(home)

RDN Central Archives I

(Search Tip ... Click EDIT, then FIND in browser menu above to search this page) 
(Note: Links to other sites were reliable when posted.  If a link doesn't work, it is because those Web pages have been removed from their Web site's server)

Wednesday June 13, 2007

The Walt Disney Company and Citadel Broadcasting Corporation have completed Disney’s spin-off of its wholly-owned subsidiary ABC Radio Holdings, Inc. and its subsequent merger with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citadel (read more - Business Wire)  (read more - RTT News)  (read more - Houston Chronicle)

It wasn't quite as momentous as the Day the Music Died, but Tuesday marked a historic turning point for Chicago radio.
After more than 47 years as one of the crown jewels of ABC Radio, WLS-AM (890) is under brand new ownership (read more - Robert Feder-Chicago Sun-Times)

First, Dan Rather said on MSNBC Monday that successor Katie Couric had brought a " 'Today' show ethos" to "CBS Evening News," and the result was "to dumb it down, tart it up in hopes of attracting a younger audience." CBS boss Les Moonves responded Tuesday, calling the former CBS anchor's comments "sexist".  Dan Rather then escalated a feud with the network Tuesday, saying CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves "doesn't know about news" (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)  (read more - USA Today)  (read more - Adam Buckman-NY Post)

Baby, if you ever wondered why the classic sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” wasn’t released on DVD before now, let local actor/director Tim Reid (who played DJ Venus Flytrap on the show) explain: “Greed.” “It was a whole different world back then,” Reid says. “Back in the day … people would pay you to play their music. … Nowadays the greed of the industry is such that it would cost us just to clear [the rights for] one song what the entire show cost us to produce for one week” (read more - Richard Foster-Style Weekly)

If Rupert Murdoch can assure the family owners of Dow Jones that he will not meddle in the news coverage of the Wall Street Journal, the family will tell the company's board of directors it can start negotiating a sale price with the media mogul, a source said yesterday (read more - Frank Ahrens-Washington Post)

As the Sirius and XM merger moves forward, Sirius has retained former FCC chairman Richard Wiley and Mel Karmazin has been in informal meetings with FCC members (read more - Michael Learmonth-Variety)

Don Herbert, 89, television's "Mr. Wizard" who introduced generations of young viewers to the joys of science, died Tuesday (read more - Charlotte Observer)

Morning talker Michael Smerconish of WPHT-AM 1210 will be a guest Thursday on The View. Topic: political correctness, a la his book Muzzled (read more - Michael Klein-Philly Inquirer)

Because of Rush Limbaugh, some Democratic politicians don't want to join with a local radio station to broadcast hurricane information. Commissioner Stacy Ritter said she did not want to support a station that's out of step with area politics. Ken Charles, WIOD's director of AM programming, said the station's talk show lineup has no relationship with its news coverage and that the county should focus on the benefits of teaming with the station (read more - Scott Wyman-South Florida Sun-Sentinel)  (read more - Amy Sherman-Miami Herald)

Environmental and consumer advocates said Tuesday they are calling on Arkansas radio stations to stop airing what they claim are inaccurate and misleading ads about the debate in Congress over fuel-efficiency standards (read more - John Lyon-NW Arkansas Morning News)

The 4th Annual DFW Media "Lunch Bunch" soiree was well attended recently by many of Dallas-Fort Worth's "Media Discrete".  "What happened at Boston's Pizza, stayed at Boston's Pizza!" (Photo: Bud Buschardt and Bob Morrison) (read more - view all the photos)

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation plans to conduct investigations into the frequency of breast cancer among women in all of its studio complexes across the country (read more - Newswire NZ)

What do New Haven’s number one Morning Show of Chaz & AJ on 99.1 WPLR, fifteen babies, their fathers, a 2007 Cub Cadet LT 1042 Tractor, a 32 inch LCD/HD television, a pair of tickets to see the Police in concert and a watch have in common? Well, they are all prizes that the fifteen babies between 8 and 10 months of age will be racing (crawling) for in the 4th Annual 99.1 WPLR Chaz and AJ Diaper Derby

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

From John Rook -- As of June 1, 2007, nearly 30,000 fans have cast their votes for their favorite recording artists from 1950 to 1975, half of the votes came from Europe. Each of the nominees are required to have at least two top ten hits, singles and/or album of any genre. The Standing as of June 1st : 1. Elvis Presley 2. Beatles 3. Frank Sinatra 4. Neil Diamond (read the rest of the list and more - www.JohnRook.com)

The Bob Edwards Show, the flagship program on XM Public Radio (XM 133), has received the prestigious 2007 Robert L. Kozik Environmental Reporting Award from the National Press Club for the documentary “Exploding Heritage”

Radio One will sell KTTB-FM radio station in Minneapolis (read more - Reuters)  (read more - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)

“When XM first announced we’d be carrying golf on radio, the skeptics were like, ‘What? Golf on radio? Really?’æ” said David Butler, senior director of corporate affairs for XM. “It’s proven to be enormously popular for golf fans,” Butler said (read more - Mike Spellman-Chicago Daily Herald)

A new wrinkle is being added to Conclave 007: Radio Under Construction - exclusive Coaching Clinics, presented by the Audience Development Group. This year, air talents from any and all market sizes will be able to bring samples of their air work to the Learning Conference and receive comprehensive, one-on-one coaching guidance from top industry professionals (read more - www.TheConclave.com)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that former tight end Dave Moore, just hours into his retirement from the NFL, would be the color analyst for games broadcast on the Buccaneers Radio Network, joining legendary play-by-play man Gene Deckerhoff in the booth (read more - Buccaneers)

Paul Christy, a key figure in Detroit radio for more than 30 years, died in Grand Ledge Monday morning after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. On Wednesday, there will be a 10-11 a.m. visitation followed by funeral services at St. Michael Roman Catholic Church, 345 Edwards St., Grand Ledge (read more - Susan Whitall-Detroit News)

Envision Radio Networks and Consolidated Media are launching The Fame Game, an interactive radio game show available now at no cost for morning radio (visit Envision Radio)

Emmis has named Rick Balis, who currently serves as program director of Emmis' St. Louis stations KSHE-FM and KIHT-FM, and oversees programming at the entire Emmis St. Louis cluster, to the newly created position of vice president of rock programming

"The Ann Colone Show" on WANE TV was one of the highest rated programs in Fort Wayne for many years. The show was live and featured such famous guests as Bob Hope, The Rolling Stones and James Earl Jones. Colone died at her home after a brief illness (read more - WISH TV)

New York Times Radio newscaster Steve Powers, Ph.D. retires this month after 45 years in broadcasting (read more - eMedia Wire)

Ad spending in the United States will total just $152.3 billion in 2007, for an anemic 1.7% rate of growth and the smallest gain since the 2001 advertising recession (read more - Crain's NY Biz)

Tuesday June 12, 2007

Ted Leibowitz, owner and D.J. of BAGeL Radio, an indie-rock Web station he runs from a spare room in his apartment in San Francisco. After ceding ground (and potential advertising dollars) for years to an army of autonomous Internet radio stations, some of which are run from basements and spare bedrooms, the nation’s biggest broadcasters are now marching online, determined to corral the next generation of listeners (read more - Jeff Leeds-NY Times)

A federal jury has acquitted retired LAPD sergeant-turned-TV-reporter Rod Bernsen of charges that he inappropriately touched two 12-year-old boys while in the spa area of a cruise ship to Mexico last fall (read more - KTLA TV)

Alleging that Gerry Fulcher and Delmarva Broadcasting Company, which owns WDEL/1150, where Fulcher works, slandered him and published certain defamatory statements about him, former Wilmington City Councilman Norman Oliver has filed a lawsuit against the parent company and the on-air personality (read more - Estaban Parra-Delaware News Journal)

Life may be a series of choices, but when it comes to media and technology, an "old medium" – television – remains on top. Despite having hi-tech options to choose from, three in ten Rock radio listeners pick TV as most indispensable, besting the Internet, cell phones, FM radio, and iPods (read more - Jacobs Media)

Finding an afternoon counterpart to hyper-talented morning star Jonathon Brandmeier won't be easy. But that's the goal at Emmis Communications' classic rock WLUP-FM (97.9), which began the search in earnest this week for a new afternoon personality + Dave Logan, former program director of the Loop, has been named program director of KBSG-FM in Seattle. He most recently was at WCBS-FM in New York and Air America Radio (read more - Robert Feder-Chicago Sun-Times)

Opie & Anthony return live on XM Satellite Radio Friday following a one-month suspension (read more - CNN Money)

From Todd Sullivan -- The profitability with the two companies (XM and Sirius) is not due to lack of consumer interest; it is due to moves like giving Howard Stern hundreds of millions of dollars to essentially do what he did for for a fraction of the price on free radio. Heck, if they had just waited, the guy probably would have pulled an Imus soon enough and got himself tossed off the air anyway, then they could have picked him up on the cheap (read more - Todd Sullivan-Seeking Alpha)

With Katie Couric doing the "Evening News," CBS has been "dumbing it down, tarting it up," Dan Rather said yesterday, bashing his unsuccessful successor in the anchor chair (read more - Leo Standora-NY Daily News)

American Airlines, "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" and Premiere Radio Networks announced a marketing agreement that makes for one of the most extensive efforts ever by a global airline to reach African-American consumers (read more - PR Newswire)

Media Access Project, a public interest law firm opposed to media consolidation is seeking to block the sale of Tribune Company (read more - WQAD TV)

iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer of digital HD Radio technology, has hired Kelly Tober as Broadcast Marketing Manager. Tober will work with HD Radio broadcasters supporting their local market programs, on-air presence, web promotions and trade shows (read more - Ibiquity)

An upcoming Fox reality series about a model-turned-TV journalist (actress Lauren Jones) is causing a stir in the Tyler,Texas where it is being produced (read more - Reuters)

Listeners of two Portland radio stations that are up for sale -- WCLZ (98.9 FM) and WCYI (93.9 FM) -- will start noticing changes in the stations this week (read more - Ray Routhier-Portland ME Press Herald)

Radio Fargo Moorhead will buy  KKAG of Fargo in a $2.55 million deal that sends KVOX - Moorhead, MN to a Roman Catholic group (read more - West Central Tribune)

ARBitron numbers for Birmingham Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Salt Lake City (read 'em)

From The Radio Babe -- Dear Radio Babe: Subject: Maverick. Where is Maverick? I do not listen to that country station anymore. -- P.W.
Dear P.W.: After sending out her feelers, Radio Babe received an e-mail from the former morning man-program director from Sarasota's WCTQ (106.5 FM), in answer to your question (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

From Happy Hare -- I was awaiting word from Al Heacock, my PD at WADO in New York on how to extricate myself. For me, mortal danger brings moments of pristine clarity such as comes to those who are about to hang. Looking down on 125th street, I saw a tall skinny red haired man with glasses. I recognized him as Malcolm X, surrounded by followers. A man sidled up to me and began whispering his interpretation at what was taking place below. “Malcolm will not order them into the theater,” he said, authoritatively. “They’ll wait for you to come out.” ”How do you know?” I asked him, as a challenge, but hoping for a real good answer. “I am a Muslim,” he said. “Our religion forbids them to invade the theater. You are the guest of the Apollo. But….once you leave…” I got it. It all boiled down to my waiting for Al Heacock my WADO PD to get back with a way to extricate me from this mess (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

From Steve Eyre -- I continue to wonder how seriously some of the stations take their on-air promotional announcements about their own stations. And in this era, that can now include other co-owned stations in the same market. Those seemingly simple liner cards that the air staff reads every hour or as instructed are not always the most thought out. It's time to take a hard look at the logic behind many of these. While contests, giveaways, and special features, will always be a part of music stations, there is definitely room for changes in the presentation (read more - Steve Eyre)

Sports Byline USA, “America’s Sports Talk Network,” is celebrating its 19th anniversary as the pioneering and first national, sports talk radio network. The SBUSA network today has nearly 200 U.S. network radio affiliates and is heard in Dallas, Houston, Miami, San Francisco, Kansas City and Salt Lake City and on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 122

From Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0 -- "The best TV spot for a radio station - ever" (click here to view it)

660 WFAN, is celebrating 20 years of sports programming

Premiere Radio Networks has signed its 100th affiliate to broadcast the July 7 “Live Earth” concert. With 23 top 10 market stations already cleared, Premiere affiliate reps are still fielding requests for the special programming that’s being offered as a format-exclusive opportunity to AAA/HAC, Alternative/Active Rock, CHR/Top 40 and Classic Rock radio stations

From Laura Nachman -- Bob Barker’s final episode of “The Price is Right” airs Friday. The guy was flawless. I wish CBS could talk him into doing one more year. Expect Bob to clean up at the “Daytime Emmy Awards” that night (read more - Laura Nachman-Philly Burbs)

It's hard to see how a civil society is threatened by the occasional celebrity's vulgarity, or how it helps to punish a network that fails to bleep her. Instead, let the marketplace work. If enough discerning viewers refuse to watch second-rate award shows - where a mix of second-tier celebrities and alcohol seems to erode normal inhibitions - then the networks won't air them, and government's regulatory power can be focused on more important matters (read more - Cleveland Plain Dealer)

For the next three days, Poynter Online featues a special series focused on radio writing with CBS Radio's Peter King, audio storyteller Valerie Geller and Al Tompkins

“Blade will be a great addition to our line-up this summer,” said Mark Cuban, president and co-founder of HDNet. “This show has a huge cult following and the fans will love the way this series looks in high def.”

