WeatherCenter.ai is a new service for radio stations from Joda Media.

It’s an AI-based weather platform that Joda describes as “entirely self-service and completely automated.”

Costing $249 per month per location, it delivers live, current forecasts based on National Weather Service data.

“Natural, on-brand scripts are generated automatically for every market,” Joda states.

“You can even tune the content of the forecasts to your particular region, like the threshold for mentioning wind, humidity and information.”

Segments come fully produced using AI voices and the station’s music beds and sponsor billboards. They’re delivered via Joda’s CDN, FTP or a desktop app.

The company website offers a demo using your own music bed.

Info: https://weathercenter.ai/

The post Joda Media Launches WeatherCenter.ai appeared first on Radio World.

Broadcast Radio has released Myriad Playout v6.9, which includes an integration with Promo Only.

Promo Only, or POOL, is a licensed provider of music subscription services. Broadcast Radio said this version of Myriad makes it quicker and easier for radio stations to search, import and manage new music.

“The standout feature in v6.9 is direct access to Promo Only music downloads from within the Myriad Import Wizard,” it said in the announcement.

“Stations subscribing to Promo Only can now browse, preview and download the latest clean music without leaving Myriad, creating a much faster workflow for adding new content to their libraries.”

Commercial Director Liam Burke said this should save stations several steps.

Other new features include smarter audio importing; automatic metadata population; simple search functions to identify tracks already downloaded elsewhere; and performance and reliability improvements.

Myriad Playout v6.9 is a free upgrade for current Myriad 5 and Myriad 6 customers.

Info: www.broadcastradio.com

The post Broadcast Radio Adds Promo Only Integration appeared first on Radio World.

Harris has been promoted to senior vice president of news and programming at Red Apple Media.

In a release, Red Apple Media Owner John Catsimatidis called Harris a “game-changing talent” who knows how to build winning content and lead high-performing teams.

Harris, an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, said he is honored by the opportunity to help expand the company’s national and international footprint.

He was hired in May to help bolster the debut of the Worldwide News Network, which launched the day after the CBS News Radio shutdown.

Inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2024, Harris is best known for his 30-year run as the morning anchor at 1010 WINS(AM) in New York.

Beyond his work in New York, Harris has advised broadcasters across Europe and Asia, helped launch Moscow’s Kommersant FM, lectured across China and served as the New York Bureau Chief for NewsNation.

In the 1990s, he also authored several Radio World articles.

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The post Red Apple Media Promotes Lee Harris appeared first on Radio World.

“Voitrai V3 introduces expanded automation compatibility, including support for DJB Radio and DJB Zone, enhanced natural-language scripting, instant voice cloning capabilities and an all-in-one production workflow that eliminates the need for separate AI subscriptions and services,” the company said, noting that it is celebrating three years since launch.

The Professional plan starts at $199 per month and includes 10 hours of monthly production capacity, which Voitrai says is sufficient for the voice tracking and content needs of most stations. The platform integrates with automation systems now including RCS Zetta, DJB Radio, DJB Zone, Music Master, StationPlaylist and Play It Live.

Founder Bill Clanton said the tool can help local stations that need to produce more content across multiple platforms.

“Radio people aren’t looking for robots to run their stations,” he said in a press release. “They’re looking for ways to spend less time on repetitive production tasks and more time creating great programming. That’s what Voitrai was built to do.”

Info: https://voitrai.com

[Read the new Radio World ebook “Optimize Your Air Chain”]

The post Voitrai Releases V3 of Its AI Service for Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Broadcast radio’s place in the connected dashboard is no longer guaranteed. Keeping that place will require unified industry standards and relentless education of automakers.

That was the message delivered during WorldDAB Automotive 2026’s closing session on June 11 in Frankfurt, Germany.

The one-day event was hosted by WorldDAB, which promotes the DAB/DAB+ digital radio standard.

Radio today competes against streaming apps for in-vehicle real estate. In this competitive context, “Radio can’t be taken for granted,” warned Gregor Pötzsch of CARIAD, VW Group and chair of the WorldDAB Automotive Working Committee.

If access to broadcasting is buried beneath multiple touchscreen menus, frustrated drivers will switch to easier-to-access audio sources.

“If you can’t find it, you can’t use it,” he said.

To address this problem, WorldDAB’s user experience guidelines provide automakers and broadcasters with clear, research-backed design rules for delivering the best possible in-car digital radio interfaces.

“The purpose of the UX guidelines is to channel all of the experience and all of the knowledge that we’ve got in this organization and from hundreds of broadcasters into a piece of education for car manufacturers,” said Nick Piggott, RadioDNS vice president and vice president of WorldDAB.

These rules work in tandem with Radio Ready, a broadcaster-driven advocacy initiative campaigning globally to secure dashboard prominence, which Piggott likened to the “chefs” of the operation.

“You need to give the developers, you need to give the product managers more detailed instructions of what specifically do you need to do, and that’s the purpose of the guidelines documents,” he said.

To keep pace with evolving technical demands, the WorldDAB Automotive Working Committee recently upgraded its rules from static documents into a dynamic, paginated website.

“It makes it much easier for us to expand it because when we started with user guidelines, we were very, very heavily focused on physical layer presentation,” said Piggott.

Meanwhile, as voice control becomes a standard dashboard feature, broadcasters must supply precise metadata to car manufacturers and voice assistant platforms to ensure their stations remain discoverable.

“If a broadcaster wants their radio station to be reliably found by a driver making a voice request for it, they’ve got to provide all of the information to make that a successful identification,” Piggott added.

Additionally, complex or confusing station labels can lead to severe driver distraction, making intuitive search options a critical safety necessity.

“You don’t want to scroll through 100 [DAB] stations … the selectability and the variety is very good, but you can’t have your eyes for 10 minutes on the screen,” said Pötzsch.

When technical display errors do arise between over-the-air signals and complex automotive media setups, the committee runs investigative workshops to isolate missteps.

“We’re trying to find out what went wrong,” Piggott said, adding that the group focuses on solutions rather than assigning blame.

Ultimately, protecting radio’s place in the dashboard requires cooperation and unity across public networks, commercial stations, chipset makers and global automakers.

“It’s about bringing together the technical expertise, broadcaster needs, automotive reality with one goal, improving the radio experience for the driver,” concluded Jacqueline Bierhorst, president of WorldDAB.

[Related: “WorldDAB Celebrates Receiver Growth”]

The post WorldDAB Tackles Dashboard Confusion appeared first on Radio World.

