iHeartMedia’s New country WGAR 99.5 FM has announced the new LeeAnn and Wazz Show, set to debut Monday, October 22. LeeAnn and Wazz will broadcast weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EST.
Sommers and Waz
Steve Wazz, who will simply go by Wazz on the air, is a Cleveland native originally from Parma. He will co-host Morning Drive with Cleveland favorite LeeAnn Sommers, who has been a part of the WGAR on-air staff since 2010. The new morning show will focus on Country music, its stars, the community lifestyle and live events that make Cleveland a favorite tour stop for Country performers.
“Bringing Wazz back home to Cleveland is an important step for WGAR as we develop a fresh new morning show for Clevelanders by Clevelanders,” said Keith Hotchkiss, President of iHeartMedia’s North Ohio Region. “We are thrilled to pair Wazz with LeeAnn Sommers who is already a fan favorite on WGAR. Wazz is not only an engaging on-air talent, but he also possesses incredible talents off-air and in the social space.”
“It’s great to be home,” said Wazz. “It’s crazy, my parents still live in the same house I grew up in, and to think I would have the opportunity to work at WGAR, is incredible. I love Cleveland, I love Cleveland sports and I love everything this city stands for. The goal of this amazing radio journey was to eventually get back home and do radio in my home town. I could not be more excited.”
WGAR 99.5 FM (50 Kw) Red=54dBu Coverage Area
Wazz left Cleveland in 2003 to start his radio career and has developed a track record for success at huge stations in Des Moines, Minneapolis and most recently Raleigh, NC where he was the Assistant Program Director and top ranked afternoon personality for G105. Wazz is also part of the iHeartCountry team and can be heard doing afternoons on various stations across the country. In addition to his new co-host role, he will also serve as the Assistant Program Director at WGAR.
Sommers went country in October of 2010 when she joined WGAR. Her Cleveland radio resume includes stints on WZJM, WENZ, 96.5 KISS FM, and WMVX. Sommers also spent five years in Denver, Colorado working on-air in middays and afternoon drive for KIMN, KWLI, and KXKL. Her television credits include entertainment reporter at WEWS and WJW, both in Cleveland.
Veteran Music Director and longtime air personality Borna Velic takes over the programming reins of WHQG 102.9 The Hog Milwaukee filling the vacated seat of Joe Calgaro.
Borna has spent his career in the Midwest working in rock radio, leaving Appleton in 2013 to join The Hog. In addition to programming The Hog, Borna will continue as host of the afternoon show with sidekicks Joe and Mitch.
General Manager Annmarie Topel stated, “Borna has been a major contributor since he joined us and an integral part of The Hog’s success. He has great music intuition and knowledge of the format, coupled with a solid analytical ability that is essential in programming. It doesn’t hurt that the staff likes and respects him.”
WHQG 102.9 FM (50 Kw) Red=54 dBu Coverage Area
Saga Communications Vice President of Programming Bob Lawrence commented, “Borna was not only the most logical choice but far and away the best choice. He has proven to be an extremely strong, creative force at The Hog, and I’m just so pleased that we could pass him the baton.”
Velic shared, “I am beyond thrilled to work with the incredibly talented team already in place at The Hog. It has been a tremendous experience working alongside former PD, Joe Calgaro. I want to thank Ed Christian, Annmarie Topel and Bob Lawrence for giving me the opportunity to build upon The Hog’s success.”
Philadelphia area radio stations gathered together to host local businesses including advertising agencies, marketers, business owners and media executives on October 17 for Radio. It’s On In Philadelphia – an event exclusively focused on radio’s attributes and how it can successfully drive revenue for Philadelphia’s business owners. The event was produced by the RAB, in partnership with local radio broadcasters --Beasley Media Group, Entercom Communications, iHeartMedia, Radio One, and sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters.
Local advertisers, business owners, agencies and media professionals participated in an insightful, content-infused networking seminar focusing on Philadelphia’s thriving local radio broadcasting community that featured leading experts in media, advertising creative, marketing and Philadelphia’s radio personalities.
Featured speakers included: Brad Kelly, managing director, Nielsen Audio; Erica Farber, president & CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau; Matt O’Grady, president & CEO, Nielsen Catalina Solutions; and Chris Smith, creative group head, The Richards Group.
