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99.9 Kiss Country WKIS-FM will host its 21st Annual 99.9 Kiss Country Chili Cook-off on Sunday, January 29th (visit 99.9 Kiss Country)

Lance Armstrong interviews Will Ferrell on his Sirius Satellite radio show Sunday at 9 pm EDST (Visit Faction Radio-Armstrong)  +  Fans of Olympic skier Bode Miller, the first American skier to win the World Cup title in 22 years, are now just a mouse click away from getting the straight scoop - directly from Bode himself (visit Faction Radio-Bode Miller)

Paragon Media Strategies, in conjunction with Goodratings Strategic Services, conducted an online survey of 605 Christian CHR listeners (37% male / 63% female) November 10th – 21st, 2005 exploring who the Christian CHR listener is, why they listen to Christian radio and what other formats they listen to and like. This is the second part of a five-part series titled: Listeners’ Views of Christian & Secular Stations (visit Paragon Media Strategies)

Westwood One announced that, effective February 1, 2006, Roby Wiener, will assume the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. She will oversee Marketing, Product Strategy, Promotions and Research for both Metro Networks and the Radio Network Division and be based in New York (visit Westwood One)

Steve Jobs, says Jeffrey S. Young, co-author of iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business, has never gotten over the experience of being ousted by the board of a company he co-founded. "When he returned to Apple, he moved the board back in his direction. It was a sign that he had matured." Disney CEO Iger should keep his eye on the board, Young says. "If things don't go as well as promised at Pixar, look for Steve to bring the Disney board into his fiefdom." (read more - USA Today)

The Agenda Committee of the Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® has announced the addition of two new panels to this year¹s CRS-37 agenda: Weaving a Web Site for Ratings and Revenue and HD Radio: HD 2 Is Here. CRS-37 ­ Feb. 15 - 17, 2006 - Nashville Convention Center. Complete seminar registration and hotel information may be obtained by contacting CRB, Inc. at 615.327.4487 or by visiting www.crb.org

Wednesday January 25, 2006

David Lee Roth has angered broadcast bosses with his diva antics on his new radio talk show. Roth is reportedly driving executives crazy with his demands (read more - Contact Music)

MediaCom has signed a commitment to use radio audience estimates based on the Portable People Meter system (visit ARBitron)

The Issue: Howard Stern's move to Sirius Radio and the talk show's censorship guidelines (read - NY Post Letters)

The guy who has been talking about mental and spiritual health in the early-morning hours over WOR (710 AM) for the last decade doesn't mind fessing up to his own history as one of the great top-40 deejays from the early years of rock 'n' roll. But anyone who expects Joey Reynolds to dwell on those days, when he worked in New York, Hartford, Buffalo and elsewhere, is going to be disappointed (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

The Seattle SuperSonics organization announced its signing of a multi-year agreement with Entercom Radio Group. Beginning in the 2006-07 season, all Sonics games will be broadcast on 770 AM KTTH, ending a 21-year partnership with KJR AM (read more- Seattle Supersonics)  (read more - Seattle Times)

Tim Cuprisin's favorite mantra  -- Radio is a cold and cruel business -- doesn't lessen the blow for the talented Mark Reardon, one of the most versatile voices at WTMJ-AM (620) until he got his walking papers on Monday. But it's a fact that is proved again and again at stations up and down the dial (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

ARBitron numbers for Austin, Baton Rouge, Grand Junction, Jacksonville, Louisville, Norfolk, Richmond, San Antonio, Tulsa and Tupelo (read 'em)

From John Rook -- Both Howard and his mentor Mel, would be banished to the uncertain world of satellite radio where Stern promised paying customers a totally uncensored tirade of smut. But with congress considering unleashing the FCC to police satellite radio and cable TV, Howard now admits “there are some boundaries” that even he must adhere too, including a “bleeper” that will censor Howard’s uncontrollable tongue. Seems Sirius got serious with Howard (read more - www.johnrook.com)   (read more - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

With the launch of Howard Stern's show two weeks ago on satellite radio, New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio is already performing new tricks  (read more - The Reflector)

Rob Babin has been appointed to the position of General Sales Manager of the New 97.1 “The River” in Atlanta. Babin joins Cox Radio Atlanta from Cox Radio Orlando and WWKA, K92-FM (visit 97.1 The River)

The Rev. Pat Robertson has canceled a speech scheduled for next month at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Dallas after NRB officials expressed doubts about the effect his appearance might have. NRB leaders met with Mr. Robertson last week, according to AP Radio, to express their concerns that his appearance could detract from the convention. Although the evangelist was not told to step down, he did release a statement citing demands on his time (read more - Washington Times)

WLIB New York has begun broadcasting the award-winning Satellite Sisters Monday through Friday between 10 pm and 1 am (ET).  The show will continue to air live on Saturdays between 9 am and 12 pm (visit Satellite Sisters)

When the next session of Parliament opens, a former shock jock from Quebec will be among the sitting MPs.
Outspoken Quebec City radio personality André Arthur has been elected as the single Independent MP, representing the riding of Pontneuf-Jacques-Cartier (read more - CBC)

Dan Halyburton, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Group Operations at Susquehanna Radio  testified Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's hearing on "Broadcast Television and Radio Flag Technology" on behalf of the NAB (read Halyburton's statement)

Mitch Bainwol, the head of the Recording Industry Association of America who testified at the hearing on radio flat technology said that unless Congress banned the sale of digital radio receivers without the audio flag, creativity in the music industry would suffer. A receiver that could easily record songs and shuffle the play order like Apple Computer's iPod, he warned, mean the record labels would not get paid for the download. It's "not casual recording by listeners," Bainwol said   (read more - TMC Net)

Kathryn Hanson was looking at BBC News online last week when she came across an item about a British politician who had resigned over a reported affair with a "rent boy." In search of a definition, she typed it into Google. As Ms. Hanson scrolled through the results, she saw that several of the sites were available only to people over 18. She suddenly had a frightening thought. Would Google have to inform the government that she was looking for a rent boy - a young male prostitute? Ms. Hanson's reaction arose from last week's reports that as part of its effort to uphold an online pornography law, the Justice Department had asked a federal judge to compel Google to turn over records on millions of its users' search queries (read more - NY Times)

Cumulus Broadcasting has won the bidding for the right to build a new FM radio station in the Sioux Falls market. With a bid of $1.6 million, Cumulus acquired the Class A license for the frequency of 100.1 FM in Brandon. The new station’s signal will cover the city of Sioux Falls and a small portion of the surrounding area (read more - Argus Leader)

WZNN-AM 1350 in Ashville, N.C. has flipped to "Fox Sports 1350" + WLNI-FM 105.9 in Lynchburg, VA,WZZK-AM 1320 in Birmingham, AL and WBIG-AM 1280 in Aurora, IL are the newest Fox Sports affiliates (visit Fox Sports)

A new analysis conducted by Harmelin Media reveals that a change to Arbitron Portable People Meter ratings will result in a dramatic increase in audience reach for commercial schedules typically run on local radio stations. The 2005 study was co-sponsored by WBEB-FM and was made possible by the full participation of all major radio stations in Philadelphia during the Arbitron PPM market trial in 2002 and 2003

CNBC has marked the one- year anniversary of "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" by renewing the show for three more years (read more - NY Post)

February 11, KFLD-AM 870 in Pasco, Wash., will become an affiliate of the "The Dr. Dean Edell Show"

 Todd Schumacher has been named Vice President and Market Manager of its Louisville radio stations which include WVEZ, WSFR, WRKA and WPTI. He was formerly Director of Sales for Susquehanna’s Indianapolis cluster (visit Cox Radio)

WBIG-AM 1280 in Aurora IL and KFLD-AM 870 in Pasco WA are becoming affiliates of "At Home with Gary Sullivan"

Tuesday January 24, 2006

Veteran radio programmer and station owner Don Keyes has died in Dallas from medical complications following a heroic struggle.  In the final chapter of his book which because an audio CD, "Gordon McLendon and Me", Don wrote: "Radio’s future will not be as glorious as radio’s past due to the various electronic forces that continue to erode radio’s base. Satellite radio, ipods and the like will continue to suck the life out of both the FM and AM bands. The absolute dominance we once knew is gone forever along with the sheer fun we had in creating it. To everything there is a season, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera ..." The family will have private memorial services.  A public memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, January 28 at the St. Barnabas Episcopal Church,1200 N. Shiloh Road in Garland, Texas (click here for a map)  (visit www.DonKeyesOnline.com)

News that WGN-AM (720) had dropped to a historic low in Arbitron's fall ratings was more than offset last week by its strong first-place showing in revenue for 2005 + Lisa Berigan is out after three years as midday personality at Bonneville's hot adult-contemporary WTMX-FM (101.9)  (read more - Feder of Chicago)

The Walt Disney Company is planning to announce as early as Tuesday the acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios in a stock transaction valued at about $7 billion, people briefed on the negotiations said Monday night. Disney's board voted to give the chief executive, Robert A. Iger, the authority to offer the chief executive of Pixar, Steven P. Jobs, about $59 a share for the company (read more - NY Times)

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. announced the ratings results of its major-market radio stations, as reported in the Fall 2005 Report issued by the Arbitron Ratings Company.  In the nation’s largest market, New York City, SBS stations continue to dominate Hispanic audiences with the #1 and #2 Spanish-language stations in the Big Apple. WSKQ-FM (“La Mega 97.9 FM”) extended its long-standing run as the most-listened-to Latino radio station in the nation. WSKQ-FM also boasts the highest-ranked Spanish-language morning show in the country, “El Vacilón de la Mañana”, hosted by veteran morning comedy jocks Luis Jimenez and Moonshadow (visit Spanish Broadcasting)

Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.  has named Kevin O’Neal  Program Director at its new country music radio station, 104.3 The Coyote (visit Beasley)

On the air yesterday, Howard Stern said he had no indication anyone at Sirius is curtailing the "total freedom" that helped lure him to satellite radio. "What I suspect Sirius is doing," said Robert Unmacht, a Nashville-based radio consultant, is trying to defuse any pressure for the government to regulate satellite radio "by making sure the public can see they're on the case themselves (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

WLUM general manager Bill Hurwitz says, clearly speaking in the present tense, that the syndicated "Bob & Tom Show" is the "alternative" station's morning show. Hurwitz notes that WLUM has a contract with the show, hosted by Tom Griswold and Bob Kevoian, through March. And after that? Well, the is will become a was + WTMJ-AM (620) announced on its Web site late Monday that night host Mark Reardon had been fired because of "station budget adjustments." (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

“Despite the continuing challenges that confront the industries we serve, Arbitron was able to increase our revenue and our earnings in 2005, all while investing in our Portable People Meter-based growth initiatives.” “These initiatives - deploying the PPM as a local market ratings system and developing the Project Apollo market research service - both made significant progress in terms of marketplace acceptance in 2005.” (read more - ARBitron)

Howard Stern yesterday admitted that he's been given "certain guidelines" for satellite radio — but denied that he's being censored. Stern was sputtering about a Page One story in yesterday's Post about how Sirius — the shock jock's new satellite outlet — advertises itself as having "No Limits," even as it works on a written policy on what is off limits (read more - John Mainelli-NY Post)

Satellite radio is a pretty good technology that's attracting a respectable audience primarily through excellent programming. But let's be clear -- satellite doesn't hold a candle to podcasting, and not even Howard Stern can change that (read more - Eliot Van Buskirk)

Donald Trump is suing the publisher and author of a book that is unflattering to him (read more - Crain's NY Biz)

A familiar wake-up call for thousands of Radio 4 listeners is to be axed after 30 years. The UK Theme has marked the 5.30am switchover from the World Service to Radio 4 since 1973 and BBC controllers accept that there will be protests about its disappearance for an extended shipping forecast (read more - The Times U.K.)  (read more - The Scotsman)

ARBitron numbers for Birmingham, Cheyenne, Fort Collins, Fort Meyers, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Topeka and Tuscaloosa (read 'em)

From Happy Hare -- There are snapshots in our minds that are as  memorable as the photos in an album that we never tire of  looking at. Make a jump of faith, and share mine with me. Mike Douglas had a nationally syndicated TV show in the 60’s at KYW in Cleveland, and I was often involved in them, doing bits, announcing, and other odd on-air jobs when they were needed. I would do my morning radio show chores, then go downstairs to the big television studio to watch the action. On this day, I was especially excited to see Mick Jagger and the Stones backstage, waiting to go on. It was early in their career and they were taking a ... (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

From Corey Deitz --  I have a question about censorship. I would like to have my own internet streaming radio station, but I am inquisitive about music with profanity. Not saying that I would play such a selection, but would censorship go out the window and not be pursued as much by the FCC since it is an internet station?? - D Woods (read more - Corey Deitz-About)

The Independent Spanish Broadcasters Association, The Office of Communication, United Church of Christ, Inc.  and Minority Media and Telecommunications Council  have petitioned the FCC with a plan would ensure that non-English speaking persons have access to emergency information during times of local, state and national emergencies (visit MMTC)

CNNRadio will offer its affiliates a special one-hour program describing the prevalence of the recreational drug, crystal meth. Hosted by CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena, this special will deal with the rise of a drug once primarily used by truckers and bikers to stay awake on long journeys but now has seeped into mainstream America. The Rise of Crystal Meth” will air Thursday, Jan. 26, from 2-3 p.m. and will be produced by supervising producer Sherri Maksin (visit CNN Radio)

ABC News President David Westin acknowledged that the division has been through a "difficult transition" since the death of Peter Jennings in August (read more - Marisa Guthrie-NY Daily News)

Arbitron announced that three Houston advertising agencies that collectively place a significant percentage of the radio advertising dollars in the local market have signed a commitment to use radio audience estimates based on the Portable People Meter when Arbitron deploys its state-of-the-art audience measurement service (read more - ARBitron)

790 KABC's Al Rantel will resign from the Advisory Board of the UCLA Bruin Alumni Association over the recent controversy surrounding the leader of that group, Andrew Jones, offering to pay students up to $100 for providing notes or tapes of classes taught by certain professors who he believes are attempting to use their courses to indoctrinate students into the left-wing mindset (visit Al Rantel-KABC)

Many satellite radio subscribers usually choose between Sirius Satellite Radio or XM Satellite Radio. But not El Pasoan Joe Nuñez, who gets the best of both worlds. "I listen to XM on my radio and I listen to Sirius with my Dish Network," said Nuñez, 20, a Lower Valley resident. "There is some pretty good stuff on both, but I think XM is better for sports coverage." (read more - El Paso Times)

PBS announced that Paula Kerger, an executive with more than a decade of experience working with public television in New York City, would take the helm of the national public broadcaster on March 21 (read more - Online NewsHour)  (read more - NY Times)

“Teachers,” the NBC edgy comedy featuring Phil Hendrie as cynical history teacher Dick Green, will debut on April 6 in the prime spot of 9:30 p.m. following the hit  series “My Name is Earl” (read more - Premiere Radio)

Dear Readers: Not long ago, a reader/listener inquired about the whereabouts of former Outlaw Country host Cowhead, aka Mike Calta, from the defunct WRBQ 104.9 FM (Q105). He returned to WXTB 97.9 FM (98 Rock), snagging the coveted morning spot (weekdays 6-10 a.m.) with "The Cowhead Show," where he once co-existed with the Bubba the Love Sponge menagerie (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

KIXL Broadcasting in Austin, Texas has been purchased by Relevant Radio, a Catholic radio network (read more - Austin Biz Journal)

The former national director of the National Security Agency, in an appearance today before the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., appeared to be unfamiliar with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution when pressed by a reporter with Knight Ridder's Washington office--despite his claims that he was actually something of an expert on it (read more - Editor and Publisher)

HDNet Movies viewers will have an exclusive opportunity to see Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh's BUBBLE, on the same day the movie opens in theaters. Mark Cuban, co-founder of HDNet, and his partner Todd Wagner are experimenting with this day-and-date model utilizing various media properties they own, with the goal of giving the consumer a choice of how, when and where to see a movie (visit HD.net)

Philly's CBS 3 and NBC 10 lead the local stations in the amount of local talent employed.  Who else is local and who's not? (read more - Laura Nachman)

Doug Stephan's TalkRadio Count Down program has added WRKO 680 AM in Boston MA, WIMO 1300AM in Atlanta GA, KZRG 1310 AM in Joplin MO, and WDLB 1450AM in Marshfield WI. and Doug Stephan's Good Day program welcomes its newest affiliates, KZRG 1310AM in Joplin MO, WWGE 1400AM in the Johnstown/Loretto/Altoona PA area (visit DougStephan.com)

Dennis Prager -- To understand Jews, one must understand that most Jews are not religious. This is true even if our definition of "religious" is minimal, i.e., observant of any specifically Jewish religious laws, attends synagogue once a month or even declares a belief in God. According to a 2003 Harris Poll, "Only 16 percent of Jews go to synagogue once a month or more often"; and regarding belief in God: "Protestants (90 percent) are more likely than Roman Catholics (79 percent) and much more likely than Jews (48 percent) to believe in God. Religious affiliation here includes many people raised as members of a religion or religious group, regardless of what they practice or believe now." (read more - Dennis Prager)

The Bonneville Phoenix Radio Group announced that veteran radio news man Russ Hill has been named as Program Director for KTAR (620 AM) and KMVP (ESPN 860) and will take over his new duties effective February 13. Hill arrives at KTAR after being with Bonneville sister station KSL Newsradio (visit KTAR)

Monday January 23, 2006

The major terrestrial radio companies say the growth of satellite radio wasn't a factor in their announcement last week that they will be offering dozens of "new" stations thanks to high-definition (HD) radio technology. "HD has been in the works for almost a decade," says Tom Poleman, senior vice president for Clear Channel. "It's an investment in the future of radio that has nothing to do with satellite."  (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

ABC Radio Networks has appointed Eric Stanger to the position of Director, Talk Programming (visit ABC Radio)

"Before the iPod and before satellite radio, broadcasters said, 'We already have 40 stations per market. Why cut up the ad pie?' " said Robert J. Struble, president of the iBiquity Digital Corporation, of Columbia, Md., the developer of the HD Radio digital technology. "But the industry recognizes that broader choices and niche formats do make a difference." Joel Hollander, chairman and chief executive of CBS Radio, said, "The radio industry is healthy. It's just not growing fast enough for Wall Street. More options and more programming will allow us to grow faster; this is a three- to eight-year process." (read more - NY Times)

The rumored sale of ABC, which owns and operates 73 stations in many top markets and a syndicated network with programming including "The Sean Hannity Show," comes just as Disney is considering an acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios  (read more - NY Times)

CNNRadio Los Angeles correspondent Jim Roope has won a Radio & Television Association of Southern California “Golden Mike Award,” marking the third year in a row he has won the award.
Roope’s winning entry is in the “Best Reporting by a Radio Network” category (visit CNNRadio)

Dom Testa is best known as morning co-host with Jane at KIMN 100.3-FM. But he's also an accomplished author and publisher of two books (read more - Dick Kreck-Denver Post)

If you're still looking for stuff to put onto that iPod you found under the Christmas tree a month ago, you may want to move beyond music. An alternative is podcasts of programs you can't find on Milwaukee radio. They're portable, and you can listen to them when you want. Unlike satellite radio programming, they're free, either at Apple's iTunes Music Store or in downloads available at specific Web sites. Here are a half-dozen choices ... (read 'em - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Last week's exit news included (Robert) Archerat KBIG/104.3 FM. He e-mailed us his thoughts on leaving: "My contract was up and they wanted to 'go in a different creative direction.' My creative direction, of course, was to continue being employed by KBIG. Theirs was indeed different. "I've been in radio for 26 years but KBIG was the longest run I'd ever had (read more - Gary Lycan - OC Register)

"The Night Listener'' tells the story of Robin Williams' character, late-night radio host Gabriel Noone. Noone becomes entranced by the book manuscript of an ailing 14-year-old boy and strikes up a long-distance friendship with the precocious boy and his adoptive mother, played by Toni Collette (read more - KUTV)

Bill Gates struck a familiar note when he took the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 4 when he said he dreamed of a day when he can begin watching news coverage of an event from his TV or PC at home over breakfast, and then continue viewing from his mobile device as he travels to work and goes about his day ...  The funny thing is, that vision is getting a lot closer to reality -- and CEOs espousing pie-in-the sky notions of wireless "convergence" and "seamless mobility" are sounding increasingly, well, down to earth (read more - Businessweek)

Cox Radio already rules the urban music market in Birmingham. Now, Cox is venturing into urban talk radio, too. On Jan. 30, Cox plans to launch WPSB-AM 1320, a black-oriented, news-talk station that will call itself "The People's Station of Birmingham." It will take over the frequency now occupied by WZZK-AM (read more - Bob Carlton-Birmingham News)

From Claude Hall -- Miz Rae, as she is sometimes called, with her husband Tom Donahue, a legendary deejay in San Francisco. No, Tom was more than just a legend. He was literally a god ... I would say that everything started--the real success of FM radio--with Tom Donahue + More of the Jimmy Rabbitt Interview: Claude: Do you think that being a disk jockey is a good life? Jimmy: Oh, hell yeah. Claude: But, Jimmy, you've suffered some hardships. Right here in this town. Jimmy: I even had to break horses here for a while to make a living. Claude: A big-named air personality like you? Jimmy: Breaking horses in Topanga Canyon. But that's okay, because I knew I could do a good job on the radio. If I hadn't known that I could be successful, I wouldn't have tried. And I wouldn't have been successful. I'd have gone home instead. But I've always believed since I got here-and I've been real lucky in Los Angeles-I knew I could win. Claude: Well, what does a guy have to learn in order to become a good disc jockey? Jimmy: I don't think you can learn it. No one can tell you the ingredients ... (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com) (Photo courtesy of Raechel Donahue)

