Ex-SiriusXM DJ Love Dinero Sentenced For Trafficking

Lance Holmes

A Queens man who worked as a disc jockey for SiriusXM was sentenced to eight years in prison on Wednesday for his role in a narcotics trafficking scheme that moved cocaine and fentanyl from California to Nassau County. Lance Holmes, 42, known as DJ Love Dinero, pleaded guilty in March to charges of Operating as a Major Trafficker, Attempted Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree.

Holmes was sentenced by Judge David Sullivan to eight years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision. Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced the sentencing, detailing Holmes’ involvement in a trafficking operation that exploited the postal system with the help of mail carrier Adrianna Lewis.

“Lance Holmes played a major role in moving multiple kilos of cocaine and fentanyl from the West Coast right into our Hempstead community, disguising his illicit activity by exploiting our mail system with the help of a postal carrier,” Donnelly said. She added that Holmes and Lewis had coordinated the mailing of drugs to unsuspecting residents’ addresses, where Lewis intercepted the packages and delivered them to Holmes for a fee of $500 per parcel.

Beasley Broadcast Group Names Lauren Burrows Coleman as CFO

Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBGI), a multi-platform media company, today announced the appointment of Lauren Burrows Coleman as Chief Financial Officer, effective Friday, November 1, 2024. Longtime CFO Marie Tedesco will retire from Beasley after 33 years of dedicated service to the company.

Before joining Beasley, Ms. Burrows Coleman served as Global Head of Strategic Corporate and Commercial Finance at Wayfair, where she led a global team of 50 across Financial Planning & Analysis, Commercial Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate Development, and Global Tax functions.

Burrows Coleman’s career also includes leadership positions at WindSail Capital Group and Wind Point Partners, both private equity firms, as well as GE Capital, where she managed equity and debt investments across various industries. She began her career as an investment banker in the Communications & Media group at Lehman Brothers.

Burrows-Coleman

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Lauren into the Beasley family,” said Caroline Beasley, Chief Executive Officer of Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. “Her extensive and diverse experience, combined with her leadership skills, are exactly what we need to drive the company forward as we evolve into the future.”

Burrows Coleman holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an A.B. cum laude from Dartmouth College.

She will succeed Marie Tedesco, who is retiring on November 1st after more than three decades with the organization.

“Marie has been an integral part of our success, and her contributions have shaped the organization into what it is today,” said Caroline Beasley. “It has been a privilege to work alongside her, and we are deeply grateful for her unwavering commitment, hard work, and leadership. We will greatly miss Marie’s wisdom and guidance, and we wish her nothing but the very best!”

Podcaster Mel Robbins Signs With SiriusXM

 SiriusXM has struck a new three-year agreement with popular podcaster Mel Robbins. The deal keeps global ad sales rights for The Mel Robbins Podcast exclusive to SiriusXM Media and newly gives the company the advertising rights to Robbins’ YouTube channel, which broadcasts episodes of her podcast. As part of the agreement, Robbins has also agreed to create a new weekly show that will be exclusive to SiriusXM subscribers and is set to launch in early 2025. 

The Mel Robbins Podcast launched in 2022 and sees Robbins drawing on her personal experiences to offer listeners lessons on mindset, relationships, habits, health and life improvement. Episodes are released widely twice a week and Robbins also puts longer, uncut versions on her YouTube channel, which has close to three million subscribers. The show leads SiriusXM’s inspiration, mental health and life improvement category and is the top education podcast globally and has accumulated more than 188 million streams and downloads across platforms.

Robbins is also an author, known for The 5 Second Rule and The High 5 Habit, and creator and host of the Audible series Reinvent Your Life. Her TEDx talk “How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over,” has garnered more than 33 million views.

“I am so thrilled to continue my relationship with SiriusXM,” Robbins said. “The impact this show is making in the lives of people around the world is incredible. It’s an honor to not only spend time with you, but to have you share the episodes with people you love. Continuing this collaboration with SiriusXM will help me make an even bigger difference in your life, and I can’t wait to spend more time with you.”

Sactown Radio: Aaron Miller Promoted to SVP/MM For Audacy

Audacy has named Aaron Miller Senior Vice President and Market Manager of its Sacramento market. In this role, Miller will oversee the market’s portfolio of brands, including ALT 94.7 (KKDO-FM), 96.9 The Eagle (KSEG-FM), 98 Rock (KRXQ-FM), 102.5 KSFM (KSFM-FM), 106.5 The End (KUDL-FM), ESPN 1320 (KIFM-AM), The Bet (KSFM-HD2) and CHANNEL Q (KKDO-HD2).

