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Saturday, November 15, 2014

Boston Radio: Howie Carr Moves to 1510-AM Starting Monday

Howie Carr
Longtime talk host and Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr is taking his no-holds-barred brand of radio to WMEX 1510 AM beginning Monday.

Carr is also retaining all of his 15 affiliates across New England as he jumps up the dial. The show — airing weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. — also will be available via streaming at howiecarrshow.com, on apps from affiliates and on tunein.com.

Carr’s longtime producer, Nancy “Sandy” Shack, is sticking with her boss, and his first guest on Monday will be another of his old producers, Doug “VB” Goudie, the popular TV commentator who was just let go by Fox 25 TV.

WMEX, which first broadcast in Boston in 1934, is owned by Kevin Wallis. Wallis recently filed for the heritage WMEX, dropping ths more recent WUFC (50kw) call sign. The syndication is being handled by Kurt Carberry, who owns one of Howie’s longstanding affiliates, WCRN 830 AM in Worcester.

WUFC 1510 AM (50Kw-DA) Coverage
Carr, who is also a best-selling author, quit WRKO in 2007, but a state judge compelled him to continue working for the station until yesterday. “Finally, I’m free,” Carr said. “I can’t believe I got out of prison before Benjamin LaGuer.”

Springfield MO: Police Association Calls For Boycott Of KOSP

An employee running a red light has caused some headaches for MidWest Family management at Top40 KOSP 92.9 FM in Springfield, MO.

It's seems the employee 25-year-old Richard Deaver, ran the red-light riding on a scooter for the morning show at The Beat 92.9, when he was stopped by Springfield Police Officer James Whitehead.

Deaver is cohost of' KOSP's new morning "Rich and McClain in the Morning".  He recently arrived in Springfield after a stint at WPLJ 95.5 MFM in NYC.   Dawn McClain previously worked at crosstown Top40 KSPW 96.5 FM.

The traffic stop ended up taking about 24 minutes and Deaver wasn't happy about it. At some point, he began recording audio of his interactions with officers himself — a recording he would later upload to the online audio platform SoundCloud. A second officer and K-9 unit would search him for marijuana, but Deaver ended up leaving with two citations — one for allegedly disobeying the light, and another for allegedly not having a driver's license.

KOSP 92.9 FM (50Kw) 60dBu Coverage
Once he got to work, Deaver started talking about the stop.

By 8 a.m., the Springfield Police Officers Association had asked "all members, and the public at large" to boycott KOSP 92.9 FM, commonly known as 92.9 The Beat.

"If you use your position as a public figure to disparage an officer and lie about the facts, we have a problem with that," Association President Mike Evans told the News-Leader Friday morning.

KOSP is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting. Employees at the company referred a reporter to the company's general manager, who did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

A police incident report compiled by Whitehead alleges Deaver "became irate" when he was stopped and told the traffic stop was due to running a flashing red light.

SiriusXM Loses Another Round In Court

For the third time in as many months, SiriusXM has been rocked with a court ruling over the issue of pre-1972 sound recordings, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

This time, a ruling comes in New York, a sign that the satellite radio broadcaster's liability won't be limited to California — the scene of earlier losses — plus bad news for Pandora and terrestrial radio operators.

SiriusXM has been fighting lawsuits from Flo & Eddie of The Turtles as well as major record labels for publicly performing sound recordings without authorization and compensation.

The key to these disputes is understanding that sound recordings only began falling under federal copyright protection in 1972. State laws protect sound recordings authored before that year, but until these new lawsuits were brought, it wasn't particularly clear whether ownership of a pre-72 sound recording included the exclusive right to publicly perform the song.

Flo & Eddie Of The Turtles
On Friday, New York federal judge Colleen McMahon became the latest to weigh in on the legal firestorm by denying SiriusXM's motion for summary judgment in a second lawsuit brought by Flo & Eddie.

She shrugged off SiriusXM's principal argument that no public performance rights exist because New York case law contains no discussion of it. She acknowledges the "accepted fact of life in the broadcast industry for the last century" that nobody was paying royalties for public performance.

According to the judge, there is a stronger argument that the years of judicial silence "implies exactly the opposite of what Sirius contends — not that common law copyright in sound recordings carries no right of public performance, but rather that common law copyright in sound recordings comes with the entire bundle of rights that holders of copyright in other works enjoy."

As that happens, all sorts of other music users — terrestrial radio operators, digital streamers and maybe even your local pub — are going to be faced with some big decisions about whether or not to continue playing pre-72 music without a license from the owners of sound recordings.

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Charlotte Radio: Al Gardner Leaves WZGV For Retirement

Al Gardner
Longtime Charlotte radio personality Al Gardner is leaving WZGV 730 AM after a year, and leaving Charlotte as well.

Friday was his last day.

The Charlotte Observer reports Gardner, who will be 68 in December, said Friday he and his wife Robin have sold their home and are moving to a place with a view of the Intracoastal Waterway in Little River, S.C., just outside Myrtle Beach.

“Robin really missed the beach,” Gardner said Friday, “so we’re moving down there.”

Gardner, who for 15 years was the morning host on “Charlotte’s Morning News” on WBT 1110 AM, joined WZGV-AM last December with co-host Lanny Ford. Since June, he has been paired with former Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney on a 1 p.m. daily show, “Hurney and Gardner.”

