The LaMusica digital platform has been identified as the Top Hispanic-focused online streaming site as well as the Top Hispanic radio app among Latino users, according to a recently published study, "Report About the State of Digital Audio in the U.S. Hispanic Market 2019."
Owned and operated by Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc.,LaMusica's digital platform offers live audio and video streaming of the nation's top-rated Hispanic radio stations as well as a daily variety of exclusive digital content including current events vignettes, celebrity interviews, podcasts, expertly curated playlists and world premier music videos.
The Report identified LaMusica as the #1 ranked Hispanic-targeted online platform from among a list of generic music streaming sites that included YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, iHeart, Soundcloud, Amazon Music, Uforia, Deezer and others. In addition, Latino users chose LaMusica as their favorite Hispanic radio app.
The newly released Report, drawing upon hundreds of in-depth respondent interviews, focused on identifying the digital audio consumption habits of the U.S. Hispanic market, including the content preferences of Spanish-speaking users as well as the purchasing characteristics of consumer products and services advertised in digital audio environments.
Among other documented findings, the study reported that 62% of the respondents listened to radio or music on the internet with a majority of 80.3% of the participants identifying smartphones as their primary tool for consuming digital audio. In addition, 60% of the respondents consider listening to digital audio an important or very important part of their day.
"LaMusica's top ranking in this report demonstrates the power of our brand and our growing audience across all digital platforms," stated Bianca Alarcón, Head of Content Development at LaMusica. "The Hispanic community has a deep cultural connection to music and LaMusica is today's ideal vehicle for experiencing the fascinating world of Latin entertainment. Our ranking as the top Hispanic-targeted streaming site among Latino users comes after years of hard work leveraging our leading station brands while building a unique mobile and digital entertainment platform. We see continued strong growth for the LaMusica brand in the years to come and are excited to continue delivering innovative and engaging experiences to our rapidly expanding user base," she added.
The top ranking for LaMusica comes at a time of impressive growth for SBS' digital properties:
• LaMusica's combined digital and mobile streaming audience has eclipsed 1.3 million unique listeners per month
• Active LaMusica users have grown + 52% compared to last year
• LaMusica's audio sessions total 14 million per month across its terrestrial, playlist and podcast categories
• LaMusica reaches over 1.8 million people with over 5.2 million streaming hours per month
• LaMusica's combined social media following recently surpassed 30 million users
Entercom has announced the launch of two new RADIO.COM Original podcasts featuring former cast members of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” television series. Exclusive first access to Eat Live Love Indulge with Kathy Wakile and The Lookover Ladies will be available to listeners nationwide on RADIO.COM, the fastest-growing digital audio app in the U.S.
“We’re thrilled to welcome this stellar group of talented women to our best-in-class content portfolio on RADIO.COM and with them, more female-first programming to the platform,” said Pam Russo, Senior Vice President and General Manager, RADIO.COM. “They each lead full lives as professionals, mothers, wives and daughters, in addition to dedicating themselves to championing on behalf of various causes. I look forward to hearing more of their inspirational and relatable stories of family, home life and inner strength.”
In Eat Live Love Indulge with Kathy Wakile, food, family and friends come together to make the best recipe for life. The former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star will take listeners to delicious destinations as she shares what’s cooking with her guests.
The Lookover Ladies will feature Laurita and her friends Jill Ashley and Melissa Polo as they take on their real, hectic, yet relatable journey through life with no topic off limits.
Cumulus Media announces that WGRF 97 Rock in Buffalo, NY, raised over $300,000 - a station record - for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western New York to grant wishes to children battling critical illnesses.
The funds were raised through the station’s 25th Annual Make-A-Wish Radiothon held on Thursday, September 12th from 6am through 10am on Friday, September 13th. The 28-hour radiothon was broadcast on location at the Eastern Hills Mall in Williamsville, NY. News 4 Buffalo provided additional media support.
This year, former 97 Rock morning man Larry Norton returned to help the 97 Rock on-air staff host the 25th Annual Make-A-Wish Radiothon. Norton hosted the first 21 radiothons for 97 Rock. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western New York also welcomed additional support from fire departments that held fill-a-boot drives, with major donors who made life-changing gifts, a celebrity bartending happy hour hosted by Duff’s, and five segment sponsors through the 97Rock platform, helping to raise significant dollars going into the 28-hour marathon fundraising event.
Jim Riley, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Buffalo, said: “It’s a real honor to work with all the people who came together for 2019 Make-A-Wish Radiothon. Because Western New Yorkers responded so generously, Make-A-Wish will be putting smiles on faces and changing a lot of lives over the next year. A special thanks to Larry Norton for providing the spark that started this thing 25 years ago!”
John Hager, Program Director, Cumulus Buffalo, said: “Twenty-five years is a long time for an annual event, especially in radio. It’s a testament to 97 Rock’s heritage in the market and the special relationship it has with our listeners that we’re able to set such an impressive record.”
