JUNE 16, 2022

Members of the KBA Legacy Awards Committee met last week in secret without Committee Chairman, Ed Henson. The Committee unanimously voted to permanently rename the Technology Award in memory of the late Clarance E. Henson. The Clarance E. Henson Technology Award will honor the career and/or technical achievements of exceptional broadcast engineers in Kentucky. The Committee surprised the Henson family with the announcement on Friday. Please read below to learn more about a determined, humble and generous engineering icon who helped so many stay on-the-air while inspiring the next generation of broadcast engineers.

Starting in high school, Clarance E. Henson developed a life long passion for broadcast engineering. In 1939, he began a hitchhiking trip throughout the south and mid-west in search of a full-time job. This trip took him to Louisville, KY, where he applied for a full-time job with WHAS-AM. When he was told there were no openings, he hitchhiked back to Arkansas. When he arrived back home, his mother gave him a telegram from WHAS, saying a job had opened. He immediately telegraphed back that he accepted the job and the next morning began hitchhiking back to Louisville, where he lived the rest of his life.

While working full-time at WHAS, he opened his own consulting engineering business, Electronic Laboratories. In 1960, he left WHAS to focus full-time on his own business. During the sixty years he served as a broadcast engineer, he helped countless radio and television stations throughout the country, but especially in Kentucky and Indiana. He had the ability to design AM directional arrays, design and build radio and television transmitter and tower sites, build studios, design cable company head-in rooms, climb towers, calculate transmitter site moves and upgrades, and filed countless FCC applications on behalf of his clients. 

Clarance was the owner with other members of his family of WLRS-FM, WAVG-AM and WXVW-AM in the Louisville area; WORX-AM/FM in Madison, IN; and KLOZ-FM and KISO-AM in El Paso, TX. For about twenty years, he owned the Louisville Radio School, training hundreds of technicians how to repair and build radio and television sets. During World War II, he served his country by building Loran stations all over the world.

One of Mr. Henson's most lasting legacies, were the people he helped to teach and train, who went on to do engineering for so many stations throughout the area; and the large number of individuals who he encouraged to get into station ownership and to start their own businesses.

He was know for his engineering passion and skills, his incredible work stamina and a generous spirit.

Darlene Wilson retired from WSON Radio on June 3, 2022. She started work at WSON-AM on August 8, 1988 and worked her way up to Office Manager and then in 2016 was promoted to General Manager of the station. Darlene handled the traffic, billing, FCC compliance, staffing, bookkeeping and all of the general operations of the station. For the past several years, she expanded her on-air presence to include a segment during the morning show, called “The Steve and Darlene Show.” Throughout her career, Darlene developed personal relationships with so many people throughout the Henderson area and was known for her care of the community. However, she was very excited to retire and spend more time with her two daughters and their wonderful families in North Carolina and Texas.

Keith Casebolt, President, and Owner said “Our two companies are growing by adding the talent and client focused experience of John Roberts to oversee both media companies. I’m very excited. John has been the best at his career in broadcast television, radio, and digital media. He is the one man that can get the results for our clients, while building an even bigger and better team at Casebolt Broadcasting and Marketing and Creative Media of KY. I’m very proud of our two companies and look forward to working with John and his team to partner with our businesses.”

Roberts, with 34 years of marketing experience and the former National Sales Manager of WYMT-TV in Hazard, shares Casebolt’s outlook. “Clients are bombarded more and more with a growing list of options to market their businesses. Keith and I have the same vision. Bring transparency, accountability, integrity, and creativity to our business partners' ad campaigns so that they want to embrace marketing, not shy away from it. Having said that, Keith and I have known each other and worked with each other in various media for nearly 35 years. I look forward to the future with Casebolt Broadcasting and Creative Media of KY and am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.”

2022 consumer research makes clear the importance of radio stations investing in their "digital dashboard" to LOOK as good as they sound.

