1. RADIO Communications I Ms. Johnston

2. Radio What is your favorite radio station? Why? Formats target certain demographics. Call Letters? What are call letters?

3. Legal ID The legal ID is the station’s call letters + the city of license. Examples: WCEDDuBois WDSNReynoldsville, DuBois WKBISt. Marys WMKXBrookville These call letters are not acronyms. The FCC assigns these licenses and the stations are required to broadcast their legal ID at the top of every hour.

4. Why “W” ? WK *KDKA was grandfathered because it already existed. It was the first AM station in the nation.

5. Radio Hourly Clock Why do all stations seem to play commercials at the same time? At the top of the hour, the station broadcasts the Legal ID (this usually happens at 5 minutes till, or 5 minutes after the top of the hour). Commercial breaks usually occur during the following times: :10, :20, :40, and :50 3 6 9 12 :10 :20:40 :50

6. Radio Schedule 6-9 a.m.: Morning Drive ($$) 9-3 p.m.: Mid day 3-6 p.m.: Afternoon drive 6 p.m.-midnight: Overnight

7. AM Radio Amplitude Modulation G. Marconi has been given credit for creating AM radio. AM radio towers broadcast from the lowest point. What is “skip”? “Skip” is when a radio signal is reflected or refracted by the atmosphere or ionosphere, and returns to Earth in an unexpectedly far-away place. Stratosphere “Skip”

8. FM Radio Frequency Modulation FM is different from AM because AM’s format is typically news and talk, while FM is usually more focused on music. By 1978 listeners were tuning to FM more than AM. Tower Location: FM is also different from AM because the tower needs to be placed in the highest location to have the best reception. It does not use “skip.” LOS = Line of Site (affects reception) LOS

9. Future of Radio Satellite Radio Pod casts

10. Resources Beckert, Christine. Getting Started in Mass Media. Chicago: National Textbook Company, 1992. Bundy, Sam. Communications I lecture. Fall 2006. www.google.com www.ask.com