Doug Stephan, host of Doug Stephan's Good Day, Good Day Weekend and Talk Radio Countdown adds WDSM AM in Duluth MN (another former Imus affiliate), and WSJS AM and WSML AM in Winston-Salem NC

This week, Big D and Bubba talk with American Idol judge and executive producer of NBC's America's Got Talent, Simon Cowell on June 12, and Toby Keith on June 13

Nationally syndicated health-talk radio host Dr. Ken Kronhaus has signed with Media Management Group. "Good Day Health with Dr. Ken" is currently heard on more than 120 stations as well as the Cable Radio Network

Kofi Okyere Darko, (KOD), a music presenter on Accra-based Radio Gold, has told of how he narrowly escaped death at the weekend as a gun-totting youngster pinned him to the floor and fired ‘warning shots’ (read more - Ghana Music)

A long time sports broadcaster in the Susquehanna Valley, Dave Brandt, has passed away. He worked at WGAL from the early days of the station until 1982 (read more - WGAL TV 8)

Monday June 11, 2007

Howard Stern's highly paid producer, Gary Dell'Abate, is cheap. A Hawaiian Tropic Zone waitress says she won $5,000 on the shock jock's "Regular Hottest Chick" contest, only to have Dell'Abate take half for himself because, "I'm the one that discovered you"  (read more - Page Six NY Post)

Mother of mercy, was that the end of Tony? After eight years and six seasons, HBO's landmark Mob saga The Sopranos didn't so much end as stop. When last we see Tony, he is alive and well — sitting with Carmela and AJ in a diner and waiting for Meadow to finish a fraught-with-meaning parking job and join them. Then the door opens, and the screen goes blank (read more - Robert Bianco-USA Today)  (read more - Rob Owen-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Noticing the number of self-proclaimed "NPR aficionados" on online dating and social networking Web sites, the staffers at a local affiliate, WNYC, decided to sponsor a series of singles mixers. These events are led by the station's popular on-air personalities, and some feature news and pop culture quizzes — not unlike those heard on a long-running public radio program, "Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!" (read more - Gabrielle Birkner-NY Sun)

From Mark Ramsey -- As the PPM ratings world dawns, one of the sayings I'm hearing a lot nowadays is this one: "We used to market for awareness, but now we have to market for actual listenership." What? (read more - Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0)

Tune into Talk To Me and you're tuned to Life FM, the fictional radio station that's smarmy yet taunting, smooth but swift to mock. Late-night jock Mitch Moore is the kinda DJ who solicits phone-calls only to utter an instant rebuff to the folk making them (read more - David Belcher-The Herald U.K.)

68,000,000 streamies strong - pretty much speaks for itself. Look at the volume of streaming, check out the quality of advertisers, take note of the demographics of streamies - especially their age and income. It's not difficult to figure out where a content medium like radio has to be (assuming we don't save and slash our way into oblivion) (read more - Jacobs Media)

Southern Cross Broadcasting's 3AW Melbourne radio talkback host Neil Mitchell says he will probably have to "polish his shoes and buy a tie" after being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (read more - Nine MSN AU)

Steffan Tubbs, reporter and co-host of "Colorado's Morning News" on KOA 850-AM, this morning launches a five-part series, "The Oklahoma City Verdicts: 10 Years Later," airing at 6:35 and 8:35 a.m. daily through Friday (read more - Dick Kreck-Denver Post)

Gary Belt has a voice for radio – deep, gravelly, lively. "I've been told that," says the Danville man, who spends his weekday mornings doing a "drive-time" radio show from 6 to 10 a.m. on his not-for-profit, low-power radio station, WLBM-FM the Maxx. The rest of the day, he runs another drive program – Danville Area Community College's truck-driver training school (read more - Tracy Moss-News Gazette)

MINI USA announced that it is now offering a factory-installed digital HD Radio receiver with FM multicasting capability as an option in the all-new 2007 MINI Cooper and Cooper S hardtops, produced from June 2007. Now you can "build your own" Mini with HD Radio online (click here to build your own Mini)

Cindy Sheehan will sell her war-protest site near President Bush’s ranch to a California radio talk-show host, Bree Walker, who will preserve it as a peace memorial and keep it open to protesters (read more - Winston-Salem Journal)

Today, six years after purchasing his first station, Adam Nathanson is running California’s second-largest radio group after Clear Channel Communications. Nathanson says each of the 34 stations owned by his Mapleton Communications has carved out an identity, allowing them to stand out in an industry criticized for a homogenized sound after years of consolidation and cost cutting (read more - Alana Semuels-San Luis Obispo Tribune)

The former head of the Taleban regime's radio station and spokesman for its leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, met the media yesterday after surrendering to the Afghan government under an amnesty scheme (read more - The Qatar Peninsula)

When the three top Democratic presidential candidates talked about faith last week at a forum moderated by CNN's Soledad O'Brien, David Brody, a reporter for the Christian Broadcasting Network, recalls being "flabbergasted." "For the next hour I sat in my seat in awe," the television correspondent wrote on his blog. "There was conservative Christian 'red meat' everywhere. . . . I mean, I was waiting for Soledad O'Brien to pull a 'Mission Impossible' move, take off her face mask and reveal . . . James Dobson!" (read more - Howard Kurtz-Washington Post)

Some radio and television commentators (you know who you are, Bill O'Reilly) pronounce it with a special emphasis and "Hill-ary" is meant to sound diminutive and dismissive, and often accompanied by an eye roll. "The simple fact is that Hillary Rodham Clinton is running in a field of men who are never referred to by their first names," Jane Fritsch, an online Tribune editor wrote to me in an e-mail. "The argument that we call her Hillary to avoid confusion is a weak one. There are easy alternatives (read more - Timothy J. McNulty-Chicago Tribune)

Channel 4 has received more than 900 complaints saying it should not have removed Big Brother contestant Emily Parr from the show after she used a racially offensive word. Parr was removed from the house in the early hours of yesterday morning, after she used a racially offensive word to a fellow housemate (read more - Leigh Holmwood-Guardian Unlimited U.K.)

XM Canada satellite radio service has achieved 270,000 subscribers as of the end of its third quarter ended May 31 (read more - CNW Group)

These days advertisers fret over DVR owners fast-forwarding through their commercials, but that was far from the case with the release by Apple last week of four iPhone commercials, which viewers pored over with Talmudic intensity. Wireless providers such as Verizon and Sprint have already pumped billions of precious ad dollars into campaigns and are expected to quickly exploit any perceived advantage once the iPhone debuts  (read more - Andrew Adam Newman-NY Times) (read more - Holly M. Sanders-NY Post)

Broadcast radio isn't known for quick, dramatic change. FM broadcasting was developed in the late 1940s, but it was the late 1970s before it dominated AM radio in the United States. By those standards, HD Radio is a speedy pacesetter; the technology, developed and owned by Maryland-based iBiquity Digital Corp., was approved only within the past few years and is widely available in larger cities (read more - Jamie Gumbrecht-Lexinton Herald Leader)

KNX used to enjoy shares at 2.0 and above, but these days the rating hovers around 1.6. + Phil Hendrie is returning to talk radio June 25. He will be on 10 p.m.-1 a.m. weeknights on Talk Radio Network + KABC/790 AM and KLOS/95.5 FM go from ABC to Citadel, as we reported last week. As part of the change, station employees lose their Disneyland Silver Passes (read more - Gary Lycan-Orange County Register)

From Art Vuolo -- For longtime Detroit radio listeners, the name Paul Christy is certainly familiar. Born Paul Christides, he died of complications from Parkinson’s disease Monday + Popular morning co-host Rhonda Hart at Christian WMUZ-FM (103.5) died suddenly in her sleep at just 46 years old. She did the show on Monday, and late that night, her husband, Erik, found her not breathing (read more - Art Vuolo-Michiguide)

Joe Buck was born into broadcasting. His father, Jack Buck, was the beloved play-by-play man for the St. Louis Cardinals, as well as a respected national broadcaster of NFL and Major League Baseball games before his death in 2002. With his father as his role model, Joe Buck has become one of the nation’s most familiar voices, serving as the lead play-by-play man for FOX Sports’ coverage of the NFL and MLB. Last week, Tribune sports editor Joe Walljasper spoke with Buck about baseball and broadcasting (read more - Columbia Tribune)

From Tommy Kramer -- Radio legend Gordon McLendon once said that the only purpose of doing contests and giveaways at all was to make great promos. NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell said that his great Boston Celtics teams wanted to win every game--every pre-season game, every regular-season game, and every playoff game. Obviously, that's not really possible, but thinking like that enabled them to win ELEVEN  championships in thirteen years!  So, with those two thoughts in mind, let me give you a simple thing to go for. Try to do (or coach your Talent to do) everything on the air so clean, concise, and straight ahead that little or no editing would be needed to make a promo out of it (read more - www.TommyKramer.net)

Gay Radio: The Next Big Format? While Sirius Out-Q channel's paying audience may value explicit language and extremely frank discussion of sexual topics, different standards apply on broadcast radio, and a campaign by Clear Channel Radio to expand the kinds of programming heard on free, over-the-air radio has produced a new format called Pride Radio, heard on a dozen HD stations (read more - Marc Fisher-Washington Post)

From Gary Allyn -- Where Have All The Good Programmers Gone? Calling all good programmers! We know you're out there, but you just can't find a radio station who'll hire you. Today, more than ever, programmers are sitting at home listening to poorly programmed stations, and wishing they could just get their hands on them. Trouble is, radio ownership and/or management don't really want good programmers. They want people with the title of "Program Director", but they really want people who'll follow the corporate or company policy ... (read more - Gary Allyn)

Larry Register, news director of a U.S.-funded Arab language satellite television network that was accused of airing anti-Israeli propaganda has resigned (read more - WTOP)

From Claude Hall -- Some of us from the Platinum Age of Radio have gone on ahead. Others are soon to follow. We are, some of us, at that age where we suffer from some malady or, otherwise, now and then a strange and usually
unexplained illness. In my own situation, I call it the Absorbine Jr. days. We weather through these periods when possible. Regain some semblance of supposed reality or stability. Move on ... Yet, we cannot falter here. Nor even hesitate too long. We've too much left to do. You and I. No time to ponder fate. Only the future matters. Vague future. Nebulous. Off out yonder somewhere. But we have a great deal yet to offer. As our past fades, the future takes on great importance. We rush to achieve all that there is left to achieve. I write my novels. George Wilson does his Internet radio programming that is heard far off in nations we, unfortunately, never reached in person. Happy Hare is writing a book. Jay Blackburn is writing a book. Ron Jacobs does something never really defined, but he does it with passion. We are still involved and still determined. If there is a future for us, we're going for it! (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com)

Peter Tork of The Monkees has a message for Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner - stop monkeying around with our chances of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! (read more - NY Post Page Six)

Most of the topics talk show hosts choose come from the newspapers, which they have labeled “liberal media,” and, like some fanatical Mullahs, have instructed their “dittohead” (or is it dodo head) listeners not to consult the papers or anything else for information but their shows. If that’s all you listened to Friday, you’d be mighty confused about why President Bush accepted the resignation of General Peter Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first Marine in the position. Roger Hedgecock, who was filling in for Rush Limbaugh, explained that this was a ... (read more - Brad Kava-San Jose Mercury News)

From Mark Ramsey -- Here are two questions for NAB head David Rehr to ponder: 1. How many of the folks who are against the proposed Sirius/XM merger actually subscribe to or plan to subscribe to Sirius or XM? 2. If, let's say, Sirius vanished tomorrow, would all those former Sirius subscribers sign the dotted line for XM? Would most? Or would only some? Or (read more - Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0)

Saturday, June 30 is the date for the Conclave Learning Conference & Brown College Job Fair. The best news about the job fair, which will run from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at the Marriott City Center in Downtown Minneapolis: it's FREE for both employers and job seekers (read more - www.TheConclave.com)

Danny "DC" Rhett Coleman, 56, has died. He was a Savannah area radio announcer and music director, having worked with WSGA, WSGF, WRHQ and Cumulus Broadcasting (read more - Savannah Morning News)

The FCC issued a public notice Friday seeking comment on the proposed merger of licensees Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings (read more - Houston Chronicle)  (read more - Reuters)

Local TV news gets knocked for being cheesy, overwrought and sensational. The TV Guide Channel's new reality series "Making News: Texas Style" will do nothing to convince people otherwise. That's the bad news. The good news is, once you get over the fears that TV journalism is dead, the show is fun to watch. Still, in the series' first two hours, not once is there mention about the quality of the on-air product or the journalism. Instead, we learn about big hair, weight problems and dry anchors (read more - Richard Huff-NY Daily News)

Possible presidential candidate Fred D. Thompson is lending his voice to radio commercials for a company that says it fights identity thieves and that was co-founded by a man accused of taking money from consumer bank accounts without permission. The one-minute commercials are airing across the country on behalf of Tempe, Ariz.-based LifeLock Inc. (read more - Joseph Menn-LA Times)

