CBC has given 35 employees a “notice of redundancy” amidst budget pressures.
The majority of the affected positions are in Toronto with layoffs set to take effect Dec. 31.
“As is the case with every Canadian media company, CBC faces challenges in the context of an ever-shifting media landscape with so much disruption,” said Chuck Thompson, Head of Public Affairs for CBC English Services, in an email to Broadcast Dialogue. “To meet these challenges, as an organization, we have to make changes. Yesterday’s layoffs are part of a difficult but necessary exercise to manage a decrease to the News operating budget.”
Bell Media also made a round of layoffs this week, that included TSN 690 morning show co-host and Alouettes/Impact play by play announcer Rick Moffat and CJAD weekday morning weather forecaster Eramelinda Boquer and other several long-serving employees. While the company declined to say how many positions or stations were affected, job losses were reported in Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa.
Among the casualties were longtime CTV Winnipeg anchor Gord Leclerc, who had been with the station since 1995; 99.9 Bob FM (CFWM-FM) Winnipeg morning co-host Mark Morris, CFRA Ottawa midday talk host Rob Snow, who had been with the station for two decades; CJAD Montreal host and weather specialist Eramelinda Boquer, who had been with the station since 1999; and TSN 690 (CKGM-AM) morning show co-host Rick Moffat, who also served as the play-by-play voice of the Montreal Alouettes and Montreal Impact.
“Our industry is changing fast, with growing international competition and new viewing and listening options impacting audiences and advertising across the Canadian media sector,” said Bell Media Communications Manager Patricia Garcia, in an emailed statement. “We’re feeling the effects of rapid industry change in many parts of our business, including local TV and radio. To ensure we remain competitive, we’re managing the impact on our bottom line while also investing in content and platforms.”
Bob Bailey, a former 96rock and Z93 rock jock from the 1980s and 1990s, died of lung cancer this week. He was 66.
Bob Bailey
According to media writer Rodney Ho at ajc.com, his family posted a social media note announcing his passing. A memorial is planned in December.
Bailey was well liked and well respected by many of his radio peers at both rock stations, neither of which exist anymore. Mara Davis, former Z93/Dave FM host who now works at Adult Swim, Atlanta Eats and WABE-FM, said she arrived in Atlanta in 1994 unsure how the existing staff at Z93 would treat a young female rock jock.Bailey, she said, embraced her and they became fast friends, often hanging out at Highland Tap in Virginia Highland.
She loved his on-air delivery and how he told stories with “personality, humor and vigor,”“He had an impact on my gut, on my style,” Davis said.
Craig Ashwood, a former mid-day host at 94Q in the 1980s, said he became drinking buddies with Bailey. “He was a great normal guy,” Ashwood said. “No ego, no bull****, none of that radio crap. He showed up and did his job.”
Bailey spent his entire radio career in Atlanta, starting at Georgia State University’s WRAS-FM. He spent nine years (1977-1986) spinning Van Halen and Aerosmith on 96rock. Steve Mitchell, a DJ at 96rock in the 1980s, said Bailey became music director for a time and “was the best guy for the job. He loved music. He made sure we were playing the right stuff.”
After two years at 94Q (now Star 94.1) as Gary McKee’s morning producer, he joined Z93 when it changed to classic rock in 1989. As afternoon jock on Z93, he created a signature daily feature called “Traffic Jam and Jokes.” After he lost his Z93 gig in 1998, Bailey was unable to find another regular radio job. For many years, Bailey hosted trivia nights around town.
Jack Morse, a longtime television and radio broadcaster in Central New York, died on Thursday at his home in Manlius. He was 84 years old, according to syracuse.com.
Morse spent more than four decades broadcasting in Central New York and was named to the Syracuse Press Club’s Wall of Distinction in 2002.
According to his biography with the Syracuse Press Club, Morse began his broadcasting career when he was in high school, serving as a summer replacement at WINR 680 AM in Binghamton, NY.
