Boston Globe: Give Radio Pirates Chance To Go Legit

In an editorial published Thursday, the Boston Globe states "The massive fines levied last month against two unlicensed Boston stations that served the Haitian immigrant community went too far."

As The Globe see its...shut down a pirate radio station, and you might be shutting down a community’s lifeline.

Editorial Highlights:

While there can be good cause for the federal government to close down radio stations that operate in the shadows — like their failure to transmit emergency broadcasts or disclose political ad donors — the massive fines levied last month against two unlicensed Boston stations that served the Haitian immigrant community went too far. Radio is still a vital service in many immigrant communities, and while policing the airwaves, the federal government also needs to work harder to help integrate immigrants into what can be a daunting licensing system.

One of the fines, $453,015 against Radio TeleBoston operator Gerlens Cesar, is the largest the agency has ever slapped on a pirate broadcaster — and it even made one of the FCC’s commissioners uneasy. The agency says Cesar broadcast without authorization on the 90.1 and 92.1 FM bands from a variety of locations in Greater Boston. Another broadcaster, Acerome Jean Charles, was fined $151,005 for illegally broadcasting Radio Concorde on 106.3 FM from Mattapan.

The FCC cracked down because pirate radio stations, beaming their signals out of basements or storefronts, may cause a variety of problems. Because they don’t participate in the Emergency Alert System, they arguably put their listeners in danger. And they don’t necessarily follow consumer protection rules against payola or disclosure in political advertising. Their signals can interfere with licensed broadcasters who are following the rules.

According to The Globe editorial many pirates operations act as the glue that holds some immigrant communities together, providing foreign-language news and connections to home countries. Finding a way for such stations to operate legally would be in keeping with the FCC’s mandate to supervise the airwaves in the public interest.

The editorial acknowledges FCC chairman Ajit Pai has suggested some options for unlicensed Haitian operators: broadcasters could shift to internet radio or apply for time on WBCA-LP, a low-power station owned by the City of Boston. Pai has also touted the FCC’s plan to auction off 130 vacant frequencies — though as it turns out, none of those frequencies are in Massachusetts.

The Globe concludes:

As the internet gobbles up traditional media, the persistence of pirate radio shows that there’s still a demand for over-the-air broadcasts, especially in urban immigrant communities. Congress and the FCC should accommodate that demand by finding a viable way for such communities to connect to each other and their culture without being outlaws.

TV Ratings: Bowl Games Pull Viewers For ESPN

With a feast of football, ESPN outpaced all of the broadcasters to be the most-watched network on television during holiday week, reports The Associated Press citing Nielsen data.

The showcase was ESPN’s college football championship semi-finals, which together averaged 19.3 million viewers and outpaced last year’s games by 6%, the Nielsen company said. Credit goes primarily to the Clemson-Ohio State pairing, which matched two undefeated teams in a pulsating game not decided until the final minute.

Those games, plus a Monday night NFL contest between Minnesota and Green Bay, helped ESPN beat NBC to be the most popular network.

Among the broadcast networks, NBC averaged 5.6 million viewers in prime time. CBS had 3.8 million, ABC had 3 million, Fox had 2.6 million, Univision had 1.31 million, ION Television reached 1.27 million, Telemundo had 760,000 and the CW had 590,000.

⏩ Broadcast Prime-Time (Total Viewers):

1. NFL Football: San Francisco at Seattle, NBC, 22.85 million.
2. College Football Championship Semifinal: Clemson vs. Ohio State, ESPN, 20.39 million.
3. “College Football Studio Show,” ESPN, 17.3 million.
4. College Football Championship Semifinal: Oklahoma vs. LSU, ESPN, 16.68 million.
5. “NFL Pregame Show,” NBC, 15.84 million.
6. NFL Football: Green Bay at Minnesota, ESPN, 13.97 million.
7. “Football Night in America, Part 3,” NBC, 10.47 million.
8. “The OT,” Fox, 9.91 million.
9. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.12 million.
10. NBA Basketball: L.A. Clippers at L.A. Lakers, ABC, 7 million.

11. “Monday Night Kickoff,” ESPN, 6.79 million.
12. “The Price is Right,” CBS, 5.89 million.
13. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 5.3 million.
14. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 4.78 million.
15. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 4.76 million.
16. “NCIS,” CBS, 4.69 million.
17. “Magnum P.I.,” CBS, 4.47 million.
18. “Football Night in America, Part 2,” NBC, 4.06 million.
19. “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 4 million.
20. “FBI,” CBS, 3.99 million.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” averaged 8.1 million to top the network evening newcasts. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 7.3 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5 million.

