R.I.P.: Art Schreiber, Longtime New Mexico GM

1927-2026

Art Schreiber, a longtime radio executive and newsman who led stations in Minneapolis, Albuquerque, Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles, has died at 98.

Schreiber’s five-decade career began in Ohio and took him around the world. He worked in nearly every part of radio news—as a reporter, anchor, news director, national correspondent and bureau chief—before becoming a vice president and general manager.

In the 1970s, Schreiber managed Westinghouse-owned all-news stations KYW in Philadelphia, WINS in New York and KFWB in Los Angeles. He later held management roles at Hubbard Broadcasting’s KSTP in Minneapolis and KOB in Albuquerque. In 1981, he moved to Albuquerque to oversee KOB-AM and its FM sister station.

Friday The 13th: Microsoft Spooked By Worldwide Outage

(8:45 AM Update) Microsoft was still working Friday to resolve an outage affecting services including Outlook and Teams, disrupting governments, schools and businesses.

Downdetector, an outage-tracking website, said hundreds of thousands of users in more than 70 countries had reported problems.

The Pulse Briefing Updates Friday, Nov 13

Radio Broadcasting

More Names: Cumulus Media Continued a new round of company-wide layoffs Thursday, affecting on-air talent, programmers, producers, promotions, and management at stations across multiple markets. MORE

In Denial: iHeartMedia still denies reports that it is considering a sale of its podcast division after the company’s shares plunged following a third-quarter earnings report that missed analyst expectations. MORE

Miami Promotion: WQAM 104.3 FM, an Audacy sports station in Miami, has named Zach Gelb its new Brand Manager. MORE

Media Industry

NFL Ratings Pacing: Through the first nine weeks of the 2026 season, NFL games are averaging 18.3 million viewers, the second-highest audience for this point in the season and a 2% increase from 2025, according to league data. MORE

Another Win: NBC News’ TODAY won across the board for the week, marking its 12th consecutive total viewer win and 153rd consecutive key demo win. TODAY also delivered its highest total viewer average in 20 weeks. MORE

Stream Searching: Streaming viewers increasingly want a simpler way to navigate the growing number of services—and say poor discovery could put subscriptions at risk. MORE

Saga Reports Net Loss Widens

Saga Communications reported third-quarter net revenue of $26.7 million, a 5.4% decrease from $28.2 million a year earlier. Its net loss widened to $7.1 million from $532,000, largely due to a $9.2 million noncash impairment charge related to its FCC licenses.

The company attributed the impairment to higher interest rates, lower operating margins and reduced projections for market revenue. Saga posted an operating loss of $9.8 million, compared with $626,000 in the prior-year quarter. Without the impairment charge, the company said its operating loss would have been $563,000 and its net loss about $240,000, or 3 cents per share.

NAB Makes Full Court Press For Vehicle Act

The National Association of Broadcasters’ top priority for the lame-duck session is passage of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, an official said, as last week’s midterm elections set up a divided government for the next two years.⁠

Shawn Donilon, executive vice president of government relations for the NAB, said on the organization’s AirTime podcast that the measure is the group’s focus before the current session of Congress ends Jan. 3. The bill, which would require AM radio capability in new vehicles, passed the House in September and has more than 60 co-sponsors in the Senate.

Stingray-TuneIn Anticipate More Revenue Growth

A year after Stingray acquired TuneIn for $175 million, the company says the deal is generating revenue and cost savings faster than expected, with more gains still possible.

Stingray President and CEO Eric Boyko said the integration has produced annualized revenue synergies of nearly $31.7 million and cost savings of  about US$8.5 million. He said the company sees further opportunities to coordinate operations and development teams and reduce distribution and advertising costs.

Stingray also credited TuneIn advertising and stronger sales across its free, ad-supported streaming TV channels, including its Moodscapes feeds, for quarterly growth. Revenue from FAST channels rose more than 85%, while advertising revenue across TuneIn, FAST channels and retail media more than doubled, executives said in a report.

Audacy Launches Tiki Barber, Traci Johnson Podcast

Audacy announced the launch of “Double Down on Cheer with Tiki and Traci,” a weekly podcast hosted by husband and wife duo of former NFL star and WFAN midday host Tiki Barber and cheer mom Traci Johnson. 

“Double Down” takes listeners inside the high-stakes, high-energy world of competitive cheerleading, offering an entertaining and relatable perspective on youth sports, family life, and the increasingly competitive world of travel athletics. Barber and Johnson’s daughters Brooklyn Barber and Teagan Barber have been competing in All-Star cheerleading for eight years.

“Double Down on Cheer with Tiki and Traci” will launch on Friday, November 13, on YouTube and everywhere podcasts are available. Listen to the trailer and follow the show here. New episodes will be released on Fridays.

D/FW Radio: La Grande 107.5 Raises $22,500 During Golf Tourney

La Grande 107.5 (KMVK-FM), an Audacy station in Dallas, raised $22,500 during its third annual “Chiquilin Swing For The Future Golf Tournament.” All proceeds go towards Los Primos Dallas and support its mission of empowering students and their families to tackle any challenge through mentorship.

On November 9, morning show host Armando “El Chiquilin” Ulloa broadcast live on-site at Brookhaven Country Club from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. CT and hosted the golf tournament at 11:30 a.m. CT. The event featured guest appearances from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and its mascot, Rowdy.

Radio History: Nov 13

➦In 1906...Lee de Forest, who coined the term "radio", patented Audion tube.

De Forest was interested in wireless telegraphy and invented the Audion in 1906. He then developed an improved wireless telegraph receiver.

On 25 October 1906, de Forest filed a patent for diode vacuum tube detector, a two-electrode device for detecting electromagnetic waves, a variant of the Fleming valve invented two years earlier.

One year later, he filed a patent for a three-electrode device that was a much more sensitive detector of electromagnetic waves. It was granted US Patent 879,532 in February 1908. The device was also called the de Forest valve, and since 1919 has been known as the triode.

De Forest's innovation was the insertion of a third electrode, the grid, between the cathode (filament) and the anode (plate) of the previously invented diode.

New Round of Layoffs At Cumulus Media Stations

Cumulus Media has begun a new round of layoffs at radio stations across the country following its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.

The cuts, the second this year, have affected on-air talent and staff in markets including Houston, Minneapolis, Nashville and Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, according to industry reports. In Houston, Kevin Quinn left his role as assistant program director and afternoon host at KRBE after 14 years. Shannon Knight exited nights and weekends at KXXR (93X) in Minneapolis. In Nashville, Brian Wilson ended his association with SuperTalk 99.7 WWTN, and Adam “Lazy E” Sieminski departed afternoons at WBSX (97.9X) in Scranton-Wilkes-Barre.

Cumulus, which operates about 377 radio stations in 84 markets along with the Westwood One network and a podcast division, completed its financial restructuring on Oct. 16. The prepackaged bankruptcy, filed in March in Houston, eliminated roughly $550 million to $600 million in debt. Former lenders received equity in the reorganized company, and existing public shareholders were wiped out. President and CEO Mary Berner remains in charge, and a new board has been appointed.

R.I.P.: Dan Hicks, Longtime Sportscaster For NBC Sports

Dan Hicks, the legendary NBC broadcaster who called everything from Notre Dame football and golf to the Olympics, has died at 64, according to NBC Sports and his wife, fellow broadcaster Hannah Storm.

“Dan was truly one of a kind and, quite simply, the person everyone wanted to be around,” Storm wrote on social media. “When he walked into a room, he brought energy and laughter, and brought people together. He was endlessly kind, thoughtful and funny, and he made everyone feel like they mattered.”

Reports: iHM Explores Sale of Podcast Business To Raise Cash

iHeartMedia Inc. is exploring the sale of part or all of its podcast business in an effort to raise cash and support its struggling stock price, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The company has held preliminary discussions with investment bank Moelis & Co. and potential suitors about a possible transaction, according to the report. The talks remain early-stage, and no deal is imminent.

The exploration follows iHeartMedia’s third-quarter earnings, which showed total revenue rising 3.3% to about $1 billion. Podcast revenue was a relative bright spot, climbing roughly 24% year over year to about $174 million and representing approximately 17% of overall sales. The company has said it plans to begin reporting podcasting as a standalone segment in 2027.

A spox for iHM issued this denial: “While we don’t generally comment on rumors or speculation, I can tell you that we have no plan to sell our podcasting business. iHeart has built the number one podcast publisher in America, with unmatched scale, premium talent and strong financial performance. Podcasting is a core strategic growth engine for our company, and we continue to invest in expanding its reach and potential, including through video podcasting.”

iHeartMedia shares, which have traded below $1 and declined sharply this year, rose after the Bloomberg report. The company carries roughly $4.9 billion in long-term debt. It filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and emerged largely owned by creditors.

Earlier this year, iHeartMedia held discussions about a possible sale or merger with SiriusXM Holdings Inc., but those talks did not result in an agreement, Bloomberg previously reported.

iHeartMedia operates more than 860 radio stations and describes itself as the top podcast publisher in the United States and globally, with tens of millions of monthly listeners. A potential sale would mark a significant step as the company evaluates its portfolio amid ongoing financial pressures, even as its podcast unit continues to post double-digit revenue growth.

Broadcast News: ABC and NBC Score Impressive Weekly Ratings

“World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as the No. 1 program in Total Viewers (9.143 million) on all of broadcast and cable (excluding sports) during election week of Nov. 2, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

Graphic Courtesy of RoadMN

• “World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (9.143 million), Adults 25-54 (1.325 million) and Adults 18-49 (992,000).

LA Radio: Kevin & Ally Drive The Success of KROQ

As KROQ prepares for its 35th “Almost Acoustic Christmas,” the Los Angeles station has another reason to celebrate: It had its strongest ratings since summer 2004 and has re-emerged as a contender in morning radio.

Variety reports the station’s comeback has followed the return of longtime program director Kevin Weatherly in 2022 and Kevin Ryder’s move to afternoons in 2025. A major part of the resurgence is the “Klein.Ally.Show,” hosted by Kevin Klein and Ally Johnson. After placing between 10th and 18th in the key 25–54 demographic through 2024 and the first half of 2025, the show ranked first in Los Angeles this September among listeners 18–34, 18–49 and 25–54. It fell to second in the 25–54 demo in October, behind KYSR’s “The Woody Show,” but the gap between the rivals has narrowed.

Bruce Springsteen Fan Club To Close After Political Disputes

A Bruce Springsteen fan club with nearly 20,000 members is closing after years of political disputes, its founders said.

Howie and Julie Chaz announced Sunday that they would shut down the “Spring-Nuts” Facebook page after 11 years. They said arguments among members had increasingly turned into personal attacks, bullying and hateful rhetoric.

Edison Insights: Where Each Audio Platform Performs Best

One commonly overlooked strength of audio is that it can be accessed in practically all of the locations people typically inhabit throughout their day: at home, in a car, at work, and in any other place. Share of Ear® from Edison Research at SSRS measures daily audio listening across these locations. Advertisers and content creators can use Share of Ear data to understand where certain platforms overperform relative to total listening and then tailor their messaging for those locations.

Two platforms most outperform for total listening In-Car: AM/FM Radio, with an index of 160, and SiriusXM Radio, with an index of 232. Both are radio, both are linear, and both are in an environment where devices are present and easily accessible for listeners to consume this platform.