GLBC Adds New Sessions! Take control of your career - Register today!
Several new sessions have been added to the upcoming Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference (GLBC), Tuesday and Wednesday, March 10-11 at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids:

NEWS: "Saying it all in 35 seconds or Less"
Peter King, CBS News Correspondent
Making your newscast tighter and brighter can be a challenge, especially with time constraints and the need for a high story count. CBS News Correspondent Peter King shares his experiences and tips for "Writing Short" without skimping on the important material your listeners need to hear in your newscasts. His presentation includes audio samples, a Q and A session, and, if time permits, a brief exercise for participants. Peter's tips are for both radio and television news staff.


PROGRAMMING: The Ten Strategies of Great Program Directors
David Martin, Media Arts & Sciences
The most successful radio program directors are strategic thinkers who consistently outsmart their competition. In this interactive session, you’ll learn how to adapt and put to work the ten strategies that great program directors use to achieve winning results. Get real world practical strategies to help you deal with critical operating issues of the day from streaming audio and web widgets to developing talent and collaborating creatively with sales. We’ll share and discuss best practices and lessons learned from America’s leading programmers including Michigan’s best and brightest. During the session we’ll help you to create a practical game plan that you can use to become a more effective and successful program director. Check out David’s blog at http://davemartin.blogspot.com.


MARKETING & BRANDING: The Next Big Digital Thing: Social Media
David Martin, Media Arts & Sciences
MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and blogs have gone mainstream and are playing important roles in the daily lives of your listeners and viewers. This session will explore the latest developments, a strategic view of what’s happening in the world of so-called social media. Learn how these audience “toys” can become powerful marketing “tools” for your station and your clients. Discover how national brands including NBC’s Today Show, NPR and Comcast cable are using services like Twitter to build communities and enhance brand positioning. This session will serve as a practical hands-on primer, providing what broadcast managers need to know about this emerging digital phenomenon. Check out David’s blog at http://davemartin.blogspot.com.

MANAGEMENT: Meet the Millennials: Managing a Transformative Generation
Lindsay Schutte, Frank Magid & Assoc.
The Millennial generation, born between 1976 and 1996, will transform the workplace. Despite your preconceptions about the incoming generation, their size and attitudes will affect your day-to-day business. You can make one of two choices; work with them to maximize their talents to your gain, or work against them and miss a big opportunity. During our session we will present the key differences between the Millennial generation and other generations, discuss their needs and motivations, and identify ways that you can manage them to meet your goals. This session will provide actionable recommendations that you can use tomorrow and in the future.


Don’t Be Left Behind… Register Now for GLBC…
We understand that many companies are being selective on how funds are spent, leaving employees little options for professional development. If your company isn't able to pay for training, should you stop growing professionally? Of course not!

• Successful people need continuing education and growth to stay at the head of the pack.

• MAB believes investing in your education and future is a wise personal investment.

• It will open your eyes and shift your thinking; the key principles can be applied to any media and any business.

• It should help you sell longer-term schedules to more clients, resulting in more income for you.

• It will make you more valuable to your employer or future employers.

• Ultimately, it will result in a more successful career.

Make sure you're not left behind... take advantage of GLBC's affordable education options. REGISTER TODAY!


Stay, Learn and SAVE!
Amway Grand Hotel Offers HUGE Discounts for GLBC attendees! A limited number of rooms are being held at the deeply discounted GLBC group rate at the Amway Grand Plaza, which is connected to the DeVos Place via skywalk:

A savings of $91-$94 dollars per night! Call the Amway Grand at 800-253-3590 and
mention the Michigan Association of Broadcasters to receive the special reduced rate.

*Rates subject to lodging tax of 8% and 6% Michigan sales tax.

FCC's Michael Copps Visits Detroit to Talk DTV
The MAB DTV Team was busy on January 12 as Congressman John Conyers (D-14th) held a town hall meeting at Wayne County Community College. Special guest of honor was FCC Commissioner Michael Copps who told a packed room that Congress should consider delaying the February 17 digital transition date. Copps estimates that some 100,000 people in metro-Detroit may not be ready, and with the funding for the NTIA coupon program having reached its ceiling, there's 1 to 5 million Americans who still may need the boxes for their old analog TVs.

Conyers and Copps were joined by MAB's Karole White and Larry Estlack, who with with the help of engineers representing each Detroit television station, answered questions from the audience. Following the town hall meeting, Commissioner Copps joined Detroit television general managers and staff for lunch at the studios of WDIV-TV for a candid conversation on the digital television transition and its progress in the state of Michigan.

A Look Back at the MAB: The First Decade
Beginning this month through June, this e-newsletter will highlight a different decade of the MAB's first 60 years. Stay tuned as we take a look back to celebrate our history and what made us what we are today.

