Alpha Media/Columbia partnered with WIS-TV10 and the American Red Cross on a two day
Radiothon/Telethon to raise funds that were in such critical need after floods of historic proportion decimated most of central South Carolina.
Alpha Stations in Columbia include: Top40 WARQ 93.5 FM, Urban WWDM 101.3 FM, Rock WMFX 102.3 FM, HipHop WHXT 103.9 FM and Sports/ESPN WOIC 1230 AM.
Alpha Media Columbia Market Manager, Mike Hartel commented on the announcement, “You have to personally walk the streets of Columbia to fully understand the devastation that these floods caused to our community. Once you see it firsthand, you know it will take a monumental effort to rebuild andthat’s why it was so important to us to partner with the American Red Cross and WIS-TV. The team at WIS-TV represents the same live and local mission that we do at Alpha Media, so I knew the partnership would do great things together. By uniting these three great organizations, I think it had a unifying effect on our community.”
Vice President and General Manager of WIS-TV Lyle Schulze added, “Our hearts were warmed by the generosity and professionalism of Alpha Media in Columbia in the immediate aftermath of the epic flooding last weekend. We appreciate their team of professionals and the work they did to help us provide funding for the American Red Cross. Together we raised well over $700,000, all of which will remain right here in the local community.”
Jeremy Conn, Scott Garceau at WJZ-FM (Baltimore Sun photo)
Almost entirely devoid of female voices, sports radio call-in shows are scoring — locally and nationally — in the coveted Nielsen ratings demographic of men between the ages of 25 and 54.
"That's the sweet spot," said Rick Scott, an Arizona-based sports radio consultant. "The successful stations are usually in the top five in that demographic."
Aided by being the Orioles' flagship station, CBS Radio WJZ 105.7 FM The Fan often found itself in the top five among men 25 to 54 this past summer — and was sometimes No. 1.
While sports talk shows can be unabashedly lowbrow and occasionally repetitive, analysts say their audiences tend to linger, sometimes as an extension of their allegiance to local teams, acocridng to a lengthy article by Jeff Barker in The Baltimore Sun.
In overall Nielsen ratings, CBS-owned WLIF-FM (adult contemporary), WERQ-FM (urban contemporary) and WPOC-FM (country) rank at the top for Baltimore listeners 6 and older, according to data released Sept. 30.
But in sports, 105.7 is "the Big Kahuna in Baltimore," said Dave Hughes, founder of DCRTV.com, a website devoted to Washington and Baltimore media. "It's a very Baltimore-sounding station and they get great ratings."
The station ranks near the top of the Baltimore market in advertising revenue, Robert Philips, senior vice president and director of sales for CBS Radio nationally and its market manager for Baltimore, said in an email. The ranking could not be independently confirmed because the figures are private.
"I would say they are one of the top billers in the market, considering their ratings and their dominance in the male market," Hughes said.
Sports radio has grown in recent years as sports have become increasingly immersed in society. It is a medium with a wellspring of ready-made topics.
WJZ 105.7 FM (50 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
"Talk radio allows for quick drama," Daniel T. Durbin, director of the University of Southern California's Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media and Society, said in an email.
The best sports shows often "talk about a lot other than sports. They will talk popular culture," DCRTV's Hughes said.
Haynie will reference movies, TV shows or songs to engage the audience or illustrate points. On Washington's ESPN 980, host Tony Kornheiser invites media experts to talk politics for long stretches or review films.
"When you go beyond just sports and into culture — talk about movies, a great restaurant you were at, a concert — you are further cementing a connection you have with people," Keller said. "It's just fun talk."
Steve Rouse, the once-popular Baltimore radio personality and Harford resident, is launching the new Rouse & Company morning show today on WHGM 1330 AM / W284BE 104.7 FM in Havre de Grace, Harford County.
Unofficially, Rouse and his former co-hosts, Annie "Annie B" Beccio and Maynard Edwards, did a dry run of the show during a recent late-night time slot.
The original morning show was pulled off the air in 2005, after 17 years on Baltimore's then-WQSR 105.7 FM, where the show aired from 1988-2005.
