KBA'S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Membership Newsletter

July 30, 2020

EXCELLENCE IN BROADCASTING AWARDS ENTRY DEADLINE: AUGUST 14, 2020

EXCELLENCE IN BROADCASTING AWARDS

VIRTUAL BROADCAST EVENT

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020 @ 2:00 PM EASTERN

KBA's Excellence in Broadcasting Awards honor the hard work, accomplishments, careers and personal contributions of Kentucky's broadcasters and broadcast partners. This years event will be held virtually on Monday, October 12, 2020 at 2:00 PM Eastern. We encourage you to mark your calendar and plan to gather your staff for the live broadcast.

NOMINATION DEADLINE IS AUGUST 14, 2020

LEGACY DIVISION

Kentucky Mic Hall of Fame

Al Temple Award

J.T. Whitlock Life Service Award

Ralph Gabbard Distinguished Kentuckian

TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

Engineer of the Year

RADIO DIVISION

Station of the Year

Best Morning Show

Best Talk Show

Best News Coverage

Best Sports Play-By-Play

Best Locally Produced Commercial

Best Digital Product

Rookie of the Year

TELEVISION DIVISION

Station of the Year

Best Morning Newscast

Best Evening Newscast

Best Sportscast

Best Weathercast

Best Locally Produced Commercial

Best Digital Product

Rookie of the Year

CLICK HERE FOR CRITERIA OR TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION

POLITICAL ADVERTISING WEBINAR WITH MARK LEVY - THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH

From Influence to Impact:

Putting More Political Ad Dollars on Your Books

With this being an election year, everyone is looking for the "Silver Bullets" to help them write more political ad dollars, so please join the KBA and Mark Levy for "From Influence to Impact: Putting More Political Ad Dollars on Your Books” on Thursday, August 6th, 2020, 12:10 PM Eastern, 11:10 AM Central

While we have to speak about them briefly, know that this is NOT a rules and regulations webinar: it is about writing more political ad dollars now. So please join us as we cover:

An understanding of what 2020 has meant to 2020 political advertising
Where political ad dollars are likely to go
Digital ad changes and how that effects potential broadcast sales
Where digital suggests some of their previously earmarked money go
Why local political dollars may be more important than national dollars
Common-sensical things we forget about that cost us political buys
The value of Ballotpedia, OpenSecrets and The Edmonds Database
Knowing how to find who is running, and a key question to ask a candidate that can justify a bigger schedule
Knowing how to better tell your story sans “broadcast-ease”
The value of your database qualitative
An intro letter template design
The value of database qualitative
An intro letter template designed to get candidates to meet with you
A Lowest Unit Rate Template tool that actually works
The often overlooked danger of social media, political advertising and low rates
11 ideas for upsells and new non-political business because of this being an election year
Political ad copy help, including a source for thousands of political ads
And this is broadcasting, so of course, “and more"

Seating is limited so please register today for this webinar being provided as a member service of the Kentucky Broadcasters Association.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

FCC SETTLES WITH 6 MAJOR RADIO GROUPS OVER POLITICAL FILE VIOLATIONS

Last week, the FCC announced that it had entered into settlements with six large radio broadcasters over violations of the political file rules. In a flurry of Consent Decrees, the FCC settled investigations into various political file recordkeeping violations. Combined, these broadcasters operate roughly 1,900 stations across the country.

Section 315(e)(1) of the Communications Act (“Act”) requires broadcast stations to retain records of requests to purchase political advertising time made (1) by or on behalf of a legally qualified candidate for public office; or (2) by third parties whose ads communicate a message relating to “a political matter of national importance.” Under the Act and Section 73.1943 of the FCC’s Rules, stations must upload such records to their online political files “as soon as possible”, which means “immediately absent unusual circumstances.” According to the FCC, maintaining a complete and current political file is critical, in part, because the information affects opposing candidates’ right to an equal opportunity to purchase airtime. The FCC has also stated that political file disclosures promote the First Amendment goal of fostering an informed electorate capable of holding political interests accountable.

The six Consent Decrees are nearly identical, and concern the failure of the broadcasters’ respective stations to timely upload requests to purchase political advertising time. Earlier this year, the broadcasters had voluntarily disclosed to the Commission that many of their stations had not timely uploaded the required documents. One case, however, was prompted by a separate investigation involving an allegation that three New York stations had violated the “lowest unit charge” requirement, which prohibits stations from charging a candidate more than they charge their most favored advertiser for a spot of the same length, class, and daypart during certain periods before an election. The investigation included a review of the stations’ political files and revealed wider recordkeeping issues.

RADIO/TV ENGINEERING SHARING SESSIONS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference (MBMTC) conference, originally scheduled for November, has been cancelled. The annual conference, which is a joint effort of the Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio state broadcasters’ associations, brings together broadcast engineers, multimedia professionals and vendors for a full day of educational sessions and an extensive Exhibitors’ Showcase.

While we can’t have everyone together in-person this year for the Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology conference, we do want to support engineering and multimedia professionals at our member stations during these challenging times. At the suggestion of our conference planning committee, we are organizing some virtual sessions to allow sharing of best practices among engineers in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

Our first sessions will focus on best practices in adapting to the need to have on-air talent and production occur remotely during the stay-at-home order. During the initial days of the pandemic and state stay-at-home orders, many stations had to quickly adapt their operations to allow on-air and production staff to work from home. Using “McGyver-esque” ingenuity and creativity, some great ideas and workarounds were developed, and we’d like to share those.

RADIO SHARING SESSION - August 19, 2020 @ 1PM EDT

TELEVISION SHARING SESSION - August 26, 2020 @ 1PM EDT

Registration details coming soon!

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW DECIDES TO GO ALL DIGITAL FOR 2021

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® is reimagining how to connect exhibitors, customers, thought leaders and media from around the world while prioritizing health and safety. We are excited to share that CES® 2021 will be an all-digital experience.

For more than 50 years, CES has been the global stage for innovation. And CES 2021 will continue to be a platform to launch products, engage with global brands and define the future of the tech industry.

With the growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it is not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person.

An all-digital CES 2021 will allow the entire tech community to safely share ideas and introduce the products that will shape our future. You’ll be able to participate in all the awe-inspiring moments of CES wherever you are in the world. We are designing a unique experience for the tech industry.

SEEKING PARTICIPANTS FOR KBA'S NEXT AFFINITY DIGITAL GROUP

KBA's next Affinity digital group will be launching soon. If you are interested in learning more about potential digital revenue opportunities, please email Chris at [email protected].