Top of the Tower Podcast #037: At the NAB Show with Tom Taylor and Jeff Welton

In this week’s edition:

We’re back from the NAB Show (and PBS TechCon, and the Public Radio Engineering Conference, and the Broadcasting Club party – it was a long week and a half!)

ATSC 3.0? We heard a lot of talk about the new TV system out there, and we discuss the politics and regulatory issues in this week’s edition. (1:15)

We didn’t get enough time on the show floor, but there’s a lot of virtualization – and a lot fewer standalone boxes to do all the things that a radio station needs to keep running smoothly. (5:55)

We remember Ron Rackley, the AM engineering expert who died just days after the show and is dearly missed by all of us in the industry. (9:30)

Legendary trade journalist Tom Taylor (above, with wife Sharan) was honored, and deservedly so, with the NAB’s Spirit of Broadcasting Award, which gave us a chance to sit down and talk with him about his career and his thoughts on where radio is today. (11:16)

And we talked with Nautel’s Jeff Welton (left), who received the Association of Public Radio Engineers’ achievement award at the Public Radio Engineering Conference – as well as presiding over one of the biggest Nautel Users Group meetings ever. (Oh yeah, we made it to the NUG this year, too!) (28:05)

There’s more to come from NAB on upcoming Top of the Tower episodes – and join us here next week for a deep dive into the career of Phil Redo, who’s moved back and forth from public to commercial radio. He’s retiring soon from the top job at Boston’s WGBH radio and spent time with us for a conversation about radio and much more.

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