CBS, CNN and other major media companies are starting to pull e-cigarette advertising off their airways, as the death toll from a mysterious vaping-related illness continues to climb and health regulators across the world pull flavored vaping products off their shelves.
CBS decided to stop taking future e-cigarette advertising, a spokesman confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday. The decision comes nearly a week after CNN told The Daily Beast it would no longer allow vaping products to advertise on its network. CNN said it would reconsider the policy if research shows vaping products are not harmful.
CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia is also dropping e-cigarette advertising from its other networks. That includes cable channels TNT and TBS, which have both run ads for vaping company Juul in recent weeks.
“WarnerMedia reserves the right to withdraw advertising from its platforms at its discretion,” spokeswoman Jennifer Toner said in a statement to CNBC. “Given warnings from the CDC, the AMA and the American Lung Association to consumers, our company has revised its policies regarding e-cigarette advertising, and will no longer accept advertising for this category. We will continue to monitor the investigations by relevant medical agencies and may re-evaluate our position as new facts come to light.”
According to ad measurement company iSpot, more than 20 networks have run Juul ads in the past two weeks, costing more than $2.2 million for more than 900 airings. CNBC has reached out to each network for comment.
Viacom has advertised for Juul in the past two weeks on networks including BET, CMT, TV Land and Paramount Network.
Last week, CNBC reported that Juul planned to continue running its “Make the Switch” ad campaign even after the Food and Drug Administration accused the company last week of illegally advertising its nicotine pods as a safer alternative to cigarettes. Companies can’t advertise their products as less harmful than cigarettes without the FDA first approving the claims, and Juul has not yet submitted an application with the FDA.
At least seven people have died and roughly 400 people have become sick from a mysterious lung illness doctors have traced back to vaping, according to state health agencies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
AT&T Inc. is exploring parting with its DirecTV unit, reports The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, a sharp reversal from Chief Executive Randall Stephenson’s strategy to make the $49 billion bet on the satellite provider a key piece of the phone giant’s future.
The telecom giant has considered various options, including a spinoff of DirecTV into a separate public company and a combination of DirecTV’s assets with Dish Network Corp. , its satellite-TV rival, the people said.
AT&T may ultimately decide to keep DirecTV in the fold. Despite the satellite service’s struggles, as consumers drop their TV connections, it still contributes a sizable volume of cash flow and customer accounts to its parent.
AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015 for $49 billion. The company’s shrinking satellite business is under a microscope after activist investor Elliott Management Corp. disclosed a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T last week and released a report pushing for strategic changes. Elliott has told investors that AT&T should unload DirecTV, The Wall Street Journal has previously reported.
There could be regulatory hurdles to any deal with Dish, which has about 12 million subscribers.
Beasley Media Group has announced News Talk Radio WCTC 1450 AM will debut This Morning – America’s First News with Gordon Deal from 5am to 9am weekday mornings beginning on Monday, September 23 in New Jersey.
Deal, whose highly successful show, which features a lively blend of intelligent information, humor, and expert analysis, can currently be heard on more than 275 markets across the United States and around the world, originally served as a news and sports anchor at the station in the 90’s.
“When an opportunity to establish a fresh new morning show presented itself, bringing
Gordon Deal’s program to the station was a no brainer,” said Beasley Media Group New Jersey Senior Vice President and Regional Market Manager Daniel Finn. “It’s a new program for the station, exclusive in our market, with a well-respected host who earned his stripes right here in Central Jersey.”
“It’s tremendously exciting to return to the radio station that brought me in as a rookie and taught me virtually everything I know as a news reporter and anchor,” said Deal.
Jennifer Kushinka, who currently serves as the program’s on air news anchor and also worked at WCTC-AM early in her career, will provide the latest breaking national headlines on the show.
WCTC-AM News Anchor Racquel Williams will continue to provide the local updates in the mornings at the top and bottom of the hour for a seamless blend of local and national news, along with sports traffic and weather.
iHeartMedia has announced that Brent Johnson has been named General Sales Manager. He will report to Kristy Beebe, SVP of Sales for iHeartMedia Kentucky-Indiana and be responsible for driving revenue growth and overseeing sales opportunities for Country WAMZ 97.5 FM, HotAC WLGX 100.5 KissFM, Urban WTFX Real 93.1 and CHR WNRW 98.9 Radio Now.