Public radio engineering departments are operating in a new reality since federal funding for the sector dried up in 2025. 

The loss of money means tighter cap-ex budgets and fewer technology projects, according to multiple sources.

Engineering and technology departments are also seeing lower staffing levels in some cases, though widespread cuts haven’t been evident. Local fundraising has made up for some of the loss after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting closed, though not all.

CPB provided grants to many public stations, though generally not specifically for public radio engineering.

In this new era, public radio engineering budgets are coming under more scrutiny. 

One engineer in a major market told Radio World that his department has being asked whether “there is any money left over from projects that can be clawed back for other purposes.”

The cuts have left public engineers seeking to “strike a balance between operational efficiencies and being deliberate on how they allocate resources,” one source said. 

Attendance at this spring’s Public Radio Engineering Conference in Las Vegas was “solid and up slightly,” according to the Association of Public Radio Engineers, when virtual attendance was counted in. 

Yet Scott Hanley, president of APRE, said there were indications that the funding cuts are hitting hard.

“We heard from a number of stations, vendors and networks that did not send engineering and tech talent to PREC or the NAB Show this year. Many stations and universities, which a lot of stations are licensed to, have drastically cut their travel budgets.”

He said more PREC attendees chose the half-priced virtual option — of 109 registrations, more than 30 participated remotely.

Vermont Public Radio lost about $2 million in federal funding as a result of the federal cuts, though Joe Tymecki, its SVP of engineering & technology, says the loss has been mitigated by successful statewide fundraising campaigns. 

Despite more local support, Vermont Public has cut staff positions and left others unfilled, including one in the technology department, Tymecki said.

“We have pulled back on things to concentrate on delivering the important stuff like being reliable and staying on the air. We are the state relay for EAS, which we take very seriously. It’s about making sure we maintain our systems,” he said. “I’d say we are in maintenance mode right now.”

Despite the federal rescission, Tymecki says his cap-ex funding “was level from last year to this year.” 

This spring Vermont Public Media has been focused on adding a video product to a daily talk show, which will allow it to take content and turn around the video for posting to its digital platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and websites. 

Tymecki said the loss of CPB has also created a vacuum of leadership on technical issues within public media.

“CPB made it possible for the rollout of HD Radio in a lot of markets where it wouldn’t have otherwise. They put a lot of money behind it and made it affordable for public broadcasters,” he noted.

“CPB provided a strategic and philosophical direction for public radio. That leadership on breakout technology has been lost now.”

The organization was also a good sounding board for questions about various technologies and governance, he said. 

Stacey Decker, general manager and CEO of Nebraska Public Media (NPM), said it hasn’t eliminated engineering positions as a result of federal cuts, but its priority is to remain nimble while continuing to support people and services that are core to its mission.

He said NPM continues to invest in key areas. 

“On the radio side, that includes expanding our service to Omaha in June 2026, with the launch of a new signal on 101.9 FM. We are also making targeted investments in equipment and workflows to strengthen the reliability and long-term sustainability of our radio service,” he said.

As of this spring NPM has not scaled back any major radio buildout initiatives, Decker said. 

However, as one prominent DOE for a public radio group put it, stations are looking to “stretch every dime, and making careful calculations about what can be cut, and where. We are now seeing a reduction in maintenance of HVAC, generator and UPS systems, not to mention transmitters and even towers. Pushing out anything in hopes that there might be money for it later isn’t really a long-term strategy.”

This observer said that having a broadcast signal off the air for an extended time — once unthinkable — now may be acceptable in certain circumstances, given the upswing in digital consumption. 

“Work that would only be scheduled at night normally is now being scheduled for the middle of the day, impacting drive time, because it is less expensive,” this source told Radio World.

Another public engineer in the field, who also requested not to be named, told Radio World the loss of CPB funding has hit small, rural public media broadcasters hardest. This person cited the rise of contract engineering groups and said these “can be a salvation for a small station with little to no engineering or technology department left in the building.” 

Meanwhile, several broadcast equipment suppliers told us they are seeing a “more cautious approach” to spending by public broadcasters.

Media projects have slowed a bit, said Jeff Soderberg, enterprise solutions engineer with StreamGuys, which specializes in live and on-demand streaming tools for broadcasters.

“We’re seeing a conservative approach in public radio engineering spend. It hasn’t stopped, but stations are trying to manage budgets wisely and make each dollar go further.

“That said, most stations have recognized that digital distribution and digital revenue are important to their long-term sustainability. For that reason, we’re seeing caution more than a downturn,” Soderberg told Radio World in an email.

He said the reaction by public media broadcasters to the new reality varies.

“The smallest rural stations seem to be struggling the most, since they received larger portions of revenue from the CPB. Larger stations were receiving a smaller portion of revenue from the CPB and often had a stronger donor-base to make up the gap for now,” he said.

For the most part, Soderberg said there appears to be a consensus among broadcasters that digital is a key part of their future.

“They’re expecting to innovate, find new ways to collaborate with other stations, and new ways to generate revenue.”

Rob Bertrand is CEO of Inrush Broadcast Services and a former public radio engineer. He said the funding pressures faced by pubmedia have created opportunities for his company, which provides consulting, installation and maintenance services. 

“There are organizations who are well-poised to pivot in this moment and change the way they operate or potentially not backfill full-time roles that face vacancy due to retirement or general attrition. In some cases this opens the opportunity to execute a project using external resources like Inrush,” Bertrand said.

In addition, public broadcasters are collaborating with other public media organizations in new ways, he said, or “at least they are trying to stabilize their legacy radio operations so they can pay more attention to future-growth areas such as digital expansion.” 

He said at least some public media organizations are taking a business-as-usual approach.

“Their on-air fundraising pitches have changed, but in some cases they continue to delay the inevitable need to start operating in a new way. Change is hard for everyone, and there’s a full spectrum of reaction to meeting this moment,” Bertrand said in an email.

[Read more about the future of public radio.]

The post Public Radio Engineering Feels the Cuts appeared first on Radio World.

Amidst continued uncertainty for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, its president and CEO Stephen Capus, has announced his resignation, effective Sept. 15.

Capus has led RFE/RL since January 2024.

In many respects, it seems remarkable that the private corporation is funded by Congress through a grant from United States Agency for Global Media is still around.

Last year, as we reported, a judge ordered the USAGM to disburse RFE/RL’s congressionally appropriated funds for FY 2025, after the organization filed a lawsuit challenging an administration directive to freeze its funding.

