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Thursday June 1, 2006

Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert, who battled back from cancer three times before, will be undergoing cancer surgery again + Chicago radio veteran Joe Bartosch has resigned after five months as producer of Shane "Rover" French's morning show at CBS Radio "Free FM" talker WCKG-FM (105.9) (read more - Feder of Chicago)

WKTU (103.5 FM) yesterday dropped its morning team of Goumba Johnny and Baltazar and as of July 31 will become the flagship station for the new nationally syndicated morning team of Whoopi Goldberg and longtime WHTZ afternoon host Paul (Cubby) Bryant (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)  (read more - John Mainelli-NY Post)

A handful of politically entrenched corporations with neo-conservative connections control almost all the media Americans consume. The product is homogenized, available in 1,000 bland, indistinguishable flavors. The pundits wear many suits but speak with one master’s voice. The news anchors and print journalists are trained in brothels. They’re $50 whores bathed in gallons of cologne that can’t even begin to cover their stench (read more - Michael I. Niman-Buffalo Art Voice)

Samsung will this month ship Europe's first digital TV phone capable of receiving programmes broadcast on a terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) network (read more - The Register U.K.)

Tokyo Rose, the Chicago-born beauty convicted of treason for her infamous radio broadcasts from Japan aimed at demoralizing our World War II soldiers in the Pacific, is alive and well and turning 90 on July 4 (read more - NY Post)

Al Guerra and Tim Pyles, hosts of the local music shows on 91X and FM 94/9 respectively, both offer San Diego-area musicians a chance to be heard by thousands of listeners. They have plenty in common: They've worked for each other's radio stations and they share a passion for music and musicians. But they're competitors, and each has developed his own style (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

From Murphy Martin -- NBC-TV threw a party yesterday morning for its' longtime co-host of the Today Show. Since 1991 millions of Americans have begun their day with that NBC program and a big reason why that program has dominated the morning ratings for lo these many years is Katie Couric. Critics of the move by CBS to promote Couric to the anchor slot point out her lack of credentials in hard journalism. It will be interesting to see if Ms. Couric can prove those critics wrong! (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)

In response to the swiftly growing adoption of HD Radio technology among Japanese auto makers, iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer and licensor of digital HD Radio broadcasting, announced today that it has contracted with the Sanyo Trading Co. to support and expand iBiquity’s presence in Japan (visit iBiquity.com)

In a trailer no larger than a backyard shed sits a radio station that coalition forces are using to open the lines of communication with their Iraqi neighbors (read more - Military.com)

Is "Big Brother" hostess Julie Chen actually an android? An Internet compilation clip of CBS boss Les Moonves' wife robotically uttering the phrase "but first" has led some to dub her "The Chenbot" - and even she seems to agree (read more - NY Post)

Portland's KATU and KPDQ radio talk show host and anti-abortion activist Mary Starrett is planning a run for governor (read more -  KATU 2 TV)

Dallas officials are beginning to pursue a deal that could send city-owned classical music station WRR-FM (101.1) to another radio frequency and transform it from a commercial to a noncommercial entity. KVTT-FM (91.7) has approached City Hall about a frequency swap (read more - Dallas News)

A rape victim whose name was made public in a radio news broadcast felt humiliated, a court has been told. The woman, identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, is suing the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for damages (read more - Herald Sun AU)

Capital Radio's marketing director Carl Lyons has quit the GCap-owned London-based radio station after three years (read more - Media Bulletin U.K.)

KFYO, Lubbock's oldest radio station, will begin offering a daily evening news podcast (read more - KFYO)

Z100's Paul 'Cubby' Bryant will be Whoopi Goldberg's sidekick on her new morning show "Wake Up with Whoopi" (read more - Business Wire)

The Dixie Chicks have debuted at the top of country and pop music charts in the U.S. with a new album, three years since they were vilified for publicly criticizing the U.S. president (read more - CBC)

Fisher Communications will sell 24 small-market radio stations in Montana and eastern Washington to Cherry Creek Radio (read more - Bill Virgin - Seattle PI) (read more - Reuters)

The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland has awarded the Dublin-based station NewsTalk 106 a 10-year licence to provide extensive news programmes to most parts of the Republic (read more - Press Gazette U.K.)

After 12 years, Monica Cory is leaving the position of executive director of the Portland Area Radio Council (read more - Portland Biz Journal)

State, and possibly federal, authorities will begin to investigate today why three workers died Wednesday after falling more than 1,000 feet from a TV broadcast tower northeast of Oakland (read more - Des Moines Register)

The FCC will not reconsider its Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake breastflash ruling that fined 20 CBS TV stations (read more - Reuters)

Through his radio station, WPAQ (740 AM) in Mount Airy, Ralph Epperson devoted his life to the preservation of traditional music. Epperson died early Wednesday morning (read more - Winston-Salem Journal)

ARBitron numbers for Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston, Minneapolis-St Paul and Tampa-St Petersburg (read 'em)

After consultation with host station WCCO-AM, Gov. Tim Pawlenty will stop broadcasting his radio show on June 30 to avoid conflicts with this re-election campaign (read more - Duluth News Tribune)

Music Media Enterprises World will launch mobile marketing capability across seven Online Radio Networks using HipCricket’s radio platform for hundreds of online Radio stations. HipCricket’s proprietary technology enables stations to interact with thousands of listeners in a personal, real time way. Over 95% of listeners can participate in promotions and contests via the text message function on their cell phones from anywhere

PPM shows the power of news and special events on radio. Radio listening to KTRH-AM in Houston skyrocketed on Thursday morning, May 25th, after word flashed on all news outlets that the jury in the fraud and conspiracy trial of former Enron chief executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling had reached a verdict. The Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPM) was able to track the huge increase in listeners to Houston News/Talk radio station KTRH-AM as Houston residents tuned in to hear the outcome of the 56-day trial

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Bill Bennett, host of the nationally syndicated Bill Bennett's MORNING IN AMERICA radio program, will deliver a nationwide "Commencement Address" on his program this Friday morning, June 2nd. It is believed this will be the first radio commencement address to be delivered nationwide to high school and college graduates as well as members of the general public (visit Morning in America)

Wednesday May 31, 2006

Emmis Communications Corporation today announced that Dan Halyburton, Senior Vice President/General Manager Group Operations for Susquehanna Radio Corp., has been hired as Senior Vice President/Market Manager of Emmis New York. Halyburton assumes his new position today, overseeing operations for Emmis’ three New York stations, WQHT-FM (Hot 97), WRKS-FM (Kiss FM) and WQCD-FM (CD101.9) (read more - Matthew Flamm-Crain's NY Biz)

For the past year, Pat Cashman has been gone from radio -- sort of. Cashman left his morning-show gig on KJR-FM in March 2005, but his voice didn't leave the air entirely, what with his commercial work for such advertisers as Washington-grown chicken. But now Pat is back on radio -- sort of (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

Legendary DJ Dan Ingram dropped an F- bomb on alma mater WABC Monday - something that could have gotten him banned for life in the old days. "He was talking about unsuccessfully suing some Florida DJ who stole his name," and how a "f-ing court" wouldn't let him appeal, said New York Radio Message Board operator Allan Sniffen, who was interviewing Ingram as part of the annual "WABC Rewound" vintage-era commemoration (read more - John Mainelli-NY Post)

From Houston Hawk -- Call it instinct, karma, intuition or some other kind of vision, but whatever voice in Sam Malone's head said 'make the move' was right in saying so.  This guy has hit his stride not only as a high profile morning show host on KHMX, but as a talk show host on KTRH.  Sam sounds as if he has been there for years instead of months ... Does the name Sue Williams ring a bell?  Sue Williams probably logged more years at KILT am/fm than anybody else.  She is probably best remembered as the longtime Executive Secretary to Dickie "Podnah" Rosenfeld.  Sue retired a few years ago, and had a stroke a week ago Saturday (read more - Houston Hawk)

BBC Radio Scotland's flagship programme, Good Morning Scotland, is set to appoint a new presenter in a bid to widen its popular appeal. Gary Robertson, the current presenter of Radio Scotland's Morning Extra, is tipped to become the new voice of GMS by July (read more - The Scotsman U.K.)

Katz Radio Group and HipCricket, Inc. announced an agreement whereby HipCricket will provide wireless marketing expertise and solutions for the Katz Radio Group (read more - SysCon Media)

One of the Dallas KLIF 570 radio pros who is heading to bigger things in a larger major market is AnnMarie Petitto who will be making news with her August move to Philly

Spanish radio stations have been getting credit for filling the ranks of recent rallies over immigration. And the stations may have the ears of between 150,000 and more than 400,000 listeners, depending on whose estimate you use. But Jose Diaz, general manager for the Bustos Media stations in the Seattle area, said their main mission is entertainment (read more - John B. Saul-Seattle Times)

Des Moines radio personality Steve Deace was expected to announce during his show that he would be leaving KNXO (AM-1460) and moving over to sister station WHO (AM-1040) (read more - Des Moines Register)

On June 3rd's Comfort Food Show, hosted by Chris Turner and heard live on KODI 1400am and KZMQ 1140am from 9-10am Saturday mornings, the special musical guest will be The Circuit Riders. The show is performed before a live audience in Cody, Wyoming from the Irma Hotel (visit the Comfort Food Radio Show)

From John Rook -- While television anchor’s continued for the most part feeding viewers a diet of soft news, it is talk radio that is giving voice to the political revolt sweeping our nation. With a huge majority of our citizens making certain their views were heard by the United States Senate, 63 members of that body betrayed them and rubber stamped S-2611 legislation long sought by a semi-secret Council of Foreign Relations that aims to end our nations sovereignty, erasing our borders by the year 2010 (read more - www.JohnRook.com)

Lars Larson, a midday talk-show host carried on Radio Medford's KCMX-AM for nearly five years, has shifted to KMED, at 1440 on the AM dial. Larson's show runs from noon to 3 p.m. and is slotted between conservative icons Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity (read more - Mail Tribune)

He grew up in a time when a nickel looked a lot like gold. For a boy whose family was too poor to buy him a bicycle, the radio became his toy, his retreat and eventually his way of life. Hearing his voice today, broadcast over Madison's WTUX-AM 1550, it's hard to imagine that the bold and lucid tone behind "The Ben Benedetti Show" is nearly 80 years old (read more - Wisconsin State Journal)

Christopher “Kato” Watson will return to ABC Radio Networks as Senior Producer of ePrep Services after a three-year-hiatus

A new Spanish-language radio program is giving local teens a voice in their own language. Radio Pa'lante will be on the Carrboro and Chapel Hill airwaves this week, delivering news, features and music targeted to the Hispanic community (read more - Herald Sun)

Forum Communications, which has held a stronghold on the radio contract with North Dakota State athletics since 1963, is on the verge of losing it. NDSU has entered into negotiations with Clear Channel Radio Fargo for a two-year agreement (read more - Fargo Forum)

Forty years after he first signed on as a rookie disc jockey at WJOB in Hammond, Steve King seems to be as much in love with radio as he's ever been (read more - Feder of Chicago)  Kathy O'Malley and Judy Markey host an in-studio spelling bee during the 11 a.m. hour of their midday show Thursday on Tribune Co.-owned news/talk WGN-AM (720) (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Wheelchair-confined Richard Paey committed almost exactly the same violations of Florida prescription drug laws that radio personality Rush Limbaugh did, with a different result: Limbaugh’s sentence, in May, was addiction treatment, and Paey’s, in 2004, was 25 years in prison (read more - Bob Shepherd-Times Leader)

Seemingly silly ideas now generate millions in revenue that a few years back could never have been imagined. Perfect example: paying for ring tones to alert you when your cell phone receives a call. Tens of millions of cell phone calls are connected every hour of every day. The utilitarian cell phone is no longer a communications device, it's now an entertainment center (read more - Ed Schwartz - Chicago Sun-Times)

Seattle public radio king KUOW-FM (94.9) announced last week that it will program KXOT-FM (91.7), the Tacoma station operated most recently—and to disastrous financial effect—by Seattle's other public radio station, KEXP-FM (90.3) (read more - Seattle Weekly)

Eugene Wright, the founding father of Turner Broadcasting Engineering has passed away. Wright was responsible for making Ted Turner's broadcasting vision a reality. He oversaw CNN, CNN Headline News and CNN Radio's move from their midtown location to the current location in CNN Center in downtown Atlanta (read more - Broadcast Engineering)

All I ask for on the radio are buttery–voiced male DJ's playing the latest indie pop. I want an announcer trying to seduce my ears into hanging around through the next commercial break. I don't want to be yelled at anymore. I also want my pop music to be no older than the mustard in my refrigerator. Preferably as fresh and free-range as my eggs, but no older than my mustard. Exactly what do I mean by indie pop? (read more - Anna Hanks-The Statesman)

June 3rd, Lou Perry joins Ann Arbor’s AirAmerica Liberal Radio Station WLBY-AM 1290. Lou was at cross-town WAAM-AM

Both Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio could temporarily shut down radio production to address recent inquiries from the Federal Communications Commission, according to Banc of America Securities.  "The FCC issue could be more pervasive than previously believed," wrote analyst Jonathan Jacoby in a research note Tuesday (read more - Forbes)

"CMA Music Festival: Country Music's Biggest Party" airs Monday, July 24 (9:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens has introduced legislation that rewrites the telecommunications act of 1996. The driving point in the measure is to bring broadband services to rural communities, and everyone in America who has a phone or Internet connection would help pay for it. The bill, introduced May 1, aimed to find middle ground among competing telecom companies, consumers and local governments (read more - Anchorage Daily News)

Westwood One announced a multi-year management agreement with Excelsior Radio Networks for the day-to-day operation of the Westwood One 24/7 music formats. Under the agreement, Excelsior Radio Networks, through it’s Dial Communications – Global Media, will assume responsibility for affiliate sales and programming of the Westwood One 24/7 music formats effective August 1, 2006, and oversight of all aspects of the formats – including advertising sales – effective January 1, 2007 (visit Westwood One)

ARBitron numbers for Cincinnati   Dayton   Phoenix   St Louis   Tucson (read 'em)

From Happy Hare -- Hal Neal, the president of ABC Radio along with Chuck Fritz, the VP and GM of WXYZ Radio in Detroit came to Cleveland and sat opposite Specs Howard and me at lunch and told us that they wanted us to come to Detroit to do mornings. Specs and I had done it all in our five years in Cleveland and it was logical for us to ascend to the next rung. Hal Neal was a gentle mannered man. We liked him. Chuck Fritz was content to let his president do the talking (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

From the Radio Babe -- The RIAA already receives royalties for XM's music and equipment rights through a portion of the subscription fee that people pay every month, yet it now wants an additional $150,000 per downloaded song, per person. Does the phrase "a tad excessive" seem fitting to anyone else? (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

Monday May 29, 2006

Thousands of Bay Area fans listening on radio missed Barry Bonds' 715th homer because a microphone went dead (read more - Daily Sentinel)

Fred Thompson made it to the Senate in one of his careers (politics), he's been president in another (acting), and now he's moving into yet another line of work. The 63-year-old former senator from Tennessee formally launches an ABC Radio gig today with a Memorial Day special. He's already been filling in on the legendary Paul Harvey's ABC show (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Ice Cube has joined the hip-hop crew dissing on Oprah for her apparent lack of support for rap music. "I've been involved in three projects pitched to her, but I've never been asked to participate," the rapper-actor tells the most recent issue of FHM magazine (read more - NY Post)

Each year British broadcasters come out to play a cagey game of cat and mouse where interest in shows is played down; competitors are bluffed, double bluffed and misinformation is spread. This year competition is keener than ever with the terrestrial broadcasters looking to fill their digital spin-offs and big spenders such as ITV more ready to splash the cash than ever before (read more - Dan Chambers - The Independent U.K.)

With the beginning of hurricane season on June 1, many local television weather people will use high-tech tools and personalities to gain the advantage in viewership (read more - Tampa Biz Journal)

American Indian radio stations have a new partner helping them broadcast an eclectic mix of community programming to reservations across the country. The Center for Native American Radio offers 33 radio stations that serve Indians help with programming, accounting, engineering and fundraising, which is a big challenge for most of the noncommercial operations (read more - Pioneer Press)

Dave North and Donna Vaughan of WALK-FM (97.5 FM) have won Silurians awards for community service and investigative reporting ... After XM Satellite Radio said it was cutting its year-end subscriber estimate from 9 million to 8.5 million, rival Sirius immediately said its own projection holds steady at 6.5 million (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Whoopi Goldberg is arriving. Sort of. Phil Hendrie is departing. Definitely. Or so it seems. Count those among this spring's major radio announcements. And if they seem vague -- well, that's because they are. This much, however, seems to be certain (read more - Daily Bulletin)

Welcome to Pandora, simply the future of radio. Try it for awhile, and traditional radio will seem awkward, outdated - you will get impatient with it! Just log onto www.pandora.com  pop in the name of a musician or band you like, and you will get a customized flow of DJ sets based upon similar artists, each ‘DJ set’ focusing on a different quality of your favorite music. Pop in a few more bands, and your personal ‘DJ’ will incorporate them too (read more - American Chronicle)

From Claude Hall -- Jeff Salgo, left, then head of research for Radio Report, with Kevin Metheny, now an executive with Clear Channel in Cleveland. Circa 1980. Kevin hails from a radio background + CNN lies when it claims that it is the most-trusted name in news and then promotes records, movies, bird flu, border walls, promote, promote, promote rather than seeking the truth. Nancy Grace is a horrible mistake! But so are the other entertainment shows on CNN. News? Forget news! They don't even know what news is on either CNN channel. Talk, talk, talk. Show hosts, actors, interviewing show hosts, actors. No Walter Cronkite in sight. Instead, smiling faces and botox babes smiling into the news about death as they attempt to "entertain" the news. The horror ... (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com)

Hoax phone-ins, banned dramas, late-night psychics, a new Desert Island Discs host, apologies on Today — on the whole, it is speech that brings us radio writers alive, even though we know 70% of all listening in Britain is to music. So it is heartening to find that speech radio is growing, both here and abroad, whether in the commercial jungle or the calmer lagoon of public- service broadcasting. The word is out: talk works (read more - Paul Donovan-The Times U.K.)

A measure of a radio announcer's success might be when, 20 years after retiring, listeners still miss his voice. That was the case with Tony E. Jewell, who retired as general manager and announcer of Garden City's KIUL Radio in 1986 (read more - Hutchinson News)

At a time when some major-league baseball teams are dumping long-standing radio-rights deals and even buying stations to air their games themselves, the Giants and KNBR (680 AM) trumpet their loyalty to each other. But they don't pretend the relationship doesn't have its combative moments (read more - Tom FitzGerald-SF Chronicle)

David Lee Roth's flameout as Howard Stern's heir apparent proves that being a syndicated radio host looks effortless, but isn't. Just ask Roth's replacements, Opie and Anthony. "He came into a real tough situation," Opie said in a recent interview from New York. Roth had no radio experience, yet was thrown on the air under intense pressure and media attention" (read more - Julie E. Washington - Cleveland Plain Dealer)

A female radio presenter has been given a boot - for dressing too sexily on air. The 25-year-old DJ, known as Lady Ray, is now taking Radio Bremen to an industrial tribunal. She said: "My boss told me that my skirts were too short and my tops too low" (read more - IOL)

 Right now, more than a dozen volunteers are charged with scouring the skies for storms. But without the technology to communicate danger, it’s hard to keep the city’s 24,000-plus residents informed. That should change this summer, when the city starts up an AM radio station that is expected to reach tens of thousands of people instead of just hundreds who can be warned by word of mouth or phone calls (read more - Ben Tinsley-Star-Telegram)

"Would you like to try XM radio?"  Kristy Schumacher, XM's Pure Golf fan enhancement manager, explains how it's all a promotion to expose people to XM radio, particularly Channel 146, which is this week broadcasting live coverage of the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Listening and trying not to stare, you learn this is part of a "fan enhancement" program (read more - Memphis Commercial Appeal)

Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Bruno Brookes was recovering today after suffering a heart attack (read more - Daily Mail U.K.)