The sudden cancellation sent Rouse out of the radio business and back to his Rousedale Farm, in Fallston, although he sometimes filled in at WBAL 98 Rock and WLIF 101.9 Lite FM.
W284BE 104.7 FM (250 watts)
But, reports The Baltimore Sun, earlier this year, Rouse said he was encouraged by the non-corporate culture of 104.7 FM, also broadcasting as 1330 WHGM AM, which recently began playing "upbeat music from the 1960s to today" and is working to expand its FM signal.
General manager Jeff Davis called Rouse & Company's informal debut Wednesday night "fun" because the group was outdoors and passersby seemed excited by the broadcast.
"The amount of people, the amount of advertisers that have been knocking on our door has been phenomenal," Davis said about the new show, adding he is very pleased with the comeback of Harford's oldest radio station.
Cumulus Media/Washington has announced plans for a new AM Transmitter tower site.
Cumulus in August choose a developer who plans to convert 75 acres of prime Bethesda real estate into sites for 330 homes on the property that’s now home to four large radio towers used by Cumulus' Talk station WMAL 630 AM.
John Harris, vice president with Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers, said the company plans a mix of town homes and single-family detached homes. The site’s zoning allows up to 50 percent of the new homes to be town homes, though Harris said the developer hasn’t decided on the final mix and many other important details.
Meanwhile, Cumulus has now applied for a CP to move the tramsitter site also used by WSPZ 570 AM, owned by Red Zebra Broadcasting.
Approximate New Site For WMAL 630 AM Transmitter Site
The new site would allow WMAL to retain its current 10 Kw-Day power output; however, evening output would be cut almost in half, from 5 Kw to 2.7 Kw. The nightime pattern would be pointed ti the southest to retain its city-grade coverage of the District.
NASH Nights Live, nationally syndicated by Westwood One, has hit a major milestone by surpassing the 100 station mark with a total of 108 stations.
The show, which airs in 5 of the top 10 markets, features a station lineup including WNSH-FM/New York; KSJO-FM/San Francisco; KSCS-FM/Dallas; KJJJ-FM/Las Vegas; WBTU-FM/Ft. Wayne; KTOP-FM/Topeka; WNNF-FM/Cincinnati; and many more. In fact, several stations carrying NASH Nights Live have shown tremendous upward growth in share among core demos 18-34 and 25-54, like WIVK-FM/Knoxville, TN; WSJR-FM/Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, PA; WTNR-FM/Grand Rapids, MI; and KIIM-FM/Tucson, AZ. (Nielsen Audio, Summer 2015)
Host Shawn Parr is no stranger to Country radio. Before joining NASH, he was the voice of KKGO after spending years at the Los Angeles powerhouse KZLA. He has also been the voice of Dick Clark Productions for the past two decades, including announcing the Academy of Country Music Awards. Elaina joined Shawn on NASH Nights Live after co-hosting the Timmy & Elaina Show with Timmy Vee on Florida’s 107.1 WA1A.
Parr said, “I really want to thank our Westwood One Affiliate Sales team for working so hard to get us on over 100 stations. My co-host Elaina and I are so thankful and we are having a blast! It is so exciting being here in Nashville bringing Country's biggest stars to our listeners.”
“NASH Nights Live has surpassed all expectations and has reaped genuine market growth,” added Donny Walker, Senior Director, Affiliate Sales. “The show sets the standard for live nightly shows. Shawn and Elaina deliver the goods and listeners and advertisers are taking notice.”
For more information on NASH Nights Live, contact Walker at (615) 727-6987.
For years, weekday afternoons from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Salt Lake City radio listeners could hear KNRS program director and talk show host Rod Arquette's political views. But as of last Thursday at 5 p.m. they couldn't do so by tuning into the long established 105.7. The station has moved to 105.9.
"It's very challenging," Arquette says.
So why make the move? iHeartMedia SVP/Programming Jeff Cochran says the answer is simple.
"The FCC said we had to move."
