Ian Punnett Dies After Brief Illness
Shortly before Christmas, “Coast to Coast AM” executive producer Lisa Lyon posted the sad news that radio pro and longtime “Coast to Coast AM” personality Ian Punnett died on December 21 after a brief
illness. She writes, “It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Ian Punnett passed away from a brief illness yesterday. His keen intellect and delightful sense of humor will be deeply missed. Since 2000, Ian has, in various incarnations, been a valued host of ‘Coast to Coast AM,’ including regular weekend hosting duties, his own spin-off show ‘Coast to Coast LIVE with Ian Punnett,’ a podcast entitled ‘Vaudeville for the Frightened,’ and most recently twice a month hosting duties. I’ve had the privilege of producing for Ian these past 24 years, and I will miss our friendship and the professional collaboration. Every conversation behind the scenes was as lively and entertaining and everything we strive for on the air. Ian was great radio personified.” See more here.
told by Audacy management he’s being let go as the company is looking for a change in middays and wants a “less caller-driven show.” Kentera adds, “I prepare like crazy, I think my show is good, well-received, so I was stunned when I was told I was being fired.” The 65-year-old Kentera has been in radio for 40 years, the last four with KWFN-FM and says he does not plan to retire. “I’m going to look for an opportunity in sports… in or out of the radio business. I’m not done yet.” 
more than 30 years. The 71-year-old Humphreys has planned to retire for some time, and he tells the paper that he and his wife Bev, who’s battling cancer, want to spend more time together. Humphreys’ career in OKC sports talk is one that parallels the growth of sports radio in the U.S. Interestingly, he and FOX Sports’ Skip Bayless are boyhood friends who remain close to this day. 
several other KNBR staffers were released from the station in a budget move. Santangelo’s first shift on “The Game” will be as a fill-in host for Dan Dibley on the afternoon drive show “Willard and Dibs” tomorrow (12/21). Also let go from KNBR last month was digital team member Jake Hutchinson, who recently joined “The Game” in a similar capacity. He says, “I am truly grateful to Audacy and 95.7 for this opportunity and recognition of what I bring to the table. The people I’ve worked next to from 95.7 have always been motivated, innovative and encouraging. They were enormously fun to share press boxes and interview rooms with, and I am ecstatic to now be able to work with them.” 
management, with Rod Lakin and David Yadgaroff, even with you. ‘The Marks and Reese Show’ is amazing, the success that we’ve had, over 6 years now that we’ve been working together, I’ve been at WIP almost 7 years, and what we’ve done in 6 years, the community that we’ve made, the show that we’ve made has been nothing short of amazing… And as great as the show is, everything kept coming back to the hours that I’m working. I don’t work until 10 or midnight, but I’m not getting home on most nights until 7:30. As my kids get older, I’m missing all these activities – softball, soccer, basketball, even dinner every night. Since my kids have been alive, I’ve been working this shift. And I had to ask myself ‘is this something I could see myself doing for the next five years?’ The station and show deserve the commitment from somebody. It was a difficult decision and something I internally wrestled with for a really long time. And after talking to management and talking with you, and (management was amenable and asked what they could do)… I made the difficult decision to leave the Marks and Reese Show and WIP. My last show is Wednesday. It’s a very difficult decision.”
It’s massive, it’s mind-boggling, and we-the-workin’-press are under strict instructions NOT to call it “The Consumer Electronics Show.” Lotsa luck. 100 thousand+ of us from 150+ countries will descend upon the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center and other venues up-and-down The Strip.
Season.” The station says it “featured an informative, spirited, and sometimes fiery debate about the growing problem of organized retail theft and what can be done about it.” Appearing on the panel of experts were Todd Spitzer, Orange County district attorney; Marc Beeart, director of fraud & corruption prosecutions at the L.A. County District Attorney’s office; 
High Sports, the other a piece by Michael Roberts in alt-weekly Westword that analyzes the state of Bonneville’s KKFN “104.3 The Fan.” McKee (along with several others) was let go by “The 
Fan” in September after the station was beat in the ratings by Stan Kroenke’s crosstown KKSE-FM “Altitude Sports Radio.” “The Fan” PD Raj Sharan was ousted shortly thereafter, and former ESPN Radio programmer Amanda Brown was recently brought aboard as PD to right the ship. Roberts’ piece chronicles the rise of “The Fan” – as well as its recent struggles. Ironically, shortly after being let go, McKee found work at his former competitor and now co-hosts the 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm show at “Altitude Sports Radio” with former “Fan” host Tyler Polumbus and Scott Hastings. 
from the study include: 1) the proportion of AM/FM radio in-car listening rose 9% year-over-year and is on par with pre-pandemic levels of listening; 2) spoken-word content listening is at an eight-year high with 39% of ad-supported listening (including AM/FM, streaming and podcasts) devoted to news/talk, talk, and sports; and 3) looking at Persons 25-54, the share of ad-supported audio time spent with personalities/talk shows has increased the most – from 11% of ad-supported listening in Q4 2016 to 19.4% in Q3 of 2023. 
“Most registered voters avoid the news at least some of the time. Of those who disengage, over half avoid national politics coverage,” according to the “
afternoon drive host Mike Felger’s Facebook Live “Off-Air Show” and said she doesn’t think she’ll get the gig. When asked why she said, “Just because I think that I’m young and new. I think [program director] Rick [Radzik] took me very seriously. It’s just I think that there’s probably someone who, I don’t know, I think that I’m qualified. It’s just I haven’t been here very long, so I don’t know.” Station afternoon personality Jim Murray has said he’s not interested in the position. The piece notes that midday personality Rob “Hardy” Poole is being talked about as a candidate for the morning show post. 
Waukesha. The “Nite Lite With Pete Schwaba” airs from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Schwaba has hosted programs for PBS Wisconsin in addition to his work in the film industry that includes writing for the 2003 film, A Guy Thing, and his own indie comedy film, The Godfather of Green Bay. He also served as a producer on the Jeff Foxworthy TV show, “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” He says, “Entertainment, just like sports, helps bring people together, which is more important now than ever. I’m excited to introduce listeners to people I’ve met over the years in the entertainment business, share experiences, and generally celebrate arts and culture in Wisconsin.” 
News flash: Time cannot be managed. But tasks can.
2) Audio is powerful. Podcast consumers spend a significant amount of time on YouTube listening to podcasts without watching the video; 3) Since 2019, YouTube and