Now Available: "Alexa, Play Some Free Music"

Amazon officially began offering free ad-supported music for owners of Echo speakers Thursday, even if they don't subscribe to Prime, Amazon's expedited shipping and entertainment offering, reports USAToday.

Amazon already provides some 2 million songs free, but without ads to Echo owners who also pay $119 yearly to subscribe to Prime.A more full-featured ad-free music offering, Amazon Music Unlimited, is available for $9.99 monthly, or $7.99 monthly for Prime members. Amazon says it has access to around 50 million songs.

The new free service has limitations, more akin to online radio station Pandora than Apple Music in that customers can't request a specific on-demand song. Instead, the request will lead to a music station "based" on that song, or a pre-existing Amazon playlist.

“Customers now have access to play a station based on a song, artist, era, and genre, and to hear some of Amazon Music’s top global playlists including Country Heat, Fuego Latino, Pop Culture, and more," Amazon said in a statement.

On Spotify, you can request specific songs to listen to, but first, you'll need to listen to an ad. Pandora operates differently, by offering radio stations based on artists you like. You can request specific songs, which may or not be played. All come with spoken ads.

YouTube shows visual ads before many songs play.

Spotify has nearly 100 million subscribers globally to 56 million from No. 2 Apple Music. Apple offers free trials of its service but doesn't offer a free tier for listening to music with ads, beyond genre radio stations.

Amazon has said it has 100 million subscribers to the Prime service.

Some suggested music requests, per Amazon on its company blog:

• "Alexa, play the playlist Pop Culture" to hear the ultimate global playlist for today's pop music.
• "Alexa, play the Imagine Dragons station" to hear a station inspired by the popular rock band.
• "Alexa, play 80s music" to hear a station filled with music from the era.
• "Alexa, play country music" to hear a station with some of the best in the genre.

It will compete with existing free services from Spotify Technology and Sirius XM-owned Pandora.

Google announced a similar service on Thursday. Owners of Google Home speakers can sign up for a free, ad-supported version of the YouTube Music streaming product. Users can request playlists and stations to stream different types of music to suit different moods and situations.

“I don’t see this changing anything major in the music ecosystem,” analyst Russ Crupnick of MusicWatch told Variety. “It will probably have little impact on the established players — Spotify has incredible loyalty with its listeners and I don’t see people marching off to Amazon because it’s going to have a free tier. Amazon has a much more casual audience — it’s large, but they spend much fewer hours [on the platform] and are generally less engaged with music.

“However,” he notes, “it may bite into Spotify’s advertising, if not its audience. This clearly fits in with Amazon’s larger advertising plan: It’s not hard to imagine, after a consumer asks Alexa to play a song, the voice then saying, ‘After you’re done listening to the song, check out this product, available now on Amazon…’.”

Westwood One News Wins Prestigious Headliner Award

Westwood One News is the winner of The National Headliner Award for its reporting and coverage of the Parkland school shooting in Florida last year.

This award recognizes the entire Westwood One News staff for its in-depth live coverage, newscasts, special reports and long form coverage. The First Place award was in the “Breaking News or Continuing Coverage of a Single News Event” category. The Headliner Award judges said Westwood One News’ reporting was "precise and eloquent coverage of the Parkland shooting. Radio at its best: the sound and the actualities tell the story; clear and compelling writing."

Westwood One News dominated this important category by also winning Third Place for its coverage of Hurricane Michael.

Founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City, the National Headliner Awards program is one of the oldest and largest annual contests recognizing journalistic merit in the communications industry. The first National Headliner Awards were presented in 1935. Medallions are presented to outstanding writers, photographers, daily newspapers, magazines, graphic artists, radio and television stations and networks, and news syndicates.

Westwood One News, launched in January 2015, was created to offer radio stations greater flexibility and local branding opportunities, enabling them to integrate comprehensive network news coverage into their local operation. What can Westwood One News do for your station? Learn more by contacting Jim Jones at jimjones@westwoodone.com or (202) 840-7933.

The National Enquirer Finds A Buyer

The company that owns the National Enquirer said it has agreed to sell the scandal-plagued supermarket tabloid to a former newsstand mogul, reports The Wall Street Journal.

