Phil Hendrie Sues Website Hackers

Radio personality/satirist Phil Hendrie is suing as-yet unknown defendants for allegedly impersonating him in an effort to torpedo his new, internet-only "Phil Hendrie Show," according to Courthouse News Service.

Hendrie has been a fixture in California radio for decades, and for several years his program popular talk show was syndicated nationally. Earlier this year, however, he announced he was leaving traditional over-the-air broadcasting for good, and moving to the internet where anyone in the world could hear him.

Hendrie sells "Backstage Pass" memberships on his Website so members can listen to his older broadcasts and audio recordings of his characters.

In a lawsuit filed in the California Superior Court in Ventura County, Hendrie claims that impersonators used his name and other information to create accounts on social media sites, such as Twitter, to spread false information regarding the memberships.

Some posts falsely advised members to cancel their Backstage Pass memberships because his web site had been hacked which placed their financial information at risk, Hendrie say. Other posts falsely stated Backstage Pass accounts would be suspended immediately. The impersonators also made lewd and lascivious comments to third parties, he added.

Hendrie is seeking punitive and exemplary damages, and injunctive relief on claims the defendants misappropriated his name and likeness, internet impersonation in violation of California law, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

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Steve Harvey Sued Over Distribution of 'Embarrassing' Videos

Steve Harvey is being sued for interfering with the sale of videos of raw and uncensored stand-up comedy from early in his career that embarrass him today, his former videographer claims in court.

According to Courthouse News Service, Joseph Cooper sued Broderick Steven Harvey in Federal Court on Friday.

Nationally syndicated rado host Harvey is also host of the game show "Family Feud" and his eponymous TV talk show distributed by NBCUniversal. He also starred in the hit stand-up comedy film "The Original Kings of Comedy" in 2000.

Cooper claims Harvey has "embarked upon a concerted effort" to stop distribution of the videos under the 1993 agreement.
   
Cooper claims the videos "contain Harvey doing comedy in a manner that contrasts with his present image," that he was younger then and "not as much a public figure." He claims he told Harvey in 1998 that he intended to distribute the videos, and that Harvey agreed in October that year to pay $5 million for the videos.

"Harvey has stated that when (a) when the videos were created, he did a different type of comedy, and the videos embarrassed him, (b) the people told him the lighting is bad, the sound is bad, (c) 'he was afraid and didn't want the tapes out there,' and (d) he was concerned about negative and harmful images," according to the complaint.

In 2013, Cooper sought to distribute and sell the first volume of a five-volume set of videos called "Steve Harvey Live, Raw & Uncensored."

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Miami Radio: Felisha Monet Gets PM Drive At WEDR

Felisha Monet

Cox Media Group/Miami has named Felisha Monet as its new afternoon drive host for WEDR 99.1 FM/99 Jamz.

Monet has been with Jamz for more than five years, most recently hosting the No. 1 night show in the city, The Take Over on 99 Jamz, for the past two years.

“Felisha is such a key player here at Cox Media Group Miami, she approaches each day with amazing energy and passion,” said CMG Miami VP and General Manager Rob Babin. “It is very exciting to see her take on this new role on 99 Jamz!”

Monet made her radio debut after moving to Tallahassee, Fla. in 2001.  A local DJ noticed her working at a mall job and thought her charismatic personality was better served gracing the airwaves than selling sneakers.  She became a regular voice on Tallahassee’s HOT 105.7.  She later worked for WBWT 100.7 The Beat before joining the CMG Miami team on 99 Jamz.

WEDR 99.1 FM (100Kw) 60dBu Coverage

“I am humbled and excited to accept the new position of afternoons,” said Monet.  “I would like to thank CMG’s radio leadership team Derrick Baker, Rob Babin Tony Kidd, Steve Smith and Kim Guthrie for this amazing opportunity!”

Tom's Take: Look at all that coverage area in the ocean!

Black Friday Weekend Off 11 Percent

Total retail spending from Thursday through Sunday sank 11% from a year ago to $50.9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation, which surveyed 4,600 consumers on Friday and Saturday. Shoppers spent an average of $380.95, down 6.4% from a year earlier.

According to Victoria Jones at Talk Radio News Service, The trade group still expects total holiday sales through the end of the year to rise 4.1% to $616.9 billion The group said the number of people who went shopping declined 5.2% from last year to 134 million. (Retail greed serves them right - the fun of Black Friday has gone now that the shopping has actually started weeks before.

