Plus Pages

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Saturday Aircheck: Harry Harrison On 77 WABC January 1979



According to the  Musicradio 77 tribute website...In 1968, Rick Sklar hired Harry to become WABC's morning drive air personality.

Among his many talents, Harry is able to drop in weather forecasts, time checks and traffic reports with ease. During this era in Top 40 radio programming where the object was to appeal to a mass audience of every demographic, Harry fit WABC perfectly. By 1970 Harry was waking up nearly 4 million people a day!

Harry remained at WABC until 1979. He soon landed at Oldies WCBS-FM.

Friday, September 13, 2013

NYC Radio: Homeless Man Confesses To Beating WINS Anchor

Brian Carey
Botched Pizza Order Led To Beating

UPDATE 09/13/2013 1:30PM:  The homeless man who pummeled Brian Carey has confessed that the vicious attack was sparked by a botched pizza order, a law enforcement source told The NYPost. Anthony Elton told cops that he became irate when a deliveryman showed up at Carey’s Upper East Side apartment Monday night with a pizza that didn’t have double cheese.  He complained to the restaurant manager and received a fresh pie free of charge. Carey blasted Elton for causing a scene, triggering an argument, the source said.

Earlier Posting...

A homeless man was picked up Thursday in Central Park for the savage attack on WINS 1010 AM news anchor Brian Carey, according to The NY Post.

48-year-old Anthony Elton was nabbed by cops at 11 a.m. Thursday and taken to the Manhattan Robbery Squad for questioning after a tipster called police.

“He’s being interviewed by detectives right now,” said one law enforcement source. “Technically, he’s a person of interest. He hasn’t been charged yet.”

The 52-year-old Carey was allegedly beaten in his Upper East Side apartment building Monday night by Elton.

He suffered a broken jaw, facial fractures and a deep gash. Carey, whose voice is familiar to millions of news junkies who listen to 1010 WINS, staggered downstairs and collapsed in the lobby, sources said.

“I want to thank everyone who has expressed their well wishes. It means the world to me and I am deeply grateful for all of the support,” Carey said Thursday. “My goal now is to get better as quickly as possible so I can get back to the job I love. Please keep me in your thoughts. Thank you”

We’re all wishing for Brian’s speedy recovery and look forward to having him back on the air soon.

“Brian has a tough road ahead but he is strong and his spirits are good,” Ben Mevorach, Director of News and Programming for 1010 WINSsaid, “I spent a few hours with him Wednesday reading some of the hundreds of e-mails he has received from around the country.  It has lifted him immeasurably.”

If you’d like to send Brian well wishes, please comment on the CBS New York Facebook page.

Carey's brother, Jim Carey of Nanticoke, PA confirmed his brother had a broken jaw and said that he had been on a ventilator for about 15 hours but he was now breathing on his own.  Brian Carey may need several surgeries in coming days, but he is expected to survive, his brother said.

Jim Carey said Brian doesn't remember anything about the attack.

Radio At Work: Web Listeners Show Traditional Preferences


Radionomy and Edison Research have released select results from "What's Working at Work," a study designed to help producers more intimately tailor programming to their audiences.

See Original Post 'Classic Rock, Top40, Rock, Country: Click Here.

While the full results will be presented next week at the Radio Show in Orlando, initial findings released offer numerous insights into at-work Internet-only radio listening behavior: Classic Rock, Top 40, Rock and Country are the most popular formats, although non-music formats have strength as well; workplace listeners hope to discover new music; and most workplace listeners also listen to Internet-only radio in other settings, including at home and even on vacation.

Thierry Ascarez
"As the platform that allows anyone -- from enthusiast to professional -- to sidestep technology and business hassles and easily create an online station, Radionomy is very interested in helping producers discover how Internet-only radio resonates with listeners," said Thierry Ascarez, US Country Manager, Radionomy.

"We sponsored this study to shed light on listener behavior and preferences at work -- one of the most important times for Internet-only radio."

The study show desire for Discovery Creates Opportunities for Internet-only Radio

Despite the popularity of well-established formats like Classic Rock, Top 40 and Country, 72% report listening to Internet-only radio in order to "discover new songs." Similarly, 50% listen to "discover popular songs."

According to the survey, the vast majority don't just listen to Internet-only radio while working, as 86% of at-work listeners report also listening to those same Internet-only stations in other locations, such as at-home or while on vacation. Furthermore, 65% say they listen to Internet-only radio while working to hear a type of music that is not on AM/FM radio.

While people listening to Internet-only radio while working are primarily turning in for music, a sizable portion of respondents report tuning in for information as well, listening for:
  • News and information: 36%
  • Information about things going on in their community: 35%
  • Breaking news: 34%
  • Talk radio/reports talk radio hosts: 32%
  • Personalities and DJs along with the music: 31%
According to Radionomy, these findings indicate that, as more listening migrates from over-the-air radio to streaming, people are taking with them many of their traditionally rooted preferences and habits. However, the survey also identified some notable differences as people move to Internet-only radio, such as the desire for more control over the listening experience: 71% like to create "radio stations" based on their favorite songs or artists.

