Old Dominion, WWOne Attend ANA Masters of Marketing Conference

L-R: Pierre Bouvard, Chief insights Officer, Westwood One; Geoff Sprung, Old Dominion; Kristina Sweet, VP, Sponsorship, ANA; Trevor Rosen, Old Dominion; Matthew Ramsey, Old Dominion; Suzanne Grimes, President, Westwood One/EVP, Corporate Marketing, Cumulus Media; Brad Tursi, Old Dominion; Christina Albee, CMO, Westwood One; Whit Sellers, Old Dominion; Steve Shaw, President, Sales, Westwood One.

Country band Old Dominion kicked off the fun at the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference opening night dinner on Wednesday, October 19, in Orlando, Florida.

The musical entertainment was provided by Westwood One. The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) conference features three days of chief marketing officers and other industry movers and shakers who share stories of how they built brands, leveraged the expanding array of media, made marketing more accountable, and improved the quality of their marketing organizations.

October 21 Radio History

In 1908...The first two-sided vinyl record was offered for sale by the Columbia label in an ad running in this week's Saturday Evening Post.


In 1915...First transmission of speech across the Atlantic by radiotelephone, Arlington, Va., to Paris


In 1948...the first Facsimile (FAX), was demonstrated through high-speed radio transmission. It was demonstrated in Washington D.C.


In 1969...Roby Yonge does the infamous “Paul is Dead” show at 77 WABC.

Originally hired for the 1 - 3 PM shift, Yonge was moved into the overnight shift in August 1969 when Charlie Greer left the station. He was told by program director Rick Sklar in the early fall, that his contract would not be renewed. He subsequently went on the air with the Paul McCartney "death" rumor on October 21, 1969, having heard the rumor from WKNR-FM (Detroit) radio personality Chris Randall.

Stating that he had already been fired and that at 12:39 AM, he would not be "cut" because there was nobody around, Yonge began to speculate on rumors circulating about the possible death of McCartney. He enumerated various "clues" in album cover art which he said had been catalogued by thirty Indiana University Bloomington students. Callers lit up the station switchboard. It was an hour and a half before program director Rick Sklar got Les Marshak in to relieve Yonge. Marshak continued to do Yonge's show until a replacement was hired.

Yonge was hired by WCBS-FM, where he helped introduce their "Oldies" format in the early'70s. After a few years, he returned to his nativeFlorida, where he served as general manager of Mother WMUM, an early FM rock station in Palm Beach. After the demise of Mother in 1972, Yonge became a morning personality on Y100 WHYI in Fort Lauderdale/Miami. He was fired after the first day on the air, August 3, 1973.  He moved to the competitor WMYQ-FM, where he spoke as a commentator with a morning show. In 1987, Yonge did a morning show at WKAT in Miami, then returned in 1993 to do a music/talk show on 790 WMRZ.

Roby Yonge died on July 18, 1997 of an apparent heart attack at age 54.


In 2000...Frankie Crocker, Personality at WMCA, WBLS died from pancreatic cancer.

Crocker began his career in Buffalo at the AM Soul powerhouse WUFO (also the home to future greats Eddie O'Jay, Herb Hamlett, Gary Byrd and Chucky T) before moving to Manhattan, where he first worked for Soul station WWRL and later top-40 WMCA in 1969.

He then worked for WBLS-FM as program director, taking that station to the top of the ratings during the late 1970s and pioneering the radio format now known as urban contemporary.

Frankie Crocker was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2000, and the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2005


In 2003...John Dennis and Gerry Callahan returned to their morning on WEEI-FM, Boston, after a 2 week suspension for allegedly racist remarks.


In 2014…Veteran Boston radio personaility (WODS-FM, WXKS-FM, WRKO-AM) Dale Dorman died at age 71.

Dale Dorman

With his lightening fast reflexes,  a gift for genuinely clever patter and an astounding ability to “post” a song intro, he did what few others have ever done — he remained a force and a positive influence on radio and music for 45 years. It all began in Syracuse in 1964. After establishing himself at WOLF, he sent a tape to the legendary programmer Bill Drake at KYNO/Fresno. It was Drake who then developed the famous Top 40 format aired on stations owned by RKO General. Drake liked what he heard, hired Dale to work at RKO’s KFRC/San Francisco, and under his tutelage Dale became an integral part of the Drake format and moved cross-country be on The Big 68, WRKO.