Ben Marchione, Regional Director, Wish Uncle, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western New York, said: “25 years is an incredible accomplishment, and has helped to transform countless lives through the power of a wish. Make-A-Wish is committed to hope, strength and transformation and all dollars raised greatly impact the healing and transformative power wishes have on children battling critical illnesses.”
iHeartMedia/youngstown, OH has announced the sudden death of programing director and morning host Wes Miller.
He was 53-years-of-age and a heart attack is suspect.
Miller programmed AC WMXY Mix 98.9 and Country WBBG 106.1 The Bull. He was also co-host of the Wes and Lindsay morning show on Mix 98.9
A posting on the station's website stated "Wes was a bright spot each morning on the radio and his infectious laugh will be missed in our hallways each day." The posting added Miller was an organ donor. "His thoughtful gifts will be transplanted into over 100 people on organ donation waiting lists."
Miller previously spent 12 years as PD/morning host at Forever Media's WGYY FROGGY 100.3 in Meadville, PA.
➦In 1933...Radio's first dramatic "Roses and Drums" show, was heard on WABC 880 AM (then a CBS station) in New York City. It was heard until 1936 and was originally an anthology program drawing its material from American history.
1968
➦In 1934...Radio personalty Pat O'Day born Paul W. Berg. He is probably best known as the afternoon drive personality at Seattle's KJR 950 in the 1960s, he would eventually become program director and general manager. He owned KYYX 96.5 FM 96.5 Radio in Seattle in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. The frequency is now occupied by KJAQ.
Starting in 1967, O'Day served as race announcer and commentator during Seafair for various radio and TV stations, most recently KIRO TV. The television station, however, announced it was parting ways with O'Day in 2013 and he would not return to broadcast the race. He set the Guinness world record for water skiing non-stop (around Lake Washington) for 4 hours 52 minutes, in 1959.
He is responsible for bringing the Seattle music scene to national prominence.
➦In 1935...CKLW Windsor-Detroit lost its CBS affiliation to WJR Detroit, and hooked up with the Mutual network instead. When the CBC debuted a year later CKLW became an affiliate, but also remained connected to Mutual.
➦In 1942...Glenn Miller ended his Moonlight Serenade radio show on the CBS Radio Nertwork. Miller (March 1, 1904 - presumably December 15, 1944), was an American jazz musician and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best known "Big Bands". Miller's signature recordings include, "In the Mood", "Tuxedo Junction", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "Moonlight Serenade", "Little Brown Jug", and "Pennsylvania 6-5000". While traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II, Miller's plane disappeared in bad weather. His body was never found. Miller's recordings are still familiar refrains, even to generations born decades after Miller disappeared.
➦In 1948...U-S citizen Mildred Gillars, known as "Axis Sally" pleaded innocent to charges of treason. She was convicted and wound up serving 12 years behind bars for being a Nazi wartime radio propagandist.
Mildred Gillars
In 1934 she had moved to Dresden, Germany, to study music, later being employed as a teacher of English at the Berlitz School of Languages in Berlin. In 1940 she obtained work as an announcer with the Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (RRG), German State Radio.
By 1941, as the U.S. State Department was advising American nationals to return home, Gillars chose to stay in Germany after her fiancé, Paul Karlson, a naturalized German citizen, said that he would never marry her if she returned to the United States. Shortly afterwards, Karlson was sent to the Eastern Front, where he died in action.
Until 1942 Gillars' broadcasts were largely apolitical. This changed when Max Otto Koischwitz, the program director in the USA Zone at the RRG, cast Gillars in a new show called Home Sweet Home.
Soon she acquired several names among her GI listeners, including Berlin Bitch, Berlin Babe, Olga, and Sally, but the one that became most common was "Axis Sally".
This name probably came from the time when, asked to describe herself on the air, Gillars had said she was "the Irish type… a real Sally."
In 1943, an Italian-American woman, Rita Zucca, also began broadcasting to American troops from Rome, using the name "Sally". Often the two women were thought to be one and the same.
Gillars' main programs from Berlin were:
Home Sweet Home Hour, from December 24, 1942, until 1945, a regular propaganda program the purpose of which was to make American forces in Europe feel homesick. A running theme of these broadcasts was the infidelity of soldiers' wives and sweethearts while the listeners were stationed in Europe and North Africa.
Midge-at-the-Mike, broadcast from March to late fall 1943, in which she played American songs interspersed with defeatist propaganda, anti-Semitic rhetoric and attacks on Franklin D. Roosevelt.
G. I.’s Letter-box and Medical Reports 1944, directed at the US home audience in which Gillars used information on wounded and captured US airmen to cause fear and worry in their families.
She remained in Berlin until the end of the war. Her last broadcast was on May 6, 1945, just two days before the German surrender.
Gillars died of colon cancer in Columbus on June 25, 1988.
➦In 1950...Alan Samuel Colmes born (Died of lymphoma at age 66 – February 23, 2017). He was a radio and television host, liberal political commentator for the Fox News Channel, and blogger.
He was the host of The Alan Colmes Show, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show distributed by Fox News Radio that was broadcast throughout the United States on Fox News Talk on Sirius and XM. From 1996 to 2009, Colmes served as the co-host of Hannity & Colmes, a nightly political debate show on Fox News Channel. Beginning in 2015, Colmes supplied the voice of The Liberal Panel on Fox News Channel's The Greg Gutfeld Show.