James Cohen, 60 years old, whose family built Hudson News, best known for operating airport and rail station newsstands, will acquire the gossip weekly and its sister tabloids, the Globe and National Examiner, from American Media LLC, the company said. Mr. Cohen has agreed to pay $100 million for the publications, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Mr. Cohen and American Media Chief Executive David Pecker have had numerous business dealings over the years and are friends, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Cohen continues to own a magazine distribution business that delivers American Media publications to newsstands. In 2011 the two men joined forces to acquire OK! Magazine’s U.S. edition from a British publisher.

Mr. Cohen’s Hudson Group was acquired by Swiss travel retailer Dufry AG in 2008. Mr. Cohen remains on the company’s board.

“Year after year, the Enquirer has continued to be one of the best-selling and most profitable newsstand titles,” Mr. Cohen said in a statement. “But this transaction is about more than a weekly publication, it’s about a brand with extraordinary potential across multiple platforms.”

American Media said it expected the deal to close soon, pending regulatory approval. The Washington Post earlier reported on the sale.

American Media announced last week that it was putting the Enquirer and its sister tabloids -- the Globe and National Examiner -- up for sale and expected a deal in the “near future.”

The heavily indebted company has been in the spotlight since it admitted making a hush-money payment on behalf of President Trump to women who alleged affairs with him.

Politicians' Attacks On Press Increasing Threats

Press freedom group Reporters without Borders warned in a report published Thursday that politicians' attacks on the media have resulted in hostile climate for reporters, reports The Hill.

"The hostility towards journalists expressed by political leaders in many countries has incited increasingly serious and frequent acts of violence that have fueled an unprecedented level of fear and danger for journalists," the report said.

It adds that threats are now “occupational hazards” for journalists in some countries, particularly noting that supporters of Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro have targeted media both physically and online.

The report also classified the U.S. media climate as "problematic" attributing the classification to "an increasingly hostile climate that goes beyond Donald Trump’s comments."

"Never before have US journalists been subjected to so many death threats or turned so often to private security firms for protection," the report said.

The U.S. has fallen three places in Reporters without Borders's World Press Freedom Index ranking, now coming in 48th out of 180 countries surveyed.

The group annually publishes the rankings to measure media freedom.

Malware Attack Knocks The Weather Channel Off-Air

The Weather Channel is blaming a “malicious software attack" for an incident that disrupted its live broadcast on Thursday.

Viewers tuning in to watch "AMHQ" at 6 a.m. instead saw a taped show, "Heavy Rescue: 401." It wasn't until 7:39 a.m. that "AMHQ" returned on air, according to CNN.

“The Weather Channel, sadly, has been the victim of a malicious software attack today,” Weather Channel anchor Jim Cantore said when live programming was restored.

"Yes, and it has affected our ability to bring you your weather information," anchor Stephanie Abrams said. "So we just wanted to say thank you again for your patience and we want to get right to today's severe weather."

In a statement, the Weather Channel said federal law enforcement officials are conducting an investigation.

“We experienced issues with this morning’s live broadcast following a malicious software attack on the network. We were able to restore live programming quickly through backup mechanisms,” The Weather Channel said. “Federal law enforcement is actively investigating the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience to viewers as we work to resolve the matter."

The outage comes on a day where severe thunderstorms are working their way through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alamaba, knocking out power to over 100,000 people.

MLB Yankees Bench Kate Smith

Kate Smith

The New York Yankees have decided to no longer run Kate Smith’s version of “God Bless America” during their seventh-inning stretch because of Smith’s affiliation with songs that carried racist lyrics.

According to The NYPost, Most famously, Smith sang a 1931 song, “That’s Why Darkies Were Born,” which opened: “Someone had to pick the cotton, Someone had to pick the corn, Someone had to slave and be able to sing, That’s why darkies were born.”

The song, which has been called a satirical take on racism, was a big hit for Smith, and also was recorded by Paul Robeson.

When the Yankees last month became aware of Smith’s history, they switched to a keyboard version of “God Bless America.”