Approximately $650 million of funding for the USAGM was signed by President Trump in February for FY 2026, which ends on Sept. 30. But according to Reporters Without Borders, RFE/RL’s FY 2026 budget was cut roughly 25% from previous years.

In a release, Capus said that it was an honor of a lifetime to serve in the role, and he expressed his gratitude to the organization’s journalists for commitment, professionalism and steadfastness under immense pressure.

“At a time when America’s adversaries spend billions trying to control the information space, I welcome the intent of both Congress and the Executive Branch to support an organization that has fought successfully on the information battlefield for 75 years,” Capus said.

As part of a transition, RFE/RL’s board of directors has named Lisa Curtis as Capus’ successor.

Curtis most recently served as a senior fellow and director of the Indo-Pacific security program at the Center for a New American Security.

With 35 years of experience on U.S. policy toward the Indo-Pacific Region, Curtis served for more than 20 years in the U.S. government, including at the CIA, the Department of State, Congress, and the National Security Council, where she was deputy assistant to the president and NSC senior director for South and Central Asia during the first administration under President Trump.

Curtis served as a member of the RFE/RL board of directors from September 2022 and as its chair from July 2024.

She resigned from the RFE/RL board on June 6, the release said.

Stephen Rademaker, a board member since July 2025, succeeds Curtis as its chairperson. 

RFE/RL said its programs — digital, television and radio — reach a weekly audience of approximately 44 million people in 18 countries and 24 languages.

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The post RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus to Resign appeared first on Radio World.

Aaron makes a great point. Redundancy is still the foundation of keeping a radio station on the air. Backup systems, failovers and solid design are things every engineer depends on. No argument there.

Where I see things a bit differently is in how newer tools can fit into that picture. The goal is not to replace traditional systems or engineering judgment. It is to support them.

Most of the systems we use today react after something has already gone wrong. What they do not do well is help us spot patterns before a failure happens. In a setup with multiple transmitters, IP links, and remote sites, those early warning signs are often buried in logs and alarms.

That is where smarter monitoring tools can help in a practical way. Things like recurring link issues, gradual signal problems or repeated faults under certain conditions can sometimes be easier to catch earlier when you have something helping you make sense of large amounts of data quickly.

On the cost side, I understand the concern. But the value is not just in preventing downtime. It can also come from saving time during troubleshooting and reducing repeated problems.

Also, we are at a point where this technology is still growing and finding its place. Much like how computers and the internet became part of every tool and device we use today, AI is heading in the same direction. It is not a question of if, but when. Every new era of technology starts with skepticism, and this one is no different.

This is not about choosing between new tools and redundancy. Redundancy keeps us on the air. Better tools can help us avoid getting close to failure in the first place.

At the end of the day, it is just another tool. One that needs to be used carefully and only where it actually makes sense.

The post AI Is Still Finding Its Place appeared first on Radio World.

The ball appears to be rolling at the Federal Communications Commission to allow radio stations to implement emergency alerting capabilities via software instead of hardware.

Representative of Sage Alerting Systems met with members of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau earlier this month to discuss potential “live” in situ testing of Emergency Alert System software by Sage, according to a filing from the manufacturer that included details of the meeting.

The FCC is taking a closer look at changes to EAS and Wireless Emergency Alerts, and has released a draft of a further notice of proposed rulemaking that, if adopted, would allow the use of EAS software by broadcasters if they choose.

It’s a development the National Association of Broadcasters and some radio broadcasters have been pressing for.

The FCC will consider the notice at its meeting on June 25.   

The plan is still in the discussion stage, according to according to the Sage filing. The meeting included elements that would be important to include in a potential test plan, including duration, number of participants, data collection, measuring contention for resources on shared compute platforms, cyber security and engineering support.

“The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau emphasized the importance of maintaining a redundant non-test relay path in a given area’s EAS legacy relay design, and to that end, using only test areas where an approved FCC state plan is in effect,” Sage said in the filing.

The June meeting between Sage and the commission was a follow-up to a “possible next steps” discussion during a software EAS demonstration Sage participated in at the FCC’s headquarters in May.

In an interview this week, Radio World asked Sage President Harold Price for more details on what testing EAS software might involve and the implications of emergency alerting software for broadcasters.

RW: What was the purpose of the meeting at the FCC?

Harold Price: EAS broadcast from a device that is not Part 11 certified is not currently permitted. We started discussions on ways to do on-air software EAS tests before the FCC’s proposed rule making draft was circulated. Our intent was to show that software EAS was compatible with existing EAS systems in the field and could coexist with legacy devices.

While the draft shows the FCC is interested in discussing software EAS, Sage and others in the broadcast industry want to move forward with on-air testing. It will take several months to move from a draft to an actual report and order, and many questions will be asked and answered during that process. Practical experience will help bring the NAB’s 2025 petition to fruition.

RW: Is Sage free to start doing “live in situ” testing yet?

Price: We aren’t free to transmit EAS from a non-Part 11 device over the air. It is not yet clear which of several possible paths to live testing is the most appropriate here, that’s what we hope to learn from continuing discussions with the FCC. Monitoring and logging of EAS is permitted, however.

RW: What specific elements need to be part of a test plan?

Price: This is under discussion. Cybersecurity and interoperability with the existing system will be part of the discussion.

RW: The FCC seems to be taking pains to say it is open to putting EAS in software but not in the cloud. What are the implications of that philosophy?

Price: EAS has several roles, including support for locally issued warnings in the legacy audio format, and support for FEMA’s primary entry point system with relay of the National Emergency Message — what was once called EAN, or Emergency Activation Notification.

This infers the ability to receive in-market over-the-air alerts. There have been, and will be, outages in off-premises cloud services. Moving completely into the cloud can reduce the overall redundancy of EAS.

Sage firmly believes in maximizing redundant data paths in EAS. Note that there is a risk of conflating “the cloud” with “things that are connected via IP” and “LAN” vs “WAN.”

This will undoubtedly be part of the comment process for the notice of proposed rulemaking.

RW: Is this process specific to Sage? Is it intended specifically to help the company test its own approach, or are you talking here about a broader industry effort that would involve other stakeholders and potentially other suppliers?

Price: The discussion we’ve started with the FCC is specific to Sage; we don’t presume to speak for the industry. We are working with other companies to do this testing.

Orban Labs spoke out in favor of a live testing plan at the NAB show in Las Vegas this past April.

There may be a common test plan down the road. However, the actual protocols and procedures described in Part 11 define the EAS standard and will continue to do so; these are already well known.