WLW-AM (700) radio and WLWT-TV (Channel 5) announced this week they have entered into a partnership where they will share news, weather, personalities and marketing (read more - Cincy Post)

The 700 Club's Pat Robertson says he has leg-pressed 2,000 pounds, but some say he'd be in a pretty tough spot if he tried. Clay Travis of CBS SportsLine.com called the assertion impossible in a column, writing that the leg-press record for football players at Florida State University is 665 pounds less (read more - Houston Chronicle)

"Tony Stewart Live” will begin airing on the “24/7 NASCAR” channel on Sirius (read more - Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette)

Stephen Carter, chief executive of Ofcom, the media and telecoms regulator, is to step down in October (read more - FT U.K.)

The Senate has confirmed Robert McDowell who will fill the third Republican seat on the FCC.  This will break the 2-2 deadlock (read more - Reuters)

CBS issued a statement regarding the Howard Stern-Sirius-CBS settlement -- The lawsuit brought by CBS Radio against Howard Stern, Sirius and others has been settled. As part of the settlement, CBS Radio will receive payments relating to the conveyance of its rights in the recordings of The Howard Stern Show. Sirius, for its part, will make a total payment of $2 million related to this conveyance. The remaining terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential (read more - MarketWatch)

Paragon Media Strategies, in conjunction with Goodratings Strategic Services, conducted an online survey of 605 Christian CHR listeners (37% male / 63% female) 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 final part of the five-part series titled: Christian CHR Music Style Ratings. Quote from John Stevens, COO/ Radio, Paragon Media Strategies: "The 'Rock' element has great appeal for Christian CHR listeners. Christian Pop/Rock, Christian Rock, and Christian Alternative Rock rated the highest among the styles tested. While the Christian Urban/Hip Hop and Christian Pop CHR styles didn't test as well, they still are highly rated overall, but clearly Rock is the star."  (read more - Paragon Media Studies)

ARBitron numbers for Akron  Baltimore   Washington DC   Hartford   Fredericksburg VA (read 'em)

Several local radio professionals believe CSULB Foundation’s recent requests for proposal (RFP) sent to five radio entities to operate the college’s jazz station, KKJZ (88.1 FM) are impractical (read more - Long Beach Beachcomber)

XM Satellite Radio Holdings announced that it has issued a notice to redeem all of its outstanding 8.25% Series B Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock due 2012 (read more - XM Radio)

Friday May 26, 2006

John Gehron, who arguably is the most admired and respected radio executive in the business, is in serious talks with Winfrey's Harpo Productions about heading the company's new radio unit (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Listeners of Phil Neuman’s 1:15 p.m. sportscast on Sunday, April 2, never would have guessed at the time that those few minutes meant the end of his 21-year career at KYW 1060-AM. In a letter of resignation sent to KYW general manager David Yadgaroff last week, Neuman cited problems with KYW director of programming Steve Butler as the reason for his departure (read more - Laura Nachman)

Who are the radio personalities with the most years on air in the Utah market? Dan Jessop is No. 1 in longevity, with 38 years at a microphone in northern Utah (read more - Deseret News)

Beasley Broadcast Group Inc. said Friday its board increased its share repurchase program by $25 million (read more - BusinessWeek)

The Federal Communications Commission is looking into whether some television stations violated rules requiring them to identify the source of video news releases they use (read more - Reuters) (read more - LA Times)

From Kent Burkhart -- I noticed in the trades and Business Week that XM Satellite Radio Holdings declares it is pulling out of its plan to buy WCS Wireless. They cited failure to get a government OK. This means that XM will not be using the WCS wireless spectrum through out the US. I read that XM wanted to have the WCS arrangement because it seemed like a natural corridor to avoid the national only restriction of its current satellite radio license. I believe the NAB fought the above combo concept. It would have been logical to do so because ... (read more - www.KentBurkhart.com) 

Rumors are swirling about classic-rocker KDBN/93.3 FM "The Bone." For starters, night jock LeAnne Channing was fired - again (read more - Star-Telegram)

Last week the Recording Industry Association of America sued XM Satellite Radio. Why? Because of the Pioneer Inno XM2go portable XM receiver. The Inno (and its cousin, the Samsung TK) can receive satellite-radio shows and — and this is what has the RIAA throwing another tantrum —record them. Of course, people have been recording music off the radio for decades. But this is digital, so the quality is much better than you get from recording an FM station to a cassette (read more - USA Today)

Clear Channel Houston programmer Ken Charles could decide by early next week on his new morning team for KBME (790 AM) (read more - David Barron-Houston Chronicle)

The Conclave Learning Conference will present “Is It Legal?” featuring the lead investigator for the NY Attorney General’s office, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Terryl Brown Clemons. She will explain her office’s findings and how those findings can be used as a backdrop for a more correct relationship under the law for both the record and radio industries (visit www.theconclave.com)

Barbara Walters has wriggled out of a $6 million contract with Miramax books for her memoirs. Sources say the queen bee of "The View" told her high-powered agent, Mort Janklow, to blow up the highly publicized deal and squeeze more moolah out of another publisher (read more - Page Six)

An emergency radio station mistakenly warned that a massive volcanic mudflow was headed from the flanks of Mount Rainier and that listeners in the valley below should rush to higher ground (read more - CNN)

“With gasoline at $3.50 a gallon, people need to know there are many ways to save a lot of money every time they fill up. Not using high-grade gas, making sure all the filters on the car are clean and checking all the belts and hoses and replacing them if necessary can get drivers up to 15% better gas mileage,” Steve Parker (The Car Nut)  told the KFYI audience on the Joe Crummey drive time show during one of a series radio-TV appearances

Fox News legal showhost Kimberly Guilfoyle (She's San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's ex) and groom Eric Villency in Barbados have more than just their nuptials to celebrate. The bride is pregnant, and it's a boy. "We are very much in love. We wanted to have a family right away, and we got lucky," Kimberly told one friend (read more - New York Post)

Over the years Dr. Don Rose raised millions of dollars for the March of Dimes, Special Olympics, and special education programs. In recognizing his significant contributions to not only the broadcast industry but his support of charitable organizations as well, KFRC is creating the memorial Dr. Don Rose Garden in the Family House at Children’s Hospital Oakland (read more - KFRC)

The University of Michigan announced a landmark 5-year agreement with CBS Radio in Detroit for carriage of Michigan’s football, men’s basketball, and men’s hockey teams in metro Detroit (read more - Michiguide)

There have been a few minor changes at KNBR radio since the sale of the station from Susquehanna Radio Corporation to Cumulus Media Inc., was finalized May 5. But KNBR general manager Tony Salvadore doesn't expect things to change much more (read more - Contra Costa Times)

Power Hits 103.3 FM has added a morning show and expanded its radio programming in the nearly two months the pirate radio station has been on the air in the Quad-Cities (read more - Quad Cities Online)

ARBitron numbers for Boston   San Francisco   San Jose   Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz (read 'em)

Emmis Communications, parent company of New Orleans' WVUE-TV (Fox 8), today announced its Emmis Relief Fund has given $92,000 to the historic New Orleans City Park

The Dew Action Sports Tour, the first season-long professional multi-sport tour for action sports, today announced that FOX Sports Radio will return as its official radio network (read more - Stellar Magazine)

Dick Johnson, a veteran radio newsman and a member of the Maine Association of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame, has died (read more - Boston Globe)

Susan Nickell has joined WestStar TalkRadio Network as Affiliate Relations Representative for the West Coast (visit WestStar)

Thursday May 25, 2006

Sirius Satellite Radio thinks it could make sense to merge with rival XM Satellite Radio but isn't so sure regulators would approve such a deal. Speaking at an investor conference organized by Morgan Stanley Wednesday, Chief Financial Officer David Frear said putting the two satellite radio companies together would create better a return for shareholders (read more - MarketWatch)

CBS Radio has settled its breach-of- contract lawsuit with talk-show host Howard Stern, the judge presiding over the case said (read more - NY Post) (read more - Chicago Tribune)

ARBitron numbers for Detroit   Philadelphia   Bakersfield (read 'em)

Can you cram 48 hours of programming into 24 hours of airtime? KUOW-FM (94.9) will give it a try by taking over operation of another FM station in the region (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

Frank Hejl knew that he'd made a mistake. During his late-night college radio show Sunday, he played a song on the air before realizing that it contained three mentions of the "f" word. Mr. Hejl, host of Frequency Down on the University of North Texas station KNTU-FM (88.1), wasn't the only one who heard the profanity in Ninja High School's "Shake It Off" while it played shortly after 11:30 p.m. (read more - Hunter Hauk-Dallas News)

Imagine a tiny music player, smaller than an iPod, that's also an XM satellite radio receiver. When you hear a song you like — even if it's halfway over — one press of a button records it from the beginning. Meet the Samsung Helix (and its twin, the Pioneer Inno): a tiny, well-designed $400 radio that not only lets you enjoy satellite radio in the car, at home or when you're jogging, but also plays back your own MP3 files and up to 750 songs that you've recorded from the satellites (read more - NY Times)  (read more - Time)

Hispanic radio continued its explosive growth this week with the debut of a Spanish-language reggaeton music format on far north suburban WPJX-AM (1500) + Mancow is auctioning off his extensive collection of movie and music memorabilia (read more - Feder of Chicago)

The 2006 list of nominees for the Texas Radio Hall of Fame is out, and Houston is being heard loud and clear. Among the hopefuls: Vandy Anderson (KILT), Chris Baker (KTRH), Walt "Baby" Love (KILT), C.C. McCartney (KRBE), Bill "Rascal" McCaskill (KILT), Jim Rose (KILT), Dave Ward (yes, that Dave Ward, KNUZ), Ed Shane (KRBE) (read more - Ken Hoffman-Houston Chronicle)

Julie Chin becomes news director at KNX 1070 in Los Angeles and will be leaving KGO San Francisco. Ronnie Bradford will stay on as assistant news director at KNX

From Murphy Martin -- Katie Couric will not be the first woman to host a major network television news program alone. That has been the lead promotion-line since CBS-TV announced that Couric will be taking over for Bob Schieffer in September. However, in reality, through an unusual set of circumstances, we have been watching a woman going solo, more often than not, on ABC-TV as a replacement for Peter Jennings, who lost his life to lung-cancer last year. Now that lady, Elizabeth Vargas, is being replaced (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)

Entercom Boston has a new top radio person. Only he's from television. ``The way this business is going, we don't want to file ourselves as radio or TV people," says Lee Kinberg, the company's new director of operations. ``We're all media people" (read more - Clea Simon-Boston Globe)

It's time once again for another exciting edition of "Ask the Radio Columnist," in which I answer questions that readers should have asked but didn't. As always, my responses are real, but the questions --- not so much. Q: Why do radio stations love to do special things when it's 4:20 p.m.? A: You mean like the quiz that KGB airs at 4:20 p.m. on weekdays, or the block of Bob Marley reggae music that 91X used to play at the same time? Dude, it's all about the ganja. The number "420" ---- pronounced "four-twenty" ---- has been associated with marijuana for decades. Why? Go online and you'll find theories galore (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

Award-winning radio and mixtape DJ Clinton Sparks hosts and DJs the weekly program Smashtime Radio, a live mix show broadcast Thursdays from 8 pm to midnight ET on Shade 45, the uncensored hip-hop channel created by Eminem and SIRIUS

Brian McDonough is now market manager for Wichita operations at Connoisseur Media which owns KIBB (read more - Wichita Biz Journal)

Australian sports broadcasting lost one of its best this week with the death of Tony Campbell (read more - ABC Sport AU)

A group of Tyler-area arts supporters and classical music listeners decided Wednesday to form a committee in opposition to a proposed sale of Kilgore College's classical music station KTPB in East Texas. "We need everybody to understand that it's at risk and something can be done," said Otis Carroll, a listener and donor to KTPB-88.7 FM (read more - News-Journal)

Albuquerque radio's Larry Ahrens and Tom Garrity are forming a "nice publicity business" that aims to help authors, experts and organizations gain access to the media (read more - New Mexico Biz Journal)

Entravision Communications has appointed Thomas Nolan as General Sales Manager of its radio station cluster serving the Denver, Colorado market. The three-station cluster includes KMXA 1090 AM, KJMN 92.1 FM and KXPK 96.5 FM

The House of Representatives would accept a narrower Senate bill to boost fines on television and radio stations for decency violations if differences cannot be worked out between the two chambers Rep. Joe Barton said (read more- Reuters)

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. reported a change to its subscriber and financial guidance for 2006, projecting that it will end 2006 with 8.5 million subscribers (read more - XM Radio) (read more - NY Post)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio reaffirmed its guidance of more than 6.2 million subscribers by year-end 2006, representing an 87% increase over the company’s subscriber base at the end of 2005. The company continues to expect to add more than 2.8 million net subscribers during the year (read more - Sirius Radio)  (read more - NY Post)

THE UK's biggest commercial radio broadcaster said its decision to slash the number of adverts on flagship station Capital Radio contributed to a sharp fall in profits. GCap Media said profits were down 40 per cent (read more - The Scotsman U.K.)

Recently a couple of radio talk show hosts in California made a big thing of joking about TV reporter Lou Dobbs opinions about immigration. They called him a “bigot.” There was an indication in the context of the statement that Lou is a racist. The two radio people were Hispanic. It was just the latest in the ongoing debate that centers on the idea that the border conflict is all about Mexican immigration. The name calling also highlights the national misperception that somehow the border issue is all about race. It isn’t (read more - The Heathen Middle)

Coming from the radio speakers, Bob Dylan sounds as craggy and weather-beaten as he looks and quite playful, too. As he reached his 65th birthday Wednesday, the rock 'n' roll poet is carving out a new role as a part-time radio disc jockey. His weekly "Theme Time Radio Hour" airs 9 a.m. Wednesdays on XM Satellite Radio, with Dylan as both curator and narrator. (It's available eight times throughout the week.) (read more - Grand Forks Herald)

Hobokenites Chris T. and Meredith Ochs may not be recognizable to everyone by face, but their familiar silky voices are easily identifiable. The new talk radio show, "Freewheelin'" airs weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Outlaw Country Channel 63 (read more - Hudson Reporter)

NewsRadio 750 KXL and The Lars Larson Show raised $20,825.00 for 7-year old Victoria Roberts, who has aplastic anemia. NewsRadio 750 KXL and The Lars Larson Show devoted four hours on Tuesday (11am – 3pm) to raising money for the effort

ABC Radio Networks today named Stacey Goldfaden to the position of Senior Director of Western Sales for ABC Radio Networks

Wednesday May 24, 2006

The last thing most radio stations want to do is remind listeners of a past format that no longer exists. Fortunately, WABC (770 AM) sees its famed top-40 past as something worth remembering. So it serves up those memories weekly with Mark Simone's Saturday night oldies show and in an even stronger dose next Monday with its eighth annual "Rewound" (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

The union representing on-air employees at Chicago radio and television stations has survived a major challenge at Emmis Communications' classic rock WLUP-FM (97.9) + Brian "Sludge" Haddad, who spent the last eight months auditioning for a job that never materialized on CBS Radio "Free FM" WCKG-FM (105.9), is leaving the market + Condolences to Don Wade, morning personality on ABC-owned news/talk WLS-AM (890), on the death of his brother, Carl "Long John" Wade, a legendary Philadelphia disc jockey (read more - Feder of Chicago)

CBS Corporation will explore the divestiture of its radio stations in ten markets: Austin, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Fresno, Greensboro-Winston/Salem, Kansas City, Memphis, Rochester and San Antonio. The Company has previously stated its intent to sell certain smaller market stations in order to maximize performance of the division overall (read more - Business Week) (read more - Buffalo Biz Journals)  (read more - Houston Chronicle) (read more - Columbus Dispatch)

From John Rook -- Will today’s broadcasters ever learn? For an industry that seldom triggered listener complaints about indecency before deregulation, these days the FCC is receiving a non stop avalanche from those who are offended by what is programmed over the public airwaves. During February alone, almost 140,000 complaints from irate listeners landed at the FCC. Memories of those days when radio worked to please listeners … not chase them away … seem totally gone (read more - www.JohnRook.com)

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

Tommy Thompson was out there grabbing headlines as he played with the idea of running for governor one more time. Tommy Thompson and Nick Hurtgen are partners in Armada Media Corp., a new venture that announced this month it was buying six radio stations in Aberdeen and Redfield, S.D. The Federal Communications Commission application, which was filed just last week, indicates the group is paying $9.2 million for the stations (read more - Milwaukee JS)

The rising popularity of Spanish music station KXPK-FM (96.5) highlights the local winter Arbitron audience ratings report (read more - Dusty Saunders - Rocky Mountain News)

You won’t be hearing The Dixie Chicks new songs on Gator 106.9. Program Director Laura Anderson says they tried playing the single "Not Ready to Play Nice" in light rotation for a couple of weeks but response from listeners was overwhelmingly negative. One Clear Channel regional vice president Steve Gramzay, described the song as showing "arrogance and disrespect." (read more - WSAV 3 TV)

"If they (Dixie Chicks) lose half their fan base and sell only half as many albums as they did the last time, they'll still outsell almost every country act," said Scott Kernahan, a Music Row artist manager with the Erv Woolsey Company. The Chicks' last studio album, Home, sold more than 6 million copies. Two previous studio albums sold more than 10 million apiece (read more - Tennessean)  (read  more - Time Magazine)

A Silicon Valley company has asked the government to give it a band of radio spectrum for a free high-speed wireless Internet network that would cover most of the country and be supported by advertising. The idea is to create something like an Internet version of broadcast television, using local and national sponsors to pay for what its promoters say would be near-ubiquitous high-speed access (read more - NY Times)

A radio talk show host . Andrew Wilkow, whose show airs mornings on WGY, urged county lawmakers Tuesday night to adopt a new law restricting where convicted sex offenders can live.  He was the only speaker at a public hearing called by the Legislature on a revised sex offender law (read more - Times Union)

The Conclave announced that McVay Media, in association with The Beacon, will spearhead the McVay Media Programming Summit to be held during “Conclave 2006: Future Tense!” at the Marriott City Centre in Downtown Minneapolis from Thursday, July 13 to Sunday, July 16 (read more - The Conclave)

Rush Limbaugh, canceled on WBAL-AM in March after a decade on the Baltimore station, joins WCBM-AM's talk-show lineup June 1 (read more - Rob Hiaasen-Baltimore Sun)

World's first internet radio station for dogs has been launched in Thailand. www.DogRadioThailand.com features barking DJs*****A homeowner in California has discovered 200,000 bees inside the walls of his home.  On stories like this we always wonder who counted. ****  It doesn’t really matter because I don’t know much about bees.  Their sons, yes (read more - George Mair's LA LA Land)

Texas Radio Hall of Fame nominee and voice over extraordinaire CC McCartney re-signs with Bluewater/WBAM, Montgomery, The Outdoor Channel, Memories in the Field, Track and Trail Adventures, Bushnel Outdoors and has signed a new client, Big River Broadcasting KIX 96, in  Huntsville, AL

Five Dallas radio stations aired nothing but static for about 45 minutes early Tuesday morning because of a power failure at the Clear Channel building in north Dallas — and the backup generator failed as well. “A real comedy of errors,” said Pat McMahon, operations manager for Clear Channel Dallas (read more - Robert Philpot - Star-Telegram)

Houston's Jack Cato, a former award-winning newsman and Houston police spokesman, died Monday of heart failure while undergoing tests at St. Luke's Hospital for a heart condition (read more - Houston Chronicle)

Kevin Milliken quit his job as reporter at WNWO-TV, Channel 24, on March 31. A month later, he landed at WSPD-AM (1370). Same media universe, different medium ... "For some people, it's jumping out of airplanes. For me, it's talk radio." (read more - Russ Lemmon-Toledo Blade)

WBEB-FM, Philadelphia, has signed a four-year contract for Portable People Meter-ratings service in Philadelphia,  starting in January 2007

Tuesday May 23, 2006

ABC News has named Charles Gibson as the sole anchor of ``World News Tonight'' (read more - Bloomberg)

Bridge Ratings' latest study of American HD radio consumers included questions concerning satisfaction with their new radios. HD radio, or High-Definition radio has recently begun to roll out across the United Stations. 62% of respondents indicated they were "Very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with their HD radio experience, while only 27% said they were "Somewhat Dissatisfied" or "Not satisfied at all" with their HD experience (read more - Bridge Ratings)

At 31, Ryan Seacrest appears to have found his rhythm. In addition to his "Idol" duties, he now has his own daily show on KIIS-FM in Southern California from 5 to 10 a.m., is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show "American Top 40" and, if that weren't enough, in March he became the anchor of "E! News Daily" on the E! cable channel. "I'm frightened by the thought of being out of work," he said (read more - NY Times)

In 1993, after a little more than 10 years at Q101, "Murphy in the Morning" had run its course. In asking to be released from his $750,000-a-year contract (after the station had shifted from adult contemporary to alternative rock), he explained: "My talents were no longer being utilized, and I didn't feel I was doing anything worthwhile to earn the money." Q. How come radio sucks?
A. Because it's being run by a bunch of 'tards  (read more - Feder of Chicago)

22-year-old Matthew Benedict pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday in connection with the drunk driving crash that killed WSYR radio reporter Bill Leaf on Jan. 8 (read more - Newsday)

HD Radio and HD2, also known as multicasting or supplemental audio channel broadcasting, offer a multitude of new opportunities for North American broadcasters faced with fierce competition from satellite radio. According to a recent study from ABI Research, satellite radio has gained more than nine million paying subscribers in four years, and is now putting a crunch on the traditional broadcasting market (read more - Auto Channel)

Katie Couric's final day on the morning show won't be until next Wednesday - but the long, drawn-out farewells are already starting. The show's "Goodbye Katie" tour actually kicked off last Monday with daily "Katie's Moments" vignettes (read more - Michael Starr-NY Post)

It’s not exactly the good ol’ days of verbal sparring between Kevin Kietzman and Don Fortune, but WHB’s Kietzman did have a recent go-around with KCSP’s Chris Hamblin, who does a 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. show (read more - Jeffrey Flanagan-KC Star)

Radio's Mike Bowe, last on WPEN after many years on WMGK, has turned up doing weekend fill-in on Wilmington's WJBR-FM (99.5) (read more - Michael Klein-Philly Inquirer)

Influential lobby group Voice of the Listener and Viewer has hit back at a high-profile report stating that BBC Radio 1 and 2 should be sold into the commercial sector. The organisation said that both stations reflected the desire of the licence fee payer for good radio services that are free of advertisements and rubbished findings in a report from the European Media Forum, an arm of independent research institute the European Policy Forum (read more - The Stage U.K.)