Chicago Radio: Tribune Launches WGN.FM

Three weeks after Jonathon Brandmeier signed off as morning personality at WGN AM 720, he’s back behind a microphone — and out of control, according to robertfeder.com.

Starting today, Brandmeier will be heard live from 6 to 9am Monday -Friday online at WGN.fm, a virtual station being designed to incorporate audio, video and social media components.

Today’s show had been billed as a one-time test, but instead will air each weekday “for the foreseeable future,” according to Jimmy deCastro, president and general manager of the Tribune Broadcasting news/talk station and related media ventures.

“Johnny doesn’t want a lot of hoopla or a whole bunch of publicity,” deCastro said. “He just wants to go on and do his show and connect with his audience.”

LISTEN TO WGN.FM: Click Here

In addition to debuting the new audio stream, today also marks the launch of a new website for WGN.fm, deCastro said, pointing out that the “fm” domain designation also stands for “free-form media.” “It’s where audio will meet video and will meet social. That’s the excitement of what we’re building homegrown, internally.”

Unlike the regimented format of WGN AM 720, which Brandmeier found too confining, his new home will allow him to do as he pleases.


Arbitron Top Population Markets Get Shuffled


Arbitron has revised and released its population estimates starting with the Fall 20013 Survey Period.

Arbitron lists no changes for the Top 10 Markets. However, Denver has nudged Nassau-Suffolk from the #19 spot.  Long Island is now market #20.

Other notable changes:
  • Salt Lake City moves up two spots to #29, with Cincinnati and Cleveland moving down
  • Charleston, SC is up to #79 ahead of Akron, Harrisburg, PA and Monterey-Salinas-Santa Curz, CA.
  • Boise, ID is now the 100th Market
TO SEE COMPLETE MARKET LISTS, Click Here.

Record Deal Puts Pressure On Major Labels

Clear Channel Media and music major Warner Music Group have reached a game-changing deal that will see Warner artists paid for terrestrial radio play for the first time.

In exchange, Clear Channel will get preferential rates for streaming songs through its iHeartRadio service and other online platforms, according to the NY Post.

SEE ORIGINAL POSTING: Click Here.

Record companies have been fighting to get paid for terrestrial airplay, which has traditionally been seen as promotional time. While radio stations haven’t paid to play songs, new digital platforms such as Pandora do pay royalties for each song they stream.
With the growth of these online music services, the record labels have begun to clamor for some form of payment from terrestrial radio owners. The amount Clear Channel will pay per song was not disclosed.

Under the deal, Warner artists such as CeeLo Green and Bruno Mars will also get a bigger share of promotional time — including more air play — across Clear Channel’s broadcast stations, digital radio outlets, outdoor events and TV shows.

Clear Channel has 850 radio stations and claims 60 million unique users per month across its digital sites.

The agreement giving Warner artists special treatment is likely to put pressure on the other big labels, Sony and Universal, to reach similar deals.

Bob Pittman, Chairman/CEO of Clear Channel visited CNBC Friday morning and said the deal is about reinventing the radio and music relationship in the digital age.


Broadcasters Prefer ‘Paying Now, Not Later’

Until now agreeing to pay artist performance royalties that U.S.-based artists have been clamoring for and been rebuffed on since the 1950's -- when combined, the indie deals amount to small potatoes in the overall scheme of things, according to Billboard.

The National Assn. of Broadcasters has successfully beaten back every legislative attempt by record labels and artists to force broadcast radio to pay such an artist performance royalty, something that is paid in the rest of the world, but is only paid here in digital broadcasts.

In doing this and 12 other recent deal with indie record companies, Clear Channel Media Holdings CEO Bob Pittman, was going against the grain in the radio industry, but Billboard report Pittman says he has made these deals because he wants to build a successful digital broadcast business, something that the current rate structure prevents, according to him.

The statutory payment rate for webcasting is $0.0022 per song for a compulsory license is predicated on a per play rate per listener. Since radio can't control how many listeners will tune in, it can't predict how much will have to be paid out. Pittman says these deals give him a predictable cost structure that allows him to build an economically feasible business model.

According to sources, the deals pay 1% of advertising radio from terrestrial broadcast as artist performance royalties, 2% for digital webcasting and the equivalent to, but not exactly, the statutory rate for a pureplay license for its iHeartRadio Pandora-like service.

Broadcasters like Clear Channel and others like Entercom and Beasley, prefer to make deals now instead of legislation-imposed mandatory rates later.

Twitter Announces It’s Going Public


Twitter announced Thursday that it's going public, fittingly revealing the long-expected news via tweet, saying it had filed confidential documents for an initial public offering of stock.

Twitter filed sealed documents for the IPO, taking advantage of federal legislation passed last year that lets companies with less than $1 billion in revenue do so.

