Gen Media Partners has acquired Regional Reps and The Tacher Company, further expanding its reach and influence in the national advertising arena.
The announcement was made today by Chief Executive Officer Kevin Garrity. While the newly acquired companies will continue to operate on behalf of the radio stations they represent, Gen Media Partners’ combined roster of 4,000 radio station partners will create more opportunities for national advertisers, particularly when they are looking for scale in radio.
Kevin Garrity
“With the addition of these two heritage firms, we strengthen our voice on the national level for the independent broadcasters we represent,” Garrity stated. “With the increased scale and reach, we can develop more national opportunities and generate more agency business for our independent radio partners, while we continue to provide the exceptional service and support that are our hallmark. I’m excited to welcome Regional Reps, The Tacher Company, and the radio stations they represent to the Gen Media Partners family.”
Known for its personalized representation of independent broadcasters, with a specialization in Hispanic radio, the acquisitions come on the heels of Gen Media Partners’ recent purchase of the Sun Broadcast Group Network and adds two more respected radio brands to its already impressive
portfolio.
Outgoing Chairman of Regional Reps, Stuart Sharpe, commented, “Building on the foundation created more than six decades ago by founder Leonard Auerbach and his colleagues Don Hays and Jack DeHaven, today’s Regional Reps team continues aggressive, in-person selling on behalf of its radio stations and high-quality service to advertising agencies and their clients. Combining Regional Reps’ sales and service capabilities in medium and smaller radio markets with Gen Media Partners’ resources and strength in larger markets will provide more stations with more sales opportunities and media buyers with more incentives to invest in local radio.”
Ensuring a smooth transition for its new radio station partners, Greg Tacher and Joe Costello of The Tacher Company and Jeff Slivka of Regional Reps remain with their respective companies and take on expanded roles within the Gen Media Partners organization. The Tacher Company and Gen Media Partners launched a joint venture last year that established GMPT Media.
Pat O’Neill, a longtime radio personality with Midwest Family Broadcasting's WMGN Magic 98.1 FM, has announced he will be moving on to a new opportunity in radio.
In a post on the station’s Facebook page, O’Neill said he would be moving and starting “a new chapter in radio next month.”
He said he would not be able to reveal his new position until next month.
In a farewell blog post, O’Neal said he wasn’t looking for a new radio opportunity, but one presented itself.
“The more I considered it the more it made sense. It’s in a city my wife and I have always liked. I wish I could tell you more, but sometimes ‘secrecy’ is part of the broadcasting business,” he wrote.
Former longtime WGOW 102.9 FM Host Jeff Styles returns today to Chattanooga airwaves.
Listeners can go to W224AZ NoogaRadio 92.7 FM / WPLZ 95.3 FM HD4, where he will resume his daily talk radio show.
Styles will be live Monday through Friday from 8am to 10am with breaking news, as well as a re-launch of his popular “Fred the Show.” Standing for Free Radio Every Day, F.R.E.D. will showcase a variety of topics that Chattanooga listeners have come to expect from the 26-year talk radio veteran.
About the move to another talk radio station, he says, “I’m excited to have a platform to listen, and talk to, listeners again…I’m chomping at the bit, excited to stir things up!”
W224AZ 92.7 FM (250 watts) Red=60dBu Coverage Area
Styles was terminated from Talk Radio 102.3 FM after he was charged with aggravated assault and vandalism due to a road rage incident. The criminal case against him was dropped in November.
MLC Media Services announced today that their syndicated radio show "El Show de Chiquibaby" has moved to their Morning Show slot of the South Florida-based WWWK 105.5 FM and its La Rumbera Network Miami.
Stephanie Himonidis
Already in over 50 U.S. markets, El Show de Chiquibaby demonstrates it is only looking to keep expanding across the U.S. and beyond.
A recognized 15-year multi-media personality and currently a host for the Telemundo TV show "Acceso Total," Stephanie Himonidis, better known as Chiquibaby, is a recipient of four Emmy Awards for her contribution to journalism and entertainment news.
"I am beyond excited and grateful to now have the show broadcast to the amazing people of South Florida whom I absolutely adore. I know La Rumbera was a perfect choice for El Show de Chiquibaby," said Stephanie Himonidis.
"We welcome El Show de Chiquibaby with enthusiasm to the Rumbera Network," says Jesus Castro, programming director for Rumbera Network. "We are ecstatic to have her as part of our roster of shows and excited to see our partnership grow with MLC."