The Yankees have played the song in the middle of every game since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the insistence of late owner George Steinbrenner.

In 2009, the Yankees cut ties with singer Ronan Tynan, who had made numerous appearances at the Stadium to sing “God Bless America,” after he was alleged to have made anti-Semitic comments.

Smith’s version of “God Bless America” is played at other sporting events, most notably before Philadelphia Flyers’ hockey games. The Flyers started playing the song in 1969, and it became such a tradition that Smith even sang the song live several times. Singer Lauren Hart now performs “God Bless America” for the Flyers, but with Smith’s vocals accompanying Hart’s performance.

R.I.P.: Brad Messer, Longtime News Talk Radio Host

Brad Messer

Brad Messer, who spent 47 years in the broadcast industry as a talk radio host and news director in 12 major markets around the country, has died in hospice care.

Twenty-Seven of those years, off and on from 1980 to 2007, were spent at KTSA 550 AM in San Antonio where Messer was named among The 100 Most Important Radio Talk Hosts in America for seven consecutive years.

Brad Messer was propelled into radio news at KILE in Galveston, Texas, in 1961 when the newsman there was too sick to work and someone had to fill in on the spot. That brief on-air stint led to a full-time radio career as a news director at stations from Houston and Dallas to San Francisco and Los Angeles.

In 1977 Messer joined KTSA as news director. He left to work in North Carolina and in California, but returned to KTSA three more times, as news director, then operations manager, and finally as talk show host for 16 years.

During his years as a talk radio host, Messer cited several on-air conversations as especially memorable. But one in particular stands out:  In 1992 on the topic of the military draft, one caller mentioned his tour in Vietnam. He thought it would be appropriate to thank him for his service, although he had never heard that done. He said, simply enough, "Thanks for going over there."

The caller was silent for so long that Brad thought maybe he had hung up, when the vet finally said, in a choked-up voice, "That's the first time anyone has ever said thank you." After that, Brad made it a point to express appreciation for the military service of his KTSA listeners.

Messer also wrote a column for Radtion & Records.

In 2002, he was a charter inductee in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. He retired from radio in 2007.

R.I.P.: Chet Choppock, Broadcaster Known As "The Godfather of Sports"

Chet Choppock (April 30, 1948 – April 17, 2019)

Chet Coppock, a longtime Chicago TV sportscaster and pioneering sports talk radio host who flamboyantly wore his bravado like his hip-length raccoon coat, has died.

According to The Chicago Tribune, the 70-year-old Coppock died Wednesday as a result of injuries suffered as a passenger in an April 11 car accident outside Hilton Head Island, S.C.

A graduate of New Trier East High School and Columbia College who grew up in suburban Northfield, Coppock was a leading sportscaster at Chicago’s NBC-5 in the 1980s and hosted the popular “Coppock on Sports” radio program, on which he greeted callers by saying, “Your dime, your dance floor.”

Chet Choppock

Coppock seemed to have hit on what he wanted to do in life as far back as high school. As he liked to tell the story, he convinced Bears star Sid Luckman to sit for an interview at halftime of a sophomore football game he was calling on the school radio station.

Born April 30, 1948, Coppock grew up idolizing the late Chicago broadcasting legend Jack Brickhouse, voice of the Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls and whatever else was in front of him and his microphone.

“Jack Brickhouse wasn't just good or great, he was the single most versatile broadcaster in Chicago history,” Coppock would recall.

While attending Columbia, Coppock got a low-level job at what's now FOX-32 at age 19 and within three months was writing sports copy. He was on the air for the station before he turned 20.

Coppock picked up his bona fides in six years as a sportscaster at Indianapolis’ WISH-TV. The pro wrestling fan in him was tickled to turn up in an Indianapolis Star reader poll as both the most popular and most disliked sportscaster in town.

From WISH, at which colleagues included an up-and-coming anchor named Jane Pauley, he again circled back to Chicago, joining NBC-5. His time there was short — just three years — but he left quite an impression.

His radio shows beginning on WMAQ-AM, a shrewd blend of bellowing bombast and cajoling interviews, established a template for much of what was to follow as sports talk became its own format.

