MARCH 28, 2024

2024 KBA SCHOLARSHIPS

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MONDAY

Applications will be accepted through Monday, April 1st for both the KBA High School Senior Scholarship Fund and the Harry Barfield Scholarship. 


KBA High School Senior Scholarship Fund

The KBA High School Senior Scholarship is awarded to children of individuals who are currently employed at an active KBA member radio or television station. This is a one-time scholarship to be strictly used toward the recipients postsecondary education plans. The KBA shall annually award up to fourteen (14) scholarships valued at $2,100 each.


KBA Harry Barfield Scholarship

Four scholarships of $3,500 each are available to students who are currently majoring in broadcasting or communications at a college or university in Kentucky. The scholarships are awarded through a competitive application process which includes academic achievement, recommendation of a faculty member, extracurricular activities and a 500 word essay. Since the scholarship awards are renewable for a second year provided recipients continue to meet specified criteria, priority consideration will be given to students who are rising juniors.


LEARN MORE & APPLY

QUARTERLY ISSUES/PROGRAMS LIST

DUE IN PUBLIC FILE BY APRIL 10TH

The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ Public Inspection Files by April 10, 2024, reflecting information for the months of January, February, and March 2024.


Content of the Quarterly List

The FCC requires each broadcast station to air a reasonable amount of programming responsive to significant community needs, issues, and problems as determined by the station. The FCC gives each station the discretion to determine

which issues facing the community served by the station are the most significant and how best to respond to them in the station’s overall programming.


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2024 KBA SALES ROADSHOW

BRINGING SALES TRAINING TO YOU

Would you be interested in something that was guaranteed to raise your closing percentage, help you make more money and improve how you are viewed by your clients?  Certainly, we all agree that we would want to hear more.  Yet, there is a problem.  We often take the short cut that does not accomplish any of the things outlined above.  Delivering a customized proposal to a client that is based on information you have gathered and clearly outlines what they are trying to accomplish is the single most impactful thing a salesperson can do to grow revenue.  From gathering the information to delivering the proposal, this session will focus on simple steps to help you become better.  Oh, and you will hear the magic question that makes it all come together!  Recommended for all sellers and managers.


2024 KBA Sales Roadshow Stops:

Monday, April 29th @ 9:00am in Paducah

Tuesday, April 30th @ 9:00am in Owensboro

Wednesday, May 1st @ 9:00am in Bardstown

Wednesday, May 1st @ 1:30pm in Lexington

Thursday, May 2nd @ 9:00am in Morehead

Friday, May 3rd @ 9:00am in Somerset

**all times are local**


Exact training locations will be announced at a later date. The KBA Sales Roadshow is provided as a complimentary member service to active KBA member stations.

REGISTER NOW

2024 AL SMITH AWARD

DEADLINE TO ENTER IS APRIL 15TH

The Bluegrass Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues seek nominations for the Al Smith Award by April 15, 2024. This honor is given annually for public service through community journalism over a lifetime by a native or resident of Kentucky, or someone who has spent a significant portion of his or her career in the state.

The award is named for its first recipient: Albert P. Smith Jr., who owned weekly newspapers in Kentucky and Tennessee and was the founding host of KET’s “Comment on Kentucky” and the main co-founder of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues. He was chairman emeritus of its national advisory board when he died in 2021.


The award is based on news coverage and editorial leadership that serve community needs. Preference is given to journalists in smaller markets, to recognize restrictions that market size can place on the ability to provide outstanding public service through journalism. If a publisher or station owner is nominated, the judges may consider his or her civic service and the successful management of conflicts that can arise between journalistic, managerial, ownership, and civic roles.


Past winners include WKMS at Murray State University.


LEARN MORE


The award will be presented at the annual Al Smith Awards Dinner, sometime this fall. Nominations, supporting letters and sufficient documentation should be sent by April 15 to: Al Smith Award, SPJ Bluegrass Chapter, 123 West Todd Street, Frankfort KY 40601-2825. Nominations may also be sent electronically to al.cross@uky.edu

THIS WEEKS MEMBER PIC

REACHING THE NEXT GENERATION

Members of the WNKY-TV team participated in the Warren East College & Career Fair on Wednesday morning in Bowling Green. Numerous talented sophomores, juniors and seniors stopped by to try their hand at broadcasting.

We want to promote YOU! Send us your staff additions, promotions and special events. Email Chris at chris@kba.org

YOU ARE A BRAND


Recently during a Sales Essentials class, we spent a great deal of time discussing strategies for prospecting in 2024.  Part of the discussion was centered on building your personal brand because we know that if you are known for what you know, people will come to you.  Being known before you’re needed is the essence of branding. There are plenty of tools at your disposal to build your brand, and we’ve written lots of sales tips on the topic.  


We advise advertisers to use the Four Keys of Advertising Success when trying to build their brand.  The Four Keys are:  Reach, Frequency, Consistency, and Compelling Creative.  Today as we focus on prospecting, which relates to your personal brand we’re going to use the Four Keys with a process we call seeding.


For anything to grow you must first plant a seed. This sounds ridiculously simple. However, we are constantly trying to “grow” business relationships without first planting seeds.  Seeds can come in many different forms: People talking about you, people reading about you, or any exposure potential clients have to you in a “non-selling” mode.


I want to focus specifically on the process of intentional and focused seeding.  This is the practice of finding an article or information that you know will be of significance, relevant, or interesting to your client. 


  • You photocopy the article. 
  • Use a highlighter to mark a few of the key points. 
  • Staple your business card to the top left corner. 
  • In some white space you hand write a note to the client: “Kevin, thought this article may be of interest to you.” 
  • Sign it, put it in an envelope, hand address the envelope and send. 


Handwriting and mailing (not emailing) is KEY to standing out. It shows you took the time to do this personally, not some autoresponder or email data base blast.  


If you plan your prospecting and lead development with great efficiency, you will get optimum results if you send 3-4 “seed” pieces before you make initial contact. Two things happen:


  1. The client is already “familiar” with you.
  2. You have a specific reason to make the call (to discuss the content of one of the articles.)


A warm prospect call that starts with, “I wanted to talk to you about that article I sent about focusing on the middle third of your team for maximum growth potential” is much different from a cold call that begins with: “I’m calling today to see if I can help develop your sales team with some state of the art, blah blah blah  


Focusing on the Four Keys and starting a seeding system can be a great first step to becoming known before you are needed. It allows us to practice what we teach our advertisers about the importance of marketing.  You are the product.  You know how to market, but have you ever created a strategy to market yourself?

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can also connect with him by email JSchmidt@rab.com or on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Your active KBA membership entitles you to complimentary access to RAB's online certifications.

DATES TO REMEMBER

MAY 16, 2024

9:00am - KBA Board of Directors Meeting - Lexington, KY


AUGUST 15, 2024

9:00am - KBA Board of Directors Meeting - Louisville, KY


SEPTEMBER 29-30, 2024

KBA Annual Conference - Central Bank Center in Lexington


NOVEMBER 21, 2024

9:00am - KBA Board of Directors Meeting - Bowling Green, KY


*All times shown are Eastern

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