XM Satellite Radio announced today it will launch a new sports-themed talk show hosted by Democratic political strategist, commentator and passionate sports fan James Carville. Known for his animated and colorful debate style, the outspoken Carville will co-host the program with Luke Russert, his regular off-air sparring partner for all things sports and son of Carville's frequent interrogator, NBC journalist Tim Russert (visit XM Radio)

Air America is looking for a new radio home in Phoenix (read more - Phoenix Biz Journal)

After continuous legal battles, pressures from interest groups and cancellation by the University of Florida administration, syndicated radio show hosts of the "Lex & Terry" show announced Friday they plan to drop a segment involving inebriated women that had run on the top-rated morning show (read more - Gainesville Sun)

Wires hang from the ceiling. Plasma televisions wait to be mounted in the lobby.. A technician rigs the wires of a robotic spanking machine. Pardon the appearance, but for "Howard Stern Show" producer Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate and the show's 40 other crew members, certain things take priority two weeks into the shock jock's move from the FM dial to Sirius Satellite Radio (read more - Neil Vigdor-Stamford Advocate)

Sirius Satellite Radio's $10 billion stock-market value is greater than rival XM's $9 billion, due in part to its recent acquisition of shock jock Howard Stern's program, but XM is a better choice for investors, Barron's business weekly reported on Sunday (read more - ABC News)

Sundays from Ron Jacobs -- "When Men and Mountains Meet" - A Five Part Super Bowl Diary  ...
KCBS, the 49er radio station, is everywhere, like “Quadraphonic” sound. Announcer Don Klein and  company try to establish, with little zeal, a “brand new ballgame.” Why don’t sportscasters ever refer to opening kickoffs as a “brand new ballgame?” All around the stands are portable TV’s. Watching the ABC boys discuss the chance of a Dolphin comeback. The Dallas Cowboys’ head coach analyzes San Francisco’s unexpected defensive formations, which have completely confused and flustered Miami’s quarterback and his blockers ... (read more - www.RonJacobsOnline.com)

It's the chic, cross-campus travel companion, this ever-present iPod. It allows us to take our hours (often days, even years) worth of music wherever we roam. Portable music makes the time pass more quickly, makes the walk seem faster, and gets us pumped up to study. What a great new-fangled toy, this iPod! Or is it? (read more - Jeff Stepp-Washington University Forum)

Chuck Fredrick has taken over eight radio stations as Clear Channel Dayton's market manager (read more - Dayton Biz Journal)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has appointed Andreas Lazar as Senior Vice President, Business Development, reporting to Mel Karmazin (visit Sirius Radio)

The dangers of addiction to OxyContin have become more widely known because of several celebrity cases. In 2003, Limbaugh announced that he was temporarily leaving his national radio show for treatment of an addiction that began when he was prescribed OxyContin after failed spinal surgery. In October 2003, Courtney Love overdosed on OxyContin several hours after she was arrested on suspicion of drug use. At the time, Love denied dependency on prescription drugs (read more - The Oregonian)

A veteran local radio executive has built an independent radio empire in San Diego nearly as fast as a new Usher disc scales the Hot 100. The deal has made Mike Glickenhaus and Finest City Broadcasting – the company formed last spring to buy powerhouses 91X, Z90 and Magic 92.5 – something of an anomaly in an industry that has seen intense consolidation in recent years (read more - Frank Green-San Diego Union-Tribune)

A year ago, WHFS changed formats to become the Spanish tropical music station 99.1 El Zol (WLZL).  The gamble worked (read more - Washington Biz Journal)

Chairman Kevin Martin of the FCC says he shares concerns that the family-friendly programming packages coming soon from cable and satellite TV providers may not win wide acceptance because they leave out some channels (read more - Arizona Central)

Dr. Laura's  latest book, Bad Childhood - Good Life,
has shot to the top of Best Seller lists (visit Dr. Laura)

Wisconsin-based Midwest Communications is acquiring Fairfield Broadcasting's Kalamazoo radio stations -- WQLR-FM, WKZO-AM, WQSN-AM and WKLZ-AM. After 34 years, it was just time, says Bill Wertz, who co-owns Fairfield Broadcasting with Steve Trivers (read more - Paul M. Davis-Kalamazoo Gazette)

Radio talker and former sportscaster Dan Patrick's entry into the state Senate District 7 race made the outspoken, hard-right, born-again Christian communicator the candidate to beat. He's well-known in the area from years on the air and has a committed base of conservative fans (read more - Houston Chronicle)

If you have cable TV, like two-thirds of the country, you likely get a bundle of 50 or more stations, of which, research shows, a typical household will watch only 17 with any regularity ... So why do you have to pay for the rest? Don't be surprised if, like so many things in which Washington meddles, cable ends up costing you more for less ...(read more - Ron Dzwonkowski-Detroit Free Press)

At the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic - Rush Limbaugh voiced his opinion on the George Clooney-Jack Abramoff controversy, starting with the Golden Globe winning actor. "I think George Clooney is the glittering jewel of colossal ignorance," Limbaugh said. "You people (media) promote what he says, well you people generically, and it's absolutely a waste of time. He's a brain-dead celebrity. He looks good, he lives at Lake Coma, and he makes movies. He doesn't have the slightest bit of understanding about politics. It's stupid." (read more - Desert Sun)

Doctor Terry Mason -- the new public health chief for Chicago's three million residents -- watches what he eats, works out regularly, and says he practices what he preaches. Mason is known for his common touch in promoting disease prevention in Chicago and nationwide. He is the host of radio station W-V-O-N's "Doctor in the House" show (read more - WQAD)

From Larry Stoler -- During the past year, the competition for ways to obtain music and information increased and people became aware of what was available.  Internet radio grew to 19 million listeners a week.  IPods started becoming more available in the market place.  An iPod allows anyone to download thousands of songs.  In addition other alternatives for more diverse programming became publicly available. while many talk shows lean towards politics or try to convince the audience that on every issue one side is right and the other is wrong, Free FM does the opposite (read more - Larry Stoler)

One of the most recognizable voices on news radio will be leaving the air next month. Christopher Glenn, anchor of "CBS World News Roundup" since 1999, is retiring after the Feb. 24 broadcast (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Country station KMPS-FM (94.1) extended its string of first-place finishes in the fall-quarter Seattle-Tacoma radio ratings released Friday, while the "play what we want" format on KJAQ-FM (96.5) continued a remarkable charge up the ladder of rankings (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

The Federal Communications Commission granted Mercury Broadcasting a permit to move WFMX-105.7 to Clemmons. If it were to remain in Statesville, FCC regulations would prevent the company from buying the station since it would own too many in the Charlotte market (read more - Winston-Salem Journal)

Rush Limbaugh gives Leighton Ginn the lowdown
Q. Have either of the satellite radio companies approached you?
A. They've approached everyone. There's no business reason to do it. It makes no business sense. My radio station, I've been with them for 18-to-20 years and I value them too much to make the program available somewhere else. It would just undercut them (read more -Desert Sun)

“For the first time, and I’ve been in radio for 30 years, we’ve been able to get the top broadcasters in America to work together,” Jerry McKenna the marketing director of Entercom’s local stations, which include KIRO-AM (710), KNDD-FM (The End, 107.7), KMTT-FM (The Mountain, 103.7) and others said. Some downplay the notion that the HD Radio coalition was formed to compete with increasingly popular satellite providers Sirius and XM. “It’s not directly related to that,” said Carey Curelop, the program director at CBS Radio-owned KZOK-FM (102.5). “HD radio has been in the works for many, many years. It just happens that it’s coming into fruition at the time that satellite radio is becoming popular.” (read more - Tacoma News-Tribune)

As Spanish-language radio continues to grow and diversify, the hottest trend for the new year is one hooked on the past. Now oldies are surging (read more - Reuters)

Confirming week-old reports, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder yesterday announced the purchase of three local radio stations - WBPS-FM-94.3, WBZS-FM-92.7 and WKDL-730 - through his new media company, Red Zebra Broadcasting, that will carry the team's games starting next season (read more - Washington Post)

ARBitron numbers for Colorado Springs, Columbus, Denver-Boulder, Fresno, Portland, Puerto Rico and Seattle (read 'em)

On the surface dMarc Broadcasting is indeed a choice company for Google since it's perhaps the most modern and futuristic ad placement system available for radio broadcasters. Many are speculating that this is Google's first venture with which it can take its targeted advertising model and use it someplace other than the Internet. They miss the point of Google altogether with this thinking (read more - John Dvorak-MarketWatch)

The auctions for U.S. airwaves used for wireless video and high-speed Internet access may proceed in June, says FCC Chairman Kevin Martin (read more - Reuters)

Osama bin Laden's videotape broadcast has renewed speculation that the 7-foot-tall terror beanpole will soon follow Howard Stern in making the jump to satellite radio (read more - John Breneman's Fake News)

Friday January 20, 2006

Walt Disney Co. could decide on a buyer for its ABC Radio assets within as little as a week or two (read more - Reuters)

Oldies and country music are back on free radio in New York. But before you start doing cartwheels, there is a catch. To get them, you must buy a new radio receiver that picks up the latest newfangled media technology: High-Definition (HD) Radio (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Eddie Schwartz, the ailing former king of late-night radio in Chicago, will make a rare return appearance on WGN-AM (720) when he calls in as Dean Richards' guest at 10 a.m. Sunday + Ryan Snow resigned Thursday as marketing and promotions director for Newsweb Corp. progressive talk WCPT-AM (850) and the "Nine FM" combo of WDEK-FM (92.5), WKIE-FM (92.7) and WRZA-FM (99.9) (read more - Feder of Chicago)

ABC Radio's Mark Davis talk show has picked up two new affiliates; KOCR AM 1310 in Joplin and KTBB AM 600 in Tyler (visit Mark Davis-ABC Radio)

Two new CNN Radio podcasts have debuted on CNN.com.   The two additions will be weekly shows, updated each Friday morning (visit CNN Podcasting)

Colleen Kuczinski, of Pittsburgh, sued Clear Channel and WKST-FM saying the truck customized for her  was altered so much she can't drive it (read more - Stamford Advocate)

Broadcast programming mega-legend Don Keyes is in a Dallas hospital.  Friends and associates can send him a "get better e-mail" at don@donkeyesonline.com (visit www.donkeyesonline.com)

Kix Brooks takes over as host of ABC Radio’s “American Country Countdown” this week, replacing longtime host Bob Kingsley on the weekly, four-hour program (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS) (read more - MSNBC)  (read more - Philly Daily News) 

1570 AM WFRL and “Country Legends” 92.1 FM WFPS are changing hands and formats (read more - NW Illinois Journal Standard)

From Kent Burkhart -- A few columns ago I wrote an article about health. “Health is Wealth”. I wrote that I was just about to have my annual physical…. preventative medicine I call it….to find out if one has a physical problem it can be fixed. I breezed through the physical, waited patiently a few days for fifty blood and other lab reports and let a sigh of relief when they all came back NORMAL!!!!! I only had one more test which is usually a snap. I had to check in with my new eye doctor …an ophthalmologist I had not visited before ... (read more - www.KentBurkhart.com)

Boston’s radio frequencies were bulking up yesterday, adding high-definition digital stations to their regular FM channels (read more - Jesse Noyes-Boston Herald)

Cost is the main factor in preventing digital satellite radio from taking off in New Zealand, where the radio airwaves are still ruled region to region despite broadcast syndication by the biggest stations. Sky TV re-broadcasts a number of the networks' radio channels to its satellite digital customers, but none of its own radio content. That's unlikely to change (read more - New Zealand Herald)

Channel 4 unveiled ambitious plans to launch a series of speech and music radio stations to take on the BBC, using its television talent and programme brands to attract listeners. The broadcaster plans to bid for the national digital radio licence due to be advertised by the media watchdog, Ofcom, this year, giving it enough capacity for up to eight new radio stations plus interactive services such as mobile television (read more - Media Guardian U.K.)

Emmis is reducing its staff by 24 at KSNW-TV in Wichita (read more - Wichita Biz Journal)

ConsumerAffairs.com has launched a web page service for radio stations. KTRH Houston, KNX Los Angeles, WXCT Hartford and WREC Memphis are among the first to utilize this free, custom designed web page for breaking consumer news and information. Stations can use it as a NTR source and news directors can pull stories from the page (visit www.ConsumerAffairs.com)   (contact Stacey Cohen for info - go4it@adelphia.net)

We are in a time when the very diminution of the importance of network news leaves some old news hands to drop their guard and announce what they are: liberal Democrats. Nothing wrong with that, but they might have told us when they were in power. The very existence of conservative media--of Rush Limbaugh, of Fox, of the Internet sites--has become an excuse by previously "I call 'em as I see 'em/I try to be impartial" journalists to advance their biases. Actually, it's more Fox than anything (read more - Peggy Noonan-WSJ)

Yoko Ono tried to stop the filming of a controversial new movie about John Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman outside the Dakota this week - but failed to stop the crew from recreating tragedy on her doorstep (read more - NY Post)

With payola rearing its head, Eric Murphy's "Pop2Life" is offering advice on legal compliance.  The first client for Eric Murphy was MTV. Pop2Life is a full-service creative marketing and promotions agency (visit Pop2Life.com)

Atlanta's V-103 edged out WSB-AM 750 for the top spot in fall 2005 (read more - Atlanta Biz Journal)

The Bush administration, trying to publicize its economic accomplishments, made more than 20 administration officials available Friday to radio talk show hosts to discuss the president's record in creating jobs and boosting economic growth.  "This is an opportunity through talk radio, which reaches across America, to have a dialogue about where we are going," Treasury Secretary John Snow said in an interview with a Vermont talk show host (read more - Houston Chronicle)

Dave Graveline and the Into Tomorrow team are  broadcasting for the 3rd week from Las Vegas this Sunday  from the world's largest annual trade show for consumer technology - CES. This week features interviews with a few of the more than 2500 exhibitors and information about all kinds of new products from the very latest in emerging technologies (visit Into Tomorrow)

WNYW/Ch. 5's Anne Craig had her hands full Wednesday while broadcasting live from the new soup shop owned by Al Yeganeh, who inspired "Seinfeld's" Soup Nazi character. The "Good Day New York" interview, if we can call it that, ended with the soup seller calling Craig some ugly words (read more - Richard Huff-NY Daily News)

Late last year, a new sound could be heard on the radio in the Huron area, as KJRV-FM began operations. The station, which carries a classic rock format and the moniker “Big Jim,” can be found at 93.3 on the FM side of the dial. “Our response has been wonderful,” said station general manager Linda Marcus (read more - Plainsman)

If you think you've seen more of ESPN Radio morning duo Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic than usual -- you have Howard Stern to thank. ESPN Radio sees significant parallels between the young males who tune in to "Mike & Mike In the Morning" and those who were devoted to Stern (read more - David B. Wilkerson-MarketWatch)

The Federal Trade Commission reiterated that despite the claims made in e-mails circulating on the Internet, consumers should not be concerned that their cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketers in the near future, and that it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to cell phones (read more - Linux Electrons)

When it comes to promoting Mark Crispin Miller’s new book, Fooled Again -- How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and Why They’ll Steal the Next One, Too (Unless We Stop Them), the guy can’t even get arrested. No interviews, nothing. In fact, these days even his cash bounces -- Miller can’t even buy a spot on National Public Radio for his book. Now you may be saying to yourself: “Public Radio doesn’t sell advertising.” The only difference between NPR’s “paid sponsorships” and the puke jock shows’ commercial radio ads is that the NPR folks don’t have a real rate card. Which is either stupid or brilliant, I’m not sure. Anyway, when it comes to NPR and PBS, and especially Philadelphia’s WHYY, Miller can’t buy a date (read more - Joe Bageant-SF Indy Media)

Federal prosecutors defending the Child Online Protection Act, a controversial Internet pornography law, are demanding that Google hand over a million search records. In court documents, the Bush administration asked a federal judge to force Google to comply with a subpoena for the records, which would reveal the search terms of a broad swath of Google's visitors (read more - LA Times) (read more - ZDNet)   (read more - NY Times)

ARBitron numbers for Atlanta. Charlotte, Killeen-Temple, Miami, Orlando, Waco and West Palm Beach (read 'em)

KTLK Progressive Talk AM 1150 and national radio personality Stephanie Miller will receive a John F. Kennedy “Profiles In Courage” award from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. Miller is heard on KTLK in Los Angeles and on more than 40 stations via the Jones Radio Networks (visit StephanieMiller.com)

CBS Radio took a major step towards expanding its current HD Radio offerings and announced a definitive lineup of multicast programming for more than 60 of its stations in 17 markets across the country. With programming scheduled to launch on select stations beginning immediately, listeners will have access to a wider variety of programming than currently heard on the air today, including newly created music and news formats (visit CBS Radio)  (read more - Reuters)  (read more - Crain's NY Biz)

Entercomm's WRKO will offer local weather backed by the brand recognition and expertise of The Weather Channel starting January 23. The station will add the live, on-air services of The Weather Channel Radio Network. With this arrangement, WRKO joins the ranks of other Entercomm stations such as KMBZ-AM in Kansas City and WWL-AM in New Orleans, plus major stations in the country including WABC in New York City and KNX in Los Angeles (visit The Weather Channel)

Thursday January 19, 2006

More than 20 Chicago radio stations are teaming up to offer one-of-a-kind items and experiences in their second annual "super auction" to benefit the March of Dimes + Marc Silverman and Carmen DeFalco are on an "unscheduled leave of absence" from their jobs as midday talk show hosts at ABC-owned sports/talk WMVP-AM (1000) (read more - Feder of Chicago)

After three eventful years whose low points included Hot-97's "Tsunami Song" and whose high points included Kiss-FM returning to the top of the ratings, Barry Mayo is stepping down as senior vice president and market manager for Emmis Radio. "I'm a radio guy," he said yesterday. "But there's another Barry Mayo who does other things, and he's been feeling very unfulfilled (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

KLOS Program Director, Rita Wilde announced that 95.5 KLOS-FM will create and broadcast the first Fusion Hispanic/Anglo Rock format in the world when the station premiers its HD2 digital radio channel in July of this year (visit 95.5 KLOS)

Over the next five days, 25 Clear Channel Radio stations in five markets will turn on their HD2 multicast digital radio channels. Within two weeks, another 82 stations in 20 more markets will light up HD2 multicasts. The aggressive rollout also includes online streaming of the new channels as well as on-air giveaways of HD Radios (visit Clear Channel)

KLSD still has only a fraction of the listeners of its main conservative rivals, KOGO and KFMB-AM. But somehow, in a matter of months, Al Franken & Co. managed to boost their share of audience from 1.8 percent to 3.1 percent and land in 11th place +  Listeners seem to be souring a bit on the disc-jockey-less Jack 100.7 (down in 14th place), although the introduction of a new morning show next Monday might help things (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

Last month I told you how much I liked the Boston Acoustics HD Receptor, the first HD table radio to hit the market. I said the sound quality is much better than I ever thought possible from local AM or FM stations. And, I thought that the possibility of new, varied programming channels might give satellite radio services a run for their money. I was amazed to receive a slew of poison pen (poison key?) e-mail telling me I didn’t know what I was talking about. That may be. But I think many of the satellite radio fans who wrote in missed my point (read more - Gary Krakow-MSNBC)

Dennis Kelly, the program director for Fisher Broadcasting's Seattle AM radio stations, has been a regular witness to the ongoing hallway bantering and insult-swapping between talk-show host John Carlson and television commentator Ken Schram. But instead of telling the two "Hey, keep it down," he came up with a different idea: Put the two of them on the air together.  Which is what he's done (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

Local electronics retailers got a big Christmas present from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) over the holidays. The hottest items on the shelves in December were satellite radios. None of the retailers contacted by The Interior News were able to estimate how many of the devices they sold but they all said they were virtually flying off the shelves (read more - Interior News)

Though networks have been dabbling in downloadable programs for more than a year, CBS Corp. plans to push the strategy further. Starting next week it will use one of its highest-rated dramas as a platform for introducing the first 60-second episode of The Courier, its new “micro series” for the mobile market. The debut of the seven-part serial will be shown in the United States during the first commercial break of next week's airing of CSI: Miami (read more - The Globe and Mail)

CNN Headline News hopes Glenn Beck's show will build on the success of "Nancy Grace," a legal debate program that began nearly a year ago and stars a fiery former Fulton County prosecutor. Love her or hate her, Grace has nearly tripled Headline News' ratings in the 8 p.m. time slot. The network wants more of that kind of stunning success and believes Beck, with his strong views, fits the Grace mold (read more - Scott Leith-Atlanta JC)

ARBitron numbers for Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Minneapolis, Rochester NY, Sarasota, Tampa-St Pete and Tyler-Longview (read 'em)

From Murphy Martin -- Among my many assignments to cover Dr. King was the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march. I filed numerous stories covering that march and when it concluded in front of the Alabama state capitol on March 25, 1965, I anchored the live network coverage for ABC-TV. A veritable Who's Who walked to the microphones before more than 35,000 marchers. Andrew Young, Dr. Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Dr. Ralph Bunche, A. Phillip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, John Lewis, and Whitney Young. Then came the crown jewel of the movement: Dr. King, who slowly and methodically moved the crowd to a fevered pitch. You could almost feel the tension ratchet up with each carefully chosen word ... (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)

... the Xbox 360 is much more than a fancy gaming system. The Xbox 360 is on its way to becoming the main media center for the home, providing high definition gaming, incredible online features and now even streaming satellite radio (read more - XBox Today)

One of the Bay Area's most popular alternative rock stations, KNCL Channel 104.9, recently disappeared. Clear Channel Radio, who owns the station, decided on a changeover that resulted in what you'll find if you tune your radio to 104.9 right now: La Romantica, a Spanish-language soft-rock/pop station ... The day after the change occurred, I had three e-mails in my editorial inbox protesting the new station (read more - Timothie Gould-The Santa Clara)

CBS News president Sean McManus said the next anchor of the CBS Evening News would probably come from outside the network.  He refused to comment on whether it would be Katie Couric (read more - Reuters) (read more - Gary Levin-USA Today)  (read more - Marisa Guthrie-NY Daily News)

NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins XM Satellite Radio for a weekly show to be broadcast exclusively on XM (read more - XM Radio)

Former Republican Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts has signed on as a talking head with CNN (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Portugal is trying to boost home-grown music by forcing radio stations to ensure at least a quarter of their playlist is by Portuguese talent. Stations flouting the law, if it is passed by parliament on Thursday, would be fined (read more - The Times U.K.)

