LA Radio: Dan Kearney Named CBS Radio Market Manager

Dan Kearney

Daniel Kearney has been named Senior Vice President and Market Manager, CBS Radio Los Angeles, it was announced today by Dan Mason, President and CEO, CBS Radio, to whom he will report.  Kearney will oversee all operations of the division’s cluster of six radio stations. 

The appointment is effective on Tuesday, September 3.

CBS Radio owns and operates KNX-AM (All News), KAMP-FM (Top 40), KCBS-FM (Adult Hits), KROQ-FM (Alternative Rock), KRTH-FM (Classic Hits), and KTWV-FM (Adult Contemporary).

“Dan is an accomplished broadcaster and exactly the right executive to shape a new future for our iconic radio stations in Los Angeles,” said Mason.  “He has an impressive record of experience managing the operations of a multitude of different radio formats, producing noteworthy growth across all key measures.  Dan’s a fabulous addition to our organization.”

Having worked in radio for more than 20 years, Kearney has a vast knowledge of effective sales and management philosophies.  He most recently was Vice President and Market Manager for Cox Media Group in Miami (2012-2013) where he increased sales revenue by double digits, outpacing the general market’s performance.

Kearney spent close to 13 years in the nation’s ninth ranked radio market leading sales for WSB-AM (1999-2005), and later taking on General Manager responsibilities for WSB-FM and WBTS-FM (2005); WSRV-FM (2006-08) and WSB-AM (2008-09).

Current SVP/Market Manager Steve Carver will be transferring to a similar role with CBS Radio Tampa early next month, replacing Ben Hill.  Hill was serving as GM of Pamal's Gainesville, FL before he was recruited back into the CBS Radio family in October of 2010 as SVP/Market Manager of the company's five-station West Palm Beach cluster. After Palm Beach was spun off, Hill accepted a transfer to the Tampa.

In a staff memo explaining this executive transaction, EVP of Operations Scott Herman explained that Carver had recently "approached us about his desire to move east to be closer to his family, including two new grandchildren.”

Miami Radio: Cox Names Rob Babin As Market Manager

Rob Babin

Cox Media Group (CMG) Miami has named radio industry veteran Rob Babin as its new VP and Market Manager effective immediately. 

In this new role, Babin is responsible for CMG’s award-winning brands, WFLC 97.3 FM, WHQT HOT 105.1 FM, WEDR 99.1 FM, and WFEZ Easy 93.1 FM.

“We are delighted to tap into our amazing, internal leadership talent pool and have Rob step into this new executive role, overseeing our Miami operation,” said CMG’s Executive VP of Radio Kim Guthrie. 

“He has been an outstanding leader in his 12 years with CMG, both in our Orlando and Atlanta radio markets.  His strategic vision, incredible performance track record and desire to be the best make him a great fit for this opportunity.” 

Babin most recently was Vice President of Sales for CMG Atlanta’s radio stations, which includes legendary news brand News/Talk WSB, one of the top 10 billing stations in the country.

“I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with so many great people at CMG Atlanta, and I know their tradition of success will continue,” said Babin.  “Now I am thrilled to work with the phenomenal group of radio stations and talented team that make up CMG Miami!”

During the past 12 years with CMG, Rob has held General Sales Manager roles in Orlando and Atlanta’s News/Talk WSB.

Consortium Formed To Automate Sales

Today, IPG Mediabrands announced another major step toward an automated future for sales.

Six months ago, Mediabrands put a stake in the ground to deliver at least 50% of their clients' buys through automation by 2016. After months of critical conversations with the industry's most important players, a consortium of like-minded companies has been formed.

A+E Networks, AOL, Cablevision, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment and Tribune share in the determination to bring the industry forward in the service of both clients and their audiences, and will work together with Magna Global to establish an industry-leading end-to-end, integrated programmatic-buying business model to drive critical automation advances across all media transactions.

