Pittsburgh Radio: WDSY's Stoney Richards To Exit

Stoney Richards

After spending 46 years in radio, Stoney Richards has made the decision to exit from his daily afternoon radio show on WDSY 107.9 FM, and devote more time to acting.

In making the announcement, CBS Rado state Richards will continue hosting his “Live From The Centre” weekend talk show on clustermate KDKA 1020 AM, and will serve as a recurring guest host on WDSY.

"Stoney has been a great programming partner and strong brand ambassador for Y108 during his nearly 18 years with the station and 21 years with our organization."

His final afternoon show on WDSY will be September 10th.

The station has launched a search for a new Y108 Assistant Program Director/Music Director/Afternoon On-air Personality. Internal candidates may review the qualifications and apply at cbsandyou.com; external candidates may do the same at cbsradio.com/careers.

Richards has worked in feature films, currently shooting Fathers and Daughters with Russell Crowe and Jane Fonda to Out of the Furnace recently, Predator 2 and Three Men and a Little Lady, TV, Those Who Kill, The Guardian and St. Elsewhere.

Liberal Website Falls For Phoney Michele Bachman Story

Think Progress, a website operated by the liberal Center for American Progress, failed to vet a phony story which claimed that Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) proposed “Americanization” labor camps for Central American unaccompanied children, according to The Daily Caller.

“I’m calling on all of us, Obama and Congress and everyone, to chip in and build special new facilities…‘Americanization facilities,’ if you will,” Bachmann said, according to Think Progress, which has since corrected its embarrassing flub.

“And we’d send these kids to these facilities, in Arizona and Texas and wherever else. And we’d get private sector business leaders to locate to those facilities and give these children low-risk jobs to do. And they’d learn about the American way of life, earn their keep, and everyone wins in the end,” Bachmann continued, in Think Progress’ fantasy land.

Think Progress was snookered by a parody post at a website called KCTV 7, which presents itself as a news outlet based in Kansas City. A quick internet search reveals a number of online posts pointing out that KCTV 7 is a fake news site. It also shows no affiliation to major news networks.

In its parody article, KCTV 7 claimed that Bachmann called for the work camps in an interview with Minnesota’s Twin Cities News talk radio host Jason Lewis on KTLK 1130 AM. But the fake site merely linked to Twin Cities News’ website, not to an actual article or radio interview featuring Bachmann.

Think Progress published the erroneous story on Sunday but corrected it and issued an apology after another liberal website, the Raw Story, pointed out the massive hoax.

NYC Radio: ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Headed To SiriusXM

Stephen A. Smith

It was just a few months again in May, when SiriusXM's Chris (Mad Dog) Russo said he was unable to find a black host “who is worthy of doing a national (sports) talk (radio) show.”

According to the NY Daily News, it appears the search is over.

Stephen A. Smith will soon leave ESPN-98.7 FM and take his verbal stylings to SXM’s “MDR,” where he will host his own show, according to satellite radio sources. Smith currently co-hosts a 1 p.m.-3 p.m. program with Ryan Ruocco on 98.7.

The sources said there was no consideration of pairing SAS with Russo. Smith’s new show will probably air from 1 p.m.-3 p.m., which will put him in direct competition with Ruocco on ESPN 98.7. Smith would serve as a lead-in to Russo’s “Mad Dog Unleashed” soiree and force SXM to juggle its current “MDR” lineup.

In his appearance on ESPN'S First Take on Friday, Smith went on a rant that was interpreted by many to mean that women are sometimes to blame for domestic violence. The statements sparked instant reaction across social media, including from Smith’s ESPN co-worker Michelle Beadle.

Smith later took to Twitter and apologized in a rambling series of tweets. Hours later, he issued another statement via Twitter.

My series of tweets a short time ago is not an adequate way to capture my thoughts so I am using a single (cont) http://t.co/vkOIFbCGeB
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 25, 2014

“I understand why my comments could be taken another way,” he posted. “I should have done a better job articulating my thoughts and I sincerely apologize.”

L-A Radio: KFWB To Drop N/T For Sports

Recent rumors that the KFWB Asset Trust was getting ready to jettison it's N/T format appear to be true.

A staff meeting was held Friday and according to LARadio.com KFWB, which was placed into a trust in November 20011 by CBS Radio,  has given notice to all employees that their jobs would end at the end of August. A search is on for executive positions to launch the new format.

It's expected KFWB will flip to CBS Sports Radio sometime around Labor Day Weekend, possible as early as August 29.

CBS Sports Radio has been airing on Adults Hits KCBS 93.1 FM HD2.

Most KFWB staffers have been given five weeks notice as station prepares to launch CBS Sports Radio around September 1.
— Don Barrett (@barrettLARadio) July 26, 2014

Currently the KFWB carries the Los Angeles Clippers PbP.

Starting in the fall, it will compete with ESPN Radio’s “710 ESPN” KSPN, Clear Channel “AM 570 Sports” KLAC and LAA 1’s “AM 830” KLAA.

