NJBA Weekly Newsletter Friday, August 20, 2010

New PEP Program Starts August 25^th

“Operation Take Back New Jersey” is now underway! And, September 25th is the day to dispose of your Unused, Unwanted and Expired Medicine. That’s the day Police Departments across the Garden State will be accepting your expired, unused and outdated prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications.  The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Jersey Division in conjunction with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, the New York / New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), the New Jersey National Guard, and the Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey have combined resources with the NJBA in an effort to educate New Jersey about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and the easy accessibility of these drugs. NJBA President Paul Rotella commented that “It’s pretty scary, but over 70% of all people who abuse prescription drugs say they get them from family or friends, often in their own home, right out of their own medicine cabinets! And these old and unused prescription meds are replacing pot as the gateway drug of choice for our young people.” New Jersey residents can now join the fight against prescription drug abuse – right in their own homes.

That’s why the NJBA will be featuring a special Public Education Program, (PEP) starting next week, which is spearheaded by the DEA. “We’re asking Garden State residents to please dispose of their old, unused, unwanted or expired prescriptions at any police station in New Jersey on Saturday, September 25th, between the hours of 10am and 2pm,” said Rotella. PEP announcements will be airing all month to make everyone aware of this important New Jersey initiative. “Last year, New Jersey led the nation with a similar program, which netted over 9,000 pounds of pills and medications that were safely destroyed by our law enforcement partners”, Rotella added: “You can help prevent prescription drug abuse in your community, and maybe even in your own family by taking part in Operation Take Back New Jersey on September 25th and insure that these pills and prescriptions don’t fall into the hands of juveniles or the illicit drug market.” If you should have any questions about this program feel free to contact Special Agent Douglas S. Collier, M.A., DEA New Jersey Division, Public Information Officer/Demand Reduction Coordinator, at douglas.collier@usdoj.gov. Find out more at www.operationtakebacknj.com. 

What’s a PEP Program?

The NJBA’s NCSA/PEP public education program is the perfect way to achieve high-impact public relations exposure across the Garden State. Each year, our membership participates in a unique and valuable public interest media campaign that is made available to government entities and select non-profits like the New Jersey National Guard, United States Coast Guard, DEA, NJ Chamber of Commerce, NJDOT, Partnership for a Drug Free NJ, and NJDEP, all of whom recognize the need to reach the diverse and growing New Jersey Metropolitan Radio and Television Audience. The value that our sponsors receive is simply tremendous! And this is the only vehicle that can deliver comprehensive statewide coverage of their public relations campaigns to every demographic and timeslot across the Garden State. This terrific program is an extraordinary opportunity for state agencies and select non-profits to get their messages out to the public and drive statewide awareness and increase traffic to their websites or donations to their cause.  With the highest population density in the United States, NCSA/PEP radio and television broadcast announcements aired in the Garden State reach more people per message, per capita, than any other media outlet, and PEP announcements reach millions of listeners and viewers who tune in every day to Radio and Television programming broadcast to the 5^th largest marketplace in the United States. And PEP sponsorships support scholarship programs and vital NJBA public service initiatives, such as the advocacy for a modern EAS, broadcast support and equipment replacement, as well as the promotion AMBER Alert education programs in Washington, Trenton and in every community around the Garden State.  The effectiveness and value of our Public Education Program cannot be overstated. If your organization has an important message for the 9 million plus people of New Jersey, and the millions of people who visit, work, go to school, raise families and enjoy the Garden State every day, the NJBA offers you a precious opportunity to communicate it, efficiently and affordably, and with the unmatched media impact that only radio and television can offer. To see if your organization qualifies for this special program, contact Mary at mary@njba.com today!

BFA Celebrity Golf Tournament Set for September 13^th

The Broadcasters Foundation of America will host their Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament on Monday, September 13, 2010 at the fabulous Siwanoy Country Club, Bronxville, NY. This fun filled event will feature many local and national celebrities as well as the biggest names in broadcasting. It’s the must attend golf event of the season.  To reserve your foursome and get more information and to register your foursome, visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org BFA’s Chairman Phil Lombardo, and BFA President Jim Thompson promise a fun filled day and you’ll feel great helping out your fellow broadcasters. Hit ‘em straight NJBA!