Ford said he would take Gardner’s place on the show with Hurney beginning Monday.

Bob Pittman: Taylor Swift Is Smart

Bob Pittman, chairman and chief executive officer at iHeartMedia, Friday discussed singer Taylor Swift’s stand against Spotify and the economics of streaming music.

He spoke on “Market Makers” from the Bloomberg The Year Ahead: 2015 summit in Washington.  The business news show is hosted by Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle and covers the biggest companies in finance and the leaders who run them.


Huntsville Radio: Cumulus Flips WWFF To NASH Icon

Cumulus has announced that WWFF 93.3 FM launched Friday as 93.3 NASH Icon. The station previously operated under the brand Journey 93-3.

Matt Tobin, Market Manager for Cumulus Huntsville said: “93.3 NASH Icon brings Country music fans the artists that made Country great, along with today’s Country stars. Country music fans can now reconnect with the iconic artists and music they fell in love with during the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s—and the Country stars they love today. We are extremely excited to bring 93.3 NASH Icon to the passionate Country fans of the Tennessee Valley!”

Bob Raleigh, Corporate Program Director for Cumulus said: "I'm thrilled we are bringing our NASH Icon brand to WWFF. The link between Huntsville lovers of Country music and Nashville has just become stronger. The passion for NASH Icon is like no other I've ever seen and now that passion comes to Huntsville."

WWFF 93.3 FM (14.5Kw) 60dBu Coverage
The NASH Icon platform also includes a record label and live events venture, in partnership with Big Machine Records. Last month, NASH Icon Music signed its first artist to the NASH Icon label, the multi-platinum Country superstar, Reba.

R.I.P.: WNAV Annapolis ND Barbara Cox

Barbara Cox
Barbara Smith-Cox, the news director at WNAV 1430 AM / 99-9 T-FM died suddenly at her home early Friday.

She was 55 years-of-age, according to capitalgazette.com.

She had fought and won a battle against breast cancer and emceed a forum on cancer survival the night before she died.

Last Sunday she completed the Across the Bay 10K race across the Bay Bridge.

Reports indicate that when WNAV called her Arnold home Friday after she failed to report to work, family members found her unresponsive. The station reported her family has attributed her death to natural causes.

Friends and public officials spoke of her steadfast dedication to her job and her knack for lifting the spirits of anyone who crossed her path.

WNAV station manager Steve Hopp said he first met Barbara Cox, the name she used on-air, at a jobs fair at Anne Arundel Community College.

"She had recently moved to the Annapolis area from Florida and she had some radio experience. It was a perfect fit for us," Hopp said.

"Barbara was part of the nucleus of this station. We had a pretty tight working family," Hopp said. "It is very difficult for us."

Police and fire officials who posted condolences on social media all spoke of Cox's professionalism.
County Executive-elect Steve Schuh issued a statement: "Annapolis radio lost a great personality today. Barbara Cox was a consummate professional who was always cheerful no matter what obstacles were placed in her way."

November 15, 16 In Radio History


On the 16th in 1899...Mary Margaret McBride was born in Paris Missouri. She later worked as a radio personality on WOR-AM, New York City.


On the 16th in 1904...Fleming patents thermionic tube (diode tube)





On the 16th in 1940...In Atlanta, the "hillbilly music" show "The WSB Barn Dance" began its 9½-year run.



On the 16th in 1959...Harry Harrison debuted on WMCA, New York. Here's Harry on WMCA from 1965...





On the 16th in 1963...The touch-tone telephone was introduced


On the 16th in 1967...Jonathan Schwartz starts at WNEW 102.7 FM NYC


On the 16th in 1979...Paul McCartney released the holiday single "Wonderful Christmastime." Because he wrote, published, and played all the instruments on this recording, McCartney's royalties add up. Including royalties from cover versions, it is estimated that Paul McCartney makes $400,000 per year from this song, which puts its cumulative earnings in excess of $16 million.






On the 16th in 2012…Radio personality (WBZ-Boston, WKBW-Buffalo, WBEN-Buffalo)/program director Jefferson Kaye, for many years the voice of NFL Films, died of cancer at 75.  For more on Kaye: Click Here.



On the 16th in 2012…Radio/television personality (WWJ-Radio, WWJ-TV) Sonny Eliot, a broadcaster in Detroit for 63 years and one of the first TV weathermen to combine meteorology and humor, died at age 91.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Boston Radio: WKLB's Lori Grande Reveals M-S Struggle

Lori Grande (Herald photo)
The pins and needles and coldness in her feet began eight years ago after a trip to London to visit her best friend. She rubbed them and put on heavy socks, but nothing helped.

So Country WKLB 102.5 FM morning cohost Lori Grande went to see her doctor and then a neurologist. After a battery of tests, and with her parents by her side, the neurologist told Grande she had multiple sclerosis.

Fear consumed her, she recalled.

“I remember just thinking, ‘I don’t want this to be true.’ All I could think is, ‘I’ll be in a wheelchair in six months and I won’t be able to walk,’” Grande, 49, told Jessica Heslam at the Boston Herald in her first media interview about her condition at the station’s Dorchester studio.

Grande has helped raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society but has mostly kept her own diagnosis out of the spotlight.

Now, the cohost of the “JW & Lori in the Morning” show is sharing her story publicly in the hopes of helping others.

