Issue No. 253 | May 7, 2021 | View Online
Upcoming Events
May 10-13
'The Next Best Thing' Media Tour.

May 11 | 12:00 p.m.
Free Webinar: 7 Steps to a Fantastic Recovery with Mark Levy (Register Now)

May 11 | 7:00 p.m.
Detroit SMPTE Presents 'Harnessing the Power of 12K' (Learn More)

May 15
Carl E. Lee Engineering Excellence Award Nomination Deadline. (Learn More)
May 18 | 11:00 a.m.
Free Webinar: Engineering Webinar with Shane Toven (Learn More)

May 20 | 12:00 p.m.
Free Webinar: Covering Law Enforcement: Being Fair and Holding Accountability with Kevin Benz (Register Now)

June 1
Deadline for Michigan TV stations to file license renewals.
LEGISLATIVE / REGULATORY UPDATES
Upton, Walberg, Dingell Among 77 House Members to Support Bipartisan Local Radio Freedom Act in 117th Congress
Michigan's U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-6), Tim Walberg (R-7) and Debbie Dingell (D-12) were among the 77 bipartisan cosponsors of House Resolution in support of the Local Radio Freedom Act introduced this week in the Senate. Read More
FCC Proposes 8% Hike In Annual Radio Station Regulatory Fees
For a third consecutive year the annual regulatory fees that the Federal Communications Commission proposes to collect from radio stations is going up, and this year’s planned increase is twice that of a year ago, according to a report in InsideRadio. The FCC has proposed to hike annual fees by eight percent in 2021 as it aims to collect $374 million from all the industries it regulates. Read More
FCC Releases Closed-Captioning Quality Standards Guide
Last week, the FCC released a guide summarizing TV closed captioning quality standards (accuracy, synchronicity, completeness, and placement). The guide includes best practices and discusses how TV stations must monitor and maintain their equipment and signal transmissions associated with closed captioning, perform technical equipment checks, take any corrective measures necessary to ensure that captioning is passed through to viewers intact, and keep records of these activities for a minimum of two years. Read More
FCC Rules for All-Digital AM Radio Become Effective – Will There Be a Flood of Applications?
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP
The FCC’s order adopted in late October authorizing AM stations to voluntarily convert to operations in a fully-digital mode became effective yesterday when the approval of its information-collection obligations under the Paperwork Reduction Act was announced in the Federal Register. This means that AM stations can opt for full-digital operations, which many have argued will provide a stronger, more stable digital AM signal with improved fidelity and more resistance to the environmental noise that plagues analog AM reception. Read More
ENGINEERING & EAS
Nominations are Open for the 2021 Carl E. Lee Award
Candidates must have been an employee, officer, or owner of any company, subsidiary or division whose primary business is broadcasting, or is directly in support of radio or television stations in Michigan. The nomination deadline is May 15. The Carl E. Lee Award is presented virtually during the MAB Summer Conference. Click here to learn more and submit your nomination.
FEMA Announces Date for NPT;
August, 2021 EAS RMTs Cancelled
FEMA has announced the dates for this year's EAS National Periodic Test (NPT). The primary date is August 11, 2021 with the backup on August 25, 2021. The test will take place at 2:20 p.m. EDT. Read More
Detroit SMPTE Presents 'Harnessing the Power of 12K'
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Detroit Section will host a free virtual meeting open to all members, guests and non-members on Tuesday, May 11 at 7:00 p.m. The topic will be "Harnessing the Power of 12K." This virtual meeting is free and open to guests and non-members. Read More
'The Next Best Thing' Media Tour Next Week in Michigan
A consortium of broadcast tech manufacturers will be touring Michigan next week to show off their latest technology with stops in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Indian River and Detroit. It's an outdoor event at each location where engineers can check out some of the latest in innovative technologies. Read More
Michigan Broadcasters Invited to Next Alabama Engineering Webinar with Shane Toven
The Alabama Broadcasters Association invites Michigan broadcasters to participate free in their monthly engineering webinar series. The next webinar will be held Tuesday, May 18, starting at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and will feature Shane Toven senior broadcast engineer for Educational Media Foundation and is responsible for engineering R&D for the K-LOVE and Air1 broadcast networks. Read More
Protect Your Station from Random FCC Inspections
You say they don't do that anymore! Not true, they do. It's easier than ever before. With so much of our business activities available in our public file and on electronic forms at the FCC, they can easily inspect a station without ever coming to your door. Additionally they still investigate complaints. Read More
IN THE NEWS
Patti Taylor Named Director of Sales at Beasley Media Group Detroit
On April 29, Beasley Media Group announced that Patti Taylor has been named Director of Sales at the company’s Detroit-based properties, including WRIF-FM, WCSX-FM, WDMK-FM, WMGC-FM and the Praise Network. Read More
Townsquare Promotes Jeff Luckoff, Eric Meier in Michigan
On May 4, Townsquare Media Inc. announced that Grand Rapids Market President Jeff Luckoff will increase his responsibilities to include statewide oversight of Townsquare’s Michigan local media clusters. Read More
Michigan Radio Announces The Moth Mainstage Drive-In Show 'All These Wonders'
It’s been over a year since fans of The Moth in Michigan have been able to gather in person for a night of live storytelling. Now, The Moth returns to Michigan for a unique drive in theater event. Although we still can’t gather in large numbers indoors, you can join Michigan Radio for a great night of true Moth stories on the drive in big screen from the socially distanced comfort of your car. Read More
Gray Picks Up Saginaw's WNEM in $2.7B Meredith Acquisition, Will Sell Flint's WJRT
Gray will become the United States' second largest television broadcast group when it acquires 17 Meredith stations, including WNEM-TV (Saginaw) in a $2.7 billion deal announced in a press release on Monday (5/3). Read More
Heritage Broadcasting Company Acquires Lake Effect Digital
With the acquisition of Lake Effect Digital, Heritage Broadcasting will now be able to offer a full suite of digital solutions for businesses and organizations throughout Michigan. Along with the Mane Content team, Lake Effect Digital will become one of the most comprehensive and progressive digital agencies in Northern Michigan. Read More
TRAINING & EDUCATION
FREE WEBINAR: 7 Steps to a Fantastic Recovery
with Mark Levy, LBS Broadcast Selling Expert

