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Jack Schell fills in for a holidaying Ron Chapman at KLUV 98.7.  Jack is a former KLIF 1190 and KVIL pro who now runs Recall Media.  He'll fill in for Texas and National Hall of Famer Chapman from December 23 through the first part of January (visit RecallMedia.TV)  (visit KLUV)

The Federal Government today began laying the groundwork for introducing digital radio into Australia but it could be many years away. Communications Minister Helen Coonan today announced the Government would begin consultations to develop both a policy and regulatory framework for the introduction of digital radio after the release of a report by the Digital Radio Study Group. “Digital radio presents an opportunity to substantially improve the quality and range of services enjoyed daily by millions of Australian radio listeners,” Senator Coonan said in a statement. “Digital transmission systems offer a range of potential improvements over their analogue counterparts, including better audio quality and the provision of a more diverse range of new enhanced services.” (read more - The Australian)  (read more - The Australian 2)

From JuiceNewsDaily -- This is possibly the most disgusting clip I have ever seen produced.  Saturday Night Live did a cartoon Sketch this past Saturday night.  The clip, produced by Robert Smigel, bashed the Red States, Rush Limbaugh, and countless other "rednecks." To view this clip, click here

Debbie Young signs on today at Racine's WEZY-FM (92.1) in the 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekday slot. The talented Milwaukee radio veteran was most recently at WJZI-FM (93.3). . . . Alley Faith becomes part of the WXSS-FM (103.7) morning team today, joining Wes McKane and Rahny Taylor (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee J-S)

Dear Radio Babe, When WDDV was the DOVE, they owned the airways in Sarasota, capturing 80 percent or more of the radio audience, if memory serves me correctly. Has a survey been done since they abandoned the popular format, and if so, how much market do they currently have? Do you think they accomplished their goal of greater advertising revenue? I tried listening to them a few times after the format change, but have now taken them off the push buttons. I enjoy your column and always learn something from them. Keep up the great work! P.N. Dear P.N., Thanks for the compliments. Radio Babe always learns while writing her columns, too! (read more - Dawn Scire-The Radio Babe)

Melvyn Bragg's heavyweight Radio 4 discussion programme In Our Time is hardly the obvious choice for the iPod generation. But last month, the programme was downloaded 70,000 times on to listeners’ computers and MP3 music players, in a new type of broadcasting that is set to become widespread soon. Known as “podcasting”, listeners sign up for radio programmes that are then automatically saved on a computer or an MP3 player such as an iPod after they are broadcast. The BBC is the first British broadcaster to trial the service (read more - The Times U.K.)

Chicago Ed Schwartz remembers the "Dearly Departed of 2004" (read www.chicagoed.com)

Dave Logan was more than a play-by-play man Sunday. He was a prophet, foretelling an upcoming disaster. After the Chiefs' Dante Hall received the opening kickoff, Logan told KOA-AM (850) radio listeners: "Look out." KKFN-AM (950-The Fan) certainly won't hesitate to mangle Mike Shanahan and Plummer. Joe Williams can't wait to get on the air. And the hosts on KLZ-AM (560-ESPN) certainly won't be in a congratulatory mood. But the main focus should be on KOA, "The Broncos station." (read more - Dusty Saunders - Rocky Mountain News)

NBC11 news director Jim Sanders remembers working at a Fox Network start- up station in Indianapolis in the early 1990s, where his new set was inspired by the Rolling Stones "Steel Wheels" tour. "I said to the designer, 'Did you see the Stones tour? That's what I want, ' " Sanders remembers. "I want post-industrial funk. I want girders that show. I want bolts that stick outside of the metal. I want purple, teal and black." (read more - Peter Hartlaub-San Francisco Chronicle)

Pfizer said that it would immediately stop advertising Celebrex, its best-selling arthritis pain reliever, to consumers after a study showed that high doses were associated with an increased risk of heart attacks. The suspension of advertising, which is indefinite, includes television, radio, newspaper and magazine ads and other promotions to consumers (read more - NY Times)

A radio host making a comeback after he was convicted of paying a 17-year-old girl for sex was taken off the air Friday. Robert Gillet, once Quebec City's top morning man, was let go after ratings showed him trailing behind his chief rival. Gillet's station, CJMF-FM, dropped 19% of its audience after he was hired, according to the most recent BBM Canada ratings (read more - Winnepeg Sun)

Ralph Bernard, the chairman of GWR, which owns Classic FM, has always believed that size does matter. In fact, his entire career in commercial radio has been dedicated to getting bigger.  The need for grander scale was a lesson he learned in the early days of his career, when he was managing director of Radio Wiltshire, then a small, struggling station based in an old house in the village of Wootton Bassett. "It became very evident that if you don't have size you don't have the ability to do things and you are forever trying to find the money to fix leaks - literally," says Bernard, now one of the most influential and outspoken figures in the British radio industry

SIRIUS Satellite Radio and the Chrysler Group today announced the completion of the launch of the 2005 model year lineup of Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge vehicles. "Production rates for 2004 are on-par with our 100,000 unit goal," said Mike Kane, Director, Feature Innovation and Advanced Technology Strategy, Chrysler Group. Availability on additional Chrysler Group models is anticipated, and total volumes of over 500,000 SIRIUS equipped-vehicles are expected over the next model year (read more - PR NewsWire)