“Aaron’s extensive experience in sales and leadership, along with his deep understanding of the broadcast media landscape, make him a sound choice to take over our Sacramento market,” said Doug Abernethy, Regional President, Audacy. “We are confident in Aaron’s ability to thrive in this new role, and that under his guidance, our portfolio of brands will continue to deliver exceptional results for our listeners and advertisers.”

Aaron Miller

“I’m thrilled to step into this leadership role at Audacy Sacramento,” said Miller. “With such a talented team already in place, I’m excited to work alongside them and accomplish great things together in the years to come.”

Miller previously served as Director of Sales for Audacy Phoenix since 2019. He began his sales career with Thompson Publishing Company’s The Daily Advance, his hometown newspaper, and later The Progress Index in Petersburg, VA. Miller transitioned to broadcast media, joining Audacy’s WRXL-FM in Richmond in 1996 and later WJRR-FM in Orlando, eventually becoming General Sales Manager. By 2010, Miller had taken on leadership roles at 97X and 102.5 FM The Bone in Tampa. He succeeds Stacey Kauffman, who recently departed the Company.

The Company has promoted Kimberli Rivera to Vice President of Sales for Audacy Phoenix, succeeding Miller.

LA Times Editorial Editor Resigns Over Endorsements Ban

Los Angeles Times editorial page editor Mariel Garza resigned from the paper on Wednesday following the decision by owner Patrick Soon-Shiong not to endorse a political candidate for president.

“I am resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with us being silent,” Garza told Columbia Journalism Review. “In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”

The news was posted on a private Facebook page frequented by current and former LA Times staffers and shared with TheWrap.

Semafor reported on Tuesday the LA Times would not endorse either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, a decision made by the paper’s billionaire businessman owner. The editorial board was prepared to endorse Harris and has endorsed the Democratic candidate in each of the past four elections, going back to Barack Obama in 2008.

Judge Disputes CNN's Characterization of Lawsuit Plaintiff

The judge in a high-stakes defamation lawsuit against CNN ruled on Tuesday that U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young "did not act illegally or criminally" despite what the network reported on air. 

Young alleges that CNN smeared him and his security consulting company, Nemex Enterprises Inc., by implying it illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited desperate Afghans" during a Nov. 11, 2021, segment on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper." 

Judge William S. Henry ruled in documents obtained by Fox News Digital that "Young did not act criminally or illegally," and CNN statements about operating in a black market were "of and concerning Young." Judge Henry also said CNN citing Sharia law to defend the notion that Young acted illegally is "a bridge too far."

The CNN segment at the center of the suit, which was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN's website, began with Tapper informing viewers that CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt discovered "Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success."

St. Louis Radio: KFTK-FM Partners for Guns 'N Hoses

Audacy St. Louis is proud to be the official radio broadcast partner for the highly anticipated Budweiser Guns ‘N Hoses on November 27, 2024. The annual charity boxing event, which raises crucial support for the families of police officers, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, publicly funded paramedics and EMTs who have tragically lost their lives in the line of duty, will be broadcast live on 97.1 FM Talk (KFTK-FM), beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Now in its 37th year, Guns ‘N Hoses continues to fulfill its mission: Support the Survivors. Since its inception in 1987, the event has been a major supporter of The BackStoppers, which currently assists approximately 95 families and 80 children in need. The event showcases first responders battling it out in the ring, with all proceeds going to support the families of fallen heroes.

“Audacy St. Louis is honored to leverage its platform and amplify the message of support and remembrance,” said Becky Domyan, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy St. Louis. “This event not only highlights the incredible bravery of our first responders but also brings our community together to uplift the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.”

For more information, visit 971talk.com/events and tune in to 97.1 FM Talk on November 27 at 6:30 PM.

Philly Radio: KYW Airing Breast Cancer Awareness Month Programs

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, KYW Newsradio’s “Bridging Philly” is producing a special four-episode series of conversations about breast cancer, the journey through it, and the fight to cure it.

“Stories from the Journey,” sponsored by the Penn Medicine | Virtua Health Cancer Program, covers the various aspects of breast cancer and what goes into the fight against it.

To conclude the four-part series, the show taped the final episode in front of a live audience at Audacy Philadelphia’s office. The episode, titled “Breast Surgery and Reconstruction,” welcomed a panel of surgeons and survivors to share their perspectives and experiences. 

Radio History: Oct 24

➦In 1861…The transcontinental telegraph line across the United States was first completed.

Rudy Vallee

➦In 1929...one of radio’s first “really big shows” The Fleishmann Hour starring Rudy Vallee was broadcast for the first time over NBC radio. Actually, the Rudy Vallee show had several different titles over the years, all of which were referred to by the public as The Rudy Vallee Show. Megaphone-totin’ Rudy and his Connecticut Yankees band were mainstays on radio into the late 1940s.