Still, Walmart came out the "undisputed leader" in terms of traffic. Best Buy, Target, Old Navy and Kohl's were busy Thanksgiving night. The sales period was a "lost weekend" for apparel unless it was at fire-sale prices, which it often was.

The Consumer Electronics Assn said about 45% of shoppers bought electronics, more than in any of the last three years. TVs were the surprise winner, helped by big deals on larger models.

The internet didn't attract more shoppers or more spending than last year. We'll see how the web does today - Cyber Monday - which actually started Sunday for many sites.

Orlando Radio: Cox Tweaks WCFB With Classic Hip Hop

Calling it a 'tweak' rather than a format flip, WCFB 94.5 FM/StarFM PD Michael Saunders confirms the station is 'Celebrating The Holidays with Throwback Hip-Hop and R&B'.

But the move seems likely to stick after the holidays.  The Cox Media Group UrbanAC has brought the '90s based-Classic Hip Hop format to Orlando.  The station is also fulfilling it current committment to the syndicated Tom Joyner Show and then it will be gone.  Which is a bit puzzling to lisenters.  The Tom Joyner Show is usually near the top of morning shows in the 'City Beautiful'. Orlando is also the yearly destination for Joyner's widely attended Family Reunion held each Labor Day Weekend.

WCFB 94.5 FM (97.5Kw) 60dBu Coverage

According to Saunders, the tweaking is part of an "evolution..to...continue 9.45 Star's dominance in the Urban and overall market.  We're staying true to who we are while updating the format."

D/FW Radio: The Fan Edges The Ticket

The latest radio ratings, the November book, shows KRLD 105.3 FM/The Fan on top of the Dallas-Fort Worth sports talk heap, according to Barry Horn at The Dallas Morning News.

The Fan finished ahead of SportsRadio KTCK 1310 AM/ 96.7 FM/The Ticket for the first time since The Fan debuted in December, 2008.

The Fan was No. 1 among all listeners and tied with the Ticket in the key demographic of Men 25-54. The Ticket includes both its AM and FM signals as well as streaming. KESN-FM 103.3 finished third in both categories.

The Ticket still led in Men 25-54 Mondays-Fridays 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. when the high-priced local talent is on duty. The Fan was No. 2, followed by KESN.

Credit for the ratings shakeup goes to the Fan's status as the radio flagship for the surprising Cowboys with all the ancillary programing that it provides as well as its Monday night and Thursday night NFL programming. In 2015, the Rangers join the Cowboys on the station.

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Toledo Radio: Cumulus Executive Shakes Up Market

Andy Stuart

It’s been a busy six months for personnel changes in Toledo radio, and the man behind it says it’s all part of his strategy for success.

Sitting for an interview with the Toledo Blade, Andy Stuart began with — what else? — a personnel announcement involving a familiar name.

Half a year into his job as regional vice president and market manager for Cumulus Media Toledo, which owns eight area radio stations (seven in Toledo, one in Monroe), Stuart already has hired several Toledo-established on-air talent.

He brought Denny Schaffer back to the market as host of a morning talk show on adult top 40 WWWM 105.5 FM/Star 105. He hired Johny D. from WPFX 107.7 FM/The Wolfe to handle afternoon drive-time on that station as well. He replaced longtime sports-talk personality Norm Wamer on WLQR 106.5 FM 106.5/The Ticket with Bob Frantz, who had a morning show on WSPD-AM from 2003-2005.

WXKR 94.5 FM (30Kw) 54dBu Coverage

Grizzly Brown

And in what he says is his final big personnel move — at least for now — Stuart is bringing Grizzly Brown from WIOT 104.7 FM to WXKR 94.5 FM, where the rock radio personality will broadcast afternoons beginning Monday.

Brown spent a remarkable 16 years as the Number One Night Rock jock on crosstown WIOT 104.7 FM.

As with all of the Cumulus hires, Brown has a long history with Stuart, dating to when the latter ran the Clear Channel stations in their various incarnations for a quarter of a century.

“I’m very comfortable with ‘Grizz,’ as we call him,” Stuart said. “He’s amazing ... a great rock jock and I can’t wait to have him on the station.”

Stuart also made a significant format change to Cumulus’ Monroe station, as WMIM-FM My 98.3 went from adult contemporary to WMIM-FM 98.3 Nash Icon, a country station that plays a broad range of “gold-based” hits from Nashville spanning nearly 35 years.