CBS has a new name on top of its list of poten tial replacement for Dan Rather — Katie Couric. According to Broadcasting & Cable magazine, CBS wants to "land a superstar to take over" for Rather and the "Today" show diva is its top choice.  Couric has just 18 months to go on her $15-million a year contract with NBC, the weekly reports in its edition out today (read more - NY Post) + Conservative CNN host Tucker Carlson is reportedly close to jumping to rival MSNBC to replace Deborah Norville (read more - NY Post)

With his fiery red hair and trademark bow tie, Brent Bozell cuts an unlikely figure as the scourge of the US TV networks.  Bozell’s Parents Television Council has taken on the US television giants in a self-styled "massive, coordinated and determined campaign" to see the networks punished heavily for showing graphic scenes of sex and violence before 10pm. While Mary Whitehouse’s National Viewers and Listeners Association used more traditional means in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, the PTC has harnessed the power of the internet to ram home its cause.  More than one million complaints registered with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) watchdog this year appear to back up the conservative group’s case. But the mainstream media, shackled with almost $8m in fines levied by the FCC this year, has cried foul, reporting that 99.8% of complaints in 2004 came from the members of one group, Bozell’s PTC (read more - Scotsman)

Radio program director Frankie Blue, apparently under the influence after an office Christmas party, grabbed the mike during a late-night show on 102.7 WNEW this week — and may have gone off-color. Bounced WNEW shock jocks Opie and Anthony reported the incident with great relish on their XM Satellite radio show yesterday as they played a tape of Blue's slurring unscheduled Wednesday night on-air appearance on DJ Yvonne Velasquez's show. The highlight — as far as Opie and Anthony were concerned — came when a seemingly blotto Blue said station stars Rick, RuPaul and Kim would "pick out a winner, and then they're going to f - - - the winner." (read more - John Mainelli-NY Post)

The FCC has been one of the most rogue agencies in recent memory. Charged with writing regulations to carry out the will of Congress in the Telecom Act of 1996, the agency has been rebuked by the D.C. District Court no less then three times for writing regulations that flew directly in the face of the Act's deregulatory intentions. The FCC has behaved this way because regulators cannot be trusted to deregulate. They micromanage industries, they pick winners and losers, they usurp the normal function of markets by interfering with prices. But regulators do not deregulate. Finally this year, the commission seemed to get religion. In just the last few weeks, the commission made the correct decision on Voice over IP (VoIP), determining states could not regulate this transforming new technology (read more - Washington Times)

Two former CFM disc-jockeys who were sacked by their bosses are to join a battle of the airwaves by working for a new Carlisle radio station. Ken White and Mike Charlton have both agreed to work for the proposed new station City Vibe FM, which is the brainchild of 24-year-old Carlisle man Andy Ferriby. He plans to apply for a restricted service licence, which would allow the station to broadcast for 28 days, probably in the summer. All three say they hope to provide a more local radio service, and they aspire to make the station a credible CFM rival with a long-term future (read more - News and Star)

Bill Moyers has always taken the high road, but it got a little lonely up there. In a country where political discourse grows ever more shrill, his voice was more and more easily drowned out. Last night, at the age of 70 and on the eve of his 50th wedding anniversary, Bill Moyers took the high road home. Moyers last night introduced the first report, "A Matter of Opinion," by recalling a car trip he and wife Judith Davidson Moyers (a partner in his business) took and how shocked they were when they started scanning the radio dial. What he heard, Moyers said, was "a freak show of political pornography" on a scale he found "malignant." The report, produced by Kathleen Hughes, documented conservative excesses on the "public" airwaves. Sean Hannity, a bullying buffoon on the "fair and balanced" Fox News network, spent much of his time this year campaigning for George W. Bush, telling an audience in one city that a vote for Democrat John Kerry would help "Osama get his way." (read more - Tom Shales-Washington Post)

Fifty miles is a long way to drive each day without much entertainment. That's the length of Anthony Del Rio's round-trip commute to Morrisville State College's campus in Norwich. "When I'm driving, I'm always flipping through the stations on my radio," said the 18-year-old student from Sidney. "Half of them are staticy." Del Rio said the stations that do come in feature mostly commercials and commentary from disc jockeys, and not enough of the rap and rock music he enjoys. XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, America's two satellite radio companies, are counting on frustrated local radio station listeners like Del Rio to sign up for their services. Del Rio said he's on board and will have XM installed in his vehicle after Christmas (read more - Press and Sun Bulletin-PressConnects)

What's up with longtime Dallas-Fort Worth radio DJ Jon Dillon? The KZPS/92.5 FM jock, who has been doing the 3-7 p.m. shift for the better part of the past 15 years, wasn't on the air Friday. That's not unusual for this time of year, but he's also gone from the station's Web site (read more - Star-Telegram)

The year began with the Super Bowl halftime show fiasco and ended with aftershocks from Howard Stern flipping his detractors the bird and taunting the Federal Communications Commission with a just-try-and-get-me-now move to satellite radio. Between those two seismic events, the FCC levied a record number of indecency fines, responding to an avalanche of complaints carefully orchestrated by conservative zealots and election year political pressure (read more - Paul Heine-Billboard-Reuters)

 VoIP, or voice traffic over the Internet, (Vonage) is headed for Mexico offering an opportunity for upstart telecommunications companies but a headache for traditional companies, who see pressure on their earnings as the cost of long distance calls decline. The new service, known as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), requires a high-speed broadband connection and has caught the eye of customers around the world because of its wider array of features compared with traditional telephony (read more - Reuters)

