(l-r) Karole White, MAB President/CEO presents the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award to Specs Howard.

(l-r) 2009 Hall of Fame inductees Tom Cleary; Juke VanOss and Bruce Goldsen

2009 MAB Hall of Fame inductees included:

Thomas J. Cleary, Past MAB Executive Director and Retired Lobbyist, East Lansing, Michigan
Mr. Cleary, through his leadership as MAB Executive Director, helped to establish the MAB as a robust and influential organization. Moreover, Cleary served the MAB for nearly 20 years as its legislative and congressional champion. As a respected and registered professional lobbyist, he smoothed the path for the MAB in Lansing and Washington, assisting Michigan broadcasters with critical regulatory matters.

Bruce I. Goldsen, President and Owner of Jackson Radio Works, Jackson, Michigan
Goldsen has been an active MAB member since the Mid 90’s when he moved from Connecticut to Adrian, Michigan to oversee a radio station. After successfully managing local radio stations in the area, Goldsen, along with his wife and business partner Sue, ventured out on their own purchasing Jackson Radio Works. Since then Goldsen has contributed a great deal to the Michigan Broadcasting industry serving the Michigan Broadcasters at both the state and national levels. Additionally, Goldsen has been an advocate and active board member for the NAB, MAB and MAB Foundation.

Juke Van Oss, On-Air Personality at WHTC-AM, Holland, Michigan
Van Oss, for nearly 58 years, has dedicated his life to the greater Holland area as a local broadcaster for WHTC-AM, carrying out various responsibilities throughout the decades. He has served as first class engineer, announcer, program director, assistant station manager and for 47 years, has hosted “Talk of the Town”, a local radio talk show he helped to create in 1959. His ability to evolve and maintain a diverse audience is a testament to his outstanding contribution to his community and the broadcasting industry.

The Perfect Storm: Maximizing Your “Air Force” and “Ground Force” Sales
This year’s summer sales seminar will take place both in-person and via webcast on Wednesday, August 12 from 1pm-5pm. Sean Luce will be in East Lansing, on the campus of MSU, to present The Perfect Storm: Maximizing Your “Air Force” and “Ground Force” Sales.

This seminar will help you learn new techniques to sell advertising in today’s challenging economy. Sean will show you how to take a laser beam approach to increase your radio or TV station’s sales. As usual in Sean’s seminars, the audience is involved in case studies and engaged and you will leave with ideas and “real world” techniques that will help you sell right after the seminar.

Attend in person in East Lansing or join from your desk via webcast. Registration is only $25 per person! Click here for more details and to register

"Rise Above The Clutter"
Sean Luce, Luce Performance Group
August 12th will be a special day for sales reps in Michigan. I’m looking forward to laying out some “Luce’s Laws” on selling in a desperate economy, one hit as hard as Michigan where unemployment has reached 15%. What separates this recession from other recessions? Everything! Media went through a watershed year in 2007 when Internet changed the landscape of media usage and with the recession, it’s now changed how money is allocated by traditional media buyers-in some cases-not all cases. In the local markets, it still comes down to how sales reps perform their job, which is to get the maximum return on investment for their advertiser.
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Does Arbitron Know About You??
By Gary Berkowitz, Berkowitz Consulting Group
Recently I made a visit to www.arbitron.com. There is a click on the website that allows you to look at the SIP (Station Information Profile) of every station in every market. While going through each of the stations that I work with, there were a few disturbing things. Some did not have anything on file for station name, or the information was out of date. If we expect good Arbitron ratings, we must be up to date with station information on file with Arbitron.
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Run For The Roses!!!!
By Joe Bonura, Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc.
Are You On A Treadmill? You can have, be, or do anything that you desire in life if, and it is a big IF, you know what you want to have, be, or do. Most people are like a gerbil on a treadmill instead of an expressway; they keep moving, but they do not seem to get anywhere. This applies to planning your day, as well as planning your life.
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Branding Part I
By Jeffrey Hedquist, Hedquist Productions
All good commercials are designed to capture a share of your audience’s mind. You could call it branding. As Roy Williams says, “Branding is implanting an associative memory with a recall cue.” As you craft commercials for an advertiser – hopefully as part of a continuing campaign, keep in mind that no matter what kind of commercial it is – image, event, co-op, item, or sale – make sure it brands.
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MAB Memories
By Judy Kenney, MAB Chairman 2001
Currently Vice-President/General Manager WFTX-TV, Naples, Florida
When I was asked to write an article about my tenure as Chairman of the MAB, I laughed out loud. I can hardly remember what happened yesterday, much less what happened in 2001. So I grabbed a glass of wine, sat out by the pool (I heard it was 50 degrees in Michigan that day,) and started to reminisce about the good ‘ole days in early 2000. Several things came to mind….digital transition (imagine thinking about it for all these years and its is now a reality), Amber Alert’s beginning, Pirate Radio, Retransmission fees, Satellite Radio and TV. Ugh, pour me another Merlot.
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Stay This Side of the Law on Non-Compete Agreements in the Broadcast Industry
By Terry Kasiborski, Butzel Long
Historically, non-compete agreements have not been favored in Michigan. In fact, for nearly a century they were not enforceable except in very limited circumstances such as if they were entered into along with the sale of a business. In 1985, a statute was enacted in Michigan that permits the use of non-compete agreements if certain conditions are met.
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Terry Kasiborski manages the MAB Human Resource and Employment Legal Hotline: 313-225-7064.