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Elizabeth Hasselbeck Returns To Fox & Friends


After almost a month off the air following a mysterious surgery in October, Elisabeth Hasselbeck returned to Fox & Friends on Friday and, in an emotional few minutes at the top of the show, revealed the cancer scare that prompted her absence.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck
According to THR, the former View co-host had a tumor on her abdomen, she explained, that doctors told her had to be removed and they were concerned it could be cancerous. Ultimately, Hasselbeck revealed, doctors found that she didn't have cancer, but she had a scary week when she didn't know.

She then explained how thankful she was for the support she received while she was away and dealing with the medical scare.

"I could not be more thankful for my family and my friends who've stuck by me with incredible support…And really starting from the top down here, [Fox News CEO] Mr. [Roger] Ailes and this entire Fox family treated me like family the entire way," she said. "I'm certainly not a person who takes a lot for granted, but I certainly don't take it for granted now."

Hasselbeck seemed to get a bit choked up as she recounted her ordeal and gripped co-host Steve Doocy's hand as she made her remarks. Doocy and Eric Bolling, filling in for co-host Brian Kilmeade, then brought out a cake, from someone in the news: Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro.

Later the show aired a videotaped message from her kids, which caused Hasselbeck to tear up.

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TX Radio: Court Sides With Personalites Over Non-Compete

Ed Ocanas
Two staffers fired in 2010 by Malkan Broadcasting have won their lawsuit against their former employer.

A Texas court has ordered to Malkan to pay past wages and pay for legal expenses of Ed Ocanas and Nicholas Russo.  They were dismissed at on-air personalities from RhythmicAC KKBA 92.7 FM/K-Bay.

Under a non-compete with the company, they were blocked  from taking a new job in the market. That attracted the attention of the Civil Rights group GI Forum, which  noted that of the seven employees fired by Malkan the non-compete was only enforced against the two Hispanics.

The Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission ruled Ocanas and Russo were discriminated against, however the case eventually moved to court. A five-day trial resulted in a similar ruling.

The EEOC review caused Malkan’s broadcast station license renewals  to be put on hold.

Russo now works in Houston at CBS Radio’s country KILT 100.3 FM/The Bull and Top40 KKHH 95.7 FM/Hot. Ocanas is now programming country KBSO 94.7 FM/My 94-7 and Top40/rhythmic KNDA 102.9FM/102-9 Da Bomb in Corpus Christi.

Radio/TV Host Charles Osgood Sings For His Supper

Who’s that tickling the ivories?  It’s none other than Charles Osgood, anchor of the long-running Westwood One-syndicated The Osgood File, host of CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood, poet-in-residence, author, and journalist.


Last night, (Thursday, November 13) Charles Osgood hosted an exclusive, intimate Westwood One client event at his home in New York City.

Specials agency guests were serenaded in the parlor by Osgood himself, who regaled the crowd from the seat of his magnificent Steinway piano.  After music, drinks, and hors d’ouevres, Osgood, Westwood One executives, and client guests moved on to an exquisite dinner at Quality Italian restaurant.

Report: Viacom Chief Says Nielsen Is Outdated

Philippe Dauman
Faced with ratings and advertising declines, the chief executive of Viacom criticized the television research firm Nielsen on Thursday for failing to keep pace with the way people watch TV.

The NYTimes reports ratings for Viacom’s networks, which include MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, tumbled 15 percent during the quarter that ended in September, according to Nielsen data compiled by Bernstein Research. Those ratings challenges led Viacom’s domestic ad sales to decline 5 percent for the quarter, the company reported Thursday.

Philippe Dauman, Viacom’s chief executive, said a large portion of the viewing of Viacom networks was through mobile apps, gaming devices and other platforms that traditional Nielsen ratings do not include.

“We are in a transitional moment with existing measurement services that have not caught up to the marketplace,” Mr. Dauman said during a conference call. “They are trying to catch up. I am sure they will eventually catch up. In the meantime, we are not waiting for that.”

Mr. Dauman said about 30 percent of Viacom’s domestic advertising revenue was not dependent on Nielsen ratings, such as sales for mobile apps, personalized advertising and sponsorships. In the next three years, the company should increase that portion to about 50 percent of its domestic ad sales, he said.

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Report: Azoff May Yank 20,000 Songs From YouTube

Irving Azoff
Many works composed by popular musicians including The Eagles, Pharrell Williams, Boston, Foreigner, John Lennon, Smokey Robinson, Chris Cornell, and George and Ira Gershwin could soon be removed from YouTube.

On Wednesday, just as Google announced the coming launch of YouTube Music Key, its much-anticipated subscription service that will compete with Spotify and Pandora, music industry heavyweight Irving Azoff told The Hollywood Reporter that he is prepared to take 42 of his clients, representing some 20,000 copyrighted works, away from the YouTube ecosystem, including the new Music Key. The move is a huge shot across Google's bow, perhaps even more significant than Taylor Swift's much-discussed decision a week ago to remove her songs from Spotify over doubts about royalties.

Azoff is the former chairman of Live Nation who is now spearheading a new venture, Global Music Rights (GMR), aimed at extracting higher performance rights royalties for songwriters. Traditionally, those rights have been handled by ASCAP and BMI, which have been hamstrung by consent decrees with the Justice Department that requires a license be given whenever an outlet requests it.

