Jack Bogut To Enter Broadcasting Hall of Fame

Longtime Pittsburgh morning radio host Jack Bogut will be among this year's inductees to the Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony will be Nov. 6 in Akron, Ohio.

According to a story by Adrian McCoy at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bogut, who is morning host on nostalgia station 1320 AM WJAS weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., has been on the local airwaves since 1968, when he started as morning host at 1020 AM KDKA. He did stints as morning host at the former WTAE-AM, and at Renda Broadcasting's 99.7 FM WSHH before moving to sister station WJAS. He also hosts the local business program "Spotlight Pittsburgh" on Renda station 1360 AM WMNY.

The Broadcasters Hall of Fame was founded in 1982.

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Anthony Surprise Verdict Topped News Last Week

Two dramatic events—reports of a potential breakthrough in deadlocked deficit talks and the verdict in the Casey Anthony murder trial—drove the dominant news stories last week.

Fueled by coverage of the high-stakes deficit negotiations, the economy accounted for 24% of the newshole last week, making it the No. 1 story from July 4-10, according to a story by Jesse Holcomb of  the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

That coverage was up from 19% the previous week and marked the third week in a row that the impasse over the deficit and debt ceiling has made the economy the No. 1 story. Last week, the deficit debate accounted for about two-thirds of the overall economy coverage and by week’s end, a flurry of optimism about a deal was replaced in the media narrative by the prospect of more deadlock. 

The murder trial of Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of killing her two-year-old daughter, made headlines last week with a not-guilty verdict that surprised many and provoked outbursts of public anger. The case was the No. 2 story, at 17% of the newshole. 

The dramatic conclusion of the trial, the ensuing analysis and finally, the sentencing, were given heavy play on television news. The case was the No. 1 story on both network news (18%) and cable news (38%), and proved to be a major boon for CNN’s sibling channel HLN, whose ratings spiked 1,700 percent on the afternoon of the trial’s conclusion.

Casey Anthony, the defendant in the high-profile murder case, easily generated the most attention in the media last week. She was a dominant newsmaker in 12% of all stories studied by PEJ from July 4-10. (To register as a dominant newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story.)

Despite hosting his first ever “Twitter” town hall and leading a bipartisan debt summit, President Obama was relegated to No. 2 lead newsmaker status behind Anthony (8%), the same level of coverage as the week before.

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Report: Merlin Media Raids 1010 WINS NYC

Another sign that Merlin Media is ready to start an all-news battle in NYC is word that no fewer than five news people are being wooed.  Merlin is expected to take control of 101.9 FM programming and sales operations this Friday under an LMA agreement.

Merlin has also filed to become majority owner of 101.9 FM with Emmis to retain a minority interest. FCC approval is pending.
 
NYRMB web guru Allan Sniffen today posted that he's hearing, the following WINS people are moving over to 101.9 FM:

• Alice Stockton Rossini
• Catherine Smith
• Doug O'Brien (as managing editor)
• Kathleen Maloney
• Brett Larsen

 
We have determined their photos are missing from the 1010 WINS website. They reportedly will join Jeff MacKay who recently left Shadow Traffic where he appeared on WINS.

101.9 reportedly approached 880 AM WCBS', who declined to leave WCBS and insiders say has been given a raise by for staying.

Merlin apparently is already doing dry runs at 101.9.

Merlin Media has registered www.1019wyny.com through Go Daddy.

Laura Ingraham Takes Aim At Pop Culture

On the Today Show, Conservative commentator takes aim at the state of American culture in her new book "Of Thee I Zing: America's Cultural Decline from Muffin Tops to Body Shots," and few punches are pulled.

Comments start at 3:48 mark.

Video Tour of Glenn Beck's New Texas Home

Historic Ed Sullivan Theater Trashed In NYC

Currently home of David Letterman Show

"Top Ten Excuses of the Guy Who Broke Into the Ed Sullivan Theater" for July 11, 2011:

Clear Channel's Pittman Sees Growth at iHeartRadio

Robert Pittman, chairman of media and entertainment platforms at Clear Channel Communications Inc., talks about the company's new version of its iHeartRadio web-based music service. He speaks with Emily Chang and Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West."

Does CC Have a Shot at Pandora and Sirius XM?

