LIFE AFTER HOWARD: CBS/Infinity's strategy to replace the head Shockmeister Howard Stern has been widely trumpeted in the past couple of weeks, and may be the best indication of the scope of influence Howard has wielded over Radio. In what cannot be an inexpensive package, ex-Van Halen rocker David Lee Roth has been inked to do Mornings on several East Coast outlets, including Howard's NYC flagship, WXRK/92.3.
That stick, along with a number of other Infinity signals nationwide, have been rechristened as "Free-FM", emphasizing Talk heavily laden with "Politics, Sports and Lifestyle", according to Company honchos. (Sidenote: the move leaves NYC with all of ONE actual Rock station: Classic Rock WAXQ/104.3) KLSX/97.1 in L.A., and KPLN (now KSCF)/103.7 in San Diego are being driven down the "free" road, replete with Adam Carolla doing Mornings, as of January (Howard's final live-Infinity show is slated for December 16). Carolla will also be heard in San Francisco, not on Howard's Bay-home of KITS/105.3 (which picks up Tony, Woody and Raven, ex-Afternoons at Chicago's WKQX/101.1, as its new AM Drive show), but on Infinity's newly-acquired KIFR/("Free-FM") 106.9, as well as on sisters KUFO/101.1 Portland, KXTE/107.5 Las Vegas and KZON/101.5 Phoenix. (Sidenote: Infinity & Family Radio have consecrated their SF trade: KIFR is in reality the old Family KEAR; at AM 610, KEAR Family Radio has conquered the former KFRC signal, thus converting one of the Nation's most popular old Top 40 rockers to moneymakin' manmade organized religion. In Vegas, KXTE kicked Howard into oblivion earlier this month.) - In the Heartland, this guy named Rover goes from insularly doing Mornings only at Cleveland's WXTM/92.3, to the syndication spread, including Detroit's WKRK/97.1, Memphis' WMFS/92.9, Cincinnati's WAQZ/97.3 and WZNE/94.1 in Rochester, along with troubled WCKG/105.9 in Chicago. (He has direct in-house competition in Cleveland, for his troubles...see below. Bound not to help in Chicago is the appointment of lowlife Drew "Screw" Hayes as Vice President of Programming, now in charge of 'CKG...see below for more.) In what could be an experiment of sorts, WYSP/94.1 Philadelphia also takes the "Free FM" moniker, but mixes its heritage-Rock music format with snippets of neo-Talk, after Roth's daily effort. - Those of us who saw Howard's film "Private Parts" will recall his days at WCCC/1290 & 106.9 Hartford. Howard's been back on 'CCC for Mornings for the past ten years; in January oldtime Morning guy Sebastian returns to the Connecticut rocker, resuming duties performed from '88 to '95...a notable number of Stern affiliates are also taking Local solutions to Mornings, as opposed to Inifinity's corporate prescriptions.
IN CHICAGO: Celebrations in the halls of Infinity all-Newser WBBM/780, as News & Sports Anchor Ron Gleason is kicked upstairs as Program Director, thus eliminating the aforementioned-Hayes virus from that part of the operation. Decontamination of surviving personnel is almost complete.
THE FINAL LINEUP: For Now, at Infinity, as follows. Among the next-ex-Howard outlets: Boston's WBCN/104.1 keeps its Rock format with Roth in the Mornings, same formula for WKRZ/93.7 Pittsburgh, WNCX/98.5 Cleveland (ref. Rover, above) and WPBZ/103.1 West Palm Beach. NYC's WXRK/92.3 goes "Free", with Roth & Talk, including the new Network one-hour daily show featuring magic-debunker Penn Jillett (also heard on SF's KIFR). Philly's WYSP/94.1 goes "Free", but keeps Rock as an integral element (see above). KLLI/105.3 Dallas goes "Free" with Talk and Roth; sister Urban KXBT/104.3 Austin picks up Premiere's Star & Buc Wild (from NYC's WWPR/105.1) for Mornings, and Sacramento's "K-Howard" becomes "Jack" (tm), KQJK/93.7. Confused? Move over, you have plenty of company!