"We are proud to have Brent on our iHeartMedia Louisville team," said Beebe. "Our team is highly impressed by Brent's previous digital experience. His familiarity of the Louisville market will contribute greatly to the success of this team."
Johnson joins the Louisville market from OOHology Advertising Agency, where he most recently served as the vice president of marketing. He also served as the senior manager of digital business development for Learfield IMG College and senior digital strategist for Google. In addition, Johnson played football for the University of Louisville before playing professionally in the National Football League for a year.
"I am extremely excited to be a part of the iHeart family," said Johnson. "For the last fifteen years, I have had enormous opportunities to develop my leadership skills, which has led to my career here at iHeart. Being able to work at the nexus of digital and social technologies and now pair those learnings with music, sound, and voice, will continue to help us impact our consumers because that's where growth, for any kind of business, happens."
FOX News Media has re-signed Anchor and Global Markets Editor Maria Bartiromo to a new multiyear deal, extending her tenure with FOX Business Network (FBN) and FOX News Channel (FNC), announced Suzanne Scott, CEO of FOX News Media.
In making the announcement, Ms. Scott said, “Maria Bartiromo has been a pioneer in business journalism for 30 years. As the first journalist to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, she has been a change agent throughout her entire career. Her exceptional insights and incredible work ethic have been of tremendous value to FOX Business and FOX News and we’re thrilled to have her continue anchoring each of her stellar programs for many more years to come.”
Ms. Bartiromo added, “FOX News and FOX Business have afforded me the opportunity to grow as a journalist and stretch myself in ways I’ve never imagined. I am so grateful for the opportunity and look forward to many more incredible years ahead.”
Joining FOX News Media in 2014, Ms. Bartiromo currently serves as the anchor of FBN’s Mornings with Maria (weekdays, 6-9 AM/ET) and Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street (Fridays, 9-9:30 PM/ET), as well as FNC’s Sunday Morning Futures (Sundays, 10-11 AM/ET).
.Prior to joining FBN and FNC, Ms. Bartiromo was part of the core team that built CNBC. During her 20-year tenure as the face of CNBC, she launched the network’s morning program, Squawk Box; anchored The Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo; and was the anchor and managing editor of the nationally syndicated On the Money with Maria Bartiromo, formerly The Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo.
Bartiromo has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including two Emmys and a Gracie Award. In 1995, she became the first television journalist to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and was the first female journalist to be inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame Class of 2011.
jācapps announced Wednesday that their mobile app platform, known as V4, has integrated with the Aptivada user management platform. This integration means that any of the hundreds of radio stations on the V4 platform who are Aptivada clients can now utilize Aptivada’s registration features.
Bob Kernen
jācapps’ COO Bob Kernen commented, “It is increasingly important for media companies to know who is consuming their content. Registered users are far more valuable to advertisers and programmers, and Aptivada’s platform makes it easy to capture this data. We continue to expand the offerings to our clients and are excited to provide access to Aptivada’s outstanding technology.”
Creighton Green
Aptivada Co-Founder Creighton Green added, “This extraordinary partnership with jācapps emphasizes the importance of offering streamlined tools that give each of our clients the ability to work through one platform versus duplicating efforts. We're thrilled to join forces and deploy solutions that are extremely efficient and a win/win for everyone. We are confident that this will help stations grow their audience while providing new and innovative solutions to advertisers.”
The first phase of the integration will support sign-up and registration via the media partners' mobile apps, enabling those partners to require registration for the use of certain content, including the stream. Future integrations will enable Aptivada’s contesting and other features.
Kernen added, “We look forward to growing our partnership with Aptivada and continuing to provide our clients with the solutions that empower them to grow their audience and their revenue via mobile, the most powerful media delivery platform there is.”
Nielsen has announced it has entered into a strategic alliance with OpenSlate, the leading independent provider of brand safety and content suitability measurement across global digital platforms. This collaboration combines OpenSlate’s expertise with Nielsen’s comprehensive suite of independent, third-party audience measurement offerings.
