ASK THE GENERAL MANAGER

Example: a debt consolidation company parading as a government bailout program advertising on Dave Ramsey’s show. Also, a new ad from a psychic organization …yuk. I’m guessing that you have no control over these ads that are not on the scale I”d like.

ANSWER

Thank you for taking the time to write. (more…)

I sure have missed KDOK and it’s great music. Do you think there will ever be another radio station that will play the kind of music KDOK played in Tyler? There is not a radio station in the area that plays the 60′s,70′s music. Can’t pick up KLUV, station from Dallas. Thank you for a reply.

ANSWER

I cannot speak for other broadcasters in the market. There is always a
chance that one of them will make the business decision to change formats on
one of their stations to something similar to what KDOK did. When and under
what circumstances that might occur, I cannot say. (more…)

ANSWER
David Smoak left KTBB for reasons that we cannot disclose at this time.

Bill Coates is now hosting SportsTalk every weekday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. on KTBB FM 92.1. Bill is an experienced, talented, network-quality sports broadcasting professional with over 30 years in the business and over 19 years at KTBB. Bill brings and encyclopedic knowledge of professional, collegiate and high school sports together with an easy, inviting conversational style. We are excited to have Bill on the air in a long-form format and we expect him to take SportsTalk to a new level in the coming months.

I am still amazed that your station keeps Rush Limbaugh, on the air, as part of your format. Do you people really believe in this guy. Lets see, an admitted drug-addict, high school dropout, never held any public office in his life, and more controversary, than the law almost allows.

ANSWER
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. We
appreciate all listener input.

With respect to Rush Limbaugh, I wish you could see my email inbox. It’s
uncanny how many complaints we get about Rush versus how many listeners
write in to thank us for airing Rush. No doubt about it, Rush is a
lightning rod and he engenders strong opinion. Here we are talking about
him. (more…)

ANSWER
Thanks for your email.

Van is a little bit of a stretch for us and I’m sorry for your frustration.
I wish there was more that I could do about it.

Neither of your suggetions are workable, however. Let me explain why.

Your first suggestion is to simulcast KTBB-FM on KTBB-AM’s signal. That may
seem like a good idea at first blush but when you think about it for a
moment, it doesn’t work. We made the decision to change the call letters of
what was then KDOK to KTBB-FM and to change KDOK’s programming format from
oldies to news and talk in order to maximize our position as the news and
talk leader in the market and, secondarily, to stifle potential competition.

Before it was all the buzz in the radio industry trade publications, we
recognized the fact that more and more music FM stations were going to quit
the music business and go to news or talk formats. That is now happening all
across the country. KTBB-AM, with its news and talk franchise, is the
backbone of this company. When we saw the “talk on FM” trend very early in
its development, we decided that if talk competitiion on the FM band is
inevitable, we’d rather be our own competition. (more…)

ANSWER
KDOK will, in fact, change call letters to KTBB-FM and begin broadcasting
all news and talk. The change will take place April 27.

I am the decision maker. It was not made lightly.

People will lose their jobs. That does not please me. The affected people
are more than employees, they have become friends of mine in the decade and
a half that they have been a part of my company. I am doing all that I can
within the bounds of fiscal responsibility and my responsibility for the
health of the company to provide those employees with a severance package
that will soften the blow.

We will not compete with Imus and Stern and the “umpteen already on the
air.” None of these hosts is on the air in this market nor does it look like
they will be in the forseeable future.

This change is brought about by the necessity of recognizing the structural
shifts taking place in the music industry and the radio industry. Radio is
gradually, but with increasing velocity, losing its no. 1 status as a music
delivery appliance. iPods and devices like it, together with nearly
unlimited and very low or no cost access to music on the internet, are
conspiring to dramatically reduce radio’s role as the principal provider of
music entertainment. (more…)

ANSWER
About 18 months ago, Dale Groom became the Extension Agent for Dallas County. It has become clear that the demands of that job and his frequent travel make it increasingly difficult for Dale to devote the time to a one-hour program on Saturday. Dale was a valued member of our lineup for many years and we wish him the best.

