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The author is president of StreamS/Modulation Index LLC. Greg Ogonowski There are many more technical details to optimizing broadcast and netcast audio than simply installing an audio processor. What comes before and after the audio processor can have a huge effect on audio processing results. First, let’s understand what audio processing is. With many new technical staff, there is little to no real understanding of this, since many with IT backgrounds, now responsible for broadcast/netcast operations, lack technical media experience. Outsourcing to third parties has become another problem. This is known as the big “digital divide.” With more and more audience migrating to streaming from traditional radio, it is more important than ever to audio process streams correctly. Much of what is available now still sounds like the amateur hour, because the proper engineering has not been applied. The primary goal of audio processing is to solve the biggest age-old listener complaints of volume and tonal variations, improving your listener experience.  The secondary goal may be to give your sound a “sonic signature” so you sound better than your competition, in hopes that this keeps your listeners coming back for more.  The tertiary goal is to prevent transmitters and encoders from over-modulating or being over-driven causing clipping distortion. Before and after Some claim audio processing is unnecessary, especially in a digital world. This couldn’t be further from the truth.  The same level and tonal variations are still present in digital media delivery. Broadcast/netcasting is not a content delivery audio link or studio-to-transmitter function. It is a “last-mile” delivery function to provide entertainment-grade audio.  You are providing a program for listener consumption that should be frictionless to consume, the same way movies are shot, corrected and produced before release for viewing. Delivering unprocessed audio to your audience is exactly what they don’t want. Although this might be tempting in theory for audio purists, be careful what you wish for here. Before we continue, a few important things must be noted.  Like analog audio equipment implementations, digital solutions suffer from the good, the bad and the ugly. Just because something is digital doesn’t necessarily mean it is right or better. Digital audio solutions are only as good as the arithmetic behind them, and suffice it to say, many software developers did not pay attention in math class. Not all digital is the same! The slimming down of broadcast facilities and staff reductions… [TheTopNews] Read More.

The Texas Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2026 The voting members of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame have selected 20 radio professionals for its Class of 2026. Jack Sellmeyer, renowned by so many for his work as a broadcast engineer and consultant, is among the names that will be inducted posthumously in the TRHOF’s “Lone Star Legacies” program. On Nov. 7, the 20 names below will be honored at the TRHOF’s annual induction ceremony at the Texas Broadcast Museum in Kilgore. Doug Abernethy: A 35-year broadcasting executive, Abernethy serves as regional vice president for Urban One/Radio One, overseeing its Dallas and Houston operations. Brenda Adriance-Fox: A veteran executive who served as general manager of KHKS(FM) in Dallas during its launch and later as president of Yea Networks, she now operates stations across the Texas Hill Country as VP of Munbilla Broadcasting Corporation. “Lisa Lisa” Bonanni: A San Antonio radio veteran, she got her start as a high school student answering request lines at KTSA(AM)/KTFM(FM) before spending years on-air in the market. Bruce Buchanan: A host with a five-decade career using air names Jim Edwards and Bruce James, he held on-air and management roles across Texas, serving as operations manager at KVIL(FM) in Dallas during the late 1970s and 1980s. Jay Creswell: A longtime Dallas radio programmer, Creswell spent over 27 years in leadership at KLUV(FM). Dave E. Crockett: Crockett served as the original morning show host at KKBQ(FM) in Houston, helping launch the station into one of the nation’s top-billing country stations. Diane Day: An East Texas air personality celebrating her 40th year at KYKX(FM) in Longview, Day currently hosts middays on KYKX(FM) and afternoons on KKUS(FM)/K279AJ(FM). Anna De Haro: De Haro has spent several decades on North Texas airwaves, including serving as regional community affairs director for iHeartMedia Dallas. Paris Eley: A U.S. Army veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star, Eley began his Houston broadcast career in 1970 at KCOH(AM), where he served as program director at Texas’ first Black music formatted radio station. Jimmy “JD” Gonzalez: A broadcast executive with over 40 years in radio, Gonzalez started his career at age 16 in Corpus Christi before rising to senior executive programming roles overseeing Spanish-language stations nationwide. Jojo & Patches: The long-running morning duo of JoJo Cerda and the late James “Patches” Paczkowski hosted the top-rated morning show on KTEX(FM) in the Rio Grande Valley… [TheTopNews] Read More.