He arrived in the Syracuse area during the late 50s and never left. He began working locally when he was a college student at Syracuse, working part-time at WOLF Radio. He became a sports broadcaster in 1966 with WHEN 620 AM, doing the station’s last broadcast from Syracuse’s Loew Building and its first broadcast from its James Street location (now Channel 5).
He began doing sports part-time with Channel 5 in 1966, and also spent time with Syracuse Newchannels (now Time-Warner), Channel 9 and on the Phil Markert morning show.
➦In 1951…Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly launched one of the most highly-praised TV productions in history. The newsmagazine, documentary "See It Now' debuted on CBS. The aired for more than six years. On that first program, which evolved out of Murrow’s radio (and Columbia Records) series Hear It Now, we saw a live camera shot of the Atlantic Ocean, followed by a live shot of the Pacific, then Murrow said, “We are impressed by a medium through which a man sitting in his living room has been able to look at two oceans at once.” In April of 1952, See It Now moved into an evening time slot.
➦In 1954...ABC radio and TV banned “Mambo Italiano,” a hit by Rosemary Clooney for so-called “offensive lyrics,” most likely due to the exaggerated Italian vernacular, including the words “goombah” and “gidrool.”
➦In 1963…The Beatles got their first exposure on U-S TV in a feature story on NBC-TV's
"The Huntley-Brinkley Report" it included a film clip of the band
performing in England.
➦In 1987...CBS Inc. announced that it had agreed to sell its record division to Sony Corp. for approximately $2 billion.
➦In 1994...the inimitable Cab Calloway died in a Delaware nursing home following a stroke suffered in June. He was 86. The big band leader, who became nationally known through radio broadcasts dating back to 1931. He was best known for his trademark “hi-de-ho” song “Minnie the Moocher.” He was also featured in the movie “The Blues Brothers.” In October of ’94, he’d been honored at a White House ceremony by President Clinton for his contribution to the arts.
➦In 1994...The Rolling Stones broadcast a 20-minute segment of their show in Dallas, TX, live over the Internet. They were the first major band to stream a live show on the web.
➦In 2004...Howard Stern held a rally in downtown New York City. Thousands showed up and Stern gave away 500 free SIRIUS radios and 20,000 coupons for free radios for those who signed up for the service.
➦In 1914...Broadcaster, comedian Archie Campbell, best known for his work on TV’s Hee Haw, was born in Bullsgap Tennessee.
He was in country music radio prior to WWII; after the war he originated Knoxville’s first Country TV Show (1952-58.) He moved on to Nashville & the Grand Ole Opry, where he started a recording career with RCA.
In 1969 he joined Hee Haw as the barber, famous for his spoonerism stories & “That’s bad, that’s good” routines.
Archie died Aug. 29 1987 after a heart attack. He was 72.
➦In 1917...Announcer, TV host Jack Lescoulie was born in Sacramento. He was best known for his stint on NBC’s Today Show during its earliest years, and the Jackie Gleason Show on CBS. He died July 22, 1987 at age 69.
➦In 1970…Elton John, backed by Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson,
performed at A&R Recording Studios in New
York City for a live radio broadcast on WABC 95.5FM (now Contemporary Christian WPLJ) which was later released as his "11-17-70" album.
➦In 1979...Personality George Michael did his last show on 77WABC, New York.
His first radio appointment outside of his hometown was in 1962 at WRIT in Milwaukee, where he worked the 6-to-10 pm shift until he was reassigned to 5-to-9 morning drive time in early 1964. His next stop was at KBTR in Denver later in 1964, working under the name "King" George Michael for the first time. He earned the nickname due to his success in "ruling" evening radio.
He became one of the original Boss Jocks at WFIL 560 AM in Philadelphia when its new Top 40 rock and roll format debuted on September 18, 1966. He served as music director and evening deejay for the next eight years. WFIL, which was popularly known as "Famous 56" after the transition, ended WIBG 990 AM's listener ratings dominance and became the city's most popular station by the summer of 1967. Michael was the first Philadelphia rock and roll radio personality to read the scores of local high school football and basketball games on the air.