That will likely help Twitter avoid the media hype that surrounded the IPOs of other big-name social networking companies, including Facebook, which went public last year.

Research firm eMarketer as estimating that Twitter will make $582.8 million in ad revenue this year, up from $288.3 million in 2012.

Pandora Stock Hits New High During Surge

Pandora stock surged 12% to finish at $23.97 Thursday , its best closing level since it went public on June 15, 2011, according to marketwatch.com.

During the session, the stock also hit a high of $24.43, the highest since it tested $26 on its debut.

The Internet radio company on Wednesday said Brian McAndrews would take over as chief executive, president and chairman, succeeding long-time head Joe Kennedy. (See Original Posting, Click Here.)

“We think McAndrews is a strong hire for Pandora given his deep experience in the digital media and advertising space across both smaller, high-growth companies and well-established publishers,” Doug Anmuth, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, said in a note.

McAndrews was most recently with Madrona Venture Group and served as senior vice president of Microsoft Corp.’s MSFT advertiser and publisher solutions unit prior to that.

Yikes! USA Today To Double Newsstand Price

USA Today will raise its newsstand price from $1 to $2 per copy effective Sept. 30, according to the Gannett blog.
  
According to bizjournals.com, it is the first time USA Today has raised its newsstand price since 2008, when it went from 75 cents to $1.

"As our costs continued to rise, we held our cover price at $1 well after other national newspapers raised their cover prices," said Heidi Zimmerman, USA Today's director of communications.

"The $2.00 cover price now has us competitively priced against other national newspapers."

USA Today's website remains free.

Company-wide digital revenue, including usatoday.com and its other newspaper websites, grew 20 percent and now accounts for almost 30 percent of all revenue.

Shepard Smith Gets New Deal, Role With Fox News

Shepard Smith
FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Shepard Smith will lead a newly established breaking news division as its Managing Editor and continue as Chief News Anchor as part of his new multi-year deal to remain with the network, announced Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO, FOX News.

This new deal sets in play other changes coming to Fox News primetime. Drudge reported last month that Megyn Kelly‘s new primetime show would air at 9pm, paving the way for Sean Hannity to take over the 7pm hour.

In the course of this shift, which will take place this fall, The FOX Report with Shepard Smith will be incorporated into a breaking news unit where Smith will dedicate his anchoring, reporting and presentation acumen as domestic and international events unfold.

Additionally, Smith will continue to anchor at 3PM/ET with the debut of Shepard Smith Reporting, a new one-hour program which will rely on an extraordinary combination of technologies and social media to bring viewers the latest hard news across all FNC platforms, allowing them to witness how news is gathered.

The show will be housed in a newly constructed signature studio unveiled upon launch, known as The FOX News Deck.  The Deck and Smith’s dedicated team of producers and information specialists will also be able to interrupt all programming as needed at a moment’s notice to bring viewers the latest news as it develops. The newly created command center concept fuses incoming real-time news feeds, digital media newsgathering and social media utilizing advanced, state-of-the-art technology.

In making the announcement, Ailes said, “Shep is a premier journalist and one of the finest newsmen of the modern era. He will exemplify the ethos that FOX News is when and where the news is, as it happens, no longer bound by a traditional evening format conceived in the 1960’s.”

Smith added, “Learning and reporting the news has been my passion for 25 years. I’m thrilled that Roger is trusting and empowering my team and me to bring the news to our viewers as it happens throughout the day and night. Roger’s forward-looking approach to anchoring and reporting will continue to solidify FNC’s position as the number one cable news network in the country.”

NYC Radio: Whole New Ballgame For WCBS-AM

Tim Scheld
Tim Scheld, director of news and programming at WCBS-880 AM, would love for the Yankees to go all the way to another World Series, according to David Hinckley at NYDaily News.

“We hope we have another storybook ending to deliver this season,” says Scheld, whose station has broadcast Yankees play-by-play since 2002. “We have nothing but great memories of our time carrying the team. They are a class operation.”

Come next season, however, it’s a new ballgame for WCBS-AM, because the Yankees are moving to sister station WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM.

Scheld looks forward to it.

“Baseball is our pastime but news is our passion,” he says — and the way it’s been for the last dozen years, news goes off when the Yankees take the field, which is 190-200 times a year.

This becomes more noticeable on a night like this past Tuesday, when the Yankees were playing the Orioles while the city was counting mayoral primary ballots.

Those kinds of conflicts, says Scheld, are one reason WCBS-AM became a pioneer in online news streaming, so people who aren’t baseball fans could keep getting WCBS-AM news during games.

NYC Radio: Time Is Ripe For ESPN To Land The Mets

Bob Raissman
Now that WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM has locked-up radio broadcast rights, including Spanish-rights, to the New York Yankees for the next 10-years, the time is ripe for WEPN 98.7 FM to go after crosstown rival the Mets.  See Original Posting, Click Here.

