The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) criticized conservative talk show host Glenn Beck Tuesday over the former Fox News host's comparison of the victims of Norway's mass shooting to "Hitler Youth," according to a story by Lucy Madison at cbsnews.com.
"Just when we think Glenn Beck can get no more offensive, he ups the ante," said NJDC President David Harris in a Tuesday statement. "It is simply horrendous that Beck would compare the young victims of this tragic crime in Norway to the 'Hitler Youth.' It is repugnant to invoke the Holocaust like this when discussing a Labor Party summer camp for teens -- to say nothing of a camp that was attacked in this calamitous way."
Sixty-eight people, mostly in their teens and 20s, were killed Friday in a shooting spree on Norway's Utoya Island, which was hosting a summer camp connected with the Labor Party's youth wing. Eight people were killed in a connected bomb blast outside the government headquarters
During his show Monday, Beck, called the idea of having a politically-oriented summer camp "disturbing" and likened those attending to members of the Hitler Youth, the Nazi Party's paramilitary arm for children.
"There was a shooting at a political camp, which sounds a little like the Hitler Youth, or whatever," Beck said. "I mean, who does a camp for kids that's all about politics? Disturbing."
In the same show, Beck tied Anders Behring Breivik, the man who confessed to carrying out the two-pronged massacre, to supporters of "big government."
"He is doing the work of a madman. He is doing the work of what all people who want big government always do, and that is commit terrorist acts," Beck said.
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Talk-Radio Host Launches News Website
Aaron Klein gets online home of his own
Talk radio host Aaron Klein, WND's senior reporter, today launched his own website – KleinOnline.com – dedicated to breaking news, exclusive investigations, and news-making interviews.
According to wnd.com, KleinOnline.com is updated daily and covers topics across the spectrum, with hard-hitting, exclusive investigations exposing corruption, waste, and fraud.
The site emphasizes U.S. domestic issues and politics, investigations of the U.S. radical left as well as Klein's famous, boots-on-the-ground reporting from the Middle East and inside the viper's den of Islamic terrorism.
KleinOnline.com also offers audio commentary and video analysis of the day's top news trends.
The site serves as the central Internet hub of Klein's popular show, Aaron Klein Investigative Radio, broadcast Sundays on 77-WABC Radio, the largest talk radio station in America. Klein's important audio investigations as well as podcasts for each full show are available on KleinOnline.
Klein is an American journalist, New York Times best-selling author, and radio host based in the Middle East. He is a frequent guest on Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, and serves as a columnist for the Jewish Press.
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According to wnd.com, KleinOnline.com is updated daily and covers topics across the spectrum, with hard-hitting, exclusive investigations exposing corruption, waste, and fraud.
The site emphasizes U.S. domestic issues and politics, investigations of the U.S. radical left as well as Klein's famous, boots-on-the-ground reporting from the Middle East and inside the viper's den of Islamic terrorism.
KleinOnline.com also offers audio commentary and video analysis of the day's top news trends.
The site serves as the central Internet hub of Klein's popular show, Aaron Klein Investigative Radio, broadcast Sundays on 77-WABC Radio, the largest talk radio station in America. Klein's important audio investigations as well as podcasts for each full show are available on KleinOnline.
Klein is an American journalist, New York Times best-selling author, and radio host based in the Middle East. He is a frequent guest on Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, and serves as a columnist for the Jewish Press.
Read More.
Cumulus Signs 49ers To Four Year Extension
NBCBay.com reports the San Francisco 49ers got things started early Monday by announcing that fans will continue to be able to hear the team on the 50,000-watt flamethrower of a radio station, KNBR.
The team signed a a four-year contract extension with Cumulus, which owns and operates KNBR 680 and 107.7 FM KSAN The Bone.
