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What's the deal with this myNMSA feature?
This feature is for avid NMSA visitors who wish to
create a custom list of favorite stations, markets, and/or themes.
After signing up, myNMSA members get access to their
own custom section of the site with the ability to submit information,
review the latest additions to the NMSA, and read about the latest
news in the news music world and/or here at the NMSA.
Two things are requested from myNMSA
users: 1) do not sign up for multiple accounts, as this is simply
unnecessary; 2) you must "activate" your account within
14 days of the initial sign up or it will be deleted. This activation
is necessary to ensure you are a real person signing up and to ensure
others don't sign up accounts for you.
Why
is my media player a white box?
You are probably behind a firewall or your router
settings are prohibiting the Flash media player from appearing.
Adjust your settings to allow content from this site and/or Flash
content.
What type
of information should I submit?
Submit the following:
- Themes used in news opens
- Themes used in news closes (consistently, not a one-time occurrence)
- Themes used in sports/magazine shows
(please note this for the "more information" icon)
- Themes used in IDs/promos ONLY if no full-time news operation
(please note this for the "more information" icon)
Do not submit the following:
- Themes used in franchises (segment opens)
- Themes used in bumpers/teases
- Themes used in promos
The site should represent the main themes a
station used, not the minor ones. Lots of stations use library music
for bumpers and promos, and trying to archive all of that would
be a near disaster.
Also, please do not submit information, for example,
about station WXXX using the WXXX 1990 News Package from 1990 to
1992 without an audio sample. Please find an open or sample of the
theme and send it to me so that it may be included in the NMSA and
possibly identified by others.
If a station has unknown dates (___), then use the
Submission Correction form. Using the "New Data"
form will not submit and will be a waste of your time.
What
sort of stations qualify for submission?
The following types of stations qualify for submission
to the NMSA:
- Broadcast stations (those ending in -TV, -DT, or -LP)
- Cable channels local to your cable system
- High school newscasts*, college newscasts*, cable access newscasts/shows,
digital information channels using a different package than its
parent broadcast channel**
The following types of stations DO NOT qualify for
submission to the NMSA:
- Cable networks (like CNN, MSNBC, FOX News Channel, etc.)
- Webcasts
- Radio/Satellite radio stations
- A newscast you produce in your basement for "fun"
* Must be school-sponsored and have a legal
license for the music package.
** NBC Weather Plus channels probably use the same music as their
parent channel. Don't submit those.
WKYC Weather Plus is one exception to this rule. Use
this example to interpret this restriction.
How do I
submit audio samples to the NMSA?
Here are the basic requirements for audio themes
and opens:
- feed audio out of your TV/VCR directly into your computer's
sound card — don't hold the mic up to the TV speaker
- MP3 format (no WAV, WMA, RM, AVI, MPG, or MOV)
- CD-quality (44.1kHz, 16-bit, stereo — encode
MP3s at a bit-rate of at least 128kbps)
(if 1 minute of audio isn't about 1 MB in file size, the encoding
is too low)
- unedited (please leave about 5 seconds of pre-open audio
before the open and 5 seconds of anchor voice-over after the open)
- unfiltered (just record whatever you have, leaving a
bit of "silence" even if it has hiss or background noise)
- send themes in an e-mail with "NMSA Audio" in the
subject line
- send opens in an e-mail with CALL LETTERS and PACKAGE
NAME in the subject line
Please follow these guidelines and let me do the work
of filtering, editing, and improving the quality of what you have.
I'm sure many are asking, "Why?" Answer:
I want all these files to sound consistent. You'll notice that if
an open doesn't have an announcer, I leave an anchor's saying, "Good
evening," or something like that, otherwise I eliminate it.
While I appreciate your wanting to help edit submissions, it helps
me even more to just give me whatever you have.
Also, the idea is not to have every open a station
used if it's the same cut from the news package. Rather, if the
morning, 5pm, and 11pm news have different music, then 3 opens are
relevant; otherwise, one will suffice. Please don't send anything
but opens (includes opens, talent opens, re-opens, rejoins). Franchises
and closes need to wait. Thanks.
Okay,
but how do I get audio into my computer to send in an MP3?
I found a pretty good tutorial on the web that details
how to do this. There's a link in the Links portion of the menu
bar at the top or you can click here
to view it in a new window.
I sent in an
audio sample and it was never posted! What gives?
If a music sample exists, and you simply want a different
sample posted, please do not send it in. If you only want to listen
to that particular sample of music via the NMSA, a better option
would be to listen to that sample you have on YOUR computer through
Winamp, Windows Media Player, or RealPlayer. Please use your resources
rather than my bandwidth.
I do not take requests, otherwise I would be changing
samples every single day because not everyone will be pleased.
Due to the volume of information, questions, and submissions
handled on a daily basis, I cannot and will not be able to respond
to every e-mail. If I am unable to post your audio sample, please
do not resend the file, as it will again be deleted. I simply cannot
e-mail everyone thanking them for their help, and then explaining
why the audio will not be posted.
But I really
think a different sample would better represent the package versus
the one online!
That's very nice, but I disagree. With a couple hundred
audio files programmed to play, I will periodically evaluate whether
changes need to be made. When I decide to change the file, I will
change it. Until then, please enjoy the sample(s) I have provided.
Can
I send info to be included in the "More Information" icon?
Sure.
Now, what exactly should you send in? The idea here
isn't to tell me about how one day on the set, a fly flew around
and landed on the anchor's nose and it was funny. We're going for
something a bit more advanced...
Submit information about a theme's tenure on a station.
Maybe it was dropped from all newscasts except the noon newscast
and this lasted for two years. This is important! This information
would explain why two themes may seem to overlap in years.
An excellent example of "more information"
blurbs can be found in the Rochester,
NY market. Model your submissions based on what is found here.
Just be sure to indicate the station and package name as
a single line in your e-mail to me to keep things straight.
Why do you
group so many different packages under one generic name?
This question is asking why themes like 615 Music's
"In-Sink" package incorporates In-Sink V.1, In-Sink V.2,
and In-Sink V.3. While each version technically is a different package,
many times stations use V.2 and V.3 or V.1 and V.3 or certain themes
from all three. Then at times it is difficult to know which version
a theme belongs to.
The safe method of reporting is to group the packages
together. Frank Gari even made significant updates to many of his
packages (The One and Only, The One For All, Newschannel, etc.),
but these all carry the same logo, so they all fall in the same
package category in the News Music Search Archive.
Please note, however, that 615 Music groups packages
by V.# (i.e., V.1, V.2., V.3, etc.). Gari has divided themes up
into Series (and sometimes updates by year: 2002 Updates). Stephen
Arnold puts themes on CDs in Parts. Saying that a station is using
The CBS Enforcer Collection V.2 to indicate the WUSA updates in
1999 is incorrect. Using V.# for any package other than a 615 package
is inaccurate and should be avoided.
Other questions?
I'll try to answer any questions you send to
as soon as I can.
Thanks for visiting.
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