Author Susan Isaacs told graduating Queens College students Thursday that it’s more important to have a diversity of ideas than censor such “pigs” as radio talk show host Don Imus.
“He is pretty much a pig, an amusing and intelligent pig. The station had the right to fire him,” she said. “But the demands for his ouster were wrong.” Isaacs, in her short but pointed speech, said that if you get rid of one talk show host, next to go is an offensive comedy show such as “South Park,” shock jock Howard Stern and conservative host Rush Limbaugh. “Then it’s your turn (to be quieted),” the author warned (read more - Liz Rhoades-Queens Chronicle)

With a $1 million prize up for grabs, contestants in CNBC's online stock-picking contest came up with an array of illicit schemes to scam the game, the financial news TV network said (read more - Janet Whitman-NY Post)

Former radio man John Ott has been slowly amassing an expansive portfolio in Columbia’s central district. Described as a tenacious salesman, Ott is facing his biggest challenge yet: convincing the city to partner in the renovation of The Tiger. Ott, who turned a radio sales career into co-ownership of a local group of stations which were sold to Cumulus in 2004, now has turned his imagination and energy to projects that promise to leave a lasting mark on downtown (read more - Kevin Coleman-Columbia Missouri Tribune)

Five years ago, KAZU radio's switch to National Public Radio's talk/news format whipped a feisty local band of niche music enthusiasts into a frenzy. More than a little of their ire should have been directed at David Giovannoni, as responsible as any East Coaster could be for KAZU's switch to NPR programming (read more - Brian Brennan-Monterey Herald)

Over the years many Midlanders have enjoyed listening to Odessa-based KOCV-FM, but a steady decline in signal quality has made it more difficult for fans to access the station's content. One fan, at-large City Councilman Bill Dingus, hopes the city may be able to step in and assist the station in broadening its coverage area. "The signal is just so low and poor in the Midland area that it can't be picked up because of too much traffic," he said. "We're looking for some way to cheaply cover all of Midland and Odessa so we can have a presence in both cities. We have listeners becoming more and more agitated because they can't hear us" (read more - Colin Guy-Midland Reporter Telegram)

Clear Channel Radio-Madison, chief sponsor of the Elver Park fireworks show on the Fourth of July event since 2004, pulled the plug Thursday, four weeks before the fireworks show, a 20 year tradition, because four out of five corporate sponsors didn't make their anticipated contributions and Clear Channel VP and MM Jeff Tyler said other sponsors were solicited but no one stepped forward to save the show (read more - Bill Novak-Madison Capital Times)

Bott Radio Network’s newest Christian talk radio station is now serving Southeast Kansas and Northeast Oklahoma at 91.5 FM, 24 hours a day (read more - Examiner Enterprise)

Dennis Kucinich has consulted with a lawyer about radio talk host Glenn Beck's on-air comments knocking Kucinich's marriage. The lawyer said, "A letter has been written to the executives of Clear Channel and Premiere and we're awaiting a response" (read more - Stephen Koff-Cleveland Plain Dealer)

From Mark Davis -- As a talk show host, I thrive on criticism. Whether it is a caller taking issue with a view I hold or a critic with a disapproving view of how I conduct the show, I’m always ready to defend the science and art of talk shows as I see fit to perform them. If there’s anything that drives me batty, though, it is the ill-informed blathering of people who take issue with my entire profession with blanket statements they should know are false (read more - Mark Davis-WBAP 820)

WBT-AM & WBT-FM afternoon drive talk show host Jeff Katz will be honored on June 15, 2007 as that day is declared "JEFF KATZ DAY" in the City of York, South Carolina

In Houston, a seller has "locked in an exclusive order of iPhones for June 15th release," offering the phone for $695. "As soon as they become available you will be able to collect it." These offers are likely questionable, since Apple isn't releasing it until June 29. It isn't for sale anywhere now, Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris says (read more - Jim Hopkins-USA Today)

ARBitron numbers for Colorado Springs Columbus OH Denver-Boulder Fresno Seattle-Tacoma (read 'em)

What radio guy do you want to pie? That's the title of an on-line poll launched this week by the Omaha Royals. The team is inviting fans to visit www.Oroyals.com and vote for which one of four local radio personalities they would like to see take a pie in the face during a game next month at Rosenblatt Stadium. The four radio personalities are: Kevin Kugler of 1620 The Zone, Glennboy of Star 104.5, KFAB's Tom Becka and Big Party of 94.1 (read more - Our Sports Central)

Mike Schiano, host of The Money Minute with Mike, will appear on NBC Universal's iVillage Live TV show on Tuesday June 12th noon- 1pm EST on NBC

Smooth Jazz 97.5 WJJZ will unveil "The Latin Quarter," a new music show this Sunday from 7 - 8pm, hosted by WJJZ's Bill Simpson

Envision Radio Networks’ BitXchange, produced and edited by Mike Marino,  adds affiliate Clear Channel's KLOL-FM in Houston. Morning host Bo Corona joins over 125 other stations already in the BitXchange network

Jet Black is moving to be the Program Director of HOT 98-1/WHZT-FM in the Greenville, South Carolina market on June 18th

99.9 KISS Country WKIS-FM, Beasley’s 25-year-old heritage country-formatted station in Miami, will feature top-selling recording artist Jason Aldean as the “virtual DJ” for its midnight to 5:30 a.m. air shift seven days a week, starting June 11

Friday  June 8, 2007

From Robert Feder -- Time for another installment of cards and letters across the television/radio desk: Steve Keno: Mr. Wolf should see what Rich Koz is doing these days and offer to form a comedy duo with him. "Svengoolie and the Wolf" sounds like a winning combination. I like a little mindless banter now and again, but let's face it: Bringing Bruce Wolf to WMAQ was about as smart as bringing Jerry Springer to the 10 p.m. news. James Catalano: That was sweet good news to hear Bruce Wolf's morning show flopped due to low ratings. Wolf is a moron (read more - Robert Feder - Chicago Sun-Times)

In a letter, NAB president and CEO David Rehr has urged Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin to end his attempt to merge the nation's two satellite radio companies and accuses him of misleading the public about the deal's benefits (read more - Brooks Boliek-Reuters)

From Tom Jicha -- The first indication that conservative talkers' influence might be waning came in the 2006 elections. Despite their predictions of the end of days if Democrats regained control of the House and Senate, the base paid little heed. Almost every hotly contested race went against the GOP. You know it’s getting really ugly when the President they helped elect and keep in office tells the media that those against the bill — there was no mistaking he was referring, at least in part, to the conservative hosts — don’t want to do what’s best for America (read more - Tom Jicha-Sun Sentinel)

Stephen Tapp, president and chief operating officer of XM Canada, will be leaving the company at the end of next week (read more - Digital Home CA)

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin reacted to an appeals court decision like an ape gone mad ... The FCC chairman must not be worried about his vulgar press release ending up quoted in blogs and Web sites for kids to read? (read more - Ryan Blethen-Seattle times)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio is providing coverage of the 2007 CMA Music Festival and Fan Fair on SIRIUS New Country channel 60 and Prime Country channel 61 for the four day festival, Thursday - Sunday. Listeners can hear hourly updates on Country Music’s biggest stars including Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Toby Keith, Gretchen Wilson, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Leann Rimes, and Lonestar. SIRIUS will also dispatch their DJs to hit the streets of Nashville and get the latest ‘word’ from Country Music fans

From Mark Ramsey -- Traveling around the country, I'll often hear stations - particularly AM stations with a heavy news posture - talk about the importance of local news to their information equation. Yet at the same time, my research repeatedly shows that once you get beyond traffic and local sports headlines and weather, "local news" per se is one of the things listeners - even information listeners - want least (read more - Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0)

This weekend, Virgin Radio in London will be at the Isle of Wight Festival with the best bits from both on-stage and backstage. (Photo: Virgin Radio) Keep your PC logged-on and your headphones plugged-in to virginradio.co.uk all weekend for exclusive video interviews, performance photos and audio highlights, and the festival blog (visit www.virginradio.co.uk)

MINI joins BMW, Hyundai and Jaguar as automotive brands that have announced major HD Radio commitments for factory installed units since the start of the 2007

ARBitron numbers for Atlanta   Charleston-Gastonia   Gainesville-Ocala   Miami-Fort Lauderdale   Orlando   West Palm Beach (read 'em)

From Jerry Del Colliano -- You need only to look to the panicked state of radio, records, television and newspapers to understand the monumental effect the Internet has had on the music media business.  Here's a short course: Radio, the medium for every next generation since it arrived on the scene, is forced to share time with the Internet (read more - Inside Music Media)

From Richard Huff -- WCBS/Ch.2's push to break exclusive news and help people in need is laudable. Christine Sloan, for example, should be praised for bringing to light a cancer cluster in Sayerville, N.J., which, once Sloan got involved, drew the attention of health officials and an investigation is underway. Sayerville officials actually thanked Sloan during a town meeting this week on the issue, and noted without her there would have been no investigation. That's good. Conversely, Mary Calvi, who was called to cover a CBS/2 "exclusive" about a raccoon on the loose in the East Village, treated the story as if she'd found Osama Bin Laden. That's not so good (read more - Richard Huff-NY Daily News)

From Jim Hightower -- Here in Austin, Texas, a TV station fired its news director and didn't replace him. Instead, the conglomerate owner decided to put the news director of its Tampa, Florida, station in charge of our "local" news coverage. Rumor has it that the Tampa guy had once visited our fair city, so apparently that qualified him to be the long-distance arbiter of Austin news. Can journalism sink any lower? Of course it can! (read more - Jim Hightower)

Zakk Tyler is out after two years at Emmis Communications' WLUP-FM 97.9, which elected to not renew his contract as 3 p.m.-to-7 p.m. personality (read more - Phil Rosenthal-Chicago Tribune)

The businessman seen fleeing from a hug from British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in the hit movie "Borat" has sued filmmaker 20th Century Fox (read more - NY Post)

C5FM radio presenter Gareth Cliff was suspended last week after playing a news clip in which a Bangladeshi national's watermelon shop had been looted in the Free State (read more - Independent Online ZA)

92.5 XTU’s 23rd Anniversary Show is an all-star lineup of country recording artists Montgomery Gentry, Dierks Bentley, Gary Allan, Taylor Swift, Cole Deggs and the Lonesome, Luke Bryan, Sarah Buxton, Bucky Covington, and special acoustic performance from Clint Black who will perform at this year’s free annual listener appreciation concert this Saturday Showdown at the Tweeter Center in Camden NJ

From Kent Burkhart -- Last weeks column regarding national public radio ratings created the following responses. All were informative. Rick Eytcheson, President and General Manager of Capital Public Radio, Inc. in Sacramento states: “Hello Kent. You may (or may not) remember me from my days of running KFBK and KGBY here in Sacramento and all of the West Coast for Chancellor prior to the merger with Evergreen. I have read with interest your brief missive on NPR. I became a huge fan several years ago and moved into my current position just last December. You noted the story in Seattle and San Francisco. There are many more examples. KNOW in Minneapolis had a 5.8 chare (12 plus) in the winter. KUT in Austin a 5.7, WBUR in Boston a 5.1, and my station KXJZ in Sacramento a 4.7….good for 4th 12 plus in Sacramento (read more - www.KentBurkhart.com)

Citadel Broadcasting's VP News/Talk Brian Jennings, actress Lorraine Bracco of the Sopranos, ABC News Radio's VP/GM Steve Jones, ABC News Radio Entertainment Correspondent Bill Diehl during a recent visit by Lauraine to ABC News Radio (Photo: ABC News Radio)

Buzz Flash has been doing a series of interviews with progressive talk show hosts. The first two were with Thom Hartmann and Randi Rhodes. This week, Stephanie Miller was added to the list. Stephanie is based in Los Angeles -- and her background in stand-up comedy heavily influences her show. As we were preparing this introduction, we came across this delightful You-Tube recording of when Randi Rhodes called into Stephanie's show. One thing you quickly note is that progressive talk show hosts have something right wing radio personalities rarely exhibit: a sense of humor (read more - Buzz Flash)

From Lee Abrams -- It was nine years ago last Friday that I arrived in Washington to join XM. Fresh off a 16 hour drive from Dallas inspired by the incredible lack of imagination on the plethora of radio stations I listened to on the ride. In fact I ended up listening to AM 1590 type local stations more than anything as at least they were somewhat interesting, even though the signals lasted for about 12 miles. Then it was over to old tapes for inspiration. Things like Arthur Godfrey, Daddy-O-Dailey, Alan Freed and Bob and Ray from the 50's; KFWB, WQAM, RADIO LONDON (BIG L), CHUM, WLS, WCFL, KLAC, WVON, WWRL, WABC, KJR, and WKNR from the 60's;Y-100, WDAF, LOOP, WMMS, KMET, WBCN, WEBN, WBLS from the 70’s and pretty much nothing from the 80's or 90's (other than some cool Australian, Japanese and Euro stations) because you could already here most of that-and it wasn't very inspired anyways-it's 80's and 90's style radio we were out to change...But there was a feeling of sadness and anger at how pathetic the newly consolidated terrestrial radio business had become (read more - Lee Abrams Blog)

From Laura Nachman -- Last week's column about the overrated and underrated sportscasters drew plenty of reaction: Nice to see Angelo Cataldi leading the list. I haven't listened to that show in so long. The rest of your list is excellent and Eskin, Tolly [Don Tollefson] and Leslie Gudel should definitely be there. I can't listen to Leslie or Jamie Apody for more than a few minutes. It is probably me, but in a business where the voice is important, their voices drive me crazy. Unfortunately, Harry Kalas' better days of broadcasting are behind him. He was special, but that was then and this is now (read more - Laura Nachman-Philly Burbs)

