All uphill for IBOC
May 1, 2005 12:00 PM
Nice work in the April Viewpoint. I just read it. Your point is well taken: who is going to promote digital radio to the masses? Ibiquity is a technology broker. Radio has a big enough job selling itself to advertisers. Given the marketing challenges, I have to wonder why a radio broadcaster that isn’t invested in Ibiquity or equipment manufacturing would invest in HD Radio?
Meanwhile, what happens when every other medium has higher quality audio than radio? We’re already trying to get multiple channels out of a limited bandwidth.
I’m sure broadcasting will be around for a long time, but we’re so far behind the curve that I hope there’s still a strong future!
Chip Morgan
president, CMBE
Bridgport, VT
Electron emission
I have to say thanks. I was surprised by a boost of visitors this week until I noticed that you chose my website as the Website of the Week (Radio Currents e-mail newsletter, April 11). I was even more surprised when I saw that it was a radio broadcast site that placed the link. Your site at beradio.com is a new place on the Web for me to visit.
This was more interesting to me once you know that my profession is a broadcast engineer at a regional radio/TV station in northern Holland (www.omropfryslan.nl).
Henk Dijkstra
webmaster
The Cathode Ray Tube site members.chello.nl/%7Eh.dijkstra19
On-track career
I really enjoy reading Radio magazine. I look forward to every issue. You always have great articles, and I learn something new every time. I really enjoy the Facility Showcase articles. I have built a few studios and these articles always give me new ideas.
Why have I never seen an article or a feature on developing the next generation of radio engineers? I am a 27-year-old man who wants to be a radio engineer more than anything. My ultimate goal is to be a chief engineer. I worked for Clear Channel as a staff engineer for five years and I am also going to a community college to study electronics and computers.
I had some practical experience while working for Clear Channel. I went to work for another company, but it didn’t work out. The Clear Channel CE wanted me back but the GM froze the budget. I also do some contract engineering and have built several studios in Sacramento for some LPFMs. I am the contract CE for a high school radio station.
I started in 1996 as a board operator for KSTE, which was then owned by Chancellor, which also owned KFBK-AM, KHYL-FM and KGBY-FM. I was with those stations for nine years and then Clear Channel bought the group. I worked my way from board operator to staff engineer for Clear Channel until I left in 2005.
I have several SBE Certifications and am eager to learn. I don’t have a lot of transmitter experience. We had a contract engineer do that for us at Clear Channel. I would like to see more broadcast-engineer mentoring programs and more stations offering internships in engineering. I have approached some engineers about mentoring, but they don’t have time or see a young guy like me as a threat, probably because of the fear of showing me everything that he knows will lead his employer to hire me for a lower wage. I don’t want to take anyone’s job, I just want to learn more.
I have approached some contract engineers and I get the same response.
I would like to see an article in your magazine that deals with preparing the next generation of broadcast engineers and what they need to know. The gray beards will be retiring some day and I feel it is important now to start training the next generation of broadcast engineers. I would also be interested in any advice that you would have for me.
Thank you for your time in reading this, and your magazine is awesome.
Tim Parish, CBT CBNT CRO
[email protected]
Sacramento, CA