DEAL'S ON THE TABLE: Atlanta-based Cumulus Broadcasting is teaming up with Bain Capital, the Blackstone Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners, to come up with $1.2 Billion for purchase of Susquehanna Broadcasting's Radio group, the 12th largest station group in America. The deal forms around Cumulus holding a 25% interest in the new conglomeration (Cumulus Media Partners), and throwing in four of its previously-owned properties, to sweeten the pot: Rocker KIOL/103.7 and Talker KFNC/97.5 in Houston-Beaumont, and Top 40 KCHZ/95.7 and Urban KMJK/107.3 in Kansas City. As mentioned last month, Cumulus' previous holdings (excepting Houston & KC) have been found in small and medium markets; Susquehanna brings markets such as San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Indianapolis (along with KRBE/104.1 Houston, and stations in York, PA) to the table. Seems the C-people are prepping to spin one group or the other off to a future suitor. Will Cumulus wind up as a Big-Market force, or resort to dwelling in small and medium burgs? Perhaps the Economy, over the next couple of years, will dictate the move...step up & place your bets!
ONE TO TALK: Radio One, that is. The Washington-based African-American owned station group is launching an Urban-oriented Talk network, featuring the likes of Rev. Al Sharpton, who will host daily from 1-4PM ET. Also slated for Afternoon Drive are "Two Live Stews" (Ryan & Doug Stewart), currently originating their Sports-themed show at Jefferson-Pilot's WQXI/790 Atlanta. Radio One's flagship WOL/1450 in D.C. will hub the new Net, feeding sister outlets WOLB/1010 Baltimore and WILD/1090 Boston, among others. WILD's longtime Soul format migrates to the new WILD-FM/97.7 in Beantown; the 1090 signal is one of the Nation's few Daytime-only sticks to regularly show in the Arbitron ratings.
ALL THIS: As the Radio Advertising Bureau reports an increase in Radio-revenues in September, over last year. National numbers are up 4%; those affecting Local markets average a 1% increase. So-called "non-traditional revenue" figures (such as those from web-merchandise sales) also have risen by 4% nationwide.
DOING THE NUMBERS: Touring the West with an Arbitron Summer Book: KFYI/550 tops the poll in Phoenix, with their Clear Channel-fed Talk format, heavily anchored by the great Joe Crummey in Afternoons. This slaps the face of longtime market leader KTAR/620, which has floundered about under Bonneville ownership. Worth mentioning too, that AirAmerica is up to measurable numbers on KXXT/1010 Phoenix, which hadn't placed in the Ratings in twenty-plus years, prior to AA. - In Los Angeles, Emmis' (old KTAR owners, ironically) has had its fears realized, and its KPWR/105.9 rear end whupped by Reggaeton-flavored KXOL-FM/"Latino" 96.3. We told you earlier about Emmis kicking 96.3 off their owned-tower on Flint Peak, due to its adoption of a "competitive" format, ostensibly going up against the "Power 106" hip-hop machine. No doubt a sense of Poetic Justice wafts now over Latino's West L.A. studios. - Up we go to Portland, where the two Clear Channel talk outlets are tied: longtime market-topper KEX/1190 with a traditional Talk-mix, and KPOJ/620, with its hopeless, hapless, unlistenable (as described by Conservatives) Air America. (620's audience has grown by somewhere around 600% since bringing AA on board.) Rose City's KXL/750 has carved out a comfortable niche, with CBS News and the likes of Lars Larson in its lineup. - On up to Seattle, where News-rivals, Entercom's veteran KIRO/710 and Fisher's upstarter KOMO/1000 are tied in a dead heat for #3 (behind KMPS/94.1's Country, and Top 40 KUBE/93.3); also Seattle's "Jack" (tm) KJAQ/96.5 has more than doubled the figures for the Infinity outlet since Fall; down the hallway sister AirAmerica horn KPTK/1090 has neatly doubled its numbers, as well.