Dale was 24 when he took over morning drive at WRKO in August, 1968 and delivered top ratings for ten years. He also hosted the afternoon kid’s show on TV38 and the weekend “Creature Double-Feature” as Uncle Dale. By the late 70’s FM radio had eclipsed AM for music listening. After a brief stop at WVBF Dale landed his second long-term gig doing afternoon drive at Kiss 108 (WXKS-FM) for 23 years.  “To be able to be a top-rated jock on a Top-40 station in his 60s is really astounding,” Don Kelley, then Vice President of Programming for Magic 106.7 WMJX and now President of the Mass Broadcasters Hall of Fame, told the Boston Globe in 2003, when Dale left Kiss 108.


In 2003 Dale moved back to morning drive at Oldies 103 (WODS/Boston). “I wound up at Oldies 103 playing the same music that I played at WRKO when I was just starting out,” he told the Globe in 2008. “A bunch of people started calling. They were like, ‘Oh, wow! How are you? Where have you been?’ ” playing the same songs that he played on WRKO in the 60’s and 70’s, but by now they had become oldies.

Dale was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2015 the brand new Dale Dorman studio at Massasoit Community College was dedicated in his name. He passed away in 2015.

NYC Radio: WABC To Steam Content, Ads On Website

WABC 770 AM in New York has begun testing streaming of some live broadcasts of three of its weekday shows.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the station is planning to stream these shows on a daily basis by the end of this month. It is also planning to start running, and in some cases even producing, video ads for local marketers, hoping to unlock a new revenue stream.

It’s not unheard of for big radio shows to be simulcast on TV--think ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” or WFAN’s Mike Francesa, whose show in the past aired on sports cable networks Yes Network and FS1. And radio stations have long streamed audio on the web.

WABC’s tests involve three shows: “The Bernie and Sid Show,” which airs weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon, “Curtis and Kuby,” which airs each weekday from noon to 3:00 p.m., as well as “The Drive at Five,” which airs at 5 p.m. The live streams will feature most of these shows’ content, excluding the station’s live news breaks.

Curtis Sliwa

Sid & Bernie

“This is a good opportunity for us to rebrand the station a bit,” said Chris Rudzki, director of digital sales and operations at Cumulus Media, which owns WABC. “It lets us dip our toe in the waters and see what’s out there.”

Interestingly, WABC isn’t focusing on the much-hyped Facebook Live, but instead plans to stream the shows on its own site. Outside of potential product placement deals, or driving people to a station’s ad-supported website, Facebook Live is “tough to monetize,” Mr. Rudzki added. “And the algorithm changes every time you do something.”

Facebook is testing some “mid-roll” video ads during live video streams.

WABC has tapped the technology company Livestream to deliver the live content to the web and help the station insert video ads. Some of the new video ads will be produced by the station, while others will be sold by video ad networks, Mr. Rudzki said. The station hasn’t signed on any advertisers yet.

Read More Now (Paywall)

Report: Viacom-CBS Merger Could Happen By Thanksgiving

Viacom shareholders believe they’ll have a merger agreement with CBS by Thanksgiving, sources told The NYPost.

National Amusements Inc., the controlling shareholder of both Viacom and CBS, said on September 29 that it sees the deal as an all-stock transaction with an at-market price.

Shari Redstone

Still, some Viacom shareholders are holding out hope for an extra serving of a sweetener for the deal — with the continuing possibility that China’s Wanda Group might still be waiting in the wings with a big check for Paramount or at least give the studio some financing on the upcoming slate.

Sources tell The Post that Aryeh Bourkoff’s LionTree had been helping Viacom look for ways to pay down debt by suggesting the sale of Viacom’s interest in premium TV and movie service Epix or Viacom’s Indian assets. Those proposals have been put on hold as merger talks proceed.

But Viacom shareholders are still angling for some kind of premium.

Meanwhile, sources say, controlling shareholder Shari Redstone — who helped organize the ouster of former Viacom Chief Executive Philip Dauman — has been spending a lot more time at the company’s 1515 Broadway offices.

FindTheCompany | Graphiq

On the docket is finding someone to lead Viacom after the mid-November departure of acting CEO Tom Dooley.

Trump Says He May Not Accept Election Result

By Steve Holland and Emily Stephenson

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Republican candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday would not commit to accepting the outcome of the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election if he loses, challenging a cornerstone of American democracy and sending shockwaves across the political spectrum.

