August 16 Radio History

In 1922...WEAF signed on.

WEAF Broadcast August 1922

The origins of WEAF go way back to 1919 when original owners, AT&T, inaugurated an experimental radio-phone station, 2XB, at 463 West St. in Manhattan.  Then, on May 18, 1922, the Commerce Department granted a license to AT&T's Western Electric subsidiary to upgrade 2XB.

Original calls, taken from an alphabetical list, were WDAM, however they were deemed too profane. On May 29, 1922, the next available calls were assigned: WEAF.

WEAF stood for "Water, Earth, Air, Fire", the four elements of matter.

On August 16, 1922, WEAF hit the air on 360 meters (or 833 AM on our present AM band.)

WEAF was the first station to offer commercials, with the Queensboro Corp, a real estate company, being its first sponsor on August 28, 1922.

During hours when they had time to fill, AT&T recruited their office personnel who could sing or play music.

In July 1926, RCA took over WEAF as the flagship for the Broadcasting Company Of America, a name soon changed to the National Broadcasting Company. The purchase price was $1 million.

On November 11, 1928, WEAF moved to 660 AM.

The move that solidified WEAF's position as the most pretigious of all broadcasters took place in the autumn of 1933, when NBC moved to 30 Rockefeller Plaza and became the "radio" that gave Radio City its name.

WEAF Transmitter 1932

In October 1943, sister station, WJZ, dropped out of the NBC Blue Network and establshed the American Broadcasting Company and eventually became WABC.




In August 1946, "Buffalo" Bob Smith began hosting WEAF's morning show, then left in 1951 to concentrate on "Howdy Doody."

Later in 1946, NBC came to an agreement with a small station in New Britain CT to relinquish that city's initials from its call letters and on November 2, 1946 at 5:30p, WEAF presented its last broadcast, entitled "Hail And Farewell," and at 6p turned into WNBC

Then on October 18, 1954, WNBC switched calls to WRCA, as a tie-in to their parent company, RCA.

On June 1, 1960, WRCA became WNBC once again.

In 1937....The American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) was organized as a part of the American Federation of Labor. On September 17, 1952, the Television Authority and AFRA merged to create a new union, the present-day American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

The Memphis Commercial-Appeal

In 1977…At his Graceland home in Memphis, Elvis Presley took the book he'd been reading, Frank Adams' "The Scientific Search For The Face Of Jesus," and went into his bathroom. "Don't fall asleep in there," said girlfriend Ginger Alden, knowing he had a habit of nodding off. "Okay, I won't," he said. Ginger went back to sleep.

At 1:30 p.m. CST, Ginger awoke and saw Elvis was still gone. When knocking on the bathroom door produced no reply, she entered and found his lifeless body on the floor in front of the toilet.

Alden called for Elvis associates Joe Esposito and Al Strada, who arrived and called the fire department. An ambulance was dispatched. Daughter Lisa Marie and father Vernon arrived in the bathroom, but Lisa Marie was quickly removed. Elvis was rushed to Baptist Memorial Hospital, where, after several attempts to revive him, he died at 3:30 p.m. CST. He was 42.

His autopsy was performed at 7:00 p.m. The official coroner's report listed "cardiac arrhythmia" as the cause of Presley's death, but this was later admitted to be a ruse by the Presley family with the help of autopsy physicians to cover up the real cause of death: a cocktail of ten prescribed drugs, taken together in doses no doctor would ever prescribe.


In 1989...WCVG, Cincinnati, Ohio dropped its "All Elvis" format in exchange for a business news format.

In 1995...Joseph Priestley "J-P McCarthy" died.

McCarthy was a radio personality best known for his over 30 years of work as the morning man on  WJR in Detroit.

He got his first radio job at Flint radio station WTAC. While at WTAC he frequently auditioned for WJR, a leading radio station in Detroit, with a 50,000-watt clear-channel signal that could be heard in much of the Eastern United States and Canada. After frequent auditions, McCarthy was hired by WJR as a staff announcer in 1956.

The position of staff announcer was merely straight forward announcing, and McCarthy aspired to do more in radio. When Marty McNealy, the host of WJR's Morning Music Hall, left for WKMH in 1958, McCarthy was chosen to replace him. The station promoted him heavily, and he was soon the #1 rated radio show in Detroit.

WJR did not pay particularly well, and J.P. was offered the opportunity to do commercials for Stroh's, the top brewery in Detroit. Station management would not allow it, and after some discussion McCarthy left Detroit for KGO in San Francisco, where he took the morning show from #6 to #3.

In 1964, Goodwill Stations sold WJR to Capital Cities Broadcasting and the president, Dan Burke, asked station manager Jim Quello why they lost McCarthy. After explaining the situation, Quello re-recruited McCarthy to return to WJR, with a raise and the right to do commercials for anybody he wanted. J.P. returned to WJR in December 1964.

