Lil Wayne Tells Power 106: ‘I’m An Epilectic’

Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne has had a rough time in recent weeks. He was rushed to the hospital after having multiple seizures on a music video set, reported to have been near death, tweeted that he was, in fact, OK, and finally, he made it home in time to announce a new tour. After all that, Weezy recently revealed that he suffers from epilepsy.

On Thursday, Wayne admitted that he has suffered from multiple seizures in his lifetime that he kept from his fans, according to radio.com.

“The thing is, man, the bad news is, I’m an epileptic, so I’m prone to seizures,” the rapper said in a KPWR Power 106.1 FM radio interview. “This isn’t my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh seizure. I’ve had a bunch of seizures; y’all just never hear about it. This time, it got real bad because I got three of ‘em in a row and on the third one, my heart rate went down to, like, 30 percent. Basically, I could’ve died soon. That’s why it was so serious.”

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LA Radio: Talker Heidi Harris OUT At the Answer

Heidi Harris

6/18/13 UPDATE: Heidi Harris has been doing some fill-in at Denver's KHOW, as that station looks to find a replacement for talker Peter Boyles. Harris is also doing some on-air work for KBET 790 AM in Las Vegas.

About a year ago, conservative talker Heidi Harris left KDWN 720 AM Las Vegas for a deal she “couldn’t refuse”...but apparently the deal has ended.

Harris is out at Salem Communication’s KRLA 870 AM and KTIE 590 AM San Bernardino-Riverside.

Reportedly, a new co-host will be named soon to work with ‘The Morning Answer’ co-hosts Brian Whitman and Ben Shapiro.

A native of Las Vegas and former professional singer and HR recruiter, she began her radio career at KDWN in Las Vegas in 1998.

Yes, it's true, I have left LA radio. Heading back HOME to Vegas...finally! "LA's fine, but it ain't home". Jeremiah 29:11
— Heidi Harris(@HeidiHarrisShow) March 28, 2013

NPR Cancels ‘Talk Of The Nation’, Deficit Noted

Robin Young

NPR announced Friday morning that it will no longer produce the Monday-to-Thursday call-in show Talk of the Nation.

According to the NPR blog The Two-Way, it will be replaced by Here and Now, a show produced in partnership with member station WBUR in Boston. Reported stories will be part of the show's format.

Here and Now host Robin Young will be joined by Jeremy Hobson of Marketplace Morning Report — NPR reporters will be contributing work, as well.

Neal Conan, Talk of the Nation's host, will depart after more than three decades with the network. His past positions include stints as bureau chief in New York and London, and as NPR's foreign editor, managing editor, and news director.

NPR executives said public radio has a glut of vibrant call-in shows involving national issues — and that they sought a news magazine with a mix of interviews and prepared stories to bridge the hours between Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

The network is also running a $7 million deficit. Executives say Conan was welcome to stay with NPR and that they intend to offer jobs to every staffer working for Talk of the Nation.

Network executives say the move is not intended to plug the $7 million deficit, which amounts to less than 4 percent of NPR's annual operating budget. Instead, they say, it's about ensuring that money and personnel are being used in ways that make sense in today's media environment.

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Ron Elving, senior Washington editor for NPR, and Diane Rehm react to news that NPR will discontinue the 21-year-old call-in show, "Talk of the Nation."

Obama Urged To Appoint First FCC Chairwoman

Jessica Rosenworcel

The calls for the president to appoint a woman as the next leader of the FCC have increased.

According to Radio World, the Women’s Media Center recently urged President Barack Obama to appoint the first female chair of the FCC in the agency’s 80-year history. In a letter signed by founders Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem noting the paucity of top jobs in media currently held by women, they write: “Maybe there is no easy fix to getting women into the top jobs in the telecom and media industries, but the government watchdog can and should be headed by a woman.” They have an online petition here.

Now, more than three dozen Senate Democrats have endorsed FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, for the top post.

A commissioner since last May, the 41-year-old was previously an advisor to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman West Virginia Democrat Sen. Jay Rockefeller. The Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over the commission.

In a letter signed by 37 Senate Democrats, they ask Obama to give “serious consideration” to nominating Rosenworcel for the top FCC post. “By choosing a sitting commissioner that has established bipartisan Senate support, you can quickly install a proven leader at this important agency. That fact is particularly critical with the FCC in the middle of several significant rulemakings and other initiatives,” they write.

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On July 13, 2012, Politico designated Rosenworcel as one of 50 politicos to watch, describing her "as whip-smart and intensely serious".

Report: Video Makes The Radio Star

A decade ago the record industry’s gears clicked along more or less as they always had: Labels signed up promising acts discovered by A&R scouts, paid those acts advances against future music sales, and hawked that music through a sprawling network of radio programmers and retailers.

Today, Bloomberg BusinessWeek notes, with album sales continuing to plummet—in 2004, 666.7 million albums were sold; by 2012 that number was down more than 50 percent, to 316 million—labels and artists depend more than ever on touring and merchandise for revenue.