The test plan currently under discussion is to give the FCC assurance that “software EAS” can be tested live without putting the day-to-day operation of the existing EAS ecosystem at risk.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Sage Alerting Presents Software-Based EAS to the FCC appeared first on Radio World.

iHeartMedia has announced a new tool that the media company is billing as the first to allow precise digital measurement of its broadcast audience.

AudioGraph was created by Triton Digital as a “common identity solution” for radio stations. iHeartMedia cited 64 percent of audio consumption coming from broadcast radio, but the medium has always lacked “the targeting and measurement infrastructure available in digital.”

It will launch with iHeartMedia inventory, and the companies plan to expand it across the broader industry in 2027.

“There are more people listening today than 10 or 20 years ago, and that trust is something no technology can manufacture,” iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman said in a release. He added that AudioGraph lets advertisers harness “trust and unparalleled reach” with precision.

With AudioGraph, the company said advertisers can measure audiences for the first time using what it described as privacy-safe, ID-informed insights.

Connectivity through demand-side platforms, or DSP, the release said, means that AudioGraph is compatible with other digital measurement platforms, in turn supporting the measurement or analytics partners that advertisers might already use.

AudioGraph uses audience segments built from first-party listener data and TransUnion’s identity graph.

The segments, in turn, inform advertising campaign planning using AudioGraph IDs, while “advanced predictive listening models” allow advertisers to reach audiences with greater accuracy, the company said.

The company said campaigns using AudioGraph IDs can deliver a KPI outcome 75 percent higher than traditional demo-based plans.

iHeartMedia has tested the solution with partners such as Magellan AI, PlaceIQ and GroundTruth, measuring audio listening to foot traffic and visits for a national home improvement brand.

Magellan AI, which offers audio advertising intelligence and measurement services, expanded its relationship with iHeartMedia back in May, in an agreement that “brings broadcast radio attribution to advertisers.”

The capabilities also extend to streaming and podcast environments, iHeartMedia said, which would allow advertisers to gauge their effectiveness across all of its inventory. 

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The post iHeartMedia Brings AudioGraph Measuring to the Market appeared first on Radio World.

Read James Careless’ additional WorldDAB Automotive 2026 coverage of Radio France CEO Sibyle Veil’s keynote speech and research firm Fifty5Blue’s recent car audio findings.

The popularity of electric vehicles is putting radio’s foothold in the car at risk.

Those were the words of Lizzie Young, the CEO of Commercial Radio and Audio, the association representing Australia’s major commercial radio networks.

Young spoke at WorldDAB Automotive 2026 on June 11, in Frankfurt, Germany. WorldDAB is the global body that promotes the DAB/DAB+ digital radio standard.

She described EV penetration in Australia as a sudden escalation.

The market is being driven by skyrocketing fuel costs, Young explained, which are in turn exacerbated by ongoing geopolitical conflicts.

Those factors have pushed Australian EV adoption to record highs over the last year, she explained.

“For the first month ever in May, an electric vehicle was the number one selling car in Australia,” Young said.

In such a rapidly changing environment, Commercial Radio and Audio said it is aggressively fighting to ensure a permanent broadcast presence across every incoming dashboard in Australia.

Chief among these unique challenges, Young said, is the country’s vast size, which requires a hybrid approach incorporating AM, FM, DAB+ and streaming audio to cover it all.

Nationwide radio coverage is necessary to ensure public safety, she explained.

“It is critical because of that, and the fact that many Australians move away from these climate disasters in their vehicles, that we have robust emergency broadcasting capabilities in the car,” she emphasized.

To ensure that radio retains its dashboard dominance, Australian radio partners have invested heavily in a rebuilt, unified mobile app, the RadioApp, that features both commercial and public broadcasters.

Additionally, CRA spent the past year ensuring radio is discoverable on emerging platforms by forging strategic partnerships with DTS AutoStage, RadioPlayer and Visteon.

The advocacy group is also pushing the Australian government to include radio in its smart speaker legislation.

“We were told that we would have some legislation to review in March and that has now been pushed out for some very valid reasons about some very other significant issues,” Young said. “But we are confident that we will have legislation being drafted in the second half of this year.”

Ultimately, Australian broadcasters are not expecting automakers or politicians to simply hand them a legacy safety net.

“We really see this as a three-way partnership to do the right thing by consumers and listeners and car buyers,” Young said.

[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]

The post Facing an EV Surge, A Fight in Australia to Keep Radio Front and Center appeared first on Radio World.

Whether you come from the BBC, iHeartMedia or a small local station in Israel, the radio industry has been struggling in recent years. Rapid technological change, the fight for consumer attention, the rise of streaming services, digital radio and the simple fact that fewer people are listening, have all created significant pressure on the medium we love so much.

Over the past year, I’ve been working with Radio Tel Aviv to integrate AI as part of a broader effort to refresh the station. This includes updating their workflows as well as rethinking the programming schedule. Their sales team now uses AI tools to write client briefs, support promo creation and help them generate content and scripts.

In addition, we decided to take this work a step further and apply it in practice by creating our own artificial intelligence radio host. Our host is built on a carefully designed voice model and language model that we shaped with great precision.
And that’s how we created Odelia AI. 

Odelia AI is the first autonomous radio host in Israel. For the past six months, she has accompanied the station listeners on their way home or at work every day (!) from 2 to 4 p.m. She can present music, deliver traffic updates and even tell jokes, mostly at her own expense (though it’s in Hebrew you can check her out here). “AI.O,” Odelia’s show, aired in a prime slot and got some really positive attention from listeners, PR and even new brands that want to sponsor the show because of the innovative vibe it brings. 

The first stage in creating Odelia’s character began with an in-depth research phase, examining case studies and technologies from around the world. 

We took a close look at both the successes and the failures to understand what truly works and what to avoid — from “Tai” in Australia, who served as a local radio host for six months without informing the listeners she was not a real person, to “Ashley AI” in Portland, modeled after the station’s star Ashley Elzinga from 95.5 FM, who became a hit with listeners and absolute lifesaver for the real Ashley that could finally be free in the afternoons and spend time with her kids. 

We interviewed the people involved, gathered insights, and collected practical advice about both the content strategies and the technologies they used. This research helped us define our core principles for creating our new anchor.

In the second stage, once we understood what we needed to build, we began searching for the perfect voice. Who would become the voice of our first AI radio host? And surprisingly, the answer appeared right under our noses. 

During a random meeting, Eldad Koblentz, shareholder representative on the board of Radio Tel Aviv, suggested we should use the voice of Odelia Safran, the station’s advertising manager, who happens to have one of the warmest and most pleasant voices.

