Providence Radio: WWKX Brings Classic Rock to Southern New England

Cumulus Media announces that WWKX-FM in Providence, RI, flipped from its Rhythmic Contemporary format to Classic Rock on Saturday, November 2nd, debuting as the all-new 106.3 The Wolf.

The station teased its new format with all-Halloween music on October 31st, followed by all Grateful Dead tunes on November 1st, stunting as “The Day of the Dead.” Cumulus Media has also launched a new website for 106.3 The Wolf at: https://www.thewolf1063.com/.

106.3 The Wolf joins Cumulus New London sister station 102.3 The Wolf/WMOS-FM with its Classic Rock format. The stations will share music, personalities, and features - but will have separate commercial breaks, separate local service elements, and local promotions and events in both markets.

Concurrently, Cumulus Media has announced that Providence Talk and Sports Program Director Doug MacGunnigle has been promoted to Regional Program Director for NewsTalk and Classic Rock/Southern New England. MacGunnigle will oversee 102.3 and 106.3 The Wolf, NewsTalk 630 AM/ 99.7 FM WPRO, and Sports Talk 790AM The Score in Providence, along with NewsTalk 980 WXLM in New London.

Mike English

Mike English, longtime On-Air Host, WMOS-FM Morning Drive, will now also be heard on WWKX-FM weekdays from 6:00am-10:00am. Additional well-known local on-air personalities will be announced soon.

The stations will also both carry live nighttime show, Steve Gorman Rocks! Monday through Friday from 7:00pm-Midnight, hosted by Steve Gorman, co-founding member and drummer of the Black Crowes and former host on Fox Sports Radio. Airing Sundays on both stations is Flashback, the country’s number one retrospective radio program, hosted by influencer, Rock insider and MTV legend, Matt Pinfield. 106.3 The Wolf also joins 102.3 The Wolf on Sundays in airing Sammy Hagar’s Top Rock Countdown, a two-hour show where the legendary Red Rocker counts down anything he wants – his favorite party songs, his favorite band not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, or the best songs from a year or a decade.

Holly Paras, Regional Vice President, Cumulus Providence/New London, said: “The signals of 102.3 and 106.3 complement each other. It is exciting to have true Classic Rock music return to Southern New England with the launch of 106.3 The Wolf in Providence.”

Doug MacGunnigle, Program Director, 102.3 The Wolf and 106.3 The Wolf, commented: “We’re excited to add Classic Rock to our portfolio of stations in Providence. I’m grateful for the opportunity and the challenge of bringing a different take on Classic Rock to Rhode Island. I’d also like to thank John Dimick, James Kurdziel and Jeff Schroeder from Cumulus Programming and my programming colleague Mary Ellen Kachinske in Providence for their support.”

🎧To stream New London’s 102.3 The Wolf, visit:https://www.1023thewolf.com/.

Podcaster Joe Rogan Endorses Donald Trump

Popular podcaster Joe Rogan, who recently interviewed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for nearly three hours, said on Monday he has endorsed the former president in the race to the White House.

Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 U.S. election in what polls show to be a tight race. Harris has got multiple celebrity endorsements.

"For the record, yes, that's an endorsement of Trump," Rogan said on X while posting a clip of his interview with billionaire Elon Musk, who has also endorsed Trump. Rogan said in his post that Musk made the "most compelling case for Trump."

Reuters reports Trump's recent interview with Rogan lasted about 3 hours and was released on YouTube and Spotify in late October. The two discussed a range of topics and the interview got over 45 million views on YouTube.

The former president criticized Rogan in August on Truth Social, his social media platform, after the podcaster praised then-independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. Kennedy has since pulled out of the race and endorsed Trump. Trump later called Rogan a "good guy."

Trump and Harris have courted voters with appearances on podcasts, in addition to more traditional rallies and media interviews.

Spotify said in March "The Joe Rogan Experience" had 14.5 million followers, almost triple the platform's second most popular program. Rogan also has more than 19 million followers on Instagram and 18 million followers on YouTube.