If they don’t, Bob Raissman at the NY Daily News writes, it means ESPN is not in it to win it.

For both stations, ratings are the bottom line. Overall, ESPN 98.7 trails WFAN. Ratings are the measuring stick, but staying relevant and creating buzz can help push the needle higher. According to Raissman, ESPN-98.7 has done well in this department. It has come a long way since its days on 1050-AM, before it moved to FM.

Among other moves, the station has obtained the rights to the two marquee winter franchises, the Knicks and the Rangers. It also picked up the Jets and built independent, spit-stirring programming around a team steeped in controversy.

WFAN was paying the Mets between $6 million-$7 million per year. Considering the money ESPN spends on rights for major properties like the NFL, NBA, MLB, as well as talent, the Mets fee would amount to chump change.

A look at the average number of listeners per game over the last few years reveals why this acquisition has value.  Surprisingly, the Mets on WFAN averaged more listeners per game than the Yankees on WCBS-AM. In 2012, the Mets averaged 283,200 listeners per game. The Yankees averaged 240,000. Up to this point in the 2013 season the Mets are averaging 212,100 listeners per game. The Yankees are averaging 206,300.

But there is a flip side. Clear Channel, a possible Mets suitor, owns six stations in the market, which could provide the Mets with greater demographic diversity and a chance to reach a wider audience.

Even more reason for ESPN to get serious about the Mets.

Boston Radio: Celtics, The Hub ThisClose To Deal

The Boston Celtics are "close" to a deal that will make WBZ-FM 98.5 The Sports Hub the new radio home of the C's, according to csnne.com.

An announcement of the new deal is expected to be made as early as next week.

Despite the Celtics fielding a team that's not expected to be among the NBA's elite this season, there was a significant amount of interest in broadcasting their games after it was announced earlier this summer that the C's and WEEI could not come to terms on a new contract.

WEEI, which is part of Entercom Communications, had been the Celtics' flagship station since 2005.

"WEEI has had an incredible run with the Boston Celtics, from being a part of their 17th championship banner to the end of the [recent] Big 3 era," said Entercom Boston vice president/market manager Jeff Brown in a statement.

Of those parties that had expressed interest in the Celtics' broadcasting rights, linking up with the CBS-owned 98.5 The Sports Hub made the most sense.

The Sports Hub's Arbitron ratings have been better than WEEI's of late, establishing 98.5 as a major player in the sports-frenzied Boston market.

In addition, the Celtics are joining a station that is already the flagship station for the New England Patriots and the Boston Bruins.

And while there are certainly some conflicts schedule-wise between the Celtics and the Bruins, there are a number of other CBS-owned stations in the Boston market that will make this a non-issue.

NYC Radio: Bobby V Sez Yankees MIA After 9/11

Bobby Valentine
Yankees president Randy Levine says Bobby Valentine “should be silent and remember” after the former Mets manager claimed New York’s American League club was nowhere to be found following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Valentine said he’d take the advice — and then doubled down on his original stance Thursday, according to WFAN’s website.

“Let it be said that during the time from 9/11 to 9/21, the Yankees were (not around),” Valentine told WFAN radio’s Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on Wednesday. “You couldn’t find a Yankee on the streets of New York City. You couldn’t find a Yankee down at Ground Zero, talking to the guys who were working 24/7.”

LISTEN TO TO WFAN AUDIO: Click Here.

He added: “Many of them didn’t live here, and so it wasn’t their fault. And many of them did not partake in all that, so there was some of that jealousy going around. Like, ‘Why are we so tired? Why are we wasted? Why have we been to the funerals and the firehouses, and the Yankees are getting all the credit for bringing baseball back?’ And I said ‘This isn’t about credit, guys. This is about doing the right thing.’”

Detroit Radio: Matt Dery Lands Middays On ‘Detroit Sports’

Matty Dery
Former WXYT-FM 97.1 producer Matt Dery signed a contract today with Greater Media Detroit’s WMGC-105.1 FM. He’ll launch his new midday show, “The Discussion with Matt Dery,” at noon Monday.

“It’s going to be a fun, open forum,” Dery told the Detroit Free Press. “I’m on by myself, but it’s not like I want to sit there and be a lecturer. It’s about the fans. I want to have opinions, but that’s to bounce off the audience.”

“The Discussion” will air from noon-3 p.m. weekdays, leading in to Drew Lane’s “Sports & More” show with co-host Marc Fellhauer. 

Ryan Ermanni and Rico Beard’s “Ryan and Rico” show, which has aired during the midday time slot the past month, will move to its planned weekend time slot from 8 a.m.-noon. Saturdays and Sundays, program director Jason Dixon said.

“Matt has a history in the market and a great knowledge of the local sports teams,” Dixon said. “His show will be similar to what ‘Ryan and Rico’ do by being a heavy sports-oriented show with strong opinions.”

