The Dynamics of Mass Communication

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The Dynamics ofMass Communication
Seventh Edition

• Joseph R. Dominick

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Part 3 Electronic Media
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Chapter 7 Radio
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Radio History Early Radio Milestones

• 1887 Heinrich Hertz sends, detects radio
  waves
  
• 1896 Guglielmo Marconi sends wireless signal
  in Morse Code, sees promise of "wireless as a
  naval communication medium
  
• 1906 Reginald Fessenden makes first device
  that can broadcast human voice and music
  
• 1908 Lee de Forest invents vacuum tube which
  makes it much easier to receive audio waves
  
• WW I Inventor patent wars hamper radio
  development U.S. Navy takes over and log jam
  is broken

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Evolution of Radio as a Mass Medium

• Big Business
• Radios profit potential attracts big
  corporations GE, ATT, and Westinghouse are
  early investors.
  
• Mass Audience
• In 1920, station KDKA, Pittsburgh, becomes the
  first to prove radio can profit by targeting
  programming to general audiences.
  
• Better Receivers
• Technical and cosmetic changes help turn radio
  into a must have household appliance 17
  million sets sell by 1930.

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Evolution of Radio (Cont)

• Radio Goes Commercial
• ATTs air time for sale idea quickly
  demonstrates advertising can be radios chief
  revenue source.
  
• Networks
• NBC starts two networks in 1926 CBS follows with
  one in 1927. By 1937, NBC has 111 affiliates, CBS
  105.
  
• Government Regulation
• Unregulated airwaves prompt Congress to order
  chaotic radio practices with the Radio Act of
  1927.

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Evolution of Radio (Cont)

• The Depression 1930-1940
• Industry avoids bad times, thrives by becoming an
  inexpensive escapist outlet for national
  audiences. Roosevelt creates FCC in 1934 to
  regulate entire electromagnetic spectrum.
  Seven-member board governs national resource.
• Birth of FM
• Invented mid 1930s, FM is curtailed by WW II,
  later by TV.
  
• Radio Programs
• Programming expands to drama, soap operas,
  comedy, news, and westerns. Roosevelt becomes
  first radio President.

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Evolution of Radio (Cont)

• World War II
• Network news thrives as public follows war
  developments with name correspondents.
  
• Ad revenues double during war years.
• Supreme Court orders NBC to sell one of its two
  networks. ABC is formed from that court order.

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Innovation and Change 1945-1954

• In the nine years following WW II, the publics
  attention focuses on TV as the nations new
  entertainment medium.
  
• Radio switches from dramatic programming to
  airing pre-recorded music, finds new markets and
  thrives.
  
• FMs development is further delayed by corporate
  and public preoccupation with the new TV medium.

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FM RADIO (frequency modulated radio)

• FM and TV share nearly same wavelength areas on
  the electromagnetic wave band in 1945, FCC
  gives TV the FM bands and bumps FM into the
  88-108-MHz band where it remains today.
• Though FM was technically better than AM (FM
  sounded better and was less affected by static),
  FM radio stayed in the shadows until the 1970s,
  partly due to WW II, a preoccupation with TV, and
  regulatory hurdles.

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Televisions Influence on Radio

• TVs entertainment advantage forces radio to
  create new program formats. Talk, music, news
  and sports, and religious shows debut as a
  result.
• Though station revenues remain intact, network
  affiliations are cut in half due to a lack of
  demand.
  
• Profits rise as stations turn to local businesses
  to provide primary advertising revenues.
  

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Specialized Formats

• Among the new program formats, pre-recorded music
  quickly becomes a favorite offering. Some
  stations begin specializing in certain music
  formats, none of which is more popular than the
  Top 40 genre.
• DJs become new radio personalities themselves as
  they intertwine personal talk and top 40 record
  hits.
  
• The clock hour, a scheduling tool that specifies
  every element of programming within a given time
  frame, emerges.

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Growth and Stabilization 1955-1990

• Stations double in number.
• Profit potential of Top 40 format leads some
  record companies to bribe DJs with payola
  schemes.
  
• Format specialization continues, increases.
• FM emerges as viable medium.
• In 1965 FCC passes its nonduplication rule. No
  more than 50 of content can be duplicated on
  AM/FM sister stations FM stations become
  attractive investments.

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Growth and Stabilization 1955-1990 (Cont)

• Country music becomes favorite FM format,
  followed by adult contemporary
  
• AM is home to talk, news, oldies, and religious
  formats.
  
• National Public Radio (NPR) debuts in 1970 as the
  first non-commercial network it boasts 160
  affiliates by 1980.
  
• By 1970, FM controls 70 of the entire radio
  audience.
  

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The Volatile 1990s

• Congress passes Telecommunication Act of 1966.
  It allows unlimited station ownership, but limits
  the number of stations that can be owned within
  same market to eight.
• As a result, an era of unprecedented station
  mergers and acquisitions begins. Radio
  conglomerates flourish.
  