My colleague Shahar Varshal and I had plenty of frustrating moments when the AI simply refused to cooperate. It froze, it distorted Odelia’s voice and sometimes strange accents slipped into the model.

But we kept learning and improving, and from pilot to pilot the process became smoother and more natural. Our team is learning and evolving as well, finding creative solutions and even wild hacks to train the model, including getting it to sing. 

At the end of the day, we understood that in order to work efficiently with AI tools, we had to create entirely new workflows. In the past, music editors selected the music and the presenter improvised live on air. Today, the process is far more structured. 

The workflow isn’t exactly glamorous: Scripts drafted in Gemini (we started with ChatGPT, but felt Gemini writes Hebrew that sounds more natural and human), a real human reviews and edits the text, voice generation in ElevenLabs, refinement through a custom local model in Replay and then we are on-air. Not exactly live radio, but surprisingly close. 

What’s next? The work is still far from over. We are still testing tools, trying new workflows and we have many goals we haven’t yet achieved — some because the technology isn’t there yet, and some because the station itself is still adjusting to the change. 

Six months in, Odelia AI hasn’t missed a single show. She’s always on time, and most importantly, never argues about the playlist. 

Whether that makes her the future of radio or just a very reliable DJ, we’re still figuring that out.

Comment on this or any article to radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line. 

Yaara Marchiano is a Cool Hunter and AI integration consultant. She works with production and media companies to adopt and integrate new AI technologies into every stage of the production cycle and advises startups on embedding and launching AI solutions to the media industry. She is former head of content and trends research at Keshet Broadcasting.

[Read More Radio World Stories About Artificial Intelligence]

The post The Story of Radio Tel Aviv’s Odelia AI appeared first on Radio World.

The window will open at 12:01 a.m. on Tue., Aug. 11 and close two weeks later at 6 p.m. on Tue., Aug. 25, according to a public notice the Audio Division released Wednesday.

Anticipating high demand, the FCC encourages applicants to file in the early portion of the window, and given the finite nature of the spectrum, the commission said it cannot authorize a translator station for every qualified applicant during this window.

“Applicants are encouraged to retain a broadcast engineering consultant to determine the technical acceptability of their application,” the commission said.

During the window, the Media Bureau will only accept translator applications for channels in the NCE FM band between 88.1 and 91.9 FM.

We’ve got more details that all applicants should keep in mind below.

How to file

Applications must be filed electronically via FCC Form 2100, Schedule 349, in the licensing and management system, or LMS.

Schedule 349 will be available for data entry in LMS beginning July 1, allowing applicants to begin preparing their submissions early. But the Media Bureau will not accept applications before the window opens.  

There is no filing fee required. Filed applications will not be made available to the public until after the window closes, according to the bureau. 

Applicants are also reminded to carefully review channel and antenna location coordinates to ensure all data is specified without typographical errors. Bureau staff will not review attachments or information specified elsewhere in the application to resolve discrepancies.

Restrictions

Radio World previously reported the following eligibility restrictions for the upcoming window, but here’s a quick refresher:

Ownership: Each applicant must be the licensee or permittee of the existing NCE FM, NCE AM or LPFM station that the proposed translator will rebroadcast.

Application limits: There is a 10-application limit for each applicant entity nationally, excluding LPFMs. For Tribal LPFMs, the limit is four applications nationally; for other LPFMs, the limit is two.

Rebroadcast means: NCE FM translators can rebroadcast its intended signal via alternative delivery means, such as satellite and microwave facilities, as opposed to directly over the air.

However, that does not apply for LPFM translator applicants. Those applications must comply with the service’s direct off-air input rule. Additionally, the commission said it will not waive its LPFM contour overlap restrictions, nor the restriction that the transmitting antenna of the FM translator for an LPFM is located within 10 miles of the station in the top 50 measured markets and within 20 miles for those LPFM stations outside the top 50 markets.

Our friends at REC Networks go into more details about those restrictions.

Attributable interests: A party to an application filed in the window may not hold attributable interests in more than the maximum permitted number of applications.

Interference protections: Applications must strictly follow contour overlap and interference protection requirements between FM translator stations and FM full-service broadcast stations, other FM translator stations and LPFM stations, and you can view those contour restrictions here.

FM translators also must all observe distances set forth for all TV Channel 6 stations, including full-service, low-power, Class A and translator TV stations.

Furthermore, translator applications must protect granted, tentatively selected and pending applications from the 2023 LPFM filing window.

However, they do not need to protect a dismissed LPFM application if no petition for reconsideration has been filed and the dismissal becomes final prior to Aug. 25.

Mutually exclusive applications

If ties arise, the commission will default to its mutually exclusive, or MX comparative system.

Before proceeding to a comparative analysis, MX applicants will have an opportunity to resolve conflicts through settlements or technical amendments.

The comparative system consists of two main components: a point system analysis and, if necessary, a tie-breaker determination based on applicant-provided data and certifications.

On channels reserved for noncommercial use, the commission will grant the application of a translator providing fill-in service over one that extends the service area of a primary station.

Should applications of the same type conflict, the commission will apply the translator point system. We won’t go into those details here, but you can read more in the commission’s public notice.

It should be noted that NCE organizations will be considered “established” if they have operated as local entities for at least two years prior to the window’s filing deadline.

Finally, the commission said that any changes made after the filing deadline may potentially diminish, but cannot enhance, an applicant’s comparative position and point total.

Review process

Following the deadline, the Media Bureau will review all applications for compliance with technical and legal rules and dismiss any that are unacceptable. A dismissed applicant will have one opportunity to file a minor amendment and a petition for reconsideration requesting reinstatement.

This must be filed within 30 days of the dismissal.

If a translator application is accepted for filing, the applicant must provide public notice to inform the community. Notice must be posted for 30 days following acceptance, either on the applicant’s website, a parent entity’s website or a publicly accessible, locally targeted website.

Freeze frame

In conjunction with the window, the FCC announced it will freeze minor modifications for LPFM, translator and booster stations beginning July 11. 

This freeze will continue until the translator filing window closes.

Additionally, the Media Bureau will not accept major modifications to existing NCE FM translator stations.

However, those licensees may apply for a new station and, upon commencement of operations, surrender their old station license. Any such application must include an exhibit indicating the proponent’s desire to treat the application as a major modification.

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The post FCC Announces Dates for First-Ever NCE FM Translator Filing Window appeared first on Radio World.

Independent Audio has made the Tri-Solate Universal Microphone Shock Mount Kit available in the U.S. market.

