The Reno Media Group has announced the return of Tricia Gallenbeck to Nevada as VP/GM of Reno cluster including Country KOLC 93.7 FM and Country KSGG 1230 AM / K245V, 96.9 FM The Rodeo.
Gallenbeck was most recently Director of Sales at Beasley's Fayetteville, NC cluster for five years. She began her career at Beasley in Las Vegas where she was AE, GSM and Director of New Business and Events for over six years.
“I’m excited that Tricia will be leading our terrific team in Reno,” said Reno Media Group President Tom Quinn. “She has a fabulous record of success in both Las Vegas and Fayetteville, NC and she has lots of exciting new ideas to help our clients and staff.”
KOLC 93.7 FM (87 Kw) Red=Local Coverage
Gallenbeck said, “I began my broadcast career in Nevada, my parents still live in the state and we have family there. It’s a dream come true to get back out west and work with Reno Media Group. Tom Quinn and his staff have a stellar reputation and incredible broadcast brands. It’s an honor to be given this stewardship. I look forward to utilizing the strength of this media group to increase brand awareness for our clients and the community.”
Alpha Media has announced Valerie Sickles as the new Corporate Marketing Manager.
Reporting to Randi P’Pool, Corporate VP, Marketing, and based in Louisville, KY, Valerie will be focused mainly on the East Coast and centrally located Alpha markets with brand/station marketing, contesting, promotions and event facilitation.
Valerie previously held the position of Director of Urban Promotions and Community Affairs for Alpha Media – Louisville, where she was responsible for coordinating and implementing all marketing initiatives, sales and on air promotions and special events for Louisville’s top rated radio stations.
She also served as the community affairs liaison for all five Alpha Media – Louisville stations and Midday personality on WMJM – Magic 101.3. Prior to her career in radio, Valerie was the Director of Programming and Creative Services for a local television station.
Alpha Media VP, Marketing, Randi P’Pool commented on the announcement, “’I’ve worked with Valerie for quite some time at the market level and have been impressed with her passion, drive and energy. She’s a great addition to the Alpha marketing team and I’m very excited to have her on board to help us continue growing all of our live and local brands.”
“I am extremely excited for this opportunity. I look forward to my expanded role working with this team of awesome media professionals and contributing to the continued success and growth of Alpha Media,” Valerie remarked.
A familiar voice is joining KOMO's award winning radio news team next week. Elisa Jaffe will partner with Tom Glasgow as an afternoon news anchor on Newsradio KOMO 1000 AM / 97.7 FM starting Monday, Dec. 14.
Elisa is a longtime favorite in Seattle with decades of television news reporting on KOMO-TV, and also hosting the popular Northwest Afternoon.
"Elisa is known and respected around the Northwest for her decades of hosting KOMO TV's Northwest Afternoon and anchoring and reporting on KOMO 4 News," said KOMO Program Director Rick Van Cise. "She brings the perfect balance of personality, news credibility and compassionate storytelling to KOMO's drive home."
She replaces Jane Shannon who passed away this past summer. "I could never fill our friend Jane Shannon's shoes but it's an honor to follow in her footsteps," said Jaffe.
The 15th Annual 102.9 WMGK Classic Rock Art Show and Sale starts today and features the world’s largest collection of photographs, paintings and drawings made by and featuring the biggest names in classic rock, at the Montgomery Mall, North Wales PA near Lansdale.
The show’s amazing collection of works includes pieces created by classic rockers such as Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, John Entwistle (The Who), Jimi Hendrix, Ron Wood (Rolling Stones), Robby Krieger (The Doors), Ringo Starr, Carlos Santana and many others. This year’s Classic Rock Art Show will also feature photos of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Van Halen, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, Beatles animation art, gold records, concert tour posters and hand signed artwork.
This year’s featured pieces include an amazing display of hand signed drum heads and guitars from Ringo Starr, The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, Guns N Roses’ Steven Adler, AC/DC, KISS and more.
The exhibit space is located on the lower level, right next to Sears. Admission to the exhibit is free and all of the art is available for purchase with prices ranging from $5 to $10,000, with plenty of items priced between $30 and $200.