Trump's refusal, which his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton called "horrifying," was the standout remark of the their third and final debate and ratcheted up claims he has made for weeks that the election was rigged against him.

Asked by moderator Chris Wallace whether Trump would not commit to a peaceful transition of power, the businessman-turned-politician replied: "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. Ok?"

Trump's statement may appeal to his anti-establishment followers, but it was unlikely to reverse opinion polls that show him losing, including in key states that will decide the election.

"That is not the way our democracy works," Clinton said during the debate. "We've been around for 240 years. We've had free and fair elections. We've accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them. And that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election."

Later she told reporters: "What he said tonight is part of his whole effort to blame somebody else for where he is in his campaign."

A CNN/ORC snap poll said 52 percent thought Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state, won the debate while 39 percent said Trump, making his first run at public office, was the victor.

Mexico's peso currency, seen as a measure of Trump's prospects, rose to its highest level in six weeks at the end of the debate, suggesting growing investor confidence of a Clinton victory. Trump has vowed to build a wall on the border with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants and has said he would make Mexico pay for it.

The debate in 90-seconds...


REPUBLICANS VOICE CONCERN

Mainstream Republicans were quick to denounce the comment. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a former Republican presidential candidate who has never warmed to Trump, said: "If he loses, it will not be because the system is 'rigged' but because he failed as a candidate."

Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who also ran for the Republican presidential nomination and now supports Trump, defended him.

He said Trump's message was that "if there's some kind of obvious fraud going on, he's going to say something about it."

"He didn't say he wouldn't accept it," Carson told Reuters. "He said he would evaluate it at the time."

Trump's running mate, vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, said Trump "will accept the outcome" because he is going to win.

But Republican strategist Ryan Williams found Trump's statement "deeply concerning."

"You have to accept the results of the election unless there are grounds for a recount and at this point it does not appear that we're heading for a close election," he said.

'A NASTY WOMAN'

In a debate that for the first time focused more on policy than character, the two candidates nonetheless lashed out at each other.

Trump, 70, called Clinton "such a nasty woman," accused her campaign of orchestrating a series of accusations by women who said the businessman made unwanted sexual advances and said that both she and President Barack Obama were behind disturbances at his rallies.

He said the Clinton Foundation was a criminal enterprise and as a result she should not have been allowed to seek the presidency.

Clinton, 68, said Trump himself had incited violence, belittled women and posed a danger to the United States. She said Trump, a former reality TV star, had in the past also complained that his show was unjustly denied an Emmy award.

"I should have gotten it," Trump retorted.

Trump said all of the stories of sexual misdeeds were "totally false" and suggested Clinton was behind the charges. He called her campaign "sleazy" and said, "Nobody has more respect for women than I do, nobody."

Clinton said the women came forward after Trump said in the last debate he had never made unwanted advances on women. In a 2005 video, Trump was recorded bragging about groping women against their will.

"Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger. He goes after their dignity, their self-worth and I don’t think there is a woman anywhere who doesn’t know what that feels like," said Clinton, the first woman to win the nomination of a major U.S. political party.

The two candidates also had a spirited exchange on abortion, gun rights and immigration during the showdown.

Clinton said she would raise taxes on the wealthy to help fund the U.S. government's Social Security retirement program. She said Trump, who Forbes says is worth $3.7 billion, would be paying higher taxes too unless he can get out of it.

"Such a nasty woman," Trump said.

Trump and Clinton battled sharply over the influence of Vladimir Putin, with Clinton calling Trump the Russian president's puppet and Trump charging Putin had repeatedly outsmarted Clinton.

Clinton and Trump walked straight to their podiums when they were introduced at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, once again forgoing the traditional handshake as they did at the second debate last week in St. Louis, Missouri. This time they did not shake hands at the end of the debate either.

Moonves Clarifies "Trump Good For CBS" Comment

Les Moonves

Both Republicans and Democrats who aren't Donald Trump fans have criticized how much coverage the news media have given his campaign, particularly in the primaries, when they would air his campaign rallies in their entirety.

Many thought that CBS CEO Les Moonves confirmed that it was all about ratings and money when he infamously said at a Morgan Stanley conference in February of Trump's presidential run: "It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS." Moonves tried to clarify his comment yesterday at the Vanity Fair New Establishment conference.