Nielsen will initially bring together OpenSlate’s technology with its Digital Ad Ratings. Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings is the industry’s leading currency measurement solution, providing comprehensive, next-day views of digital audiences across computer, mobile and connected devices in a way that is comparable to Nielsen TV Ratings.
OpenSlate provides advertisers with a consistent means of classifying content, measuring quality and assessing brand suitability. OpenSlate currently measures and scores more than 600 million ad-supported videos. Through this strategic alliance, Nielsen has acquired a minority stake in OpenSlate, providing equity capital to expand the company’s team and technology.
Jeni Gardner, Senior Director Media, North America, Unilever, said: “It’s encouraging to see Nielsen and OpenSlate join forces to commit to independent, third-party measurement. As part of Unilever’s Responsibility Framework, we are committed to supporting our partners who prioritize Responsible Infrastructure. This collaboration offers the opportunity for holistic and accountable solutions to keep people and brands safe online.”
“As CMOs look to connect with consumers with greater accuracy and intelligence, reaching the right audience in the right environment is more pivotal than ever,” said Nikesh Patel, SVP of Digital Product Leadership at Nielsen. “Our new strategic alliance with OpenSlate will allow us to deliver brand safety insights on top of the trusted digital audience measurement that Nielsen brings to the market.”
“OpenSlate is committed to independent measurement that furthers a healthy, high-quality content ecosystem,” said OpenSlate CEO Mike Henry. “We are thrilled to leverage our long track record in measuring content suitability in this new partnership with Nielsen, the leader in audience measurement.”
Nashville country music industry journalist and Dickson resident Chuck Dauphin dued Wednesday evening, following a series of complications from diabetes.
As a radio broadcaster, record promoter and journalist, he has spent the past 25 years sharing his passion for country music and carrying a torch for all of its artists, songwriters and industry members.
With over 1,000 articles published in various magazines and newspapers including Billboard, he was known for his integrity, preparation, creativity and passion for country music. His peers and close friends will also remember him for his quiet wit and unwavering support of others.
As one of the most well-respected journalists within the industry, the veteran radio and music journalist was presented with the 2014 CMA Media Achievement Award on the night of the “The 48th Annual CMA Awards.”
Dauphin launched his career as a professional radio host in 1991 during his junior year in high school, when he earned his first job in the music business at WDKN in Dickson, TN. He worked there for 18 years, rose to program director and was known to everyone in Dickson County by his on-air personality, “Crazy Chucky.” He enjoyed a flourishing radio career with stops at WNKX in Centerville, Tenn., Nashville’s WSM-AM, and he often appeared as a guest on SiriusXM’s country channels.
➦In 1921..Boston's WBZ radio, which now broadcasts at 1030 kHz AM and is the oldest surviving commercial radio station in New England, signed-on broadcasting from Springfield, MA.
The station has long been one of the highest-rated stations in the Boston area, and covers much of the eastern United States and Canada at night with its 50,000-watt clear-channel signal from its transmitter location in Hull, Massachusetts, which has been used by the station since 1940. The transmitter is a two tower directional array where each tower is 160 meters (520 ft) tall. The signal is intentionally directionalized from their coastal location for maximum power transmitted into the continental United States, giving WBZ outstanding multi-state coverage after sunset.
WBZ's initial license, for operation in Springfield, was issued by the Department of Commerce to the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company on September 15, 1921; it was the first license to specify broadcasts on 360 meters (833 kilohertz), and was subsequently deemed to be the first license for a commercial broadcast station. However, other stations, such as WWJ in Detroit, 1XE/WGI in Medford Hillside, and sister station KDKA in Pittsburgh, were already broadcasting under different license classifications.
Original Studio on Page Blvd.
The station's original transmitter and studios were located at the Westinghouse factory on Page Boulevard in East Springfield. However, WBZ's inaugural program, on September 19, 1921, was a remote broadcast from the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield.
The original format was general entertainment and information, which included live music (often classical music and opera), sports, farm reports, special events, and public affairs programming. Despite WBZ being housed in Springfield, it somewhat difficult to attract top-flight artists to the station, leading Westinghouse to open a studio at the Hotel Brunswick in Boston on February 24, 1924. WBZ also expanded its news programming via a partnership with the newspaper Boston Herald and Traveler. It also carried a considerable amount of sports broadcasts, including Boston Bruins hockey, Boston Braves baseball, and Harvard Crimson football.