In a recent conversation with The Blade, Stuart, who declined to give his age, addressed all of these station changes, if any more are coming, and what will determine if they are successful.

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Houston Radio: KCOH Again In Midst of Upheaval

KCOH 1230 AM, which bills itself as the oldest black-formatted radio station in Texas, is in the midst of upheaval less than two years after changing its frequency of six decades.

In the latest twist, according to The Houston Chronicle, Ben Hall - a former Houston mayoral candidate who has announced renewed ambitions to lead the city with self-financed ads already airing - may have control of the historic radio station during his 2015 campaign.

KCOH, which began broadcasting in 1953 at 1430 AM, has been a key outlet for news and talk for Houston's African American residents. Now, a partnership between Hall, a former city attorney, and his wife, Saundra, has exercised an option to buy the land and building from which KCOH now operates on 1230 AM "with all the contents," according to Hall.

The opportunity to acquire the property at 5011 Almeda, with its iconic "looking glass" studio, arose when general manager Jesse Dunn didn't repay a loan, then faced legal action from Hall.

Ben Hill

The KCOH transition involves "Mr. Dunn stepping aside and a new team coming in," said Hall.

The prospective mayoral candidate has been involved with KCOH on several levels, including serving as host of the "Ben Hall Legal Hour" on Thursday mornings.

Hall said he could not offer specifics about changes because "I don't have the liberty to discuss all of those details," but he would offer a projection for KCOH's future: "This transition is going to be good for the community and the station."

Court records reflect reasons for Dunn's recent resignation: Station assets were placed into receivership after multiple debtors took legal action and a judge determined that Dunn had an "admitted practice of immediately converting corporate assets to untraceable cash" as well as "a multi-year pattern of avoiding creditors, including evidence of large gambling expenses."

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Springfield Mo: Kevin & Liz Move From Alice to KGBX

Liz Delaney

For 15 years, morning radio listeners have been waking up with Kevin Howard and Liz Delany on KTOZ 95.5 FM/AliceFM. (As of Black Friday the duo moved to their iHM clustermate KGBX 105.9 FM.)

Liz grew up in Kansas City, radio jobs at Lake of the Ozarks then in Columbia led her to Springfield. She says Springfield listeners get an ear-full from the ‘Kevin and Liz Show’.

"We are completely open. We've shared weddings, deaths, divorce, cancer, adoption. Our lives are open to everyone" Delany told KOLR-TV10.

But there was one part of Liz' life she hadn't shared with listeners, or really anyone, until August, after the suicide of Robin Williams.

"I felt like I had been hiding it for so long, and literally some of my family members don't know," says Delany.

Now airing on KGBX 105.9 FM

Like so many others who suffer from depression Liz remembers days when she couldn't get out of bed. She always wondered if others felt the same way she did.

"Nobody talks about mental illness or clinical depression, nobody. There's such a stigma. You don't know how people are going to react to you. You don't know if they're going to think you are crazy, or be scared of you, know I'm not alone," says Delany.

Liz started receiving treatment in her early 30's.

"Fortunately through medication I have been able to regulate and live with the disease. And that's exactly what it is, a disease. If I had cancer I wouldn't have any problem telling people, but for some reason you hide behind the depression, you don't want that label," says Delany.

After her admission on Facebook Liz says she was blown away by the show of support she received from family and friends and listeners.

Philly Radio: WMGK Hosting Classic Rock Art Sale

The 14th WMGK 102.9 FM Classic Rock Art Show and Sale features the world’s largest collection of photographs, paintings and drawings featuring the biggest names in classic rock. 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.

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 under $200.

Some of the new additions to this year’s collection include hand signed art made by Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Santana plus Tom M Morton’s never before published photo of The Who when they opened for Herman’s Hermits in St. Louis.

This year’s show will feature a live broadcast from WMGK’s afternoon DJ, Andre Gardner (2p-7p) on Friday December 12 as well an appearance by Ron Campbell, Director of the Beatles Cartoon Series and Animator for the film, Yellow Submarine. From December 12 through December 14, Campbell will sign autographs, talk to attendees and he’ll also be displaying ‘Childhood Memories II’ a brand new 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.

Hours of the MGK Classic Rock Art Show are:

    Monday-Saturday from 10:00am-9:00pm
    Sunday from 11:00am-6:00pm

L-A Radio: 93 KHJ Returns To English As Catholic Radio

Doug Sherman

Back in the glory days of Top 40 radio, 93 KHJ was the king, home to the latest hits and big audiences, not to mention famed DJs Sam Riddle, Robert W. Morgan and the Real Don Steele.