He said, "It was a joke! It was a joke!" and explained that it was in the context of a question about local political ad spending, not TV ratings.

According to Politico, he said, "It was early in the primaries, and I was at a business conference . . . The early days of Trump, where no one imagined him being where he is today."

He continued, "By [the 'good for CBS' comment], I meant there was going to be a lot of money in the marketplace. Ironically, because of Donald Trump not spending a lot of money [on campaign ads], more money has been spent on gubernatorial and local races."

Nielsen: Radio Reaches The Voters

Radio has the ability to reach more than 16 million voters across the major metropolitan areas of Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, according to a new Nielsen report.

Local radio provides both the mass reach needed to quickly inform voters just before they cast their ballots, as well as the local appeal that campaign strategists need to win an election.
To gain insight into where a state’s radio listeners are along party lines, Nielsen Voter Ratings recently matched voter registration data with data from Nielsen’s Portable People Meter (PPM) panelists in the major metropolitan areas for these three critical states. Adults 18+ were then divided into 10 different segments across the full political spectrum.



Florida’s cultural diversity within its population-rich metro areas is one of the key reasons why it’s a critical state for either party to win during any election year. The challenge for statewide and national campaigns is effectively and efficiently delivering the right messages across the five major metro areas: Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach. These metros account for more than 75% of the state’s population. The solution to that challenge, however, is radio. How? AM/FM radio reaches nine out of 10 voters in Florida in an average week.

As illustrated, Florida voters are voracious radio listeners. As an example,  radio in Jacksonville reaches 95.4% of Ultra Conservatives voters, the highest for this voter segment in Florida, compared with 86.4% of Ultra Conservative voters in West Palm Beach. Interestingly, Adult Contemporary is the top radio format for Republican voters in Jacksonville and for Democratic voters in Orlando.

For candidates trying to win the state and reach voters across Central Florida’s Interstate 4 corridor, identified as the area’s biggest swing area, it’s critical for them to know where their voters are and what they are tuning to.

In Tampa, radio has the ability to reach 93.4% of Independent voters, the highest in the state, while also reaching a high number of Super Democrats and Uninvolved Conservatives. Whether it's a local, statewide or national candidate, reaching the right voter and encouraging voter turnout is key.

Like in Florida, candidates who want to connect with specific voter segments in North Carolina can leverage the power of radio to deliver a message that is targetable and that resonates with the intended audience.

In Charlotte, Urban and Pop radio formats reach the majority of Democrat voters that are under age 35 , while Adult Contemporary and Adult Hits reach most Democrats that are over the age of 35. Radio performs extremely well among Republican voters in Charlotte, as 91% of them can be reached by the medium, a higher percentage than Democrats (90.3%) and Independents (90.1%).

When we look at Nielsen’s voter ratings data, it shows that the Greensboro-Winston-Salem area has a very diverse voter segment. Radio has the unique ability to effectively reach more than 93% of Super Democrats, Ultra Conservatives, On-the-Fence Liberals and Green Traditionalists.

When it comes to overall reach, AM/FM radio reaches nine out of 10 voters in Raleigh-Durham each week, with its highest reach among Independent voters at 93.6%. Radio’s wide and far-reaching appeal goes beyond party lines and in the Raleigh-Durham metro it reaches 95.6% of Mild Republican and 95.5% of Left Out Democrats.

For any candidate running a statewide campaign, it’s critical that they ensure that their messages reach key voters in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and these cities’ suburbs. In both metros, radio effectively reaches more than 94% of Democrats and more than 95% of Republicans. The medium is also effective in reaching at least 92% of Independent voters.

In Philadelphia, Nielsen data found that one individual radio station has the ability to reach over half of a single voter segment group. When looking at the percentage of voters in each segment, radio is effective in reaching 97.3% of Mild Republicans and 94.6% of On-The-Fence Liberals and 95.6% of Super Democrats.

A significant part of the Democrat to Republican voting shift in Pennsylvania is being driven by the more rural, western part of the state. Pittsburgh, which is the second-largest market in the state, remains Democratic, but is experiencing an increase in Republican voters. Radio presents a great opportunity for Democrat and Republican candidates to reach voters and deliver a message that resonates. In Pittsburgh, radio has the power to reach 94.6% of Ultra Conservative, 94.7% of Mild Republicans, while at the same time reaching 92.8 % of Conservative Democrats and 95.6% of Super Democrats.