“We’re excited to continue our partnership with the San Francisco 49ers and provide Bay Area football fans with their choice of listening on either the AM or FM band,” Lee Hammer, director of operations for Cumulus San Francisco, said in a statement. “KNBR and its dominant 50,000 watt AM signal reaches all of Northern California or for those who prefer their pro football on the FM dial, KSAN delivers the game in bone-crushing stereo."
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CBS, Clear Channel Bidding For Pirates MLB
Both the CBS Radio Group and Clear Channel are bidding.
According to a story by Bob Smizik at post-gazette,com, CBS would air the games on 93.7 KDKA-FM, The Fan. Clear Channel currently holds the right and carries the games on NewsTalk 104.7 FM WPGB.
There is a good chance if Clear Channel continues as the rights holder it will move the games off 104.7. The station gets excellent ratings with its political talk and listeners often are unhappy with sports interrupting their little universe. It probably would be less intrusive on regular listeners if the Pirates were interrupting a music format instead of a political format with such regularity.
Which ever stations lands the team, the deal will remain pretty much the same as in the past. The Pirates will control the announcers and the advertising and pay for the time.
Clear Channel currently has the rights to the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. The Fan has Pitt and the Power. That's not an even split, which is why The Fan is so hard after the Pirates.
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Non-Com KCMP Ratings Soar In Twin Cities
From David Brauer, minnpost,com
Read More.In December 2009, a mere 1.5 percent of local radio listeners tuned in to Minnesota Public Radio’s The Current 893 FM KCMP. That left the hip music station in 20th place, behind every other tune-spinner in the market, including MPR’s venerable Classical service.
Eighteen months later, The Current is the local ratings success story.
In April, the station topped its nearest commercial sound-alike, Cities 97. By June, that 1.5 had nearly tripled to 4.3, good for ninth overall. Among 25-to-54-year-olds — precisely the younger listeners MPR coveted when when it opened the station in 2005 — The Current ranks fifth, eclipsing JACK-FM, 93X, KOOL108 and bearing down on longtime powerhouse KDWB. Among 18-to-34-year-olds, the station is sixth.
What’s gotten into the scenesters? Theories include consistent (but not too consistent) programming, a relatively obscure band’s Grammy and even crappy seasons by Brett Favre and Joe Mauer.
Inside MPR’s decidedly non-scruffy walls, program director Jim McGuinn’s office is charmingly archaic: magazines, tour posters, an acoustic guitar and a boom box. A musician and veteran of public and commercial radio, the lanky, T-shirted McGuinn is steely-eyed about the business, but retains a puppy-dog enthusiasm for the music.
As one fan told me, “I think Jim McGuinn has been an extremely positive influence on the station. He's reduced the sad-bastard piano ballads by at least 65 percent since 2007-08.”
The Current was designed to be “more taste-based and hunch-based,” according to former MPR exec Sarah Lutman. From the beginning, the station’s tastemaking was potent enough to pack local clubs and alter sales charts, a phenomenon City Pages music critic Andrea Swensson dubbed “The Current Effect.”
But even though the station was fulfilling its mission to, in Lutman's words, “be a music service that has a very, very strong community focus and an energizing effect on the civic engagement of the next generation,” its ratings still sucked.
McGuinn came from Philadelphia modern-music public-radio station WXPN in January 2009, four years after The Current debuted. Philadelphia was the first test market for Portable People Meters (PPM), the user-wearable devices that pick up a silent tone to record listenership. They debuted here in April 2009.
McGuinn hit town after the Current’s playlist underwent a major upheaval — from an “antiformat” where DJs literally brought in favorite CDs from their collections, to a tighter, consultant-advised format that caused one part-time host to quit over the moroseness.
Progressive Talker Set To Debut In Cleveland
“You can move across your AM dial and hear Rush Limbaugh on 10 different stations,” says Richards. “It’s as if the conservatives have a corner on the market. But it seems there’s a large unserved or underserved progressive niche here. There’s nobody to tell their side of the story, and that’s what we’re here for.”