➦In 1930...Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson Jr. born (Died – February 3, 1959). He was known as The Big Bopper, he was a musician, songwriter, and disc jockey. His best known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and "White Lightning", the latter of which became George Jones' first number-one hit in 1959. 

He was killed in a plane crash in Iowa in 1959, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens and the pilot Roger Peterson. The accident was famously referred to as "The Day the Music Died" in Don McLean's 1971 song "American Pie".

Richardson worked part-time at Beaumont, Texas radio station KTRM (now Gospel KZZB). He was hired by the station full-time in 1949 and quit college. He soon was promoted to supervisor of announcers at KTRM.

In March 1955 he was drafted into the United States Army and did his basic training at Fort Ord, California. He spent the rest of his two-year service as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

Richardson returned to KTRM radio following his discharge as a corporal in March 1957, where he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 am to 12:30 pm, Monday through Friday. One of the station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot, and suggested an idea for a show. Richardson had seen college students doing a dance called The Bop, and he decided to call himself "The Big Bopper". His new radio show ran from 3:00 to 6:00 pm, and he soon became the station's program director.

From the Dick Clark Saturday Night Show on ABC-TV in 1958...

Richardson is credited for creating the first music video in 1958, and recorded an early example himself.

➦In 1989...Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, the Four Tops, the Four Seasons, Holland-Dozier-Holland, the Kinks, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the Platters, the Who, plus Simon & Garfunkel were all inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Benztown Releases 50 List of the Top Voiceover Pros

Benztown, a global leader in radio imaging, voiceover, programming, podcasting and jingles, today released its 9th annual Benztown 50 List of Radio’s Biggest Imaging Voices, the radio industry’s exclusive listing of the top 50 voiceover artists in the U.S. and Canada. Benztown enlisted P1 Media Group to compile and analyze industry data that was the foundation for the list.

The Benztown 50 list for 2024 reflects increased industry participation and interest, with more than 300 U.S. and Canadian radio groups providing information for this prestigious annual list. The Benztown 50 was analyzed and evaluated by P1 Media Group’s proprietary algorithm, and is based on several criteria, including number of radio station affiliates, station size and market.

Disney Retakes Top Spot in Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge

The return of the NFL and NCAA football kicked off significant gains for media companies in September, as Disney reclaimed the top spot with 11.3% of TV and marked the third consecutive monthly lead-change in Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge. Disney notched a 17% viewing increase in September and added 1.8 share points over August—the largest share increase among all reported distributors. Disney’s 17% growth can be attributed to gains from ESPN (+101%) and ESPN2 (+165%), and its ABC broadcast affiliates (+25%). 

TpWhile NFL and college football games were primary drivers of various viewership upticks noted in the September 2024 Gauge report, the Media Distributor Gauge provides additional insight into how those upticks affected media companies. In addition to Disney, other distributors recorded double-digit viewing increases in September, including FOX (+18%) and Amazon (+13%). Like Disney, FOX also exhibited a considerable bump in viewing to its broadcast affiliates and was up 69% compared to August. Overall, FOX’s share of television viewing climbed to 7.3% (+1.3 pt.) in September, and Amazon finished with 3.7% of TV (+0.5 pt.), which was a new high water mark for the streaming distributor. (➤To Enlarge Graphic: Right Click, Then Click 'Magnify Image')

Sep2024-MediaDistributorGauge-Commentary

Ultimately, as viewers shifted their focus to football in September, eight of the 14 reported media companies experienced viewing decreases this month, including NBCU. Despite falling 4.1 share points in the wake of a record breaking August powered by the Olympics, NBCU would have likely exhibited growth similar to the aforementioned distributors. They still managed to finish in the top three, however, and came in behind YouTube with 9.3% of TV.

As viewing habits continue to exhibit the impacts of seasonality and sports, a maximized multi-platform approach to audience engagement like we’ve seen in August and September will be an important strategic mechanism in the months ahead.

The measurement month of September 2024 included five weeks: 08/26/2024 through 09/29/2024. Nielsen measurement weeks run Monday through Sunday.

TV Ratings: 27M Tuned-In For Super Bowl 'Rematch'

The Kansas City Chiefs won their Super Bowl LVIII rematch with the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, but there was another big winner coming out of the game: Fox Sports.

The network’s coverage of the Chiefs’ 28-18 win over the 49ers drew 27.076 million viewers, making it the most-watched telecast of the week, according to Awful Announcing citing a Fox Sports media release.

That figure is up 11% over last year’s Week 7 rating for the network’s America’s Game of the Week. It also continues a strong run for Fox’s AGOTW, which is averaging 25.572 million viewers through seven weeks, up 14% over last season and making it the No. 1 program in terms of ratings.

Overall, NFL on Fox is enjoying a banner season to date. The network is averaging 18.898 million viewers, up 11% over last year through Week 7. It’s Fox’s best ratings run through Week 7 since 2016.