WHO'S LEADING OUR LEADERS?: Last month we mentioned the Bush Administration's propensity toward packaging and distributing"Video Press Releases" as legitimate news stories. Robert Sudock of KTTV/Fox-11 graciously forwarded the FCC's own take on the practice, excerpted from the Commission's own MB Docket # 05-171, relased last April:
"The Commission has recently received a large number of requests that it
consider whether the use of 'video news releases' or 'VNRs,' by broadcast
licensees, cable operators, and others complies with the Commission’s
sponsorship identification rules. VNRs are essentially prepackaged news stories,
that may use actors to play reporters and include suggested scripts to introduce
the stories. These practices allow such externally prepackaged news stories to
be aired, without alteration, as broadcast or cable news. Some of the parties
contacting the Commission have suggested that broadcast licensees and cable
operators may have aired VNRs with news stories containing material paid for,
prepared and/or provided to them by or on behalf of commercial, governmental and
other entities without disclosing, at the time of the airing, the source of and
the circumstances surrounding their acquisition of such material.With this
Public Notice, the Commission reminds broadcast licensees and cable operators
that air VNRs, as well as all entities and individuals involved in the
production and provision of the material at issue here, of their respective
disclosure responsibilities under the Commission’s sponsorship identification
rules. These rules are grounded in the principle that listeners and viewers are
entitled to know who seeks to persuade them with the programming offered over
broadcast stations and cable systems. For the reasons noted in this Public
Notice, and as provided for in the statutory provisions and in the Commission’s
rules, whenever broadcast stations and cable operators air VNRs, licensees and
operators generally must clearly disclose to members of their audiences the
nature, source and sponsorship of the material that they are viewing. We will
take appropriate enforcement action against entities that do not comply with
these rules. This Public Notice is confined to the disclosure obligations
required under Section 317 and our rules thereunder, and does not address the
recent controversy over when or whether the government is permitted to sponsor
VNRs, which is an issue beyond the Commission’s jurisdiction."
- Aha! Now we see the Paid News Story practice is essentially verboten, UNLESS the Government itself is paying the tab. This can be read as a tacit admission, by the FCC, that Politics takes precedence over all other considerations, in the matter of brain-feeding the Great Unwashed. Perhaps this is Washington's strategy toward usurping and finally eliminating that there evil Lib'ral Media! The Left does this too; it's called Radio Havana. - Iowa's Democratic Senator Tom Harkin has intro'ed a bill to fund an "ombudsman" to focus eyes 'n' ears on the Armed Forces Radio & Television Service, for "political balance". This comes years after the AFRTS signed on as a Rush Limbaugh affiliate...and a couple of weeks after Liberal-talker Ed Schultz initially lost his deal to air on the Military network. Schultz says the AFRTS pulled out after his criticism of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Allison Barber, for allegedly scripting a video conference involving soldiers and President Bush. Now the Pentagon has done an about-face, declaring that Schultz' show will indeed air over AFRTS. Now it's up to individual AFRTS outlets to schedule the Liberal gabfest. - In the usually reasonable State of Washington, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham upheld his earlier ruling requiring KVI/570 Talk-hosts Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson, to declare their support of a ballot initiative as a "campaign contribution". The Conservative Seattle talkers were allegedly the primary organizers of the measure, which would repeal a 9.5 cent-per-gallon Gasoline tax, as per the ruling. Chilling, no?? Keep up the trend, and all Talkradio will become "Tradio", anywhere near election time. - Finally, NYC dwellers will still be able to watch their "Topper" reruns, et al, thanks to a bill sponsored by Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel. This bill allocates some $30-Million, to aid New York's TV stations in broadcasting between Digital-TV's "mandatory" 2009 start, and the planned erection of the 2000-foot Freedom Tower in mid 2010. How, exactly, will those allocations be put to use? We have no clue.
PULLING AN EISNER: This month, we see Kenneth Tomlinson doing such. We told you about his replacement, as Board Chairman at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and about the Congressionally-mandated investigation, into his hiring of a "consultant" to assure "political balance" in NPR & PBS programming. Now, Ken's left the CPB body altogether, stepping down from the Board on November 3. This, as the results of said investigation are pending. Tomlinson retains his other gig, as head of the Broadcasting Board Of Governors...the mini-bureaucracy charged with overseeing the Voice Of America, and other international broadcasting efforts. Just as well, as he now faces an investigation there too. "Raw Story" and "The New York Times" report Federal gumshoes are checking into possible misuse of funds by BBG project Al Hurra, an Arabic-language TV service targeting Middle Eastern listeners. Among the allegations: the placement of "phantom or unqualified employees" on the payroll. State Dept. investigators have seized a number of Tomlinson/BBG-related documents, and are reportedly poring over evidence-of-interest, including e-mails ferryed between Tomlinson and various high-stepping White House officials, Karl Rove among them.DRUDGERY: Matt Drudge (syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, Sunday nights) is anticipating the sale of the primary ABC Radio assets in the very near future. Usual suspects still involved, with Emmis, Entercom and Cumulus named as the top suitors. (The Update is betting only on one of the first two mentioned, after Cumulus' purchase of Susquehanna's stations.) Word is, such a transaction would NOT include ESPNRadio, or the spectrum-wasting Radio Disney.