Upon his return to Detroit, McCarthy not only hosted the Morning Music Hall from 6:15 to 9, but also the Afternoon Music Hall from 3:15 to 6. Eventually, McCarthy's duties were relegated to morning drive, and a noontime interview program, "Focus". It wasn't long before McCarthy's morning show was #1 in Detroit, a perch that he held for about 30 years until his death, a feat unmatched in Detroit radio.



J. P. McCarthy was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1992, the first Detroit broadcaster to be inducted.

While at the peak of his career he contracted Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a very rare blood disease.  J.P. McCarthy died of pneumonia in his sleep on the afternoon of August 16, 1995, with his entire family at his bedside. He was 62.

In 2003...DJ and General Manager, Dick Pike, died at age 78. Pike is best known for his work at WNOP-AM, a tiny, 1,000-watt, jazz-formatted Radio station licensed to Newport, Kentucky, that became legendary.

T-Mobile Says Yes To The FM Radio Chip

John Legere

FM radio chips are pretty common in international smartphones, allowing users to tune in to terrestrial radio stations and not use up their often limited cellular data. However, those chips are often removed or disabled in phones released in the US.

That could be changing soon for T-Mobile phones, though. John Legere Friday sent out a Tweet saying that T-Mobile is “saying yes to FM chip” and that the magenta carrier will “push our OEM partners to support!”

Hey @NextRadioApp – We heard you! We’re saying yes to FM chip and will push our OEM partners to support! #sayyestoFMchip

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) August 14, 2015

The Tweet is in response to a campaign from NextRadio, a mobile app that lets you listen to radio stations on your smartphone, that called for T-Mobile customers to let Legere know that they wanted a working FM chip in their phones.

Legere’s tweet comes less than a month after AT&T agreed to specify that the FM radio chip be activated in Android phones manufactured in 2016 and beyond.

The coupe for the radio industry was touted by widely by NextRadio and TagStation, the Emmis Communications-owned entities that promote an FM listening app and station support infrastructure.

T-Mobile is the third major carrier to back the FM chip. In 2013, Sprint agreed to enable its customers to listen to local FM radio stations from a broad spectrum of radio companies and aggregators on select Android and Windows smartphones. The FM radio capability is delivered through the NextRadio tuner application or other radio apps or services.

NextRadio President Paul Brenner thanks Legere for the decision:



Advocates say using an FM chip to listen to radio on your smartphone doesn’t consume data like it does when you use an app like TuneIn Radio.  The FM radio chip also has the benefit of not consuming as much battery life as content that’s streamed using cellular data.

Detroit Radio: Allyson Martinek Talks About Departure From WDVD

Radio's Best Friend Art Vuolo Jr. caught this unusually lengthy TV News story about the dismissal of Allyson Martinek from  Detroit's HotAC WDVD 96.3 FM. Click here for original posting.

She says she was blindsided and is overwehlmed by listeners response on social media.

Boise Radio: Country KAWO Inks Dunn and Cash For Mornings

Townsquare Media/Boise has announced the addition of Rick Dunn and Carly Cash for mornings on Country KAWO 104.3 FM  WOW Country.

They start Monday, August 17 and arrived from Salt Lake City, where were The Morning Moo Crew known as Shotgun and Carly on Cumulus Country KUBL.  They exited the station when Johnson & Johnson returned to K-Bull.

The two replace Alana Lynn and Andy Scott, who exited last June to pursue other opportunities.

KAWO PD Rich Summers said, "We are extremely happy to have Rick and Carly become part of the 'WOW' family,"

"We were overwhelmed with a lot of great candidates, but they just fit perfectly with what we are all about. We're excited for them to get on the air! They have the energy and competitive drive we were looking for. They have a great chemistry together, and we feel confident they will make our 'WOW' listeners in the Boise market smile each morning!"

KAWO 104.3 FM (52 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

Report: China Censors Warehouse Blast Coverage

Reporters covering that series of explosions and raging fire at a port in Tianjin, China Wednesday are having a hard time doing their jobs.

It’s not only because of the widespread, hard-to-get-to damage, but because Chinese authorities are intervening in their reporting.

CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reports that local TV stations were giving “little coverage of the story.”

Doane was outside a hospital when censors tried to prevent him from reporting.




Doane describes how officials are controlling the flow of information after dozens were killed in the blasts at a toxic chemical and gas warehouse.

Radio Flashback: WWII Ends As Japan Surrenders

On this day in 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces the news of his country's unconditional surrender in World War II over a radio broadcast to the Japanese people.