Kicking off will be a weekday-morning show hosted by Joe Cleveland (quite possibly not his real name), an on-air vet whose roots dig back to WENZ-FM The End, as well as stations in other markets. Following him will be a cavalcade of syndicated liberal talkers: Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann, Bill Press, and Leslie Marshall, among numerous others cued up through the daylight hours and deep into the night.
Richards made his bones in the Columbus market, where he launched the still-chugging FM alternative CD101 back in 1990.
Counting its watts by the dozen, the Painesville station expects to reach much of the East Side, with sporadic coverage on the West for those who point their coat-hanger antennas in just the right direction.
To Richards, it’s the message that matters more than the power.
“The right has managed to demonize the word ‘liberal,’” he says, “and the media is very leery of being accused of being liberal, so they bend the other way to try to avoid any appearance of being biased.
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Bob Pittman Announced As CRS 2012 Keynote Speaker
Pittman was appointed Chairman of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Platforms in Nov. 2010, where he, alongside Clear Channel Radio’s CEO John Hogan and team, lead the development of a comprehensive, integrated digital strategy for Clear Channel in the radio business.
A 35-year entertainment industry veteran and founding member of New York-based private investment firm Pilot Group, LLC, he will deliver the keynote address to officially kick off Country Radio Seminar at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22. CRS will be held Feb. 22-24, 2012, at the Nashville Convention Center in downtown Nashville, Tenn.
Pittman’s extensive background in radio and television includes CEO positions at AOL Networks, Quantum Media, Time Warner Enterprises and MTV Networks, where he led the team that created MTV. He has also served as COO of America Online, Inc. and AOL Time Warner. Among other recognition, Pittman was named one of Advertising Age’s “10 Marketers Who Changed American Culture” and “50 Pioneers and Visionaries of TV” and one of Life magazine’s “Five Original Thinkers of the ’80s” and “50 Most Influential Boomers.”
“Bob Pittman’s resume speaks for itself,” says CRS President Mike Culotta. “His experience in radio, television and marketing will undoubtedly provide our CRS attendees with unique insight into the issues the Country radio industry is facing today. We are once again anticipating another informative keynote address at Country Radio Seminar, and we encourage everyone to do themselves a favor and attend.”
Pittman began his career programming radio stations in Pittsburgh, Chicago and eventually WNBC in New York City. In 1999, he was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, and in 2002 he received the International Radio and Television Society’s Gold Medal. He has also served as CEO of Six Flags Theme Parks and Century 21 Real Estate.
KEDA Sale Marks End Of An Era in San Antonio
Manuel Davila Sr. launched the legendary AM station on March 17, 1966.
Friday morning marks the end of a golden era when 1540 AM KEDA's most famous voice, Ricky “Güero Polkas” Davila, signs off after his 6-10 a.m. show.
Madeline Peña Davila, 92, owner of D&E Broadcasting Co. Inc., has entered into a lease-management agreement with Claro Communications. She also has a deal pending with H-E-B for the rustic two-story landmark at 510 S. Flores St.
Dya Campos, H-E-B director of public affairs, confirmed the property is under contract, and if acquired, it will be an extension of its corporate headquarters.
Terms of the sales were not disclosed.
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RIP: Erie Radio Legend Frank Martin
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| Erie Times-News photo |
According to a story at goerie.com, Martin died in Erie, PA on Monday after a short battle with lung cancer. He was 85.
Linda Wambaugh, one of Martin's three daughters, said her father once broadcast his morning show by phone from the front closet of their home when a snowstorm trapped him at the house.
He loved his job, but family always came first, she said.
"To us he was just Dad. To everyone else, he was 'the Morning Mayor,'" Wambaugh said, referring to the moniker given to Martin by then-Erie Mayor Louis J. Tullio.
"We were just extraordinarily proud of him, extraordinarily proud of his career and the man that he was," she said.
Martin started out on WJET-FM/102.3, and quickly became one of its most popular DJs as part of a ratings-leading morning team with Craig Warvel.