Dery, a Cleveland native and Syracuse alumnus, told the Free Press he enjoyed his four years as a producer on 97.1 The Ticket’s drive-time show “Valenti and Foster,” and he still considers the show’s hosts, Mike Valenti and Terry Foster, “brothers.” But when contract negotiations with the CBS Radio Detroit show ended in July, he knew it was time to explore other options — even if that meant giving up his long-running gig hosting the Detroit Pistons’ pregame, halftime, and postgame shows.

Detroit Radio: WRIF Listeners Help Nab Foot Sniffer

Foot Sniffer Caught
Detroit morning radio duo “Dave & Chuck the Freak” apparently stepped into a police situation this morning when listeners called in to report a man with a fetish for smelling people’s feet,according to lansingstatejournal.com.

“When the same stories kept coming in about the guy — same guy … claiming to be part of the fraternity — that’s when we knew we were on to something,” WRIF101.1 FM producer James Campbell said. “He (claimed to be) pledging for a fraternity. He needed to smell feet and put feet on his face and (take) pictures.”

The situation began just after 7 a.m. On-air personalities Dave Hunter and Chuck (the Freak) Urquhart began discussing “creeps you’ve met but didn’t realize they were creeps until you brought them home,” Campbell said.

A couple of radio listeners called in, both describing a stranger who approached them asking to smell their feet. He asked for a picture of their feet on his face, claiming he needed proof as he pledged a fraternity.

Other listeners then started sending in their own pictures of the man, feet on his face, Campbell said.

“All while this is going on, we had somebody call in toward the end of the segment, and he (had) just encountered the guy minutes ago,” Campbell said. “He volunteered to check it out, so I gave him a number to reach us so I was going to try to talk to him on the air. By the time he reached the guy, police were frisking and searching him.”

Campbell said police had stopped the suspect near the Detroit Zoo.

“The officer told (thelistener) to get back in his car and get out of here,” Campbell said. “As he was leaving, (the officer) yelled out, ‘We have the foot sniffer in custody.’”

Boston Radio: WROR's Loren & Wally Honored By Mass HOF

Loren & Wally
105.7 WROR-FM Morning Hosts Loren and Wally have been inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame, a commemoration of their 32 years together and of their significant contributions to the city of Boston.

The event took place last evening at the Boston Marriott Quincy Hotel.

Virtually every single weekday for the past 32 years, Loren and Wally have kept listeners laughing with their good-natured morning show banter as well as their hilarious parodies, such as Tom’s Townie Tunes and Men From Maine. They’ve grown up with Boston, cheering and mourning with the city during many of its most exciting, meaningful and sad events. They were on air comforting listeners during the September 11th attacks and were cheering on the city during the recent Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and Celtics championships.

“Loren and Wally have a natural gift for radio. When you listen to their show, you feel like you’re sitting and having coffee with your best friends who you’ve known forever,” stated Ken West, Program Director for 105.7 WROR-FM.

“You have to really like the people you work with to wake up at three o’clock in the morning – especially after thirty plus years – and Loren and Wally’s constant enthusiasm and encouragement has played a big part in the continuing success of the entire station.”



Loren and Wally’s friendship extends far beyond radio and entertainment. The duo has also been extremely involved in local charitable causes and traces this work back to their love and passion for the city of Boston.

In their three decades together, they have sold over 80,000 Tom’s Townie Tunes, Men From Maine, and Anniversary CDs to raise money for local and national charities such as the Genesis Fund and the Dunkin Donuts Community Foundation. After the city was rattled by the Boston Marathon Bombings this spring, the pair sold Fred Rogers Boston Helpers shirts to raise $46,000 for One Fund Boston to help victims.

In addition, this year Greater Media Boston and 105.7 WROR-FM announced the renewal of Loren and Wally’s contract and recently opened a new studio for the morning show team.

“I’m thrilled to continue Greater Media’s relationship with Loren and Wally,” added Peter H. Smyth, Chairman and CEO of Greater Media. “Their longevity and success as a radio show duo demonstrates their continuing passion and dedication to WROR, Greater Media, the city of Boston and, above all – their listeners. I’m honored to have them as integral members of the Greater Media family and am excited to see where the next thirty years takes them.”


Other inductees:

R.I.P.: Sound Pioneer Ray Dolby

Dolby Laboratories Thursday announced that Ray Dolby, an American inventor recognized around the world for developing groundbreaking audio technologies, died today at his home in San Francisco, at the age of 80.

Dr. Dolby had been living with Alzheimer's Disease in recent years, and was diagnosed in July of this year with acute leukemia.

Dr. Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories in 1965 and created an environment where scientists and engineers continue to advance the science of sight and sound to make entertainment and communications more engaging. Dr. Dolby's pioneering work in noise reduction and surround sound led to the development of many state-of-the-art technologies, for which he holds more than 50 U.S. patents.

"Today we lost a friend, mentor and true visionary," said Kevin Yeaman, President and CEO, Dolby Laboratories. "Ray Dolby founded the company based on a commitment to creating value through innovation and an impassioned belief that if you invested in people and gave them the tools for success they would create great things. Ray's ideals will continue to be a source of inspiration and motivation for us all."