ESPN’s average of 6.31 million in prime time outpaced everyone. Fox News Channel was second among cable networks, with an average of 1.72 million, Hallmark’s slate of holiday shows reached 1.54 million, TBS had 1.03 million and TLC had 982,000.

Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity

Despite a number of controversies and criticism from the president, Fox News saw its biggest year ever in 2019, attracting the highest number of viewers in its 23-year history.

According to ratings from Nielsen, Fox hit an average of 2.5 million viewers per night in 2019, making it the top-rated basic cable network. Fox easily beat out third-place MSNBC, which attracted an average 1.75 million viewers.

The network also aired four of the top five most-watched shows on cable news in 2019, with its right-wing programs Hannity and Tucker Carlson Tonight each drawing an average of more than three million viewers.

Netflix Says Its Own Shows Were Most Popular

Netflix Inc. said its original shows and movies were watched more than any other content released on the streaming service in 2019, a sign of the company’s aggressive investment in its own content in anticipation of getting fewer programs from traditional Hollywood suppliers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the company said its most popular release this year in the U.S. was “Murder Mystery,” a comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, topping the third season of “Stranger Things.” The only program on the streaming service’s top 10 for this year that wasn’t originated by Netflix was “The Incredibles 2” from Walt Disney Co. ’s Pixar unit.

The rankings don’t include the most popular content on Netflix —only the most popular that debuted in 2019. Netflix didn’t disclose how much original and acquired programming the company released in 2019 and didn’t provide actual viewing numbers for its rankings.

A spokesman for Netflix said the information is “a fun way to celebrate the most popular shows and films on Netflix” released this year. The spokesman said its rankings are based on “at least two minutes of viewing.”

Netflix’s lack of complete transparency on its viewing patterns has been criticized by rival media companies. Netflix has said that since it doesn’t sell advertising, providing exact viewing numbers isn’t necessary.

Netflix’s aggressive investment spree in original content—estimated at $15 billion this year alone—comes as Walt Disney is no longer selling to Netflix. The company is focusing its efforts on its Disney+ streaming service that launched last month. Next year, Comcast Corp. ’s NBCUniversal and AT&T Inc. ’s WarnerMedia will unveil their Peacock and HBO Max streaming platforms and are also expected to sell less to Netflix.

San Diego Radio: Local Media Snags KFMB Stations At Bargain Price

Broadcast and digital media company Tegna Inc. has made a deal to sell Talk KFMB 760 AM and Adult Hits KFMB 100.7 FM to Local Media San Diego for reported a total of $5 million.

Tegna originally acquired the two radio stations as part of its purchase of KFMB-TV from Midwest Television in February 2018.

Local Media San Diego reportedly has 30 days to wind down its use of the heritage call letters and one year to end its use of the calls “in connection with the transition of relationships with radio media buying agencies and other accounts.”

Local Tegna radio employees learned in October that Tegna was in the process of spinning off its radio stations.

Since it took over in late 2017, Tegna did not seem inclined to dedicate resources to KFMB 760 AM.  The Nielsen ratings for July/August/September, show KFMB 760 AM is in 18th place while KOGO’s is in 6th place, among all listeners.

KFMB 760 AM (5 Kw-D, 50 Kw-DA-N)

KFMB 100.7 FM (30 Kw)

Tegna was created in 2015 when it was carved out of the Gannett media empire. The Gannett company then focused on print (USA Today and other major print dailies) while the new Tegna, Inc. was made up of Gannett’s broadcast properties. Tegna continues to expand by buying up TV/radio groups. It now controls 62 TV stations in 51 markets including Houston, Dallas, Seattle, and Atlanta.

Interested  investors looking to buy KFMB 760 AM and 100.7 KFMB-FM were told to submit their offers to Tegna, which did not set minimum bidding guidelines, but insiders originally thought the value of the two KFMB radio stations would be in the $8-to-$10-million range.

IL Radio: Starved Rock Media Closes On WLPO, WAJK, WLWF

John Spencer, Stared Rock Media and
Joyce McCullough, LaSalle County Broadcasting

La Salle County Broadcasting received authorization Tuesday morning from the Federal Communications Commission to transfer broadcast licenses for radio stations Classic Hits WLPO 1220 AM / 103.9 FM, AC WAJK 99.3 FM and Country WLWF 96.5 FM to Starved Rock Media Inc.

The News-Tribune reports John Spencer, president and owner of Starved Rock Media Inc., is starting his 28th year at the radio stations and will now be general manage of the stations. Spencer joined the staff as morning show host on WAJK and as production coordinator for La Salle County Broadcasting.

“This wouldn’t have happened without Cathy Miller and Joyce McCullough’s commitment to keeping these stations local,” Spencer said of the sale. “And the stations are a legacy to longtime chief engineer Steve Vogler, who passed away Oct. 1.”

