Longtime broadcast engineer Richard Burden passed away June 22, 2024 at the age of 92. A post on the SBE Chapter 47 Facebook page said, “It is not often in life that you meet someone who loves his family, friends and profession like Richard Burden. He gave 200% to everything he did with a smile on his face and love in his heart. We are all better people having known him.”

Richard’s notable career started in 1950 with his serving as Chief Engineer at his Lafayette College radio station, then his attendance at the RCA Institutes. He went on to participate in research at technology junctures that included FM stereo, TV stereo, and Traveler’s Information Service. He befriended the likes of Saul Marantz, Avery Fisher, and Rudy Bozak, but always had time for you.

Burden became a charter member of the SBE in 1966 and was still active this past year. He was elected as a Fellow in 1999, then received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

An article in the Radio World magazine has more information. You can read a fascinating transcript of an oral history interview on the Energy and Technology History Wiki website.

The FCC announced in late May a filing window beginning August 20, 2024, during which Class A and LPTV stations will be permitted to file Major Change applications to move to a different TV channel to improve viewer reception. The opportunity is subject to limitations in location change and spacing from existing stations.

The SBE has released new Broadcast Station Self-Inspection Guides for FM and TV broadcast stations. The SBE partnered with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to produce the documents, which are the first part of a planned series to cover all broadcast services. These Guides are designed to aid stations and Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) inspectors in evaluating a broadcast station’s compliance with FCC rules and regulations.

The Guides were developed to replace the FCC Self-Inspection Checklists that were first released in the 1990s, but have not been updated for nearly 15 years. While the previous Checklists only provided references to rules, the new SBE Guides include recommended practices for stations to establish policies and procedures for their own stations to ensure overall regulatory compliance. The Guides are available for download from the SBE website under the Legislative/Regulatory and Resources tab. They are free to SBE members.