From Rick Aristotle Munarriz at fool.com

Despite Clear Channel's nasty rep as the juggernaut of commercial-laden terrestrial radio with its wafer-thin playlists, iHeartRadio has been one of music's more popular downloads on Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) App Store since its 2008 rollout. Versions for Android, BlackBerry, and more recently Windows Phone 7 have been subsequently introduced.

The allure of iHeartRadio is that it streams more than 750 of Clear Channel's local terrestrial stations wherever an online connection can be established. Smartphones, tablets, and even computers -- of course -- can go on an aural road trip to cherry-pick the AM and FM channels that they like best.

The personalized music-discovery engine of Pandora and the deep commercial-free play lists of Sirius XM haven't lost a whole lot of sleep over iHeartRadio in the past. There are plenty of listeners to go around, and who would fear terrestrial radio's desperate attempt at relevance these days?

Well, the music festival is set to coincide with fall's refresh of an updated iHeartRadio app.

"The new version is everything you want in one place," Seacrest revealed this morning.

"Real radio stations from cities across the country, and coming soon custom radio like Pandora but with more songs, more control, and no commercials through the end of the year."

Yes, iHeartRadio is calling out Pandora by name. Going the commercial-free route through at least 2011 will also challenge Pandora to scale back on its ads, likely explaining why Pandora opened lower than the general market today.

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The Woman Behind Facebook

The New Yorker's Ken Alutta shares details of his profile of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Tuesday's MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Study: Non-Coms Find HD Radio Tops in Fund Raising

From a list of 14 technologies, 39.6% of respondents picked “streaming our station’s signal” as the one that would most encourage listeners to make donations. The second most popular technology was “streaming multiple channels of programming,” chosen by 18.9% of respondents. After streaming, responses for the next technology choices fell into the single digits: Facebook fan page, 6.3%; ‘Donate now’ button on mobile app, 5.4%; and broadcasting more than one channel of HD Radio, 5.4%.

According to a release from Wheatstone Corporation, survey respondents also felt that streaming provided the best channels (besides the station’s main signal), for selling sponsorships, as indicated by their choices from the same list of 14 technologies.

Their top three choices were:

• Streaming a signal over the Internet, 37.7%
• Streaming multiple channels of programming, 17.0%
• On demand content streaming, 11.3%

As with the fundraising question, respondents’ preferences for selling sponsorships using technology options other than streaming fell to the single digits: broadcasting in HD radio, 9.4%; local community events blog, 8.5%; and broadcasting more than one channel of HD radio, 5.7%.

In other findings from the study:

• 65.2% of respondents felt that streaming their signal currently reaches enough listeners to help with fundraising, while another 17.9% feel that this will be true “within three years.”
• 37.2% of respondents also felt that streaming their signal now reaches enough listeners to help with selling sponsorships, while another 31% thought this will be the case “within three years.”
• According to respondents, the top technology trends that will impact public radio stations three years from now are: “more automation,” 80.9%; “more audio consoles will be networked together,” 79.1%; and “networks with no single point of failure will be more important,” 78.3%.

When asked which technologies their stations were planning to implement next, mobile apps were respondents’ top two choices, with 19% planning to implement a “Donate Now” button on a mobile app, and 18% planning on “providing radio signal via mobile phone app.”

"Revenue Generating Public Radio Technologies: A Progress Report" was conducted by Alethea Research and sponsored by Wheatstone Corporation. Download a free click here.

RIP: Rob Grill 1943 - 2011

Grass Roots lead singer dies after suffering strokes

Rob Grill, lead singer, songwriter and bass player of the '60s rock group the Grass Roots passed away Monday morning, his wife Nancy said in a statement. He was 67.

According to a story by Steve Marinucci, at Examiner.com,  Grill was hospitalized earlier this month after suffering a fall in his home. He later had two strokes while in the hospital.

In her statement, Nancy Grill wrote, "My dear husband Robert Frank Grill, 67, of Mt Dora, FL passed away peacefully in my arms at 11:37 a.m. (EST), while listening to one of his favorite songs…”Let’s Live for Today.”



He loved his fans and he loved The Grass Roots! Thank you for all of your prayers, love and support during this time."

She said that among those who had been in contact with her recently were Mark Volman of the Turtles and Gary Puckett of the Union Gap.