The move will make room on the dial for an additional radio station (KDWY 105.5 FM in Oakley, UT), not owned by iHeartMedia. Cochran says that given their druthers they would not have moved KNRS nor would they have moved iHM's Rock KAAZ from 106.5 to 106.7. That move was also ordered by the FCC.
And it's not just the two iHM stations that will need to tweak signals. Nearly two dozen stations spanning four states have shifted or will have to shift to make room for the new station, according to KUTV2.
KNRS 105.9 (25 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
The challenge of switching frequencies goes beyond getting listeners to switch. Cochran says he didn't realize how many places are branded with a station's logo and frequency until that branding becomes obsolete.
"It's on things like letterhead and other trinkets and things like [stress balls] and vans and banners. It's on everything," he said.
Arquette says he believes the move will not hurt ratings because of the massive efforts they have undergone to get the word out. And in fact, KNRS being a conservative talk station, and the order to move coming from the feds, Arquette says it all combined nicely to give him a little fodder for his show.
KNRS frequency switch promo...
"We are having a little fun and of course we blame everything on Obama so we blame this on Obama, too," Arquette joked. "We have such a great loyal audience we just had some fun with it and that's what you have to do."
KAAZ 106.7 FM (25 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
Salt Lake City is one of the most saturated radio markets in the country. There are currently 51 radio stations and these moves will make room for a 52nd. Many larger cities have half as many stations.
Donald Trump met Saturday with Atlanta-based radio talk personality Herman Cain -- whom he called "Mr. 9-9-9".
Donald Trump (WSB Photo)
After Cain addressed the crowd in Norcross, Georgia, Trump praised the former presidential candidate's "9-9-9" tax proposal from the 2012 campaign.
"When he said 9-9-9, I said, 'What the hell is that?' But he had a good thing," Trump told those in attendance, referring to Cain as "Mr. 9-9-9."
The 9-9-9 plan would have replaced almost all current taxes and with a 9% income tax, a 9% corporate tax and a 9% national sales tax.
Cain told CNN that he's advising Trump to focus on issues during the campaign.
"The thing that I'd emphasize to him -- and I've done it before -- is to stick to substance," Cain said. "Substance, substance, substance. And he's got plenty of substance."
He added, "I think he's doing great. But you have a lot of people waiting for him to go into free fall."
Cain, who hosts a syndicated talk show originating on WSB 750 AM / 95.5 FM radio show, said he's not making any endorsement at this time.
"I have six candidates that I'm pulling for. Politics is too fickle to pick any one person for a radio host," he said. "He's one of the six that I'm pulling for."
Steven Tyler is threatening to sue Trump if he keeps using Aerosmith's song "Dream On" during campaign rallies.
According to Tyler's angry cease and desist letter ... this is actually the 2nd time Trump has been warned about using Aerosmith's classic ballad. Tyler's attorneys say they sent an initial letter back in August, but noticed Trump has pressed on using the song, according to TMZ.
Most recently, Trump's campaign played "Dream On" during a stop in Georgia on Saturday. Tyler says the repeated use of the song insinuates the Aerosmith frontman endorses Trump for president. He's giving Trump 24 hours to drop the song from is playlist ... or present some evidence he has license to use it.
Tyler's defense of his song seems like it's purely a business move -- since he's been tight with Trump.
Tyler and Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer attended the Republican debate in Cleveland as Trump's guests, Donald has been to their concerts, and Tyler is a registered Republican.
Tyler's attorney Dina LaPolt confirms it's not about politics. She tells TMZ, Tyler's "position has always been consistent regarding copyright and intellectual property. Simply, one must get permission from the music creators. Steven wrote 100% of 'Dream On,' and this is about the un-authorized use of his property."
Republican Presidential Candidate Dond Trump Sunday told Media Buzz on the Fox New Channel that the doens't "want to cover me accurately. I see such dishonesty," that some of the pundits are "brutal."
Talking with host Howard Kurtz, Trump weighed in on Politico, the New York Times and Washington Post, his Republican rivals, government spending and Iraq.
