Saturday Aircheck: Dave Hull, KRLA 1993

Dave Hull just as funny in 1993 as he was back in 1965 on KRLA when he ruled afternoons in Los Angeles. Full length video available from California Aircheck.

Hull has a new autobiography out this week, Click Here for posting.

Tampa Radio Trial: Michelle Schnitt "Unsafe" At Home

Michelle Schnitt

Testimony Friday continued with Schnitt’s Attorny Charles Campbell questioning Michelle Schnitt, a former prosecutor with the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office.

A story at tbo.com reports, she denied having anything to do with the arrest of Clem of animal cruelty charges in 2001, which Clem has alleged during his show. She also testified about Clem calling her a “whore” on the air and by Clem’s followers, known as “Bubba’s Army.”

“He meant to imply that I was sexually promiscuous and unfaithful to my husband,” Michelle Schnitt said of Clem. “It was the most disrespectful thing you could say about somebody.”

After the comments were made by Clem, she said she was worried about public reaction. She also said she was called “whore” by fans of Clem’s show in public on several occasions.

Under cross-examination, Michelle Schnitt said her family began to feel unsafe after their home was egged. She said they did not report the incident because they did not want their address to be made public.

Schnitt quit practicing law to spend more time with her children but testified Clem’s comments have harmed her professional reputation.

Schnitt, responding to jury inquiries, said she received no compensation for her occasional appearances on her husband’s show.

Read More Now.

Schnitt’s Attorney Requests Mistrial, Claims DUI Was Set-Up

Bubba, 'MJ'

Todd “MJ” Schnitt says a DUI arrest involving one of their attorneys was set up by a member of Bubba the Love Sponge’s legal team and is asking for a mistrial in the civil case involving the rival shock jocks.

A story at tbo.com reports no mistrial was granted, and the request led to a 90-minute delay in testimony, which continued after a one-day delay with Schnitt’s wife, Michelle, on the stand.

Charles Phillip Campbell Jr., one of Schnitt’s lawyers, was stopped by police and charged with driving under the influence Wednesday night. The arrest forced the defamation case to be postponed Thursday.

This morning, Schnitt’s lawyers told the judge Campbell was drinking with a paralegal who works for attorney Stephen Diaco, who is representing Clem.

The woman, Melissa Personius, approached Campbell and bought him drinks, says Jonathan Ellis, who is representing Schnitt.

Campbell was not aware Personius worked for Diaco’s firm, Ellis says. She later asked him to move her car, and shortly after he was arrested, Ellis says.

Read More Now.

Campbell, Jr., 64, was taken into custody at 10 p.m. Wednesday by Tampa police after being stopped. Officers say he had glassy eyes and smelled like alcohol.

Tampa Radio Trial Scheduled To Resume

The Todd Schnitt vs. Bubba The Love Sponge civil trial was delayed Thursday following the DUI arrest of Schnitt's Attorney.  64-year-old Charles Campbell was stopped late Wednesday and he refused to take a breathalyzer test.

Albany Radio: Bob Wolf Lands Gig At WKLI-FM

Bob Wolf (TU Photo)

That didn't take long: A week after parting ways with a Woodstock radio station because his brand of morning show humor turned off listeners, Bob "Wolf" Wohlfeld has landed a new gig just up the dial: hosting a morning show on WKLI-100.9 FM.

According to the Albany, NY Times-Union, Wohlfeld starts his latest incarnation of "Wakin' Up With the Wolf" at 6 a.m. Monday. Just last Thursday, he and WDST-100.1 FM Woodstock, NY parted ways over content, ending Wolf's two-week stint at the station. See posting from earlier this week, Click Here.

"I'm not sure, but I might have set a world record" for getting rehired, Wohlfeld said Thursday afternoon. "This month has been like a blur."

WKLI plays a mainstream classic rock, and appears to be a better fit for Wohlfeld — a mainstay personality on WPYX-106.5 FM from 2000 to 2012 and before that on WPDH-101.5 FM in Poughkeepsie — than the progressive Woodstock station.

The move to the Albany Broadcasting station reunites Wohlfeld with General Manager Bob Ausfeld, who oversaw Wolf at PYX.

In hindsight, Wohlfeld said, his personality and the station were never going to work.

"Their level of political correctness I'm not capable of," he said.

Read More Now

Sportscaster Marv Albert Observes 50-Years

Younger Marv Albert

Fifty years ago this Sunday, in a media world hardly imaginable today, a play-by-play icon got his break. Marv Albert broadcast his first New York Knicks game.

David Halberstam for the Bleacher Report writes, Radio still filled many voids in 1963. Ground-breaking play-by-play announcers—Mel Allen and Red Barber on baseball and Marty Glickman on football and basketball—delivered graphic word-pictures that mesmerized New York audiences.