WWWK - is a broadcast radio station in Islamorada, FL provides tropical rumba dance music to the Miami, Florida, area.
For decades, National Public Radio has relied on a cadre of temporary journalists to produce its hourly newscasts and popular news programs. Without temporary workers — who are subject to termination without cause — NPR would probably be unable to be NPR. Temps do almost every important job in NPR’s newsroom: they pitch ideas, assign stories, edit them, report and produce them. Temps not only book the guests heard in interviews, they often write the questions the hosts ask the guests.
According to The Washington Post citing union representatives, between 20 and 22 percent of NPR’s 483 union-covered newsroom workforce — or one in five people — are temps. The number varies week to week, as temps come and go.
NPR’s management cites a somewhat lower figure, 16 percent, although its count reflects managers and interns and other employees in departments that aren’t represented by the union. NPR says the overall ratio of temporary workers to permanent employees has remained more or less stable for several years.
NPR Newsroom
Resentment among temps about their status has boiled beneath the surface at NPR for years, but the tensions have begun to bubble up over the past several months.
Following a series of “listening sessions” conducted among 40 current and former temporary journalists, NPR employees produced a report in May detailing a number of grievances and allegedly abusive practices.
Among them: Temps were often left in the dark about how long their assignments would last, how much they’d be paid, who they were reporting to, or what their title is. They also said they received little feedback from supervisors after completing an assignment, and were “routinely” overlooked in NPR’s recruiting efforts.
Several temps interviewed for this story use the same word to describe NPR’s temp system: “Exploitative.”
By any measure, NPR is unusual among broadcast media organizations in the size of its temporary workforce.
About 5 percent of the staff at a typical TV station was employed on a part-time or temporary basis, according to a survey conducted last year by the Radio Television Digital News Association. Radio stations, which usually have much smaller staffs than TV stations, reported an average of just one part-timer or temp in the survey. The number of temporary workers among stations has declined steadily over the past 10 years as the recession has eased, said Robert Papper, who conducted the survey.
Kevin Frandsen, one of the three Kevins last season to be heard on Phillies radio broadcasts, will have an expanded role in 2019, as he will broadcast half the games alongside Scott Franzke.
According to philly.com, Larry Andersen will broadcast the other 81 games with Franzke. Frandsen will handle primarily the road games, and Andersen mostly will work the home broadcasts. Andersen announced before last season that he was taking a reduced role, and the Phillies divided the road schedule among Frandsen, Kevin Jordan, and Kevin Stocker.
All three are former Phillies. Jordan and Stocker will not return to the booth.
“Kevin demonstrated during the 2018 season that he brings the perfect blend of enthusiasm and knowledge for our listeners,” Phillies executive vice president David Buck said. “In addition, he has a great rapport with Scott Franzke. We look forward to his continued contributions in 2019 and beyond.”
Frandsen, 36, played for the Phillies in 2012 and 2013 and spent parts of nine seasons in the majors. The San Jose native hosts a weeknight sports-radio show on San Francisco’s KNBR 680 AM.
“My family and I are beyond excited that the Phillies chose me to be part of a team with Scott and Larry,” Frandsen said. “I have such an admiration for them both, and to have the opportunity to continue to broadcast Phillies games is very special.”
An owner of Pandora stock alleges a registration statement issued regarding a merger omits material facts.
According to Legal Newsline, Jonathan Raul filed a complaint on behalf himself and all others similarly situated on Nov. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Pandora Media Inc., et al. alleging violation of federal securities laws.
According to the complaint, on Sept. 23, Pandora entered into an agreement and plan of merger with SiriusXM Holdings Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at $3.5 billion.
On Nov. 1, the suit states the defendants authorized SiriusXM to file a materially incomplete and misleading preliminary registration statement on form S-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The plaintiff holds Pandora Media Inc. responsible because the defendants allegedly reviewed and authorized the dissemination of the registration statement, which failed to provide critical information regarding, among other things, the financial projections for the company.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and preliminarily and permanently enjoining the defendants from proceeding with, consummating, or closing the proposed transaction; attorneys’ and experts’ fees; and seeks other and further relief the court may deem just and proper.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case number 4:18-cv-07167-HSG
You’ll soon be able to listen to an audio news playlist curated by Google Assistant to inform you on the topics you’re interested in. Google’s latest Assistant feature uses artificial intelligence to help make these custom news bundles, and it’s available today for a limited number of users, according to The Verge.
