Sports KILT-AM Stream Shows Up In Arbitrons

Chron.com is reporting Houston sports radio stations had a productive showing in the October Arbitron ratings, which covered the period of Sept. 13 through Oct. 10 that included four Texans games.

In men 25-54, the key demo for sports radio, KILT (610 AM) tied for 10th among all stations in the weeklong 6 a.m. to midnight numbers, and Sports KFNC (97.5 FM) and Sports KBME (790 AM) also cracked the top 20.

In weekday morning drive, KILT was third among all stations, trailing only KLTN (102.9 FM) and KTBZ (94.5 FM) with a 4.8 percent audience share. KBME and KFNC were 13th and 14th at 3.3 and 3.2, respectively, and Sports KGOW (1560 AM) hovered near the bottom at 0.4. That gives sports an 11.7 percent piece of the weekday morning drive audience pie, up from 10.4 percent in September and 9.9 percent in August.

The real stunner of the month from a sports perspective, however, is that KILT’s web stream showed up in the rankings for the first time in October. It had a 0.8 share in morning drive, with a 1.0 share in middays, 0.7 share in afternoon drive and 0.1 for nights.

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KDKA’s Historic First Broadcast

Happy 92^nd Anniversary to KDKA Pittsburgh.

Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is the world's first commercial radio station, a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the "world's first commercially licensed radio station". KDKA is currently owned and operated by CBS Radio and its studios are located at the combined CBS Radio Pittsburgh facility on Foster Drive in Green Tree; its transmitter is in Allison Park.

According to the KDKA website, The U-S Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation, which served as the radio licensing agency of the day, issued the first radio license ever to KDKA, on October 27th, 1920.  Many people ask if “KDKA” stands for anything — and the simple answer is: no.  The call letters “KDKA” were assigned from a roster maintained to provide identification for ships and marine shore stations, these being the only regular services then in operation under formal license by the Federal Government. “KDKA” was simply the next set of call letters available on the roster.

Listen to the historic broadcast, Click Here.

Plans were finalized with the Pittsburgh Post morning newspaper to acquire election returns by telephone. The election night broadcast, which began at 6-pm on Tuesday, November 2nd, 1920, originated in a tiny, makeshift shack, atop one of the Westinghouse Electric buildings in East Pittsburgh.

Analyst Calls CC Financials “Messy”

CC Media Holdings, the parent company of radio giant Clear Channel Communications, on Friday reported slightly higher first-quarter revenue and a narrowed loss.

The company’s revenue rose 2 percent to $1.59 billion. Media and entertainment revenue grew  1 percent driven by 3 percent growth in radio revenue amid increased national advertising, which posted a 7 percent jump, as well as digital radio services and the iHeartRadio Music Festival.

CC Media's loss of $39 million was down from a year-ago loss of $67 million thanks to the higher revenue and lower depreciation and amortization expenses.

Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker told hollywoodreporter.com the financials were "a bit messy" due to various special items and circumstances.” Radio revenue was up 3 percent, but this includes a lot of different pieces, so we are unsure as to how the true radio ad sales did in the quarter ," she said.

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Potter Replaces Kelley In AM Drive At KRMG Tulsa

Tulsa's top-rated newstalk format radio station has announced the name of the man who will assume the role of host during morning drive time.

Dan Potter, currently host of the afternoon drive time period, will assume the role of host for the KRMG Morning News beginning Nov. 19th.

He replaces Joe Kelley, who has accepted a position with another Cox Media Group station, WDBO in Orlando, Florida.

Potter comes to the job with more than three decades of radio experience under his belt.

Police: CNN Bomb Threat Was Extortion Attempt

Police continue to investigate a bomb threat and extortion plot called in early Friday morning to the CNN Center.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that shortly after 4 a.m., police received a call from a person claiming to have planted a chemical bomb somewhere on the campus of the Atlanta landmark, Atlanta Police Capt. Adam Lee III told reporters.

“He threatened to detonate that bomb, and demanded $15,000 and I believe an airline ticket out of town,” Lee said.

Police closed down roads surrounding the CNN Center and adjacent Omni Hotel while teams went floor-by-floor searching for any suspicious items that might be an explosive.

Neither building was evacuated.

By about 5:30 a.m., police completed the search without finding anything and reopened the roads.

It’s unclear whether the bomb threat was a decoy away from any other crimes, police said.

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Study: MSNBC More Negative Than Fox

Study: Social Media Was Even Harsher

From the conventions to the eve of the final presidential debate, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both received more negative than positive coverage from the news media, though overall Obama has had an edge, according to a new study.

That advantage for Obama, however, disappeared after the debates began in early October and news coverage shifted in Romney's direction, mirroring the momentum change reflected in many public opinion polls, the study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism found.

Overall from August 27 through October 21, 19% of stories about Obama studied in a cross section of mainstream media were clearly favorable in tone while 30% were unfavorable and 51% mixed. This is a differential of 11 percentage points between unfavorable and favorable stories.

For Romney, 15% of the stories studied were favorable, 38% were unfavorable and 47% were mixed-a differential toward negative stories of 23 points.

Most of the advantage in coverage for Obama, however, came in September in the form of highly negative coverage for Romney. This was a period when the GOP nominee was losing ground in the polls, he was criticized for his comments about Libya, and a video surfaced in which he effectively dismissed 47% of the American public.