This year’s show will feature an appearance by Ron Campbell, Director of the Beatles Cartoon Series and Animator for the film, Yellow Submarine. From December 11 through December 13, Campbell will sign autographs, talk to attendees and he’ll also be displaying ‘Childhood Memories II’ a beautiful piece featuring 50 years of his cartoons. Campbell was involved in legendary cartoons such as: Scooby Doo, Rugrats, Winnie the Pooh, Smurfs, Flintstones, Jetsons, George of the Jungle, Krazy Kat, Ed, Edd & Eddy.
On Monday December, 14, MGK midday DJ, Debbi Calton (9a-2p), will broadcast live from the art space.
ESPN and College Football Playoff officials have agreed that there will be no advertising for daily fantasy games during the telecasts of the national semifinals or the national championship game this season, the latest move by college athletics to distance itself from an increasingly controversial business that critics say constitutes gambling.
In an email Wednesday, Bill Hancock, the Playoff’s executive director, confirmed the decision, which was made last month. An ESPN spokeswoman also confirmed it.
The NY Times reports this week the NCAA had already informed its broadcast partners that it would not permit daily fantasy ads during its championship broadcasts, including the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and baseball’s College World Series.
Share of US Adults living in middle-income houseolds is shrinking
Americans in middle-income households have lost significant ground since 1970, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.
The middle class has long been the country’s economic majority, but our new analysis finds that’s no longer true. Meanwhile, the middle class has fallen further behind upper-income households financially, which now hold a larger share of aggregate household income than ever before in the 44-year period examined.
Pew defines middle-income households as those whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income after incomes have been adjusted for household size. This amounts to about $42,000 to $126,000 annually, in 2014 dollars and for a household of three. Lower-income households have incomes less than two-thirds of the median, while upper-income households have incomes that are more than double the median.
Arthur R. Taylor, a former corporate wunderkind who became president of CBS at 37, unloaded an underperforming network-owned property, the New York Yankees, and then, as a sometimes nettlesome overachiever, was fired by William S. Paley, the imperious CBS chairman and founder, died on Dec. 3 in Salisbury Township, Pa.
Taylor was also instrumental at CBS in instituting television’s family viewing hour, a short-lived effort, pushed by the Federal Communications Commission and adopted voluntarily by the networks, to reduce prime-time programming deemed unsuitable for children.
His ouster in 1976, four years after he had been recruited from outside the company, startled the broadcasting industry, coming as it did as the Columbia Broadcasting System was reporting record earnings for the 24th consecutive quarter.
While ratings were disappointing, sales and revenue hit new highs. But Mr. Paley was said to have been personally vexed by the independence and lack of deference of Mr. Taylor, his handpicked president and potential successor, and by an exodus of creative executives.
After the ouster Mr. Taylor became the founding president of the New York City Partnership, a business and civic lobbying group formed by the banker David Rockefeller and affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce. (It is now called the Partnership for New York City.)
Taylor was also the founding president of the Entertainment Channel later to become A&E.
When he arrived at the network’s headquarters in Manhattan, known as Black Rock, Mr. Taylor became the second consecutive successor to the legendary Frank Stanton to be hired from outside the broadcasting industry, a manifestation of Paley’s effort to diversify the company.
In 1973 he oversaw the sale of CBS’s share of the Yankees to a group of investors led by George M. Steinbrenner for $8.7 million. CBS had purchased 80 percent of the team for $11.2 million in 1964. Two years later, the team finished last in the American League for the first time since 1912, and it had never ranked higher than fourth by the time CBS sold its share.
An unusual accident has kept WSSP 1270 / 105.7 FM the Fan's popular radio host Bill Michaels off-air for a few days. The day after he covered the Green Bay Packers thrilling Hail Mary win over the Detroit Lions, he was rushed to a Cincinnati hospital.
"Doing post game show after the Packers won -- and from there, I left," Michaels said.
After the game, Michaels traveled to his hometown of Cincinnati last Friday, December 4th, bringing with him a housewarming gift for a friend -- a snowblower.
When he arrived in Cincinnati, he tried to start the snowblower, and he was left with a torn triceps and a severe concussion.
"A friend of mine bought a new house and I had a snowblower that I hadn't used in two years and I said 'here, I will give it to you -- it's a really nice one' and I couldn't get the thing to start," Michaels said. "When I went to pull to start it, the electrical box on the side of the house that has the glass bubble, I pulled so hard I hit the corner with my bicep," Michaels said.
Michaels says he tore his triceps and punctured a nerve. He then collapsed, and hit his head on the concrete -- which led to a severe concussion.