Although the DOJ is currently reviewing the consent decrees, Azoff is moving quickly and has a message that appeals to many songwriters: As consumers gravitate more and more to streaming services in lieu of purchasing music, these services should be contributing more compensation to the ones who compose the music.

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Hartford Radio: WTIC-FM's Gary Craig Enter Doritos Contest


The always popular Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” contest is underway and a Hartford radio personality who also paints and acts, is hoping his commercial is the one that will be shown during the big game on Feb. 1, 2015.

WTIC 96.5 FM host Gary Craig has produced a commercial that, if garnering the most votes online, has a shot at being aired in a coveted advertising spots during the Super Bowl showdown, according to The Hartford Courant.

Craig stars in his ad with a Mafia-themed ad that was filmed at Pazzo’s Italian Café in Glastonbur. It also features a couple of hired actors and Pazzo owner, Tony Albano. It’s tongue-in-cheek title? “Doritos, Always A Hit.”


“I watched the contest each year and just thought it was really clever,” said Craig about his decision to weigh in a producing his own entry for the online contest. And the Mafia idea?

“I don’t know, it just seemed like a good idea,” said Craig, whose bit parts have included one in the award winning “American Hustle” with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

Twin Cities Radio: iHM's Mike Crusham Set to Retire

Mike Crusham
iHeartMedia/Minneapolis has announced longtime Market President, Mike Crusham, is going to retire.

Crusham has been in the industry for more than 44 years, starting as a sports reporter on a morning show on WMKY at Morehead State University. He went on to hold various positions as General Manager, Sales Manager and others at radio stations throughout Kentucky, Tulsa, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Austin and Houston.

Crusham joined iHeartMedia in June 2005, first as Director of Sales for the Miami Cluster and was later named Regional Vice President of South Florida and Market Manager for Miami. In 2006 he was named Market President for iHeartMedia Boston and after 10 months headed to Minneapolis, where he has served as Marked President since.

"The past nine years at iHeartMedia have been some of my most successful and personally gratifying years in the business. I have had a tremendous team and company that has been supportive and instrumental in setting me up to win," said Crusham. "I've worked hard and had a blast while doing it. I will miss the job and the people tremendously. However, it is time for me to do something different. iHeartMedia Minneapolis has great brands and stations, combined with a brilliant staff."

"Mike Crusham has lead iHeartMedia Minneapolis through many successful years. He has built lasting relationships with co-workers and clients alike," said Hartley Adkins, Executive Vice President of Operations Major Market, iHeartMedia. "His career has been fruitful and his legacy will not be forgotten. I will miss him and wish Mike all the best."

Chicago Radio: WILV Goes 'Almost' All-Christmas


There are quite a few PD's already (or about to) programming all-Christmas Music, but how many would think of kicking-off the holiday tunes with the Black Eyed Peas?

It happened in Chicago as WILV 100.3 FM started its holiday fare Thursday with "Let's Get It Started" by The Black Eyed Peas.

WILV airing what it terms "The Perfect Christmas Blend" blending the holiday classics along with today's hottest variety of music. To do this, WILV will alternate a hit song with a holiday classic all through Christmas Day. One from today and then one from Santa's sleigh.

WILV Program Director Marty Bender said, "For more than a year now Hubbard Radio Chicago has been committed to re-inventing the standard AC format. In that spirit, we are presenting a new way to hear the holiday. This is yet another unique 'touch' for our growing and lucratively targeted adult audience. This isn't a radio strategy as much as it's simply giving our listeners a balance of the two types of music they want to hear."

Chicago Radio: Santa Returns As WLIT PD

Traditional holiday favorite WLIT 93.3 FM/MYfm made the switch to Christmas music this rmoning at 12:01. It's the 14th year in a row, the iHeartMedia Hot AC station turned its music programming over to Santa Claus.

93.9 MYfm Program Director Mick Lee said: "Eleven months on 93.9MYfm you can hear Maroon 5, P!nk, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and more variety from the 90's til now. But it's time to officially kick off Chicago's holiday season with non-stop Christmas music."

The flip to the all-Christmas format has come at different times each year. Last year, according to CRM, the flip occurred on November 14th at 4:50pm. In 2012, the holiday music full-time flip happened on November 9th at 11:16am. In 2011, the holiday music also happened on November 9th, but at 5:00pm. In 2010, the flip occurred on November 12th at just after 8:00am. In 2009, the holiday music started at 12:01am on November 14th, and in 2008, it started in the 8:00am hour of November 14th. In both 2007 and 2006, it started on November 2.

Back in 2005, the "Holiday Lite" started on November 18th, which at the time seemed early, although nowadays, that date would be considered much too late by station programmers and by the Christmas music faithful.

Regardless of the starting date, this annual event has always resulted in an incredible landslide of ratings for the station, not to mention bringing in a great deal of revenue for its owner. The "December" and "Holiday" Nielsen rating periods for the station are often nearly triple what they are during other times of the year, bringing the station up from the middle of the ratings to the very top.

Milwaukee Radio: WRIT Flips to Christmas Music

Milwaukee’s Oldies Station is now Milwaukee’s Christmas Music Station as WRIT 95.7 FM flipped Thursday at 7AM.

It is a decade old tradition on the iHeartMedia station, and this year, the tradition kicked off with Percy Faith’s “We Need A Little Christmas.”