So, you want to be a broadcaster? Great! Lucky for you today's technology allows anyone to do what was once limited to a small percentage of people. Now YOU can become a broadcaster, YOU can be the DJ, YOU can be the Program Director who decides your broadcast to the world - thanks to the Internet. There are several approaches to webcasting and which one you choose depends on your goals (read more - Corey Deitz)

On Monday, Charlie Pallilo goes to work at KBME (790 AM). On Tuesday, he goes to court. Infinity Radio, Pallilo's former employer at KILT (610 AM), will ask state District Judge Randy Wilson on Tuesday afternoon to grant a temporary injunction prohibiting Pallilo from working for Clear Channel Radio until at least May 2005, six months after his final day at KILT on Nov. 2. It also seeks unspecified damages (read more - David Barron-Houston Chronicle)

The free Web browser, FireFox, is a classic overnight success, many years in the making. Published by the Mozilla Foundation, Firefox is a Web browser that is fast and filled with features that Microsoft's stodgy Internet Explorer lacks. Firefox installs in a snap, and it's free. (Your children in college are already using it.) It is polished, as easy to use as Internet Explorer and, most compelling, much better defended against viruses, worms and snoops (read more - NY Times)

"Since the Janet Jackson episode, there has been a witch-hunt atmosphere going on in this country, which has to do with our puritan history," University of Southern California communications professor Marty Kaplan told AFP. "It reminds me of the early age of the nation. The pendulum has swung again (read more - Channel NewsAsia)

A rapid consolidation in the mobile phone industry, as illustrated by last week's proposed merger of Nextel and Sprint and Cingular's recent acquisition of AT&T Wireless, raises a compelling question: With fewer carriers, has power in the industry shifted away from consumers? Conventional wisdom suggests that with fewer competitors, companies are under less pressure to cut prices and improve services, and that prices ultimately may rise. That's the line taken by many consumer advocacy groups. But industry analysts and executives say the dynamic in the wireless industry is far subtler, and that price is only one way to gauge competition. They argue there is still plenty of competition between the remaining providers and a number of regional companies to ensure that consumers not only have ample choices, but also receive better service and prices (read more - NY Times)

The York County Agriculture Business Council banquet will feature a talk by nationally known radio and television personality Orion Samuelson. The Chicago-based Samuelson is heard daily on more than 200 radio stations with his syndicated “National Farm Report” and on more than 100 stations with “Samuelson Sez.” In 1975, he brought the “U.S. Farm Report” to television. Last year, Samuelson was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago. Council member Tom Brant said the group was happy to be able to secure a notable name like Samuelson and that his appearance in York may drive banquet attendance above the usual 300 diners (read more - York Daily Record)

Long before he redefined the hip-hop market in Baton Rouge and saved WEMX (MAX 94.1) from its ratings free fall, Joshua Bursh saved himself. While other students at Southern were doing their homework, Bursh was doing crack cocaine. He was mad. Ticked-off that his parents had divorced, that his athletic aspirations had vanished, that all of his friends had already completed college. Ten treatment centers had failed him. His "disease" was winning. And his dreams of being a disc jockey were melting away too. Boozy nights chugging 40-ounce beers "to take the edge off" the coke left him chronically unemployed. Going to work turned into going to the Skylark Motel in Scotlandville to score another hit (read more - The Advocate)

Media billionaire Rupert Murdoch has agreed to buy the late Laurance S. Rockefeller's Fifth Avenue penthouse, whose $44 million price tag is the highest ever for a residence in Manhattan.  Mr. Murdoch, the chairman of the News Corporation, will pay the asking price for the triplex apartment in a lavish co-op at 834 Fifth Avenue, according to a person informed of the deal, who asked not to be named because the contract had not yet been signed (read more - NY Times)

Erik Olson was driving home last year at the wheel of his new Honda Accord equipped with XM Satellite Radio when he wondered aloud to his wife why he needed that addition to the familiar AM-FM setup in the dashboard. But after a year of driving through what Susan Olson calls "radio dead zones" en route to visiting their daughter in Tallahassee, the Jupiter Farms couple is hooked on the 130 stations that feature everything from funk to big band. "I think I'd give up my cable before I'd give up my XM Radio," Susan said (read more - Palm Beach Post)

An adjunct English professor at Tarrant County College says he was let go after a student complained about the showing of Fahrenheit 9/11, a documentary that is critical of President Bush. Kendall McCook, 59, a published poet and an instructor at TCC for 2 1/2 years, said he was terminated Wednesday after turning in his grades for the semester. He said it came as a complete surprise because he already had his class assignments for next semester. Jo Bagley, the school's dean of instruction, said it was a "personnel situation" and declined to comment (read more - Star-Telegram) You'll find this and other "Talk Bites" at RDN's sister site, www.talkradiodailynews.com

After every broadcast, KKOW Radio Sports Director Tom Van Hoy uses his signature sign-off, "Telling you the final score for the final time." Today, when the KKOW broadcast of the Pittsburg State University men's basketball game at the High Desert Classic at Las Vegas ends, Van Hoy will do that one final time (read more - The Morning Sun)