Colmes began his career in stand-up comedy. He developed his radio career in the Northeast, eventually working at stations such as WABC, WNBC, WHN, WMCA and WEVD in New York, WNHC in New Haven, Connecticut, and WEZE and WZLX in Boston.
His radio career took off when WABC hired him for the morning drive time slot. He was billed as "W. Alan B. Colmes," as in the station's call sign. He moved to WNBC in 1987, but his tenure there would be short when NBC announced in 1988 it would close its radio division. When WNBC went off the air for the last time on October 7, 1988, Colmes' was the last voice heard.
He had been syndicated nationally, starting with his involvement with Daynet, a venture created by Colmes and other regional radio hosts. Daynet was sold to Major Networks, Inc. in 1994. Colmes kept his own show, which was distributed by Fox News Radio. He was hired by Fox News CEO Roger Ailes in 1996. He was the co-host of Hannity & Colmes, beginning with the Fox News Channel launch on October 6, 1996, and ending on January 9, 2009.
➦In 1957...The MLB Dodgers played their last game Brooklyn and it aired on WMGM 1050 AM
➦In 1960…Announcer Harlow Wilcox died at age 60 (Born - March 12, 1900). Radio shows for which Wilcox was announcer included Amos 'n' Andy, The Baby Snooks Show, Ben Bernie, Fibber McGee and Molly, Frank Merriwell, Hap Hazard, Hollywood Premiere, Suspense, The Victor Borge Show Your Electric Servant, Blondie, Boston Blackie and The Passing Parade.
Wilcox came from a show business-oriented family, with a father who played in the Ringling Brothers circus band and a sister who played violin both in vaudeville and in classical concerts. Harlow took vocal lessons and briefly performed on stage. He eventually decided to try radio and met Jim and Marian Jordan at a station in Chicago.
Wilcox became "one of the most successful announcers and pitchmen in radio." He was a pioneer in making commercials a part of a program's story rather than something simply inserted during a break.
Cumulus Media’s Westwood One has announced the launch of two Variety Hits formats to offer stations fresh content and competitive advantage in their markets. Variety Hits-Pop and Variety Hits-Rock will join 20 other radio formats which the company provides to 1500 affiliated radio stations. Westwood One’s Variety Hits formats will debut in mid-October.
Variety Hits focuses on familiar hits from five decades of music with long music sweeps, fun production and imaging, numerous opportunities for local station identification, and complete spot-break flexibility. It is distributed on STORQ2, Westwood One’s patented delivery platform. Affiliated stations retain their desired image, slogans and live shows, and local identifiers are supplied by the network imaging voice.
The Variety Hits format is available in two distinct versions: Variety Hits-Pop featuring artists like Journey, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Maroon 5, and Variety Hits-Rock skewing toward artists like Aerosmith, Queen, Nirvana, and Fleetwood Mac. Both versions will have large libraries spanning the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s.
“The Variety Hits format checks a lot of boxes for many markets, and the time is right for us to build a satellite-delivered version that enhances our successful custom music-scheduled format,” commented Kirk Stirland, President of Programming at Westwood One. “We designed this to accommodate our customers who wanted an unbranded, flexible structure, with up to 13 opportunities an hour to make it their own.”
Complete information on Variety Hits and all Westwood One formats is available at www.westwoodone.com, and through Eric Sundstrom, Vice President of Affiliate Sales, at esundstrom@westwoodone.com or (505) 510-2373.
UPDATE 11:00 am: According to preliminary Nielsen figures, the 2019 Emmys have gone the way of seemingly all awards shows in declining year on year. Fox’s broadcast posted a 5.7 rating and a 10 share in the overnight metered market ratings, which is down 23% on last year’s Monday night show on NBC and 30% below the preliminary rating for the 2017 ceremony which also aired on a Sunday night on CBS.
Earlier Posting..
Fleabag and Game of Thrones won the Best Comedy and Best Drama at the 71st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday.
The stars converged at the Microsoft Theater in L.A. for TV’s biggest night. The show went host-free, following Oscars’ lead, but there were still many Hollywood moments.
The party got started with a cartoon Homer Simpson literally doing a face-plant onstage, and Anthony Anderson rushing onto stage and declaring, “We will not let the Empire fall!” as he ran about mock-organizing the show backstage and dinging Game of Thrones with a Starbucks coffee reference. Then Bryan Cranston came onstage to wax philosophical about the current state of TV, declaring “it’s never been better.”
Going in, HBO’s Game of Thrones led the pack, garnering 32 nominations. Next up was Amazon Prime’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, with 20 nominations. All told, HBO snagged an amazing 137 nominations. Netflix nipped at its heels with 117.
Ultimately, Fleabag won big time, snagging Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress for Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Outstanding Directing. Game of Thrones also brought home gold, landing Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor for Peter Dinklage. Chernobyl triumphed with three awards, Outstanding Limited Series trophy as well as writing and directing awards.