WSCR-AM 670 host Dan McNeil, once Coppock's producer, tweeted that Coppock “was a mentor and, though we often battled, a friend. Forever in his debt, with enormous sadness.”

April 19 Radio History

➦In 1924…A year before the "Grand Ole Opry" hit the airwaves from WSM Radio in Nashville, "The Chicago Barn Dance" aired on WLS Radio in Chicago. The country music show was later renamed "National Barn Dance" and continued on the air – on WLS, simulcast on the ABC Radio Network, simulcast on the NBC Radio Network, back to WLS only, then Chicago's WGN Radio – until 1968.



According to Edgar Bill, the first WLS station manager: "We had so much highbrow music the first week that we thought it would be a good idea to get on some of the old time music.  After we had been going about an hour, we received about 25 telegrams of enthusiastic approval.  It was this response that pushed the Barn Dance!"  Indeed, Sears-Roebuck management was aghast by this "disgraceful low-brow music" that was being broadcast on their new station.  When Bill and Agricultural Director Samuel Guard were confronted by the angry executives, they pointed to the audiences overwhelming approval.

The Barn Dance served two distinct audiences.  It targeted the rural farm audiences as well as city listeners that had come from rural communities or those whom had been told about the "good old times."

In November 1925, WLS claimed to be the first to build an audience studio when it moved to larger quarters on the 6th floor of the Sherman Hotel in downtown Chicago.  The theatre was designed to hold 100 people as well as technical and control room facilities. (WLS History)

National Barn Dance continued for more than two decades on WLS.  WLW Cincinnati became the flagship from 1950-60, and Chicago’s WGN took over as host station from 1960-68.

➦In 1943...Theater of Romance anthology debuted on the CBS Radio Network as a filler show between 1943 and 1957. It substituted from time to time for such shows as Gunsmoke, Life with Luigi, Lux Radio Theater, and many others. Producers, directors, and actors changed constantly through the years. Even the locale changed from New York to Los Angeles in 1945.

Romance featured such stars as Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, Shirley Temple, and many other Hollywood stars, often binding the story lines with the films in which the stars were currently being featured. The themed stories often revolved around historical fiction as well, and broadcast before a live audience.

➦In 1965..WINS 1010 AM in New York City flipped from Top40 to become the first All-News radio station.  Two months earlier, personality Murray The K departed WINS...

Billboard Article 2/5/1965

Before 1010 WINS in New York City was “All News, All the Time,” it was one of the country’s first rock-and-roll stations.

WGBS signed on in 1924, owned by Gimbel’s Department Store.  William Randolph Hearst bought it in 1932, changing the call letters to WINS, which referred to Hearst’s “International News Service.”

Crosley bought WINS in 1945, then sold it in 1953 to Gotham Broadcasting Corporation.  WINS started playing rock music. Legendary broadcasters like Alan Freed and Murray “the K” Kaufman were some of the early WINS disc jockeys.  Here’s a sample of WINS from 1960:



Westinghouse bought WINS in 1962.  By that time, WINS was fending off three other stations for New York City’s rock audience.  WMCA, WMGM and WABC all were airing Top 40 and rock music.

WMGM bailed on Top 40/rock in 1962 and flipped to a beautiful music format under its former WHN call letters.

By 1963, WMCA became New York’s No. 1 Top 40 station.  WINS’ ratings slid below WMCA and WABC.

On April 19, 1965, Westinghouse pulled the plug on the Top 40 format at WINS.  The final song was “Out in the Streets” by The Shangri-Las.  WINS became the nation’s third all-news radio station.

Many observers predicted WINS would fail as other early all-news stations had. Westinghouse poured resources into the format and succeeded,  It flipped two other stations, KYW in Philadelphia and KFWB in Los Angeles, to a similar format.

Soon, CBS decided to complete in the all-news arena.  It flipped WINS rival WCBS toward an all-news format in 1967, eventually becoming a full-time all-news station in 1970.  CBS expanded the all-news format to other owned stations around the country, including KNX in Los Angeles and WBBM in Chicago.  NBC tried an all-news approach in the mid 1970s called “News and Information Service,” but it shut down after two years.