Max Brown, who helped create a network of radio stations serving Nebraska agriculture, died Wednesday. He was 93. Brown founded KRVN in Lexington in 1951, and he was one of several leaders of Nebraska farm organizations who started the Nebraska Rural Radio Association. That association grew from KRVN into a six-station network that includes KNEB-AM and -FM in Scottsbluff and KTIC-AM and KWPN-FM in West Point (read more - Quad Cities Times)-

WOIO'S Sharon Reed is Cleveland's best export since LeBron. You have to understand that the news the rest of the country sees from our city hasn't shown much promise. We're known for high poverty levels, rusting factories, job losses, snubbing hi-tech and bio-tech industries, and we're numero uno on obesity, smoking and sleep deprivation. They even call our Browns the Cleveland Clowns. It's a city with an image of being in love with its own mediocrity. Sharon has national star potential. She's strong, talented, witty, feisty, sexy, and backs down to no one — including Letterman. Enjoy her while you can. National TV will come calling, because she has the stuff it takes to make for a flourishing talk show star (read more - John Gorman-Cleveland Free Times)

An unusual pair of referees - CBS and NBC - has flagged Miller Brewing Co. in its advertising fight with Anheuser-Busch Cos. The broadcasters will stop running some of the Miller television spots that A-B complained were misleading. After reviewing the complaint, CBS found three ads to be "unduly disparaging." It also found two of the three conveyed a taste-preference by consumers that was unsubstantiated, CBS said in a letter obtained by the Post-Dispatch (read more - St Louis Post-Dispatch)

I remember "Pretty Perky Peggy" King singing that back in the 1950s on the annual George Gobel Christmas television show. Up to the 1970s and a bit beyond, one could really get into the Christmas spirit by turning on the TV and listening to Perry Como, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Patti Page and many other vocalists who reverently sang the songs of the season. Williams, Crosby, Page and Lawrence Welk brought the true spirit of Christmas to us with unforgettable music. Going back to the World War II era, an "old-fashioned" Christmas was a matter of fact. During those wartime Christmas seasons, our churches, synagogues and temples were an important part of society. Before television, radio played a major part in kindling the Christmas spirit (read more - NJ.com)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio  will soon have a presence on both US coasts, with the establishment of new Los Angeles studios in early 2005. SIRIUS’ Los Angeles operations will be centered in the studios of Swinghouse, a facility currently used by many top artists as a rehearsal and recording studio, located in Hollywood, CA. (read more - Sirius)

The New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) has ordered 200 copies of RAB’s Certified Professional Copywriting Course (CPCC) and 150 copies of the Radio Advertising Bureau’s (RAB) newest training DVD, Breaking The Daily Habit: Competing Successfully Against Newspapers. This latest investment from NYSBA brings their total commitment in 2004 to over 2,300 RAB training products to help its Radio members advance their revenue results (read more - RAB)

ARBitrends for Cincinnati, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and St. Louis (read 'em)

95.5 KLOS presented the 2004 Mark & Brian Christmas Show at the Welter LG Theater on Thursday night where they collected more than 2,500 new and used DVDs and CDs for wounded troops and more than 5,000 hand toys for children with terminal illnesses. “We collected more than $300,000 worth of merchandise to support these two great causes,” said Community Relations Director, Nelkane Benton. “We knew that our listeners, as usual, would be supportive, but we really were overwhelmed by the number of donations we received.” (visit Mark and Brian at 95.5 KLOS)

NewRadio Group LLC, announced that it has received FCC approval and purchased the assets of WFHR-AM and WGLX-FM based in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, from Bliss Communications. NRG is already a part of the Central Wisconsin market area through WDLB-AM and WOSQ-FM in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and WLJY-FM and WYTE-FM in Stevens Point, Wisconsin

BBC Radio announced that a trial of an MP3 downloading service, which saw 70,000 downloads of Radio 4’s In Our Time programme in November, had been a massive success. Simon Nelson, controller of BBC Radio and Music Interactive, said: “We’ve been surprised and delighted by the demand for downloads of what is one of our most challenging programmes. “It demonstrates the public’s appetite for new ways of listening (read more - MediaWeek U.K.)

Veteran Houston newsmen Jim Carola, a familiar voice to Houston sports fans for four decades, and Pat Hernandez were laid off Wednesday night by KILT radio as part of planned cutbacks in the station's news operation. Carola, 63, who had worked at KILT since its heyday as the Houston outpost of Gordon McLendon's radio empire, said he and Hernandez were told that KILT-FM (100.3 FM) will drop afternoon newscasts in an effort to improve its standing in the competitive Houston radio market. "The ratings have not been good, and we were the last, as far as I know, full-service news department at a music station in Houston," Carola said (read more - David Barron-Houston Chronicle)

Getting fired brought Paul Berlin to Houston. Berlin, who hosts the last edition of his show on KBME (790 AM) at 10:30 a.m. today, had been on Memphis radio for two years. He was 19. "I fell asleep on the air," Berlin says. The station manager fired him but helped him get another job, which turned out to be at Houston's KNUZ. Fate must have had a hand in Berlin's on-air nap because it was a boon to a lot of Houston radio listeners who made him a favorite choice for the next 54 years. KBME becomes an all-sports station on Monday. He's been a nominee for radio's Marconi Award. His face and voice are seen and heard in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. He's in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. He's proud of the accolades, sure, but adds, "I can take a kick in the butt, too, for screwing up. I've done that." He's most proud of the fans who call and send e-mails — dozens a day — since the format change was announced (read more - Louis B Parks-Houston Chronicle)