After meeting with the Soviet Union in Potsdam, near Berlin, to determine post-war terms for defeated Germany, the governments of the United States and Great Britain (together with China) issued an ultimatum to the Japanese government in late July 1945. It offered a simple choice: surrender unconditionally to the Allies in World War II, or risk total annihilation. In their carefully worded reply, the Japanese failed to capitulate completely, and on 6 August, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, another such bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The threat of further nuclear attacks drove Japanese officials on 10 August to accept the terms put forth by the Potsdam Declaration and submit their unconditional surrender.

On the afternoon of 14 August, a Japanese radio broadcaster told the public that Emperor Hirohito would soon make an Imperial Proclamation announcing the defeat. The following day at noon, Hirohito went on the radio himself, blaming Japan’s surrender on the enemies' use of "a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which is incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives." The emperor was not only a political leader in Japan, he was also revered as a near-god, and many Japanese did not fully accept the news of defeat until they heard him speak those unthinkable words.

As sadness and shame engulfed Japan, joy spread around the Western world. In the United States, news of Hirohito's announcement reached airwaves on 14 August (due to the time difference), and that day was declared Victory in Japan – or V-J – Day.



hat afternoon, President Harry S. Truman addressed a crowd that had gathered outside the White House, saying "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbour. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would."

That day, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped one of the most famous photos ever published, a shot of a sailor in full uniform kissing a nurse in the middle of New York City's Times Square. The photo, published by Life magazine, became a symbol of the general atmosphere of jubilation in the United States following the end of World War II.

In Indianapolis, WIBC 1070 AM listeners - at least those who were up between 1:30 and 2:00am Eastern War Time on August 14, 1945 - likely heard; a Mutual network live broadcast of Cab Calloway's band from New York City, interrupted just before 2:00am with the first correct report that Japan had surrendered.

August 15 Radio History

In 1965...Beatles concert at Shea Stadium.  It was the first time a rock band headlined a stadium concert and, with 55,600 people, it set a new record for largest attendance at a pop concert. Tickets for the show had sold out in three weeks, merely by word of mouth created by young fans who asked the concert promoter about the next Beatles show while he strolled in Central Park. Supporting acts for the concert were Brenda Holloway, the Young Rascals, the King Curtis Band, and Sounds Incorporated. The show grossed $304,000. The Beatles' share was $160,000.




In 



In 1969…The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, promising "three days of peace, love, and music," began on Max Yasgur's 60-acre farm in Bethel, New York.

Of the more than 450,000 music fans drawn to the town, three died, two gave birth, four had miscarriages, and two got married during the festival. Performers included Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, the Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, the Band, Canned Heat, Joan Baez, Santana, Melanie, Ten Years After, Sly & the Family Stone, Johnny Winter, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Country Joe and the Fish, Blood Sweat & Tears, Arlo Guthrie, and Jimi Hendrix. Joni Mitchell was scheduled to appear but had to cancel due to being booked for a TV show.

In 1986...WAPP 103.5 FM dropped Top40 for dance music as WQHT.

On August 15, 1986 at 6 pm, The Rolling Stones' "It's All Over Now" and a bomb noise rang out WAPP and the classic rock titles. The station debuted as "Hot 103.5" with new call letters WQHT and a new CHR/Dance format.

The first song was believed to be "R.S.V.P." by Five Star. Nobody in the radio industry expected it, but the new rhythmic/CHR format was taking shape. WQHT was the second such station with the format, months after Emmis launched it on KPWR "Power 106" in Los Angeles earlier that year.

WQHT moved to 97.1 FM on September 22, 1988 at 5:30pm with WYNY moving to 103.5 FM


In 1988...WPIX 101.9 FM changed call letters to  WQCD, "CD 101.9", intially was a AC/Jazz hybrid, later just Contemporary Jazz.  In 1989, they added some New Age and Soft AC cuts.

In 2002...Opie & Anthony broadcast the “Sex For Sam” St. Pat’s incident on WNEW 102.7 FM.

One of Opie and Anthony's stunts was "Sex for Sam", an annual contest where the goal was to have sex in notable public places in New York City. Couples from various states would be selected to be trailed by a comedian or member of the show, who would call the program to report the location. The contest was sponsored by Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams beer, and prizes included trips to Boston concerts sponsored by the beer company. The contest was approved by the station and had no major problems for the first two years.

However, in "Sex for Sam 3", comedian Paul Mecurio encouraged Brian Florence and Loretta Harper, a Virginia couple visiting Manhattan, to have simulated sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral on August 15, 2002, which was also a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation, and a Mass was going on at the time. When a security guard ordered Mecurio and the couple to leave the church immediately, Mecurio began to argue with the guard, who then contacted police. The couple was arrested and charged with public lewdness. Intense media scrutiny led to the Catholic League demanding that Opie and Anthony be fired. The Catholic League also threatened to get WNEW's license revoked.