A poll by YouGov last year found that 81% of his listeners are male and 56% are under 35 years old, a demographic that tends to support Trump over Harris.

Musk Lawyer To Judge: $1M Winners Were Selected

Elon Musk’s lawyer told a Pennsylvania judge that the winners of a million-dollar voter giveaway were chosen “not by chance.”

Bloomberg reports the lawyer, Chris Gober, made the surprise admission at a court hearing where the Philadelphia district attorney is trying to stop the contest, saying it’s an illegal lottery. Gober argued, however, that the sweepstakes is not a lottery because the winners were selected on their “suitability” to be a public spokesperson for Musk’s political action committee, often based on their personal stories.

As a result, the udge on Monday rejected a request by the Philadelphia District Attorney to block a $1 million daily giveaway. Philadelphia County Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta in an order said he would explain his reason for denying the request to block the giveaway, which the DA has called an illegal lottery, in a later written ruling.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk and the PAC last week, saying the contest illegally lulls “Philadelphia citizens to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million.”

Musk’s pro-Donald Trump America PAC has been giving away the money every day until Election Day on Nov. 5 to people who sign a petition calling for free speech and the right to bear arms. The winner must be a registered voter in a swing state. The contest doesn’t specify which candidate voters should cast their ballots for.

Chris Young, the PAC’s treasurer, said at the hearing Monday that he was surprised to hear Musk say at a rally last month that the recipients would be chosen at random.

Young said each of the recipients of the $1 million payments are required to sign employment agreements for the PAC. He said they earn the money through that work and are selected based on how many people they referred and other criteria such as their alignment with the program’s values.

“Anyone who participated in the program knew exactly” what was expected of them, Young said.

Among The Carnage: iHM Still Has Money For Some

iHeartMedia has dialed-up the pay for its legal chief and extended her contract through September 2026.

General counsel and secretary Jordan Fasbender also gets a new title for her business card: executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary, according to law.com.

Fasbender, who joined San Antonio-based iHeart in 2019 as deputy general counsel from 21st Century Fox and became GC in 2021, earned $2.33 million in 2023, according to the company's proxy statement released in April. Her salary rose to $725,000 from $700,000 in 2022, in part reflecting expanded responsibilities.

Under terms of her new contract, Fasbender's salary rises to $825,00 and will be cranked-up to $850,000 next October. Her target bonus potential was increased to 115% of annual salary from 110%, currently.

The company also said it expects to grant Fasbender an annual equity award with a target grant date fair value equal to $1 million. In 2023, Fasbender received a stock award of $852,049 and non-equity award of $751,169.

Fasbender is the fourth-highest paid executive at iHeart—known for its iHeartRadio app, iHeartPodcast, iHeartRadio Music Festival and iHeartRadio Music Awards.

According to the company's April proxy statement, Fasbender hit her targets in 2023, which included goals related to privacy, ESG and compliance. Fasbender's legal team juggles a wide range of issues in geographically diverse markets such as government compliance, intellectual property and litigation.

At 21st Century Fox, where she rose to senior vice president and associate general counsel, Fasbender focused on corporate finance, corporate governance and Securities and Exchange Commission matters. She also had a hand in the $71 billion sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney, which was announced in 2017 and completed in 2019.

iHeartMedia has about 860 radio stations in 160 markets. But it has increasingly relied on growth from its digital audio group as radio station operators grapple with a decline in listeners and ad revenues.

The company's digital audio group bolstered its revenues by 5% last year, fueled by a 14% jump in podcast revenues. For the year, iHeart's total revenues fell 4%, to $3.75 billion.

NY Times Passes 11 Million Subscribers

The New York Times added roughly 260,000 paid digital subscribers in the third quarter of the year, the company said on Monday, crossing the threshold of 11 million total subscribers for the first time.

The company’s adjusted operating profit for the quarter, which ran from July through September, rose 16.1 percent to $104.2 million, from $89.8 million a year before. Overall revenue increased 7 percent to $640.2 million, compared with the same period in 2023.