He retired after 55 years on Erie radio on July 4, 2003, after working the last eight years of his career at what was then WFGO-FM/Froggy 94.7.
"He had the pleasure of waking up Erie for many, many years, and (listeners) had the pleasure of enjoying his wit and the information he provided," said Rick Rambaldo, who owned Froggy during part of Martin's time there.
"Frank was as professional as an on-air personality could be," Rambaldo said. "He loved what he did."
Read More.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Clear Channel: What Digital Music Disruption?
From JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter Fortune.com
Despite services like Spotify, Pandora, and Turntable.fm, which have all received generous buzz lately for one reason or another, digital music services aren't quite as disruptive to the music industry as you might think.
At least that's what Clear Channel's Bob Pittman insinuated during a discussion about online music services at Brainstorm Tech, which also featured SoundCloud CEO Alexander Llung, former MySpace Music president Courtney Holt, and Songkick CEO Ian Hogarth. According to Pittman, 93% of Americans listen to the radio -- a slight 1% uptick compared to 1970 -- and just 3% of them consume their music via digital services ranging from Pandora to Sirius XM.
"Some things never change," he said. "People have a music collection, and they have radio stations."
Pointing to Clear Channel's 237 million listeners, Pittman praised music streaming service Spotify, which just launched in the U.S. last week for its speed, music collection, and user experience, but sounded dubious about Pandora's long-term outlook.
"Pandora is a great 'feature.' I think people love it, but it's still very small in the grand scheme of radio," he said. "The question is whether its a real business. I look at AOL Instant Messenger as a cautionary tale. Great feature -- never made a good business."
Pittman could be right about Pandora. Despite ads and growing revenues, the 11-year-old company has yet to make a profit due to the fact that the royalty fees it pays music labels every time a song is streamed are higher the company's ad revenues. (Which is why it's incurred $92.1 million in losses since it was founded in 2000.)
Read More.
Despite services like Spotify, Pandora, and Turntable.fm, which have all received generous buzz lately for one reason or another, digital music services aren't quite as disruptive to the music industry as you might think.
At least that's what Clear Channel's Bob Pittman insinuated during a discussion about online music services at Brainstorm Tech, which also featured SoundCloud CEO Alexander Llung, former MySpace Music president Courtney Holt, and Songkick CEO Ian Hogarth. According to Pittman, 93% of Americans listen to the radio -- a slight 1% uptick compared to 1970 -- and just 3% of them consume their music via digital services ranging from Pandora to Sirius XM.
"Some things never change," he said. "People have a music collection, and they have radio stations."
Pointing to Clear Channel's 237 million listeners, Pittman praised music streaming service Spotify, which just launched in the U.S. last week for its speed, music collection, and user experience, but sounded dubious about Pandora's long-term outlook.
"Pandora is a great 'feature.' I think people love it, but it's still very small in the grand scheme of radio," he said. "The question is whether its a real business. I look at AOL Instant Messenger as a cautionary tale. Great feature -- never made a good business."
Pittman could be right about Pandora. Despite ads and growing revenues, the 11-year-old company has yet to make a profit due to the fact that the royalty fees it pays music labels every time a song is streamed are higher the company's ad revenues. (Which is why it's incurred $92.1 million in losses since it was founded in 2000.)
Read More.
FCC Study Suggests Lifting Cross-Ownership Ban
FCC Releases Three More Ownership Studies
The FCC has released three more media ownership studies, and among their conclusions was that there is only minor evidence that newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership impacts the amount of news at the market level and statistically significant evidence it has a "positive correlation" on local news.
According to a story by John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable, another finding was that owning multiple stations in a market does not negatively impact local information programming and has a positive impact on the mix of local and national news.
One study suggested it might be time to lift the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban altogether.
The FCC released five ownership studies last month, which leaves three more it must release for perusal by the public before it can weigh in with how it will change its media ownership rules in response to the quadrennial rule review mandate from Congress and a recent court mandate to rethink its 2007 rule changes.