Lexington Radio: Kenny Wall Joins Country WLXX As PD

Kenny Wall

Cumulus Media announces that it has named experienced programming professional Kenny Wall as Program Director of NashFM WLXX 92.9 FM in Lexington, KY.

Wall joins Cumulus from Townsquare Media in Amarillo, TX, where he was Operations Manager.

Prior to that, he was Operations Manager and Program Director for Cumulus Media stations KKEG-FM in Fayetteville, AR, and KBBQ-FM in Fort Smith, AR. Wall also served Cumulus previously as Program Director of WBSX-FM and WBHT-FM in Wilkes Barre, PA. He was also Program Director for stations in markets including Tulsa, OK; Birmingham, AL; Little Rock, AR; and Sydney, Australia.

Scott Frazier, Market Manager for Cumulus Media-Lexington said: “We are very excited to have Kenny Wall join us in Lexington as PD/MD on NASH FM 92.9. Kenny’s experience, ideas and great on-air presence will bring a new level of energy to our 100K watt country station.”

Tony “Twitch” Longo, Operations Manager for Cumulus Media-Lexington said: “I've known Kenny for years, and I'm excited that we are finally getting the chance to work together! There is nobody in the country I'd rather have at the helm of such a heritage station as WLXX. Can't wait to turn him loose!”

WLXX 92.9 FM (100 Kw)

Wall said: "I am so stoked to join the Cumulus team in Lexington. Looking forward to lots of bourbon, horse racing, and country music."

Report: Google Signs CBS For Web TV

(Reuters) -- Alphabet Inc's Google has reached an agreement with CBS Corp  to carry the network on its planned web TV service and is in advanced talks with 21st Century Fox, Walt Disney Co and Viacom Inc to distribute their channels, people with knowledge of the talks told Reuters on Wednesday.

The service, which will be part of Google's YouTube platform, is expected to launch in the first quarter and will include all of CBS's content, including live NFL games, one of the sources said.

Google's offering, known as a "skinny bundle" because it will have fewer channels than a typical cable subscription, will cost $30 to $40 a month, the source said. It was unclear which Fox and Viacom networks would be part of the Google service, two of the sources said.

The sources requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential. A spokesperson for YouTube declined to comment.

A representative at Disney was not immediately available for comment. CBS, Viacom and Fox declined to comment.

Google will be launching into an increasingly crowded market. Dish Network Corp and Sony Corp in the past year have launched skinny bundles delivered over the internet to appeal to younger viewers who do not want to pay for cable.

Both AT&T Inc and Hulu, the online video service owned by Disney, Fox, Comcast Corp and Time Warner Inc, have streaming television offerings that are expected to go live in the next few months.

Traditional cable operators also have unveiled smaller packages to fight "cord cutting" by consumers who are dropping their more expensive packages with hundreds of channels.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

Google has been talking to media companies about its web TV for years, but its plans have just ramped up over the past few months, one of the sources said. Apple Inc had looked at a similar service but has shelved that plan for the time being, sources previously told Reuters.

Shares of CBS, Viacom and Fox rose to session highs on the news before they pared gains. Shares of Twenty-First Century Fox ended up 0.6 percent at $25.12, Viacom rose 0.6 percent to $36.37, and CBS closed up 0.8 percent at $55.53.

SLC Radio: Frankie C Extends Contract At KZHT

Jess and Frankie C

iHeartMedia/Salt Lake City has renewed and extended its agreement with Frankie C at its  Top40 KZHT 97.1 FM.

The three-year deal will allow Frankie C to continue to host Frankie and Jess, which broadcasts weekdays from 5 - 10 a.m. The five-hour show will continue to feature on-air co-personality Jessica Ferguson.

“We’re thrilled to team with Frankie again for another three years, “said Stu Stanek, Regional Market President for iHeartMedia Salt Lake City. “Our company has built its success on having the best personalities in all of our markets and Frankie is a prime example. After 19 years on 97.1 ZHT, the audience has come to enjoy him and the show every day and he has helped put us in a dominant position. All of us at iHeartMedia Salt Lake City are grateful that Frankie is on our team!”