Former NBC News correspondent Fred Francis ripped his former employer Sunday during Media Buzz on the Fox News Channel.
Francis told host Howard Kurtz Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton got a "big wet sloppy kiss" when she appeared on the Today Show last week.
Francis also brought up another favorable appearance Clinton made on an NBC show. “With that and Saturday Night Live, she actually had a pretty good week considering, you know, there’s still incoming with the e-mail server situation,” he said.
“There were a lot of softball questions from the audience,” agreed host Howard Kurtz. “Nobody else has gotten a town hall from NBC, although now the Today show says it will do Donald Trump next.”
Cumulus has announced that fan engagement continues to grow for the social-media-drive NASH Next Challenge talent competition, which will idscover and release music from up-and-coming Country artists.
The first-of-its-kind compeutition, which kicked-off this past June, has seen groundbreaking fan engagement on social media, the NASH Next Website and the NAST Next app.
Key fan engagement statistics include:
Over 57,000 fans registered to date, and new fan registration is steadily growing with each challenge
241 million total impressions in the past three months on social media
24 million people reached by NASH Next on Twitter and Instagram alone (nearly twice the number of fans reached in late August)
A typical NASH Next fan views 6 pages and spends more than 10 minutes on the site per visit (double the time spent in late August)
NASHNextCountry.com continues to draw new visitors with 47% of traffic to the site being first-time users.
The NASH Next nationwide talent search is promoted on more than 200 Country stations powered by the NASH Brand, making it the largest online talent search every undertaken and the only artist development competition to use social media activity to help select winners.
Cumulus Media New York’s 95.5 WPLJ announces that it will team with New York’s Angelo David Salon, which specializes in Couture Hair Extensions and Wigs, on October 16, 2015, to present Blow Out Breast Cancer, a benefit for breast cancer research and a celebration for cancer survivors and fighters.
95.5 PLJ and Angelo David Salon will host a day of celebration and awareness with $25 blowouts, gift bags, beverages and hors d’oeuvres from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Angelo David Salon, 420 Madison Avenue, 2nd Fl (between 48th and 49th St.), in New York City.
95.5 PLJ personalities and staffers will be onsite at the event to speak with those stopping by. All proceeds will benefit the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, an international organization dedicated to curing and preventing cancer.
For more information on the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, visit www.waxmancancer.org. To book an appointment, call Angelo David Salon at 212.883.6620.
Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley has been suspended for Games 3 and 4 as a result of his slide into second base in the National League Division Series against the New York Mets.
Utley has appealed the suspension and, in a rare bit of expedience, his appeal will be heard Monday.
A New York state judge has thrown out a baseball fan's $10 million defamation lawsuit claiming that ESPN announcers poked fun at him after he dozed off during a New York Yankees game against the Boston Red Sox.
Andrew Rector sued the Walt Disney Co unit, the Yankees and Major League Baseball's Internet arm for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress over comments by Dan Shulman and John Kruk during the April 13, 2014 game, in a video clip that was later posted online.
The announcers discussed Rector's appearing to sleep through a standing ovation after a Yankee home run, missing a chance to consume chicken fingers with the man next to him, and comparing his physical appearance to that of Kruk's.
Reuters reports Bronx Supreme Court Justice Julia Rodriguez ruled in August , however, said the comments were not defamatory, and at worst, reflected hyperbole or a looseness of words. She also said Rector was on camera for just 31 seconds of the three-hour game.
In 1937..."Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons" debuted on the NBC Blue network, where the series continued until 1947 then moved to CBS. Bennett Kilpack was the first actor to play Mr. Keen. Phil Clarke stepped into the role late in the run. The series continued on the air until April 19, 1955.
In 1944...What would come to be known as the "Columbus Day Riot" takes place in New York City, when 35,000 hysterical teenage girls crowd the Paramount Theatre for a chance to see the return of crooner Frank Sinatra. The crowd of teen "bobbysoxer" girls halt traffic in Times Square, refuse to leave between shows to the extent of fainting from hunger, and ruin several seats in the theater when several urinate there rather than take a chance on going to the bathroom.