In the home stretch of 2004, the Federal Communications Commission, the official enforcer of the nation's anti-smut standards, has so far received more than a million complaints about public radio and television programming. That's a record and so is the close to $8 million in fines levied, half of them against Clear Channel Communications and Viacom. The numbers suggest a few things: the minds of entertainment industry honchos are getting a whole lot dirtier, Americans are fed up, and indecency watchdogs in Washington, D.C. are writing tickets faster than a traffic cop on a quota (read more - CNN Money)

Who will be the RadioDailyNews.com "Radio Person of the Year for 2004"? You'll find out right here on Wednesday December 29th! Got a suggestion or a guess? e-mail RDN at 2004@radiodailynews.com 

Howard Stern, the notorious shock jock/best-selling author/movie star, has been known to bellow at anyone who will listen that he is "The King of All Media." That hyperbolic rant from the King of All Self-Promoters aside, Stern, 50, is Media Web's selection as the Media Newsmaker of the Year because of his resounding one-man October Surprise (read more - Jon Friedman-CBS MarketWatch)

From Kent Burkhart -- Here we are at Christmas time again. It’s a great time of the year. The all Christmas music stations are doing a terrific job of selection rotation. The decorations have their wonderful, colorful flair. And families and friends will soon gather to celebrate Christmas. Pat and I will be in Atlanta with our family…we are certainly looking forward to it. So, Merry Christmas to all!!!!! (read more at www.kentburkhart.com)

Ron Magers, the No. 1 news anchor at top-rated WLS-Channel 7, has agreed to continue as a daily contributor to Roe Conn's WLS-AM (890) afternoon talk show + Fresh from his stint filling in for WSCR-AM (670) morning personality Mike North today, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn turns up as guest co-host of Jake Hartford's annual holiday show, starting at 6 a.m. Saturday on WLS + John Soss and Andy Cirzan host "The Christmas Club," their seventh annual showcase of rare and unusual holiday tunes, from 8 to 10 p.m. Monday on WDCB-FM (90.9) (read more from Feder of Chicago)

SIRIUS Satellite Radio will air a special Christmas music show hosted by noted recording executive and Blue Note Records President and CEO Bruce Lundvall on Christmas Eve at 6pm ET with repeats at Noon on Christmas Day and at 6am on December 26 on SIRIUS Pure Jazz, channel 72.  “A Blue Note Christmas” will feature holiday tunes from noted artists such as Diane Reeves, Count Basie, Norah Jones and Dexter Gordon. Friday, December 24 (visit Sirius Radio)

Talk about video killing the radio star. Yahoo! will tempt users with video search, which allows them to search for video clips. Next on the agenda, Yahoo! will offer live traffic maps, bringing a national flavor to what has traditionally been a local content offering, particularly from radio. Now that most people run computers with muscular processing power and broadband connections, it's easy to see that video is a formidable new frontier in search (read more - Fool.com)

"Broadcasting for Dummies" -- Based on my observations of the broadcast media over the past year, the above is the working title of a book I have written for people wishing to get into a career in that field, both from a management and staff perspective. First, two tips for station managers: - Recruit disc jockeys that are popular in nightclubs to work as announcers and let them behave as they do in the nightclubs, meaning they must spend most of their time shouting and trying to get a party started as opposed to speaking in more subdued tones. - If a singer is popular, he or she can also be recruited as an announcer. Just let them be themselves when they are on air and use the opportunity to promote their music wherever possible (read more - David Hinkson-The Barbados Advocate)

Christine Kniffen did not always want her own talk-radio show. But after a guest spot on "The Dave Glover Show" on KFTK-FM (97.1), she was hooked. She eventually made her way to the tiny WEW-AM (770) — the second-oldest radio station in the United States, according to its web site (read more - St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Radio One Inc. chief executive Alfred C. Liggins III said yesterday he is lobbying District officials to support a plan to move his company's headquarters from Prince George's County to the District, near Howard University. Radio One would like to construct a 76,000-square-foot office building at the corner of Seventh and S Streets NW for his 69-station radio group, which was founded in the District 24 years ago (read more - Washington Post)

Convicted murderer Scott Peterson's mistress Amber Frey is getting used to her new status as a celebrity author. Frey, who has signed to write a memoir with Judith Regan, celebrated the deal with the publisher at Mr. Chow Wednesday night and enjoyed her share of attention even as Star Jones arrived in an eye-popping white mink (read more - NY Post)

Dave Jarrott Observes -- Just got word that an independent feature film that I have a very teeny role in will premier in the Frontier section of the Sundance Film Festival in January. Local actress Cyndi Williams, a former radio personality and radio copywriter, plays the lead role. Room was shot in Austin, Houston and New York City during the winter of 2003. I also recently played a principal role in a short indie film called “Lucre,” written and directed by Gardenia Spiegel. Good script; great cast and crew; wonderful experience. Let’s see, how does it go? “I’d like to thank the Academy….” (visit Jarrott Media)

Today's SDRadio contains verbs, adjectives .. and an interview with Iraq bound Ted Leitner of The Mighty 1090 + AJ from Channel 933 checks in (read it all at SDRadio)