The Trenton Report: From the Marcus Group

There is a new sheriff in town. She is the former sheriff of Monmouth County and the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey: Kim Guadagno. Last week she ran the show in Trenton. For the first time in his tenure, Governor Chris Christie spent an extended period of time out of state, so the Lieutenant Governor was in charge of the affairs of state government. Up until this year and the creation of the new number two spot, the powers of the Governor would have fallen to the Senate President when the Governor was out of state. Governor Christie is enjoyed a baseball vacation with his sons, stretching across six ball parks in six days. They began at the ivy covered walls of Wrigley Field in Chicago and will end their tour at Citi Field, rooting for the Governor's favorite team, the New York Mets. It would be nice if New Jersey had a MLB team someday, and with this administration, ya never know! And get ready for Christie: The Movie! Yes, New Jersey’s favorite son will be featured in a special documentary highlighting the Gov’s election and his accomplishments during his first 8 months in office. With the Administration’s poll numbers up across the Garden State, this could be the summer’s next blockbuster! The GOP Governors Association will release the much anticipated film soon.  

Political Advertising Made Easy

If you deal with political advertising, check out the free 69-page online “Political Advertising Handbook.” It’s a timely service of the Media Financial Management Association (MFM). Communications attorneys Erwin Krasnow and John Wells King of Garvey Schubert Barer write “in plain English” about navigating the regulations of the FCC and the SEC. That includes the Supreme Court’s recent landmark “Citizens United” decision that affects how corporations and businesses can advertise. There’s stuff here like a checklist for “pre-buy, buy, post-buy”, record-keeping requirements, and a table of the Lowest Unit Rate periods for this election cycle. The online handbook complements the coming 17th edition of the NAB’s “Political Broadcast Catechism” and the 17th edition of the Political Broadcasting Form. Special Hat tip to NJBA pal Ton Taylor for the heads up on this great resource. NJBA Members will receive a courtesy copy of the same via email this week.  

2010 Regulatory Fees due by August 31

Regulatory fees for the 2010 Fiscal Year are due no later than August 31. All non-exempt broadcasters must begin the payment process through the Commission’s on-line Fee Filer system, which may be accessed at http://www.fcc.gov/fees/feefiler.html However, as of this writing, the 2010 Fee Filer module is not yet operative. Once a licensee has begun the Fee Filer process payment may be made on line with a credit card or by mail or wire transfer. The FCC is mailing notifications for each licensee, listing its stations, their fees and the basis for placing each facility within a payment category. The information may also be viewed on line at http://www.fccfees.com. Please note, though, that the FCC notifications and display do not include microwave auxiliaries, for each of which an additional $10 fee must be paid.

LUR Window Opens September 3rd

All broadcasters beware: the Lowest Unit Rate Window Opens on Sept. 3, which is the first day of the Lowest Unit Rate Period for the General Election to be held on Nov. 2, 2010. Please be advised! 

Thunder Over the Boardwalk on August 25th!

Make sure to come out for the 8th Annual Atlantic City Air Show, which will be held next week on Atlantic City’s fabulous Boardwalk. The show starts at 10:30 on Wednesday, August 25th! “Thunder over the Boardwalk," is one of the most popular events in Atlantic City, and one of the very best air shows in the country, with its heart-stopping feats, aerobatics maneuvers, formation flying and solo routines by military and civilian pilots. See flybys and demonstrations that reach up to 15,000 feet and as low as 50 feet over the water in front of the Atlantic City skyline. Live broadcast coverage of this great Garden State tradition will begin at 10:30 by NJBA’s (and Atlantic Broadcasting’s) own Pinky Kravitz and can be heard on WOND 1400AM.

Inclusion of Radio Chips on all Mobile Phones a Must

The NJBA is advocating that Americans’ access to radio EAS information be extended via mobile phone handsets. And, although most U.S. mobile phones do not yet have activated FM receivers, the technology is a proven one that has been used in "over a billion" phones in other parts of the world. Everyone involved, including the American public and public safety officials, as well as the mobile phone and broadcasting industries, stands to benefit. Tom Taylor says it’s on the NAB’s wish list, and it really should say “analog FM radio chips”, because AM realistically won’t be part of a cell phone handset. Neither will HD Radio FM chips. The recording industry and its allied artists can’t make the handset manufacturers and the wireless companies pop an FM chip into their devices. But they can lend their support, and that’s apparently what the NAB is targeting. At the very least, satisfying MusicFirst on the core issue of a performance royalty means there won’t be any static from the labels up on Capitol Hill, about radio-on-cell phones. Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan told NJBA pal Tom Taylor (TRI) that (He’s) personally talked to the manufacturers of cell phones, and they are happy to have” FM chips in their devices. In fact, Jeff says many handsets already have the chips, but they’re not activated. He says “we estimate as many as 30-35%” of cell phones have FM receivers. In fact, “All iPhones have them, a lot of the Androids have them, and everywhere in the world they activate the chips” they’re a popular feature. He cites research showing that FM is a highly-desired feature. He predicts that listening via cell phone is destined to become still more attractive to consumers…” Hey, we’ve always said that the cell phone is the “transistor radio” of today! Smulyan concludes that being asked to pay more for data usage means that “people who have streamed audio for many years will be driven to listen to radio” – hopefully using the FM chip on their phone, or some other device like the ever popular iPad. Regrettably, while we are very enthusiastic about an analog FM chip in cell phones, it will probably sound the death-knell for our beloved AM dial, causing a much needed FCC expansion of radio spectrum as these stations migrate to the FM band.