ARBitron numbers for New York   The Hamptons   Middlesex   Nassau   Riverside-San Bernadino (read 'em)

Unregulated, uncontrolled radio makes so much money doing its worst that it simply can't afford to do its best. Since 1996, an orgy of consolidation has helped fuel a 34% decline in the number of owners, a 90% rise in the cost of advertising rates, and - not coincidentally - a rise in the number of indecent broadcasts. And the public is complicit. In the face of these trends, too many of us have turned down the volume on our own voices, settling for a kind of radio that, for the most part, replicates the industry view of what it should be. It doesn't help that the FCC continues to be populated primarily by appointees sympathetic to the broadcasting industry and often employed by the broadcasting industry when they step down. Conflict of interest, anyone? (read more - Pete Fornatale-NY Daily News)

From Happy Hare -- The rip was challenging, but not for our troika. Soon, I felt one of the guys tap me, a signal that they were peeling off and that I could wade ashore while waving heroically. When I came ashore, TV cameras were pushed in my face, along with a  KCBQ radio mic. I cracked a few jokes, then thanked my swim escorts profusely, admitting sincerely that I might not have made it without them (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

XM Satellite is pulling out of its plan to buy WCS Wireless, citing failure to get government approval (read more - BusinessWeek)

Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef) is renowned for his good nature and relaxed attitude. But the celebrity chef showed a less than- charming side when he called a BBC radio presenter a 'stupid bitch' (read more - Metro U.K.)

Interep will hold its third annual Radio Symposium on Wednesday, June 28th at Bear Stearns' headquarters in New York City. This year's event, entitled "Radio 101: Back to the Basics, Off to the Future," celebrates radio's 100 years of broadcasting achievement, while asking, "What's next?" for a medium in transition (read more - Interep)

Finalists in the 15th annual Radio-Mercury Awards competition were announced today by the Radio Creative Fund. Matching last year’s largest number of entries ever, the 2006 Radio-Mercury Awards competition continues to draw entrees from a wide variety of agencies across the country (read the full list and more -  RAB)

Many of you have been suckered into helping free radio broadcasting commit suicide by feeding your life's blood, your local weather, traffic, local sports etc, to cell phones, Podcasts and "iDestroyRadio" devices. You are stowing away on the Titanic, streaming full speed ahead to the ice. Like a beautiful lady, you better find out what all those guys really want. Let me whisper the answer. They want your spectrum and then when nobody is listening to on-the-air radio they will go all digital and sell a billion new radios for a $Trillion. And then watch them instantly stop the streaming. But your licenses will by then become worthless, and you did it to yourself... Not too smart (read more - Leonard R. Kahn)

Premiere Radio Network's The Glenn Beck Program welcomes new affiliates KDOX-AM in Las Vegas and KFH-AM/FM in Wichita

Dear Readers: Two weeks ago, we addressed a reader (B.F.) who receives WDDV's (1320 AM) signal through his home telephone. WDDV previously aired on FM to a wider listenership, but now is concentrated in Venice (although the signal travels farther once the sun sets). It is a favorite of older folks understandably wanting to hear music popular in their eras ('20s, '30s, mainly '40s, with some '50s) (read more - Dawn Scire - The Radio Babe)

After tying up traffic on interstate 95 for miles and helping hundreds of listeners with the high cost of gasoline in Connecticut, New Haven’s Morning Show of Chaz and AJ on 99.1 WPLR radio are inviting listeners “for the second time” to fill up their tank with gas, for 99 cents a gallon off current prices, between 7 am and 9 am on Thursday May 25th at Forbes Premium Fuel in East Haven, Connecticut

According to experts the 2006 hurricane season is shaping up to be on par with last year’s. CNN’s Rob Marciano will be hosting a Hurricane long form program for CNN Radio affiliates on Thursday, May 25 and will be available in podcast form on Friday, May 26. CNN podcasts can be found at www.cnn.com/services/podcasting

Verizon Wireless and Motorola will be selling a handheld cell phone with Internet access. Users can check e-mail, download data and run Microsoft Windows applications, the companies said (read more - Crain's NY Biz)

Monday May 22, 2006

Air America owners are looking for local investors for a "Green Bay Packer community model" of joint ownership in a Milwaukee radio station. They've been rebuffed by Packers Hall of Famer Willie Davis,  owner of talk station WMCS-AM (1290) (read more - Milwaukee Biz Journal)

RadioShack, which has needed good news headlines lately, announced last week that it will conduct the first national rollout of high-definition digital radios, giving its stores a much-needed injection of innovative merchandise. There's only one problem. At RadioShack stores in enclosed malls, the display models are having trouble tuning in local FM stations, making it hard for customers to hear the "near-CD quality" sound promised by the HD Digital Radio Alliance (read more - Star-Telegram)

So, here I am, living in a world that functions only on the right or the left, reaching middle ground only during the brief electronic pause as the radio shifts from conservative to liberal. I'm beginning to enjoy the time I'm spending between stations now. It's quiet, nobody is angry, nobody is shouting. So, perhaps the time has come for a new trend in talk radio. What I'm proposing now is a 24-hour-a-day don't-talk radio station, where listeners call in and remain silent until the urge to talk leaves them. "Hi, welcome to shut-up radio. You're on the air, so just be quiet." (read more - Pat Craig-Contra Costa Times)

Jason Barrett, who started Feb. 27 as program director of nascent sports talk WPEN-AM (950), will bow out Friday. Family's not happy here, he says. He's becoming program director at a station in St. Louis (read more - Michael Klein-Philly Inquirer)

There's no mystery to it: The Da Vinci Code is a hit. Despite overwhelmingly negative reviews, the film adaptation of the Dan Brown best seller took in a whopping $77 million this weekend, according to studio estimates from box-office trackers Nielsen EDI. The opening exceeded analysts' expectations by $10 million (read more - US Today)

RAJAR, the industry radio ratings consortium in the United Kingdom, has selected the Arbitron Portable People Meter system for an electronic radio and television audience measurement panel in London, a market of more than six million persons (read more - ARBitron)

Fairfax editorial director Mark Scott was the ABC board's unanimous choice to become the broadcaster's managing director, chairman Donald McDonald said. "It's a bit of a surprise in the sense he's got no broadcast experience,'' he said. "I think most people [at the ABC] are saying 'Mark who? (read more - Sydney Morning Herald AU)

David McQueen asks, "How have I survived in a cutthroat radio industry? Probably dumb luck, since more talented people than I am are in forced retirement of one sort or another. I've been able to do other things, like rough carpentry, to survive between radio gigs. But also, I think I've been versatile. I've worked in just about every radio format ..." (read more - Ben Fong-Torres - SF Chronicle)

Are blogs and the Internet going to be the new talk radio? Salem Communications Corp. thinks so, and it just put up $5 million to make it happen. "There's going to be so much cross-pollination between our owned radio stations, our network programming, the existing Townhall writers and bloggers, it really is an exciting prospect," said Tom Tradup, Salem Radio Network's vice president for news and talk programming (read more - Ventura County Star)

Westwood One radio syndication czar Norm Pattiz may soon find out if it's true that "it's never your house until you sell it." "For the past 20 years, I've been living in David Geffen's house," Pattiz said. "Geffen lived in Marlo Thomas' house. The next person to buy will live in Norm Pattiz's house" listed for sale at $27.5 Million (read more - LA Times)

Spanish Broadcasting System announced its ratings results for the Winter 2006 Ratings Book, as reported by the Arbitron Ratings Company. SBS sustained its leadership position as the nation’s premier Hispanic radio broadcaster with the #1 and #2 most listened to Hispanic radio stations in the country. The company also aired the top-rated morning show on Hispanic radio and reported #1 rankings among 18-34 year-old listeners in four of the largest U.S. Hispanic markets

In the 18 years this column has existed, no one issue has come remotely close to drawing the amount of reader outrage as has the Cardinals' move of their radio broadcasts from KMOX to KTRS (read more - Dan Caesar - St Louis Post-Dispatch)

At the end of the season, the Yankees will probably be looking up at the Red Sox - at least when it comes to the value of a key media rights deal which is now owned by WCBS-88 AM (read more - Andrew  Marchand-NY Post)

A new Broadcasting Standards Authority list of the 23 rudest, most offensive words, shows Kiwis are more relaxed about swearing on television. But the national survey into public attitudes to radio and TV standards shows we still object to violence and sex, and are increasingly worried about what children see on the box.Of the questions about swearing, 12 per cent fewer New Zealanders find the "f" word offensive than in 2000, and barely 20 per cent of us are bothered by "bugger". The classic "damn" doesn't even make the cut (read more - Stuff New Zealand)

From Claude Hall -- Photo from left: Rick Frio, vice president of MCA Records in Los Angeles; Ricky Nelson, promotion man Pat Pippolo of MCA Records, Vince Cosgrave, vice president of promotion for MCA Records. Circa 70s. Rather an historic picture. But Ricky Nelson lived in an even more historic house before his death. The former home of Errol Flynn. I was there a couple of times. When it was owned by singer-songwriter Stu Hamblen. The first time was shortly after seeing a TV pilot under production at, as I recall, Metromedia's TV facilities in the Hollywood area + e-mail from Dan Cutrer, George Wienbarg, Jack Gale and more (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com)

A media think tank has called for the BBC to sell off Radio 1 and 2 "as soon as possible". The BBC's annual radio budget of £450m had severely limited growth in the commercial radio sector, the European Media Forum (EMF) report said (read more - BBC U.K.)

Internet radio broadcasters earned their place in the music marketplace by serving and cultivating active listeners and using interactive digital technology to build up new niche music markets and communities around them. They tapped into their listeners not only for listening time, but for talent and content as well (read more - Andrew K. Burger-E-Commerce Times)

In another sign of the increasing competition in Spanish-language media, Que Pasa plans to launch a six-week awareness campaign Tuesday using outdoor and television advertising. The free-distribution weekly is spending about $30,000 for an uptown billboard and ads on Capitol Broadcasting's Charlotte stations WJZY (Channel 46) WMYT (Channel 55). The ads will also run through Time Warner Cable on CNBC, ESPN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel (read more - Mark Washburn-Charlotte Observer)

WHEL, 105.1 FM, has resumed broadcasting under new ownership and management. The station was sold last year to Radio Seoul Georgia, but had been off the air for several months (read more - Gainesville Times)

Anyone who hasn't been paying attention for the past year or two might be scratching his or her head over the nominations list for Tuesday's Academy of Country Music Awards (read more - Tom Roland-OC Register)

Next up for axed Oldies 95 morning show veteran Katey McGuckin? “Right now I’m kind of reassessing where I want to go,” McGuckin says (read more - Hearne Christopher,  Jr.-KC Star)

William Dean Singleton, 54, a bantam figure with flinty blue eyes, is indeed thought of as something of a magician in the newspaper world — having transformed himself from the son of a ranch hand in a tiny town in Texas to a media baron who now controls a newspaper empire that sprawls from coast to coast. He has, in a manner of speaking, sawed many of his competitors in half, only to have them hop off the table and become his partners. His company, the privately held MediaNews based in Denver, owns 55 dailies including The Denver Post, The Detroit News, The Daily News of Los Angeles and The Berkshire Eagle, plus more than 100 nondailies (read more - NY Times)

Bob Costas, stopping off for an honorary doctorate on his way to help broadcast the Preakness, gave students at Loyola College more than a few laughs with self-deprecating comments and a few jibes at other commencement speakers in recent memory (read more - Baltimore Sun)

Two of Britain's biggest radio companies will show a sharp drop in profits this week on the back of a declining advertising market. Weak year-end results from GCap - formed from the merger of Capital and GWR - will put pressure on boss Ralph Bernard. Chrysalis will also report a hefty decline in profits (read more - The Scotsman U.K.)

When the Radio Creative Fund recently announced their finalists for their 2006 Radio Mercury Awards, Dave Christi, the Creative Service Director for Cumulus Grand Junction, found himself on the list (read more - PR.com)

Dublin talk radio station Newstalk 106 is in discussions with regional radio stations about sharing studios and content ahead of tomorrow’s decision on its application for a quasi-national licence. Such a licence would allow Newstalk to broadcast to 80 per cent of the population in all the main population centres (read more - Laura Noonan-The Post Ireland)

Classic jazz not the light or smooth kind has been on the wane on the radio airwaves. Now the management at KKJZ-FM (88.1), the classic jazz station based at Cal State Long Beach, fears that jazz programming will decline or vanish on the decades-old station, now that the university has put the management contract out to bid (read more - Press-Telegram)

Some listeners don't see a complicated issue in the firing last week of WWPR morning host Star for remarks he made about the daughter of a rival deejay. Reader Joseph Hansell sent a sympathy card with a message inside: "Please accept my sincere condolences on the firing of Troi Torain (aka Star) from WWPR. After all, you have spent a long time plugging him every chance you got. I hope you don't feel your hard work promoting this miscreant was in vain. Look no further than Opie and Anthony as proof there will always be a market for garbage." (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Adam Curry may be known to new media types as the "Podfather," but these days the former MTV VJ and disc jockey talks more like a spokesman for the chamber of commerce. Curry's fame and bravado helped push podcasting into mainstream consciousness and earned him the Podfather nickname among those in the fledgling new media industry. "Adam is the figurehead and the face of podcasting," said Tim Bourquin, founder and CEO of TNC New Media (read more - Martin Miller - LA Times)

Ted Turner was uncharacteristically understated Friday as he officially departed the media conglomerate that swallowed his broadcasting firm and slowly sidelined him as a mover and shaker of the businesses that he created and he was sent off with a standing ovation at the company's annual meeting in Atlanta (read more - Atlanta JC) (read more - Chicago Tribune)

The current mix of state and federal regulations covering the cellular industry should be replaced by a single federal regulatory framework, the trade organization representing U.S. cellular operators said Thursday. They urged the committee to support creation of a single federal regulatory framework that would replace the current situation in which each state has different regulations about cellular service as well as federal regulations by agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (read more - Information Week)

Up-for-sale Univision has asked interested bidders to submit offers by June 8 (read more - Reuters)

106.7 WDTW-FM in Detroit has made the move to country music. No call letters yet.  But, the station's Web site says, "You're building YOUR radio station - a Country radio station!!! Now we're asking you to tell us what YOU think 106.7 FM should be named. Help us determine what we call YOUR new Country radio station ..." (visit www.1067thedrive.com)

So, who is Houston's favorite morning radio show? According to an unofficial Click2Houston.com online survey, the Mexicanz, from KLOL 101.1, were voted No. 1. Rod Ryan, from KTBZ, came in second place, with Sam Malone at KHMX landing third (read more - Click 2 Houston)

The Dixie Chicks call it "the Incident": the anti-Bush remark that Natalie Maines, their lead singer, made onstage in London in 2003. "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas," said Ms. Maines, a Texan herself. It led to a partisan firestorm, a radio boycott, death threats and, now, to an album that's anything but repentant: "Taking the Long Way" (Open Wide/Monument/ Columbia) (read more - NY Times)  (read more - Reuters)

Standard Radio Inc., owner of 51 radio stations and other media assets across Canada, announced Friday that it will sell a piece of its business to a new publicly traded income trust being set up for that purpose (read more - Canoe C.A.)

