but it means nothing without a way of somehow letting your prospective customers know about it. That’s where we come in, and that’s where differentiation is the key.

Jack Trout wrote the book, Differentiate or Die. If you work with clients and sell marketing services, it’s a must-read. I re-read it this past week. As the name implies, differentiation is critical to the success of any business and marketing strategy. In his book Trout offers a four-step process:

The Context - There are always surrounding competitors trying to make arguments of their own. Your message has to make sense in the context of the category.
The Differentiating Idea - To be different is to be not the same. To be unique is to be one of a kind. So, you're looking for something that separates you from your competitors. The secret is understanding that your different-ness does not have to be product-related.
The Credentials - If you have a product difference, then you should be able to demonstrate that difference. The demonstration, in turn, becomes your credentials. If you have a leak-proof valve, then you should be able to have a direct comparison with valves that can leak.
Communicate Your Difference - If you build a differentiated product, the world will not automatically beat a path to your door. Better products don't win. Better perceptions tend to be the winners. Every aspect of your communications should reflect your difference. Your advertising. Your brochures. Your Web site. Your sales presentations.

In my experience, one of the best ways to find a point of differentiation is to listen to customers. What do they say about the product or service? Read the reviews and look for patterns or similar themes from satisfied customers.

My road trip taught me a valuable lesson. No wonder clients don’t know if their advertising is working because in many cases what they are saying doesn’t resonate, so of course, it won’t work. The great news is, we can change that. A more effective message leads to more effective advertising results. Review some ads that you’ve written or created recently, better yet, have someone not in the business read or view them. If the writing results in, “so what, what does it mean to me?” or “Well, I would hope so..” It’s time to start rewriting.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can also connect with him by email JSchmidt@rab.com or on Twitter and LinkedIn.

COMMENTS DUE ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO POLITICAL ADVERTISING RULES

DAVID OXENFORD

After a busy 2020 election season and in advance of the 2022 elections, the FCC has proposed two minor changes to its political advertising rules. The FCC proposes adding the use of social media and the creation of a campaign website to the list of activities that may be considered in determining whether an individual running as a write-in candidate has made a “substantial showing” of a candidacy and is a “legally qualified” candidate. This “legally qualified” candidate designation is important as it permits the candidate to avail himself or herself of the benefits and protections of the political broadcasting rules, including equal opportunities, lowest unit rates and, for candidates for federal office, reasonable access to buy advertising time on commercial broadcast stations. The second change would harmonize the FCC’s rules with the Communications Act and spell out the requirement that stations upload to their political files any request for advertising time that “communicates a message relating to any political matter of national importance” (i.e., federal issue ads). We wrote more about these proposed rule changes, HERE. Comments are due by October 1 and reply comments are due by October 18.

UPCOMING POYNTER WEBINARS

FREE FOR KBA MEMBER STATIONS

KBA presents the following journalism webinars from the Poynter Institute. The webinars are provided free to KBA member stations.

October 21, 2021 - Powerful Storytelling (Part 1) Register Now

November 4, 2021 - Powerful Storytelling (Part 2) Register Now

December 8, 2021 - Battling Bias Register Now

January 4, 2022 - Fighting Fakes and Truth Decay Register Now

KBA ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

TO BE HELD VIRTUALLY ON OCTOBER 20, 2021 @ 9AM EDT

The annual membership meeting of the Kentucky Broadcasters Association will be held virtually on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 9:00 AM EDT. Active KBA members must register in advance to attend the meeting.