Cumulus Media has announced that 30-year Chicago radio veteran John Howell will host a new late afternoon show on WLS 890AM.
“The John Howell Show” will air live on WLS-AM weekdays from 5pm–7pm. Howell segues to Afternoon Drive from his current 6am-9am time slot on January 3, 2019.
Marv Nyren, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Chicago, said: “As part of the new lineup at WLS-AM 890, keeping an experienced Chicago talent like John Howell solidifies the lineup and will give our audience a reason to stay tuned throughout the entire day. John has been entertaining Chicagoland for over 30 years and his program will be the perfect way to wrap up the day on your way home.”
John Howell said: "I’m very excited about hosting the new afternoon show at WLS-AM 890. I intend to present Chicago with a quick-paced, informative, honest and intelligent summary of the day’s biggest stories; an afternoon wrap of the day’s biggest events featuring prominent newsmakers, reporters, experts and stars. Of course, our town’s most colorful characters will also be welcome. In addition, I’m looking forward to (finally) golfing when the sun’s in the east."
WLS 890 AM (50 Kw) Red=Daytime 2 mV/m contour
Howell has hosted the “Big John and Ramblin Ray Show on WLS-AM 890 for the past four years and has been a daily presence on Chicago radio for 30 years. Arriving in 1988 to host mornings at WCKG, he spent the next 17 years at WUSN, followed by an 8-year run at WIND. In addition, John hosted a nationally syndicated weekend show for Westwood One from 1998-2006.
Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp. has terminated 35 staffers involved in its NextRadio and TagStation businesses, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan told the Indy Business Journal Friday.
Emmis announced in October a decision to “dramatically reduce” the operations of NextRadio and TagStation after tens of millions of dollars in losses.
The company told employees about the job cuts last week. Paul Brenner, president of NextRadio and TagStation, will remain with the company. Brenner has been with Emmis—in various executive roles—since 1998.
Jeff Smulyan
“After exploring several alternatives, we have made the difficult decision to dramatically reduce the scope and scale of our operations, which includes the termination of 35 employees of these businesses,” Smulyan said in a written statement.
Smulyan said the workers are being given “generous severance packages,” and added that Emmis “will provide certain product support and maintenance for the foreseeable future” related to NextRadio and TagStation.
“We wish our colleagues well. They have done all that is asked of them and more,” Smulyan wrote in a memo to staffers Dec. 7. “We just fell short. Impacted employees received severance packages that will get them through the holiday season.”
NextRadio, which began in 2012, was intended to be an industry-wide effort to make mobile phones act like smart portable radios. But Smulyan said in October that the consortium he had hoped to build never materialized.
“NextRadio and TagStation are efforts that I and many others championed and spent enormous energy supporting,” Smulyan wrote to his staffers. “We believed in the success of these businesses. To come to this day is a difficult one, not just for the employees directly impacted, but for Emmis and the radio industry.”
Emmis officials announced during an October earnings call with analysts that the company has lost $7.6 million on NextRadio in the last 12 months alone.
Smulyan continually said there was considerable support for NextRadio, which allowed cell phones using an app to tune into FM radio with various enhancements not available through a traditional radio, and allowed advertisers to more directly target listeners with tailored messages. But Smulyan admitted that support “was 10 miles wide and a tenth of a mile deep.”
The '80s-based Classic Hits Max 105.7 has disappeared from the San Diego airwaves. No music, no commercials, no station IDs, nothing. Programming continues on its website.
And, according to the San Diego Reader, the abrupt squashing of the Max 105.7 FM (XHPRS) by its Mexican owner could lead to some big changes in how American broadcasters use Mexican-based radio transmitters owned by Mexican nationals.
The station is operated by Broadcast Company of Americas. Its studios in Mira Mesa feed programming to three different Mexican stations with transmitters in greater Tijuana, including 105.7 XHPRS-FM and two all-sports stations, Mighty 1090 XEPRS-AM and XEPE 1700 AM.
BCA apparently has been delinquent in paying its annual transmitter fee.