In 1995, Westinghouse purchased CBS, making sister stations out of longtime rivals WINS and WCBS in New York.  The two stations continue their all-news formats, but gear them toward different audiences.

WINS has a harder approach, providing more of a headline service.  It has stronger ratings in New York City itself.  WCBS has a more conversational style, which does well with suburban listeners.  Both remain highly-rated stations and are among the nation’s biggest-billing radio stations.

Listening to a WINS broadcast today is not radically different from the station’s early days.  The teletype sound effect, the slogans (“All news, all the time,” “The newswatch never stops,” “Listen 2, 3, 4 times a day,” “You give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world”) and the basic 20-minute wheel format have remained in place for nearly 50 years.  (H/T: Faded Signals)

➦In 1971...MLB Giants announcer Russ Hodges suffered a fatal heart attack at age 60. Hodges began his broadcasting career in 1934. He was sports editor of WBT, Charlotte, North Carolina until October 1941, when he moved full-time to WOL in Washington, D.C., where he had already been doing play-by-play for the Washington Redskins. He worked for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, and Cincinnati Reds before landing in New York City with the New York Yankees and New York Giants, who during much of the 1940s only broadcast home games and shared the same radio team — lead announcer Mel Allen and No. 2 man Hodges.

In 1949, Hodges became a No. 1 announcer when the Giants and the Yankees separated their radio networks to each broadcast a full, 154-game schedule. He would be the voice of the Giants for the next 22 seasons on both coasts.  On October 3, 1951, Hodges was on the microphone for Bobby Thomson's famous Shot Heard 'Round the World.

➦In 2017...Fox News terminated their biggest prime time star Bill O’Reilly over allegations of sexual harassment.

Day 3: March 2019 PPMs Released For 12 Additional Markets

Nielsen on Wednesday, April 17, 2019 released the third batch of March 2019 PPM data for the following markets:

  22  Portland OR

  23  Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill NC

  25  San Antonio

  27  Sacramento

  28  Pittsburgh

  29  Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo

  30  Las Vegas

  31  Orlando

  32  Cincinnati

  34  Cleveland

  35  Kansas City

  36  Columbus OH 

Click Here to view topline numbers of subscribing Nielsen stations.

Medium-Sized Cities Pace U-S Growth

Medium-sized metro areas in the United States are outpacing growth in the largest metropolitan areas, U-S Census data released Thursday morning shows.

UPI reports the two strongest examples of the trend, according the the bureau, are Austin, Texas, and Orlando, Fla. Both cities experienced large numeric increases in population since 2010, rivaling growth in areas with much larger populations. Two other metros not among the 10 largest in the nation also saw similar growth in sheer numbers -- Phoenix and Seattle.

The New York and Chicago areas, which rank first and third nationally in size, respectively, did not appear on the top-10 list of metro areas with the biggest number growth so far this decade. Orlando ranked No. 10 on that list, adding 438,560 people since 2010; the New York metro area by comparison added 412,950 people.

The Orlando metro area, which includes Sanford, Kissimmee and other suburbs, ranked No. 23 in the nation for overall population in 2017. The Austin area ranked No. 31 that year.

Duncan Dickson, professor at Orlando's Rosen College of Hospitality, said growth of medium-sized cities, especially in the south, is about climate and quality of life.

Telecommuting trends are partly to credit, Dickson said, meaning more people feel they can live wherever they want to -- not necessarily where they grew up or where their employer is based.

"Austin's growth is about quality of life and higher-paying jobs there," Dickson said. "In Orlando, people just like to be here, and our airport has more flights than other cities our size. I can get to New York nonstop, and Frankfurt or Dubai nonstop."

Two of the 10 fastest-growing metro areas in 2018 are in Texas: Midland (first), with a growth of 4.3 percent (7,383) and Odessa (fifth), with a growth of 3.2 percent (4,951). Positive domestic migration contributed to the gains in both areas. Florida and Utah each contain two of the fastest-growing metro areas in 2018.