Brian Florence, Loretta Harper

Opie and Anthony broadcast the next day, but were ordered not to directly address the incident for legal reasons. The show went into reruns the following week. On August 22, Infinity suspended Opie and Anthony for the duration of their contract, and canceled the show. However, the company continued to pay the duo to stay off the air for the balance of their contract. The Catholic League immediately dropped its bid to have WNEW's license revoked.

The repercussions of the incident were widespread:

• Infinity was fined a total of $357,500 by the FCC, the maximum amount allowed by law, and the second-largest indecency fine in American radio history. Infinity appealed the fine but again lost the case.
• WNEW's ratings had been dreadful overall aside from Opie and Anthony. With the forced cancellation of its only strong performer, its ratings dropped even lower than those of noncommercial stations and never recovered. The station began playing music again in January 2003, starting with a Top 40 format, then going to an adult contemporary format, and later switching to a classic dance music format before returning to the AC format, at which point the station's call letters were changed to WWFS. The station has since been moderately successful. In a bit of irony, Opie and Anthony would make fun of an incident at WNEW in late 2004, in which the program director got drunk, went on air, and confused the call letters with those of WNEW's arch-rival WKTU.
• Harper pleaded guilty a month later to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to seven days of community service.  Her partner, Brian Florence, died of a heart attack on September 25, 2003

In 2008...Chris “Mad Dog” Russo calls Mike Francesa to say goodbye at WFAN 660 AM


In 2008…Legendary record producer Jerry Wexler, who helped define R&B music with recordings by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge and Solomon Burke, died of heart failure at age 91. Wexler coined the term "rhythm & blues" while writing for Billboard magazine in the late 1940s.


In 2014...Al Meredith, longtime WCBS 101.1 FM News passed.

Al Meredith

In an age when radio news was disappearing faster than rotary-dial telephones, Al Meredith remained a radio newsman for 38 years, according to David Hinckley at The NY Daily News on the occasion of Meredith's retirement in 2008.

Meredith retired in 2008 retiring amid a shower of accolades from almost everyone he ever worked with.

Meredith  was heard on WCBS-FM for 28 years. "It was the only place I wanted to work," he says. "I hoped to retire from there. And I did. It was a great run."

 Meredith didn't start out as a newsman. His first radio gig, in 1964, was playing music on WGBB. But after four years in the Air Force, "getting C-130s in and out of Vietnam from Okinawa," he came back and found no deejay jobs open.

There was a full-time news job, though, at WGLI. He took it, liked it and over the years got deeper and deeper into it. He won numerous awards for public service specials, which he particularly enjoyed because "they always teach me something, too."

Post by The Dan Taylor Radio Show.

Twin Cities Radio: Tri-Cast Drops Sports For Classic Hip-Hop

Cumulus Media announces that simulcast radio station WGVX-FM/WRXP-FM/WGVZ-FM in Minneapolis is now the Twin Cities’ all-new Classic Hip Hop station, The Vibe 105.

The new format utilizes Westwood One’s syndicated Classic Hip-Hop network.

The station, formerly programmed as CBS Sports Radio as 105 The Ticket, turned on the Classic Hip Hop format today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. The Vibe 105 launched with wall-to-wall music and will play a unique mix of hit music from the biggest stars from the early days of Hip Hop.

The Vibe 105 has a totally unique take on Hip Hop, giving Twin Cities Hip Hop fans big Classic Hip Hop hits, mixed with some R&B “throwbacks” from the ‘80’s, ‘90’s and early 2000’s. The newly branded station also launched its new website, www.105thevibe.com today. Westwood One, the leading provider of 24-hour radio formats, syndicates the Classic Hip Hop programming for The Vibe 105.

Scott Jameson, Operations Manager for Cumulus Minneapolis said: "Vibe 105 is a fresh and fun radio station for the Twin Cities. Our music mix appeals to a wide variety of Hip Hop fans and crosses over to consumers of other formats as well. Looking forward to hearing a new "Vibe" on our trio of 105's (105.1, 105.3 and 105.7). Thanks to John Dickey for his vision in bringing this opportunity to the Midwest where Classic Hip Hop has an underserved audience."