The Magna Consortium will work to substantially improve the media planning and buying process, leading the way to a scalable, omni-channel marketplace. Together, the Consortium will work to deliver:

Innovative ways to drive more precise targeting and greater performance through the use of data

Exploration of opportunities to modernize and streamline media negotiations through expanded use of data and technology- based buying platforms Application of technological solutions to automate legacy buying systems and processes across traditional and digital media.

Tim Castelli

Through this alignment, IPG Mediabrands will have access to Consortium members' select media and data through Magna Global. Available inventory will include Display, Video, Mobile, Digital Out-of-Home, Radio and TV, and will include assets not previously available through automated buying systems.

"We are excited to be a charter member of Magna Consortium. Clear Channel Media and Entertainment's focus on innovation across our broadcast and digital platforms aligns perfectly with the mission of the consortium, "said Tim Castelli, President of National Sales, Marketing and Partnerships for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. "Our current technology infrastructure will not only help automate the traditional media buying process, but will also allow partners like IPG to better leverage our national scale and local activation capabilities for their clients."

NSA Reporter Greenwald Sez He Won’t Be Intimidated

Glenn Greenwald

U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has written many of the stories based on the classified documents taken by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, said Monday (August 19th) that he'll publish with even more determination after British authorities detained his partner.

David Miranda, with whom Greenwald is in a civil union and lives with in Brazil, was detained by police Sunday at London's Heathrow Airport for nine hours under anti-terrorism legislation.

Greenwald, who reports for The Guardian newspaper in Britain, said he would "write much more aggressively than before" about government surveillance.

Speaking to reporters in Portuguese in Brazil, he said, "I'm going to publish many more things about England, as well. I have many documents about England's espionage system, and now my focus will be there, too. I think they'll regret what they've done."

The U.S. said they hadn't requested that Miranda be detained, but were tipped off by Britain about it. Miranda, a university student, was traveling home to Brazil after meeting in Germany with U.S. filmmaker Laura Poitras, who's worked with Greenwald on the NSA stories.

The Guardian said it paid for his flights, but he wasn't an employee of the newspaper, stating,

"As Glenn Greenwald's partner, he often assists him in his work. We would normally reimburse the expenses of someone aiding a reporter in such circumstances."

Greenwald told AP that Miranda was bringing back material from Poitras for stories he was working on related to the NSA and also bringing materials to her from Greenwald. The British agents confiscated Miranda's computer, Wi-Fi watch, cellphone, DVDs, memory sticks and some documents.

Ed Schultz Reclaims Daily Show On MSNBC

Ed Schultz

The Ed Show hosted by Ed Schultz is moving back to MSNBC’s weekday lineup starting Monday, August 26.

The Ed Show will air Monday – Friday at 5 p.m. ET. Hardball with Chris Matthews will continue at 7 p.m. ET. The announcement was made today by Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC.

“Chris Matthews and the Hardball team have been pulling double duty for years. This move will concentrate the ‘Hardball’ audience to one key time period and enhance the flow of our evening programming,” said Griffin. “Ed Schultz is a force of nature and an important voice to the MSNBC audience. I can’t wait to have him back on weeknights.”

The Ed Show previously aired on Saturdays and Sunday at 5 p.m. ET. MSNBC Longform will fill the 5 p.m. weekends slot starting Saturday, August 31. Hardball with Chris Matthews will continue its weekday re-air at 2 a.m. ET on MSNBC.

Al-Jazeera America Launches Today

Al-Jazeera America is launching at 3 p.m. ET today (August 20th), just seven months after buying out Al Gore's former Current TV.

The U.S. affiliate of the Qatar-based news organization has hired may U.S. broadcast journalism veterans, and will focus their programming on harder news, a contrast with the more opinionated talk that's prominent on U.S. news networks.

Kate O'Brian, the former ABC News executive who's Al-Jazeera America's president, told AP, "We're breaking in with something that we think is unique and are confident, with our guts and some research, that the American people are looking for."

Although Al-Jazeera is well-established overseas, with 70 bureaus around the world, executives have stressed that Al-Jazeera America will be geared to American audiences and tastes.