All that changed almost overnight after the first debate on October 3. From that day through October 21, the coverage in effect reversed. In all, 20% of stories about Romney were favorable, 30% were unfavorable, and 50% were mixed-a differential of 10 points to the negative. For Obama, 13% of stories were favorable, 36% were unfavorable, and 50% were mixed-a differential of 23 points.

The portrayal of the two candidates this year in the mainstream press stands in marked contrast to what the Project found in 2008 when then Senator Barack Obama was running against Senator John McCain. In that race, Obama's coverage was almost twice as positive as it has been this year (36% vs. 19%) and more positive than negative overall (36% positive vs. 29% negative that year). McCain's coverage four years ago, by contrast, was much more negative than Romney's this year. In 2008, nearly six in 10 stories about McCain were clearly negative in nature (57%), while only 14% were positive.

This treatment in the mainstream media also differs markedly from what the study finds in the newer realms of social media: Twitter, Facebook and blogs. There, the narrative about both men has been relentlessly negative and relatively unmoved by campaign events that have shifted the mainstream narrative-more a barometer of social media user mood than a reflection of candidate action.  On Twitter, for instance, the conversation about the campaign has consistently been harsher for Romney than for Obama. On Facebook, the tone improved for Obama in October with the debates, despite the sense that the president had stumbled in the first one. And in the blogosphere, neither candidate has seen a sustained edge in the narrative in the eight weeks studied.

The study also found a difference between the three network evening newscasts and the morning shows. Obama also fared better in the evening, Romney in the morning.

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CC-Columbia Fires WVOC Vet Keven Cohen

Clear Channel releases statement

Longtime Midlands talk radio host Keven Cohen says he was fired because the station wanted to go in a "different direction," and a statement released by Clear Channel on Friday appears to validate Cohen's claim.

Reached at home Friday morning, Cohen told wtistv.com he appreciates the support of his listeners. He said it has been "humbling to hear from so many fans who are praying for my family."

Cohen says he loves Columbia and wants to continue work in the Columbia media market. He added that he isn't surprised by the support he's received and that's why he wants to stay in the Midlands.

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment released the following statement Friday afternoon:

"100.1 WVOC,  News Talk Sports, announced today that radio veteran, Jonathon Rush, and co-host, Kelly Nash, will now host the afternoon drive weekdays from 3-6:00 p.m. ET, effective immediately. Known as The Morning Rush, the duo will now host The Afternoon Rush on WVOC. 

Rush has been waking up Columbia listeners on music radio stations for over two decades and with Nash will now take their highly entertaining style and political opinions to the afternoon drive.  Rush and Nash will continue hosting The Morning Rush on sister station WCOS-FM weekdays from 6-9:00 a.m. ET. 

"This is an opportunity I've dreamed of for years," said Rush.  "We can play the world's greatest music for the greatest music fans in the morning and talk with the most passionate radio listeners every afternoon."

 "I'm very excited to not only expand our audience, but to be able to have two outlets to engage and entertain Columbia's listeners," said Nash.  "Pulling the double duty is something that has been done before in radio with great success and we are eager to serve two of the largest radio audiences in the state."

"News Talk radio is more than just political opinions and interviews with lawmakers.  All news has an element of entertainment to it that makes it entertaining and compelling," said L.J. Smith, Regional Program Manager, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment.  "Jonathon and Kelly understand the balance between addressing hard hitting issues while keeping listeners engaged in a compelling conversation about today's most relevant topics."

WVOC-FM's  New Weekday Programming Lineup:

6-9:00 a.m. – The Morning News with Gary David

9 a.m. – Noon – Glenn Beck

Noon – 3 p.m. – Rush Limbaugh

3-6:00 p.m. – The Afternoon Rush

6-8:00 p.m. – Talking Sports

8-11:00 p.m. – Jerry Doyle

Earlier posting....

Keven Cohen, the longtime afternoon drive host on WVOC-FM 100.1, was fired Thursday afternoon before he went on the air.

Cohen had been hosting the 3-6 p.m. slot since 1999.

“I had a great run at WVOC,” Cohen, sounding gracious, told Otis R. Taylor Jr. at thestate.com Thursday evening. “It will always have a special place in my heart.”

Removing Cohen, who peppered his talk show with news and opinion, is a curious decision by the Clear Channel-owned station, especially with a momentous presidential election just four days away. Cohen also anchored the station’s pre- and post-game coverage of USC Gamecock football.

“It’s a scary and confusing time,” Cohen said. “It’s a very challenging time for me emotionally to not know what I’m going to do when I wake up tomorrow morning.”

For more than 18 years, Cohen has been waking up to go to work for WVOC. His voice was first heard on the air on Aug. 1, 1994. Cohen hosted a morning show before moving to the afternoons.

Jonathan Rush and Kelly Nash, current hosts of “The Morning Rush” on WVOC’s sister station WCOS-FM 97.5, were broadcasting in Cohen’s slot. A radio station source, who did not want to be identified, said WVOC planned to move Rush and Nash to the slot permanently. An attempt to reach LJ Smith, the regional program manager at Clear Channel Radio, Thursday night for confirmation were unsuccessful.