All CBS News Shows Report Y2Y Audience Increases

CBS News is the only network news division where the every major broadcast – morning, evening, primetime and weekends – is drawing more viewers on a television year-to-date basis than the year before, according to Nielsen most current ratings:

• CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY is up +3% in viewers

• 60 MINUTES is up +2%

• FACE THE NATION is up +6%

• CBS THIS MORNING is up +10%

• CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLES OSGOOD is up +1%

• 48 HOURS is up +9%

• CBS THIS MORNING: SATURDAY is up +9%

Here’s a recap of how CBS News’ broadcasts performed last week, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings:

• CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY posted the largest year-to-year percentage gain in viewers (+10%, 6.58m from 5.99m) among the network evening news broadcasts for the week ending August 7. The CBS broadcast added +590,000 viewers compared to the same week last year.

• 60 MINUTES was CBS’s most-watched broadcast for the week ending August 9. At 7:00 PM, 60 MINUTES (R) was #1 with viewers (8.72m), adults 25-54 (1.5/05) and adults 18-49 (1.0/04).

• FACE THE NATION was the #1 Sunday morning public affairs program with viewers on August 9. The broadcast was up +22% in viewers (3.54m from 2.90m) and up +17% in adults 25-54 (0.7/04 from 0.6/04) compared to the same week last year.

• CBS THIS MORNING posted double-digit percentage gains among adults 25-54 (+14%, 0.8/07 from 0.7/07), viewers (+12%, 3.20m from 2.86m), women 25-54 (+13%, 0.9/07 from 0.8/06) and women 18-49 (+20%, 0.6/06 from 0.5/05) compared to a year ago, for the week ending August 7.

• CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLES OSGOOD was the #1 Sunday morning news program in adults 25-54 and viewers on August 9. The broadcast delivered 5.24 million viewers and a 1.1/07 in adults 25-54.

Cumulus Announces Management Shuffle

• Taps Joe Russo For Kansas City
• Gary Nolan To Pensacola
• Jerry King To Corporate Programming

Joe Russo

Cumulus Media shuffles the deck and announces that it has appointed 15-year radio programming professional Joe Russo as Program Director for AdultHits KCJK105.1 JACK-FM and N/T KCMO 94.9 FM Kansas City.

He replaces Gary Nolan who moves to Cumulus Pensacola as Operations Manager and Program Director for WJTQ. Concurrently, Pensacola Operations Manager/Program Director Jerry King joins the Cumulus corporate programming team. Current KCJK PD Jon Anthony will remain with the company in Kansas City as APD and on-air at KCMO-FM and as Program Director for NASH Icon.

Russo was previously a consultant with SparkNet Communications (syndicators of the JACK format), following nearly a decade in Buffalo. He served as Program Director and Brand Manager for 92.9 JACK-FM/WBUF and later, as Adult Hits Brand Leader for TownSquare Media.

Mike McVay, Senior Vice President, Content and Programming for Cumulus said: “Joe and I worked together during my consulting days. I was impressed with him then and even more impressed seeing what he did with SparkNet. He’ll be a great addition to JACK/Kansas City and is quite capable to build on Gary Nolan’s success at KCMO-FM. Gary steps into Jerry King’s shoes. He’s a brilliant multi-format PD. Jerry King returns to a corporate role and will work directly with John Dickey and I as we develop new projects. Jon Anthony has served us well in KC and we’re delighted that he will continue to be a part of the team.”

Donna Baker, Midwest Regional Vice President for Cumulus said: "Two out of three people - over a million fans - listen to a Cumulus Kansas City station every week. Joe Russo brings a wealth of experience and results to his position leading KCJK and KCMO-FM.  Jon's legacy of success in Kansas City continues as he goes back on the air in prime afternoon drive on 94.9 and leads NASH Icon. Winning with this team is going to be fun!"

Russo said: “This is such an incredible opportunity to work with two exciting and fun brands. I have unbelievable respect for Mike McVay’s work as a consultant, and his vision with Cumulus Media. He’s always been a mentor to me, and influenced me as a consultant. The Jack format is one of the most unique and challenging formats to program, but also the most rewarding. KCMO has massive heritage in Kansas City and thanks to Gary Nolan, is already positioned to win. I couldn’t have drawn up a better position. I’m impressed by Donna Baker’s commitment to Jack FM and I’m looking forward to working with her team, and Cumulus Media in building on these strong brands and making some noise in Kansas City.”

Megyn Kelly Vacation Stirs Speculation

Fox News viewers won’t have Megyn Kelly to turn to for the next 10 days.

On her Wednesday broadcast, the anchor announced she would be taking a vacation, starting immediately:

Megyn Kelly

"It's been an interesting week. A long six months, without a vacation for yours truly, do you know that? It's been six months since I've had a vacation. Just ask my assistant. So I'll be taking the next week and a half off, spending some time with my husband and my kids, trying to relax. The big challenge is trying to put down the Electronica and unplug it. Can you do it? When you go on vacation, I am going to try to look at my little one's faces and go for bike rides and play at the beach and not look at you. And when I see you back here on the 24th, we'll pick it all up again. Have a great week. See you soon."