To conclude the event, Philadelphia’s top on air-talent sat down with Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters’ President Joe Conti to discuss the personal connections and relationships they form with listeners across the local community every day. The on-air talent included: Michael Bennett, WTDY; John Debella, 102.9 MGK; Cherri Gregg, KYW NewsRadio; Quincy Harris Morning Show with K.Foxx, WRNB; Patty Jackson, WDAS; Frank Lario, XTU Morning Crew; Amber Miller, 104.5 and Pierre Robert, WMMR.
“This was a great opportunity for local business owners, advertising agencies, and marketers to gain insight that will work towards driving their business forward,” noted Erica Farber. “By bringing together the local Philadelphia market, we were able to spread the word to local business owners and advertising agencies regarding radio’s uncanny ability to connect with the local community unlike any other medium.”
Radio personality Ori Montague says an Atlanta police officer used a Taser on her during a traffic stop this week, reports FOX5-TV.
Qri Montague, who works for WHTA Hot107.9, says she did nothing to warrant that response. The confrontation followed Montague’s repeated request to know why the officer had placed her in handcuffs.
Officer Lemuel Gardner told her she was driving recklessly and could be taken to jail, according to Montague. The 22-year-old woman again asked why she had been handcuffed.
The officer ordered her to sit on the ground. She refused, explaining she had a white jumpsuit on.
The next move by Montague inadvertently escalated the situation. She says she realized she had on apparel from her employer. Montague walked away from the officer to try and take off a company jersey so that it would not be photographed as part of a jail mugshot.
Montague says the officer became angry, yelled at her, and drew his Taser. She says he pressed it against her leg – what is called a “drive-stun” – and fired, leaving prong marks on her leg.
In the end, the officer did not take the radio personality to jail. He gave her traffic citations instead.
The Atlanta Police Department placed him on desk duty pending an internal investigation, but Gardner walked into the APD Office of Professional Standards and handed in his resignation.
iHeartMedia/New York has announced that Andrew Festo has been named Event Director.
As Event Director, Festo will be responsible for overseeing all events and work with the team in the cluster to create new partnerships and ideas to take activations to the next level. He will report to Joe DeAngelis, Director of Marketing and Promotions for iHeartMedia New York.
Andrew Festo
“It’s been a pleasure to watch Andrew grow within our cluster. He’s such a valued member of our team and really helps create amazing moments for our listeners that can’t be found elsewhere,” said Thea Mitchem, EVP/Programming, iHeartMedia Northeast Division. “We’re thrilled to promote Andrew into this new position and we look forward to seeing him take on even more within his new role.”
Festo has spent his entire professional career with iHeartMedia New York starting as a Promotions Assistant with WKTU-FM and was most recently Promotions Coordinator for the cluster.
“I’ve been privileged to be a part of the evolution of iHeartMedia New York’s events and experiences. It has been fulfilling both personally and professionally,” said Festo. “I’m looking forward to working with our team to create even more great memories for all music lovers within the New York area.”
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he presumes missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead and that the U.S. response to Saudi Arabia will likely be “very severe” but that he still wanted to get to the bottom of what exactly happened.
Turkish police are searching a forest on the outskirts of Istanbul and a city near the Sea of Marmara for the remains of Khashoggi more than two weeks after he vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, two senior Turkish officials told Reuters.
Trump, who has forged closer ties with Saudi Arabia and the 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, acknowledged for the first time on Thursday that Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist, had likely been killed.
“It certainly looks that way to me. It’s very sad,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One on a political trip. In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, Trump based his acknowledgment that Khashoggi was dead on intelligence reports.
Turkish officials have said they believe Khashoggi was murdered at the consulate and his body chopped up and removed. Riyadh strongly denies the allegations and said it is investigating the disappearance of the journalist, who was critical of Saudi rulers, calling for reforms.
Trump spoke hours after receiving an update from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the results of Pompeo’s emergency talks in Saudi Arabia and Turkey this week.
In the New York Times interview, Trump also expressed confidence in intelligence reports that suggest a high-level Saudi role in the suspected killing of Khashoggi. Trump said, however, it was still “a little bit early” to draw definitive conclusions about who may have been behind it.
Asked what would be the consequences for Saudi Arabia, Trump said: “Well, it’ll have to be very severe. I mean, it’s bad, bad stuff. But we’ll see what happens.”