In order to get more people to tune into his classic rock and country music broadcasts, Phil Henry, 60, a former station manager in Dallas, turned to the Internet six years ago. Henry operates EGRN Mountain Community Radio and TV Networks out of his RV parked in Marshdale, south of Evergreen in Jefferson County. He has listeners all over the world. "That's what's so cool for a guy that likes to broadcast," said Henry (read more - Kimberly S. Johnson -Denver Post)

To keep up with technology, Camarillo-based Salem Communication has become an integrated multimedia company, a book and magazine publisher and an online content provider, while remaining a Christian and conservative talk radio broadcaster. It also has embraced new media, providing iPod downloads and Podcasts. "We see them as a tool," said Joe D. Davis, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Salem (read more - Jenni Mintz-Ventura County Star)

Sirius doesn't need the money. Losses are narrowing. The cash burn is slowing. The proposed merger with rival XM, if somehow cleared, would produce even more operating efficiencies. Does taking out a new loan that doesn't need to be paid in full until 2012 give the company more breathing room? Yes (read more - Rick Aristotle Munarriz - Motley Fool)

The Bob Costas show, Costas on the Radio, is carried on more than 120 stations by Premiere Radio Networks -- Costas on the Radio this weekend features interviews with Rick Reilly – Sports Illustrated senior writer and author of Sports Illustrated: Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly and David Steinberg – Comedian, actor, director, producer and writer. He currently hosts TV Land’s Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg and is author of The Book of David

Bangor all-sports radio station WZON (620 AM) and Dover-Foxcroft sister station WDME (103.1 FM) came back from the annual Maine Association of Broadcasters awards with the lion’s share of sports broadcasting honors (read more - Andrew Neff-Bangor Daily News)

Want to hear music from your iTunes library on your cellphone? No, not that cellphone. A Seattle-based company called Melodeo is betting that people will want to use their existing cellphones — not the upcoming Apple iPhone — to stream high-fidelity songs from iTunes playlists, without connecting to a computer or downloading music (read more - Edward C. Baig-USA Today)

Boston-based advertising agency, and first-time entrant to the Radio-Mercury Awards, MMB has won this year’s $100,000 Grand Prize with Badonkadonk, a Radio commercial created for Subway Restaurants (read more - RAB)

Phil Grosch, a nine-year Emmis employee and current Interactive Content Manager Q101 & The Loop in Chicago accepted the position of "Affiliate Manager" of Emmis Interactive

New York State Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, one of the largest statewide advocates for the country's two million Hispanic-owned businesses, today voiced its overwhelming support of the merger of SIRIUS and XM Satellite Radios (read more - PR Newswire)

Thursday June 7, 2007

Paul Stankavich says the station he now runs, KPLU-FM (88.5), needs "tweaking rather than adjusting. I don't think dramatic change will do us a lot of good." Indeed. When you're the ninth-ranked station in the market and enjoy a solid reputation in a music niche you largely have to yourself locally, why mess up a good thing? (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

From the folks who brought you "The U" and "Me-TV," now comes "Si! Me-TV" + Brian Foster has resigned as vice president and general manager of NextMedia Group's south and west suburban stations + Congratulations to Cher Ames, director of marketing at CBS Radio's WBBM-AM (780), and Chadd Wickert, a senior account executive at the all-news station (read more - Robert Feder - Chicago Sun-Times)

ARBitron numbers for Dallas-Fort Worth   Tampa Bay-St Petersburg   Minneapolis-St Paul   Buffalo-Niagara Falls (read 'em)

The launch of one new morning show on Milwaukee radio is leading to the relaunch of a veteran morning radio host, as WJZI-FM (93.3) brings Ellen Stout back to the early shift in the next couple weeks. She'll be joined from 6 to 10 a.m. by program director Stan Atkinson (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

FM 94/9's playlist is surprisingly diverse, even for an alternative-rock station. And it's all due to listeners. While other stations are continuing the recent tradition of ignoring song requests, 94/9 embraces them. "Insider DJs" take over the station for three songs every hour from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, while host Mike Halloran accepts a "dog dare" ---- a song he's dared to play ---- each weekday afternoon (read more - Randy Dotinga-San Diego NC Times)

The American Antitrust Institute is in Opposition to the Consolidated Application for Authority to Transfer Control of XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio (read the filing)

At midnight on Feb. 17, 2009, the rabbit ears and the rooftop antennas that still guide television signals into nearly 1 of every 5 American homes will be rendered useless — unless they are tethered to a new device, including two versions unveiled yesterday, that the government will spend as much as $80 a household to help families buy (read more - Jacques Steinberg-NY Times)

"We found that women and people of color control just one-eighth of the country's full-power radio stations despite comprising two-thirds of the population," said S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press and author of Off the Dial: How Media Consolidation Diminishes Diversity on the Radio. "These results are stark and a cause for alarm. The FCC should be aware of the consequences before enacting any policies that could further media concentration" (read the report - Free Press)

From Jacobs Media -- The video revolution is underway, led in large part by YouTube. While most people focus on its sale to Google for $1.65 billion, consider this: YouTube didn't even exist until February 2005. This reinforces the amazing potential of web-based business concepts, as well as the meteoric rise of streaming video. This year's version of the Jacobs Media Tech Poll reinforces the video phenomenon among Rock Radio listeners (read more - Jacobs Media)

After 35 years on Wichita radio -- the most recent seven at Entercom's KEYN, 103.7-FM, John "Boy" Speer is off the air. Speer and his morning-show sidekick, Bekki Gardner, were laid off today along with several other employees (read more - Carrie Rengers-Wichita Eagle)

The heightened royalty rates enacted by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board earlier this year and scheduled to take effect July 15 are not the only thing that's firing up leading Internet radio industry companies like RealNetworks, Yahoo, Pandora and Live365 (read more - Ann Broache-CNet News)

Celina Avila, a Channel 7-KVIA (cable Channel 6) anchorwoman and reporter, avoided being arrested at work after asking for a favor from a high-ranking El Paso police official. But police officials deny that she was treated any differently than other people in similar circumstances when she was allowed to surrender later on outstanding traffic charges (read more - Daniel Borunda-El Paso Times)

Cleveland radio disc jockey Larry Morrow and an impending jump to satellite radio. "The familiar soothing baritone of Cleveland radio voice Larry Morrow returns to the airways later this month. "Morrow, an institution in Cleveland radio since the mid-'60s, signed a one-year contract with Sirius Satellite Radio to broadcast live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum tentatively starting June 19 (read more - Michael Norman-Cleveland Plain Dealer)

From Brad Kava -- My new rule on talk radio: I’ll listen to anything and anyone, until they tell a blatant lie. In the case of Rush Limbaugh today, that was all of 90 seconds. Limbaugh was talking about a story in today’s newspaper about Honda dropping its hybrid Accord model, which hasn’t been selling well (read more - Brad Kava-Mercury News)

Saul Levine is bringing back a touch of the pop standards format to his radio station at 1260 AM (read more - LA Times)

From Mark Ramsey -- While the new iPhone does not literally contain a radio, it functions like an iPod (among many other things) and can thus fulfill that part of you that wants your tunes in a groovy cross-category package, albeit one with a $600 entry fee ... Actively or passively, listeners will gradually become their own programmers (read more - Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0)

"We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. ...From the press and the pulpit we have suffered much by being incorrectly represented." So wrote John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish 180 years ago in the inaugural issue of Freedom's Journal, the first African-American newspaper founded in New York City. It is sad that their quote is as relevant today as it was in 1827. Two centuries later, even though people of color make up a third of the U.S. population, the media are still struggling to integrate diverse voices in news coverage and staffing. Media companies are quick to pledge their support for newsroom diversity, but their actions still fail to match their rhetoric (read more - Joseph Torres-Scripps Howard)

Angi Taylor, who left Q102's morning show in 2004 after a year and a half when she got pregnant and moved to Chicago to join her boyfriend, is auditioning for her old sidekick job (read more - Michael Klein-Philly Inquirer)

Dennis Bartel, who hosted the morning show at the station from 1975 to 1980, is returning to host the weekday 5-10 a.m. shift, starting Monday, KUSC said (read more Lee Margulies-LA Times)

Just blocks from the Chicago courtroom where Conrad Black is fighting charges of fraud and racketeering, Sun-Times Media Group Inc., the newspaper company he once ran, faces a trial of its own (read more - NY Post)

Jon Petrovich, a longtime broadcasting executive who worked at CNN for 15 years, has been named to lead the U.S. broadcasting operations of The Associated Press (read more - Hemscott)

eBay has selected Bid4Spots to power the eBay Media Marketplace for Radio. The eBay Media Marketplace for Radio is already live; advertisers and agencies interested in buying can register immediately by visiting www.ebaymediamarketplace.com

From Murphy Martin -- Nearly three Months ago, I made some "Early Predictions" on the 2008 presidential race in my March 22 commentary which have proven to be "50% true" so far.  Today, we revisit the column.  He was Howard Baker's Campaign Manager in his successful run for the U.S. Senate in 1972. He served as co-chief-counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee during it's investigation in 1973-1974. In 1994, he was elected to the United States Senate to fill the unexpired term ending January 3rd when left vacant by the resignation of Al Gore. He defeated a six-term Congressman to gain the Senate seat. He was easily re-elected for a full term in 1996 and served until January 2003. In 2000, he was among those mentioned to become the vice-presidential running mate with George W. Bush (read more - www.MurphyMartin.com)

Envision Radio’s American Biker Minute celebrates Father’s Day with a full week of the daily 60 second vignette featuring stoplight interviews on favorite memories and stories about Dad from motorcycle enthusiasts across America the week of June 11th

Five of Clear Channel Communications radio stations in Farmington are in the process of being sold (read more - Andrea Koskey -Farmington Daily Times)

If you aspire to say a really, really naughty word on broadcast television anytime soon, here's some advice: Make sure it qualifies as a "fleeting expletive," meaning you should act like you said it extemporaneously and not repeat it over and over again ... at least not on the same broadcast (read more - Saginaw News)

Nancy Duarte fell for high-tech gadgets. Her basic feelings about consumer technology did not change. What changed was the design of the products. They were easy to use and that appealed to her. “Women are busier than men,” she said. “I don’t love technology enough to sit down and spend two hours with a manual like it’s some great puzzle. Men get great gratification out of that. I’d rather read a book” (read more - Michel Marriott-NY Times)

A 41-year-old man drowned Wednesday after getting stuck in a storm sewer trying to retrieve a cell phone, police said. The man weighed more that 300 pounds and was wedged with his head and shoulders underwater in a vertical storm drain in front of his home (read more - Miami Herald)

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is going to turn down the Univision TV network's invitation to participate in what would be the first presidential debates to be conducted in Spanish, while the other major candidates are undecided (read more - Beth Reinhard-Modesto Bee)

Free Wi-Fi bathes the entire neighborhood. Victory Park is built as much on technology as it is on glass, steel and concrete, and Ross Perot, Jr hopes his glittering development will become a magnet for tech-savvy residential and commercial tenants. "Victory Park is attracting a creative class," he said. "It's a creative class that lives here, that works here. They all have to have great technology"  (read more - Victor Godinez-Dallas News)

During the past 18 months, MultiState Associates, a consulting firm for lobbyists, has compiled a database on more than 2,000 communities with populations of 60,000 or more interested in developing municipal broadband or wireless services. Its data shows that while thousands of towns are interested in developing municipal networks, few vendors are willing to take on small projects (read more - Candace Lombardi-USA Today)

Sangean America today announced the introduction of the HDT-1X, a deluxe version of its HD Radio component tuner

Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield joined FOX Sports Radio’s Sean Farnham and Denny Hocking in studio on The Drive on FOX (Photo: Fox Sports Radio)

A burgeoning cohort of chief execs are getting lush compensation deals that last long after they've driven out of the corporate parking lot. Michael Eisner got a post-termination bonus of $7.5 million a year for two more years, or one year if he takes a role at another major entertainment company other than as an independent producer. In addition, Eisner got an annual annuity of $297,779 for life. Before he stepped down in October 2005, he got $9.1 million in 2005 salary and bonuses (read more - Elizabeth MacDonald-Forbes)

“Avoiding FCC Fines for Payola and Play-for-Pay” is the topic for this month’s Distance Learning Seminar from the Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association (BCFM),   Thursday, June 21, from 4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. (ET). The seminar will review what the FCC expects broadcasters to be doing with respect to documenting all items received from record companies and independent music promoters (read more - BCFM)

Steve Earle will host a weekly show on the Sirius Outlaw Country station, channel 63. Hard Core Troubadour Radio will be a one hour program featuring Earle’s personal music selections as well as on-air interviews with special guests (read more - Kate Leary-The Harp)

20 years after the incarnation of the Smooth Jazz format on radio, The Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown debuts this weekend on radio stations in Chicago, Miami, Phoenix, Baltimore and many other markets

Debut Broadcasting Corporationhas received FCC approval on the first of two acquisitions pending in the Greenville-Greenwood, Mississippi Market, WNLA AM and WNLA FM, currently owned by Shamrock Broadcasting, and notably once owned by Eddie Fritz, former President of the National Association of Broadcasters (read more - Earth Times)

Arbitron announced that it has retained former Radio Advertising Bureau president and CEO Gary Fries to provide Arbitron with insights and recommendations about the needs of radio station owners and operators in smaller markets