I was wondering to what measures KTBB has taken in light of the FCC’s recent power trip.

In recent months, the FCC has been cracking down on certain shows and programs in various areas in the country. I realize that the programming on KTBB and the other stations that your company owns shouldn’t have problems with program content and shows such as “Bubba the Love Sponge” and “Howard Stern” will never make it to the Tyler market. With that said, I am sure that pressure from the FCC has affected your stations in some form or fashion.

I know that all of the Infinity stations in the Dallas market have been forced to put access to the delay system in all of the program directors and general managers’ offices. I was wondering to what measures KTBB has taken in light of the FCC’s recent power trip.

I enjoy your programming and will continue to listen while in the Tyler area. (more…)

ANSWER
I understand your frustration but there is not much practical remedy.

The difference in timing between the television broadcast and the radio broadcast is not a constant value. The difference will be a function of the respective facilities used by the television network and the radio network in moving their signals through their chains and will be different for every situation.

If the TV network is hauling its signal back to its operations center via analog, the delay will be one value, typically the simple math of determining the length of the path (stadium to uplink, uplink to satellite, satellite down to op center, integration with network programming, uplink to satellite, satellite down to local TV affiliate, distance from TV station transmitter to TV receiver or cable head end) That whole trip is usually about 100,000 miles and is divided by the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second, to give you the delay time from actual live action to when you see it on TV. In this case, the delay can be as little as half a second, although it’s typically closer to a full second. (For your reference, the satellites used for TV and radio are in what is called geosyncrhronous orbit about 25,000 miles above the earth’s surface. A single round-trip up and down, therefore, is 50,000 miles or approximately one-quarter of a second.)

Be that as it may, much of the process of hauling network content has gone digital. If it’s digital, you have the extra time of converting analog to digital and back again in the chain. That can increase the delay (called “latency”) by a significant amount. Digital conversion takes time and that time results in a delay of an entirely different value from analog depending upon the facilities used and the speed of the equipment. (more…)

You all have a very classy site. The images are always crisp and there is a minimum of nonsense throughout. You have a good sense of what is news and what is hype – unlike your source (ABC) some of the other media outlets, local and national.

I especially applaud you on your advertising being local and tasteful – and free of the ultra annoying doubleclick, Bonzi Buddy, weatherbug

and google addcents offerings. It’s a reflection of the radio station/broadcast in that there is a level of professionalism immediately apparent. (more…)

ANSWER
Yes, Dr. Bob originates his weathercasts from his home. His home is the Cooperating Reporting Station for the National Weather Service. He is linked to our studio via a special piece of equipment that digitizes audio and transmits the resulting digital stream via an ISDN line.

ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network and is a service provided by the telephone company.

ISDN is a very common means of transmitting audio from remote locations. (more…)

I understand that there was a major “changing of the guard” involving several key radio stations in the area. I don’t remember all of the call letters for these stations but one station was KOOI, which we listen to here in Tyler.

How does a deal like this change and affect our market? Do you think that there will be format changes for these stations?

Also – I understand that your company had been interested in a share of that deal… is that true?

Thanks for your time (more…)

ANSWER
Digital radio will work its way into the marketplace eventually. But I believe that it will take a while for markets the size of Tyler.

IBOC (In- Band, On-Channel) digital broadcasting will begin in about a half-dozen large markets later this year. As of now, none of the major receiver manufacturers has announced plans to build the receivers in large quantities. I expect that will eventually change.

Until there is a sufficient universe of IBOC digital receivers, it doesn’t make economic sense for stations like ours to make the rather sizable capital investment necessary to offer a digital product.

We’re watching the subject closely. (more…)

ANSWER
You are quite perceptive.

I believe that the internet is hugely important for information content
creators such as newstalk radio stations, TV stations and newspapers. I
believe that those of us that do a good job embracing the exciting
capabilities of the web will prosper in the coming years.

The fact that we can provide content on the air in real time while we offer
the same content on our website in a form that lets the user access it on
demand has enormous implications.