Executives at WBAB-FM  are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a hacker who hijacked the station's signal for several minutes and played a racist song. "This was not a child's prank. This was a federal offense," John Olsen, program director (read more - Newsday)

Friday May 19, 2006

The Senate unanimously approved legislation to raise the fines against radio and television stations for obscenity (read more - AFP)  (read more - Reuters)

Clear Channel, owner of a hip-hop radio station whose disc jockey, Star, was arrested last week for on-air threats against a competitor's young daughter, should donate $5.7 million to a foundation that protects children, New York City Council members said in a letter to Lowry Mays (read more - -Newsday)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio is launching a daily music show hosted by some of America’s top music bloggers.  Blog Radio will debut May on Monday, May 29 on Left of Center channel 26, the commercial-free SIRIUS music channel that plays the best in college, indie and alternative rock music

What was meant to be a friendly chat to promote the new X-Men movie turned into a frosty discussion about race on a popular morning radio program, but the British Broadcasting Corp. defended its disc jockey.  Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry appeared on Chris Moyles' Radio One breakfast show Thursday morning and clashed with her host after he impersonated what he described as a "big, fat, black guy" (read more - Canada.com)

XM Satellite Radio has mass e-mailed their subscriber list with a message titled, "Defending the XM Nation."  In part, it reads, "The music industry wants to stop your ability to choose when and where you can listen. Their lawyers have filed a meritless lawsuit to try and stop you from enjoying these radios. They don't get it. These devices are clearly legal. Consumers have enjoyed the right to tape off the air for their personal use for decades, from reel-to-reel and the cassette to the VCR and TiVo ... " (read the rest - XM e-mail)

From Kent Burkhart -- I recently received a couple of letters in response to my recent columns. First: I wrote that perhaps I had incorrectly read the FCC mandate to satellite radio. I thought XM and Sirius are to be national, and not local. However, it appears that they are now regional in traffic at least and that is a cousin to local ... Second: A letter from Happy Hare about legendary broadcaster/producer Chuck Blore. Some years ago I summoned the guts to call Chuck Blore and ask him to consider me as a voice talent ... (read more - www.KentBurkhart.com)

Two Chicago police officers who were killed in traffic helicopter crashes will be recognized with honorary street designations this weekend near WGN-Channel 9's North Side studios + Mancow Muller, whose syndicated "Morning Madhouse" originates from Emmis Communications' alternative rock WKQX-FM (101.1), just picked up KSQY-FM in Rapid City, S.D. as an affiliate (read more - Feder of Chicago)

The head of Detroit's public radio station WDET pleaded no contest Thursday to an embezzlement charge stemming from his former post at Michigan Public Media in Ann Arbor (read more - Mark Hicks-Detroit News)

NASCAR Driver Tony Stewart will host a live talk show exclusively on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (read more - PR Newswire)

Talk radio host Dan Patrick, Houston’s answer to Rush Limbaugh, ruminated to an Observer reporter back in February—before Patrick trounced three opponents in the Republican primary that all but assured him of a seat in the Texas Senate—that, if he won, he might just take his talk show on the road and broadcast from right outside the Senate chamber in Austin (read more - Texas Observer)

Three years ago, Mike Moore came from Nashville's WSIX-FM to take over programming duties for Entercom's struggling Portland country station, 99.5 FM. Moore updated the sounds, branded it The Wolf and made the station more visible -- and heard. Since summer 2004, The Wolf has been Portland's No. 1 country station (read more - Lee Williams-The Oregonian)

From John Rook -- It was evident months ago that CBS radio was floundering without the programming savvy it would need to develop a replacement for Stern, not to mention suddenly pulling the plug on New York’s favorite oldies station, WCBS-fm, in favor of a bland “Jack” format. Rehiring Opie & Anthony to replace the disastrous David Lee Roth fiasco will return some listeners and revenue but that will take some time. With radio revenue off substantially from a year ago, CBS's Les Moonves announces the company has decided to sell off some of its radio stations (read more - www.JohnRook.com)

Jim Bachman is no longer part of the “700 Level Sports Fanatics” show on Sports Talk 950-AM. Various candidates will get a chance to audition (read more - Laura Nachman)

Dave Graveline and the Into Tomorrow team talk about the latest and newest tech gadgets for the car and home and show you how computers and especially the Internet are continuing to remove all the barriers to getting your talent noticed + more beginning at 2 pm EDST on Sunday  (visit "Into Tomorrow")  

The Conclave announced the addition of noted writer, lecturer, editor and feminist activist, Gloria Steinem as a “Conclave 2006: Future Tense!" keynote presenter (visit www.the conclave.com)

Envision Radio’s American Biker Minute adds “93.9 The Mountain’s,” KMGN-FM / Phoenix, AZ  as an affiliate

CBS plans to divest itself of 35 small market radio stations, CEO Les Moonves says (read more - Sandy Brown-The Street)

Beasley Broadcast Group has announced the members of Beasley’s 2005 President’s Club. In the Las Vegas market, Tricia Gallenbeck of Las Vegas’ Only Classic Rock Station 96.3 KKLZ-FM, Star 102.7 KSTJ-FM and 104.3 The Coyote KCYE-FM has been named to the 2005 Beasley Broadcast Group President’s Club

Thursday May 18, 2006

Consumer Electronics Association Vice President of Government Affairs Michael Petricone issued a statement regarding the lawsuit filed yesterday against XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. by a group of record labels: "Here they go again. The record industry is returning to the courts in their non-stop efforts to stop new technology, neuter existing products, frustrate consumers and make illegal long-standing consumer home recording activities. Their new target is XM Satellite Radio, one of America's top technology success stories of the new millennium. XM's only offense is providing legal and exciting programming options to millions of Americans, while opening new revenue and promotional opportunities for the recording industry ..." (read more - eCoustics)

A popular morning program on WBAB radio was "hijacked" Wednesday, station officials said, by someone who broke in on its broadcast -- apparently by using an illegal transmitter -- and played an offensive song that repeated a racial epithet several times (read more - Bart Jones - Chicago Tribune)  (read more - 1010 WINS)

Arbitron announced that CBS RADIO has entered into a seven year agreement for Portable People Meter radio ratings when the new audience ratings technology is deployed in the 35 CBS RADIO markets encompassed in Arbitron’s previously announced PPM rollout plan (read more - ARBitron)  (read more - Sue Zeidler-Reuters)

Cousin Bruce Morrow, who took off to Sirius Satellite radio after WCBS-FM dropped oldies last June, returns to free radio today for his annual Variety radiothon. Morrow will be a guest co-host all day, 5 a.m.-6 p.m., on WOR (710 AM), with all the station regulars (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

KRWM-FM (106.9), variously described as soft rock, soft adult contemporary or mainstream AC, doesn't tend to make a lot of news. No stories, for example, on a shift in format, the arrival or departure of a big-name host or landing in hot water with the Federal Communications Commission. "It kind of flies below the radar," says Marc Kaye, general manager for Sandusky Radio's five Seattle-market stations (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

From Robert Feder -- Joe Rizzo: The state of Chicago radio is sad. This city was able to once stand proud as having the best radio talent in America. Now we can only shake our heads and wonder what happened. We need less management and better talent with the freedom to entertain. It is that simple (read more - Feder of Chicago)

In Manhattan a fan is facing charges, accused of stalking WKTU disk jockey Diane Prior (read more - view the video shots-WABC TV 7)

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says God told him storms and possibly a tsunami will hit America's coastline this year. Robertson has made the predictions at least four times in the past two weeks on his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network (read more- Daily Press)

93.5 KDAY and 93.5 KDAI will bring “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” back to Los Angeles every weekday from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., with the debut on May 30. Premiere Radio Networks launched the show into national syndication last fall and now it has already grown to 25 markets including New York, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia (read more - Lee Margulies-LA Times)

Clear Channel-owned WDTW-FM (106.7), known as “The Drive,” has dumped the format and the entire air staff in a move that stunned the DJ’s at a mandatory meeting Wednesday at 11 a.m.  VP/Programming Dom Theodore said “it was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make” (read more - Art Vuolo Update)

The music format of radio station KIUP-AM (930) in Durango has been changed to sports (read more - Durango Herald)

They’re prepping for a comeback, but the Dixie Chicks aren’t ready to “make nice,” just yet. Many country radio stations in Texas are refusing to play Dixie Chicks tracks, including the new single “Not Ready to Make Nice.” (read more - Henry A. Gutierrez-Brownsville Herald)

Sean Pendergast, my MS 150 riding buddy known to talk-radio listeners as "Seanie the Cablinasian," won the Jim Rome Smackoff Contest for an unprecedented fourth time last week. The Smackoff is an annual mockfest on the nationally syndicated Jim Rome sports talk show. Callers are invited to rip into athletes, teams, politicians and each other. The nastiest, lowdown meanest, funniest caller is crowned winner (read more - Ken Hoffman-Houston Chronicle)

ABC can't seem to decide who's taking over the "World News Tonight." There are only two candidates for the job: "Good Morning America" co-hosts Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson (read more - Michael Starr - NY Post)

Reputed mobster Greg DePalma allegedly tried to pressure WKTU-FM (103.5 FM) morning show host Goumba Johnny and deejay Johnny Rocks into plugging a Harlem restaurant owned by another reputed wiseguy (read more - Thomas Zambito-NY Daily News)

Matt Bush has joined the 630 WMAL news team as Reporter/Anchor after serving the past three years at Metro Networks Pittsburgh, where he was the news bureau chief

On Wednesday, May 17, Opie & Anthony received a special visit from The Stanley Cup in their studio at  New York's 92.3 Free FM as a sign of good faith from CEO Joel Hollander.  Opie & Anthony had asked last week for The Stanley Cup to be in studio with them and  commented that CBS Radio has been good to them since their return to terrestrial radio (visit Opie and Anthony-92.3 Free FM)

Arbitron has debuted a Comprehensive Resource Guide to Next Generation Electronic Measurement. The Comprehensive Resource Guide to Next Generation Electronic Measurement responds in depth to issues and questions raised by clients and industry committees with nearly three hundred pages of documentation. Arbitron is sharing this guide with all of its clients to achieve the highest possible degree of transparency and allow broad discussion of the issues relating to PPM and electronic measurement (visit ARBitron and view it)

From Murphy Martin -- President Bush finally got around to addressing the growing problem of illegal immigrants that found their way into America through our porous borders with Mexico. He was much closer to the problem while Governor of Texas, but I guess he said at that time it was a federal problem and did not really try to stem the flow of illegals into Texas. Now 12-million illegals later, and in his sixth-year in the top federal position, he decides to address the issue (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)

A couple Chicagoans named Paul Aurandt and Paul Aurandt Jr. might make up the most successful father-son team in the history of radio. At the very least, they're certainly among the most well-paid duos anywhere in the broadcasting industry. You know them better as Paul Harvey and Paul Harvey Jr. Together, they're responsible for "The Rest of the Story," a stunningly popular daily radio feature that turns 30 years old this month (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

Country station KAJA out-twanged competitor KCYY and though news-talk wasn't a huge favorite this go-round, WOAI drew more ears, as usual, than KTSA. As for the new JACK-FM (KJXK at 102.7), which boasts a large, more varied playlist and no talk except commercials, it managed to crack the Top 10 list with the 18-34 crowd (read  more - Jeanne Jakle-SA Express-News)

Former boss Jimmy Gordon has made a comeback at Radio Clyde. Owner Emap has appointed him as the station's non-executive chairman with immediate effect (read more - Evening Times U.K.)

It is impossible to talk about Spanish-language media in North Carolina without discussing Que Pasa, the company started by Jose Isasi, a Cuban refugee and successful businessman. The Winston-Salem based company that started with a single newspaper in 1995 has now grown to include three regional editions and eight radio stations across the state. A recent merger with Capital Broadcasting Company has set the stage for a foray into television (read more - Yes Weekly)

A wireless option on the rise, this one from cellular carriers, provides high-speed Internet access over many of the nation's most populated and heavily traveled regions. These services, made possible by the new networks that carriers are referring to as 3G (for "third generation"), may be useful to business travelers, professionals who need a connection constantly within reach, businesses with roving employees or small groups of users looking to share a single connection (read more - NY Times)

InCharge Radio's Money Minute with Mike, hosted by Mike Schiano, has  added new affiliates KAHL- AM San Antonio, TX; WNRI-AM Providence, RI; South Texas Public Radio's KEDT-FM; and Utah based Accent Radio Network

The percentage of Americans who are heavy On-Demand media users has increased from 11 percent in January 2005 to 21 percent in January 2006 according to a new study by Arbitron and Edison Media Research (read the report)

Wednesday May 17, 2006

The four major record labels--Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI, and Warner Music--filed a lawsuit against XM in federal court in New York Tuesday. In it, the companies said XM's Inno, made by Pioneer and able to store up to 50 hours of recorded music, facilitates "massive wholesale infringement" of the labels' copyrights. The lawsuit seeks $150,000 in damages for every song copied by XM Satellite customers using the devices, which went on sale weeks ago for $400 apiece (read more- MP3.com)  (read more - NY Times)  (read more - Annys Shin-Washington Post)  (read more - Charles Duhigg-LA Times)

For the better part of two decades, talk radio has been a largely male enterprise: men arguing -- not always politely -- with other men about politics or sports, taking on-air calls from a vast audience of mostly men. And women mostly have been tuning out, research shows. A survey commissioned by ABC Radio Networks last year found that only 3 percent of women ages 18 to 54 strongly agree that talk radio is relevant to them, and half cannot cite anything they like about talk radio. Radio executives increasingly are seeking talk-radio programs aimed at female listeners (read more - Lydialyle Gibson-Chicago Tribune)

Glenn Beck is riding the wave. He now hosts the 3rd most listened to radio talk show in the country – and he’s doing it without affiliates in the country's two biggest markets: Los Angeles or New York. How does he define what he does on radio? At his best, he does a little of everything. Glenn explains, "When I started doing talk radio they said, 'you've got to be all politics or you have to be comedy or you have to be Dr. Laura.' And I said I'm kinda a little of all of that" (read more - ABC 4)

They may be the best radio stations you’ve never heard: CD-quality, commercial-free broadcasts of grunge rock tunes, ’80s-era hits and National Public Radio talk shows such as Fresh Air and Car Talk. These are the wares Tampa Bay area stations offer on HD radio, a new digital broadcast format that brings a sound quality sharper than current analog signals, with the ability to provide secondary channels on the same frequency (read more - Eric Deggans-St Pete Times)

Now that Sirius is available as a standard factory installation in Ford  vehicles, subscriber additions could reach 9.54 million, versus a previous estimate of 9.14 million by an analyst (read more - Forbes)

Cumulus Media has begun its modified "Dutch auction" tender offer in which the Company will offer to purchase up to 11.5 million shares of its Class A Common Stock at a price not less than $11.00 nor greater than $12.50 per share (read more - Cumulus)

For the first time since before 9/11, CBS' nightly newscast has gotten out of the ratings cellar. Last week, the Bob Schieffer-anchored news barely beat out ABC News (read more - Don Kaplan-NY Post)

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, who’s been known to pick up a guitar, is picking up some air time on a Boston rock radio station. Epstein, an amateur rocker in his free time, started a biweekly gig on rock station WAAF-FM (107.3) yesterday morning as part of a season-long segment on the “Hill-Man Morning Show” (read more - Jesse Noyes-Boston Herald)

Univision Radio announced that it has experienced a ratings explosion across the country and in many key markets (read more - Business Wire)

What If Rush Limbaugh Interviewed VP Cheney And Tossed Not A Single Softball? Read the transcript. Q Once again, we are thrilled and honored to have with us the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney. Mr. Vice President, welcome back. As always, great to have you here. THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, good afternoon, Rush (read more - The Hotline-National Journal)

Citadel Broadcasting hired Jacquelyn J. Orr, Esquire, as General Counsel and Vice President (read more - Business Wire)

Audiovox on Tuesday said it was suspending shipments of its Xpress Model XMCK10 XM satellite radio receiver after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said the unit did not comply with either operating bandwidth or related emission specifications (read more - Washington Post)

Tony Roberts, a Notre Dame football announcer for 26 years, is out of a job, replaced by Don Criqui, a broadcaster for the team in the 1970s, the Westwood One radio network said (read more - Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)

Sirius Satellite Radio channel Faction 28 now brings its listeners an hourly Faction Update, featuring the latest news from the worlds of action sports, including skateboarding, surfing, freestyle skiing and more

Chief Thunderthud would say "Kowabunga!" Lew Anderson would be on hand in his red wig, white-painted face and baggy white-and-green striped clown suit to be Clarabell Hornblow Clown, providing pantomime and pratfalls. Lew Anderson of South Salem, N.Y., as Clarabell the Clown, with Buffalo Bob Smith on the Howdy Doody show. The show ran for 13 years, from 1947 to 1960, and Anderson was Clarabell for the last six of those years. It was the first hugely popular children's show in television history, and in its own simple, goofy way, it changed American history. "It was the first show to reach the generation after World War II," said Simon of the Museum of Television and Radio. "What 'Sesame Street' was to the 1970s, and 'SpongeBob SquarePants' is to today, 'Howdy Doody' was to the 1950s (read more - Robert Miller - News-Times)

When the clock was ticking down toward Tony Snow's first televised performance as White House press secretary yesterday, you could almost envision some grizzled old-timer - think Dick Cheney - flicking cigar ashes on the carpet and growling, "It's a tough room, kid. Now go out there and tap dance." Whether this happened or not, that's what Snow did for the next 40 minutes, which is exactly what a press secretary is supposed to do, and ya know what? The kid ain't bad. For starters, he's smooth. He looks good in a suit with an American flag pin, and he's got a way with phrases like "I don't want to hug that tar baby" (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Internet music radio is on course to deliver another solid growth year in 2006, with total listening hours forecast to rise by 39.5%, and average quarter hour listeners already north of 700,000 for 3rd party measured networks. The report, Internet Music Radio 2001 - 2006: Brands and the Beat Go On, published by AccuStream iMedia Research, also includes an analysis of pay streaming radio services, which have close to 2.4 million subscribers (read more - Business Wire)

Audio & Video Tools recently launched their new audio and video software download site at www.audio-video-tools.com  The site allows visitors to download audio and video software, and makes it easy for them to compare similar software titles by providing product descriptions, license information, and links to the developer’s or product’s website, as well as links to allow visitors to purchase full versions of any software they are interested in (read more - PR.com)

Bob Dunnavant Sr. was one of the founding fathers of airing Limestone County events over the airways. It is because of Dunnavant’s contributions to broadcasting Limestone County athletics that he has been selected to join the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame. The 2006 class will be inducted June 3 at Athens State University.  Along with Dunnavant, Steve Allen, Billy Chambers, the late Albert Sidney Johnston and the late Helen Kennemer will go into the HOF (read more - Athens News Courier)

The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) New York office has moved to a new location at 22 Cortlandt Street on the 17th Floor (read more - RAB)

Tuesday May 16, 2006

The "free" radio industry yesterday took the next big step in promoting HD Radio, a new technology it hopes will one day give listeners all the music choices they want without switching to iPods or subscribing to a satellite service (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Lin Brehmer, veteran morning personality at WXRT-FM (93.1), is adding another hour to his Monday-through-Friday show + Mike Fowler, former vice president and general manager of WJMK-FM (104.3) and the old WUBT/WRCX/WWBZ, has been promoted to vice president and market manager in Atlanta for Cumulus Media Partners (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Private radio broadcasters yesterday appealed to Canada's regulator to cut them some slack on Canadian-content regulations to enable them to cope with the onslaught of new technologies (read more - Toronto Star)

The FBI acknowledged late Monday that it is increasingly seeking reporters' phone records in leak investigations. "It used to be very hard and complicated to do this, but it no longer is in the Bush administration," said a senior federal official. The official said our blotter item was wrong to suggest that ABC News phone calls were being "tracked." "Think of it more as backtracking," said a senior federal official. But FBI officials did not deny that phone records of ABC News, the New York Times and the Washington Post had been sought as part of a investigation of leaks at the CIA (read more - Brian Ross-ABC News)

The Federal Communications Commission should investigate whether phone companies are violating federal law by providing calling records to the National Security Agency as part of an anti-terrorism program, a commission member, Michael J. Copps, said Monday (read more- LA Times)  (read more - USA Today)

Power 99 is filling its morning show with the New York-based Big Tigger & Egypt since the recent firing of the far more ribald Star & Buc Wild. Power (WUSL-FM, 98.9) is not billing this as a permanent move, as it wants to audition (read more - Michael Klein-Philly Inquirer)

The West Side of Chicago was the window to the world of Howard Bedno. The city's last true independent record promoter died Monday of an apparent heart attack at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago (read more - Chicago Sun-Times)  (read more - David Martin)  (read more - John Rook)

A New York city councilman says Clear Channel should make a charitable donation for letting one of its DJs rant for a week about raping a 4-year-old girl (read more - Washington Times)

In the wake of President Bush`s prime time address Monday, Spanish-language radio station KQMO 97.7 FM gave local immigrants a chance to counter his speech. "Anytime you open the lines to speak about immigration," Program Director Frank Soriano said. "The phone rings off the hook." (read more - KOLR 10 TV)

From Happy Hare -- I had returned from Detroit after a seven year stint with Specs Howard and was now on my own in San Diego, the scene of my triumphs eight years ago. Dick Casper the GM of KCBQ had heard I was back and, after stalling for 9 months, called me to return to the airwaves and work my magic with KCBQ. I fulfilled his vision the first three months of my tenure by scoring # 1 (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

Spice Boy (Matt Lloyd) has re-joined Bubba the Love Sponge as associate producer of Bubba's show, broadcast nationwide on Sirius Satellite Radio's channel Howard 101 (one of Howard Stern's two SIRIUS channels). Spice Boy was previously a member of Bubba the Love Sponge's syndicated radio show broadcast from 98 Rock/WTXB-Tampa from 1997 to 2004

The HD Digital Alliance, which represents seven of the country’s top ten radio station groups, and CBS-TV are two companies on the leading edge of the broadcast industry’s new media strategies. Peter Ferrara, president and CEO of the HD Digital Alliance, and Preston Farr, senior vice president of Affiliate Relations for CBS-TV, will share their perspectives on the impact and opportunities these new strategies offer with attendees at the Annual Conference of the Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association (BCFM) and its Broadcast Cable Credit Association (BCCA) subsidiary. Harry Jessell, Editor and Publisher of TV NEWSDAY will moderate the general session, entitled “New Technologies, New Opportunities” which will be held on Tuesday afternoon June 13th. Networked for Knowledge, BCFM’s 46th Annual Conference, will be held June 11-13 at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando (visit BCFMA)

A cadre of radio programmers at the recent Musexpo conference in Los Angeles were quick to sound the death knell for the hugely successful social networking site, now owned by News Corp. But the proclamations of doom may actually be the sounds of their egos in denial. Three of the four panelists at the radio session denied needing MySpace to help find new music acts (read more - Reuters)

MyNetworkTV and Tribune Broadcasting are teaming up with an affiliation deal.  They'll launch a  prime-time entertainment television network aimed at the youth market in Atlanta on Sept. 5 (read more - Atlanta Biz Chronicle)