Broadcast Company of America’s other two stations, 105.7-FM and 1700-AM, are owned by Tijuana-born businessman and politician Jaime Bonilla Valdez, who radio insiders say he was no longer interested in continuing to allow Broadcast Company to use his FM station without paying rent. The tipping point came late Wednesday, December 12 when Bonilla pulled the plug. It is not known how much the rent for 105.7 to Bonilla is, but the insider says he was told it was more that Mighty 1090’s $100,000 per month and that 105.7’s may be as much as $135,000 monthly.
Good morning. We are currently resolving an issue that is affecting what you hear on the air. Listen to MAX-FM on our stream at https://t.co/ZtN9uEDMeh and on the MAX app. We hope to be back on 105.7 soon. Thanks for listening and for your patience. https://t.co/FVxqIzPTr3
Going forward it is not clear that Mexican owners can continue to expect the rental fees they have enjoyed over the years due to decreased overall ad spending on American terrestrial radio.
The situation is different for another San Diego broadcast group called Local Media San Diego which just sent out a press release saying that its three key management members were in fact buying Local Media and its three Mexican stations 91-X (XETRA-FM), Magic 92.5 (XHRM-FM) and Z90 (XHTZ-FM) from the Thoma Bravo venture capital firm. General Manager Gregg Wolfson would not divulge the amount of the sale price or any other specifics.
While it rains cats and dogs Friday morning across North Texas, two KLIF 93,3 FM personalities hope a steady downpour of toys is also in the forecast.
Through Dec. 18, Scotty K and Bret Mega, who host the morning show on Hot 93.3, will be holed up in the parking lot at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, where they're doing a holiday toy drive — with a twist.
They'll be living on a bus parked outside the mall round the clock — and stuffing that bus with toys people drop off, until there's no room left for them.
"We sleep here, we eat here, we breathe here, we broadcast here, we sit out in the rain if we have to," said Scotty K. "It's all to symbolize that we're here around the clock for kids who've had so many people fail them in their lives. And we're not going to be one of those people. We're here the whole time."
The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it would require Gray Television Inc and privately held broadcaster Raycom Media Inc to divest broadcast stations in nine markets as a condition for their $3.6 billion merger, reports Reuters.
“Without the required divestitures, Gray’s merger with Raycom threatens serious competitive harm to cable subscribers and small businesses,” Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a statement.
At the time the deal was announced in June, the two companies had a combined 142 full-power television stations in 92 markets, reaching about 24 percent of total U.S. television households.
The divestiture conditions were included in a proposed settlement the Antitrust Division filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia along with a lawsuit seeking to block the merger, the Justice Department statement said.
The settlement, if approved by the court, would require divestitures in Knoxville, Tennessee; Toledo, Ohio; Waco–Temple–Bryan, Texas; Tallahassee, Florida–Thomasville, Georgia; Augusta, Georgia; Odessa-Midland, Texas; Panama City, Florida; Albany, Georgia; and Dothan, Alabama.
The Weekly Standard, a primary voice of conservative Washington that found itself out of step with the Trumpward turn in the Republican Party, is ceasing publication after 23 years, its owners announced on Friday.
The cause of death was financial, ideological or personal, depending on who was doing the telling, according to The NYTimes.
The magazine’s parent company, Clarity Media Group, cited a steep decline in subscriptions and revenues. But editorial leadership had clashed with ownership in some instances over its critical coverage of President Trump and the hard-right views of his defenders.
The Standard’s editor in chief, Stephen F. Hayes, pronounced himself “profoundly disappointed” by the decision on Friday to cease publication. The editor of Commentary magazine, John Podhoretz, who was a co-founder of The Standard in 1995, described the closing as a “murder” and “an entirely hostile act” perpetrated by malevolent owners.
Clarity Media, which is controlled by the billionaire conservative businessman Philip F. Anschutz, has devoted resources to The Washington Examiner, a publication that provides cozier coverage of the president. Talk of selling The Weekly Standard was floated, but the company decided against it.
SiriusXM will feature its most extensive schedule of college football bowl games ever this postseason, giving subscribers from coast to coast access to all 41 Division I FBS and FCS games live, including ESPN Radio's coverage of the College Football Playoff Semifinals and National Championship, on their SiriusXM radios and on the SiriusXM app.
