Talk Station Charges Politicians For Interviews

Governor’s Council candidate Nick Iannuzzi took his message to listeners with a paid appearance scheduled on “Saturday Morning Live,” a talk radio program out of Lowell.

Iannuzzi, an independent challenging incumbent Third District Councilor Marilyn Devaney, appeared on the show hosted by former Warren Shaw from 8:05 to 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9.

He paid $490 for the 25-minute segment.

Iannuzzi and the owner of station WCAP, AM 980, say there’s nothing unusual about selling airtime on a weekly talk show, but media critic and Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy told wickedlocal.com it sounds unorthodox to him.

“As long as there’s full disclosure, I don’t really see any ethical problem on the part of the candidate,” Kennedy said, “but if he’s paying to appear on a talk show, that strikes me as a very unusual arrangement, and I’ve just never heard of anything like that before.

WCAP owner Clark Smidt says it’s standard practice at his station to sell airtime in the 60 days leading up to an election, when a great many candidates request time on the station.

Smidt said requiring payment was a way to “level the playing field” and avoid creating a situation where the station would be required to give free time to every candidate in every race. He said there would be full disclosure during the show that it was a paid appearance.

Read more here.

Glenn Beck Reveals He’ll Undergo Medical Tests

On his radio program Friday, Glenn Beck discussed in more detail some of the physical challenges he’s been facing. Glenn told his audience that he will be taking several days off next week to undergo tests at a hospital “out west.”

On recent broadcasts he’s discussed that he has been having problems with feeling in his hands and feet.

Friday he explained that “small fiber” issues may be involved but that testing will provide more understanding.
“We don’t even know what all of the symptoms are at this point,“ he explained adding that he believes ”physical, mental and spiritual are all tied.“ By ”small fibers,” he was referring to the possibility of a small fiber neuropathy diagnosis.

But that is just one possibility among many things that will be considered.

The Saturday Aircheck

From 2005, here is some video shot by Art Vuolo, of Phlash Phelps, the Morning Man on the "60's on 6" Channel on X-M. Phlash has a very popular call-in show and knows the U.S. like no one else!!

Yahoo CEO: 'Creepy' Facebook Is Biggest Rival

From USA Today:

Yahoo shouldn't be such a hard company to figure out. It's one of the oldest and best-known content providers on the Web. Its news, information, entertainment and communications services attract more than 170 million U.S. visitors each month.

Yet many investors consider Yahoo to be a mystery.

Its stock has lost 15.4% of its value in 2010 as Yahoo failed to show significant gains in page views and ad sales. The big question on Wall Street is whether Yahoo is too scattered and stodgy to fend off powerful competitors led by Google, Facebook, Microsoft and AOL.

Concerns grew last week as Yahoo lost three executives who were trying to freshen its content and attract new fans — including people who use smartphones to access the Web.

No wonder all eyes in the digital world are on Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz.

She was a surprise choice to manage one of the industry's toughest turnaround challenges in January 2009. The move to Yahoo capped a long career in Silicon Valley that included 14 years running Autodesk, a computer-aided software design firm.

Bartz, 62, has spent much of her time cutting costs, and deals, as she tried to sharpen Yahoo's focus on services that appeal to advertisers. For example, last year she agreed to let Microsoft's Bing power Yahoo's search engine. And this year Yahoo bought Associated Content, which assigns news stories to freelancers based on data about subjects that interest Web users.

It's been a long journey from the farms of Minnesota and Wisconsin, where the tart-tongued executive was born and raised, to Yahoo, which is expected to generate $6.5 billion in revenue this year.

Bartz shared her views about Yahoo, prospects for the Internet and the economy with USA TODAY's David Lieberman at the 12th USA TODAY CEO Forum on Sept. 29 at Georgia State University.

Read more here.

Dobbs Fires Back

Lou Dobbs is firing back against claims of hiring undocumented workers. In an exclusive interview on MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Thursday, the radio host said, "The bottom line is I have done nothing illegal,"  according Sara Muller in thelastwordblog.

A new report in The Nation alleges immigrants lacking appropriate paperwork worked in the gardens and horse stables at a variety of Dobbs' properties. In the year-long investigation, reporter Isabel Macdonald conducted interviews with five immigrants who claim to have worked on land owned by Dobbs.

Report: Sirius XM Is In Trouble

A Motley Fool article suggests Sirius XM Radio has some serious competition coming its way and it may need more than Howard Stern to save the day. Sirius' turn back to profitability after years of losses comes at the same time smartphones threaten its very existence.