ESPN Radio’s week-long presence in Detroit will provide fans the “Just-like-I’m-there” build-up to Super Bowl XL, and comprehensive post-game interviews and analysis. ESPN Radio’s main set will be located on Level One at the Renaissance Center in the GM Headquarters (visit ESPN Radio)

The two largest radio station groups in Sioux Falls and a California-based Christian organization are vying for the right to build a new FM station in the market. Among the 171 FM frequencies up for bid in FCC Auction 62 is 100.1 in Brandon, a Class A license that would cover the city of Sioux Falls and a small portion of the surrounding area (read more - Argus Leader)

Cheryle Keck was a member of the Eyewitness News team from 1998 to 2004. She passed away from a lengthy illness (read more - ABC 13 Houston)

Nationally syndicated Health Talk program Duke and The Doctor has added three new affiliates; WGOW/Chattanooga, WCGC/Charlotte and WIMO/Winder, GA . The show is hosted by Duke Liberatore and Jan McBarron, MD (visit Duke and the Doctor)

Wednesday January 18, 2006

The HD Digital Radio Alliance announced the first 28 markets that will be broadcasting HD2 multicast programming. Alliance members will begin their HD2 channel launches in each market within the next few days. There will be 264 completely new HD2 channels that will carry a variety of music or talk formats. Collectively, some 264 entirely new HD2 channels will carry a variety of music or talk formats (visit HDRadio.com)

Jeff Smulyan, chairman and chief executive of the Indianapolis-based company, said this week he feels "a certain vindication" in his decision to bring back Johnny B. to the Loop + John Martin was forced out after two years as vice president and general manager of WBBM-FM (96.3)  (read more - Feder of Chicago)

WABC program director Phil Boyce said he loved hearing Bob Grant guest with WABC's Sean Hannity on Monday afternoon, but called it "very unlikely" Grant would be rehired to do a show of his own.
Grant was fired by WABC (770 AM) in April 1996 over remarks about the late commerce secretary, Ron Brown. Callers to Monday's show, which Boyce said was suggested by Hannity, included John Mainelli, who programmed WABC during much of Grant's time there, and Jay Diamond, who for years followed Grant in the evening on WABC (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

KZON and 11 other stations in major markets around the country have switched formats to CBS Radio and Infinity Broadcasting's FREE FM, resulting in 101.5 FM airing talk radio from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. during weekdays (read more - ASU Web Devil)

Since taking the commercial airwaves on January 3rd, David Lee Roth's inaugural broadcasts have been scatterbrained messes with little to no coherent thought being applied to the subjects discussed during the most misguided call-in show in recent history. In the absence of guests, well, to be fair, interesting guests, Roth must carry the show with his wit and charm. Instead, Roth falls back on stories of his recent exploits as a New York EMT and rehashes old grudges with Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen. In 1985, when Roth oozed charisma, this might be interesting. In 2006, it's painful radio (read more - David Schultz-Earvolution)

CNN Headline News is giving Nancy Grace an equally- feisty companion talk show — fueling speculation that the channel is inching toward more talk and less news.  "That's not something we're prepared to commit to right now, but the evolution of the network is continuing," a spokeswoman, Janine Iamunno, told The Post yesterday (read more - John Mainelli-NY Post)

Time Out's 3 Questions for Bob Shannon -- Time Out - On the New York Radio message board, you were critical of people who made excuses for David Lee Roth's radio show not being good. Do you think he has any chance of replacing Howard Stern? Bob Shannon - You want to root for other people to be successful, but you have to be somewhat realistic. If management wanted to hire David Lee Roth because they thought his celebrity would appeal to a certain audience, they probably should have teamed him with someone who has radio experience. Maybe that could have had a chance. But nobody around him seems to have that (read more - # 2 and # 3 in Time Out)

Sean "Fish" Fisher, who used to do afternoons on the old Lazer before it turned into WHQG-FM (102.9) - better known to listeners as the Hog - has finally landed at another station owned by Saga Communications (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Although Sirius and XM Radio Canada have not released any subscriber counts, a new survey out this week by Decima Research suggests that Sirius holds a more than a 2 to 1 advantage over XM, in terms of current and potential market share in Canada ... more than twice as many (27%) are leaning towards Sirius Canada versus 12% for XM Canada (read more - Digital Home Canada)

For 40 consecutive ratings periods, WKKO-FM (99.9) has been the No. 1 radio station in Toledo. Four ratings periods per year for 10 straight years adds up to a decade of dominance (read more - Russ Lemmon-Toledo Blade)

Wilderness Media and Entertainment President Matt Farber has launched TWIST, the first syndicated, national, commercial radio brand aimed at the LGBT audience. TWIST debuted on major FM stations across the country on January 14, 2006 (read more - 247Gay.com)

Satellite radio shock jock Howard Stern, whose long face, big nose, pointy chin and tangled curls gave him the perfect face for radio, admitted yesterday that he's had not one, but two plastic-surgery procedures (read more - Michele Ingrassia-NY Daily News)

Jack Gale is alive and well -- well, actually The Award Winning Jack Gale Radio Program will live again, too.
Beginning Jan. 30, Jack will be doing a show on www.ultimateoldies.com  It'll feature music of the' 50s and '60s, plus all his characters and skits

Spanish-language "Radio Lazer,"" Ventura County's top-ranked station, tightened its grip on first place in the latest ratings, beating its closest competitor's audience share by more than 4 percentage points (read more - Ventura County Star)

Legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, 89, who lost his wife of 65 years to cancer in March, acknowledges that he's "keeping company" with Carly Simon's big sister, "but I'm not making any announcements, as yet." (read more - Gail Shister-Philly Inquirer)

Retired radio personality and owner of Sandy's Escape Nightclub, Charles E. "Sandy" , has died. Sandy Jackson was Omaha's first disc jockey, and it all started in 1944 when Sandy got the chance to do a live one hour show from 11 to midnight on KBON radio (read more - Omaha World-Herald) (read more - Nebraska Music Hall of Fame) 

ARBitron numbers for Akron, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Hartford, New Haven, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Tucson and Washington DC (read 'em)

1070 WIBC AM and sister station 97.1 HANK FM will continue to simulcast both the Indianapolis 500 and the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Both stations, along with Emmis cluster stations RadioNow 93.1 and B105.7 will continue to spotlight all the activities surrounding the Indianapolis 500 and Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (visit WIBC)

ABC Radio Networks announced a multi-year agreement with talk show personality Mark Levin to nationally syndicate The Mark Levin Show to radio stations around the country. The program will air on four stations in the top 10 markets beginning January 30: WABC in New York, WMAL Washington, D.C., WBAP Dallas and WJR Detroit (visit WMAL)

Westwood One’s CMT Radio Network announced that country superstar Faith Hill will join Lon Helton as co-host of Country Countdown USA, January 21-22 (visit Country Countdown USA)

Emmis Radio has signed an agreement for the automated advertising platform by dMarc, which announced earlier it was being acquired by Google (visit Emmis)

The Federal Communications Commission said yesterday that it is investigating the sale of private cell phone records, a move privacy advocates said was welcome but long overdue (read more - Washington Post)

Clear Channel Television has joined Weathernews Inc.’s network, which offers customized local video programming for weather, news, traffic and sports to subscribers’ cell phones (read more - XChange)

Beasley Broadcast Group appointed Carole Bowen to General Manager of Miami’s 99.9 Kiss Country WKIS-FM. In her new role Ms. Bowen will oversee sales, programming and promotional activities at WKIS-FM (visit WKIS FM)

Tuesday January 17, 2006

Metro Networks, a Westwood One company, announced today a multi-year renewal agreement with Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. for Beasley’s Miami radio stations, WPOW-FM, WQAM-AM and WKIS-FM (visit Westwood One)

Adam Carolla's guests this week include Carson Daly, Seth Green, Robert Schimmel and Michael Rappoport (visit Free FM - Adam Carolla)

Spanish Broadcasting System has appointed Cynthia Hudson-Fernandez to the newly created post of Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer (read more - PR Newswire)

Felipe Luciano becomes vice president of news for the progressive radio network Air America (WLIB, 1190 AM) with several premises. First, "All those years of talk about a 'liberal bias' in the media has pushed our national media to a right-wing slant. "What was once an independent voice has become afraid to take a stand. Everyone is afraid what happened to Dan Rather will happen to them. That's why we see almost no investigative journalism." (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Readers are howling over shakeup at WCKG + Mancow Muller: Have you heard about the sequel to "Titanic"? It's about how CBS Radio and Capt. Joel Hollander handled Howard Stern's retirement from free radio (read more - Feder of Chicago)

The practice of recording companies and artistes slipping enormous sums of money 'under the table' for airplay of their products, otherwise called payola, remains a serious problem in the world-leading US record market, according to noted musicologist and radio programmer Dermot Hussey, who is presently with the Washington-based XM Satellite Radio (read more - Jamaica Observer)

Q&A with Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan
Q: How is the HD Digital Radio Alliance selling HD radio to consumers and auto makers?
A: Emmis is one of the founding partners of the Alliance. The idea is to facilitate the rollout of HD radio by ensuring a wide array of free, over-the air programming, making consumers aware that HD radio brings them CD-quality sound, and pushing to bring more HD receivers to market at reasonable prices. To that end, members have agreed to launch new, commercial-free HD side channels, run spots on main stations promoting the benefits of HD radio and lobby car makers to install the receivers in new cars (read more - Q's & A's with Jeff Smulyan-Emmis)

Internet search engine Google Inc. said it agreed to buy dMarc Broadcasting Inc., a digital solutions provider for radio broadcasters, for an up-front payment of $102 million and additional payments of up to $1.14 billion over the next three years  (read more - Financial Times)

CNN, banned from broadcasting by the Iranian Culture Minister, has apologized, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad informed that he has granted permission for the channel to resume its broadcasts (read more - Zaman Daily News)

Radio Ink has announced This Year’s Radio Wayne Award Finalists (read more - Radio Ink)

Clear Channel Radio announced that it has launched the La Preciosa Network, which consists of over a dozen stations nationwide. Included in the programming line-up is radio and television legend Victor Manuel Lujan, along with other talented personalities (read more - Houston Chronicle)  (visit Clear Channel)

Think you've got what it takes to go head-to-head with the Fox News Channel's resident motormouth Bill O'Reilly? Well, you just might get a shot. Today, the network and O'Reilly kick off "Bloviate with Bill," a contest that will end with six viewers facing off with O'Reilly during February (read more - Marisa Guthrie-NY Daily News)

Pierre Wolfe, the longest-running man in local radio, paired with new co-hosts on his weekly "The Good Life" restaurant/travel show on KRCN 1060-AM (read more - Dick Kreck-Denver Post)

Bob Schieffer says that since March, when he replaced Dan Rather as interim anchor of The CBS Evening News, his goal has been to "find the best reporters that we can and get them on TV" (read more - Peter Johnson-USA Today)

Headline News will add Glenn Beck, a new topical talk show to its prime-time line-up in April, it was announced by Ken Jautz, executive vice president, CNN Worldwide. Hosted from Headline News’ New York studios, the program will be an unconventional look at the news of the day featuring Beck’s perspective (visit CNN Headline News)

Enye Radio Group and Mexican media conglomerate MVS Radio announced the official U.S. East Coast launch of the hemispherical known EXAFM format brand. The parties have selected WQSA-FM 99.9 in the Macon, Georgia market and  WBAW-FM 99.9 (covering both the Hilton Head, SC and Augusta, GA markets) as its launch pad for the youth oriented “Orange Station” format

"Brokeback Mountain" is moseying along the Academy Awards trail, its four Golden Globe wins - best drama among them - positioning the cowboy love story for Oscar glory (read more - Forbes)

From Happy Hare -- There was a moment early in my career, in Galveston, when I was sure I was tottering on the springboard to Gehenna...It happened while I was at KGBC, the station from which I burst upon radio with all the surefootedness  of  a newborn colt. Galveston was a loveable but corrupt town of 50,000 run by a Don, named Sam Maceo (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

Drew Goodman of FSN Rocky Mountain, has been named Colorado Broadcaster of the Year for the fourth consecutive time by a statewide panel of broadcasters and sports editors (read more - Dusty Saunders-Rocky Mountain News)

I got firsthand experience the other day on how this phenomenon some call "attack radio" is creating a misinformed and distrustful public (read more - Dave Zweifel-Capital Times)

Music lovers are calling on broadcasters to improve sound quality on digital radio after complaints that it is worse than traditional FM. Critics say the BBC and commercial broadcasters have crammed so many new stations into their digital transmissions that sound quality has been badly compromised. While the difference is barely noticeable on kitchen radios, owners of expensive hi-fi systems say digital sounds tinny and muffled (read more - The Telegraph U.K.)

Peter Fincham, Controller of BBC One, has announced the appointment of George Dixon, currently Head of Planning and Scheduling at BBC Two, as the new Head of Broadcasting, BBC One (read more - 4RFV)

Monday January 16, 2006

... with radio listening -- especially among younger people -- declining and dragging down ad revenues, station values and corporate stock prices, traditional radio is going to sell HD Radio with a vengeance ... Veteran programmer Bill Figenshu of FigMedia1 writes: "In all the research I have seen, no one has ever complained about the quality of a full-power FM signal. Are people signing up for satellite radio or buying iPods because of quality? Very few. It's the content, baby!" (read more - Ben Fong-Torres-SF Chronicle)

Feb. 24 has been set as the date for Dick Purtan's Salvation Army radiothon on WOMC-FM (104.3) + WJR-AM (760) morning man Paul W. Smith sits in for Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday and Thursday (read more - Detroit Freep)

There's been no dropoff in the intensity of radio debate over the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On the holiday that marks his birthday every year, an increasing number of hosts press listeners to remember King's "real" message, which they argue was defiant and activist (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Keith Murphy says goodbye to his "Morning Magazine" audience on WMCS-AM (1290) Friday morning, as he turns his weekly XM Satellite Radio program into a five-day-a-week show. In addition, he'll do newscasts through the day for a new radio service called Syndication One, a partnership between the Radio One chain of stations and Tom Joyner's Reach Media (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

KCRW-FM radio host Chris Douridas, an influential Grammy-nominated musical tastemaker who has consulted on such Hollywood films as "American Beauty" and "Shrek 2," was arrested last week outside a popular Santa Monica bar on suspicion of drugging and trying to kidnap a 14-year-old girl (read more - SF Chronicle) (read more - LA Times)

FOOD Network star Tyler Florence is radio station WOR's selection to replace "Food Show" host Rocco DiSpirito, Post sources say. Florence — who's cooked for the New York restaurants Cafeteria, Cibo, Aureole, Mad 61 and River Cafe — could make his radio debut as soon as this week (read more - John Mainelli-NY Post)

... the "Doug and Gianna Show" has arrived and is now checking in daily from 5-10 a.m. weekdays. Its principal features are Doug DuRocher and Gianna Suter, and if they feel washed aside by the Stern-Carolla hype they are doing a good job of hiding any dismay. "We are not going to compete with that promotion and their big budget," DuRocher says. "We don't have to. We only have to get out there and do our own show." (read more - Bob Kokolsky-San Bernadino Sun)

Walter Cronkite responds to a reporter's question at the Winter TV Press Tour 2006 on Sunday -  "We're going to have to leave it with [the Iraqis] someday, and it is my belief that we should get out now."  (read more - Washington Post)  (read more - NY Post)

So, hotshot (Howard Stern), any nervousness before your opening show at Sirius? "Definitely," said a serious (no pun intended) Howard. "I'd put a lot of pressure on myself. I couldn't sleep the night before. I woke up 2 a.m. and took an Ambien to go back to sleep and woke up again 4 in the morning. I was a little nervous. Expectations were high, and I wasn't used to the studio. I'm accustomed to cue cards and buttons you push. This was all digital (read more - Cindy Adams-NY Post)

Arbitron announces that Carat is another major ad agency that supports the Portable People Meter as a ratings system for radio. Thom Mocarsky of Arbitron says, "Thanks to the effort that Arbitron put in to sign these leading agencies, radio stations can be more confident that their sales people won't have to explain or justify the audience delivery that PPM will show.  The planners and buyers already know and accept that, in a PPM world, most radio stations will see their audience reach go up dramatically. In some cases, station reach will double ..."
 (visit ARBitron)

Contenders for Linda Clark's Nine to Noon job on National Radio have already begun lining up, Morning Report's Sean Plunket chief among them. Plunket, who sought legal advice after he was passed over for the role in favour of Clark, would not comment on his intentions, but paid tribute to Clark. "I'm very sad to see Linda go. I personally think she's a great loss." Broadcaster Maggie Barry, who presented Nine to Noon for two years, is also believed to be a contender (read more - Stuff New Zealand)

The early success of Howard Stern's transition ... validates the satellite radio strategy, for which users pay $13 per month to listen to a wider choice of music and talk, mostly commercial free. Even without Stern, XM, the other satellite radio option, saw its subscriber base climb by 2.7 million in 2005, bringing its tally to 6 million. The rising appeal of satellite and other new music technologies threatens to erode the traditional terrestrial radio model of ad-supported, free music (read more - US News and World Report)  (read more - Forbes)

From Claude Hall -- Diane Kirkland e-mails: "Saw your photo of Gary Owens and remembered that I had this one of Jeff Bates (who was Billboard promotion director at the time and still in Southern California), Gary, Pete Heine (he was Billboard sales director at the time, living in Northern California for the past many years) and myself (I think I was still office manager for the Los Angeles Billboard office when this was taken, which would have been mid-70s sometime)..." +  More Jimmy Rabbitt Interview: "And nobody knows to this day that Mike Scott was the first program director to top one of Drake's stations. The other air personalities included Gary Allyn and Lee Baby  Simms. Simms and I were like inseparable brothers. Simms is one of the best, as far as I'm concerned. There are five jocks in the world. Gary Owens, there's Russ Knight, the weird beard. Not now, maybe, but in the old days, there's a guy that you probably don't know, Russ Miller Tamlyn who used to work for KLIF and got fired because he wouldn't play commercials but was the funniest jock in the world. If I ever get my own station, I'll find him wherever he's at now. Charlie and Harrigan are the other two ..."  (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com)

When it comes to radio in Lincoln, some things are a given: Full-service KFOR does well with senior citizens; active rock The Blaze is popular with young men; more women listen to country and adult contemporary formats; and either news-talk KFAB or hip-hop Channel 94.1 is the top-rated Omaha station in the Lincoln market -- until recently. In Arbitron’s spring 2005, survey, KFAB and Channel 94.1 took a back seat to KGBI, the Christian contemporary music station (read more - Lincoln Journal-Star)

Howard Stern has now broadcast for a full week on Sirius Satellite Radio, and despite all the media hoopla, the world as we know it spins on in the starry cosmos. It might be a good time for us to point out that in Detroit (and several other markets, such as Minneapolis), Stern was not the king of all media (read more - Susan Whitall-Detroit News)  (read more - Christopher J. Stephens-National Ledger)

Sundays from Ron Jacobs -- "When Men and Mountains Meet" - A Five Part Super Bowl Diary  (visit www.RonJacobsOnline.com)

Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc which went public last year, reported a first-quarter loss on Monday, as it dealt with expenses for the launch of its commercial-free radio service (read more - Reuters)

Adam Neft is all wrong for Louisville radio. He's just a kid — 23 — in a market dominated by the voices and world views of thirty- and fortysomethings (read more - Louisville Courier-Journal)

“24/7: The Rise and Influence of Arab Media” will explore the dramatic expansion of new electronic media outlets in the Arab world. Satellite TV, radio and the Internet are changing the political landscape of the Middle East. For better or worse, these new channels are fostering a free flow of information and opinion in ways unthinkable two decades ago. The documentary will debut on KQED Public Radio in early April 2006 and will be distributed to public radio stations and international broadcasters on April 10, 2006 (visit KQED)

The BBC doesn't go in for paying money to informants. ... suppose someone contacted me nowadays to ask if I were interested in visiting a camp in Britain, or anywhere else in the world where al-Qaeda volunteers were trained to use weapons or explosives. As a result of Clause 8 of the Terrorism Bill, which is at the moment making its way through Parliament, I would have to say No. You could go to jail for knowingly visiting a terrorist training camp. It will be no defence to tell the judge that you were there in the public interest (read more - The Telegraph U.K.)