The schedule begins Saturday, December 15, with a lineup of six games that kicks off with Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T in the Celebration Bowl at 12:00 pm ET. Click Here for a complete schedule of games and their SiriusXM channel assignments.
On December 29, subscribers can tune in for both College Football Playoff Semifinal games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic featuring #2 Clemson vs. #3 Notre Dame (4:00 pm ET), followed by #1 Alabama vs. #4 Oklahoma in the Capital One Orange Bowl (8:00 pm ET). One week later listeners will get live play-by-play as the winners of those two games face off for the College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA (Jan. 7 at 8:00 pm ET). All three CFP games air on ESPN Radio, SiriusXM channel 80.
In addition to the College Football Playoff games, listeners will also get access to the eight other bowl games that feature matchups between Top 25-ranked teams. These include: #16 West Virginia vs. #20 Syracuse in the Camping World Bowl (Dec. 28); #13 Washington State vs. #24 Iowa State in the Valero Alamo Bowl (Dec. 28); #7 Michigan vs. #10 Florida in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Dec. 29); #17 Utah vs. #22 Northwestern in the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl (Dec. 31); #8 UCF vs. #11 LSU in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1); #12 Penn State vs. #14 Kentucky in the VRBO Citrus Bowl (Jan. 1); #6 Ohio State vs. #9 Washington in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (Jan. 1); and #5 Georgia vs. #15 Texas in the Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).
SiriusXM also offers fans the most in-depth radio coverage of the college game with daily talk, up-to-the-moment news and expert analysis on several college sports-focused channels including ESPNU Radio on SiriusXM (channel 84), SiriusXM ACC Radio (channel 371), SiriusXM Big Ten Radio (channel 372), SiriusXM Pac-12 Radio (channel 373), SiriusXM SEC Radio (channel 374) and SiriusXM Big 12 Radio (channel 375).
Twenty-two of the bowl game broadcasts – including the College Football Playoff Semifinals and College Football Playoff National Championship – are produced and provided by ESPN Radio. Other broadcast providers are Grace Media, IMG, Learfield, RedVoice LLC, Sports USA and Touchdown Radio.
ESPN has announced that it will add two late-night shows to its programming line-up. Set to debut January 28, 2019, the two shows — Now or Never (ESPN2) and Ahora o Nunca (ESPN Deportes) — will be dedicated to covering the intersection of sports and pop culture for young, multicultural sports fans.
Now or Never and Ahora o Nunca will offer a new take on sports, with a laid-back vibe for the late-night fan. Fans can expect the co-hosts to have fun with sports headlines and reactions, chat about the latest news on movies, music, E Sports, celebrity culture and much more. The shows will feature social content that incorporates viewer interaction and engagement. Airing Monday through Friday, the two 30-minute shows will be produced from ESPN studios at L.A. Live in Los Angeles and air on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes at 2 a.m. ET / 11 p.m. PT.
Now or Never will be co-hosted by Steve Covino, Rich Davis, and Janelle Marie Rodriguez. Covino and Davis, who currently co-host Covino & Rich on ESPN Radio and SiriusXM’s Faction Talk channel, come to ESPN with a plethora of sports and pop culture experience. The pair have worked as television hosts for NBC Sports’ NY affiliate SNY, discussing daily pop culture and sports stories. They have hosted numerous red carpet events including the MTV Video Music Awards and Movie Awards, the GRAMMY Awards and private parties for ESPN and Rolling Stone, as well as numerous Super Bowl weeks, and the MLB All-Star Week, on behalf of SiriusXM.
Rodriguez is a South Florida native who began her career at a young age, making regular television appearances and her acting debut on TNT’s series The Last Ship. Throughout her career, she has interviewed many high-profile celebrities, including Steven Spielberg, Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana. She was nominated as Best Actress in a Webseries at The Official Latino Short Film Festival for her work on the digital network Flama, and was recognized as the first Latina to host MONSTER JAM in the U.S. Rodriguez will serve as the bilingual co-host and appear on both shows.