Christian to Receive NAB National Radio Award
Ed Christian, president, chief executive officer and chairman of Saga Communications and current honorary MAB board director will receive the NAB National Radio Award at the NAB Radio Show, Sept. 23-25 in Philadelphia. The award will be presented during The NAB Radio Show Luncheon.

Christian has been in the radio business for over 49 years. At Saga Communications, Christian oversees 91 radio stations, five full-power and four network low-power TV stations, the Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota Radio Networks and the Michigan and Minnesota Farm Radio Networks. Christian is the chairman of the Radio Music License Committee, Broadcasters' Foundation, and is also a board member of the NAB, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, the National Autoimmune Related Disease Association and St. John Hospital in Detroit. He is past president of the Associated Press Broadcast Advisory Council and past board member and past chairman of the Arbitron Radio advisory council. In addition to his board duties and career at Saga Communications, Christian serves as adjunct professor in Broadcast Arts at Central Michigan University and is an Honorary Consul for the Republic of Iceland.

Christian has been the head of Saga Communications since the company's inception more than 23 years ago. Prior to launching the company in 1986, Christian worked at Josephson Communications, first as executive vice president and later as president of the organization. From 1974 until 1984 he was the president and general manager of WNIC-FM in Detroit. Christian holds a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University and a Master of Arts in Management from Central Michigan University.

West Michigan TV Stations Share News Video
WOOD-TV, WWMT-TV and WZZM-TV launched a news sharing arrangement that began July 13. Photographers will cover pre-planned stories, such as news conferences, court appearances, ground breakings, and other scheduled news events and news directors will agree on which events will be covered by the pool. The footage will be shared with all three stations. Each station will decide how to use the video. The stations will continue to operate independently in all other areas of their businesses, including their news operations. The stations will not share on-air talent and will independently make decisions on how to gather and report the news.

WLEN Announced as Marconi Radio Award Finalist
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that WLEN-FM ( Adrian) is a finalist in the 2009 Marconi Radio Awards to be presented during the NAB Radio Show, September 24 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. WLEN is a finalist in the Small Market Station of the Year category and is the only Michigan radio station represented in this year's Marconi Awards.

1330 Networks Debuts With Syndicated AC
Longtime Michigan-based programming executive/consultant Gary Berkowitz has announced the formation of 1330 Networks. Berkowitz, President of Berkowitz Broadcast Consulting and Jonathan Wolfert, President of JAM Creative Productions have partnered to produce syndicated daypart programming for radio stations.

The company's first offering is "Valier", a satellite-delivered Monday-through-Friday 5-hour show designed to fit all dayparts on an AC radio station. The show is hosted by Valier Smith, who has over 20 years of on-air and voice-over experience. The show will be programmed by Berkowitz. In 1990, Berkowitz established Berkowitz Broadcast Consulting, specializing in the programming of AC radio. For more information, visit www.1330networks.com or contact Berkowitz directly at (248) 737-3727 or via email.

Who Will Be Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame?
Voting is now open in the National Radio Hall of Fame 2009 Inductions. Who will be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame? The National Radio Hall of Fame online balloting is now in progress and will end at midnight on August 1st. Votenet, a highly respected online vote tabulating firm, will supervise the balloting and final results will be ratified by the Steering Committee of the NRHOF in early August. Make a difference now by voting and clicking here.

WLUC-TV Partners with FOX TV
WLUC-TV (Marquette) announced an agreement with the FOX TV network to broadcast all their programming on WLUC 6.2, the digital subcarrier. TV6 programming with NBC programming will not change. The deal calls for the new station, called FOX UP, to also carry news. The new FOX TV network station should begin broadcasting August 1.

Drew and Mike Back On the Air
They're back. The Motor City duo, Drew Lane and Mike Clark, began a new chapter in their already historic broadcasting run on WRIF-FM (Detroit) morning show after nearly two years away.

McGettigan Relocates to Indianapolis
Patti McGettigan, longtime news director at WOOD-TV ( Grand Rapids), recently left the station to head to sister station WISH-TV in Indianapolis, which is also owned by LIN TV Corp. She will start her new job at the end of July.

WTLZ-FM Adds Daniels as Program Director
NextMedia Operating - Saginaw has announced the addition of Yvonne Daniels as Program Director for WTLZ-FM (Saginaw). Daniels is no stranger to Mid-Michigan as she was the mid-day host on WDZZ in Flint from 2000-05. She joins WTLZ from Kansas City, MO.