The Times has a stated goal of reaching 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027. It had 11.09 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter, 10.47 million of which were to digital products only, not the print newspaper.

Early Monday before the earnings were released, the Times Tech Guild, which represents more than 600 of the company’s tech workers, went on strike. The union and the company are negotiating over pay increases and other issues.

Meredith Kopit Levien, the president and chief executive of The New York Times Company, said in a statement accompanying the earnings announcement that more than five million of the 11 million subscriptions were now either for multiple Times products, which include digital news, Cooking, Games, Wirecutter and The Athletic, or for a bundle of all products offered.

“We believe that portfolio, and our ability to keep adding value to it over time, is what makes The Times resilient in a changing media landscape, and well positioned to become a larger, more profitable company,” Ms. Levien said in a statement.

Digital subscription revenue jumped 14.2 percent from a year earlier. Digital advertising revenue was also up, with an increase of 8.8 percent year-over-year.

Operating costs for the quarter included $4.6 million for the lawsuit The Times filed last year against Microsoft and OpenAI, contending that the companies unlawfully used copyrighted material to train their generative A.I. chatbots. Adjusted operating costs increased 5.4 percent from a year earlier to $536 million, from $508.6 million.

The Athletic, the sports news website that The Times bought in 2022 for $550 million, made a quarterly profit for the first time since the purchase. The Athletic’s adjusted operating profit for the third quarter rose to $2.6 million, from a loss of $7.9 million in the same period last year. The company said the increase came from higher subscription and advertising revenue.

HRN Hispanic Radio Network Creates “The Influencer Radio Network”

HRN, the Number One Nielsen-Rated Hispanic Radio Network, has created The Influencer Network to help advertisers connect with Hispanic communities across the US. The Influencer Network leverages the growing impact of HRN’s syndicated personalities on their radio listeners and social media followers.

“Radio personalities are the original influencers” says Clark Logan, President of HRN. “Fernando Fiore (aka Mr. Soccer), Ana Maria Canseco, Riva, (Los 40 USA) and DJ Xtreme are great talents. Their audiences on air and online identify with them while listening to their shows and reading the social posts in a lean-forward fashion. Brands can use association with these influencers to increase awareness and favorability of their brands with consumers.”

For more information on the HRN Hispanic Radio Network, contact Clark Logan at Clark.Logan@genmediapartners.com for advertising and Jimmy Perez at jimmy.perez@genmediapartners.com for affiliations.

Radio History: Nov 5

Dale Evans and Roy Rogers

➦In 1911...Roy Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye (Died of heart failure at age 86 - July 6, 1998). Known as the "King of the Cowboys", he appeared in over 100 films and numerous radio and television episodes of The Roy Rogers Show. In many of his films and television episodes, he appeared with his wife, Dale Evans; his golden palomino, Trigger; and his German shepherd, Bullet. His show was broadcast on radio for nine years and then on television from 1951 through 1957. His productions usually featured a sidekick, often Pat Brady, Andy Devine, George "Gabby" Hayes, or Smiley Burnette. In his later years, Rogers lent his name to the franchise chain of Roy Rogers Restaurants.

➦In 1946...This ad appeared in the NY Times...

➦In 1948...Jack Sterling started at WCBS 880 AM.

The "Jack Sterling Show," aired Monday to Friday from 1948 to 1966, was noted for its relaxed chatter, joking, storytelling, interviews, features on news and sports and tips on fishing sites.  For seven of those years Sterling hosted a TV Show in Philadelphia in a bid to launch a television career.

U-S On Edge As News Outlets Brace For Election Returns

It is unlikely Americans will go to bed on Election Day knowing who their next president will be. As polls show a dead heat between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in the final days of the race, news outlets are preparing an anxious nation for the likelihood that election night will stretch into an election week.