The stars couldn't have aligned much better for Entercom Communications this year. The New England Patriots won their second Super Bowl in three seasons. And the Boston Red Sox captured their first World Series championship since 1918. Elated fans can't stop talking about their winning teams, and that's where Entercom comes in.  The Philadelpha-based media company launched a sports talk-radio station in Rhode Island this spring, and it has quickly become one of the top stations in the Providence market (read more - Providence Journal)

KENR had a dy-no-mite fast-paced Top 40 sound with a thoroughly modern Country format. The #1 ARB rated radio station here in Houston at that time. KENR had fabulous studios up high in Greenway Plaza near the Galleria. One Saturday morning this enticing female listener revealed that she could peer out her office building window across from where KENR was and see me. Didn't believe her. She told me to go over to the large west facing window in KENR's studio, glance about 20 stories down to the first floor of the next skyscraper and I could see the poster that she held up. That was a long shot. Barely could make it out, but there she was. She waved frantically and shook the poster madly. Those were the days, my friend (read more - Jim Rose Remembers)

For many XM Satellite Radio subscribers, the designation XXL might be more apt. There are too many choices spread across more than 120 channels, and not enough time to listen to them all. TimeTrax Technologies, a company in North Potomac, Md., has made an attempt to solve the problem with TimeTrax Connect. The system includes hardware and software that allows an owner of an XM Direct receiver to capture satellite broadcasts on a computer hard drive as MP3 or WAV files to be saved and played back at the user's convenience (read more - NY Times-ZDNet)

A former Cincinnati television news reporter was sentenced today to serve five years in prison. Stephen Hill had agreed to the sentence under terms of a plea deal he reached with prosecutors on charges he had sex with teenage boys he was mentoring (read more - WCHS-TV)

For the last three years, Louise Kattenhorn was the producer of the John Peel Show and, for the last two, Hermeet Chadha was the programme assistant. We met at Radio 1 HQ in Great Portland Street, London - in G12, the cluttered, open plan office shared by the station's specialist DJs and production teams. It's the room where John, Louise and Hermeet would put his Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night (11pm-1am) shows together - and a room which is now keenly feeling his absence (read more - Liverpool Echo 1)  (read more - Liverpool Echo 2)

Veteran sports broadcaster Peter Brown starts Jan. 3 as afternoon drive host on WEMP-AM (1250) when it goes all-sports. "One of his nicknames is 'the coach killer,' 'cause he makes them squeal like a pig," says WEMP general manager Ray Quinn (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee J-S)

Why not use satellites to let you listen, from anywhere, to every NFL or Major League Baseball radio game broadcast? That's one of the ideas behind the fledgling satellite radio business in which two companies — Washington, D.C.-based XM Satellite Radio and New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio — are trying to create demand for yet another way to repackage sports media. And, sports business consultant David Carter says, don't bet that sports fans can't find room for more. "It's like the holiday season, where people sit around the table saying they couldn't possibly eat another bite," he says. "But then they say, 'What's another piece of pie at this point?' (Fan interest) is all so over the top for all this." (read more - USA Today)  (read more - UPN 29)

Robert F.X. Sillerman has agreed to buy an 85% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises.  It's the first of a series of strategic acquistiions for CKX Inc., a new Manhattan company he is creating (read more - Crain's NY Biz)

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

Larry Ahrens, an Albuquerque radio icon for about a quarter of a century, is leaving the microphone after failing to negotiate a new contract. Ahrens said that he is disappointed that he'll be unable to do a final show on 770 KKOB-AM. He called it disapointing, but said he understood the reasons behind it (read more - KOBTV)

570 KLIF's Darrell Ankarlo broadcast his show from the Gaylord Texan near DFW Airport for the "We've Got Your Back Project" (read more and view the photos at www.klif.com) 

XM Satellite Radio will broadcast the major college football bowl games live from coast to coast. XM's college bowl line-up includes every game from the Bowl Championship Series, which will determine the NCAA Division I football champion (see below for schedule). "XM fans across the country will hear every minute of the most exciting college football games of the season," said Eric Logan, Executive Vice President of Programming, XM Satellite Radio. "This is one more reason why XM is the sports leader in satellite radio." (read more - Car and Sound)

Kelvin MacKenzie, the abrasive media mogul, yesterday won the right to broadcast a new FM radio station to Edinburgh - promising a 24-hour talk station featuring local news. The former editor of the Sun, now the chairman and chief executive of Wireless Group, saw off competition from 11 rival bidders for the lucrative 12-year licence from industry regulator, Ofcom (read more - The Scotsman)

Tom Fenton, a 34-year veteran of CBS News and the dean of American foreign correspondents, is retiring this week (read more - CBS News)

Sanne DeWitt is a 70 year old woman who survived the holocaust. She decided she would team up with Christians For Israel (Sanne is Jewish) and bring the remains of Jerusalem bus #19 to Berkeley, California. You may recall this was the bus that was bombed by terrorists last January. I took up her cause and after a few days of talking about it on the air AND urging my listeners to call, write and e-mail the Berzerkley city officials, they relented and the Global Anti-Terrorism Rally will take place on Sunday January 16 from noon to 3pm at Martin Luther King Park in Berkeley. Sanne has asked me to serve as the keynote speaker and, of course, I will (read more from Jeff Katz)

Sirius Satellite Radio has been getting more attention after signing Howard Stern, but Sirius is still the smaller of the two satellite radio providers.  XM Satellite Radio forecasts 3.1 million subscribers by the end of the year, Sirius says it will have about 1 million subscribers by then.  XM CEO Hugh Panero was recently interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter (read more - Hollywood Reporter)