“Frankie and 97.1 ZHT are symbolic of Salt Lake City,” said Steve Geofferies, Executive Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia’s West Division. “I couldn’t be more excited to continue our partnership with Frankie, as well as with our listeners and clients in the community.”

KZHT 97.1 FM (25 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

Frankie just celebrated his 19th year as a broadcaster on 97.1 ZHT this October.

“I'm blessed to have found my home at 97.1 ZHT in Salt Lake City 19 years ago,” said Frankie C. “Here's to 19 more! Now, let's make mornings great again!”

WSJ to Review Operations

The Wall Street Journal announced plans Wednesday for a substantial revamp of its print newspaper as parent company Dow Jones & Co. launched a broader review of operations to cut costs in response to a significant decline in print advertising.

Dow Jones Chief Executive William Lewis said the review, dubbed WSJ2020, would seek to come up with an action plan for the next three years and identify the best ways to rebalance revenue streams as the news industry continues to undergo a tumultuous shift toward digital and mobile, in particular.

“These are challenging times. I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we set about the difficult task of continuing to build our digital future while responding to the decline in traditional advertising,” Lewis said in a memo to staff.

In a separate memo, the Journal’s editor in chief, Gerard Baker, said the revised version of the paper—which will launch in the next few weeks—will involve some consolidation of sections, with more details to come.

“The new product will be a livelier, sharper and more concise newspaper that is an engaging counterpart to our digitally delivered news,” his memo read. “It will also present a more coherent organization of our coverage in print, and will involve some consolidation of sections of the paper and the teams that produce it.”

Baker added that the measures “will require difficult decisions, with some inevitable significant restructuring and they will, regrettably, mean concomitant cost reductions.” People familiar with the matter said the revamp could include a reduction of head count.

Lewis’s note said the review would focus on three key areas: the newsroom, advertising sales and areas where the company can be more efficient. A full action plan is expected to be shared with the Journal’s staff in January, he said.

The volatility isn’t unique to the Journal. The New York Times earlier this year announced a similar review, called the 2020 Report, to chart a path forward as readers move online and increasingly onto mobile platforms. The paper has said it is planning a downsizing of staff and the shifting of resources within the newsroom to more digital roles by early next year.

Digital subscribers were expected to outnumber print subscribers at some point in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. The paper had 1.09 million print subscribers, as of July 1, and an average daily circulation of 1.38 million.

LA Radio: $10 Million Demand Alleges Radio Payola

Stephanie Himondis

A former KLAX La Reza 97.9 FM host known as Chiquibaby sued the Spanish Broadcasting System for $10M on Monday, claiming it fired her and her husband for objecting to its illegal payola scheme: demanding $5,000 from musicians to play one song one time, according to Courthouse News.

Stephanie Himondis pka Chiquibaby says her husband, co-plaintiff Gerardo Lopez, earned more than $120,000 base pay for managing two SBS stations, and she got more than twice that, through base pay and bonuses.

Defendant SBS is "the largest Hispanic-controlled radio broadcasting company in the United States," owning and/or operating at least 20 FM stations, in L.A., New York, Miami, Chicago and elsewhere, according to the Oct. 17 complaint in Superior Court.

Last September, the couple claimed that SBS "demanded that Mr. Lopez engage in an illegal payola scheme" as part of his job. "SBS demanded five thousand dollars ($5,000) in payment from musicians in exchange for one play of one song on the air per station," the complaint states.

"SBS flat-out refused to play music on its stations if musicians refused to pay SBS's illegal 'fee' for the same. SBS in turn gave Mr. Lopez a monthly sales quota of five (5) music spots, i.e., SBS required Mr. Lopez to illegally sell and collect from musicians at least five such 'fees' each month, per station, per month, which would yield at least $50,000 per month of $600,000 per year in illegal revenue to SBS."

Himonidis' radio career began in Guadalajara, Mexico. She moved to Fresno and worked her way up into the Los Angeles market. In 2014 was DJ and host of one of SBS' most successful offerings, The Chiquibaby Show, during the 5 to 10 a.m. drive-time slot, with good ratings in the influential markets of Northern and Southern California

Her husband was a successful radio executive who moved to SBS in 2014 after the company's CEO Raul Alarcon recruited him away from his Univision, according to the complaint. Lopez, who was not yet married but in a relationship with Himonidis, persuaded her to follow him to SBS.

They say their work produced a spike in ratings not only during The Chiquibaby Show but across the broadcast system's various platforms. Then, Lopez says, he found that payola was part of his job.