For decades, Ms. Lou starred as a local TV personality on NBC's Channel 5, on nationally syndicated TV shows and in the hundreds of country music records she recorded in the Queen City.
Born Mary Joan Kath in Towanda, Illinois, Ms. Lou began playing the violin and guitar as a child. By age 16, she was singing and performing on local radio stations in the Midwest. Her big break came a year later when she was signed to a contract to perform on a barn dance show, the Brush Creek Follies. She was known as Sally Carson and her group was The Rhythm Rangers. The show was broadcast nationwide.
She arrived in Cincinnati at age 20 as Mary Joan Ewins. She signed on at WLW-AM radio to fill the station's need for a "girl yodeler," according to Enquirer archives.
Known for her yodeling, she later was dubbed Bonnie Lou and was featured on a show that became the Midwestern Hayride, a country and western radio program on WLW. This led to tours and eventually several performances at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
Lou was a popular radio performer through the 1940s. She also hosted Six Star Ranch, a WLW radio show that was transmitted nationwide, and in the 1980s she hosted a weekend country music show in Middletown for a few years.
She performed in public occasionally into her 80s. Her last public performance was in 2006
In 1944..."The Chesterfield Supper Club," a 15-minute weekday program airing at 7:00 p.m. (ET), debuted on NBC Radio. Initially, Perry Como hosted all the shows. Beginning with the second season, he reduced his schedule to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while Jo Stafford hosted Tuesdays and Thursdays. In 1948, Peggy Lee took over the Thursday broadcast. In 1949, the program began its final two years on radio as a weekly 30-minute show.
In 1954...Allan Waters purchased 10-year old Toronto radio station CHUM 1050 AM from patent medicine king Jack Part, for shares Waters held in Part’s companies, and $500 a month.
CHUM 1050 AM (50 Kw-DA) Red-Local Coverage
CHUM was a 1000 watt daytime-only station, which Waters built into a 50,000 watt top 40 juggernaut.
In 1964...Soul and gospel singer Sam Cooke was shot to death. He was 33. The manager of a Los Angeles motel claimed she shot Cooke in self-defense after he turned on her when she tried to help a young woman who said Cooke had tried to rape her
In 1985...GE, General Electric, bought RCA Corporation for $6.3 billion. NBC Radio and Television was also included in the purchase.
In 1991...Robert Q. Lewis, personality for WNEW 1130 AM , WNBC 660 AM, KHJ, 1961-62; KFI, 1972-75; KRLA, 1975 in Los Angelesm died at 71 years-of-age.
Robert Q Lewis - 1956
Lewis made his radio debut in 1931, at age 11, on a local radio show, "Dr. Posner's Kiddie Hour". He enrolled in the University of Michigan in 1938, where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Delta fraternity. He left to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1942 and became a radio operator in the Signal Corps.
After the war, he became an announcer and disc jockey. Among those who served as writers on Lewis's radio programs were playwright Neil Simon, author and dramatist Paddy Chayevsky, and radio comedy writer Goodman Ace, who headed a CBS team of comedy writers, including Simon, that acted largely as "script doctors" for existing shows in need of fixing. Ace was frustrated over CBS's revamp of the show he assembled for Lewis, The Little Show: "I give them a good, tight, fifteen-minute comedy show," Ace told Time, "and what do they do? Expand it to half an hour and throw in an orchestra and an audience. Who the hell said a comedy show had to be half an hour, Marconi? Ida Cantor?"
Future talk-show host and producer Merv Griffin often sang on Lewis's show. Lewis began appearing on television, but he continued on radio, first for the CBS and later as a disc jockey in Los Angeles. One of his radio series, Robert Q.'s Waxworks, was devoted to old records, setting the pattern that later radio personalities like Dr. Demento would follow. His interview-based program was heard locally on KFI, Los Angeles, in 1972.
In 1992...WNEW 1130 AM, New York City ended broadcasting after 58 years.
WNEW ended live programming on December 11, 1992 at 8pm; they then ran their regularly scheduled talk shows.
During overnights and on the weekend, WNEW simulcasted Country WYNY, except for Giants games and the evening talk shows.
December 15, 1992 marked the end of WNEW programming.
At 4pm that day, WNEW ran the Perry Como Christmas Show, then the talk shows from 7 to midnight.