Recording companies have filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 754 computer users in the latest round of legal action in the industry's effort to stop unauthorized swapping of music online. Students at University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in New York, Old Dominion University and State University of West Georgia were named (read more - My Way)

The staff of 89.7 FM will trade turkeys for Christmas compact discs during Turkeys for Tunes 1-3 p.m. Saturday at three Salvation Army locations. The Salvation Army will distribute the turkeys to needy families this Christmas season. The station is mixing in Christmas songs like those on the featured CDs to regular programming, and its sister station, 88.7, has begun its “The 12 Days of Christmas” programming (read more - Enid News and Eagle)

While Michael Eisner and Disney board members were taking shots at Michael Ovitz in a Delaware courtroom, Ovitz was carefully plotting his return to show business. Yesterday, he got the green light from Paramount for a big-budget movie based on the hugely popular "Splinter Cell" video game. Ovitz will produce the picture (read more - NY Post)

A radio station popular among big-city inmates being held in isolated prisons in central Appalachia plans to take its annual Christmas program nationwide this year. WMMT-FM in Whitesburg will host a call-in show Monday so that people can offer messages of holiday cheer to inmates from Red Onion in Virginia to Folsom in California (read more - Herald Leader)

No one would dispute that electricity, water, even gas or oil for heating, are essential. But cable television? Or high-speed Internet? Utility leaders think so. They are renaming the city’s utility provider. Bristol Tennessee Electric System becomes Bristol Tennessee Essential Services. The name will change, but the acronym will stay the same. The name change comes as the utility pushes into the cable television and broadband Internet markets. Apparently, the moniker "electric system" no longer fits. The utility now wants to be more (read more - Bristol Herald Courier)

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said yesterday he taking legal action against prominent radio talkback host Alan Jones for defamation over his comments on the 'Lay Down Sally' rowing controversy at the Athens Olympics (read more - The Star-Australia)

Consumer electronics distributor Audiovox Corp. reported Thursday that its Audiovox Electronics Corp. unit agreed to acquire Terk Technologies Corp. Terk provides satellite radio receivers and digital antenna products and has agreements with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. to provide aftermarket car stereo systems (read more - Forbes)

On ABC NightLine -- A three night series on the psychological effects of war. The hidden scars of war are caused by the intense and violent experience of combat, and studies show that one in six troops coming home from Iraq has post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. We took a look at what the U.S. Military is doing to help these soldiers and marines fight the illness (visit ABC NightLine)

KNOW Austin alum Harry Smith passed away yesterday. Harry was sales manager from 1961 and became GM somewhere around 1970, where he remained until retirement in 1979 (read more - Austin American-Statesman)

For someone who has been talking endlessly on the air about how federal communications regulators have forced him from his home of 20 years, Howard Stern seems pretty content. America's most famous shock jock, who moves to Sirius Satellite Radio in 13 months, has been reading the Bible. With all this talk about how the country is into religion and morality, Stern, 50, figures it was time to read The Good Book. Of course, he hasn't gotten past Genesis, and he has problems with the part about God creating night and day (read more - USA Today)

Live drama and variety shows, some old favorites on the Seattle scene, a lot of music and a lot of Dickens highlight the lineup of Christmas programming on Seattle radio beginning this weekend.  Saturday brings not one but two live performances under the auspices of and broadcast from the Museum of History and Industry (read more - Bill Virgin's Seattle Radio Beat)

WBLS (107.5 FM) will sign a local morning show to replace Rick Party, new General Manager/Vice President Deon Levingston said yesterday - and that won't be the only change listeners will hear on the air. Soon, he says, WBLS will stop straddling the line between older and younger listeners - playing more hip hop than WRKS (98.7 FM), but more adult R&B than WQHT (97.1 FM) or WWPR (105.1 FM) (read more - David Hinckley-NY Daily News)

Radio legend Paul Harvey has kicked in $1 million for the new Museum of Broadcast Communications in downtown Chicago. Harvey does his daily broadcasts - which air in Milwaukee on WISN-AM (1130) - from Chicago. The new museum is scheduled to open in 2006, and its public programming facility will be called Angel Harvey Center, after his wife and producer (read more - Tim Cuprisin-Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

iBiquity Digital, the sole developer of digital HD Radio™ technology, and Atmel® Corporation, a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced today that iBiquity Digital has certified the Atmel T4260 RF tuner chip for use in automotive and home HD Radio receivers. The T4260 is a complete front-end solution for both AM and FM reception. It is used to tune the radio and converts the signal into a frequency that the receiver can decode. The integrated fast fractional PLL allows locking times of less than 1 ms. The flexible IF output frequency enables designers to adapt the IC to various customers needs (visit iBiquity)

Come the new year, there will be fewer commercials on some of the city's top radio stations. Could it be that Clear Channel Radio, which counts ''Kiss" WXKS-FM (107.9) and ''Jammin' " WJMN-FM (94.5) among its nearly 1,200 US outlets, is preparing a belated holiday present for listeners? (read more - Clea Simon-Boston Globe)

