Arrest Sparks On-Air Battle In NYC

Mister Cree

Every so often Hot-97 and Power-105 like to have a throwdown, and now it seems to be on between night host Funkmaster Flex of WQHT (97.1 FM) and morning cohost Charlamagne of WWPR (105.1 FM).

According to a story by David Hinckly at nydailynews.com, the trigger: the arrest of Hot-97's Mister Cee on charges related to a male prostitute.

Flex is a friend of Mister Cee, and apparently he got annoyed when he heard Charlamagne and company talking about Mister Cee's arrest Monday morning.

So Monday night Flex spent about five minutes roasting Charlamagne, though not by name. He also didn't refer directly to Power-105, though his references to "that building" were as clear as the references to Charlamagne.

Flex started by calling the charges against Mister Cee "untrue" and saying, "We don't discriminate against anybody."

But if the unnamed target of his declaration is going to bring the subject up, Flex warned, payback could be coming.

"I know everything that goes on in that building," he said, and dropped a veiled hint that if he made some of that knowledge public, it could be embarrassing.

"You know who I'm talking about," said Flex. "You know the shot I'm sending today. You know the gun I'm loading up today. The choice is yours."

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Report: Meredith Vieira To Leave NBC's 'Today' Show

Vieira might just get her mornings back come September

The co-host of NBC's popular "Today" show is in talks to step down from the position when her reported $11 million annual contract expires this fall, two sources close to the TV personality told TV Guide, reports Joyce Chen in a story at nydailynews.com.

Vieira, who holds down the morning show with co-host Matt Lauer, is reportedly looking to leave because of the demands of the early-morning shift, not because of conflicts with the network.

Her husband, TV news producer Richard Cohen, has battled both multiple sclerosis and cancer, and the couple have three children - large considerations in Vieira's possible move away from the successful broadcast.

"I'll know when it's time to go, and I'm not afraid to go," Vieira, 57, told Ladies' Home Journal late last year.

"If I were to leave at the end of next year because it's time for me, I wouldn't jump into another show.

"I would look forward to not working, to traveling with Richard and carving out time for us."

Vieira's comments come in contrast to fellow anchor Katie Couric's departure from "CBS Evening News" - Couric is expected to launch a talk show in 2012.

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Memo Suggests FBI Had Mole Inside ABC News

A once-classified FBI memo reveals that the bureau treated a senior ABC News journalist as a potential confidential informant in the 1990s, pumping the reporter to ascertain the source of a sensational but uncorroborated tip that the network had obtained during its early coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing.

According to a story by John Solomon and Aaron Mehta at The Center For Public Integrity, the journalist, whose name is not disclosed in the document labeled “secret,” not only cooperated but provided the identity of a confidential source, according to the FBI memo — a possible breach of journalistic ethics if he or she did not have the source’s permission.

The ABC employee was even assigned a number in the FBI’s informant database, indicating he or she was still being vetted for suitability as a snitch after providing “highly accurate and reliable information in the past” and then revealing information the network had obtained in the hours just after the 1995 terrorist attack by Timothy McVeigh.

The journalist “advised that a source within the Saudi Arabian Intelligence Service advised that the Oklahoma City bombing was sponsored by the Iraqi Special Services who contracted seven (7) former Afghani Freedom Fighters out of Pakistan,” an April 17, 1996 FBI memo states, recounting the then-ABC journalist’s interview with FBI agents a year earlier on the evening of the April 19, 1995 bombing. (The Iraqi connection, of course, never materialized.)

The memo recounts multiple contacts between the FBI and the journalist over a one-year period in 1995-96 but does not name the network insider, instead using the informant number NY290000-SI-DT and a simple description as “a senior official employed by ABC News for over 15 years.”

NOTE:  The Center didn't name the informant, but gawker.com has learned he was Christopher Isham, who is now a vice president at CBS News and the network's Washington bureau chief.

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What Brand Marketers Expect From Social Media Followers

Brands place value on insights and loyalty, not spending

How much is a brand fan worth? It’s a question some social media marketers have been asking for a while, but research suggests many are moving on from the search for a hard number, according to eMarketer.com.

According to a July 2010 survey of social media marketers by Millward Brown and Dynamic Logic, the most valuable aspects of social media brand fans go beyond anything with an immediate monetary value. Increased short-term and long-term spend on the brand were the bottom two results.

At the top of the list were the fan’s value as a source of insight and increased loyalty overall. Advocacy and engagement were also important to at least three-quarters of respondents.

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Simon Conway New PM Drive Host on 1040 WHO

Simon Conway, a native of London, England has been chosen as the new afternoon talk show host on 1040 AM WHO Radio in Des Moines.