Cleveland Radio: Thousands Attend Sold-Out RoverFest

Lorain, OH Morning Journal Photo

Thousands of people, as well as some big name musicians, descended on Lorain's Black River Landing for RoverFest on Saturday. The annual summer concert put on by the WMMS 100.7 FM radio show, "Rover's Morning Glory," sold out this year.

Organizers say the event sold out in about 11 minutes with some 13,000 in the crowd.

19 Action News|Cleveland, OH|News, Weather, Sports

Philly Sports: WPEN-FM To Air Temple Football

Temple University Athletics, along with its multi-media rights holder, Learfield Sports’ Temple Sports Properties, announced today a multi-year agreement with Greater Media Philadelphia naming WPEN 97.5 FM the official home to Owls Football.

Starting with the 2014 football season, fans in the greater Philadelphia market can hear Temple football games on its new football flagship, “The Fanatic” 97.5 FM.

“We’re excited to announce that The Fanatic, one of the nation’s top sports stations, will broadcast Temple Football games for the next three years,” said Temple University Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin Clark. “We are looking forward to a great season on the field and happy to have an excellent broadcast partner to provide our fans all of the action.”

“This is a wonderful partnership for us,” said Program Director Matt Nahigian. “We are proud to be representing the Owls and their exciting college football program. August couldn’t come soon enough!”

Lawmakers Wants FCC To Intervene In Dodger's Blackout

Eight So.Cal Congressional representatives have signed a letter asking the Federal Communications Commission to mediate the ongoing dispute over the Dodgers’ television network SportsNet LA, according to L-A Daily News.

Time Warner Cable, which owns the distribution rights to the channel, has not brokered agreements with most major local providers, including DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, Cox, Verizon FiOS, Charter, Comcast and Dish Network. As a result, approximately 70 percent of Southern Californians haven’t been able to watch the Dodgers unless their games are broadcast by national networks ESPN and Fox.

The letter, authored by U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-San Fernando Valley), reads: “The tradition of the Los Angeles Dodgers accompanied by the iconic voice of Vin Scully remains a pastime that families across Los Angeles eagerly anticipate every baseball season. Unfortunately, we are at the midpoint in the season and thousands of baseball fans remain in the dark.”

To this point in the dispute -- 105 games into baseball’s regular season -- the federal government has refrained from intervening. But Cárdenas, who said he grew up listening to Fernando Valenzuela pitch for the Dodgers in both English and Spanish, said he considers this a “serious business issue.”

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Nielsen-Catalina Solutions Expanding In Ohio

Nielsen Catalina Solutions, the media and consumer data company that links what consumers watch, see and hear with what they buy, is entering a new phase of growth five years after its launch, according to
cincinnati.com.

The Downtown Cincinnati-based company, a joint venture between Nielsen Co. and Catalina Marketing Corp., has grown from 20 to 130 employees since forming in 2009. The company, which also has offices in Chicago, New York and Tampa, has roughly 30 employees in Cincinnati, and CEO Mike Nazzaro is looking to add more salespeople, analysts and consultants at its Vine Street headquarters.

"We're still in scale mode. We're still scratching the surface," Nazzaro said. "We want to maintain or grow our fair share of the market, and we'll be in hyper-growth mode. We'll have to build the organization in a way that can handle that."

Nazzaro said revenue has tripled over the past two years, and that the company is "very profitable." It does not share financials.

Nielsen Catalina Solutions matches Nielsen media data with Catalina frequent shopper card data from more than 70 million households through a third party that connects the records. The households remain anonymous.

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Report: Jay-Z, Beyonce Marriage Crumbling

Jay-Z, Beyonce

They are one of the most famous couples on earth, yet intensely private — rarely allowing a glimpse of anything but the picture of a marriage and partnership that is constantly, blissfully happy.

But a source who has been close to Beyoncé and Jay Z for years tells The NY Post that all is not well — and hasn’t been for quite some time.

This is the first peek behind the firewall that is Beyoncé and Jay Z Inc. — what drew them together, why they’re headed for a split and why love was never the thing that held them together.

“There’s still something there, even though it’s not going to last,” says the source. “Business is always part of the equation. They know they’re the king and queen of hip-hop — and really, all of music. Neither wants to lose that.”

Their current “On the Run” tour is predicted to gross $100 million, according to Forbes — which also ranked Beyoncé the world’s most powerful celebrity of 2014, with Jay Z ranked sixth.

Billboard ranked the couple No. 1 on their February 2014 Power 100 list. Their combined net worth, according the International Business Times, is nearly $1 billion.

But in the weeks since Beyoncé’s sister Solange was caught attacking Jay Z in a hotel elevator after the Met Gala, the couple’s tightly controlled image has been crumbling.

When Beyoncé released her first solo album, 2003’s “Dangerously in Love,” Jay appeared on two tracks — including the first single and video for “Crazy in Love.”

It was a master stroke of marketing: She gave him class, he gave her cred.

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BBC Boss Dismissed Over Sexual Harassment Charges

Mark Sandell

A senior BBC editor and partner of BBC  radio presenter Victoria Derbyshire has been sacked following claims of bullying and sexual harassment and an investigation into his expenses, according to the Daily Mail.