Glickman authored basketball’s nomenclature on radio, and his pioneering broadcasts after World War II fostered interest in the game.

Albert chased his dream. He became a ball boy for the Knicks in the 1950s and got to know Glickman, who helped him steer his early career. Glickman critiqued the teenager’s practice tapes, gave him an opportunity to assist on game and studio broadcasts and even let the budding announcer read high school scores on the air.

The National Basketball Association was in its 17th season when WCBS Radio picked up the Knicks package in 1962-63. Timing was awful. The club languished through a feeble 21-59 season, the worst record in a fledgling league of only nine teams.

As fate would have it, when announcer Glickman was delayed returning from Europe on January 27, 1963, he convinced his bosses to have Albert, his 21-year-old protégé, fill in for him in Boston, where the Knicks were playing on that Sunday night against the Celtics.

The game was hardly the highlight of WCBS Radio’s Sunday schedule. In fact, the station chose to run the Texaco Metropolitan Opera live and the Knicks-Celtics game on tape.

Read More Now.

Milwaukee’s Jack Lee Retires After 48-Year Career

Jack Lee

He introduced the 'Mix' Format

Radio announcers don't fade away. They move away.

Except in Milwaukee, where a surprising number of them settle in and settle down, according to media writer Duane Dudek at wsjonline.com.

Few have been here longer than Jack Lee, who has been an active member of the local broadcast community since 1964.

He was a jock at Top 40 powerhouse WOKY-AM (920) from 1965 to 1970 when it was No. 1 in the market and today, at age 76, is director of integrated media at Milwaukee Radio Group stations WKLH-FM (96.5), WHQG-FM (102.9), WNRG-FM (106.9) and WJYI-AM (1340).

"He's an iconic figure in the corner, like Buddha on the mountaintop, filled with wisdom," said station group vice president and general manager Annmarie Topel.

He witnessed the conversion from radio to television, AM to FM, music to talk formats, and broadcast to digital, and "has transitioned from one decade to next, from one technology to the next seamlessly and flawlessly," said Topel.

The first time he was on the radio was at his father's station in Cookeville, Tenn., at the age of 6, singing "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time." When his parents split up, he moved to Detroit with his mother, and "did some bit parts in early radio drama" and later on TV.

As WOKY assistant program director, one of Lee's jobs "was to police the jocks' " appearances at battles of the bands, bar mitzvahs and CYO dances, where the priests paid the $40 dollar appearance fees in $1 bills they collected at the door.

"I remember seeing Barney Pipp," who tooted a trumpet on the air, "open a trumpet case filled with $500 in singles," Lee said.

Afterward, Lee was, in order: program director at WTMJ-AM from 1970 to 1976, where he said he encouraged more talk and less music; president and general manager of WEMP from 1976 to 1988, where he introduced the first adult contemporary "Mix" format in the nation at WMYX-FM (99.1); and managed the Milwaukee Area Radio Stations trade group from 1989 to 2006.

Read More Now

Syracuse Radio: Dick Mastriano RIFed By WSEN

Dick Mastriano

Longtime Syracuse, NY broadcaster Dick Mastriano has been let go from his post as morning host for WSEN Oldies 1050.  Management at the station, owned by Leatherstocking Media Group, confirms for CNYRadio.com that Mastriano’s duties will be absorbed by another staffer as a result of budget-tightening.

General Manager Don Wagner — who came up through the ranks on programming side of the business, rather than the sales side that produces most GMs — tells CNYRadio.com, “I would much rather add talent than take it away, however, cash flow is the ultimate decider these days, as it was in this case.”

Mastriano was assigned to the morning shift on what used to be Oldies 1390 (WFBL) in 2009.  Later that year, the station moved down the dial and became Oldies 1050 (WSEN), when Leatherstocking decided to make WFBL the flagship of its three-station, two-market “CNY Talk Radio” network.

Read More Now

Murder Of Atlantic City Radio Host Unsolved

April Kauffman

April Kauffman's murder was a headline story for days -- a popular radio host on N/T WOND 1400 AM in Atlantic City, NJ and Veterans affairs activist was gunned down in her bedroom. She was shot multiple times. Her body was found by a man who was doing work on the Linwood, Atlantic County, N.J. home.

                        

That was May 10, 2012. Nearly nine months later, there is no suspect and no arrest in the case.

"It's tough each and every day and we just do the best that we can," Kauffman's Daughter, Kimberly Pack, told NBC10's TedGreenberg. She broke her silence in an exclusive interview. "The whole thing is just devastating, from the murder of my mother to be here at nine months."

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

Kauffman, 47, and her husband, Dr. James Kauffman were living in the home when she was killed. At the funeral, Dr. Kauffman professed his love for April, "I love and miss you so much. I don't know what to do without you. I hope to be with you soon. Love, Jim."