Ahora o Nunca will be co-hosted by ESPN Deportes’ Mauricio Pedroza, Herculez Gomez and Rodriguez. Pedroza was discovered in Mexico City in 2006 when he participated on ESPN Deportes’ Dream Job, a nationwide casting event centered around the World Cup. Since then, Pedroza has become one of the most recognized young faces on the Spanish-language network. He has served as co-host of Nación ESPN and Cronómetro, among others. Pedroza started his career at ESPN anchoring SportsCenter.
Herculez Gomez joined ESPN as a soccer analyst in January 2017, after announcing his retirement from professional soccer. The 17-year veteran of Mexico’s Liga MX and Major League Soccer – including the 2016 season with the Seattle Sounders, MLS Cup champions– serves as a studio analyst on ESPN’s English and Spanish-language networks. Gomez appears primarily as a pundit on ESPN FC, ESPN’s daily soccer news, highlights and information program, and as a studio analyst for the network’s coverage of Major League Soccer, U.S. Men’s National Team, and other international soccer competitions. On ESPN Deportes, he serves as an analyst on signature soccer studio programs including Fuera de Juego and Fútbol Picante.
Entertainment industry legend Alan Alda will receive the National Association of Broadcasters’ Distinguished Service Award during the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas. Alda will accept the award at the NAB Show Opening session on Monday, April 8.
Each year, the NAB DSA recognizes members of the broadcast community who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the industry. Previous award recipients include Robin Roberts, Bob Schieffer, Michael J. Fox, Mary Tyler Moore, President Ronald Reagan, Edward R. Murrow, Bob Hope, Walter Cronkite and Oprah Winfrey, among others.
Alda is best known for his starring role as Dr. Hawkeye Pierce in the hit television series “M*A*S*H,” which debuted in 1972 and ran for 11 seasons. “M*A*S*H,” a comedic drama set during the Korean War, was inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1996.
In 2004, Alda joined the sixth season of “The West Wing” as Senator Arnold Vinick, for which he also received an Emmy. In total, Alda has won seven Emmy awards and has been nominated 34 times. He has made guest appearances on many popular television shows such as “ER,” “30 Rock,” “The Blacklist,” “The Good Fight,” and “Ray Donovan.”
“Alan Alda is an authentic entertainer whose incredible talent and enduring characters have engaged audiences for decades,” said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. “We look forward to celebrating the immeasurable contributions he’s made to television and film at the 2019 NAB Show.”
Alda became host of “Scientific American Frontiers” in 1993 and continued with what became “Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers” until the PBS show ended in 2005. Alda’s deep interest in science led him to help found the nonprofit Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York. The organization has trained over 12,000 scientists and medical professionals in the United States and abroad. He also recently launched The Alda Communication Training Company, the proceeds of which support the Center for Communicating Science.
Left to Right The BOB & TOM Show's Grace Yinger, Tom Griswold, Kristi Lee, and Josh Arnold, the legendary John Landecker, and Chick McGee of The BOB & TOM Show (Photos: Art Vuolo)
Legendary Top 40 Radio personality and Radio Hall of Famer John Records Landecker paid a visit to "The BOB & TOM Show" last week to surprise BOB & TOM cast member Chick McGee on his birthday!
John Records Landecker
Landecker is a hero to McGee, and it was a very cool birthday surprise for Chick and a treat for BOB & TOM listeners, too.
"The BOB & TOM Show" cast brought listeners up to speed on John, his career in Chicago at WLS 890 AM, and The Boogie Check feature, and had him show off his D.J. talent of "talking up the post", which had everyone laughing. Art Vuolo, "Radio's Best Friend", was in the BOB & TOM studio in Indianapolis to capture all the fun for posterity.
Landecker's middle name, the source of questions throughout his career, was not, as most assumed, a stage name. His mother's maiden name was Records (her full name was Majorie Victoria Records) and was given to him at birth.
"Records truly is my middle name" is a saying Landecker frequently used on the air.
National Religious Bbroadcaster’s 2019 Radio Summit will be held in Anaheim, California, and feature a variety of speakers with decades of rich radio involvement who will help radio stations and their staff move forward.