Wednesday, CNBC highlighted Pandora's inroads into the mobile radio market, attracting more than 65 million registered listeners in the U.S. But Pandora isn't the only competitor Sirius should be worried about.

All sorts of apps are popping up, from Slacker Radio, which offers a similar experience to Pandora; to iheart Radio, which provides radio stations from around the country; and even to Howard Stern, who has threatened to develop a premium app for smartphones. ESPN has also built a radio app offering football games, podcasts, and audio from popular television shows. Apps for smartphones are relatively easy to build, don't require a large capital investment, and can be used on a variety of devices.

Read more here.

Study: NPR Needs To Loosen Up

A new study for NPR identifies a much bigger potential news audience that would listen to public radio if the field works to break down perceptions that its programs are elitist and stuffy, according to an article by Karen Everhart at current.org.

Producers would have to make shows that are more lively and conversational and promoters would have to take greater care when describing public radio as “intelligent” and “serious,” according to the Los Angeles-based firm SmithGeiger.

The researchers found that barriers to entry for public radio listenership are rooted in what they called “accessibility”— listeners’ perceptions of the NPR brand, their ability to relate to the content, and the extent to which they find time to catch NPR news through their radios or web browsers.

When encountering public radio, news consumers from various demographic groups share a common problem: They feel excluded. “It is really important that people hear themselves in the programming,” said Margaret Low Smith, v.p. of programming. “We’re talking about a private party, versus a party where everyone’s included and planning the same party,” she said.

Read more here.

Why Do Songs Fade Out At The End?

NPR's Tom Cole at The Record blog  writes he's received a lot of interesting questions regarding aspects of the music industry you'd like to know more about. We're tackling them one at a time — so if you keep the questions coming, we'll keep doing our best to answer them.

This week's question comes from Richard Wells of Bala Cynwyd, Penn.

"Who created the idea of songs fading out and why?  It seems a rather odd concept—that a song would not end definitively, but rather fade away into silence.  That's not how songs are played live; why is it accepted for studio recordings?"

Short answer: we don't know who or why. But we got some pretty good ideas from a bunch of very knowledgeable folks.

There has been some speculation that song fades date back to the earliest days of recording. But back then it would have been a challenge because recording was mechanical — a live performance was etched directly onto a cylinder or disc by a needle that was essentially vibrated by the sound waves created by a band. To achieve a fade as we know it today, the musicians would have to play softer and softer and softer and softer.

Read more here.

RadioTime Features Single Artist Channels

RadioTime, Inc. Thursday announced that it has created a new channel on RadioTime.com featuring stations dedicated to one rock musician or band. The Icons of Rock Channel is a collection of the most popular of these stations among RadioTime.com users, a list dominated by The Beatles and Michael Jackson. New stations will be added at the request of listeners and station representatives.

According to a story at kansascity.com, the majority of these independent stations rely heavily on listener support and donations, but it can be difficult for listeners to find them. A Google search for “Pearl Jam” returns more than 10 million results, but the same search on RadioTime.com returns about 50 radio stations playing Pearl Jam’s music and providing listeners with studio performances and podcasts specific to the band.

“These stations were created and are run by actual people, not automated music streaming services, and that human presence creates a more engaging experience for listeners beyond simply indicating whether they do or do not like a particular song,” said Bill Moore, CEO, RadioTime. “RadioTime makes it easier for our users to find stations playing their favorite music and assist these stations attract new listeners.”

The Beatles are the most popular among these artist-only stations, both in terms of number and rankings. Of the top 25 most popular stations based on number of monthly listening sessions, seven are dedicated to the Fab Four, including the top three: Beatles-A-Rama, Beatles Radio and 181.FM The Beatles. Michael Jackson is a close second with six stations, and the Grateful Dead, Madonna, Pearl Jam and Pink Floyd each have two stations. Other artists and bands represented include Bruce Springsteen, the Dave Matthews Band, Guns N' Roses, Madonna and Phish.

RadioTime.com is free to users; there is no subscription fee.

Read more here.

Another Slip For Tribune's WGN

From Robert Feder:

New York Times reporter David Carr’s blistering indictment of Tribune Co. under Sam Zell and Randy Michaels wasn’t the only hit the troubled company took Wednesday. Arbitron Portable People Meter ratings released for September showed Tribune-owned news/talk WGN-AM (720) down from the previous month in every time period among listeners between 25 and 54. Overall, the station dropped from a tie for 14th place to 20th in the advertiser-coveted adult demo.