The just-released studies were on "Local Media Ownership and Media Quality," by Adam D. Rennhoff and Kenneth C. Wilbur; "Local Information Programming and the Structure of Television Markets," by Jack Erb; and "Broadcast Ownership Rules and Innovation," by Andrew S. Wise.
The Rennhoff/Wilbur study found "scant evidence that local media ownership changes media competition or localism" or has any affect on "media usage or programming."
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According to a story by John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable, another finding was that owning multiple stations in a market does not negatively impact local information programming and has a positive impact on the mix of local and national news.
One study suggested it might be time to lift the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban altogether.
The FCC released five ownership studies last month, which leaves three more it must release for perusal by the public before it can weigh in with how it will change its media ownership rules in response to the quadrennial rule review mandate from Congress and a recent court mandate to rethink its 2007 rule changes.
The just-released studies were on "Local Media Ownership and Media Quality," by Adam D. Rennhoff and Kenneth C. Wilbur; "Local Information Programming and the Structure of Television Markets," by Jack Erb; and "Broadcast Ownership Rules and Innovation," by Andrew S. Wise.
The Rennhoff/Wilbur study found "scant evidence that local media ownership changes media competition or localism" or has any affect on "media usage or programming."
Read More.
Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour To Launch on SiriusXM
Theme Time Radio Hour, hosted by Bob Dylan, offers an eclectic mix of songs, from a wide variety of musical genres, related to that week's theme with Dylan's on-air thoughts and commentary interspersed with phone calls, email readings, contributions from special guests and an array of classic radio IDs, jingles and promos from the past.
Additionally, SiriusXM listeners will hear a show from the Theme Time Radio Hour vault on Deep Tracks, channel 27, on Mondays at 8:00 pm; Wednesdays at 11:00 am; Thursdays at 12:00 am and Sundays at 8:00 am (all times Eastern).
"Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour" will air online, along with commercial-free music channels "Simon & Garfunkel Radio," "Neil Diamond Radio," "Tim McGraw Radio" and "Mandatory Metallica."
Deep Tracks plays deeper cuts from classic rock legends. Listeners will hear Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, Beatles and Solos (John, Paul, George, Ringo), Rolling Stones, The Who, Steely Dan, Kinks and Steve Miller Band.
For more information, click here.
Also Read:
NYDAILYNEWS.COM: Bob Dylan's grandson following in family's musical footsteps, introducing rapper Pablo Dylan
Monday, July 25, 2011
Promo Idea: Hot Dog Festival
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| See More Photos |
Clear Channel Radio Huntington, WVA is preparing for the 2011 West Virginia Hot Dog Festival that will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 30, at Pullman Square and 3rd Avenue in downtown Huntington.
The seventh annual festival will showcase some of the region's top hot dog businesses, according to a story at herald-dispatch.com.
The event will kick off in the morning with a 5K, "Bun Run/Walk Your Buns Off," charity walk. All proceeds will benefit the Cabell-Huntington Children's Hospital. To date, area businesses and festival-goers have helped Clear Channel's 100.5 FM WKEE, 103.3 FM WTCR, B97.1 FM WBVB, 106.3 FM WAMX, 800 AM WVHU and 1420 AM WTCR-AM FOX Sports Radio raise over $85,000.
"It's great to celebrate some of the special traditions in the area, while also helping the kids in our region battle cancer and other life-threatening illness through our partnership with Cabell-Huntington Hospital's Children's Hospital," commented Judy Jennings, Clear Channel Radio's VP/Market Manager.
The West Virginia Hot Dog Festival will offer hot dog samples from the large number of hot dog businesses traditional to this area. The event will also feature live music and entertainment, car & truck show, amusements, demonstrations, retail and craft shopping, as well as fun contests for adults, kids and the family dog.
See Photos here from 2010.
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Sunday, July 24, 2011
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