On George's last WFIL show (on September 6, 1974) he played "When Will I See You Again" by the Three Degrees for the first time ever on any radio station. The playing of this on his show broke the song into the mainstream, and within two months was a huge international hit, reaching number one in the U.K., and number two in the U-S.
George Michael at 77WABC
Michael, noted for his energetic style, was hired by WABC in New York City; his first on-air stint there was on the evening of September 9, 1974. Michael now not only was entering the nation's largest media market; he also succeeded radio legend "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, who had jumped to competitor WNBC.660 AM (now WFAN). One of the highlights during his time at the station occurred when he anchored its coverage of the New York City blackout of 1977 after the music format was temporarily suspended for the night.
His first experience in sports broadcasting also came in 1974 when he was a television announcer for the Baltimore Orioles on WJZ-TV. He declined an offer to work for the ballclub full-time in order to accept the WABC position. As part of the deal to bring him to New York, Michael also worked for WABC-TV as the weekend sports anchor and a color commentator on New York Islanders telecasts for several seasons, paired mainly with Tim Ryan. He served as an occasional substitute on ABC American Contemporary Network's Speaking of Sports show whenever Howard Cosell, the primary commentator, was on vacation or assignment.
As the primary sports anchor at WRC-TV in Washington from 1980 to 2007, Michael was easily one of the most popular media personalities in the Washington area.
Michael died at age 70 on December 24, 2009, after being diagnosed with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia two years prior.
➦In 1982... Bill Baldwin, an actor, announcer, World War II radio correspondent and leader in the broadcasters union, died of cancer at age 69.
Bill Baldwin
Baldwin was a war correspondent for what is now the ABC network during World War II. After the war he was an announcer on the radio program of the late comedian-ventriliquist Edgar Bergen.
Baldwin, a native of Pueblo, Colo., became the radio and television voice of hundreds of products, most recently appearing for Western Airlines. He also appeared in several TV series, including ‘Hawaii Five-O,’ ‘Ironside,’ ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ and ‘Marcus Welby, M.D.’
Baldwin also acted in several movies, including all three ‘Rocky’ pictures, ‘The Apartment’ and ‘The Odd Couple.’
At the time of his death, Baldwin was a member of the board of directors of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists and from 1970 to 1972 served as national president of the union.
➦In 1985...Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WXRK 92.3 FM New York, N.Y.
➦In 2003... Rush Limbaugh returned to his
syndicated talk show after spending a month in rehab for addiction to
prescription painkillers.
➦In 2007…Veteran Philadelphia radio personality Hy Lit, who hosted the nationally syndicated "Hy Lit Show"
seen on television in 30 markets, died of kidney failure at the age of 73.
Lit dominated AM radio from the late 1950s through the 1960s as one of WIBG's "Good Guys," as his Hall of Fame show drew a 71 market share (unheard of before or since.) He released several successful LP "Hall of Fame" collections of music he played on the show, the last of these when he joined WPGR in 1981. Around 1978, Lit moved to California after a brief but successful stint with the Harlem Globetrotters before once more returning to the Philadelphia area. In 1977, when WIBG went off the air forever, he was the last DJ on the air.
Hy Lit
Lit moved to WOGL-FM in 1989, hosting the highly rated "Top 20 Countdown" on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in addition to his weekday afternoon shift.
In the mid-1990s, it was revealed that Lit was suffering from the beginnings of Parkinson's disease. Just after the death of Hy's wife Maggie (Russo) Lit in 2000, WOGL and Infinity/CBS Broadcasting management significantly reduced Lit's radio hours, along with a significant decrease in salary. In 2002, a lawsuit was filed against the media conglomerate, CBS Broadcasting, which for a second and concurrent time decided to reduce Lit's radio time and salary and this time cancel his health insurance.
In December 2005, Lit, station WOGL, and CBS Broadcasting settled the three-year health and age-discrimination lawsuit, under the condition that Hy Lit would (reluctantly) retire from the station. Lit did his last Hy Lit Hall of Fame Show radio show on December 11, 2005. However, WOGL management would not permit Lit to reveal he would be leaving the airwaves and abandoning thousands of listeners left to wonder what happened to the legendary Hy Lit.
Longtime Chicago media executive Jimmy de Castro, who downsized and revitalized the seven Chicago radio stations owned by Entercom Communications, is ready to take a gamble on his next adventure.
“I’m officially retiring after my contract is up — but I’ve flunked retirement three times,” de Castro, 66, told me. “I definitely have plans on doing something else in the gaming business, and I’m excited about that opportunity.”
His last day as senior vice president and market manager of Entercom Chicago is expected to be be December 13.
As first reported by Robert Feder Friday, deCastro is retiring after a little over two years being appointed to the position.
A replacement will be named next week, reports TDog Media.
The longtime Chicago radio executive was installed as market manager for the former CBS Radio stations right after Entercom closed on its purchase of the radio group. Among the first moves he made was to flip 104.3 FM from WJMK’s classic hits format to a Classic Hip-Hop 104.3 Jams and adapting the legendary call letters identified with African-American Chicago radio, WBMX.
In addition to running WBMX, all-news WBBM-AM (and WCFS-FM), Top 40 outlet WBBM-FM (B96), country WUSN-FM (US 99), adult album alternative WXRT-FM and all-sports WSCR-AM (The Score,) DeCastro was also responsible for Entercom’s stations in Milwaukee and Madison, Wis.
His tenure was marked by cost cutting as well, including layoffs and reducing the number of floors Entercom had at Prudential Plaza from three floors to two.
DeCastro came into prominence in the early 1980s being hired at Heifel Broadcasting’s WLUP-FM (The Loop) as GM, at a time when Steve Dahl and Garry Meier were fired by the station for “assaulting community standards” (both returned to The Loop in 1986.) He became one of the investors in Evergreen Media, who purchased The Loop and WLUP-AM (now ESPN 1000) and became President of AMFM, the company formed by the merger of Evergreen Media and Chancellor, and was swallowed up by Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia) in 2000.
After serving as president of AOL Interactive and forming The Content Factory, DeCastro resurfaced as President and GM of WGN-AM and short-lived sports station WGWG-LP (The Game.)
Even though deCastro is retiring from radio, he isn’t entirely going away: he’s still President and CEO of his sports marketing company After The Whistle and plans to form a new sports gambling venture.
Taylor Swift and her former label traded barbs in an escalating dispute over the pop star’s right to perform her old hits, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In a lengthy post on her social-media accounts late Thursday, Swift asked her fans to rally for her ability to use music from her catalog in a coming televised awards show and a Netflix documentary. On Friday, Big Machine Label Group, which controls rights to her first six albums, denied her statements, calling them shocking and false.
The tussle has brought new attention to master-recording rights, which have become an increasingly contentious issue in the era of streaming. In most traditional record deals, an artist signs away ownership of master recordings in exchange for an upfront payment and royalties from future sales. Superstars have sometimes been able to use contract re-negotiations to gain ownership of their masters.
The battle for Ms. Swift’s music kicked off earlier this year when Big Machine founder Scott Borchetta, who signed the singer to a record deal when she was 15 years old, sold the independent label to celebrity talent manager Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings LLC in a $300 million deal backed by private-equity giant Carlyle Group. Borchetta stayed on as chief executive of the label and joined the Ithaca board.
Swift, who had previously feuded with Braun and some of his clients, has since said she would rerecord hits from her catalog starting next year, as allowed under the terms of her old contract. Such a move could reduce the value of the older recordings owned by Big Machine if enough fans prefer the new versions.
Borchetta, Swift during a happier time
On Thursday, Swift said Braun and Borchetta told her she could perform her older hits on the shows only if she agreed not to record new versions of her songs.
Swift signed a new record deal with Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group last year after her contract with Big Machine expired. Under the agreement with Universal, Swift owns the masters for all her work going forward.
Big Machine on Friday denied saying Swift couldn’t perform music it owned on the American Music Awards—where she is planning to play a medley of her hits later this month—or interfering with her Netflix documentary. The label said that since the new owners took over it has honored her requests for licensing her catalog.
Before the advent of streaming, record companies held effective monopolies over the distribution of records, tapes and CDs, limiting the value to artists of owning their masters, which would still require the involvement of a record label. The explosion of online options has made it more attractive to artists to own their material, given the wide array of avenues to release their music and make money from it.
Long-time morning host at KUZZ 550 AM / 107.9 FM, Steve Gradowitz, is set to retire after more than 30 years at the Bakersfield radio station.
In a press release sent out on Friday, the country music station said Steve's last day on air would be December 20. Plans for the morning show will be announced soon.
Back in 1986, Steve joined the KUZZ family as its main morning personality. Throughout his career, he was able to snag two Academy of Country Music On-Air Personality of the Year Awards. He was also nominated as Billboard Personality of the Year in 1991.
In a statement, Steve said:
“I don’t think I’ve ever had one show that I didn’t look forward to being with my friends, laughing with each other, sharing each other’s sadness, and just having a great time. You have always been Bakersfield’s number one audience, and always will be."
In 1986 Steve joined KUZZ as its morning man and has remained the city’s top morning personality ever since.
CUMULUS MEDIA announces the launch Friday of newly-branded KKOB-FM as 93-3 The Q, Albuquerque’s #1 Hit Music Station.
93-3 The Q continues its decades-long tradition as Albuquerque’s station for today’s hit music, playing the most hit music and featuring the same beloved personalities, but with a renewed focus on entertaining and serving the Albuquerque community, or Q-munity! The station continues its highly popular weekday programming lineup featuring: Carlos & Kiki in the Morning, Rachael, Chico Suave and Tino Cochino.
Jeff Berry, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Albuquerque, said: “93-3 The Q is the natural evolution of 93.3, a highly rated radio outlet with compassionate personalities, an enormous fan base and market-leading multi-platform content. 93-3 The Q brings renewed passion for and connection with the city of Albuquerque and its people. It is a reflection of our commitment to Albuquerque listeners, and we couldn’t be more excited to grow and expand the brand when it is healthy and take it to the next level.”
Carlos Duran, Program Director, KKOB-FM, and FM Assistant Operations Manager, Cumulus Albuquerque, added: “I couldn't be prouder of the talented team we've built in Albuquerque. This evolution echoes what this city really means to us....We are 93.3 The Q!"
Entercom and the St. Louis Cardinals have announced a multiyear broadcast extension. As part of the agreement, News Radio KMOX 1120 AM will continue to serve as the flagship station for Cardinals baseball through the 2024 season.
“We are honored to continue to work with the world class St. Louis Cardinals,” said Becky Domyan, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom St. Louis. “News Radio 1120 KMOX and the Cardinals are synonymous institutions here in this great city and we couldn’t be more excited to continue this fantastic partnership.”
“We are thrilled to extend our agreement with our partners at KMOX and proud to continue the great tradition of broadcasting Cardinals baseball on the voice of St. Louis,” said Bill DeWitt III, President, St. Louis Cardinals.
As part of the agreement, the station will continue providing play-by-play coverage of all regular and postseason games, as well as select Spring Training games. The broadcast team of veteran announcers Mike Shannon, John Rooney, Ricky Horton and Mike Claiborne will also return to handle the play-by-play coverage. In addition to game broadcasts, News Radio 1120 KMOX will also carry a variety of other Cardinals-related programming throughout the year, including the popular “Countdown to Opening Day” during the offseason.
Since the partnership began back in 1955, game broadcasts on News Radio 1120 KMOX have consistently been among the top-rated radio programs in the St. Louis market.
Listeners can also hear the games on FM dials via an HD radio-capable device in the St. Louis area on sister stations 102.5 KEZK (KEZK-HD2) and 929 FM ESPN/680 AM (WMFS-FM/AM) in Memphis as part of the Cardinals Radio Network.
Listeners can tune in to News Radio 1120 KMOX (KMOX-AM) in St. Louis, as well as nationwide on the RADIO.COMapp and website. Fans can also connect with the station on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Court documents released this week provide a detailed look at the evidence bolstering allegations from WWL Radio and New Orleans police that former sports talk-show host Seth Dunlap used the radio station’s Twitter account to hurl a homophobic insult at himself before demanding nearly $2 million to settle complaints about a hostile workplace.
According to nola.com, police claim in the documents that Dunlap’s cellphone is tied to the derogatory tweet by a trail of digital evidence involving Twitter use logs, a unique number designed to identify a device's connection to the internet, and web searches that a detective considered suspicious.
As he's done before, Dunlap maintained his innocence when reached for comment Friday. His lawyer had previously been civil attorney Megan Kiefer, but on Friday she said she no longer represents him.
Dunlap, 35, said he is now represented by Billy Gibbens, a former federal prosecutor who specializes in white-collar criminal defense work.
Dunlap said he stands by his prior allegations that he was subjected to a homophobic work environment for years but was dissuaded from speaking up about the office culture. He also said he is still considering suing WWL Radio.
New Orleans police last week asked a judge to sign a warrant authorizing them to arrest Dunlap on a count of extortion. The judge rejected the request, saying that the alleged facts didn’t amount to extortion. Police have said their investigation remains ongoing.
Documents obtained through a public records request offer a glimpse into some of the information police have gathered.
Throughout the documents, the Police Department refers to the findings of a digital forensic firm run by John Conroy, which was hired by WWL Radio to look through its Twitter logs, among other information. The NOPD hasn’t said to what extent, if any, it has conducted its own investigation separate from that firm's probe.
The documents support a search warrant for Dunlap’s Apple iPhone 10, which the lead detective on the case, Denis James, successfully requested on Oct. 22. That was about six weeks after the Sept. 10 tweet calling Dunlap “a fag” was sent from WWL Radio’s Twitter account by someone using an iPhone.
The documents don't show what the inquiry into Dunlap's phone may have turned up.
In a statement to the NOPD, WWL's management said that Dunlap’s phone was in his possession when the tweet was sent. It cited surveillance video depicting Dunlap opening the door of his office shortly after the tweet was posted and showing his phone to a co-worker while appearing to talk about the tweet.
Dunlap suggested his relationship with WWL Radio became critically damaged when he proposed using the station's platforms to circulate an open letter he wrote to Saints quarterback Drew Brees over how hurtful it was to see the athlete appear in a video promoting "Bring Your Bible to School Day." The video was created by the group Focus on the Family, which makes no secret of its anti-LGBTQ beliefs.
Dunlap said the management of the station forbade him from doing that, citing its position as the Saints' official radio broadcast partner. So Dunlap went to his private Facebook page and posted the letter, which also discussed the difficulties he'd endured as a gay man in sports media.
Milwaukee progressive-talk station WRRD 1510 AM has a new home on the FM dial.
The station has a new translator FM signal broadcasting at 101.7 FM. Branded as Talk 101.7 FM, the station will simulcast WRRD's programming, including Earl Ingram's morning show from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays and the "Devil's Advocates Radio Show" from 3 to 6 p.m.
NorthPine.com, a blog that monitors news developments in radio in the upper Midwest, first reported the news.
The stations are part of a progressive-talk network including WTTN-FM/AM in the Madison area that's branded as Wisconsin's Political Talk Network.
Having an FM translator means WRRD is now on the air at night. The AM station's license required the station go dark at sunset, WRRD owner Michael Crute explained in an interview.
