Columbus/Albany GA Radio: iHM Names Brian Paiz VP/Programming

Brian Paiz

iHeartMedia has announced that Brian Paiz has been named Senior Vice President of Programming for the Columbus and Albany, GA market.

As Senior Vice President of Programming, Paiz will be responsible for overseeing all programming operations, including on-air content, music programming, on-air personalities and program directors. Paiz will report to Jennifer Newman, Market President for iHeartMedia Columbus and Albany, Georgia region.

“We’re excited to have Brian join our team as his experience and knowledge of multi-format clusters is extensive,” said Newman. “Brian’s enthusiasm for the business and his proven winning track record will elevate both Columbus and Albany and grow our already successful stations.”

Paiz joins the iHeartMedia Columbus and Albany market from IBX Media in Greenville, North Carolina where he was Brand Manager for WRHD-HD2. Paiz has also held several programming positions for iHeartMedia, including Program Director for iHeartMedia’s 100.1 The Beat and Director of Urban Programming for 97.9 WIBB and V101.7 in Macon, Georgia. Paiz began his career at WPEG-FM in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended East Carolina University.

“I am very excited to be named the Senior Vice President of Programming for the iHeartMedia Columbus and Albany market in Georgia,” said Paiz. “We have excellent radio brands that I look forward to working with and I’d like to thank iHeartMedia for the amazing opportunity.”

NEPA Radio: WBHT Adds Laura G For Evenings

Laura G

Cumulus Media/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre PA has announced Laura G joins the its CHR WBHT 97.1 / 95.7 FM team from Cumulus-Atlanta and will be hosting the night shift, 7p-midnight.

She’ll be live and local and it’s Laura’s first full-time gig.

BHT Program Director Valentine commented, “I’m beyond thrilled to be part Laura’s journey as she makes a big career move. She is the missing puzzle piece to BHT, and will be a big part of our success moving forward. “

Current night guy, Ralphie Aversa, will move to middays, 10a-2p. Ralphie joined BHT in August of 2007. He also joined WPLJ/New York in 2012, but has continued to be the night jock at BHT. PD, Valentine will remain as afternoon host.

N-H Radio: Mike Kerr To Program CHR WERZ

Mike Kerr

iHeartMedia has announced that Mike “McCabe” Kerr has been named Program Director for Top 40 WERZ Z107 in Portsmouth, NH, effective September 10.

McCabe will work with on-air personalities and sales to oversee music programming as well as broadcast and digital operations for Z107. Listeners will also hear McCabe on-air each weekday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 7p.m. on Z107. He will report to Tim Moore, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia New Hampshire.

“Mike’s talent and experience stood out immediately and we are thrilled to have him join the iHeartMedia New Hampshire team,” said Moore. “He’s a true radio geek—which I love—from on-air to programming—and even engineering—this guy is the real deal and we can’t wait for him to help take Z107 to even greater heights!”

McCabe joins the New Hampshire market from Saga Communications, where he most recently served as the Program Director and Morning Personality Host for Z95.5. He also served as the On-Air Personality for Entercom’s WPXY-FM, WKSE-FM and several stations in the Elmira, New York region. He began his career at Backyard Broadcasting in Elmira, New York.

WERZ 107.1 FM (5.2 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

“I knew right away that this was an outstanding career move—and I’m grateful for this amazing opportunity to be a part of the winning culture at iHeartMedia,” said McCabe. “I feel a strong connection to the Z107 audience and can’t wait to collaborate with some of radio’s most innovative talent.”

NYC Radio: Mad Dog Expects Joe Benigno Return To WFAN

Chris Russo

Even as an Entercom investigation continues, SiriusXM Sports talker Chris Russo believes WFAN 660 AM  / 101/9 FM has not heard the last of suspended sports host Joe Benigno, reports The NYPost.

“I think Joe will also be OK, too,” Russo said on WEEI 93.7 FM in Boston on Wednesday morning. “He’s done all the commercial reads, if you’ve noticed. And Evan Roberts, his partner, mentions Joe every day. I don’t know if he’d do that if they thought that Joe was not coming back. I don’t know this, I haven’t talked to anybody over there, but I wouldn’t rule out Joe returning to WFAN maybe after Labor Day, let’s put it that way.

Joe Benigno

“I wouldn’t rule that out,” added the SiriusXM voice. “They did the private investigation, I guess I’m talking out of turn, I don’t work there. But I think you would’ve heard something already. I would not rule out Joe returning there after Labor Day. It might surprise you.”