After being told of his release, Cohen posted the following on his Facebook page: 

"An hour ago, CLEAR CHANNEL relieved me of my duties and fired me. Obviously, I am devastated. I am not getting the chance to do so on the radio, so I want to thank all of you for the love and support you have offered my way over almost 19 years at WVOC. Please keep the COHEN family in your prayers. This will be a significant challenge. Thank you, KEV."

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CMA Awards Review: Show Was A Hoot

From Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly

Quality won out at the CMA awards on Thursday night, as Eric Church’s superb Chief won album of the year and the Miranda Lambert-Blake Shelton composition “Over You” took song of the year. The married couple Lambert and Shelton also won the female and male vocalist awards as well. The show itself was rife with agreeably overblown production numbers including a reproduction of a French cafe for Taylor Swift’s fine song “Begin Again” that looked as though it had been assembled from sets left over from an old Carol Burnett Show sketch. In other words, the night was a hoot. 

Speaking of sets, Faith Hill seemed to have borrowed hers from the ABC chestnut Love American Style logo, a heart-shaped American flag. It’s too bad Hill’s voice was largely obscured by the sound mix — she sounds and looks great. Hill came across best during the all-star tribute to Willie Nelson (who was given a Lifetime Achievement award), singing a ringingly clear duet with hubby Tim McGraw on “Good Hearted Woman.” Could we please have a new Faith Hill album soon? 

Hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley opened the show with jokes about the pregnancy of Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles (she was in the audience, her due-date close), PSY’s “Gangnam Style” (Underwood’s execution of the dance move in very high heels was impressive), and a routine about Taylor Swift’s romance with the Kennedy family and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” that seemed to have everyone laughing except, perhaps, Swift — why else would the cameras not cut to her, as they did to every other celeb for every other little punchline?

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And the winners are:

Entertainer of the Year: Blake Shelton.

Album of the Year: "Chief," Eric Church.

Song of the Year: "Over You," Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.

Single of the Year: "Pontoon," Little Big Town.

Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton.

Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert.

New Artist of the Year: Hunter Hayes.

Vocal Duo of the Year: Thompson Square.

Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town.

Musician of the Year: Mac McAnally.

Music Video of the Year: "Red Solo Cup," Toby Keith.

Musical Event: "Feel like a Rock Star," Kenny Chesney duet with Tim McGraw.

‘The Kuhner Report’ Starts on WRKO Boston

WRKO-AM 680 Boston new morning drive show “The Kuhner Report” with Jeff Kuhner hit the air Thursday morning 6:00am – 9:00am.  Kuhner will continue filling the 11am-12n hour..

Jeff Brown, Vice President and Market Manager for Entercom Boston said, “This caps off a season of positive change for WRKO. It’s the right move for our two most important customers, our listeners and our advertisers, and needless to say, I’m excited about our future.”

Kuhner joined WRKO in January this year as a weekly guest on the station. He has filled in on every daypart as well, and his 11a one hour show “The Fastest 60 Minutes in Radio,” started in August.  His official motto is "The Last Honest Man in Washington." He is also known as "Liberalism's Worst Nightmare."

Additionally, Kuhner will be a regular contributor to WRKO.com with blogs, columns and weekly podcasts. In addition to his radio work, Jeff is a columnist at The Washington Times (www.washingtontimes.com). His column appears every Friday.

Kuhner replaces Todd Feinburg and Michele McPhee.

WKTV-Utica, NY Anchor Bill Worden Retires

After nearly 50 years in broadcasting, Bill Worden is ready to call it a career.  The Herkimer native, who has anchored WKTV’s 6pm and 11pm newscasts since 1977, is retiring, and his last day with WKTV will be Thursday, November 29.  Worden made the announcement tonight on NewsChannel 2 at Six.  Station management says new anchor assignments will be revealed next week.

CNYR.com reports Worden said he “will be leaving WKTV to pursue other interests.  Retiring?  Shuffling around in slippers?  I don’t think so!  I’ve actually joined a band!”    Later in the announcement, Worden said he joined The Mark Bolos Band as a percussionist.  By leaving the TV news world behind, Worden will be free to tour with the band.  He says he’s also looking forward to trying his hand at internet radio.

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The Least Liked Holiday Songs Of 2012

When it comes to holiday music, one particular novelty song is still a total dog, according to Sean Ross for Edison Research.

“Jingle Bells” by the Singing Dogs—the 1955 version of the holiday standard that is actually barked, not sung, is still the most-disliked holiday song, according to a new holiday music test by Edison Research. The Singing Dogs are joined in the Ten Most-Disliked holiday songs by another equally disliked take on “Jingle Bells,” other holiday novelties going back to the ‘40s, and the less-than-reverential “South Park” take on “O Holy Night.”

Edison conducted a nationwide study of more than 200 women, ages 30-to-49, who said they liked or loved hearing Christmas music on the radio. The research, done on behalf of Adult Contemporary radio stations that go all-holiday music during November and December, follows similar research in 2004 and 2007. It’s the first test to include recent holiday music from Taylor Swift, Michael Bublé, Lady Antebellum, the “Glee” Cast, Justin Bieber, and more.

Since 2004, Edison’s research has shown a preference for the holiday standards. This year’s best-testing holiday song was the late Andy Williams’ “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Newer holiday songs have a hard time gaining attention, which is why all-holiday formats often tend to concentrate on multiple interpretations of holiday mainstays. However, certain other holiday novelties, such as “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” continue to test well.

These are the ten most-disliked holiday songs of 2012 in descending order:

1. Singing Dogs, “Jingle Bells”

2. Beach Boys, “The Man With All The Toys”

3. Spike Jones, “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”

4. Barbra Streisand, “Jingle Bells”

5. Elmo & Patsy, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”

6. Cartman, “O Holy Night”

7. Seymour Swine & Squeelers, “Blue Christmas” (the version that features a Porky Pig-soundalike stammering his way through the Elvis Presley standard)

8. Neil Diamond, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”

9. Mannheim Steamroller, “Deck The Halls”

10. Little Jimmy Boyd, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”

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Coach Van Gundy Joins NBC Sports Group

Former Orlando Magic NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy will begin an on-going relationship with the NBC Sports Group by joining NBC Sports Network’s coverage of the inaugural Navy-Marine Corps Classic, and by becoming a regular contributor to NBC Sports Radio.

Van Gundy will make his national-television debut by serving as an analyst during the inaugural Navy-Marine Corps Classic, featuring college basketball powers Georgetown vs. No. 10 Florida, on Friday, November 9 at 9 p.m. ET.

The game will be played on the deck of the USS Bataan, at Mayport Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla.

KZND's Fatguy Throws One Last Hurrah

Fatguy, the recently departed program director and DJ for 94.7 KZND The End, is leaving Alaska after three years as a strong advocate of Anchorage's music scene. 

Before doing so, Rachel Kenshalo at and.com writes  he's hosting Fatguy's Last Stand on Friday. The event will feature 17 local bands playing on two stages at a local venue.

Not surprisingly, Fatguy isn't the name listed on his birth certificate. Nee Jon Marte, he grew up in foster care and spent his childhood moving around quite a bit, first in California and his later years in Alabama and Mississippi. Moving as much as he did, he was an easy target for bullies. His coping mechanism was to "flip the script" and dub himself Fatguy, a name that stuck from his early teens throughout his radio career.

Marte said that he was immediately in awe of the Anchorage music scene. "When I first got to town, I saw The Hoons play live," he explained. "I thought they were amazing, and I was hooked."

Fans note he worked very hard to promote his station, in addition to his charity work.

That  charity work is Pump Up the Kids, a program for foster care children started by Marte. Growing up in foster care himself, he recognized a need where other charitable holiday programs left off. He noticed that other holiday toy drives, (which he was quick to point out provide an excellent service) were geared towards younger children. Fatguy envisioned a slightly different program.

"We adopted every teenage foster kid in Alaska and made sure they had a Christmas or holiday that was appropriate for them," he explained. "It was beyond simple toy drives - we were able to take care of the teenagers by asking what they wanted for Christmas. Over 600 foster teenagers received guitars, Xboxes, snowboards and other fairly high-priced items that foster kids normally couldn't ask for or hope to receive."

It's an issue that hits close to home. "Growing up in foster care, I know what it's like," he added. "You can't forget the teenagers; they are in the highest risk group. Holidays are especially tough for them, and if we can offer hope and support from the community, it could change mindsets, and maybe it could be the difference between losing these kids to drugs and suicide and violence."

Though Fatguy and KZND ultimately decided to part ways, his charitable legacy will live on at the radio station, which will continue the Pump Up the Kids program.

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Vice President Does Lettermen’s Top 10 List

Thursday night's "Top Ten Good Things About Voting Early" presented by Vice President Joe Biden.

Opinion: Mr. Burns Endorses Romney

Check out this video from The Simpsons, in which the ruthless tycoon tries to spin his case for Romney.

LA: KROQ’s Bean Off Air To Donate Kidney

UPDATE 11/9/12 6AM:  According to Gene (Bean) Baxter  "The last five days have been a whirlwind since we announced on the Kevin & Bean show that I will be donating a kidney to long-time KROQ engineer Scott Mason. Surgery is scheduled Nov. 13."

earlier posting...

Alternative Rock fans of KROQ 106.7 FM in LA were surprised to hear today that Gene ' Bean' Baxter of the Kevin & Bean morning show,  is going to be away from the show a few days over the next two weeks.  He’ll be off syndicated show so he can prepare for surgery to donate one of his kidneys to a friend Scott Mason.

Bean posted a personal statement on the KROQ website:

I am donating it to a friend of mine, and maybe one of yours if you are a long time KROQ fan, named Scott Mason. Scott has worked for the station for a very long time, at one time as a DJ and programmer, and in recent years as the head of engineering. 

Scott has had medical issues for much of his adult life, including his kidneys failing, and that led him to have a transplant from a cadaver back in 1999. Well, now that one has failed too and Scott is back on dialysis for many hours a week. The kidney processes waste out of the blood and without one your body is being poisoned all the time. The dialysis helps but is a temporary solution. You only get off the machine if you get a new kidney or you die. 

You may know I live in Seattle and do the Kevin & Bean show from my house. Scott visits once a year to do maintenance and upgrades on my studio equipment and it was during his most recent visit last spring that I noticed how unwell he looked. 

This decision was a no-brainer for me. The disruption in my life should be minimal. There will be some discomfort for a few weeks after surgery but after that my life should go on almost exactly as before. One of the things I’ve learned is that we have two kidneys and when one is removed the other one steps up and works harder so that instead of the expected 50% remaining function I should have about 80%. Scott will go from nearly 0% to that same 80% and that will improve his quality of life dramatically.

 Bean also expressed complete confidence in the surgical and recovery team at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Last year Kevin and Bean won the NAB Marconi Radio Award for "Major Market Personality of the Year".

Sandy: Arbitron Seeks To Assure Radio Stations

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Arbitron today wants  reassure subscribers that they are well prepared and experienced at continuing the survey process during natural disasters and other crisis situations.

Arbitron has developed special procedures for emergency conditions to help manage sample delivery. They claim to closely monitor market conditions, including listening to survey respondents and PPM panelists, and implement contingency plans when necessary.

If a natural disaster or crisis occurs, stations are encouraged to report any technical difficulties that last for five or more consecutive minutes.

Tom’s Take: There are those who don’t like to report down time.  If a diary contains a reference to your station, but you have reported if off-air to Arbitron, you lose the credit.

NBCU Readies Sandy Benefit TV Concert

Star-Ledger photo

Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi of New Jersey and Billy Joel of Long Island are scheduled to headline a benefit concert for victims of Hurriance Sandy Friday.

Others expected to participate: Sting, Christina Aquilera and Jimmy Fallon.  Other performers are expected to be added to the line-up.

The Friday evening telecast will be commercial free and will benefit the American Red Cross and be shown on NBC and its cable stations including Bravo, CNBC, USA, MSNBC and E! Other networks may participate.

The "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together" concert telethon will broadcast from Rockefeller Center in NYC and will be hosted by Matt Lauer. It will air live 8-9  p.m. Eastern and will be taped-delayed in the West.

The Red Cross is providing shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected by disasters like Hurricane Sandy. To donate, visit RedCross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

WSM Open House Will Celebrate Its AM Tower

The Blaw-Knox diamond-shaped vertical antenna that serves 650 AM WSM remains a radio broadcasting icon. The tower will celebrate a notable birthday early next month.

Paul McLane at Radio World reports Nashville’s WSM will hold an open house on Nov. 10 at its tower/transmitter site on Concord Road in Brentwood, Tenn., to salute the 808-foot structure and its 80 years of service. The signal from the tower can be heard in 38 states.

The event is part of a month of activities centered around WSM’s 87th birthday. The station went on the air in 1925 and has been at 650 kHz since 1928. It switched on a 50 kW transmitter in 1932. As WSM states on its website: “The station today still spans the nation with its AM signal, of course, while also circling the globe online.” WSM has a legendary place in country music thanks in part to its role as birthplace of the Grand Ole Opry.

The open house will offer a tour of the historic transmitter facility, a chance to meet air personalities and lunch on the grounds. According to The Tennessean newspaper, a historical plaque placement also is planned. The tower was named to the National Register of Historic Places last year.

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R.I.P.: Composer Bill Dees Dies At 73

Singer-composer Bill Dees, best known for his songwriting collaboration with Roy Orbison on the hits "Oh, Pretty Woman" and "It's Over," has died. He was 73.

Dees' most fruitful collaboration was his work with fellow Texan Orbison, with whom he teamed up to write Orbison's signature 1964 hit, "Oh, Pretty Woman." which was featured years later in the soundtrack to the movie "Pretty Woman," starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.

Dees died last week, on Oct. 24, at Mountain Home, where he had lived since 1989, according to an announcement posted on the website of the Kirby & Family Funeral Home, where a memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 3.

Columbus Now Has ‘The Answer’

Salem Communications  today launched a talk format on WJKR 989.9 FM in Columbus, OH.

Branded “The Answer” WJKR line-up features:  Bill Bennett at 6a, Mike Gallagher at 9a, Dennis Prager at 12n, Michael Medved at 3p, Hugh Hewitt at 6p, Dennis Miller at 9 and Lars Larson at 12m.

Salem recently purchased the station from Maryland-based Radio One and is currently operating WJKR via an LMA. The price was not disclosed.

Salem Communications has headquarters in California and owns or operates about 100 stations that play Christian and conservative-opinion content, including WRFD (880 AM) also in Columbus..

Chicago Ratings: 25-54 Total Persons

Chicagoradioandmedia.com is reporting an interesting look at the highly-desired demographic (by advertisers, and therefore station owners) of Persons ages 25-54.

In the overall numbers (Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight), WOJO-FM/La Que Buena 105.1 jumps up to #1 from #5, reaching the top spot with only a 4.9 share. This is the first time WOJO-FM has hit #1 in the 25-54 demo. One of the ways it was able to achieve this was because all of the recent #1 stations -- WVAZ-FM, WTMX-FM, WKSC-FM, and WDRV-FM -- each saw drops in share, while WOJO-FM increased by 0.5 in the October period.

V103 and The Mix tied at #2. WVAZ-FM dropped .5 to a 4.6 share, while WTMX-FM dropped .2, also to a 4.6 share. WKSC-FM/103.5 Kiss FM is down to a 4.5 share, which is a 1.8 share drop from its summertime high. WDRV-FM/97.1 The Drive (simulcast on WWDV-FM) slipped .3 to a 4.4 share.