Beyond that, the internet allows us to provide enhanced material that takes
our day-to-day coverage to a new level. We have only just begun to explore
this aspect of the internet but an example of what I’m speaking of can be
seen in connection with our coverage of the fifth anniversary of 9/11 which
can be viewed here: (more…)

ANSWER
We appreciate our listeners in Henderson and we appreciate your interest in subscribing to our internet audio streaming service.

The short answer to your question can be found in our Terms and Conditions and our Frequently Asked Questions pages about streaming. Here are the links.
Stream Terms
Stream FAQ

Here’s the long answer to your question.

We cannot just simply add your zip code. (more…)

That second or so when static comes thru causes the listener to miss half a sentence or so. Can this process occur before 6:00 am, instead of in the middle of the sports update?

ANSWER
The momentary interruption that you hear is the result of the physical movement of some rather large relays that serve to:

* increase transmitter power output from 2,500 to 5,000 watts
* change the shape of the station’s radiation pattern to the daytime pattern as set forth in our license.

This daily event occurs at local sunrise as it is defined in our license. During the month of July, that defined time is 6:15 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Accordingly, we must make the change at that time to be in compliance with the terms of our license. (more…)

ANSWER

Changing networks to move away from ABC is not an option for us. There are a
number of reasons.

First let me respond to the belief held by you and a number of others that
ABC News Radio displays a liberal bias. As you may know from my weekly
feature called “You Tell Me” (www.ktbb.com/youtellme) I am a committed
conservative. KTBB’s hospitality to conservative thought is well-evidenced
by the fact that we are the home in East Texas for Glenn Beck, Rush
Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage.

If you believe that ABC displays a liberal bias, you join a fairly large
chorus of others. But when you examine that belief closely, you will almost
always find that the liberal bias charge pertains principally to the news
product on the ABC Television Network, mainly their flagship broadcast ABC
World News with Charles Gibson.

I am not going to debate whether or not ABC News as seen on television is
biased. Some very reasonable and well-informed people believe that it is.
Others believe otherwise. (more…)

ANSWER
The quick answer is because the other radio stations do not broadcast 100% of their over-the-air programming on the internet. In almost all cases, they separate at the commercial breaks and run either fill music or commercials that are locally produced and do not employ announcers or actors that are members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). Many have a completely separate automated music service that they stream over the internet, playing the same music that they play on the air but without the simultaneous content of the terrestrial signal.

AFTRA is the national union that represents performers that appear on television and radio programs and commercials. Early in the lifetime of internet radio station streaming, AFTRA took the position that their master contract, to which almost all national advertising agencies are signatory, did not include performace over the internet. AFTRA maintains that streaming over the internet constitutes a performance of the work that is separate and distinct from performance over the air. AFTRA believes that their members are entitled to additional compensation for that additional performance.

As a result, national advertisers began stipulating in their ad buys that the commercials they placed could not be included in radio station audio streams. This had enormous operational and logistical implications. (more…)

I love the programming especially sports talk and Sean Hannity. I am also a big high school football fan and this leads me to my problem. I live in Jacksonville and when the sun goes down so does KTBB SIGNAL! Other radio stations start bleeding in. I am left with no other choice but to turn the radio off. This happens not only with my home radio but in both vehicles. Of course this has been going on for a long time I just finally had to say something about it. Your ratings must be effected by this and do you have any plans in the near future to boost your stations signal strength? I WANT TO HEAR MORE!

ANSWER
Yours is a question we get nearly every fall.

If it were up to us, we’d be on the air at 100 kilowatts. The equipment to broadcast at a higher power output is relatively cheap and, despite the high energy costs that so dominate the headlines as I write this, so is the electricity. (more…)

ANSWER
Yours is a question we get frequently at this time of year as the sun begins rising later and setting earlier. You didn’t specify where you live in the area so my answer will be general in nature. But put simply, as the sun rises and sets, KTBB, like most AM radio stations, changes its power and the direction in which it more strongly radiates its signal.