Robertson's barrage of strong opinions -- two of which he later apologized for -- has shaken his fellow conservative Christian leaders, delighted his enemies and surprised scholars who study him and his TV-based ministry, the Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)

At first, the idea of paying for radio seems absurd. Just on general principle, many people find the premise of satellite radio too extravagant to take seriously. It's bad enough we pay for cable and satellite TV. Now radio, for $12.95 a month? But if it's offered for a few months on a new car free of charge, it's nearly impossible to resist signing up when the promotion runs out. It's hard not to be spoiled by the luxury of hearing any type of music you want without commercials (read more - David Maril-South of Boston Enterprise)

WFMX-FM 105.7, a 100,000-watt country music station in Statesville, is planning on moving to the Triad, possibly shaking up the nascent, but growing, Spanish-language radio market here by the time the transition is complete (read more - Triad Biz Journal)

Wireless technology is the modern liberator. Its emancipating powers include the ability to free digital music, images and video from computer hard drives and move them invisibly around the house to where they need to be seen and heard. The wireless home network is the modern equivalent of the Star Trek transporter. Instead of humans, however, the technology beams up digital music, for example, from a computer in the basement to the upstairs bedroom (read more - Robert Cribb-Toronto Star)

The outgoing PBS head said that the nation must fundamentally rethink the value of public broadcasting, because the cash-strapped service is now inhibited from taking programming risks or sticking with worthwhile shows. "Public broadcasting has got to have more resources," Pat Mitchell told reporters (read more - Forbes)

During a road trip across Michigan last weekend, it was impossible to find a radio station broadcasting the NFL playoff games. But there was no shortage of stations carrying the ESPN radio network, where the hosts talked non-stop about the games I couldn't hear. As soon as one station would fade, another one popped up down the dial. The ESPN brand is everywhere these days (read more - Eric Benderoff-Chicago Tribune)

Pat Barry, a salesman for Clear Channel's WKRC-AM, says he was hurt Jan. 6 during "horseplay" with Bengals radio analyst Dave Lapham, a longtime friend. Barry broke two ribs and spent a night at Christ Hospital (read more - Cincy Enquirer)

Hollywood, Florida Mayor Mara Giulianti wants the city to explore buying a radio station so it can keep residents informed during emergencies, then provide year-round broadcasts with a city-friendly tone (read more - South Florida-Sun-Sentinel)

He has the pipes. He knows how to work the big stage. But anybody tuning in to David Lee Roth's new morning radio show -- the one that's been created to replace Howard Stern, who moved to Sirius -- knows he's not likely to last even as long as Gary Cherone in Van Halen. Fear not, Infinity -- we've come up with a few good, strong candidates to help send Diamond Dave packing (read more - Geoff Edgers-Boston Globe)

Without question, he has a familiar face. If you've watched late night TV, you know Kevin Trudeau. "Since 1989, I've been on TV, talking about the products that I've authored — like Mega Memory, Mega Speed Reading and Mega Math," Trudeau says. In infomercial after infomercial, he's pitched products that he promised will improve — if not save — your life. But at least some of those claims went a little too far for the U.S. government. In 2004, Trudeau became the only person ever banned from selling a product on television (read more - ABC News)

The entry of satellite and digital radio into the technological mainstream is increasing tension with the record industry, which wants new rules governing how consumers can make digital copies of songs from the airwaves.  At issue are new devices that can record and save high-quality digital copies of tunes as they're being broadcast by these new networks (read more - John Bourland-CNET)

Nielsen Media Research announced that data from its Local People Meter (LPM) samples show that audiences in Dallas and Detroit are watching more television than was previously recorded by paper diaries and set meters. The meter/diary measurement system was replaced by electronic Local People Meters in these markets on January 5, 2006 (read more - Nielsen Media)

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, carmakers and automotive suppliers had plenty of visibility. Ford Motor showed off a shiny gray Ford F-250 Super Duty truck that had been turned into a mobile office — a partnership between Ford and Microsoft's automotive unit (read more - USA Today)

ARBitron numbers for Boston. San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Providence, Monterey-Salinas and Concord (read 'em)

Wired 96.5 WRDW-FM announced that the Sam and Ryan in the Mornings show will begin airing from 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m., every morning starting Monday, January 16th (visit Wired 96.5)

WPP Group - has signed a commitment to use Arbitron Portable People Meter ratings for radio. WPP joins Interpublic as an advocate of Arbitron's plans to introduce electronic measurement to radio through the Portable People Meter. WPP's clients include: Yum! Brands, Campbell Soup, Cadbury Schwepps, Sears, Burger King, Unilever, Cendent, Volkswagon, Warner Brothers, USPS, Chevron, and the Ford Motor Company (visit ARBitron)

Friday January 13, 2006

One device that could really help HD radio gain traction would be an HD-ready iPod -- which is a definite possibility, says Richard Doherty, director of consultancy Envisioneering Group in Seaford, N.Y. Here's why: On Jan. 10, Apple introduced its first iPod-related radio product, an FM remote for iPod nano and the fifth-generation iPod. The iPod Radio Remote, selling for $49, allows users to skip tracks, adjust the volume on iPods, and listen to FM radio stations. It could be a sign that Apple, long pressured to combine iPod with a radio service, has finally chosen its technological path (read more - Business Week)

Scott Mackay, who's spent the last nine years mainly in supporting roles and behind the scenes at Chicago radio stations, is stepping into the spotlight: He's about to be named morning personality on ABC-owned WZZN-FM (94.7), the new "True Oldies" outlet + Don Wilson has exited NextMedia Group rocker WIIL-FM (95.1) after three years as evening host (read more - Feder of Chicago)

CHUM Ltd. which owns 33 TV stations and 33 radio stations in Canada, says its first-quarter profit increase 13.2 per cent to $24.3 million, led by TV advertising income (read more - The Globe and Mail)

Veteran television producer-director Al Schwartz has donated his collection of American Music Awards shows to The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. The collection will be accessible to the public in the archives of the new $21-million media museum that will be completed in 2006 (visit Museum of Broadcast Communications)

Ted Koppel will join NPR for one year as an analyst and provide commentary for NPR's various news  programs (read more - Newsday)

Beasley Broadcast Group announced that Bobby Lane has been added to the Soft Rock V103.3 WMGV-FM on-air line-up. Beginning Monday, January 16th, Bobby Lane and “The All New V103.3 More Music Morning Show” will air weekdays from 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. + Beasley has  appointed Matthew Bell to General Manager of Miami’s Power 96 WPOW-FM (visit Beasley Broadcast Group)

To get Howard Stern's show, Sirius promised to pay $80m a year and to give company stock then worth $100m to Mr Stern and his agent—even though it had barely $1 billion in shareholders' equity at the time and was losing money heavily. Had so many of Mr Stern's 12m listeners not followed him from CBS to Sirius, the deal could have sunk both Sirius and Mr Stern. Mr Stern's pull has been so strong that by the time Sirius gave him the promised stock last week, it was worth $220m (read more - The Economist)  (read more - Mercury News)  (read more - Sydney Morning Herald)

From Kent Burkhart -- I received a Christmas gift from a friend. The book is titled “Fresh Air”….and it is a series of chapters written by “marketing gurus on radio”. These are the “best interviews from the Radio Marketing Nexus”….and is edited by fabulous researcher Mark Ramsey. Mark is president of Mercury Radio Research. If you haven’t read “Fresh Air” please buy it and read it. If you haven’t checked Mark’s site please do so. I read the book carefully. If you are a newcomer to radio programming and ... (read more - www.KentBurkhart.com) 

Bob Grant recalls watching legendary talk radio host Long John Nebel in his final days at WMCA, being wheeled to the microphone to force himself through a few minutes of airtime before, in great pain, he had to lie down. "It was what he wanted," Grant said yesterday. "Radio was his life. But it was sad. It was not pleasant to watch." Grant doesn't say so directly, but that's clearly one reason why, at age 76 and still in good health, he's content to wind up his WOR (710 AM) radio career today (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Michael Medved previews the upcoming season of the  FOX TV drama "24" on the Friday, January 13th edition of The Michael Medved Show with "24" creator Joel Surnow  (visit Michael Medved)

Entravision Radio has appointed Pattie Moreno program director of KBMB-FM “103.5 The Bomb,” in Sacramento, California (visit Entravision)

Radio's quadra-decader, Ed Schwartz (Chicago Ed), says that he expects to be home in a couple of weeks after an almost two months long hospital stay.  Schwartz is undergoing treatment for kidney failure in Chicago. Friends and associates have been contacting Ed by telephone in his hospital room while he's been recuperating. Contact info is on his Web site (visit www.ChicagoEd.com)

WorldNetDaily's Joseph Farah says it is the last day for his syndicated talk show on Friday the 13th saying "my full-time energies are better focused on the future of WND ..."  (read more - WorldNetDaily.com)

Turns out Howard Stern isn't completely gone from terrestrial radio after all. Illegal pirate radio broadcasts of his Sirius Satellite program have been heard this week - for free - on broadcast radio, including 95.1 FM in Brooklyn and 101.5 FM in North Jersey (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Bernie Lucas has been appointed public affairs director for the Clear Channel's Washington cluster of stations.  He'll replace Jerry Phillips who was fired in December (read more - Washington Biz Journal)

With Howard Stern's move to satellite radio, local stations may have a do- or-die chance to recast what free radio means in Salt Lake City (read more - Paul Beebe-Salt Lake Tribune)

The BBC has appointed George Dixon to the new role of head of broadcasting at its flagship channel BBC One. Dixon, currently head of planning and scheduling at BBC Two, will swap stations with immediate effect (read more - Brand Republic)

TV may be entering a golden age of satire. With the success of Comedy Central's new "Colbert Report" weeknights, following Jon Stewart's veteran "Daily Show", we have an hour of pointed comedy that's quickly becoming part of the cultural landscape (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

The World Series Champion Chicago White Sox and WSCR Radio (670 AM) have announced that former White Sox outfielder Chris Singleton has been hired as color commentator for the club's radio broadcasts. Singleton will join All-Star pitcher and veteran radio broadcaster Ed Farmer (read more - MLB)

Presenter Linda Clark's shock resignation from New Zealand's National Radio has surprised even her own staff. Clark will leave the state broadcaster in March after almost four years hosting the Nine to Noon show. The mother of twins said in a statement yesterday that she would be considering "new options and new directions" (read more - Stuff New Zealand)

Jennifer Donohue has been named, Vice President/Director of Sales, CBS RADIO New York.  Donohue will continue as General Sales Manager of WNEW-FM, The New Mix 102.7, a position she has held since September 2003 + Jeff Federman, who currently serves as Vice President and General Manager of 93.1 JACK FM (KCBS-FM) and Director of Sales for CBS RADIO's seven stations in Los Angeles, will take on the new responsibility of Market Manager, overseeing the operations of the aforementioned properties, it was announced today by Brian Ongaro (visit CBS Radio)

ARBitron numbers for Detroit, Philadelphia, Toledo, Wilmington, Palm Springs, Flint, Atlantic City (read 'em)

WVCG-AM 1080 is relaunching Jan. 30 as ''The People's Station,'' part of Radio One's black news and talk network that's debuting on a dozen stations around the country (read more - Miami Herald)

Dave Graveline and the Into Tomorrow team are  broadcasting once again from Las Vegas this Sunday at the world's largest annual trade show for consumer technology - CES. This week features "CES Unveiled" and highlights of several of the Keynote addresses at the Consumer Electronics Show with more than 2500 exhibitors and all kinds of new products, and the very latest in emerging technologies (visit Into Tomorrow)

WZZK has a new morning team; Cash and Kari (read more - Birmingham Biz Journal)

The rise of alternative media—political talk radio in the eighties, cable news in the nineties, and the blogosphere in the new millennium—has broken the liberal monopoly over news and opinion outlets. The Left understands acutely the implications of this revolution, blaming much of the Democratic Party’s current electoral trouble on the influence of the new media’s vigorous conservative voices (read more - Brian C. Anderson-City Journal)

Reality TV star Richard Hatch, who won more than $1 Million on the Survivor show, will testify during his tax-fraud trial in U.S. District Court, his lawyer said during his opening statement (read more - Providence Journal)

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin has purchased 1 million share of Sirius (read more - Crain's NY Biz)

Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has sent a letter apologizing for suggesting that Ariel Sharon’s massive stroke was divine punishment for pulling Israel out of the Gaza Strip (read more - MSNBC)

Dara Altman has been named executive vice president of business and legal affairs at XM Satellite Radio. In her new role Altman will oversee several departments for XM, including new business development, business and legal affairs, office of the general counsel, human resources and regulatory and government affairs (read more - XM Radio)

Thursday January 12, 2006

White Sox, Bears and male-oriented sports/talk broadcasts helped turn Chicago radio listening upside down during the fall ratings period. While Clear Channel Radio's urban contemporary WGCI moved up to first place overall, the sports phenomenon boosted CBS Radio's all-news WBBM-AM -- home of Bears football broadcasts -- to second place (read more - Feder of Chicago)

The Cowboys and their flagship radio station, KLUV-FM (98.7), are parting ways after four seasons. An executive with New York-based CBS Radio, KLUV's parent company, said Wednesday pursuit of a new contract ended because no proposals from the Cowboys made economic sense for CBS (read more - Cowboys Plus)

The re-branding of the old Lazer into the new Hog has clearly worked, with WHQG-FM (102.9) - formerly WLZR-FM - showing strong gains in the fall Arbitron radio ratings out this week. Among listeners ages 25 to 54, the most important audience for advertisers, the rock music station was No. 1, with a 9.2% share of the audience, up from eighth place in the fall 2004 ratings (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Every year, around October and November, KPLZ-FM (101.5) program director and morning co-host Kent Phillips takes some time to ask the question: What will women 25 to 54 want to listen to next year? That demographic slice is KPLZ's target audience, and one with which the station is very successful (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

David Lee Roth's new morning radio show has made one thing clear: Howard Stern is one ingenious pervert. It's not that Diamond Dave has been knocking Howard, whom he replaced on some several stations on Jan. 3 as Mr. Stern moved to satellite radio. In fact, Mr. Roth has been smarmy and collegial about the King of Difficult to Acquire New Media. But Mr. Roth makes the point about Mr. Stern's pervy ways by contrast with his own, since Mr. Roth's own efforts to come across as a dirty devil - boasting of girls girls girls and chugging Jack Daniel's - seem pitiful compared to even the slightest heavy-breathing utterance of Mr. Stern's (read more - Virginia Heffernan-NY Times)

"The breakdown in Christianity has led to a profound crisis," Dennis Prager says. "What will people believe in? It leads to communism and fascism. It's one of the reasons I so worry about secularism in our society. I don't want that breakdown here." You'll hear that message a lot on stations owned by Salem Communications, a little-known for-profit Christian radio empire that has ridden the evangelical movement to the big leagues and quietly is becoming a force in national politics (read more - Colorado Springs Independent)

Veteran Pittsburgh TV newscasters Sheila Hyland and Alby Oxenreiter are among about 35 members of the Fox Ten O'Clock News team who will be out of work by month's end. Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., owner of WPGH-TV, said Wednesday that it will dismiss the on-air and production staffs for the 9-year-old Fox 53 newscast and contract with WPXI-TV for its news programming (read more - Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Joe Causi of WNEW (102.7 FM) can be seen tonight at 11 on Court TV's "Hollywood Heat" + Mozat will be heard more than ever on both WQXR and WNYC (93.9 FM) (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

"From the Union Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas, I'm Art Bell and you're listening to ... " And so it began.
Here was a different type of program flitting in and out of the nighttime ethers and into my radio in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
This was about ideas! It seemed I had found the birthplace of non-confrontational interviews with the brilliant, the informing, the off-the-wall and surprising guests (read more - Joan Downey-Pahrump Valley Times)  (read more - Gina B. Good)

When Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio first introduced their subscription audio services, both companies expected success to come primarily from the automobile market. As most radio listening is done in the car, the two companies worked to sew up exclusive licensing deals with major car manufacturers. But in the four years since satellite radio began, new technologies are making additional demands on listeners' time and dollars (read more - Eric A. Taub-NY Times)

A public memorial service has been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, for local radio and TV personality "Chuck" Zink, the longtime host of the popular Skipper Chuck Popeye Playhouse on area TV (read more - Sun-Sentinel)

A national survey of 1,000 Internet users released late last year found that only about 10 percent had ever heard a podcast. "A lot of people talk about (podcasting), and few people actually do it," said Garett Michaels, program director at alternative-rock station FM 94/9. But if you're a big fan of radio, podcasts are good things to know about. And they're going to become even more vital as San Diego radio stations begin ramping up their limited podcast offerings (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

Arbitron Inc announced that the Interpublic Group, one of the top advertising and media services companies, has signed a contract with Arbitron to use its Portable People Meter based radio audience estimates when Arbitron makes a decision to deploy its state of the art audience measurement service (read more - ARBitron)

Sure, sex and violence still sell in mainstream media. Don't get me wrong. I can appreciate the uh, talents, of Jessica Alba or a movie with a good car chase as much as the next guy. But increasingly, people want to see more than just scantily clad women and loud explosions. They want to find religion (read more - Paul R. La Monica-CNN Money)

From Murphy Martin -- There are times while pondering subject-matter for this space, more than one subject seems worthy of discussing. This is such a week. What with tens of millions trying to choose and complete their new prescription drug plans, a Supreme Court nominee weathering a storm of questions from various Senators, Wall Street watching the DOW close above 1100, Advertisers paying astronomical amounts for Super Bowl spots, and Howard Stern vowing to clean up his language in his new un-controlled radio environment. This was a full week (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)

Dear Readers: Radio Babe began saving information on HD Radio ever since she started hearing about it.  In the past three months or so, developments in the medium accelerated so rapidly that listeners needed the lowdown (refer to "It's digital radio, but without the satellite," the column from Jan. 2 at herald tribune.com). Riled-up radio techies fired back (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

From The Heathen Middle -- Unfortunately Pat Robertson’s mean little proclamations are reported by the media in relative isolation from all of the whackydoo that surrounds his day to day activities. What the media did not say is that earlier this month Robertson was on the 700 club telecast giving a report on his recent “trip to the mountain” to hear from God. Now some people talk to God, and some people claim God speaks to them. This guy was on TV with a whole yellow legal pad full of notes he took on God’s conversation with him (read more - www.heathenmiddle.com)

Just three days after starting his new job at Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., shock jock Howard Stern is now able to sell the roughly $200 million in Sirius stock that he received as part of his five-year deal with the company (read more - Crain's NY Biz)  (read more - Washington Post)

ARBitron numbers for Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, Milwaukee, Quad Cities and Poughkeepsie (read 'em)

A special all-star panel of some of advertising’s biggest and most influential media buyers is being presented at RAB’06, the world’s largest conference exclusively devoted to Radio sales, marketing, and management. Produced annually by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), RAB’06 takes place at the Hyatt Regency DFW Dallas, February 1st through 3rd. The Media Buyers panel will be a no-holds-barred discussion of Radio’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities and will be presented during the Arbitron-sponsored Friday morning keynote breakfast (read more - RAB)

Bennett Zier, vice president for Clear Channel Radio's Washington/Baltimore region and market manager for Washington DC, has been named chief executive of Red Zebra Broadcasting, a new venture that will acquire and run radio, television and Internet properties regionally and nationally (read more - SA Biz Journal) (read more - Washington Times)

XM Radio is the latest company to step in the ring with Apple's iPod. The satellite radio provider has teamed up with Samsung and Pioneer Electronics to create a pair of devices that combine on-the-go XM service with MP3 playability. Ryan Saghir, satellite-radio expert and blogger at Orbitcast.com, said that XM's new devices can "absolutely" compete with the iPod (read more - UPI)

Is it not all that? The Howard Stern Show on Sirius satellite radio got off to a bumpy start in its debut when Star Trek alum George Takei flubbed the introduction of the show's star. From there, the show was good but not great, and not that new. To me, it was like a DJ moving to a new station and doing a similar shtick (read more - Harold Goldberg-Village Voice)

At least three Houston television stations have declined to air ads targeting Republican Rep. Tom DeLay, who is facing trial in Texas on charges of laundering campaign funds. Two liberal groups paid for the 30-second ads, which address alleged links between DeLay and a widespread congressional corruption probe of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff (read more - San Diego Union Tribune)

Public Broadcasting Service boss Pat Mitchell has been named president of the Museum of Television & Radio, the museum announced Wednesday. Her appointment takes effect March 15  (read more - Canadian Press)

Wednesday January 11, 2006

Friends and colleagues in the broadcasting industry are rallying to the aid of Eddie Schwartz, the ailing former king of late-night radio in Chicago. "Chicago Ed," as he was affectionately known to hundreds of thousands of listeners over his three decades on the air here, has been shuttling between a hospital and a nursing care center since September, when he was diagnosed with renal failure. His kidney dialysis treatments and related care have left him virtually broke. Since his plight was first reported here in November, Schwartz, 59, has received more than $7,000 in donations along with hundreds of cards and letters wishing him well. Now a committee of friends has established a trust fund to help out in a more organized way (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Former Disney boss Michael Eisner is ready for his close-up - on CNBC. "Conversations With Michael Eisner" will air every other month and will originate from NBC Universal's Studio 8-H in Rockefeller Center (read more - Phyllis Furman-NY Daily News)

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and SIRIUS Satellite Radio  announced an exclusive agreement for the inclusion of SIRIUS radios as standard equipment in all Rolls-Royce vehicles sold in the United States, including a lifetime subscription to the service (visit Sirius)

