WWOne Presents Series of Radio Christmas Specials

Westwood One announces that it will make a series of new one-hour artist-hosted Christmas specials available to Mainstream AC and select Country radio stations this holiday season. Each Christmas special in the six-part series airs on a Saturday leading up to Christmas, with a one-hour Friday special hosted by Martina McBride, which airs on “NASH Nights Live” on Friday, December 18.

The specials showcase the music from each featured artist’s respective Christmas albums and have six minutes of network inventory and six minutes of local inventory each hour.

India Arie’s “Christmas with Friends” Christmas special kicked off the series this weekend, featuring music from her first-ever holiday album, which was produced in collaboration with Arie’s friends.

The music included a duet of “Merry Christmas, Baby” with Michael McDonald and a duet with Tori Kelly on “Favorite Time of the Year”.

Saturday, November 28 - Kenny Rogers’ “Once Again It’s Christmas”
This one-hour Christmas special is hosted by Country legend Kenny Rogers, who shares his favorite memories through the years. This new album also celebrates Kenny’s 34th Christmas tour! Christmas music from Kenny Rogers includes:  “Winter Wonderland”, and Jennifer Nettles joins Kenny for a medley of “Here It Is Christmas/Baby It’s Cold Outside”.

Saturday, December 5 – LeAnn Rimes’ “Today is Christmas” 
This one-hour Christmas Special hosted by LeAnn Rimes features her songs and favorite Christmas classics along with her Christmas memories.  LeAnn also shares her experiences around the holidays and growing up as a child star, as well as what Christmas is like at the Rimes/Cibrian house. Music from LeAnn Rimes includes:  “Holly Jolly Christmas/Frosty the Snowman,” “Little Drummer Boy,” and “We Need A Little Christmas”.

Saturday, December 12 – Pentatonix ‘s “That’s Christmas to Me” 
This one-hour Christmas special hosted by Pentatonix is named for an original holiday song penned by the group. The members of Pentatonix share their holiday traditions and memories. Music from Pentatonix includes: “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,”  “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” and “White Winter Hymnal”.

Friday, December 18 – Martina McBride hosts: “A NASH Icon Christmas”
This one-hour Christmas special hosted by Country superstar Martina McBride will be showcased on “NASH Nights Live,” airing Friday, December 18.  Martina shares family traditions in the McBride household and how Christmas changed for her as her career took off. Music includes: “O Holy Night” by Martina, The Band Perry with “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” and Tim McGraw with “Mary and Joseph”.

Saturday, December 19 - Train hosts “Christmas in Tahoe”
Pat Monahan of the Grammy award-winning band Train hosts the one-hour special, “Christmas in Tahoe.”  Besides sharing stories behind many of the songs on their Christmas album, Pat will talk about his favorite holiday memories and his plans for Christmas. Music includes: “O Holy Night,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Tinsel and Lights”.

For more information and to air these programs in your market, please contact: Susan Stephens, sstephens@westwoodone.com or (512) 666-5216.

BMI Adds Ashlock, Campbell To Board of Directors

Greg Ashlock

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the global leader in music rights management, has appointed Greg Ashlock and Rebecca Campbell to its Board of Directors, effective as of November 15, 2015.

Ashlock is Executive Vice President of Operations, iHeartMedia USA, and President of iHeartMedia, Southern California. Ms. Campbell is President of the ABC Owned Television Stations Group.

Promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations for iHeartMedia in 2014 with responsibilities over broadcast, digital, mobile and social platforms, Mr. Ashlock also holds the position of President of iHeartMedia for Southern California, which is the largest radio market in the country. Prior to joining iHeart, which owns and operates more than 850 radio stations nationwide, Mr. Ashlock was General Manager, KFI, XTRA Sports and KLAC at Clear Channel Communications. Prior to that, he worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers overseeing corporate sponsorships.

Rebecca Campbell

Campbell was appointed President of the ABC Owned Television Stations Group in May, 2010, and has overall responsibility for the company's eight local TV stations and their digital assets in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno.

Previously, Ms. Campbell served as President and General Manager of WABC-TV in New York, the Group's flagship station in the nation's largest television market. Prior to her appointment there, she was President and General Manager of WPVI-TV, the ABC owned station in Philadelphia after joining the station as Program Director and later serving as Vice President of Programming.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck Leaving Fox & Friends

Elisabeth Hasselbeck will be leaving Fox & Friends at the end of the year in order to spend more time with her three children, she said in a statement Monday.

The 38-year-old TV personality has been a co-host on the show since 2013, when she left her job as a commentator on The View to replace Gretchen Carlson.

The Daily Mail reports Hasselbeck will finish the year on Fox & Friends and a rotating group of co-hosts will join mainstays Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade until a full-time replacement is found.

She is married to former pro-football quarterback and current ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck.

Hasselbeck commented in a statement:

'Throughout my 14 years working in television, I have never experienced a more positive and thoughtful atmosphere than Fox News Channel, thanks to the strong leadership of [Fox News Chairman & CEO] Roger Ailes, who has created the best working environment a woman and mother could ask for.  

'His understanding, compassion, and kindness was exemplified when I shared with him that I am entering into a season where I want to start my day with my children first, and he offered his blessing to do so.  

'With a heart full of gratitude and the peace that God has given me, I am confident that this personal decision is the right one for our family, and we will be joining all of you watching Fox & Friends each morning as we get ready for school together,' the statement reads. 

Hasselbeck's decision to leave the show brings her nearly 15 years in television to a pause. She first gained national attention as a competitor on the 2001 season of Survivor and went on to spend nearly a decade as one of the ladies on the The View.

Vancouver Radio: CKNW Touts HD To Listeners

N/T CKNW 980 AM in Vancouver is now simulcasting on HD and they're excited about it.  And they want their listeners to be excited too, so they're making the effort to educate them about HD.

So...they've posted some videos on its website to explain what HD is and to show how to tune-in the the HD simulcast.



CKNW lets its listeners know how they can listen to it  HD channel broadcasts in clear digital quality to your local area making radio static, hiss and fuzz a thing of the past.

Tom's Take Great idea here, especially since so many stations in the US never even mention their HD channel!

Detroit Radio: Greater Media Rated As Top Workplace

Greater Media Detroit has been awarded a 2015 Top Workplaces honor by the Detroit Free Press.

The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including Alignment, Execution, and Connection, just to name a few.

Greater Media Detroit owns and operates three radio stations in the Detroit market, including Rock WRIF 101.1 FM FM, Classic Rock WCSX 94.7 FM, and Detroit Sports WMGC 105.1 FM. The radio stations entertain several million listeners each week.

“The Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest. And often times, people assume it’s all about fancy perks and benefits,” said Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics.

“But to be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every day— the employees. Time and time again, our research has proven that what’s most important to them is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how it’s going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it to get her. Claffey added, “Without this sense of connection, an organization doesn’t have a shot at being named a Top Workplace.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to receive this incredible honor that recognizes the hard work and dedication of our outstanding employees in the Motor City,” said Steve Chessare, Vice President and Market Manager for Greater Media Detroit. “Our team is committed to serving our listeners, advertising partners and community on a daily basis.”

TV Ratings Wobble For AMAs

Facing considerably more modest football competition than in 2014, The American Music Awards put up a steady showing on Sunday — easily giving ABC the best non-NFL showing of the night.

Preliminary returns give the three-hour music kudos a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49 and just a hair shy of 11 million viewers.  According to THR, that's mostly in line with 2014, which brought a 3.8 rating in the key demo and 11.6 million viewers with final adjustments.

Compared to last week's Sunday Night Football, NBC's Bengals-Cardinals match-up was off 14 percent from last week's preliminary score for a tentative 5.6 rating in the key demo.

The numbers for Sunday, courtesy of TV By The Numbers

TV Meteorologists End Up Wearing The Same Dress

Every once in a while, meteorologists may produce the exact same forecast, but getting them to wear the exact same clothing is very rare.

Now, according to a report by WNCN-TV in Raleigh, a certain dress has accidentally become a trend and spread across the country on local TV news — at more than 50 TV stations.

In the last few days, female meteorologists all over the country have been spotted on local TV wearing the exact same dress design.

The trend was an accident — the women who bought the dress say they share fashion tips and ideas in a “secret” social media group, said WNCN’s Kristin Ketchell, who wore the dress on Sunday morning for the first time.

“One woman posted the link to the dress in the group, others bought it and posted photos and the dress’ popularity just took off,” Ketchell said.

“The power of social media and word of mouth is incredible,” Ketchell said.

November 24 Radio History

In 1890... French investor Edouard Branley coins the term (radioconductor"); the first use of the word "radio".


In 1906...actor Don MacLaughlin was born in Webster, Iowa.

He was the star of ABC Radio’s ‘David Harding, Counterspy’ in the 1940’s, and continued in the role when it moved to NBC Radio and Mutual in the 1950’s.  In 1956 he created the role of lawyer Chris Hughes on CBS-TV’s ‘As the World Turns’ and continued to play him over the next 30 years!

Howard Duff

He died at age 79 on May 28 1986.


In 1913...actor Howard Duff was born in Bremerton Wash.

He first hit the bigtime on radio in The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective in the CBS series sponsored by Brylcreem.  On TV he starred in the series Felony Squad, Mr. Adams and Eve, Flamingo Road, Knots Landing, and Dallas.

He died following a heart attack July 8, 1990 at age 76.

In 1920...The first radio play-by-play broadcast of a football game was aired by Texas A&M University station 5XB, later to be known as WTAW in College Station, Texas. The University of Texas defeated Texas A&M, 7-3.  The call letters stood for Watch The Aggies Win.  Today, the calls are used by a locally-owned station at 1620 AM.

In 1926...KVI-AM, Seattle, Washington began broadcasting.

KVI's legacy can be traced back to its debut on November 24, 1926, where it was licensed to Tacoma, Washington at 1280 AM. By the spring of 1928 its signal would be shifted to 1060 AM, followed by a larger shift to 760 AM, in the fall. By September 1932, it had moved to its permanent 570 AM frequency. In 1949, KVI relocated its studios and city of license to Seattle. KVI broadcasts from a single tower on Vashon Island.

In 1959, Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters added KVI to its portfolio. KVI switched to a very successful personality adult contemporary format in 1964. By 1973, KVI had evolved into a middle-of-the-road (MOR) direction. It was during this period that it became established as a dominant player in the market. KVI was the original flagship station for the ill-fated Seattle Pilots in 1969 and for the Seattle Mariners, from their inaugural season of 1977 until 1984.

By 1982, KVI had begun to gradually add more talk programming. In July 1984, KVI switched to oldies. That direction would last less than a decade. By 1992, KVI had a talk-format again. At first, the station used the slogan "the balanced alternative" with a lineup alternating liberal and conservative talk hosts, but in 1993, KVI dropped all its liberal hosts except Mike Siegel. Siegel, formerly a liberal, swung right in his views during this period and remained on the station. By May 1994, the year KVI was sold (along with KPLZ-FM) to Fisher Communications, KVI had an almost entirely conservative-talk format.


Seattle Radio History - 570AM (KVI) from Twisted Scholar on Vimeo.

KVI returned to a full service format at 4 p.m. on November 7, 2010, with a base music rotation of classic hits along with news and traffic updates.

Due to the failure of the format, which only garnered an average of a 0.5 share of the market, and losing the ratings battle against KJR-FM and KMCQ, KVI began stunting with Christmas music on Thanksgiving Day. On January 3, 2012, the station flipped back to talk, this time as "Smart Talk", with an emphasis on entertainment news, lifestyle and health reports, and local news.

On April 11, 2013, Fisher announced that it would sell its properties, including KVI, to the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Although Sinclair primarily owns television stations, the company intends to retain KVI, KPLZ-FM, and KOMO. The deal was completed on August 8, 2013.

In 1958…

• Jackie Wilson released the single "Lonely Teardrops," co-written by Berry Gordy, Jr.
• Ritchie Valens released the single "Donna" b/w "La Bamba."
• Brenda Lee released the single "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree."

In 1963…On live national television, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, President John F. Kennedy's accused assassin, as authorities were preparing to transfer Oswald by armored car from the police basement to the nearby county jail. Ruby's 1964 conviction and death sentence were overturned in 1966 when an appellate court ruled that his motion for a change of venue before the original trial should have been granted. In December 1966, before a new trial could be arranged, Ruby died of pneumonia while suffering from liver, lung, and brain cancer.

In 1974…During his infamous "Lost Weekend," John Lennon rehearsed with Elton John for Elton's upcoming Madison Square Garden performance, at which Lennon planned to make a surprise cameo appearance.


In 1991...Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury died of AIDS-related pneumonia at age 45. Queen’s biggest hits were the No. 1 songs “Another One Bites the Dust,” which sold more than 2 million copies, and the million-selling “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” The group is also well known for the double-sided hit “We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You.”



In 1991...Kiss drummer Eric Carr died of cancer at age 41. Doctors removed a cancerous tumor in Carr’s heart in April but the cancer had already spread to his lungs. He joined Kiss in 1982 when founding drummer Peter Criss left the group.


In 1993...Michael Jackson, embroiled in sex and drug addiction scandals, managed to pull off the biggest deal in music publishing history. Jackson sold his publishing operation, A-T-V Music, to E-M-I Music Publishing, in a deal worth more than 200-million dollars. Sources said Jackson himself received half that amount. Among the four-thousand titles under A-T-V’s control are most of the classic Lennon-McCartney Beatles compositions.

DC Radio: Bill Hess Promoted To OM For Cumulus

Bill Hess

Cumulus Media announces that it has expanded Corporate Program Director/NewsTalk Bill Hess’ role at Cumulus Washington, D.C. to include Operations Manager duties for the D.C. station cluster.

Hess will continue in his role as Program Director for WMAL-FM-AM in Washington, D.C. Hess’ 38-year radio career has spanned positions on-air and in talk programming as Program Director for stations including: WTEM (Sports Talk) in Washington, D.C.; WHJJ in Providence, RI; and WHYN AM and FM in Springfield, MA. He was also Brand Manager for Clear Channel Radio/iHeart Media and served as Senior Vice President/Programming for Air America Radio in New York City. In addition, Hess has programmed music stations including WASH and WBIG in Washington, D.C. and WSNE and WWBB in Providence, RI.

Mike McVay, Senior Vice President, Content and Programming for Cumulus said: “Bill is an exceptional programmer. The growth that WMAL has experienced under his direction is nothing short of astounding. He has excelled as a Corporate PD and will continue in that role. Bill is deserving of this recognition.”

Hess said: “On the heels of our team’s success at WMAL, I’m thrilled to be working with Louie Diaz on the rebirth of Washington’s legendary Mix 107.3. Thanks to Gary Pizzati, Mike McVay, Jake McCann and Beth Cohen for this opportunity.”

NJ Radio: Injury Sidelines WKXW's Jim Gearhart

Townsquare Media New Jersey announced today Jim Gearhart, morning host for New Jersey 101.5 (WKXW-Trenton), has been on an extended leave of absence as a result of a recent injury.

Sadly, the extent of Gearhart’s injury prevents him from returning to his morning host duties. Gearhart has been with the station for 25 years and contributed greatly to building its market-leading position.