It is an isolation system designed to reduce vibration and handling noise for a range of studio and broadcast microphones.

“Unlike conventional shock mounts designed for specific microphone models, the Tri-Solate Universal Microphone Shock Mount Kit offers a flexible mounting solution compatible with a broad range of microphone shapes and sizes,” the company said.

The design provides isolation without the need for multiple model-specific mounts. Independent Audio said it is well-suited for professional recording studios, broadcast facilities, podcast production environments, educational institutions and home studios.

Independent Audio is a distributor based in Maine. The company welcomes dealer inquiries.

The post Tri-Solate Offers Universal Shock Mount appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC is threatening to revoke three Austin-area AM station licenses held by Encino Broadcasting. It says the Texas company hasn’t paid regulatory fees for the stations for more than a decade.

The commission said Encino owes more than $166,000. The amount includes annual fees dating to 2013, plus interest and administrative costs, as well as penalties of 25% assessed when a payment is late or incomplete.

Encino owns KELG in Manor, KOKE in Pflugerville and KTXZ in West Lake Hills, all in the Austin region.

The commission said it sent Encino letters demanding payment and also communicated with it by email.

The company has 60 days to make payment or show cause why it should be waived or deferred.

The post Unpaid Fees Put Three Texas AM Licenses at Risk appeared first on Radio World.

If you want to know what young people are listening to in the car, ask them.

I had a group of 16 college students this past spring semester at Villanova University in my Platform Based Computing course, and as a written response assignment, I focused on each of their strategies for listening to audio in the car, through five questions.

The survey was more qualitative, versus quantitative, and it was graded but with a soft touch — as my “wave them home” reputation suggests.

But I told the students ahead of time that their responses would be featured in an article for Radio World.

The beauty of this survey, I believe, is these students were Computer Science and Computer Engineering majors. Other than hearing me wax poetic about radio on a weekly basis, they have no stake in media as a career or otherwise.

I asked about their audio content preferences, whether or not they prefer touch screens or knobs and dials, if they control what they’re listening to through voice commands, and finally, whether or not terrestrial radio plays any role while they take a cruise?

In the final question, to tie it back to software development, I referenced a gravitation in their generation toward items such as vinyl and CDs, and how the push toward technology you can “feel” might influence their approaches to building websites or mobile apps.

The class was made up of eight freshmen, five sophomores, one junior and two seniors, all between the ages of 18–21.

Q1: If you are in charge of audio listening in your car, walk me through your usual process.

The latest Edison Research “Share of Ear” revealed that 13–34 year-olds spend some 4 hours and 30 minutes daily with audio, which leads all age demographics.

So I figured that my Villanova students would offer a suitable sample for in-car audio consuming. Nearly all said that, when they’re in the car, they decide what they’re going to listen to, though if they have passengers, that can influence their mindset.

As for what they are listening to, the use of Spotify was at the top of the list. Fourteen of the 16 students said they use it at least part of the time. Some said it was due to having a premium plan through their family.

“I have multiple playlists that I like to use for different occasions,” freshman Erin Campbell said.

Sophomore Lili Valletta said her Spotify playlist depends on the length of her drive. For those greater than an hour, she’ll usually queue up a podcast. She also enjoys news recaps. “I often find myself needing to listen to the news rather than finding the time to read it,” she wrote.

Nine of the sixteen students use Apple CarPlay to project audio from their phone into their car.

Freshman Noah Taylor uses CarPlay to listen to music from Spotify and get directions from Apple Maps. His only frustration?

Sometimes the volume of Spotify’s advertisements is much higher than that of the songs, he said.

Sophomore Anthony Dell’Avvocato drives a 2013 Honda Accord. It does have Bluetooth play-through, but he said as a do-it-yourself project, he wants to perform an Apple CarPlay installation himself, the likes of which have gained popularity on TikTok. Without a screen display, he often has to resort to waiting until he stops to change a playlist or podcast.

“The ease of access of having CarPlay would be a real privilege,” he said.

Fellow sophomore Zachary Buxton, in fact, has taken it to the next level already. He performed an Apple CarPlay screen dash installation in his 2010 Toyota Camry.

“I’m very proud,” he wrote. He typically uses Apple Music, he explained, for its top-notch audio quality in the Hi-Res Lossless format.

Buxton showed this kind of craftiness throughout our semester together, and he was accepted this past spring in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate program as a Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer. For the next two years, as he finishes his Computer Engineering degrees at Villanova, Buxton will be on active duty.

Junior Heather Stripe also uses Apple Music, citing a family subscription. Her go-to for listening is through CarPlay, but sometimes it is prone to malfunctions, causing her to just default to the use of direct Bluetooth tethering.

Sophomore Erin McFadden also does not have CarPlay in her Toyota and just tethers via Bluetooth. She engages the touch screen to advance songs on her Spotify playlist.

“Sometimes I realize the day is more of a ‘punk rock’ feel versus country music,” she wrote.

Two students deviated from consensus: Sophomore Jack Behringer wrote that, although his car has Apple CarPlay, which he will use with Apple Music, his go-to source is SiriusXM.

Andrew Cooper, a sophomore, admits he is an audiophile and he takes the time to play files, via CarPlay, that he has personally downloaded for their lossless audio quality.

Having come of age during the Napster era, I can very much appreciate still having local copies of song files!

Q2: When you want to change what you are listening to another playlist, podcast or other content form, how do you usually do so?

Most of the student responses were a good reminder that, according to the latest S&P Global Mobility data, the average age of vehicles on U.S. roads is just short of 13 years — the oldest ever recorded. While I did not deliberately ask the make and model of the cars they drove, I got the impression there weren’t too many off the lot new cars here.

I asked if any of the students use voice controls to toggle music, and nearly everyone said they did not.

“I don’t bother trying to use the speech controls much because it usually gets the command wrong,” freshman Alan Quintero wrote.

Valletta agreed. “It never finds what I am looking for and it doesn’t work as fast as when I can manually seek it out on my phone or the touch screen,” she said.

Taylor said he has Siri disabled on his phone.

Several students said that they’d quickly glance at their phone to find the button to change songs, and continue to the one they desired.

Q3: Where, if at all, does terrestrial AM/FM radio come into play?

I braced for the responses to this question. I figured my heart would be broken. But radio was not totally off the radar for my Villanova students.

Two of them, Valletta and sophomore Carter Mui, admitted that since they earned their driver’s license, they hadn’t used terrestrial radio.

The most common use for radio? A backup plan.