With WFNY (92.3 FM) hoping to make "hot talk" a big thing on the FM band, two people already doing it - Michael Baisden of WRKS (98.7 FM) and Wendy Williams of WBLS (107.5 FM) - are a strong second and third, respectively, in afternoon drive. The fall Arbitron ratings, released yesterday, also show traditional talk in an afternoon lull, with Sean Hannity of WABC (770 AM) pulling about 60% of the audience he had in 2004 during the election campaign (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Emmis knows as much as anyone about the hurdles traditional radio faces. The company owns 23 FM stations and two AM stations in the U.S.'s largest markets, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and has a presence in Hungary, Belgium, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. In a conference call, management acknowledged that the situation was "challenging," calling it a "tough run for radio." (read more - Motley Fool)

Now that Bob Dylan and Howard Stern are battling it out for airwave supremacy, it's worth noting that digital radio doesn't just come from satellites. Since the debut of HD Radio in 2003,600 local stations have added better-sounding digital versions of their analog broadcasts--and channels you can't get at all except with special receivers that began arriving in 2004. How digital is your hometown? (read more - Stephen Manes-Forbes)

A popular contributor (Cowboy Ray) on the Mancow Muller’s morning radio show died last night after being struck in a hit-and-run on the Southwest Side in November (read more - CBS 2) (read more - Chicago Tribune)  (read more - NBC 5) (read more - ABC 7)

Print is not dead. Print is where words go to die. Too many of the ideas trapped on pages end up, at best, in unused archives or, at worst, in recyclers' pulp, when they should be online: searchable, discoverable, linkable, part of the conversation. In this new world, the medium is meaningless. Media define themselves by the pipes that feed them but the public does not; we want what we want when, where, and how we want it. The wise media company will be there with us; the stubborn ones will die (read more - Jeff Jarvis and John Griffin-Fast Company)

Gary S. Wheeler, 48, the program director of an Orlando contemporary-hits radio station was arrested Tuesday after authorities said he arrived in Citrus County to have sex with a 14-year-old girl he met in an Internet chat room. Wheeler (air name-Adam Cook) listed his occupation as program director of  Clear Channel's 106.7 FM (WXXL), which plays Top 40 contemporary hits in the Orlando radio market (read more - Orlando Sentinel)

Is Howard Stern worth $600 million? Not if it's my money. I listened to the shock jock's first day on Sirius Satellite Radio, and came away desperate for a commercial break (read more - Alan Murray-WSJ)  (read more - Brian Monroe-Florida Today)

Houston's FM 97.5, the FM News Channel owned by Cumulus Media, recently aired Today's Real Estate World - which lasted for a grand total of two weeks.  The show, hosted by long-time Houston journalist Laurie Kendricks and Nate Allen, of A'Lon Mortgage Services, was geared towards general real estate information. The short life of the show is not a reflection on 97.5 - they were paid for the time by Mr. Allen. Mr. Allen was then responsible for selling ads on the show (read more - Houston Real News)

Yet more iPod news, Apple may be developing a version of the iPod that will allow it to become a mini FM radio. FM transmitters are popular for mp3 players, and in fact some have made their name by directly marketing themselves towards iPod users (such as the iRiver) (read more - Justin Mann-Tech Spot) (read more - Sydney Morning Herald)

Zimmer Radio Group has launched an all-talk radio station with a lineup that includes Rush Limbaugh. The station is called News-Talk 1310 KZRG. The station also will carry St. Louis Cardinals broadcasts. The new station went on the air Jan. 3 with its first live broadcast, said Larry Boyd, general manager (read more - Joplin Globe)

In 2000, broadcaster Bob Perry, aka Cadillac Jack, revolted. He put together an online station that featured his favorite songs mixed with once-forgotten hits. He marketed the concept, and in 2002, Vancouver aired the first Jack station. Today, most major markets host a least one station that follows the Jack philosophy. In Chicago, the Point's sister station broadened its alternative playlist in April. Atlanta has "Hank," a country station that plays everything from Johnny Cash to Faith Hill. And in Indianapolis, four stations have adopted a Jack-like format.
"There's no sign of a falloff," says radio analyst Sean Ross (read more - Diane Toroian Keaggy-St Louis Post-Dispatch)

Radio companies have rejected satellite radio as an option in Britain and most of Europe because it would be prohibitively expensive. Satellites are increasingly used in the US to deliver radio, but a network would be more expensive to set up in Europe because national and language boundaries require stations to have a narrower regional “footprint” than in America’s wide-open spaces (read more - The Times U.K.)

We half expected new iPods (an LCD-laden Shuffle, a 6GB Nano--you know the drill), but literally minutes after Steve Jobs opened to a frenetic Apple crowd, we knew that new iPods had to wait. Still, the announcement of the $49 iPod Radio Remote had me an ounce excited, given that the FM radio is the most requested extra feature for iPod users (read more - James Kim-CNet.com)

ARBitron numbers for New York, Nassau, Riverside-San Bernadino, Middlesex-Somerset, Monmouth, Morristown, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, The Hamptons-Riverhead (read 'em)

Something’s old, something’s new and something’s got a lot of blues at the 19th-annual Janis Joplin Birthday Bash Jan. 28, in Port Arthur. In the past, the birthday bash has always been held at the Port Arthur Civic Center, which was destroyed during the hurricane. This birthday bash will be held at the Carl Parker Multi-purpose Center on the campus of Lamar State College Port (read more - Beaumont Journal)

The 2006 Radio-Mercury Awards call for entry has begun with automated online entry registration available at www.RadioMercuryAwards.com  The entry forms can also be downloaded from the website. Commercials can be uploaded to the site as MP3 files, or submitted through regular mail on a CD, DAT, or cassette

KEITH OLBERMANN: In this new format, do you worry that you're not just a trailblazer for what you want to do, but you're going to be followed by the Rush Limbaugh's of this world who will then be able to charge for their product as well?
HOWARD STERN: Let me tell you something, I feel that this is the culmination of a dream for me. And this represents a dream for all broadcasters, including Rush Limbaugh, including yourself and everyone in this room. When management now holds you by the balls and says there's no place for you, now there's a place to come (read more - MSNBC)

For years, many TV viewers skipped over government-access channels in favor of the hottest new sitcoms, dramas and reality shows. Comcast Corp.has launched five local television programs - including a hip, teen talk show - in Denver and surrounding suburbs. "Inside the Cover." The shows include Boulder radio host Bret Saunders interviewing local authors at a Tattered Cover bookstore (read more - Denver Post)

On January 31, Premiere Radio Networks will launch “Bomb Squad Custom Music,” a new service that provides morning show teams across the nation with humorous, high quality custom music and parodies that are format exclusive. Created and produced by Tim Pilcher and Bryce Johnson, “Bomb Squad Custom Music” is available on a barter basis

It wasn't that long ago that aspiring broadcasters had to at least get some form of training before they had any hope of securing a job. But technology has changed all that, with budding radio stars broadcasting to the world using their home computers (read more - SBS Radio)

Univision Communications has been named, for the third consecutive year, to Forbes Magazine’s prestigious ranking of its “Platinum 400”, an annual listing of the best large companies in America which appears in the January 9, 2006 issue (read more - Hispanic PR Wire)

Dr. Tom Evans of ABC Radio Networks has been selected to be the Chair of the Network Radio Research Council. Founded in 2001, ABC Radio Networks is a founding member of the NRRC, along with American Urban Radio Networks, Premiere Radio Networks, and Westwood One Radio Networks

Tuesday January 10, 2006

As much a testament to his media savvy as his immense popularity, Howard Stern's departure from terrestrial to satellite radio has generated unprecedented amounts of press coverage and television appearances for a modern radio personality. Stern's much ballyhooed move is being carefully tracked by industry observers and his morning drive-time show is being widely viewed as a litmus test for satellite's profitability. Thus far, the news has been very encouraging for Stern (read more - Martin Miller-LA Times) (read more - Richard Huff-NY Daily News) (read more - Joanna Weiss-Boston Globe)  (read more - Newsday) (read more - Susan Whitall-Detroit News) (read more - Aidin Vaziri, SF Chronicle)  (read more - Peter Johnson-USA Today)  (read more - The Scotsman U.K.)  (read more - UPI) (read more - Howard Reich-Chicago Tribune) (read more - David Folkenflik-NPR) (read more - San Jose Mercury News) Day Two of Howard Stern's Sirius show was similar to Day One, which was similar to his terrestrial radio show — except for the profanity and, of course, fewer commercials (read more - Alison Maxwell-USA Today)

Mancow Muller has added KJLL-AM in Tucson, Ariz., to syndication affiliates for "Mancow's Morning Madhouse." + *Tom Kief and Lisa Tyler are broadcasting their WIIL-FM (95.1) morning show all week from Playa del Carmen, Mexico + Tisa LaSorte, former program director of Tribune Co.-owned news/talk WGN-AM (720), is out after five years as program director of KTAR-AM in Phoenix (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Forty-two years after he first said "Let's be heard!" into a radio microphone, Bob Grant Monday confirmed he is leaving his 4-6 p.m. daily talk show at WOR (710 AM) (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

The same day KSN, Channel 3, made news with its decision to air the new "The Book of Daniel" after saying it wouldn't, the station's vice president and general manager lost his job. Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp. owns KSN and is selling to SJL Broadcast Group and affiliates of Blackstone Group (read more - Wichita Eagle)

St Louis Rams radio analyst Jack Snow, who formerly was a standout wide receiver for the club, died Monday night at Barnes-Jewish Hospital of complications from a staph infection. Snow had been there, in critical condition, since shortly before Christmas. He was 62 (read more - St Louis Post-Dispatch)

Monday, as Howard Stern surfed the Sirius skywaves, dozens and more late-to-the-microphone media and programming experts from coast to coast proclaimed it to be the dawning of the new days and new ways for programming distribution. To them RDN asks, "Where ya been, Sleepyheads?"  It was nearly 4 years ago, in May 2002, that RadioDailyNews.com wrote -- "Folks, a natural progression is upon us. AM beget FM. Network and local television beget cable and satellite TV. The age of communications technology has begot XM and Sirius Satellite. Fear it, fight it or find a way to deal with it. Satellite radio is here to stay. Satellite radio won't replace AM or FM. But, rather, it will complement them both and add new dimensions and choices to your audio life. For those of you who want to believe that satellite radio will not be around a year from now, keep believing it if you wish ..." (read more - AM-FM-XM 2002) "Embrace and learn to use the new "Technologies of the 2000’s" or the new "Technologies of the 2000’s" will chew you up and spit you out in little pieces along the highway to the future."  Larry Shannon – August 2003 (read more - AM-FM-XM 2003)

Beasley Broadcast Group has appointed Tom Davis to the position of Market Manager for its three Las Vegas radio stations, Star 102.7 KSTJ-FM, 104.3 The Coyote KYCE-FM, and Classic Rock 96.3 KKLZ-FM. Harry Williams, who previously held the position of Market Manager in Las Vegas, is leaving Beasley to pursue other opportunities (read more - Beasley Broadcast Group)

Twist, the first syndicated, national, commercial radio brand aimed at the LGBT audience, will debut on major FM stations across the country on Jan. 14. Created for a target audience of gay men and lesbians and those who love them, the weekly two-hour show will air on Disney/ABC's 95.5 WPLJ (New York), Clear Channel's STAR 98.7 FM (Los Angeles), Infinity's ALICE 97.3 FM (San Francisco), Susquehanna's Q100.5 (Atlanta) and on the Internet everywhere at AOL Radio (read more - Out in Atlanta)

It's something of a radio homecoming for conservative commentator Tony Snow. Starting Monday, WKRC-AM (550) has picked up Snow's Washington-based, nationally syndicated talk radio show airing live from 9 a.m. to noon weekdays. The station has dropped the Florida-based Glen Beck show (read more - Rick Bird-Cincy Post)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is worried about mounting rumors of a proposed "two-tiered" broadband delivery system by the Baby Bells. Under the plan being quietly pushed in Congress by the Bells, broadband providers would be able to charge Internet companies, such as Yahoo, Google and Amazon, an extra fee to deliver high-bandwidth content and services to consumers (read more - Internet News)

From John Rook -- Privileged to have brushed against most of radios most inventive minds over the past fifty years, I’ve found none any more fertile than Ron Jacobs. Our love for radio gave birth to a friendship and communication that always peels away the politically correct drivel we had little time for over the years.  His recent epistle "Requiem" is the genius that is Ron Jacobs (read more - Ron Jacobs)

Al Franken has moved his radio show from New York City to his home state of Minnesota, but he still isn't ready to announce a U.S. Senate run for 2008 (read more - Lexington Herald Leader)

GCap Media relaunched its flagship London station, Capital Radio, in a move to reclaim the number one spot among listeners, but industry observers warned it would take at least a year to gauge the success of the strategy (read more - Guardian Unlimited U.K.)

Negotiations on a possible settlement between radio free brattleboro and the Federal Communications Commission recently collapsed and an attorney for the former 10-watt community station plans to ask a local judge for a new hearing (read more - Rutland Herald)

Radio and Records announced that they will combine with Promo Only as the exclusive sales representative for the Promo Only MPE System. R&R, an icon in the music and radio industries for 33 years, will use their wealth of radio and label relationships to lead the way in taking the Promo Only MPE System to the music industry (read more - eMediaWire)

Mo Rocca, of VH1’s “I Love The 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s” fame came away with some impressions of Benjamin Franklin after visiting the Benjamin Franklin exhibit at the National Constitution Center last week + Howard Stern, his girlfriend Beth Ostrosky, and Stern’s parents Ben and Rae Stern were in attendance at a family Bat Mitzvah at Temple Sholom in Broomall, PA last weekend (read more - Laura Nachman)

VODAFONE, the world’s biggest mobile phone operator, is seeking to challenge the dominance of Apple’s iPod with a music gadget that is “trained” to learn its user’s tastes. The group has teamed up with Sony, the electronics giant, to create Vodafone RadioDJ, a service that streams music to a 3G mobile phone (read more - The Times U.K.) (read more - Red Herring)

From Happy Hare -- Years ago, while at KCBQ in San Diego, I heard from WNEW in New York. They had monitored me and wanted me to send them a tape with the assurance that it was only a formality and that they wanted me. I was paralyzed by a multitude of possibilities about what to send them (read more - HappyHareOnline.com)

"60 Minutes" vet Rome Hartman has replaced Jim Murphy as executive producer of the CBS Evening News.  He claims that no wholesale changes are going to be made (read more - Reuters)

The British Broadcasting Corp. has struck a deal with U.S. network ABC to make video news clips available on the internet and to cell phone subscribers in Canada and the U.S. (read more - CBC Canada)

The transition from analog to digital television broadcasting is more than three years away, but officials at the Federal Communications Commission are already preparing for the change (read more - TMCnet)

Howard Stern introduced George Takei as his new on-air personality. Takei, who played Mr. Sulu on “Star Trek” and who last year publicly said he is gay, will serve as announcer. After the first week, he will record segments for the show but will not be in the studio. “The revolution has begun” in new radio, Takei said Monday (read more - NY Daily News)  ... fans who expected a non-stop barrage of four-letter words and extensive scatological descriptions during Stern's first show on Sirius Satellite Radio might have found the show relatively tame and Stern even scolded somebody for cursing (read more - Reuters)

If you haven't been able to get rid of the taste yet, I suggest a strong mouthwash. Maybe something that includes Clorox. Overall, Stern's show was what we expected: juvenile, foul mouthed and devoid of anything thoughtful (read more -Paul Bourgeois-Star Telegram)

Progressive Dr. Mike Newcomb will debut a new live nationally delivered program beginning March 5 that will air live via satellite Sundays 12 noon until 2pm Arizona Mountain time.  Newcomb’s new weekend broadcast will become the industry’s only live progressive talk program offered to stations for Sunday clearance (visit Radio Linx)

Monday January 9, 2006

Clear Channel Radio's Online Music & Radio division announced today a beta launch of Videos on Demand on 16 of its stations Web sites in five markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, D.C. and St. Louis. Video on Demand will offer thousands of videos in a Video Vault from 40 labels and a completely interactive experience for listeners. Clear Channel will expand the Videos on Demand program over its radio-station Web sites across the country during the course of the year (visit Clear Channel)

The biggest gamble in the short life of satellite radio hit the table at 6 a.m. as Howard Stern started what he calls his creative rebirth at Sirius (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)  (read more - NY Post)  (read more - Erin Carlson-Newsday)  (read more - Delaware News Journal)

Sirius Satellite Radio is selling just a handful of ads during shock jock Howard Stern's show in hopes of pumping up demand and eventually prices. No more than 6 spots and hour (read more - Holly Sanders-NY Post)

Emmis Communications announced results for its third fiscal quarter ended Nov. 30, 2005. For the third fiscal quarter, reported net revenue was $100.5 million, compared to $90.2 million for the same quarter of the prior year, an increase of 11%. Reported net revenues for all periods presented exclude the results of Emmis' television stations and WRDA-FM, which have been classified as discontinued operations (read more - Emmis)

Scott Greenstein, Sirius' chief programmer, calls today a "threshold moment" for Sirius and the genre, akin to when Fox signed the NFL in 1993 and began to be taken seriously as a network. Eric Logan, XM's programming chief, notes that since Stern signed with Sirius, XM has grown by 3.4 million subscribers. The company expects to have 9 million by the end of 2006 and 20 million by 2010 (read more - Peter Johnson-USA Today)

Hollywood is still pushing Washington to force gadget makers to incorporate a "broadcast flag" in recording devices that would limit consumers' ability to record and replicate whatever they want. If big media succeeds--and they nearly did last spring, before a federal appeals court overturned an Federal Communications Commission regulation that would have mandated use of the flag--consumers could find themselves unable to record the Super Bowl on the fancy new personal video recorder they've purchased. But so far, technology still trumps bureaucracy (read more - Forbes)

ChickChat Radio has a new partnership with Mamapalooza to break ‘Mom Rock’ onto the national scene with “Mom Rock Mondays.” Every Monday as part of the regular show, Mamapalooza founder Joy Rose will join the Chicks to discuss a different Mom Rocker (visit - Mamapolooza)  (visit Chick Chat Radio)

"I don't think that it would be constitutional to regulate decency on satellite radio," says Jack Thompson. "But if Howard does the show that he's been saying that he's going to do, I think Howard is going to run into obscenity charges." The difference? Indecency was introduced in the mid-'70s by the FCC. Glen Robinson, a law professor at the University of Virginia, was an FCC commissioner at the time. He said the commission was faced with a complaint from a man who heard George Carlin's Filthy Words, while in the car with his child (read more - Eyder Peralta-Houston Chronicle)

A group of listeners to WDET-FM in Detroit filed a class-action lawsuit against the station on Dec. 19, claiming fraud and breach of contract. The Detroit Free Press reported that seven plaintiffs filed for damages after contributing to the station's last on-air fund-raising pledge drive, which ended in October. Station managers announced the new schedule on Dec. 13. The listeners claim that they were tricked into contributing money for programs that the station already planned to cancel (read more - NY Times)

Talk Radio. It's sometimes loud. Often controversial, silly, profane and/or provocative. Many will claim it to be the savior of the AM broadcast band. Others might wish it would go away. Or at least follow Howard Stern into the realm of the satellite system. But what's really in store for the gabfesters as we enter a new year? Will they multiply? Decrease? Or simply change their ways? (read more - Bob Sokolsky - San Bernadino County Sun)

Sirius is taking a big risk by making Stern the face of its venture. This is like Barnes & Noble promoting that it has Playboy in the magazine rack. One advertisement during the holidays featured a wife getting her grateful husband a Sirius subscription so he could hear Stern. Oh, right, most wives want their husbands to hear jokes about strippers and bodily functions (read more - Jeffrey M. McCall-Indy Star)

“When I turn on the local radio, it seems like I listen to commercials for the whole 10- to 15-minute ride to work,” he said. “I realize that’s how they pay for programming, but it’s worth it to me to pay about $10 a month to not hear them.” Music lovers today have a variety of technologies available to record, replay and transport songs and audio programs with them almost anywhere. That boom in options threatens the market share for local AM and FM radio stations. “They should be worried,” industry analyst Ted Schadler says of local radio officials (read more - Argus Leader)

If Bill O'Reilly truly loves a good fight, then he's had quite a week. The Fox News Channel personality's confrontation with David Letterman Tuesday night made for some gripping television. The cranky "Late Show" host told his guest: "I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap." That same night, nemesis Keith Olbermann on MSNBC once again named O'Reilly his "Worst Person in the World" (read more - NY Post)

Doug Stephan's Good Day program has been added by WSMN 1590 AM in Nashua NH, and WDLB 1450 AM in Marshfield WI  (visit DougStephan.com)

The technology from digital video recorders has finally caught up with the radio à la TiVo-style, according to analyst Rick Munarriz at The Motley Fool (read more - Natali T. Del Conte-San Francisco Examiner)

Like many of Howard's listeners, I usually enjoy the show on my own, driving to work or, less frequently, on an early morning drive to Long Island or Connecticut for my job. One of the only things that makes those congested roads bearable is the three hours of Stern I can enjoy along the way. His particular genius is that despite his millions and his ''star'' life style, he doesn't forget who his audience is, and what they're about every day (read more - Renee A. James - Morning Call)

Radio was out in force at the Consumer Electronics Show which ends today (Sunday) in Las Vegas, with palm-sized satellite receivers that hold hours of recorded music. Digital radios, which promise a high-definition listening experience from traditional earth-bound stations, were also on display as that service begins a wider national rollout this year (read more - Forbes)  (read more - earvolution.com)

