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WYSO goes to school

A Raspberry for Delilah

Ryan Warrey on how a Raspberry Pi helps bring an iconic radio talent to the nation.

Blowing hot and cold

Buc Fitch shares his favorite HVAC tips from a career in the field.

Buyer’s Guide

The latest offerings from 14 automation, traffic and scheduling providers.

Photo by Ruthie Herman

We take you inside a facility project that encompasses history, technology, bohemian culture and Dave Chappelle.

Vol. 50 No. 16 | September 2026 www.radioworld.com FOLLOW US www.twitter.com/radioworld_news www.facebook.com/RadioWorldMagazine www.linkedin.com/company/radio-world-futureplc CONTENT Managing Director, Content & Editor in Chief Paul J. McLane, paul.mclane@futurenet.com, 845-414-6105 Content Producer Nick Langan, nicholas.langan@futurenet.com Technical Advisors W.C. “Cris” Alexander, Thomas R. McGinley, Doug Irwin Contributors: Michael Baldauf, David Bialik, John Bisset, Edwin Bukont, James Careless, Ken Deutsch, Todd Dixon, Mark Durenberger, Charles Fitch, Donna Halper, William Harrison, Alan Jurison, Paul Kaminski, John Kean, Mark Lapidus, James O’Neal, Jim Peck, Mark Persons, Jeremy Preece, John Schneider, Gregg Skall, Dan Slentz, Randy Stine, Tom Vernon, Chris Wygal Production Manager Nicole Schilling Senior Design Director Lisa McIntosh Senior Art Editor Will Shum ADVERTISING SALES Senior Business Director & Publisher, Radio World John Casey, john.casey@futurenet.com, 845-678-3839 Advertising EMEA Raffaella Calabrese, raffaella.calabrese@futurenet.com, +39 348 229 3293 SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE To subscribe, change your address, or check on your current account status, go to www.radioworld.com and click on Subscribe, email futureplc@computerfulfillment.com, call 888-266-5828, or write P.O. Box 254, Lowell, MA 01853. LICENSING/REPRINTS/PERMISSIONS Radio World is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing team to discuss partnership opportunities. Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw licensing@futurenet.com MANAGEMENT SVP, MD, B2B Amanda Darman-Allen VP, Market Lead Carmel King MD, Content, Broadcast Tech Paul J. McLane VP, Global Head of Sales, B2B Dena Malouf Managing VP of Sales, B2B Tech Adam Goldstein VP, Global Head of Strategy & Ops, B2B Allison Markert VP, Product & Marketing, B2B Andrew Buchholz Head of Production US & UK Mark Constance Head of Design, B2B Nicole Cobban

FUTURE US, INC. Future US LLC, 130 West 42nd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10036 All contents ©Future US, Inc. or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 02008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/ or have the necessary rights/permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future n or its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions. Radio World (ISSN 0274-8541) is published 13 times annually (monthly, and twice in December) by Future US, Inc. 130 W. 42nd St, 7th Floor, NY NY 10036. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Radio World, PO Box 254 Lowell MA 01853. Please recycle. We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards. The manufacturing paper mill and printer hold full FSC and PEFC certification and accreditation.

Youth movement Follow along as we profile the next generation of radio engineers

f more leaders of our industry do not start taking more responsibility for developing young talent, we are going Jake Bleck to be in a crisis situation very soon.” That remark was made by a 27-yearold engineer at WCBS(AM) in New York named Rob Bertrand. He was quoted in a Radio World story in January 2006 titled “Young Engineers, Please Paul NEWS Stand Up.” McLane From the Article author Ken Deutsch wrote: “We so often hear 3 Editor in Chief Editor the lament: ‘Where will the next generation of radio In Ohio’s Miami engineers come from?’ The stereotype — justified 5 Valley, WYSO or not — is of the engineer as a grizzled 60-year-old goes to school who grouses that the new-fangled computer gear isn’t as reliable as his FEATURES old Ampex machines and who will leave no replacement behind when Engineer gives he retires.” 12 Delilah a Ken continued: “No doubt radio engineering has its gray elders. But where Raspberry is the bright young talent? Radio World asked around; and we found to our How to pleasure no shortage of promising younger engineers active in the industry.” 16 approach an His article profiled six engineers, of which five were under age 30. HVAC project Now here we are more than 20 years later, and we still hear the lament: Buc’s top Where is the next generation of engineers? 20 HVAC tips I decided that Radio World would ask around again. We’ve launched a McKirdy: Radio series on our website by contributor Elle Kehres. And I’m happy to say that 22 can’t cut its we have a growing list of candidates to profile. way to Elle began her series by interviewing Jake Bleck, age 24. He’s a staff prosperity engineer and acting chief engineer for 10 stations owned by the Curtis A visit Media Group in Raleigh, N.C. We learned about Jake from Paul Michels, the 27 to WSM company’s director of group operations and IT. Stop selling “I do a bit of everything,” Jake told Elle. “I love that no two days are 28 radio the same.” Jake said he’s always had an interest in technology. In middle school, he 30 Marketplace was introduced to amateur radio by family friends. In high school, he ran the AV club. (Does any of this feel familiar?) BUYER’S GUIDE He went to work during COVID at WTKF(FM) and helped relocate the DAD helps 32 Ohio station studio. After that project, he offered to work carrying tools and turning maximize local wrenches whenever a second set of hands was needed. resources “The engineer took me up on my offer and we did several projects over “Bot Dillen” the next few years: transmitter installs, RF plumbing and antenna installs. I 34 picked up loved every minute of it.” where Brett Jake joined Curtis Media Group and attended the North Carolina Dillon left off Association of Broadcasters Broadcast Technology Academy, an initiative Worldwide we’ve told you about. 36 News Network “The path to amateur extra taught me a lot about RF theory,” he grows with NewsCloud continued. “I’ve spent most of my life around computers and my IT degree gives me a good understanding of internet protocol. I took construction in OPINION high school and worked for the local hardware store, so I know how to work Readers’ 45 Forum with my hands.

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THIS ISSUE

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News Section

Broadcast engineering is a very niche career field that ties all my hobbies together.

“Broadcast engineering is a very niche career field that ties all my hobbies together.” We’re asking these young engineers to tell us about a typical workday, to share their most interesting experiences and to compare their perceptions of radio with those of their age peers. I hope you’ll read along as we discover these next-gen technical professionals. The series appears in your daily Radio World SmartBrief email newsletter, which you can sign up for at our website under “Subscribe.” You can read the Jake Bleck interview at radioworld.com, type “Jake Bleck” into the search field.

Does our experience finding candidates for this series put to rest any worries about the future of radio engineering? Certainly not. (As I write, Curtis Media is recruiting for a replacement for a market chief who’d been there for 20 years. That kind of experience is hard to replace these days.) But I do think common wisdom often overstates a problem. For instance: “Why are there no women in radio engineering?” Elle’s Radio World series about women engineers showed that this common wisdom was at least simplistic. Perceptions also may be based on what we see at trade shows and SBE chapter meetings. But just because enthusiastic younger people aren’t coming to those events doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. (Why they aren’t coming is a good question in itself.) So here’s to the younger folks who are diving into this challenging, frustrating, exciting world of broadcast and digital media. Where will you take us? Rob Bertrand, now in his late 40s, has done well for himself. He went on to become head of technology for big public radio outlet WAMU in Washington and now is CEO and partner at Inrush Broadcast Services; he is often quoted in these pages and is an industry thought leader. Here’s hoping we’ll be talking about Jake Bleck and his peers in a similar vein in another 20 years.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Radio Facilities

Photo by Ben Guenther for WYSO

In Ohio’s Miami Valley, WYSO goes to school Its new facility in a historic schoolhouse supports its mission of news, music and storytelling

YSO Public Radio is broadcasting from its new home in a historic schoolhouse in Yellow Springs, part of Ohio’s DaytonSpringfield market. The FM station is a non-commercial NPR affiliate licensed to Miami Valley Public Media. The multi-year project included restoration and expansion of an iconic 1872 building, the construction

of new state-of-the-air studios and a big business boost from a famous comedian. Now the station has settled into its home in a village known for eclectic décor and bohemian culture. “How this project came to fruition is one of the factors that make it so unique and interesting,” said Jim Stitt, CPBE, president of JMS & Associates as well as WYSO’s chief engineer.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Above The building is a $15 million renovation of a historic 19th century schoolhouse. WYSO raised its own millions for the broadcast facilities.

