Senator Seeks FCC Review of WWOR-TV’s License

WWOR, the New Jersey-based television station, faced a new challenge to its license on Tuesday from United States Senator Robert Menendez, according to The NYTimes.

Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, wrote to the Federal Communications Commission to urge a “prompt and thorough review” of the license that permits WWOR to profit from the public airwaves. His letter came one day after the station replaced its traditional half-hour nightly newscast, the only daily news on its schedule, with a tabloid-style magazine program called “Chasing New Jersey.”

“In light of WWOR’s decision to drop their nightly news programming, a decision which affects millions of New Jerseyans, it is becoming increasingly critical that the F.C.C. make a determination about WWOR’s license and whether they are adequately serving New Jersey as the law and F.C.C. rules stipulate,” Mr. Menendez wrote to Mignon L. Clyburn, the acting chair of the commission.

WWOR, the only big commercial station in the state and otherwise served by the New York and Philadelphia media markets, has been controversial for some time because its license specifically asserts that the station must pay special attention to the people of northern New Jersey. Since 2001, the station has been owned by the News Corporation, which last month split into two companies, the News Corporation and 21st Century Fox. WWOR is now part of 21st Century Fox.

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Rush Quashes Claims He Said To Tune Out Fox News

Rush Limbaugh used his golden microphone Tuesday to shoot down claims he told a member of his vast audience not to watch Fox News after the caller complained about one of the fair and balanced network's liberal commentators.

A caller named Tony from Tampa dialed Limbaugh on Monday to vent about a comment Fox News Channel contributor Julie Roginsky had made regarding coal on a show hosted by Neil Cavuto.

Tony lumped Roginsky, a former aide to the late Democrat Sen. Frank Lautenberg, in with several other left-leaning contributors who appear regularly on various Fox News shows. Limbaugh advised Tony not to watch people he disagreed with, but several websites decided the talk show titan was telling him to tune out Fox altogether.

"I said, 'Tony, stop watching these people because they're intended to make you question your sanity.You need to stop watching these people because they're not gonna change,'" a frustrated Limbaugh said on his widely-heard radio show. "That has become 'Limbaugh told listeners to stop watching Fox. 'I did not tell anybody to stop watching Fox."

Mediaite, one of the websites -- along with Huffington Post and Politico -- that initially said Limbaugh had told listeners to stop watching Fox, noted in a Tuesday afternoon posting that Limbaugh had subsequently "clarified" his remark. Mediaite quoted him as saying, it “was interpreted by people as a blanket, overall criticism of Fox. It wasn’t!”

Mediaite reported he said the comment was aimed at the liberal pundit class that are “designed to make you question your sanity.”

In addition to its new posting, Mediaite updated its original post to reflect the clarification.

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Report: Ryan Seacrest To Get ANOTHER Job

Ryan Seacrest

Hollywood's busiest man is about to get even busier.

According to THR, Ryan Seacrest is nearing a deal to host another broadcast reality show, this time for NBC.

The show, Million Second Quiz, is billed as a 24-hour live competition series, for which Seacrest also will serve as an executive producer. In signing on, Seacrest, who also emcees Fox's American Idol and ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve special, will become the face of major unscripted franchises at three of the four big broadcast networks.

Taking place over 12 days and nights, Quiz will see contestants battling one another as they test the limits of their knowledge, endurance and will to win. Catering to Seacrest's strengths as a live broadcaster, NBC will broadcast the show in primetime live from an hourglass-shaped structure in the heart of Manhattan -- which also will serve as the living quarters for the players -- instead of the typical studio setting.

And unlike other competition shows, players have to play Million Second Quiz 24 hours a day in order to avoid getting eliminated. As the 1 million seconds run out, champions will then duke it out, and an eventual winner will take home as much as $10 million. The game show will join NBC's fall schedule, with its premiere set for Sept. 9.

According to sources, the complicating factor has been Seacrest's many jobs, to say nothing of his packed schedule. In addition to his daily Clear Channel radio show, which he tapes out of Los Angeles, he typically travels for Idol auditions in the fall.

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Elisabeth Hasselbeck Taking Her View To Fox News

Elisabeth Hasselbeck

After shooting down rumors of her exit from "The View,"  Elisabeth Hasselbeck is departing from her seat on the daytime talker to set up shop over at "Fox & Friends." 

Wednesday is her last day on the long-running gabfest.

According to the LATimes, the departure of Hasselbeck, the conservative voice of the bunch, signals a changing of the guard on the talk show -- Joy Behar announced she'd be leaving at the end of the current season, and Barbara Walters announced she'll be retiring in 2014. It's a musical chairs more akin to prime-time singing competition shows. 

The announcement comes on the heels of reports that Jenny McCarthy is poised to take up Behar’s spot at the end of the summer.