Songs are ads meant to help sell tickets and T-shirts, and YouTube is beginning to rival radio when it comes to breaking those tracks. Recognizing this, the trade magazine Billboard recently overhauled its formula for determining the most popular music in the country, giving YouTube plays more weight.

The following week, Harlem Shake topped the Hot 100 chart—the first instrumental track to do so since Jan Hammer’s Miami Vice theme in 1984. Five weeks later, it was still there.

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Rush: Content Makes The Radio Star

In response to a caller’s comments Thursday about why technology hasn’t killed the radio star...

RUSH: I'm still trying to figure out what that guy's question was, and I've got people telling me what he really meant.  Somebody just said to me that what he was asking was, "With all of these other media options, why is this old-fashioned AM radio still even around?"  Is that what he was saying?  Well, again, it's the same answer:  Content.  'Cause there's something on it people want to listen to.  Pure and simple.  That's why it's relevant. 

AM radio has something there that people would want, so they'll go there to listen to it.  Content, content, content!  Content is king, jCyprus.  Content, content, content, content.  Marshall McLuhan.  Remember him?  He said, "The medium is the message."  The message is the message. In my world, the message is the message.  If it were simply about modernity, AM would not exist, 'cause it's not modern.  There's nothing hip about AM. 

In terms of audio quality, you can do much better. 

In terms of reception, you can do much better.

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Boston Radio: The Amp 103.3 FM Is Fully Charged

Vanessa Hale

Top 40 WODS The Amp 103.3 FM has firmed-up is station line-up with the addition of Vanessa Hale for Mid-days.  Hale hails from KHTH Hot 101.7 in Santa Rosa, CA and starts Wednesday, April 3.  She previously has worked at KYSR 98.7 FM in LA.

She says she’s “excited to work with the talented and cutting-edge staff at 103.3 AMP Radio to make the station No. 1 for hit music in Boston.”

CBS Radio/Boston PD Dan Mason adds: "Vanessa is the final piece of the puzzle and we are excited to move forward with a full on-air staff."

The line-up at The Amp now includes: The TJ Show with TJ Taormina and Loren Raye in mornings (which debuts April Fool’s Day) , Joe Breezy in afternoons and Dustin "Slater" Carlson from 7-midnight.

Philly Radio: WRNB Promoting Big Announcement

Radio One’s Urban AC WRNB 1003.6 Philadelphia is teasing a “big announcement for Monday, April 1^st April Fools Day.  Listeners are urged to tune-in at 5pm.

RadioInsight reports  Radio One has registered OldSchool1003.com and OldSchool1003Philly.com.  If WRNB flips to Urban Oldies “Old School”, the move would be Radio One’s fourth such station, following Charlotte, Dallas and St. Louis.

Sheryl Crow Sez Radio Needs to Pay

Sad - US doesn't pay artist/musicians for their performances on radio. Only writers are paid. US, china, and Iran. We need to change that.
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) March 28, 2013

Singer Sheryl Crow has called for artists to be paid when their songs air on U.S. radio following news of Dionne Warwick’s bankruptcy, according to sfgate.com.

The veteran R&B star has run up $10.7 million in debts, and bankruptcy papers filed in court in New Jersey last week suggest the “Walk On By” legend is so broke, she has just $10 in disposable cash once her monthly expenses are covered.

Most of Warwick’s debt is due to unpaid taxes, but Crow believes singers would be better off if they were paid royalties alongside songwriters when their hits are played on radio in America.

Reports: Barbara Walters To Retire Next Year

Barbara Walters

Longtime ABC News personality Barbara Walters will retire from broadcasting after half-century trailblazing career next year, according several media reports Thursday.

ABC, where Walters has worked as a news anchor and talk show host since 1976, answered with "no comment" when CNN called about the reports quoting unnamed network sources in the New York Times and on Deadline.com.

Viewers see Walters, 83, mostly these days as co-host of ABC's daytime talker "The View," which she helped create in 1997.

The plan is for her retirement to be announced in May, giving a year for ABC to pay tribute to her before she stops working in May 2014, Deadline.com reported.

Walters went through a health scare in January when she suffered a cut on her forehead after falling on a stair while visiting the British ambassador's residence in Washington.

She underwent surgery to repair a heart valve three years ago.

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Charlie Daniels On the Mend After Surgery

Charlie Daniels

Grand Ole Opry star Charlie Daniels is recovering after having a pacemaker implanted yesterday at a Nashville area hospital. Charlie was at his doctor's office on Monday where he was diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia and admitted to the hospital for a series of routine tests. The tests revealed that a pacemaker was needed to regulate his heart rate.

Doctors plan to release Charlie from the hospital today. He will spend the next two weeks recuperating at home.

Charlie's scheduled performance at MTSU's Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee as part of the World Outreach Church Easter service has been cancelled.

Two upcoming concert dates in Englewood, New Jersey (April 5), and Newark, Ohio (April 6) will be rescheduled.

Charlie is expected to resume his tour schedule with an appearance in Lynchburg, Virginia on April 11th.