R.I.P.: Detroit Personality Gene Elzy Passes

Gene Elzy

Gene Elzy, a Detroit broadcast personality of more than 45 years who entertained listeners with his jazz and R&B programs on stations like WJR-760 AM and WDET 101.9 FM, died of natural causes Saturday evening, according to his family.

He was 81, according to the Detroit Free Press.

“Eugene was a scholar of the music and he understood the business (of broadcasting),” said Wade (Butterball Jr.) Briggs. “He was a class act.”

Briggs said he began working with Elzy in the late 1960s when he was program and operations director for Bell Broadcasting. Elzy worked at the time at Bell’s WCHD 105.9 FM, sister station to WCHB 1440 AM, Detroit’s first African-American-owned and -operated station.

Elzy retired in 2006 from WDET-FM, where he hosted the jazz show “The Gene Elzy Program.” After that, Briggs drew him out of retirement to help him run the advertising department of a business that sold air time for Cablevision.

“He and Ed Love are probably the most notable, most beloved Detroit broadcasters that had focused on the art of jazz,” Briggs said. “That was his forte. But truly, Gene had a great knowledge of the business and a God-given talent to communicate.”

Born Eugene (Geno) Elzy Jr., he graduated from Detroit’s Northwestern High School and served in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a disc jockey for Armed Forces Radio.

December 5 In Radio History

In 1901...Disney empire founder Walt Disney was born on this day in 1901. He died Dec. 15, 1966 at 65.





In 1955...Disc-Jockey Alan Freed's movie "Rock Rock Rock" opened to packed theatres in New York City. Rock, Rock, Rock was black-and-white motion picture featuring performances from a number of early rock 'n' roll stars, such as Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Teddy Randazzo, The Moonglows, The Flamingos, and The Teenagers with Frankie Lymon as lead singer.

In 2002...Roone Arledge, the pioneering TV exec who headed ABC News and ABC Sports, created Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football, Nightline and 20/20, and was responsible for sports coverage innovations like instant replay and slow motion, died. He was 71.

In 2003...Lafollette, Tennessee: DJ Jerry Monday and his wife were found dead in their home. Monday was the morning man on WLAF AM 1450, a Gospel-formatted Radio station.

In 2008...iTunes Music Store reached a new sales plateau of 300 million applications downloaded.



In 2011...Monday Night Football Sports commentator/former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith died of a brain hemorrhage at age 72.

CBS Radio Houston Hires Bruce Logan As VP/Programming

Bruce Logan

CBS Radio Houston today announced that Bruce Logan has been named Vice President of Programming and Operations Manager for the six-station cluster which includes KHMX-FM (Hot adult contemporary), KIKK-AM (sports), KILT-FM (country), KILT-AM (sports), KKHH (Top 40), and KLOL-FM (Spanish).  He will also have day-to-day programming responsibilities for The Bull, KILT-FM; and Hot 95.7, KKHH.

The appointment is effective on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

“Bruce has a reputation as one of the premier country radio programmers in America,” said Sarah Frazier, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, CBS RADIO Houston.  “We have admired his work for some time and are thrilled we have an opportunity to bring him into the division.  I am equally excited about his leadership skills and ability to build teams which is so important in today’s cluster environment.”

Logan joins CBS RADIO Houston from Clear Channel Media and Entertainment.  He has worked for the company in various programming capacities since first beginning with them in 1996 as Operations Manager of their four station cluster in Greenville, S.C.  He most recently was National Country Brand Coordinator working with all of Clear Channel’s country radio station nationwide.

KILT-FM

Additionally, he has served as Regional Program Manager overseeing stations in Asheville, N.C., Greensboro, N.C., and Greenville, S.C. and also had responsibility for the programming efforts of country stations WSSL-FM and WESC-FM, and WTQR-FM in Greenville and Greensboro, respectively.  Prior to that, Logan was Operations Manager for Clear Channel’s Charlotte stations from 2003-11, and Regional Vice President of Programming from 2002-08.

“An opportunity like this only comes along once in a lifetime,” said Logan.  “I am so excited to be joining the CBS RADIO Houston team, and am humbled to be working with the talented management across the division.  We have big signals, solid brands and great people – making all those things work even better together is our focus and I believe we have a lot of success coming our way.  They say everything is bigger in Texas and I've just discovered that applies to your dreams too.”

Aussie Radio: Mel Greig Settles Lawsuit With 2DayFM

Mel Greig

One of the Australian DJs linked to the suicide of a British nurse following last year's royal prank phone call has resolved her dispute with Austereo, the company said in a statement.

According to The Age, radio host Mel Greig in July filed a claim against Southern Cross Austereo with Fair Work Australia, accusing her employer of failing to maintain a safe workplace.

The claim followed a media storm over a prank phone call that linked Greig and another DJ to the death of a British woman.

In December last year, Greig and colleague Michael Christian made a prank call to London's King Edward VII Hospital, where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for severe morning sickness.
In the call, Grieg pretended to be the Queen and Christian posed as Prince Charles.

They rang the hospital and were put through to the Duchess' ward by nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who later took her own life after the hoax was widely publicised in the British media.

In a statement released on Wednesday night, Southern Cross Austereo said the dispute arising from the royal hoax had been "amicably resolved" and Greig had resigned, effective from December 31.