Circa 1932
Because of its comparatively wide reach, the station often referred to itself as "WBZ, New England" as opposed to associating itself solely with Springfield or Boston. However, even after several power boosts (the station broadcast at a power of 100 watts in 1921, but was using 2,000 watts in April 1925, the station still had some trouble reaching Boston, leading Westinghouse to sign on WBZA, a 250-watt station at 1240 kHz, on August 20, 1925. Efforts were soon made to operate WBZA as a synchronous repeater of WBZ, by then at 900 kHz; this process was difficult, as the two transmitters often interfered with each other even in Boston, and WBZA went back and forth between the two frequencies for nearly a year before finally going to full-time synchronous operation in June 1926.
WBZ also continued to boost the power of its primary East Springfield transmitter; it was granted permission to operate with 5,000 watts on March 31, 1926, and by 1927 it was operating with 15,000 watts. Meanwhile, a combination of WBZ's growth and continued difficulties with the WBZA signal led the station to move its Boston studio to the Statler Hotel (now the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers) on June 1, 1927 and activate a new WBZA transmitter on June 9. The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) moved WBZ and WBZA to 990 kHz on November 11, 1928.
Amidst the technical changes, WBZ also began engaging in network activities. By 1925, it often shared programs with WJZ in New York City (which Westinghouse had also started in 1921, but sold to the Radio Corporation of America two years later), and a WBZ special commemorating the 150th anniversary of Paul Revere's "Midnight Ride" was also fed to WRC in Washington, D.C. and WGY in Schenectady, New York. This paved the way for the station to become a charter affiliate of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) on November 15, 1926, carrying the WJZ-originated NBC Blue Network beginning on January 1, 1927.
Today, WBZ is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a News/Talk format.
➦In 1932...The radio soap Just Plain Bill started airing It aired for about 20-years. It was a 15-minute daytime radio drama program heard on CBS Radio and NBC Radio. Originally called Bill the Barber, it told the story of Bill Davidson (Arthur Hughes), a barber in the town of Hartville, and his daughter Nancy (Ruth Russell). Bill often became involved in helping his friends and neighbors when he wasn't cutting hair. Also in the cast: Dick Janaver (1911-1999).
➦In 1955...Radio-TV personality Bill Cullen started at WRCA 660 AM in NYC.
Bill Cullen
Cullen's broadcasting career began in Pittsburgh at WWSW radio, where he worked as a disc jockey and play-by-play announcer or color commentator for Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Hornets games. In 1943, Cullen left WWSW to briefly work at rival station KDKA before leaving Pittsburgh a year later to try his luck in New York.
A week after arriving in New York he was hired as a staff announcer at CBS. To supplement his then-meager income, he became a freelance joke writer for some of the top radio stars of the day including Arthur Godfrey, Danny Kaye, and Jack Benny; he also worked as a staff writer for the Easy Aces radio show.
His first venture into game shows was in 1945 when he was hired as announcer for a radio quiz called Give And Take. Between 1946 and 1953 he also worked as announcer for various other local and network shows, including the radio version of Mark Goodson and Bill Todman's first game show, Winner Take All, hosted by Ward Wilson; Cullen took over as host four months later when Wilson left.
After a brief stint at WNEW in 1951 he later hosted a popular morning show at WRCA radio from 1955 to 1961. His last regular radio job was as one of the hosts of NBC Radio's Monitor from 1971 to 1973.
➦In 1970...Good Guy Ed Baer aired last show at WMCA 570 AM NYC.
Aircheck from 1964:
Baer spent more than a 60 years on New York area stations, including as a “Good Guy” on WMCA 570 AM, followed by stints on WCBS 101.1 FM, WYNY, WHN 1050 AM, and WHUD among others.
Baer began in New York radio at WMCA in the fall of 1961, at age 25, the youngest member of the air staff. He remained there for 12 years, doing music, news and talk shows. Then, on to WHN, playing Country Music for 10 years, followed by 4 years at WYNY, where he also did sports on the NBC Radio Network. In 1986, he took over mornings with the Ed Baer Affair on 100.7 WHUD while also beginning fill-in stints on WCBS-FM, and often heard on their Radio Greats Weekends.