“I feel like we kind of do need a little Christmas. It’s been kind of a rough year for some people, and we just need love and joy filling our air waves,” said co-host of Murphy and Meg in the morning, Meg McKenzie.


“In years past, yes it has been the biggest chicken race in Milwaukee, which radio station is going to flip to Christmas music first,” said McKenzie.

But if you’re not quite ready for jingle bells, that’s okay.

“We understand, when you`re ready for it we are here for you,” said McKenzie.

The radio station will switch back over to oldies after Christmas Day.

WWOne Offers 24-Hour Christmas Special


The holidays are all about memories, music, and traditions.  Westwood One keeps tradition alive and celebrates the holiday season with its annual presentation of An American Country Christmas with Kix Brooks—24 hours of your favorite Country songs and holiday classics. This is the latest in a series of holiday music specials from Westwood One.

In addition to timeless holiday standards, new music, and more, An American Country Christmas with Kix Brooks will feature holiday memories from Country’s biggest stars and special guests, including Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, and Brad Paisley.

From White Christmas and Blue Christmas to Holy Nights and Silent Nights, Westwood One invites stations nationwide to jingle all the way with An American Country Christmas with Kix Brooks.

Stations can air An American Country Christmas from Monday, December 22 through Thursday, December 25.  The show is 24-hours of unique content in each hour that can be downloaded from the internet.

For more information, contact Donny Walker: dwalker@westwoodone.com (615) 727-6987.

Chicago Radio: Report Has Ramonski Luv Returning On-Air

Ramonski Luv
Veteran radio personality Ramonskui Luv apparently has lined-up another gig. Starting sometine in December listen for his return on WSRB 106.3 FM /Soul 106-3.

According to CRM, Ramonski Luv has signed up with Crawford Broadcasting and will soon be heard weeknights from 6:00pm-10:00pm on Soul 106.3. This will begin on Wednesday, December 3rd.

Ramonski Luv, whose true name is Raymond Wade III, has spent his entire 30-year radio career in Chicago, much of which has been with Clear Channel Radio (now called iHeartMedia). He worked as a producer for numerous hosts at WGCI 107.5 FM, including Doug Banks, which is where he picked up the nickname of Ramonski Luv. In the 1980s, he also created and hosted what is being called as Chicago's first all-rap show, "Rap Down." From there, he went on to host and co-host numerous other shows on WGCI-FM, and since 2000, on WVAZ-FM/V103.

Luv was part of the #1 rated nighttime program, V103's "The Real Show," which he had long co-hosted with his on-air partner Joe Soto. The duo had celebrated their 10th anniversary together this past April.

WSRB 106.3 FM (4.1Kw) 60dBu Coverage
After being shockingly and abruptly released from WVAZ-FM by Clear Channel/iHeartMedia near the start of July, Luv has been seeking his next opportunity. Crawford quickly began talks with Luv to bring him to their station.

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Boston Radio: Jerry Thornton Joins Dale And Holley Show

Jerry Thornton
WEEI 93.7 FM has added Jerry Thornton as the third voice on the afternoon drive “Dale and Holley” program.

According to The Boston Globe, Thornton is a part-time standup comedian and former Barstool Sports writer.  He has been prominent among a revolving cast of third hosts on the program.

His persona — the wise-cracking voice of the unabashed fan — has brought him an audience faithful and broad enough that opportunities such as this have been presented to him; his Facebook post about his new role brought more than 350 likes.

It remains to be seen whether there’s enough depth to his shtick for Thornton to avoid redundancy now that he’s on the air for 20 hours per week.

WEEI 93.7 FM (34Kw) 54dBu Coverage
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Baltimore Radio: Sports Host Glenn Clark Launching OnLine Show

Glenn Clark
Glenn Clark is the latest former WNST personality to start his own Internet-based local sports show, podcast, or blog.

According to pressboxonline.com, Clark will launch a daily sports "radio show" that's available online at GlennClarkRadio.com Nov. 17

"It's a real radio show," Clark said, even though the program won't be heard on a traditional radio station. "I don't think of it as a podcast. It will be live from 10 a.m. to noon every weekday with full imaging and call-ins."

The two-hour show also will be available as an on-demand podcast after it airs live.

"It's just like I'm picking up and taking my radio show somewhere else," said Clark, who was among the casualties of the mass firing at Towson–based sports talker WNST 1570 AM in August.

Since then, Clark has kept himself busy doing work at several D.C.-area stations, including all-newser WNEW and sports talker WJFK, 106.7 The Fan. He's also been calling play-by-play games for Loyola, UMBC and area high schools.

For his new show, Clark is partnering with PressBox and Gary Stein, who runs Timonium's Studio 83, where Clark will be doing his new show.

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Foreign Journalists Visits WABC NYC

This week, John Batchelor, host of Cumulus' The John Batchelor Show, welcomed enthusiastic young Asian journalists who are some of the U.S. State Department’s 2014 Edward R. Murrow Fellows Program for Journalists. The visit to New York’s 77 WABC studio was part of a four-city tour for promising young print and electronic reporters.