Only 86 FMs Have Increased IBOC/HD Radio Power Levels

Many broadcasters have expressed frustration with the slow pace of the HD Radio rollout.  After years of promotion and millions of on-air commercials touting the benefits, just three million receivers have sold so far.   The reality is, a lot of broadcasters want it and think they need a more robust signal to be heard on car and home receivers. But (speculates the NAB Tech Check newsletter) raising power now would require more “cap-ex” – capital expenditure on equipment, and coming off a year when radio’s revenue dropped an RAB-estimated 18%, budgets are super-tight. iBiquity understands that reality. The FCC approved the higher levels in January and began letting stations file for them on May 10. Now three months later, the NAB's Tech Check does a census of stations and finds 51 commercial and 35 non-commercial stations running with greater power. Only six of the 86 have hiked digital power to the maximum. Originally, the Commission allowed the In-band, on-channel HD Radio signal to run at just 1% of the analog power, and that's where the vast majority are today. iBiquity figures about 2,078 stations have converted to its digital audio broadcasting system, counting both AMs and FMs. Only the FM stations are being allowed to raise power.

Sangean Cancels Production Plans for DT600-HD Radio

Sangean now says it’s not planning to introduce an HD Radio portable that was to have included analog AM in the U.S. this year. Responding to a question from Radio World, a Sangean spokesman said the company decided not to go ahead with production of the DT-600 HD; he could not say why. The spokesman also said Amazon is not accepting pre-orders for the unit, as we had reported. Sangean had not answered Radio World's query at the time that story was published. iBiquity had a prototype of the unit in its booth at CES and also at the spring NAB Show. The multicast-capable unit was to support program-associated data services and feature iTunes tagging via a USB port. 

Educate Your Viewers on the Power of Broadcast TV

As you know, the retransmission consent process continues to be a hot topic in Washington, D.C. Pay TV companies continue to press Congress and the FCC to tilt the scales in their favor. While the NAB and NJBA continue to remind policymakers that the process is working as intended, we also must ensure that viewers understand the value of broadcast television. To that end, we have developed a new resource to help stations explain the retransmission consent process to their viewers. This new consumer website - www.KeepMyTV.org - doesn't use the words "retransmission consent." (Viewers don't connect with that.) But it does talk about the great local news, weather, emergency information and entertaining shows they love on broadcast TV. The site also explains that pay TV providers must get permission from local stations to use their signal, but these companies – raking in billions in profits – would rather use local stations without compensating them, and that's just not fair to the stations or the viewers. The site gives viewers options – like making a one-time antenna purchase to get digital broadcast channels for free or switching to another pay TV provider – to ensure they never lose their great broadcast channels. The bottom line is, millions of Americans value their local broadcast channels, and viewers should know their options if pay TV providers won't play fair. We hope you will encourage your members to use this site to help viewers understand the importance of broadcast television and how they can keep it. For stations' convenience, banner ads are available for state association and member websites that link directly to www.KeepMyTV.org. Additionally, talking points, print ads, issue briefs and legal filings are available on this issue through the NAB member advocacy center. The retransmission consent process works, it's fair and it benefits viewers.

Rules is Rules and Fines is Fines

The FCC recently fined a station $8500 for not having an operational EAS system for almost two years, and for not having a main studio that was manned during normal business hours. NJBA pal David Oxenford, Esq. writes in his blog that “The EAS fine was evident, as the station did not dispute that it did not have an operational EAS system in place.  It did, however, challenge the conclusion that it should be fined for having a main studio that was not manned during normal business hours.  The licensee argued that the studio was not manned because of the precarious financial state of the station following the termination of an LMA. It said that, when faced with the choice of taking the station off the air because it could not afford to pay a staff to man the main studio or violating the staffing requirements, it decided to violate the rules.  The FCC said that the lack of financial resources was not an excuse for operating within the rules, and thus issued the fine (though reducing the cumulative amount of the fine based on the station's inability to pay more).The Commission did suggest that the station could have asked for a waiver of the main studio staffing requirements based on its financial distress (though it did not say if it would have granted such a request).  But making the choice to violate the FCC's rules without even trying to ask for permission was essentially asking for trouble.  The FCC's policies require that stations have main studios manned during normal business hours,  Two employees are supposed to be based out of that studio, using it as their principal place of business, and at least one of them must be physically present and available at the studio during the business day.  Observe those rules, or risk an FCC fine.”