Borrell Associates has released its "What Local Web Sites Earn: 2007 Survey." Of interest to Audio Graphics' readers are these two items from this report: "Local online advertising is expected to hit $7.5 billion this year, a 31.6 percent increase over 2006." And that the radio industry will be netting just 2.2% of local internet ad spend (up from the 1% last year) (read more - Audio Graphics)

Wednesday June 6, 2007

XM and Sirius have hired a high-profile public affairs firm to lobby the federal government on their proposed combination, which faces regulatory and congressional scrutiny (read more - Dibya Sarkar-Forbes)

In preparation for the pending merger, Disney and Citadel today announced information regarding the transaction consideration (read more - Walt Disney News)

Supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle is teaming up with employees at Dow Jones & Co. as they look for ways to buy the media company for themselves and block a sale to News Corp (read more - Janet Whitman/Paul Tharp - NY Post)

eBay says it will start selling radio airtime to advertisers, expanding into a business that Google entered last year (read more - Brad Stone-NY Times)

WCLZ is being sold by its parent company, Citadel Broadcasting, which is buying the ABC Radio chain and is limited on the number of stations Citadel can own (read more - Portland ME Press Herald)

Women and minorities are largely absent from radio station ownership, thanks to a surge in media consolidation. A public-interest group study made that case Tuesday, arguing that the groups were woefully underrepresented as radio stations increasingly are swept up by big chains headed by white males (read more - Jim Puzzanghera-LA Times)

On his June 4 630 KHOW-AM show, while discussing the foiling of an alleged terrorist plot to attack JFK airport in New York City, Peter Boyles downplayed bigoted remarks directed toward Muslims a month earlier by a colleague, Newsradio 850 KOA host "Gunny" Bob Newman (read more - Colorado Media Matters)

Three gunmen fatally shot a female owner of a radio station in northern Afghanistan early Wednesday, less than a week after another female reporter was gunned down in her house (read more - Houston Chronicle)

Clear Channel Radio has selected VeriSign Interactive Applications Services to deploy a robust suite of mobile services that strengthen the connection between listeners and their favorite radio station (read more - Market Wire)

WOKY-AM (920) has replaced syndicated programming from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays with the recorded voices of its own DJs introducing songs from the station's 1960s playlist. Program director Jerry Bott says it will make the weekends sound more like the weekday format and could expand to Sundays (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

With its 10th anniversary approaching, homegrown Eunice radio station KBON has defied the odds to become a regional powerhouse (read more - Nick Pittman-Lafayette IN Independent Weekly)

Presidential candidate debates entirely in Spanish?  It's an idea that Univision has invited the White House hopefuls from both parties to participate in for the first time ever  (read more - Peter Wallsten-LA Times)

Glenn Beck, who compared Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich to the Gollum character from "Lord of the Rings" and speculated that his wife, Elizabeth, must be under the influence of a "date rape drug" to find him attractive, has been targeted for complaints by media watchdog group Media Matters for America which posted the remarks from the June 4 edition of Glenn Beck's nationally syndicated radio show on its Web site, and urged its members to "take action" by contacting Beck and his radio network. Beck spokesman Adam Miller said the show hasn't "really heard anything, regarding complaints from anyone" (read more - Sabrina Eaton-Cleveland Plain Dealer)

From Sonny Melendrez -- The other day I asked my 16 year old son what his current  favorite song was and got an interesting answer. He said he didn't have a favorite song, but mentioned a group he really liked. Then I asked how he found out about the group, he said his friends had turned him on to their music and web site. Before I had a chance to ask my next question, he had produced their list of songs downloaded from I-Tunes. Notice something interesting here? No radio. The entire process from introduction of new music to it's purchase happened without the use of radio. And, while this phenomenon is nothing new, it's becoming more of the norm these days. Fact is, teens today do not know a world without the Internet (read more - Sonny Melendrez)

The Federal Communications Commission has ruled that Beasley Broadcast Group was not out to intimidate or harass Coral Gables lawyer John ''Jack'' Thompson in retaliation for pursing indecency charges against the Naples-based media group (read more - Jim Wyss-Miami Herald)

She doesn't care about a radio she doesn't own or need. We can promote HD radio until we're quite blue in the face, but are we doing it to prove a point to Wall Street and to the Detroit automakers? Are we doing it to "checkmate" satellite radio? Or are we doing it because she seems to want it? She doesn't care if the contest is local or national. She just cares that it makes for better listening than the song it replaces. She doesn't care if a DJ is live or Memorex. She just cares if it's the kind of DJ she wants when she's hearing it (read more - Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0)

Mexico's Supreme Court took preliminary votes on Tuesday to curb rights broadcasters had gained under a 2006 law, saying it gave the two largest companies, Grupo Televisa and TV Azteca, unfair advantages (read more - Houston Chronicle)

Jurors got a glimpse inside Phil Spector's castle-like mansion when prosecutors displayed pictures of the location where an actress was found shot to death (read more - NY Post)

LaDawn Black, relationship expert, author and Radio One radio personality, is featured in the July 2007 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.  Black is one of the experts in the article, His Secret Sex Trigger, on page 116

Also bowing to ratings, WMAQ-Channel 5 is pulling the plug on Bruce Wolf's pre-dawn weekday morning show + Antonio Mora took the fall Tuesday for low ratings at WBBM-Channel 2 by being demoted after more than five years as 10 p.m. news anchor at the CBS-owned station (read more - Robert Feder - Chicago Sun-Times)

Sam Waterston may be a getting a "Law & Order" promotion. The actor is negotiating to step in as the show's New York district attorney, replacing co-star Fred Thompson, a source close to the production said. Thompson, a former U.S. senator, is weighing a presidential run and asked to be released from the NBC drama (read more - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

The Museum of Television & Radio will be renamed The Paley Center for Media to better reflect MTR's evolution to a center that convenes media leaders and enthusiasts for programs that explore and illuminate the immense and growing impact of all media on our lives, culture, and society (read more - PR Newswire)

The proliferation of cable and radio channels ensure that viewers have access to vulgarity-free programming and proliferating technologies ensure that parents can bar their children from adult language. And while it's not a view that the FCC shares, certain swear words, including the f-word, have become so common as to be devoid of denotative meaning and, indeed, any meaning at all (read more - Daily News Tribune Editorial)

Fox News Channel apologized on-air Tuesday for running tape of a different congressman while reporting Monday on the indictment of Rep. William J. Jefferson on bribery charges. "Fox News has a history of inappropriate on-air mistakes that are neither fair, nor balanced," Congressman John Conyers said Tuesday (read more - USA Today)

CNN Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange's dismissal followed a reprimand for using his company e-mail account to continue an affair with a woman who subsequently published many of the messages on her blog, the woman, Marianne Briner, wrote last week on the blog, "Distant 'Lovers'" (read more - Richard Prince-Maynard Institute)

It's no secret, "American Idol" is the most successful show on TV. And that success is filtering down, all the way to your radio. No matter what radio station you listen to, odds are you'll hear something about "American Idol" (read more - Fox 28 South Bend)

Technology blogs Ars Technica and The Unofficial Apple Weblog were among the first to reveal that personal data remained in the unrestricted iTunes tracks. Their reports last week prompted speculation that the data could be used to trace copies uploaded to online file-sharing networks back to the people who originally purchased the tracks, opening those users to music industry copyright lawsuits (read more - USA Today)

From John Rook -- Throughout history, often popular music advanced the acceptance of risqué language on an unsuspecting public. What shocked the sensibility of one generation would be acceptable to another. In the early 60’s, Denver dj Royce Johnson forced a change in licensee for KIMN when he decided to flush a toilet over the air. In Kingstree, South Carolina, Charley Walker of WDKA cost his owner a license when the Federal Communications Commission deemed his humor, minus profane words of any kind, “coarse and by innuendo vulgar” (read more - www.JohnRook.com)

Radio and multi-media veteran Donna Britt is joining ABC Radio Networks' American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks as Writer & Producer and will be responsible for writing the show’s script

Jessica Alba, known for her roles in Dark Angel, Sin City and Into the Blue, and Emmy- and Golden Globe wining actor Michael Chiklis of The Shield fame, both starring in the upcoming film the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, visited ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn. Tuesday afternoon

Bridge Ratings and Ando Media announced that Bridge will offer Ando’s suite of services that assist Internet radio stations in measuring and monetizing their audience. The arrangement allows Bridge to offer Ando’s three Internet Radio products through its new division called Net Radio Data. Internet advertising continues to grow at astounding rates and will surpass terrestrial radio’s total advertising dollars spent by 2008 + NetRadioData is IP radio’s only 3rd party audience measurement system which relies on ‘real data’ (read more about the service) (read more - Bridge Ratings stats)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has obtained a $250 million senior secured term loan commitment from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding which will be used for general corporate purposes

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

Smooth Jazz 105.9 WJZW adds the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show beginning Tuesday June 19

KYW Newsradio late-night anchor Bill Shusta, a 28-year veteran, will retire at the beginning of next month (read more - Michael Klein-Philly Inquirer)

Trinity Broadcasting Network, the world's largest Christian television system, has come to the rescue of the financially troubled Holy Land Experience, a Bible-based tourist attraction near Universal Studios Orlando (read more - Mark I. PInsky-Orlando Sentinel)

Are cellphone companies using their sway over handset makers to unfairly limit consumers' choices? Skype, a pioneer in PC-to-PC calling, thinks so, and it wants the Federal Communications Commission to do something about it. In a blistering filing with the FCC, Skype basically accused Verizon Wireless and other big carriers of holding their customers hostage because most cellphones sold in the USA are "locked," meaning you can only use applications and features sold by your carrier (read more - USA Today)

Fox Sports Radio adds WSAR-AM 1480 in Fall River, Mass; WREL-AM 1450 in Lexington, Va; WMLP-AM 1380 in Milton, Pa; WKOK-AM 1070 in Sunbury, Pa; WSBM-AM 1340 in Florence, Ala; WHOS-AM 800 in Decatur, Ala and WBHP-AM 1230 in Huntsville, Ala

The Money Pit, hosted by Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete, America's largest Home Improvement Radio Show, adds KTBB AM in Tyler TX, KDXE AM in Little Rock AR, WEIR AM in Weirton WV, and WMOV AM in Ravenswood WV as affiliates

Tuesday June 5, 2007

If President Bush and Vice President Cheney can blurt out vulgar language, then the government cannot punish broadcast television stations for broadcasting the same words in similarly fleeting contexts. Ruling in favor of Fox, NBC, and CBS, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the FCC gave no justifiable explanation for parting in recent years with a decades-old policy of not seeking enforcement action against the networks for "fleeting expletives". FCC officials said the opinion could gut the ability of the commission to regulate any speech on television or radio (read more - Joseph Goldstein-NY Sun)  (read more - NY Times)

Video of MSNBC's Joe Scarborough bantering on the cable news network Friday about whether Fred Thompson's wife "works the pole" is sparking criticism of Scarborough from the right, left and in between. The South Carolina politics blog Palmetto Scoop, which other bloggers are crediting for picking up on Scarborough's comment, says this could be another "Imus moment" for MSNBC. Liberal talk show host/blogger Taylor Marsh writes that the remark "sure does tell the story of what Republicans think of women." (read more - USA Today)

When host "Gunny Bob" Newman launched his anti-Muslim missile on his KOA 850-AM talk show last month, it created an uproar that led some advertisers to bail on his show. What he said: "I want every Muslim immigrant to America who holds a green card, a visa, or who is a naturalized citizen to be required by law to wear a GPS tracking bracelet at all times." The Muslim community was not pleased. Unfortunately, that community hasn't had much of a chance to voice its response in the media - until Taj Ashaheed (read more - Dick Kreck-Denver Post)

For two decades -- until his retirement in 2001 -- Bernard Shaw was the front-and-center face of CNN. As one of its original anchors, the Chicago native set the tone for serious, insightful journalism on television's first 24-hour cable news operation. So it pains him deeply to see what has become of the proud brand he helped create. Asked what he now thinks of CNN, Shaw told WTTW-Channel 11's John Callaway: "I try ..." + Joey Fortman has resigned after three years as morning personality at "Nine FM"  (read more - Robert Feder - Chicago Sun-Times)

Heartbreaking news from Christian WMUZ-FM 103.5 as Rhonda Hart passed away suddenly overnight at the age of 46. The cause of her death is unknown at this time + For long-time Detroit radio listeners the name Paul Christy is certainly familiar. Born Paul Christides he died of complications from Parkinson’s disease last Monday (read more - Mike Austerman-Michiguide) (read more - Art Vuolo)

Last week, HUMAN EVENTS attracted much attention with an open letter to the Nobel Committee detailing why conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh deserved the honor the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize much more than former Vice President Al Gore. Limbaugh read the letter on the air and it was linked to on his web site (read more Human Events)

If you're looking for an example of what satellite radio can do that terrestrial radio can't - or doesn't - XM satellite is marking this week's 63rd anniversary of the allied landings at Normandy with a repeat of the NBC radio broadcast of the event as it unfolded. It starts off on XM's '40s Channel (Channel 4) with the first bulletins at 11:41 CT tonight and stretches to 4:45 p.m. Thursday (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

ARBitron numbers for Washington DC, Baltimore, Akron and Hartford (read 'em)

CBS and CNN in merger-acquisition talks? (read more - Variety)