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Alex Borstein gave an inspiring acceptance speech for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, thanking the show’s creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, but also her mother and 102-year-old grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who dared to “step out of line” and escape death at her concentration camp. Before she walked onstage, the camera zoomed in on her doing a shot.
A clearly delighted Phoebe Waller-Bridge told the crowd that she was just excited that a “dirty, pervy” woman can win an Emmy for Outstanding Writing.
Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert joke that “this show sucks” without a host, but they seem to hit a nerve online.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge won the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in what many saw as a surprising upset for Julie Louis-Dreyfus, who was accepted to win for her final season of Veep.
The audience seemed to guffaw when Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner came onstage and pretended Keeping Up With the Kardashians is 100% “unscripted” and “unfiltered.” Said Kardashian: "Our family knows first-hand how truly compelling television comes from real people just being themselves."
The cast of Game of Thrones reunited onstage to present the award for Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie. Patricia Arquette graciously accepted the award, then addressed her sister Alexis Arquette’s death. "I just have to say I'm grateful to be working, I'm grateful at 50 to be getting the best parts of my life, and that's great," Arquette said. "But in my heart, I'm so sad. I lost my sister Alexis, and that trans people are still being persecuted, and I'm in mourning every day of my life."
Jharrel Jerome got the audience as excited—on its feet and clapping excited—as he was with his from-the-heart speech, thanking his mother and When They See Us’ creator, Ava DuVernay for his win as lead actor. He also addressed the men the series was about, who DuVernay brought as her guests. “Most importantly, this is for the men that we know as the Exonerated Five. Thank you so much. It’s an honor; it’s a blessing,” Jerome concluded, as the audience rose to their feet and applauded.
While accepting her award as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series, Michelle Williams thanked her bosses in Fosse/Verde for not only paying her equally, but also listening to her when she made expensive requests and not “presuming to know more” than she did about her own needs. “I see this as an acknowledgement of what is possible when a woman is trusted to discern her own needs, feels safe enough to voice them and respected enough that they’ll be heard,” she said.
John Oliver thanked his dog for “letting us give him belly rubs” and helping to produce “that piece on the Senate filibuster” when he accepted the award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.
Billy Porter gave a humble, emotional speech while accepting the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, thanking Pose’s creator Ryan Murphy and calling on all actors to change the “molecular structure” of the country through empathetic and thoughtful portrayals.
Jodie Comer won lead actress for Killing Eve, against Sandra Oh, who was considered a front-runner (and co-stars with her in the same show).
Game of Thrones gave a gracious adieu to the series and the Emmys after winning Outstanding Drama Series.
The chief executive officers from the three largest radio broadcast groups–iHeartMedia, Entercom and Cumulus Media–will headline a special session focused on the future of the industry during the Radio Show luncheon program on Wednesday. The Radio Show, held September 24-26 in Dallas, Texas, is produced by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB).
The session titled “2020 and Beyond: Insights From the Top” will feature Mary Berner (CUMULUS MEDIA), David Field (Entercom) and Bob Pittman (iHeartMedia) in a candid conversation exploring strategies for success in today’s constantly shifting audio landscape. These top CEOs will offer insight on tactical partnerships, best platform choices, talent recruitment, imaginative programming and creative sales approaches, among other topics.
NBC News’ Stephanie Ruhle will moderate the panel. Ruhle appears across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms and hosts major weekday programs, “MSNBC Live With Stephanie Ruhle” and “MSNBC Live With Velshi & Ruhle.” Since joining MSNBC, she has interviewed titans in politics, business, entertainment and sports.
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Mary Berner was named president and CEO of Cumulus Media in 2015, and under her leadership, the company reversed four years of financial and listenership declines. Cumulus Media is a leading audio-first media and entertainment company with over $1 billion of annual revenue, delivering premium audio content to over 250 million people each month. Among other honors and awards, Berner was named one of the 100 most powerful women in entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter. She has also been included on Billboard’s “Women in Music” and “Power 100” lists, along with Radio Ink’s “40 Most Powerful People in Radio” issue for the last four years. Berner was recently recognized as the Radio Company Executive of the Year by industry peers at the 2019 Worldwide Radio Summit.
David Field is president and CEO of Entercom, a leading media and entertainment company and one of the two largest radio broadcasters in the United States. Entercom reaches over 170 million people monthly through its premier collection of award-winning radio stations, digital platforms, and live events across the country’s top 50 markets. Field has received numerous civic and professional awards, including the NAB National Radio Award in 2017 and a “Giants of Broadcasting” award from the Library of American Broadcasting and International Radio & Television Society. He is also a three-time recipient of Institutional Investor Magazine’s “Best CEOs in America.”
Bob Pittman is chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, a leading media, digital and entertainment company with the largest reach of any broadcaster in the United States and over a quarter billion listeners each month. Pittman has held senior leadership positions at AOL Time Warner; America Online, Inc.; MTV Networks; Six Flags Theme Parks; and Time Warner Enterprises. Among many honors, Pittman was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame, the Cable Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame.