MEET THE NEW BOSS: It's official...David Rehr is the new top Honcho at the National Association of Broadcasters. Since 2000, Dave's toiled heartily as the President and Chief Lobbyist for the National Beer Wholesalers' Association, thus defining this natural Career Progression. He's known as one helluva lobbyist on Capitol Hill; he plans a "hands-on" approach to the ever-suffering Broadcast biz.
CLASSIC ON THE BLOCK: The previously-unthinkable is happening in Boston, where perennial Classical outlet WCRB/102.5 is For Sale! Similar scenarios in Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco, stretching back over 16-plus years, have resulted in these disappearing-format stations beiong replaced by Rock-based offerings...but Boston may be different. Station owner Charles River Broadcasting is expected to stipulate that any new owners must retain the Classical format, in accordance with the terms of a trust formed after the death of station founder Theodore Jones back in the early '90s. Also considered for the sale block are CRB's other New England properties: Classical WFCC/107.5 in Chatham, Classic Rock outlet WKPE/104.7 Orleans, Classical WCRI/95.9 on Block Island, RI., and all-News daytimer WCNX/1180 in Hope Valley, RI. - Nearby, fishing lure magnate Alex Langer is reclaiming ownership of WBIX/1060, after the dramatic downfall of ex-new owner, financial planner Brad Bleidt. You may recall Bleidt's attempted suicide and subsequent Fraud conviction, stemming from his use of investors' funds to purchase the station. Alex is expected to keep a Business-heavy News/Talk presentation on his Beantown outlet.
END OF A NOBLE EFFORT: The United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans, forged from Entercom and Clear Channel stations immediately following Hurricane Katrina, has entered the books of History. CC pulled its New Orleans FMers, and WODT/1280 out of the ad-hoc Network at the end of October; as we speak,anchor-station WWL/870 has returned to a mostly-local Talk roster, still heavy on recovery-related topics. The same mix is being simulcast on Entercom sister WSMB/1350 and one or two co-owned FMs in the area. WWL continues originating much of its programming at spare Baton Rouge studios, set up just a couple of days after Katrina's raucous visit. All 7 Clear Channel N.O. outlets are back on-air from the Big Easy, per AllAccess. Also nearby, Business-oriented WGSO/990 has returned to normal operation.
BRINGING BACK A GOOD THING: In Las Vegas. We told you about top-rated KJUL's defection to Country & Western. Now, ex-Country outlet KWLY/104.7 has responded in the logical manner, by adopting the KJUL call letters, and launching an Adult Standards format, based on what we used to hear at 104.3. Susan Anton, Robert Goulet and several other celebs halped kick the new format off on November 7; the Update predicts substantial Ratings for 104.7 by Spring '06.
GOODGUY ON THE LOOSE: AllAccess reports WPRO/630 in Providence has ousted Program Director David Bernstein from his perch. This guy's a pure joy to work with, dating back to his mid-90's stint at NYC's WOR/710. Anyone out there looking for a good Talk programmer, someone who can pull a disconsolate house together: contact him at
http://us.f604.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=wprodavid@aol.com&YY=73375&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b. David's a former PD at WOR/710 in New York; coincidentally enough, we hear Talk-programming veteran Maurice Tunick has left the WOR PD chair. Maurice is remembered by some as the driving force behind the late ABC Talkradio Network, circa twenty years ago.
GRANDPA "JACK"(tm): Seems the eclectic approach to various music formats now takes the more seasoned listener into account, at least in the Phoenix area.