Sitting in a pew on Sunday morning seems almost embarrassingly old-fashioned in an era when you can watch a video recreation of the Last Supper on your Palm or get God's word text-messaged to your cellphone. Bored with your pastor's ramblings? Select a peppier sermon from among hundreds of "godcasts" online. Just pick a topic: Christian dating? Old Testament prophets? Then download it to your MP3 player (read more - Stephanie Simon-LA Times)

Philly Radio insiders believe the upcoming Clear Channel Whoopi Goldberg morning radio show will air on WSNI 104.5-FM +  Former WOGL 98.1-FM disc jockey Hy Lit can be heard on his own web site, www.hylitradio.com  (read more- Laura Nachman)

Nationally prominent Ford dealer Jerry Reynolds is selling his interest in Prestige Ford and leaving the business, saying he has been frustrated with the car business for the last year. He plans to devote most of his time to his radio show, The Jerry Reynolds Auto Advice Show on WBAP-AM (820). The show, which airs Saturdays between 9 and 11 a.m., is nearing its fifth anniversary (read more - Dallas News)

Dear Radio Babe: Why won't/can't you tell me what happened to Paul Harvey in this area? This is the third time I've written and he or I could die before you answer! -- Watching and Waiting -- Dear W & W: Even if Radio Babe awoke each day and evilly plotted to keep Paul Harvey's whereabouts a secret, she'd have a difficult time because his programs can be heard on more than 1,200 radio stations; the 87-year-old commentator is said to have "the largest one-man network in the world." "News and Comment," a "gold standard," according to ABC Networks, has endured more than 50 years and streams live on Harvey's Web site (www.paulharvey.com) in the morning and at midday as well (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, stopped by ABC News Radio’s Washington, D.C. studios recently to talk about her new book, Now it’s My Turn: A Daughter’s Chronicle of Political Life. In the memoir, which was released this month, Cheney breaks her long record of silence on gay issues (photo courtesy ABC Radio)

In the Fort Myers-Naples market, Sherri Jones of New Rock 99X WJBX-FM, Tom Armshaw of 106.3 Southwest Florida’s GREAT Music Station WJPT-FM, Rick Cecil of Southwest Florida’s B 103.9 WXKB-FM, Jeff Tellin of Ninety-Six One K-Rock WRXK-FM The Classic Rock Original and David Moulton of Sports Radio 770 WWCN-AM have been named to the 2005 Beasley Broadcast Group President’s Club + In the Coastal Carolina market, Jackie Barton of 101.9 KISS FM WIKS, Al McPike of Classic Rock 106.5 WSFL-FM, Steve Brumfield of 107.9 WNCT-AM/FM, Mike Tangredi of Soft Rock V103.3 WMGV-FM and Heather Wohl of 99.5 WXNR-FM have been named to the 2005 Beasley Broadcast Group President’s Club

Westwood One has appointed Hall of Fame broadcaster Don Criqui as the play-by-play voice of Notre Dame football

The Canadian Association of Broadcasting says the future of commercial radio is so uncertain that it needs the federal regulator to make some important concessions to protect its future. And one such change would be an easing of rules on the amount of Canadian music that radio stations must play. The association says radio stations should instead be given extra credits for playing emerging new artists (read more - CTV CA)

General managers from 12 community radio stations in South America have completed a week-long workshop that focused on management, marketing, and broadcast journalism. The workshop was funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) and all U.S. international nonmilitary broadcasting, including the Voice of America (read more - VOA)

Tom Watkins, the longtime voice of morning news for several Clear Channel radio stations in northwest Ohio, is out of a job. He had been news director of WSPD-AM (1370) since 1999 (read more - TMC Net)

Monday May 15, 2006

WWPR (105.1 FM) is hoping that a shotgun marriage of two popular and familiar voices will keep its morning show from losing the ground it gained under the abruptly departed Star. This morning WWPR breaks out "Live With Tigger and Egypt," pairing former Power evening host Big Tigger with current weekend evening host Egypt (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Radio, what's new? Radio, someone still loves you. That's a line from "Radio Ga-Ga" by the rock band Queen. The song, about how radio was losing its prominence in the changing music world, was written 20 years ago. But that lyric is still pretty relevant today ... especially when you look at how radio stocks have performed so far this month (read more - CNN Money)

"Payola is something that is illegal in one business - broadcasting. And it's because Congress said so 45 years ago when it modified the law. Whereas in almost every other industry, what we call payola in broadcasting is called product placement. It's perfectly common, perfectly legal and widely accepted," said Christopher Sterling, a George Washington University professor who has extensively studied the payola phenomenon. "My favorite example is your local grocery store - where they're going to be five placements in the cereal aisle for, say, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, and maybe only one for Post Corn Flakes (read more - Chris Graham-Augusta Free Press)

Traditional radio broadcasters are launching a pilot program in several retail markets to promote HD Digital Radio sales ahead of a major national rollout of the devices later this year, the HD Digital Radio Alliance said Monday. More than 100 RadioShack stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are stocking the HD receivers for the pilot launch, as are several dozen stores in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Houston (read more - David B. Wilkerson-MarketWatch)

Word that the morning team of Candy & Potter was leaving WFLY, 92.3 FM was just one more jolt for a radio market already well-shaken by change. The dominoes began falling in mid-December, when Howard Stern moved to satellite (read more - Albany Business Review)

Country music radio listeners who tune to the A&E special "Tattoo Fixation" at 8 tonight may recognize the voice of the narrator. The Chicago Sun-Times identifies that voice as Bill Lloyd, who formerly did afternoons at WMIL-FM (106.1) (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

With the Red Sox in its lineup, the radio station North Shore 104.9 FM in Beverly gets a bump in ratings and revenues, despite the hefty fee it pays to WEEI-AM, the Red Sox flagship station, to carry the games in Essex County. But it is unclear whether a new 10-year deal to switch most Sox games to WRKO-AM next season will leave the small station, and affiliates like it across New England, out of the running to broadcast games next year, according to the station's president, Todd Tanger (read more - Kathy McCabe-Boston Globe)

The Cardinals are at the top of the NL Central standings, but they are way back in the rankings in their controversial venture into the radio business. The team bought controlling interest in KTRS and sent its play-by-play coverage there this season (read more - Dan Caesar-St Louis Post-Dispatch)

MTV's URGE, which launches online Wednesday, will have more than 2 million tracks, which can be purchased individually at 99 cents or as full albums starting at around $9.95 (read more - NY Post)

Michael Oringer has been appointed by CBS Radio as Senior Vice President/General Sales Manager of the Altitude Group, the Company’s integrated marketing division. He also will have oversight of CBS RADIO’s digital media sales, including the Company’s Internet properties, and streaming and podcasting efforts

ABC Radio Networks has appointed James Hunter Kelly as Country Producer for its ePrep morning prep services. Kelly, who goes by “Hunter,” will be based in Nashville, TN, working alongside the staff of ABC Radio Networks American Country Countdown

Whether the new White House press secretary, Tony Snow, can have an impact, and whether President Bush wants to further engage with those who make up what he calls "the filter" remains to be seen. But the former Fox News man, who began his new duties last week and is scheduled to hold his first televised briefing this week, is comfortable with his decision. "You play a much more vital role working for a president than sitting behind a mike hurling stones," he says. He spent time at the White House watching outgoing spokesman Scott McClellan go through his paces. Snow also has to bone up on the dozens of foreign and domestic issues that could become part of his daily grilling. "I'm sure the press will give me leeway for a short period of time," Snow says (read more - Howard Kurtz-Media Notes)

Dick Farrel likes to push the envelope. But on his new late-night show, critics say he's going too far. Fridays and Saturdays since February, Dick Farrel gets behind the mike of WJNA-AM 640 from 11 p.m. to midnight to hawk a startup private club for men that promises companionship with a never-ending supply of Lithuanian beauties (read more - Jose Lambiet-Palm Beach Post)

In the eyes of Rageh Omaar, Western news organisations are perpetrating a "fraud" on their viewers with their misleading coverage of the war in Iraq, the conflict in which he established himself as an internationally-recognised journalist. Omaar is outspoken in voicing his frustrations, and his words help to explain his recent career-path, which has taken him from being the flak-jacketed golden boy of the BBC to a presenter for Al Jazeera who is also writing a deeply personal book about the experiences of living as a Muslim in contemporary Britain (read more - The Independent U.K.)

For days now, the Dallas-Fort Worth's No. 1 radio station has been asked why its personalities turned up in a sick teenage "fight parties" DVD. KKDA/104.5 FM has been quick to say that video clips of Skip Cheatham and CatDaddy were edited unfairly into the DVD and that the station is not involved in any crime. But the hit hip-hop station -- "K104" -- has been notably slow to join Arlington police and pastors in telling teenagers to stop the mob fights, including the sick beatings that police say were staged for videotaping and then sold for $15 on the Web. Finally, station executives spoke out angrily Friday. Against Arlington police. Police and community leaders can't stop teenagers from fighting, so they went "looking for a fall guy" and blamed the radio hosts, K104 executive Ken Dowe said at the station's Grand Prairie studios (read more - Bud Kennedy-Star Telegram) Ken Dowe said he plans to meet with Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck on Monday to try to clear the station's name and to talk about a perceived lack of cooperation from the Police Department (read more - Nathaniel Jones-Star Telegram)  (read more - view video - NBC 5)

Canadian broadcasters are poised to ask federal regulators for several key concessions in a long-awaited review of the radio industry this week, including changes to the way homegrown music is played. In hearings that could spark a fierce debate over the business model for commercial radio, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) wants stations to be rewarded for playing new and emerging Canadian music (read more - Grant Robertson-The Globe and Mail CA)

Sports talk show host Ron Barr will take his Sports Byline USA radio show to Germany for shows on May 22nd and 23rd and to Afghanistan for shows on May 26th, 29th and 30th

Last week, USA Today reported that AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth have turned millions of Americans' telephone records over to the National Security Agency, a top-secret Washington spy bureau. Here what's worse: Capitalizing on their unique access to your private life, these three companies appear to have sold you out for cash - under the banner of patriotism. AT&T says it was "protecting national security in strict accordance with the law." What law? The phone companies won't say (read more - Times Herald Record)

Judging by the triumphal responses to the latest figures on radio listening, there is not one but two winners when it comes to the accolade of Scotland's top commercial radio station. "Real Radio is still No 1," screamed Thursday's press release from the Glasgow-based station which has shaken up the Central Belt since its launch in January 2002. But "Radio Clyde - undisputed No 1 in the west" came the swift response from its arch-rival (read more - The Scotsman U.K.)

From Claude Hall -- (photo) Gary Allyn, center, with Jan Basham, promotion person with A&M Records in Los Angeles. Radio personalities right and left unidentified + Well, I now know a little more about the Hadacol promotion mentioned last week, courtesy of Sam Hale + e-mails from Gary Allyn, Kent Burkhart, James Geallis, Al Law, don Whittmore, Diane Kirkland, Wendi McMinn, Ray Lindsrom, Happy Hare, George Pollard and more (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com )

Private sector tells the BBC: Get off our turf, you’re distorting the market -- Internet, music and publishing companies are claiming the BBC is abusing its power (read more - The Times U.K.)

I'm not saying everybody on the radio is conning the listener. Many longtime hosts in Chicago are true to themselves on the air. Steve Dahl is Steve Dahl, Eric & Kathy are Eric & Kathy, Mike North is Mike North. They're tapping into their real personalities and they're talking about their real lives on the air. (Mancow isn't the same guy as Erich Muller, but he's upfront about that -- and anyone who hasn't figured that out by now probably isn't smart enough to work a radio anyway.) But even the most authentic, gimmick-free radio hosts have to ratchet it up a notch when the "ON AIR" light goes on (read more - Richard Roeper-Chicago Sun-Times)

The management of Louisville’s public radio stations, whose longtime president was ousted in January, is in turmoil again. The interim president of the Public Radio Partnership, Bob Irvine, told the partnership’s board of directors last week that he will leave June 30 even if a new president is not found by then (read more - Andrew Wolfson-Louisville Courier-Journal)

Thousands of music fans rocked Dundee yesterday as Radio One's Big Weekend turned into one massive party. Star DJ Edith Bowman opened the gates before hailing the Tayside crowd's party atmosphere as a string of top acts stormed the stages in Camperdown Park. Edith was the driving force behind Radio 1 bringing their festival to Scotland. But even she was stunned when more than 300,000 people applied for just 60,000 tickets for the two-day event, headlined yesterday by Scots rockers Primal Scream and Snow Patrol (read more - The Sunday Mail U.K.)  (read more - NME U.K.)

Over the years, Troi Torain, an infamous disc jockey known to his fans and foes as "Star", has eviscerated celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Eminem and mocked the death of the R&B singer Aaliyah. He has called fans of hip-hop music savages and has regularly used racial epithets. But in an interview yesterday, just before he was arrested on charges of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child, Mr. Torain, 42, said that he was no shock jock. "There is a philosophy behind what I do," he said. "I have an ideology" (read more - NY Times)  (read more - Richard Roeper - Chicago Sun-Times)

2002 Texas Radio Hall of Fame inductee Toby Arnold died earlier this week.  Memorial services are being held in Dallas at 3:30 pm today (Saturday) at Restland (read more - Texas Radio Hall of Fame)

When Air America morning host Stephanie Miller brings her live radio show to the Barrymore Theatre on Friday from 8 to 11 a.m., expect the stage to tilt to the far left and her fans wanting liberal rants - with some comedy among the commentary. "We're 'South Park' liberals," she says to her audience. "We make fun of everyone" (read more - Wisconsin State Journal)

Technology, once decried as the executioner of the music business, is now seen by many as its salvation. This wave of "new-media" technology, including Apple's iTunes Music Store and the Web site MySpace, enables artists to find fans and connect with them immediately. It's also creating opportunities for Christian record companies - particularly battered by the downturn in the music industry - to target consumers (read more - Winston-Salem Journal)

Canada's commercial radio stations want a break on their Canadian content obligations, while a not-for-profit media watchdog wants even more home-grown tunes on the airwaves. The two views will be pitched when industry stakeholders appear before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on Monday for the first set of radio policy hearings since 1998 (read more - Canoe Money)

Former NYC DJ "Star" was arrested Friday on charges of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child amid an uproar over his on-air racial and sexual rants about a radio rival's wife and 4-year-old daughter (read more - Forbes)

Since the end of its first late-night slot on Radio 4, irate listeners have been phoning the BBC, setting the station’s messageboards alight and writing to the Daily Mail to complain about the cringeworthy twaddle they have heard on Down the Line. Radio 4 came clean yesterday after the programme was exposed as a spoof. The unscripted show was the creation of Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson of the BBC comedy sketch programme The Fast Show (read more - The Times U.K.)

In politics, as most know, 10 days can be a lifetime. Imagine, then, what can transpire in 10 years. Back in the mid-1990s, Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, was a staunch proponent of local rights when it came to telecommunications. Now he has given his blessing to a telecom bill that would nationalize cable franchising (read more - Law.com)

"It obviously at this point is just a mess," new White House press secretary Tony Snow said good naturedly, summing up his rocky first question-and-answer session with reporters. During 23 sometimes-chaotic minutes Friday with the White House press corps in his West Wing office, Snow offered a half-dozen apologies for a less-than-smooth debut, pleaded ignorance on seven questions and ruled out all talk of international or currency issues (read more - CNN)

Friday May 12, 2006

K104 DFW Hip Hop radio personality Skip Cheatham said on radio this morning he unknowingly endorsed fight video, dubbed Agg Townz Fights 2, which shows young people brutally beating each other. Cheatham addressed  listeners Friday morning during the station’s Skip Murphy and Company daily morning show (read more - Nathaniel Jones-Star-Telegram)

There are $60 million reasons hip-hop radio stations constantly push toward the "edge" over which WWPR's Star plunged this week. They're the reasons listeners have routinely heard a Puerto Rican producer on WWPR-Power 105.1 summoned as "Hey, s---!" and why even now they can hear a daily comedy bit on WQHT-Hot 97 in which a Roger Toussaint imitator talks about how he misses the gay lover he acquired in jail (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)  (read more - Philly Daily News)

The office of the attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, said in documents released yesterday that Universal, a unit of Vivendi, had used a broad array of illegal "pay for play" tactics to secure airplay for its music, including bribing programmers with laptop computers, tickets to sporting events and luxury hotel stays (read more - NY Times)

Rush Limbaugh pulled out a few of his greatest hits Thursday night during an appearance at the Nokia Theater. He sang a Clinton-bashing song (and told a funny, sexist Hillary joke, to boot). He did the anti-mainstream-media rag. He danced on the heads of liberals. He played many of the tunes he's been playing for 20 years or so, and the crowd ate it up (read more - Robert Philpot-Star Telegram)

In heavily accented English, a WBAB radio fake commercial invited landscapers and dishwashers to head on over to the "Wetback Steakhouse." The taped spot on the popular Roger and JP morning show on 102.3 FM Thursday encouraged the workers "to take a break from all that weed-whackin' and standin' on the side of the road waiting for work and come on down to the Wetback Steakhouse. "The fake commercial drew sharp criticism Thursday, prompting the Babylon-based radio station to apologize and pull it off the air (read more - Newsday)

63 percent of Americans said they found the NSA program to be an acceptable way to investigate terrorism, including 44 percent who strongly endorsed the effort. Another 35 percent said the program was unacceptable, which included 24 percent who strongly objected to it (read more - Washington Post)

A state court judge has denied Cumulus Broadcasting Inc. and local radio personality Anthony Crystal's request for summary judgment in a defamation case filed against them by Chatham County District 5 Commissioner Harris Odell. Odell is seeking more than $10,000 for damage to his reputation and a punitive award for "severe emotional distress" (read more - Savannah Morning News)

Clear Channel's Mark Mays expects high-definition digital radio to take off as prices on HD receivers move closer to $100 (read more- Reuters)

Gregory Jon does his WOKY-AM (920) show from the Milwaukee Public Market from 6 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, focusing on the city's great food +  Former WKLH-FM (96.5) midday voice Patti Genko is expanding her communications business to podcasts for clients. Her latest is for Key Milwaukee travel magazine at keymilwaukee.com/podcast (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Is there life after public radio? Gretchen Helfrich, who hosted the talk show "Odyssey" on WBEZ-FM (91.5) for seven years before its cancellation last year, will enroll this fall at the University of Chicago Law School (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Art Cronk, a 20-year veteran of News-Talk 1530 WENG, fought in the Vietnam War for his beliefs in freedom of speech. Last week, those beliefs led to his resignation from the Englewood radio station. Cronk, a former Marine, quit WENG Thursday after management told him to give both views of the illegal immigration story, Cronk said Thursday (read more - Sun-Herald)

From Kent Burkhart -- Robert F.X. Sillerman!!!! In some of my past columns I believe that I have mentioned his name. If not I should have. I know him pretty well because he owned a group of radio stations that I believe he sold to Clear Channel. He had a famous partner -- air personality Cousin Brucie who for many years has been a star in New York City radio (read more - www.KentBurkhart.com)

John Marzano and Hugh Douglas officially are fulltime members of WIP 610-AM. Each will do a couple of days on the morning show and shifts on the weekend. Douglas is no longer the “Eagles Ambassador.” No word from the Eagles on who will take over that job (read more - Laura Nachman)

GCap is branching out from broadcast radio with the launch of a number of free standalone podcasts covering subjects such as fishing, movies and soaps, which are exclusively backed by Orange for a trial period (read more - Brand Republic)

As Internet search firms continue to weaken the terrestrial radio industry’s once-firm grip on local advertising, radio made sure Thursday that the three vendors still in the running to establish the industry’s new audience measurement system understand what is at stake. In an unusual announcement, the 24-member evaluation team monitoring the selection process reminded the three companies—MediaAudit/Ipsos, Arbitron, and MediaMark Research—of the team’s requirements (read more - Red Herring)

Global broadcaster MTV Networks will expand into Internet and mobile value-added services in China, China Daily reported on Friday. There are more than 340 million families with access to TV broadcasting, over 400 million mobile phone users and 111 million Internet users in China (read more - CRI English)

Art Vuolo, "Radio's Best Friend," has produced a Joey Reynolds DVD which features behind the scenes video in-studio with Les Paul and other celebrities, on the streets of New York, with Joan Rivers tasting his cheesecake and more (visit www.officialjoeyreynolds.com)

