AUGUST 1, 2024

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

KENTUCKY'S FIRST RADIO STATION TURNS 102

On July 18, 1922, WHAS made its first radio broadcast, becoming Kentucky's first radio station.


According to the University of Kentucky, there were an estimated 19,000 radio stations nationwide in 1922, most of which were “amateur operations broadcasting sporadically.” Robert Worth Bingham, owner of the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times Company, set out to establish the bluegrass’s radio presence.


“I want a radio station which will reach into the farthest confines of the state, where a man may string an aerial from his cabin to the nearest pine tree, and sitting in his chair before the fire, have a pew in a church, a seat at the opera, a desk at the university,” Bingham said.


In April of 1922, Bingham was granted a radio license from the Commerce Department. Three months later, WHAS hit the air, per UK. WHAS has gone on to become one of the longest-running radio stations nationwide.


“This is WHAS, the radiotelephone broadcasting station of the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times of Louisville, Kentucky,” were the first words heard across the Commonwealth from station manager and announcer Credo Harris.


In the beginning, WHAS was only on air for around two and a half hours a day, according to UK research. From then on, their coverage grew more widespread, making nationwide radio history.


On Sept. 14, 1922, WHAS became the first radio station to broadcast from a moving train. 


In December 1922, the radio station amassed listeners from its commitment to music, beginning with its first remote broadcast of organ music from the old Alamo Theatre. By the end of 1922, the station had received almost 30,000 letters from listeners from as far as Honduras and Australia, per UK. The station then went on to produce over 3,000 performances in its first six months of broadcasting and was ranked one of the top six radio stations in the country. 


However, WHAS gained popularity after broadcasting a mock Fort Knox battle in August of 1924. UK research showed that it scared many Kentuckians, some believing that “Martians had landed.”


The following events have been recognized as pivotal in WHAS history, according to UK and Berea College:

  • 1922: First radio broadcast
  • 1925: The first live Kentucky Derby broadcast
  • 1929: Partnership with the University of Kentucky to broadcast university programming and “listening centers” in eastern Kentucky
  • 1936: The station began carrying University of Kentucky basketball and football games
  • 1937: Awarded CBS Medal for Distinguished Service for its coverage of January floods
  • 1939: Recognized as “one of the five best radio newscasts in the nation”
  • 1954: Establishes the Crusade for Children, which has raised millions of dollars for children’s charities in the area
  • 1970: Began 24-hour broadcast


102 years later, WHAS continues to serve the community and inform listeners throughout Kentukiana.

EXPANDING

EDGE MEDIA GROUP ADDS MADISONVILLE

The Edge Media Group has announced the acquisition of Sound Broadcasters of Madisonville. Sound Broadcasters is owned and operated by Bob Kelley and his family. The company includes WFMW 730 AM and 107.7 FM, 93.9 WKTG-FM, Mad Mix 105.9 and The Drive Classic Hits 94.9.



Beth Mann of Cadiz is president and CEO of Edge Media Group, which includes nine award-wining radio stations in Cadiz, Hopkinsville, Princeton and Elkton. The Edge Media Group holds the honor of the Kentucky Broadcasters Association’s 2021, 2023 and 2023 Best Digital Product in Kentucky Award. The company also is home to YourSportsEdge.com plus assorted digital products and marketing services, including four digital LED billboards.


Sound Broadcasters President Bob Kelley said he is pleased that the stations his family have owned and operated for more than four decades will continue to serve the community as a part of The Edge Media Group.


The stations are operating under a Local Management Agreement that began July 1st and will continue until the Federal Communications Commission approves the acquisition.

Contrary to earlier reports, the August 15 effective date for broadcasters’ expanded foreign government sponsorship certifications apparently does not apply to issue ads and paid PSAs.  As we discussed here, in a June Second Report and Order, the FCC expanded broadcasters’ existing obligations to verify whether lessees of program time are foreign governments or their agents (who have enhanced sponsorship identification requirements) to include an additional verification requirement for sponsors of issue ads and paid PSAs (but not sponsors of ads promoting a commercial product or service or ads from a political candidate or their authorized campaign committee).  It now appears that the FCC considers the rule’s expansion to issue ads and paid PSAs to require approval from the Office of Management and Budget before becoming effective.  OMB approval will take at least several months, so it appears that stations do not need to implement this verification obligation just as we are entering into the heart of election season. Standby, more to come on this issue.

LBS WEBINAR

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13TH @ 12:00PM ET

IF YOU CAN'T TELL IT, YOU CAN'T SELL IT

Featuring Paul Weyland


How to Come Up With the Best Story Your Local Direct Client Has NEVER Heard. Your LOCAL decision-maker has been inundated with media salespeople selling cheap packages. What she’s not getting from media salespeople are solid ideas that will drive business her way. In this session, Paul Weyland will show you how to approach local clients with ideas they’d never come up with on their own. These ideas will instantly take you from zero to hero in the minds of your local customers. This session is a MUST for salespeople, managers, & program and production directors.


LBS Webinars are provided as a complimentary member service to active KBA member stations.

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THIS WEEKS MEMBER PIC

BACK TO SCHOOL

Two Lexington television stations joined together last week for a school supply drive to help out parents and teachers with costs. WKYT and WTVQ collected over 2,100 pounds of school supplies. Pens, pencils and notebook papers are just some of the items donated. The supplies will be going to 20 elementary schools in Central and Eastern Kentucky.

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

PROBLEM SOLVING THROUGH QUESTIONS


Over the past few weeks, I’ve been part of sales and leadership meetings and had many opportunities for one-on-one discussions with managers and sellers.  A common theme has emerged regardless of market size, company size, or seller proficiency:


“It’s tough out there, and we’re trying to figure out what to do about it.”

 

Naturally, when you or your team is struggling, you want answers.  So intuitively, we go in search of answers to solve our problems.  Instead, we’d like to encourage you to ask the right questions, and the answers to your challenges will reveal themselves. 


We’re big fans of brainstorming. The word brainstorming was introduced initially by Alex F. Osborn in 1953 through his book Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Thinking. Osborn said: (I love this quote.)


It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.”


In a recent article from Harvard Business Review, they identify five different types of questions to ask yourself or your team to lead you on the path to discovery for the solution to your current struggles:


  1. Investigative: What’s Known? What happened? What is or isn’t working? What are the causes?
  2. Speculative: What If? What else might be going on? Can we do this differently? What haven’t we thought of?
  3. Productive: Now What? Do we know enough to proceed? What’s the next step?
  4. Interpretive: So, What…? What did we learn today? What are we trying to achieve in the big picture?
  5. Subjective: What’s Unsaid? How do you really feel about this? Have we consulted the right people?


In my experience, these questions are better asked in a group so that you can have input from multiple people.  We all see the world differently, and those differences can lead to new ideas, discoveries, and possibilities we could never have come up with on our own.  The key is to have the appropriate “mix” of those questions as you facilitate the meeting. Because of my journalism background, I used to get hung up on the investigative and how we got to the current situation.  Over time, I discovered that the investigative questions should be more brief to identify the current situation. Still, true magic begins when we start speculation, interpretation, and productive questions about shaping the future.


With the groups I’ve worked with recently, I’ve had the chance to work with them through this questioning process. It’s been gratifying to see the participation from everyone on the team.  As a bonus, it turns into a team-building exercise.  


Tough times never last.  Tough people do.  By approaching problems this way, you might be surprised at the answers you’ll find.  Remember:


  • If things aren’t going the way we want, we have to go about it differently.
  • This is what we teach our sellers to do with clients.  
  • Participation leads to buy-in and productivity
  • Participation provides insight otherwise not seen.

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

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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