Radio Facilities Photo by Kelly Ann for WYSO

WYSO had been sold by Antioch College to Miami Valley Public Media in 2019 and since then had rented space back from the college. But its lease at the Kettering building was set to expire this year. Comedian Dave Chappelle, a Yellow Springs resident, offered to renovate the historic Union Schoolhouse through his Iron Table Holdings real estate division. His company contributed $15 million to make WYSO’s new home a reality. The station leases the new space and it separately raised more than $3 million to complete its broadcast facilities. “The vision began to coalesce in 2020 and design commenced in 2021,” Stitt said. “Following a period of bidding, value engineering and contractor selection, construction commenced in 2024. WYSO began broadcasting from the new facility in April 2026.” The restored Union Schoolhouse features a central core atrium rising from the lower level to a rooftop skylight. The first two floors house the station administrative offices, archives and kitchen, as well as a classroom where the station trains community members to produce their own shows. The lobby features a 14-by-18-foot ceramic mural created by potter Naysan Mcllhargey that contains more than 4,000 ceramic pieces. A 10,000-square-foot addition houses the newsroom, music library, technical operations center, two air studios, production studio/control room, performance studio and four edit suites. There’s also an event space with stage that seats up to 110. Two of the edit suites emulate rooms at NPR headquarters, with a producer/engineer position for remote operation. The design of the production studio and control room was inspired by the “Live End Dead

Above On-air studio. Wheatstone networking, ENCO automation and Studio Technology cabinetry were among the equipment selections.

Below Dave Chappelle’s Iron Table Holdings renovated the building and is the station’s landlord. He spoke at the opening.

End” philosophy of acoustical design. The facility supports 5.1 surround monitoring and has multi-track recording capabilities paired with the performance studio or the event space. All studios have isolated floating floors, walls and ceilings with a maximum noise criterion of NC-25, and each studio has its own thermostat for independent HVAC control. Working under Miami Valley Public Media’s CEO Luke Dennis, Jim Stitt directed the project, including the technical plant, acoustical and architectural aspects, supported by Richard Schrag of Russ Berger Design Group. Iron Table Holdings hired Crome Architecture and Oberer Construction for the building overhaul. Interior design elements were contributed by J. Stanton of Studio Volant. “The studio integrator was the crack team from RadioDNA, led by Rob Goldberg and assisted by Russ Hines of JMS & Associates,” Stitt said. Vince Fiola of Studio Technology built custom cabinetry. Protocol Communications installed cabling and ITA Audio Video provided house AV systems.

Infrastructure

“We assume this will be WYSO’s forever home,” Stitt told Radio World. “The infrastructure and the systems were designed to be flexible, able to accommodate change and capable of being self-sufficient as well as maintaining accessibility to the cloud and outside world.” The studios feature a Wheatstone AoIP system including LXE and L-Series consoles. The production studio/control room and its LXE console are used for both typical stereo production as well as multitrack production by configuring custom layers on the LXE for each scenario, Stitt said. “The control room is also shared between the performance studio and event space, each with its own Wheatstone Stagebox. This required several creative custom scripts to control the sources, functions, ‘Recording’

Photo by Ruthie Herman

radioworld.com | September 2026

News Section The Donald Heinrich Main Lobby & Atrium, a three-story space blending old and new, features a large, striking ceramic mural by Naysan McIlhargey.

8 Photo by Ruthie Herman

lights, monitor speakers and talkback. Credit for that goes to the RadioDNA team.” The automation system is ENCO DAD. The fiber network and Cisco access points are by Miami Valley Educational Computer Associates, supported by Spectrum and Altafiber. “Another unique feature are the Technics SL-1200 MK7 turntables,” Stitt said. “Yes, turntables! WYSO has hosts that still play vinyl LPs!” It also has a library of 50,000 compact discs. A GatesAir digital MPX system delivers the content to a Nautel transmitter and ERI antenna via point-to-point fiber as well as a 960 MHz STL system for redundancy. The directional FM antenna is on a tower in Dayton and optimized to cover the Dayton MSA as well as a fastgrowing area between Dayton and Cincinnati in which 1.7 million people live.

Architect’s vision

The old schoolhouse was built in a Victorian Italianate style and was the village’s first integrated school. It later housed municipal offices. Jim Stitt told us that while excavating around the foundation during the restoration of the Union

Production Room 2.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Photo by Kelly Ann for WYSO

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Radio Facilities

WYSO is a one-ofa-kind station that epitomizes the best that radio has to offer.

Schoolhouse, the team discovered why the village is named Yellow Springs. “There is literally a spring running underneath the building. It required extensive and creative mitigation,” Stitt said. Architect Max Crome said the interior load-bearing brick walls divided the space into quadrants, which would have limited the circulation and public engagement needed for a community-oriented radio station. “To resolve this, the load-bearing masonry was replaced with a rigid steel frame,” Crome wrote in a project summary. “This structural intervention freed up the floor plan, allowing for flexible room placement and the introduction of a central atrium that visually and physically connects all three levels. While the original south-facing rooms enjoyed beautiful natural light, the building’s core was dark and forbidding. “The new steel framework allows light from the large historic windows to penetrate throughout the building.” Opening the space in this way also presented an opportunity to expose the building’s “bones.” “I created an open ceiling to reveal the original roof framing and removed the failing plaster to reveal the structural brick underneath,” Crome said. “The final design contrasts the raw details of the historic construction with modern office storefronts.” According to Crome, “The modern addition provided an opportunity to build what Le Corbusier might have called a ‘machine for making radio.’” He said the purpose-built structure enabled control over the station’s technical demands, including acoustics, broadcast functionality and live performance spaces. “When integrating a modern addition with a historic structure, the new must contrast harmoniously with the old. The addition’s exterior rhythm and massing take cues from the schoolhouse while ensuring the original structure maintains its visual prominence.” Crome reinterpreted the traditional bell tower as a modern stair tower, and instead of brick, he used a contemporary wood rainscreen. “Most importantly, I introduced no

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Above Chief Engineer Jim Stitt in the technical operations center.

Right The station has a bright new performance studio.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Radio Facilities

Photo by Ben Guenther for WYSO

new walls between the two structures, thereby preserving all four original exterior walls of the schoolhouse. The fourth historic wall is now experienced from within the new addition, touched by as little structural intervention as possible.”

A commitment to local Photo by Kelly Ann for WYSO

Photo by Kelly Ann for WYSO

WYSO began broadcasting with 10 watts of power in 1958 as a student-run station at Antioch College. The Union Schoolhouse is its fourth home since its launch. Today its 50 kW signal reaches 14 counties in southwest Ohio. The station features locally oriented music programs and it operates a full newsroom. It also leads the HBCU Radio Preservation project, which protects recordings from radio stations at historically Black colleges. And it has a dedicated music channel, Novaphonic.fm, heard online and on HD2. Jim Stitt acknowledged that this ambitious project was completed even as many radio stations in the country are downsizing studio facilities. “Streamlining and centralizing are certainly good business practices for owners of multiple stations,” he said when asked how this project fits into that picture. “However, downsizing or eliminating local studio facilities threatens one of radio’s primary advantages, and that is localism. WYSO is committed to producing high-quality local content, both in news and music, and fostering community involvement.” He said the primary mission of public radio is to cultivate a more informed, culturally enriched public through independent journalism, educational programming and community engagement. “That requires creative talent and local production facilities to provide the necessary tools.”

radioworld.com | September 2026

Above The lobby mural by Naysan McIlhargey references chimney swifts that live on the property.