Among those who will speak at the all-day event on Thursday, March 28, 2019, are Derric Bakker, president of Dickerson, Bakker & Associates LLC; Chuck Finney, president of Finney Media; Jon Hull, senior director of mentoring at KSBJ Radio; Fred Jacobs, president of Jacobs Media; Mark Levy, president of Revenue Development Resources Inc.; and Dr. Paul Virts, senior consultant at Advocace Media LLC.
The summit’s five sessions will cover topics ranging from basic strategies to deeply involved but proven promotional practices. Furthermore, the Radio Super Session will feature not-to-miss insights from Mike Lindell, founder of MyPillow; veteran media strategist, researcher and trend-maker Mark Ramsey; and Ben Stroup, director of strategic development at the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Access to the Radio Summit is part of a full registration for the four-day NRB International Christian Media Convention, Proclaim 19. To register, visit nrbconvention.org. The Convention dates are March 26-29.
CBS announced Friday that executive producer Ryan Kadro will be leaving "CBS This Morning" and the network. He's been with the show since its 2012 launch and been running it since his predecessor, Chris Licht, left to take over Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" three years ago
CBS said Kadro's exit had nothing to do with the network's settlement this week of a lawsuit filed by three women concerning Rose's behavior that had faulted management, including Kadro, for not acting to stop him.
Kadro, in a note to his staff, said he had been discussing his future with CBS News President David Rhodes since September. His contract expires at the end of the year.
"Through our discussions, I couldn't shake the feeling in my gut that I need a new challenge, and a serious nap," Kadro wrote. "It's the natural course of things."
"CBS This Morning" had generated significant momentum in the lucrative morning marketplace earlier in the decade with a newsier approach led by the on-air anchor team of Rose, Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell. While it remained third in the ratings to ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today" show, its audience grew and it was competitive with its rivals for the first time in a long time.
After Rose's departure, that momentum halted. All of the network morning news shows are losing audience, but none as quickly as CBS. The show has been averaging just under 3.2 million viewers this year, compared to 3.6 million before Rose's exit in November 2017, the Nielsen company said.
Almost one-fourth of American adults earn money in the gig economy, and the ones who earn their primary income in the gig economy are much more likely to have anxiety and feel financially insecure than non-gig workers.
Twenty-four percent of Americans earn at least some income from “gig” work, such as driving for Uber or Lyft, selling products or services online, or working in some type of freelance capacity. Gig work may be the primary or secondary source of income, and as this study shows, those who rely on the gig economy as their primary source of income are more likely to have high anxiety levels, fear unexpected expenses, and feel financially insecure.
The Marketplace-Edison Research Poll is a regular series of surveys that examines how the U.S. population feels about their personal economy and financial situation in the landscape of the larger U.S. economy. The Economic Anxiety Index is a tool designed by Edison Research and Marketplace to measure the amount of stress a person feels about their individual financial situation through a series of twelve questions regarding job security, saving and expenses, and general financial anxiety.
Only 24% of those who are employed (not in the gig economy) have an Economic Anxiety Index score over 50. Almost half, 45%, of those who rely on gig work as a primary source of income have an Economy Anxiety Index score over 50.
“Our research shows that there are really two gig economies: one where gig jobs serve as the primary livelihood for employees, and one where they provide supplemental income. The 44% of Americans working in the gig economy who depend on gig work as their primary source of income show deep economic anxiety, which merits further study,” said Edison Research President Larry Rosin.
Key findings include:
24% of Americans earn some income from the gig economy.
For 44% of gig workers, their work in the gig economy is their primary source of income.
For 53% of gig workers aged 18-34, their work in the gig economy is their primary source of income.
Men are more likely to be employed in the gig economy than women. Thirty-one percent of men say they earn money through the gig economy compared with 18% of women.
Gig workers are vastly more likely to have a high Anxiety Index Score than those in traditional employment and those who rely on the gig economy as a primary source of income are the most likely to have a high Anxiety Score. Thirty-eight percent of those who do gig work as secondary income have an Anxiety Score over 50, while 45% of those who rely on gig work as their primary source of income have an Anxiety Index Score over 50. Only 24% of those employed (not in the gig economy) have an Anxiety Index Score over 50.
80% of gig employees whose gig work is the primary source of income say that an unexpected expense of $1,000 would be difficult to pay.