➦In 2018...Bill Gable, who entertained audiences at CKLW Windsor-Detroit and other stations across North America for 46-years passed away Tuesday evening. He died suddenly in a Windsor, Ontario hospital from complications of chronic pulmonary obstructive disorder (COPD). Gable retired in 2014.
➦In 2018...CBS News Radio announced the unexpected death of longtime correspondent and anchor of the World News Roundup Late Edition Dave Barrett has died. He was 63-years-of-age. He anchored hourly newscasts and was 3-time winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award.
WXPN, the member-supported public radio station of the University of Pennsylvania and producer of the NPR-distributed daily music program World Cafe, today announced that Raina Douris will become the new host of World Cafe starting on October 7.
Raina Douris
Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music.
She is also involved with Canada’s highest music honors: since 2017 she has hosted the Polaris Music Prize Gala, for which she is also a jury member, and she has also been a jury member for the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.
She succeeds Talia Schlanger as World Cafe host, who was also a CBC broadcaster before joining World Cafe in 2016. Schlanger announced earlier this year that she is leaving World Cafe in order to pursue new creative endeavors.
Douris began her career at Toronto rock station 102.1 the Edge, and then continued on to CBC Radio 3, where she hosted daily music-focused shows. In 2013, she was part of the team that launched Central Ontario Broadcasting’s Indie88 radio station, and served as its music director and afternoon host before moving to the morning show. In both 2014 and 2015 she was chosen as the “Best Radio Personality in Toronto” by Now Magazine readers for her work. She is a 2009 graduate of Ryerson University's Radio & Television Arts program.
“Raina brings a lot to World Cafe, including a deep love and knowledge of music and a refreshing way of communicating that on the radio and social platforms to a national audience,” said WXPN General Manager Roger LaMay.
“Music is one of the deepest, most meaningful ways human beings can connect to each other,” said Douris. “It's a connection that can seem transcendent; almost magical. I've spent my life chasing that magic and I'm thrilled that the chase has led me to World Cafe. I can't wait to discover and share music with World Cafe's passionate, curious audience - and I look forward to approaching conversations with the artists who create that music with that same passion and curiosity -- to bring you real, genuine, thoughtful conversations you can't hear anywhere else.”
A unique daily program of musical discovery, World Cafe is where more than half a million listeners each week are introduced to an eclectic blend of contemporary sounds from both legendary and up-and-coming artists, through exclusive interviews, performances and special features. It is recorded and produced at WXPN in Philadelphia, with additional exclusive content from its Nashville contributors and gathered from locations across the globe. World Cafe is distributed to more than 200 U.S. radio stations by NPR, and can be heard on WXPN from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Amazon.com Inc. introduction of a high-resolution version of its music service is a move into higher-quality audio—at a higher price—is a sign of the music-streaming market’s maturation, reports The Wall Street Journal citing music industry executives.
Amazon Music, the No. 3 music-streaming service by subscriptions, envisions bringing better sound quality to the masses. At $12.99 a month for Prime members and $14.99 a month for nonmembers, Amazon Music HD is intended to be more affordable than comparable services such as one from Tidal, which costs $19.99 a month.
Music streaming has become mainstream—accounting for 80% of revenue from recorded music, according to an industry trade group. But in getting there, audio quality has suffered, says Steve Boom, Amazon’s vice president for music. Enough customers now see audio quality as important enough that they will pay for it, so the move into the market is worth it, he said. “This is the next wave in music streaming,” Mr. Boom said.
The new tier, available Tuesday in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan, has more than 50 million audio tracks in CD-quality high definition and what the company describes as millions of tracks in even-higher-quality “Ultra-HD.”
Since the emergence of the CD—the first popular digital format—in the 1980s, there has been a running tension between convenience and audio quality—a dynamic that has only intensified with the emergence of digital downloads and streaming. Some audiophiles complained that early CDs, in particular, suffered from poorer sound quality than vinyl records. Many still believe CDs, downloads and streams sound worse than vinyl.
iHeartMedia announced Tuesday that Lynn Polovoy has been named Market President for Baltimore.
As Market President, Polovoy will work closely with the programming, business and sales teams for all station brands in Baltimore. She will also oversee the station’s on-air and digital programming as well as create new business and revenue opportunities.