More Photos

Find a virtual tour by scrolling down at www.wyso. org/wysostation-updates.

Workbench

Engineer gives Delilah a Raspberry CPBE The author is a longtime radio engineer, contract engineer and technology account executive. He is a past recipient of the SBE Educator of the Year Award.

Tips Please

Your tech tips are what make Workbench go, and they qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@ gmail.com.

Above Ryan Warrey Right The Channel Master ProFloodlight is driven by low-voltage power over coaxial cable.

A Raspberry Pi, that is, and it’s helping bring her syndicated show to listeners

yan Warrey, engineer for “Delilah,” read our August column about how Crawford Broadcasting uses Raspberry Pi computers to create custom studio annunciator tools. “You might get a kick out of knowing that Raspberry Pis practically run the Delilah show,” he told us. “One of them has been transporting just about every word she’s said on air from her home studios, for a little over four years now.” The show uses a VoxPro but, Ryan said, “It’s not supposed to be possible to run it remotely, because the software still uses video-game-style UDP broadcast packets, and that Layer 2 stuff can’t traverse over a normal VPN. “But with a Raspberry Pi 4, a specific version of open-source software and some very careful firewall rules, you can build a Layer 2 bridge that can make VoxPro work like it’s on the network at headquarters.” It passes connection for remote VSets too, and it only costs you a Pi plus some time configuring free software. “The setup process involves specific versions of software, a secret command to enable TAP and some important firewall rules to make this safe to use,” he continued. “A Layer 2 tunnel is akin to leaving an Ethernet cable to your network hanging in a dark alley way if not secured well.” Ryan also described how the show gets its caller audio to and from the studio and monitors its shows remotely when needed. “We’ve tried just about every option

when it comes to connecting audio to remote studios. But of all things, the open-source software SonoBus is what won — lossless audio, under 30 ms, connects from anywhere, any device. And it’s free. We love the opensource world.” Ryan is working on a project that will make Delilah’s broadcast calls entirely web-based, without relying on hardware. “Calls are already all-digital now, so all of this could really just be done locally in a web browser and maybe a hardware controller.” Share your favorite Raspberry Pi problemsolver with us.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Photo b y Chann el Maste r

John Bisset

Smart lighting

Channel Master has a professionalgrade “smart” outdoor flood light that

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Workbench

Here’s a photo of the tiny Pi server (below). I just noticed the fan failed, but these Pis just do not care.

uses an F-connector, the type you see on TV cables. Dan Slentz spotted this and thought Workbench readers might have ideas about how to use it. “Maybe a nice thing for a station where employees can turn on extra lights outside at quitting time, or at the transmitter site.” It uses a low-voltage power delivery system called Coax-Power for installation up to 150 feet from an electrical outlet. Why is it “smart”? Because you can control and automate the floodlight with the Apple Home app and Siri on supported Apple devices (unfortunately not Android). The company calls it “the only smart floodlight powered over coax cable.” It delivers up to 2,000 lumens of “clean, natural 4000K outdoor lighting” and retails for $199. At www.channelmaster.com, search “pro-floodlight.”

Amazon

wrote from Malaysia. “It’s very useful, especially when you want to measure the voltage of lithium ‘coin’ batteries such as CR2032.” The tweezer clip permits your probes to snap in place, so you can hold onto the probes with one hand and use the other to make measurements. The holder costs only around a dollar. At the Temu or Amazon websites, search “One-Hand Multimeter Clip.”

Hip clip tip

Paul Sagi appreciated that little probe holder gizmo that we mentioned in July. “The clip arrived today and I used it immediately,” he

Right With a Raspberry Pi 4, a specific version of opensource software and some very careful firewall rules, you can build a Layer 2 bridge that can make VoxPro work like it’s on the network at headquarters. Top Right O’scope probes can be held snugly, permitting measurements with one hand.

Short-handed

“Even big groups have problems with having enough engineering staff nowadays,” according to Tom Taggart of Seven Ranges Radio in Parkersburg, W.Va. It can get to the point where the engineering staff can’t keep track of the stations. “My remaining FM is on a high ridge outside Parkersburg. Also on the tower is another Class A fullpower FM, a translator for my AM station, three other AM translators and a low-power TV on Channel 8. Just 350 feet west is the tower for two FMs owned by one of the big national radio corporations.” Tom relates that he was visiting his site while the TV engineers were connecting up their equipment. “A fellow comes in the transmitter room, stares at the array of racks with the six FM transmitters, and asks, ‘What station is this?’” Apparently the regional engineer for the big national radio company was on vacation, so this fellow was sent in from another market to fix one of their stations. He saw all the activity at Tom’s 60-by-40-foot building and assumed that was his site.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Tech Tips Writer

Charles S. Fitch P.E. The author is a longtime contributor whose articles about engineering and radio history are a popular recurring feature.

Right Retrofit fan replacement on a 3-ton HVAC with economizer system for a 2 kW transmitter site. Insulation on ducts was added shortly after this pic was taken.

How to approach an HVAC project We aim to create an efficient, effective, durable system that produces a comfortable space

rom my client experience, most studios in 2026 have moved into rented space where heating, ventilation and air conditioning are handled by building management. And with solid-state gear, heat loads in a typical studio or business office often can be addressed by focusing just on HVAC distribution. But that’s not true for all broadcasters. And many of us also still control and dictate the HVAC at the transmitter shack or the space allotted for such use, such as the top floor of a tall building. This space obviously has special needs in our business so let’s use it as a typical space for a review of HVAC issues. Because broadcasting is 24/7/365, we cannot approach the design, installation and maintenance of these systems with a cavalier attitude. “No air, no business” is not far from the truth. We’ll leave calculation methods for another time but let’s consider issues and parameters involved to approach an ideal system. We all know the cost of power will not be going down. And given the ascendant demands of AI, power may be less readily available in quantity in the future. So total system efficiency should be our priority. Here are six areas that must be addressed in every serious HVAC effort:

has two outside lumber-framed walls, and the stud voids are insulated with R-19 fiberglass battens. The wall surface is 1/2-inch plywood. R-value is an industry convention that measures insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it. The higher the R-value, the better the thermal resistance performance of the insulation. An ancient adage amongst electrical types is that one cannot have too much grounding. In HVAC design, one can almost never have too much R. Heat load: Our example room might accommodate a

• Calculate the area to be treated (assuming a standard 8-foot ceiling) or total volume when the ceiling is higher • Quality or effectiveness of insulation (this determines thermal incursion) • Heat load in the space • Sun or snow exposure outside • Ambient outside temperature range • Humidity level Taking those into account, consider a typical space measuring 12 feet by 12 feet — so an area of 144 square feet — and a drop ceiling at 8 feet. Insulation: This fantasy room probably

radioworld.com | September 2026

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Tech Tips

numbers led us to a 1-1/2-ton (18,000 BTU) split We all know the cost of The system unit. The SEER number for the split system was a notably power will high 33.3 (SEER2) using R454B refrigerant. It was Energy Star rated (think rebate). not be going down. SEER is Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. It is a measure of the cooling efficiency of an air conditioner or And given the ascendant heat pump. SEER2 is the current standard. demands of AI, power may Calculating on the back of an envelope, our life cycle cost for 10 years came out to 19 cents an hour, using be less readily available in an estimated 50% duty cycle and 4% cost of money/ inflation. quantity in the future. Much of our technical work in broadcasting is big

Right Interior distribution with feed on top and return on bottom including filter rack.