Mia Harris

Meanwhile, former WFAN reporter Mia Harris has come forward with her own stories of Benigno, placed on a leave of absence by WFAN parent company Entercom since July 20.

Harris said she saw the married Benigno holding hands with a younger assistant, and he pressured her into silence.

“He came up to me, tried to play it off,” she said. “He pulls me aside. He says, ‘Listen, don’t say anything to anybody. Please, you can’t get me in trouble. If my wife found out…,’ ” Harris said.

The 64-year-old originally was implicated in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed July 18, in which a former WFAN employee accused him, among other charges, of trying to pressure her into a threesome.

Research: Over Half of Daily Radio Listeners Only Listen In-Car

New data from Edison Research that will be explored at The Radio Show in Orlando shows how crucial the in-car listening really is.

Americans are more likely to listen to audio in their cars or trucks on any given day than even in their homes, according to Edison’s Share of Ear study. The car is by far the most popular place for people to listen to AM/FM Radio content.

More than half of all Americans age 13 and older report listening to radio in their cars on any given day.  And Share of Ear shows that more than half of all people who listen to radio on any given day listen in their cars and in no other location.

As the above graphic shows, the younger you are, the more likely you are to listen to Broadcast Radio exclusively in the car.  Nearly two-in-three of those ages 13-34 who listen to AM/FM Radio on a given day listen in the car and nowhere else.

These findings, and many others will be presented in a session called “Miles Different: In-Car Audio 2018” at 1:30 PM on September 27 at The Radio Show.  Edison’s Larry Rosin will summarize data from Share of Ear, Infinite Dial, and a unique tracking survey performed with NPR, to show the state of in-car audio today.

Nielsen: The More Options, The More Reach For Media

According to some new data from Nielsen, the amount of time Americans spend with media continues to increase, largely the result of the widespread connectivity and available content platforms.

In just the few months since the end of the third quarter of last year, U.S. consumers 18 and older increased their time with media by more than a full half hour.

So how on consumers finding the time, and which platforms are driving us to engage more? While everyone likely has their own formula for squeezing in more media each day, Nielsen is seeing increased engagement across apps and web browsing on smartphones and tablets, along with growing use of internet-connected devices. It’s also worth noting that U.S. adults increased their time with live TV in first-quarter 2018 by 16 minutes when compared with third-quarter 2017.

The proliferation of technology, devices and content over time has also allowed media to reach more of us each week than ever before. When comparing which platforms reach the most Americans today, legacy platforms lead the way, with radio and TV topping the list, followed by smartphones.

Here’s a look at the weekly reach of the various media options that keep us busy for more than 11 hours each day.

Here's What Happens On-Line, Every Minute

Each minute of the day, users of the Internet watch 4.3 million YouTube videos and conduct 3.9 million Google searches, on average, according to recent research from Domo.

According to Marketing Profs, the report was based on publicly available data from a range of sources, including Web measurement services, such as Internet Live Stats, and social networks, such as LinkedIn.

Among the key insights from the analysis: Netflix users stream 97,222 hours of content, on average, each minute of the day.

As Audience Grows, Marketers Struggle To Master Connected TV

Data from eMarketer indicates that by 2022, more than 204 million people in the US will watch connected TV at least once a month. That will represent more than 60% of the population, and will add around 183 million more viewers to the US connected TV audience in 2018.

With such a large installed base, connected TV ad spending should be massive, right? After all, ad dollars usually follow eyeballs.

Not so fast. Although many experts do expect connected TV advertising to eventually catch up to consumer adoption, several obstacles stand in the way.

eMarketer's latest report, "Connected TV: Almost Ready for Primetime," explores the obstacles marketers are encountering as they try to deploy campaigns through this new channel.

First, there’s the question of scale. At this stage, ad-supported connected TV platforms don’t have audiences in the tens of millions, as TV advertisers do with broadcast and cable networks. Brands wishing to reach audiences at scale are still choosing linear over connected TV.

A related issue is platform fragmentation. Ad inventory on connected TV is spread out among a diverse set of players—not just head-to-head competitors, as in the traditional media world, but companies in different industries, with different profiles, priorities and businesses practices. They include streaming services, smart TV makers, set-top box manufacturers, content aggregators, and even broadcast and cable networks that bundle connected TV with traditional ad buys. It can be an intimidating array of sellers.

Another big issue for marketers is the lack of standardization in the data that platforms collect and share on connected TV ads. Until there’s a uniform measurement system for audiences and ad performance, as TV has had with Nielsen for generations, some advertisers will continue to struggle with how to best use the connected TV space.

Because of these issues, programmatic advertising, which makes up a clear majority of the dollar volume transacted in the digital video space, has not yet taken hold in connected TV. Most of the ads sold for connected TV consist of high-quality inventory that buyers and sellers prefer to transact one-on-one, instead of through programmatic marketplaces (via private deals or real-time bids). This has inhibited growth.

L-A Radio: County D-A Prosecutor Rammed Big Boy's Car

A prosecutor on leave from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Tuesday after a crash in Calabasas involving radio personality Big Boy led to a strange series of events that was captured on video.

According to The L-A Times, Michael Kenneth Pettersen, 54, of Northridge, was taken into custody following the crash at the intersection of Parkway Calabasas and Park Entrada shortly before 1 p.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said. Booking records list Pettersen’s occupation as district attorney.

Pettersen is also being held on two outstanding warrants from Ventura County stemming from DUI charges in 2014 and allegations of driving on a suspended license from 2016. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges, according to court records.

Big Boy — whose legal name is Kurt Alexander — hosts a morning radio show called “Big Boy’s Neighborhood” on iHeartMedia's  KRRL Real 92.3 FM. He told KABC-TV that he was waiting at a red light when the car he was riding in was struck from behind.

Big Boy told the station he walked over to the other vehicle and saw the driver take a drink from a bottle that he alleges contained vodka.

PLEASE don’t drink and drive.
・・・
I am ok. In the twinkling of an eye your life can change. I’m here another day to raise my kids, love my wife and family and love you ALL. Real talk, it could have been worse.
I can’t believe what I was seeing. He was still on the bottle. pic.twitter.com/J844Mqncyl

— Big Boy (@BigBoy) August 22, 2018

A video of the incident that’s been widely circulated online shows a man behind the wheel of a smashed BMW sipping from a bottle with a screw top. Moments later, a deputy arrived and helped the man out of the vehicle.

As the man walked toward the deputy’s patrol car his pants fell down around his ankles and he stumbled onto the concrete. Paramedics arrived shortly after and evaluated the man for injuries. It is not clear if he was hurt.

A bottle of lemon-flavored vodka is seen on the roof of the BMW in video footage.

New Private Equity Firm Donerail Bidding For Tronc

Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union owner Patrick Soon-Shiong is reportedly in talks to partner private-equity firm Donerail Group in the bidding for newspaper publisher Tronc. Soon-Shiong acquired newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune from Tronc for $500 million earlier this year.

The Donerail Group is a newly formed investment firm headed by former Starboard Value LP executive Will Wyatt,

There is no certainty a deal will be struck, and sources said the financing might not be fully in place, according to The Chicago Tribune.  But if a sale were to occur, it would mark the second change in control in less than three years for the company that owns the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers.

Patrick Soon-Shiong

Tronc, formerly known as Tribune Publishing, also owns the Baltimore Sun, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida’s Sun Sentinel, the New York Daily News, the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., the Daily Press in Newport News, Va., and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.

Wyatt left hedge fund Starboard Value LP in June after three years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was involved in several media investments for the New York-based firm, including taking a stake in Tronc as it was fending off a hostile takeover bid by Gannett in 2016, according to media reports at the time.

Starboard Value also bought a significant stake last year in Chicago-based Tribune Media as it was navigating its own proposed merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group. That deal fell through earlier this month as Tribune Media ended the agreement and filed a $1 billion breach of contract lawsuit against Sinclair.

More recently, Wyatt served as a paid consultant in Tronc’s $500 million sale of the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal was struck in February and closed in June, leaving Tronc virtually debt-free and with nearly $215 million in available cash on hand as of July 1, according to its second-quarter earnings report.

Poll: Trust In Media Growing

Despite attacks from the Trump White House, consumer trust in news media -- especially with local TV news and local newspapers  -- is climbing.

Some 76% of Americans say they trust local TV and newspapers, according to MediaPost citing a recent Poynter Institute for Media Studies poll.

In other more specific results, 73% trust local newspapers; 59% give the thumbs up to national newspapers, and 55% approve of national network news. Only online news sources were under the 50% mark -- registering a 47% trust score.

Looking specifically at political affiliation, Republicans are more distrustful of the media overall than Democrats, with a 23% trust score and a 86% trust score, respectively. However, both Republicans' and Democrats' trust numbers are growing -- at four and 12 percentage points, respectively.

Those polled of both party affiliations have high regard for local media.

Democrats registered a 88% score each for local TV and local newspapers. Republicans scored 71% in trust for local TV news, while 62% of Republicans trust local newspapers.

Poynter's second annual Media Trust Survey interviewed a national sample of 2,000 Americans in July 2018.

