KFI's John & Ken Added To WOR-NYC Line-Up

The evolution slowly continues at Clear Channel-owned WOR 710 AM in NYC.

Big news out of New York City:the new ownership of WOR cancelled our show, replacing us with one of their own... fb.me/1vE1v7znV
— Mike Gallagher (@radiotalkermike) January 2, 2013

On the day that syndicated Salem talker Mike Gallagher got the word that ‘the new owners’ had cancelled his 10a-12n airing, WOR started airing KFI Los Angeles’ John and Ken from 9p to 11p.

The first hour was a simulcast of their PM Drive show on CC’s KFI and the 10p hour was a custom-live hour for WOR.   They have not yet been added to the website line-up.  And WOR has yet to adopt the Clear Channel website template.

John Koblyt and Ken Chiampou have history in the New York metro area. They did afternoon drive on WKXW New Jersey 101.5 (Trenton) from 1990 through late ’92, when they left for KFI.  While at NJ101, they gained national notoriety for heavily criticizing New Jersey governor Jim Florio for passing the largest state tax hike in United States history immediately after taking office. During this period, their ratings quadrupled to 600,000 listeners. Kobylt criticized Florio for reneging on his promise not to raise taxes. A caller, postal worker John Budzash, then suggested the idea of Hands Across New Jersey, a protest that would symbolically cut the state in half.. When other callers noted that blocking traffic was illegal, the movement turned into a rally in front of the State House in Trenton.

The duo eschew any party labels or loyalties. Kobylt has indicated that his role is "to identify who the bad guy is and what the bad act is so that people feel it viscerally... pointing out how they were screwed in some way."

Mostly fiscally conservative on issues like taxes, they also frequently lean conservative with regard to crime.  They are staunch opponents of illegal immigration and government employee labor unions. They support strong sentences for child molesters and murderers, the death penalty, Megan's Law and Jessica's Law. They also oppose driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. They are libertarian in other aspects, such as being pro-choice, supporting gays in the military and gay marriage, opposing the influence of the Religious Right on American politics, opposing the Iraq War, opposing funds for public transportation, and opposing tax increases.

Also Wednesday, WOR and syndicated talker Dave Ramsey reached agreement on a new contract.  Ramsey will hold down his usual 2p to 4p time slot on WOR.

Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are expected to eventually move from WABC 770 AM to WOR.  The term of the Ramsey contract was not announced. What happens to Ramsey remains to be seen.

It has been reported that Limbaugh and Hannity each have another year remaning on their deals with Cumulus-owned WABC.

As for Gallagher, he expects to find himself back on Salem's secular talker, WNYM 970 AM The Answer soon.   

Philly Radio: Merlin, Mendte Part Ways

Larry Mendte posted on his Facebook page that he had been let go from conservative talk radio station WWIQ IQ 106.9, where the former anchor had been serving as morning drive host. In the post, the gracious Mendte makes it clear that his departure from the station was not his decision.

In an interview with the Daily News, Mendte said there was no indication why he was let go from the station, who gave Mendte his walking papers on December 21. Mendte believed his show had solid ratings and loyal fanbase. "It just never really had a spot. They were trying to find a place for it," Mendte said. Mendte, unlike the other hosts, did not have a contract.

Mendte doesn't know what's in store for IQ 106.9, although rumors have swirled that the station might be sold. Mendte himself has another gig to fall back on: He does commentary pieces for New York's Pix11.

"IQ" morning co-host Al Gardner is now paired with veteran talk host Lionel.

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Atlanta Radio: Ryan Cameron Talks About His New Show

Ryan Cameron may come across as jokey and fun on air, but he takes his job ultra seriously.

And he seriously wants to grow V-103’s already huge morning audience.

Rodney Ho at ajc.com reports, he opened his first official morning show on V103 Wednesday on a low-key note. No inordinate bravado, no fan-fare or big celebrity buddies calling in (though his son Cayden did.) His most prominent in-studio guest was Atlanta’s own R&B singer Ciara, who joked with his team during the 9 a.m. hour.

“My goal is for the city to understand that we want to be as local as possible,” Cameron said. “We’re going to cover all the things [my syndicated rivals] can’t.”

Despite his lighthearted on-air persona, he said he is well aware of the target demographics of his audience (25 to 54) and the fact he’s 47 himself and a father of three.