HERE’S THE CHALLENGE, IN SUMMARY:

New cars are getting increasingly smart and that impacts how local radio displays on entertainment systems. Every automaker has their own solution for in-car audio and digital displays. Unfortunately, local radio stations show up on these screens in multiple ways from RDS, HD Radio and hybrid radio technology. These systems put text and artwork on the car screen to match programming.

There's no universal local radio standard for how to use this technology and many stations don't use it at all. That has created a complex user experience for consumers and it's now a threat for local radio because it has automakers deprioritizing local radio connections in favor or sleeker audio solutions that better integrate with new technology. We can overcome this, but it requires action in every market and by every radio station, from big stations and small.

HERE'S WHAT EVERY KENTUCKY RADIO STATION CAN DO RIGHT NOW:



1. Learn the connected car lingo and technology. An easy place to start is by reading the NAB’s Digital Dashboard summary. It’s a lot of information but it makes everything feel less scary.
2. Make the decision to embrace visual RDS technology and encoders at your radio station or take the next step and move to HD Radio. This is one of the only ways to compete with the digital experience consumers expect.
3. Find a metadata service provider to help implement your visual radio station experience and keep looking at competitors to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible. Here’s a list of some of the biggest vendors. 
4. Adopt standards for how your station uses RDS and HD Radio to match what car makers are asking for and what other stations are already doing. The NAB has digested this into a simple set of best practices. 
5. Ask questions. Lots of them!

More to come on this subject at KBA's Annual Conference, September 25-27th in Owensboro.

You may now order a duplicate copy of Impact Broadcast Award certificates and trophies. Trophies are available for $95 each (shipping included), which is KBA's cost. Certificates can be requested at no additional cost.

Pictured above (left to right): Bud & Rosemary Walters and Robin & Mike Tater attend the NAB's Celebration of Service to America Awards on June 7th in Washington, DC.

Last week I had the privilege of participating in the RAB’s Kellar Radio Talent Institute in Boone, NC.  Dan Vallie, founder of Vallie, Richards, Donovan Consulting created this program 15 years ago. The goal of the program is to inspire new people to have careers in broadcasting.  The program partners with universities and broadcasters to inspire the next generation of broadcasters.

Over a dozen broadcasters volunteered to share their experience and advice with the students. To a person, the reason these broadcasters participate is:

There’s something so fun and energizing about sharing our passion for the business with new people.

The reasons for their energy and passion can serve as an inspiration to new sellers and veteran sellers on your team.  We have a very special industry:

• The impact radio and broadcasters have on the community
• Broadcasters have a passion to make a difference 
• We change lives
• We inspire greatness
• We are the great equalizer that gives everyone a voice

For the last 15 years there are some common themes Dan Vallie has shared with the students about success in this business:

• Work hard.  Have self-discipline.  Practice/rehearse. Care. Be smart. Strive for excellence every day. Now is the time to start thinking and acting like a pro.
• There are a lot of great people in this industry…and a few twits. You should make a conscious decision about which category you want to be in.  
• Broadcasting is an art and the best in the business approach it as art, like painting a canvas. Treat it as the art it is. That is what the best in the business do and that is why they are the best in the business. 
• Take what you do very seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.

After spending the week with a group of students who want to be in the business, and a group of broadcasters so passionate about this business it’s easy to see why we love what we do.

With the massive and rapid change in the media landscape, it would be easy to become disheartened, discouraged, or overwhelmed.  It’s important occasionally to step back from the day-to-day details and reflect on what our core values, our purpose, and our passions are.

Looking for two great sales meetings?  In the first one ask your team why they love this business.  Their answers will be inspirational.  In the second meeting, ask the veterans to share one key piece of advice that helped them get to their level of success.  Those lessons will help everyone refocus and learn lessons for success

JUNE 23, 2022

Excellence In Broadcasting Awards - Entry Window Opens

JULY 20, 2022

KBA Board of Directors Meeting - Louisville, KY

SEPTEMBER 25-27, 2022

KBA Annual Membership Conference - Owensboro, KY

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference - Columbus, OH

*All times shown are Eastern