Conway moved to the United States 10 years ago and became a US Citizen in 2008. From his home in Orlando, Florida, he has worked as a fill-in talk show host for radio stations around the United States after getting his start hosting a real estate talk show on WFLA in Orlando.

Conway has been a highly sought after guest host for stations in Florida, Kentucky, Virginia, Minnesota, Texas and California and auditioned for the WHO position on March 15."

The response to Simon was tremendous, said WHO Program Director, Van Harden. Our e-mails, phones and in-person feedback well exceeded our expectations. Simon is a guy who will get deeply involved with the community and will be all over central Iowa on behalf of WHO Radio."

"I am both honored and excited that my new bosses have placed their trust in me to deliver the goods on this outstanding heritage radio station, said Conway. I can’t wait to get going and to meet all my new colleagues and of course to become a part of my new community."

Simon’s first program will air 4p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, April 11th.

At Least One Advertiser Drops KDWB Over Parody

At least one of 101.3 FM KDWB Radio's sponsors has pulled all advertising in response to controversial comments made on "The Dave Ryan in the Morning Show" last month.

According to a story at twincities.com, HealthPartners pulled its advertising Friday after an uproar over on-air content that made fun of Hmong-Americans.

"It (withdrawing of advertising) was because of the Hmong parody. We found it to be offensive and not in line with what we as an organization represent," HealthPartners spokesman Jeff Shelman said Monday.

During the show late last month, a Hmong listener texted a suggested song title "30 Hmongs in a House," for which Steve "Steve-O" LaTart, the show's producer, then penned mock lyrics.

The lyrics, set to Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," talked about how Hmong live like "sardines" and made reference to Hmong women getting pregnant by 16 with "seven kids by 23" and "over the hill by 30."

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BIA/Kelsey: Radio Industry Revenues Rose 5.4%

Online and digital revenues projected to grow 14.1% over next five years
Over-the-air local radio station revenues hit $14.1 billion in 2010, a 5.4 percent increase over 2009, according to this year's first edition of BIA/Kelsey's quarterly "Investing In Radio® Market Report."

BIA/Kelsey, adviser to companies in the local media industry, expects 2011 radio industry revenues to rise a moderate 3.7 percent, and 2012's election year to bump up revenues 4.5 percent. The firm also projects online/digital revenues for radio will experience a 14.1 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the five-year period beginning 2011. Revenues from online/digital provided $405 million to the industry in 2010 and are expected to rise from $494 million this year to $783 million by 2015.

"The higher than expected radio revenues in 2010 reflected the return of national advertisers to the airwaves and some political battles that made an impact in certain markets," said Mark Fratrik, vice president, BIA/Kelsey. "Radio, however, still continues to face a lot of competition in the local and online advertising marketplace. Stations are responding by becoming more aggressive with their digital and online strategies, which are driving measurable revenue."

To closely report on the growth of online and digital activities across the industry, the "Investing In Radio" reports for 2011 include individual market level online advertising revenue estimates based on BIA/Kelsey's work with broadcasters and industry resources.

In further analysis of market activities, Fratrik points out that 26.9 percent of 2010's radio industry revenue went to stations in the top 10 markets, and those markets saw over-the-air revenue increases of 6.9 percent. Radio stations in markets 11 through 25 saw a 5.7 percent increase, while the other markets experienced positive but lesser changes in income.

Buffalo's N/T WBEN Starts Simulcast

After 81 years of dominating the AM dial, WBEN radio is going to the FM side.

According to a story by James Fink at Buffalo Business First, starting today, Entercom Buffalo — owner of WBEN — is now simulcasting the news and talk station on both its longtime AM home (930) and on the FM dial (107.7) . WBEN-FM is replacing the eclectic classic rock format of WLKK-FM, the Lake, although the Lake is not going away entirely. The station will be aired on streamed format on its web site, 107.7thelake.com and 107.7 HD2.

“Clearly, this will be a loss for fans of the Lake, but the end game is that it makes WBEN a little louder and stronger,” said Tim Wenger, Entercom operations manager.

The move will see WBEN picking up new listeners, officials say, primarily those who only listen to FM stations. It will also increase its reach to the listening public.

“We want to expose WBEN to a whole new audience,” Wenger said. “While Buffalo is a strong AM market and WBEN is a ratings leader, the addition of the FM simulcast will make the WBEN brand more readily available to a vast majority of the listening public who spend time on the FM band.”

Read more.

TomzTake:  107.7 transmitter site in in a neighboring county in Wethersfeld, NY. some 40-miles SE of metro Buffalo. It will be interesting to see how much the FMer actually adds to WBEN's numbers.

