D-C Radio: Candy Cintron To Program WLZL-FM

Candy Cintron

Entercom has announced the appointment of Candy Cintron to the role of Program Director for WLZL El Zol 107.9 FM in Washington D.C.

She previously held the roles of Assistant Program Director and morning show Producer for the station since 2015.

“Candy has invested close to a decade of her career in making El Zol a vital, vibrant voice in D.C.’s Hispanic community,” said Phil Zachary, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Washington D.C. “This promotion honors her past, present and, most importantly, her future contributions to the El Zol legacy.”

“It has been a pleasure working alongside the amazing professionals at El Zol,” said Cintron. “I look forward to leading us into the next chapter of success and to continuing to engage with our vibrant, culturally rich and diverse community.”

WLZL 107.9 FM (49 Kw) Red=Local 60 dBu Coverage Area

Cintron joined the station in 2009, holding Assistant Program Director and morning show Producer roles. She was a 2017 nominee for Radio Ink’s Medallas de Cortez Award and participated in Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW) Group’s 2018 Mildred Carter MIW Group Mentoring Program.

MA Radio: Rob Hakala To Program Marshfield Stations

Marshfield Broadcasting recently announced that Rob Hakala was named program director for the company’s three radio stations in Massachusetts.

Rob Hakala

As program director, Hakala will be responsible for overseeing all programming for News/Talk WATD 95.9 FM in  Marshfield; WATD 1460 AM in Brockton; and WMEX 1510 AM in Quincy. He will also work closely with Christine James, the managing editor and news director. He will report to Annie Powell, general manager, and Ed Perry, Marshfield Broadcasting owner and founder.

“Rob’s passion for local radio coupled with his creativity and experience with news, talk and personality radio, make him the perfect choice to lead WATD-FM, WATD-AM and WMEX-AM as we expand into a new era,” said Perry.

Hakala joined WATD as a news reporter and anchor in 1996. He was promoted to host and direct The South Shore’s Morning News in November 2000.

WATD 95.9 FM (1.6 Kw) Red=Local 60 dBu Coverage Area

“I can’t wait to shape these three radio stations as we grow WATD-FM and our service to the South Shore and also bring back local radio to the cities of Quincy and Brockton” said Hakala.

Caroline Beasley Launches Podcast Series

In the inaugural episodes of her new podcast, Beasley Media Group CEO, Caroline Beasley, speaks with Dr. Shawn DuBravac, author of the New York Times Best Seller Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live, and Communicate.


During this episode of their two-part conversation, Caroline and Dr. DuBravac discuss a range of topics including:

• Events that redefined the environment we live in
• The next disruption on the horizon
• How data is defining our experience in vehicles

Gutfeld Rips NYT For Soliciting Readers To Report Fake News

In his monologue on "The Five" Thursday, co-host Greg Gutfeld reacted to the New York Times asking its readers to report instances of fake news and "misleading" information that may influence voters in this year's midterms.

"We're looking for false information being spread deliberately to confuse, mislead or influence voters," the Times wrote.

Gutfeld remarked that the Times' truck drivers should turn around and "dump the day's copies back on the loading dock."

"Crowdsourcing by the media never helps anyone but themselves," he said, pointing to solicitations to dive into former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's emails in 2011.

He said that the Times is simply a "cash-strapped outfit asking you to do their bidding for free."

"I'd bring up Jayson Blair or the Duke Lacrosse case, but it's almost dinnertime," he said.

Blair was once a reporter for the Times, who resigned in disgrace in 2003 after multiple allegations of plagiarism and fabrication of stories surfaced.

"Help the Times uncover media bias, and cover their cubicles in mirrors," Gutfeld said.

Haley: NYTimes Published Fake Story, Despite Knowing The Facts

Nikki Haley, President Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, said Thursday that The New York Times knew she had not been involved in the purchase of expensive curtains for her New York residence when it printed a story implying she did, reports The Hill.