Writer and broadcaster Bob Doll wrote that in 1948, Michigan was "one of the few most populous states that did not have a broadcast association, although it had its fair share of radio stations." The NAB, which represented broadcasters nationally since 1922, had low participation by broadcasters in Michigan.

With the Michigan state government interpreting and applying certain tax laws affecting broadcasters, Milton Greenbaum, owner/operator of WSAM/Saginaw invited broadcasters throughout the state to a meeting to discuss their mutual problems. The meeting was held on December 2, 1948 and included the owners or representatives of over half the state's radio stations. The major point considered that day was the inequality of the state sales tax and use tax as they were applied to radio broadcasters, in contrast to the way they were applied to newspapers. It was the rallying point around which the Michigan Association of Broadcasters was founded.

Incorporation papers were filed in Lansing on January 13, 1949. Offices were established rent-free at WJIM in Lansing.

Rewind to ’49

• When the MAB was formed in 1949, there were just 55 AM radio stations, 23 FM stations - and a mere 5 TV stations licensed in the state.

• The first elected President/Chairman of the MAB was Milton M. Greenbaum from WSAM Radio in Saginaw. Dr. Willis Dunbar of WKZO/Kalamazoo and WJEF/Grand Rapids became the MAB's first vice president; and Howard Finch of WJIM/Lansing and WGFC/Kalamazoo was elected secretary-treasurer.

• The association was founded for radio stations; but television stations were soon invited to membership.

• With television in its infancy - and television only available in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing - radio still ruled the airwaves throughout the state with music, news, dramas, soap operas and entertainment programming. Families would gather together at night in their living rooms and listen to the radio. The Lone Ranger originated from Detroit's WXYZ. Scriptwriter Fran Striker created the Lone Ranger, his horse Silver, and his sidekick Tonto. The radio program ran from 1933 to 1954 and the television series from 1949 to 1957.

• Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen of Decatur was the voice of Mortimer Snerd, Charlie McCarthy and Effie Klinker.

• As television expanded throughout the state in the 1950s, it quickly took over in areas that radio had dominated: comedy, drama and news. Popular programming included the first popular network television show for children "It's Howdy Doody Time!", created by its host Buffalo Bob Smith. Chet "Buck" Barry left his traveling Wild West show in 1953 to host "Buckaroo Rodeo" for WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids. And a slapstick comedian named Milton Supman became Soupy Sales on Detroit's WXYZ-TV and found an audience of young but adoring fans.

• MAB Presidents/Chairmans through the rest of the association's first decade included Stanley Pratt, WSOO/Sault Ste. Marie (1950); Edward F. Baughn, WPAG/Ann Arbor (1951); Dan Jayne, WELL/Battle Creek (1952); W.A. Polmoroy, WILS/Lansing (1953); John F. Wismer, WHLS/Port Huron (1954); Fred Knorr, WKMH/Dearborn (1955); Carl E. Lee, WKZO/Kalamazoo (1956); Jacob P. Scherer, WHFB/Benton Harbor (1957); and Martin Giaimo, WJEF/Grand Rapids (1958).

Michigan Association of Broadcasters 4th Annual Convention - Hotel Fort Shelby/Detroit - November 2-3, 1953

2009 Offers Challenges and Opportunities
by Diane Kniowski, Chairman, Michigan Association of Broadcasters and President/General Manager, WOOD-TV/WOTV-TV, Grand Rapids

I hope this first issue of the year finds you expecting great things in 2009. This year will be one of those years that will go down in the history books as offering challenges and opportunities for Michigan broadcasters. A new President, digital television transition and a down economy will bring stations unique opportunities to serve their communities, their industry and our state.

We are in the final stretch of the FCC mandated Digital Transition date of February 17, 2009; however, changes to this schedule may be on the horizon. Please stay tuned to the MAB DTV web site for up-to-date information on the transition, upcoming meetings and soft test schedules. The more you know, the better you can serve your communities during this time.

With everything facing our industry right now, please do not forget to register for the upcoming Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference & Expo (GLBC) March 10 & 11 in Grand Rapids. This conference is an opportunity to educate you and your employees with timely information that will bring immediate results - all at a low rate! We are very excited to welcome the Wizard of Ads Roy Williams who will, no doubt, offer some excellent sales and marketing tips. Don’t miss out on this conference. Register today!

Dastur to Program Clear Channel's WKQI-FM/Detroit
WHTZ-FM/New York Program Director Sharon Dastur has been appointed to the program director duties for sister station WKQI-FM in Detroit. Dastur will continue programming the New York station in addition to WKQI, commuting between the two cities. Dastur replaces Dom Theodore who recently joined CBS Radio's Detroit cluster.