Michigan Chapter of National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Awards Emmy
Check out the complete list of Michigan Emmy award winners on the NATAS Michigan web site at www.mi-nta.org. Congratulations to all the winners.

Specs Howard School Inaugurates Motion Picture Film Workshops
Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts has announced it is opening a new training facility "Specs Howard On Location" at the Studio Center motion picture production complex in Farmington Hills. Specs Howard's initial workshops, a new 8-week "On Location Film Workshop" and 7-week "On Location Advanced Editing," that began on July 13th and 21st, are designed to provide participants with a fundamental yet comprehensive introduction to the film industry via Michigan-based creative arts professionals and instructors skilled in a range of disciplines.

Among the instructors is Specs Howard's own Steve Julin, Director of Curriculum Development, who created the entire "On Location" film and editing workshops curriculum. The "On Location Film Workshop" will take students behind the scenes to examine and experience pre-production planning and scheduling; breaking down a script; fundamentals of filming a basic scene and principles of editing. Participants also will enjoy hands-on equipment usage including working with dollies, lighting equipment, microphones, editing software and cameras--from learning how to load the industry's most popular film magazines to shooting footage with such high-tech, digital cameras as the Panasonic P2 HD camera.

The Specs Howard School "On Location Film Workshop" will meet 3 ½ hours per day, 3 days per week, with day and evening sessions available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. "On Location Advanced Editing" will be available during the day and evening on Mondays and Tuesdays in either day or evening sessions. Students will receive an official certificate of completion at the conclusion of the workshop. Funding from the Michigan Works! program is available to those who qualify.

The "On Location Film Workshop" and "On Location Advanced Editing" workshop are licensed by the State of Michigan as the state's only film training workshops affiliated with a proprietary school.

Update from Your NAB Board Representative
By Julie Koehn, WLEN-FM (Adrian) and Michigan Representative to NAB
First and foremost, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Julie Koehn and I am the President of Lenawee Broadcasting Company in Adrian, Michigan. I am your newly elected representative to the National Association of Broadcasters Board of Directors. I am pleased to represent district 13 which encompasses the state of Michigan, and I am at your service.

A little history; I am a former Michigan Association of Broadcasters Board Chairman (2005-2006), I served on the MAB Board of Directors for six years, and currently sit on the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation Board, and I am a Trustee of MABPAC. I have been involved with the NAB as a member on several committees over the years. I have been in broadcasting in the state of Michigan for 24 years.
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Senate Confirms Genachowski
The Senate recently confirmed Julius Genachowski as the new head of the Federal Communications Commission, while also confirming a second term for Commissioner Robert McDowell. McDowell remains the lone Republican on the commission.

Normally a five-member body, the FCC has operated with just three commissioners since January. Commissioner Michael Copps has been, up until Genachowski’s confirmation, the interim chairman.

Additionally, President Obama has nominated Mignon Clyburn, a member of South Carolina's Public Service Commission for the other Democratic slot, while Meredith Attwell Baker has been selected to fill the open Republican spot on the panel. The confirmations, which are expected to proceed as a pair, are anticipated to go forward sometime next month.

Fight For Advertising Revenue Begins…Again!
With the tremendous costs associated with the healthcare reform proposal, the Senate Finance Committee is looking for ways to offset revenue and has its eye on advertising deductions. One possible solution is the elimination of the business expense deduction for the cost of advertising prescription medications. This will have a direct impact on broadcasters’ advertising revenues and would be detrimental to the broadcast industry, especially during the challenging economic times.

While there has been no drafted bill or amendment introduced thus far, MAB has been busy on your behalf bringing your concerns to the forefront. Senator Debbie Stabenow has been the focus of this effort, as she sits on the committee the healthcare reform package is currently before. While the committee is working swiftly to develop a package of revenue-raising measures, MAB will do its best to convince Senator Stabenow that no discriminatory tax should be imposed on pharmaceutical advertising. MAB also encourages you to contact Senator Stabenow to express views of opposition.

FCC Becomes Latest Front in Battle against Performance Tax
The pro-performance tax coalition, Music First, has asked the FCC to investigate broadcast stations that allegedly cut back airing the music of artists who back a broadcast performance royalty, and also those stations that have run spots on the air opposing the legislation without giving the supporters of the royalty an opportunity to respond. While the facts used in the Music First filing are questionable, the issue raises a host of First Amendment questions. That is, for government to impose requirements on broadcasters, preventing them from speaking against an issue that has a dramatic impact on how they do business, clearly has free speech implications.

The legislative battle has turned its focus on the Senate. Several weeks ago Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) expressed his desire to hold hearings on the issue before the August recess. MAB is currently working with both Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow to secure their support for S. Con. Res. 14, the anti-performance tax resolution in the Senate.