From Claude Hall Online -- Front page of Billboard's Nov. 24, 1973 issue that featured three stories written by me, including the pi (major story). A few years ago, I scanned this onto computer so I wouldn't lose it. This is just half of the page + Jimmy Rabbitt Interview from Billboard -- Foreword: I became a fan of Jimmy Rabbitt when he was the evening personality on KMET-FM in Los Angeles and tried to keep L. David Moorhead, general manager of KMET-FM, from firing him. I did this interview at a Mexican restaurant called, I believe, Taxco, on Sunset Strip, Los Angeles. My tape deck. My cassette. My lunch hour. The year was 1975.
Claude: How long were you in Tyler on radio there?
Because I understand that you worked for Bill Young at
one time.
Jimmy: The first station I worked for in Tyler was
KGKB. We were against Bill Young. Bill Young had his
ace young jocks that all talked alike, as if they had
their fingers over their noses, and we worked against
them for a while. And I brought in Long John Silver,
the bluebeard, from New Orleans. Because he wanted to
get a Texas divorce. So, I got him for next to
nothing and we set the town on fire and Bill Young
went crazy. Didn't know what to do. The only thing
to do was to hire me. So, he starts hiring me (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com)

After years of legendary skirmishes with the Federal Communications Commission, his (Howard Stern) switch to satellite radio is equal parts victory and surrender.  It is a victory because he will never again have to worry about government nannies clamping down on him and fining his management and affiliate stations. But it is a surrender because he has left the battlefield (read more - Mark Davis-Dallas News)

So after some goofy instructions, I got my Sirius satellite working. To do it, I had to put the antenna outside, on a deck. It says avoid trees! I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That's all there are here. But, after some hassles, it's working, although it cuts out occasionally. No clue how I'm going to get it into my car yet (read more - Brad Kava-Mercury News)

Jon Dillon returned to KZPS with his Saturday Night Free For All, a five-hour extravaganza of requests, deep tracks and lost classics. Dillon, who currently does podcasts for DallasMix.com, was released from KZPS in late 2004 after more than 15 years at the station, most of them as its 3-7 p.m. DJ (read more - Star-Telegram)

From Ron Jacobs -- Part 2 ... When Men and Mountains Meet - A Five Part Super Bowl Diary -- I’m too nervous to eat so I sip a Bloody Mary made with scarlet tomato juice and golden lemon slice. Then, needing some uncontaminated air, I dodge The Claw, who pirouettes through the mob waving his Mahimahi banner. I nearly crash into G.W. at the front entrance. Trying to keep my distance, I remember those wet kisses slobbered on top my bald head one lost weekend on the North Shore. G.W. is on some kind of ecstatic roll or Mushroom Trance, more manic and more maniac than anything I’ve ever seen. His one good eye spins faster than a 1985 Toyota MR-2 red-lining in first gear. “Let’s go check out those buses,” he gargles, while bowing to a passing blue-haired lady. “Hey hey, Super Bowl! #81, mama! Go Niners!” (read more - www.RonJacobsOnline.com)   

A popular Maynard High School teacher Joseph P. Magno was arrested Friday and accused of raping a male former student, Middlesex County prosecutors said yesterday. Magno, a faculty member at Maynard High for 30 years, played a ''major hand" in helping create WAVM, the school's broadcasting program that features both a television and a radio station, according to the school website. Magno is the faculty adviser for the two stations, the website states (read more - Boston Globe)

Long-time Minot sportscaster Russ Smith has died. He was known as a sports pioneer in North Dakota. He was the sports director at K-P-L-M radio in Minot from 1948 to 1972, and a sportswriter from the Minot Daily News from 1945 to 1948. He also worked for Minot's K-X-M-C T-V, and for K-C-J-B radio from 1972 to 1986 (read more - KXMC News)

First, there was AM radio. Then came FM. Now, there’s the digital world of satellite radio. As with cable television in its formative years, a large sampling of people in the United States have decided to take the next step beyond mere curiosity. They’re buying it (read more - Michael Futch-Fayetteville Observer)

"Some of Stern's listeners will stick around to give Adam Carolla a courtesy three weeks," said Chris Carmichael, founder of the SDRadio.net Web site. "I also think Jeff & Jer could pick up some people. A lot of women listened to Howard, and after all this time, Jeff & Jer still sound cool to female listeners. I also never underestimate Chris Cantore. He still has an edge." (read more - Karla Peterson-San Diego Union-Tribune)

Washington-based Time Trax Technologies announced Friday a product sure to catch the eye of many … and probably the RIAA, as well. The TraxCatcher is a MP3 player that sits on top of a FM radio docking station. It will tune into your favorite FM radio station and record songs from the radio into “near perfectly cut” (whatever that means) MP3 files (read more - Real Tech News)

The annual listener-voted countdown on musicradio77.com, a Web site devoted to the old top-40 WABC, has its usual eclectic mix of winners (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

On Howard Stern's move to satellite radio -- “It’s an important point in the history of radio,” says Sirius spokesman Patrick Reilly. “It’s an important sign that satellite radio is appreciated and accepted by the masses. We started the year at 1.1 million subscribers and we’ve almost tripled our size in one year. And our competitor is also growing at a fast clip. A couple of years ago, few people were paying for radio. Now, it’s millions.” (read more - Cathy Darling-Star Telegram)

State GOP Chairman Stephen Minarik filed a sweeping Freedom of Information request yesterday for all of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's e-mails regarding his alleged threats against John Whitehead and others. Minarik also sought "all e-mails sent from, or received by employees of the Department of Law" dealing with the alleged threats against Whitehead, the chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., and nationally syndicated talk-show host Sean Hannity (read more - NY Post)

A late-night radio talkshow host spoke of his shock after a listener died on air during a phone-in. The caller, known only as Terry, was taking part in a debate on Liverpool's Magic FM 1548 when the line suddenly went silent. The DJ, Pete Price, was so concerned he abandoned his show and raced around to the man's house. He said: "It was awful, when I got there the ambulance was already outside his house. Apparently he was found in his chair with the phone by his side ..."  (read more - The Independent)  (read more - The Sun)

A major shift in Topeka radio has a top team moving from Huntoon Hill to downtown. Radio Rich and Louann have anchored 94.5 FM's morning radio show for 14 years. Friday, they announced they're taking their show to Cumulus Broadcasting and US-103 (read more - WIBW 13)

The Buffalo Bandits announced they have reached a radio affiliation agreement with WKBW-AM 1520 to be their broadcast home for the 2006 season (read more - Our Sports Central)

Belo is establishing a Border Bureau headquartered at ABC-7. The partnership also provides ABC-7 unprecedented access to Washington, D.C. based reporters who will provide coverage of important issues that affect Texas and the Southwest (read more - KVIA)

Beasley Broadcast Group announced the appointment of Joe Bell to General Manager of Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM and Market Manager of WQAM-AM and WKIS-FM. In his new role at WQAM-AM, Mr. Bell will oversee the sales, programming and promotional activities (visit Beasley Broadcast Group)

ABC Radio Networks has reached an agreement to syndicate The Michael Baisden Show on four Urban Adult Contemporary stations owned by Radio One. Baisden’s afternoon drive program can now be heard on WAMJ-FM Atlanta, which recently flipped its format to become The New 102.5, playing Today’s R&B and Classic Soul. In addition, The Michael Baisden Show can be heard on KSOC-FM Dallas, WFUN-FM St. Louis and WKJS Richmond (visit ABC Radio)

Friday January 6, 2006

A federal judge in Manhattan threw out a lawsuit Thursday against Clear Channel Communications Inc., alleging one of its radio stations violated federal laws designed to curb unwanted telemarketing calls (read more - LA Times)

Satellite radio subscribers in the US are expected to reach more than 15m this year, up from little more than 9m in 2005, according to projections from XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. The forecast follows strong sales of satellite radio services during the year-end holiday season (read more - Financial Times)

... whatever CBS offers Katie Couric to leave the "Today" show for Dan Rather's old anchor chair, NBC will offer her $5 million more. So far, that's about $17 million (read more- NY Post)

From Kent Burkhart -- During the Atlanta population growth I also had the opportunity to observe the workings and growth of Atlanta radio. I know because I WAS THERE. During my recent stay I had a chance to think back about the radio progress of Atlanta…and its radio groups who are headquartered there.  Atlanta MUST BE the radio group capitol of the US the way I have it figured. Perhaps you will agree after reading the following.  According to history the first Atlanta based broadcast group (major cities) was the Robert Rounsaville Group in the late 40’s, 50’s and early 60’s. They owned popular WQXI in Atlanta, and ... (read more - www.KentBurkhart.com) 

"Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline" is at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show on the air broadcasting live this Sunday from 2 pm - 5 pm ET (11 am - 2 pm PT) (visit Into Tomorrow) 

Ozzie Guillen Jr., the 21-year-old son of the world champion White Sox manager, is getting his own weekly show on sports/talk WSCR-AM (670) + James VanOsdol, who most recently was midday personality and music director at ABC-owned former active rock WZZN-FM (94.7), is returning to the station where he began his career  (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Art Bell's wife of fifteen years, Ramona, died unexpectedly last night after an asthma attack (read more - Coast to Coast)

More than two weeks after Hot 97 FM radio deejay Miss Jones’ tirade against the Trinidad-born President of Transport Workers Union Local 100, Roger Toussaint and union members, Emmis Communications, owners of the station, have yet to apologize or respond to the remarks (read more - Hard Beat News)

ABC Radio Networks America’s Most Wanted feature was directly responsible for the capture and return of northern California fugitive Arnulfo Vargas in November.  The arrest was directly attributed to ABC Radio Networks’ syndicated feature, which is hosted by renowned crime fighter John Walsh (visit ABC Radio)

Entravision Radio’s 104.9 KZMP-FM announced today the launch of “La Tricolor 104.9” which features a broad scope of regional Mexican music. “La Tricolor 104.9” will also simulcast on Entravision Radio’s KZMP 1540 AM, which also serves the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas market (visit Entravision)

Sirius will give Howard Stern 34 million shares of stock - worth about $220 million at today's prices - because the company has met agreed-upon targets for gaining new subscribers under its 2004 deal with the shock jock (read more - Forbes)  (read more - NY Post) No one could accuse Chief Executive Mel Karmazin of putting all Sirius' eggs in one basket. Those huevos are all over the board  (read more - Forbes)  (read more - Chicago Business)

David Lee Roth took on well-worn talk-radio topics like abortion, gay proms and legalized prostitution yesterday (read more - NY Post)

Canadian Satellite Radio Holding expects to have 75,000 subscribers to its XM Canada service by the end of August, when its fiscal year ends, and one million subscribers by the end of August 2010 (read more -  Canadian Press)

The Adam Carolla Show originates from CBS RADIO's 97.1 FREE FM in Los Angeles (KLSX-FM) and is heard on KIFR-FM San Francisco, KSCF-FM San Diego, KZON-FM Phoenix, KUFO-FM Portland and KXTE-FM Las Vegas. The program is also broadcast simulcast on www.adam.freefm.com  Joining Carolla in the morning are Rachel Perry and Dave Dameshek. Upcoming guests include: Tues Jan. 10 Comedian Carlos Mencia and actor Jim Belushi -- Wed Jan 11 actor Howie Mandel -- Thurs Jan. 12 comedian and actor Kevin Nealon (visit www.adam.freefm.com)

... starting in late March, the 1500-AM spot will become a new station called "Washington Post Radio." According to The Post, it will feature stories from the editors and reporters of that paper, as well as other journalists. The Post will also be on what's now WTOP's 107.7-FM frequency (read more - WUSA 9)

Beginning Monday Fox Sports Radio will debut a new program called Out of Bounds on Fox with Shemon and Washington. It will air weekdays from 9 - 12 a.m. ET/6 - 9 a.m. PT. Craig Shemon, an award winning play-by-play announcer, and James Washington, two-time Super Bowl Champion with the Dallas Cowboys. The show will replace The Extravaganza on Fox (visit Fox Sports)

Call it a marriage made in satellite radio heaven. Just days after Penny Crone was delivered the gift of a termination letter from the heartless holiday elves at WNYW - Channel 5, Howard Stern has become her savior.  Having read that Crone was callously kicked to the curb by Ch. 5 officials, Stern and his Sirius Satellite Radio pals hired her to work for Howard 100 News, the independent news operation Stern put together to produce two daily live newscasts for his channels (read more - Richard Huff - NY Daily News)

... the cable stats posted at www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser show that CNN averaged 1.7 million viewers between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday; Fox News Channel had 1.5 million; and 363,000 were watching MSNBC. CNN had a strong lead in the key demographics: 25 to 54, 18 to 49 and 18 to 34 (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

CNN Radio has produced a special series of “Tax Tips” for affiliates. These programs are entertaining, while providing the money-saving tips and insider information  (visit CNNRadio)

Jacobs Media has hired veteran Rock Radio consultant Keith Cunningham to join its professional staff. Cunningham is a long-time programmer and marketer of Rock, Classic Rock, Alternative, and Triple A stations, and for the past five years, has run his own firm, Media Positioning (read more - PR Newswire)

Thursday January 5, 2006

Getting a jump on what's expected to be some bad news in next week's fall ratings report, Spanish-language WLEY-FM (107.9) has revamped its weekday talent lineup (read more - Feder of Chicago)

KKWF-FM (100.7), the Seattle market's new country station, has announced its lineup of hosts, including at least one name and voice familiar to local listeners. The Wolf launched its new morning show this week hosted by Fitz and Tony Russell, who both had been most recently at stations in Dallas (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

Chuck D. Zink, known to hundreds of thousands of South Florida baby-boom kids as ''Skipper Chuck,'' has wished his fans ''Peace, love and happiness'' for the last time. Zink, 80, has died at a Boca Raton hospice, following a stroke (read more - Miami Herald)

Larry King spends a full hour on CNN with Howard Stern Thursday (tonight) at 9 pm EDST (visit CNN Larry King)

iBiquity Digital, at the Consumer Electronics Show, unveiled a reference design (ie, 'blueprint') for an HD Radio tuner box that could instantly turn a "satellite-ready" receiver into an HD Radio enabled unit. The tuner box would be installed in the dash and be compatible with more than 200 existing receivers from both OEM's (Chrysler, Ford and GM) as well as aftermarket manufacturers such as Pioneer and Sony (visit iBiquity)

The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) will present a free sales training workshop on Breaking The Daily Habit: Winning New Radio Dollars From Print in San Francisco on January 19, 2006. Sponsored by Media Monitors, LLC, this half-day workshop is part of an ongoing free nationwide sales training series that began in 2005 (read more - RAB)

The heartbreaking reversal of news about miners trapped in a West Virginia coal mine early yesterday triggered discussion in an unusual place: all-sports WFAN (660 AM) (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

A new year is upon us, and it's time for a new tradition: the Static Column Annual Reader Quiz. If your crystal ball is in good shape, read on: Q: Who will make the biggest splash in 2006 in the talk-radio world? a. Right-wing wackjobs b. Left-wing wackjobs c. Former FEMA directors d. Unindicted co-conspirators (read more - Randy Dotinga - NC Times)

NBC changes official transcript of Andrea Mitchell interview, deletes reference to Bush possibly wiretapping CNN's Christane Amanpour ... Here's what the NBC "official" transcript used to say on the NBC Web site :  Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net? Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that Mitchell: You don't have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, Christiane Amanpour, might have been eavesdropped upon? Risen: No, no I hadn't heard that (read more - AmericaBlog)

Both practitioners and detractors of talk radio act like it's a recent phenomenon. Including phone calls from the audience, it's been with us almost as long as the crystal set. In most cities there were people in radio studios with a phone line blabbing about a variety of subjects years ago. What has made talk radio part of the "new media" is its recent accent on agenda politics (read more - Emil Franzi-Explorer News)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio announced that its subscriber base increased 190% in 2005 to 3,316,560 at year end. SIRIUS added a record 2,173,302 subscribers during the year. For the fourth quarter, SIRIUS was the market share leader in terms of new satellite radio subscriber additions, adding 1,142,640 net new subscribers during the quarter. This was an increase of 138% over the year-ago quarter and the company’s best ever quarterly gain (visit Sirius)

XM Satellite Radio announced that it has more than six million subscribers.  XM projected it will end 2006 with more than nine million subscribers on the strength of breakthrough products introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (read more - PR Newswire)

Galaxy Communications officials announced some changes Wednesday afternoon. The Edge (WQBJ/WQBK 103.5/103.9 FM) changes formats, going to classic rock under the banner Q-103. Galaxy stations WRCZ (94.5 FM) and New Eagle Classic County station WEGQ (93.7 FM) go simulcast with a new ``broad rock'' format under a new tagline: The Bone. (The target demo is guys, wink-wink-nudge-nudge.) (read more - Times Union)

From Murphy Martin -- The Six most important words are: "I admit I made a mistake!"
The five most important words are: "You did a good job!"
The four most important words are: "What is your opinion?"
The three most important words are: "If you please!"
The two most important words are: "Thank you!"
The one most important word is: "WE!"
THE LEAST IMPORTANT WORD IS: ... (find out and read more at www.MurphyMartin.com)

When it comes to drugs, they used to say, speed kills. When it comes to journalism, they still say, speed kills reputations. In Philly, we went to sleep counting two victories - Penn State over Florida State, and the Sago miners over death. We awoke to the mind-rocking shock that 11 miners had died, and one survived, the opposite of what was broadcast a few hours earlier - and printed in early editions of American newspapers, including this one. A journalism cliche they also used to say warns, "If your mother says she loves you - check it out." (read more - Stu Bykofsky-Philly Daily News)

The Discovery Channel has hired Ted Koppel, Tom Bettagm, former executive producer of ABC Nightline and other former staff to produce long form programming for Discovery (read more - Richard Huff-NY Daily News)

San Antonio gets Jacked.  On January 3, K-ROCK flipped over and became JACK-FM. Many here may be more familiar with a similar format called "Bob" radio, which is doing well on 103.5 FM in Austin. Elsewhere across the country, there's also an "Alice," even a "Jose."  (read more - San Antonio Biz Journal) (read more - Jeanne Jakle-SA Express-News)

From John Rook -- While he could have benefited from a good director, Howard Stern is a radio star because he offers “surprises” - a magnet most of radio no longer provides. Were he receptive to a little direction, his talent would have delivered a far larger audience and had no need of escaping to “pay radio”. Radio today not only fails to encourage and motivate talent, it also relegates Program Directors to the back of the bus. With very few exceptions, it’s difficult to give an example of any new exciting programming concept and/or radio talent that has surfaced in the years since radio’s deregulation (read more - JohnRook.com)

Radio, which used to be a simple high-profit, low-margin business that essentially flew beneath the radar and made a lot of people a lot of money, is now infinitely complicated. "There are so many factors at play it's difficult for owners to get their arms around the problem," Jacobs said. "Should they be streaming? Should they be involved in podcasting and in-demand? Should they go fully into HD radio? "There's only so many hours in the day, and there are just a finite number of hours for people to entertain themselves. If commercial broadcasters grasped that inherent truth and if they could just become more risk-taking, all of this talk of a threat from satellite radio might be a moot point." (read more - Detroit News)

In light of the hectic holiday season and widespread weather problems affecting broadcasters across the country, the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) has extended its RAB’06 Holiday Discount Registration Rate of $599 for members and $699 for non-members through the end of this week on Friday, January 6 (read more - RAB)

HD Radio University has been launched to educate retail professionals on the consumer benefits of Digital AM and FM Broadcasting and to increase sales of HD Radio products.  The free online program is available to sales professionals through cyberscholar.com   (visit Baltimore Biz Journal)

Wednesday January 4, 2006

Howard Stern's move to Sirius satellite radio may be a barometer of the new entertainment medium's likelihood to gain mainstream acceptance. While the move is inarguably significant, satellite radio still faces stiff challenges -- including the popularity of Apple's iPods and an upsurge in entertainment programming for mobile phones (read more - E Commerce Times)  (read more - LA Daily News)

So far, the hottest topic on Marty Griffin's new KDKA-AM (1020) talk show this week has been ... KDKA.  Intense public reaction to the firing of three of the station's talk hosts last week spilled over into the New Year. Griffin was on the front lines, taking calls from listeners who were unhappy with the firings of Mike Pintek, Mike Romigh and sports talk host Paul Alexander (read more - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)  Marshall Adams, a Westmoreland County native who once worked as an anchor-reporter on KQV radio (1410 AM), has been named news director of KDKA radio (1020 AM) (read more - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

The number of digital AM and FM stations on the air more than tripled - from 200 to 624 (visit iBiquity)

In a series of moves dramatically altering the radio dial in Washington, Bonneville International Corporation has announced that WTOP Radio, Washington's 24-hour all news station is moving to 103.5 FM today to expand its reach and penetration. Additionally, WTOP will partner with The Washington Post to form a new radio station broadcasting on the 1500 AM and 107.7 FM frequencies in late March (read more - WTOP)

Arbitron and VNU announced that Unilever United States – which spends approximately 600 million dollars for advertising on measured media – has signed a subscription agreement to the pilot panel of ‘Project Apollo,’ the single-source, national research service based on Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPMSM) system and ACNielsen’s HomeScan technology (read more - Arbitron)