However, when it launches today, the network will only be available in less than half of U.S. homes. Two of the biggest cable networks won't be carrying it: Time Warner dropped the Current channel when it was sold and Cablevision never carried it.

However, Al-Jazeera is negotiating with both of them, and well as with other carriers, to try to get into more American homes.

Facebook Hacker Won't See Reward

A hacker who said he found a bug on Facebook demonstrated the flaw by hacking the page of CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

WSJ’s Ben Pimentel explains why he won't get rewarded under the tech company's "Bug Bounty Program.

Dick Van Dyke Escapes From Burning Jag

Dick Van Dyke is doing fine after being rescued from his burning sports car Monday on the 101 Freeway in Calabasas, according to THR.

The actor's wife, Arlene Van Dyke, tweeted a Vine video of the aftermath and wrote "He's fine thank God!!" after the incident. The legendary entertainer, 87, retweeted her post and later shared his own picture.

Used Jag for sale REAL CHEAP!! pic.twitter.com/SpQMsg3s2O
— Dick Van Dyke (@iammrvandy) August 20, 2013

The California Highway Patrol went into action at about 2 p.m. after receiving a report of a burning vehicle on the 101's eastbound right shoulder, according to the agency's incident log. A pair of off-duty nurses assisted the driver, and two eastbound lanes were closed for a short time. Van Dyke was not mentioned by name in the incident report.

According to the incident report, he may not have been aware his car was on fire before the rescue.

Read More Now

R.I.P.: Minnesota Broadcast Andy Hilger Dies At 83

Andy Hilger

Central Minnesota broadcaster and businessman Andy Hilger died over the weekend.

He was 83, according to WJON.

Hilger landed a job at WJON 1240 AM in St. Cloud as a night-time disc jockey under the name “Tin Pan Andy” back in 1958.  He worked his way up and bought WJON in 1965. He later added WWJO (Stereo 98 and later 98 Country), KMXK (Mix 94.9) and KKJM.

For 40 years, Hilger wrote and produced daily editorials for WJON, often setting the community agenda on local issues of the day. He provided airtime for differing viewpoints and enjoyed stirring-up public debate on issues he believed mattered and needed more public attention.

He also built WJON Cablevision in the late 1960s, bringing cable television to the St. Cloud area.

In 1998, Hilger sold WJON, WWJO and KMXK to Regent Communications, a Cincinnati-area chain of small and medium-sized radio stations. He kept contemporary Christian station KKJM Spirit 92.9, and later donated it to the St. Cloud Diocese. He volunteered to serve as its manager for six years.

He also launched an all-Catholic AM station, K-YES AM that reached across the counties of the St. Cloud Catholic Diocese.

In 2006, Hilger was inducted into the Minnesota Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Official: Frank Ski Lands PM Drive At WHUR DC

Frank Ski

After months of anticipation and speculation, WHUR 96.3FM – Howard University announced today the new host of its coveted afternoon drive show is television and radio veteran Frank Ski.  He will make his debut on the Urban AC station on Monday, September 9th at 3 p.m.

Ski, a familiar voice to the Washington region, won the hearts of voting listeners and the coveted radio spot over nearly a dozen other broadcasting vets competing in “WHUR’s Next Big Voice Contest.”  Howard University Radio Network General Manager Jim Watkins says the news is exciting for WHUR and Washington’s radio listeners. “We are thrilled to welcome Frank to the WHUR family and we look forward to him bringing his love for radio and the community to the Washington region.”

“The Frank Ski Show” will be a mix of music; news and celebrity interviews; community activism; and lots of prizes and giveaways, providing listeners a well-balanced and intellectual perspective of urban radio.  “DC is like home for me.  This will be a powerful show featuring buzz-worthy pop culture and political topics ranging from election coverage to the latest antics of reality television,” said Ski.

Ski has a proven record of community engagement.  He has served as host and spokesperson for several charitable and educational initiatives, including the Civil Rights Walk of Fame, Rainbow Push Coalition, The Latin American Association, and 100 Black Men.  His “Frank Ski’s Kids Foundation” believes in exposing kids to their future through the arts, science, technology and athletics. The foundation has provided financial assistance to youth for over 10 years.