Canton OH Radio: Cathy Vogel, John Srewart OUT At WHBC

Kathy Vogel, an on-air personality at WHBC-FM Mix 94.1 for 10 years, was fired following her morning show Thursday.

Kathy Vogel

Vogel, who also was the station’s music director, declined to comment beyond confirming the termination.

John Stewart

Also gone from the WHBC staff as of Thursday is six-year employee John Stewart, who was the FM station’s program director, content director and afternoon-drive host. He was operations director for WHBC-AM.

Prior to their WHBC hirings, Vogel was an on-air personality for four years at WDJQ-FM (Q92) in Alliance, and Stewart was program director at WDJQ for 10 years.

WHBC is owned by Alpha Media.

Earlier Thursday, Stewart stated “I had a lot of fun at Alpha Media ... they have a creative and positive environment to grow in. I wish them nothing but continued success as I begin looking for another positive and creative place to call home.”

WHBC Market Manager Larry Gawthrop did not reply to a request for comment Thursday.

NY Radio: Stephens Media Group Unveils Lay-Offs

Stephens Media Group, which owns several Waterntown NY radio stations including Talk WTNY 790 AM, Rock WCIZ Z-93, amd Country WFRY Froggy 97, announced it laid off three full-time employees.

According to WWNY-TV, the three are all on-air personalities - Dianne Chase (her real name) and Froggy themed disc jockeys Webb Foote and Annie Croakley.

Stephens officials said they are restructuring to "take advantage of digital technology."

Chase, who is the president of Local 51024 of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians–Communications Workers of America, said about a dozen other part-time employees were also laid off.

However, owner David Stephens denies part-timers were laid off and were instead made aware that the media group is reorganizing jobs, which constitutes some possible change in duties and hours.

He stated the following in an email:

"Some of the part-timers have no change in their current hourly structure at all…a few had some hours reduced, with the potential to add back as other opportunities become available. Of course, adding back these hours is predicated on whether or not the hours we need filled work within their personal schedules.  As well, some of the part timers "fill in" during times when full time employees are on vacation, and we expect these opportunities to continue. There were no lay offs for part time employees, however, they were given the option to inform us if they no longer wanted to be considered for part time work.  As of this moment, none of the part time employees have informed us of a desire to no longer be considered for part time work."

According to Chase, management and the union had been negotiating a contract as recently as last week; employees were informed of the layoffs Thursday.

"They plan on voice tracking and we have been told they are going to voice track mid-day and afternoons, a drive-time position with voice tracking," she said.

Chase said the union is filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board.

Feds Grant Immunity To National Enquirer CEO

David Pecker, the chief executive of the company that publishes the National Enquirer, was granted immunity by federal prosecutors for providing information about Michael Cohen and President Trump in the criminal investigation into hush-money payments for two women during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the matter, reports The Wall Street Journal.

In exchange for immunity, Mr. Pecker, the CEO of American Media, Inc. and a longtime friend of Mr. Trump, has met with prosecutors and shared details about payments Mr. Cohen arranged in an effort to silence the two women who alleged sexual encounters with Mr. Trump, including Mr. Trump’s knowledge of the deals, some of the people said.

With Mr. Pecker’s testimony, prosecutors now have statements from at least two people—Mr. Pecker and Mr. Cohen—that Mr. Trump was aware of the payments to the women, one of the people said.

Prosecutors in the Cohen investigation have indicated they won’t proceed with criminal charges against either Mr. Pecker or Dylan Howard, chief content officer of American Media, for their participation in the deals, according to people familiar with the matter.

Messrs. Pecker and Howard and American Media didn’t respond to requests for comment.

R.I.P.: Rock Guitarist Ed King Was 68

Ed King

Ed King, a former lead guitarist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd who co-wrote one of the group’s best known hits, “Sweet Home Alabama,” has died at age 68, a founding member of the band said on Thursday.

King joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1972 not long after the band formed, and with two other lead guitarists, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, helped create the group’s powerful triple-guitar sound prominent on such rock classics as “Free Bird.”

He grew up in Glendale, California, and performed in the Hollywood rock scene with the band Strawberry Alarm Clock before joining Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1972 to complete what has been called its "three-guitar sound."

Rossington, a founding member of the band, said on Thursday he was “shocked and saddened” by King’s death.

A notice on King’s Facebook page said he died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday. No cause of death was revealed, according to Reuters.

King left the group in 1975, two years before a plane crash killed two of the band’s members and a backup vocalist.

King returned to Lynyrd Skynyrd when the band regrouped in 1987, and stayed until 1996. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the band in 2006.