In 1950…After a 15-year run on radio, "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" made its television debut on CBS, where the series continued through September of 1958.
In 1955...Chrysler introduces the world's first in-car sound systems -- vinyl record players, complete with an assortment of classical records, mounted under the dashboard.
In 1968...The Hot 100..The count had reached three for weeks at #1 for "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. Jeannie C. Riley was a distant second with "Harper Valley P.T.A." and "Fire" from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown was third. O.C. Smith remained at 4 with "Little Green Apples". The rest of the Top 10: "Girl Watcher" from the O'Kaysions, the Grass Roots had their biggest song move from 17 to 6--"Midnight Confessions", the Vogues climbed into the Top 10 with "My Special Angel", the Bee Gees were at 8 with "I've Gotta' Get a Message To You", Gary Puckett from Twin Falls, Idaho & the Union Gap moved from 25-9 with "Over You" and Clarence Carter dropped with "Slip Away".
In 1969...the "Paul is Dead" hoax began when Tom Zarski, a student at Eastern Michigan University, calls WKNR in Detroit, MI, and informs DJ Russ Gibb on air of the rumor that Paul McCartney died in a car crash, perhaps as long ago as 1966. Zarski tells Gibb that by playing a section of the band's "Revolution 9" backwards, a clue emerges: the phrase "Turn me on, dead man." Gibb proceeds to do just that. Listeners are stunned.
Two days after the WKNR broadcast, The Michigan Daily published a satirical review of Abbey Road by University of Michigan student Fred LaBour under the headline "McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light". It identified various "clues" to McCartney's death on Beatles album covers, including new clues from the just-released Abbey Road LP. As LaBour had invented many of the clues, he was astonished when the story was picked up by newspapers across the United States.WKNR-FM further fuelled the rumour with a special two-hour program on the subject, "The Beatle Plot", which aired 19 October 1969 (and in the years since on Detroit radio).
In the early morning hours of October 21, 1969, Roby Yonge, a disc jockey at New York radio station WABC, discussed the rumor on the air for over an hour before being pulled off the air for breaking format. At that time of night, WABC's signal covered a wide listening area and could be heard in 38 states and at times, other countries.
Later that day, the Beatles' press office issued statements denying the rumour which were widely reported by national and international media.
Various 'clues' were used to suggest the following story: three years previously (on November 9, 1966), McCartney, after an argument during a Beatles' recording session, had angrily driven off in his car. He had crashed it and died as a result. To spare the public from grief, the Beatles replaced him with "William Campbell", the winner of a McCartney look-alike contest.
In 1991...The Hot 100.."Emotions" became Mariah Carey's fifth consecutive #1 song to begin her career. "Good Vibrations" from Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch was #2. Natural Selection's "Do Anything", Color Me Badd with "I Adore Mi Amor" and Karyn White's "Romantic" trailed.
The rest of the Top 10: "Something To Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt at #6, Extreme's follow-up to "More Than Words"--"Hole Hearted" was #7, Firehouse slowed things down with "Love of a Lifetime", Boyz II Men were on their way down with "Motownphilly" and Aaron Neville's remake of the Main Ingredient hit "Everybody Plays the Fool" was at #10.
In 1997...Singer/songwriter John Denver died in the crash of a small airplane he was piloting on this day in 1997. He was 53
In 2012...Disc jockey (KLIF-Dallas, KILT-Houston, WHK-Cleveland, WXYZ-Detroit, WNEW and WNSW-New York, WICC-Bridgeport, WAVZ-New Haven) Russ "The Weird Beard" Knight died.
In 1868...Thomas Edison patents his 1st invention: electric voice machine. Edison was a prolific inventor, holding 1,093 US patents in his name.
In 1919...actress/voice actor Jean Vander Pyl was born in Philadelphia. Her two main broadcast roles were as the wife Margaret in NBC Radio’s Father Knows Best, and as the voice of Wilma Flintstone in several cartoon series on TV. She also provided the voice of Rosie the robot maid from the animated series The Jetsons,
She succumbed to lung cancer April 10 1999 at age 79 In 1936...the first radio quiz show premiered, "Professor Quiz".