Boston's BZ Radio Taps New Morning Anchor

WBZ NewsRadio 1030 announced Monday veteran radio news anchor, Joe Mathieu, will return to his professional home town and assume the morning radio news anchor duties at the top-rated, award-winning WBZ NewsRadio 1030 beginning in early May (Monday-Friday 5:00 a.m to 10:00 a.m.), it was announced today by Peter Casey, WBZ NewsRadio News & Programming Director.

With more than 20 years of radio news experience, Mathieu joins WBZ from Sirius XM in Washington, D.C. where he spent four years as Program Director of P.O.T.U.S., Sirius XM’s news and talk channel dedicated to covering the politics of the United States.

In fact, it was Mathieu who developed and launched the popular P.O.T.U.S. channel in 2007. Mathieu’s radio news career in the nation’s capital began in 1998, working as a news anchor and editor at Metro Networks, and delivering morning news on stations including DC101 and WASH-FM.

He spent seven years as managing editor and anchor at the CBS MarketWatch Radio Network, providing updates and analysis on the economy and financial markets to stations including WBZ NewsRadio 1030 in Boston, 1010WINS in New York, WBBM in Chicago, and WTOP in Washington.

Before Washington, D.C., Mathieu worked as both an anchor and reporter in several markets throughout the country including here in Boston where he spent time at WRKO as part of that station’s ‘96 New Hampshire Primary coverage team. Mathieu was also one of the youngest news directors in the country while working at the Boch Broadcasting radio group in Hyannis, Mass. He was the morning drive news anchor on Boch stations including WXTK and WCOD, covering news stories central to the Cape and Islands region and the state of Massachusetts.

Upon being named WBZ’s morning anchor Mathieu said, “I couldn’t be more thrilled to accept the morning anchor position at WBZ NewsRadio. Having grown-up listening to Gary LaPierre every morning and later delivering business reports on the station, I have long considered WBZ to be the gold standard in radio news. I’m excited to bring my wife and daughter back home, set my alarm clock, and play such an important role in the local community.”

Mathieu replaces Ed Walsh who retired in November.

TomzTake:  And there's good news for current WBZ fill-in morning anchor Rod Fritz. Medial Confidential has learned Fritz has been hired full-time for mid-day anchoring.

NBC News Pitch: Benchmark Us Against Prime Time

In the TV-news game, NBC's Brian Williams has handily trumped everyone from Katie Couric to Diane Sawyer. Can he do the same to "American Idol" or "The Closer"?

According to a story by Brian Steinberg at AdAge.com, as a new round of highly-scrutinized data confirms the continued erosion of traditional viewership for broadcast-TV news, NBC is pitching its "NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" to advertisers with a new angle: TV-news audiences may be older than others, but their interest in and receptivity to advertising is slightly stronger. And, oh yes, advertising on the nightly newscast is significantly cheaper than, say, "CSI: New York" or "The Big Bang Theory."

"One could argue that, given the long-held perceptions" about evening newscasts, "we haven't gotten the full value that I think we perhaps should have for 'Nightly News,'" said John Kelly, senior VP-ad sales, NBC News/MSNBC. NBC has primarily been pitching marketers other than those in the pharmaceutical and personal-care categories, which make up almost two-thirds of "Nightly's" ad base, he said.

Would any advertiser really want to trade in the scores of viewers between 18 and 34 who tend to watch prime time for the pill-popping crowd marketers tend to believe tune in to the daily evening newscast? Since 30-second spots in the three broadcast network evening news shows run anywhere from $23,000 and $45,000, according to media buyers, that's less than a quarter of the about $200,000 it costs to run an ad on Fox's "House" and substantially less than the about $135,000 price tag to run an ad in NBC's own "30 Rock." Indeed, some news veterans think the NBC effort makes sense in an industry where technology is scrambling many preconceived notions.

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Daytona Owner Wants News Crew Selling Subscriptions

Daytona Beach News (FL) Journal Publisher Michael Redding marked the one-year anniversary of the newspaper under his co-ownership with an offer to most of the 400-some remaining employees of the paper, including editors and reporters: Anyone selling a three-month subscription to the paper would get a $25 bonus, or $50 for a six month subscription. Anyone selling $100 worth of advertising would get $50.

A story at Flaglerlive.com reports Redding described the arrangement—highly unusual in news-gathering operations, and forbidden, for ethical and journalistic reasons,  in many that maintain a strict separation between news-gathering on one side and advertising and marketing on the other—as an “incentive,” rather than a requirement: no expectations were set. But staffers have had no raises in four years and were promised none this year.

