Greetings broadcast friends,

The heat of summer is on and it’s such a busy time as broadcasters across the state are heavily involved with harvest, local fairs, severe weather coverage and likely not only covering, but also volunteering at many local community events. No doubt a fun season that flies by as we enter into the second half of 2023.

June was another busy month for the KAB, which included a board meeting at Audacy in Kansas City. One of the highlights was discussion on starting a KAB Ambassador Program at colleges in the state to increase awareness and participation in KAB on campuses, enhance connections between students and Kansas broadcast stations, and further assist students aspiring to careers in our industry.  Other positive discussion included the creation of a curriculum for Broadcast Engineering Certification to help address a overwhelming need for future broadcast engineers.  Stay tuned – There will also be a 201 Engineering Conference returning in September!

June also included a quick fly-in trip to Washington DC where myself, along with Kyle Bauer and Allison Mazzei, attended the NAB and NASBA organized conference for Radio’s Road to the Future.  We also spent a day on Capitol Hill where we were able to meet with every Kansas congressional office and visit about the AM Radio In Every Vehicle Act as well as the impact of virtual MCPDs and encouraging the FCC to expand their definition of MCPDs for television stations. Allison highlights more details about these issues in this newsletter, but significant progress and support continues to be made on these key issues.

Thank you to all that submitted another great number of KAB Award entries for 2023. The judging for those will be done a bit differently this year with a group of out-of-state professional broadcasters listening and watching all entries in person to decide the awards as a collective group. Don’t forget individual nominations are due August 1st for Hall of Fame, Mike Oatman Broadcast Sales, Sonny Slater Service, and Rising Star awards.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and mark your calendar now with plans to attend the KAB Annual Convention October 23rd in Kansas City!  As always, please reach out if the KAB can assist you in any way or share your ideas and feedback!

 

Justin Fluke

President/Owner – KNZA Radio Group