• Original FCC philosophy of localism, which
  mandated that stations should serve local
  interest, now replaced with a corporate view the
  public interest is served by offering content
  that interests the public.

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RADIO IN THE DIGITAL AGE

• IBOC (in band, on channel) technology now
  allows simultaneous transmission of analog and
  digital signals digital radio debuts in 2001.
  
• Satellite radio Aimed at expanding the
  commuter market, direct-satellite-to-car
  technology offers 100 commercial free program
  formats for 10 monthly fees.
• Internet radio With commercial free, highly
  specialized formats, over 300 Internet-only
  stations now offer their brand of programming
  plus Internet service options such as chat,
  e-commerce, and content-related web links.

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DEFINING FEATURES OF RADIO

• Radio is . . .
• portable small, convenient to carry
• supplemental listening often a secondary
  focus
  
• universal most people have one, tune in
  daily
  
• selective niche medium of specialized
  audiences

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ORGANIZATION OF THERADIO INDUSTRY

• There are about 12,500 radio stations in the
  U.S., most of which use local programming plus
  network and/or syndicated shows.
  
• While reliance on network programming is
  declining, the new demand is for syndicated shows
  featuring hosts such as Russ Limbaugh, Dr. Laura
  Schlessinger, and Don Imus, plus a variety of
  other specialized content.

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AM Station Classifications

• While AM signals travel further, FMs signals
  offer superior sound quality and are less
  affected by interference.
  
• AM has three station classifications
• clear channel
• regional
• local

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FM Station Classifications

• FM has three station classifications, also
  largely based on a descending order of output
  power.
  
• A 100,000-watt C station, for example, will
  have more power than a B or A station.

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Station Formats

• Stations are best categorized by format, a type
  of consistent programming designed to appeal to a
  specific audience which, in turn, attracts
  advertisers trying to connect with that audience
  type. There are three basic categories
• music
• black or ethnic
• news / talk

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Format Homogenization

• Many stations across the nation sound essentially
  the same for good reasons
  
• 1. Owners believe that what works well in one
  city should work well in another.
  
• 2. Satellite program transmissions are
  standardizing content.
  
• 3. Program choices are increasingly influenced by
  a limited band of radio consultants and audience
  research firms.

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Noncommercial Radio

• Some 1,900 noncommercial stations are owned by
  non-profit organizations, with most programming
  supplied by two networks
  
• National Public Radio (with 530 affiliates)
  stations pay NPR a usage fee based on audience
  size and budget. Most stations also receive
  funding from the CPB, or Corporation for Public
  Broadcasting, an agency funded by Congress.
• Public Radio International Distributes
  programming from station-based, independent and
  international producers.

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OWNERSHIP IN THE RADIO INDUSTRY

• The Telecommunications Act of 1996 encouraged a
  strong trend toward radio station consolidation
  and group ownership. As a result, several radio
  station conglomerates now dominate U.S. markets,
  the largest of which owns some 904 stations.

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PRODUCING RADIO PROGRAMS
Most stations are divided into four departments
. sales . news . programming . engineeri
ng Most stations also employ two top positions
. general manager . program director
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Putting Together a Program
Music Format Uses a format wheel divided into
program element segments and the times theyre
scheduled to air. Talk Format Staff produced,
topics are geared to local interests. These
shows require more equipment, staff and technical
expertise than DJ-based programs.
All-News Format The most costly of all format
s, news shows schedule specific spots for news,
weather, sports, business reports, and
commercials. Their repeat story cycle usually
starts at the top or bottom of the hour.
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RADIO ECONOMICS
At 20 billion annually, radio advertising holds
8 percent of the advertising market. From
1993-2000, the industry enjoyed 93 consecutive
months of revenue increases.

• Revenue comes from three main sources
• national advertising (5 percent)
• regional or national spot advertising (16
  percent)
  
• local advertising (79 percent)

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GENERAL EXPENSES

• A radio station generally incurs five types of
  expenses
  
• technical
• programming
• selling
• administration
• news

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FEEDBACK

• Audience figures for radio stations are monitored
  by Arbitron, which surveys 3,000 to 4,000
  randomly selected listeners in some 262 markets
  nationwide. The results (usually only 40 to 50
  percent of the surveys sent out), take two
  forms
• ratings ratio of station listeners to all
  people in the market
  
• shares ratio of station listeners relative to
  the total number of people in the market share
  actually listening to radio at the same time

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Examples of ratings / shares
Ratings  Example 100,000 people in the mark
et with 20,000 listening to station WXYZ
ratings 20,000/100,000 or a 20 rating
Shares Example 80,000 people are listening
to radio with 20,000 tuned in to WXYZ
share 20,000/80,000 or a 25 share
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Radio Audience Profiles
. 550 million radios in U.S. (over two per
person) 1/3 are in cars . on a typical day, 3/4
of all adults will listen to some radio
. average person has the radio on for about
three hours daily . most listen to radio during
the twice daily rush-hour drive times
. FM listenership rising (72), biggest increase
from teenagers . as people age, they tend to evo
lve from one format to another
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End of Chapter 7Radio