Make Sure Your Station Signs Up For DIRS

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Media Bureau and Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) today encouraged radio and television broadcasters who have not yet voluntarily enrolled in the Commission’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) to do so. The FCC further encouraged radio and television broadcasters who are now enrolled in DIRS to update their contact information on a routine basis.  Broadcasters’ participation in DIRS is especially important during hurricane season.  The DIRS program provides the FCC with situational awareness about which licensed broadcast stations are operating during, and immediately following, a disaster or large-scale emergency; and it enables the Commission to act swiftly to help those broadcasters that are off-the-air restore operations and provide important emergency-related information and updates to the public. Broadcasters can access DIRS at: http://www.fcc.gov/DIRS to enroll in DIRS and to obtain a User ID. DIRS can also be accessed under e-filing on the Commission’s main webpage (www.fcc.gov) or on the PSHSB webpage (www.fcc.gov/pshs/). For questions about DIRS, contact: John Healy by email: John.Healy@fcc.gov, or phone: 202-418-2448. The Bureaus thank the over 800 broadcaster that have already signed up to participate in DIRS. 

New Federal Law Effects Radio “Gift Card” Promos

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act that takes effect Monday specifies that (Gift and credit card promotional) cards generally must stay “active” for five years. It severely restricts things like “inactivity fees” or “service fees” – common ways for the issuer to generate a few extra bucks. Tom Taylor reported that “stations that offer these kinds of cards on their websites are going to have make sure that starting August 22, their gift card and gift certificate offers comply with the new law.” The law doesn’t apply retroactively to discount cards already issued. But from now on, any card’s assumed to be valid for at least five years after the date it was purchased. Fees must be clearly disclosed up front. It’s worth checking, for any station that’s outsourcing its “half off” business to a third-party vendor. Former NJBA First Vice Chair Dick Taylor commented: “That's a change I don't think anyone at the radio station level saw coming!”  The biggest problem we used to have was a business that participated in such promotions might going OUT of business before a year from date of issue..If that period grows to five years, this could be a real headache in doing these types of offers.” 

State Police Warning: Steer Clear of Telemarketing Scam

The New Jersey State Police is asking businesses to be aware of fraudulent telemarketers that are claiming to raise funds on behalf of the State Police and other police organizations. The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information receives numerous reports from business owners that are targeted by the supposed fundraisers. The complaints are always the same: Fundraisers represent themselves as connected with the State Police. They won't take "No" for an answer. They provide out-of-state mailing addresses. In some cases, they ask to drive over and pick up checks immediately. These actions are red flags. Since the state police and their unions do not engage in telemarketing, these calls are likely scams. If you believe they may have received a call from a fraudulent entity, the state police requests that you gather information on the call - such as name, address and landline phone number. Then call the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs at 973-504-6200 to report the incident.

Radio Show and RAB Perfect Together

The 2010 Radio Show, produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), will be held September 29-October 1 in Washington, DC. This year's show brings radio broadcasters and industry colleagues together to share knowledge, discover the latest innovations, network with industry leaders and explore creative business strategies to help radio flourish in the digital age. To learn more about the 2010 Radio Show, visit www.radioshowweb.com. Don’t miss this opportunity to join other leaders in the radio industry for this exclusive event. NAB Marconi Radio Awards Dinner & Show will feature a live performance by Country Music Artist Jack Ingram, celebrated country music artist and BMI songwriter. The dinner and performance will take place on Thursday, September 30 at the Grand Hyatt Washington hotel. Established in 1989 and named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi, the NAB Marconi Radio Awards are given to radio stations and outstanding on-air personalities to recognize excellence in radio. Winners will be announced at the NAB Marconi Radio Awards Dinner & Show.

Political Catechism –Updated for 2010 Now Available

NAB members can download a complimentary copy of the 17th Edition of the NAB Political Broadcast Catechism and/or Political Broadcast Forms (PB Forms-16). The 17th edition of the Political Catechism has been updated for 2010 and is now available online. The Political Broadcast Catechism answers many of your questions and will help you find solutions to the most common political broadcasting questions during the election season.  Also available are Political Broadcast Forms (PB Forms-16), which were created by the NAB Legal team in collaboration with some of D.C.'s top communications counsel, and in consultation with FCC staff, to assist broadcast stations with their political candidate advertising campaigns.  To purchase a bound copy visit www.nabstore.com.

QuickNews will be on the road next week and will return on Friday, September (yes September) 3^rd.  Of course breaking NJBA news will be included in special editions.

QuickNews is provided for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal or tax advice pertaining to any specific factual situation. Legal and tax related decisions should be made only after proper consultation with a legal professional of your choosing.

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