The vacation announcement has led some to wonder if Megyn Kelly could have been temporarily suspended from her post at Fox News. Her position has attracted her a world of hate from supporters of Trump, including rocker Ted Nugent. The “Cat Scratch Fever” singer made comments that shocked the media, about loading his gun — while naked — as he watches her show.

It comes less than a week after Kelly made headlines by grilling GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump during the initial debate.

A Fox spokesman tells the Daily Beast the vacation was planned. But Salon disagrees, saying Kelly’s break comes as a surprise.

‎”The timing of her unplanned absence is a touch curious,” writes Scott Eric Kaufman. He adds the vacation is “coming mere days after Roger Ailes had to personally step to ratchet down hostilities between the battling parties — especially given the rumors that he told Trump that not accepting the detente would mean “go[ing] to war” with the network‎.”

Meanwhile, Trump and the other candidates for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination have not seen the last of Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly.

FNC has another debate scheduled in January before the Iowa caucuses and Kelly, "Special Report" anchor Bret Baier and "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace will be moderating again, a representative for the channel confirmed Thursday.

The trio's pointed questioning of Republican front-runner Donald Trump at the Aug. 6 debate in Cleveland prompted harsh criticism from the candidate and his supporters.

FNC's Chris Wallace to Donald Trump: Get Off the Phone

Chris Wallace

Donald Trump obviously loves the spotlight, and that means he's been happy to do news show interviews about his presidential run. But he doesn't like having to go to studios to do them, and instead has been doing most of his interviews on the phone.

In the past week, he did phoners on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Fox & Friends on Fox News Channel, and four of the Sunday morning news shows -- all of them by phone.

But Politico reports that Chris Wallace, who hosts Fox News Sunday, has been adamant that he won't allow any phone interviews with Trump.

He explained yesterday (August 13th) on Fox News Radio: "The idea you would do a phoner with a presidential candidate where they have all the control and you have none, where you can't see them and they may have talking points in from of them... we are not a call-in radio show, we are a Sunday talk show and he is a presidential candidate, you do an interview on camera."

Wallace has repeatedly tried to book Trump to do an in-person interview, but has come up empty.

However, Trump is doing an in-person interview with NBC's Meet the Press, taping it with host Chuck Todd this Saturday to be aired the following day.

Philly Radio: WIP Adds Two To Join Josh Innes

CBS Radio has confirmed former Eagles defensive lineman Hollis Thomas and station program director Spike Eskin will join Josh Innes as co-hosts on Sportsradio WIP 94.1 FM's afternoon drive shift, according to Philadelphia Business Journal.

Thomas and Eskin emerged as frontrunners last week after the station auditioned several candidates.
The source said the station decided to mimic the ensemble format it has used for its morning show, led by Angelo Cataldi, Al Morganti, Rhea Hughes and a cast of several part-time contributors.

The station liked the idea of adding a former Eagle to the mix, pointing to the success Ike Reese has had with partner Michael Barkann in the midday shift. Eskin will now man the shift that his father, Howard Eskin, occupied for more than two decades on the station.

Josh Innes

He will continue to serve as WIP’s program director.

The show will switch from five to four hours (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.), with Barkann and Reese now airing from 10 p.m. to 2 p.m. And despite now having three hosts, the afternoon program will now be known as The Josh Innes Show — a nod to the fact that CBS officials clearly see Innes as a future star who could succeed its biggest money maker, Cataldi, when he retires at the end of his current contract as has been rumored.

Jon Runyan

Thomas and Eskin will succeed Tony Bruno, who retired unexpectedly from full-time radio last month after a little more than five months of ratings success that saw he and Innes overtake rival Mike Missanelli of 97.5 The Fanatic. Post-WIP, Bruno is focused on his podcast.

Meanwhile, philly.com reports WIP has landed Eagles legend Jon Runyan to bolster its on-air football coverage just as the season looms.

Sources say that former Congressman and ex-Eagles legend Jon Runyan will join WIP as an on-air personality. His first spot will be on Friday morning as part of the WIP Morning Show with Angelo Cataldi.

Runyan was among the finalists considered for the drive-time co-hosting spot alongside Josh Innes, and was well-liked by listeners and WIP management during his co-hosting stints.

MD Radio: WBOC-TV To Acquire WOLC FM

WBOC, which began serving the Delmarva Peninsula 75 years ago as WBOC-AM radio, is returning to it roots with the acquisition of non-com Religious WOLC 102.5 FM from Maranatha, Inc. The purchase of the radio station, which is presently based out of Princess Anne, Md., was announced Thursday by WBOC-TV16 Vice President & General Manager Craig Jahelka.