Read More Now

LA Radio: Dave Hull Party Celebrates Release of “Hullabaloo”

According to Gary Lycan at ocregister.com, 125 fans, friends and colleagues came to Fuddrucker's in Burbank to share time with Dave Hull, one of KRLA-AM's Eleven-Ten Men who was autographing his new book, "Hullabaloo!"

It was billed as a KRLA/110 AM Radio reunion lunch, but the spotlight was clearly on Hull.

If you were here in the '60s, you loved the excitement of AM radio. It was spontaneous, fun, and Hull's arrival at KRLA in 1963 would clearly be the highlight of a 57-year career in radio.

Bob Eubanks, who was also one of the "Eleven-Ten Men," penned the foreword to Hull's book. He wrote that when Hull "sat behind that mic in Pasadena for the first time (he) entered into a Renaissance of his own – a crazed awakening powered by horns, laughter, and a whole lot of hullabaloo.

Mike Wagner, who was also a former KRLA program director, e-mailed Lycan , "Eubanks was on hand, along with Larry Huffman, ex-KEZY production director in the early '70s who became known as "Supermouth," the fast talking voice of Speedwaaaaayyy. Be thereeeeeeee!!!! ; The Insane Daryl Wayne, former KRLA program director Jim Pewter, DJs Shotgun Tom Kelly, Rick Scarry, Neil Ross, Michele Roth, Don Elliott, Mike Daniels, Johnny St Thomas, sportscaster Rich Marotta, news anchor Jane Platt, and production director Doug Brown, who provided classic KRLA airchecks.

Hull's 575-page autobiography is more than a breezy, entertaining read. It captures a time in Top 40 local radio that will never be heard again. He signed off on his radio career in Palm Springs in 2010 and decided it was time to write the autobiography. His book, CD and DVD are available, Click Here.

Read More Now.

Couric-Te’o Interview Features Voicemails

Voicemails from a person that Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o says was pretending to be his online girlfriend were played during an interview he did with Katie Couric that aired on her syndicated show Thursday.

Three voicemails were played that Te'o said were left for him last year by someone he believed to be "Lennay Kekua," a woman he fell for online, but never met in person, and who he says he thought had died in September of leukemia.

Deadspin.com exposed the hoax earlier this month, saying Kekua never existed. But Te'o has denied any involvement, saying he'd believed the whole story until he got a phone call on December 6th from the person he'd believed to be Kekua. Some had charged the Heisman Trophy runner-up might have been involved in the hoax for publicity.

The first voicemail was from what was supposed to be Kekua's first day of chemotherapy:

In the second, the person was apparently upset by someone else answering Te'o's phone:

And the third was left on the day he believed Kekua was released from the hospital, the day before she supposedly died:

Report: Mindy McCready Investigated in Boyfriend’s Death

Wilson, McCready (P.Gabel photo)

In a bizarre new twist to a story already more tragic than any country song, singer Mindy McCready is reportedly being investigated in relation to the recent death of her boyfriend, music producer David Wilson, according to tasteofcountry.com.

Wilson died on Sunday, Jan. 13 at the home the couple shared. The 34-year-old was the father of McCready’s second son, Zayne, and was helping her raise her son Zander from a previous relationship. In a statement after his death, the singer called Wilson “my soulmate” and “a precious gift from God.” Early reports indicated that Wilson died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but now several published accounts are calling that into question.

The National Enquirer is reporting that Cleburne County Sheriff Marty Moss has not yet made a final determination about Wilson’s cause of death.

“This is a very high-profile case and we need to make sure it’s investigated as thoroughly as possible,” Moss tells the tabloid. “It could take weeks for the state crime lab to complete tests on Mr. Wilson’s body, and if you’ll notice, it was Mindy McCready’s spokesperson — not anyone involved in the investigation — who made the determination that Mr. Wilson’s death was due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

McCready has not been charged with any crime, and authorities have not named her as a suspect.

Read More now.

CCM+E Signs Up Carmen Jara Show

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment announced today that it has joined forces with Stardome Radio Networks to welcome The Carmen Jara Show to Clear Channel's Spanish programming stations KTZR-AM 1450, Tucson, Arizona; KBFP-FM 105.3, Bakersfield, California; KFSO-FM 92.9, Fresno, California; KPRC-FM 100.7/100.9, Salinas, Monterey and Santa Cruz, California; KIZS-FM 101.5, Tulsa, Oklahoma; and KUNO-AM 1400 in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The Carmen Jara Show features a full crew of personalities, parodies, comedic routines, music and some of the world's most respected names in news and sports. Regional Mexican icon and diva, Carmen Jara, will brighten up the morning with the stations' newest morning show airing daily Monday through Friday.