At 11:59pm, they cut in to Larry King, did an ID and signed off forever.
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and broadcasting icon John Madden is recovering after recently underwent successful open-heart surgery at a San Francisco hospital, according to the National Football League.
According to an NFL statement, the surgery was to repair blockages. The league said Madden was released from the hospital Wednesday and is expected to fully recover.
"He sounds great, but is frustrated about being on injured reserve for the time being. He is anxious to return to action soon doing the important work he does for our game," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.
"We are all pleased to know that John's procedure was successful and wish him a speedy recovery."
For years, CBS Radio/San Francisco reports that Madden has offered his sports analysis weekday mornings on KCBS 740 AM / 106.9 FM. Madden's radio colleagues offered their best wishes.
Donald Trump is again dominating the media’s coverage of the presidential race, frustrating his Republican rivals who can’t gain traction for their own campaigns, according to The Hill.
The constant media attention has been the main ingredient in Trump’s lasting popularity. It has contributed to keeping him well ahead of his rivals in national presidential polls and surveys of states with early primary contests such as New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Even negative coverage can be a boon to Trump, helping to firm up his base of supporters and communicate his wildly popular brand of straight-talking, anti-establishment conservatism that he punctuates with unapologetically outrageous statements.
Trump’s proposal to bar Muslims from the U.S. came at a point when his media coverage had faded.
Prior to those comments, the number of times he was being mentioned on television compared to other candidates was at its lowest point in months, according to data compiled by The GDelt Project, which monitors news coverage.
Many Republicans viewed Trump’s proposal as a calculated effort to recapture the spotlight and stake out the far-right position on an issue that animates the base.
They believe the media has fallen into his trap.
Trump’s media dominance is hurting the other candidates who have to spend valuable campaign dollars on ads that have, for the most part, produced only small returns on investment.
TV still gets the bulk of political spending during any election cycle. But, reports AdAge, with an eye toward the growth of digital and cable advertising in the political world, the nation's broadcasters have kicked off a campaign to sell themselves as the most influential.
Television Bureau of Advertising CEO Steve Lanzano said his group will begin to air 15-second spots, first in Washington D.C, then in the early primary states of New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, then in most other states to remind political consultants and candidates that old-school broadcast ads reach more voters than other media.
"There are a lot of shiny new objects out there, especially digital shiny new objects," that have captivated the attention of political campaigns, but broadcast delivers, Mr. Lanzano said.
With 5 hours a day on average for broadcast TV viewing, "no other media comes close," he said.
TVB has set up a new website, www.WeGetVoters.com, that says Americans trust local news more than cable and that broadcast has a far greater reach than cable nationally and locally.
Last week, the New York Times wrote a story about why politicians are turning to radio ads to target voters, and they summarized that radio is "the closest thing to a captive audience for political commercials." Radio is a cost-effective way to reach voters in an environment less cluttered than TV.
Meanwhile, in his latest blog posting, Pierre Bouvard, CMO for Cumulus Media/Westwood One, notes that radio now offers sophisticated new targeting tools from Nielsen to help politicians reach the right voters on the right format, station, and time period. Nielsen has introduced "Nielsen Voter Ratings," a political segmentation tool to the 48 Portable People Meter local markets. This week, Nielsen will be sending our 18 local PPM markets their first set of Nielsen Voter Ratings based on the Spring 2015 survey.
Here are two key takeaways:
Radio reaches the most voters in America, including the 100 million Americans who do not watch local TV news.
Radio reaches voters through both music and spoken word programming formats.
A federal court judge has denied a motion to dismiss Nielsen’s $1 million ratings tampering lawsuit against Bubba The Love Sponge (Todd Clem) and his Bubba Radio Network.
According to InsideRadio, Judge James D. Whittemore on Dec. 1 denied a motion filed by one of Clem’s attorneys to dismiss the suit, rendering the motion “moot” due to Nielsen’s Nov. 27 filing of an amended complaint against the Tampa-based syndicated morning man. The complaint put more meat on the bones of Nielsen’s case, alleging the host’s efforts to distort the ratings went well beyond the one panelist Clem publicly admitted to having contact with and extending to at least one other state.
Originally Filed Nov. 13 by Clem’s attorney Todd Foster, the motion to dismiss was based on grounds that Nielsen’s suit lacked merit to be heard in federal court and “bites off more than it can chew.” It instead requested an oral argument.