Regent Communications is upgrading its radio stations in the Peoria  market by acquiring WZPW-FM and WXMP-FM from AAA Entertainment and selling WIXO-FM, WVEL-FM and WPIA-FM to Independence Media (read more - Cincy Biz Journal)

Clyde 1's fightback against Real Radio Scotland showed signs of momentum yesterday as new radio industry figures revealed the Glasgow station had added 26,000 listeners and ramped up its weekly listening hours. Clyde 1 now has 614,000 listeners a week, up from the previous quarter's 588,000

"Early Show" co-host Rene Syler has inked a book deal with Simon Spotlight Entertainment, a division of Simon & Schuster. Syler's book, "The Good-Enough Mother," will take "an honest, insider's look at motherhood from a mom who is proud to be perfectly imperfect" (read more - NY Post)

Dave Graveline and the Into Tomorrow team talk about the latest and newest tech gadgets for the car and home from the E3: Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles + more beginning at 2 pm EDST on Sunday  (visit "Into Tomorrow")

A Palm Bay man faces up to five years in prison after he was charged with illegally operating a pirate Haitian radio station from the back of his music business (read more - Orlando Sentinel)

Grupo Televisa is planning to team up with four U.S. private equity firms to explore a bid for U.S. Spanish language broadcaster Univision (read more - Reuters)

In the years since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000, pirate radio stations linked to Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad have become the most important media format, providing real-time accounts of Israeli attacks and offering a mouthpiece to Palestinian in need. Local radio is unbound by the regulations followed by Voice of Palestine radio and television (read more - Christian Science Monitor)

Over a million demonstrators, many of them Latinos, took to the streets earlier this month in cities throughout America protesting for the rights of some 11.5 million illegal immigrants. This week, NOW brings together national leaders, activists and politicians to debate proposals on how to solve the nation's immigration impasse. As Congress struggles to find a solution, NOW and public radio's Latino USA look at where the immigration debate is headed in a San Antonio town hall meeting hosted by senior correspondent Maria Hinojosa (visit NOW - PBS)

Howard Garrett, The Dirt Doctor,  can now be heard in Houston on KNTH. “The Natural Way,” presents info on organic gardening, landscaping, pet care, home care, health and environmental issues

Thursday May 11, 2006

Universal Music Group Recordings has agreed to pay $12 million to settle a payola case, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said Thursday (read more - Syracuse Post Standard)

At least six employees were fired last week as the ownership of Cincinnati radio stations WRRM-FM (98.5), WMOJ-FM (94.9) and WYGY-FM (96.5) changed hands from Susquehanna to Cumulus (read more - Rick Bird-Cincy Post)

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY. The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime (read more - USA Today)

Star of Power 105 was fired Wednesday after a war of words between competing deejays. Star, the morning man on hip-hop station Power 105, actually went on the air and threatened sexual assault against a four-year-old girl. That girl is the daughter of a rival deejay on Hot 97. Star's latest comments went largely unnoticed until Wednesday, when city council member John Liu (D-Flushing) and others arranged a last-minute news conference to call for Star's dismissal from the station, which is owned by Clear Channel (read more - WABC 7 - NYC)  (read more - Rafer Guzman-Newsday) 

With Stern going to satellite radio, stations around the country that had carried his show were faced with the defection of listeners either to Sirius or to other morning shows in their markets, and tried to come up with replacements who would retain listeners ... Ratings for most of Stern's former stations were down markedly from fall. KISW was the exception, to the extent that it got attention in the national media with a mention from radio consultancy Jacobs Media (read more- Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

More than 50% of adults in the UK now have access to digital radio, according to industry ratings body Rajar. It says ownership of DAB digital radio sets has more than doubled since this time last year. People are also using TV, the internet and mobile phones to listen to digital radio stations (read more - BBC U.K.)

Alexx Dupri, who began as an intern at urban contemporary WGCI-FM (107.5) and most recently was a weekend and fill-in host there, has jumped to rhythmic Top 40 WKSC-FM (103.5) as overnight personality + Who knew that Tom Hanks was a fan of the current events quiz show "Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me!" on National Public Radio? (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Rising costs and an outbreak of violence following last year's show has led a Charlotte, North Carolina, radio station - WBT - to move its 4th of July fireworks show to South Carolina (read more - WIS TV)

CBS says it's close to settling its $500 million lawsuit against Howard Stern - a real shocker considering the bad blood between the shock jock and his former bosses (read more - NY Post)

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is filing a formal complaint with chamber officials regarding what he considers an “unethical” broadcast of an interview with him by a CNN reporter Tuesday (read more - Roll Call)

News Corp. said Wednesday that its fiscal third-quarter profit more than doubled.  Revenue at the News Corp's Fox broadcast network, the company's owned-and-operated television stations and its Hong Kong-based Star TV subsidiary declined to $1.35 billion from $1.41 billion, though operating income rose 29% to $286 million on higher contributions from Fox Broadcasting and Star (read more - MarketWatch)

Radio One has lost more than 500,000 listeners in the last three months, according to new figures. The news comes in the same week that Radio One was crowned UK Station Of The Year at the Sony Awards (read more - The Telegraph U.K.)

Uncle Floyd Vivino, whose funny suits, funny stories and fun music have made him a cult favorite on radio and TV for many years, headlines a benefit concert tomorrow night in Dover, N.J., for the New Jersey Radio Museum -- from the startup of WOR in Newark to the influential WKXW (101.5 FM) today. Hundreds of well-known personalities have started in or passed through New Jersey stations  (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Anyone can turn on a microphone and talk about the weather or traffic, but the most successful personalities find a way to integrate their lives to the point where folks who listen feel a deep sense of connection to them and the show," said Mike O'Brian, a disc jockey at U.S. 95.7. For the most open hosts, there are other challenges besides dealing with the bad things that inevitably happen in life. There's also the whole issue of privacy for relatives and friends who may not want their every foible dissected on the air (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

ABC Radio management is breathing easier because Sydney listeners are gradually returning to local station 702 after a tumultuous year of chopping and changing presenters. Melburnian Virginia Trioli has had a slow start on the Sydney station with Mornings after controversially replacing Sally Loane last October. The latest Nielsen Media survey shows Trioli has increased her audience share from 6.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent, or another 25,000 listeners (read more - Sydney Morning Herald AU)

Radio One’s efforts to stop ticket touts cashing in on the Big Weekend music festival in Dundee appear to have failed, writes Graeme Cleland. Even though the final batch of free tickets was only posted out to ballot winners today large numbers have already appeared for sale on a leading auction website. Pairs of tickets were fetching upwards of £100 and backstage passes over £400 (read more - Evening Telegraph U.K.)

For the fifth year in a row, BMI is sponsoring the FastStart to Radio Success Minority Scholarship Program, a needs-based program that provides full tuition for 25 minority students to the Gary Fries Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) Radio Training Academy. The application deadline is June 30, 2006 (read more - RAB)

One of the 2006 recipients of the Broadcast Pioneer Awards, Dwight Case is a gifted gentleman who has done it all and then some. Dwight is a living legend, one of the lions in media's forest, an inspiration to generations of media folks, twice my former boss. During my days as a group guy we established a tradition of showing appreciation for our "business partners" by hosting a gourmet dinner in their honor on the Friday evening of each fall's NAB Show (read more - David Martin)

From Murphy Martin -- Moussaoui  will spend 23-hours a day in a 12-by-7-foot cell that features a concrete platform topped with a thin mattress that serves as a bed. A desk and a stool of poured concrete and a shower with a spout in the ceiling and a drain in the floor. Each cell has a long, narrow window looking out at other prison walls or a small concrete-walled recreation yard. He will be allowed one  hour a day alone in the recreation yard. A twelve-inch black-and-white television set in each isolation cell pipes in closed-circuit anger-management and parenting classes. Literacy and Religious services also are part of video feeds into the cells. And, each isolation prisoner eats alone in his cell (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)

W Radio (690 AM), Southern California's newest all Spanish-language news, talk, sports and entertainment format is addressing illegal immigration as well as other social issues impacting the Hispanic community (read more - PR Newswire)

Envision Radio’s American Biker Minute adds “Z 94 FM’s,” WCKZ-FM / Fort Wayne as the newest affiliate to the daily radio vignette

Country station KCCY (96.9 FM) cruised to the No. 1 spot in the winter Arbitron radio ratings. With diminishing competition from crosstown rival KKCS (104.5 FM), which continues to be plagued by a weak signal in parts of Colorado Springs, Clear Channel’s Y96.9 FM dominated the country audience and has been putting up big numbers for the past year (read more - Colorado Springs Gazette)

Bick Broadcasting Co. plans to sell all seven of its radio stations, including three in Sedalia. The company will sell Sedalia stations KSDL-FM, KSIS-AM and KXKX-FM to Double O Radio LLC. Bick Broadcasting also will sell KHMO-AM, KICK-FM, KPCR-AM and KRRY-FM, which serve the Quincy, Ill., and Hannibal (read more- Sedalia Democrat)

XM Vice President of Programming Eric Logan told analysts his programming strategy focused on developing XM's own brands in-house, rather than buying brands. His mission: to develop the world's leading radio content but make sure his product creates value for the company (read more - Forbes)

Wednesday May 10, 2006

Howard Stern said Wednesday morning that he's staying put on satellite radio - no terrestrial radio (read more - Mercury News)

Roe Conn, the quick-witted afternoon personality on ABC-owned news/talk WLS-AM (890), has landed his first national television gig. Starting tonight, Conn will have his own weekly segment on Glenn Beck's new one-hour talk show on CNN Headline News + Shane "Rover" French, morning personality on WCKG-FM (105.9), left his show early Monday and checked into Northwestern Memorial Hospital for tests. Listeners have been told he's suffering from "an intestinal blockage" (read more - Feder of Chicago)

A class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of all securities purchasers of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. from July 28, 2005 through February 15, 2006. The complaint alleges that the company failed to disclose and misrepresented material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them (read more - PR Newswire)

First syndicated by ABC Radio Networks in 1976, The Rest of the Story®, will celebrate 30 years on the air when the show is broadcast today, May 10. Paul Harvey, Jr. has been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and received two Edward R. Murrow writing awards for the series, and today he's being honored by ABC at a luncheon in Chicago (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Jim Meltzer has been named Vice President and General Manager of CBS Radio's WDSY-FM, WRKZ-FM AND WZPT-FM in Pittsburgh

Cumulus Media today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31 (read more - Cumulus)

A judge on Tuesday relaxed the rules a landlord had established for visitors to the studios of Hot 97, a hip-hop radio station outside of which several shootings have occurred (read more - Newsday)

From John Rook -- With all the polls showing the public considers the immigration issue a top priority, in recent days talk radio ventured off course in their attempt to create interest in a variety of non stories -- that is until a small newspaper in California broke a story that within hours became the topic of conversation on talk radio from coast to coast almost overnight. Reporter Sara Carter of the Orlando Daily Bulletin reported our government has ordered the border patrol to keep the Mexican government informed as to the whereabouts of the Minutemen and other civilian border patrol groups (read more - www.JohnRook.com)

Affiliate Pro Rich Rapiti has recently joined Westwood One as Regional Manager, Affiliate Sales for talk programming. He’s held affiliate positions with WOR, the former Talk America and Superadio Networks (e-mail Rich)

Nick Young is the new anchor of the longest-running network newscast, CBS Radio's "World News Roundup." Young, who's been a CBS radio correspondent for 16 years, replaces Christopher Glenn, who has retired after 35 years with CBS (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Whoopi Goldberg is about to become the latest celebrity wading into the morning radio waters - where rocker David Lee Roth recently washed ashore at WFNY, but comedian Steve Harvey is thriving on WBLS (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

The Museum of Broadcast Communications is hoping to raise $3.7 Million to achieve their fundraising goal, Bruce DuMont reports.  The MBC will relocate to a new home, the new building at State and Kinzie in Chicago's River North area to provide much needed space to expand museum exhibits and public programs and accommodate an increased number of school groups (visit MBC)

The Archdiocese of New York and SIRIUS Satellite Radio will create and collaborate on The Catholic Channel. The lifestyle radio channel will air nationally seven days a week, 24 hours a day and will feature contemporary talk, music programming and live daily masses from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York

Bryan Broadcasting was named the Aggies' flagship station for radio broadcasts, moving Texas A&M football and men's basketball broadcasts from Clear Channel. Aggie football, men's basketball and baseball will air on the 10,000-watt station WTAW (1620 AM), while women's basketball and select softball games will air on the 1,000-watt KZNE (1150 AM) (read more - Bryan-College Station Eagle)

For the third episode of his prime-time talk show on CNBC (to air May 25), Michael Eisner had chosen Billy Crystal, along with Bob Iger, Eisner's replacement at Disney; ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and Sharon Stone (read more- Lynn Smith-LA Times)

The winners of the 10th Annual Webby Awards will be saluted alongside a remarkable slate of Special Achievement honorees, including the founders of Myspace.com, Thomas Friedman, Mark Cuban, The Gorillaz, and Internet co-inventor Dr. Robert Kahn, at the June 12th gala in New York City, the International Academy of the Digital Arts and Sciences (read more - Webby Awards)

The cell-phone industry and privacy advocates are calling on Congress to clarify the widespread police practice of using mobile phones to track suspects without probable cause (read more - Wired News)

The only radio station in the Valley “where Hip-Hop lives” now faces an uncertain future. Salt Lake City-based Bonneville International Corp. and Bonneville Holding Co. have agreed to buy KKFR-FM (Power 92.3) from Emmis Communications Corp. for $77.5 million (read more - East Valley Tribune)

The Michael Baisden Show has added 3 affiliates -- KKBT-FM Los Angeles, WTPS-AM Miami and WQQK-FM Nashville. This brings the number of radio stations airing the program each day to 40

It has taken almost 13 years but the BBC's definitive music station, Radio 1, is back where it belongs - at the top of the chart. The station, launched in 1967 as essential listening for Britain's youth, took the top prize of Station of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards on Monday night. It was the first time in the ceremony's history that the top gong has gone to Radio 1. That win, along with four other Sony Golds, is the culmination of a remarkable turnaround for the station. It has managed to shed its Smashie and Nicey image of the early Nineties and is once again leading the charge in promoting new music and bringing on popular presenters. None more so than breakfast DJ Chris Moyles, who attracts almost 7 million listeners to his often outrageous show (read more- Daily Record U.K.)

A new radio talk show, The Ladies Room with Lolis, will be officially launched in Austin today, May 10, 2006, amid high expectations from thousands of women supporters. Hosted by Lolis Garcia-Baab, a veteran communications professional, the show will initially air on Saturdays through a local CBS affiliate, TalkRadio 1370 AM KJCE (read more - PR Newswire)

U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh are in the same boat. Both men's addiction to painkillers landed them in trouble and in the spotlight. But the similarity stops there (read more - Louisville Courier-Journal)

Laura Schlessinger -- "Dr. Laura" to fans of her radio show -- is not a woman for her time. She's a beacon of absolutism in an era of relativism. Morals don't change or bend in Dr. Laura's world, a position that has fallen out of vogue in a permissive society. That's fine with her (read more - Tom Jicha - Sun Sentinel)

Radio station 3AW has jumped to a commanding lead in ratings released yesterday. The talk radio station leapt 2.2 points to a 16.7 per cent share of the Melbourne audience, with its key rivals all falling (read more - The Age AU)

Former Detroit air personality Dave Shafer, whose voice and name are well-known from his stint as a jock at CKLW-AM (800) was probably best known as one of the original Big 8 jocks during the Windsor station's fabled tenure as the flame-throwing 1960s musical powerhouse of the Midwest.  CKLW was big and loud, and the voices like Shafer's that introduced the music were memorable even in the 30 seconds they had in between records.  He died Sunday in Florida of complications from outpatient surgery (read more - Susan Whitall-Detroit News)

Doug McIntyre, host of 790 KABC's McIntyre in the Morning show, has come out and publicly apologized for having voted for President Bush.  A former Bush supporter, McIntyre now says that President Bush is the worst-ever two-term President and perhaps even the worst President period in American history (visit KABC - Doug McIntyre)

ARBitron numbers for Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville, Huntsville, Spokane and West Palm Beach (read 'em)

Rick Kelly (middays for Star 102.7 KSTJ-FM), Mike O’Brian (Program Director and Star morning show personality), and Beth Lano (Star morning show personality), hosts of DJs for PJs, where over 8000 PJs were collected for the children of Child Haven

Tuesday May 9, 2006

Howard Stern says he's been offered a "major deal" to come back to regular radio via satellite radio - just like his longtime enemies Opie & Anthony. If an offer was actually made to Stern, it most likely came from Citadel Broadcasting, which is in the process of acquiring Disney/ABC's radio division (read more - John Mainelli-NY Post)

Clear Channel has signed Whoopi Goldberg to host a live, morning show to be called "Wake Up With Whoopi" (read more - Washington Post)

Steve Coffman, 53, a long-time radio station executive and on-air host at KTXN, died Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer, said KTXN spokesman Bob Nance (read more - Houston Chronicle)

Brett "Spike" Eskin, music director of WYSP-FM in Philadelphia, has been hired as assistant program director at WKQX-FM (101.1) + Penn Jillette will move to evenings, and the midday duo of Stan Lawrence and Terry Armour will pick up a third hour in a Monday-through-Friday lineup change next week at CBS Radio "Free FM" talker WCKG-FM (105.9) (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Boycott. Peter Boyles, the radio yakfest host who's lately made it his life's work to keep our borders safe from illegal immigrants, has taken on a new foe - us, you're friendly neighborhood newspapers. I never ...
Boyles has called for a boycott of Denver's two major dailies on May 18. "How about a day without newspapers?" Boyles asked his KHOW 630-AM listeners Monday morning (read more - Dick Kreck-Denver Post)

Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose startled fans around the world early Saturday by dropping in on Eddie Trunk's WAXQ (104.3 FM) radio show and hanging out on-air for two and a half hours (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Red Sox fans who want to hear all of the games on the radio next season will have to switch between the Sox's new home, WRKO-AM, and Boston's dominant sports station, WEEI-AM (read more -  Sasha Talcott-Boston Globe)

Right now, 700 stations nationwide broadcast in HD. So what makes radio high definition? “You're going to get crystal clear, absolutely hiss-free, multi-path free digital sound,” said Jim Kerr, the morning host at Q 104.3. “The signal will be strong until the point where the signal ends after you get to the end of the metropolitan area you're in, and then stations from other cities come in, but there isn't going to be any interference between stations.” (read more - News 14 Carolina)

BBC Radio 1 was named the country's station of the year for the first time at the annual Sony Radio Academy Awards on Monday. The popular music station beat competition from its mainstream stablemate BBC Radio 2 and commercial rival Xfm to clinch the top prize at the ceremony in central London. Chris Evans, who hosts BBC Radio Two's drivetime show, was named Music Radio Personality of the Year (read more- The Scotsman U.K.)  (read more - BBC U.K.)  (read the full list of Sony Radio Academy Awards winners)

CBS Radio's KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO has launched an exclusive series of video “webisodes” on its website, KNX1070.com.  This marks the first time CBS Radio will feature extensive branded video content on one of its station’s websites

Though Lorraine Ranalli’s last day as a radio traffic reporter was Friday, she can continue to be heard on B-101-FM every Sunday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Former B-101 overnight DJ, Jason Lee made his debut doing news updates on WIP 610-AM as “Jason Sklar” last week (read more - Laura Nachman)

Entercom Communication’s newly inked deal with the Boston Red Sox could give the ballclub an ownership stake in several New England radio stations, further shoring up its media empire (read more - Jesse Noyes-Boston Herald)

In a bid to attract more digital television subscribers, Rogers Communications Inc. has filed an application to change its cable licences to add satellite radio services. Rogers wants to offer satellite radio on its digital TV service in Ontario, New Brunswick, Labrador and Newfoundland, according to its application with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (read more - The Globe and Mail CA)

What was CNN Headline News thinking? Watching the first fifteen minutes of Glenn Beck's debut on the CNN Headlines Channel was painful. I had to turn it off. It was embarrassing for me to watch a grown man embarrass himself. Glenn Beck made the Three Stooges look like Rhodes Scholars. Clever, he's not. Suave, he's not. Goofy? That he is! (read more - W W Wimbish)