XM Satellite Radio and Audiovox unveiled the XM Passport, a tiny, portable tuner that delivers XM Satellite Radio to an expanding portfolio of XM Ready products for the home, car, and portable use  (read more - XM Radio) + Pioneer Electronics (USA), Inc. and XM Satellite Radio unveiled the Pioneer Inno(TM), the next- generation portable XM2go satellite radio that plays live satellite radio "on the go" and both MP3s and WMAs (read more - XM Radio)

E! Entertainment Television said that it has finalized its multiyear deal with Ryan Seacrest under which the "American Idol" host and radio personality will become a key network player both on- and offscreen (read more - Backstage)

It's over and out for Paul Perry, former morning personality at WJMK-FM (104.3) + A jacket autographed by Tommy Edwards and Larry Lujack of Clear Channel Radio's "Real Oldies" WRLL-AM (1690) topped all others in the Salvation Army's "Bundle Up Chicago" auction, netting $461 (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Something was missing yesterday as David Lee Roth took over for Howard Stern. In a word: humor. There were no burps, flatulence, dwarfs, stutterers, strippers, lesbians or robo-spankers. Instead, Roth spent 90 long minutes letting his 88-year-old uncle Manny — founder of a legendary Greenwich Village nightclub, Café Wha?— ramble down memory lane (read more - John Mainelli-NY Post)

After listening to day one of the new "David Lee Roth Show" on Free 94.1-FM, I can understand why Eddie Van Halen ended his association with his motor-mouth lead singer. The guy never shuts up. Roth had no problems talking about David Lee Roth for the majority of the 6 a.m. - 10 a.m. show. Some of the things we learned: Roth is 52, "Apollonia" from "Purple Rain" is a former girlfriend, he is a trained Emergency Medical Technician, and, low and behold, recently became a helicopter pilot. The show is all DLR, all the time (read more - Laura Nachman)

From John Gorman -- David Lee Roth made his radio debut as Howard Stern’s successor on many CBS Radio-owned stations. Maybe someone at CBS corporate actually believed David Lee Roth’s resume made him the worthy candidate to succeed Howard Stern in most east and Midwest markets. I’m not sure what made them believe Roth was the best choice for the next big thing in morning drive radio. CBS Radio chieftain Joel Hollander claimed they were making contingency plans when they were told that Howard’s contract was poached by Sirius Satellite Radio. You could’ve fooled me (read more - John Gorman)  (related story - read UPI)

Bill O'Reilly made a guest appearance on David Letterman's CBS Late Night Show on Tuesday -- Here's a partial transcript ...
Letterman: “Do you have children?”
O’Reilly: “Yes I do. I have a son the same age as yours. No way a terrorist who blows up women and children is going to be called a ‘freedom fighter’ on my program.” [mild audience applause]
Letterman: “I’m not smart enough to debate you point to point on this, but I have the feeling, I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap. [audience laughter] But I don’t know that for a fact. [more audience applause] (read more - Newsbusters)

LG Electronics has recently developed what it says are the first mobile phones for the Media FLO and DVB-H wireless broadcasting standards (read more - Teleclick)

By 2008, Kagan Research forecasts U.S. terrestrial radio broadcasters will be earning 4%, or $805.2 mil., of their total revenue from HD radio (read more - Kagan Research)

Now that Howard Stern has left the terrestrial airwaves for a much smaller audience at Sirius Satellite Radio, Long Island lawyer and longtime Stern show regular Dominic Barbara is talking rather boldly about the shock jock. A spy who was lunching within earshot of Barbara at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach the other day reports hearing the barrister loudly declare that Stern had "lost his edge," adding, "Nobody wants to hear the same thing over and over again about strippers and hookers." (read more - Page Six)

George Noory, host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show, “Coast to Coast AM,” will have his first television special, “Predictions with George Noory,” premiere on EVENTS IN DEMAND Pay-Per-View on Thursday, January 12, 2006 at 9 p.m. EST (read more - Predictions.tv)

The new offerings from LG Electronics Inc., XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are just a tiny sampling from this year's International Consumer Electronics Show, an annual showcase of technologies soon to hit the market (read more - Forbes) (read more - Sydney Morning Herald)  (read more - Indy Star)

Without much warning, even to its own staff, San Antonio's Clear Channel radio dropped its second rock format in a year, replacing it with romantic music in Spanish. Channel 104.9,which played alternative music and had been a good community citizen, promoting great concerts and events around San Jose, went Spanish New Year's Day (read more - Brad Kava)

ARBitron numbers for  Albuquerque, Charleston SC, Des Moines, El Paso and Jackson (read 'em)

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. has announced they are extending the submission deadline for the 2006 Radio Humanitarian Awards to Wednesday January 11. The awards will be presented during the opening ceremonies of the 37th Annual Country Radio Seminar on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2006. The Radio Humanitarian Award is presented to full time country radio stations for their efforts to improve the quality of life for the communities they serve (visit CRB)

Retired CBS News Correspondent Neil Strawser, who in 1962 reported to an anxious nation from Guantanamo Bay that the Cuban missile crisis was over, died on New Year's Eve.  Over most of his career he was based in Washington, appearing regularly on "The CBS Evening News with Douglas Edwards."  Later he concentrated on CBS News radio broadcasts, and anchored Saturday editions of The CBS World News Roundup (visit CBS News)  (read more - Reuters)

Tuesday January 3, 2006

ABC Radio Networks’ Sean Hannity crossed a major milestone with the addition of American Forces Radio and Television Service, which has become his show’s 500th affiliate (visit ABC Radio - Hannity)

Radio superstar Don Imus doles out some wicked disses to his MSNBC colleagues in a profile in the next Vanity Fair. Annoyed that the cable channel, which simulcasts "Imus in the Morning," cut away from his show to provide live coverage of Hurricane Wilma, Imus trashes conservative pundit Tucker Carlson as a "twit," refers to "Hardball" host Chris Matthews as "that idiot" and says MSNBC makes "idiotic decisions" like hiring Carlson and commentator Ron Reagan (read more - Page Six)

Digital HD radio today is at the place where digital television was, oh, seven or eight years ago. Early adopters are paying dearly for first-generation receivers - say, the $500 asking price for Boston Acoustics' deceptively small but robust-sounding Receptor stereo table radio - because the devices are coming off the production line slowly, the chips that run them are expensive and developers are trying to recoup on some of their huge R&D investment (read more - Philly Daily News)

Cox Radio announced that Keith Lawless has been named Vice President and General Manager for three of its Tampa stations, including WSUN, WXGL and WHPT. Most recently, Keith was General Sales Manager for WSUN-FM (visit Cox Radio)

Motorola on Tuesday unveiled more details of its plan to take on two hot industries with one product: its iRadio cell phone-based radio service. With iRadio, the world’s second-largest cell phone maker will challenge the rapidly changing radio industry, along with the booming market for MP3 players led by Apple’s iPod device and its iTunes music catalog. "Motorola iRadio lets us deliver top-rated talk content and custom music channels to listeners wherever they are throughout their day," said Jeff Littlejohn, executive vice president at Clear Channel Radio (read more - Red Herring) (read more - CNet)  (read more - USA Today)

Westwood One Inc. said Tuesday its board and CBS Radio, which manages the broadcaster, named Peter Kosann as president and chief executive, replacing interim chief Joel Hollander (read more - Reuters)

Univision Communications and Entravision Communications Corporation announced that on January 1, 2006, they completed the previously announced acquisition by Univision of radio stations KBRG(FM) and KLOK(AM) serving the San Francisco/San Jose, California market from Entravision for $90 million (read more - PR Newswire)

Some fans are not so sure that Dick Clark's return last weekend to his famous New Year Eve show was a good idea. A quick survey on Internet opinion in the days since Clark — who was seriously affected by a stroke in 2004 and had not been seen on TV in nearly a year and a half — shows that many thought it was "courageous" of him to return before he was fully recovered. But others wrote that his halting speech and obvious inability to move about freely was "disturbing." (read more - NY Post)

David Lee Roth made his radio debut, taking over the coveted morning drive time slot vacated by Howard Stern, locally in Pittsburgh on WRKZ 93.7 K-Rock. Diamond Dave, probably best known as the former lead singer of Van Halen, talked with the Trib p.m. about the radio show, his job as an emergency medical technician in New York City, cheekless pants and pretty much everything else on his mind (read more - Kim Lyons-Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Laura Nachman's 2005 in Philly Radio -- For the first time in two decades, WYSP won’t have the guaranteed income generated from Stern’s highly rated show + Format Changes - Y-100 changed from alternative rock to hip hop, WPEN 950-AM changed from Oldies to Sports Talk, 103.9-FM changed from “The Beat” to Gospel, 95.7-FM changed from adult contemporary to the “Jack” format, 94.1-FM changed to “Free FM” (read more - Laura Nachman)

It's a done deal.  Viacom now comes in two distinct flavors. Investors can buy the namesake media giant or CBS. Or, of course, they can buy both and duplicate last year's Viacom (read more - MSNBC)

Driving home one night from her sixth 12-hour day in a row, Jo'D Herron found inspiration to change her career and ultimately her life. Herron tuned in to the John Tesh Radio Show. Tesh asked his listeners, "Are you happy at work?" He went on to raise questions like, "Do you stress out on Sunday night, thinking about the day ahead?" and "Does your job make you feel like you make a difference?" (read more - CentralOhio.com)

Howard Stern's move from American FM airwaves in mid-December, pending a much publicized debut this coming Monday on Sirius Satellite Radio in the U.S., has suddenly hurled him back onto the Canadian horizon, and he's more contentious and seductive than ever. Earlier this week, Sirius broke the three-million-subscriber mark, a feat the company attributes to recent sign-ups of Stern fans. That's 800,000 new subscribers since Sept. 30 (read more - Toronto Star)

Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff take the helm at ABC's World News Tuesday night, the first network evening news anchor team since CBS paired Dan Rather and Connie Chung in the '90s (read more - Peter Johnson-USA Today)  (read more - Dusty Saunders-Rocky Mountain News)

XM Satellite Radio said it will unveil the XM advanced services vehicle, a concept car featuring in-car video, voice command, weather alerts, parking space locator, and other new innovations at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to be held January 5 to 8 in Las Vegas. It will showcase in-car video with the company's partner On2 Technologies, as well as a vast array of other new technologies, all of which can be delivered directly to the automobile by XM's network of satellites and ground repeaters, the same satellite delivery system that XM employs to broadcast its 160 channels of commercial-free music and premier sports, news, and talk radio (read more - NE Asia Online)

From Happy Hare -- “Well; Hi there, I’m Happy Hare” I shouted out.  “Hi there,” echoed the crowd. Okay so far. Ten  more seconds and I am outta here. I could feel Silver beginning to shiver more intensely and  lurch crazily from side to another. Grabbing onto the reins more tightly, I said, “A lot of you may not know I was radio’s  Sam Spade. Maybe you remember my famous opening line, “Hello Effie, this is Sam Spade. I was sitting in my office one day… Silver was beginning to panic….”when suddenly there was a SHOT” ……. I never got to the punch line. When I said the word “shot”  Silver simultaneously let go with  a thunderous ... (read more - HappyHareOnline.com)

Six days after its well-orchestrated Wednesday Night Massacre, KDKA Radio is moving slowly and cautiously toward reshaping itself, and that appears to be particularly true in sports where not only has Paul Alexander not been replaced but where he also might never be replaced (read more - Bob Smizik-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Radio, plainly, is hot. Crucial questions about content, however, go unanswered. Has anyone, I wonder, examined the sustainability of speech-based stations? What fills all those aching long hours of airtime? What constitutes quality talk? Whose voices should we listen to?  (read more - Melanie Reid-The Herald U.K.)

Ron Jacobs remembers Lan Roberts --  As time passes, emails that begin with, "Saddened to hear . . ." seem to arrive with more frequency. Many of them signal the passing of the originals: throwback radio vets the likes of which we'll never hear again. The latest is Lan Roberts. Although we may have crossed paths in Honolulu, I spent time with Lan in Seattle, when I was recording Pat O'Day for the CRUSIN' album series. I'd hung out with Patin Hawaii and knew him as "The Man" at KJR, Giant of the Northwest. When I was there I realized that Lan was every bit as big a deal as Pat (read more from Ron Jacobs)

Jazz broadcaster Leo Chears, known as "The Man in the Red Vest" and for his love of classic jazz, died Monday (Jan. 2, 2006) in Barnes-Jewish Hospital of congestive heart failure after a lengthy illness. He was 72 and had lived in East St. Louis. Mr. Chears broadcast for the past 16 years from WSIE-FM (read more - St Louis Post-Dispatch)

One of the darlings of early Australian television, Dawn Limb, has passed away in Sydney, aged 78. Limb, who performed as Dawn Lake, was a household name in the late 1950s and 1960s, appearing in television variety shows with her husband, the late Bobby Limb. She was also a radio entertainer, notably with the then star of Australian radio, Jack Davey, on Sydney's 2GB (read more - Sydney Morning Herald)

A previously premium show prep resource, Preplinks.com, is now being made available as a free service from Folger Entertainment Company.  Joel Folger says, " It’s my way of giving back to an industry that has treated me so well. Happy New Year!" (visit www.preplinks.com)

Monday January 2, 2006

From The Radio Babe -- Dear Readers: Here's the "next big thing" in radio: starting this year, listen for "HD-2," what may also be termed "the second coming of HD radio." The new medium is based on high definition ("HD," as in "HDTV"), except this is high-quality digital radio signals instead of the analog waves we're used to (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

The names of nine more people have been added to the roster of the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame (visit St Louis Radio Hall of Fame)

Robert Philpot interviewed David Lee Roth -- Q: With all the celebrities doing satellite radio, why did you pick "terrestrial" radio? A: This is the hottest seat in international radio in terms of what it confers nationally and what it suggests culturally. What makes New York City great is that it's a confluence. Arguably, seven-tenths of the people here aren't from here, myself being one of them. I've been coming here since 1961 (read more - Robert Philpot - Star Telegram)

Jack Lawson, new program director at WMAX-FM (96.1) and WBFX-FM (101.3 The Fox), loves radio so much, even his family thinks he's a little crazy. "I have been in and out of this crazy business and (keep) loving it," he said (read more - Grand Rapids Press)

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest denomination in America, but you wouldn't know it from religious radio ... the number of Catholic stations is only about 120, according to the Catholic Radio Association, and there are about 2,000 religious stations nationwide. Some broadcasters hope that's about to change (read more - USA Today)

The SNP Holyrood leader has called on Ofcom to issue a licence that would allow a new national talk radio station to be established in Scotland. Ms Sturgeon has written a letter to the broadcast watchdog, to set out the case for opening the market for such a station in Scotland (read more - The Scotsman)

No disrespect to the working girls, but if the 2005 edition of the Lords of Loud could figure a way to turn what they do into sex, hookers would be out of business. All this year, talk radio tricks got the hot satisfaction they paid for while deluding themselves into thinking that it was really love. But don't try to tell that to a talk radio junkie who's gone so long without real truthin' that he wouldn't know it if it was laying there naked beside him (read more - Steve Young-American Politics Journal)

Live 105's new morning show starting Tuesday is called "The Morning Music Co-Op," a mix of alt-rock, comedy and news that will be anchored by three escapees from Chicago: Jeff "Woody" Fife, 29, Tony Mott, 28, and Renae Ravey, 36. Working as "Woody, Tony and Ravey," they were the afternoon team on Q101 (WKQX), where Mancow, ex- of Wild 94.9 (KYLD), does mornings (read more - Ben Fong-Torres - SF Chronicle)

From Claude Hall -- Two of my favorite people on this earth--Gary Owens, left, and Jack G. Thayer, right. Both extremely nice people...always willing to help. A great portion of Gary's career was as a very popular radio personality on KMPC, Los Angeles, during its heyday, but he was the announcer as well on the popular "Laugh In" television show, did commercial voiceovers, voice tracks for cartoon series, etc. He's still around. Hanging out on the inside mountain of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. And probably still playing basketball on Sundays (I played with him for years). Jack, of course, died several years ago. He once worked as a disc jockey in the Cleveland area, but rose to become a radio station general manager, then head of the Nationwide radio chain and then became president of NBC Radio (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com)  

Dick Clark - the personality who's been ringing in the New Year for decades made his first television appearance on ABC since a stroke in late 2004. Clark, sitting behind a desk with the street scene in the background, sounded hoarse and occasionally was hard to understand, but he said, "I wouldn't have missed this for the world" (read more - NY Post)

Susanne LaFrankie, Philly's newest call-in host.
Tuesday on WPHT-AM (1210) as part of the Big Talker's revamped nighttime talk lineup. LaFrankie will be on from 6 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays ... Odd woman out here is the locally based, syndicated Rollye James, who also works late nights on XM Satellite Radio. WPHT will pick up her reruns from 3 to 5 a.m. weekends (read more - Michael Klein-Philly Inquirer)

Radio's Top 10 Turkey Moments of 2005 from Corey Deitz -- #1: Brothers Fight Over Radio: One Kills Other in Self-Defense (read more - About-Corey Deitz)

Hot 97 radio personality Miss Jones' recent derogatory on-air comments about Transport Workers Union head Roger Toussaint and the striking transit workers have become fighting words for Council member Yvette Clarke. The Brooklyn legislator is calling for a boycott of the station's advertisers and wants the controversial radio host taken off the air (read more - Jared McAllister-NY Daily News)

What best illustrates the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to clean up the airwaves in 2005? Even though it has no jurisdiction over cable TV content, it pressured the cable industry to offer customers a tier of only family-friendly channels because Time Warner and Comcast needed its approval to buy Adelphia + All but five of the 23,547 indecency and obscenity complaints that flooded the commission in July came from a single group: the Parents Television Council (read more - Phil Rosenthal-Chicago Tribune)

David Lee Roth isn't the only one turning Howard Stern's departure into a shot at radio triumph.  On the West Coast, CBS Radio is looking to longtime radio and TV personality Adam Carolla, who takes over mornings on five stations including KLSX-FM in Los Angeles. Carolla, a former carpenter, began his show-biz career in morning radio (read more - NY Post)

From Ron Jacobs -- When Men and Mountains Meet - A Five Part Super Bowl Diary   ... starting work in Hollywood, I discovered that my fringe benefits included six tickets to every Los Angeles Rams home game. For a decade my second home was Tunnel 10, Row 72, Seat 115, in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. While sitting there I went through two cities, three jobs, four houses, eight Cadillac Coupe Deville’s, six cats, one Olde English Sheepdog (named “Rigby”), two wives, four coaches and what seemed like 600 quarterbacks ... My pro football fanaticism was still under control in 1976 when I met up with the original “All-World” tight end" christened so by Howard Cossell during his first Monday Night Football game (read more - www.RonJacobsOnline.com)

As the song plays, Paul Shugrue turns the chair in the cramped WHRV studio. He shuffles through a shelf laden with compact discs and plucks out his selections for the evening. After almost 30 years at commercial radio stations, Shugrue now has the freedom to play pretty much what he wants (read more - Virginian Pilot)

Leah D’Emilio says serving as the first “Face of Fox Toledo” has been sheer joy. A year ago, Leah D’Emilio saw herself working in the communications department of a nonprofit agency. Now, she is thinking about a career in TV or radio. “If I could be the next Ryan Seacrest, that would be ideal,” she said of the host of American Idol and various radio shows (read more - Russ Lemmon-Toledo Blade)

The good humor and warm sounds of "Music From The Hills of Home" has emanated from the studios of WNKU for the past 16 years. The show, hosted by Katie Laur and Wayne Clyburn, is a reliable source of bluegrass music in the state that gave the music its name (read more - The Challenger)

The news that Boston may soon be losing its only full-time commercial classical-music radio station has not put the musical community up in arms as you might expect. WCRB-FM hasn't been sold yet, and the prospective buyer, Greater Media, Inc., of Braintree, hasn't announced its intentions for the station (read more - Boston Globe)

Radio, The Best and Worst of 2005 -- It's the day the music - or, at least, the day the on-air personalities - died. In June, Jack-FM — broadcasting with no live voices - replaced "Oldies" WCBS-FM (101.1) (read more - Raymond A. Edel - North Jersey)

Lan Roberts, one of Seattle's best-known disc jockeys in the heyday of the city's powerhouse AM rock stations, died Friday at his home in Texas of complications from lung cancer. He was 69. "Lan Roberts was the greatest morning disc jockey in Seattle," said Pat O'Day, who was program director for KJR-AM when it ruled the Seattle airwaves in the 1960s (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI) (visit LanRoberts.com) (visit JohnRook.com)

Even if you despise radio talk show host Howard Stern, his departure from "free" radio is another punch in the face of free speech. His live show on 92.3 FM WXRK went off the air two weeks ago, but Friday was the last time he was on free radio, even if it was a "best-of" show (read more - Ron Zeitlinger-New Jersey Journal)

Rush Limbaugh will be in the celebrity field and Matthew McConaughey, recently named People Magazine's Sexiest Man for 2005, is among the latest celebrities added to the pro-am field for the upcoming Bob Hope Chrysler Classic golf tournament. The tournament runs from Jan. 18-22 (read more - The Desert Sun)  (read more - Cyber Golf)

He did not wield a guitar, he did not sing from a stage, he did not bring 20,000 screaming fans to their feet. But New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in 2005 might have left as big an impact on the recording industry, radio stations and music fans as any individual musician or band (read more - Poughkeepsie Journal)