Read more here.

Piers Morgan: "I'm Going To Be There To Win"

From Nikki Finke and Tim Adler:

Piers Morgan also tells deadline.com his mission is to help boost CNN’s sagging primetime line-up against Fox News, MSNBC, and other rivals.  Larry King Live scored its lowest monthly viewer total in nearly 20 years in May, averaging just 653,000 viewers each night. And, last week, CNN underwent a management shakeup. The TV world has changed since Larry King first began interviewing 25 years ago, says Morgan, noting that back then there wasn’t any Fox News or even MSNBC. Since then, there’s been an explosion in cable TV with rapid-fire hosts like Glenn Beck who don't do long interviews with newsmakers. “Don’t get me wrong, they’re great at what they do,” says Morgan. “But I think there’s a gap in the market. For years, Larry King has shown the power of the extended interview, which is something I’ve specialised in with my British talk shows. When it comes to my rivals, however long it takes, I’m going to be there to win.” Morgan says, "The main message I want to communicate is that I intend this show to be a game-changer in terms of how interview shows are conducted on American TV. And I haven't joined CNN to come 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.

Read more here.

Memo Hints at Name Change for MSNBC.com

From Brian Stelter, Media Decoder at nytimes.com

NBC Universal and Microsoft, the parents of MSNBC.com, are holding high-level talks about a name change, something that could be a risky endeavor for the third most popular news Web site in the United States.

The two parents have determined that the brand of MSNBC.com, a strictly objective news Web site, is widely confused with MSNBC, the cable channel that has taken a strongly liberal bent in recent years, according to internal memorandums obtained by The New York Times this week.

Charlie Tillinghast, MSNBC.com’s president, wrote in a memo last March, “Both strategies are fine, but naming them the same thing is brand insanity.” The channel and Web site are already separate companies.

MSNBC.com employees work closely with employees of MSNBC and NBC News. But the Web site has its own reporters, editors, producers, photographers and advertising sales staff. And those employees have at times felt like they were stuck in the shadow of the cable channel.

Under the current plan, the MSNBC.com Web address would become a site exclusively for the cable channel, fulfilling the channel’s desire to have an independent site to promote its programs. The existing news site, called the “Blue site” internally, would move to a new and as-yet-undetermined Web address.

One of the new names under consideration is NBCNews.com, according to the memos and interviews. The companies are testing entirely new names, as well.

Read more here.

Media Spending Surges Toward Record

From Politico

Media spending this election cycle is likely to hit an all-time record, topping $4.2 billion by Nov. 2 as political campaigns and outside interest groups keep up a torrid pace of advertising, a new study shows.

As of late September, federal candidates have spent $209 million on media, an $85 million increase over the $124 million that had been spent at the same time during the 2006 midterms, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising. The rest of the money — expected to easily surpass the midterm record of $4.2 billion — will come from third-party groups, unions and corporate interests, according to a study by Borrell Associates.

Read more here.

Tom Sez:  More than one has told me the money is going to TV, little to radio as of this date.

Media Ignore Threat of 'Flag of Islam' Flying over White House

ABC asks: should Americans fear Muslims and proves answer is yes.



From Dan Gainor, Business & Media Institute

Imagine the furor if a televangelist went on a major TV network and told viewers Christianity would conquer the world and that the flag of Christianity would fly over the White House.

Network reporters, Hollywood celebrities and the pundit class would have seized the moment as an example of the evils of America’s supposed Christian theocracy. The story would have been tied to the dangers of evangelical religion and likely even to the Tea Parties. Across the oceans, radical Islamists would do as they did during the Koran burning episode or after the Danish cartoons were published. They would riot. Cars, businesses and maybe even embassies would burn. People would die.

Thankfully, that didn’t happen. What did happen is far scarier.

ABC News held a townhall meeting, bringing on experts from left and right to ask the question: “Should Americans fear Islam?”

Thanks to ABC, we know the answer. Americans absolutely should. One of the network’s “experts” was Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, who Britain’s Sunday Times called “the leader of the now-outlawed extremist group Islam4UK.” His comments on “This Week” bore out everything conservatives criticize about radical Islam. “We do believe as Muslims the East and the West will be governed by the Sharia,” Choudray said. “Indeed we believe that one day the flag of Islam will fly over the White House.”

According to Choudary, “Islam has a solution for all of the problems that mankind faces.”

Read more here.