500-watt FM translator and some racked support gear. We’ll simplify matters by not having windows (better for security anyway) and no concern for people working regularly in the space. Sun load is a notable factor, usually on the east and west sides of the building, whether through the windows or the skin of the structure. Snow and ice are a factor on all outside walls. Ambient temperature: Here in the northeast, we should expect averages of 20 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit, with extremes of 0 to 100. Again we are not planning for regular human occupation. Humidity: Air conditioning reduces humidity in the space, but high outside humidity reduces compressor coil transfer efficiency. My experience is that transmitter spaces can be kept between 55 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit if rack gear depends on ambient room air. Interior space, as for racks and enclosures, runs hotter, and computer-based gear is far more sensitive than discrete circuits of the past. So 80 degrees is a prudent top, with 55 being the point here in the northeast where moisture starts plating out on metal. With a typical tech demand as described above of 1,500 watts or so, and assuming ~60% system efficiency, we could approach an empirical 1,000 watts of waste heat into the space. In a recent real-world project, we considered the factors above as well as declining efficiency from hygiene factors and aging over the years.

bold strokes filled in with fine details. HVAC is an excellent example. Werner Heisenberg, one of the great perceptive physicists, opined that an expert was one who knew the most expensive mistakes in their field and how to avoid them. So plug in your experience and do not hesitate to query the expertise of your peers. At the conclusion of a successful design and installation of any interior, climate control will be an efficient, effective, durable system producing a comfortable usable space.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Tech Tips

Buc’s top HVAC tips Best practices from his decades of HVAC design, maintenance and construction

 Periodically check thermostat settings, general arrangements and the presence of air flow. If your thermostats are accessible to staffers who are unaware that the controls are set at design points for a reason, these will get adjusted when folks feel too hot or too cold. Doors that have been propped open between zones or supply duct grills that have been taped over because of a perceived draft are examples of how even the best systems can be undermined.  A confidence technique that is primitive but useful is to place small colorful pennons on all supply vents, especially those that are difficult to reach. In high-volume, low-velocity systems, these pennons (also called tapers) are especially useful for evaluation.

Photo by Getty Images

ature has a rhythm, and since HVAC is an exercise of controlling nature in a confined space, we’d best follow that rhythm. Here are tips as a companion to the article on the previous pages.

 Change or rotate filters in the path of air flow on a seasonable basis. In systems with multiple air handling units that experience uneven run time, an option is to move filters around to maximize flow; it can help you in a bind.

 Replace filters using the proper sizes, installed in the correct direction of flow and with the designed MERV value. The higher the value, the more restrictive a filter is to flow, as removes ever-tinier air-borne material.  As part of your maintenance, confirm that duct joints are tight (duct tape is called duct tape for a reason). Check that belts are tightened properly, all motors are oiled and the leading edges of fans are clean. Industry research has established that buildup of insects and particulate matter on fans can reduce air flow performance drastically.

Above Best practice is to elevate outside units above the snow, ice and vegetation line. Space apart per manufacturer’s recommendation or more.

 Prophylactically clean out air conditioning coils thoroughly before the cooling season. Pine pollen, insects, waste from co-habiting vermin all clog the flow of transfer air and drastically impede or terminate the cooling process.  In a heat pump system, clean out the outside coils before the heating season.  Especially in a heat pump, make certain the outside unit is above the snow line and located so as to minimize driving rain or ice directly on the unit.

 If your equipment has fusible disconnects, keep replacement fuses on hand to restore your system to normal protection configuration after troubleshooting. A workable alternative is to adjust current trip points or trip curve such that the CB panel breaker will trip first.  Review your electric bills periodically vis à vis degree days to check overall efficiency. If your power bill is out of proportion with the weather or notably different from last year, conduct an end-to-end review of the HVAC.  Be aware of your operating temperatures, inside and out. Temperature sensors are affordable and facilitate sampling at multiple locations. Configure them to your remote control setup with automatic alarms as well.  In most circumstances, AC runs way more than heat. Use thermal reality to your advantage, feeding into the space as high as possible and returning the air from as low an input point as achievable.  Be wary of spacing between multiple outside wall and pad-mounted equipment to prevent concentrated heat to build up. Follow manufacturer guidelines for separation to maintain rated efficiencies.  Insulation should include an appropriate water barrier. If it doesn’t, install a separate barrier.  In ducted systems, an economizer damping system that uses outside air for cooling can save substantial costs. If the heat load in the space is large, consult an experienced professional because, let me state this simply, the design in this instance gets tricky.  A point of failure often overlooked is the condensate drain. It should have a full-size trap, oversized drain pipe diameter, greater than 5-degree pitch and an output port free of potential icing or vermin or vegetation blockage.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Radio Management Writer

Randy J. Stine Radio World’s lead news contributor interviewed Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw in the August issue.

McKirdy: Radio can’t cut its way to prosperity

If you hold up a mirror to your community, “you should see the call letters in the reflection”

t might be hard to find anyone in the radio industry who exudes more confidence in its future than Bruce McKirdy. The veteran of more than 40 years in radio runs stations for Hubbard Broadcasting in Brainerd and Bemidji, Minn., 11 stations in all. McKirdy’s perspective is both refreshing and reassuring. What he lacks in large-market experience he makes up for in small-market practicality. If you were to hold up a mirror to a community, he says, “you should see the call letters in the reflection.”

Top Bruce McKirdy with logos of the company’s Minnesota stations, including ones he manages in Brainerd and Bemidji.

Relevance gets results

McKirdy, 62, is regional general manager for the familyowned company founded in 1923 by Stanley E. Hubbard. Brainerd and Bemidji are northwest of Minneapolis and separated by about 100 miles. McKirdy spends the majority of his time in Brainerd, tackling what he believes is the most pressing issue facing commercial radio managers

in America. “It’s perception. Radio is 100 years old and we’re not sexy anymore. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. I suggest exactly the opposite. Radio works, creates trust, familiarity, connection and opportunity.” When McKirdy hears a client say that radio doesn’t work, he calls a timeout and offers a rebuttal. “We have case study after case study that prove radio is still as relevant as it’s ever been. But it also depends on how radio is presenting itself.” Negative headlines about large U.S. radio companies and their financial issues don’t dim his optimism. “If you approach radio with a hub-and-spoke strategy that a lot of the big companies want to do, it’s a no-win. I don’t believe you can spread a staff over 200 stations and win,” McKirdy says. “However, if you have a local presence that creates local content about things that are happening in the community, well then suddenly you’re relevant.” He says people will listen to relevant radio. And it will get results.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Radio Management

Above “If you have a local presence that creates local content about things that are happening in the community, well then suddenly you’re relevant.”

“It’s remarkable to me how this is to some extent a foreign concept, and I think it really comes back to people trying to budget-cut their way into prosperity, and it’s not possible.” Small-market tactics could work for the larger groups, he says, but first you need the ear of the community. He says that his stations are in the community for more than 200 dates a year, broadcasting ballgames, doing speaking engagements and conducting remotes. “If you’ve got three people on your staff of four stations, you’re going to create no margin for yourself to be able to interact with the community. Those three employees will be lucky to finish their workload in a day.” But for stations that approach things correctly, with a staff who are live and local, he feels the outlook is positive. “If you want to talk dollars and cents from a management standpoint, the economic future of terrestrial radio is strong if and only if it moves from that

idea of being more than just a transmitter to the idea of we are locally produced content and we super serve our audience,” he said. “I don’t care how you super-service, it might be online, it might be on air, it may be through Alexa, it might be through apps. You can deliver it any way you want it, but if the definition of radio is locally produced audio, locally produced content, I think the future of radio is very bright.” AI continues to make inroads in broadcasting, and McKirdy’s group is no different. “You can’t ignore AI, and we are using it. AI has some significant advantages if it’s used by a human on its own,” he said. “I’ve heard of stations that are trying to be all AI. It’s not interesting. I think it’ll be novelty for a short time. That said, the worst that AI is ever going to be is today, and then tomorrow will be the worst day, and then the day after. It’s going to improve.” Meanwhile, digital in a small market plays a key role. It makes up about 23% of his local group’s business. “And it is growing and growing quickly. You can’t ignore digital. Radio is our core business. Digital is our growth business,” he said. “Let’s say those numbers flip, that someday it winds up being 75% digital and 25% radio. I would suggest that it is the connection to the community from the radio that is going to be your ticket in to have conversations about digital advertising.” Finding the right digital tools for the job is key, he says, and Hubbard has hundreds. “We have a separate division for it. It’s called 2060 Digital, and it is world-class. All of our sellers are aware of it and selling it.” The company recently rebranded as “Hubbard — Media That Connects.” McKirdy said it’s significant. “There’s this debate: ‘Oh, should we be a radio first company? Should we be a digital first company?’ This is our way of saying ‘No, we’re client first, we’re audience first.’ We’re going to meet the customers and audiences wherever they are.” He described the company’s podcast business as “exploding.” “We’re already number eight in the nation. We’re not just a radio company. We’re all of the above, but we are customers and audience first, and then we’ll figure out what that means.” On a larger industry scope, McKirdy expresses concern about the possibility of more consolidation. “I’m open to it; I think it was needed in 1996 when they deregulated, it was necessary, and large broadcast groups became a thing,” he said. “But if companies are going to use bankruptcy as a business model, if we buy a bunch of stations and then go bankrupt, that has to stop. We need to keep stop making it so easy. There is a very simple solution you could put