Pictured (l. to r.): Pengfei Hou, Guangdong New Express Daily, People’s Republic of China; Haishan Wu, The Economic Observer, Peoples Republic of China; Boma Ardhi Nugroho, Swaragama FM Radio, Indonesia. Fergus Clancy Hunter, Fairfax Media, Australia.  Dean Benitez Mario Antos, Metro TV, Indonesia.  Hendrick Tze Seung Foh, Radio Television Malaysia. 

Atlanta Radio: CMG Meets 'Green' Challenge


Cox Media Group (CMG) announced that the facility housing its Atlanta TV and radio stations (WSB-TV2, News/Talk WSB 750 AM / 95.5 FM, WSB 98.5 FM B98.5, WSRV 97.1 FM The River and WALR 104.1 FM KISS has met Atlanta’s Better Buildings Challenge nearly six years ahead of the 2020 goal.

The facility reduced its energy and water consumption by more than 20 percent and is annually saving nearly 650,000 gallons of water and 1,400,000 kWh of electricity through its conservation projects.

“Cox Media Group is committed to educating the public on important sustainability issues and making sure that our operations are eco-friendly,” said Dave Siegler, CMG’s VP of Technical Operations and member of the Cox Environment Council. “When Cox signs up to do something, we tackle the challenge head on, and this is a great example of how we go above and beyond. We know that it’s important to make sure our operations are as efficient and sustainable as possible. As a part of Cox Enterprises, we participate in Cox Conserves. This is the company’s sustainability program that has repeatedly shown that these projects are good for the environment and for our bottom line.”

Cox incorporated a number of energy-saving projects throughout the interior and exterior of the building. The team replaced 125 metal-halide fixtures in the parking garage and courtyard with LED lighting, which enhanced safety with more illumination, reduced carbon output and lowered operating costs. The heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment was also updated to reduce operating hours by more than 50 percent. Equipment updates also included: air handling systems, chillers, data center units, exhaust fans and terminal units, among others.

More than 65 pieces of water equipment were replaced with low-flow fixtures.

R.I.P.: Former Baltimore Personality Joe Knight

Joe Knight
Joe Knight, a radio personality who was known to several generations of WFBR-AM and WCBM-AM listeners as "Joe Knight, the Knight of the Spinning Roundtable" during the golden age of Baltimore radio, died Saturday at Hope Hospice in Fort Myers, Fla., of complications from a broken hip.

He was 87-years-of-age accoridng to The Baltimore Sun.

He began his radio career sweeping the floors of a Great Bend radio station, and when he was a senior in high school, he graduated to working weekends, announcing station breaks. In the late 1940s, Knight went to work on air at KFDA-AM in Amarillo, Texas, and then joined KRMG-AM in Tulsa, Okla., where he picked up his on-air name.

"When he was working at KRMG, the station manager said no one knew how to pronounce his name, 'So, from now on you're Joe Knight,' " said his wife of 58 years, the former Bobbie Baland, whom he met when working in Amarillo.

Following a stint in the Army, Knight returned to KRMG. When the station's general manager, R.B. Jones Jr., came to WFBR in 1957, he brought "The Knight of the Spinning Roundtable" with him to Baltimore.

When he joined WFBR, Mr. Knight hosted "Melody Ballroom," and then moved up to being the voice of an afternoon drive-time show. In 1959, he began hosting "The Joe Knight Show" in the morning.

In 1972, Knight left WFBR and joined "Morning Mayor" Lee Case on WCBM, forming what was at the time the only two-man radio program in Baltimore. He left in 1983 after the station switched to an all-talk format.

After leaving WCBM, he wrote and produced radio commercials for WYST-FM. Knight, who moved to Fort Myers 20 years ago, continued writing ads on a freelance basis for WJST-FM.

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November 14 In Radio History


In 1921...the first opera by a professional opera company was broadcast over KYW-AM, Chicago. The first words ever broadcast in Chicago were, "My God, but it's dark in here!"

Mary Garden
According to radio historian Rich Samuels, they were spoken by Mary Garden, world-class soprano and director of the Chicago Grand Opera Association. They were uttered sixty-two years ago tonight on radio station KYW, licensed to the Westinghouse Manufacturing and Electric Company.

Ms. Garden said what she said because she couldn't see: the area where she was standing was lit by a single bare light bulb.

In 1934, the assignment of clear channels took a frequency away from Illinois and gave it to Pennsylvania, resulting in Westinghouse moving KYW to Philadelphia.  KYW used the frequency of 1020 AM at the time.

In March 1941, KYW changed frequencies to 1060 AM as part of a nationwide shift of radio frequencies mandated by the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement. KYW and the other Westinghouse radio stations remained with NBC after RCA was ordered by the FCC to break up its radio networks, aligning with the former Red Network (the predecessor of modern-day NBC) in 1942. KYW acquired a television counterpart when Westinghouse bought WPTZ (channel 3) – the nation's third commercial television station and NBC's second television affiliate – in 1953.

In June 1955, Westinghouse agreed to trade KYW and WPTZ to NBC in exchange for the network's properties in Cleveland, WNBK TV and WTAM-AM-FM. Westinghouse also received $3 million in cash compensation.  The main impetus for the trade was NBC's desire to acquire an owned-and-operated television station in the fourth-largest American television market. NBC had to seek a waiver for the swap since KYW and NBC Radio's New York City flagship, WRCA (now WFAN) were both clear channel stations; at the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of clear-channel stations with overlapping nighttime coverage.