28% of those who rely on gig work as their primary source of income say they are not financially secure compared to 20% of those employed but not in the gig economy.
51% of gig workers say they work harder for their income than those in traditional jobs.
➦In 1922...deejay Alan Freed was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He is said to have coined the phrase rock ‘n’ roll, and was in large part responsible for the wide-scale acceptance of the music through his radio shows in Cleveland and New York. Freed became a scapegoat in the payola scandals and in 1962 pleaded guilty to accepting bribes. He died, a broken man, in a California hospital on January 20th, 1965. Freed’s life was dramatized in the film “American Hot Wax.”
➦In 1936....pioneering Seattle radio station KVL changed its call letters to KEEN. Later it changed again to KING-AM .. and in recent years KPTK, a talk station whose hosts espoused a progressive (left-leaning) philosophy. In the past several years AM 1090 went All-Sports, joining the CBS Radio Sports Network as KFNQ..
➦In 1941...the largest radio audience ever for a drama tuned in on the four national networks for “We Hold These Truths,” a one hour dramatic program written by Norman Corwin for the 150th anniversary of the US Bill of Rights. With the nation suddenly at war after the Dec. 7th Pearl Harbour attack, it was estimated that 63 million Americans, about half of the US population at the time, listened to the program.
➦In 1944...US Army Major and bandleader Glenn Miller's plane disappears in thick fog somewhere over the English Channel. The fate of Miller and his passengers, en route to play a Christmas concert in Paris with his Air Force band, has never been determined.
➦In 1961...John Battison calls for Institute of Broadcast Engineers in Broadcast Engineering editorial
➦In 1955…Johnny Cash released the Sun Records single "Folsom Prison Blues," which peaked at #4 on the Country chart but did not break into the Billboard top pop list. Cash included the song in his repertoire for decades.
He performed it at Folsom Prison on January 13, 1968 and that "live" version was eventually released by Columbia on the "At Folsom Prison" album the same year, and as a single that reached #32 on the pop chart.
➦In 1956…Elvis Presley gave his final performance on the "Louisiana Hayride" after 50 appearances on the radio show, a weekly broadcast from KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana.
➦In 1957…Columbia Records executive Mitch Miller and entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. disparaged rock 'n' roll as "the comic books of music" during a radio talk show hosted by Davis. Another guest on the radio show, Arnold Maxim, president of the MGM record label, disagreed with them saying he saw no end to the fad in the near future.
➦In 1966...Walt (Walter Elias) Disney died in Burbank at age 65, a victim of lung cancer.
➦In 1988..."The Godfather of Soul," James Brown, was sentenced to six years in prison for failing to stop for police during a two-state car chase. He was released in 1990 on probation.
➦In 1990... John R. Gambling takes over Rambling With Gambling on WOR 710 AM, NYC.
John R. Gambling
Gambling joined his father as co-host of Rambling with Gambling in 1985, and took over as sole host after John A.'s retirement.
When WOR ended Rambling with Gambling in 2000 after 75 years on the air, John R. Gambling moved up the dial to WABC, taking over the post-morning-drive 10 a.m. - noon slot. Gambling was fired by WABC on February 29, 2008 in a cost-cutting move. On April 30, 2008, WOR announced the return of John R. Gambling to its air waves in his old morning-drive timeslot starting May 5, 2008. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also moved to WOR, joining Gambling on a one-hour segment, Fridays from 8-9am.
On December 20, 2013 John R. Gambling did his last morning show on WOR after announcing his retirement from broadcasting. He and his wife of 37 years Wendy are retiring to Florida ending a run of over 80 years during which the Gamblings were a staple of New York Radio.
On April 14, 2014 Gambling returned to New York radio on WNYM 970 AM weekdays from 11:00AM to 1:00PM.
➦In 1999...Country music superstar Garth Brooks said that he planned to keep an "extremely low" profile in 2000 and that he would "probably" announce his retirement at the end of the year.
➦In 2001…R&B singer/songwriter (Walking The Dog) Rufus Thomas, a popular Memphis disc jockey from 1953 to 1974, died following a heart attack at age 84.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying: "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler."