But now, according to the LA Times, KHJ 930 AM is the latest in a growing number of Catholic-themed religious broadcasters.

Instead of the Beatles and Motown, the station is broadcasting rosaries and Catholic-themed talk shows.

For Catholic radio in America, it is one of the biggest moves yet into a medium evangelists have long dominated. And it underscores how an old technology such as radio still plays an important role in faith in America, according to Jeff Gottlieb at the Times.

About one-fifth of American adults listen to religious radio, about the same percentage who share their religious faith online, according to a study by the Pew Research Center released this month. Despite the digital shift, the study showed little difference between old media and new media when it came to sharing faith.

Protestants, the study showed, tended to listen to religious programming on the radio far more than Catholics, and white evangelicals were more than three times as likely as Catholics to listen to Christian rock.

KHJ is the latest addition to Immaculate Heart Radio, the nonprofit network created by Doug Sherman in 1997.

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The company paid $9.75 million to buy KHJ from a Spanish-language broadcaster. Immaculate Heart will spend about another $300,000 on billboards and other promotions.

KHJ 930 AM (5Kw, DA-Night)Coverage

Sherman, 67, spent two years raising the funds to buy KHJ, and the company is still paying off the bank loans and low-interest loans from donors, whose names Sherman didn't disclose. Its most expensive purchase was a San Francisco station that cost $14 million.

Hartford Radio: Rockin' Ron Sedaille Launches OnLine Station

Ron Sedaille

Longtime Hartford personality Rockin' Ron Sedaille has resurrected his popular All-Request Saturday Night show.

His Saturday night ended its run earlier this year on WDRC 102.9 FM when Connoisseur Media closed on The Big D and revamped the station's line-up.  His huge following will be happy to learn the request oldies show can now be heard on Sedaille's online station at Fun Tower Radio, which was officially launched Black Friday.

His popular “All Request Saturday Night” show was consistently Connecticut’s #1  rated show for its time slot.

L-A Radio: Ryan Seacrest Holidays In England

The Daily Mail found 102.7 KIIS-FM morning personality and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest Saturday carting his own luggage as he departed his London hotel.  The 39-year Seacrest was in England during the holiday weekend.

 
He was accompanied by his 23-year-old girlfriend Shayna Taylor, a Wilhelmina model. She is also a personal chef and a personal trainer.

A year ago,  the two spent the Thanksgiving weekend with his parents vacationing in Uruguay and Argentina.

Memphis Radio: Jeff Lee Returns To The Airwaves

Jeff  Lee

Radio host Jeff Lee is back on the air as he recovers from a stroke he suffered three years ago.

In the world of Memphis radio there aren't too many people more popular than Lee. He's has been on air in Memphis for years. But three years ago, Lee and his on air partner in crime Greg Peters were released from the radio station where they worked.

"When we got laid off people were like, 'Where is Jeff and Greg? Where are they? What happened to them?," Lee told myfoxmemphis.com.

A difficult time to say the least. But just a few months later Lee's life would change forever.

"I was making a video response to Geraldo," Lee recalled. "He was talking about Trayvon Martin and as soon as I got through with it I got dizzy.  I just had a stroke."

His long road to recovery continues.  Rehabilitation is daily. Jeff's friends and family are also key to his success to recovery. But for the last three years there was still something missing.

Until now.

"The radio station helps me, it's therapeutic," Lee said.

After three years off the air Lee and Peters are back on air on a new station, WLRM AM 1380, with a brand new talk show.

"It's a miracle," Lee said.

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Grand Rapids Radio: Balyo Called "Wolf In Sheep's Clothing"

John Balyo

Federal Prosecutors offered harsh words Friday in a sentencing memorandum regarding a former Christian radio host John Balyo.

In a newly filed sentencing memorandum, prosecutors call him a "wolf in sheep's clothing," according to wwmt.com.

Balyo is awaiting sentencing on federal charges related to child porn and sexual exploitation of a child.

In the memorandum, photos show a bondage kit recovered from a storage unit Balyo kept--the same bondage kit prosecutors say that Balyo brought to hotels in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek to sexually assault a little boy.

They say Balyo's storage unit also had children's obituaries, news clippings detailing sexual abuse involving kids, and child pornography.