Lopez was fired after he refused to participate in the payola.

Read More Now

Report: Taylor Swift Wants Butt-Grope Photo Placed Under Seal

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift, who’s currently locked in a legal battle with a former Denver morning host who allegedly groped her butt, has filed legal papers to keep evidence from the lawsuit out of the public’s hands, reports The Wrap.

Swift is being sued by David Mueller, who says he was fired after being accused of “grabbing Ms. Swift’s bottom” at a meet-and-greet at Denver’s Pepsi Center in June 2013. The radio personality, who goes by the professional name “Jackson,” has adamantly denied the accusation. Swift subsequently filed a countersuit against Mueller.

In a joint motion filed last week in federal court in Colorado, Swift and the other parties in the suit seek to keep her motion for summary judgment, as well as “confidential and private evidence” relating to it, out of the public eye.

David Mueller

The joint motion in particular mentions a “photograph taken on June 2, 2013, and documents describing it.”

“Exhibit 14 is extremely personal and sensitive in nature and should not be shared with the public until absolutely necessary (at trial),” the motion reads.

The motion contends that, given the intense public interest in the case, dissemination of the evidence to the public would likely taint the potential juror pool in the case.

“Defendants admit that Mr. Bell showed Mr. Haskell a photograph of Mueller with his hand in an inappropriate place and a grin on his face,” the papers said, referring to Frank Bell, Director of Radio & Research at 13 Management, who is named as a co-defendant in the filing.

ESPN's PTI Renew Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon

Pardon the Interruption hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon agreed to a new multiyear contract with ESPN, according to USAToday.

PTI has become the template for the “embrace debate” format that has proliferated sports broadcast media. The two were both columnists at The Washington Post when the show launched in October 2001 with verbal sparring on various sports topics and countdown graphics that have become commonplace.

“The fact that ESPN would give me yet another extension at my age indicates one of two things: one, they have never actually seen me on television. Two, they feel they are saving money on health insurance because they think I will have all my expenses covered by Medicare,” Kornheiser said in a statement. “Either way I am thrilled to be doing PTI with Wilbon and scaring the children.”

PTI, which airs at 5:30 pm ET each weekday on ESPN, is the network's most-watched daily studio show with more than a million viewers when re-airs are factored in.

BFA-Celeb Tourney Raises $200G To Help Colleagues In Need

The Broadcasters Foundation of America raised $200,0000 during its Celebrity Golf Fundraiser, held recently at The Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, NJ, home of this year’s PGA Championship.  More than 150 broadcasters and celebrities came out on a rainy morning and stayed the course as the weather cleared to a beautiful day of golf for a good cause. The annual event is one of the Foundation’s major fundraisers and supports its mission to provide monthly and emergency financial assistance to broadcasters in need.

“The funds come at a time when more broadcasters than ever are in need of assistance,” stated Dan Mason, Chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation. “Just recently, we helped 85 colleagues affected by the Louisiana floods with emergency grants of $1,000 each, and requests are now rolling in from broadcasters impacted by Hurricane Matthew.”

“We are pacing to distribute $850,000 in monthly and emergency grants this year,” added Jim Thompson, President of the Broadcasters Foundation. “We are very grateful to our sponsors and to those who gave of their time to make this year’s Celebrity Golf Fundraiser a success.”
Traug Keller, Senior Vice President, Production & Business Divisions of ESPN, served as Event Chair. Celebrity golfers included: Bruce Beck, WNBC-TV; Rachel Grant, actress and philanthropist; Jay Harris, ESPN; Otis Livingston, WCBS-TV; Karl Nelson, NY Giants; Lee Saltz, New England Patriots; Bob Wischusen, voice of the New York Jets, and more.

Evercore Wealth Management was the title sponsor. Additional sponsors included: ABC Channel 7, CBS Television, CBS Radio, NBC Owned TV Stations & Telemundo Station Group, Eileen & Jack Connors, Jr., ESPN, The Norman Knight Charitable Foundation, Marketron, Nielsen, Putnam Investments, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and others.

The Broadcasters Foundation of America has distributed millions of dollars in aid to thousands of broadcasters and their families who lost their livelihood through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease, or unforeseen family tragedy.  For more information on applying for a grant or making a donation, please visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org, or call 212-373-8250.