"The Stardome team welcomes the Clear Channel Media and Entertainment family of stations to The Carmen Jara Show platform. The Carmen Jara Show is positioned to become the entertainment standard in the Spanish language radio industry," said Anthony Hernandez, Managing Director/CEO, Stardome Radio Networks. "Now with the strength and presence of these new Clear Channel Media and Entertainment stations, our national geographic footprint firms up the show in markets poised for Hispanic growth. We have enjoyed a great team driven partnership with Clear Channel over the past four years and look forward to growing with them for many more years to come."

Fans can also listen to The Carmen Jara Show online at the stations' websites as well as on iHeartRadio, Clear Channel's all-in-one digital radio service.

Tampa Radio Trial: Schnitt Attorney Arrested

UPDATE 1PM: Today's testimony in the Todd "MJ" Schnitt civil suit was delayed a day after his attorney was arrested late Wednesday and charged with driving under the influence.

Earlier Posting...

An attorney representing radio personality Todd “MJ” Schnitt this month in a high-profile civil trial was arrested and charged with driving under the influence Wednesday night, according to the Hillsborough County Jail website.

According to a story at tbo.com, Charles Phillip Campbell Jr. was arrested at 10:08 p.m. at Cass and Tampa streets, not far from the downtown Tampa courthouse where the trial is taking place.

Campbell, 64, of 3304 Palmira Ave., was released from the jail at 6:18 a.m. today after posting bond of $500. He refused to take a test for blood alcohol count, according to the jail website.

The trial was scheduled to resume about 9 a.m. today.

Read More Now.

Tampa Radio Trial: Schnitt Claims Lies Damaged Reputation

Michelle Schnitt To Testify Friday

Todd Schnitt, 'MJ' on WFLZ

UPDATE 1PM:  Today's testimony in the Todd "MJ" Schnitt civil suit was delayed a day after his attorney was arrested late Wednesday and charged with driving under the influence.


Earlier Posting....

Tampa radio show personality Todd "MJ" Schnitt returned to the stand Wednesday in his defamation lawsuit against rival host Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.

Schnitt is suing Clem over comments made on-air in 2008.

Last week, Clem told jurors MJ and his wife, Michelle, then an assistant state attorney, were "fair game" because they are public figures. Schnitt is suing for an undisclosed amount of money.

According to BayNews9, Schnitt testified Clem's fans took steps that made him and his family hesitant to lead normal lives.

"It completely changed the landscape for us. We were uncomfortable going out, certainly became uncomfortable being with my kids in public," he said.

"We drastically limited my exposure in public, simple things like going to the supermarket," he continued.

Schnitt continued and got emotional in a plea to the jury,"There’s no amount of damages that will compensate me, my wife my family, for what we experienced."

"The lies that were told about us, the damage to our reputation. But the jury should award damages that will… enable us to believe we did all we could possible… to clear our good names, restore our reputation," he said.

Clem's attorneys cross-examined Schnitt following his comments.

Bubba's attorneys say MJ's good name was never damaged. They played several clips to the jury including a song with lyrics suggesting MJ didn't father his children because he is too ugly to have cute kids.

Thursday, Schnitt's wife Michelle will take the stand.

Read More Now.

Todd, MIchelle Schnitt

Clem's attorney asked Schnitt about several incidents with Clem followers, according to tbo.com.

Schnitt recounted driving on the Courtney Campbell Causeway at 65 mph when another vehicle attempted to force him off the road. A passenger in the other vehicle was yelling and throwing things at Schnitt, he said.

At a Gasparilla parade, Schnitt said he was briefly grabbed by a Clem fan. At another, he said a member of "Bubba's Army" yelled at him. He also discussed confrontations with Clem followers in Sarasota and at Channelside movie theater in Tampa.

The result of the harassment, he said, was he and his family became more reclusive.

Read More Now.

Report: NashFm 94-7 Talent To Be Phased-In

Kim Bryant

Cumulus VP/New York market manager Kim Bryant tells Jerry Barmash at FishbowlNY that it will take a month or so before DJs are phased into the programming on NashFM 94-7 NYC.

Yesterday, Cumulus announced the plan for NASH branding nationwide with its stable of 83 Country stations. But Bryant says 94.7, which is expected to change call letters to WNSH next week, will stay true to the city.

“It’ll all be out of New York,” Bryant says. “We have a studio here. We’re going to be a New York radio station.”

Bryant confirms that NASH is broadcasting from 2 Penn Plaza, alongside sister stations WPLJ and WABC.

She strikes down any possibility of linking the Country stations into a “Nash-in-nal” network.

“Every market is unique. Every market is going to have its own needs,” Bryant says.

NashFM Control, NYC

Bryant says country as a format wasn’t automatic when the purchase was announced last fall.

“Cumulus [was] extremely thoughtful and strategic when they came in and looked at the complete landscape of New York,” Bryant says.

The powers that be at the second-largest radio company in the U.S., ultimately agreed to give Country the spot on the dial.