"My father was a thoughtful, patient and loving man, determined to always do the right thing in business, philanthropy, and as a husband and father," said David Dolby, son and member of Dolby Laboratories' Board of Directors. "Our family is very proud of his achievements and leadership. He will be sorely missed, but his legacy of innovation will live on."

Early in Dr. Dolby's career, while attending high school on the San Francisco Peninsula and then Stanford University, he worked at Ampex Corporation and was the chief designer of all electronic aspects of the first practical videotape recording system. Today, Dolby Laboratories' technologies are an essential part of the creative process for recording artists and filmmakers, who continue to use Dolby tools to bring their visions to life.

"Though he was an engineer at heart, my father's achievements in technology grew out of a love of music and the arts," said Tom Dolby, son, filmmaker, and novelist. "He brought his appreciation of the artistic process to all of his work in film and audio recording."

In the 48 years since Dr. Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories, the company has transformed the entertainment experience from the cinema to the living room to mobile entertainment. Tens of thousands of films and billions of products and devices with Dolby technologies have made their way to theaters, homes and consumers' hands around the world. The industry has awarded Dolby Laboratories with 10 Academy Awards and 13 Emmy Awards for its groundbreaking achievements throughout the years.Ray Dolby,  a pioneer in the field of sound died Thursday in San Francisco.

R.I.P.: Pennsylvania Broadcaster Jerry Pollock

Sheldon Sharpless, Jerry Pollock
Central PA. radio personality Gerald “Jerry” Pollock passed away Monday at his home in Hawk Run, PA.

He was 69, according to the Centre County Daily Times .

He had spent 45 years on the airwaves at WPHB 120 AM with his good friend Sheldon Sharpless. Together, they were the voices of the Phillipsburg, PA area.

“I was absolutely devastated,” said Diana Stapleford, general manager of WPHB’s parent company, Magnum Broadcasting. “Even though he was ill. His listeners didn’t really realize. He wouldn’t complain about it. Every day he showed up at the radio station just like he did on the last day of his life.”

“The following that he had was just tremendous,” Stapleford said. When Pollock first fell ill, he received more than 3,000 cards from his audience, wishing him well.

On Tuesday, she and her husband joined the smaller station’s staff at the tiny building on U.S. Route 322 outside Philipsburg to deal with the loss.

“We sat and we fielded phone call after phone call after phone call,” she said. “You realized just the base of listeners that radio station has.”

The station manager said she will be working with P.J. Mullen and Chuck Myers to keep Pollock’s listeners happy with the unique, eclectic blend of country, oldies, gospel and polka that came to define his airtime.

R.I.P.: Radio Broadcaster Kevin Lein

Kevin Lein
Radio manager and personality Kevin Lein died suddenly on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013, at the age of 58.

Lein’s obit says he had a remarkable career in radio broadcasting spanning 42 years, his last seven years at Clear Channel in Temecula.

Graduating from Austin High School in Austin, Minnesota in 1973, Kevin pursued his dream in broadcasting, receiving his First Class FCC License and earning his degree from Brown College in Minneapolis, MN.

He worked for many different broadcasting groups in several states.

His first job was in Vicksburg, MS, then on to Gulf Coast outside of New Orleans. Next he moved to Waterloo, IA, for six years, nominated one of the top three radio personalities in a six-state area.

He served as program director and morning personality in Kansas before moving to Florida in the same role. In Florida he did TV commercials and was advertising director for Auto Mega Group in Gainsville, Orlando, and Jackson, MS. He was general manager of a country station in Gainsville when the station sold. He then moved to Monroe, LA, working for Bob Ingstad on a project called “Get Wild Midwest Celebration.”

Eventually Kevin moved his family to Mason City, Iowa, where he worked as General Manager for Jim Ingstad Broadcasting, helping to kick off The Country Moose. He became group head of stations from Mason City to Fargo to Mankato and Faribault. He also owned a station in Ida Grove, Iowa, and sold it just prior to joining Cumulus Broadcasting.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Premiere Inks Long-Term Deal With Sean Hannity

Sean Hannity
To no one’s surprise, Syndicated radio talker Sean Hannity has re-upped with Premiere Networks.  The long-term deal was inked just a month after Hannity said he would terminate affiliation deals with Cumulus station.

The new deal will likely see Hannity's show carried by Clear Channel or non-Clear Channel stations in several of those key markets.

“We’re really excited to be able to expand our relationship with Sean, one of the greatest talk radio talents in the country,” John Hogan, the Chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment said in a statement.

“Sean continues to be one of the most successful radio personalities in both ratings and delivering results for advertisers, and his provocative show has seen significant growth," Hogan said. "His blend of intelligence, passion and integrity is what makes him such a successful broadcaster and important asset to radio.  We expect this new distribution plan to offer even more exposure and growth for The Sean Hannity Show.”