Lawmakers Plan Review Of '96 Communications Act

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., Tuesday announced plans to update the Communications Act, according to TV NewsCheck.

The announcement was made via a Google Hangout, similar to a video Skype or FaceTime call.

“Today we are launching a multi-year effort to examine our nation’s communications laws and update them for the Internet era,” Upton said.

“The United States has been the global leader in innovation and growth of the Internet, but unfortunately, our communications laws have failed to keep pace. Throughout the recent economic downturn and recovery, the communications and technology sectors have remained stalwarts of our national economy — providing services that consumers demand while investing, innovating and producing the high-quality jobs that all American strive for.”

The last time the Communications Act was updated was 18 years ago, said Walden.

“…No one could have dreamed of the many innovations and advancements that make the Internet what it is today,” he said. “Written during the Great Depression and last updated when 56 kilobit per second via dial-up model was state-of-the-art, the Communications Act is now painfully out of date.”

NAB 'Salutes' Telecom Policy Review

In response to a proposal by House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Communications & Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden to review and update the country's communications policy.

NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith:

"NAB salutes the vision of Chairmen Upton and Walden in proposing a holistic review of U.S. telecommunications policy. 

There can be little doubt that in this multichannel, multiplatform communications world, local broadcasting remains the essential and indispensable programming source in every American community. 

We look forward to working with Chairmen Upton and Walden and other members of the Energy & Commerce committee as they consider telecom legislation that sustains a robust future for local broadcasting."

Ron Burgundy Is Everywhere

Once upon a time, when celebrities had something to sell they did a few predictable things: Late-night TV guest spots and public appearances.

Those days are gone, as the campaign for "Anchorman 2" is being lauded as a game changer.

Tom Gara reports for The Wall Street Journal.

Sharon Osbourne Says MTV Reality Show was a Big Mistake

Sharon Osbourne

Rocker Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and their children Kelly and Jack shot to fame a decade ago with their wildly successful MTV reality show, The Osbournes, which ran from 2002 to 2005.

But now Sharon is saying she regrets ever doing it.

Sharon, who co-hosts The Talk, said during a recent appearance on the U.K.'s Graham Norton Show that it was, quote, "the biggest mistake" of her life.

She explained, "We both worked to continue a lifestyle we had become accustomed to and we had to travel so my kids spent quite a time away from us and you can never get that time back. It was the biggest mistake I ever did, but would I have wanted to live a lesser life? You make the most of what you have."

Rocker Ozzy agrees with his wife, telling Quietus, "The kids couldn't handle it, my wife couldn't handle it: she had colon cancer. On the one hand, it was phenomenal, on the other hand, I had to watch my family [suffer]."

He added, "Would we do it again? I dunno. I don't think so."

CNN Plans Prime-Time Shakeup

Jeff Zucker

There are some big changes in the works at CNN, with President Jeff Zucker planning to shake up prime time and to overall have less news on the channel that pioneered cable news, and more non-news series and films.

In an interview with Capital New York, Zucker, who took control of CNN in January, said he's looking beyond traditional cable news viewers, whose numbers aren't growing.

He explained, "I'm not trying to alienate that audience. . . . We also want to broaden what people can expect from CNN."

He says he wants to attract, quote, "viewers who are watching places like Discovery and History and Nat Geo and A&E."

Zucker said he'd initially faced internal resistance to the idea, but had great evidence of the potential of his plans: the success of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, the travel-adventure show featuring celebrity chef Bourdain that's CNN's current Number One show.

Dish Nation Is Renewed For Third Season

Syndicated entertainment news show “Dish Nation” has been renewed by Fox TV Stations for a third season, according to Variety.

From Twentieth Television, “Dish Nation” is the youngest skewing first-run syndie program, beating out “Queen Latifah,” “Arsenio Hall” and “Katie” in adults 18-34 and 18-49. Newsmag currently draws 1.3 million daily viewers, an 8% increase from a year ago.

Show, which debuted in July 2011, features radio personalities across the nation bantering on showbiz and celeb gossip. Radio teams filmed for the show include “Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” “Kidd Kraddick in the Morning,” “Brooke & Jubal in the Morning,” and L.A.’s Heidi & Frank morning show on KLOS.

“The hilarious personalities featured on ‘Dish Nation’ are clearly resonating with viewers across the country,” said 20th TV’s exec veep and g.m. of broadcast sales, Paul Franklin. “The program’s comedic take on pop culture and celebrity news have freshened up the stagnant entertainment magazine genre.

Tim Tebow May Score With Broadcast Gig

Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow, the telegenic former QB, will almost certainly be a college football TV analyst next year, either for ESPN’s SEC Network, CBS Sports, or Fox Sports, multiple sources tell The Big Lead.

Tebow, who was released by the Patriots in August, is finally beginning to realize his NFL career is over.

Despite a glut of bad backup quarterbacks in the NFL, Tebow’s phone was not ringing this season, and he’s ready to tackle television, sources say. ESPN, CBS and Fox have all expressed interest in the magnetic Tebow, and one network – ESPN – already has a show set in place for him, a source says.

It is anticipated that the Tebow jockeying will intensify in January.