As was the case with the 6+ demographic, the 25-54 demographic also saw increases for almost all of Chicago's Hispanic-targeted radio stations during the October period, although not quite as dramatic. Besides the aforementioned WOJO-FM, who hit #1, WNUA-FM increased .4 share to a 3.2 share. WPPN-FM increased by .1 share to a 3.0 share. WLEY-FM increased by .1 share to a 1.6 share. WVIV-FM/WVIX-FM also increased by .1 share to a 1.3 share.

The other notable increase of this ratings period belongs to WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM, which has been slowly ticking upward over the last few periods. The news station came in at #7 with a 3.8 share, which is a .8 share increase in the last two months.

Here is how the top of the Persons ages 25-54 rankings looked for the October 2012 ratings period...

Monday-Sunday 6:00am-Midnight:

    1 WOJO-FM

    2t WVAZ-FM

    2t WTMX-FM

    4 WKSC-FM

    5 WDRV-FM

    6 WBBM-FM

    7 WBBM-AM

    8t WUSN-FM

    8t WGCI-FM

    10 WSCR-AM

    11 WLUP-FM

    12t WNUA-FM

    12t WLS-FM

    14t WPPN-FM

    14t WXRT-FM

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KISS-FM Williamsport Scores Dick Morris Interview

Dick Morris is an American political author and commentator who previously worked as a pollster, political campaign consultant, and general political consultant. A former Clinton political adviser, he now is a regular Fox News Political Contributor.

Here he talks with longtime WKSB 102.7 FM (Williamsport, PA) morning man Gary Chrisman about how poll numbers can be skewed and shares his view of the 2012 Presidential Race.

Teens Find Ways Around Paying for Music

It was once thought that streaming music on the internet, through services like Pandora, gave consumers a chance to “try before they buy” music in either physical or digital formats. Research from Stage of Life suggests that that trend may be dissipating, however, especially with teens and college students, reports eMarketer.

According to StageofLife.com, in August, 49% of teens and college-age consumers reported spending zero dollars per month on music. Rather than buying iTunes singles or CDs of even their favorite artists, this age group copies music from friends, downloads free songs from music websites and streams music online.

The 16-to-20-year-old age group streams the most music content, according to EMI Insight. Almost half of that US demographic streamed music in 2011. The second-highest demographic concentration of streamers was the 21-to-24 age group, with 46% penetration.

Read More Now.

1010 WINS At Full Power, Simulcast Ends

From Scott Fybush, NERW

UPDATE THURSDAY 11/01/12:  WINS (1010) is now back on the air at full power, ending its simulcast on WXRK (92.3), which is back to top-40 as “92.3 NOW.”

NERW is still awaiting word on the fate of WINS’ neighbor, WLIB (1190), which remains off the air, as do WMCA (570)/WNYC (820), which share an especially low-lying site in Kearny, where flooding was severe.

Wednesday posting....

Tuesday’s big news came from WINS (1010), which returned to the air, apparently at reduced power, around 4:20 in the afternoon. At least for now, WINS continues to be simulcast on CBS Radio sister station WXRK (92.3); the longer the simulcast lasts, the more speculation is swirling about whether CBS plans to return to the “NOW” top-40 format there, or whether a WINS simulcast just might become permanent. (NERW’s take: not quite yet, but it’s only a matter of time.)

We’re still learning about the extent of the difficulties many stations are having with their lower Manhattan studios, what with the continued extensive power outages south of 31st Street. WOR, for instance, was not only without power at its 111 Broadway studios but also without phone lines, which explains why the station spent the day simulcasting WNBC (Channel 4) audio before returning to local programming from its Lyndhurst, N.J. transmitter site last night.

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Taylor Swift’s “Red” In The Black

The 22-year-old Taylor Swifts's fourth studio album, released Oct. 22, had one of the best debuts in history, selling 1.208 million copies last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

USA Today reports that's the highest single-week sales total in a decade, since Eminem's The Eminem Show rang up 1.322 million in 2002.

Red set a single-week sales record at iTunes, where it sold 464,000 copies. At Target, which offered a version of Red that included a bonus CD containing six additional tracks, Swift sold more than 400,000 units -- the highest total for any album in the retailer's history.

Additionally, Red has sold more than 4.5 million individual downloads, led by 2.4 million-plus copies of single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

Swift's 2010 Speak Now album sold 1.047 million in its first week and has gone on to move a total of 4.2 million units. Swift has sold more than 17 million albums since releasing her self-titled debut in 2006.

Since SoundScan began tabulating sales in 1991, Red is the 18th album to reach the seven-figure mark in a single week, and Swift becomes the only female act to accomplish the feat twice.

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Hollywood’s Blackout Tour of Clear Channel

KTU, Z100, LITE, Q-104 & POWER during Hurricane Sandy

KTU's Hollywood Hamilton posted this video tour on YouTube and was uploaded  using his  iPhone. At 9:13pm Monday night NYC experienced a total lower Manhattan blackout. Clear Channel NY is located in lower Manhattan.

This is what it was like moments after the blackout inside this country's most listened to broadcast center.