Redding offered up his human resources director, Patty Morris, as an example of what others could do: Morris, he said, netted about 200 new subscriptions through her church.

As with most newspapers, the News-Journal’s circulation has been plummeting since the middle of the past decade, though at a faster pace than the industry average, and with a particularly pronounced dive after Halifax Media, Redding’s group of three investors, took over the paper last year. The paper lost 10 percent of its circulation between April and September 2010, compared with the same period the previous year. Average weekday circulation fell below 64,000, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation. Sunday circulation fell 10 percent, too.

On some weekdays, advertising content in the paper was falling to around 25 percent, compared with 40 percent in healthier times. More recently the newspaper has been attempting to swell its circulation by re-starting its Newspaper in Education program, which entails the distribution of reams of newspapers to schools.

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Rapping Weatherman Resurfaces

From SF Weekly:

You don't need a weatherman to tell you today is looking glorious. You don't need a rapping weatherman -- well, ever. Be that as it may, readers may recall how local TV station and numerology casualty KRON last year saw fit to hire Nick Kosir, the Rapping Weatherman.


First, KRON general manager Brian Greif told SF Weekly that the Rapping Weatherman would not be rapping on his station -- something of the equivalent of going to a steakhouse and ordering the chicken. Then came the shocking revelation that Kosir quit KRON after two days on the job. An enraged Greif says the Rapping Weatherman wanted the station to hire his wife as an anchor. When this didn't occur, Kosir broke a two-year contract and bolted to Twin Falls, Idaho, where both he and his wife secured on-camera gigs. Said Greif, "I hope he raps. I hope she raps. I hope everybody raps in Twin Falls, Idaho."


Guess what? That's exactly what happened. Here's a clip of Kosir rapping the weather in Twin Falls -- and getting everybody in on the action.

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Epsilon Hacking Incident Worsens

Millions have email addresses stolen in largest data heist in history

Millions of online customers of prominent banks, stores and services had their email addresses stolen in what is being called the largest data heist in history, according to a story by Helen Kennedy at nydailynews.com.

A flurry of alerts began filling up in-boxes Monday as companies scrambled to reassure their customers that their personal information was safe.

The hackers who breached the Epsilon marketing company's records made off with millions of email addresses but no sensitive financial information.

The vast extent of the hack, first announced Friday, only became clear Monday.

CBS reported that the Secret Service was on the case.

Among the affected companies: Disney, Capital One, Barclays, Citi, Chase, Target, Best Buy, TiVo, Walgreens, Kroger, Hilton, Marriott, Ethan Allen and even the College Board.

Experts said the biggest threat is that hackers can use the information to better target their "phishing" - attempts to fool people into giving up passwords or account numbers with bogus but official looking emails.

"Now they know which institution people bank with, they know their name and they have their email address," said David Jevans, founder of the non-profit Anti-Phishing Working Group.

Email users were cautioned to be extra careful about clicking on emails that seem to come from their bank or favorite store - even if the emails are now addressed to the user by name.

Companies reminded customers not to respond to any emails asking for personal information or passwords.

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Iconic Radio Vet Mark Samansky Passes

Mark Samansky, known to longtime Orlando radio listeners as half of the iconic Baxter and Mark morning team on Rock 100 WDIZ, has passed away. He was 59.

Samansky who had been living in Denver,  had died after suffering a stroke and cerebral aneurysm on Saturday, April 2, according to Jim Abbott at the Orlando Sentinel.

Mick Dolan, former promotions director at WDIZ and current air-personality with online www.Rock100DIZ.com, recalled that Samansky was one of the original Orlando crazy radio personalities before the term “Shock Jock” was coined.

On the air in the early 1980s with partner Allen Baxter, Samansky specialized in the outrageous. During his long tenure in Orlando, Samansky also worked on-air at 96.5 WHTQ and 101.1 FM WJRR.

“Mark knew the wrong thing to say, at the right time,” Dolan says, a high compliment in the radio business.

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A former partner, comedian Larry The Cable Guy posted this remembrance on his Facebook page:

ABC News Digital Chief: "Limitless Demand" for Video

Video news is being consumed by more people than ever before and viewership of digital video at ABC New is "exploding," presenting a "limitless demand" for video journalism, says Paul Slavin, who heads digital for ABC News, in this interview with Beet.TV.

According to Andy Plesser at beet.tv, the challenge, he says, is to create more video which is inexpensive, economical and high quality.



Slavin was a panelist at the Beet.TV Video Strategy Summit, which was taped on Thursday and will be Webcast on Tuesday, April 5 at noon EDT.