Millions of US voters will head to the voting booth tomorrow to cast ballots in what appears to be a deadlocked presidential race. Various poll aggregators—see RealClearPolitics and 538—have former President Donald Trump leading by 0.1% or Vice President Kamala Harris leading by 0.9%, respectively, in national polls. Both figures are within the margin of error.  These polls capture national sentiment, not probabilities of Electoral College victory. Analyst Nate Silver gives Harris about a 75% chance of winning the national vote, but Trump a slight edge in winning the Electoral College. 

The outcome is expected to be determined by the results in a set of swing states—most notably Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina. See how voting patterns in these states have changed in recent elections.  More than 75 million early votes have been cast thus far—roughly 41 million in person and almost 35 million mail-in ballots. Data suggest even participation by party, though women outpace men by about nine points nationally. 

 Also at stake are 34 Senate seats and a number of competitive House districts, with control of each chamber up for grabs.

Most major media outlets around the country rely on a handful of organizations to crunch the numbers and make race calls. Among them: The Associated Press, the National Election Pool and Decision Desk HQ.

The AP, an independent news collective that has been calling elections since the 1800s, plans to deploy roughly 4,000 vote reporters to precincts across the country to be its eyes and ears as ballots are counted, said AP executive editor Julie Pace.

Political Ad Surge Propels Fox Corp.

Fox Corp beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter revenue on Monday, as the media company benefited from higher political advertising ahead of the U.S. presidential election, sending its shares up over 4% in early trading.

Reuters reports a large number of people sought out traditional news and television programs for updates on the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, which boosted advertising spend at channels such as Fox News.

Lachlan Murdoch

Fox chief executive Lachlan Murdoch pointed to record political advertising across the company and strong growth at its ad-supported streaming platform, Tubi.

Advertising revenue for the first quarter jumped around 11% to $1.33 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.13 billion, per data compiled by LSEG.

The company's television segment reported revenue of $1.95 billion, ahead of estimates of $1.92 billion, driven by a jump in advertising owing to the broadcast of the "UEFA European championship" at Fox sports.

Media firms and news publishers have been trying to ramp up sports coverage in order to capitalize on the loyal fanbases and large viewership numbers.

Revenue at Fox's Cable Network Programming came in at $1.60 billion, compared with analysts' estimate of $1.41 billion.

The company reported total revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared with estimates of $3.37 billion.

Cleveland Radio: Jonathan Peterlin New Co-Host On 92.3 The Fan

Audacy names Jonathan Peterlin as afternoon show co-host on 92.3 The Fan (WKRK-FM) in Cleveland. Peterlin will join co-host Nick Wilson and be heard weekdays from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. ET. Peterlin had previously served as the station’s evening host since 2022.

“We believe Jonathan's addition and presence on the show will bring a unique passion and energy to afternoon drive,” said Keith Britton, Brand Manager, 92.3 The Fan. “He has shown both the ability and readiness for this move and we are full speed ahead in our commitment to providing our listeners with the most engaging sports talk and entertainment on a daily basis.”

“92.3 The Fan and its listeners have been with me through every major chapter of my life, and this station has been a constant presence in my world,” said Peterlin. “Afternoon drive in Cleveland is the pinnacle of what I’ve always aspired to, and I truly couldn’t imagine a better person to share this journey with than my good friend, Nick Wilson. I’m extremely thankful for the chance to continue this journey with the listeners and the team at 92.3 The Fan.”

Peterlin joined 92.3 The Fan in 2016 as an update anchor and a fill-in host across various timeslots. Since 2022, he has hosted “Overtime with Jonathan Peterlin,” weeknights from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. In addition to his Cleveland-based work, Peterlin has hosted national shows part-time for Audacy’s Infinity Sports Network for the last four years. Before joining the station, Peterlin spent time with Yahoo! Sports Radio in Houston as a national host and update anchor and morning show host at KGSO in Wichita.

📻Listeners can tune in to 92.3 The Fan (WKRK-FM) in Cleveland on air and nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station via X, Facebook and Instagram.  

