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Transistor kills the radio star?

Mais da rádio do Washington Post

a partir daqui, algumas notas mais:

- «The U.S.’s first commercial radio station branded with a major newspaper name — Washington Post Radio — has just debuted in the nation’s capital. WTWP, 1500 AM and 107.7 FM, is a joint venture of The Washington Post Co. and Salt Lake City-based Bonneville International Inc. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed. The station is aimed at an audience that wants more in-depth stories than short-form radio, but something different from public radio. But competitors in the long-form radio format said the audience for the polished, highly produced sound of public radio is extremely loyal.
The newspaper is following The New York Times, which began broadcasting some news and talk programming on XM Satellite Radio channels last fall. The Times is also developing hourly newscasts for XM that will debut in the future, XM spokesman David Butler said»

- «"This is a wonderful opportunity for The Washington Post to encourage the radio audience to read more of the newspaper," said Boisfeuillet Jones Jr., publisher of the Washington Post, in a statement. The Post’s circulation -- like that of many other papers -- has been on the decline in recent years. Washington Post Radio will draw on content from the Post, with the paper’s editors, reporters and columnists providing more context on their reporting. The station will also broadcast news and commentary from journalists and others outside the Post. (...) This is not the first time WTOP and The Washington Post have been linked. The Post bought a partial interest in the station from CBS in 1949, then purchased the rest in 1954 and began the all-news format in 1969. The Post sold WTOP in 1978. Two owners later, Bonneville bought it in 1997».

- «The Post follows the New York Times into the radio news business, although both have owned broadcasting operations for decades. The Times established its New York Times Radio division last year. That operation has a partnership with XM Satellite Radio to produce hourly newscasts and provide other reports and commentary from Times staffers»

- «The person driving this family affair is Post Company chair Don Graham. He’s been trying to get back into radio WTWP since the company gave up ownership of all-news WTOP in 1978. And the backstory of this deal—in which the radio station uses Washington Post reporters—comes from the business side. According to sources, the company didn’t pay a dime to move into radio. It got control of a radio station with AM and FM signals essentially for free. With Graham’s support, the Post Company had been negotiating with radio-station owners for the past six years. Graham had to sell WTOP in 1978 to comply with Federal Communications Commission regulations against media cross-ownership in the same market. By gaining control of WTWP without owning it, the Post Company gets around any FCC prohibition. (...) No one would talk on the record about the business side of the transaction, but sources describe a cash-free deal for the Post Company. It pays zero to Bonneville for essentially moving onto the airwaves with its own station, WTWP AM-FM. The Post Company did pay for installing a radio studio inside its newsroom. Bonneville pays WTWP’s on-air hosts, Mike Moss, Bob Kur, and Hillary Howard. It also pays a fee to the Post for supplying content through its reporters. The Post gets a share of the advertising revenue if it reaches a certain level. The Post’s other outlay? A nominal fee to reporters who appear regularly on WTWP, such as media critic Howard Kurtz. Whether other Post reporters who go on the air get additional pay, and how much, is the subject of discussion with the newspaper guild. “Basically,” says a local radio executive, “the Post got a free radio station.” Bonneville, which moved WTOP, its flagship news-talk station, to a much more powerful FM frequency, 103.5, got free content for a new station. Radio executives say Bonneville hopes to increase its revenue from $45 million to $60 million a year».


 

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