"We are humbled by the trust people on Delmarva put in us every day," Jahelka said. "We're dedicated to providing the best news, weather, information and entertainment available. With the addition of 102.5 FM we will be able to serve our audience and advertisers anytime and anywhere on Delmarva, even when they're in their vehicles, on a boat or operating a combine."

WBOC-AM, originally owned by Peninsula Broadcasting, signed on the air 75 years ago on Sept. 13, 1940, and expanded to television in July 1954. In 1980, current owner Thomas H. Draper, CEO & president of Draper Holdings, purchased the stations. Acquiring WOLC is also a return to radio for him.

WOLC 102.5 FM (50 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

“My start in broadcasting began in 1967 at WTHD in Milford,” Draper said. “I’ve come full circle with the addition of WOLC. The 50,000-watt signal can be heard across much of Delmarva and is a perfect fit for our family and our company.”

Jahelka said WBOC has retained the services of a firm that specializes in radio programming. He said that while no decision has been made yet on a format for 102.5, "I can promise the station will reflect the WBOC brand, serving our family, friends and neighbors here on the peninsula.”

Waco Radio: iHM's KBGO Wins Spring '15 Ratings

iHeartMedia's  Classic Hits KBGO 95.7 FM continued its winning ratings ways, leading the spring Nielsen Audio ratings book with a 10.6 share among listeners ages 12 and older.

Regional Mexican station KWOW 104.1 FM La Ley enjoying a ratings bounce into third place behind country WACO 99.9 FM, second with a 9.7 share.

KBGO programming director Dewayne Wells attributed his station’s showing to a veteran staff and community involvement.

“We’re very thankful for that,” he said

Zach Owens, iHeartMedia regional programming director and co-host with Jim Cody of WACO’s morning show, said iHeartMedia stations hit their demographic targets — men ages 18 to 34 for KRBQ, women ages 18 to 34 for KWTX-FM, for instance — while longtime market leader WACO still headed Waco’s country stations.

“It’s a tough country battle, but we’re still the No. 1 country,” he said.

Columbia SC Radio: Q93.5 Racks Up Awards

Alpha Media Columbia, SC had a very eventful week taking home prestigious awards from both the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, and Morning Show Bootcamp.

At the SCBA’s Annual Ceremony, David Reed took home the Star Award for Production, Koko took home the Star Award for Public Service Announcement, and Brendan Croghan took both the Merit Award for Personality of the Year, and the Star Award for Radio Show of the Year!

Brendan Croghan

Brendan Croghan’s whirlwind of a week continued with a trip to Chicago for Morning Show Boot Camp where he also won the Rising Star of the Year Award from ReelWorld.

Alpha Media VP of Programming, Phil Becker commented on the announcement, “Brendan is another example of the type of team members that our company is dedicated to working with. Often times we talk about our focus on recruiting and retaining superstars and Brendan is proof of that very thing.”

“You never really think about the awards when you are putting in the work for the show. It is always about the passion for live and local radio and the strong bond you have with your listeners in the community, but it has been a great experience to be recognized by our peers in the industry,” remarked Brendan.

WARQ 93.5 FM (2.8 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

Top40 WARQ 93.5 FM PD Greg Pitt added, “We are so proud of all that Croghan has accomplished, and thrilled that he has been recognized for his talent, work ethic and character. He is the consummate team player and we couldn’t be happier for him.”

Groups Challenge FCC Over Phone Rules

The two trade associations representing the nation’s largest marketing, media and opinion research firms, filed briefs Thursday to intervene in the court challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s new mobile telephone rules, according to katyonthehill.com.

In the motion filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.Ccircuit, the Marketing Research Association and the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, argue that the FCC’s rules go too far and raises the level of risk for the research industry especially since more than 60 percent of households are now mostly or only reachable via mobile phone.

The FCC updates to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act issued in July give consumers more control over who gets to call their cell phone numbers, but it also broadens the definition of autodialers used by research firms to conduct surveys and market research. The rules make no exceptions for caller intent.

The two groups also seek relief from a growing number of class action litigation suits over reassigned cell phone numbers. Under the FCC’s rules, research firms would be allowed to make only one call to a number that has been reassigned.

MRA and CASRO members include hundreds of marketing and opinion research firms including Nielsen, Gallup, NPD Group, Kantar, as well as colleges, universities and companies such as Eli Lilly.

L-A Radio: KXOS Owner Sued By Former Employees

Radio station operator Grupo Radio Centro LA LLC has been hit with a wrongful termination lawsuit, removed Tuesday to California federal court, by two former employees who say they were fired after they reported suspected Nielsen ratings fraud and after they uncovered that the station was employing unauthorized immigrants.