The United States considers Riyadh a linchpin in efforts to contain Iran’s regional influence and a key global oil source, and Trump has shown no inclination to mete out harsh punishment to the Saudis. The United States and other Western nations are in a dilemma of how to respond because of lucrative business ties, including weapons sales to Riyadh.
President Donald Trump on Thursday heaped praise on a U.S. congressman from Montana who body-slammed a reporter during a campaign for a special election in 2017, reports Reuters.
Trump, who has called the media the enemy of the American people and regularly derides journalists as “fake news,” made his latest remarks during a campaign rally in Montana.
Representative Greg Gianforte, who made brief remarks at the rally with Trump, was ordered to perform community service as part of his sentence for attacking Ben Jacobs, a correspondent for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, on May 24, 2017, the day before a special election to fill Montana’s sole congressional seat.
“Any guy that can do a body-slam ... is my guy,” Trump told supporters at the rally, adding that he was concerned at first that the incident would jeopardize Gianforte’s campaign.
While filling in for nationally syndicated talk host Mark Levin Wednesday, Bill Cunningham, host of “The Bill Cunningham Show,” on WLW 700 AM Cinccinnati contrasted what he called “over-the-top media coverage” of the alleged murder of Saudi Arabian dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi with the “lack of media curiosity” with the 2012 Benghazi attack on America’s consulate leading to the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.
“Compare the over-the-top media coverage of Jamal Khashoggi’s death in Turkey, compared to the lack of media curiosity with the four Americans – not Saudis, but Americans – murdered on September the 11th – now, there’s a clue, Sherlock – 2012,” stated Bill Cunningham on “The Mark Levin Show.”
According to CNSNews.com, Bill Cunningham’s comments came in response to the heavy media coverage of Khashoggi’s Oct. 2 death.
“To give you an example of how the mainstream media doesn’t call balls and strikes but takes sides, on September the 11th – now, there’s a date that will live in infamy – 2012, there were certain, in Libya, militants that overwhelmed a U.S. mission and killed four Americans. That is Ambassador Stevens, Christopher Stevens, was murdered, Management Officer Sean Smith, Diplomatic Security Agents Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty. Four of them murdered, horribly.
“And those direct, those were, those were not Saudis living in Turkey or trying to get into Turkey and get permission to marry. These were actual, the United States ambassador – the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, who allegedly was a personal friend of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – and these are real American heroes that should never have been there in the first place, and that if they were there, they needed protection and didn’t get it.
“Compare the over-the-top media coverage of Jamal Khashoggi’s death in Turkey, compared to the lack of media curiosity with the four Americans – not Saudis, but Americans – murdered on September the 11th – now, there’s a clue, Sherlock – 2012.
“And now the media completely gave Obama a free pass because the election was only eight weeks away, seven weeks away. So, they couldn’t make it look as if militant Islamists had successfully attacked us on September 11th again, with Obama in the White House. So, they couldn’t use that against Obama. Therefore, they couldn’t use it against Hillary.
SiriusXM has announced a new marketing agreement with Amazon.com that bundles Amazon's popular line of Echo smart speakers with SiriusXM's streaming service, offering easy access to SiriusXM's acclaimed programming – Howard Stern, hundreds of channels of news, comedy, talk, live sports, and music – at significant savings to consumers, in the home.
The first phase of the collaboration showcases offers that are available to consumers now for a limited time. The offering is the largest initiative to date by SiriusXM – as part of its "Bring Us Home" campaign – to popularize its programming beyond its established base in cars, where it is installed in more than 110 million vehicles on the road today.
"Music and radio have always been central to the Alexa experience and how customers engage with her every single day," said Jeff Kunins, Vice President, Alexa Entertainment at Amazon. "We're excited to work with SiriusXM to offer customers even more ways to discover and listen to the content they love – including news, comedy, live sports, music and more from SiriusXM."
"The products that SiriusXM and Amazon offer, and that consumers love, truly go hand in hand," said Jim Meyer, Chief Executive Officer, SiriusXM. "Amazon is an unquestioned leader in delivering the products people want to their homes, and the extraordinary popularity of their Echo devices, and excitement for its latest Echo Dot, are the latest examples of that. As a leader in audio entertainment, SiriusXM's unparalleled bundle of programming makes listening through those devices more enjoyable. With an Echo device, the SiriusXM streaming service is easier than ever to use in the home. This marks the beginning of a collaboration between our two companies that will empower us both to serve new and existing customers better as we bundle our products and offer exceptional value for their purchase."
Eligible customers who currently own or purchase a new Amazon Echo device through Amazon.com will get their first three months free of SiriusXM programming when they subscribe to a new SiriusXM Premier Streaming or SiriusXM All Access subscription. For important offer details from Amazon, visit: www.amazon.com/sxmoffer.
Additionally, customers who go to SiriusXM.com to subscribe to a new SiriusXM All Access or SiriusXM Premier Streaming subscription – available at special promotional rates – will also receive Amazon's all-new Echo Dot for free, with a minimum six-month service requirement. Existing SiriusXM subscribers who upgrade from a SiriusXM Select to a SiriusXM All Access package will also be eligible for an offer to receive Amazon's all-new Echo Dot, thus unlocking access to SiriusXM's full streaming platform.
By 2020, mobile will make up a greater share of U.S. media ad spending than all traditional channels combined.
That remarkable projection comes from eMarketer, which expects mobile to account for 43% of media ad spending by 2020, reports MediaPost.
“Even the strongholds of TV, such as live sports and news, are starting to move online. People are consuming them on the go through mobile devices,” MartÃn Utreras, vice president, forecasting, eMarketer, notes in a new report. “Audiences continue to abandon traditional media and ad dollars follow.”
This year, mobile will account for $76.17 billion of domestic media ad spending. That’s easily more than the $69.87 billion going to TV, and far ahead of print’s $18.74 billion, radio’s $14.41 billion, and out-of-home’s $8.08 billion.
By 2022 -- which is the end of eMarketer’s forecasting period -- the research firm expects mobile ad spending to more than double TV spend.
By then, the channel will make up $141.36 billion of US media ad spending, while TV will account for $68.13 billion.
Contrary to conventional wisdom only a short time ago, it’s becoming clear that consumers are happy to watch just about any type of media content on their small screens.
Per Utreras, the major growth of mobile ad spending is largely due to devices’ relatively new video-streaming capabilities. He attributes the increased growth for mobile to Facebook and Google, "still driving double-digit growth. Part of that is driven by digital video growth coming from platforms like YouTube.”
In an exclusive, hour-long interview with Sean Hannity, EIB radio host Rush Limbaugh gave his take on numerous pressing issues facing America -- including the state of the Democratic Party.
Limbaugh said that many in the Democratic Party and the far-left do not want America to retain its status as a world superpower.
"They don't even want to make America great. They resent this whole idea of America becoming great," Limbaugh said.
Limbaugh said he "shudders" when he thinks of what a 'President Hillary Clinton' would have done to America's standing in the world.
"All her cronies [would be] in all the cabinet positions and the validation of all these oddball, weird [and] perverted left wing behaviors [would become] more and more normalized," he said.
He said the left has made America into a country consisting of "nothing but a bunch of victims, constantly angry and demanding that somebody do something about it -- instead of all of us... using self-reliance and our own initiative to handle life ourselves."
Limbaugh added that Democrats have "thrown everything at Trump" that would normally cause a Republican to back down, but that the president's resilience has forced the left to "overplay" their hands.
"They hate him, they despise him," he said. "This is going way over the bounds... of propriety."
The former Fox News star’s latest installment of his popular Killing series, Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History, has vaulted to the top of the New York Times bestseller list.
According to Mediaite, the interesting part of this: The book O’Reilly toppled from No. 1 is Ship of Fools, by Tucker Carlson — the man who replaced O’Reilly in his coveted primetime slot on Fox News, after the anchor was forced out of the network last year amid sexual harassment allegations.
Carlson’s book lasted a week in the top spot, after unseating Bob Woodward‘s massive seller on the Trump White House, Fear.
Killing the SS — co-written with O’Reilly’s regular collaborator Martin Duggard — chronicles the hunt for Nazi war criminals after World War II, and the various ways they were brought to justice, sometimes through death, sometimes capture and trial.
LaMusica App, Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. and LA’s #1 Party Station, KXOL Mega 96.3FM will once again celebrate the holiday season across the nation with its annual presale for CALIBASH.
The New Year's most iconic music event captures the spirit of the LaMusica app, with performances by some of the year's biggest recording artists. CALIBASH 2019 returns to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, January 19th, 2019.
The duo decimal annual-mega concert will celebrate the best in Urban, Hip Hop, Trap, Tropical, Pop and Reggeaton performances. Tickets goes on sale, Friday October 19th at 12:00pm (PST) with presales starting Thursday, October 18th using code: CALIBASH on www.axs.com.
The full artist line-up will be announced soon on Mega 96.3FM and across social media platforms. Make sure to tune in to Mega 96.3FM for more exciting lineup updates.
The CALIBASH Pre-Sale begins on Thursday, October 18 at 10 a.m. local time and runs through Friday, October 19th at 12 a.m. (PST) local time, or while supplies last. Tickets will be available at www.axs.com.
All other tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 19th at 12 p.m. local market time and will be available at www.axs.com.
The "Mega's 96.3FM, CALIBASH Rising Star" talent search will also return for the second year in a row providing emerging artists the chance to perform on the same venue as music's biggest superstars at the 2019 CALIBASH. Starting in early November, Mega’s 96.3FM listeners and LaMusica App's users will once again have their chance to cast their votes for their favorite up-and-coming artists, and by voting, fans will also be entered for a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles for the 2019 CALIBASH.
CALIBASH 2019 will broadcast live on SBS’s, Los Angeles, station Mega 96.3FM, and will also be featured as an exclusive national television broadcast special on MegaTV Network at a later date. The CALIBASH 2019 is produced by Alessandra Alarcon, Vice-President of SBS West Coast.
LaMusica App, Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. and Los Angeles #1 Regional Mexican heritage station, KLAX 97.9 FM LA RAZA announced Thursday the annual presale for 2019 “Dia Nacional de la Banda” at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 20th, 2019. The annual concert will celebrate the best in Regional Mexican and Cumbia music with performances from top artist’s.
The 2019 “Dia Nacional de la Banda” will broadcast live on SBS’s 97.9FM LA RAZA Regional Mexican radio station in Los Angeles, California.
“This year we have an amazing line up and some surprise collaborations that are yet to be announced,” said Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Vice-president of Programming West Coast. “Come celebrate our culture through music at our annual Dia Nacional de la Banda.”
“Dia Nacional de la Banda” is part of SBS, LaMusica App incredibly successful roster of major concert events, which includes the biggest Regional Mexican concert event in radio history, which features A-listers artists across on one stage; generating Millions on social media impressions.
SBS Los Angeles will launch a promotion in San Francisco, San Jose and Chicago to give thousands of Regional Mexican music fans across the country the opportunity to win trips to Los Angeles to experience the 2019 “Dia Nacional de la Banda”. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 19th, at 12:00p.m. (PST). For more information, visitwww.axs.com.
➦In 1921...announcer Bern Bennett was born. He was on staff at CBS from 1944 to 2003, nearly 60 years, beginning in radio, then on such TV shows as Toast of the Town (Ed Sullivan), Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth, and Match Game, subbing for Johnny Olson. Bennett was the voice of TV soaps ‘The Young & the Restless’ for 19 years, and ‘The Bold & the Beautiful’ for 17. He died May 29, 2014, at age 92.
Claire Trevor, Edward G. Robinson
➦In 1937...the radio classic, “Big Town“, made its debut on CBS radio. Star reporters at the Illustrated Press, Steve Wilson and Lorelei Kilbourne, were played by Edward G. Robinson and Claire Trevor. In 1942 they were succeeded by Edward Pawley and Fran Carlon, who carried the show for most of its 14 year run. ➦In 1953...Julius LaRosa was fired live on-air by Arthur Godfrey.
La Rosa was on Godfrey's shows from November 19, 1951 to October 19, 1953. When Archie Bleyer, Godfrey's bandleader, formed Cadence Records in 1952, the first performer signed was La Rosa. Cadence's first single, which was also La Rosa's first recording, was "Anywhere I Wander." It reached the top 30 on the charts, and his next recording, "My Lady Loves To Dance", was a moderate success.
After La Rosa's third recording, and a dispute with Godfrey over his failure to attend a Godfrey-mandated dance class required of all cast members, La Rosa hired his own agent and manager: Tommy Rockwell.
With hit recordings and his appearances on Godfrey's shows, La Rosa's popularity grew exponentially. At one point, La Rosa's fan mail eclipsed Godfrey's. A year after La Rosa was hired, he was receiving 7,000 fan letters a week. Godfrey did not react well to LaRosa hiring Rockwell as his manager. After consulting with CBS President Frank Stanton, on the morning of October 19, 1953 (in a segment of the show broadcast on radio only), after La Rosa finished singing "Manhattan" on Arthur Godfrey Time, Godfrey fired La Rosa on the air, announcing, "that was Julie's swan song with us." La Rosa tearfully met with Godfrey after the broadcast and thanked him for giving him his "break".
➦In 1958...Brenda Lee, still weeks short of her 14th birthday, recorded a Johnny Marks song destined to become a seasonal classic, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.’ Floyd Cramer played piano for the Nashville session, Boots Randolph was on sax.
➦In 1975...radio innovator & writer Phillips H. Lord died at age 73. In the 1920′s he created & acted the character Seth Parker in a program of rural humour & music. It became a weekday feature of NBC. In the 1930′s he created Gangbusters, a violent weekly show based on actual crime cases, which ran first on NBC, then CBS and various networks for 21 years. His other major success, Mr. District Attorney, ran 13 years..
➦In 1991...Grant Turner, WSM-Nashville and Grand Ole Opry announcer for 49 years, died at the age of 79.
Grant Turner
Jesse Granderson "Grant" Turner was born May 17, 1912 in Baird, Texas, near Abilene. In 1928, while in high school, he performed as Ike and His Guitar announced for Abilene, TX. Turner majored in journalism at college and worked for Texas and Louisiana newspapers during the 1930s, but he returned to radio announcing in 1940 at KFRO in Longview, TX., before joining a station in Sherman, TX.
In 1942, he moved to Knoxville, TN.. Turner rode an all-night bus to Nashville and auditioned for WSM, where he joined the staff on June 6, 1944, which was D-Day, the day the Allies invaded Europe in World War II.
He first announced early-morning programs, but a few months later joined George D. Hay's staff of Saturday night Grand Ole Opry announcers. Turner became announcer for R. J. Reynolds's NBC network half hour of the Grand Ole Opry, in the late 1940s: the Prince Albert Show, piped weekly to some 170 stations and some 10 million listeners by 1953. In the early 1950s he hosted WSM's Mr. DJ, USA program, featuring guest DJs from around the nation, and in the mid-1950s became the third regular announcer for Ernest Tubb's WSM Midnight Jamboree, a job he held until 1977
Turner for years hosted the pre-Opry Grand Ole Opry Warmup Show-spinning records and taking requests on the Opry House stage. He worked the Friday and Saturday night Opry shows, besides the summer matinees, until the night before he died. Grant Turner was one of three original members to be inducted into the Country Music D J Hall of Fame in 1975. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1981. ➦In 1991...Dan Ingram debuted at WCBS-FM. Here's an un-dated WCBS-FM aircheck:
➦In 1994...comedienne/singer/actress Martha Raye died after a lengthy illness at age 78. The big-mouthed comic appeared with Al Jolson on radio, and had her own weekly TV series 1954-56. Thereafter she was a frequent guest on numerous TV variety shows.
➦In 2010…"Boom Boom Brannigan," a popular Albany, New York radio personality (WABY, WPTR) for 50 years, died at age 82.
Born in Utica as Joseph Charles Motto, he became well known during the 1960s as a disc jockey at Albany-Troy giant WPTR 1540-AM. Brannigan was going by the name Ronny Victor at a Buffalo radio station when he landed the job at WPTR during the early 1960s.
In a 1998 interview, Brannigan said he was trying to think of a new name for the Capital Region market when he tuned in his new employer and learned his stage identity had already been chosen. “I heard this jingle that said ‘Boom Boom is coming’ and then there would be this sound of drums,” he said.Brannigan remained at WPTR until 1975, when the popularity of disc jockey-driven rock ’n’ roll had been replaced by album-oriented rock formats and talk radio.
Later, he would buy small radio stations like WKOL in Amsterdam and WSCG in Corinth
and turn them into more prosperous businesses.
Brannigan had chances to move to bigger broadcasts in New York City and Philadelphia to compete against national talents such as Dick Clark and Wolfman Jack, but Brannigan didn’t want to move.
Luther Masingill
➦In 2014...Chattanooga radio legend Luther Masingill passed away after a short illness at age 92. With a career that spanned an incredible 74 years, Luther had been at the morning mic at WDEF radio for both Pearl Harbour (1941) and 9/11 (2001).