The audio news playlist will be assembled in the moments after you request one. It starts with a quick briefing of current top stories and any small updates on relevant topics. You’re also able to ask to hear longer stories that are two to 15 minutes long. Stories that are longer than 15 minutes are rare. So far, no music or ads are allowed within the stories, and publications can’t use profanity either, in accordance with FCC guidelines, according to Google.
Google is comparing the new feature to having an always-available radio to read you the news. It partnered with publishers around the world, including The Associated Press, South China Morning Post, and The Hollywood Reporter. The feature was first discussed back in May when Google detailed how it was folding its Newsstand into Google News to create a singular and comprehensive destination for reading about current events and staying informed.
The new feature is available now to a few users in the US, and a broader rollout will come later on. Google is also leaving an open invite to other English-language publications to apply and become part of the service.
Despite boasts among many networks -- especially Fox's -- that they would be reducing commercial clutter to improve their viewer's experiences in order to boost ratings, attentiveness and revenues, the trend has been in the other direction, reports MediaPost.
"Ad loads (i.e. commercial minutes per hour of programming) have been increasing steadily across the industry since 4Q17 (the same time ratings began to deteriorate)," UBS TV industry analyst John Hodulik points out in a thorough analysis of network supply-and-demand, including their ad inventory.
"Year-to-date, cable network ad loads have been up 3% on average across all networks tracked by Nielsen," he found.
With the exception of NBCU's cable networks, all of the major cable groups are at or near their all-time clutter highs.
The picture is not much different for the major broadcast networks. With the exception of some reductions earlier this year at Fox, the broadcast marketplace has been boosting the supply of commercial minutes to offset audience erosion.
Bloomberg News has quietly shed dozens of experienced reporters and editors this year — including some of its most senior staff — as its owner Michael Bloomberg considers selling its parent company ahead of a possible presidential run in 2020, The NYPost is reporting.
At least 43 reporters and editors, most of them in New York, are known to have left the sprawling news operation this year, according to interviews and a list of recent departures.
The departures, especially of old-guard editors, have current and former employees fretting that the financial news giant is in cost-cutting mode in preparation of a sale of its parent company, Bloomberg LP.
Michael Bloomberg
In the last week alone, at least four senior editors have been laid off.
They include Bob Brennan, a markets editor first hired in 1993; John Lippert, a senior writer who covered the auto industry, first hired in 1995; Chuck Stevens, most recently an editor at Daybreak, a fast-news product, hired in 1996, and Faris Khan, a senior editor covering corporate finance who joined in 2010, the company confirmed.
Older editors at the financial news operation can make upwards of $250,000 a year, while new hires can make about a quarter of that, former employees have told The Post.
As reported by The Post, 76-year-old Bloomberg has been discussing the possibility of selling his company among a small group of top executives, including Chairman Peter Grauer, since at least October.
The company has been looking to increase operational profits by about 3 percent ahead of any sale, which could take the form of either a buyout or an IPO, sources said.
The Post reports that Bloomberg was considering shedding his namesake company, which includes the Bloomberg Radio Network and radio stations in Boston and New York. “It would either go into a blind trust or I would sell it. I think at my age, if selling it is possible, I would do that,” he told Radio Iowa.
Those named on the list of departures appeared to have left in a mix of layoffs and voluntary separations, including those who have gone on to CNBC, the New York Times and other outlets, according to interviews with those who left. The Post independently confirmed the names on the list.
Beasley Media Group’s WMMR 93.3 FM is proud to announce the 21st Annual Preston & Steve Camp Out For Hunger yielded record-setting food donations.
Over a five days period, station Morning Personalities Preston and Steve lived in the parking lot of Xfinity Live! Philadelphia, located at the Sports Complex in South Philly, soliciting food donations from listeners and businesses in the greater Philadelphia area.
A total of 1.826 Million pounds of food (approximately 913 TONS) and $198,188 in cash were collected as a result of the event, thanks to the generous support of the community. These donations will provide over 2.2 Million Meals for individuals and families in need.
The legendary radio duo started their food drive back in 1998 because they believed hunger was a real issue in the Philadelphia area and needed to be addressed. Their initial goal was to raise one ton of food, which they achieved!
Dozens of local and national celebrities, performers, and athletes were on hand to lend their support, including U.S. Senators Christopher Coons (DE), Larry Farnese (PA), and Bob Casey, Jr. (PA), Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Claude Giroux, James Van Riemsdyk and Travis Konecny from the Philadelphia Flyers, the ‘City 6’ College Men’s Basketball Coaches, comedian Dana Gould, and many more.