Mark Sandell, editor of BBC radio’s World Have Your Say (WHYS), becomes the first executive to be dismissed in the wake of damaging bullying allegations revealed by The Mail on Sunday that have dogged the broadcaster for the past two years.

Mr Sandell left his wife of two years Fi Glover, a top BBC radio presenter, for Miss Derbyshire, also one of the Corporation’s stars, in 2002. The couple have two children.

He is appealing against the BBC decision, after a disciplinary panel recommended he be dismissed.

Bosses began an investigation into 53-year-old Mr Sandell, who has worked at the Corporation for 25 years, more than a year ago after claims he bullied and sexually harassed a member of staff. Separately, he was investigated over expenses.

It is understood he was told he was being dismissed earlier this month, days before the BBC announced it was axeing WHYS, one of its flagship shows abroad.

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No R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin Walks From Restaurant

NY Daily News composite

A Canadian restaurant worker landed in hot water after she failed to show legendary singer Aretha Franklin R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Franklin talked with The NY Daily News, and the Queen of Soul described what led to her beef with a waitress at a Johnny Rockets restaurant in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Franklin, after performing at a concert in nearby Lewiston, N.Y., couldn’t wait to chow down at Johnny Rockets, one of her favorite spots to eat on the road.

She ordered her usual — a hamburger and cherry coke to go. Then she sat down at one of the restaurant’s many empty tables and waited for the food.

Out of nowhere, a worker in her mid-30s showed up and told Franklin, “You can’t sit there.”

“I said, ‘Excuse me, what do you mean I can’t sit here?” recalled Franklin, who was with her nephew at the time.

The worker told Franklin the seating area is only for people who are eating in.

Franklin stayed calm. “I said, ‘Ok, I’ll have it here,” she recalled.

The 72-year-old singing sensation said she was shocked by the worker’s reply: “You can’t have it here because we’ve already rang you up as a takeout customer.”

What came next was even more insulting, Franklin said.

The worker ordered her to get up and stand outside the perimeter of the eatery, which was in a food court.
Franklin wasn’t having it.

“I got up and walked out,” she said. “I said, ‘You should eat it yourself and you pay for it.' ”

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July 28 In Radio History

In 1954…The first newspaper story about Elvis Presley was published in the Memphis Press-Scimitar. Elvis had signed with Sun Records and just released his first single, "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" b/w "That's All Right, Mama," and the songs were beginning to get airplay on Memphis radio stations. The story noted that both sides of the record were being equally well received "on popular, folk, and race record programs. This boy seems to have something that appeals to everybody.


In 1962...Westinghouse purchased WINS 1010 AM for $10 Million

Before 1010 WINS in New York City was “All News, All the Time,” it was one of the country’s first rock-and-roll stations.

From 1960...



WGBS signed on in 1924, owned by Gimbel’s Department Store.  William Randolph Hearst bought it in 1932, changing the call letters to WINS, which referred to Hearst’s “International News Service.”

Crosley bought WINS in 1945, then sold it in 1953 to Gotham Broadcasting Corporation.  WINS started playing rock music.  Legendary broadcasters like Alan Freed and Murray “the K” Kaufman were some of the early WINS disc jockeys.

Westinghouse bought WINS in 1962.  By that time, WINS was fending off three other stations for New York City’s rock audience.  WMCA, WMGM and WABC all were airing Top 40 and rock music.  WMGM bailed on Top 40/rock in 1962 and flipped to a beautiful music format under its former WHN call letters.

By 1963, WMCA became New York’s No. 1 Top 40 station.  WINS’ ratings slid below WMCA and WABC.

On April 19, 1965, Westinghouse pulled the plug on the Top 40 format at WINS.  The final song was “Out in the Streets” by The Shangri-Las.  WINS became the nation’s third all-news radio station.






In 2004...Jackson Beck, the man who introduced the Superman radio show with, "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!", died at age 92.

Jackson Beck

Beck had a career in radio, television, and animation dating from 1931 with Myrt and Marge, among other roles. In 1934, he was the announcer for The Adventures of Babe Ruth on the radio. In 1943, he took over as narrator of radio's The Adventures of Superman; it was Beck who intoned the familiar prologue "strange visitor from another planet..." Decades later, he portrayed Perry White, Clark Kent's boss in Filmation's The New Adventures of Superman animated series and was narrator as well. He also impersonated Joseph Stalin and other world leaders for the March of Time radio series, starred as The Cisco Kid on radio from 1942 to 1945 and sleuth Philo Vance in a syndicated series from 1948 to 1950, and served as narrator for the radio adventures of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

In 1969, Beck used his deep, dramatic, modulated voice as the narrator of Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run. Three years earlier, he dubbed the English voice of the judge listing Tuco's many crimes before sentencing him to death by hanging in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Beck was one of the players in National Lampoon's first comedy album Radio Dinner in 1972. He was prominent as well in Allen's 1987 film Radio Days, dubbing the voice of the on-the-spot newsman. Beck also co-starred in several episodes of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.