Over a one-year period, Orange County, Fla. , (where Orlando is situated) was No. 7 in the nation for numeric population growth, adding 27,208 people. Hillsborough County in the Tampa area was No. 10 for numeric growth, adding 26,773.

For year-over-year percentage growth, Florida had three of the top 10 counties: Walton, where Fort Walton Beach is situated, grew by 4.5 percent. Osceola, just south of Orlando, grew by 4.3 percent. And St. Johns County, which includes the historic city of St. Augustine, grew by 4.2 percent.

Among counties with a population of 20,000 or more, Williams County, N.D., was the fastest-growing one by percentage, increasing by 5.9 percent between 2017 and 2018 (to 35,350 from 33,395).

The rapid growth Williams County, N.D., experienced was due mainly to net domestic migration (1,471) in 2018. The county also grew between 2017 and 2018 by natural increase (427) and international migration (52).

The five fastest-decreasing metro areas (excluding those within Puerto Rico) were Charleston, W.Va. (minus 1.6 percent); Pine Bluff, Ark. (minus1.5 percent); Farmington, N.M. (minus 1.5 percent); Danville, Ill. (minus.2 percent); and Watertown-Fort Drum, N.Y. (minus 1.2 percent). The population decreases were due to negative net domestic migration

Study Suggests Ideal Length of Podcasts

Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer 2019 study shows a record 197 million Americans are now familiar with the term “podcasting” yet only 144 million have actually listened to a show. One of the biggest reasons for the 53 million-person gap rests in the hands of show producers.

InsideRadio reports its survey data shows four-in-ten people said podcasts aren’t quick listening. A related data point: 51% said they just don’t have the time in their mobile data allotment to listen to podcasts. And when it asked people what makes them listen to podcasts more, more than half (57%) said they would if they had more time to listen.

Even among those who do listen to podcasts, show length can be an issue. Just a slight majority (51%) of monthly podcast listeners typically listen to an entire podcast. And while fewer than one-in-ten drop out before the halfway point in a show, it’s not a guarantee that fans make it to the end point.

A separate survey released in recent days, this one conducted by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications in conjunction with Futuri Media, asked podcast consumers how long they typically spend listening to a show. It reports about half of those surveyed say they spent between 30 and 60 minutes with a show.

“We found that on average, users are listening to 50 minutes each time in this study. For those of you that know the average tune in for a broadcast [radio], which is around eight and half minutes, that’s an extraordinary amount of time spent in a session,” Futuri president Daniel Anstandig said while unveiling the results at the NAB Show last week.

Poll Suggests Almost Half Want Advertisers To 'Take A Stand'

New polling shows that adults in the key 18-49 demographic are likely to be more forgiving of advertisers that air ads during programs or on networks associated with controversial comments or actions. However, those in the 50+ demo — an important group for Fox News, which has sparked recent brand safety concerns — may not forgive and forget as easily.

The April 4-7 Morning Consult/Hollywood Reporter survey of 2,200 adults found that 59 percent of respondents in the 50+ demographic said companies should take a stand by removing their advertisements from shows when hosts say or do something controversial or offensive. Less than half (49 percent) of those ages 18-49, a key demographic for advertisers, said the same. The poll’s margin of error is 2 percentage points, while the margin of error for the 50+ and 18-49 subgroups is 3 percentage points.

The poll comes after Fox News, whose median viewer in 2017 was age 65, according to Adweek citing Nielsen data, had multiple brands pull advertisements from programs hosted by Tucker Carlson and Jeanine Pirro following controversial comments.

Forty-six percent of the 18-49 demographic said they would be less likely to purchase a product or service from a brand airing an ad during a news or talk show when a news anchor or a TV personality makes a racist statement, 7 percentage points less than the 53 percent of those 50+ who felt the same way.

Both groups were most forgiving of remarks made by television characters, with 22 percent of those 18-49 saying they would be less likely to buy a product if a brand advertised during a show where a character makes a controversial statement, and 33 percent of those 50+ sharing the sentiment.

The 50+ demographic was also more likely to oppose brands making social statements in their advertising, with a 64 percent majority saying that ads should not make social statements, compared to 45 percent of those ages 18-49.