KRZS/97.5 was recently moved from Flagstaff to an obscure hilltop a few miles north of Phoenix, just west of I-17, and is grabbing the attention of listeners from their 30s on up, with a refreshing approach to the Adult Standards format. "Arizona Republic" writer Randy Cordova tells us many playlist items were penned by Gershwin, Cole Porter and Johnny Mercer, among others: "The renditions will be by classic singers (Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald), current crooners (Michael Buble', Peter Cincotti) and aging pop stars (Rod Stewart, Boz Scaggs)." Randy relays the addition of British singer Joss Stone to the "Star 97.5" playlist; owner Jeff Trumper says, "There really are no rules...It's just a fun station. Joss STone is very bluesy, and fits in. There's no template - we're just trying to create a feeling here."The "Republic"'s Cordova goes on to say: "The station succeeds. It's got a casually upscale vibe to it, bringing to mind the type of music you might hear while wandering through a Pottery Barn or Starbucks." - Cordova notes the difference between "Star" and prime competitor, Clear Channel's KOY/1230: "(N)ot everyone fits in. At Star 97.5, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Etta James are in; Perry Como, Andy Williams and Connie Francis are not."...Hence, the Update's "Jack" (tm) analogy. Here at the Publishing Complex, those indentured to the Update are anxious to spend an hour or two listening to the station, here discerning a fair shot at Variety With Class. The serious, artiste'-style singers are featured; the Pop Sensations are appropriately left at the door. (In Rock, think Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, not the Bay City Rollers or Haircut 100. In R&B, think Isleys or Stevie, not The Sylvers or New Edition.) The station is creating quite a street buzz in Phoenix, down to folks in their 30's. (Seems like an approach KJUL/104.3 in Vegas should've considered, before dumping their highly-rated Standards list for Country in September.)
(Did anyone mention "Shuffle....?" Say.....Saul Levine?)BY ANY OTHER NAME: Entravision has come up with the Spanish version of the eclectic music format mix, in the name of "Jose: Toca Lo Que Quiere", which x-lates into, "Joe, he plays what he wants", literally. The format features a mix of Spanish tunes dating from the late 1970s, to these modern late days. One hears it on KRCX/99.9 in Marysville (California), KCVR/1570 & 98.9 FM in Modesto/Stockton, KRZY/1450 in Albuquerque and KMXA/1090 in Denver. Honestly, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.
A TOUCH OF COUNTRY IN THE CITY: Thanks to NYC Public Schools' station WNYE/91.5 The Brooklyn-based outlet has raised years worth of revenue by leasing out time to various Ethnic-and-others broadcasters. 'NYE spent the better part of three days this month relaying XM Satellite Radio's all-Country "Highway 16" channel, in connection with the annual Country Music Association Awards, slated for November 15. NYC's last full-time, full-powered Country format was heard over the old WYNY/103.5, prior to its rebirth as neo-Disco WKTU.AN INTERESTING IDEA: A group led by the Michigan-based Amherst Alliance is proposing that the FCC license a class of commercial, low-powered AM stations, to be found in the expanded band between 1610 & 1700 kHz. Within said group are two Virginia-based individuals, Nickolaus Leggett and Don Schellhardt, who co-filed the original Low Power FM petition with the FCC back in '98. The petition makes no bones about the need for commercial viability within the proposed service, along with emphasizing the lack of community "mom & pop" ownership generally in the AM-universe. The proposal specifically disallows ownership of, and investment in LPAM stations, by "established broadcasters". While station ownership would be limited to one LPAM facility per Metropolitan market, such owners would be allowed to own 12 such stations nationwide, and owners would be required to reside within 25 miles of one of those stations. The group also suggests that license awards be partly based on plans for programming. From the FCC petition itself: "...a proposed light jazz radio station in Roanoke, Virginia or Waterbury, Connecticut should automatically have a higher status (with the FCC) than a proposal to add another 'evangelical Christian' station - even if the light jazz applicant just arrived from Boston two weeks ago and the evangelical applicant is a church with a record of 150 years of service to the community. In the Low Power AM Radio Service, marketable innovations in local programming should clearly trump 'more of the same', even if 'more of the same' is being offered by a group or individual with deep community roots." It all sounds great...so what's gonna kill it, you inquire? Read on in the petition: you'll see the petitioners are nowhere near agreeing on the technical parameters, such as station power levels and spacing (both geographic and frequency spacing issues must be considered). The FCC is taking comments on the proposal, but the petition-mongers best get their act together on the tech fine-points, lest the whole thing be thrown out with the morning coffee grounds.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: 1) Sid Rosenberg, troubled ex-Don Imus Show Sports man, surfaces at Miami's WAXY/790, doing weekends and fill-ins at the Jefferson-Pilot station. - 2) Ted Rall, ex-KFI/640 Talker, winds up at Infinity's new "Free" stick KIFR/106.9 in San Francisco...Sundays, 11AM-2PM PST. Ted's an unabashed expert on the ex-Soviet Middle Eastern states such as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, et al.; he also toils as an expressionist Editorial Cartoonist.