The prosecutor recommends Balyo be handed the maximum sentence next month--50 years for the two counts against him.

Balyo, 35, a former host at Christian non-com WCSG 91.3 FM, will be sentenced Dec. 11 on federal charges of sexual exploitation of a child and possessing child pornography. He's already serving 25 to 50 years in prison on child sexual abuse convictions from state courts.

RIP: Longtime Cleveland Personality Carl Reese

Carl Reese

Carl Reese, whose warm voice was heard for more than 50 years on Cleveland radio, died last Wednesday after a long illness.

He was 83-years-of-age, according to cleveland.com.

Long known to friends as "Captain Carl" -- which was said to derive from a nautical cap he wore -- he aspired from childhood to work in radio, but found himself disqualified from scholastic announcing contests and child-actor roles because of the adult-sounding baritone that became his living after he aged into it.

Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Reese grew up in Akron and got his start in radio in the Army, with the Armed Forces Network in Germany in 1948. After working at small stations in the Akron-Canton area, he came to Cleveland in 1952 on WTAM radio and its TV sister, WNBK.

The job was temporary, but it introduced him to television, where he was a popular pitchman through the 1960s. More importantly, it set him up in 1954 to become overnight host on WERE, a hot station whose top names included Bill Randle, Tommy Edwards and Phil McLean.

He moved in 1961 to WHK, the reigning top-40 station, spent a brief time on KYW, and started an 18-year run on WJW in 1964 -- playing the pop standards he later spun on WBBG, WRMR and the short-lived WCLV-AM.

Johnny Holliday, a "Good Guy" colleague at WHK, called Reese "one of the most gracious human beings I've had the pleasure of knowing. He was not only a consummate professional but someone that didn't have an enemy in the world."

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R.I.P.: Chicago Radio Veteran Cindy Gatziolis

Cindy Gatziolis

Cindy Gatziolis spent nearly two decades as a Chicago radio producer and promotions director for Chicago radio stations before embarking on a 12-year career handling public relations for the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

"Cindy lit up the room whenever she walked in," said longtime Chicago radio personality Fred Winston, whose WLS 890 AM show was produced by Gatziolis in the 1980s. "She was a consummate professional who could think on her feet."

Gatziolis, 56, died of complications from ovarian cancer Saturday, Oct. 25, according to The Chicago Tribune.

During college, Gatziolis had an internship at WLS-AM radio. After graduating college, she took a full-time job at the station as a programming assistant and producer. Gatziolis also worked on radio legend Larry Lujack's morning show and later with Winston.

In 1985, she joined WGN-AM's creative services department, where she was involved with promotions and wrote commercials. From 1989 until 1996, Gatziolis was a promotions coordinator and the director of promotions and marketing at WLUP-FM and WLUP-AM. She then handled promotions and marketing at the old WMAQ-AM from 1997 until 2000.

"Cindy was universally loved," said former WLUP-FM disc jockey Bobby Skafish, who now is on WDRV-FM. "I remember her as someone who emanated goodness. And she had a calm-in-the-storm way about her."

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December 1 In Radio History

In 1931...Gene Autry's first radio show debuted on WLS-Chicago. From 1940 to 1956, Autry had a huge hit with a weekly show on CBS Radio, Gene Autry's Melody Ranch. His horse, Champion, also had a CBS-TV and Mutual radio series. He also sold several radio stations he owned, including KSFO in San Francisco, KMPC in Los Angeles, KOGO in San Diego, and other stations in the Golden West radio network.

Autry is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and is the only person to be awarded stars in all five categories on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for film, television, music, radio, and live performance.


In 1941...WNEW (now WBRR) moved to 1130 AM. WNEW was located on 1250 AM and shared time with Newark station WHBI. In March 1941, WNEW and WHBI were both reassigned to 1280. Then, on December 1, 1941, a swap of call letters and frequency took place between WNEW on 1280 and WOV on 1130. WOV moved to 1280 (to later become WADO) and WNEW moved to 1130 and assumed full-time status.


In 1972...Wings released "Hi, Hi, Hi." The BBC banned the song for its supposedly suggestive lyrics and because of their assumption that the title phrase, "We're gonna get hi, hi, hi," was a drug reference. The sexual line the Beeb objected to is the one they heard as "get you ready for my body gun." McCartney has said the correct lyrics are "get you ready for my polygon," an abstract image.

In 1995...FCC eliminated the Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit requirement to operate a broadcast station.