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
We promise it won't matter if you're from the radio, television, or the digital side of things, from a large market or small, you will leave this webinar better prepared to build and enhance your recovery efforts as we'll focus on often overlooked details. Just some of the things we'll be covering include: 

  1. Competitive money - where is it, and why do people buy competitive media when they could be buying us?
  2. Reducing cancellations with just a couple of the right questions
  3. 7 "Must Ask" questions in every C N A. - and if you don't ask them, it isn't a C N A. A spreadsheet to show you why? Absolutely!
  4. Benefit-oriented presentations (and yes, we'll have a template)
  5. Giving clients who don't like to plan farther than a month out a tool to help YOU help them plan further out
  6. Customer service tips to share with your clients to help them close more business
  7. The Grand Poobah Appointment list
FREE WEBINAR: Covering Law Enforcement:
Being Fair and Holding Accountability
with Kevin Benz, KevinBenz.News

Thursday, May 20, 2021 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Law Enforcement dominates the day-to-day work of journalists and we must remember there is no more powerful government agency in the daily life of our audience. It is journalism’s highest obligation to hold law enforcement accountable for the enormous power society gives them. We must be fair. We must be courageous. We must be independent.
Ask LBS

It is common to run into difficult selling situations in the field.  Let us know what we can help with and we will get your question in front of our seasoned broadcast professionals who will get you a personalized response with real strategies for your specific situation!
The BEST Program

The BEST Program is designed for sellers who are new to broadcast. Each weekday for 5 weeks, you will receive a special email containing 3 videos. In less than 30 minutes per day, your new sellers will have built up a solid foundation for a career in selling broadcast!
Sales Ideas

Sometimes we just need a creative boost or an idea to take to a prospect tomorrow – or even today! The list contains 99 of the hundreds you can find on the site! Need a creative boost or some fresh ideas? This section of LBS is loaded with them!
FREE CALL: Sales & Leadership Helpline
We are offering this limited time free service to help our members get their station back on track after the long COVID year. Call 972-522-8570 during business hours Monday through Friday. Your call will be answered in 24 hours. Take advantage of this great service while we are offering it.
DIGITAL / SOCIAL / WEB
What the Privacy War Between Apple and Facebook Means for Radio Broadcasters
By: Seth Resler, Jacobs Media Strategies
Apple has begun rolling out the latest version of its operating system for mobile devices, iOS 14.5. Along with the usual assortment of new features is a long-anticipated change to the way the company deals with the privacy of its users, and this change will reverberate throughout the world of marketing and advertising. Read More