Hannity's show currently averages almost 13 million weekly listeners, according to Premiere, and has been nationally syndicated for 12 years.

CCM+E’s Revenue-Sharing Deals ‘Just Keep On Coming’

Clear Channel Media+Entertainment and Warner Music Group have announced a landmark partnership aligning the two companies' interests in driving digital growth, increasing radio listenership, breaking new music and creating new marketing opportunities for established artists. WMG is the first major label to ink an agreement of this kind with Clear Channel.

WMG will share in revenue from all platforms and promote the music of WMG artists across all of Clear Channel's multi-platform assets, including:
  • Clear Channel's 850 radio stations nationwide; 243 million monthly broadcast radio users; more than 20,000 nationwide events; 60 million monthly uniques across its digital properties; its iHeartRadio theaters; and the 143 million person monthly reach of its outdoor assets
  • Programs to dedicate commercial time specifically to launch new music by providing new song exposure through both an enhanced and a first-ever guaranteed and prioritized version of Clear Channel's Artist Integration Program (AIP), which will deliver carefully timed and continuing promotion;
  • Major nationally televised events, including the Jingle Ball annual holiday concerts, the iHeartRadio Music Festival, iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party events, iHeartRadio Album Release Parties, and more;
  • Special programs using Clear Channel's digital footprint, including its digital simulcast, digital-only stations and custom stations, as well as special audio and video content, programming and promotions; and
  • New targeted user interfaces in digital that make it easier for consumers to buy music when they hear it ­ building on radio's role as the #1 way people discover music, and driving the conversion of interest in new music directly to sales.
"The reach of radio, its power to promote, coupled with a recognition of the value of music makes this a great opportunity for artists and a promise to all people that finding their favorite music is fun and fundamental," said CeeLo Green.

Bob Pittman
"WMG is showing the way for what a true 21st century music company can be a music company built for the digital age.  They're now poised to use this unique relationship to benefit both their new and legendary artists," said Bob Pittman, Chairman/CEO of Clear Channel. 

"We couldn't be more thrilled to be their partner in building these exciting new markets and promoting their artists in innovative new ways.  This is a win for all parties ­ for artists, who will enjoy heightened and guaranteed exposure; for their fans, who will find them in more places than ever before; for consumers, who will have the enhanced ability to find and listen to music wherever and whenever they want; and for WMG, Clear Channel and all of us participating in the new digital marketplace."

LA Radio: The AMP-FM’s Carson Daly Joins 'Today' Show

Carson Daly
Carson Daly  will join the “Today” show with the revamp of Studio 1A debuting Monday, Sept. 16, the set’s first redesign in seven years that will feature an open floor plan.

According to Variety, the Orange Room will be a “nexus point” between the audience and the show, with Daly acting as the intermediary between the audience and “Today” hosts and guests.

The Orange Room’s lounge-like setting on the set will be a “hub of emerging technology,” outfitted with social media hangouts, extended live-stream interviews with “Today” guests, analysis of real-time social data and reactions from the web, as well as the home for the show’s original digital franchises, NBC said.

“‘The Orange Room’ is where the newsroom meets the living room,” exec producer Don Nash said.

Daly will continue to host and produce NBC’s “The Voice,” which debuts its fifth season Monday, Sept. 23, as well as his morning drive radio program on KAMP 97.1 AMP FM Los Angeles.

In addition, NBC has extended its relationship with Carson for a first-look development deal for scripted and alternative programs.

Big 3 Record Companies Now Suing SiriusXM

On Wednesday, the three largest record companies — Sony, Universal and Warner, along with ABKCO, an independent that controls many of the Rolling Stones’ early music rights — sued Sirius XM Radio in a California court, saying that the satellite service used recordings from before 1972 without permission, according to the NY Times.

Even though federal copyright protection does not apply to these recordings, the suits say that they are still covered by state law.

The suit is the third major complaint filed against Sirius XM in five weeks. The band the Turtles — whose song “Happy Together” was a No. 1 hit in 1967 — and the royalty agency SoundExchange filed similar suits last month, each seeking as much as $100 million in damages. The suit filed on Wednesday, in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages and a declaratory judgment about the rights involved in pre-1972 recordings.

“It is disgraceful, unfair, and probably criminal that Sirius XM is stealing monies due to me and other performing artists,” the singer Judy Collins said in a statement. “Performers should be paid their fair share of the royalties from their songs.”

Among other artists mentioned in the suit are the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra and the Supremes.

A spokesman for Sirius XM declined to comment.

SiriusXM Names New Board Members

Former ESPN chief George Bodenheimer and and Microsoft  exective Anthony Bates are joining the board of directors of Sirius XM, the satellite radio provider controlled by John Malone's Liberty Media, according to Reuters.

The executives are the latest high-profile additions to Sirius XM's board, which added Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav in May. Greg Maffei, Liberty Media's CEO, became chairman of the board in April.