Lynn Polovoy
Polovoy will report to Aaron Hyland, Region President for iHeartMedia Washington D.C./Baltimore.
“Lynn is an incredible leader who has a deep connection to our team in Baltimore as well as our community of listeners and advertisers,” said Hyland. “I am highly confident that Lynn will continue to contribute to our ongoing success and growth in the Baltimore market.”
Polovoy has more than two decades of sales experience, most recently serving as vice president of sales for iHeartMedia Baltimore. She also served as the general sales manager and account manager for iHeartMedia Baltimore and general sales manager for WZBA. She began her career at Radio One.
“We are so fortunate to have a set of brands known for the best on-air, online and experiential content in the market,” said Polovoy. “I am delighted for the opportunity to lead the Baltimore market and look forward to the continued success of our team.”
iHeartMedia brings Alex Mac to CHR WDCG 105.1 FM (G105) as afternoon host and Assistant Program Director, effective October 1.
He'll air weekday afternoons from 4-9pm. Most recently, Mac was the afternoon host and Assistant Program Director at iHM's KDXA-FM (ALT 106.3) Des Moines. He's also served as an air personality for KLLT-FM (ALT 104.9) St. Louis and WRXL-FM Richmond, VA.
"Alex's passion for music and entertainment is like no other," said iHeartMedia Virginia-Carolina Region Senior VP A.J. "I look forward to him joining the team and I am thrilled about what he will bring to the Raleigh community as we build the next chapter of G105."
"I'm very excited to join the iHeartMedia team in Raleigh - to help lead the iconic, market-leading G105 brand is an incredible opportunity," added Mac. "I also can't wait to catch up each weekday afternoon with our listeners and invite them to be a bigger part of G105. We're on-air, on social media and on the streets of Raleigh as a real part of the community."
For more than a decade, Brock and Salk has been a part of the daily morning routine for Seattle sports fans on KIRO 710 AM.
Things in life have a tendency to change, however, and that is the case for Brock Huard and Mike Salk, reports the station website.
“We’re going to venture into uncharted territory – at least for us,” Salk says.
That uncharted territory is a weekly podcast, which will replace the daily Brock and Salk show. Their last show in its current iteration will be Friday, Sept. 27, and the new podcast will launch the next Wednesday, Oct. 2.
Brock and Salk aren’t leaving the 710 ESPN Seattle airwaves entirely, either. Both will have regular segments on the station.
Huard and Salk note that this is a move they have put a lot of thought into and was brought upon due to their responsibilities elsewhere. They each are raising families and have other jobs – Huard is a college football TV analyst who joined FOX earlier this year while Salk’s role at Bonneville Seattle was recently expanded to Director of Programming.
Arkansas County Broadcasters, Inc., operating under the East Arkansas Broadcasters (EAB) company umbrella, has purchased the Stuttgart Daily Leader from GateHouse Media.
The Stuttgart Daily Leader, which was publishing twice a week before GateHouse announced it would be shut down Sept. 6, was founded in 1885 and was profitable until a few years ago.
Arkansas County Broadcasters Inc. operates six radio stations in the area: Oldies KWAK 1240AM 1240/102.7 FM), KWAK 105.5 FM The Duck, Country KDEW 97.3 FM, KVLO (101.7 Jack FM), Country KXFE 106.9 FM) and KOTN 102.5 FM.
Bobby Caldell
Scott Siler, Chief Operating Officer for EAB, commented about the future of the local paper:
“Our company is excited to purchase the Stuttgart Daily Leader. We feel like adding the Daily Leader to our group of 6 radio stations in South Central Arkansas will be a great outlet to help us continue to provide great local news and information to the area. We will be making plans over the next several weeks to bring the paper back in some fashion as soon as possible.”
Bobby Caldwell, Owner and President of EAB also added, “We are committed to strong local news, information and community involvement in all of our markets.We have operated this group of local radio stations for Stuttgart and the surrounding region since 1986 and look forward to continuing to provide the area with entertainment, news, information and great advertising outlets for many years to come. The purchase of the Stuttgart Daily Leader further solidifies this commitment.”