In regard to the decampment of Hasselbeck from "The View," Walters offered this statement: "We have had ten wonderful years with Elisabeth and she will now be swimming in new waters," said the TV news veteran and show's creator. "We will miss her and wish her everything good.”

No word yet on when the search for her replacement will begin.

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Report: Harris Names New CEO

Charlie Vogt

The broadcasting giant named Charlie Vogt CEO effective Tuesday. 

Vogt brings 25 years of IT and telecom experience to Harris. According to TV NewCheck, he formerly served as president and CEO of GENBAND for nine years, a privately-held company that makes IP-based software and infrastructure products for mobile and cable network service providers.

After signing on as CEO in 2004, Vogt grew the company from 80 people to about 2,200 in 2010, according to TMCNet.com

“Charlie’s proven track record of taking companies with powerful and promising technology to the next level uniquely positions him to lead this business,” Carl Vogel, Harris Broadcast Chairman and board member of Dish Network, said in a statement. “His decision to join Harris Broadcast as president and CEO likewise reflects the promise and potential behind the company’s market-leading technology, marquee customer and exceptional employees.”

On deciding to hire a CEO outside of the broadcast industry, a Harris spokesman said, “As the broadcast industry  — both radio and television — transition to more of an IP-based environment, going with someone in that space was a natural choice. At Harris, we’re content distributors and are enthusiastic about the impact of on-demand and sending content to multiple screens.”

Vogel, in a prepared statement, echoed those sentiments. “The radio and TV broadcasting industry is embarking on a significant transformation from digital to IP. Charlie was a natural choice as his IP domain knowledge and experience gained while assisting global service providers and cable operators transition to IP has uniquely prepared him to lead the company as this industry undergoes a similar trajectory.”

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'Buckets of Money' Radio Host Accused of Fraud

Raymond J. Lucia Sr.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday fined a radio personality and his financial advice firm $300,000 for spreading misleading information about his signature "Buckets of Money" investment strategy.

According to Reuters, the SEC administrative law judge in the case also barred San Diego-based syndicated radio host Raymond J. Lucia Sr. from associating with other advisers, brokers and dealers, and revoked his eponymous firm's investment adviser registration.

Lucia, who hosts investing seminars and the nationally syndicated "Ray Lucia Show" on weekdays, has long promoted his retirement-focused financial strategy, which calls for retirees to spend money from "buckets" of safer assets like Treasury bonds before tapping riskier investments, to give those assets more time to grow.

The SEC judge, Cameron Elliot, said slideshows employed by Lucia failed to use actual historical data, like adviser fees and dividend rates for real estate investment trusts (REITs) he recommended, to show how fictional portfolios following his advice performed in past bear markets.

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Report: WOR Places Bid to Air Yankees Baseball

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, which owns WOR 710 AM, has made a recent bid in excess of the $14 million currently paid by CBS for the rights to the Yankees’ broadcasts, sources told The NYPost.

CBS, which owns WFAN 660 AM/ 101.9 FM as well as WCBS 880 AM, has owned the Yankees rights since 2002.   It seems unlikely CBS will let the rights go without a fight.

If Clear Channel grabs the Yankees, it would mean the Mets are alive with both WFAN, the franchise’s radio home since the station went on the air in 1987, and ESPN. The team, which receives between $6 million and $7 million a year under its current deal, could even find itself the object of a bidding war.

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The Future Of News

During recent convention of the American Society of News Editors, Tom Rosenstiel of the American Press Institute made a presentation on What the Audience is Telling us About the Future of News.

Highlighted were the many ways the relationship of the media and the audience has changed.

Sirius XM Radio Surpasses 25M Subscribers

Sirius XM Radio said Tuesday that it added 715,000 net new subscribers in the second quarter, bringing its total subscriber base to more than 25 million as of mid-year.

The satellite radio firm controlled by John Malone's Liberty Media said that was a new quarterly record for the time since the Sirius-XM merger, according to THR.

In comparison, Netflix ended the first quarter with 29.17 million U.S. subscribers, and cable giant 

Comcast reported 21.94 million video and 51.9 million total customers.

"Strong automotive sales helped drive 15 percent growth in net additions over the second quarter of 2012 and set a post-merger record for quarterly net subscriber additions," the company said.

Sirius XM also raised its full-year guidance for total net subscriber additions to 1.5 million from 1.4 million previously.

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Jon Bon Jovi Donates $1M For Sandy Relief

Bon Jovi, Gov. Christie

Jon Bon Jovi has donated $1million to the Governor’s Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.

During an appearance in Bon Jovi’s hometown of Sayreville at Borough Hall,  the rock singer made a presentation to Governor Chris Christie, Sayreville Mayor Kennedy O’Brien and the Fund’s chair, First Lady Mary Pat Christie, according to the WKXW NJ101-5 website.