radioworld.com | September 2026

Radio Management

“ ” Facebook

Radio is our core business. Digital is our growth business. Above U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar posted on Facebook to congratulate KBHP(FM) “KB101” for receiving the NAB Crystal Radio Award for community service for the seventh time. She’s with air talent Kev Jackson and Dave Brooks at the Bemidji Fire Station.

in place. The FCC could say if you are going to declare bankruptcy, you forfeit your FCC licenses.” He thinks groups would change the way they operate with such guardrails in place. “Companies would make very different decisions if they’re they knew there were real consequences. You have to get rid of the bailout.” McKirdy is keeping an eye on the proposed AM for Every Vehicle Act. His three AMs operate with FM translators. “I would say the vast majority of our listenership to our AM station is on the FM band on those translators. Translators are just wildly important for the AM band,” he said. “But this is really more a fight for the dashboard. Radio is the largest Monetize the dashboard Increase Revenues & Ratings competitor for everything else in your car, and if it can be eliminated from MAKE the dashboard, even by picking off an YOUR STATION POP! AM station, what you’re really saying

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is that only internet products remain. And they’ll get a subscription fee for that.”

Youthful goal

McKirdy — who has nine grandkids and another on the way — hopes to work another 10 years. He credits a fourth-grade mentor for inspiring him to get into radio. “There’s always a teacher in your life who really mattered to you. For me it was Mrs. Speck. In fourth grade she had radio days in her class. I was a disc jockey, and we had a news guy, we had a sales guy, we had a station manager. I remember coming home that day and telling my mom, Maybelle, that I was going to grow up and work in radio. “I’m sure she thought: ‘Well, this fourth grader doesn’t really know.’ But I was dead serious.” In 1983 McKirdy begged his way into a job at KSDN(AM) in Aberdeen, S.D., in 1983. He went on to work other radio jobs in Grand Forks, S.D., and then Gillette, Wyo. He was also a radio consultant for a time. His track record of success in small markets includes 23 years as VP of Paradis Broadcasting in Alexandria, Minn., where he was mentored by Brett Paridis of Paridis Broadcasting, whom he found to be mst inspiring. “Brett was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2025. I’ll never be as good as he was, but he showed me how valuable having a mentor can be. I try to emulate him with my staff,” McKirdy said. “My style is to give my team the tools they need to win and get out of the way. You gotta let them take on responsibility and grow.”

radioworld.com | September 2026

Facilities A Visit to WSM Radio World contributor Mark Persons and his wife Paula recently had the chance to visit the transmitter site of 50 kW AM station WSM in Nashville. He shared photos from the visit on the Radio World website. “The WSM transmitter is located just off Interstate 65, some 13 miles south of downtown Nashville,” Mark wrote. “Chief Engineer Jason Cooper was there to show us around.” The iconic radio home of the “Grand Ole Opry” continues to serve a large part of the country with country music. Mark posted photos of the famous Blaw-Knox tower as well as a 1930s rotating beacon light, a boson’s chair once used to hoist workers aloft, the machine shop (including Civil Defense supplies left over from the Cold War), an old portable remote broadcast transmitter and an open-wire transmission line system that still stands but is no longer used. “Like many heritage AM stations, the call letters meant something,” Mark wrote. “WSM stood for ‘We Shield Millions,’ because it was owned by an insurance company back in the day. They started broadcasting on another frequency in

October 1925 but began serving the nation on 650 kHz in 1932.” In the early days, 20 engineers were on staff to keep the place running in the 1930s and 1940s. Its longtime nickname is “The Air Castle of the South.” To find “A Visit to Nashville’s WSM(AM),” go to radioworld.com and type “WSM” into the search field.

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Today’s best account executives should think more like fractional chief marketing officers.

Stop selling radio

When you begin with inventory, you’re a vendor. When you begin with objectives, you’re a consultant Mark Lapidus is a veteran multi-platform media and marketing executive.

More Info

Learn more about the report findings. At www. rab.com/ webcasts/wod. cfm, scroll to “Unveiling the 2026 Borrell Benchmark Report.”

hen was the last time a client bought advertising from your station because they wanted radio? Probably never. Clients buy advertising because they want business results: more customers, more phone calls, stronger brand awareness, increased website or social traffic, more people walking through the front door, more appointments and ultimately more products or services sold. Business growth has always been — and always will be — the bottom line. The RAB’s 2026 Radio Matters–Borrell Digital Benchmarking Report, released earlier this year, reinforces this reality. While advertisers continue to value branding, they increasingly expect accountability. Nearly half of radio advertisers now employ at least one full-time marketing professional, and radio’s digital advertising revenue has grown to $2.3 billion — about one-quarter of the industry’s total revenue. Today’s account executive doesn’t just need to understand digital and social media; they need to have

creative expertise in the field. The old-school approach is to sell inventory. The modern approach is to sell outcomes. Take a fresh look at your sales presentation. If it leads with ratings, cost per thousand, frequency and spot schedules, move those slides to the back. Clients don’t wake up wondering about CPMs. They wake up wondering how to grow their business. When you begin with inventory, you’re a vendor. When you begin with business objectives, you’re a marketing consultant. I remember attending a sales seminar years ago that emphasized customer needs analysis before discussing media. It was ahead of its time. Unfortunately, many salespeople returned to selling schedules instead of solving problems. Today’s best account executives should think more like fractional chief marketing officers. Start by asking about business goals. Is the client trying to increase repeat business? Fill slow weekdays? Launch a new product? Hire employees? Drive attendance to an event? Those objectives may call for radio, but they could also

radioworld.com | September 2026

Promo Power benefit from social media, podcasts, email, influencers, video or search marketing. Set realistic expectations, too. If a client expects 500 new customers in a week, ask whether any previous campaign has ever produced that kind of response. Don’t wait until the schedule ends to reconnect. Check in halfway through the campaign and ask, “Are we moving the needle?” If not, there’s still time to adjust the 2026 ANNUAL REPORT creative, strengthen the offer, add The Big another platform or even rethink the Headlines success metric. At the conclusion, conduct what many technology companies call a Quarterly Business Review — even if the campaign only lasted a month. Bring website analytics, CRM data, call volume, lead counts, social engagement and whatever attribution data you can gather. Then ask the client to grade the campaign. What worked? What didn’t? What should we change next time? The purpose of the meeting isn’t to prove that radio worked. It’s to discover how the next campaign can work

Ad Sales Staffs Now Outnumbered 3 to 1 By a Rising Army of ‘Marketers’

Find this chart on

Page

Graph by Borrell Inc

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Borrell; 2024 is latest data available

even better using all available platforms. The moment you stop asking “How many spots do you want?” and start asking “What business problem are we solving?” you’ve moved on from selling radio. You’ve become something far more valuable and much harder for a competitor to replace.

Above Graphic from the Borrell/RAB report shows that ad sales staffs in the economy are being supplanted by “marketers.”