From Happy Hare -- There is nothing more liberating than a ten thousand foot sky dive out of a plane without quite knowing what you are doing or where you are going to land, and if you do, if you will survive. Come to think of it, it is kind of like being in radio. I was willing to do anything to get ratings. To me, part of it was just being on the air and injecting a strong presence, doing the services and creating excitement with the music The rest of what I did was what Randy Michaels described to me as three dimensional radio (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

On the May 5 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, host Rush Limbaugh denied any comparison between his own prescription drug problems and those of Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy [D-RI], who says he was under the influence of painkillers when he crashed his car into a security barrier on Capitol Hill on May 4. Confronted by a caller over Limbaugh's acceptance of a deal in which he pleaded not guilty to one charge of illegally obtaining prescriptions drugs on April 28th, Limbaugh asked how the two cases could be compared (read more - Media Matters)

This photo, taken in April 1933, shows a Lincoln, Nebraska gas station of the Earl Coryell Co. selling "Corn Alcohol Gasoline." The test marketing of ethanol blends was common in the Midwest at this time, but it did not succeed due to the market dominance of the major oil companies. Now, you can legally make fuel alcohol in the privacy of your own home for about 65¢ a gallon. Many people are doing just that, and running their vehicles on clean-burning alcohol instead of expensive gasoline (read more - Dogwood Energy)

Salem Communications said first-quarter profit grew 14 percent as News Talk stations and Internet revenue grew (read more - MSN Money)

ARBitron numbers for Albuquerque, Austin TX, Bakersfield, Baton Rouge, Colorado Springs, Des Moines, El Paso, Gainesville-Ocala, Grand Rapids, Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Jackson MS, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Madison WI, Mobile, Orlando, Shreveport and Wichita (read 'em)

Premiere Radio's The Glenn Beck Program has added affiliates KXEL-AM in Waterloo, IA; WYXC-AM in Cartersville, GA.; and effective July 1, WFOY-AM in St. Augustine, FL

Dear Radio Babe: I was very interested in your article regarding the WDDV (1320 AM) radio station in Venice, and how it had been broadcasting with too much power. For quite some time, we have been hearing WDDV in the background on all of our phones (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

Monday May 8, 2006

Emmis Communications said its chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey H. Smulyan, has proposed to buy its publicly-held common shares in a deal that values them at $567 million (read more - Stamford Advocate)  (read more - David B. Wilkerson-MarketWatch)  (read more - PR Newswire)

Bonneville International says it has entered into a letter of agreement with Emmis Communications to acquire radio station KKFR in Phoenix. Bonneville President and CEO Bruce Reese indicated the company plans initially to simulcast some of its award-winning KTAR (AM 620) news and talk programming on KKFR

All Comedy Radio has signed an agreement with Skybridge Technologies for high quality digital delivery of ACR’s HD program stream. All Comedy Radio is the first-to-market syndicator for HD programming, offering HD stations a unique and compelling all-comedy format for HD or HD-2 stations. All Comedy Radio’s HD program feed will emanate from an upload site near Hollywood and be digitally delivered via IP to each affiliate HD station, in a high bit rate, to preserve the technical enhancements of HD broadcasting (visit All Comedy Radio)

Star doesn't dominate morning radio, as Howard Stern did. But since he started at Power in January 2005, he's done exactly what the station hoped when it gave him a reported four-year, $17 million deal: he's helped Power catch up to long-time hip-hop leader WQHT (97.1 FM), where he did mornings until 2004 (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

A lawsuit against a popular Greensboro morning radio personality alleges a woman was slandered in the broadcast when the host told a listener she had a criminal record and should be considered dangerous. Verla Englert alleges in a lawsuit that Jack Murphy, host of “The Murphy in the Morning Show,” slandered her in an April 2005 broadcast (read more - Yes Weekly)

Even radio executives admit it: Right now, HD radio stations are broadcasting to an audience of hundreds. The radio people laugh about it -- it's kind of the way it was doing high school or college or pirate radio -- but, hey, it's a start + "Max FM," the station at 95.7 that plays whatever it feels like, decided it didn't feel like having DJs around anymore, and, suddenly, the Max ax fell on Teri King, Mike Dawson and morning DJ Web, along with traffic sidekick Janelle Marie. Now the voice of the station appears to be John O'Hurley, the actor who played J. Peterman on "Seinfeld" (read more - Ben Fong-Torres - SF Chronicle)

Spanish Broadcasting System has reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31 (read more - PR Newswire)

Who is this guy Glenn Beck, and why is CNN Headline News making such a big bet on him? Beck's new TV show debuts at 7 p.m. Monday on Headline News. The network, an offshoot of CNN, is in the midst of an effort to differentiate itself from its big brother, in part by hiring opinionated characters such as Beck. The network cast a wide net to find a new prime-time personality (read more - Scott Leith-Atlanta JC)

Air personality Lara Scott will join 95.9 KFSH-FM The Fish on Tuesday, May 9, in the midday time-slot. Scott was most recently with Star 98.7

Entercom Communications said first-quarter profit fell 52 percent, hurt by sluggish ad conditions and weakness in New Orleans and Boston markets (read more - Houston Chronicle)

Veteran CBC news anchor Lorne Saxberg has died in a snorkelling accident while on vacation in Phuket, Thailand, CBC News reported on its website (read more - Toronto Star CA)  (read more - view video - CTV)

Newspaper circulation fell 2.6 percent according to data released Monday, as more people turned to the Internet and other media outlets for news and information (read more - NY Daily News)

A House subcommittee is now grappling with the sort of abstraction likely to become more common in the digital age: When is a radio more than a radio? A service from XM Satellite Radio that allows subscribers to digitally record up to 50 hours of songs as they are played over the air came before the House subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection last week (read more - Chicago Tribune)

It's a new crew at oldies outlet KXKL 105.1-FM. The "old" crew, including Rick "The Coach" Marshall, was dismissed in mid-April. The new crew, officially dubbed "The Way KOOL Morning Show," is Dan Mitchell, Kenny Campbell and Melanie Garrett and makes its debut this morning. Vic Lombardi will deliver sports news (read more - Dick Kreck-Denver Post)

KILT (610 AM) continues to lead KBME (790 AM) in the battle for the hearts and ears of Houston sports fans, but the size of KILT's lead depends on whether you prefer old or new technology (read more - David Barron-Houston Chronicle)

Who's hot in the fast-paced New York media world is always open to debate, but this week New York magazine takes a stab at it with - you guessed it - a list. Katie Couric, the "Today" host and soon to be anchor of the "CBS Evening News," makes the grade. Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., which owns The Post, makes the cut, as does Roger Ailes, the chairman and CEO of News Corp.-owned Fox News Channel (read more - Keith J. Kelly-NY Post)  (read the radio-TV list - NY Magazine)

Cell phone TV has clearly arrived. Even the president's men use it! At least, that is, on the Fox thriller "24," where Jack Bauer's buddy Mike Novick has been keeping tabs on his devious chief executive boss by watching live Fox News feeds on his flip-phone (read more - Diane Werts-Newsday)

They will take my remote control away only when they pry it from my cold, dead hands. This thought followed my first reading of a patent application for a new kind of television set and digital video recorder recently filed by a unit of Royal Philips Electronics at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The design appears to threaten the inalienable right to channel-surf during commercials or fast-forward through ads in programs you've taped. A second, calmer reading of the patent application revealed that the proposed design would uphold the right to avoid commercials, but only for those who paid a fee (read more - Randall Stross-NY Times)

From Claude Hall -- (photo) Jan Basham was in promotion with A&M Records in Los Angeles. Always cheerful. Brightened up a room when she entered. Died of cancer in 2004 + e-mail from Bobby Rich: "I always enjoy reading your page, Claude. I was surprised to see me in that picture from 26 years ago. I will treasure it because it is the only shot I am aware of with me and Buzzy together.   As you correctly indicated, Buzz Bennett, was truly one of the PRIMARY contributors to the (Top 40) format + e-mails from John Hall, John Quincy  and more  (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com)
 

The BBC had a record month for radio downloads in March 2006, with 12m on-demand requests and more than 20m hours of programmes listened to online. BBC Radio 1 led the way with four million hours of live listening and a record 3.5m unique user agents. BBC Radio 2 contributed three million live listening hours (read more - Vnunet)

The number of cellphone users in the United States has jumped from 34 million a decade ago to more than 203 million, according to CTIA - The Wireless Association. Some people have had enough, no longer placidly ignoring the one-sided conversation at the table next to them or moving to another seat in the movie theater. These cellphone vigilantes go beyond just staring, rolling their eyes or clicking their tongues at offenders; they do something about it. "He stood up, turned around, grabbed the guy's cellphone and threw it up against the back wall, where it went dark and sounded as though it broke," she said. "The entire theater audience broke out in applause. The gentlemen with the courage, and the pretty fair right arm, said, 'You idiot! You don't take a call in the middle of the movie!' " (read more - Arizona Republic)

Kathryn Ryan, New Zealand's National Radio's former political editor is intensely private, though in a bossy, type-A-personality kind of way. But as of tomorrow she will share her inner musings with a quarter of a million fiercely critical listeners in one of journalism's highest-profile, most demanding roles. And the woman the audience will discover might surprise them. Ryan is known for her intensity, for that booming, authoritative voice that, when she gets going, has a tendency to sound like a staccato Helen Clark. Her intellect is fearsome. Her approach fearless (read more - NZ Herald)

Amazing things still happen in Washington *****There is staid Supreme Count voting unanimously for a buxom lap dancer who may be pregnant and a congressman wandering around Capitol Hill admitting he doesn’t know who he is, where he is going, what he is doing and why.*****First congressman to be so honest (read more - George Mair's LA LA Land)

Syndicated radio's Michael Reagan will be the guest speaker May 15 at the Billings Christian Schools fifth annual fundraising banquet at the Montana Grand Holiday Inn (read more -  Billings Gazette)

When Jay Weber signs on this morning at 8:30 on WISN-AM (1130), he'll be in a familiar spot. But don't expect the same show he's been doing for eight years with Bob Dolan (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Frank Turner had it all - a great salary, a swanky lifestyle, a successful job as a TV anchor. But when he was outed as a cocaine and phone- sex addict, he lost it all. Two years later, Turner experienced what he calls a miracle. He became a born-again Christian, cleaned up his act, and returned to his job at WXYZ-TV, an ABC affiliate in Detroit. But Turner's religious beliefs, and his request to express them in another job, have now become an issue (read more - Winston-Salem Journal)

The Red Sox are likely to move their games to radio station WRKO-AM after the 2006 season, after one of two main bidders for the broadcast rights said yesterday it would walk away from the negotiating table (read more - Boston Globe)  (read more - Boston Herald)

The owners of "Hot 97" in New York City, a radio station viewed by its landlord as the OK Corral of hip-hop music, went to court Friday to block the station's eviction (read more - Newsday)

The Internet spawned so many weird gizmos and bad business ideas that mocking dot-com duds became something of a sport in the post-bubble era. But some ideas still stand out for pure silliness. These are products and services that attracted lots of publicity -- and, in some cases, millions of dollars in funding -- before folding (read more - Wall Street Journal)

The CAB celebrated its 80th Anniversary in Ottawa on May 3 to honor the legacy of broadcasters in Canada and to look forward to a bright future for private broadcasting (read more - Broadcaster Magazine)

In 1961, an experimental short wave radio station was set up; in April that same year, it broadcast news to the world about the Bay of Pigs invasion. To mark the now-experienced broadcasting entity's 45th anniversary, and to recognize its dedication to promoting the truth about the country, Cuban President Fidel Castro sent a certificate of recognition to Radio Havana Cuba on Thursday (read more - Periodico CU)

WBAP News-Talk 820 is presenting an evening with Rush Limbaugh on Thursday May 11. Proceeds from "Rush To Texas" benefit Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Tickets are priced at $100, $82 and $45 (read more - WBAP)

Like Rush Limbaugh, Richard Paey suffers from back pain, which in his case is so severe that he's confined to a wheelchair. Also like Limbaugh, he was accused of illegally obtaining large quantities of painkillers. Although there was no evidence that either man sold drugs illegally, the authorities in Florida zealously pursued each of them for years. Unlike Limbaugh, Paey went to prison. Now 47 years old, he's serving the third year of a 25-year term. His wife told me that when he heard how Limbaugh settled his case last week — by agreeing to pay $30,000 and submit to drug tests — Paey offered a simple explanation: "The wealthy and influential go to rehab, while the poor and powerless go to prison" (read more - John Tierney-NY Times)

ARBitron numbers for Chattanooga   Charleston SC  Columbia SC   Greensboro-Winston-Salem  Greenville-Spartanburg  Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle  Knoxville  Norfolk-Virginia Beach  Raleigh-Durham  Richmond  Tulsa  York (read 'em)

Florida Atlantic University has signed an agreement with WXEL Public Broadcasting Station to develop a new digital radio station. Students will be involved in support roles in production, the spoken word content, news, public affairs information, storytelling and documentaries (read more - Sun-Sentinel)

"We are experiencing difficulties. Please stand by." That appears to be the message Radio One is sending investors. Its first-quarter earnings actually beat guidance but remained dismal ... But don't change the channel yet. The broadcasting company is still fine-tuning its strategy (read more - MSNBC)

One of the casualties of the Cumulus takeover of the Susquehanna radio properties was longtime Ticket Ticker voice Jimmy "The Saint" Christopher. Christopher, one of the truly nice guys in radio (yes, I know that's an oxymoron), spent 10 years, 2 months and 4 days at The Ticket as anchor/reporter, talk show host and SMU sideline reporter (read more - Jim Reeves-Star Telegram)

Media Partners, a private partnership created by Cumulus Media Inc.,  Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners, announced the successful completion of the acquisition of the radio broadcasting business of Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff Company. The deal, valued at approximately $1.2 billion was completed on May 5, 2006. Cumulus Media has entered into a management agreement with Cumulus Media Partners, pursuant to which the management of Cumulus will manage the operations of Media Partners' subsidiaries. In connection with this acquisition and the formation of Media Partners, Cumulus contributed four radio stations (including related licenses and assets) in the Houston and Kansas City markets in exchange for membership interests in Media Partners. Lew Dickey the Chairman & CEO of Cumulus will also serve as the Chairman & CEO of Media Partners  (read more - Cumulus)

Friday May 5, 2006

Dan Halyburton, senior vice president and general manager for Susquehanna-Dallas, confirmed to the Star-Telegram that he is out. Halyburton said he knew that there would be airstaff changes, but that he was unable to discuss them because he wasn’t completely in the loop. “I can tell you I’m not gonna be here,” he said with a laugh. Dan Bennett, another Susquehanna-Dallas vice president and general manager, remains, overseeing KLIF, KPLX, KDBN and KTCK. Other layoffs were reported, not involving on-air personnel. Bennett confirmed that, aside from Bason’s layoff, KLIF was unaffected, and added that no additional changes are expected. “Everything that’s done is done,” he said  (read more - Robert Philpot - Star-Telegram)

Bruce Macgowan, a sports reporter and talk show host on KNBR for 17 years, has been dismissed as part of a layoff that station officials said was a cost-cutting move dictated by new owners. "That's what happens when one company buys another,'' KNBR general manager Tony Salvadore said (read more- SF Chronicle)

CBS Radio didn't accomplish much by getting rid of Howard Stern - except lose a lot of its audience. Since Stern's replacement on WFNY Free-92.3, David Lee Roth, bombed and was yanked, J.V. and Elvis of San Francisco have aired in the 9-10 a.m. hour. Yesterday, the pair discussed and described such sex acts as "the Dirty Sanchez," "the David Copperfield" and "the Cleveland Steamer." J.V. (Jeff Vandergrift) later attacked the Bible as "just BS," adding, "I use it as toilet paper." (read more - Page Six)

A former Salt Lake City radio personality is headed to prison for lying about his academic credentials and using them to testify falsely in court as an expert witness.  Robert David “Bob” Madrid, 42, of Anniston, was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison on perjury charges and fined $1,000 (read more - Salt Lake Tribune)

Sean Salisbury, the former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst, has signed on as new midday personality on ABC-owned sports/talk WMVP-AM (1000) + US-99.5, afternoon personality Drew Walker appears twice in Miranda Lambert's new video, "New Strings" (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Regent Communications announced financial results for the quarter (read more - MSN Money)

Former WIP 610-AM regular Joe Conklin was back on the morning show Wednesday. Since October, he was providing bits for Jody McDonald's show on Sports Talk 950-AM. Though the station is in desperate need of more local personalities, instead of keeping the talented comedian, Sports Talk let his contract expire at the end of March (read more - Laura Nachman)

CBS is diving into the brave new world of youth-centric Internet content. The network yesterday launched "innertube," a new broadband channel with made-for-the-Web programs as well as streaming video of existing CBS series. And it's all free (read more - Marisa Guthrie-NY Daily News)

Music legend Bob Dylan's new show on XM Satellite Radio has shown the power and popularity of satellite radio stations in the US. Greg Steele, senior director of programming at Sirius, tells BBC World Service's The Beat programme that signing up high-profile hosts has been "one of the real drawing powers of satellite radio" (read more - BBC News U.K.)

Peter I. Blute, a former Republican congressman and one of Central Massachusetts’ best known political and media figures, has resurfaced as host of a new morning radio talk show set to debut Monday on WCRN-AM 830 (read more - Worcester Telegram and Gazette News)

Beasley Broadcast's Ninety-Six One K-Rock WRXK-FM The Classic Rock Original, has rolled out its new daily line up with Stan & Haney getting mornings started from 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., Mark Steele rocking the midday hours from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Christie Banks taking listeners from early drive right through happy hour from 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., and Dave Devereux in the evenings beginning at 7:00 p.m. 