La Salle County Broadcasting celebrated the 70th anniversary of WLPO-AM two years ago. The local radio stations have evolved through the years, but listeners should not expect many major changes.

“I’ve been involved in the day-to-day operations for a number of years, and obviously changes will happen; they’re inevitable. But we have no desire or intent to make any significant changes immediate at three successful radio stations,” Spencer said.

“There have been subtle tweaks to WAJK since I’ve been here, but WAJK has pretty much stayed in its lane, providing top-40 music for adults,” Spencer said.

WLPO has gone from a full-service AM with everything from farm markets, recipes and the clearinghouse, which was a radio-driven garage sale or trading post, to conservative syndicated talk and live local talk in the early 2000s. Today, it features a combination of news, talk and classic rock including a popular morning program.

IN Radio: Bob & Tom Have New Outlet In Evansville

The BOB & TOM Show announces that the award-winning morning radio show will move to a new radio home in 2020: Evansville, IN, Classic Hits WJPS 107.1 FM.

Host Tom Griswold and his ensemble cast of radio’s funniest talents bring their successful weekday morning show to WJPS-FM listeners on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, kicking off a momentous New Year entertaining Evansville morning radio listeners with their hilarious blend of comedy, talk, news and sports. The BOB & TOM Show, which moves from WGBF-FM after a successful and unprecedented 24-year run, will air on Classic Hits 107.1 WJPS Monday through Friday from 6am-10am ET.

Tom Griswold, Host, The BOB & TOM Show, said: “The great thing about being on 107.1 WJPS is that the music, classic hits, and The BOB & TOM Show are a perfect match. We’re thrilled to be on Classic Hits 107.1.”

Mark Lange, Owner, WJPS-FM, said: The Original Company has successfully carried The Bob & Tom Show for decades on some of our other stations. The addition of the program on Classic Hits 107.1 WJPS is a great way to reach even more adult listeners in Evansville."

Sean Dulaney, Operations, WJPS-FM, said: "We're very excited to have the Bob & Tom crew as part of the WJPS line-up in 2020. I think a lot of people rediscovered 107.1 when we became the flagship station for University of Evansville Men's Basketball, but adding The BOB & TOM Show is really going to get people tuning into mornings and will boost things like Dave Westrich's afternoon show and our weekend programming."

The BOB & TOM Show is a hilarious blend of comedy, talk, news, and sports, and is America’s leading media outlet for the best and developing comedians on the circuit. Inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, The BOB & TOM Show airs live weekday mornings on more than 100 stations across the U.S. and on the American Forces Network worldwide.

The BOB & TOM Show is exclusively distributed by Westwood One.

Ad Spending: The Haves And Have Nots

Internet media this year accounted for half—49.6 percent—of U.S. ad spending, according to the December 2019 forecast from Publicis Groupe’s Zenith. The remaining half of spending was divvied up among TV and a shrinking pool of other media, reports Ad Age.

Ten years ago, the internet accounted for just 15 percent of ad spending, far less than what was spent on TV and newspapers.

TV is still very much in the game, though its share of the pie has fallen to 27.7 percent from 35 percent 10 years ago.

Out-of-home ad spending has held its own, capturing below 5 percent of spending in both 2019 and 2009.

Print media is a different story. Newspapers and magazines together accounted for more than one-third (34 percent) of U.S. ad spending in 2009 (and 50 percent back in the print-centric days of the early 1990s). This year, newspapers and magazines will get just 11 percent of the pie. That slice is only going to get smaller in the next few years.

NYTimes Whines About 2019 The Darkest Yet For Journalists

The New York Times claimed that 2019 forebodes “ominous signs” for journalists because of President Donald Trump, in an article, according to The Daily Caller.

The Times’ article wrote that Trump has used his “fake news” term 273 times in 2019, noting that this number is 50% more than 2018. This was one of multiple reasons why 2019 was allegedly “the darkest yet for journalists in the Trump era.”.

“Mr. Trump’s vilification of the news media is a hallmark of his tenure and a jagged break from the norms of his predecessors: Once a global champion of the free press, the presidency has become an inspiration to autocrats and dictators who ape Mr. Trump’s cry of ‘fake news,'” according to the article.

(Reuters photo)

The Daily Caller notes there are zero journalists imprisoned in America, according to 2019 data from the Committee to Protect Journalists. This information was not included in the NYT write-up about the Trump administration causing “the darkest” year yet for American journalists.

Comparatively, there are 10 imprisoned journalists in Russia and 11 in Nigeria, Oman, and North Korea, among other countries. In total, 250 journalists are reported to be in prison around the world in 2019, according to the data.

The amount of journalists imprisoned in other countries as well as the total number in prison in 2019 was also not included in the Times’ write-up about attacks on the press in America.