NYC Radio Vet Dennis Elsas Shares Rock Memories

Like most other people, Dennis Elsas has seen and heard quite a few things during the course of his career. Fortunately for music fans, he also recorded them.

As one of New York's enduring and well-known radio personalities, Elsas has interviewed many rock greats during his more than 35-year career, including Elton John, Levon Helm, Pete Townshend and Jerry Garcia.

His historic interview with John Lennon in September 1974, which stretched into two hours and covered a myriad of topics, including Beatles' memories and the band's future plans, has been featured in numerous books, documentaries and films. It is in the permanent collection of the Paley Center For Media.

Since 2007, his website has been home for this trove of archives. Recently, however, Elsas has taken some of his classic interviews, photographs and recollections of historic moments in radio on the road. He has created a live multimedia presentation, "Rock `N' Roll Never Forgets," which has shown at several venues during the past year.

The show,writes Christina Hennessy at ctpost.com, concludes with a question-and-answer session, rolls in to the Avon Theatre in Stamford, CT on Wednesday, Nov. 7. Elsas is likely to attract fans from his days at WNEW-FM NYC, as well as those who have been tuning in to his show on WFUV since 2000 and on his satellite radio show Classic Vinyl on Sirius/XM.

Elsas, a Queens, N.Y., native, grew up in the 1960s listening to such Top 40 AM radio stations as WABC, WMCA and WINS. However, by the time he entered college, FM radio was beginning to change, increasingly adopting free-form progressive rock formats and other original programming.

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LA: Hot 92.3 FM Celebrates Art Laboe HOF Induction

Art Laboe

No one can talk about Los Angeles radio without paying tribute to Art Laboe.

Gary Lycan at ocrgister.com writes Lavboe’s six decades speak to his popularity as a radio personality and his business skills as the creator and packager of the enormously successful "Oldies But Goodies" record series. So it comes as no surprise to know the nightly Hot 92.3 FM personality will be inducted Nov. 10 into the National Radio Hall of Fame at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago.

To celebrate the occasion, KHHT's Jimmy Reyes is turning his morning drive show over to a party for Laboe on Nov. 8 (Thursday) at the Guadalajara Grill in Baldwin Park. Listeners and friends can stop by for free breakfast, the station said, and offer their best wishes to him. If this event is anything like the one at Spaghettini in Seal Beach a couple of years ago, Laboe will be posing for lots of photos with his fans.

Laboe is on 7 p.m.-midnight Monday-Friday and 6 p.m.-midnight Sunday. His 10 years on the "Old School" rhythm and blues station were celebrated in a September concert at the San Manuel Amphitheatre in San Bernardino.

Laboe began his LA career in 1949 with an all-night record show from Scrivner's Drive-In on KXLA (later KRLA). He was on KFWB, KPOP, and was the first to play rock 'n' roll and Elvis Presley on local radio. In 1972 he joined KRLA when it became the first full-time oldies station.

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WGDJ Albany: Roney Dismissal A 'Business Decision'

Al Roney

Paul Vandenburgh said Al Roney’s dismissal from WGDJ, Talk 1300, Albany, NY after 2 1/2 years was “simply a business decision.”

Vandenburgh, owner of the Albany, New York radio station, said the well-known afternoon talk show host had his last day at Talk 1300 on Oct. 26, according to a story by Barbara Pickney at bizjournals.com.

That was the day the summer Arbitron Ratings were released in the Albany, New York market. WGDJ had a 1.9 percent share of all listeners aged 12 and over, and a 0.6 percent share of adults 25 to 54.

“We had no issue with Al, I don't want anyone believing we had an issue with Al,” Vandenburgh said. “We wish Al nothing but the best, but I had to make a business decision.”

Roney said could not comment on the reasons for his departure other than that “It was a business decision, ratings, revenue, cost, and all the usual stuff that happens in radio land."

Roney joined Talk 1300 in June 2010, a few months after being let go from WGY, 810 AM, a local Clear Channel station.

WGY replaced him with syndicated conservative talker Glenn Beck, drawing protests from local listeners who picketed Clear Channel’s offices in Latham.

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LA: KBIG-FM Slips To Third as KIIS Regains Top Ratings

After a month in the rarefied air of first place — the culmination of a strong year in the radio ratings — adult-contemporary station KBIG-FM (104.3) dropped back to third in October, according to figures released this week by Arbitron.

Meanwhile,writes Steve Carney at the LATimes, the morning audience for news and information station KPCC-FM (89.3) has ballooned since the summer, in spite of upheaval at its homegrown show.

An 11th-place station a year ago, KBIG — known as "MYfm" — surged in 2012, riding a broad playlist that included music from artists ranging from otherworldly chanteuse Lady Gaga to banjo-driven throwback act Mumford & Sons, helping it challenge the supremacy of Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7) and talk station KFI-AM (640), the two outlets that had spent the year battling for No. 1 in the Los Angeles-Orange County ratings.

KBIG had tied with pop station KIIS-FM (102.7) atop the ratings in September, both grabbing 5.2% of the total audience ages 6 and older, with KFI just behind at 4.8%. But in the most recent survey period, covering Sept. 13 to Oct. 10, KBIG slipped to 5%, while KFI rose to 5.1% and KIIS jumped ahead of them all to 5.6%.