“AM/FM radio usually comes into play if I can’t get Spotify working,” freshman Jake Bellenger wrote.

Sometimes, though, it’s used for convenience.

“When I am in a rush, I will not connect my phone, and I will listen to the radio in the car,” Campbell said. Living in Contra Costa County, Calif., she named several FM stations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dell’Avvocato, who is from Mahwah, N.J., recalled listening to a classic hits radio station occasionally around home, while his parents enjoy a SiriusXM subscription.

Buxton said that because of the ease of access of the radio from his steering wheel, he sometimes finds himself listening to sports and music stations during drives.

McFadden wrote that when she is with friends or family and just looking for more background ambience, that’s when she finds herself choosing terrestrial radio.

“When I do not know which genre would accommodate my passengers, I feel as though radio is the safest bet,” she said. Living in Bucks County, she cited Philadelphia’s WBEB(FM), in particular for its Christmas music during the holidays.

Cooper concurred. “Radio comes into play more for me when I have guests that I’m not sure which music will appease them while I am driving,” he wrote. He grew up on Philadelphia sports-talk radio, listening with his father, and he’ll sometimes resort to those habits.

Senior John Ahn, also in the Philadelphia area, cited WBEB, WIOQ and WTDY as stations he’ll seek out if he’s not using Spotify.

“But sometimes all the stations I am familiar with are on commercial breaks so I get bummed out and turn it off,” he wrote.

Quintero recalled listening to FM growing up before Bluetooth and streaming were more integrated into cars.

But selection matters.

“I don’t usually listen to the radio when I’m driving, mostly because I don’t have the choice to pick songs,” Stripe said. But again, citing the convenience of a radio button, sometimes she will just scroll through until she finds programming that is satisfying.

Behringer, who calls Chicagoland home, said that he will use AM radio specifically for sporting events. He switches between 670 WSCR(AM) and 1000 WMVP(AM) for Chicago sports games.

Taylor also cited sports as one of his uses of AM/FM radio. “For either a baseball game or for background noise,” he wrote.

Freshman Ryan Szczesny, living in Connecticut, also shares sports radio experiences with his dad.

“I grew up listening to WFAN with him, and I know their jingle by heart,” he said.

Q4: Do you make use of touch screen controls, or do you prefer tactile dials and knobs that you can turn?

Mui drives a 2009 Honda CR-V. He prefers tactile, physical controls. “I don’t have to navigate through multiple screens just to change the song,” Mui wrote.

Dell’Avvocato liked the touch screen’s level of focus to allow multitasking, requiring less precision.

But Taylor cautioned the touch screen can be distracting, and he tries to only use it when there are no other cars around. “I prefer physical dials so that I can actually know where my hand is instead of being forced to look away from the road,” he wrote.

McFadden agreed, saying the touch screen in her vehicle was easier to navigate than the selection knob. For volume, however, she uses the knob. “I don’t want to have to click the button on my steering wheel 10 times just to increase the volume,” she said.

Buxton warned of general tech fatigue. “There needs to be a healthy balance between digital and physical buttons,” he said.

Valletta sometimes found touch screens frustrating and prone to missing a button.

Q5: Recent surveys have shown a gravitation of young people toward “old tech” such as cassettes and vinyl. Where do you think this might come into play in your own software development journeys?

A Futuresource Consulting “Audio Tech Lifestyles” report described how Gen Z is fueling a revival of physical media. Some 60% of those in their age demographic said they buy vinyl, with two-thirds having done so in the past year. The survey indicated 42% of Gen Z’ers had purchased a cassette in the past year.

Bellenger believes the gravitation is real. “I have seen many young individuals appreciate the vintage and manual feel of vinyl and CDs,” he wrote.

The same tech fatigue Buxton spoke of is what he believes might be turning youth toward physical forms of media, such as CDs and vinyl.

“I think as we develop software, we should be aware of this, and perhaps shift design back to more neumorphism — or material and realistic 3D design to simulate physical buttons,” Buxton said.

Taylor suggested the idea of simplicity over flashiness in terms of application design. “But this also means less advertisements that interfere with the user experience, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” he wrote.

Conclusions

The class I teach is not at all written-response intensive. In fact, it’s mostly programming-based assignments, with the idea to be toward building websites and mobile apps.

But I could tell I touched on a nerve, mixing in a few essay-style questions such as these. All of my students thought through exactly what they do when they are in the car, because what they listen to matters to them.

Voice controls are a non-factor, and sometimes just choosing options can be a challenge navigating the hazards of driving highways, particularly in the northeast.

And while radio is certainly more of a “break glass” measure, it’s not totally out of the picture.

Erin McFadden summed up her position nicely.

“I love the balance between old and new technologies that modern cars incorporate,” she wrote. “I can connect my phone via Bluetooth and listen to music or podcasts and use GPS navigation. But if I want to listen to the radio, I can still get to use dials and physical features that make the process more authentic.”

Radio World welcomes letters to the editor on this or any story. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Tuning In With Gen Z: Lessons From the Villanova Dashboard appeared first on Radio World.

Nick Langan visits Philadelphia’s famous Roxborough antenna farm.

Jerry Whitaker helps gives a Texas broadcast museum a facelift.

MusicFirst and the Future of Music Coalition scoff at claims about radio program diversity.

Read it here.

The post Read the June 17, 2026 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

Read James Careless’ additional WorldDAB Automotive 2026 coverage of Radio France CEO Sibyle Veil’s keynote speech.

Modern drivers want radios in their dashboards.

That was the primary and unshakable finding shared by researchers at WorldDAB Automotive 2026.

The annual event, which is hosted by the WorldDAB advocacy organization, was held in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 11.

It included a presentation from the London-based Fifty5Blue, formerly Kantar Media, which is a media measurement and analytics firm that said it operates in approximately 80 countries.

Ultimately, the message Fifty5Blue conveyed is that the six-country study proves that car buyers not only want radio in the dashboard — they are demanding it.

Julie Soulsby, Fifty5Blue’s director of insight, said the study surveyed 8,000 recent buyers across Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

“Our research among recent car buyers across six countries proves that broadcast radio is expected, it’s relied upon, and it’s valued in the car,” she said.

Fifty5Blue’sData revealed that 83% of buyers typically listen to the radio while driving, with half making it their most frequent choice.

Additionally, these drivers are loyal to radio, with 85% saying that they would deeply feel the absence of a broadcast dial.

“Car buyers do not want to lose this essential part of the in-car experience,” Soulsby said.

The frequency of listening as measured by Fifty5Blue highlights radio’s placement in the car, with close to a third of the sample group tuning in every single day.

“To put this in context, that is twice as many as those who are listening to music streaming services every day in the car,” Soulsby said.

Phyllis Chen, Fifty5Blue’s insight manager, believes that listeners choose radio because it provides connection, companionship and ease of use.

“Over 8 in 10 find it an extremely accessible form of in-car audio entertainment being just one click away,” she said.

Eight in 10 surveyed car buyers also view radio as being vital during crises. When asked where they would go first for information in the case of an emergency while on the road, over half of car buyers stated that they would turn to the radio, Chen said.

As for streaming in the car? Fifty5Blue’s research argues that it doesn’t match radio’s on-the-road resilience.

Soulsby explained that data dropouts plague connected-car users, with 40% of drivers reporting frequent signal loss when streaming.

“Of those who stream, nearly half worry that they will run out of mobile charge while streaming in the car,” she said.

Physical safety issues also turned up in Fifty5Blue’s research results, as 45% of drivers using smartphone cables expressed worry about distraction.

Consumer satisfaction with digital terrestrial choices like DAB+ remains near-universal, the firm said, due to its consistency.

“Sometimes my streaming loses quality, whereas radio reception provides a more consistent experience overall,” one survey respondent wrote.

“The verdict is clear,” concluded Soulsby. “Broadcast radio belongs in the car.”

[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]

The post Survey: Car Shoppers Demand Radio in Their Autos appeared first on Radio World.

Salem Media has announced expanded leadership roles for two longtime executives following the upcoming retirement of broadcast media president Allen Power.

Effective Oct. 1, Linnae Young will become president of broadcast media while maintaining her role as chief revenue officer. Young has spent more than 30 years at Salem in various sales and broadcast leadership positions.

She also serves on the boards of the Radio Advertising Bureau and Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio.

“Linnae has earned the respect of people across this company and throughout our industry,” said David Santrella, chief executive officer of Salem Media, in a release.

The company said it continues its tradition of promoting from within.

Jeff Reisman, meanwhile, will be promoted to executive vice president of operations on Oct. 1, overseeing local broadcast markets nationwide. Reisman has been with the company for 22 years, previously serving as a general manager in Chicago, regional vice president and senior vice president.

Senior Vice President Mark Durkin along with Regional Vice Presidents Jeff Mitchell and Chad Gammage will also take on expanded responsibilities to support the transition, Salem said.

The moves follow Salem’s disclosure in May that it entered into an agreement with WaterStone to take the company private — a deal expected to close in August.

[Visit Radio World’s People News Page]

The post Salem Media Names Linnae Young President of Broadcast Media appeared first on Radio World.

Longtime broadcast engineer and RF consultant Joseph Davis is set to retire this summer, officially closing his consulting firm of nearly 20 years. 

Davis is the president and founder of Chesapeake RF Consultants, a Virginia-based firm that advises commercial and public television and radio stations in engineering regulatory matters. His clients include the likes of Gray Television, CBS Broadcasting, Hearst Television and Sarkes-Tarzian Inc.

Over the next few months, Davis will wind down his practice, with his official retirement and business closure date set for Aug. 31. 

Early days

Davis has spent the last 45 years immersed in the broadcast industry. The Virginia native fell in love with the radio biz back in high school, where his extracurriculars involved working at the school’s FM station. 

“Pretty soon I was staying after school every day running the board, doing record shows, reading the news, making repairs and loving every minute,” he said of the time.

While still in high school, Davis got a job doing part-time on-air work at a nearby commercial FM station. From there, he moved on to studying electrical engineering at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., where he received his First Class Radiotelephone Operator License and landed the job of chief engineer at WYVA(FM) at the start of his senior year. 

Career life

After graduating in 1982, Davis was chief engineer for various radio stations — including WHYW(FM/AM) in Pittsburgh and WBMW(FM) and WETA(TV/FM) in D.C. — over the next 15 years, working on RF and studio projects for those stations in addition to freelancing. 

One of Davis’ proudest engineering accomplishments during his decade in Washington was his work to bring a new public radio service to an underserved, outlying area.  

“Building on exposure to some FCC licensing rules I had learned along the way from Michael Benns, Morgan Burrow, Bernie Segal, John Kean and Sid Khanna, I found an open frequency and a mountaintop site location to build a new NCE-FM station,” he said. 

Davis planned and executed every detail over a couple years, and put that station on the air in 1993. It included a 59-mile, 950 MHz duplex STL with diversity reception, which he says is still in reliable operation today.

As fate would have it, it was that NCE-FM station project that prompted Davis to consider work as a consulting engineer. He worked part-time at the Cavell Mertz & Davis consulting firm in D.C. for over a year, “and in 1996 I turned in my pager to [WETA] and became a full partner,” he said. 

Eventually, Davis’ longing to return to southeastern Virginia led him to strike out as a solo practitioner. 

“With deference to the nearby Chesapeake Bay, I set myself up as Chesapeake RF Consultants LLC in 2007 and was back in my hometown shortly afterward.”

His consulting work over the last 30 years has included transmitter site relocation analysis, facility upgrades, frequency searches, interference evaluation, RF exposure analysis and FCC licensing for broadcast stations in nearly every state.

Industry musings

Asked to comment on the state of radio and where the industry is headed, Davis had this to say:

“Clearly the glory days of radio are behind us, as internet-delivered on-demand entertainment and news are commonplace, and the actual listeners of radio continue to age. I believe the FCC’s ownership limits are ripe for further relaxation, meaning more consolidation. Regarding the push to emphasize radio’s importance for emergency communications (i.e., the ‘AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act’), I fear a backfire, as the vast majority of AM stations simply do not have staff and resources necessary to provide emergency programming.”

As for his advice to present and future radio engineers, Davis encourages his peers to get involved with their local SBE chapter and attend regional events. 

“Not only is that educational, the camaraderie and networking will allow you to know who to ask regarding unusual problems you may encounter,” he said. “And, it is likely that your next job will be connected to one of those contacts, either because you are looking or they are recruiting.” Also, Davis says don’t forget about obtaining your SBE certifications!  

Finally, as for his plans post-retirement, Davis will continue to be active in his local SBE chapter — Hampton Roads Chapter 54 — as their certification chairman, and expects to attend occasional industry events. He also plans to finally tackle those long-put-off home improvement projects, visit U.S. national parks with his wife Cheryl, and invest more time into his ham radio endeavors.

Comment on this or any story. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

The post Joe Davis Set to Retire, Close Consulting Business This Summer appeared first on Radio World.