His staff is still evolving. The only hold-over from the Frank and Wanda show is Jean Ross, the news reader. Cameron added a writer, comic Ronnie Jordan, and will keep his new man-on-the-street comic character he’s dubbed Funny Boo Boo, who Clark dubs “a sweet, endearing, naive kid.”

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NYDN Vividly Displays Anger At Congress

The New York Daily News used a creative and, some consider, gruesome front page Thursday to portray their story about failure of the House of Representatives to vote to help Superstorm Sandy victims.

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WMVP Blocks ‘Mongo’ From Bears’ Pre-Game Show

Former Chicago Bear Steve "Mongo" McMichael’s decision to run for mayor of Romeoville, Illinois has cost him his spot on a Bears pregame show on Chicago’s ESPN radio affiliate.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting McMichael, a member of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears and a longtime analyst for a pregame show on WMVP-AM 1000, filed paperwork Dec. 26 to get on the ballot for the April 9 election.

Two days later, an election law attorney representing one of McMichael’s opponents, Romeoville Mayor John Noak, sent a letter to the station stating that Noak was reserving the right to request equal air time.

McMichael said an official at the station called him Saturday and told him he would not be allowed on the air the next day for the show before the Bears’ season finale against the Detroit Lions.

“I was ready to go on and talk football,” McMichael said. “I by no means used that pregame show as a political platform this year. But if that’s the law, it’s the law, and I have to accept it. I even told ESPN I’m sorry I got them into this.”

Fogarty said his letter to the station didn’t request that McMichael be kept off the air.

“I was simply alerting them to the fact that he had run and we were reserving our right as a candidate to request equal time,” Fogarty said. “But any decision (about McMichael) was solely the station’s.”

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Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Cincy Radio: WQRT Stops Talking, Will Go Dark

“Real Talk 1160″ WQRT-AM fired its local staff today after Dean Miuccio finished his “Cincinnality” morning show. Also gone are newsman T.C. Summers, and afternoon sports hosts Dennis “Wildman” Walker (3-5 p.m.) and Jeff Piecoro (5-7 p.m.).  They will be replaced by syndicated shows through Monday.

According to a story at Cincinnati.com, the station will go dark — off the air — after the Notre Dame football game Monday night. A new format will debut Feb. 1.

Dean Miuccio

In recent years, “Real Talk 1160″ has tried to compete with the Clear Channel talk empire with Andy Furman, Eric Deters, Wildman Walker, Piecoro and Miuccio. They gave up Wednesday, when the old WCFN-FM  Mojo 100.3  launched the Cincinnati Fan FM sports talk format and the CBS Sports Radio Network programming. 

1160 operations manager Rob Williams and sports talk host/producer Rick Ucchino quit and jumped to WCFN-FMfor today’s start-up.

Jon Yinger says he might announce a new format as early as Friday. It’s not clear what will happen to NKU basketball games broadcasts.

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Cumulus, Arbitron Do Deal

Arbitron Inc. and Cumulus Media have signed a multi-year agreement for Arbitron diary and Portable People Meter™ radio ratings services covering all 450 Cumulus stations in the 100 Cumulus radio markets currently surveyed by Arbitron.

The agreement provides Cumulus stations in 44 diary markets access to the Arbitron radio ratings service for the first time in more than three years. It also renews ratings agreements in 17 PPM markets and 39 diary markets.

In addition to diary and PPM local market ratings, the agreement also provides Cumulus with access to Arbitron software applications, Scarborough consumer profile services, and national and network radio ratings for Cumulus Media Networks.

Cumulus has also agreed to collaborate with Arbitron on cross-platform services that would quantify the total impact of the Cumulus radio brand.

Idaho's KTVB Believes In Free

They airing promos knocking newspaper's paywalls.

Delilah, St. Martin's Press Launch New National Book Club

"Home Front," Kristin Hannah's #1 New York Times bestselling novel, has been selected as the inaugural book club pick by famed radio personality, Delilah, Premiere's most listened-to-woman on U.S. radio.

An exciting new venture between the beloved "Oprah of Radio" and publisher St. Martin's Press, the national book club will launch on January 8, 2013 to coincide with the paperback release of "Home Front," and will feature an innovative multimedia format, including on-air discussions on Delilah's nationally-syndicated evening radio program, extensive online outreach and active engagement with fans and readers through a variety of social media platforms.