CBS Corp. has divvied up $20 million among 18 groups that advocate for workplace safety and the elimination of sexual harassment — fulfilling a promise the company made in September when it severed ties with its longtime chief executive, Leslie Moonves.
According to The LATimes, the broadcasting company is using money from Moonves’ severance package to fund grants to the various groups. Moonves agreed in September, as part of his separation agreement, to donate the money to #MeToo causes.
CBS said the Producers Guild of America, Women in Film Los Angeles, the National Women’s Law Center, Time’s Up Entertainment, Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, and the New York Women’s Foundation will be among the groups receiving portions of the money.
The Producers Guild of America is receiving $2 million from CBS to launch a program to combat sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, with a focus on independent or non-studio productions.
Guild leaders said Friday that the Independent Production Safety Initiative, which will be administered through the guild’s foundation, will provide independent productions with no-cost access to professional, in-person training on issues of sexual harassment as well as no-cost access to legal consultation.
Two months ago, after being overwhelmed with requests for a portion of the money, CBS hired the group Rally to identify the groups who could best use the funds.
The donations come amid a broad review of CBS' workplace culture. The investigation was prompted by sexual misconduct allegations against Moonves, who served as CBS chief executive for 12 years. Multiple women have accused the former executive of making unwanted advances.
Beasley Media Group Boston announces Ayla Brown has been named as the new Morning Show Co-host at Country WKLB 102.5 in Boston.
Jackson Blue and Ayla Brown can be heard weekdays from 5:30 to 9am on WKLB-FM beginning on Monday, December 17, 2018.
The former American Idol Season 5 finalist and Boston College basketball star has been living in Nashville, Tennessee performing and writing music for the past several years.
“Country music has brought me all around the world and back to Boston again,” said Brown. “Many have seen me perform, but I am so excited for our listeners to get to know me in a whole new way. Thank you to the Country 102.5 team for this incredible opportunity!”
“I am so happy that Ayla has agreed to come home to Boston and join our morning show,” said Beasley Media Group Country Brand Manager and WKLB-FM Program Director, David Corey. “Ayla is such a talented personality. She has excelled in everything she has done, and I am confident she will add so much to Country 102.5. The Jackson and Ayla Brown show will be a must listen to show every weekday.”
WKLB 102.5 FM (14 Kw) Red=54dBU Coverage Area
Her song writing skills make her a great storyteller and living in Nashville has immersed her into the county music scene. She is a perfect complement to join Jackson on Boston’s # 1 Country Morning Show. “When I first started having discussions with Ayla several weeks ago about joining the morning show, I knew within the first 30 seconds that there was something really special about her,” said Jackson. “I can’t wait to turn our microphones on for the first time on Monday and just go.”
Alpha Media has announced that a contract has been signed and an application is being filed with the FCC for the transfer of radio stations Sports WANG 1490 AM and WTNI 1640 AM, Rock WCPR 97.9 FM, Classic Hip-hop WGBL 96.7 FM, Adult Variety WQBB 105.9 FM, and CHR WXYK 107.1 FM, all in Biloxi, Mississippi to TeleSouth Communications, Inc.
Alpha Media owns 207 stations in 45 markets pending the completion of all announced transactions. Alpha Media CEO/President, Bob Proffitt commented, “We are happy our group of great broadcasters in Biloxi/Gulfport are being sold to a good operator located in the state of Mississippi that is dedicated to live and local. We have a special place for everyone at these stations and wish them the very best.”
The Buyer, TeleSouth Communications, Inc., is a Mississippi-based company headed by Stephen Davenport. In its portfolio of stations, TeleSouth owns or operates 21 stations in 12 different markets and will immediately divest of WXYK-FM in order to meet the FCC rules, which cap station ownership in a single market. TeleSouth will be acquiring the following stations from Alpha Media:
WANG-AM operates at 1490 kHz, with 1.0 kW day and 1.0 kW night. WTNI-AM operates at 1640 kHz, with 10.0 kW day and 1.0 kW night. WCPR-FM operates at 97.9 MHz, with 50 kW at 466’ HAAT. WGBL-FM operates at 96.7 MHz, with 4.3 kW at 390’ HAAT. WQBB-FM operates at 105.9 MHz, with 25.0 kW at 312’ HAAT. WXYK-FM operates at 107.1 MHz, with 2.8 kW at 400’ HAAT.