The time was definitely ripe for Country in New York. Artists crossed over like Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum. Of course, Carrie Underwood took it to another level, thanks to her American Idol win.

“I think Country is in a different place than it was 10 years ago,” Bryant says. “I think that it’s more mainstream.”

Read More Now.

Knoxville Radio: MerleFM Taping Pilot For TV Reality Show

Knoxville’s WMYL 96.7 FM MerleFM is involved in a pilot shoot for a proposed reality TV Show.  Tentatively, called Radio Ranch the station says a number of Cable TV channels, including the History Channel, have expressed interest.

The station has posted a shooting schedule on its Facebook page and invited listeners to apply as ‘extras’ for six pilot episodes being taped this month.

Dallas Radio: Best Wishes For Ron Chapman

Ron Chapman, Dallas Morning News

Since suffering a stroke on December 23, when he “began speaking in a foreign tongue,” Dallas radio legend and broadcasting hall-of-famer Ron Chapman has been hospitalized.

But today, his voice still a little slow but decidedly more steady, he quotes a song from Pinocchio: “I’m free, there are no strings on me.”

The Dallas Morning News reports Chapman went home Tuesday, just a few days after doctors removed his feeding tubes and told him he was free — and free to return to solid food for the first time since the night before Christmas Eve, when Nance Chapman called 911.

For the past month, he’s been on a steady diet of “mashed potatoes, smashed peas and smashed meat of some sort” — sounds appetizing. “But when I left, they said. ‘You can eat anything you want. And I said, ‘What’s the number for Domino’s?’”

Ron and Nance will likely “be hiding out at home for a few months” while he recovers, he says. “My left side doesn’t do what my right side does.”

Read More Now.

St. Louis Rock & Roll DJ Reunion Rocks

Saturday, January 19th, 2013 was the night that St. Louis, MO claimed it's title as the Heart of Rock and Roll!

Nearly every DJ in town came to a reunoin at the Ameristar Casino along with thousands of their loyal listeners. They were joined by musicians Sammy Hagar, Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Head East, amd members of Poco, Pavlov's Dog, and Missouri. It noteworthy that these musicians volunteered to come to this event to pay tribute to St. Louis Radio for making their careers a success!

The event also honored Shelly Grafman of KSHE Radio and R. J. Miller of KADI radio for their influence on American Rock and Roll!

NashFM 94-7 Starts Nat’l ‘Search’ For Staff

Cumulus Media says (with a straight face) they are now searching for on-air air staff, including a Program Director for its new country station in NYC, NashFM 94-7.

“The All-New NashFM 94.7, in the world’s greatest city, NYC, is interviewing world class air talent for all day-parts.  Proven air talent who love Country, live the lifestyle and are ready for a career step to the top should apply immediately. Salary is commensurate with experience and ratings history. Resumes, ratings history, references and mp3 should be sent in confidence to cumulusradio.jobs@cumulus.com with ‘New York Country Talent’ in the subject line. EOE.”

And for the PD position, “We’re searching for an exceptional On Air/Program Director. Experience programming winning Country stations is not just preferred, we’re looking for someone that lives for Country Radio and has it in their bones.

The successful candidate will be responsible for all aspects of programming including; music scheduling, coaching on-air staff, station strategy, development/ execution of promotions, website and revenue generation, and have a strong customer service approach towards listeners and staff. Salary is commensurate with experience and ratings history. Resumes, ratings history, references and mp3 should be sent in confidence to cumulusradio.jobs@cumulus.com with ‘New York Country PD’ in the subject line. EOE.”

Tom's Take:  However, it must be noted that these postings are probably for EOE purposes only.  With the time Cumulus has had to make plans, one would reasonably think they have a staff in-place.  If you still believe these openings really exist, let me tell you about the Brooklyn Bridge…it can be yours..cheap!

DC Radio: WTOP’s Jim Farley Planning To Retire

Jim Farley

Jim Farley, VP of News & Programming at Hubbard’s newser WTOP103.5 FM has announced  his intention to retire at the end of the year.

WTOP during Farley’s programming watch transitioned from an regional AM-FM simulcast to a top-rated and top billing FM station.  Its news department has won just about every imaginable news award, including nine Edward Murrow Awards during the last two year.

Farley came to WTOP in 1996 after eight years with ABC News in New York as Managing Editor at the ABC Radio Networks.

Prior to that, he spent thirteen years with NBC News (radio and television). He  was also the last NBC News Vice President of Radio News before NBC sold the NBC Radio Networks in 1987. He  started my career at all-news WINS in New York City in 1966, as a  "copy boy."

Farley had taught graduate and undergraduate Journalism courses at NYU and Fordham.

Farley says that he’ll be a consultant for WTOP and its owner, Hubbard Broadcasting.