In morning drive, KPCC added a whopping 120,000 listeners in just two months — jumping from 322,000 people who tuned in for at least five minutes per week in August, to an average of 422,000 in October — during a span in which it changed hosts and show names twice.

On Aug. 20, KPCC brought on Martinez, a former sports-talk radio host, to pair with Madeleine Brand on her 2-year-old morning program, renamed it "Brand & Martinez" and expanded to two hours.

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TWC Leads Cable With Sandy Coverage

Viewers looking for an update as Hurricane Sandy approached the U.S. East Coast made The Weather Channel the most-watched cable news channel on Sunday.

Reuters reports an average of more than 1.4 million people watched The Weather Channel at some point during the day, according to Nielsen data supplied by the network.

The Weather Channel beat rivals including Fox News Channel and CNN among viewers aged 25 to 54, the primary age group of interest to cable news advertisers. An average of 590,000 viewers in that age group tuned in from 3 a.m. Sunday to 3 a.m. Monday, its biggest audience for 2012, according to the Nielsen data.

"People had an immediate need for information about Sandy. We were just happy they came to us for it," said David Kenny, chairman and CEO of The Weather Company, the channel's parent company, in an interview on Monday.

Read More Here.

Elmo Visits WNYC To Talk Hurricane Weather To Kid

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy inflicting its punishing blow on New York City Monday (October 29th), younger listeners to the city's WNYC 93.9 FM/ 820 AM got some reassurance the next morning from Sesame Street's own Elmo.

Elmo appeared on the Brian Lehrer Show along with Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, of Sesame Street's Education and Research Department, who spoke about helping children deal with the stress of the storm and its aftermath.

 In the segment, Elmo confessed to being scared during Sandy, even though he was with his mommy and daddy, saying he had wanted to know, "Will the wind ever stop blowing?" Sesame Street had done an episode about dealing with hurricanes years ago, before Katrina struck, and Elmo explained to Lehrer Tuesday that on it he went shopping with his parents for, quote, "water and some peanut butter and tuna fish and stuff like that."

On that episode, Big Bird's nest was ruined and Sesame Street residents rallied around to help rebuild it.

Tom's Take:  WNYC 820 AM  is temporarily off the air due to flooding waters.

KMOX St. Louis Moves To Park Pacific

Photos by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

KMOX 1120 AM Radio hosts Charlie Brennan and Debbie Monterrey pose in the studio after Charlie’s final show at One Memorial Drive in St. Louis on October 29, 2012. KMOX Radio, which signed on the air in 1925, is moving its studios and offices from their location over looking the Gateway Arch for the past 44 years to a location about eight blocks away.

KMOX Radio engineers inspect equipment at their new downtown studios in St. Louis.

Charlie and Debbie are broadcasting live from our new studios at Park Pacific, Tuesday 10/30/12!

Hurricane Sandy Couldn't Stop Jimmy & Dave

Much of the East may have been without electrical power Monday night – as Hurricane Sandy exerted her strength and, in the words of The New York Times, left "a region crippled" – but one thing remained: star power.

NBC's Late Night host Jimmy Fallon took to 50th Street outside his Rockefeller Center studio in midtown Manhattan right before Sandy hit to record the introduction to his show.

David Lettermen also had no audience Monay night.

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Social Media Follow Sandy's Destructive Path

Sandy is a massive storm, poised to bring widespread flooding and billions of dollars in damage to states from North Carolina to Maine.

And it's no slouch when it comes to social media.

USA Today reports in the past day, #Sandy has had more than 4 million mentions by almost 400,000 unique sources on Twitter, says Radian6, which tracks social media use. Mentions of #Sandy have had a potential reach of more than 3 billion Twitter followers, the site says.

"Hurricane Sandy" was the top phrase on Facebook in the USA in the past day, the social media giant says. Other terms in the top 10 include "stay safe," "storm," "East Coast," "my friends" and "prayers."

On the mobile photo sharing site Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, there were 2,333,000 photos with the hashtag "Sandy," 100,000 under "Hurricanesandy" and 20,000 under "Frankenstorm" as of Monday afternoon, according to the Associated Press.

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Changes to Charts by Billboard Draw Fire

From James C. McKinley Jr., NYTimes: 

Three weeks ago, the editors at Billboard, who for decades have defined what makes an American hit, shook up the song charts for various genres. 

The magazine started counting digital sales and online streams along with radio airplay in its tallies for most major formats. It also created two new charts using the same criteria, breaking out rap songs in one and R&B songs in a second. 

The results have given stars with a pop-oriented sound and broad crossover appeal an advantage over other artists, upsetting and puzzling some music fans. 

On the Hot Country Songs chart, Taylor Swift’s pop single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” has held the No. 1 position for three weeks, even as many country stations have rejected it, and Rihanna’s pop hit “Diamonds“ has remained atop the Hot R&B-Hip Hop Songs chart, causing dismay among R&B purists. 

Bill Werde, Billboard’s editorial director, said the shake-up was necessary to reflect changes in the way people consume music these days. There was a time when radio programmers — and the record labels who lobbied them — largely defined the charts, using surveys of their listeners and their gut instincts to select hits. Now the Internet gives fans a greater say, as people buy music from online stores, stream it through services like Spotify or listen to it on video sites like YouTube and Vevo.

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