St. Louis Radio: Jeff Cage Named SVP/Programming for iHM

Jeff Cage

iHeartMedia has announced  that Jeff Cage has been named Region Senior Vice President of Programming for its St. Louis Region.

As Region Senior Vice President of Programming, Cage will be responsible for spearheading programming, promotions and digital strategies for radio brands in St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri as well as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa. He will also serve as Senior Vice President of Programming for the Des Moines market and Program Director for KKDM 107.5 KISS FM. Cage will report to Derrick Martin, Region President for iHeartMedia St. Louis, and Joel McCrea, Area President for iHeartMedia Des Moines.

“Jeff has done a tremendous job helping our radio stations in Little Rock become the go-to destination for listeners,” said Martin. “We’re very excited to bring his programming and leadership expertise to St. Louis to work with our talented team of Program Directors and to ensure we’re sharing the music, news and moments that matter most to Missouri and Iowa residents.”

Cage joins iHeartMedia’s St. Louis Region from iHeartMedia Little Rock where he spent fifteen years and recently served as the Program Director of HOT 94.9, All The Hits, and 100.3 The Edge, Arkansas’ Rock Station. He is a graduate of The University of Kansas.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the iHeartMedia’s St. Louis Region and the Des Moines market,” said Cage. “I’ve been a fan of these stations for years. This is an incredible opportunity to work with top-rated heritage stations, passionate veteran talent and a dedicated staff of programmers and personalities.”

Philly Radio: Andre Gardner Inks New WMGK Deal

Bill Weston, Andre Gardner, Joe Bell

Beasley Media Group announces Afternoon Drive Personality Andre Gardner has signed a multi-year deal to remain at Classic Rock WMGK 102.9 FM in Philadelphia.

Gardner, who recently celebrated his 17th anniversary on the air on Monday, April 15th, originally joined the legendary classic rock station back in April of 2002. He has held the same afternoon drive slot from 2-7pm as well as has hosted the 7-9am Sunday Morning Breakfast with the Beatles Show throughout his tenure at WMGK-FM.

“Andre Gardner is one of the best communicators I’ve ever heard,” said Vice President and Market Manager Joe Bell. “His passion for the music, the audience and life, in general, is contagious!”

“I am beyond thrilled to keep rockin’ Philly’s afternoons on the greatest Classic Rock station in America,” said Gardner. “Many thanks to the Beasley family, Buzz Knight, Joe Bell and Bill Weston for their continued confidence and support!”

“Andre Gardner is king of the DJ hill in Philly,” said WMGK-FM Program Director and Beasley Media Group Rock Format Brand Manager Bill Weston. “No one brings more passion or runs a tighter board with a pervasive knowledge of music. WMGK has benefited from his talents for 17 years.  I am so happy we’re continuing Andre’s nearly two-decade run of success.”

Lawton OK Radio: Lisa Guertin To Manage Townsquare Cluster

Townsquare Media Inc. announced Wednesday that Lisa Guertin has joined Townsquare as Market President and Chief Revenue Officer for its Lawton, OK local media cluster.

Guertin will lead the local media team in Lawton, which includes Country KLAW 101.3, Rock KZCD Z94, and CHR KVRW 107.3 Pop Crush. She will report to Townsquare Senior Vice President Kevin Godwin.

Lisa Guertin

“Lisa was just who we were looking for to lead our team at Townsquare Lawton. She has a proven track record of team building, talent development and revenue performance across multi-media product platforms,” commented Mr. Godwin. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with Lisa on our Local First approach and growing our operation with our very dedicated staff in Lawton.”

“I’m excited to join the Townsquare team in Lawton,” commented Ms. Guertin. “Townsquare is a vibrant and revolutionary media company and I look forward to growing our footprint in Southern Oklahoma.”

Townsquare COO – Local Media, Erik Hellum added, “Lisa is a great fit for Townsquare. She is a Lawton native, has had a very successful media career in Oklahoma, and we are glad she is coming home to lead our talented Lawton team.”