A little technical information. Radio Frequency energy (RF) in what is commonly called the AM band (535 kHz to 1700 kHz) has a characteristic called the skywave. During the day, ionization of the atmosphere by the sun suppresses the skywave and your receiver detects only the groundwave. But at night, when solar energy is gone, the skywave is “free” to travel great distances. As a result, the skywave of a station in Tyler, Texas can cause severe interference for a station in a state as far away as either coast. The skywave effect diminishes with an increase in frequency (dial position). Therefore, a station that is low on the dial like KTBB at 600 kHz will have a very significant skywave component.

To deal with this physical property of AM radio, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated radio stations in the U.S. in such a way that some stations are fully powered both day and night, a great many stations are only on the air in the daytime and the rest operate at a higher power by day and a lower power by night. (more…)

ANSWER
Thanks for your question regarding HD Radio, otherwise known as High
Definition Radio.

HD Radio’s premise is that it greatly improves audio quality by digitizing
the station’s analog audio signal and broadcasting it on the same
frequencies that we use for our existing stations. Further, HD offers the
capacity for a “second channel”, a kind of extra radio
station-within-a-station upon which we could offer alternative programming.

The short answer to your question concerning our plans to begin offering HD
Radio is, “Not for a while.”

The capital cost for going to HD is between $60,000 and $100,000 per
station. As a percentage of revenue for a station in Dallas-Ft. Worth, this
is not a huge number. As a percentage of our revenue, it is signficant,
however. (more…)

I moved to Longview five years ago and have always enjoyed listening to KTBB in the mornings but what is the policy for “turning up the power” in the mornings? I cannot receive the station until 7 am and certainly would enjoy spending my entire morning listening to your station. Is there any way to receive better reception? Please let me know. I appreciate the information that the station provides for East Texas as it is the only place I can receive news and headlines in the morning.

ANSWER
We don’t have a policy for changing KTBB’s power so much as we have a schedule set by the FCC.

A little technical information. Radio Frequency energy (RF) in what is commonly called the AM band (535 kHz to 1700 kHz) has a characteristic called the skywave. During the day, ionization of the atmosphere by the sun suppresses the skywave and your receiver detects only the groundwave. But at night, when solar energy is gone, the skywave is “free” to travel great distances. As a result, the skywave of a station in Tyler, Texas can cause severe interference for a station in a state as far away as either coast. The skywave effect diminishes with an increase in frequency. Therefore, a station that is low on the dial like KTBB at 600 kHz will have a very significant skywave component. (more…)

I listen to your station 5-8 hours everyday. I compared KTBB with at least 4 other stations. You have too many commercials. I know you have bills to pay, but when I can go to one station when your commercials start tune back in 10 minutes and am still hearing commercials. Don’t worry I will always listen, but will tune out the never ending spots.?

ANSWER
There’s a saying that perception is truth. And it seems to be your perception that we play more commercials than other radio stations in similar formats.

The truth, however, is that our commercial load is identical to other news and talk stations. That is because much of our programming is network-originated. The network leaves very specific holes for local commercial insert and we fill those holes. Try this: listen to KTBB AM 600 from 1 – 4 p.m. and compare us to WBAP 820. You’ll find that we take our breaks at exactly the same time and the breaks are exactly the same length. In our locally-originated programming, we play 17 minutes of commercial matter per hour in a maximum of 19 units. (A :30 second commercial uses one unit but only half a minute.) This is pretty much industry standard for news and talk stations. (more…)

ANSWER
In the days of linotype machines for setting type, multiple pages of copy contained the footer “-more-” at bottom of each page. The end of the copy on the last page carried the footer “-30-”. That told the typesetter in a definitive fashion that he had reached the end of his copy. Why “30″? No one I have ever asked knows. But the designation “30″ has stuck as an indication of “the end”.

Dr. Bob adopted this convention years ago when he was a neophyte broadcaster.
Hope this answers your question. Thanks for listening to us and thanks for taking the time to write.

Paul L. Gleiser
President