The Radio Show luncheon program is sponsored by Key Networks.
As previously announced, NRG Media chairman and CEO Mary Quass will receive the National Radio Award during the program and Madison Ryann Ward will perform as part of the BMI Songwriters Spotlight Series.
The BOB & TOM Show announces that it will broadcast live from the 2019 Radio Show in Dallas this week, bringing big laughs and celebrity guests that add up to three days of destination performances.
Host Tom Griswold and his ensemble cast of radio’s funniest talents bring their successful weekday morning show to the Main Lobby of the Hilton Anatole Hotel on Wednesday, September 25th, Thursday, September 26th and Friday, September 27th from 5am-9am Central. The live broadcasts are open to the public and will feature personal appearances by special celebrity guests, including comedians Donnie Baker, Greg Hahn, Al Jackson, and Alli Breen, comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo, and The Black Crowes’ Steve Gorman.
The belly laughs continue on into the evening, as The BOB & TOM Show’s Tom Griswold and Kristi Lee will co-host the Marconi Radio Awards Dinner and Show with Delilah and Rickey Smiley on Thursday night, September 26th, from 6:00pm-9:30pm in the Hilton Anatole Chantilly East Ballroom.
Inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, The BOB & TOM Show airs live weekday mornings on more than 100 stations across the U.S. and on the American Forces Network worldwide. The BOB & TOM Show is exclusively distributed by Westwood One.
Tom Griswold, Host, The BOB & TOM Show, said: “After the huge popularity of our live broadcasts at last year’s Radio Show in Orlando, we had to double down in Dallas with an even bigger line-up of guests. We can’t wait to see everyone in the Anatole lobby Wednesday through Friday mornings. There will also be some surprise guests, so stop by every morning. You won’t want to miss it!”
A dynamic lineup of radio industry executives and financial experts will discuss the business impact of significant regulatory changes affecting radio. “Pillsbury’s Broadcast Finance 2019: Radio Unleashed - Preparing for a New Regulatory World,” hosted by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, will take place Tuesday, September 24 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. at the Radio Show in Dallas, Texas.
The 2019 Radio Show, produced by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), will be held September 24-26 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel.
Scott Flick, a partner at Pillsbury, will moderate the session, which will focus on the opportunities for radio broadcasters presented by deregulation, such as the elimination of the main studio requirement and the FCC’s potential relaxation of local radio ownership rules.
“That the FCC is recognizing radio’s challenges where listeners’ audio alternatives—and the competition for ears and advertisers—have grown exponentially may be as big a game-changer as the new competition itself,” said Flick, who will lead a conversation on how radio stations can adapt their operations and better compete in a more relaxed regulatory environment.
This year’s panel features Bill Hendrich, executive vice president of radio, Cox Media Group; Garret Komjathy, senior vice president of media and communications, U.S. Bank; Beth Neuhoff, president and chief executive officer, Neuhoff Communications; Susan Patrick, managing partner of Patrick Communications and co-owner of Legend Communications; and David Santrella, president of broadcast media, Salem Media Group. Kevin Perry, president and CEO of Perry Publishing & Broadcasting, will introduce the session, and Davis Hebert, director and senior high yield analyst, Wells Fargo Securities, will precede the panel with a visual presentation on the current financial state of the radio industry.
Scott Flick
As a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Scott Flick represents media entities on transactional, regulatory, business, finance, litigation and policy matters. He has handled over $30 billion in broadcast acquisitions and mergers in addition to a variety of other types of transactions. He has represented many of the largest companies in the broadcast industry and is regularly quoted by both mainstream and trade press on communications law and policy matters.
Davis Hebert
Davis Hebert is director and senior high yield analyst at Wells Fargo Securities covering the Media, Cable and Telecommunications sectors. Hebert started with the company in 2007 as an associate analyst covering the healthcare and gaming sectors. Previously, Hebert provided loan underwriting and portfolio management functions for media and telecom entities.
Bill Hendrich
Bill Hendrich is executive vice president of Cox Media Group (CMG). In this role, he currently oversees radio and television in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tulsa, as well as radio in Miami, Tampa, San Antonio, Long Island and Houston. Hendrich is also responsible for overseeing CMG’s Radio Programming, Radio Revenue team, and the Radio Digital Strategy team in addition to driving overarching industry issues for Radio. Previously, Hendrich was responsible for programming, operations and sales for CMG’s more than 61 radio stations in 11 markets. He is currently on the NAB Radio Board of Directors and has served as the Chairman of the Florida Association of Broadcasters.
Garret Komjathy
Garret Komjathy has more than 30 years of corporate banking experience, including 20 years in media and communications new deal origination, structuring and relationship management. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, he was responsible for managing the New Jersey Department of Banking as part of Governor Chris Christie’s administration. He has also served as managing director & originator in GE Capital’s Media, Entertainment & Communications Group in New York and as an originator in Bank of America’s (formerly FleetBoston Financial) Media, Communications & Entertainment Group. In 2015, Komjathy received the U.S. Bank’s Summit Award as recognition for being among the top wholesale bankers.
Beth Neuhoff
Beth Neuhoff is a senior executive and media, marketing and consumer segmentation expert recognized for creating innovative revenue growth and brand-building strategies in both national and local markets. Serving as CEO of Neuhoff Communications since 2012, Neuhoff has enhanced the privately held broadcast and digital media company’s operations and increased its value. She serves on the NAB Radio Board and is a director of the Broadcasters Foundation of America.
Susan Patrick
Susan Patrick is co-owner and managing partner of Patrick Communications and is also co-owner of Legend Communications, the licensee of 14 radio stations in Wyoming, Ohio, and Missouri. She has been involved in the media brokerage business for 25 years and has personally brokered the sale of broadcast properties totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Patrick has provided investing banking services and private placement of equity and debt for scores of broadcasters and spearheads all appraisals and economic studies done by the firm.
Kevin Perry
Kevin Perry is the president and CEO of Perry Publishing & Broadcasting, a second-generation family owned company based in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Perry Publishing & Broadcasting Company owns and operates 18 radio stations in Oklahoma, Arkansas and South Carolina. In addition, the company owns the Oklahoma statewide newspaper, The Black Chronicle, and an apparel and music store in Oklahoma City, O’City Source. Perry serves on the NAB Radio Board of Directors as well as on the board of the NAB Leadership Foundation.
David Santrella
Throughout his 37-year professional career in the radio broadcast communications industry, David Santrella has provided leadership in promotions, marketing, sales, and management. Since 2015, Santrella has served as Salem Media Group’s president of broadcast media, overseeing all local stations as well as network assets. He joined Salem in 2001 and is chair of the NAB Radio Board.
Leighton Enterprises, Inc. has announced it has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the radio stations of Paradis Broadcasting of Alexandria, Inc. It is recognized locally as being the Voice of Alexandria and consists of three radio stations: News/Talk KXRA-AM, Classic Rock KXRA-FM, and hotAC KXRZ-FM.
“Expanding to Alexandria is a natural fit for us with our stations in St. Cloud, Fergus Falls, Perham, and Detroit Lakes,” says Bob Leighton, CEO of Leighton Enterprises, Inc.
Leighton plans to keep the stations operating as usual with local programming and maintaining all Paradis employees including Brett Paradis as General Manager.
Leighton added, “We are excited to expand to Alexandria and Brett Paradis joining our team. His knowledge, experience in the industry, and commitment to serve the local community will be an asset to our company. We look forward to Brett helping Leighton Broadcasting’s continued growth.”
“My team and I have worked with Leighton for 10+ years as colleagues, so we are very familiar with their operation and excited about the future. After 31 successful years here in Alexandria, I can tell you that I am so proud of my team, and now I am proud to bring them along and join the family at Leighton Enterprises” says Brett Paradis, President of Paradis Broadcasting of Alexandria, Inc. “We are both second-generation broadcast companies and share the same values. By joining forces, we will be able to provide new resources to our customers and provide better benefits to our employees.”
The transaction is subject to FCC review and approval which normally takes 90-120 days. The last radio acquisition Leighton Enterprises, Inc. made was in 2015 when the company purchased 10 stations in Winona, Fergus Falls, and Perham.
Disney called off a deal to buy Twitter because the platform was just too problematic, CEO Bob Iger revealed in a New York Times interview.
CNBC reports Disney considered buying the social media company, calling it a “compelling” way to reach consumers. However, the deal never went through and Disney instead purchased a majority stake in sports streaming site BAMTech.
In Iger’s new memoir, “The Ride of a Lifetime,” Iger explains why he decided against the deal to buy Twitter.
“The troubles were greater than I wanted to take on, greater than I thought it was responsible for us to take on,” he told the New York Times. “There were Disney brand issues, the whole impact of technology on society. The nastiness is extraordinary.”
“I like looking at my Twitter newsfeed because I want to follow 15, 20 different subjects. Then you turn and look at your notifications and you’re immediately saying, why am I doing this? Why do I endure this pain?” Iger said in the Times interview.
Disney was looking at several ways to open up its distribution business and connect directly to customers.
“Like a lot of these platforms, they have the ability to do a lot of good in our world. They also have an ability to do a lot of bad. I didn’t want to take that on,” he said.
When Dallas-based Nexstar closed on its purchase of Tribune Media on Thursday, it marked the end of a Chicago company with nearly a century of broadcast history, reports The Chicago Tribune.
It was also the beginning of a new era for Tribune Media’s flagship WGN TV, radio and cable stations, long Chicago’s very own broadcast outlets, whose future under new ownership may seem to be up in the air.
Perry Sook
Perry Sook, the chairman and CEO of Nexstar — now the largest television station owner in the U.S. — said the change in corporate ownership will not make the former hometown stations any less Chicago.
“WGN will always be Chicago’s very own,” Sook said in a Thursday interview with the Tribune. “It’s not a slogan depending on where the corporate office is. It’s how well they are serving the local community.”
Sook pledged that WGN-Ch. 9 will feel very much the same going forward to longtime viewers. At the same time, Sook signaled that WGN-AM 720 and WGN America, the only radio station and cable channel, respectively, in Nexstar’s portfolio, were not “core holdings” and could be sold — for the right price.
Longtime Tribune Media executive Sean Compton was named Thursday to oversee both WGN Radio and WGN America under Nexstar.
Sook, 61, briefly a TV news anchor himself, founded Nexstar more than 20 years ago with the purchase of a single TV station in Scranton, Pa. He grew it into a broadcasting behemoth by acquiring stations in mostly small and midsize markets across the U.S.
Nexstar just got a lot bigger with the acquisition of Tribune Media, a deal which was valued at about $7.2 billion, including the assumption of Tribune Media’s outstanding debt. The combined company will be able to reach more than 69 million local TV households with 197 TV stations in 115 markets. Los Angeles and Chicago stations — acquired in the Tribune deal — are now its largest markets.
Here’s a preview of what may be coming for the WGN 720 AM stations under Nexstar, based on the Tribune’s interview with Sook:
The company’s broadcast portfolio started with WGN-AM 720, a pioneering radio station launched by Chicago Tribune publisher Col. Robert McCormick in March 1924, with the call letters standing for “World’s Greatest Newspaper.” It was the only radio station in the Tribune Media portfolio, and remains so under Nexstar.
Sook, who started in radio in Punxsutawney, Pa., while still in high school, said he intends to maximize the potential of WGN Radio. One change in approach will be to share more resources with WGN-TV, Sook said, including co-promotion of events and a crossover of programming.
“They’re part of the same family," Sook said. "You’ll see the TV station and the radio station collaborating more, working more together and speaking more with one voice in Chicago.”
Unlike other professional leagues or collegiate conferences, the NFL still seeks to ensure fans can watch their hometown teams’ games with or without a cable, satellite or streaming subscription, according to The Chicago Tribune.
So, the NFL’s TV deals require that its games on ESPN, as well as NFL Network telecasts not simulcast by Fox, also be made available on a broadcast TV station in the participating teams’ home markets.
Typically, ABC-7 would pick up an ESPN game because the two outlets are corporate cousins within the Walt Disney Co., and most Chicago-area viewers watch it on that channel rather than the cable outlet.
But Monday is the beginning of the new network fall television season and so ABC-7 is obliged to carry a two-hour edition of “Dancing With the Stars” and the third-season debut of “The Good Doctor.”
Free of network commitments as an independent, WGN-9 has secured the right to carry the 7 p.m. ESPN production. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m., with Joe Tessitore and analyst Booger McFarland calling the action.
WGN-9 will supplement the feed with its own half-hour pregame show featuring Lauren Magiera and Jarrett Payton at 6:30 p.m.
The station will control some of the ad spots during the game, but otherwise will run ESPN’s telecast — even ESPN’s halftime show — intact. Postgame show elements will be folded into the WGN-9 newscast that follows.
Berry Gordy, the Detroit native who built Motown Records from a shoestring operation into a music, film and television empire, told a hometown crowd Sunday night that he is at last retiring, rports The Detroit Free Press.
"I have come full circle," he said onstage during Motown's 60th anniversary program at Orchestra Hall. "It is only appropriate (to announce this) while here in Detroit, the city where my fairy tale happened with all of you."
The enterprising Gordy helped revolutionize American and global culture via Motown, shepherding young Detroit talent and eventually churning out stars such as Diana Ross & the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations and the Jackson 5.
Although Gordy sold the record label in 1988 and later parceled off its song-publishing arm, the 89-year-old has remained very much in the business of Motown. In recent years, his creative pursuits have included a Broadway musical and a Showtime documentary about the company.
He's also been closely involved with the Motown Museum's $50 million expansion campaign, including a $4 million donation to the project last month.
Speaking to an Orchestra Hall audience that included many of the key figures who have been part of his six-decade Motown journey, Gordy said Sunday that he has contemplated retirement for some time.
Gordy, visiting Detroit from Los Angeles for the weekend's 60th anniversary celebration, also took part in a Sunday afternoon groundbreaking as the Motown Museum embarks on expansion construction.
➦In 1949...Bruce Springsteen born in Long Branch, NJ. He received critical acclaim for his early 1970s albums and attained worldwide fame upon the release of Born to Run in 1975.
During a career that has spanned five decades, Springsteen has become known for his poetic and socially conscious lyrics and lengthy, energetic stage performances, earning the nickname "The Boss". He has recorded both rock albums and folk-oriented works, and his lyrics often address the experiences and struggles of working-class Americans.
Springsteen has sold more than 135 million records worldwide and more than 64 million records in the U-S, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists.
Eddy Arnold does a live radio show on WGNS in Murfreesboro, TN (circa 1955)
➦In 1950…"The Eddy Arnold Show" debuted on network radio (NBC).
In 1934, at age 16, Arnold made his debut on WTJS-AM in Jackson, TN. In 1938, he was hired by WMPS-AM in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was one of its most popular performers. He soon left WMPS for KWK-AM in St. Louis, Missouri, followed briefly by a spot at WHAS-AM in Louisville, Kentucky.