With the proliferation of devices like the video iPod, the vlog boom is on. As of March there were more than 6,500 vlogs, says directory Mefeedia.com, compared with fewer than 300 a year earlier. Apple's (Research) iTunes store has offered vlogs for download as video podcasts since October, giving sites like Rocketboom a potential audience of 40 million iPod users. And there's good news for vloggers who want to monetize their fame: Advertisers are getting more comfortable with online video spots (read more - Business 2.0)

Canada's commercial radio stations recorded a 24 per cent increase in pre-tax profit last year, at a time when the industry is raising concerns about its future with the rise of new competitors such as iPods and satellite radio (read more - The Globe and Mail CA)

ARBitron numbers for Albany   Birmingham   Charlotte-Gastonia   Fresno   Memphis   Nashville   Oklahoma City   Rochester   Sacramento   San Antonio   Syracuse   Toledo (read 'em)

Glenn Beck will premiere on CNN Headline News on Monday, May 8, at 7 p.m. (ET).  The show will air seven days at a week at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., with encore presentations of weekday shows on Saturdays and Sundays

Steve Parker - The Car Nut - tips RDN about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be the on-site announcer for the annual "Great Race" of antique and classic cars and trucks cross-country, mostly on back roads. The time/speed/distance rally has various stops at small towns 2-3 times a day on its journey this year which begins June 24th in Philadelphia and winds up two weeks later in Petaluma, CA. The pay is not great, but aside from the two-week check there is a per diem and of course all flights and travel and hotels are taken care of. This is a real trip of a lifetime! For whoever gets the gig, it is an experience they will never forget and will always cherish. Contact Mike to apply and to get more details at  mike@greatrace.com  (visit www.greatrace.com)

The Conclave has added Thomas Harens to the Conclave team as Conclave Sponsorship Director for the organization, succeeding Brad Fuhr who has moved on to become Sales Manager for Clear Channel’s KTLK- Air America/LA

In a stunning turn of events, radio company Greater Media this morning pulled out of the long-running bidding war with Entercom Communications for broadcasting rights for Boston Red Sox games. Sources say Entercom has won the hotly contested battle for Red Sox play-by-play (read more - Boston Herald)

Dave Graveline and the Into Tomorrow team talk about the latest and newest tech gadgets for the car and home + more beginning at 2 pm EDST on Sunday  (visit "Into Tomorrow")

Bill Eberle grew up listening to radio when one of the few alternative forms of home entertainment was a relative who played harmonica. He's the voice of "Radio Showtime" which has aired for 16 years on Sunday nights on WVKR (91.3 FM) (read more - Poughkeepsie Journal)

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" will have three more new episodes this season, starting with Tom Hanks hosting this weekend, Julia Louis-Dreyfus on May 13 and Kevin Spacey on May 20. Paul Simon will perform on the May 13 show (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Rush Limbaugh's name came up during a wider investigation into illegal sale of prescription painkillers, which the Republican-led Legislature recognized as a problem by making doctor-shopping a felony. The lead prosecutor was a Republican. When Mr. Limbaugh brayed about supposed prosecutorial misconduct, Mr. Krischer's office did not respond in kind. And Mr. Limbaugh lost every court decision regarding seizure of his records. The outcome is fair, if belated. In late 2003, prosecutors had offered essentially the same deal on one count, with 18 months' probation (read more - Palm Beach Post Editorial)

Bye-bye, wires: a new generation of super-fast wireless networking gear is arriving in stores. But don't buy anything just yet, some tech experts say. Gear maker Linksys last week launched its first products using a new kind of wireless Internet, or Wi-Fi, technology. Called 802.11n, the new Wi-Fi is almost twice as fast as the speediest older version. And it's designed for multiple data streams, which makes it easier to download music and stream a movie from the Internet at the same time (read more - USA Today)

Jamie Foxx counts down the top 45 biggest songs in North America (based on airplay on SIRIUS Hits-1, and listener phone calls and emails) as guest host of the SIRIUS Hits-1 Weekend Countdown

Thursday May 4, 2006

As a radio format, hot adult contemporary is dead. So says Marc Kaye, who until Monday morning ran one of the Seattle market's two Hot AC stations, KLSY-FM (92.5). But KLSY-FM has been languishing well back in this market's pack; in the just-released Arbitron winter-quarter ratings, KLSY was 24th (read more- Bill Virgin - Seattle PI)

The chief executive of XM Satellite Radio, the biggest U.S. provider of pay-radio service, sold most of his shares while making false statements about cost reductions, a group of investors claimed in a lawsuit. The suit, seeking to represent all investors, alleges that XM's CEO, Hugh Panero, misled shareholders about XM's ability to reduce the expense of adding new customers. XM's goal was 6 million subscribers by the end of 2005, the complaint said (read more - NY Post)

Radio One Inc., the nation's largest radio broadcaster targeting black and urban audiences, said Thursday first-quarter net tumbled 63 percent despite higher revenue (read more - Business Week)

Citadel Broadcasting Corp. said Thursday its first-quarter profit fell 20 percent despite slightly higher revenue (read more - Business Week)

The Naples-based Beasley Broadcast Group Inc. reported this morning that it had managed to cut expenses to match falling revenue and ended the first quarter with profits flat over last year (read more - News-Press)

You've heard of the sunny side of life? It looks like San Diego radio listeners are big fans. Soft-music stations grabbed the top three spots in the winter radio ratings, while two talk stations took a tumble as listeners apparently decided they didn't want to hear blather about Iraq and other current events. Meanwhile, San Diegans gave country music a boost, tuned out alternative rock, and were unimpressed by a talk station geared toward horny straight men (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is trying to push through a bill that would increase indecency fines on broadcasters and threaten to take away their licenses after three violations. Frist is championing the bill after conservative groups, a key voting bloc if he runs for president, expressed frustration at the lack of congressional action to curb broadcast indecency (read more - Washington Post)

Morning host Star of WWPR (105.1 FM) is dialing things up, on and off the air. His show is featured on 11 eye-catching new billboards that show a tongue heading for an ear - though it's not Star's ear. Those folks are models + Fred Imus' "Trailer Park Bash" starts Saturday, 6-10 a.m., on Sirius Satellite's "Outlaw Country" channel (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Susquehanna staff and management shake-ups and shake-outs begin as new owners, Cumulus, consolidate properties and future operations

Univision Amarillo, a Spanish-language television station, will play host to its second Cinco de Mayo celebration downtown on Saturday. Three Cumulus radio stations plan to air on the site including 93.1 "The Beat," Rock 108 and "The Kar," 95.7 FM  (read more - Amarillo Globe News)

Sometimes the technology works perfectly; it's the law and economics that get in the way. UK-based radio listeners won't have noticed, but since April 1 many British-based radio stations have begun switching off their internet streams to listeners based outside the UK. The reason: collection societies warned they would begin policing such streams and requiring payments. As most British commercial radio stations derive relatively little revenue from streaming to listeners outside the UK, most have elected to discontinue that part of their service rather than pay for a licence to continue (read more- Guardian Limited U.K.)

For the 28th consecutive ratings period -- seven solid years -- radio station WFMS-FM (95.5) ranked No. 1 among area listeners ages 12 and older (read more - David Lindquist-Indy Star)

WIZF-FM ("The Wiz" -100.9) dominates the latest Arbitron radio ratings survey for the Cincinnati market (read more - Cincy Biz Courier)

How many DJs, after all, can pull off an introduction like one Bob Dylan gives to Sinatra's ``Summer Wind''? Backed by the sound of a whipping wind, Dylan paints a graphic picture of those ``hot, dry Santa Anas'' that fuel raging wildfires in Southern California. ``It's hard for people who've not lived on the West Coast to realize how radical the Santa Ana figures in the local imagination,'' he growls. "West Coast weather is the weather of catastrophe. The Santa Ana winds are like the winds of the apocalypse. But the summer wind that Frank is singing about may be a little lighter. Come on in, Frank.'' And welcome, Bob, to the magical world of radio (read more - Rick Warner-Bloomberg)  (read more - Mail & Guardian)  (read more - Chicago Sun-Times)

Rush Limbaugh is in public denial. "From my point of view," he proselytized to his listeners, "the end result will be as if I had gone to court and won, but the matter is concluded much sooner, and at much less expense for both me and for the public." But this ugly matter could have ended far sooner, and at far less cost and aggravation, had Limbaugh not tried to manipulate the system with courtroom histrionics and bogus accusations of a conspiracy by Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer (read more - Editorial - Sun-Sentinel)

The country's former top transportation official, a prominent sports broadcaster and the president of Washington's first black-owned bank are among nine minority investors who have joined Theodore Lerner's family buying the Washington Nationals. The accomplished investment team includes a former assistant secretary of defense, a well-established lobbyist, two CEOs and a high-ranking Black Entertainment Television executive (read more - Paul Schwartzman-Washington Post)

From Murphy Martin -- April has come and gone and taxes have been paid. It brought to mind a question from a friend who was one of my news directors when I was at ABC-TV in the mid-sixties. Now retired on the outskirts of Manhattan, Ed Silverman sent me this list of taxes: Accounts Receivable Tax, Building Permit Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Cigarette Tax, CDL License Tax (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)

CBS is jumping on the broadband wagon with a launch expected today for a free entertainment channel sent over the Internet (read more- Paul Tharp-NY Post)

Sirius Satellite Radio said it will launch a weekly show hosted by lifestyle guru Deepak Chopra, in an effort to attract more women subscribers to its pay-radio service (read more - ABC News)

In much of our society, the young and vital get preferential treatment over the graying and saggy. But cheer up, wrinkled ones: These days, radio types here and elsewhere care much more about you than they do about those damn whippersnappers. As evidence, consider the music-oriented stations or formats that have been launched in the Denver area during recent years and their general lack of appeal to anyone born after Jimmy Carter left office (read more - Michael Roberts-Westworld)

ARBitron numbers for Dayton, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Louisville, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Phoenix, Portland OR, Salt Lake City-Ogden and Tucson (read 'em)

From Happy Hare -- Mexican American radio could do a better job of putting illegals on the road to citizenship. Popular Mexican American jocks could counter some of the radical propaganda being spread among their listeners without alienating the aliens. On your shows, you could give them even-handed information, They will respect your opinions because they like you and know you are simpatico (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)  

ESPN Radio 710 (KSPN) has appointed Larry Gifford as the KSPN Program Director effective June 5

From The Heathen Middle -- Eight huge companies own about 90 percent of all media in this country. That includes television, radio, newspapers, magazines, movies, and Internet. As corporate political bias has permeated our news sources and other media and entertainment outlets, the only readily available resource for public expression and diversity of thought has been the Internet. The proposed new legislation puts that under siege (read more - www.HeathenMiddle.com)

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to levy what likely will amount to wiretapping taxes on companies, municipalities and universities, saying it would create an incentive for them to keep costs down and that it was necessary to fight the war on terror. Universities have estimated their cost to be about $7 billion (read more - ZDNet)  (read more - Russell Shaw-ZDNet)

Hollywood came to Lake Wobegon on Wednesday as Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan and other stars gathered for the world premiere of "A Prairie Home Companion," the movie version of Garrison Keillor's folksy radio show. Downtown St. Paul rolled out the red carpet to welcome back the stars who filmed "Prairie Home" under Robert Altman's direction (read more - Grand Forks Herald)

Ask activists to explain why millions of immigrants have taken to the streets, and they will invariably credit Spanish-language radio DJs. Organizers of a Chicago rally that drew several hundred thousand protesters on March 10 said it wouldn't have come off without the help of Rafael Pulido, aka El Pistolero (the Gunman). Jesse Diaz, a promoter of Los Angeles' May 1 Day Without an Immigrant event—which attracted nearly half a million people—is quick to credit the boosterism of Eddie Sotelo, or El Piolín (Tweety Bird) (read more - Alexandra Starr-Slate)

NY Governor George Pataki presents a certificate of appreciation to Delilah for her participation in the prayer breakfast this morning. Premiere Radio Networks syndicated radio host, Delilah, was a special guest of New York Governor George E. Pataki and First Lady Libby Pataki at New York's 12th Annual Governor's National Day of Prayer Breakfast at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany (photo courtesy of Premiere Radio Networks)

Wednesday May 3, 2006

Anyone looking for a nice, quiet job in radio over the last year wouldn't have wanted to be Joel Hollander, CEO of CBS Radio. Between Howard Stern leaving and David Lee Roth crumbling, plus incidentals like dropping oldies on New York's WCBS-FM, there have probably been days when Hollander felt like the guy on the dunking stool at the carnival. Three balls for a dollar. Come one, come all. But there's almost always something that puts these high-stakes corporate dramas in perspective (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

A who's who of rap world luminaries has contributed to the wild west atmosphere at New York's leading hip hop radio station, according to a lawsuit filed seeking the eviction of Hot 97 from its Manhattan offices. In a blistering State Supreme Court complaint, the District Council of Carpenters alleges that WQHT is responsible for a series of episodes "that have shocked, offended, repulsed, or threatened the safety of other tenants" in the 10-story West Village building (read more - The Smoking Gun)  (read more - NY 1)  (read more - NY Times)  (read more - Austin Fenner-NY Daily News)

The speed in which celebrity drug abuser Rush Limbaugh was booked on a felony charge in the Palm Beach County Jail last week was nothing short of impressive. "There was no arrest. There were no handcuffs. There was no perp walk. There is no charge," Limbaugh said about his trip to jail. Of course, there was an arrest, and yes, there most certainly was a charge.  Hint: If you go to jail, get your picture taken and leave your fingerprints, you've been arrested. Even if you make a living twisting the truth, that's a tough one to twist. But for once, maybe Rush Limbaugh wasn't twisting. Maybe he was genuinely confused about his whirlwind tour of the jail. After all, people aren't used to being booked in the Palm Beach County Jail in LensCrafters' time. Remember Yanni? (read more - Frank Cerabino-Palm Beach Post)

What seems to anger the Left, other than Limbaugh's fame as the most successful radio star since Jack Benny, is that Rush has been a long-term opponent of illegal drugs. This, his critics say, makes Limbaugh a hypocrite. Hypocrisy might seem a fair accusation if, as Florida prosecutors say, Limbaugh violated the law by illegally obtaining prescription drugs. There is, however, a world of difference between, on the one hand, someone whose physical suffering leads them to become addicted to pain-killers and, on the other hand, someone who uses marijuana, heroin, cocaine or meth as a recreational thrill. It wasn't like Rush was popping Oxycontin, turning on the blacklight, and tripping out to Pink Floyd (read more - Lynn Vincent and Robert Stacy McCain-Frontpage Magazine)

Clear Channel Communications  Wednesday said its earnings more than doubled, helped by a benefit from selling assets (read more - Business Week)

Cox Radio today reported financial results for the three-month period ended March 31 (read more - PR Newswire)

Talk show hosts Stephanie Miller, Martha Zoller and Mark Simone were guests on CNN's Lou Dobbs' show last night (view the video)

Emmis Communications' stock is down 80 percent in six years and revenue hasn't met some investor's expectations. But CEO Jeff Smulyan is optimistic and says that "Emmis is turning the corner" (read more - IBJ)

Stephen Colbert has brought the White House and its press corps together at long last, creating a sense of solidarity rooted in something they have in common: Neither of them like being criticized (read more - Dan Froomkin)

Tony Zazza and Aaron "Cappy" Cappotelli, of KDMX/102.9 FM's The New Morning Mix With Tony & Cappy, featured Dateline NBC correspondent Chris Hansen on their show this morning. Why? Because the DJs and the journalist are both interested in efforts to catch online sexual predators (read more - Star-Telegram)

Westwood One has elevated Howard Deneroff to the role of VP / Executive Producer of Westwood One Sports

From John Rook -- Some of us may recall the days when AM radio was king. Imagine the excitement when hand held radio’s called “a transistor” made the theatre of the mind come alive to millions wherever they went. ABC’s founding father Leonard Goldenson told me those little distributors of programming in the hands of a generation just discovering rock music furnished the revenue that made ABC competitive with CBS and NBC, who in those days held all the marbles. Leonard said “it was the excitement of the music and those little radio’s that made the difference for ABC” (read more - www.JohnRook.com) 

Sirius subscribers should pick up headphones for that office computer: Howard Stern's uncensored satellite radio show will be available to them live via the Internet by mid-June. The No. 2 satellite radio company after XM hopes to attract subscribers by making its premier on-air talent available to them in multiple ways, CEO Mel Karmazin told analysts on Tuesday's conference call on first-quarter earnings (read more - USA Today)

ARBitron numbers for Atlanta, Columbus OH, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, Puerto Rico, Seattle-Tacoma, Tampa-St Petersburg (read 'em)

It wasn't a bad bucket of chicken wings that's responsible for Mike Trivisonno's series of colossal nightmares. Blame Opie & Anthony's second coming to Cleveland radio. Since their return, I'll bet the rotund one is waking up every morning bathed in a cold, clammy sweat. The last time Opie & Anthony's show, carried locally on what was called WXTM (X-treme) then and WXRK (K-Rock) now, they decimated Triv's audience and robbed him of first place in the ratings (read more - John Gorman-Free Times)

Excerpt # 3 from "Eddie Barker's Notebook" -- Before 60 Minutes fame, Don Hewitt produced the Cronkite News and some JFK specials. Even then he was the idea man. A good example: Lee Harvey Oswald used the name "A. Hidell" when he made the mail order purchase of the Mannlicher - Carcanno he used to kill the president. One day the phone rings and it is Hewitt: "Eddie I want you to see if you can buy a Mannlicher - Carcano through the mail using the name "A. Hidell" and try and get the same post office box that Lee Harvey used." To the task; I got a magazine full of mail order rifles and went to work (read more -- Excerpt 3 from the just published book, "Eddie Barker's Notebook" - www.EddieBarker.com)

It was a good winter for country music and smooth jazz, as WMIL-FM (106.1) and WJZI-FM (93.3) scored well in the first-quarter Arbitron radio ratings put out this week. WHQG-FM (102.9), which reinvented its rocker image as "The Hog" last year, scored impressive ratings gains (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

Construction could be halted today on Chicago's half-finished Museum of Broadcast Communications because of the state's failure to deliver $3 million in promised funding. Bruce DuMont, founder and president of the museum, blamed the snafu on Gov. Blagojevich for not releasing funds previously budgeted for the fiscal year ending 2006 and approved for the project. "If the state doesn't give us what they promised, things will get very messy and very ugly," DuMont warned (read more - Feder of Chicago)

Time is running out for voting members to submit their nominations. Deadline for returning ballots is today-  Wednesday May 3 -- A few of those who've been nominated for induction into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame so far include Gino Baylor (KZEY/KYOK/KCOH), George Erwin (KFJZ/KXOL), Paul Williams (KGKB/KNUZ/KDOK), Dave Ward (KGKB/KNUZ), Dizzie Lizzie (KZEY), Jerry Thomas (KNOK), Pat Hughes (KTBB/KGKB/KBOX),  Jody Dean (KXOL/KVIL/KRLD/KLUV), Jay Hoker (KZEW/KRQX), Randy Coffey (KFWD/KAUM/KRLD), Dave Tucker (KBOX/KFJZ/KLTY), Jim Mackrell (KXOL/KBOX), Sam Pate (KBOX/KLIF), Russ Bloxom (KXOL/KJIM/WBAP), Irene Runnels (KBOX/WFAA), Randy Robins (KDOK/KLIF/KFJZ), Jay Marvin (KWMC/KIXZ/K102-FM), John Bass (KDOK/KLIF), Dick Risenhoover (KRLD), Bobby Bell (KNUE/KTMJ/KKUS), Jay West (KILT), Chris Baker (KTRH), Ken Grant (KNUZ), Arch Yancey (KNUZ/KIKK), Laurel Ornish (KRLD/WRR/KZEW), Jonathan Hayes (KLUV/KNUS), Mike Shannon (KDNT/WBAP), Andy Waldrop (KSYM/KLIF), Bob Bruton (KXOL/KFJZ), Misty Fincher (KXOL/KLBK),  (Bill "Rascal" McCaskill (KILT/KXYZ), Peggy Sears (KBOX/KVIL/KLUV), Penny Reeves (KBOX/KVET), Chet Maxwell (KENS/KILT/KBOX-KMEZ), Jerry Miller (Mueller) (KONO/KILT), Dave Jarrott (KXOL/KTBC), Aaron Allen (KCTI/WOAI), Luis Munoz (KUNO), J. Dean McClain (KNOK), Glenn Mitchell (KERA), Ricky Davila (KEDA), Dr. Bruce Nelson (KFTX), Rosita Ornelas (KWED), Steve Crosno (KELP), Joe Anthony, Henry Pepsi Pena (KUKA),  Murphy Martin (KRBA, WFAA, KRLD), Bob Guthrie (WOAI), CC McCartney (KILT/KRBE), LaBella & Rody (KZEW), Hal Jay and Dick Siegel (WBAP), Kidd Kraddick (KHKS), Mary McCoy, Ben Downs (KTSR/WTAW), Mike Selden (KLIF/KVIL/KXOL), Bruce Hathaway (KTSA), Bob Cole (KVET), Don Cheney (KNUE), Winston Wrinkle (KBST), Skip Murphy (KKDA), Larry Galla, Clarence Bruyere (WFAA). Who will be inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2006?  The nomination process for candidates for the 2006 inductees has begun. Members may get information, download, print, fill-out and mail or fax nominating ballots by visiting www.TexasRadioHallofFame.com 

The US Senate's rewriting of the its telecommunications laws has a clause that looks designed to kill off the current generation of digital satellite TV and radio tuners. In a draft bill released on Monday Ted Stevens, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has put in a clause that will ban digital radio and TV tuners that let users record over-the-air broadcasts and save them (read more - The Inquirer U.K.)

When Howard Stern made the jump from broadcast radio to Sirius satellite radio, the shock jock announced that, free from the censorship of the Federal Communications Commission, he’d be able to present the show that he’s always wanted to make. But ironically, three months into this multi-million dollar experiment, it turns out that Stern’s greatest foe, the FCC, may have also been his greatest ally (read more - Alexander Stevens-Somerville Journal)

ESPN Radio has launched a free, daily podcast of The Stephen A. Smith Show,  airing daily from WEPN New York (1050 ESPN Radio). The new on-demand service will offer the first half-hour of the program through the new ESPN PodCenter (www.ESPN.com/podcast) as well as www.1050espnradio.com and the iTunes.com music store

Garrison Keillor says he's dropped out of a May 21st fundraiser for opponents of a proposed football field on Nicollet Island (read more- News 5)

The first thing I notice is the hair. It's wild, thick and very styled. There are strands strategically arranged to fall in front of his face, helping conceal his admittedly touched-up nose. It's not as '80s-rock-star as it sometimes looks on television. And if I wanted to, I could have reached out and touched it. Yes, I was sitting next to Howard Stern on Thursday night at the Howard Stern Film Festival, created to promote his recently launched pay television station Howard TV On Demand (read more - Howie Rumberg-Austin 360)

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