Of her new book club, Delilah says "The sensation of reading a great book, and being able to share it with friends, is one of those great connections in life.  I hear from so many listeners with the names and stories of books they've discovered and wanted to share. Starting our own book club in the New Year with 'Home Front' by Kristin Hannah is the perfect story to share with my listeners for all kinds of reasons."

Matthew Shear, executive vice-president and publisher at St. Martin's Press, adds, "I was thrilled to hear that Delilah wanted to start an on-air book club and even more excited when she chose Kristin Hannah's 'Home Front' as her debut selection. Both Delilah and Kristin have such strong connections to women, Delilah through her immense radio show and Kristin through her very emotional stories. It seems to me they are a perfect match."

"Home Front," the powerful story of a young family dealing with the emotional fallout of military deployment, was a #1 New York Times bestseller in hardcover and has been optioned for a feature film by 1492 Films, with Chris Columbus attached to direct.

Julianne Hough Reveals Childhood Abuse

Though Julianne Hough is known for her bubbly personality, it turns out not everything in her life has been so charmed, according to Antoinette Bueno at ET Online.

Julianne covers Cosmopolitan's February issue, where she reveals she suffered mental and physical abuse while living in London as a young girl to pursue her dancing career. She attended the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Arts on a five-year scholarship, along with her brother Derek.

"While I was in London, I was abused, mentally, physically, everything," she reveals, and it didn't stop there -- she says it got worse when she "started hitting puberty, when I started becoming a woman and stopped being a little girl."

Julianne of course did return to the United States, where she became a star thanks to her winning performances on Dancing with the Stars.

On a lighter note, Julianne also dishes to the magazine about her relationship with KIIS 102.7 FM morning host and host of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest.

"We love what we do. We take pride in giving it our all, but then when we're alone, we really focus in on going to dinners and being extra-romantic and affectionate and just being there for each other," she says.

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Channel No One Watches Buys Channel No One Watches

Al-Jazeera Buys Current TV From Al Gore

Former Vice President Al Gore confirmed Wednesday that the left-leaning news network he co-founded, Current TV, has been bought by Al-Jazeera, boosting the Pan-Arab news channel's reach in the U.S. by nearly nine times to some 40 million homes.

Gore said in a statement that Al-Jazeera, which is owned by the government of Qatar, shares Current TV's mission, quote, "to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling."

Al Jazeera did not disclose the purchase price, but people with direct knowledge of the deal pegged it at around $500 million, indicating a $100 million payout for Mr. Gore, who owned 20 percent of Current. Mr. Gore and his partners were eager to complete the deal by Dec. 31, lest it be subject to higher tax rates that took effect on Jan. 1, according to several people who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. But the deal was not signed until Wednesday.

It is reported Glenn Beck's media company, The Blaze, wanted to buy the cable TV company Current TV, which is part-owned by Al Gore.

But, according to a WSJ report citing a person familiar with the negotiations, Current TV refused The Blaze's offer because "the legacy of who the network goes to is important to us and we are sensitive to networks not aligned with our point of view."

So instead, it sold to mid-east cable company Al Jazeera for $500 million.

Al-Jazeera plans to gradually transform Current into a network called Al-Jazeera America by adding five to 10 new U.S. bureaus beyond the five it has now. More than half of the content will be U.S. news and the network will have its headquarters in New York. Al-Jazeera English has earned respect for its serious news coverage, for which it's won numerous journalism awards.

Tom's Take: So let me get this straight...Al-Jazeera is 'more aligned' with Current's point-of-view than another American's point-of-view?   Okay, got it.

UPDATE 12NOON 01/03/2013  Glenn Beck comments on his radio show.

Oak Ridge Boys Cheer Up Ailing President Bush

The Oak Ridge Boys may have had a hand in helping former President George H. W. Bush recover from his recent ailment last week. Bush was hospitalized in intensive care suffering from bronchitis and other related problems.

The legendary group got a call from Barbara Bush on Friday (December 28th) asking them to sing for the former President. The guys met up at their Nashville-area office where they serenaded him over the phone with "Elvira" -- at his request -- and "Amazing Grace."

The office of George H.W. Bush issued a statement saying, "Words cannot properly express how much The Oaks' special performance meant to the President and the Bush family. This friendship goes back many years, and what happened . . . gave the President a real shot in the arm as he, thankfully, continues to improve. The Bushes continue to feel so blessed to have so many friends like The Oaks, and wish to thank one and all for their prayers and good wishes."

On Saturday (December 29th), President Bush was moved out of intensive care and continues to improve.