“Mr. Trump has long oscillated between taunting, cajoling, criticizing, and manipulating the journalists who cover him,” according to the article. “Domestically, journalists in Washington say Mr. Trump’s behavior this year has only deepened their unease.”

Included in the round-up of reasons why the Trump administration has allegedly caused this unease among the press was a controversial October video. Streamed at a retreat for Trump supporters in October, it showed the president killing members of the press, news outlets and some politicians.

The video was “disavowed by the White House,” the article noted. It did not mention that the White House was not responsible and reportedly had no knowledge of the video’s existence before it was shown. The video was a spoof of a fight scene from the movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service.”

Streaming Surged During Past Decade

Streaming rose from 7% of the U.S. music market in 2010 to a whopping 80% in 2019, according to an eye-popping number from the RIAA, one of several statistics the organization tweeted Monday from what is apparently a forthcoming decade-end report, reports Variety.

The statistics also showed that paid streaming subscriptions rocketed from 1.5 million to some 611 million by the middle of 2019, and vinyl sales soared from just over $50 million in revenue in 2010 to just under $450 million in the same period — in other words, they were nine times greater.

Separately, the RIAA showed that Adele, Taylor Swift and Drake dominated the decade’s top 10 albums chart, accounting for some 8 of the top 10 titles of the 2010s.

The rise of streaming was thrown into stark relief by the statistics, which showed that in 2010, physical still accounted for 52% of the U.S. market composition, while digital downloads accounted for 38%, streaming for 7% and synch for 3% — by mid-2019, streaming had dwarfed every other category, with physical and downloads dropping to 9% and synch holding at 3%.

Similarly, the growth in paid subscriptions to streaming services rocketed from 1.5 million in 2010 to 611 million by mid-2019, crossing the 10 million mark in 2015 and rapidly gaining momentum, rising to 22.7 million in 2016 and more than doubling that figure by 2018, to 50.2 million. The two leading music-streaming services, Spotify and Apple Music, launched in the U.S. in 2011 and 2014, respectively.

Judge Orders Media Personality Alex Jones to Pay-Up $100K

Conspiracy promoter and media personality Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $100,000 in court costs and legal fees stemming from a lawsuit over his claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre of school children was a hoax, reports Reuters citing court records.

Jones, founder of the Infowars radio show and webcast, has claimed the mainstream media and gun-control proponents conspired to fabricate the tragedy in which 20 school children and six school staff were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, on Dec. 14, 2012.

In response, several parents of the slain 6- and 7-year-old children sued Jones and Infowars for defamation and emotional distress in Texas, where Infowars is based, and in Connecticut.

In Texas, Travis County District Court Judge Scott Jenkins on Dec. 20 ordered Jones and Infowars to pay more than $100,000 in a case brought by Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was killed at the school. The Daily Beast first reported the rulings on Monday.

The judge’s filings ordered Jones to pay more than $100,000 for failing to provide discovery, or evidence owed to the opposing side, and for filing a frivolous request to dismiss the case. In October, the same judge ordered Jones to pay another $25,875 for failing to respond to a previous discovery order.

Alex Trebek Talks Candidly During ABC Special

Michael Strahan and Alex Trebek (ABC Photo)

Alex Trebek is getting candid about another side effect in his ongoing battle with cancer: depression.

The L-A Times reports the “Jeopardy!” host and his wife, Jean, sat down for an interview with “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan that will air Thursday evening (8pm EST). Trebek opened up about his cancer diagnosis and how it has affected his mental health.

“My oncologist told me one of the symptoms, if you will, of pancreatic cancer is that you get these moments of depression, sadness,” Trebek, 79, said in a preview post released Monday.

The longtime quiz-show host first announced his Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in a YouTube video in March, vowing to "beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”

He has since talked openly about his treatment journey and the trials and limitations of the illness, even expressing some regret over having gone public with his diagnosis.


Trebek knew something was wrong when his stomach pains grew severe, so he sought his doctor.

“I knew as soon as the doctor came back and mentioned the pancreas. I said, ‘Uh-oh, it’s going to be cancer,” Trebek said in the upcoming ABC interview.

Jean, his wife of 29 years, was the first to know about his cancer. She told ABC that it’s been hard to see her husband “in pain and I can’t help him.”

The “Jeopardy!” host acknowledged that he might not live much longer.

“I have learned something in the past year, and it’s this: We don’t know when we’re going to die,” he said. “Because of the cancer diagnosis, it’s no longer an open-ended life, it’s a closed-ended life because of the terrible... survival rates of pancreatic cancer.

ABC’s special “What Is Jeopardy? Alex Trebek and America’s Most Popular Quiz Show” will air Thursday at 8 p.m. Pacific.