After clearing final regulatory hurdles, the swap went into effect on February 13, 1956. NBC took over the Philadelphia stations, rechristening 1060 AM as WRCV (for the RCA-Victor record label), and Westinghouse moved the KYW call letters to Cleveland.

However, almost immediately after the trade was finalized, Westinghouse complained to the FCC and the United States Department of Justice about NBC's coercion and an lengthy investigation was launched.  In August 1964, NBC's license for WRCV radio and television was renewed by the FCC – but only on the condition that the 1956 station swap be reversed.  Following nearly a year of appeals by NBC, Westinghouse regained control of WRCV-AM-TV on June 19, 1965 and subsequently restored the KYW call letters to the radio station (the television station became KYW-TV at this point).  To this day, the KYW stations insist that they "moved" to Cleveland in 1956 and "returned" to Philadelphia in 1965.


In 1922...The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began its domestic radio service on 2L0, London.


In 1994...FCC adopted EAS rules.

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national warning system in the United States put into place on January 1, 1997, when it superseded the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), which in turn superseded the CONELRAD System. The official EAS is designed to enable the President of the United States to speak to the United States within 10 minutes. In addition to this requirement, EAS is also designed to alert the public of local weather emergencies such as tornadoes and flash floods. A national EAS test was conducted on November 9, 2011, at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, but the nationwide federal EAS has never been activated.

EAS is jointly coordinated by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Weather Service (NOAA/NWS). The EAS regulations and standards are governed by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the FCC. Each state and several territories have their own EAS plan.  EAS has become part of IPAWS – the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, a program of FEMA.


In 1996...In NYC, WMXV 105.1 FM premiers new Modern Adult Rock format, branding as as "The Buzz", with calls of WDBZ becoming official on November 29, 1996.

"The Buzz" turned out to be a failure, however, and less than a year later (August 5, 1997) switched back to its old call letters of WNSR and became a Hot AC station (later just strict AC) by the end of 1997. WNSR was also short-lived, when in January 1998, they started the "Big 105" phase.

Calls were changed to WBIX on April 13, 1998, and the format evolved back to Hot AC, and later Modern AC.

"Big 105" featured ex-Partridge Family member Danny Bonaduce doing morning drive.

On December 4, 1998, 105.1 switched to a format that was sweeping the country: Jammin' Oldies - dance/disco music from the 60's to the 80's.

The station initially held a contest to name themselves. On Christmas Eve 1998, the name chosen was "Jammin' 105". Calls were officially changed to WTJM on March 1, 1999.

In 2001, with the Jammin Oldies craze dying down, WTJM refocused their playlist somewhat, to become a borderline Urban AC with the slogan "Jammin' 105-1: The Heart & Soul Of New York."

On March 14, 2002, 105.1 switched to a Rhythmic CHR format as "Power 105.1", going head-to-head with "Hot 97".

On April 12, 2002, 105.1 changed calls to WWPR.


In 2000...Radio/TV Newsman Robert Trout, who spent 68 years at CBS, died of congestive heart failure at 91.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

MN Radio: Hubbard To Acquire 16 Stations From Omni

Hubbard Broadcasting has announced its intention to acquite a total of 16 radio station from Omni Broadcasting in Minnesota.

“Hubbard Broadcasting is deeply committed to local radio and to MINNESOTA, and this is a great opportunity to expand the company’s presence into some wonderful local communities,” said Chair/CEO Ginny Morris.

Ginny Morris

“We have long admired Lou Buron and Mary Campbell, whose stations have been nationally recognized for both excellence in programming and commitment to local community service. We are committed to maintaining that dedication to excellence and community, and we look forward to welcoming all Omni employees to the Hubbard Broadcasting family.”

Hubbard currently owns radio stations in Chicago, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington DC.

The Omni stations are;

  • Alexandria: Oldies “Cool 94.3” KULO and Country “100.7 Kik-FM” KIKV 
  • Brainerd: Country KBLB 93.3 FM B93-3, Oldies KUAL 103.5 FM Cool, AC WJJY 106.7 FM, Classic Rock KLIZ 107.5 FM, Business KVBR 1340 AM Brainerd, Sports “1380 The Fan” KLIZ 1380 The Fan: AC KKZY 95.5 FM Bemidji, Classic Rock KLLZ 99.1 FM, Country KBHP 101.1 FM, Classic Hits WQXJ 104.5 FM Blackduck, and Sports KBUN 1450 AM 
  • Wadena: Country 105.9 KKWS 105.9 FM 'K106' and Classic Country simulcast 920 KWAD 920 AM / KNSP 1420 AM
The company expects no programming or personnel changes for any of the acquired stations.

Detroit Radio: Greater Media Promotes Steve Chessare

Steve Chessare
Steve Chessare has been promoted to the position of Vice President/Market Manager of Greater Media’s Detroit-based radio cluster, including Rock WRIF 101.1 FM, Classic Rock WCSX 94.7 FM and Sports WMGC 105.1 FM.

He has been serving as the Market Manager for Greater Media Detroit since April of 2013.

“It is a privilege to be able to give Steve his VP stripes at Greater Media,” said Greater Media Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Smyth. “He has done an outstanding job over the past two years providing leadership and sharing his experience with our team in Detroit. We are fortunate to have him in our organization.”