The suit, originally filed last month in a state court, alleges that the company, whose parent company is based in Mexico City, subjected the employees to a hostile work environment.

Ricardo Sanchez

The lawsuit was filed by former GM Sean O'Neill and office manager Rosa Ambriz against Grupo Radio and morning personality Ricardo "El Mandril" Sanchez as well as 50 unnamed "Does" alleging that they were fired after blowing the whistle on ratings fraud, payola/plugola, and employment of undocumented workers at Regional Mexican KXOS 93.9 FM in Los Angeles. Click Here for additional posting.

O'Neill and Ambriz allege that the defendants took retaliatory and adverse actions against them and subjected them to "ongoing hostility in the work environment... (and) intolerable working conditions, obstructing other economic and career opportunities for Plaintiffs, engaging in a campaign of character assassination against (O'Neill)... and making demeaning remarks and defamatory statements" about him, and wrongfully terminating O'Neill.

DC Radio: Andi McDaniel New Content Director At WAMU-FM

Andi McDaniel

Non-Com WAMU 88.5 FM has announced the appointment of Andi McDaniel as senior director of content and news.

Andi was previously with Twin Cities Public Television, where she was director of content strategy and innovation. She will manage WAMU 88.5’s content and news teams and lead the station’s transformation to a multiplatform news organization with a culture of best practices in public media journalism.

Andi quickly rose to the top of the WAMU search committee’s list because of her extensive experience in innovation.

A graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and an experienced journalist and storyteller, Andi has a background that spans traditional and emerging media. She’s been on the ground in Nicaragua, has covered U.S./Mexico border deaths and produced daily features in San Francisco. Her work as a public radio reporter in Alaska, TV news reporter for CBS, and freelance writer and multimedia producer.

WAMU 88.5 FM (50 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

Jay Leno Slams Media Over Cosby Coverage

Jay Leno, appearing Thursday at the Television Critics Association confab in Beverly Hills to promote his new CNBC show, Jay Leno's Garage, made fun of Trump, the GOP presidential frontrunner of the moment, and rival Jeb Bush, comparing them to "the tortoise and the bad hair."

USAToday reports afterwards, he fielded reporters' questions about fellow comedian Cosby, the former TV titan now felled by accusations that he drugged and sexually assaulted nearly 50 women in episodes dating back decades. Cosby has denied the allegations and has not been charged with a crime.

Leno has said before he believes the Cosby accusers. On Thursday, he went further and criticized the media coverage, comparing it unfavorably to the coverage of the Catholic Church's clerical pedophilia scandal.

"Fifty women come forward and (the media) calls them liars, and says, 'Oh, you waited 40 years.' Men waited 50 years to say that a priest touched them and got $7 million. How can we believe them and not the women? It seems terribly sexist to me," Leno said. "It seems unfair and I'm surprised no one has made that analogy."

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NBC Extends Jimmy Fallon Contract

NBC has given a six-year contract extension to Jimmy Fallon, keeping him as host of “The Tonight Show” through the fall of 2021.

NBC Entertainment chief Bob Greenblatt announced the deal Thursday morning as part of the network’s Television Critics Assn. press tour presentation.

“We have locked him in as host of ‘The Tonight Show’ for six more years,” Greenblatt said. He praised the work that Fallon has done since taking over the show in February 2014. He also had kind words for Seth Meyers and the adjustment he made this week to the opening segment of “Late Night” — shifting from a traditional stand-up monologue delivery to a desk-based segment that looks more like the “Weekend Update” bit that Meyers anchored for years on “Saturday Night Live.”

Sun Broadcast Group Again Named "Fastest Growing"

For the second year in a row Inc. Magazine announced that Sun Broadcast Group has been named one of the fastest growing companies in America. Sun also received recognition as the fastest growing company in the broadcast radio industry and the 11th fastest growing company in all of media.

The Inc. 5000 list, released today, ranks the country’s fastest-growing private companies according to percentage of revenue growth over three years. During the period measured to receive this year’s honor, Sun’s revenue jumped more 629%. In that time the company is also proud to have added 18 full time positions between its New York City and Boca Raton offices.

Jason Bailey

“When we were given the honor of making the Inc. Magazine list in 2014 you could have knocked me over with a feather.” said Sun Broadcast Group CEO, Jason Bailey.

“Making the list for a second year and being in the top 20% among some of the most incredibly innovative companies in this country is absolutely mind blowing. I’m so proud of the incredible team here at Sun and so thankful to the clients, producers and agency partners who have supported us over the last seven years. The journey has been a mighty one but we always have and will continue to do it our way for the better of our partnerships and for this incredibly industry. Onward!”

The team from Sun will be recognized at The Inc. 5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony held later this year in Orlando, FL. Click here for complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria.