Media Confidential

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Weather Channel: Like CNN When War Starts

Like CNN when a war starts, The Weather Channel gets a rise out of hurricanes. And in more ways than one, Hurricane Sandy looks to be one for the history books.

Crains New York reports preliminary ratings for the NBC-owned cable network and page views for its online arm Weather.com are showing record numbers, with ratings up 500% on Saturday among key viewers in preliminary Nielsen numbers and page views for the website topping 105 million on Sunday, the fifth highest ever.

"Monday is shaping up to be the largest in history for Weather.com," a spokeswoman said.

Even more important, as Sandy thrashes the Eastern seaboard and takes aim at New York City, the Atlanta-based Weather Channel has given New York-based NBC News a claim on being the go-to source for weather news among the major networks.

Combined, the two operations have some 30 correspondents in the field, according to Steve Capus, president of NBC News.

"Nobody can come anywhere close to matching our resources for covering something like this," Mr. Capus said in an interview.

Read More Here

Judge: Scott & Grosvent Can Air on KROCK Syracuse

New York State Supreme Court Justice Deborah Karalunas decided Monday not to issue a temporary restraining order that would have taken morning radio show hosts Hunter Scott and Josh Grosvent off the air at Galaxy Communications-owned Syracuse station WKRL
K-Rock.

According to a story by Mark Bialczak, The Post-Standard in Syracuse, Cumulus Media Inc. had requested the temporary restraining order. Scott and Hunter had been the morning hosts on Cumulus-owned Syracuse station 95X for two years before they resigned on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Ed Levine, owner of Galaxy, announced the hiring of the two on Thursday, Oct. 18. They've appeared on K-Rock on weekday mornings since Friday, Oct. 19.

Karalunas said the two radio hosts cannot use three phrases she said they coined on the air at 95X: Beer Friday, The Show and Chalk Dust. She also said they cannot solicit other employees of Cumulus.

The next court date for Cumulus' suit is set before the same court on Nov. 21.

A copy of the suit filed in court by Citadel Broadcasting, called "a subsidiary of Cumulus Media Inc.," states that Grosvent and Scott violated their former employers' contractual right of first refusal as well as non-solicitation and "other post-employment obligations."

Levine, Scott and Grosvent have maintained that the pair's contract with Cumulus had expired on Aug. 30 and that officials did not offer the veterans of two years another contract to remain at 95X.

Read More Here.

WFAN AM/FM NYC Simulcast Starts Friday

UPDATE 11/02/12: WFAN began its simulcast on 101.9 around 11:57pm Thursday as Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye” gave way to Suzyn Waldman, the first voice to be heard on WFAN in 1987 kicked off the new format on FM.

Earlier posting....

The deal is done! WFAN makes its debut as a FM simulcast of 660 AM Friday morning at 12:01.

According to Joe Barmash at mediabistro.com, Mike Francesa told listeners Monday that WFAN programming will duplicate on 101.9 FM, the frequency is currently owned by Merlin Media with its Alternative Rocker WRXP.

As we reported earlier this month, CBS Radio is acquiring the Merlin slot for $75 million.

As the world’s first 24-hour all-sports radio station, WFAN is the flagship station of four New York professional sports franchises: the New York Mets, the New York Giants, the New Jersey Devils and the BrooklynNets.

Flood Waters Cause Troubles For NYC Radio

UPDATE 10/30/12 1:45pm:

From Scott Fybush, Northeast Radio Watch

The radio dial continues to be ravaged by Sandy’s aftermath all along the coast from Delaware up to Connecticut, but nowhere more so than in the New Jersey Meadowlands, where most of the New York City AM dial is off the air. WOR (710) is an exception, with its recently-built three-tower site just up high enough to stay above the floodwaters.

Chief engineer Tom Ray, who spent the night out in the Meadowlands, reports the water is ten feet deep at the WOR site, at least six feet above its usual level, filling the culverts that line the swampy site.

Just down the road, though, the sites that line nearby Polito Avenue and Valley Brook Road in Lyndhurst are reportedly inundated. (Ray reports “four feet of water” at the intersection of Polito and Route 17, a short distance from the towers.) The flood damage means CBS Radio’s big all-news WINS (1010) remains off the air indefinitely, with its programming still shifted to WXRK (92.3) in place of that signal’s usual top-40 music. Also off the air: WINS’ neighbors WLIB (1190) and WSNR (620), as well as WMCA (570), WNYC (820), WPAT (930), WNYM (970), WADO (1280) and WWRV (1330) from the Meadowlands.

Read More Here.

Monday, October 29, 2012

WCBS2 NYC: Live Sandy Coverage

CBS New York Live Stream

Bubba ‘Apologizes’ To Hulk Hogan

Was It A PR Stunt?

A New York publicist has released a statement saying wrestling star Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea has reached a settlement with onetime friend and Tampa Bay shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem centered on footage made public from a videotape made of Hogan having sex with Clem's then-wife.

According to Eric Deggans at tampabay.com, as part of the settlement, Clem played a statement on his show for WHPT-FM (102.5 the Bone) Monday morning apologizing for insulting Hogan and his children, saying "after further investigation" he concluded the wrestler was unaware he was being videotaped in 2006 while having sex with his now-ex-wife, Heather Cole. The terms of the settlement were not made public.

The quick resolution on this lawsuit -- according to the release, Hogan will continue his legal action against Cole and the owner of the website which first published video clips from the footage, Gawker.com -- will likely leave critics accusing the men of colluding on a gigantic publicity stunt.

Read More Here.

WDBO's Jim Turner To Retire, Kelley Named Replacement

Joe Kelley

Jim Turner, WDBO morning show host for 28 years in Orlando, has announced he’s retiring. Cox Media Group has announced that his replacement will be Joe Kelley, from sister N/T KRMG in Tulsa, OK. Kelley will join WDBO effective November 29^th.

Turner’s last day is yet to be determined. Kelley is expected to be
hosting DBO’s Morning and Afternoon News on a fill-in basis as needed until Jim Turner’s final broadcast.

Turner started at WDBO in May 1972, originally for afternoons. After 12-years in PM Drive, Turner switched to the morning show.

WDBO PD Drew Anderssen commented on the Turner’s retirement: “Jim is a broadcast icon. He has been revered as one of the premier morning hosts in America for many years, a true professional, and a great man. We stand by Jim in celebration of his 40 years of community service and dedication to Central Florida as he begins to write a new page in his life. He will truly be missed as the daily voice of morning news in Orlando radio.”

“Jim has been WDBO’s anchor to our listeners and community,” added VP/Market Manager Susan Larkin. “His talent, engagement, and sheer love of radio is to be admired. We will miss Jim and cannot thank him enough for his part in building this brand.”

Kedlley has been doing mornings at KRMG since July 2005.

While all was still quiet along the Hudson River, the city had sent the Weather Channel crew scrambling by ordering a mandatory evacuation of the low-lying areas classified as "Zone A" -- such as the spot they had staked out. "We don't know what we are doing or where we are going," Mr. Cantore said. "Logistics have eroded. The things you count on go to the wayside, but you just need to keep doing live shots."

Mr. Cantore and a dozen crew members originally planned to stay at the Double Tree in the Financial District, but that wound up being evacuated too, so producers attempted to secure other accommodations. They found rooms available at the Millennium Hilton in midtown, but it was unlikely Mr. Cantore would be sleeping much in any case. He expected to be back out in the weather as early as 4 a.m. Monday morning.

Mr. Cantore, along with most meteorologists, predicted Hurricane Sandy will be one of the worst storms the East Coast has seen. "I brought out the dry suit for this one," he said. "In New York City you never know where you will have to take cover." Mr. Cantore has taken shelter everywhere from cars to public restrooms over the years covering storms.
His supplies included a big bottle of water, vitamins and some PowerBars. "You come in knowing you could go 24 to 48 hours with nothing," he said.

Despite all that, Mr. Cantore didn't seem daunted. He's previously covered hurricanes including Katrina, Andrew and Rita. Coming downtown to cover Sandy on Sunday morning returned him to the same location from which he covered Irene last year. "Safety comes first and I am always nervous for my crew, but you do your job and what needs to be done," he said.

Between his live broadcasts, Mr. Cantore turned to Twitter -- where he has nearly 150,000 followers -- using his iPhone to post radar images and a photo of one of the last cruise ships to come into port. He also tweeted warnings about the severity of Sandy.