Dave Jarrott Observes -- I’m not in the Christmas spirit yet. I haven’t heard one radio station here in Austin play The Barking Dogs’ “Jingle Bells,” or “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.” Christmas of 1979 a listener sent me a copy of the original Patsy and Elmo recording of “Grandma..” before it was released nationwide. It was on a little independent label out of California at that time. It was our most requested record that year at KHFI-FM! And for many years to come! (visit Jarrott Media)

Tony Jarvis has been named Senior Vice President, Research, Infinity Broadcasting, it was announced today by Joel Hollander, President and Chief Operating Officer, Infinity. Jarvis will oversee all radio research for Infinity, including audience measurement and demographic and advertising research. The appointment is effective immediately (visit Infinity)

When Fox News and Clear Channel Communications announced a new alliance last week, it was widely characterized as the convergence of two of media's evil empires. But the deal between the two conservative bastions won't impact Austin, according to local Clear Channel chief Dusty Black. It only calls for Fox to supply news updates to Clear Channel's news-talk stations. Clear Channel owns six stations in Austin, but none of them are news-talk (read more - Kevin Brass-Austin Chronicle)

Internet search engine Yahoo! will launch a new, locally oriented search intended to offer consumers updated traffic-condition updates from around the U.S. Yahoo! says the service will offer live, local traffic information integrated with online roadmaps and driving directions. It also claims it will be the first to provide speed conditions and dynamic traffic information, changing by the second, nationwide (read more - Forbes)

Four teenagers have been convicted of killing a Birmingham radio DJ, who died in an incident outside his home. Heart FM DJ Tushar Makwana, 37, was thrown to the ground in Wasperton Way, Castle Bromwich, as he chased a car containing the four men (read more - BBC News)

ARBitrends for San Francisco, San Jose, Boston and Monterey (read 'em)

The Federal Communications Commission rejected a request Wednesday to begin imposing indecency standards on satellite radio, where frequent agency target Howard Stern is taking his show. The FCC's media bureau turned aside a radio station owner's request that broadcast indecency regulations apply to subscription satellite services (read more - Seattle P-I)

Salem Communications Corporation announced two major Houston radio station initiatives. Today it launched a new station in the Houston metro area, News/Talk 1070 KNTH-AM. Salem's long-time Christian Talk and Teaching station, KKHT-FM, moved from the AM band to a new dial position at 100.7-FM (read more - Business Wire)

The influential House of Commons media select committee has urged the government to set up an independent board of governors for the BBC as part of the process of renewing the corporation's charter. In a wide-ranging report on the future of the BBC published today, the committee also recommended that the corporation's next charter, setting out its scope and responsibilities, should be cut from 10 years to five and be replaced by an act of parliament (read more - The Guardian U.K.)

People on the move will soon be able to enjoy broadcasting at an affordable price as the long-awaited satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) phone is expected to hit the stands next month. TU Media said Thursday the company plans to provide tens of thousands of satellite DMB phones next month through its parent firm SK Telecom, or the nation’s top wireless carrier (read more - Korea Times)

Rumors that Sirius and Apple Computer Inc. were going to announce next month at the Consumer Electronics Show or MacWorld a deal to bundle iPods with satellite radio have added to the sector's buzz. Sirius and Apple declined comment on the rumors, but analysts said it seemed technologically unfeasible right now. "I don't believe Sirius' chip set is at the point where it can go into an iPod. It's the size of a credit card, and an iPod would need a chip set the size of a thumb nail," said April Horace, a Janco Partners analyst (read more - CNN Money)

First he bought Monticello Raceway. Then the Concord Hotel.
Now Sullivan County native Robert Berman is buying one of the county's three radio stations, WSUL-FM (98.3 and 95.7), its owner confirmed yesterday. "An application has been filed with the Federal Communications Commission," said Bill Reynolds, who stressed the deal will not be done until it's approved by the FCC (read more - Record Online)

Suddenly, TV broadcasters - who often produce programmes months in advance of their transmission date - are being fined huge amounts for what would be, in Europe, considered minor offences at the most. The Federal Communications Commission - just five people in a country of 300 million - have suddenly decided to move the goalposts without any prior warning, forcing many broadcasters into panic as they make last-minute changes to schedules and re-edit finished programmes to avoid potential fines (read more - Radio Netherlands)

An Army study shows that about one in six soldiers in Iraq report symptoms of major depression, serious anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, a proportion that some experts believe could eventually climb to one in three, the rate ultimately found in Vietnam veterans. Because about one million American troops have served so far in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Pentagon figures, some experts predict that the number eventually requiring mental health treatment could exceed 100,000  (read more - NY Times)  You'll find this and other "Talk Bites" at RDN's sister site, www.talkradiodailynews.com

Talk radio grows larger in bandwidth, talent, and influence as time goes on. When Rush first came on the national airwaves in 1988, his Seattle affiliate was an Oldies station. Today, the burgeoning demand that has developed around the Rush Limbaugh Show has brought two conservative radio stations into prime competition in the Seattle market ... But I never truly appreciated the importance of talk radio in American political culture until Rush Limbaugh read one of my columns on his program last March (read more - Hans Zeiger)

Thursday marks the last day that Tavis Smiley will appear on his eponymous show on National Public Radio. Smiley says he is leaving the network after three years on the air because the show, the first and only in the history of NPR with an African-American sensibility, didn't receive enough support. "NPR has simply failed to meaningfully reach out to a broad spectrum of Americans," he wrote in a Nov. 29 release. "In the most multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial America ever -- I believe that NPR can and must do better in the future."