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Automation, Traffic & Scheduling About Buyer’s Guide

The Buyer’s Guide section appears in every monthly issue, focusing on a particular category of equipment and services. It is intended to help buyers know what’s on the market and gain insight into how their peers are using such products.

Right Rachel Schlarb in the studio with ENCO DAD automation.

More Info www.enco.com

DAD helps Ohio station maximize local resources Over two decades, WLOH Radio Company has expanded its ENCO automation platform

or many broadcasters, radio automation is about keeping stations on the air. For WLOH Radio Company in Ohio, automation is equally about helping a small staff accomplish the work of a much larger operation while preserving the local programming that defines its stations. The company has relied on ENCO’s DAD radio automation platform since purchasing WLOH in Lancaster more than two decades ago. As the company expanded through acquisitions (including WLGN in Logan and additional Ohio stations), its DAD ecosystem grew alongside it, connecting multiple studio locations through a secure VPN and creating a unified production environment. “Whether I’m in Lancaster or Logan, I need access to the same assets so I can produce programming for any station,” said Mark Bohach, owner of WLOH Radio Company. “It shouldn’t matter which studio we’re sitting in. ENCO built a customized system that synchronizes everything seamlessly.” That connectivity supports an operation covering roughly a dozen Ohio counties while allowing staff to share resources efficiently across multiple stations. Automation also simplifies daily workflows. Bohach uses DAD to generate music logs a full week in advance while commercial playlists are updated daily allowing for last-minute sales orders. The system allows multiple playlists to interact seamlessly, giving announcers more time to focus on programming rather than administrative tasks. Several DAD utilities have become indispensable. Dropbox automatically ingests hundreds of files each day including news, weather and farm reports, while PADapult distributes metadata to station streams, RDS systems and wall displays. Ensemble creates weekly music schedules, and ListServer keeps playlists synchronized across studios, allowing talent to make last-minute programming changes without disrupting live operations.

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“We’re squeezing maximum efficiency out of our staff,” Bohach said. “Without ENCO doing all of this automatically, I’d probably need at least two more employees just to handle manual operational work. Instead, we can put those resources into serving our listeners.” Bohach has also developed custom commands within DAD to automate precise on-air functions, demonstrating the platform’s flexibility. He credits ENCO’s engineering team for supporting those innovations over their lengthy partnership. He said ENCO “gives us the tools and help us make them do exactly what we need.”

“

Whether I’m in Lancaster or Logan, I need access to the same assets so I can produce programming for any station.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Tech Update AEQ: Automation Evolves Into Visual Content AEQ notes that as broadcasters expand across streaming platforms, social media and new digital channels, automation is taking a much broader role, enabling creation and distribution of multimedia content without increasing operational complexity. It said AEQ AudioPlus brings together content management, automatic scheduling, playlist generation and unattended playout in a single platform designed for both standalone stations and networked broadcast operations. It enables centralized workflow management, supports multiple operator workstations and integrates with third-party applications, while maintaining flexibility for live production. Extending beyond audio, AEQ VisualRplus integrates into a station’s production environment to automate video production by using mic level information provided by AEQ mixing consoles or Netbox interfaces to cameras, execute PTZ movements and perform

automatic transitions. The system can receive commands from AudioPlus and from programmable keys on AEQ consoles to trigger clips, insert graphics or execute other predefined actions. A radio program can become an automated visual radio production, ready for streaming, digital platforms or even television. VisualRplus includes the optional Mix Playout module, providing automated video playout and 24/7 scheduling capabilities. Info: https://aeq.es/en

radioworld.com | September 2026

Buyer’s Guide

“Bot Dillen” picked up where Brett Dillon left off KHYI uses NextAI to extend the legacy of a 30-year air personality

HYI 95.3 “The Range” is an independent commercial FM station operating in the Dallas– Fort Worth market, with a signal focused across the northern Metroplex and into the Sherman– Denison region. When longtime KHYI personality Brett Dillon retired after 30 years with the station, management faced an unusual challenge: how to honor his legacy while maintaining continuity for listeners who had heard his voice for decades. Dillon privately informed station management of his retirement two weeks before KHYI’s 30th Anniversary Texas Music Revolution festival. The station did not announce the news on the air until the week of his retirement and the festival.

KHYI temporarily operated from a storefront in downtown McKinney and broadcast live from the location. Listeners were able to stop by throughout the week and help send Dillon into retirement in person. With Dillon’s permission and support, the station worked with NextKast during the two-week transition to create an AI version of his voice using NextAI. The resulting personality, named “Bot Dillon,” launched on June 8, 2026. NextAI is an integrated AI system built into NextKast OnAir automation, which also incorporates music scheduling. Because the music schedule, programming log, automation and AI tools operate within the same system, KHYI did not need to add a separate application or rebuild its existing workflow.

More Info

www.nextkast. com

The station added AI break markers to its logs and created a personality description defining Bot Dillon’s voice, style and on-air approach. NextAI then uses the surrounding music and scheduled programming elements as context when generating each break. During the transition period, KHYI worked with NextKast to adjust its logs, refine the personality instructions and prepare the system for launch. Rather than positioning the project as a full-time replacement, KHYI uses Bot Dillon for a limited two-hour weekday shift from 10 a.m. to noon. The AI personality creates its breaks within the station’s normal programming log and works around the music, imaging and other scheduled elements already managed by NextKast OnAir. The arrangement was developed with Dillon’s direct involvement. KHYI management and Dillon agreed on a monthly stipend that compensates him for licensing the use of his voice. The station has also been open with listeners about the project. KHYI has not attempted to present Bot Dillon as the original personality or conceal its use of artificial intelligence. “Having Brett’s blessing and compensating him fairly makes this an ethical way to use AI to keep his voice alive on the station he called home for 30 years,” said Chuck Taylor of KHYI. “Listener reaction has been positive, with some even questioning if he actually retired. We are very pleased with the results of NextAI.” For KHYI, the project demonstrates a controlled and transparent use of AI in radio. It allows the station to preserve a familiar voice and recognize a longtime personality’s contribution without creating a full-time artificial replacement or using his likeness without consent. It also shows how an integrated AI system can be introduced without forcing a station to operate an additional platform. With music scheduling, automation and AI operating in the same NextKast OnAir environment, the station primarily needed to add break markers and define the personality. “The result is both a tribute to Dillon’s three decades at KHYI and a practical example of how a station can use AI with permission, compensation and clear limits,” according to NextKast.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update APEX Pairs Flexibility With Savvy Support Arrakis Systems highlights APEX automation for combining dependability, flexible operating tools and direct access to support specialists. “Stations can shape APEX around the way they actually operate, whether blending live, satellite and automated programming, running a single studio or overseeing multiple stations from a single location.” The company now is building the next generation, saying it will unite browser-based station management with dependable local playout in one hybrid system. “The goal is cloud-enabled automation without being clouddependent. With all the flexibility of remote voice tracking, audio editing, library management and scheduling, stations gain the freedom to manage day-to-day operations from virtually anywhere without sacrificing the reliability of local playout.” Arrakis highlights its support specialists who can provide initial training, configuration support and additional guidance when new employees come aboard or responsibilities change, as well as help stations connect to outside scheduling or traffic software.