Cumulus Media announced downbeat financial results for its latest quarter and half-year as it continues to wait for FCC approval of steps needed to emerge from bankruptcy. For the quarter, net revenue fell 9.7% compared to a year earlier to $167.9 million. The company posted a net loss of $9.2 million. For the half-year it reported net revenue of $332.4 million, down 11%, and a net loss of $26.1 million. President/CEO Mary Berner said in a brief statement, “With our plan of reorganization confirmed by the court and the FCC approval process well underway, we are positioned to emerge from Chapter 11 with a stronger balance sheet to capitalize on future market opportunities.” Breaking down the numbers, Cumulus broadcast revenue for the quarter fell 13.2% to $102.8 million, with a particularly weak showing for network revenue down 21.5%. Digital revenue, often a bright spot for radio companies these days even as OTA revenue declines, was essentially flat for the quarter at $38.7 million. The company has made headlines with apparently wide-ranging cuts of jobs in recent weeks. In its Chapter 11 proceeding Cumulus is seeking to eliminate $600 million in debt. It said this would eliminate substantially all of its remaining debt burden and significantly strengthen its financial position. It filed a “prepackaged” debt-for-equity restructuring in April, and the bankruptcy court quickly signed off on it. The FCC has a say because it must approve station license transfers in such cases. The post Revenue Declines 9.7% at Cumulus in Q2 appeared first on Radio World. [TheTopNews] Read More.

A screenshot of the Ask Prairie Public chat assistant. We are always looking for cool uses of the latest advancements — technology for good, one might say. And in North Dakota, we found a use of a chatbot that fits that bill. This past April, Prairie Public Broadcasting deployed “Ask Prairie Public” on its website. It’s a homegrown piece of North Dakota tech. A Fargo-based firm, Chipp, developed the AI-based assistant. Troy Davis, Prairie Public’s director of development, said the chatbot went through multiple rounds of testing and iterations to get it to where it is now. “We’re still learning and tweaking it as people ask more questions,” he said. Prairie Public Radio is heard throughout North Dakota on 11 full-power signals across the state, along with five FM translators. It offers three main programming channels: classical music with National Public Radio programming, “roots, rock and jazz” and flagship station KDSU’s feed. The Prairie Public Radio network, from its website. It also blankets North Dakota as the state’s PBS television affiliate, Prairie Public Television. The network had a specific use case in mind for the assistant. It offers a membership program called Passport, which gives extended access to PBS content to members who give $5 a month. “What I realized was that our inboxes and voicemails would fill up on nights and weekends when people were sitting down and wanted to watch their favorite PBS program,” Davis said. Troy Davis Davis or another Prairie Public staff member would call back the member the next morning, or on Monday if a call came in over the weekend. “But by then, it wasn’t usually a convenient time for them to sit down and work through the problem,” he explained. Prairie Public desired a tool that could answer member questions when they needed help, especially outside of business hours. The beauty, Davis explained, is that while the chatbot is automated, a Prairie Public staff member can take over in real time. “When a new conversation starts, we get an email notification, and sometimes I’ll follow along just to see how it responds,” he said. Davis has stepped in on occasion when questions are so specific that they warrant human intervention. Most of the time, however, Prairie Public has found the bot to be quite useful. In fact, a friend of mine referred me to Ask Prairie Public in the first place, after it… [TheTopNews] Read More.

Wheatstone has introduced a 12-channel version of its AML analog console, a sibling to the current eight-channel version. It adds two mic channels and two line channels. “Like the AML 8, the AML 12 includes USB for today’s feeds and has Wheatstone exclusive features such as Super Quiet mic preamps to bring out the best in vocals,” the company said. The USB has a dedicated fader with D/A converter. Both versions come with an external power supply built by Wheatstone to protect critical components. Features also include built-in headphone amp with split cue; logic for mics, lines and on-air tallies; and 100 mm throw faders with separate on/off buttons. It said the retail price is under $3,500. Info: https://wheatstone.com/product/aml/ The post Wheatstone Adds Audioarts AML 12 appeared first on Radio World. [TheTopNews] Read More.