Prior to joining Townsquare, Ms. Guertin was LSM/NSM for Griffin Communications (formerly Scripps Media Group) in Tulsa, OK. Prior to that she worked in sales management for Tulsa World/BH Media and Cox Media Group in Tulsa.

TN Radio: Steve Swenson Named Pres/CEO For Nashville Public Radio

Steve Swenson

Nashville Public Radio has appointed veteran CBS Radio executive Steve Swenson to serve as its new President and Chief Executive Officer effective April 29, 2019.

Swenson succeeds Nashville Public Radio’s longstanding CEO Rob Gordon, who announced his retirement last fall after 24 years of leadership during a tenure marked by content expansion and fiscal stability.

Swenson brings more than three decades of experience in all facets of radio leadership, from news direction to general management, to Nashville Public Radio. Most recently, Swenson served as the Senior Vice President and Market Manager at CBS Radio, Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for leading six different stations. Previously, Swenson also served as VP & General Manager of CBS Radio’s news stations in New York City, 1010 WINS and WCBS 880. Before his stint in NYC he served as the general manager of WTOP in Washington, D.C. Throughout his career, Swenson has successfully grown diverse formats including Urban, Spanish, Sports, Adult Contemporary and All News.

“We are delighted to have attracted Steve Swenson to Nashville Public Radio during this period of accomplishment and opportunity for our stations WPLN and 91Classical,” said Bill Carpenter, chair of the Nashville Public Radio Board of Directors. “Steve is well-recognized for bringing engaging content rooted in community partnership to grow the markets he has served. Nashville Public Radio’s award-winning team is known for their ingenuity in providing in-depth reporting and programming that engages our long-standing and new listeners. We believe that Steve’s proven abilities will be a terrific complement to our station and our broader community as we continue to expand our offerings throughout Middle Tennessee.”

“I’m so excited to become a part of the Nashville community, which is among the most high-potential and culturally rich media markets in the country.” Swenson said. “I look forward to working with the board and the great team at our stations to further our mission to be the most trusted Nashville voice connecting our communities through fact-based, nonpartisan journalism, great storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.”

CRS Agenda Committees Announced

The Country Radio Broadcasters have announced the individuals who will serve on the 2019-2020 CRS Agenda Committee to plan for CRS 2020, set for Feb. 19-21, 2020. Agenda chair Judy Lakin will return for her second year, and will guide segment leaders to steer key areas of educational curriculum, including radio, programming, digital, tech, streaming, label promotion, sales, and marketing.

This year’s segment leaders and agenda committee members are:

⏩ Radio/Programming:
Brent Michaels, KUZZ/Bakersfield (Team Lead)
Drew Bland, Entercom/Seattle (Team Lead)
Christopher Barber, Townsquare Media/Rockford
Jess Jennings, Charleston Radio Group
Jules Riley, iHeartMedia/St. Louis
Joey Tack, SummitMedia

⏩ Digital/Tech/Data:
Tim Gerst, Thinkswell (Team Lead)
Billy McKim, Texas A&M (Team Lead)
Jason Bailey, Sun Broadcast Group
Sloane Cavitt Logue, WME
Katie McCartney, Monument Records

⏩ Label:
Lou Ramirez, Warner Music Nashville (Team Lead)
Michelle Kammerer, Big Machine Label Group (Team Lead)
Andy Elliot, Pearl Records
RJ Meacham, Curb Word Entertainment
Stacy Blythe, Big Loud
Carsen, Silverfish Media

⏩ Sales/Marketing:
Judy Lakin (Team Lead)
Jeff James, CXO5 (Team Lead)
Stephanie Callihan, Entercom/Austin
Ashley Wilson, iHeart/New Orleans
Jennifer Ritchie, Revolution PR/Seattle

The balance of the CRS 2020 Agenda Committee is made up of volunteer professionals from all sectors of the Country radio, streaming, and record industries. Committees are responsible for planning events for the upcoming year’s Country Radio Seminar.

Lakin commented about this year’s chosen representatives, stating, “We are thrilled to have so many talented individuals step up to serve on The Agenda Committee this year.  I’m honored to lead this dynamic team in creating compelling content for CRS 2020.”