R.I.P.: Quincy Jones, Grammy Winning Music Producer

Quincy Jones, one of the most powerful forces in American popular music for more than half a century, died on Sunday in California. He was 91.

His death was confirmed in a statement by his publicist, Arnold Robinson, that did not mention a cause.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him,” the Jones family said in the statement. “He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”

with Michael Jackson

Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between genres, producing pop hit records for Lesley Gore in the early 1960s (including "It's My Party") and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations between the jazz artists Frank Sinatra and Count Basie. 

His first pop success was with the singer Lesley Gore, only 16 when Mr. Jones came into possession of her demo tape. “She had a mellow, distinctive voice and sang in tune, which a lot of grown-up rock ’n’ roll singers couldn’t do, so I signed her,” he wrote. He helped make the song “It’s My Party” (1963) into a No. 1 hit for Ms. Gore, rushing acetates to radio stations just before another version of the song, sung by the Crystals and produced by Phil Spector, which remains unreleased.

In 1968, Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Eyes of Love" from the film Banning. Jones was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the 1967 film In Cold Blood, making him the first African American to be nominated twice in the same year. 

Jones produced three of the most successful albums by pop star Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). In 1985, Jones produced and conducted the charity song "We Are the World", which raised funds for victims of famine in Ethiopia.

SiriusXM May Soon Drop Its 'Cancellation Discount' Policy

SiriusXM has unveiled a new pricing structure for its satellite radio service that allows customers to subscribe to a base package of music channels, then tack on additional programming packages for extra fees.

According to The Desk, the cost of SiriusXM satellite radio now starts at $10 per month, which includes access to all commercial-free music stations offered through the platform, executives confirmed on Thursday.

From there, customers can add separate packages that consist of news ($5 extra per month), talk ($5 extra per month) and sports ($8 extra per month) channels, though the additional packages are optional.

The plan also includes access to SiriusXM’s streaming music app, which will offer the same channels available in a customer’s satellite radio subscription, including any add-on channels as purchased.

On a conference call with investors, SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz said the updated prices were intended to help the company achieve certain long-term growth and revenue objectives.

“We believe this will both attract listeners who may have been left behind by our premium price packages and allow us to move away from discounted pricing by enabling price-conscious subscribers to tailor the package to their interest and budget instead of relying on short-term promotional packages,” Witz said.

The Desk believes the comment suggest SiriusXM will eventually end a practice of offering a discount when they call to cancel their service, which is intended to ease the company’s churn rate. Some long-time customers have exploited the discount for several years by threatening to cancel their plan simply to get the discount — a loophole that SiriusXM now appears to be closing.

Heir Apparent Waiting For NBC's Lester Holt To Retire

NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt could retire next year — and his would-be successor, Tom Llamas, “waits impatiently” for his exit in what looks like a “slow motion coup d’état” at 30 Rock, according to a report.

The NY Post reports Holt, who is reportedly earning a hefty wage of around $10 million per year, has been anchoring the “Nightly News” since 2015, when he replaced Brian Williams, who was removed from his position and reassigned to MSNBC for concocting stories of coming under enemy fire while reporting from Afghanistan.

Tony Llamas

In 2021, Llamas was named senior national correspondent for NBC News as well as prime time anchor of a newscast that streams on NBC News Now. Since then, there have been rampant rumors that Llamas was hired to replace Holt, sources told The Post.

According to The Ankler newsletter, the higher-ups at NBC parent company Comcast would be happy to see Holt hang up his microphone given that Llamas, his likely eventual replacement, earns a relatively modest salary of around $2.5 million per year.

In 2021, Holt, 65, signed a four-year deal to stay at NBC News. At the time, Page Six reported that Holt insisted on getting the title of managing editor in order to stave off a perceived threat from Llamas, who had just joined the network after a stint as weekend host of ABC “World News Tonight.”

The 45-year-old Llamas is said to be close to Cesar Conde, who heads NBC’s news division. A source told Page Six in 2021 that Llamas is “clearly being groomed for a big role” and that Holt “negotiated a bigger title to stave off the threat.”