BY KURT HANSON
WKDD, the Barnstable Broadcasting-owned extremely Hot AC station in Akron, Ohio, could have been virtually off the air for the past couple of days if it wasn't for a helpful listener, a clever engineer and Webmaster, and their Internet webcast.

According to RAIN reader Mark Boarman, WKDD's Webmaster/Designer and Computer Operations Manager, the station had a transformer blow out late Monday that fed the signal from the studio to the tower. By the time the problem was diagnosed, there was little they could do to contact a replacement until the next morning, which would have left them down for 36 to 48 hours.

"We found ourselves debating on how to patch the problem until we could get the transmitter repaired," Boarman told RAIN. "During the debate on whether or not to take over the AM studio until the FM could be repaired (and take a hit on the AM billing side) or use the old stand-by phone lines and transmit a very 'weak' signal, a call came into the FM studio.

"Figuring it would be the typical 'Hey, do you know you're off the air?' call, it certainly caught our attention when the caller said, 'Hey, how come you guys keep playing the same song over and over again?'

"Our response: 'Huh? Where are you hearing that from?'

"Caller: 'The Internet.'

"D'oh! A temporary solution! We quickly hooked up a laptop at the transmitter site...dialed into our ISP...grabbed the feed from Magnitude Networks...and put it right on the air!"

In other words, the radio station was broadcasting a streamed Internet feed. Boarman notes, "We figure this has to be some kind of first." And he adds, "Hey, at the very least we might pick up some TST!"

(WKDD's GM is John Shea and its PD is Chuck Collins. You can visit the station's website here.)




"Jazz. Not just a musical genre, it is an attitude, it is the quintessential definition of style. Jazzfm plays jazz and all that's jazz -- Latin, Blues, Big Band, Fusion, New Orleans, R&B, New Beats, Township, Acid, BeBop, Modern, Contemporary and our own Dinner Jazz.

"Jazz is the source of all modern music, it is not an intellectual experience, but a way of life. At its core Jazz is an expression of freedom and excitement -- vibrant, surprisingly subtle, yet with a sophisticated edge..."

And it's also the format of one of the best-looking radio station websites I've ever seen -- a London-based commercial FM station with a very nice Internet presence. (The quotes above are, of course, from their website.)

The home page of this Jazzfm.com (see screenshot above) is one of the best-looking home pages I've seen for any type of website. (It may not be to everyone's tastes, but, personally speaking, it sure captures my attention.) (On the other hand, it's got several different animations running simultaneously and it does take a while to download on a dial-up connection.).

There's a great idea on the site that anyone could execute, but that I've never seen before -- a "Problem Report" form (see right) for people who are having trouble accessing the stream. Brilliant! (Yeah, there might be a bit of expense involved in responding, but think of the loyalty a helpful response could engender.)

There's lots more, too, including a very attractive, well-written guide to jazz events and venues in three metropolitan areas -- London, northwest U.K. (e.g., Liverpool and Manchester), and New York City.

And there's a very attractive navigation bar at the bottom of every screen once you get into the site. (See below.)

As for its audio, the station has streams that are hosted in both the U.S. and the U.K., so you can pick the location that's best for you. Its Windows Media player notes that the station broadcasts using "Multicast." (Know what they're talking about? Please e-mail me here and I'll share it with everyone.)

Finally, I should note that it seems to be a good-sounding radio station, too. My impression is that it's less pop- and more genuinely jazz-oriented than your typical "Smooth Jazz" station, and that the personalities actually genuinely seem to add to the overall effect.

However, I'm not a jazz expert, so I'd welcome reader comments from those who know genre better than I do. (E-mail me here).




Want to recommend a station as RAIN's next Internet Radio Site of the Day? Use the feedback form here.





AOL adds streaming for broadband users
From Internet News.com: "America Online Tuesday launched AOL Plus to deliver enhanced multimedia content and features to AOL members using AOL 5.0 over any high-speed connection -- TCP/IP, DSL, cable or satellite. AOL 5.0's 'speed detect' feature will begin rolling out this week, automatically downloading the technology that will enable enhanced multimedia content and features like full-motion video and streaming audio..."

AOL's initial broadband content providers include AthletesDirect, CBS SportsLine, CBS MarketWatch.com, CNET Networks, CNN, FOXNews.com, FOXSports.com, House of Blues, Launch.com, Max Broadcasting Network, Travelocity.com, and Weather.com, as well as AOL brands including MovieFone and Spinner. Read the full news story here.

In the most exciting contest in the history of Web-based newsletters about radio and Internet issues -- the RAIN Viral Marketing Contest, Phase Three -- we're giving away next week, to one lucky RAIN reader, a fantastic prize package.

We've previously announced that that fantastic prize package includes a state-of-the-art Sony digital music player and a state-of-the-art wireless-Internet-ready Nextel cell phone. And now this week we're adding something even cooler -- a Kerbango Internet radio!

It's a gorgeous-looking little table-top-sized radio that will be able to pick up hundreds or thousands of Internet radio stations, with no PC required. (Read more about it here and here.) Kerbango's marketing director, Mark Auerbach, has promised that you'll receive one of the very first delivered units -- in fact, you may even get to be one of the beta users!

And all you have to do to be eligible to win this fantastic prize package is to recommend RAIN to friends and colleagues in your address book who you think would enjoy reading RAIN. (And let us know by "cc:"ing kurt@kurthanson.com.

As we've told you before, if you've already recommended RAIN to some of your industry colleagues, then you're already eligible to win. (Check the list here to make sure your name has been put in the hat.) However, it would no doubt be good karma if you could think of a few more people (whether superiors, subordinates, or peers) you could also drop a line to.

So, why not tell a couple dozen of your industry colleagues about RAIN today? (If you need sample e-mail verbiage to use in making the recommendation, click here.)

That way you'll make sure your name is in the hat for next week's drawing to select the winner of this fanatastic prize package. Thanks...and good luck!

More coming soon! Contribute your suggestions here. (Suggestions already in the hopper include CableMusic.com, RadioWoodstock.com, Nerve Radio, Radio Gogaga, and HotCountryHits.)

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