He performed for WSM-AM on the Grand Ole Opry during 1943 as a solo artist. In 1944, Arnold signed a contract with RCA Victor, and with manager Colonel Tom Parker, who would later manage Elvis Presley. Arnold's first single was little noticed, but the next, "Each Minute Seems a Million Years", scored number five on the country charts in 1945. Its success began a decade of unprecedented chart performance; Arnold's next 57 singles all ranked in the top 10, including 19 number-one successes.
Arnold began working for television in the early 1950s, hosting The Eddy Arnold Show. The summer program was broadcast successively by all three television networks, replacing the Perry Como and Dinah Shore programs.
➦In 1956...Mickey Dolenz began his television career in NBC’s “Circus Boy” series. He became a star ten years later when he was hired for the "drummer" role in NBC's The Monkees.
➦In 1968...Harry Harrison does first morning show at 77WABC NYC.
➦In 1969…The mainstream London Daily Mirror reported that Paul McCartney was dead. It was the the start of the 'Paul Is Dead' hoax.The hoax gained traction in the U.S. on October 12, 1969 when Detroit DJ Russ Gibb's listeners shared and discussed "clues to the death" on WKNR-FM.
Radio Marti
➦In 1981...The administration of President Reagan announced plans for what would become known as Radio Marti. Radio Marti provided unfiltered and uncensored news to Cuba.
➦In 2003...Rosalie Allen died at age 79 (Born Julie Marlene Bedra; June 27, 1924). He was a country singer, songwriter, guitarist, columnist and television and radio host who was noted for her yodeling. She was known as the Queen of Yodeling, and was the first woman inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame.
Inspired by the singing cowboys of the 1930s, Allen taught herself to sing and play her brother's guitar. In 1939, she earned the title 'Queen of Yodeling' after winning a yodeling contest, and continued to use this moniker throughout her career. The contest's prize was to sing on WBRE in Wilkes-Barre, PA, a performance which was her radio debut.
Following her first appearance on WBRE, Allen went to WORK in York, PA and was a vocalist on Shorty Fincher's radio show Prairie Pals. In 1943 she moved to New York City and performed on Denver Darling's Swing Billies pseudo-western radio show. In 1944 she became a regular on Zebe Carver's Hill Country Jamboree show, which led to an offer of her own show the same year. The half-hour program, Prairie Stars on WOV (now WADO) in NYC, aired six nights a week and was so popular that Country Music magazine named her the most famous country music personality in Manhattan.
She also performed nightly live shows at the Village Barn and hosted an Armed Forces Radio Network show from 1949 to 1956. She stayed with the WOV show until 1956, when the rising popularity of rock music contributed to a downturn in that of country music. In the 1940s, she also ran a country western record shop called Rosalie Allen's Hillbilly Music Center on West 54th Street in New York City, one of the first record stores in the United States to exclusively sell country music.
➦In 2004...Bill Ballance died at age 85 (Born - October 27, 1918). He is widely credited for paving the way for "shock jocks" with his controversial show in the 1970s which covered topics such as relationships and sex.
Ballance had radio station stints in Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and San Diego. Ballance was the evening personality late 1950s-early 60s on #1 rated KFWB. In Los Angeles, on KGBS, Ballance became well known as the host of the Feminine Forum radio show, which he aired beginning in 1971.
The Feminine Forum was dropped in 1973, and he began the Bill Ballance Show. He left Los Angeles in 1978 and went to radio station KFMB in San Diego, where he remained for fifteen years. While his early years in San Diego were successful from a ratings standpoint, his core audience was much smaller than what he had in Los Angeles.
Ballance continued his practice of mixing open-topic callers with various in-studio guests (psychologists, counselors, physicians, etc.), as well as his own hand-written monologues.
By the late 1980s, however, his popularity began to wane. As other talk show hosts copied and changed the "shock jock" format, and as the format itself began to evolve into racier topics and discussions, the "Bill Ballance Show" began to seem tame by comparison.
He retired from radio in 1993, after more than 50 years in the industry.
Angels radio broadcaster Mark Langston was to remain overnight in a Houston hospital after suffering what the team called a “medical emergency” in the first inning of Friday night’s 6-4 loss to the Astros, reports The Orange County Register.
Langston had just completed announcing the lineups before the first pitch of Friday night’s game at Minute Maid Park when he reportedly collapsed, and medics were summoned into the booth. Jose Mota, who normally handles the pre- and post-game shows on television, filled in for the rest of the game with play-by-play announcer Terry Smith.
Langston was transported to a local hospital, where he was alert and undergoing testing to determine the cause of the episode, the team said. There was no further information on his condition, though Angels TV broadcaster Victor Rojas tweeted out postgame that Langston was “doing well.”
Langston, 59, is finishing his seventh season as part of the Angels’ radio team. He pitched for 16 years in the majors (winning 179 games), including eight seasons with the Angels.
He pitched a combined no-hitter with Angels reliever Mike Witt on April 11, 1990, led the American League in strikeouts in three of his first four seasons (while with Seattle) and was a seven-time Gold Glove award winner.