Ski began his radio career in Washington in the early 1990s before moving on to Baltimore and then to Atlanta in 1998 where he ruled the airwaves for over 14 years.  “The Frank Ski Show” airing from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Frank Ski, Wanda Smith

For now, Ski tells Rodney Ho at accessatlanta.com, he plans to fly up to D.C. during the week and come back to Atlanta on weekends (which includes weekly DJing gigs at his Buckhead restaurant Frank Ski's.)

He is doing the syndication on his own rather than attach himself to a big syndicator. "We had talked to some companies but I wasn't going to get the type of deal I wanted financially," he said. "By being the owner allows me to have better control over the things I want to do on the show."

Ski said it was not easy for him to walk away (December 2012) from a cushy job at WVEE V-103 (in Atlanta), where he and Wanda Smith were the No. 1 morning hosts for virtually their entire 14-year run.

But he said he wanted "to do something different. If I was going to make the move, I had to step out on faith. I had a lot of deep conversations with the family. I also had deep conversations with God. It was a very spiritual move. We'd do those daily inspirational vitamins. It just started talking to me. If you want to make a change in your life, you've got to make the sacrifice. It really gave me an opportunity to look at life for the value of what it is, not for the value it was worth."

He said the WHUR show will be similar to his V-103 show, a "lifestyle" focus where he'll be able to talk about a big social issue one segment, then "Love & Hip Hop Atlanta" the next.

Read More Now.

DC Radio: Is Jack Diamond Ready To Return?

Currently on a cross-country road trip, veteran Washington, DC radio persoanlity Jack Diamond has hinted at a possible return to radio.

Jack's Road Trip 2013 - My last adventure, and Photo Project, before returning to Radio http://t.co/MWrQVqabwb See FB for details. Thanks!
— Jack Diamond (@JackDiamond) August 10, 2013

Diamond, a longtime fixture on Washington’s radio airwaves for more than two decades, was fired this past April from Cumulus-owned WRQX-FM Mix 107.3.

Boston Radio: WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Remain

Kevin Graham Could Be New PD

WEEI 93.7 FM morning men John Dennis and Gerry Callahan — blindsided by the firing of boss Jason Wolfe yesterday — said they have been assured that station suits want them to be “part of the solution” to the once-dominant sports station’s ratings woes.

Callahan, a Boston Herald sports columnist, said Entercom Boston general manager Jeff Brown told him and Kirk Minihane, who was added to the morning show in February, that “we’re going nowhere.” And Dennis, who is on vacation this week, said Brown called him after Wolfe got the ax to reiterate that the morning show was not in any danger.

“I take him at his word,” Dennis said. “I’m not worried.”

Wolfe, WEEI’s vice president of programming and operations, who oversaw the station during years of Boston radio dominance, was shown the door last week, the victim of spiraling ratings and competition from WBZ-FM 98.5 The Sports Hub, the upstart that stole much of the longtime sports-talker’s audience.

In the most recent ratings period, The Sports Hub’s top-rated morning show, Toucher and Rich, dominated with a 13.4 share. Dennis and Callahan finished fifth with a 6.0. The Sports Hub was No. 1 overall with men age 25-54, both stations’ target audience, while WEEI was fifth, according to Arbitron.

Kevin Graham

However, both Dennis and Callahan have a year remaining on their contracts and the station’s move last February to dump longtime afternoon drive host Glenn Ordway didn’t do anything to improve numbers.

There have been reports that Brown’s choice to replace Wolfe is Kevin Graham, program director at KFAN in Salt Lake City. Brown declined to discuss it other than to say he will make an announcement in the next couple of days.

Wolfe’s successor will have to try to figure out how to increase listeners and decrease station costs — a tough act to pull off especially given the fact that WEEI is saddled with a whopping 10-year, $200 million contract to air Red Sox games that runs for three more years. The station also has the broadcast rights to the Celtics.

Read More Now