He had also appeared on the WDEF-TV noon news every weekday since the station signed on in 1954.
Jasmine Sadry, who has been with the “Hawkeye in the Morning” with Mark “Hawkeye” Louis on country station KSCS 96.3 FM for the past three years, has left the station, program director Mac Daniels confirmed to the Star-Telegram.
“[She] has departed to pursue other endeavors,” Daniels says in an email, adding that the station does plan to fill the vacancy. “All interested personalities should send their info to jobs@kscs.com. Not looking for DJ’s, we need a personality for this position.”
They already have DJ in Louis, who celebrated his 30th anniversary with the station this year, many of them with DFW radio legend Terry Dorsey, who retired in late 2014 and died less than four months later.
Since early 2015, Louis has worked with Katelyn Maida, who goes by the on-air name of “Connected K,” with Sadry joining the morning show a few months later. The trio was nominated for a 2018 CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year Award.
Reached by eMail, Sadry said that she couldn’t say much other than she chose to leave to seek other opportunities.
Although she has been on KSCS for more than three years, Sadry is perhaps best-known in DFW radio for being a longtime personality on shows hosted by Chris Jagger, known for his work on now-defunct KDGE 102.1 FM “The Edge” and on KRLD 105.3 FM “The Fan.”
During the six months she was absent from “The Eric and Kathy Show” last year, Kathy Hart says she underwent treatment for headaches, dizziness and “some other unpleasantries that I won’t share.”
Chicago Media Watcher Robert Feder writes that during the first of three guest-hosting appearances on Tribune Broadcasting news/talk WGN 720-AM, Hart disclosed that she had been suffering from Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) caused by water-damage mold.
“So basically what I had to do was detox my body from all of these symptoms,” she said.
But Hart continued to be vague when WGN weekend host Frank Fontana asked why she walked out of Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary WTMX 101.9 FM after 21 years as morning co-host with Eric Ferguson. “It’s none of your business,” she said.
“It’s really difficult to answer that. It certainly was an unorthodox way to leave a show. Usually I’m not a woman of mystery, but I have to say that it was kind of fun having the little bit of mystery out there.”
Jean Ross, the long-time WAOK and WVEE V-103 host and executive, is retiring.
According to to ajc.com, Ross, who joined the company 17 years ago, has been in radio for 40 years. In a Facebook Messenger note, she said she had a car accident last year and it led to some soul searching.
“Decided I was giving too much of myself to others. It was time to be selfish,” Ross wrote. “I have worked in this business for 40 years. Radio has changed. Immediate plans include visiting family and friends until the first of the year then.”
Ross has had many roles at the two stations over the years including news reporter, news anchor, news director and public affairs director at WAOK. She is now operations manager at both WAOK and V-103 and program director at WAOK.
“Jean is the best boss I’ve ever had,” said WAOK host Rashad Richey. “She gave me a shot in radio and mentored me through the nuances of the business. Over the years, she has become like another mother to me. I am saddened to see her retire but will always remember how she impacted my life. Jean will be missed by all of us.”
Prior to her time in Atlanta, she worked in radio in Baltimore and co-hosted a morning show with Frank Ski.
Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, two of the most-watched personalities on Fox News Channel, will hold programming roosts on Fox Nation, the streaming-video service slated to debut in fall from the 21st Century Fox-owned news outlet.
Ingraham is slated to co-host the new show “Laura & Raymond” with Raymond Arroyo, a regular guest on her primetime program on Fox news. The show is expected to focus on politics and culture. Hannity, meanwhile, will host a Fox Nation program that the company said was “currently in development.”
Variety reports the announcements about the primetime hosts’ shows came along with a spate of news about programming for Fox Nation, a subscription-based service slated to launch in the fourth quarter. Fox News has said the new outlet is aimed at “superfans” of its cable network. A subscription price has not been unveiled.
Fox Nation will also offer on-demand audio of Fox News Channel programs 30 minutes after the shows have aired on the cable network. Fox Nation will also simulcast some programs from Fox News Radio, such as “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” “Benson & Harf,” “The Todd Starnes Show” and “The Tom Shillue Show.”
Fox Nation -- the new on-demand, subscription-based streaming service -- will debut in the fourth quarter of 2018.