Todd Schnitt Testifies Against Bubba The Love Sponge

Todd 'MJ' Schnitt

Tampa Radio Personality Todd ‘MJ’ Schnitt testified Tuesday in his civil suit against Todd 'Bubbas The Love Sponge' Clem and talked about his broadcasting career starting at WCPK in Virginia at age 16. In 1982 as a sophomore in high school he moved to a slightly larger talk radio station, then went to Los Angeles and then to New York City.

He did his first morning talk show. The MJ Morning Show in West Palm Beach, and then got a call in 1994 for a job in the Tampa area which became the MJ and BJ Morning Show for Clear Channel’s WFLZ 93.3 FM. His morning show included comedy/prank phone calls and pop culture, targeting women aged 18-49.

He currently does the "Schnitt Show" in the afternoons on N/T WFLA 970 AM radio.

The swflorida.blog reports he said he considers himself a broadcaster with a reputation "in good standing" in the community. But says, it's "Not as good as it used to be," alleging Todd ‘Bubba’ Clem was the factor in a change of his reputation starting in January, 2008. He described people calling him names, screaming at him, and nasty emails and phone calls. Bubba Clem returned to the Tampa radio market in January, 2008.

The jury was shown dozens of nasty reading emails from listeners.

Todd 'Bubba' Clem

Schnitt played well to the jury, alternately looking at his attorney as questions were asked and then speaking to the jury on opposite sides of the courtroom, fielding hundreds of questions.

He described a Mother's Day 2008 incident as he was taking his wife and kids to lunch when he found his  wife's car, the house and yard littered with eggs and had to cancel the dinner out in order to clean up the mess he told the court.

Schnitt says he found a note at his gate signed by the "Bubba Army." He then contracted to buy a $12,000 video security system after making a report with the Tampa police about the vandalism.

Read More Now.

Also testifying were more members of Bubba the Love Sponge Clem's radio show. They said the Tampa shock jock's alleged verbal attacks on fellow Tampa DJ Todd "MJ" Schnitt were all about a radio war, not character assassination.

Matthew Lloyd, a 102.5 The Bone FM personality known as "Spice" on the radio, was a member of Bubba's show five years ago when the alleged verbal attacks took place.

"The goal was to be No. 1 in the ratings)," Lloyd said. "MJ had the number one slot, and the goal was to win," according to BayNews9.

Schnitt's lawyer asked Lloyd, who could be heard laughing in the background of one of the clips, if he thought calling Schnitt's wife a bad name was funny. Lloyd said it was all part of the game.

Read More Now.

Clem denies the claims, saying he was using "hyperbole" and "satire," that the Schnitts are public figures and his comments were protected by the First Amendment, according to tbo.com.

The trial is now in its second week and testimony is expected to continue Wednesday. For live coverage, Click Here.

NashFM 94-7 Playlist Said to Be Market-Driven

When WXRP New York hit the play button on Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels” on Jan. 21, it marked the return of country music to terrestrial radio in the nation’s largest market after an absence of more than a decade.

Billboard.biz reports the WNSH playlist was based on market-driven research, according to Cumulus co-COO Lew Dickey.

The first hour mixed current singles (Brad Paisley’s “Southern Comfort Zone,” Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck”) with recent recurrents (Zac Brown Band’s “Free,” Lady Antebellum’s “I Run to You”) and classic country from the 1990s (Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places,” George Strait’s “Write This Down”).

Also heard, somewhat surprisingly, during the first day was Randy Rogers Band’s “Too Late for Goodbye,” which peaked at No. 47 on Hot Country Songs in 2010 but fared better on the Texas red-dirt circuit. If that was indeed chosen because of research and not just picked from a playlist at one of Cumulus’ Dallas stations (Dickey said WNSH was not an adaptation of another city’s library), that suggests the station could be a trendsetter, and not simply a jukebox of proven hits.

Read More Now.

The music mix for the first 14 hours according to Mediabase, and as detailed in tonight's edition of Country Aircheck showed 54.3% of the tunes aired were currents & recurrents, and the other 45.7% were gold tunes.

By year, the percentages were 56% for 2010-2012 music, 37% from 2000-2009, and another 6% were from 1987-1999.

NashFM 94-7 To Fill Huge Gap for Country Artists

Taylor Swift

Country stars are among the most consistent moneymakers in the concert industry. The genre’s growing sales are among the few bright lights of the music industry, writes Ben Sisario at nytimes.com.

According to Sisario, NashFM 94-7 fills a conspicuous gap in the nation’s largest media market. It is also an indication of how strong the country genre has become, not only in music but also in the broader popular culture, led by telegenic young acts like Taylor Swift and the group Lady Antebellum.

“We’ve been begging the major broadcasters to jump in with us,” said Scott Borchetta, president of the label Big Machine, whose acts include Ms. Swift, Tim McGraw and the Band Perry.

“The market has changed so dramatically over the last 15 or 16 years since we’ve had a country station in New York City proper. I think our music is now in the best possible alignment with what can work.”