CROSS-TALK: "Spectrum Online" (
www.spectrum.ieee.org) has published a comprehensive piece by Alexander Hellemans examining the battle faced by the Vatican, against the onus of electromagnetic pollution. Whether perceived or real, the brouhaha has cast a pall of uncertainty over venerable Vatican Radio:"The view is impressive, if strange. A forest of about two dozen huge towers supports an intricate web of antenna wires that together pump many hundreds of kilowatts into the atmosphere from a site 25 kilometers north of Rome. The antennas are the Vatican's portal to the world: signals from two medium-wave (standard AM) transmitters reach all of Italy at all times, while those from 27 shortwave antennas are beamed at selected parts of the world in different languages at varying times. (Only two of the shortwave antennas transmit at any given time.) Thus, papal speeches, news programs, and religious events are dispatched in 40 languages to all the corners of the world, making this complex as important to the Vatican as the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe were to the United States at the height of the Cold War. But to the inhabitants of Cesano and neighboring communities, the antennas, some transmitting at an effective 600 kilowatts, represent not only a blight on the landscape and something of a nuisance-hearing the Pope's voice picked up by your front-door intercom is not always appreciated-but also a possible health threat."When the antennas were erected in 1951 on a 3.9-square-kilometer plot, the surrounding area, known as Santa Maria di Galeria, was still largely rural. But during the last few decades the area has been built up, and now an estimated 60 000 people live within a radius of 10 kilometers of the transmitters."In 2000, a small number of cases of childhood leukemia, first reported by a local physician, were blamed by residents on the strong radio-frequency fields generated by the Vatican antennas. On the one hand, leukemia incidence was higher close to radio towers; on the other hand, the difference was Statistically Insignificant. This past May, an Italian court imposed suspended 10-day prison sentences on two Vatican officials responsible for operating the transmitters, a cardinal and a priest, for the 'dangerous showering of objects'-meaning the antennas' electromagnetic waves. (The term 'electromagnetic radiation' has not made it yet into Italy's legal vocabulary.) In addition, environmental groups and committees representing the local population will be awarded damagesin a separate civil action, though the figures have yet to be determined."Local residents and environmentalists have sought to have the Vatican close down the complex since 2000. Several years ago, an Italian environmental minister, Willer Bordon, organized field strength measurements and found that the Vatican's radio transmitters violated Italy's radiationstandards, which are much stricter than those in other parts of the world. He threatened to cut off electric power to the site; in response, Vatican Radio reduced the time it was on the air and transferred some radio transmission to other sites. The Vatican's situation improved in 2002, when courts ruled that the Italian government had no jurisdiction over the transmitters because of the Vatican's status as an independent state. But in 2003, Italy's Supreme Court overturned those rulings, which resulted in the two Vatican officials' having to stand trial."What does science say? While the complaints against Vatican Radio were bouncing back and forth in the Italian courts, the regional government commissioned an epidemiological study of leukemia incidence in the area around the disputed antennas. A team of researchers led by Paola Michelozziof the Local Health Authority, in Rome, reported in 2002 that the incidence of childhood leukemia from 1987 to 1998 was twice the expected rate, but the actual numbers were very small. The results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, indicated that instead of the expected 3.7 cases in the population of 60 000, there had been eight. Because of the small number, Michelozzi considers the result statistically insignificant. But a somewhat more disconcerting finding in her study made a stronger impression on critics of the Vatican, members of the press, and even some experts. Michelozzi's survey determined that if leukemia incidence was measured in concentric circles around the radio complex, rates dropped off with increasing distance from the transmitters. Based on that finding, a court-appointed expert science panel in the legal proceeding againstthe Vatican concluded, questionably, that 'the weight of evidence...is much more in favor of the existence of a [cancer] risk' and that it 'is in favor of a causal relationship.' That assessment, together with the Vatican's violation of Italian power limits, is what prompted the guilty verdict last May against the Vatican officials."Similar studies of populations around radio and television transmitters have been conducted during the past two decades in several countries, including the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. But all these studies are crippled by the very low normal incidence of leukemia, the need to study very large populations, and the technical difficulty of accurately determining actual exposure levels. 'The situation has not changed that much. If you look at the string of recent epidemiological studies, they are still equivocal,' says Keith Florig, a specialist in risk analysis and radiation protection at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh. Florig expressed surprise at the court's ruling in the Vatican case."Others agree that the ruling was premature. 