Talk Radio Network-FM adds the Phil Hendrie Show, premiering June 25, 2007 (read more - TRN)

Rob Grill, the lead singer of the '60s rock band The Grass Roots faces three felony counts of obtaining prescription painkillers illegally after sheriff's detectives arrested him at his home in Mount Dora. "I'm no Rush Limbaugh," he said ... Grill said he needed the pain medicine to cope with six hip-replacement surgeries and a degenerative bone disorder called avascular necrosis  (read more - Stephen Hudak-Orlando Sentinel)

Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers was on "Daddy Dave's Hollywood Diner" on XM Satellite Radio the other night talking about how "Unchained Melody" became one of radio's most enduring signposts and is being honored Thursday at the Hall's annual induction gala with its Towering Song award (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Former WAPE-FM morning personalities Eden Kendall, Steve Sutton and Amadeus will join Renda Broadcasting's WGNE-FM, 99.9 Gator Country (read more - ABC 25 First Coast News)

Morning personalities Loren Owens and Wally Brine have renewed their contract for another long term agreement at Greater Media Boston's WROR-FM

Big D and Bubba kicked off a week of guests and live interviews on The Big D and Bubba Show with Actors John Schneider and Ben Jones from TV’s The Dukes of Hazzard (Photo-Ben Jones, Bubba, John Schneider and Big D in front of the General Lee-Courtesy Premiere Radio Networks)

From The Radio Babe -- Hello there, Radio Babe: I have purchased a new 2006 Toyota Solara hardtop. The AM/FM radio does not have good reception on AM. There is no outside antenna. I like to listen to 970 AM WFLA, but the reception fades in and out as I drive around the city. My hubby has a 2003 Dodge truck and has no problem receiving the AM signal. I have been told by the Toyota dealer service people that there is nothing wrong with the radio. They also claim there is no antenna available for the radio. The dealer tells me that the AM signal is weak locally and that there are not enough AM signal towers available in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. Also, that AM is on its way out. Soon there will be no AM, only FM and satellite radio. Is this true? Can you tell me if there is a problem in this area? Thank you. -- J.C.
Hello there, J.C.: Radio Babe chuckled aloud reading your letter (read more - Dawn Scire - The Radio Babe)

SoundExchange seems to have blinked, at least a bit. Last month the organization made an offer to extend the rates and terms of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002 to smaller Internet radio companies through 2010. While
SoundExchange claimed that this would allow the smallest of Internet radio companies to continue streaming, many industry analysts said that it suggests that even the recording industry realizes that the Copyright Royalty Board went too far when it released its per-performance fees last March (read more - AMSI Digital Streaming Digest)  (visit AMSI)

From Steve Eyre -- It so happened that earlier this month, the owner of a local furniture store reinforced my strategy of my stations not selling music downloads on-line. The furniture store is looking to expand their on-line sales and seeks our target audience. He came right out and said "I checked your site and I'm glad your station doesn't sell the music you play on-line. I don't want anything that would take away listeners". (I'm guessing he noticed that other stations in my market do have on-line music "store".) Talk about validation! My contention is that stations which sell music on-line are thinking with their wallets, but not thinking toward the future (read more - Steve Eyre)

From Happy Hare -- The day before I went to Harlem, Al briefed me on them. Reviewing what he told me: The Drifters had just recorded a smash hit, “Save The Last Dance For Me,” #2 in the Pop chart and #1 in the R and B chart.  They had put out “There Goes My Baby”. and “This Magic Moment,” to great acclaim, in both Pops and R and B, so the Apollo owner found it in his heart to forgive them. Besides, the miscreants who had tangled with him were no longer in the group, which morphed its members more often than a losing NFL team. Once on stage, I was not surprised to hear a sharp collective intake of breaths at the sight of a white boy, but then the audience broke into generous applause, out of politeness, I’m sure. Unabashed, I plugged WADO, then proclaimed, “Here they are….The Drifters!” (read more - www.HappyHareOnline.com)

CNN Radio has launched a dramatically redesigned Web site to provide its worldwide affiliates with continual updates on the latest in news, sports and business as well as easy access to the network’s latest audio

From George Mair -- After huge investment, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric has rocketed from third place to, well, er, ah, third place******Charlie Gibson is #1****America is plagued with problems; war in the Middle East and Paris Hilton’s driving (read more - George Mair's LA LA Land)

Microsoft has built a new touchscreen computer—a coffee table that will change the world. Go inside its top-secret development with PopularMechanics.com, then forget the keyboard and mouse: The next generation of computer interfaces will be hands-on (view the amazing video - Popular Mechanics)

Joost plans to announce today that it has hired Michaelangelo Volpi, 40, as its new chief executive. Joost, which is based in London, is building a global television network of full-length TV shows and movies and sending it to viewers over the Internet (read more - Brad Stone-NY Times)

The syndicated radio morning show The Playhouse now owns the official Family Feud television set after placing the highest bid on eBay on Friday. The Playhouse won the auction with a final bid price of $7,599.00

Monday June 4, 2007

Sunday's MTV Movie Awards, broadcast live for the first time, provided plenty of saucy moments as host Sarah Silverman poked sometimes nasty fun at the usual targets (read more - William Keck and LuzElena Avitia-USA Today)

When the ratings for “The CBS Evening News” dipped to 5.9 million for the week ended May 25 - an all-time low, and a smaller audience than former anchors Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer ever saw - it meant CBS was paying $2.51 per viewer. By comparison, ABC’s Charlie Gibson-anchored “World News Tonight,” cost 89 cents per viewer (read more - Don Kaplan-NY Post)

The picture is changing at Country Music Television where the network trimmed a handful of production employees last week as it evolves into the digital age under the direction of Viacom (read more -  Cynthia Yeldell-Nashville Biz Journal)

From John Gorman -- While we’re at it, let’s get to the real reasons for _____’s rise in the ratings. ______ must’ve had a senior moment when he forgot to mention the format change that provided the advantage to his station. When Joel Hollander dropped rock for Free FM on ____ it freed up rock TSL for _____. It’s not that ____ was a better station than ____. What made former successful was ___________ in morning drive. It was his second best market in the country. Everything else on that station was gravy. Come to think of it, wasn’t ______ consulting ____ before they sent him a Dear John letter, wishing him well on his future endeavors? So he crossed the street (read more - John Gorman)

Milwaukee boy Brett Andrews, who most recently did afternoon radio in Las Vegas, is back at WXSS-FM (103.7), better known as KISS-FM. He starts tonight in the 7 to midnight shift (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee JS)

From FCC Commissioner Michael Copps -- America lets radio and TV broadcasters use public airwaves worth more than half a trillion dollars for free --  Using the public airwaves is a privilege — a lucrative one — not a right, and I fear the FCC has not done enough to stand up for the public interest. Our policies should reward broadcasters that honor their pledge to serve that interest and penalize those that don’t (read more - Michael Copps-NY Times Editorial)

From Mike Austerman -- Soft rock WMGC-FM (105.1) afternoon drive host Jim Paolucci is rounding up volunteers to join forces with the Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan to walk in the first-ever CLF Walk for Hope & Support on Saturday + Earlier this month, WOMC made the wise decision to embrace its heritage by going back to calling itself “Oldies 104.3” instead of using the nondescriptive “Motor City’s 104.3 WOMC” tag that had been in place for just over a year (read more - Mike Austerman-Michiguide)

From Tom Stienstra -- After reading the story about my trip to Lake Berryessa and 63 bass, my pal Big Rick Stuart of KFOG-FM did me one better last week. On a trip to Clear Lake, "My friend and I got 64 fish in 4 hours!" Big Rick added the John Wayne epigram: "Life's tough. It's tougher when you're stupid" (read more - Tom Stienstra, SF Chronicle)

From Claude Hall -- I don’t feel like writing at the moment. This does not matter. I have written millions of words when I
would much rather have gone off and howled at the moon. Or tossed pebbles into the sea. However, my son John, as he has often done, fetched over a stack of obits from the Los Angeles Times. I met a few of these people + At the moment, I'm trying to get a novel called "Xtreme" ready to
submit to a publisher. All about showbiz, especially radio. Mentioning a lot of the people you and I know and used to know (read more - www.ClaudeHallOnline.com)

WPHT talker and Inquirer contributor Michael Smerconish is said to be ironing out details of a visit to The View, possibly as early as next week (read more - Michael Klein-Philly Inquirer)

Bringing the next wave in radio to the masses is the aim of a local team of researchers from semiconductor giant Texas Instruments Inc. and the University of Arizona. The Texas Instruments-UA team is working to shrink the size and lower the cost of components for High Definition radio, or HD radio, an emerging digital form of terrestrial radio that offers high-quality sound and greater use of radio bandwidth (read more - David Wichner -Arizona Daily Star)

From Tommy Kramer -- Even though I coach radio Talent, I often reference TV shows as examples. So think about this: From Andy Griffith, Bob Newhart and Mary Tyler Moore to Seinfield, Frazier, and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” all these shows featured a lead character who quite often (in some instances, almost always) gave the punch lines to one of the other cast members. And it just made them and their shows that much more likeable, because of the lack of ego that the viewer felt from the "star" (read more - www.TommyKramer.net) 

Fifty-five Georgia radio professionals are candidates to be honored with a Career Achievement Award and induction into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame. Lifetime membership with voting privileges in the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame is awarded to all who make a contribution of at least $25.00. The inaugural Dinner and Induction Awards Program will be held at the Marietta Conference Center and Resort on September 22nd.  A complete listing of nominees may be viewed at the organization’s web site www.grhof.com

KFRC is back. The call letters, most recently attached to a station playing '80s music, returned to the local airwaves on May 17, replacing KIFR ("Free FM") at 106.9 FM. KFRC, a Top 40 powerhouse in the '60s and '70s, and then an oldies station at 610 AM (with a brief run as big-band "Magic 61" in between), had been at 99.7 FM until last fall, when owner CBS Radio replaced it with a format called "MOViN," a mix of hip-hop and R&B music. That station's new call letters are KMVQ (read more - Ben Fong-Torres-SF Chronicle)

From Mark Ramsey -- By turning your car into a hotspot, Autonet Mobile is taking just about everything you can do on your home PC and putting it in your back seat. It's starting with Avis Rent-A-Cars for $10.95 a day, but eventually it wants to put a wireless connection in every car (read more - Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0)

An institutional investor that has publicly opposed Clear Channel Communications Inc.’s months-long, multibillion-dollar buyout effort has struck a deal with the private equity firms trying to buy the San Antonio-based media giant (read more - Meena Thiruvengadam -SA Express-News)

Columnist and author Eric Alterman (The Nation) has been released after being arrested Sunday night inside the debate spin room. He was charged with criminal trespass after police say he refused repeated orders to leave (read more - CNN)

Gilbert R. Vasquez of the certified public accounting firm of Vasquez & Company has been elected to Entravision Communications Board of Directors

She was not merely one of many beloved on-air personalities at KPIG, though she was surely that. She could lay claim, more than any other individual, to be the soul of one of the most distinctive radio stations in America. Laura Ellen Hopper died on Memorial Day at the age of 57, not even two weeks after receiving a diagnosis of cancer. To the base of "Piggies" that make up KPIG's fiercely loyal audience, it's an immeasurable loss (read more - Wallace Baine-Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Bill Beaton, former owner of KIEV 870, died Sunday (read more)

Former KABC/790 AM talk hosts are on a lucky streak. First, Marc Germain (ex-Mr. KABC) quickly lands at KTLK/1150 AM, joining a lineup featuring Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartman and Bill Press. Then Kevin James exits overnights at KABC and seven weeks later joins the KRLA/870 AM roster of Dennis Prager, Dennis Miller, Laura Ingraham and Michael Medved. He started on Memorial Day with a one-hour show at 9 p.m. and added a second hour Friday night. "I have to say KABC treated me well, allowing me to say goodbye" (read more - Gary Lycan-OC Register)

Actor Johnny Knoxville of "Jackass" fame, radio host Adam Carolla and T-V personality Jimmy Kimmel are being sued over a below-the-belt stunt.  Actor Perry Caravello claims that during a radio show last fall, Knoxville promised to pay him ten million dollars if he would put his genitals in a mousetrap. Caravello did and says he was seriously hurt (read more - ABC 13 Carolina)

During one recent broadcast, Rock 101 morning-radio host Greg Kretschmar dissed Guns N' Roses, discussed what a person's handwriting says about his sex life and debated whether it was proper to doodle on someone else's banana.
And that was just in the first hour of Kretschmar's ensemble show, "The Morning Buzz" (read more - Michael Cousineau-Manchester Union Leader)

Teen sex, the human toll of the war in Iraq and violence on the streets of Oakland, racial profiling, life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the latest in hip-hop and hyphy music are just a handful of the award-winning pieces Youth Radio has presented since its founding in Berkeley in 1990 (read more - Christopher Heredia- SF Chronicle)

As a reporter anxious to find out information on the Dallas Cowboys, what better person to ask than Brad Sham, longtime radio broadcaster for America's Team. Sham was the keynote speaker earlier this week at the Scholastic Sports All-Stars Banquet, and I was able to sit down with the Texas Radio Hall of Fame broadcaster and pick his brain on the how's and why's of last year's December collapse and what the future brings under new head coach Wade Phillips (read more - Chris Parry-Tyler Morning Telegraph)