Two weeks later, Nielsen filed the amended complaint, spelling out in graphic detail Clem’s alleged communications with four additional panelists it claims “falsified their actual listening” in response to “solicitations and according to his detailed instructions.”
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, alleges fraud, violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, tortious interference with contractual and business relations and conspiracy.
Neanwhile, Bubba's flagship station in Tampa, WBRN 98.7 FM, has dropped it's "Bubba Radio" branding. The Beasley-owned station is now branding as "98.7 FM No Rules Rock". However, Bubba's morning show remains on-air and the URL for the station remains www.bubba987.com.
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved FCC member Jessica Rosenworcel for a second term at the agency.
Rosenworcel, a Democrat and a former staffer on the Senate committee, moved over to the FCC in 2012. Her re-nomination for a full five-year term was quickly approved by voice vote at the start of a markup Wednesday. The Hill reports her confirmation hearing in late October went relatively smoothly, with only a few tough questions about the FCC controversial net neutrality rules, concerns about the collection of FCC enforcement fines and criticism about the agency's sometimes delayed responses to Congress.
It is unclear when her re-nomination will get a vote in the full Senate. Usually partisan commission nominations move in pairs — one Democrat and one Republican. Leaders had predicted her nomination might move with a new Republican Federal Trade Commission nominee, but no one has been picked for the position yet.
There is no rush to move Rosenworcel's nomination. Thought her term technically expired earlier this year, she would be able to serve throughout President Obama's term regardless.
A growing percentage of American households are cutting the cable TV cord each year, according to eMarketer’s first forecast for the pay TV market.
In 2015, 4.9 million US households will unsubscribe from traditional pay TV services, a jump of 10.9% over last year. And that growth will accelerate in the coming years, with the number of incremental cord-cutting households jumping another 12.5% in 2016. In fact, by the end of next year, the number of US households subscribing to cable and satellite will drop below 100 million.
“This year, the number of digital video services expanded at a faster pace than ever before,” said eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna. “In addition to standalone offerings from the likes of HBO, there are new digital bundles that include many of the channels consumers could only have received with cable and satellite subscriptions in the past. This widespread availability of digital content makes cord-cutting a viable option for a growing segment of the viewing population.”
Cable and satellite providers will steadily lose customers through 2019. The number of US households subscribing to cable TV will drop 0.4% this year, while the number of US households subscribing to satellite TV will drop 1.5%. Conversely, more American households will subscribe to TV packages provided by telecom providers such as Verizon and AT&T. That segment will jump 1.8% this year.
Benztown, an international radio imaging, production library, programming, jingles and voice-over services company and one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S., has released its second annual Benztown 50 Voice Power Index, the radio industry’s exclusive ranking of the top 50 voiceover artists in the U.S. and Canada.
Benztown enlisted P1 Research to compile and analyze industry data that was the foundation for the ranking. This year, Benztown expanded the Voice Power Index beyond the United States to honor the signature voices of the Canadian radio market. Pat Garrett captured the #1 position as the top VO artist in the U.S. and Canada.
This year's Top 10:
Pat Garrett
Scott Fisher
John Willyard
Chad Erickson
Rachel McGrath
Harry Legg
Scott Matthews
Jeff Berlin
Cousin Deke
Chris Corley
There are 10 voiceover professionals making their debut on this year’s Benztown 50 Voice Power Index.
More than 373 U.S. and Canadian radio groups provided information for this prestigious annual list, which was analyzed and ranked by P1 Research’s proprietary algorhythm. The Benztown 50 ranking is based on several criteria, including number of radio station affiliates, station size and market.
Dave “Chachi” Denes, President of Benztown, said: “The value of outstanding voiceover to successful radio brands cannot be overstated. The very best voiceover professionals shape the listener experience and build distinctive audio brands that engage, captivate and entertain. As an industry leader in producing high quality radio voiceover, imaging and audio branding, we are proud to recognize our industry’s most accomplished and indelible voiceover talent across the U.S. and Canada. We congratulate and honor those talented individuals who comprise this year’s Benztown 50 Voice Power Index, and thank them for their distinguished contributions to the industry we all love.”
The following voiceover professionals comprise the 2015 Benztown 50 Voice Power Index. They will be honored at a reception next April at the Worldwide Radio Summit in Hollywood.
Click Hereto see the entire Top 50 List and for audio.