Entercom has announced the appointment of Jessie Penate (DJ JPS) to the roles of night drive host and Music Director for Rhythmic CHR WPOW Power 96 in Miami. Both roles are effective immediately.
“DJ JPS is a great addition to our Power 96 team,” said Keriann Worley, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom South Florida. “He is a team player and I trust he will elevate our station’s Rhythmic Top 40 format and enhance the overall experience for our listeners.”
“I’m thrilled to continue this journey on the station I grew up listening to, working with a talented team filled with passion and energy,” said DJ JPS. “I’m thankful to Entercom, Keriann Worley & Miguel Irizarry? [Program Director and midday host, Power 96] for this opportunity.”
WPOW 96.5 FM (100 Kw) Red=60dBu Coverage Area
DJ JPS joined Power 96 in 2016 after taking first place in the station’s “Mix Master” competition. Since then he’s served in various on-air roles, most recently during the station’s midday drive, and as a mixer. DJ JPS has also held part time on-air roles for sister station KISS Country 99.9 (WKIS-FM) in Miami.
Cumulus Media announces that it is bringing Westwood One nationally syndicated talk radio program The Ben Shapiro Show to New Yorkers’ afternoons on 77 WABC Radio.
The Ben Shapiro Show will air weekdays on 77 WABC from 3pm-6pm Eastern. The program, which launches on 77WABC on Monday, January 7, 2019, includes two LIVE hours of radio programming and one hour of the Ben Shapiro podcast airing on the radio.
The Ben Shapiro Show is a high-energy, action-packed program as host and podcast-to-broadcast innovator Ben Shapiro, editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com, covers America’s most powerful political personalities, brutally breaking down the culture, while never giving an inch. The live radio show extension was recently announced on the heels of the success of syndicating The Ben Shapiro Show, the top conservative podcast in the nation in 60 U.S. markets.
Chad Lopez, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus New York, said: “There is no question that Ben Shapiro has taken New York by storm with listeners and advertisers. Broadening his footprint on WABC is the natural evolution of this exciting program.”
Craig Schwalb, 77WABC Program Director, said: “Ben is a fascinating host that completely cuts through the sameness that is political talk radio right now. It’s the perfect time for us to expand his programming on 77 WABC.”
Shapiro said: “I'm thrilled to be launching our three-hour show on WABC, an iconic station with an incredible history. New York is the hub for information and entertainment, with a whip-smart, engaged audience -- and I can't wait to bring my brand of fast-talking to the city known for it!”
The annual awards show, now in its sixth year, will return in 2019 on March 14th, and will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on FOX at 8pm ET. The event will also be streamed live simultaneously on iHeartRadio radio stations across the country and on iHeartRadio.
The fan-driven iHeartRadio Music Awards will celebrate the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2018, as well as preview upcoming 2019 hits. The show will also showcase incredible live performances from some of your favorite stars, including a few special surprise duets and collaborations. In previous years, artists like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Madonna, Pharrell, and many others have all taken the iHeartRadio Music Awards stage.
As always, the iHeartRadio Music Awards will celebrate all of the fans, especially those who will be casting millions of votes for their favorite artists on social media. Which fan army will be the loudest this year? Find out on March 14th!
More information about the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards, including the award categories and ticket info, will be announced at a later date. So, stay tuned for those nominations and to find out who will be performing in 2019.
Ranking as one of the most talked-about television events in social media this past year, the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards garnered over 216 billion social media impressions in the U.S. alone. It also proved its strength on individual platforms, such as Twitter, where the official hashtag of the evening, #iHeartAwards2018, trended #1 on Twitter worldwide and in the U.S. in more than 30 cities.
Last year's big winners included Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" for Song of the Year, Taylor Swift for Female Artist of the Year, Cardi B for Best New Artist, and more. Additionally, 2018's iHeartRadio Innovator Award went to Chance the Rapper while the first-ever Fangirls Award recognized Camila Cabello, and the 2018 iHeartRadio Icon Award was presented to legendary rock band Bon Jovi.