Blake Shelton

According to The Times article, New York may be the ultimate symbol of American urbanism, but it is a large market for country music. Last year, Nielsen said that more country albums were sold in the New York metropolitan area than anywhere in the United States — although as a proportion of all music sales in the region, New York ranks far below less populous areas in the South and Midwest.

Music executives say that having a terrestrial station in the area will be a major help in selling concert tickets and promoting new music.

Even with country’s broad popularity, building a steady audience in New York for a genre of music that has been absent from the airwaves for so long might take time.

“If you look at the other major markets that have a successful country station — Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit — those stations planted a stake in the ground and stayed with it, and now those stations are practically iconic,” said Mr. Borchetta, of Big Machine. “The country radio audience doesn’t spike. It grows in a beautiful, slow arc.”

Read More Now.

Dickey Talks Country To CNBC

NashFM 94-7 Sez Aldean Concert Sold-Out In 10-Minutes

NashFM 94-7 NYC, now passed 4500 'likes' since Monday, tells its Facebook followers Jason Aldean's sold-out MSG concert played a role in Cumulus going country with their new property.

The posting said "Aldean's Army" needed a station to call their own!

Birmingham Radio: Finebaum Off Air, Looking For New Home

Paul Finebaum

Sports-talk radio host Paul Finebaum's contract with WJOX-FM expired Monday.

According to a story at al.com, it remains unclear where Finebaum will go next, and when.

"The JOX Roundtable," with Ryan Brown, Jim Dunaway and Lance Taylor, previously aired weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will now air from 2 to 6 p.m., in Finebaum's former time slot.

"Same show as always, we just sleep later," Brown tweeted on his Twitter account earlier today.

WJOX 690 AM / 94.5 FM, which is owned by Cumulus Media, has removed all references to Finebaum and his show, "The Paul Finebaum Radio Network," from its website.

The Cox Media Group, which owns rival station WZNN ESPN 97.3 The Zone, has been publicly courting Finebaum since that station came on the air in August 2011.

AL.com has learned that Finebaum is still exploring his options. Finebaum also has a three-month non-compete in the Birmingham market.

In recent weeks, Finebaum also has had talks with Sirius XM ESPN and CBS about joining their national radio networks, according to a profile in December's New Yorker magazine. Read More, Click Here.

Finebaum also has hired a new national agent, Nick Khan, whose clients include political commentator Keith Olbermann, CNN legal analyst Nancy Grace and ESPN sportscasters Hannah Storm and Kirk Herbstreit.

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How ESPN Lost Manti Te'o Breaking Story

As ESPN Debated, Manti Te’o Story Slipped Away

From Richard Sandomire & James Andrew Miller, The New York Times

On Jan. 16, a fierce debate raged inside ESPN. Reporters for the network had been working for almost a week trying to nail down an extraordinary story: Manti Te’o’s girlfriend — the one whose death from leukemia had haunted and inspired him during a triumphant year on the field for Notre Dame — might be a hoax. 

Some inside the network argued that its reporters — who had initially been put onto the story by Tom Condon, Te’o’s agent — had enough material to justify publishing an article. Others were less sure and pushed to get an interview with Te’o, something that might happen as soon as the next day. For them, it was a question of journalistic standards. They did not want to be wrong. 

“We were very close,” said Vince Doria, ESPN’s chief for news. “We wanted to be very careful.” 

ESPN held the story, and then lost it. 

That afternoon, Deadspin, a sports Web site, reported that the girlfriend did not exist. She had never lived. She had never died. She had never met with or talked to Te’o over the many months he thought he was in contact with a thoughtful, gravely ill Stanford alumna named Lennay Kekua. Deadspin strongly suggested that Te’o was complicit in the fake tale and had exploited it to bolster his bid for acclaim. 

Deadspin, its editor said in an interview this week, had also received a tip about the hoax, a day after ESPN had been alerted. The Web site assigned two reporters to the story. At the heart of the article Deadspin published was a reverse-image Internet search of the photograph on Twitter that Te’o, a star linebacker, had relied upon as proof of Kekua’s existence. It had been lifted from the Facebook account of an unsuspecting California woman who had never spoken with Te’o.

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DC Radio: Newser WNEW 99.1 FM Notches 1-Year Anniversary

CBS launched its DC all-newser WNEW 99.1 FM, one year ago Tuesday, notes dcrtv.com.

And, since then, it has seen little ratings ratings growth, remaining at about or slightly below 25th place, despite big news stories like the June "derecho" storm, Hurricane Sandy in October, and the presidential election in November. Hubbard's well-established all-newser WTOP, 103.5 FM, and American University public radio news talker WAMU, 88.5 FM, remain locked in a battle for the top spot, ratings-wise.

 6+                                          Oct.   Nov.  Dec.