The good news extends to Fox NFL Sunday, which is averaging 4.520 million viewers through Week 7, up 14% over last year.

MLB Postseason Ratings Strong For Fox

Fox Sports and FS1 are having a banner year for MLB postseason ratings, and the major-market World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees hasn’t even started.

The two sister networks are averaging 4,728,000 viewers per game, up 33 percent from this point last year and their best MLB postseason since 2017.

They averaged 5,627,000 viewers for the National League Championship Series between the victorious Dodgers and the New York Mets, which went six games. That’s a 20 percent boost from the 2023 NLCS (Phillies-Diamondbacks) and 21 percent better than in 2022 (Phillies-Padres).

That also marks the best ratings for an NLCS since 2019, when the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals averaged 5,834,000 on Fox/FS1.

The Dodgers’ clinching Game 6 on Sunday drew 6.27 million viewers to FS1 — the third-largest TV audience of this postseason. The Dodgers-Mets Game 1 attracted 8.26 million, and Dodgers-Padres Game 5 of the NLDS drew 7.34 million.

The entire MLB postseason — including the wild-card round, the league division series and the LCS — is up 5 percent across all viewing platforms compared to this point last season. The NLCS and ALCS (five games), shown on Fox, FS1, TBS and truTV, averaged 5.32 million viewers, a 2 percent increase from 2023, which featured two seven-game series.

On the American League side, the TBS family of networks showed the ALCS between the triumphant Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians, as well as the ALDS between the Yankees and Kansas City Royals. Those ratings were up 9 percent over the same rounds in 2023.

Podcasts: Veritone, Oxford Road Join Forces

Oxford Road and Veritone One, two leading audio and creator-based advertising agencies, announced their plans to form the world’s largest podcast group and leading creator-based media entity. The deal, facilitated by Insignia Capital Group, positions the companies to transform how brands leverage audio and creator-led content to drive measurable results. Both businesses will continue to operate independently in the near term, with future designs for a unified lead brand.

The transaction unites Oxford Road’s international traction and industry innovation with Veritone One’s advanced technology stack, data capabilities, and creator-led video and influencer expertise. This union addresses a critical gap in the market, offering brands unparalleled access to and performance in podcasting, streaming audio, radio, and creator-based video channels.

“Brands have been missing out on the full power of audio and creator-led content because these highly fragmented channels are challenging for firms without deep subject matter expertise,” said Dan Granger, CEO of the newly combined organization. “Our mission is to redefine the value of these channels for advertisers. With Veritone One’s industry-leading tech and data platform, in combination with Oxford Road’s innovation on behalf of brands, we’re creating an agency that sets a new standard.”

Trump Threatens To Strip Broadcast Licenses

Broadcast television licensing is not ordinarily a hot topic during a presidential election. But Donald Trump’s threats are not ordinary, either.

In the past two years, Trump has called for every major American TV news network to be punished, according to a CNN review of his speeches and social media posts.

He has imprecisely but repeatedly invoked the government’s licensing of broadcast TV airwaves and has said on at least 15 occasions that certain licenses should be revoked. His anti-broadcasting broadsides – against CBS, ABC, NBC, and even Fox – are almost always in reaction to interview questions he dislikes or programming he detests.

Trump’s threats against CBS have been particularly intense in recent weeks. He has railed against “60 Minutes” for editing the newsmagazine’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The venerable program said Sunday that his claims are false, but on Monday he continued to bring it up on the campaign trail, and his legal team sent a threatening letter to CBS.

“It’s so bad they should lose their license, and they should take ’60 Minutes’ off the air,” Trump told podcaster Dan Bongino last week.

National networks like CBS are not licensed, but local stations are. The licensing agency is the government’s Federal Communications Commission, which grants eight-year license terms, and hasn’t denied any license renewal in decades. The process “is so time consuming that no license renewal could be denied before the end of a hypothetical second Trump term,” public interest lawyer Andrew Jay Schwartzman told CNN.

Still, there is a conceivable chilling effect. Trump’s threats have grown so insistent that some TV industry executives have speculated that they could be vulnerable to some sort of retaliation if Trump returns to power.

In response to CNN’s request for comment, the National Association of Broadcasters, the trade association for American TV and radio operators, said Trump’s rhetoric undermines First Amendment freedoms. NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt did not call out the former president by name, however.

“From our country’s beginning, the right of the press to challenge the government, root out corruption and speak freely without fear of recrimination has been central to our democracy,” LeGeyt wrote in the statement. “Times may have changed, but that principle – enshrined in the First Amendment — has not.”

“The threat from any politician to revoke a broadcast license simply because they disagree with the station’s content undermines this basic freedom,” he wrote.