East Arkansas Broadcasters is a family-owned media company that has grown to be the largest radio group in the state.EAB operates 51 radio signals in markets that include Jonesboro, Wynne, Stuttgart, Dumas, Walnut Ridge, Pocahontas, Morrilton, Russellville and Clarksville. In addition to their radio stations, EAB also operates the EAB Ag Network and the EAB Sports Network, which is the official radio partner of Arkansas State University and Arkansas Tech University.
Entercom has announced the launch of Pinstripes & Bright Lights, a RADIO.COM Original podcast series hosted by legendary play-by-play New York Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling. The weekly podcast will focus on baseball and Yankees history.
In Pinstripes & Bright Lights, Sterling will recount iconic baseball stories and New York Yankees lore from the last 30 years in the booth. Listeners can expect insider stories on topics like the 2001 playoff race in the wake of September 11, an interesting encounter with team owner George “The Boss” Steinbrenner, Mariano Rivera’s MVP performance in the Yankees win over the Boston Red Sox in the 2003 American League Championship Series, and many more. Sterling will open each episode reading letters submitted by fans recounting their favorite Yankees moment or the impact the team has had on their life.
John Sterling
“As part of our ongoing content strategy, we seek to diversify on-demand audio offerings on RADIO.COM, the premiere destination for live and on-demand audio and sports content in the U.S.,” said Pam Russo, Senior Vice President and General Manager, RADIO.COM. “John is a legendary broadcaster with an unprecedented reputation among baseball fans across the country and we’re looking forward to hearing his insider stories.”
“Having called some of the team’s biggest moments, John Sterling is synonymous with the history of the New York Yankees and an iconic voice in the baseball community,” said Mark Chernoff, Senior Vice President, Entercom New York. “His intrinsic connection to the team will offer fans a unique perspective.”
“Throughout the course of my career I’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of fan support, so I decided to give back in a slightly different format from the broadcast,” said Sterling. “I have so many stories to tell, having called every single game played by [Derek] Jeter, Mariano [Rivera] and many other Yankee legends. That’s what Pinstripes & Bright Lights is all about – great players and great stories. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it and I’m excited to connect with my listeners over our shared love of this legendary New York team.”
Sterling has served as the radio voice of the New York Yankees since 1989, with games airing on sister station WCBS 880 (WCBS-AM) from 2002 to 2013 and WFAN since 2014. He also serves as host of the YES Network's “Yankeeography” series and hosts “Sterling on Sports,” a nightly team commentary on WCBS-TV.
Sterling previously announced New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets and New York Islanders games for WMCA-AM, WVNJ-AM, WOR-TV and SportsChannel New York. Previously, he spent nine years in Atlanta hosting a sports call-in show on WSB radio and covered the Atlanta Braves for Turner Sports.
Other roles include Yankees pre-game host for WMCA-AM and sister station 1010 WINS (WINS-AM) in New York, as well as play-by-play announcer for the then-Baltimore Bullets and Morgan State University football in Baltimore. Sterling has received two Emmy Awards for his role with the “Yankeeography” series.
Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB) has announced the fifth installment of its CRS360 webinar series.
"Continuous Diary Market Measurement: An Update" will be presented Tuesday, September 24 at 1pm (Central)
Nielsen's plan to implement continuous measurement in 46 diary markets was first announced early in 2019, with details on the rollout previewed during a Country Radio Seminar (CRS) session in February, hosted by Nielsen VP/Audience Insights Jon Miller.
Episode #5 of CRS360 will once again feature Miller, sharing what the initial August results have revealed so far. He'll be joined by programming consultant Joel Raab, whose client roster includes markets in these newly measured markets. This session will be moderated by Midwest Communications Corporate Country Brand Strategist Tom Baldrica, who will continue to serve as a core moderator at CRS 2020.
"Back in February, CRS, with the help of Nielsen, offered a preliminary look at how continuous measurement would be executed in these diary markets," said CRB Executive Director RJ Curtis. "With early data results now coming in, we aim to share insights that will help these PDs implement and analyze that information, to serve their listeners and communities. Remember, a large number of incredibly talented CRS attendees are comprised of programmers from smaller markets; it's incumbent upon CRS to always provide useful takeaways for all our radio constituents."
CRS 2020, will be held Wednesday, February 19 through Friday, February 21 at the Omni Hotel in Nashville.