The hill to climb:  WAMU-FM   8.7     8.4   8.1 

         

                        WTOP-FM    7.2    8.2    7.4

                         WMAL-FM   3.4    4.2    3.4

"The news battle in Washington is a two-station affair: WTOP and WAMU. The market does not appear interested in a third news station," WTOP VP/Programming Jim Farley tells DCRTV. "If you count (news talker) WMAL, the market does not appear interested in a fourth news station.”

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DC Radio: CBS To Add Second Sports Outlet

CBS Sports Radio 1580 makes its debut in Washington, D.C., the nation’s 7th ranked radio market on Monday, Jan. 28, featuring the national programming of CBS Sports Radio.

CBS Sports Radio launched in January 2013.  WNEW-AM CBS Sports Radio 1580’s launch coincides with the Super Bowl, as the network provides nearly 75 hours of unprecedented access, live from New Orleans, in anticipation of the CBS Television Network’s exclusive broadcast of Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, February 3. 

Listeners can hear the station at 1580AM, www.cbsdc.com or via the Radio.com app for a variety of mobile devices.

In addition to CBS Sports Radio’s national sports coverage, CBS RADIO owns and operates WJFK 106.7 The Fan.

Steve Swenson, Senior Vice President/Market Manager, CBS RADIO Washington, D.C. says, “We are proud to offer area sports fans an All-Star lineup that caters to their local and national sports interests.” 106.7 THE FAN will remain intact.

WNEW-AM at 1580 is on the old WPGC-AM frequency, which was a dominate Top 40 station in the late 60s and ‘70s.   Station power is 50kw day. and 270 watts nights.

Research: Listeners Positive on Contests

Mark Kossof

Researcher and Strategist Mark Kassof  says he’s never pushed contesting as a panacea for stations. After all, he writes:  A good contest can’t make a bad station successful, long-term.

Still, contests are much more in the ballpark of traditional radio than satellite or pure-play online stations, so he was especially interested: Could contests be another weapon in radio’s battle with the upstarts???

To find out, Kassel & Company did an online survey with 608 18-to-64 year olds who had cumed an FM or AM station in the past week.  One of the results of the survey concluded contesting could be a real edge for a traditional radio station.

Kassel says it’s true that contests have no impact on the majority of listeners’ interest in a station, or how much they listen to it.  But there remains a substantial percentage that are impacted by contests, and in an overwhelmingly positive way:

So, what this says is: Most listeners won’t be affected by your contest one way or another.  But at least a third will, and that bump comes with minimal downside.

Kassel says he is blown away by these numbers. Even if we toss in the requisite “grain of salt,” there’s no conclusion other than contesting can be a very good thing!

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Steve Harvey Bursts Into Tears At TV Surprise

Steve Harvey cries

A TV surprise saw comedian/radio/tv personality Steve Harvey breakdown in tears during a taping of the Steve Harvey TV show. Harvey showed his emotional side during an unexpected call during the show’s taping as part of his birthday special (he turned 56 on January 17, 2013).

Producers cut to a call via satellite, with a man appearing on-screen and wishing Harvey a happy birthday. It caused Harvey to whisper “Aw, man” before pacing the stage. “This is Rich Liss from Orlando, Florida,” the man said. “Do you still love me, baby?” Harvey was seen bending over, choking back sobs and trying to compose himself for a few moments. “Hey, man,” he finally said, before adding, “I love you.”

It turns out Rich and his wife Becky were early supporters of Harvey when he was an aspiring comedian running a fledging carpet cleaning business. They stuck by him while he tried to break into the tough comedy world, something Harvey has never forgotten, “I was struggling…I didn't have nothing. And these people... took me in.”

NYC’s NashFM 94-7 Flagship For National Brand

Lew Dickey

94.7 FM Calls Letters To Be Changed

Cumulus Media is launching a new entertainment brand, NASH, based on the country music lifestyle, bringing country music to the New York City airwaves for the first time in 17 years, according to a story at bizjournals.com.

The NASH platform will feature radio stations, a monthly magazine, website, social media, concerts and television programming.

Implementation of the Nash brand will be company wide with conversions of existing Cumulus Country stations getting underway this week.  Some 83 stations will be impacted.

The flagship NASH radio station in New York City, 97.4 FM, went live Monday. Cumulus also announced it will switch the call letters for NASH FM 94.7 from WRXP to WNSH.

"Country is more than just music — it's a lifestyle that is rich with content and marketing opportunities," Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey said in a statement. "Cumulus is committed to serving this significant lifestyle segment that stretches from coast-to-coast by creating a full complement of content on the radio, in print, online and on TV."

NASH Magazine, published by Modern Luxury, is scheduled to debut in the second half of 2013 and will also include social media content and exclusive concert events.

NASH radio programming will include live shows and will be available to stations throughout the day through Cumulus Media Networks.

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