Nice Above Fold - Page 397

  • Monday roundup: FCC may require online public files for radio stations; Burton hosts "Tweeting Rainbow"

    Plus: Paula Kerger takes her interns to breakfast, and Planet Money hops on Reddit.
  • Changes to FCC rules ease requirements for tower owners, tenants

    Pubcasters who own broadcast towers are about to get regulatory relief thanks to a FCC decision that closes the books on a lengthy effort to revise rules governing tower safety and maintenance. At an open meeting Friday, FCC commissioners approved the changes while decrying the long road their predecessors took to get there. “This issue was first raised in 2005 during the Commission’s 2004 biennial rule review,” said commissioner Michael O’Rielly. The question that has to be asked is, why did it take the commission nine years?” Though the Part 17 rules apply to all owners of “antenna structures” (FCC-speak for towers), the Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau promoted the changes as a boon to cellular and data services, which depend on hundreds of thousands of smaller towers across the country to meet ever-growing demand from consumers.
  • Friday roundup: PMP finds a home in 'The Barn,' Keillor talks books

    • The Public Media Platform is showing more signs of life. A blog post last week on PMP’s site describes how American Public Media has been testing the platform’s features with its regional stations, uploading content into the PMP for stations to pull. But APM’s content partners, including Minnesota Public Radio, Southern California Public Radio and Classical South Florida, each use a different content management system, so APM built a centralized data hub called “The Barn” to funnel content through before it reaches the PMP. • Garrison Keillor talked to the New York Times Book Review about his literary adventures, favorite authors and the worst thing about running his own bookstore, Common Good Books.
  • Buffalo's WNED changes management responsibilities, prompting layoff

    WNED in Buffalo, N.Y., is tweaking its management of programming, resulting in one layoff. Gabe DiMaio, who programmed classical WNED-FM, confirmed to Current Thursday that his position was eliminated. He previously served as assistant program director at WBFO-FM, the broadcaster’s NPR News station, as well as producer and local host for All Things Considered. He’s also secretary for the board of the Public Radio Programming Directors Association. Ron Santora, WNED’s v.p. of broadcasting, is adding radio programming to his portfolio. Starting in September, new hire Brian Meyer, a former Buffalo News reporter, will direct the WBFO newsroom. The station made the changes to create a more efficient management structure, said Chief Programming Officer John Grant.
  • Thursday roundup: Fass remembers Post; spirit of Big Bird helps Kerger travel

    Also: CPB's Inspector General is one of 47 IGs protesting closed federal records.
  • NPR delays implementing new program clocks until at least November

    NPR will postpone implementing new clocks for its flagship newsmagazines until at least November after hearing concerns that an earlier transition could interfere with stations’ fund drives and coverage of midterm elections. The network initially proposed starting the new schedules for Morning Edition and All Things Considered Sept. 22. But stations and the board of the Public Radio Program Directors Association asked for more time. When setting the initial date for implementation, NPR “did a good job of trying to find a time not in the middle of fundraising,” said PRPD President Arthur Cohen. “But the fact is that the weeks before fundraising are some of the busiest — maybe even worse than during fundraising.”