WLUN Pinconning To Unveil New Studios
The studios for the Tri-Cities only 24-hour all-sports station have been relocated to the press box at Dow Diamond in Midland. The Great Lakes Loons purchased the station in March 2008 from Citadel Broadcasting and have been operating from the Citadel facility in Saginaw since the purchase. A special ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for January 28.

Dr. Barry Litman: 1949 - 2008
Former board member and honorary member of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation, Dr. Barry Litman passed away December 26, 2008 at age 59 following a brave battle with cancer. Dr. Litman was a profession in the Department of Telecommunications, Information Studies, and Media in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences at Michigan State University for more than 30 years, specializing in the economics of broadcasting, mass media, and the entertainment industries.

Dr. Litman authored several books during his career and authored/co-authored more than 50 articles in academic journals and papers in broadcast economics.

Jerry Martin: 1916-2008
The MAB is sad to report the death of Jerry Martin, longtime chief engineer for WKMH/WKNR/WNIC. Mr. Martin passed away on New Year's Eve, two days after his 92nd birthday. He began his career as a radio engineer in 1946, assisting in the construction of WKMH-AM, later known as WKNR-AM/Dearborn. His many accomplishments through the years included supervising the installation and construction of the present day transmitting facilities of WNIC-FM. Martin was a life member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and was a Certified Senior Broadcast Engineer. He also served as vice chairman of Michigan's Emergency Broadcast System, later serving as EAS chairman of the state's southeast area.

In 2008, the MAB honored Jerry with the Carl E. Lee Radio Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award at the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference (GLBC) in Grand Rapids.

Dell Warner Passes
Emmy Award winner, Detroit broadcaster and former advisor to Lt. Gov. Martha Griffiths, Dell Warner, passed away on Wednesday, January 21. Warner's broadcast career included a job hosting "Woman to Woman" on WXYZ-TV as well as a regular feature on WDIV-TV focusing on senior issues titled "Coming of Age." Warner also was an independent television producer and newspaper columnist.

The MAB, along with the Detroit Press Club and the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) has honored her work.

Employers Must Comply with New FMLA Regulations
by Terry Kasiborski, Butzel Long
New U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulations pertaining to the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)
become effective January 16, 2009. The FMLA applies to employers with at least 50 employees.
download pdf


Why the $3.5 Million Federal Estate Tax Exemption Could Increase State Death Taxes
by John Gingas, Financial Technology, Inc.
Here is some good news for being a Michigander. The Michigan estate tax is designed to absorb the federal estate tax credit for state death taxes. No additional estate tax is imposed in the State of Michigan. Generally, each individual is allowed an exemption from the federal estate tax. That amount increased from $2 million to $3.5 million on January 1, 2009. This should be great news, but for some married couples, it could actually mean an increase in state death taxes.
download pdf

State of the State, Legislative Reception Scheduled
Governor Jennifer Granholm will give her seventh State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature on Tuesday, February 3.The annual address will take place that day at 7 p.m. from the House chambers. While the address will contain Granholm's proposals for the upcoming year, the economy is expected to be a major focus.

The Michigan Association of Broadcaster will host their annual legislative reception the following week on Wednesday, February 11th. This year’s reception will be of special importance, as it represents a tremendous opportunity for Michigan’s broadcasters to connect with the more than 40 new House members.

Get the latest legal updates by reading the MAB Legislative & Legal Monitor!
The MAB Legislative & Legal Monitor is published as neccessary with the latest information important to broadcasters. Not receiving the monitor? Please email Dan Kelley at dkelley@michmab.com to sign up TODAY!

Past issues are available in the Members Only section of the MAB website. Click here to view the latest Legislative & Legal Monitors.

Obama to Nominate Genachowski FCC Chairman
President Barack Obama intends to nominate Julius Genachowski to head the FCC, several sources close to the Obama transition team have indicated. A former classmate of Barack Obama, 46-year-old Genachowski previously worked at the FCC during the Clinton Administration. More recently, he co-founded LaunchBox Digital, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm.

During the campaign, Genachowski served as Obama’s top technology adviser, putting together a detailed technology and innovation plan. The plan expressed support for open Internet or "net neutrality" protections; media-ownership rules that encourage more diversity; and expansion of affordable broadband access across the country.

Meanwhile: Copps Appointed Acting FCC Chairman
In the wake of FCC Chairman Kevin's Martin's resignation on January 20, Commissioner Michael J. Copps was appointed on Thursday (1/22) to run the agency until a permanent chairman (expected to be Julius Genachowski) is nominated and approved. Copps recently visited Michigan to attend a DTV town hall event as well as to meet with Detroit television broadcasters regarding the DTV transition.