Donors were treated to free coffee in the morning, along with breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the day. There were also plenty of prizes and incentives, as well as multiple free events at night, including a Preston & Steve Calendar Girl signing, a comedy night featuring Dave Attell, Rich Vos, and Louis Katz, and fun watch parties for Sixers and Flyers games. Wednesday’s show featured a mass wedding, where 120 people were married on site!
Subaru of America’s donation of 554,026 pounds of food (the largest donation from a business) earned them a live Preston & Steve broadcast from their headquarters in Cherry Hill, NJ.
It’s that time of year, when the American public weighs in on one of popular culture’s most heated disputes: Is “Die Hard” a Christmas movie?
A Morning Consult/Hollywood Reporter survey found one-quarter of the population said the film, which was released in July 1988 but is set during the holiday season, is a Christmas movie; 62 percent disagreed.
Men were slightly more likely than women to call “Die Hard” a Christmas film (32 percent vs. 20 percent), and those in the 30-44 age group, many of whom came of age when the movie premiered or during the “Die Hard” series’ popularity in the 1990s, were the most likely to say it was a holiday movie.
The survey was conducted among 2,200 U.S. adults Nov. 15-18, 2018, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
The five movies in the “Die Hard” franchise have grossed more than $500 million overall (unadjusted for inflation), according to Box Office Mojo. The original film earned $83.5 million domestically in its lifetime and was the seventh-most successful movie of 1988 in the United States.
The Christmas debate has percolated for years. In 2016, The British film magazine Empire crowned “Die Hard” the best Christmas film ever, beating out holiday classics such as “It’s A Wonderful Life” (second), “Home Alone” (12th) and “Miracle On 34th Street” (17th). In its film categorization, Box Office Mojo lists the film’s genre as “Christmas – Setting Only,” along with “Hostage.”
The controversy over the the Frank Loesser 1944 written song 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' caught the attention last week of the co-hosts on CBS This Morning.
Cohost Gayle King is on the side of letting the song air, as it has for decades. “I’m so irritated by this. It’s like, people, sit down,” she said. “We are losing our sense of humor nowadays. I’m a big supporter and big proponent of the #MeToo movement, but I just don’t think we have to knit-pick every single little thing.” Noting that the song was written years ago, the outspoken host continued, “When you look at the intent of the song, to me, it’s a very flirtatious back and forth between the two of them. I think you can look at anything and read something into it these days.”
King felt she would get some backlash for taking a stance. “I know I’m going to get hammered for this,” she said. However, most of the comments on the “CBS This Morning” tweets have been in support of King and in favor of the song being played on the air.
The songs has been recorded numerous times since its debut in the movie "Neptune's Daughter.” Susan Loesser, the daughter of songwriter Frank Loesser, spoke to Inside Edition amid renewed outrage over the song. Susan says connecting the song to the MeToo movement is off the mark.
In an opinion piece in the L-ATimes, writer Paul Thornton states, "When a song is written, it usually reflects the contemporaneous era’s moral standards. When you think back to many of the suggestive and crude songs written since then, they are so overt and offensive to women, so why not challenge them too?"
He adds, "It’s a form of censorship to advocate banning this 74-year-old song from the radio. How empty and dull the world would be without the talents of Loesser and his ilk of the early 20th century, including the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter and many others.
"I believe in the #MeToo movement 100%, but condemning a classic song and composer who isn’t here to defend his creation is censorship. Focusing on this song is totally misguided when there are far more pressing issues that demand our attention."
➦In 1889...actor Ray Collins was born in Sacramento. Although best remembered as Lt. Tragg in 86 episodes of TV’s Perry Mason, he was a prominent member of Orson Welles Mercury Players beginning in radio. He played 3 roles in CBS Radio’s legendary 1938 War of the Worlds. For several seasons he played Commissioner Weston on Mutual Radio’s The Shadow. He died of emphysema July 11 1965 at age 75.
David Brinkley, Chet Huntley
➦In 1911...Chet (Chester Robert) Huntley was born in Cardwell Montana. His radio career began at KIRO Seattle & continued in radio newsrooms in Spokane & Portland, before joining first CBS Radio in Los Angeles, then ABC, as well as narrating Movietone Newsreels. He was viewed as “another Ed Murrow” when he was hired by NBC Radio. After teaming successfully with David Brinkley to cover the 1956 political conventions on television, the pair were assigned to co-anchor the TV Nightly News for the next 14 years as The Huntley-Brinkley Report.