'I'm quite concerned about a rush to judgment based on a less-than-adequate understanding of the scientific issues,' says Wayne Overbeck, a specialist in the legal aspects of communications at California State University, in Fullerton. (Overbeck, a ham radio operator, takes precautions to avoid exposing himself and other people to excess RF radiation.)Local inhabitants, on the other hand, reacted to the Italian court's finding with jubilation. 'We are satisfied; we had to suffer the arrogance of the Vatican for years,' one resident told the press. Representatives of Vatican Radio, maintaining that the radiation levels are safe, said that they foundthe judgment unjust and plan to appeal it."The case of Vatican Radio is but the latest episode in a half-century-long scientific controversy. Last December, a panel of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), headquartered in Oberschleissheim, Germany, published a global review of epidemiological studies dealing with the impact on health of electromagnetic waves. The report covered a range of RF sources, including cellphones and communication towers, and one section reviewed eight epidemiological studies of residents living around radio and television transmitters, including Michelozzi's study. The panel found the results inconclusive. 'For these studies to be informative, there have to be better exposure assessments, and the numbers [of people in the samples] should be larger,' says Anders Ahlbom of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, who led the study. 'Even taken together, they don't really suggest any health risks,' he says. RF radiation is nonionizing-that is, it cannot break the bonds in molecules-and no plausible biophysical mechanism has been proposed that would predict biological effects from low-level fields, except as related toheating. Therefore, many scientists in the field have viewed research on the biological effects of radio waves with some skepticism. Radio frequencies do, however, induce currents in parts of the human body, which can resonate as a half-wave antenna: there is a maximum in the fraction of incident energy that is absorbed in the whole body at 100 megahertz (FM Band) and at 800MHz in the head--the latter is close to the 850 and 900 MHz frequencies used for mobile phones in the United States and Europe. Exposure limits, such as those recommended by the IEEE, take that effect into account." - excerpted from an article by Alexander Hellemans.The piece goes on to say that studies are continuing around the Planet, examining radiative effects on all parts of the human body...and that by no means, have any conclusions been reached. Many researchers feel the Italian neighbors of the Vatican broadcast complex have been overly spooked by the Court actions, earlier this year. An Update note: the above-mentioned Karolinska Institute has for many years been one of the World's leading centers of Leukemia research.
FROM THE FIELD...: Reader Andrew O'Brien properly takes the Update to task for its assessment of WFBQ/94.7 Indianapolis: "But in your statement, 'arguably the finest Rock station in America,variety-wise' , you are certainly not including the college alternative rock stations in the Indy area, right? They do have a far greater variety. Perhaps you meant a greater variety that other corporate controlled mainstream rock stations." Indeed, Andy, the Update thanks you for keeping us honest. The word "commercial" could easily supplant "corporate controlled mainstream", as they are one in the same. WFBQ is arguably the best act going, ABOVE 92 MHz, in the U.S.; pioneering non-comm outlets such as KCRW/89.9 Santa Monica, KVMR/90.5 Sonora and WFMU/91.1 East Orange (NJ) barely have to be on the air to run rings around any domestic Commercial outlet, in terms of musical variety....
TO THE GREAT BEYOND: The Update regrets to inform of the death of Al Ramirez, veteran overnight goodguy on KLOS/95.5. Al's world revolved around his young son Christopher; he sounded much younger than his 54 years, as he kept the midnight oil boiling on the L.A. rocker. Al's death was due to "natural causes", and he will be missed by many current and former habitants of the Disney LaCienega Blvd compound. - Bay Area Baseball fans are among those mourning the loss of longtime A's announcer Bill King, who died last month at the approxiumate age of 80. Bill started in Sports in the postwar Midwest, then came to San Francisco in 1958. By '62, he was one of the initial announcers for the NBA's Golden State Warriors, then signed on with Football's Oakland Raiders in '66, remaining until their L.A. move in '82. A year before, Bill had started with the Oakland A's, where his excited cry of "Holy Toledo!" went hand in hand with many spectacular plays on the field. - Michael Spears passed on last month, at the young age of 58, due to complications from Cancer. Michael started his Radio stints at KAND/1340 in Corsicana, Texas in the mid '60s, quickly moving up to Gordon McLendon's Dallas properties. He eventually ran McLendon's old KNUS, turning it into the first profitable FM stick in the Metroplex. He came to California in the late '70s, first programming the old KFRC/610 in San Francisco, before moving South to do the same at KHJ/930. Michael returned to Dallas by way of Florida, where he spent his final three years as an independent consultant.
Until the next, Peace and Prosperity.-- GREG HARDISON