In 1940...in New York City Glenn Miller recorded “Make Believe Ballroom Time” for RCA Victor’s Bluebird label, featuring the vocal group The Modernaires for the first time. It would become the theme song for Make Believe Ballroom on WNEW, New York, with host Martin Block.
Martin Block
Block created the aura of doing a “live” radio program, complete with performers (on records) like Harry James or Frank Sinatra, from the “Crystal Studios” at WNEW. Copycat versions of the ‘Ballroom’ featured Keith Sandy at CKEY in Toronto, and Al Jarvis at KHJ Los Angeles.
In 1935, while listeners to New York's WNEW in New York (now information outlet WBBR) were awaiting developments in the Lindbergh kidnapping, Block built his audience by playing records between the Lindbergh news bulletins. This led to his Make Believe Ballroom, which began February 3, 1935 creating the illusion that he was broadcasting from a ballroom with the nation’s top dance bands performing live. He bought some records from a local music shop for the program as the radio station had none. Block purchased five Clyde McCoy records, selecting his "Sugar Blues" for the radio show's initial theme song.
Because Block was told by the station's sales staff that nobody would sponsor a radio show playing music, he had to find himself a sponsor. Block lined up a producer of reducing pills called "Retardo"; within a week, the sponsor had over 3,000 responses to the ads on Block's radio show. Martin Block's style of announcing was considerably different than the usual manner of delivery at the time. Instead of speaking in a voice loud enough to be heard in a theater, Block spoke in a normal voice, as if he was having a one-on-one conversation with a listener.
In 1948...one of radio’s last premiering soap operas, “The Brighter Day”, took to the air for the first time on NBC. It’s interesting to take a look at the cast and see which names are still recognizable, like Hal Holbrook and William Redfield. After six years on radio “Day” moved to TV.
In 1960...Radio/TV exececutive John Fetzer purchased a controlling interest in the Detroit Tigers.
Janet Jackson
In 1986...The Hot 100..Janet Jackson reached #1 for the first time of her career with "When I Think of You". Canada's Glass Tiger moved to #2 with "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" and Stacey Q unbelievably reached #3 with "Two of Hearts". Genesis moved from 7 to 4 with their great song "Throwing It All Away" and Tina Turner continued her comeback with "Typical Male".
The rest of the Top 10: Huey Lewis & the News slipped with their former #1 "Stuck With You", Don Johnson moved into the Top 10 with "Heartbeat", Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson fell with "Friends And Lovers", Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" moved from 14 to 9 and Daryl Hall's solo hit "Dreamtime" was #10.
In 1976...the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was “Disco Duck (Part 1),” by Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots. A morning DJ at Memphis radio station WMPS, Dees got fired when he mentioned his novelty song on the air.
In 1987...Rock DJ Sebastian Stone died in his sleep
.
Sebastian Stone on WOR-FM in New York City. Stone was known as Johnny Holiday at KCBQ/San Diego in 1959, as Johnny Mitchell at KHJ in 1965 and Sebastian Stone at KFRC/San Francisco in 1967. One of his goofy stunts early in his career was setting a world record of 195 "stay-awake" hours while on WYDE-Birmingham. In Billboard's 1966 polling of djs, Johnny was one of the leading early evening Top 40 personalities.
In 1997...The Hot 100..Elton John debuted at #1 with "Candle in the Wind". Boyz II Men dropped after one week at the top with "4 Seasons of Loneliness" and LeAnn Rimes had song #3--"How Do I Live". Usher was on his way down with "You Make Me Wanna...".
The rest of the Top 10: Mariah Carey's "Honey", the Backstreet Boys and "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)", newcomers Third Eye Blind remained the same with "Semi-Charmed Life", the Notorious B.I.G. with Puff Daddy & Mase with "Mo Money Mo Problems", Jewel was up with "Foolish Games"/"You Were Meant for Me" and the Spice Girls dropped with "2 Become 1".