“Natural disasters spare no one. But you can’t imagine the devastation, destruction and despair until Mother Nature takes aim at your hometown,” said Bon Jovi, whose Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has worked with local and state officials in helping Sayreville residents recover from the Superstorm.

“This incredibly generous donation from Bon Jovi to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund will go a long way in the rebuilding process,” said Governor Christie. “From day one, Jon has been one of the most visible faces for Sandy recovery here in his hometown of Sayreville and throughout the entire state. On behalf of a grateful people, I thank Jon and Bon Jovi for all of the great work they’ve done for New Jersey.”

Sick Bay: Elton John Cancels Concert Dates

Elton John

Sir Elton John faces surgery soon for appendicitis that has derailed his European tour, a spokesman for the singer said Tuesday.

According to CNN, the 66-year-old John was diagnosed with "appendix abscess surrounding retrocaecal appendicitis" after falling ill during the tour, publicist Gary Farrow said in a written statement.

The surgery will be performed in the United Kingdom in "the coming weeks" after he undergoes an intensive course of antibiotics and "doctors can be confident they have sufficiently reduced toxins within the inflamed appendicitis site," Farrow said.

The remaining shows in his tour have been canceled, including Friday's headline show at London's Hyde Park, he said. The concert will still happen with Ray Davies, Elvis Costello, Gabrielle Aplin and Nick Lowe performing.

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Townsquare Extends Free Beer & Hot Wings Deal

Townsquare Media Grand Rapids has announced a multi-year contract extension between 97.9 WGRD and the Free Beer & Hot Wings MorningShow.

The new contract keeps the morning show on its flagship station in Grand Rapids through 2018, according to mlive.com

The show, hosted by Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels, Chris "Hot Wings" Michels, and Eric Zane, began full syndication in 2004 and now is heard on radio stations in 25 states.

The show has won the Michigan Association of Broadcasters award for Best Morning Broadcast Personality/Radio Team several times and also has guest hosted the nationally syndicated Dan Patrick Show.

In a statement, Townsquare Grand Rapids Vice President/General Manager, Russ Hines said, "Gregg, Chris and Eric continue to entertain and grow their audience every day and amuse their listeners with quality humorous content. Their decision to stay in West Michigan and continue to raise their families here is another indication of what makes Grand Rapids special.”

The members of the show said they were “thrilled” to extend their relationship with Townsquare and called Grand Rapids the “bedrock for our syndication.”

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Study: Radio Shows Poorly As News Source

Television is the main place Americans say they turn to for news about current events (55%), leading the Internet, at 21%. Nine percent say newspapers or other print publications are their main news source, followed by radio, at 6%, according to a new Gallup study.

These results are based on a Gallup poll of 2,048 national adults conducted June 20-24, in which Americans were asked to say, unaided, what they consider to be their main source of news about U.S. and global events.

More than half the references to television are general, with 26% simply saying they watch television or TV news, 4% saying they watch local TV news, and 2% saying they watch the "evening news." The two leading 24-hour cable news channels -- Fox News and CNN -- are named by 8% and 7%, respectively. However, no other specific channel -- including MSNBC, PBS, BBC, and all of the U.S. broadcast networks that once dominated the news landscape -- is mentioned by more than 1% of Americans.

As a measure of U.S. adults' perception of their primary news source, the question provides insights into the importance of various types of media and news outlets as information sources to the public. It is not meant to indicate the total reach each news outlet has in the population, nor do the results necessarily correspond with television ratings data.

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Lee Abrams Wants To Remake News

Lee Abrams left Tribune amid a serious uproar less than three years ago, but the radio entrepreneur is back, according to adage.com, with a project that is perhaps the most ambitious undertaking thus far in a career that includes major roles in the creation of both Radio Disney and XM Radio.

XM, Abrams said, "wasn't really the place to reinvent news and information," and nor was Tribune. "They went through all the bankruptcy and craziness" while he was there, he said frankly. "We thought we'd do it without layers and layers of history and conference rooms full of people who were going to question it."

So he and his partner Steve Saslow have formed a newsroom staffed by more than 100 folks from local television stations around the country and created a user interface that can be accessed online, on mobile and on tablets. They're calling the new product TouchVision and they're hoping to expand to television as well. They're pitching stations with spare spectrum on their digital subchannel frequencies—a cheap but ever-more-popular piece of broadcast real estate.

WATCH PROMOTIONAL VIDEO: Click Here.

For those who've spent a while watching television news, a question arises: Why bother reinventing it at all? Why not let it migrate onto the Web? Abrams is quick with an answer: "You could drive a truck through the potential for news among 18-44s," he said.

"You have TMZ, and it's great, and then you have Fox News and so forth and that's great, too—very successful. There's a new opportunity to reach the mainstream Americans who find TMZ amusing but kind of dumb, and the [older-skewing] stuff kind of boring. We're looking for a way to find an audience for whom there's nothing really directly servicing their needs."

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