“For smaller stations and lean engineering teams, that direct relationship is especially valuable.” Info: www.arrakis-systems.com

radioworld.com | September 2026

Buyer’s Guide

Worldwide News Network grows with NewsCloud Browser-based newsroom environment is intended to increase productivity and efficiency

More Info

www.radio. cloud

Above Right Lee Harris, left, Red Apple Media SVP of news and programming, and Bill Rehkopf, Worldwide News Network news anchor, are in the main WWNN studio. NewsCloud is in the background on the left monitor.

hen CBS News broadcast its final newscast on May 22, the Worldwide News Network launched less than an hour later on May 23. Using Radio.Cloud’s NewsCloud platform, the network — which is based at WABC Radio and Red Apple Media in New York City — immediately began to deliver top and bottom of the hour live updates. NewsCloud is a browser-based newsroom environment meant to increase productivity and efficiency, allowing anchors to write, record and produce hundreds of newscasts each hour. The supplier said this is possible in a nearto-live environment with many hyper-localized versions, or a truly live one-to-many product like the Worldwide News Network is doing. Lee Harris, Red Apple Media’s senior vice president of news and programming, told Radio.Cloud, “The learning curve for an experienced radio newscaster or producer is under an hour. All our newscasts and social media output comes from NewsCloud. We have anchors and reporters working here in NYC and DC, along with some remote editors, and all work of consequence is performed within NewsCloud — text and audio ingestion, scriptwriting, most audio editing, and feature feeds to affiliates.” Based on the Worldwide News Network’s operational workflow, NewsCloud built new features including an interactive Prompter Mode. This allows anchors to perform all prompter functions and audio playout from buttons on the studio console. “Because of this, there’s no struggle with keyboards or mouse clicks during a newscast, allowing anchors to remain focused on delivering their copy,” the supplier states. “The same control functionality is achieved with smaller devices like Rodecaster, which Worldwide News Network has as a standby console.” Besides the NewsCloud Production dashboard, the suite of tools includes NewsCloud Editorial, which conglomerates RSS feeds and wires that a client subscribes to, and NewsCloud Content, which allows content management and browser-based editing of audio

actualities and sound bites. “Being cloud-based, new features and enhancements are added daily within a matter of hours. This type of speed and customization isn’t possible with traditional or legacy software,” Radio.Cloud says. The Worldwide News Network plans to expand globally and take advantage of NewsCloud’s localization capabilities.

“

There’s no struggle with keyboards or mouse clicks during a newscast, allowing anchors to remain focused on delivering their copy.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update XRadio Enhanced With AI Support AxelTech has introduced AI-assisted functionality to XRadio, its automation and music scheduling software, to speed up content and metadata tasks. AI support is available in two areas of XRadio. In text fields, combo boxes and memo fields, users can use the AI Rewrite and Translate functions, providing a quick way to adjust or convert text. The song panel offers Genre Detection and Song Metadata Enrichment. When the first is enabled, AI analyzes a track and assigns a sub-genre from the WinAmp genre list to a dedicated user field, helping keep music libraries tagged consistently. When Song Metadata Enrichment is active, AI fills in empty primary metadata fields by sourcing information from the internet, reducing manual data entry. Broadcasters can fine-tune the prompts driving these features through an editable AIDirectives.json file, allowing them to refine

results to fit their library standards and preferences, and can adjust how the software queries and interprets data over time. Planned enhancements include AI-generated short DJ presentation notes for tracks, optional data verification, auto-completion of fields like mood and energy, and exploratory tools for log analysis. Info: www.axeltechnology.com

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Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update BSI Showcases Stratus and Simian Pro 3.0 Broadcast Software International highlights BSI Stratus Music Scheduling and Simian Pro 3.0 automation. “Designed to help broadcasters streamline operations, Stratus delivers powerful music scheduling tools that simplify playlist creation, improve audience targeting and optimize station programming,” it said. Stratus also provides advanced scheduling analytics and flexible programming controls, enabling stations to fine-tune music rotations, balance artist exposure and respond quickly to changing listener preferences. BSI cites tools to help programmers manage dayparting, specialty shows and long-term music strategies while maintaining consistent station sound. The platform supports data-driven decision-making by giving stations greater visibility into scheduling trends and music performance. Meanwhile, it said Simian Pro 3.0 offers enhanced workflow

efficiency, reliable on-air performance and expanded automation capabilities. “Simian Pro 3.0 is a comprehensive step forward in broadcast software, helping stations manage content more effectively while maintaining seamless operation.” Its modern architecture is designed to reduce manual intervention, improves reliability and provides greater control over live and automated programming. Info: www.bsiusa.com

Tech Update Marketron PayNow Adds QR Code Payment Option Marketron PayNow is now offering QR code payments. “Stations that rely heavily on check payments typically see longer collection cycles than those using electronic payment methods,” Marketron says. “QR code payments are one more option designed to shorten that cycle by removing steps between invoice and payment.” Advertisers scan a code on their invoice with a phone camera and are taken to a secure payment page, with no login, account or app download needed. Payment can be

completed in seconds via ACH or credit card. “This works alongside PayNow’s existing guest checkout option, which already allows advertisers to pay without creating an account,” the company said. “QR code payments give advertisers an additional way to reach that same checkout, one that doesn’t require opening an email or navigating to a web link.” PayNow connects with Marketron Traffic, Visual Traffic and RadioTraffic. Invoices push automatically from the traffic system to the advertiser, with no manual entry on the station’s end. Once payment is completed by QR code, guest checkout or loggedin account, it imports into accounts receivable, removing the need for manual reconciliation. Completed payments can fund in as little as one business day, depending on processing timelines. QR code payments are available now to PayNow customers as part of the platform’s standard payment options. Info: http://marketron.com/paynow

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radioworld.com | September 2026

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update Wintek RC Converts Files for Automation

required when it arrives at the station cloud drives. “To convert your audio library, pick source and destination radio automation audio folders, then pick the convert from and to formats, then select Convert.” Source files are kept in their original location and format. Translated copies appear in the destination folder. Wintek says you can convert an entire audio library in minutes. As you convert, you get an Excel/ CSV report showing the metadata for each song, suitable for automatic import in most music scheduling software. “Your only concern is that the drives have enough empty space for both files. The software demo mode allows you to test convert up to 20 audio files.”

Wintek Software’s RadioConverter is a utility to move audio files from one radio automation system to another. RC supports approximately 40 automation system formats including gathering the data from the filenames and/or CSV/text import. “You can even export your data, clean it up and then reimport it. It can clean up metadata left over from bad editing, leaving only the data chunks you need.” RC can run from command line and Windows Scheduler, so the user can set up incoming syndicated audio to be converted to the format

Info: www.radioconverter.com

radioworld.com | September 2026

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update MusicMaster: Scheduling for a Changing Landscape MusicMaster says its tools give programmers freedom to work where and how they choose. “Our Client-Server platform and browser-based CS Web enable teams to collaborate from virtually anywhere while maintaining the intelligent scheduling tools and precision MusicMaster has been known for for more than 40 years.” The company now brings that to the cloud with a platformindependent solution that provides accessibility and flexibility with lower infrastructure costs. “MusicMaster also continues to expand through integrations with other applications, services and emerging AI technologies,” it says. Connected tools such as MusicCompanion give programmers new ways to analyze and interact with music libraries, including an awardwinning approach to curating AI-enhanced imaging and voicetracking. A partnership with deliver.media extends the ecosystem by connecting broadcast systems through workflow automation. And the company toolset now extends beyond music scheduling. InfoAudio brings robust playout to broadcasters seeking flexibility and scalability, while a partnership with ManagedRadio provides

an accessible path to professional streaming without additional overhead. MusicMaster also provides open Nexus integration with other third-party playout systems. Info: https://musicmaster.com/

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update TuneTracker Releases DayTracker TuneTracker Radio Automation Systems has released an audio logging companion to its AutoCast automation software that gives stations a continuous, searchable archive of everything that goes to air. “DayTracker records a station’s on-air signal around the clock and lays the entire broadcast day out as a labeled timeline — midnight to midnight — with separate color-coded lanes for songs, commercial breaks, voicetracks, live-mic segments, EAS activations and notes,” it says. “Operators can scrub to any second, click to seek, and zoom from the full 24-hour view down to the second. Silence is detected automatically and flagged in orange, so dead air is easy to find after the fact.” The basic functionality will work with any automation, but it’s designed for TuneTracker System’s AutoCast automation, which feeds DayTracker the same audio it sends to the transmitter while marking each boundary, break and voicetrack in and out. “DayTracker writes the day to a single MP3, and the markers to a CSV, both anchored to wall-clock time, so the timeline always lines up

with what was actually on the air. If the network stalls, DayTracker holds its clock position and fills the gap with silence rather than sliding the rest of the day out of sync. At midnight it rolls to a fresh file on its own.” It said DayTracker never plays to air, modifies programming or touches the playout chain. “It’s a one-way recorder that can run on the automation machine or on a separate logging machine.” It also produces airchecks of any time range. Staff can mark a segment on the timeline and export it on the spot, or set up recurring rules that deliver a finished aircheck MP3 automatically. A morning show, sponsored hour or guest interview becomes its own file, ready to archive or hand to a client. Info: www.tunetrackersystems.com

Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update RCS “Meets You Where You Need Us”

RCS has expanded the interface between Zetta automation and its new ZettaCloud systems. “Hundreds of radio stations globally now count on ZettaCloud to manage their audio operations,” it states, “helping to bring in millions of dollars of revenue, reduce their reliance on hardware, pool their talent resources, expand their remote audio offerings and streamline their studio footprints.” RCS says moving to a cloud-native system reduces a great deal of duplication. “Now your talented people can work from home or remote facilities, contributing live or recorded content as if they were sitting in one local studio.” This minimizes the physical market footprint, expands your flexibility and centralizes administration and management. Further, a programmer can spin up a new station dynamically in minutes. “Once the relevant content has been loaded in ZettaCloud,

you can simply create a new station and connect it to a music scheduler.” Though ZettaCloud was launched as a disaster recovery system, “We’ve been able to move beyond disaster recovery and turn ZettaCloud into a full ‘all singing, all dancing’ cloud-native playout system.” The company also has introduced SelectorCloud, an evolution of its well-known music scheduling platform. It available on its own or integrated with ZettaCloud. Info: www.rcsworks.com/zetta

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radioworld.com | September 2026

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Buyer’s Guide

Tech Update Myriad Playout 7 Builds Connections Broadcast Radio has introduced Myriad Playout 7, featuring a toolset that brings audience interaction into the live studio. The Listener Request system allows stations to publish a controlled list of requestable songs on a website, web player or mobile app. Listeners can search for song or artist, submit a request and add a personal message. The station remains in control of what can be requested and where it can appear in the Log. For the talent, requests and messages appear in Myriad Playout, making it easier to turn listener input into on-air moments. Song Voting provides audience feedback displayed on the Media Wall and Library, so talent and music teams can track listener reactions to individual tracks. Myriad 7 also introduces enhanced Presenter and Show Management, allowing stations to manage presenter profiles, show details, images, biographies, roles, social links and target audience information from a central place. The information can be used across

websites, apps, web players and third-party outputs. The company also freshened AI Voice Links. AI-generated links can now draw on the scheduled show, presenter team, target audience, live info such as news and weather, and the songs or content around them. Stations can assign AI voice profiles to presenters, allowing automated links to use the correct voice for each and create contextaware, multi-segment sequences. Info: www.broadcastradio.com

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radioworld.com | September 2026

Readers’ Forum

How to submit

Radio World welcomes comment on all relevant topics. Email radioworld@ futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

Below IGM 750 automation at WROR in 1976. Courtesy Tom Vernon

Computing’s Early Radio Days I always enjoy Tom Vernon’s articles on history I lived through! That includes “Early Adopters: When Computers First Met Radio” (www.radioworld.com/?s=adopters). I remember seeing a station in Los Angeles using automation based on PDP-8. It was pretty amazing! A few years later, I ended up teaching PDP-8 assembly language programming at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, Calif. I still have the book. On transmitter control, one of our early products at Hallikainen and Friends was the TEL-171, which replaced the analog metering on the Moseley TRC-15A with digital metering. Because the data was “too valuable to keep in the box,” we included a front-panel DB25 connector that gave access to the channel select, raise and lower, and multiplexed display data. Bill Bordeaux of Insterstellar Communications designed the ITO-177 (for “intelligent transmitter operator”) that contained the firmware and hardware to connect a Commodore 64 to the TEL-171. I also designed the PCC-180, which emulated the studio end of the Moseley TRC-15A/TEL-171, the Moseley DRS1, TFT 7601 and TFT 7610 remote controls. It included a BASIC interpreter allowing user-supplied code to automate transmitter operation and logging. The PCC-180 used a Motorola MC6800 microprocessor with firmware written in assembly. Next was the DRC-190, which also included the BASIC interpreter, plus the full remote-control hardware to handle up to 100 sites. The DRC-190 used a Motorola MC6802 microprocessor with firmware written in assembly. More than you ever wanted to know about these products can be found at https://bh.hallikainen.org, scroll down to Hallikainen and Friends.

Photo by Mark Persons

I’ll Take the VOM Hi Mark Persons! My preferred type of multimeter (“Here’s Something I Can’t Live Without,” March 25 issue) is still the analog VOM or volt-ohm-milliammeter. Sometimes waiting for the digital voltmeter or digital multimeter to lock up can cause one to lose a significant event. The meter sweep of the VOM can show the transient of interest that has a rise or decay time much faster than the DMM can provide a solution (voltage or current indication) for. One such usage is tracking down ringer failures on analog phone lines — yeah, those still exist in my world. From there you can determine if the signal occurrence is OK or requires further investigation. I do also carry a DMM, but my digital world at work requires I use a VOM to analyze things in the analog domain. Kevin K Asato, KC6POB

Harold Hallikainen

Please, Radio, Won’t You Slow Down? Recent discussions here about the viability of radio miss an important point. Time compression is killing listenability. The speedup of content makes news, sports, weather and commercials all harder to absorb. Stuffing 70 seconds of copy into 60 seconds leads to listener fatigue and tune-out. And for what? More three-minute commercial breaks halffilled with PSAs? How about dialing back on the time compression, particularly at night? Give us a chance to actually understand the content. Curt Holsopple, K9CH Colonial Heights, Va.

radioworld.com | September 2026

Readers’ Forum in only when needed to “put the fires out.” The bigger groups? Too many stations for their engineering staff to keep track of.

Photo by Jim Peck

Tom Taggart Seven Ranges Radio Parkersburg, W.Va.

Without Receivers, Does It Matter? Thanks for publishing Thane Conriocht’s letter “Bring Radio Home” (March 11 issue), in which he wrote that the real issue with EAS is that we no longer live in homes that have radios. It’s good to know that at least some people in radio know what has changed at the consumer level. In a real national emergency, there’s the original alerting to the public, which might now mostly come from cell phones. Then there’s audio from the government about what to do next. Run? Hide? I don’t frankly think they have much of an answer, but at least radio gives them a chance to try, even if the power and the internet are off everywhere. But the public needs to have receivers or it’s all pointless. Radio isn’t as important as it once was, but it’s still out there everywhere, and that’s what counts.

EAS in Software? 46

Re the photo in the May 6 issue of Harold Price of Sage Alerting Systems demonstrating virtualized EAS at the NAB Show: Beware the millennials and Gen Zers who believe that everything runs on ones and zeroes. Of course the core functions of Sage and DASDEC equipment are software-based. However, operation of the system requires monitoring of external analog audio sources from FM tuners, NWS radio and satellite feeds (soon to be dedicated internet “receivers”). In many small stations, then, once emergency traffic is detected, the EAS alert needs to be inserted into analog program streams ahead of audio processors, STL transmitters or codecs on the way to the transmitter. That’s a pretty blue box shown in the article, but who will design and connect the analog interface? Small station groups may only have a local contract engineer who comes

“

That’s a pretty blue box shown in the article, but who will design and connect the analog interface?

Gary O. Keener San Antonio, Texas

Fade to Silence Re “A Fond Farewell to CBS News Radio” (radioworld.com): There’s an old song, I think it’s “Memories Are Made of This.” There were a lot of them as CBS Radio faded away, never to fill our airwaves again. Thank you, Radio World, for printing those memories. Bill Diehl The author is a retired ABC News Radio correspondent who once worked at CBS WTOP in the 1960s.

Right H.V. Kaltenborn. Courtesy John Schneider

radioworld.com | September 2026

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