He succumbed to lung cancer March 20 1975 at the age of 63. “Good night Chet .. Good night David ..And Good night for NBC News.”
➦In 1913...pianist, composer, conductor, and arranger Morton Gould was born at Richmond Hill NY. In the 1930’s & 40’s he was musical director for national programs originating at WOR Mutual, and CBS Radio. He moved on to composing Broadway & Hollywood film scores, winning a Grammy & Pulitzer Award along the way. Gould died Feb 21, 1996 at age 82.
➦In 1914...actress/singer Dorothy Lamour was born in New Orleans. In the early 30’s she had her own quarter-hour NBC radio show out of Chicago, and in the late 40’s she was singing hostess of NBC’s weekly Sealtest Variety Theatre from Hollywood. Besides her movie career, which included the “Road” series with Bob Hope & Bing Crosby, she made guest appearances on numerous TV series, including Damon Runyon Theatre, the Steve Allen Show, Burke’s Law, I Spy, Name of the Game, Marcus Welby MD, Hart to Hart, & Murder She Wrote. She died of a heart attack Sep 22, 1996 at age 81.
DeFord Bailey, the Opry's First Star
➦In 1927...The Grand Ole Opry originated its first radio broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee.
➦In 1955...Johnny Cash met his future wife June Carter while in Shreveport for his first appearance on the KWKH's "Louisiana Hayride" radio show.
➦In 1961...One week after first meeting with Brian Epstein to discuss his taking over as the Beatles' manager, John, Paul, George and Pete Best were back in Epstein's office for a second interview. The band was now eager to listen to Epstein's proposal following a booking the night before where they played to only 18 people. After being assured that they were not expected to change their musical style, John spoke for the others, saying, "Right then, Brian, manage us!"
Beatles' Manager Brian Epstein is interviewed in New York City by Murray the K for WOR-FM Radio in March 1967.
➦In 1963..."The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" featured a story about the new British pop music sensations, the Beatles. The report originally had been scheduled to air November 22 but was delayed because of extended news coverage of the presidential assassination.
➦In 1963...Donny Osmond made his debut with the Osmonds on The Andy Williams Show on NBC.
➦In 1967...26-year-old Otis Redding and four members of his band, the Bar-Kays, are killed when their tour plane crashes into a frozen near Madison, WI. Three days earlier, Redding had recorded what was to be his breakthough pop hit, "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay.
➦In 1980...The body of John Lennon was cremated at the Ferncliff Mortuary in Hartsdale, New York and his ashes were given to his widow Yoko Ono, who reportedly took them back to her Dakota apartment.
Gosden and Correll
➦In 1982...Freeman Gosden, the U.S. radio actor who portrayed "Amos" in the radio hit, "Amos 'n' Andy", died at age 83.
Gosden was born in Richmond, Virginia. During World War I he served in the United States Navy as a wireless operator, which prompted his great interest in the young medium of radio.
Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll
In 1921, Gosden first teamed up with Charles Correll to do radio work, presenting comedy acts, sketches, and hosting variety shows. They met in Durham, North Carolina, both working for the Joe Bren Producing Company. Their first regular show came in 1925 with their WEBH Chicago show Correll and Gosden, the Life of the Party. On this show the two told jokes, sang, and played music.
In 1926, Gosden and Correll had a hit with their radio show Sam & Henry on Chicago radio station WGN. Sam & Henry is considered by some historians to have been the first situation comedy.
From 1928 to 1960, Gosden and Correll broadcast their Amos 'n' Andy show, which was one of the most famous and popular shows on radio in the 1930s. Gosden voiced the characters "Amos", "George 'Kingfish' Stevens", "Lightning", "Brother Crawford", and some dozen other characters.
In 1969, Gosden was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio.
➦In 2004...One of three RCA microphones, used during 50 mid-1950s performances by Elvis Presley for the "Louisiana Hayride" radio show on KWKH in Shreveport, was sold for $37,500.
➦In 2016...longtime Winnipeg morning man Bob Washington (CKRC), the voice of the K-Tel TV commercials, who also worked in radio in Moose Jaw, Saskatoon and Montreal before retiring to Vancouver, died of cancer at age 82.
➦In 2016...folksy liberal talk radio host Allan Prell, who will be remembered by listeners of WBAL Baltimore (17 years), KIRO Seattle, KLAC Los Angeles, WTOP Washington etc. died after abdominal surgery at age 79.