At night, Talk 101.7 will continue with WRRD's mostly locally generated, politics-centric talk programming, with locally focused music shows on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Two years ago, WRRD had pursued a different FM translator, at 103.3 FM, but WTMJ 620 AM wound up with it instead, according to The Milwukee Journal-Sentinel.
AdLarge Media has announced it has hired Dave Boretti as Vice President of Midwest Sales.
The announcement was made today by Don Wachsmith, Chief Revenue Officer for AdLarge. Boretti is known as a high-performing media sales executive with over 30 years of experience in radio, podcasting, and streaming audio. He is based in AdLarge’s Chicago office and reports to Wachsmith.
Dave Boretti
“I’ve had conversations with Don for a few years about moving to AdLarge and this came together at the perfect time,” noted Boretti. “AdLarge is an exciting company with leadership that consistently is ahead of emerging trends in audio. I look forward to marshalling their assets to help AdLarge’s advertisers achieve their goals.”
Boretti comes to AdLarge from Podcast One where he was Director of Midwest Sales. He began his career as a media buyer at what is now OMD, Chicago and moved into ad sales at A&E and Rolling Stone Magazine before landing in audio. He has held sales executive positions at Premiere Radio Networks, Westwood One, MJI Broadcasting, Univision, and Spanish Broadcasting System.
“Dave has knowledge and experience across all of the audio touchpoints that AdLarge excels in representing -- podcasting, streaming, and broadcast,” commented Wachsmith. “His insights and perspective will benefit existing and potential clients, and help them achieve their goals. I couldn’t be more thrilled to add such a terrific person to our already robust sales team.”
Entercom in collaboration with the Travis Manion Foundation’s (TMF) Operation Legacy Service Project, Friday unveiled the renovated home of Ridley Park Police Officer and Aston Township Fireman and EMT Aaron Kisela.
“Entercom is proud of our nearly decade-long partnership with the Travis Manion Foundation helping veterans, service members and first responders in need,” said David Yadgaroff, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Philadelphia. “These folks are pillars of our communities who put their lives on the line to ensure our safety. We are honored to have been a part of the Operation Legacy Service Project to provide Aaron Kisela and his family a safe home to live in.”
The Kisela family (Courtney, Meghan, Aubrey, Ellie, Aaron, Hunter) at the unveiling of their renovated home as part of Entercom and the Travis Manion Foundation’s Operation Legacy Service Project. (Photo Courtesy of Entercom)
Each April and November, Travis Manion Foundation organizes Operation Legacy Service Projects, which unite communities for a common cause through volunteer led service opportunities. More than 100 projects are scheduled across the country, with Americans nationwide invited to volunteer with TMF as a way to honor the past and build the future, while exemplifying the strength of America’s national character. Those interested in volunteering for upcoming projects can register or learn more information by visiting www.oplegacy.com. Under this umbrella, Entercom and TMF joined forces to unite home improvement partners to donate their services in renovating the home of police officer, EMT and firefighter Aaron Kisela and his family who experienced significant hardships with their home.
This project was part of Entercom’s ongoing initiative to support veterans and serve those who serve us. Entercom was also a media partner for the Travis Manion Foundation’s 9/11 Heroes Run both in Philadelphia and nationally, aligning advertising partners with the races on-site as well as on-air and online.
As part of the partnership, Entercom Philadelphia stations – SportsRadio 94WIP (WIP-FM), KYW Newsradio (KYW-AM), Talk Radio 1210 WPHT (WPHT-AM), 96.5 TDY (WTDY-FM), B101.1 (WBEB-FM) and 98.1 WOGL (WOGL-FM) – supported the program through on-air, online, social and video content across their platforms telling Kisela’s story over the last several months.
Home improvement partners who contributed towards this project include: Ikea, Pompetti Heating & Air Conditioning, American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning, National Appliance Warehouse (a veteran-owned business), and Custom Creations By Design in partnership with Keystone Granite and Orlandini Tile.