In 1998...actor Richard Denning, who starred in Mr. & Mrs. North on radio & TV, who had the title role opposite Lucille Ball (right) on radio’s My Favorite Husband, and played the Governor on TV’s original Hawaii 5-0, died following cardiac arrest at age 84.
In 2008...actor & sportscaster Gil Stratton Jr. died of congestive heart failure at age 86. In the ’60′s he was the radio voice of the Los Angeles Rams, and for more than 20 years handled sports at KNX Radio & KNXT Los Angeles.
Fans and listeners and the late radio personality Scott McKenzie were out in full force Thursday at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk. The Orlando event honored the late WOMX Mix 105.1 FM host and drew about 2,600, the society estimates.
"We have raised $450,000 and counting -- the most ever in Central Florida," said Kelley Lesperance, executive director of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Northern and Central Florida. "Last year this event raised $365,000."
McKenzie, the morning host who entertained Central Florida for nearly 25 years, died in August after a seven-year battle with cancer. He was 59.
The Orlando Sentinel reports the society presented a special award to McKenzie's widow, Dr. Fran Lesser Friedman, to recognize his contributions to the group over the years. Since 1997, McKenzie had hosted the annual Light the Night Walk to support those affected by blood cancer.
"He hosted it every year, until the one he missed because he was in treatment for a blood cancer himself -- lymphoma," Lesperance wrote on Facebook in August.
The society started a Light the Night Team -- #OrlandoLovesScott -- and asked the community to join and make donations. Lesperance said the society was trying to get #OrlandoLovesScott to $10,000 -- it stands at $6,977.
To honor McKenzie at the walk, Cox Media Group Orlando, CBS Radio Orlando and iHeartMedia Orlando joined forces.
Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson has found himself in the midst of a press frenzy recently, as his remarks about Muslims, guns and the Holocaust are taken through the media wringer.
Carson, in turn, has blamed the press for taking his comments out of context, a favorite tactic among, well, nearly every politician ever, reports Hadas Gold at Politico.
The retired neurosurgeon, at a speech and question and answer session at the National Press Club headquarters on Friday (note the irony of location) repeatedly took shots at the national media, which he said, "don't like" him because he's "not politically correct."
"I don't necessarily care whether the press likes me or not and therefore I'm not going to conform to all their little requirements," Carson said.
"I mean, you guys are down there with used car salesmen," he said.
"[T]he press is the only business protected by the Constitution," he lamented to CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "The reason they're protected is because it was assumed they'd be honest and they'd be on the side of the people and wouldn't have an agenda."
(Reuters) - Just days before she will take the stage in the first Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton's lead over rival Bernie Sanders has narrowed, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Clinton's support among Democratic voters fell 10 points within less than a week.
From October 4 to October 9, Clinton saw her support tumble from 51 percent of Democratic support to just 41 percent.
Her nearest competitors, Vermont Senator Sanders and Vice President of the U.S. Joe Biden, who has yet to decide whether he will run, both made gains. Support for Sanders jumped from just over 24 percent to 28 percent, and Biden rose from 16 percent to a even 20 percent in the same time period.
Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders (Salon composite)
This is not the first time that Clinton’s support has taken a steep nosedive. Just last month, Sanders edged within eight points of the former secretary of state — Clinton at 39 percent; Sanders at 31.
Clinton, who was the Democratic front-runner when she announced her bid for the White House in April, has faced increasing scrutiny over her email use, including a personal computer server set up at her home in New York, and faces several inquiries in the Republican-controlled Congress.
Clinton has apologized over the email issue and has said she had turned over all her work emails from her time as the nation's top diplomat for the State Department to review and make public, which it is doing in batches.
In the same October 9 polling, other Democratic candidates vying for the party's nomination, former governors Lincoln Chafee and Martin O'Malley, as well as former Senator Jim Webb, all received less than three percent of Democratic support respectively.
The October 9 survey includes 624 respondents and has a credibility interval of 4.5 percent.
(Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Christian Plumb)
