Posted by Bud on December 19, 2009 at 23:10:10:
WBEZ chief wants FCC ruling on jazz at 87.7
December 18, 2009
BY LEWIS LAZARE
Torey Malatia wants clarification. "We're in no man's land right now," said Malatia, president and CEO of Chicago public radio WBEZ-FM (91.3). Malatia was referring to whether it's OK for WLFM-FM (87.7) to operate as a for-profit smooth jazz outlet in Chicago.
WLFM is looking to attract listeners left without a favorite radio station after WNUA-FM's (95.5) switch last May from smooth jazz to hot Spanish hits. WNUA parent Clear Channel Radio Chicago said it made the format switch at WNUA because the station couldn't sell enough advertising against the smooth jazz format's core 25-to 54-year-old demo to turn a profit.
Since last May WLFM had been airing a barebones smooth jazz format, though some listeners had trouble finding the station because of its low position on the radio dial. But WLFM, which has a license to operate as a TV station, just this month ramped up its efforts to become a major player in the local radio market when it hired away former WNUA talent Rick O'Dell from AccuRadio.com as its first program director and first on-air host. O'Dell hopes to debut a mid-day show on WLFM as early as next month.
WLFM also is in the process of building out radio studios in the John Hancock Tower. Now WLFM executives argue that because WLFM continues to maintain a minimal video presence on Channel 6 on television, WLFM is a TV outlet with a radio component that is filling a real need in the Chicago radio market.
But WBEZ and other public radio stations around the country have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for a ruling on whether WLFM and stations like it in other markets can in fact operate as if it were a commercial radio station at the 87.7 position on the FM radio dial. Malatia's concern, and apparently that of other public radio stations around the country that operate within the National Public Radio family, is linked to a 1945 FCC ruling that said all radio stations located between 88 and 92 on the FM radio dial must operate as non-commercial radio stations.
In a statement sent to the FCC by the Sanchez Law Firm, WBEZ's legal counsel based in Washington, D.C., the Chicago public radio outlet complained that stations such as WLFM in several markets were "bleeding 24-hour dance music with commercial advertising, over into non-commercial stations that are on the lower, non-commercial FM channels." "We have to admit what WLFM has done is very creative, but we want to see what the FCC thinks about it," added WBEZ attorney Ernest Sanchez.
On Thursday, Paul Koplin, CEO of Los Angeles-based Venture Technologies Group, a co-owner of WLFM, responded to WBEZ's concerns: "We believe that WBEZ's position is not due to any technical issues, but rather due to WLFM's ratings success." Koplin referenced the November, 2009 Arbitron book, and maintained WLFM now has on average 540,000 listeners tuning in each week. WLFM ranked 29th among adults 25 to 54 in the November Arbitron book, up from 30th place in October. "We are investing in local broadcasting at a time when other media companies are contracting," added Koplin.
Malatia said he would just like to see a ruling from the FCC on whether WLFM and its owners are within their rights to do what they are doing. "It's a gray area that the FCC has never looked at," said Malatia, who indicated he will abide by whatever the FCC decides.
Meanwhile, WBEZ plans to expand its satellite bureaus to four from the current three outposts. According to Malatia, the station hopes to open a fourth bureau in the Rogers Park neighborhood by the end of the winter. The new one-person bureau's primary focus would be on developing long-form stories about Asian American issues. WBEZ had hoped to open the Rogers Park outpost earlier this year, but the station couldn't move forward until the Joyce Foundation stepped up to provide the necessary seed money. Malatia said the still-to-be-chosen reporter for the new bureau ideally will have a familiarity with Asian culture and languages.
Three years ago WBEZ began setting up satellite offices. They now include a Northwest Indiana bureau in Chesterton, a South Side bureau at 6957 S. Halsted, and a West Side bureau at 2531 W. Division. The south and west side bureaus, Malatia said, tend to focus on stories about the African-American and Hispanic communities respectively. Malatia also hopes to open a bureau in the western suburbs of Chicago and another in the northwestern suburbs, but it's unclear when WBEZ will have in hand the necessary funding.