"They knew the facts and they released the story anyway," Haley told Fox News' "The Story."

"I hadn't even taken the job when these curtains were picked out," she said. "We told the reporters that these were the facts."

The Times issued an editor's note at the top of its piece, which was originally titled "Nikki Haley's View of New York is Priceless. Her Curtains? $52,701."

The title was also changed to "State Department Spent $52,701 on Curtains for Nikki Haley's Residence."

Haley told Fox that she appreciated the changes, but there was little that could be done to remedy the misinformation already put out.

"I appreciate the retraction, but that story follows you where ever you go," Haley told Fox. "The damage is done once the story is out."

Westwood One Reps Sales for AP News Network

Westwood One has formed a collaboration with The Associated Press’ (AP) shortform news network for ad sales representation of their bartered breaking news wire service, photos, video, web content, sports scores, datasets, audio bites, and more.

AP, already on some of the biggest stations in the country, offers audio news services for broadcast, podcast, or live stream. AP is expanding its barter services in 2019, including its popular Presidential Campaign Kit.

“AP is very pleased to have our diverse content set and affiliate list represented by Westwood One in the advertising marketplace. Westwood One has a rich history of providing consumers relevant news talk, entertainment and sports programming.” said Michael Fabiano, Vice President of Local Media for The Associated Press.

Charles Steinhauer, Westwood One’s COO, added “Westwood One has had a long relationship with the AP, and with our entry into the short duration ad market they were a natural partner.”

Established in 1846, The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City, with teams in 263 global locations and in all 50 U.S. states. AP provides content and services to help engage audiences worldwide — working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands — and has garnered a collective 52 Pulitzer Prizes

Stations interested in learning more about AP shortform barter can contact AP’s Paul Memoli at pmemoli@ap.org or (212) 621-6923.

Ticketmaster Denies Collusion With Scalpers

Ticketmaster is calling reports of collusion with ticket-scalpers "categorically untrue."

CBC News and the Toronto Star allege a company executive acknowledged to undercover reporters at a Las Vegas ticket convention that some resellers have hundreds of TradeDesk accounts, a program Ticketmaster developed that helps scalpers buy and immediately resell large quantities of tickets at a higher price.



"We do not condone the statements made by the employee as the conduct described clearly violates our terms of service," the company said in a statement to USA TODAY Thursday.

USAToday reports Ticketmaster confirmed TradeDesk is a "professional reseller product that allows resellers to validate and distribute tickets to multiple marketplaces." The program syncs a user's account to third-party resale websites, allowing scalpers to instantly transfer tickets purchased from Ticketmaster to the likes of StubHub and Vivid Seats to make a profit.

Ticketmaster gets a portion of the resulting profit. The sales giant generates fees from every “verified resale” ticket sold through TradeDesk on their site, in addition to the commission from the original price of the ticket.

The new revenue comes at the expense of regular consumers who are shut out of first-round sales and forced to pay a higher price for a concert or sporting event on the secondary market, an issue Ticketmaster has publicly vowed to fight.

In its statement Thursday, Ticketmaster continued: "The company had already begun an internal review of our professional reseller accounts and employee practices to ensure that our policies are being upheld by all stakeholders. Moving forward we will be putting additional measures in place to proactively monitor for this type of inappropriate activity."

Ex-Host Sues Hallmark Channel For Wrongful Termination

Mark Steines

Mark Steines says he was retaliated against for complaining about an executive producer's verbal abuse of producers and supporting two women who came forward with sexual harassment complaints.

According to Variety, ex-Hallmark Channel host Mark Steines on Thursday sued the network's parent Crown Media, claiming he was fired and humiliated in retaliation for taking a stand against harassment.

Steines hosted Hallmark's Home & Family for six years, until he was terminated in May. He claims he regularly alerted the network through his representatives that executive producer Woody Fraser harassed and verbally abused producers and no action was taken.