The idea for the Grass Roots was originally conceived by songwriters Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan. The duo was asked by Lou Adler, head of Dunhill Records, to gather songs for the record label going into 1965. They wrote "Where Were You When I Needed You" and recorded it as a demo. When the record started to get attention, they began a search for a band to become the Grass Roots. After an audition at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in San Francisco, a group named the Bedouins were selected to take the Grass Roots name.

Grill came into the picture in 1967 as a replacement for bass player Kenny Fukomoto. One of two songs offered by Dunhill Records to the group at that time was "Let's Live For Today," which Grill recorded with the band.

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Grill was a native of Hollywood, California where he attended Hollywood High School. Soon after graduation, he began working at American Recording Studios with musician friends Cory Wells and John Kay (who later formed Three Dog Night & Steppenwolf).

Rob and The Grass Roots teamed up with mega-hit producer Steve Barri (The Mamas & the Papas, Tommy Roe, Four Tops and Dusty Springfield) and went on to chart twenty nine singles, thirteen of which went gold, followed by two gold albums and two platinum albums. Starting in the new millennium, he released two live albums and one with a symphonic quartet. At the time of his death he was still making  appearances with The Grass Roots and handling all ownership activities.

Merlin's LMA Of WRXP, WKQX Starts This Friday

Radio listeners in the Big Apple should know sooner-than-later what's in store for 101.9 FM WRXP.  Randy Michaels' Merlin Media has established a firm LMA start date of July 15th.

This coming Friday is the day Merlin assumes programming and sale control over the station, pending FCC approval of the sale deal. Under the sales deal, Merlin would become the majority owner of WRXP with Emmis retaining a minority interest.

Last day is Thursday for current air staff at Rock 101.9 RXP:

A format change is expected.  An all-news or news-talk hybrid format has been widely speculated as two main possibilities.  An all-news format would pit Merlin squarely against CBS Radio's 880 AM WCBS and 1010 AM WINS.  A N/T format would most likely impact 770 AM WABC and 710 AM WOR the most.

There's no official word yet on when an LMA would impact the two stations Merlin is acquiring in Chicago: 101.1 FM WKQX and 97.9 FM WLUP (The Loop).

The staff at Q101.1 FM WKQX reportedly has been told that their last day would also be Thursday.

CC's Bob Pittman Talks About iHeartradio Music Fest

iHeartRadio Celebrates Relaunch with Music Festival

Clear Channel Radio today announced the iHeartRadio Music Festival, a two-day music event hosted by Ryan Seacrest that will mark the biggest live concert festival in radio history.



The extraordinary line-up will include: Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Steven Tyler, The Black Eyed Peas, Kenny Chesney, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Jane’s Addiction, Nicki Minaj, John Mayer, David Guetta, Rascal Flatts, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson, Sublime with Rome and special performances from Usher and Sting, with more to be announced.

This diverse array of the greatest names in music will appear on one stage at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on two consecutive nights, September 23 and 24, to celebrate the official launch of the New iHeartRadio, Clear Channel’s free, industry-leading digital radio product that will combine its more than 750 broadcast radio and digital-only stations from 150 cities with the ability to create custom stations, delivering listeners everything they want all in one fully integrated service.

“Music is the heart of our business and we think there is no better way to celebrate the launch of the New iHeartRadio than with a groundbreaking, multi-day festival featuring the world’s biggest, most exciting artists – and reaching the largest combined U.S. radio and online audience ever. This underscores Clear Channel’s transformation to a dynamic integrated media and entertainment company with an unmatched reach in the U.S.,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms for Clear Channel Radio. “The New iHeartRadio will offer users a much broader, more integrated and customized digital listening experience than any other service available – and it’s all in one product.”

Throughout the summer-long promotion hundreds of listeners will win a dream trip to Vegas to converge with thousands of fans across the country and experience this one-of-a-kind, two-day festival at the legendary MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Promotion of the event kicked off this morning with a simultaneous roadblock announcement by all 850 Clear Channel Radio stations nationwide, their websites and iHeartRadio, providing instant awareness and showcasing a new vehicle for announcing news and products to an unprecedented number of U.S. consumers.

With more than 45 million listening hours a month from its 27 million unique website visitors and 30 million downloads of the iHeartRadio mobile application, Clear Channel is already one of the most popular digital music destinations.  iHeartRadio currently offers more than 750 of America’s favorite radio stations from 150 cities and commercial-free, digital-only music, talk and comedy stations.