State revenue officials are going after millions of dollars in unpaid taxes they claim are due because media companies profited by having Louisiana residents watch commercials on their television networks and buying items labeled with company trademarks as well as rent their movies. The largest of the tax bills is for $901,011 to American Broadcasting Co. The suit says ABC offered programming through its affiliates and provided income-producing advertising. The suit says ABC owes $450,374 in taxes, $338,044 in interest and $112,593 in penalties on those unpaid taxes. ESPN Inc. owes the second-highest amount (read more - Baton Rouge Advocate)

Is it ironic that David Lee Roth's latest comeback spells the end of new rock in New York? Or is it a sign of things to come? On Tuesday morning, the former Van Halen vocalist will take over the weekday morning show on 92.3 FM ( read more - North Jersey Herald)

CMRPLUS Radio makes it's official launch today 2/1/06 on both Sky 913 for the UK and world-wide on the Internet at www.cmrplusradio.com. A new hybrid of the  CMR radio (first broadcast in 1994) makes a return to the airwaves via Satellite for Europe and world-wide on the Internet (visit www.cmrplusradio.com)

Are you sure this is how Bill O’Reilly got his start? In case you missed it — and you probably did — I was a guest on a radio talk show in Baltimore last week. Host Bruce Elliot was gracious enough to have me lead off his 9 p.m. show on WBAL and kept me on the air for nearly 30 minutes. I’m told that that’s a lifetime in radio time.  This was my second appearance on a radio talk show. I was a guest on a Pittsburgh radio show last year. In both cases, the host read one of my columns online and asked me to come on the show to explore the topics further (read more - Tony Phyrillas)

Monday, Willie Brown and Will Durst start broadcasting at 6 a.m. on AM KQKE 960 in San Francisco (read more - Mercury News)

ABC will begin offering 2 live broadcasts of "World News Tonight" for West Coast viewers at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Pacific time, featuring new co-anchors Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff (read more - CS Monitor)

Raymond J-Gray -- an outdoor writer and avid fisherman who hosted a weekly radio show Chicago's W-G-N Radio from 1968 until his retirement in 1983 has died (read more - ABC 7)

Ringing cell phones interrupting movies might be a thing of the past if a plan by the National Association of Theater Owners becomes reality (read more - NBC 5i)

Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS Satellite Radio, N-100, & Howard Stern will preside over the opening bell to celebrate the Jan 9th debut of "The Howard Stern Show" on SIRIUS, Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 at 9:30 a.m. EST (visit Sirius Radio)

ARBitron numbers for Chattanooga, Columbia SC, Huntsville, Omaha and Shreveport (read 'em)

A local radio station will soon be catering to night owls. WEMC, the radio station for Eastern Mennonite University will be on the air 24 hours at the start of the new year. The station currently signs off at midnight and picks up again at 6 a.m. No one has to be in the station at that time. And it is actually more efficient to keep it going all through the night (read more - WHSV)

Beasley Broadcast Group has debuted Fayetteville’s newest radio station, 96.5 The Drive, on WFLB-FM. The new station, which targets adults aged 25-54, features Classic Hits from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s (visit Beasley Broadcast Group)

Friday December 30, 2005

Three of KDKA Radio's primary on-air hosts -- Mike Pintek, Paul Alexander and Mike Romigh -- have been let go in a staff shake-up. The changes, the first phase of an extensive overhaul at the news/talk station, also included a pink slip for news reporter Kyle Anthony (read more - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Rams radio analyst Jack Snow, who has missed the club's past five broadcasts after suffering a staph infection, was seriously ill Thursday at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "He's still in critical condition, and his family is there," Rams media relations director Duane Lewis said late in the day (read more - St Louis Post-Dispatch)

Larry Krueger, the talk show host who was fired for making racially tinged comments about the San Francisco Giants, was hired by KGO radio to provide commentary during afternoon sports updates for the radio station (read more - SF Chronicle)

When Howard Stern begins his satellite radio career on January 9th, he may learn that he hasn't escaped the censors. Where terrestrial radio is sometimes disciplined by the FCC, satellite radio is governed by something far more malignant: The Orthodox Liberal-Left. At least, that was my experience with XM--the number one satellite radio service and rival to Stern's Sirius. I was aggressively sought by XM to do a show. But XM's left-wing programming officials' idea of what my views should be were far more restrictive than a governmental body properly trying to enforce decency in extreme cases (read more - Debbie Schlussel-FrontPage)

Jim Shea, former morning personality at WEXT-FM in Milwaukee, has joined northwest suburban WWYW-FM (103.9) in the same role + When Chuck Schaden hosts Saturday's New Year's Eve edition of "Those Were the Days," he'll reach a milestone never achieved by any of the old-time radio classics he's showcased on his program (read more - Feder of Chicago)

AM radio station 790 is changing from a sports talk format to classic country. Station executive vice president Terry Wood said Thursday there are too many sports talk stations in Memphis, and it was time to look for a new audience. The new station will be known as "WMC-79 Country Legends." (read more - WMC TV)

This Monday, along with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, PD Doug Westerman's new Twin Cities KTLK  weekday schedule includes morning show hosts Andrew Colton and Kelly Guest, former KFAN voice. Midmorning, it's Pat Kessler, late afternoon includes co-hosts Sarah Janacek and Brian Lambert, former Pioneer Press media critic. In the evening, it'll be former KSTP personality Dan Conry (read more - Pioneer Press)

KVIL and KLUV are shuffling lineups.  Nikki Nite confirms that longtime DJ Ken Barnett is gone, but called Barnett "a great guy." Gene and Julie Gates will continue their morning show and Terry King will take middays. The syndicated Delilah will continue to air at night. PD Peter Z confirmed that longtime KVIL/KLUV jocks Chuck Brinkman and Larry Dixon are leaving. John Summers will move into the afternoon slot, and part-timer Sandi Sharp will move full time into Summers' old slot. Morning DJ Jody Dean remains in place, as does midday woman Debi Diaz (read more - Robert Philpot-Star Telegram)

This year marks Dick Clark's return to a broadcast that became his calling card, "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" (10 p.m. on ABC). And although Clark, 76, isn't fully recovered from a stroke he suffered more than a year ago, he's well enough to cohost a portion of the festivities (11:35 p.m.-1 a.m.) with Ryan Seacrest, "Rockin' Eve's" heir apparent. "Dick is excited," said long-time "Rockin' Eve" producer Larry Klein (read more - Marisa Guthrie-NY Daily News)

After nearly 34 years in broadcast journalism, CBC Radio Sudbury veteran Barry Mercer is hanging up his earphones and retiring. His last day at the Mackenzie St. broadcast station is today (Dec. 30) (read more - Northern Life)

Houston radio talk-show host Dan Patrick signed off the air Thursday when he officially filed in the Republican primary for state Senate District 7 (read more - Houston Chronicle)

Kent Burkhart is taking New Year's weekends off for a short holiday vacation.  His column will return in one week.  In the meantime, enjoy one or more of Kent's archived columns (visit www.kentburkhart.com)

Dave Graveline and the Into Tomorrow Team warm-up this Sunday New Year's Eve at 2 pm EDST and get ready for the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show the following week.  Into tomorrow is heard on Sirius Advice Channel 117, XM Ask! Channel 165, via our website and several other outlets, including BeOS Radio, Mobile Broadcast Network and more (visit Graveline.com)

WBBM-AM/780 is canceling its evening business report, according to the station’s program director Ron Gleason. The last edition of the half-hour Evening Business Wrap Up will air Friday evening (read more - Chicago Business)

The world may be full of fear and uncertainty, but at the end of the day there is always Peter Donaldson and that calm, unflappable voice reading the midnight news on Radio 4. But, as secret files released at the National Archives yesterday show, there was another Peter Donaldson - "the voice of doom" as he puts it. The newsreader was an integral part of the Government plan to run Britain after a nuclear attack, earmarked by Whitehall to read bulletins on the Wartime Broadcasting Service, a radio station which would have replaced the BBC and ITV as the only source of information. It was his job to reassure a public scrambling around in the radioactive debris that once constituted the United Kingdom (read more - The Telegraph U.K.)

Connecticut-based Qantum Communications will take over two 50,000- watt Cape Cod radio stations later this year while Ernie Boch, Jr., son of the late and legendary Massachusetts automotive tycoon, will end his family’s 10-year venture into broadcast radio if a proposed sale of four Cape stations wins regulatory approval (read more - Barnstable Patriot)

ARBitron numbers for Grand Rapids   Johnson City-Kingsport   Knoxville   Nashville   Oklahoma City (read 'em)

Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" won't be permanently leaving its St. Paul home after all. Keillor expects to do a dozen shows during the 2006-07 season from the Fitzgerald Theater, the longtime base of the public radio program. The rest of the season's shows will air from the road (read more - Seattle PI)

John Michael Marty anticipated that “Passport to Stardom,” a live, on-the-radio karaoke show he hosts from 10 p.m. to midnight Fridays on WSMI-FM 106.1, someday would get revoked. On Friday, he hopes its nearly nine-year run of live, local karaoke will end on a high note (read more - State Journal Register)

Online retailers, whose growth was expected to level off after a decade of dizzying gains, experienced a stellar holiday season, according to two preliminary reports released yesterday, as traditional stores like Wal-Mart and Target cemented their place on the Web. Online commerce still represents less than 6 percent of all retail sales, but the numbers indicate that it has finally become part of mainstream American shopping (read more - NY Times)

Thursday December 29, 2005

Adam Carolla marks his return to morning drive radio beginning on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 with the premiere of the self-entitled THE ADAM CAROLLA SHOW on several CBS RADIO stations. Broadcast weekdays from 6:00-10:00AM, PT, the program will originate from 97.1 FREE FM in Los Angeles (KLSX-FM) and also be heard on KIFR-FM San Francisco, KSCF-FM San Diego, KZON-FM Phoenix, KUFO-FM Portland and KXTE-FM Las Vegas (visit CBS Radio)

Rob Hart succeeds Andrea Darlas as evening news anchor at WGN-AM (720), effective next week. Darlas was promoted to news anchor of Spike O'Dell's morning show (read more - Feder of Chicago)

It sure isn't business as usual for Business Radio (KXYZ - AM 1320) morning host Brent Clanton. He's doing the show, dressed in a bathrobe, from his bedroom at home as he recovers from a radical prostatectomy (read more - Ken Hoffman-Houston Chronicle)

The music is fading and the talk is rising on Minnesota's FM dial, part of a trend hitting the radio industry. Twin Cities radio audiences will be introduced to the conversion on Monday, when smooth jazz station 100.3 switches to KTLK with a news/talk format (read more - Grand Forks Herald)

Radio is a format that likes to emphasize familiarity with listeners, so it was no surprise that the two big stories in radio in 2005, nationally and locally, could be summed up with a couple of guy's first names: Howard and Jack (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle P-I)

From Murphy Martin -- The fall of 2006 will still have footballs flying around on television on Monday nights during NFL action but it will never be the same. As my wife and I watched last Monday night unfold with it's deep treasury of memorable replay moments from past telecasts, I couldn't help recalling the many times I was either in the broadcast booth during their telecasts or was around Dandy Don and Frank Gifford and Cosell who did sports on a news program I co-anchored on WABC-TV in New York City after I left my anchor job at the ABC-TV network. I remember being in the ABC-TV booth at the Cotton Bowl when St. Louis was blasting the Cowboys by more than 30-points in the early seventies ... (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)  

SIRIUS Satellite Radio will ring in 2006 when it broadcasts exclusive performances New Year's Eve by five amazing artists - Jimmy Buffett, G. Love & Special Sauce, Patti Smith & Her Band, Sheryl Crow, and the King of Rock N’ Roll- Elvis Presley (visit Sirius Radio)

Liberal radio talk-show host Mike Webb has been fired from his job at KIRO radio after he was charged earlier this month with making a fraudulent insurance claim. A spokesman for KIRO confirmed that Webb, who pleaded not guilty to the felony charge last week, is no longer with parent company Entercom and will no longer have a show on KIRO (read more - Seattle Times)

From The Heathen Middle -- Is the media frightening us to death? Clearly something is happening. Americans are flocking to anti-anxiety and anti-depression medication and patient anxiety is a growing concern among American physicians.  Depressive disorders effect nearly 18 million American adults each year. That is almost 10% of the U.S. adult population.[1] Pre-schoolers are the fastest growing market for anti-depressants. At least 4% of preschoolers are clinically depressed. [2] The rate of increase of depression among children is 23%. Clearly the media attempts to build up ratings through controversy and fear. Time and again research has shown that one of the big, important audience building tools of the media is fear (read more -  HeathenMiddle.com)

VoiceBox Technologies Inc., developers of the world's first conversational voice search technology, and XM Satellite Radio announced today a strategic multiyear, creative and commercial alliance to create and deliver a voice-enabled XM Radio platform to the automotive industry (read more - TMC Net)

With only a few days left of 2005, let's reflect on what we saw and heard courtesy of local airwaves. Perhaps the biggest story of the year was NASA's return to flight after a two-year hiatus. Second biggest story: The media's reaction to it + Brevard County radio fixture Michael W. Lowe went off the air in September to have heart surgery. Lucky for viewers, WLRQ-FM nabbed Ken Holiday -- Clear Channel's operations director -- to fill in for Lowe until he returned last month (read more - Hickman-Florida Today)

L.E. "Bo" Nance III, 61, died peacefully Monday morning, Dec. 26. Bo was the news director for WKY Radio in Oklahoma City and was a TV news and sports anchor for WKY-TV Channel 4 in Oklahoma City. He was president of the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters Association (read more - Star-Telegram)

The shift to online advertising is happening faster than some analysts expected, prompting at least one to boost his forecast for next year. The Internet ad market will increase 32 percent in 2006, reaching $16.6 billion, Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Heath Terry wrote in a report. The flood of dollars to the Internet is good news for Google and Yahoo!, while coming at the expense of traditional media such as television, radio and print, the report said (read more - NY Post)

What's a good word to describe Tom Leykis, the L.A.-based shock jock now heard weekdays on San Diego's 103.7 Free FM? Here are a few hints: He spends every day encouraging men to protect themselves from predatory, money-hungry and manipulative women. He likes to observe ---- as he did Friday after a caller complained about his ex's financial habits ---- that a vagina is shaped like a purse. He says women who don't put out should be off-limits ---- "dump that b----" ---- and single mothers are nothing but trouble (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

Coming in January 2006 from XM Radio: Fox News Talk Channel 168. News, analysis and the pulse of the nation from Bill O'Reilly, Tony Snow, John Gibson, Alan Colmes and more on XM Channel 168 (visit XM Radio)

The 31st annual Conclave Learning Conference; Future Tense! is scheduled for next July in Minneapolis. Experience the premiere summer radio conference for only $189 (read more - The Conclave)

"Twist," a new nationally syndicated, gay commercial radio show, is set for a Jan. 14 and 15 launch on seven radio stations around the country, including WWWQ, Q100 in Atlanta. Matt Farber, the president of Wilderness Media & Entertainment, announced that the weekly two-hour music countdown and talk show is also slated for debuts on New York’s 95.5 WPLJ, Los Angeles’ Star 98.7, San Francisco’s Alice 97.3, Seattle’s Kiss 106.1, Houston’s Mix 96.5 and Washington D.C.’s Hot 99.5 (read more - SOVO)

From John Rook -- At a time when AM/FM is under attack, one would hope they take every effort to propel the assault. Instead, programming today continues to be dictated by a sales manual, where closing up shop on weekends and  holidays has long been the practice (read more - www.JohnRook.com)

ARBitron numbers for Albany   Greenville-New Bern- Jacksonville NC Memphis   Raleigh-Durham  (read 'em)

John J. Coyle, whose business projects included leading the investment group that put radio station KVIL on the air in 1960, died of natural causes (read more - Dallas News)

Sirius Satellite Radio landed a media Eclipse Award in the audio and multimedia Internet category for its live coverage of the 2005 Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships (read more - Thoroughbred Times)

Wednesday December 28, 2005

Bridge Ratings interviewed satellite radio consumers at retail outlets during the fourth quarter in order to determine what impact marketing campaigns and Howard Stern, particular, were having on subscriber counts during this all-important shopping quarter. Bridge found that of those interviewed, 22% of Sirius sign-ups during the first week of the quarter were due directly to Stern. This number increased steadily throughout the quarter ultimately reaching over 50% the final week of the Christmas shopping season. For a trend of this percentage,  go to www.bridgeratings.com and click on the main story in the front page box.

It's a happy new Dick Clark. Or at least that's what ABC-TV wants viewers to think after the network yesterday released a  doctored publicity photo, which features Clark with his co-hosts for this year's New Year's Eve telecast from Times Square, Hilary Duff and Ryan Seacrest. But the image of the 76-year-old Clark was taken before his December 2004 stroke and superimposed onto a recently taken picture of Duff and Seacrest (visit NY Post and view the photo)

XM Satellite Radio will broadcast select XM music channels in 5.1 Surround Sound, marking the first time that a radio company has broadcast in 5.1 Surround Sound twenty-four hours a day. The audio breakthrough was announced today by XM and Neural Audio Corporation, a leading provider of digital signal processing and surround sound technology for the broadcast industry, in advance of the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) (read more - XM Radio)

Local radio stations that clamor for listeners and claim they deliver the freshest and most interesting news and entertainment are selling their audiences short. Instead of actually working during the holidays, they drum up "best of" shows and rerun interviews they had months ago. We know it's slow, but how about some original content for a change? (read more - Detroit News)

Here are five good things that happened in radio in 2005. 1. Howard Stern leaves WXRK for Sirius Satellite. It's time. He's done what he can do on "free" radio. 2. WINS turns 40 (read the other 3 good things - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

On Jan. 3, Sumner M. Redstone will get his wish when Viacom, the sprawling media company he built, is split into two separate entities. Now what? Even before the actual separation, the two companies - Viacom, which includes Paramount and the cable networks like MTV and Nickelodeon, and will be led by Thomas E. Freston; and CBS, encompassing the CBS network, television and radio stations, Simon & Schuster and an outdoor advertising business, to be run by Leslie Moonves - have been establishing their own identities. And lately Wall Street has begun to show a bit of enthusiasm (read more - NY Times)

Even the CBC lockout and summer-long absence of a national public radio service (sorry, CBC brass, endless program repeats on Radio One and classical music shuffles on Radio Two don't count, as the fall ratings book proved) couldn't overshadow the big radio story of 2005 — the arrival in Canada of subscriber-based digital satellite radio (read more - Toronto Star)

Joining the trend of TV shows migrating to the Internet, Yahoo! will host a pair of episodes from CBS comedies "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother" for free video streaming this week. Available now through next Monday, these half-hours (which aired earlier this season) will be available in their entirety and without commercials (read more - KYW Entertainment)

A former KPRC weathercaster who worked at television stations throughout Texas has died. Roland Galvan was 48. Family members say Galvan died at a San Antonio hospital on Christmas after suffering from liver problems for about two years. He was chief meteorologist at KIII in Corpus Christi before leaving in November 2004. Galvan also had worked at what's now WOAI in San Antonio (read more - Local 2)

This Saturday, Dick Clark - along with "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest and actress Hilary Duff - will kick off the next 12 months with "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2006" at 10 p.m. . Clark and Seacrest will handle duties from Times Square while Duff rings in the New Year from Los Angeles (read more - Sac Bee)

Is it "Ho Ho Ho" or just "Ho Ho Hum"? -- On Tuesday night's Countdown show, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann launched his latest attack on FNC's Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson, at one point saying O'Reilly is "one of those blissful idiots who can rationalize anything." Olbermann also indirectly called Gibson "functionally stupid" by contrasting him with O'Reilly, saying that O'Reilly "is not so functionally stupid as to deny things that are preserved on tape, which is what Mr. Gibson is doing." After playing a clip of Gibson from Janet Parshall's radio show in which Gibson mentioned the concept that religious people should tolerate people of other religions and leave any judgements as to whose religion is wrong to God, Olbermann took exception with some of Gibson's and Parshall's comments and compared the show to "an all-access Al-Qaeda show on Al-Jazeera talking about infidels." Olbermann ended up calling on Gibson to "leave the airwaves for good" because he has "forfeited his right to stay here." (read more - NewsBusters)

Hell hath no fury like that of a scorned National Public Radio fan--especially in Detroit, where listeners angry over recent programming changes have gone to court, charging the city's NPR station with fraud. The fury in Detroit over program changes at WDET-FM has listeners claiming they were tricked into contributing money to the station during a pledge drive while station operators were secretly planning to junk locally produced programming and replace it with national talk and public affairs shows (read more - Tim Jones-Chicago Tribune)

KABC in LA is keeping its 790 filled with Thursday through Thursday bowl games (visit KABC 790)

A former D-J at a Detroit country radio station has seen her award in a perfume lawsuit dramatically reduced.
A federal jury this spring awarded Erin Weber $10.6-million dollars (read more - WWMT  3)

ARBitron numbers for Austin   Baton Rouge   Jacksonville   Louisville   San Antonio   Tulsa (read 'em)

Since Janet Jackson's 2004 Super Bowl surprise, the Federal Communications Commission has sought to flex its regulatory muscle over questionable entertainment. First came a 15-fold increase in fines for broadcasting "indecent" material. Now comes a push to make cable companies offer channels a la carte, so that parents can filter out racier fare. At first blush, the idea seems attractive (read more - Beacon News)

Grand total combined spot and non-spot Radio revenue for the month of November 2005 remained flat when compared to November of 2004. Total combined local and national ad sales figures for November of this year also came in flat when compared to November of last year. Local dollars for November of 2005 inched up 1% over that same month from a year ago. National ad sales dropped 5% this November over last November. Non-spot revenue for November of 2005 also fell 1% when compared to November of 2004 (read more - RAB)

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