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Saturday, May 30, 2015

May 31 Radio History


In 19??
..Longtime Philadelphis and NYC Radio Personality Ross Brittain was born.

He currently heads-up the morning show on CBS Radio's WOGL 98.1 FM in Philly since 2004 and he's also worked in Atlanrta, New Orleans, Cleveland and Hartford as well as NYC.  In 1982, Brittain was cohost of the first morning show Ross & Brittain on WABC as a Talk station.

In 1984, he teamed with Scott Shannon on the Z100 Morning Zoo on WHTZ 100.3 FM.


Confer RTI Ross Brittain Guest Faculty Profile from National Radio Talent System on Vimeo.

Brittain is a former Billboaard and Radio&Records "Personality of The Year".



In 1999...77 WABC-AM, New York, presented "WABC Rewound" where the news/talk station broadcast airchecks from its glory days when it was a Top 40 formatted music Radio station. At first, WABC's early days in the 60s as a Top 40 station were humble ones.

Top 40 1010 WINS was the No. 1 hit music station and WMCA, which did a similar rock leaning top 40 format, was also a formidable competitor, while WABC barely ranked in the Top Ten. Fortunately for WABC, the other Top 40 outlets could not be heard as well in more distant New York and New Jersey suburbs, since WINS, WMGM, and WMCA were all directional stations.

WABC, with its 50,000-watt non-directional signal, had the advantage of being heard in places west, south, and northwest of New York City – a huge chunk of the growing suburban population – and this is where the station began to draw ratings.

Early in 1962, WMGM, owned by Loew's, which then owned MGM, was sold to Storer Broadcasting. Upon its sale, WMGM reverted to its original WHN call letters and switched to a middle of the road music format playing mostly non-rock artists such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Andy Williams.



Sam Holman was the first WABC program director of this era. Under Holman, WABC achieved No. 1 ratings during much of 1962, after WMGM reverted to WHN. By the summer of 1963, WMCA led the pack among contemporary stations, with WABC at No. 2 and WINS slipping to third place. It has been said, but is difficult to verify, that WMCA dominated in the city proper, while WABC owned the suburbs. This would be consistent with WMCA's 5,000-watt directional signal.

GM Hal Neal hired Rick Sklar as WABC's program director. He would go on to become a member of the Radio Hall of Fame and be credited as one of the pioneering architects of the Top 40 format.

Under Sklar, the station went to the shortest playlist of any contemporary music station in history. The number one song was heard about every hour during the day and every 75 minutes or so at night. The other top 5 songs were heard nearly as often. Other current songs averaged once to twice per airshift. The station played about 9 current hits per hour and several non-current songs. The non-currents were no more than 5 years old and the station played about 70 of them in total.

Through the years, WABC was known by various slogans, "Channel 77 WABC" and later "Musicradio 77 WABC". Due to the high number of commercials each hour, WABC played no more than two songs in a row and there was frequent DJ talk and personality between every song. The station averaged 6 commercial breaks per hour but they were no more than 3 ads in a row. Often the air personalities delivered live commercials in their own humorous style, so that listeners would consider the spot part of the entertainment.

CBS' Bob Schieffer Signs-Off Sunday

After 46-years, veteran CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is retiring from a journalism career of more than half a century.

As a young newspaper reporter, Schieffer went to Vietnam to cover the war. He worked at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on the day President Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas. He brought Lee Harvey Oswald's mother to the police station.

Since starting at CBS News in 1969, he has covered the Pentagon, State Department, Capitol Hill and the White House, and anchored the "CBS Evening News."


CBS Evening News Gains On NBC, CBS


CBS-TV this week announced “Evening News with Scott Pelley” added more than 1.25 million viewers over the past four years – a whopping 21 percent jump. The show also saw audience growth for the fifth consecutive season, the first time any network evening news broadcast has done that since 1987.

“We finally have reached a point at the ‘Evening News’ where we’re really hitting on all 12 cylinders,” Pelley told TheWrap. “The broadcast is something we’re all very proud of.”

During Pelley’s tenure, CBS has quietly yet aggressively managed to tighten the decades-long gap with its competitors.

While CBS is still lagging far behind NBC’s “Nightly News” and ABC’s “World News Tonight,” the distance no longer seems insurmountable.

Read More Now

Judge Explains Why Pandora Has To Pay More To BMI


U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton has unsealed a ruling explaining the basis for why he decided that Pandora, a digital radio service, must pay 2.5 percent of its revenue to BMI, which collects public performance royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, after publishers attempted to partially withdraw digital rights from BMI in an attempt to get a raise from streaming outlets like Pandora, Judge Stanton decided that Universal Music, Sony and EMI could only make a complete withdrawal under the consent decree that BMI has with the Department of Justice. That led to a lengthy trial where both sides presented "benchmarks" and reasons supporting what the proper rate should be. A judge — and later an appeals court — decided that Pandora should pay ASCAP, another performance rights organization, 1.85 percent of revenue.