As New Jersey 101.5’s morning host, Gearhart covered the great New Jersey tax revolt of the 1990s, 10 New Jersey governors’ administrations, the 9/11 tragedy, and countless other daily New Jersey headlines. In 2013, Gearhart was inducted into the New Jersey Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. Prior to his time at New Jersey 101.5, his 50-plus-year career spanned working for radio stations in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle, to name a few.

Bill Spaeda

“All of us at New Jersey 101.5 and Townsquare will miss Jim. Jim Gearhart is an extraordinary broadcaster and we thank him for his 25 years of service to New Jersey 101.5 and the entire New Jersey community,” commented Fred Bennett, Market President of New Jersey 101.5. “Jim is in our thoughts and wish him a quick recovery.”

Townsquare Media New Jersey also announced that Bill Spadea has been named host of New Jersey 101.5’s morning show effective Dec. 1. New Jersey 101.5 listeners are familiar with Spadea from his daily feature “Bill Spadea’s New Jersey” and from his role as a fill-in host for Gearhart, which he has done since 2014. Additionally, Spadea will continue to host “Chasing News,” a television show that broadcasts in the New York and Philadelphia markets.

“I love New Jersey. The opportunity to join other New Jerseyans every morning in a conversation about our state is both exciting and rewarding,” commented Spadea, a longtime New Jersey resident. “The NJ 101.5 team is the best in the business and I’m proud to be a part of this successful family.”
Spadea added, “I’ve always looked up to Jim Gearhart as a legend in New Jersey media. His shoes are too large for me to ever fill completely, but I am honored and humbled and will try my best to live up to his legacy of unequaled radio and service to the people of New Jersey.”

Pew: Americans Deeply Cynical of Gov't, News Media

A year ahead of the presidential election, the American public is deeply cynical about government, politics and the nation’s elected leaders in a way that has become quite familiarm according to results just-released by the Pew Research Center.

Currently, just 19% say they can trust the government always or most of the time, among the lowest levels in the past half-century. Only 20% would describe government programs as being well-run. And elected officials are held in such low regard that 55% of the public says “ordinary Americans” would do a better job of solving national problems.

Yet at the same time, most Americans have a lengthy to-do list for this object of their frustration: Majorities want the federal government to have a major role in addressing issues ranging from terrorism and disaster response to education and the environment.

And most Americans like the way the federal government handles many of these same issues, though they are broadly critical of its handling of others – especially poverty and immigration.

A new national survey by Pew Research Center, based on more than 6,000 interviews conducted between August 27 and October 4, 2015, finds that public attitudes about government and politics defy easy categorization.

The public expresses mixed opinions about the effect of several major nongovernmental institutions on the country. But in nearly all cases, the influence of these institutions is viewed more positively than that of the federal government – and especially Congress.

Of 10 nongovernmental institutions included in the survey, majorities say four are having a positive effect on the way things are going in the country: small businesses (82% positive), technology companies (71%), colleges and universities (63%) and churches and other religious institutions (61%).

The public is more divided over the impact of three other institutions – the energy industry (48% positive), labor unions (45%) and banks and financial institutions (40%).

And three others are viewed as having decidedly negative influence on the country. Just 33% say large corporations have a positive impact, 32% say that about the entertainment industry, and just 25% say the national news media has a positive effect. Majorities say all three have a negative effect on the way things are going in the U.S.

Majorities of adults, regardless of partisan and ideological affiliation, say the national news media is having a negative effect on how things are going in the country today. However, conservative Republicans and Republican leaners are particularly critical: 82% say the national news media has a negative impact, while just 14% say it has a positive impact.

Republicans are also more critical of the entertainment industry than are Democrats: Majorities of moderate and liberal Republicans and Republican leaners (60%) and their conservative counterparts (65%) say that the entertainment industry has a negative effect on the United States. Half of conservative and moderate Democrats and 44% of the party’s liberals view its impact negatively.

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