The network prides itself on a "squeaky-clean image," Steines says, and it avoids controversial subjects to such an extreme that it barred the Home & Family cast from using the word "breast" in a segment about mammograms. But, behind the scenes, the ex-host claims Fraser created a "vulgar, demeaning, and hostile work environment, especially for the women." Steines claims the exec producer would regularly make lewd comments about female guests in his earpiece while taping, bragged about his penis size and forcibly hugged female co-workers.

Rap Mogul Suge Knight Facing up To 28-Years In Prison

Suge Knight

Fallen rap impresario Marion “Suge” Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter Thursday, marking the end of a years-long legal saga for a bruising giant in the West Coast rap scene who was once described as the “most feared man in hip-hop.”

The L-A times rpeorts Knight reached a plea agreement Thursday in connection with the 2015 hit-and-run death of Terry Carter outside a Compton restaurant after a dispute related to the film “Straight Outta Compton.”

Knight, 53, could serve up to 28 years in state prison.

Dressed in orange jail scrubs, the onetime hip-hop juggernaut stared straight ahead as Judge Ronald S. Coen detailed the plea agreement Thursday afternoon. He simply replied “Yes” when asked if he accepted it.

The manslaughter charge carries an 11-year prison sentence, which will be doubled in Knight’s case because he has a prior felony conviction, according to a statement released by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. An additional six years will be added to that sentence because Knight was charged with using a deadly weapon to commit a violent felony, prosecutors said.

Knight will be sentenced Oct. 4.

R.I.P.: Radio Software Innovator Gregory Dean

Gregory Dean

Gregory Dean, founder of a company that pioneered in the areas of radio traffic and billing and automation, died Sept. 11 in Overland Park, Kan., at age 72, according to RadioWorld citing the Kansas City Star reports.

“Greg Dean was a true pioneer, inventing many of the tools that radio stations have taken for granted for decades,” UncompressedMusic.com CEO and Scott Studios founder Dave Scott wrote in an email to Radio World.

Dean and his wife Vicki founded Computer Concepts Corp. in 1974 in Lenexa, Kan. He discovered a talent for computers after using a Wang 2200 computer to create accounting software for his five Dunkin’ Donuts franchises — stores that he acquired as part of a plan to become a radio station owner.

Dean had attained his FCC first-class amateur radio license and built a radio transmitter at age 16, then turned his interest into a job at Austin, Texas, station KNOW(AM) while he was a student at the University of Texas. He later moved to Wichita, Kan., where he had stints as on-air talent for KLEO(AM) and KEYN(FM).

With his radio background, it’s not surprising that Dean realized his accounting “software could be adapted into a turnkey broadcast-scheduling system,” according to his obituary.

In 2000, Computer Concepts merged with Scott Studios, which had entered the market as a competitor in 1992. Computer Concepts Corp. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Scott Studios; the Deans owned 20% of Scott Studios as part of the deal. Scott was also made CEO of CCC, but Dean remained on as vice president and also held a seat on the board of directors for a brief time.

R.I.P.: Former Waterloo Radio Personality Cory Ford

Cory Ford

Longtime Waterloo radio personality Cory Ford died at home in rural Cedar Falls on Wednesday.

He was 45, according to wcfcourier.com.  Sheriff’s deputies investigated, and foul play is not suspected.

Ford, a north Wisconsin native and a father, had been a DJ and music program director at classic rock station KCRR 97.7 FM, working in local radio for more than 15 years.

An official at KCRR said Thursday everybody is shaken up at the station.

“Cory worked in the Waterloo radio market for approximately 15 years and was the face of KCRR for most of those years. We are all deeply saddened by the loss of not just a former co-worker but a great friend as well. Cory was very involved in the public and a beloved member of the community. We want to extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends during this difficult time,” KCRR officials said in a statement.

Ford’s position at KCRR was eliminated in December.  More recently he had been an insurance agent, according to his page.

After a stint on the morning show at KDAT-FM in Cedar Rapids, Ford came to Waterloo area in the early 2000s as part of the KCRR team.