In the BMI case, BMI argued for a 2.5 percent rate based on interim deals that were struck directly between Pandora and the publishers, while Pandora wanted to stick with the 1.75 percent rate that it had been paying for seven years under the previous licensing regime.

According to the opinion, Apple now pays 4.6 percent of revenue for the iTunes Radio service, while Spotify pays the greater of either 2.5 percent of revenue or 6.25 percent of label costs. Rhapsody pays just under 2.5 percent. Terrestrial radio obviously pays less, but the judge says Pandora differs because users can customize the music they hear. The judge also opines that an "on-demand" service like Spotify isn't exactly comparable because Pandora's catalog is considerably smaller and listeners can't select specific songs. "Pandora evades neat categorization," he writes.

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SaladGate Prompts Startling Facts About Women And Country Music

Miranda Lambert
It’s best not to get on Miranda Lambert‘s bad side (check “Gunpowder and Lead” and “Kerosene” for proof), but it looks like Country radio consultant Keith Hill has done just that with his now infamous #SaladGate quote.

A Taste of Country reports Lambert heard about Hills's statements just like everyone else, and took to her social media pages to vent. First she cited one of the more inflammatory pieces of the scandal, turning it into a rallying cry of sorts. “‘If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out,’- Keith Hill”

“This is the biggest bunch of BULL**** I have ever heard,” she wrote on Facebook. “I am gonna do everything in my power to support and promote female singer/songwriters in country music. Always.”

Meanwhile check out these startling facts about women and country music...


Tulsa Radio: KWEN Adds Jenny Law for Mid-days

Jenny Law
Cox Media Group Tulsa’s KWEN K95.5 FM has named Jenny Law as its new mid-day host.

Effective Monday, June 1, Law can be heard on K95.5 FM from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Jenny brings an attitude to the table that is refreshing and exciting,” said K95.5’s Director of Branding & Programming Matt Bradley. “She has already shared many ideas that I can’t wait for her to implement.”

Prior to joining K95.5, Law worked almost five years as program director for iHeartRadio's KKYS in College Station, Texas. She previously worked for Cox Media Group in Houston for nine years.
KWEN 95.5 FM (100 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
“I am super excited to rejoin Cox Media Group and want to thank Matt Bradley, CMG Tulsa’s Director of Operations Steve Hunter, and CMG Tulsa’s VP and General Manager Dan Lawrie for making me a part of a fabulous team,” said Law. “I feel like I’m coming home to family, and I can’t wait to join the team in Tulsa!”

May 30 Radio History


In 1894...Radio comedian, Fred Allen, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Best known for "The Fred Allen Show".

From 1942...



Allen has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: a radio star at 6713 Hollywood Blvd. and a TV star at 7001 Hollywood Blvd


In 1908...American voice actor and comic actor Mel Blanc was born.

Blanc began his radio career at the age of 19 when in 1927 he debuted as a voice actor on the KGW (Portland OR) program The Hoot Owls, where his ability to provide voices for multiple characters first attracted attention. He moved to Los Angeles in 1932, where he met Estelle Rosenbaum (1909 - 2003), whom he married a year later, before returning to Portland. He moved to KEX in 1933 to produce and co-host his Cobweb And Nuts show with his wife Estelle, which debuted on June 15. The program played Monday through Saturday from 11:00 pm to midnight, and by the time the show ended two years later, it appeared from 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm.

Mel Blanc and Characters
With his wife's encouragement, Blanc returned to Los Angeles and joined Warner Bros.-owned KFWB in Hollywood, California, in 1935. He joined The Johnny Murray Show, but the following year switched to CBS Radio and The Joe Penner Show.

Blanc was a regular on the NBC Red Network show The Jack Benny Program in various roles, including voicing Benny's Maxwell automobile (in desperate need of a tune-up), violin teacher Professor LeBlanc, Polly the Parrot, Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael, the tormented department store clerk, and the train announcer. The first role came from a mishap when the recording of the automobile's sounds failed to play on cue, prompting Blanc to take the microphone and improvise the sounds himself. The audience reacted so positively that Benny decided to dispense with the recording altogether and have Blanc continue in that role.



By 1946, Blanc appeared on over 15 radio programs in supporting roles. His success on The Jack Benny Program led to his own radio show on the CBS Radio Network, The Mel Blanc Show, which ran from September 3, 1946, to June 24, 1947. Blanc played himself as the hapless owner of a fix-it shop, as well as his young cousin Zookie.

Blanc also appeared on such other national radio programs as The Abbott and Costello Show, the Happy Postman on Burns and Allen, and as August Moon on Point Sublime. During World War II, he appeared as Private Sad Sack on various radio shows, most notably G.I. Journal. Blanc recorded a song titled "Big Bear Lake."

He passed away on July 10, 1989.


In 1928...Legendary radio personality Herb Oscar Anderson, who was the morning deejay at Musicradio WABC 770 AM in New York City from 1960 to 1968, was born.

HOA also worked at KSTP and WDGY St. Paul-Minneapolis during the '50s. Also in the '50s HOA appeared on a number of shows for the ABC Radio network. He started in 1958 at WMCA NYC, worked WMGM in '59 and became the Morning Mayor on WABC in 1960.



Today, he continues to serve up some wonderful music at his current station in Vero Beach, FL. HOA can be heard every Saturday from 2:00 – 3:00 PM on WOSN, 97.1 FM.



In 1935…"America's Town Meeting of the Air" began its 21-year run, mainly on the NBC Blue Network and its successor, ABC Radio. The moderator during the first 17 years was George V. Denny, Jr., executive director of the League for Political Education, which produced the program.


In 1943...the "Archie" comic strip was first broadcast on the Radio.




In 1989...the 20,000th "Rambling with Gambling" Radio show aired on WOR-AM, New York City. (Several generations of Gamblings kept the program going continuously)
John A, John R, John B Gambling
John B. Gambling started the show in March 1925, when WOR was a promotional arm of the Bamberger's department store in Newark. His son, John A. Gambling became host in 1959. He brought his son, John R. Gambling, to the show as co-host from 1985 until his retirement in 1991. John R. Gambling has been solo host since that time.



In September 2000, WOR cancelled the program. At the time, it was the longest continually-running radio broadcast in America, a position now held by the Grand Ole Opry.

After a brief hiatus, WABC hired John R. Gambling.

WOR owned the rights to the name Rambling with Gambling, so the revived show was renamed The John Gambling Show.

In January 2008, WABC laid off Gambling in a cost-cutting measure.

On Wednesday, April 30, 2008, WOR and John R. Gambling announced the return of the show to its original station.

They began broadcasting on Monday, May 5, 2008, from 6 AM to 10 AM. despite the return to WOR.


Gambling retired from WOR radio at the end of 2013, bringing an end to the almost 89-year combined run of The John Gambling Show and Rambling with Gambling.

He has since returned to the NYC airwaves hosting 11am to 1pm on WNYM 970 AM The Answer.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Milwaukee Radio: Variety Moves To 92.1 FM As The Lake

Just hours after Scripps launched KTI Country, Magnum Media has launched Variety AC WMKQ 92.1 FM The Lake, licensed to Racine, WI.

The move comes less than three months after Magnum launched Country formatted Q92.  Earlier Friday. Scripps surprised the market by jumping into the Country battle against iHM's heritage WMIL. (Click Here for posting.)

Magnum says 92.1 The Lake is all about the variety - with songs ranging from today's favorites like Bruno Mars and Katy Perry, to your all-time favorites from the 80's, 90's and more - like Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, U2, and Pink... just to name a few.

LISTEN-LIVE: Click Here

Dave Magnum, President of Magnum Media, stated "Milwaukee is such a heritage pop/rock market so our team was shocked today that another station dropped the format.  We are gladly adopting their former listeners now, with the same variety that people love, at 92.1 FM and online at 921TheLake.com. We have a wonderful advantage being a family owned Wisconsin Media Company because we can make local decisions promptly to serve our local listeners and advertiser customers."
WMKQ 92.1 Fm (2.6 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
Listeners can also interact with 92.1 The Lake on their Facebook page  or on Twitter @921TheLake.

Milwaukee Radio..Scripps Launches New Country FM

The new KTI COUNTRY launched on 94.5 FM in Milwaukee at 10 a.m. today, according to Steve Wexler, vice president of radio for The E.W. Scripps Company.

“We are thrilled to bring Wisconsin a fun, engaging local radio station that features today’s best country music and a strong commitment to serve our local community,” Wexler said.

The new format replaces 94.5 The Lake, a music-intensive variety format that has aired on the station since 2009. “Bringing back the iconic WKTI call letters was a natural decision for us as we build a radio station that will be filled with local personalities, information and entertainment,” said Tom Langmyer, vice president and general manager of Scripps’ Milwaukee radio operations.

“WKTI was famous for its connection to Wisconsin, and we’re excited to bring back that strong local brand, this time married to great country music.”

WLWK 94.5 FM (14 Kw) Red=Local coverage Area
94.5 KTI COUNTRY is adding to a lineup of local on-air hosts, with more to come. “We’re on the hunt right now for personalities, including a morning show that will be fun, local and informative,” Langmyer said.

“We’ll deliver great country music and local personalities as well as news, weather and sports updates from our sister stations, WTMJ-TV and Newsradio 620 WTMJ.”

In addition to its powerful FM signal at 94.5 FM, KTI COUNTRY is streaming at KTICOUNTRY.com.

“We see an excellent opportunity to build a great country station in Milwaukee,” added Beverlee Brannigan, VP/Radio Programming for Scripps. “While KTI COUNTRY will feature great country music, its true mission will be to engage with our community in a meaningful way.”

The new station will be a direct competitor to iHeartMedia's heritage Country station WMIL 106.1 FM.  The WKTI calls will return to 94.5 FM after be jettisoned on November 13, 2008.  The calls originally date back to the early '70s.

NYC Radio: Don Imus Ends FBN TV Simulcast

Don Imus
Don Imus marked the end of his Fox Business Network gig Friday with a show that fell somewhere between a farewell wave and a Friars Club roast, according to The NY Daily News.

"Ordinarily when I leave these jobs, it's by police escort," said the long-time radio and TV personality, who turned 74 last weekend.

He stressed several times that he's not leaving the game, noting he just signed a new extension with Cumulus to continue his radio show, which is heard locally on WABC 770 AM.

The last TV show featured two taped tributes to Imus, one put together by his producers and the other replayed from Neil Cavuto's Thursday afternoon FBN show.

Continuing the tone of their exchanges over the years, Cavuto called Imus "the original shock jock" and said all others should credit him.

Cavuto also said he admires how Imus got to the top by being "a total callous schmunk" and that "I admire you" for that.


The epitaph for the TV show, Cavuto tacitly suggested, should read, "Don Imus - not dead yet."

Imus is leaving NYC to spend time at his recently purchased ranch in Texas — which, has no remote television studio facilities.

Imus and his wife Deirdre plan to spend more time in Texas, in part because of Imus' respiratory problems and in part because their son Wyatt has a growing rodeo career based there.

Orlando Radio: Jack Bradshaw Promoted To PD At WTKS

Jack Bradshaw
iHeartMedia/Orlando has promoted Jack Bradhsaw to Program Director for its personality Talk WTKS 104.1 FM.

He'll continue as cohost of the PM Drive Phillips Phile Show on Real Radio.

Brakdshaw joined Real Radio as an intern in 1998, was hired later that year and has been a full-time cast member on Jim’s show ever since.

In January 2013 Jack became the Assistant Program Director for Real Radio. Working closely with me Jack took control of all station operations and began establishing his leadership role with the WTKS team.

WTKS 104.1 Fm (94 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
In announcing the promotion, Orlando cluster OM Chris Kampmeier noted that from From Q1 2013 to Q1 2015 Total-week P25-54 shares have increased 22.8%, from a 5.7 to 7.0, from ranking to #6 to #1.

Kampmeier commented, "Real Radio is one of America’s most unique and most successful radio stations and I can tell you from personal experience what a great honor it is to be its Program Director…welcome, Jack, to a very small club".

Consultant Keith Hill Receiving Death Threats

Keith Hill
Country consultant Keith Hill sparked a controversy on Music Row this week with his advice that radio stations not play female songs back-to-back has resulted in death threats and name-calling via social media.

Earlier this week, the industry publication Country Aircheck ran an interview with Hill, who said, "If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out. The reason is mainstream country radio generates more quarter hours from female listeners at the rate of 70 to 75 percent, and women like male artists.

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL POSTING

"The expectation is we're principally a male format with a smaller female component. I've got about 40 music databases in front of me and the percentage of females in the one with the most is 19 percent. Trust me, I play great female records and we've got some right now; they're just not the lettuce in our salad. The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban and artists like that. The tomatoes of our salad are the females."

On Thursday, he said in an interview with The Tennessean, "I am a marketer. I am not a social engineer."

"What has happened is that this social media thing is driven by emotion, not logic, and I understand that. I am for equality of all things. I am not trying to solve racial issues, geopolitical issues or certainly not the issues between genders.

Country radio stations' libraries typically are composed of 15 percent to 20 percent of female songs. "Even if women were 50 percent of a country music database, I wouldn't play them back to back. I would play them every other record. If they were 25 percent of the database, I would play them every fourth record," he said.

"You can argue all you want. I don't like it. I personally like ballads or females or males or Americana, but it is tossing the salad."

Read More Now


Austin Radio: KASE Sets Flood Relief Concert

iHM's Country KASE 100.7 FM KASE 101 in Austin has announced "The Raging Idiots Flood Relief Concert," a fundraising event featuring syndicated iHeartMedia Country talent Bobby Bones, host of "The Bobby Bones Show" and his Raging Idiots band to help raise money for the Central Texas Chapter of the Red Cross.

The benefit concert will take place at The Parish on June 3, and proceeds from the event will help the victims of the recent Central Texas flooding.

"I have strong roots in Austin, and as soon as I heard about the flooding in Texas I knew we had to help," said Bones. "Organizing 'The Raging Idiots Flood Relief Concert' with the Red Cross is a perfect way to get the Austin community involved and to make sure the money we raise goes straight to the locals who need it most."

"Bobby's heart has always been in Austin, where The Bobby Bones Show got its start. He wants to do anything and everything possible to help his friends and family here in the area rebuild their lives," said KASE Program Director JT Bosch.


Listeners can purchase tickets to "The Raging Idiots Flood Relief Concert" online beginning May 29 at www.KASE101.com and at the door. Country fans can also bid on auction items up such as autographed guitars from George Strait, Luke Bryan, Eli Young Band and Blake Shelton, plus chances to meet Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum and Dierks Bentley.  the auction is being supported by other iHM stations in the Austin cluster. 100% of ticket sales and auction proceeds will benefit the Central Texas Chapter of the Red Cross.

Reports: Music Labels Want Bigger Piece Of Apple Fees

Music labels are hoping to convince Apple to hand over an unusually large slice of the monthly subscription fees from its soon-to-arrive paid streaming service, The NY Post has learned.

Music’s top negotiators are looking for anywhere between 60 percent and 70 percent of Apple’s expected $10 per month subscriber fees, industry sources said.

That is much higher than the roughly 50 percent cut the major labels get from other paid streaming services — though Spotify may be facing a price hike after ongoing talks with Universal Music for a new deal are completed.

Overall, music labels receive 46 percent of the paid subscription streaming revenue, after tax, according to Music Business World, which cites an Ernst & Young report.

The labels’ tough stance comes as they try to recover from what they believe were missed opportunities at revenue.

Read More Now

Boston Radio: Talk WMEX To Import Afternoon Show

Bill Keeler
WIBX 950 AM Utica morning-show host Bill Keeler will soon be hosting an afternoon show on WMEX 1510 AM in Boston.  His new show starts Tuesday but he'll continue with his morning drive-time show in Utica.

Boston WMEX operations manager and morning host John Pica told the Utica Observer-Dispatch  he thought of Keeler for the opening because they’d co-hosted a show on a Providence, Rhode Island, station in the mid-1990s, and Keeler proved able to adapt to local audiences.

Townsquare Media Utica executive Karen Carey notified WIBX staff of Keeler’s move to a top-10 market Thursday. There’s no relationship between the stations. “We’re really excited for him.” Carey said.

Keeler said he’s staying in Utica because of family. “This is my home and that’s why I’m doing it this way.”


iHM To Acquire Two Radio Disney Stations

iHeartMedia plans to acquire Radio Disney's WRDZ 98.3 FM in Planfield, IN (close to Indianapolis) and KWDZ 910 AM in Salt Lake City.

Both station sales are subject to FCC approval; but iHM plans to start operating WRDZ under an LMA agreement.  No start date was given.

WRDZ is expected to change its call letters to WUBG and  will be the fourth station in the company's portfolio in Indy. It will join Sports WNDE 1260 AM, Classic Rock WFBQ 94.7 FM Q95, and Alternative WOLT 103.3 FM.

WRDZ 98.3 FM (3 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
In SLC, KWDZ will be iHM's  seventh station News/Talk KNRS 570 AM /105.7 FM, Classic Hits KODJ 94.1 FM , Top40 KZHT 97.1 FM, HotAC KJMY 99.5 FM, and Rock KAAZ 106.5 FM.

The deal is said to be worth $1.95M.

NYC Radio: NFL's Odell Beckham Jr. To Join ESPN

Odell Beckham Jr.
This NFL season, Odell Beckham Jr. – the New York Giants’ star second-year receiver – will appear weekly on WEPN 98.7 FM ESPN's The Michael Kay Show.  Beginning September 3, Beckham will join Kay and co-host Don LaGreca,every Thursday to discuss the Giants and the NFL, continuing through the regular season and as long as the Giants are playing.

“It’s a privilege to add one of the NFL’s most exciting young talents to New York’s most entertaining afternoon show with Michael Kay and Don LaGreca,” said Tim McCarthy, general manager, ESPN New York 98.7FM.  “Adding Odell to ESPN NY’s 98.7FM football content will give all NY fans more of what they want, the biggest and best this fall.”

Beckham added, “I'm excited that I will have a weekly platform to talk Giants football, and give the fans some perspective from inside the locker room.”

Beckham was a rookie sensation in 2014, appearing in the Pro Bowl and being named Offensive Rookie of the Year.  A first-round pick out of LSU, Beckham caught 91 passes for 1,307 with 12 touchdowns – all in just 12 games due to injury.  In a nationally televised game in November against Dallas, he made what many consider one of the best – if not the best – catches of all time, reaching up and snaring the ball with one hand while falling backwards.

NYC Radio: WNYM 970 AM Adds John & Leah Show

Envision Networks has announced that Salem Media Group’s WNYM 970 AM is the newest affiliate of The John and Leah Show, a live Sunday night talk show offering a look at the week’s news focusing on media, politics, sports and pop culture.

With AM 970, The Answer now airing The John and Leah Show every Sunday night at 10 p.m., the station joins over 150 affiliates on the Envision Talk Network.

“AM 970, The Answer in New York is excited to air The John and Leah talk show live each Sunday night from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.,” said Jerry Crowley, Vice President/General Manager of Salem Media Group New York, “John Ziegler and Leah Brandon provide our listeners with up-to-date news and opinion and New Yorkers have a chance to call-in and let them know how they feel about it.”

Ziegler's career began in Steubenville, Ohio as a sportscaster and reporter with an NBC affiliate. He made the switch to talk radio as an evening host at WWTN-FM Nashville and went on to work at a number of other outlets. Eventually he wound up at KFI-AM Los Angeles, where he and Brandon first worked together.   After four years at the station, Ziegler opted to leave talk radio to produce documentary films and only recently returned to host his nationally syndicated show.

Brandon started out as a DJ in Roanoke, Va., and then came to Los Angeles where she began her radio voiceover imaging career. She currently resides in Birmingham, Al.

For more on The John and Leah Show, contact Amber Wade at AmberW@envisionradio.com or 216-831-3761.

iHM 2015 Vegas Pool Party Features Nick Jonas

iHeartMedia has announced that Nick Jonas will host the 2015 iHeartRadio Summer Pool Party which for the first time ever will be at Caesars Palace Las Vegas on Saturday, May 30.

This year's incredible lineup will feature live performances by Nick Jonas, Chris Brown, Kelly Clarkson, Nicki Minaj, Shaggy, Echosmith and David Guetta as well as special guest appearances by Adam Lambert, Bebe Rexha, Katharine McPhee, Holly Madison, Tyson Beckford, Robert Graham, Zack Kalter, Becca Tilley and iHeartRadio's own Mario Lopez, Angela Yee, DJ Envy, Big Boy, Romeo, JV, Brotha Fred, Angi Taylor, Ramiro, Letty B, Prostyle, Paul Costabile and DJ Suss One.

The iHeartRadio Summer Pool Party will video stream live exclusively on Yahoo Live at 8 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 30. In addition fans nationwide can listen to the special broadcast on iHeartMedia Mainstream Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR), Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio (RCHR), HOT-AC and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) stations nationwide at 8 p.m. PT. For the third consecutive year, the iHeartRadio Summer Pool Party will air as an exclusive television broadcast nationally on The CW Network on Thursday, June 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

To promote the event, iHeartMedia ran a national on-air and online promotion across its mainstream and rhythmic CHR, HOT-AC and EDM stations as well as on iHeartRadio, the company's all-in-one digital streaming platform. Hundreds of lucky winners will receive iHeartRadio Summer Pool Party packages, which include round-trip airfare, two-night luxury hotel accommodations at Caesars Palace for two and access to all the weekend's events.  Plus the Grand Prize Winner, Jennifer Paqueo from Kent, Washington, will receive a fantasy all-access experience which will include being flown to Las Vegas on a private luxury jet, a suite at Caesars Palace, spa treatments at Qua Baths & Spa, a VIP dinner at Nobu Restaurant & Lounge, a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon, exclusive once-in-a-lifetime artist experiences and more.

Report: Legacy Acts Pacing Summer Tours

Fans are flocking to US stadiums because, well, it really could be the last time.

And the Stones and Mick Jagger aren’t the only mature folks rocking.

The NY Post reports Statistics from ticket reseller StubHub reveal that so-called legacy acts will account for four of the Top 10 concert tours between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Those fogie four are the Stones, the Grateful Dead, Billy Joel and Rush.

If you throw in U2 — which StubHub Editor-in-Chief Jonah Freedman says “could be considered a legacy act” — and oldie-but-goldie performers will make up half of this summer’s Top 10 tours.
StubHub, which bases its list on cumulative dollars spent by ticket buyers on its ticket-reselling site, says nostalgia acts will share the summer stage with pop stars decades younger.

It’s no surprise that Taylor Swift, 25, ranks No. 1, with summer sales to date nearly tripling those of runner-up act One Direction.

NYC Radio: WPLJ, Jayde Donovan Effort Supports Kids With Cancer


Jayde Donovan, co-host of Todd & Jayde in the Morning on 95.5 PLJ, is the founder of the Apple-a-Day program. Jayde’s mission is to spread joy to pediatric cancer patients, and to honor the memory of her dear friend Brittany, who passed away from bone cancer in 2010.

Jayde launched the Apple-a-Day Program on what would have been Brittany’s birthday, April 22, 2011. Since that time, Jayde and her team of volunteers have surprised 200+ pediatric cancer patients with new iPads.

Jayde’s Apple-a-Day program motto is : “Helping Kids Stay Connected While Fighting Cancer.” The Apple-a-Day program provides pediatric cancer patients (ages 2-17) with devices (tables, smart phones) so that they may experience simple joys such as listening to music, FaceTime, taking pictures, watching movies, basically the ability to stay in contact with family, friends, and the outside world.


"I've seen how this one small gesture can change a child's outlook in such a positive way. This technology offers them a bridge into the world they are not currently able to be a part of. My program is not going to change the world, but it can change that child's world," said Jayde.

Every weekday in the month of May at 7:25 a.m., Jayde surprised another pediatric cancer patient with their very own iPad! The station’s efforts to support this cause will culminate in the giving of iPads to 20 brave kids from the tri-state area at the “iPad Party” hosted by 95.5 PLJ and Hard Rock CafĂ© in Times Square.

To make a donation to Apple-a-Day: Click Here.

FCC Looks To Subsidize Internet Access for Poor

The federal government’s program that made telephone service affordable to low-income households, could soon be extended to broadband service.

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler is circulating Thursday a set of proposals to modify the 30-year Lifeline program, which provides phone subsidies to households.

According to katyonthehill.com, Wheeler’s plan would extend those subsidies to Internet service at a time when broadband is becoming as essential as the telephone once was for everyday life.

Only 48 percent of households with an income of $25,000 or less, have access to the Internet, putting those households at a disadvantage for a number of education, government, and information services, the FCC said.

Under the proposal, households would be able to choose whether the subsidy ($9.25) be applied to voice or broadband.

DC Reporter Dead After Being Used A Human Shield

Charnice Milton
27-year-old Charnice Milton, 27, was found suffering from a gunshot wound in the 2700 block of Good Hope Road in DC-Southeast around 9:40 p.m. She was taken to the hospital where she died, according to myfoxdc.com.

Milton worked just across the street for Capital Community News since 2012. The Southeast resident covered community issues.  Previously, she worked as a reporter for CCN.

Milton was not the shooter's intended target, D.C. police said.

Her family is asking for those responsible to do the right thing and turn themselves in.

It is a horrific detail for any parent to cope with in the death of their child. Ken McClendon and Milton's mother, Francine, are devastated about the loss of their beautiful daughter.

“We miss our daughter,” said Francine. “We hurt that she is no longer with us it. But we also know that she is at a peaceful place.”

They choose to focus on what their daughter accomplished in spite of obstacles she faced as a child.

“She had her own condition of Asperger's and it was presumed because of her special condition, she would never excel and never achieve any great feat,” said Milton's father. “Yet watching our daughter walk across the stage at Bishop McNamara High School with honors, then going to Ball State and graduating with honors, then graduating at Syracuse with honors, and then staying here in Southeast Washington D.C., when she could have gone anywhere.”

May 29 Radio History


In 1939…The radio serial "When a Girl Marries" began its 18-year run, first on CBS, then on NBC starting in 1941, and switching to ABC in 1951.


In 1942…Bing Crosby, backed by the Ken Darby Singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra, recorded Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," which became the biggest-selling single of all time until Elton John surpassed it with "Candle In The Wind (Princess Diana Tribute)" in 1997. Crosby re-recorded "White Christmas" in 1947 and the re-recording is the version heard most often on the radio at Christmastime.



In 1961...Jack Spector began working as a disk jockey in New York in 1961 at radio station WMCA 570 AM, where he was a member of a group of broadcasting personalities called the Good Guys. He labeled himself Your Main Man Jake and usually closed his shows saying, "Look out street, here I come!"

He switched to WHN 1050 AM in 1972, then for nine years was the host of the "Saturday Night Sock Hop" on WCBS 101.1 FM. He also worked for a brief period as the host of a sports talk show for WNBC 660 AM.

Mr. Spector broke into broadcasting in Martinsburg, W.Va., in 1955, then worked for stations in Albany, Providence, R.I., and Chicago before returning to New York. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he attended Brooklyn College and had a brief tryout as a minor-league baseball player with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. He served in the United States Army in Korea.



In 1963…Del Shannon's cover of the Beatles' "From Me to You" became the first song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney to appear on the American record charts.


In 1977...the NBC News & Information Service, which was a 24-hour-a-day news service, came to an end.

NBC launched the NBC News and Information Service (NIS) in 1975.  According to Faded Signals, it allowed local radio stations to launch all-news formats, providing affiliates with up to 55 minutes of news per hour.

NBC aired the service on its Washington station, WRC.  It also added the all-news format on its network-owned FM stations in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.

Many stations signed on with the service, but by 1976, NBC was not sure if its network would ever become profitable.


In 1979..."The Source", considered Radio's first rock news network, debuted.


In 2012…Radio actor Dick Beals, for many years the voice of "Speedy" in Alka-Seltzer TV commercials, died at the age of 85.

In January 1949, as a senior at MSU, Beals got a call to do a radio commercial for WXYZ, Detroit. After the show, the director asked him to be on call for all the children's voices as well as those of small, talking animals on all three network radio shows produced by WXYZ - The Lone Ranger, Green Hornet and Challenge of the Yukon.

In 1952, after performing in an episode of The Green Hornet, WXYZ station manager Jack McCarthy referred Beals to Forrest Owen of Wade Advertising. Owen showed Beals a rendering of a proposed product spokesman for their client, Alka-Seltzer and had him record a voice audition. Four months later, Beals was notified that he had been selected as the voice for Speedy Alka-Seltzer as well as the voice of Sticky, the Vaseline mascot.

Standing just 4'7" tall due to a glandular problem that also gave him his youthful voice, Beals provided the voices of 10-year-old boys well into his 70s.


In 2014…Former WNEW 102.7 FM NYC personality Dave Herman died of an aneurysm at 78 while in federal custody awaiting trial on charges of attempting to transport a 7-year-old girl from New Jersey to the Virgin Islands for a sexual liaison.


In 2014…Longtime KOMO-TV, KOMO-AM Seattle news reporter/commentator Ken Schram died of kidney, liver, and heart failures while fighting an infection at age 66.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Boston Radio: Talk WMEX Passes On Rush Limbaugh

The incoming owners of Talk WMEX 1510 AM said they will pass on Rush Limbaugh and go instead with a new programming lineup meant to bring more humor and local coverage to conservative talk radio in Boston.

The Boston Globe calls it a surprise move by a station that radio industry analysts pegged as the presumptive landing spot for Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated show after his distributor, Premiere Networks, and WRKO 680 AM said last week that it had failed to reach an extension.

“He’s been offered to us four times, and we’ve said no,” said Mary Catherine Remmer, co-owner of Daly XXL Communications, which has been operating WMEX under a lease management agreement since March and plans to close on a purchase from Blackstrap Broadcasting later this summer.

Meanwhile the new WMEX lineup debuts June 2. The morning drive slot, from 6-10 a.m., will be anchored by Joe Ligotti, the YouTube sensation better known as “The Guy From Boston.” Ligotti built an online following by posting video rants on topics such as illegal immigration and gay marriage — often with an American flag in the background and a cigar in his mouth, and always in a heavy Boston accent.

Bill Keeler, currently a morning show host at WIBX 950 AM in Utica, N.Y., will take the noon to 3 p.m. shift that otherwise might have been Limbaugh’s. Michele McPhee, a former Boston Herald columnist, will anchor the afternoon drive from 3-6 p.m.

Providence Radio: Cumulus Names John Sutherland VP/MM

John Sutherland
Cumulus Media announces that longtime broadcasting and marketing professional John Sutherland has been promoted to Vice President/Market Manager for Cumulus’ five-station cluster in Providence, RI.

Sutherland previously served the company as Vice President, Sales for Cumulus in Worcester, MA, a position he has held since 2013. Prior to that, he was Chief Visual Officer for Sutherland Marketing Group. He was also Vice President for Clear Channel Radio (iHeart Media). A dedicated community servant, Sutherland served on the Board of Directors for the ALS Therapy Development Institute for many years. He holds a B.S. degree in Communications from Ithaca College.

Gary Pizzati, Senior Vice President for Cumulus said: “Placing John at the helm of Cumulus Providence is a perfect fit for that dynamic group of stations and will maximize our position in the market. John has many years of broadcast history in the northeast and his tremendous track record speaks for itself. This is another example of the opportunities for advancement and growth Cumulus offers to our employees. We congratulate John and are pleased to present him with this well-deserved battlefield promotion.”

Sutherland said: “Working with Gary Pizzati and Lew Dickey and leading one of the best radio clusters in America for Cumulus is an incredibly exciting opportunity. There is an extraordinarily talented team of people in Providence who are ready to grow to new heights at a time of accelerating change in our industry. I’m thrilled to begin this next chapter of my career at home in New England.”

He succeeds Barbara Haynes, who departed last week. Click Here for posting.

Judge Allows Class Action Suit Against SiriusXM

A U.S. judge in California allowed a class action lawsuit to proceed on Wednesday against satellite-radio company Sirius XM Holdings Inc over the payment of royalties for songs produced before 1972, in a case that is being closely watched for its implications for digital media.

Reuters reports the ruling by U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez marks another win for members of the 1960s band the Turtles, known for the hit "Happy Together," and means the company could face claims from a broader group of artists.

"Sirius XM treats every single owner of a pre-1972 song the same, namely it doesn't pay them, so it was appropriate for this court to grant class certification," said Henry Gradstein, attorney for Flo & Eddie Inc, a company controlled by founding Turtles members Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman.

Gutierrez ruled last September that, under California state law, New York-based Sirius XM was liable for copyright infringement by airing the band's pre-1972 songs without paying royalties.

Flo & Eddie also sought to certify a class action against the company to bring in other artists in a similar situation. Sirius XM argued against certification because it said damages would be difficult to calculate accurately for different members of the class.

Gutierrez rejected that argument on Wednesday.

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