An accomplished veteran, Chessare previously served as the senior vice president of sales for Westwood One Companies. Prior to that, he was the General Sales Manager of Clear Channel’s WLTW 106.7 FM in New York City and also held various positions within the CBS Radio organization that culminated in the role of Vice President/General Manager of CBS Radio Sales, the national sales division of the company’s radio division.

Chessare is a graduate of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut with a B.S. in Business Management.

Bobby Bones, iHM Partner To Launch TV Production Company

Bobby Bones (Tennessean photo)
Syndicated personality Bobby Bones is expanding his burgeoning media empire by partnering with iHeartMedia to form a television production and development company.

The new venture, Right Side Blind Productions, will be based in Los Angeles and develop both scripted and unscripted content for television and cable networks. But Bones told The Tennessean the company will be Nashville-centric, and an initial goal is to produce a talk show from Nashville. Aside from that project, there are no details about programming, though Bones said meetings are planned with broadcast companies.

“The Bobby Bones Show” will continue to broadcast from the Big 98 WSIX studios in Nashville.

“I love Nashville, it’s my home,” Bones said. “The city is great, and I think it’ll be really cool to bring a national talk show to Nashville.

“One of my goals is to break talent and take some of the music I’m hearing that’s not making it — simply because people aren’t picking it. I want to be one of the people who picks what makes it.”

Bones said the idea for the production company was derived from his desire to get into more television work.

“I’ve done a lot of television over the years, and I wanted to be more of a mogul,” Bones said. “I want to produce shows, star in shows; I had ideas for shows. It was tough trying to develop one show at a time and to pitch it. I went to (iHeartMedia) and we were deciding what to do, and this was the result.”

Bones said the strategy is to leverage the wide reach of iHeartMedia, formerly Clear Channel, the largest radio chain in the country, in order to appeal to advertisers and television partners. He was in New York on Wednesday to meet with potential partners.

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Boston Radio: Howie Carr OUT At WRKO

Howie Carr
Talk-show host Howie Carr has left WRKO 680 AM after his contract expired.  The Boston Globe reported—though nobody’s sure where he’s going next.

Carr has been mum about his employment status and future plans, but Entercom’s Greg Kaufman told The Boston Globe that “[Carr’s] last show was last Friday."

Reportedly Carr is launching a new show November 17, but it is not yet clear what station will air Carr’s new show. The Globe article mentions rumors that the host is in talks with WUFC 1510 AM.

According to MassLive, Carr has had issues in recent years with WRKO and his employer, Entercom Communications.

Carr frequently pointed listeners to his program to tune in on a different station like Worcester's WCRN and instructed them to stream the show off his personal site not WRKO's.

One of Carr's favorite phrases when something went wrong at the station was "Entercom happens."

The conservative talk radio format has seen its fortunes decline in the region in recent years. In 2013, WTKK changed formats from talk to classic hip-hop and rhythm and blues leaving WRKO as the only news talk station in the region. WBZ-AM has overnight talk programs hosted by Dan Rea and Bradley J but they are an all-news station during the daytime.

Carr was involved in a car crash last week after Election Day but escaped mostly unscathed.

Fresno Radio: One Putt To Acquire Wilks' Stations

On Putt Broadcasting has agreed to acquire stations from Wilks Broadcasting in Fresno for an undisclosed amount.

One Putt's John Ostlund and Chris Pacheco will add Wilks’ three FMs to their existing four stations in the Fresno market.

Stations involved are:
  • Classic Rock KJFX 95.7 FM The Fox 
  • Alternative “New Rock 104.1” KFRR 104.1 FM News Rock 104-1 
  • Sports KJZN 105.5 FM The Game 

One Putt's current cluster includes:
  • AC “99.3 Jewel-FM” KJWL 99.3 Fm Jewel-FM
  • Sports “790 The Deuce” KFPT 790 AM The Duece
  • Sports “ESPN 940” KFIG 940 AM ESPN
  • Oldies 1430 KYNO 1430 AM 
The deal includes an LMA for each station.

One Putt partner John Ostlund said, “Classic Rock 95.7 and New Rock 104.1 are legendary brands and highly rated radio stations. 105.5 FM is pure opportunity that we intend to have serious fun with.”

Partner Chris Pacheco added, “After securing the broadcast rights for Fresno State Athletics and moving ESPN to 50,000-watt 940 AM, buying Wilks was among our highest priorities. These additional FM’s will allow us to serve the Valley like never before.” Wilks CEO Jeff Wilks commented, “I’ve known Chris and John for many years and feel confident in their ability to build on the tradition of community service these great radio stations have.”

Syracuse Radio: Two Stations Flip To Holiday Tunes


With six weeks until Christmas, two Central New York radio stations are already getting into the holiday spirit.

WYYY 94.5 fM Y94 was officially the first to switch to holiday music programming. The station began playing exclusively Christmas music at noon Wednesday, kicking things off with "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee. It will play "holiday favorites" around the clock from now until Dec. 25.

WZUN 102.6 FM Sunny 102 also begins its holiday music programming Wednesday. The station will begin playing "classic Christmas music" at 5 p.m.

For the most part, stations tend to start Christmas programming in mid-November. Last year, Sunny 102 began its holiday music on Nov. 13.

Rick Yacobush, vice president and market manager for Y94 parent company iHeartMedia/Syracuse, admitted it's early for Christmas music, but said it's what listeners want.