When the music died one gloomy morning in April, residents of Brighton, England, who had been happily listening to illegally transmitted French radio for almost 10 years, were first stunned and then angered. The British listeners managed to tune in to the French radio for about 10 years through the aid of a radio engineer who set up illegal FM transmitters in well-placed houses. In April, the British media regulator, Ofcom, silenced the station by confiscating the transmitters (read more - Doreen Carvajal-International Herald Tribune)

Radio Tibet Toronto started broadcasting in Tibetan on Saturday, June 2, 2007 on FM 101.3 in Toronto, made available through Canadian Multicultural Radio (read more - Ugyen Norbu-Phayul)

Public Radio International's (PRI) interview/call-in show "RadioWest," will be available nationwide via XM. "With this new addition, XM listeners will be able to enjoy even more high-quality public radio content," said Kevin Straley, senior vice president of talk programming, XM (read more - Webwire)

Kevin Stewart McMahan, 49, a veteran freelance television producer who worked most recently on the NBA playoffs for ESPN and ABC was arrested Thursday at the Salt Lake City International Airport after hundreds of images of child pornography reportedly were found in his luggage. Some of the images were of infants (read more - Pat Peavy-Deseret News)

Portland, Maine radio station WLVP (870 AM) has dropped the liberal talk network Air America Radio and replaced it with the national sports network ESPN Radio (read more - Ray Routhier-Portland Press Herald)

By annexing six more counties into the designated market area measured by Arbitron, Charlotte will likely become radio market No. 25, behind Pittsburgh and ahead of the desert suburbs east of Los Angeles centered on San Bernardino (read more - Mark Washburn-Charlotte Observer)

The Horizon Media – NBC Universal Brand Team has been recognized for “Best Use of Radio” as part of the 2007 Mediaweek Media Plan of the Year Awards announced this month (read more - Webwire)

Gary Epstein, who joined the AMA three years ago, will become chief executive officer of Northbrook-based ReachMD, a 24-hour news and talk channel for health-care professionals on XM Satellite Radio (read more - Bruce Japsen-Chicago Tribune)

Emmis Communications Corp. is turning to Google in its search for relief from a radio-industry slump (read more - Anthony Schoettle -Indy Biz Journal)

From Mark Ramsey -- According to a recent comScore study, podcast listening (as measured by who downloads what from iTunes) is dominated by Men. And 18-24's are twice as likely to download a podcast as anyone else (read more - Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0)

While it's always dangerous to declare victory too early in the radio game, early signs are looking positive for the new "Fresh" (WWFS, 102.7 FM). Launched on Jan. 2, Fresh plays "soft music" aimed at a younger audience than the one that has made WLTW (106.7 FM) No. 1 in the city for years (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Now that he's dazzled them with a $5 billion bid, Rupert Murdoch is about to launch a high-stakes charm offensive on the family that holds the fate of The Wall Street Journal in their hands (read more - Corky Siemaszko Daily News)  (read more - Richard Perez Pena-NY Times)

I heard recently that on Rush Limbaugh's radio show he aired a song with the lyrics, "Barack the Magic Negro lives by the sea and frolics in the autumn mist in a land called D.C." This is one of the most offensive things I have ever heard (read more - James R. Thompson-South Bend Tribune)

"I love connecting with people one on one," Perry LaHaie said of what he enjoys about working in radio and what he will miss. LaHaie conducted his final Family Life Radio 99.7 FM show from studio one on Friday. LaHaie’s new position will allow him to use his radio skills to "inspire people to share God’s love with Muslims" (read more - Sandra Sutton-Midland Family News)

The Associated Press has handed out awards to Tennessee radio/TV members (read more - WMC TV)

Univision Spanish-language network has been running public service announcements and informing their viewers about the citizenship drive during news programs. Their slogan is "Ya Es Hora, Ciudadania," Spanish for "Citizenship, it's about time." The citizenship drive is meant to stir Hispanics to get involved in civic participation and to help them prepare their immigration paperwork before the naturalization application fee increases by $265 to $595 July 30 (read more - Vanessa Colón -Fresno Bee)

According to Arbitron-Edison Media Research, nearly 74% own cell phones. Nearly one in five (19%) say radio has a big impact on their lives - second only to mobile phones (35%). Broadcasters should make the value proposition for HD Radio more evident for consumers (read more - Edison Media Research)

Owner Lew Wolff was standing near the A's dugout at McAfee Coliseum before a game in April when an elderly woman in the front row of the stands expressed her displeasure about the format of the radio station that carried the team's games. It seemed she wasn't too fond of irreverent talk show host Tom Leykis, who often was on the air before the beginning of an A's game. It was one of the risks the A's took by agreeing to make 106.9 FREE-FM their flagship station this season (read more - John Okanes-Contra Costa Times)

The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) has fined MediaCorp Radio $15,000 for raunchy segments on radio station 98.7FM's morning show. In three five-minute segments aired over three days in March, 10 women taking part in men's magazine FHM's Girl Next Door competition were asked to whip off their bras in the shortest time, without exposing themselves (read more - Lee Sze Yong-Asia Media)

“Contemporary Christian music (CCM) is becoming almost a mainstream format,” said Jim McDermott, KCVO's general manager, in response to an e-mailed survey. “Most major and large markets have a CCM station in the top-15 Arbitron-rated stations (read more - Bob Watson-Jeff City Tribune News)

For 29 years, much of the Triad's been getting up with WSJS radio's Glenn Scott. His last day was Friday (read more-view the video - Bob Costner-News 14 Carolina)

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

HD Radio is in need of a makeover, and it hasn't even hit public awareness yet.  The industry should take its focus away from trying to paint itself as "new technology." Why not start presenting to the audience, via online, samples of those "stations between the stations" that are the reason behind radio's urging people to "discover it"? Then maybe we'd see a rise in the paltry 450,000 weekly listeners to radio in HD (read more - Audio Graphics)

Chicago-based Syndication Networks has launched
Time Rewind with David Mendel, a "Day in History" news and music montage, described by CEO Chris Witting as "fresh and unique" (read more - hear the demo - www.timerewind.info)

Even though takeover speculation has fueled a recent rally of Emmis Communications shares, the company could face a lot of difficulties if it actually tries to go private (read more - Andrew Farrell-Forges)

BILL O’REILLY, HOST: Joining us now from Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow. All right, before we get down to this, how you feeling? You got chemotherapy going on?
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Chemotherapy going on. I go in for my third session tomorrow, but feeling great and glad to be here (read more - Bill O'Reilly interview with WH Press Sec'y Tony Snow)

Bob Eubanks will serve as host for the Edison "30 under 30" Awards Luncheon to be held Saturday, June 30, 2007, during Conclave 007: Radio Under Construction (read more - www.TheConclave.com)

After more than two decades as the voice thousands of people have relied upon to wear the right clothes, Blane Coulcher is calling it quits. Famous for his optimistic prognostications of “no rain,” the 74-year old’s departure ends a 22-year tenure as C-FAX radio’s meteorologist (read more - Murray Langdon-Victoria News CA)

Nielsen Co. has begun monitoring Americans' viewing of TV commercials, possibly writing new rules for the sale of television advertising time (read more - Alana Semuels-LA Times)

Local revenue, comprising over two-thirds of total Radio revenue in 1st Quarter 2007, showed a 1% increase. While national, representing one-fifth of total Radio revenue, was off slightly (-1%), non-spot and network both showed healthy increases – 10% and 9%, respectively – to offset the national drop and bring Radio’s total revenue growth in at 1% over the same period last year (read more - RAB)

Friday June 1, 2007

MSNBC is using an online focus group to help choose its next morning show host to replace Don Imus -- Since Imus left, MSNBC has used several hosts to fill the 6-9 a.m. slot - most notably NBC Chief White House correspondent David Gregory and "Scarborough Country" host Joe Scarborough. Philadelphia radio personality Michael Smerconish, Stephanie Miller and former "Moral Court" host Larry Elder have also subbed in the mornings (read more - Michael Starr-NY Post)

At Emmis, it's Rick Cummings who's on the front line as president of the Indianapolis company's radio division. He's the point man for ending a string of losses at stations in Emmis' top markets. There are no easy or quick answers, he readily admits. Emmis plans to boost investment in its interactive division, which handles everything from Web sites to Webcasts to podcasts to text-messaging contests (read more - Erika D. Smith-Indy Star)

Sirius Satellite Radio's planned purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings faces a "high hurdle" because a rule bans the combination, FCC's Chairman Kevin Martin said (read more - Contra Costa Times)

From Kent Burkhart -- During the past year I was in the exhibition hall of a national radio conference (in Dallas I believe) - and happened to run into a couple of gentlemen I really like. They are Bob Jordan and Phillip Beswick - the head guys at Media Audit. Media Audit, a media research firm, measures all sorts of information regarding media in about 100 markets in the US - and they do a great job. I took fifteen minutes to look at the research material these two guys were handing out to the attendees of the conference. Then, I chatted with them for a few minutes. I think it was Bob that mentioned that national public radio had very good ratings in quite a few markets. Really??? (read more - www.KentBurkhart.com)

ARBitron numbers for Detroit and Bakersfield (read 'em)

From Lee Abrams -- I’m obsessed with News. I think it’s in a similar state as music—from a media perspective and at least in the way it’s presented. I think Fox does a good job—at least I get why they are #1. It’s interesting that I’m sensing a “flexing” with the culture, as discussed in other blogs. They had an ACLU guy on the air—and they were actually NICE to him. The thing I like about Fox is that they have re-invented TV News to a large degree…they are interesting to listen to/watch, they do A LOT right and they have a POINT OF VIEW---and seem to flex with the times…sorta. I’m not talking about the politics of Fox—I’m talking about the execution and design. Most other news organizations are chaotic--Fox is consistent. Like the POV or not (read more - Lee Abrams)

"Jay walked out like a WWE wrestler," recalls Hot-97 program director Ebro Darden. "He had his glasses down at the end of his nose. He goes to the front of the stage. He looks to one side, and they scream. He looks to the other side, and they scream. It's like they saw the Messiah." Summer Jam, the world's largest hip-hop concert and a signature for WQHT (97.1 FM) since 1994, has that kind of effect (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

KBCO 97.3-FM went on the air in Boulder. The station marks its 30th anniversary this weekend with a reunion of some of its best-known on-air voices, including Dennis Constantine, Richard Ray, John Bradley, Ira Gordon and Peter Finch (read more - Dick Kreck-Denver Post)

Angelo Cataldi (WIP): The morning man may be popular with men 25-54, but what about everybody else? In radio, the morning show sets the tone for the day, and in the latest ratings, WIP ranked a pedestrian 16th place out of 30 stations for listeners 12 and over + Gary Papa (6ABC): He's on the top-rated station in town, but doesn't do anything to distinguish himself (read more - Laura Nachman-Philly Burbs)

The Royal Television Society has this week launched a new set of prizes, The Innovation Awards, formerly the Technology Awards, to acknowledge broadcasters involved in new media such as video-on-demand, mobile technology, IPTV, social networking sites and user generated content (read more - Digital Spy U.K.)

Dan Bartlett who heads the White House Press Office and the Offices of Communications, Media Affairs, and Speechwriting, is leaving the Bush Administration to spend more time with his family and get a job in the private sector (read more - Reuters)

“I had a CAT scan and that’s when they finally said I had brain cancer,” he said. “They said it was the size of a lemon. It was in my skull, pushing my brain to the right. And it was malignant.” Matt Terhune, a meteorologist for KRIS-TV, had surgery last Thursday to remove the tumor (read more - Heather Ann White-Corpus Christi Caller-Times)

National Public Radio is teaming up with online radio broadcasters to appeal new music royalty fees (read more - Washington Post)

Jazz is back on Hawaii commercial radio. Any first-adopter with a high-definition radio can catch the digital audio action at 2.3-2, where a jazz format called "The Lounge" launched on Tuesday as a digital companion channel to KSSK-FM 92.3 (read more - Erika Engle-Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

A college radio station in west suburban Naperville has come up with an unusual fund-raising idea. North Central College's WONC-FM (89.1) will host a monthlong radiothon that will award airtime as a premium for donations + Eloy Smith, who at one time headed operations at urban contemporary WGCI-FM (107.5), urban adult-contemporary WVAZ-FM (102.7) and gospel WGRB-AM (1390), will be honored today by his colleagues at the station (read more - Robert Feder-Chicago Sun-Times)

Donald Trump is jetting into Chicago on Monday to take the witness stand on behalf of Conrad Black, who's on trial for allegedly looting millions from investors in his company Hollinger International, which included the Chicago Sun-Times (read more - Janet Whitman-NY Post)

If you grew up in Dallas in the 1960s, you probably remember listening to the Beatles and the Supremes on KLIF Radio. The 60s sound of KLIF will be reborn on Friday, June 8, on XM Satellite Radio, if only for the day on XM Satellite Radio 6, the 60's Channel (read more - Pegasus News)

The League of Rural Voters urged the FCC to approve the merger between XM Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio, noting that the combined entity would offer listeners in rural communities more programming options at lower prices than those currently available from the two companies separately (read more - PR Newswire)

Reporter Mark Schwarz looks at the proliferation and impact of all-sports radio, and how two stations, WEEI of Boston and WWLS of Oklahoma City, have achieved uncommon success with provocative discourse and colorful characters on Sunday’s Outside the Lines (9:30 a.m. ESPN; noon ESPNEWS)

Radio's got a problem. Although some 200 million people tune in each week to hear their favorite overcaffeinated DJ or catch those crucial rush-hour traffic updates, it's getting tougher to hold listeners' attention. Facing flat revenues and competition ranging from iPods to music phones, the 87-year-old industry is scrambling to reinvent itself (read more - Anita Hamilton-Time)

From Jerry Del Colliano -- CBS paid $280 million to buy the social networking site Last.FM. Sites like Last.FM and Tim Westergren's founding effort -- Pandora -- represent "an" aspect of the future of radio because fans can in effect program their own music and these sites are social networking sites - very significant with the next generation. The name Last.FM is a little creepy seeing as how a traditional media company is buying it. Maybe Next.FM would be a better name (read more - Jerry Del Colliano)

Even with a new hard-nosed executive producer - former CNN and MSNBC boss Rick Kaplan - who took over earlier this spring, the Katie Couric-anchored telecast is struggling (read more - Don Kaplan-NY Post)

Racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism and anti-immigrant nativism are chronic infections in the American body politic. Rush Limbaugh singing the obscene tune ''Barack the Magic Negro'' is inviting prejudice and violence. However, for pure irrational rage, the current crop of nativists are some of the worst to come along since the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s or those God-fearing Protestants who burned convents in Boston in the 19th century (read more - Andrew Greeley-Chicago Sun-Times)

The Bob Costas show, Costas on the Radio, is carried on more than 120 stations by Premiere Radio Networks -- Costas on the Radio this weekend features interviews with Kevin Costner and Chuck Berry

TalkRadio 790 KABC will present the Third Annual Clean Air Car Showcase on Saturday, June 9th from 10AM-4PM at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica

Thursday May 31, 2007

"Big John" of 1380 WELE Radio in Ormond Beach, Florida made what some, including the NAACP, call racially charged comments about black Daytona Beach City Commissioner Dwayne Taylor, ("The higher the monkey climbs, the better you can see his ass"), but the company that owns AM radio station WELE said it has no plans to force him off the air. Competing radio talk show host Marc Bernier used his show on WNDB (1150 AM) to replay and criticize John's comment. John has been taking potshots at Bernier's divorce in recent weeks (read more-view the video - WESH TV)  (read more - Tanya Caldwell-Orlando Sentinel) (read more - John Bozzo-Dayton Beach News Journal)

A top-notch investigative producer from Chicago is suing NBC over alleged ethical lapses involving the news series "To Catch a Predator." Marsha Bartel, who was fired last December after a stellar 21-year career with NBC (including 10 years at WMAQ-Channel 5), claimed she was forced out after blowing the whistle on the show for violating journalistic ethical standards and many of NBC's own policies and guidelines (read more - Robert Feder-Chicago Sun-Times)

The Beatles aren't quite so dominant on radio today, when more than half the country is younger than "Sgt Pepper." But the album consistently places first on all-time lists compiled by publications like Rolling Stone, and a number of local stations are saluting its anniversary. Programmers also say rock radio still owes "Pepper" for form and content. "I was a gofer at a Miami station in 1967 when 'Pepper' came out," says Lee Abrams, longtime radio consultant and chief programming officer for XM Radio. "I was blown away, of course. "But when I went home and listened to it on my headphones, in stereo, I realized that's how it was meant to be heard. That's the moment when I knew AM sound wasn't enough anymore - that FM was the future of music on radio" (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

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

From Jeff Davis -- One of major reasons WLS was so successful and lasted as a music station far beyond the lifespan of other AM music stations is because we had personalities that talked directly to one listener. It was that one-on-one connection that kept us viable. This was a legacy passed to us by the great WLS personalities in the sixties and programmers, such as Mr. Rook, who understood talent and what motivates them. I once asked John Gehron why he hadn’t done an aircheck session with me after I had been there for a long, long time. Without even blinking he said that he hired great talent and let them do their jobs. He also told us that the format was like a road map and once in a while it was OK to take a detour as long as you had a damned good reason to do it and could reasonably justify it (read more - Jeff Davis)

Kitty Stark objected to an offhand joke about "Vietnamese hookers" made by KHOW's Craig Silverman and shared her thoughts about the incident with Westword. She unwittingly got under the skin of the attorney/talk-show host — and so did I. These days, however, big nothings can turn into big somethings awfully fast (read more - Michael Roberts - Westword)

A radio listener helped save Shelby disc jockey Tom Biggerstaff, who suffered an on-air seizure and pleaded for help before passing out in his studio (read more - NC Star News)

Sources perceived CBS' ability to snatch Last.fm away from Viacom - not to mention Google, Yahoo! and CNET, among others - as a clear indication that CEO Les Moonves is moving much faster into digital media than his Viacom counterpart Philipe Dauman (read more - Peter Lauria-NY Post)

GCap Media, the owner of Capital 95.8 FM, is closing Capital Disney and abandoning two other radio stations in a bid to halt a 35 per cent slide in profits (read more - Rebecca O'Connor-The Times U.K.)

Many experienced comedians, talent agents and financiers are seeing the Web as a way to showcase talent while trying to turn a profit (read more - Laura M. Holson-NY Times)

Peter Boyles of 630 KHOW-AM is the most recent Denver-based Clear Channel Communications host to engage in anti-Muslim rhetoric, telling a caller on his May 30 show that "the enemy" is "radical, crazy, religious Islam." Boyles also agreed with the caller's suggestions that the United States should bar "Islamic immigration" and that Islam should be declared "a political ideology" (read more - Media Matters Colorado)

Police say his real name is Miguel A. Garcia. But on the air at WPWX, a Crawford Broadcasting urban radio station based in Hammond, Ind., he goes by Donnie Devoe the Freakin' Puerto Rican. Calumet City Police Sergeant Bernard Bejeske says Garcia is charged with disorderly conduct and assault. Bejeske says Garcia was intoxicated and threatened people at a Pepe's Mexican Restaurant in Calumet City (read more - WBBM 780 News)

As if one fight over royalty rights wasn't enough, now the radio industry finds itself wityet another battle over whether, or how much, it should pay for the music it plays (read more - Bill Virgin-Seattle PI)

An institutional investor that has publicly opposed Clear Channel Communications Inc.’s months-long, multibillion-dollar buyout effort has struck a deal with the private equity firms trying to buy Clear Channel (read more - Meena Thiruvengadam -SA Express-News)

From Murphy Martin -- Over the years I have had the good fortune to witness more history than any school could ever teach. Radio and television news allowed me to live the American dream. As I look back with great respect for the good journalists and the hundreds of people who helped make my career better, let me share some of the indelible things I have learned (read more - Murphy Martin)

What is $0.0019 cents worth? Not much. That's nineteen one-thousandths of a cent, not enough to give someone a penny for his thoughts. But imagine you're the owner of a radio station that broadcasts online. You may soon have to multiply that tiny number by the number of songs you play and the listeners who tune in each year. You could end up with a new annual bill of perhaps $500, or $10,000 or $100,000, which will land in the bank accounts of singers and record companies (read more - Randy Dotinga-NC Times)

As the Oldies format sails into the sunset, and a month doesn't go by without someone asking what on earth will Classic Rock stations do in five years when their listeners start moving 55+. You have to wonder about who is making decisions in the ad world (read more - Jacobs Media)

"This is the one thing that I would like the 22 of you (honorees) to remember - it's passion," said Brad Sham, radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys and keynote speaker for the 17th Annual Scholastic All-Star Banquet Wednesday. A 30-year broadcast veteran and member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, Brad Sham urged the young people in attendance to pursue what they are passionate about, not just what they can make the most money doing (read more - Chris Parry-Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Epilepsy complications likely caused the death of a federal prison inmate convicted in the 1984 machine-gun slaying of Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg, a coroner said Wednesday (read more - Fort Wayne News Sentinel)

A recent PBS Frontline documentary entitled News War, about the public's distrustful view of the news media today, reports that the public no longer is fooled by pontifications of mainstream media pundits and reporters. Today, the public distrusts and disbelieves journalists at levels unheard of in our country's history. At the Santa Barbara News-Press, I, as owner, decided we no longer could tolerate journalists and editors who wrote what they wanted, when they wanted, with only passing care for the truth and with even fewer attempts at neutrality (read more - Wendy McCaw-LA Times)

Talk radio? While becoming a legitimate media force, it's moved from conversation to confrontation. Too often hosts, with entrenched points of view, dare callers to disagree so they can shout them down. I'm leaving the Rocky Mountain News under a voluntary separation agreement. However, I'll remain an occasional contributor in Spotlight (read more - Dusty Saunders-Rocky Mountain News)

Arbitron has promoted Claudine Knisley to Director of Syndicated Standards and Analysis where she will manage Arbitron’s Portable People Meter and diary services’ policies and procedures

Dear Radio Babe: I've got this idea about partnering with a local talk radio station to broadcast ... podcasts. But I'm not familiar with the local radio scene. Luckily, there's you! Our resident expert. Do you know whether there's a Sarasota talk radio station that might be interested in some free content? I think we've got enough audio content now to start a weekly show ....Thanks. -- L.G.
Dear L.G.: Hmmm, broadcast your podcasts. Radio Babe is still figuring out if that's redundant (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

There's no better way to learn where things are headed than to gather a group of teens and ask them. Here is a fine but not necessarily representative example of that. Witness a world where everyone owns an iPod. Not an mp3 player, mind you. An iPod (read more - Mark Ramsey-Hear 2.0)

Plans are in the making for an official "KXOL Night" at La Grave Field coming before the Fort Worth Cats season is up.  This would commemorate what would have been KXOL 1360 AM's 60th year of broadcasting (read more - John Lewis Puff)

After 9/11, I switched on AM radio stations for the first time in my life. I felt that I could get the news and information I needed during that difficult time. I have continued to listen to AM stations for the past six years, but I have become increasingly disappointed with my listening options here in the Southern Tier (read more - Hilary Ciaravino-Binghamton Sun and Bulletin)

The competition for in-car entertainment is increasing and the future of satellite radio could depend on it (read more - Sue Zeidler- Reuters)

Would a network that aided and abetted a coup against the government be allowed to operate in the United States? The U.S. government probably would have shut down RCTV within five minutes after a failed coup attempt - and thrown its owners in jail. Hugo Chavez's government allowed it to continue operating for five years, and then declined to renew its 20-year license to use the public airwaves. It can still broadcast on cable or via satellite dish (read more - Bart Jones-LA Times)

When you meet Joe Bayliss, it's hard to believe that this blonde, married, relatively conservative guy owns Energy 92.7FM, the heart-pumping independent dance music radio station that has a huge gay following. Since hitting the airwaves nearly three years ago, Bayliss has charted a course for San Francisco's only independently owned radio station that has enabled it to turn a profit and become the most listened to dance/electronic radio station on the West Coast (read more - PR Newswire)

The owner of KHON-TV in Honolulu and its sister stations in Portland, Ore., and Wichita, Kan., KOIN and KSNW, respectively, is exploring a possible sale. Given the "very exciting, very active" deal-making under way in the broadcast industry, "it would be foolish, businesswise, not to listen to whatever offers are out there" (read more - Erika Engle - Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

The University of the Pacific is selling KUOP FM to Sacramento-based Capital Public Radio public radio group for an undisclosed amount, the school said (read more - SF Chronicle)

Radio industry researcher Mark Fratrick of BIA Financial Network believes that by pressing the ailing radio industry for more money, music companies may be killing their golden goose because radio airplay promotes music and indirectly generates CD sales, concert receipts, and merchandise sales.  But some see the value of that arrangement breaking down with the exodus of younger listeners from radio to digital music, Internet radio, and satellite radio – none of which enjoy commercial radio’s preferential deal (read more - Cassimir Medford-Red Herring)

Radio Today Broadcasting Ltd, the radio division of the India Today Group, has launched Meow 104.8 FM in Delhi, a niche talk-based radio station, targeted at women (read more - Indian Television)

A “60 Minutes” producer came across a 2005 news report from Mr. Dobbs’s CNN program on contagious diseases. In the report, one of Lou Dobbs’s correspondents said there had been 7,000 cases of leprosy in this country over the previous three years, far more than in the past. When Lesley Stahl of “60 Minutes” sat down to interview Mr. Dobbs on camera, she mentioned the report and told him that there didn’t seem to be much evidence for it. “Well, I can tell you this,” he replied. “If we reported it, it’s a fact.” With that Orwellian chestnut, Mr. Dobbs escalated the leprosy dispute into a full-scale media brouhaha (read more - David Leonhardt-NY Times)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Mel Karmazin is expected to participate in a keynote discussion at the Lehman Brothers Worldwide Wireless Conference in New York, NY on Thursday, May 31

On June 11, Matt Nahigian begins duties as Program Director of Great Media's Sports Radio 950 WPEN-AM in Philadelphia

“The Satellite radio sector continues to be squeezed by a number of negative market issues,” explained Bridge Ratings President & CEO Dave Van Dyke. “Consumers generally are softening their interest on the sector which is taking on elements of a niche market play in recent months. Satellite radio brand interest by non-subscribers is at an all-time low and churn is at an all time high.” (read more - Bridge Ratings)

The New York State Broadcasters Association announced that Albert “Bud” Wertheimer, Ernie Anastos, Dan Neaverth, Barbara Walters, Ed Dague and Paul Sidney have been named to NYSBA’s 2007 Hall of Fame

(read more - RDN CENTRAL ARCHIVES - Click here)