Bodenheimer, 55, is executive chairman of Walt Disney's ESPN and was president of the sports network for about 15 years before he stepped down in January 2012.

Bates, 46, came to Microsoft two years ago as CEO of the acquired online chat company Skype. He is considered to be a potential internal candidate to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft.

Liberty Media took control of Sirius XM earlier this year. Liberty acquired a roughly 40 percent stake in 2009 as part of a deal in which it loaned Sirius XM $530 million to help the company avoid bankruptcy.

SiriusXM Shares Hit New Five-Year High

SiriusXM Radio Inc  barreled through its old five-year high of $3.85 Wednesday.

According to The Motley Fool, it may seem like an odd week for the satellite radio giant to hit its highest levels since the springtime of 2008. CC Media's Clear Channel improved the talk content features for its iHeartRadio Talk app on Monday. And Apple Inc. announced Tuesday that iTunes Radio would roll out with next Tuesay's iOS 7 update.

Howoever, the mobile audio market is growing, and more easily accessible alternatives could mean more competition for the attention of potential SiriusXM Radio subscribers.

Then again, Sirius XM investors may argue that there's no reason to fear the threat of either company. iHeartRadio's been around for years, and Sirius XM has still grown to top 25-million subscribers this year.

SiriusXM has also seen encouraging auto sales, and that's ultimately more important than a lot of the distractions happening on the streaming end of the market.

CBS Sez Blackout Had No Effect On Revenue

CBS’ 32-day blackout on Time Warner Cable systems did not put a dent in the Eye’s bottom line, CBS Corp. prexy-CEO Leslie Moonves told an investor confab on Wednesday, according to Variety.

  “Our national ad dollars did not go down at all,” Moonves said in a Q&A session at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications and Entertainment conference in Beverly Hills. He said the Eye’s upcoming third-quarter earnings report will prove “there was no harm done financially to the CBS Corporation” from the loss of coverage on TW Cable systems in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and a handful of other markets.

Moonves reiterated that it was TW Cable’s call to pull the CBS stations and Showtime off the air — which marked a first for CBS going dark in a retransmission negotiation. But Moonves has no regrets for holding out for the deal that  eventually came together over Labor Day weekend — especially CBS’ balk against TW Cable’s effort to restrict the Eye’s ability to strike digital distribution deals for its programming.

Pandora Names Brian McAndrews As CEO

Brian McAndrews
Pandora Media Inc. has turned to digital-advertising veteran Brian McAndrews as its new chief executive officer, in a push to lift revenue while fending off competition from Apple Inc.

According to Bloomberg, McAndrews was also named chairman and president, succeeding Joe Kennedy, according to a statement Wednesday from Oakland, California-based Pandora.

The 54-year-old McAndrews led digital marketing firm aQuantive Inc., which was sold to Microsoft Corp. for about $6 billion.

With McAndrews, Pandora aims to bolster advertising, which accounted for 88 percent of its $427 million in revenue last fiscal year. While the company dominates Web radio, ad sales haven’t kept up with growth in listeners or royalty expenses, leading to losses totaling $50.9 million in the past three quarters.

This month’s entry of ITunes Radio from Apple, already the largest online music seller, will add to the pressure on Pandora.

Pandora’s 72.1 million users listened to 1.35 billion hours of programming in August, an increase of 16 percent from a year earlier, according to a Sept. 5 statement. The company’s share of total U.S. radio listening rose to 7.5 percent.

Even so, reports Bloomberg, its revenue amounts to a smaller fraction of the annual $15 billion local-radio advertising market.

“A big part of Pandora’s future will be its ability to disrupt traditional radio advertising and its ability to lure those ad dollars,” said Brian Nowak, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Read More Now

Tom's Take: Mcandrews salary is $500,000 plus lucrative stock options.

FCC Chair Warns Of Budget Cut Woes

Mignon Clyburn
Acting FCC chairwoman Mignon Clyburn told a Senate appropriations subcommittee Wednesday that if the country wants to remain a world leader in communications, it should not compromise the FCC funding that supports the FCC's mission.

Accord to multichannel.com, Clyburn suggested that budget cuts could lead to a cascade of negative outcomes that will continue to slow the FCC's ability to process thousdand of applications for new and innovative services, which could affect spectrum development and auctions.

She pointed out that the FCC is already doing less thanks to the sequester and was operating on $322 million in 2013, when it had asked for $346.7 million.

The Republican-controlled House is looking at giving the FCC only $320 million for 2014, Subcommittee chairman Tom Udall (D-N.M.) pointed out, and asked how that would affect the commission, which would like closer to $360 million.

Clyburn said the FCC had already been forced to "cut corners" to continue to meet "mission critical" objectives.

She said that corner-cutting does not come without programmatic costs. Those include not replacing failing equipment, turning off the air conditioning system at 6 p.m. during the heat of the summer, routine shortages in supplies, cancelation of contracts, bare bones travel budgets.