TALKERS News Notes
FOX News Channel correspondent Benjamin Hall traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine this past weekend for the first time since the attack that left him catastrophically injured in March of 2022. The trip, organized by Fox Corporation executive chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch, included a sit-down interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy that will air on “Special Report with Bret Baier” November 21. Amid enduring more than 30 surgeries over the last 20 months, Hall chronicled his journey in Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission to Make it Home which was published in March 2023 and became a New York Times bestseller.
Cox Media Group Atlanta’s radio stations partnered with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to collect 14,478 pounds of food between November 11-18. The effort by news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM and its three music-formatted sister stations, generated 16,965 meals for food-insecure individuals in Georgia. CMG Atlanta VP and market manager Jaleigh Long says, “This year was a record-breaking year for pounds of food collected that will make a positive impact on our community. We’re thankful for the partnership with Atlanta Community Food Bank and grateful to be able to help struggling families during this time of ‘thanks’ and ‘giving.’”
Benztown president Dave “Chachi” Denes has dropped new episodes of his “Chachi Loves Everybody” podcast and one is an interview with newly elevated president of The Weiss Agency, Heather Cohen.
What’s old is new again.
In 
Hill, and producer Michael Campana. The station says, “Thirty-year market veteran, Elliott, who started at WTVN in 1999 as the producer for Columbus radio legend Bob Conners, will continue to serve as program director for 610 WTVN. ‘Columbus’ Morning News’ will also feature timely guests and newsmakers to wake up information-hungry listeners with the local and national news they need to start each day in Ohio’s Capital City. Elliott adds, “I’ve done everything on WTVN except host my own show, and now I get that chance. I’m grateful to be working with the most talented team in the business every morning to bring the news to the best audience out there!”
radio personality Larry O’Connor and feature stories of our nation’s heroes, the families who serve by their side, and how Fisher House plays a role in their journey. The inspiring and patriotic radio show features an exclusive interview with Jessica Lynch, who recounts her harrowing experience as a prisoner of war during the early days of the 2003 invasion of Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom. She reveals details of her treatment during her captivity, her rescue, the ensuing years of medical treatment and the special role Fisher House played (and continues to play) in her recovery. Fisher House Foundation provides a home away from home for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. Fisher Houses provide temporary free lodging so families can be close to their loved ones during medical care because “A Family’s LOVE is Good Medicine.” For more information on this radio special, available cash and barter free, contact Larry O’Connor at 562-665-9537 or 
regarding a restructuring of the Company’s outstanding indebtedness,” it reaches agreements with investors and creditors to again extend the deadline after which it would be in default. Audacy gets an extension on the due date for interest payments on its Credit Facility to November 30 and on its Receivables Purchase Agreement for the October Audacy Party Payment to November 30 and the November Audacy Party Payment Due Date to December 8. 
versus the prior month; and 23 million total multiplatform minutes, up 14% versus the prior month, according to Comscore. Outkick founder Clay Travis states, “OutKick’s expansion and growth continues to be the highlight each month. Our content serves those who seek not only common-sense reporting but unfiltered opinions with great perspective on a variety of topics.”
since 2003 to more than $4.3 million. WCCO brand manager Brad Lane says, “We are simply in awe of the incredible generosity of our fans! This is yet another great example of how live and local radio can truly impact lives. We’re so proud of our team for helping share these transformative stories from the inspiring work being done at Union Gospel Mission.” Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities provides food, shelter, programs and services for men, women and children experiencing homelessness, hunger and addiction.
Spectrum Cable. During his career he’s also served with Cox Radio in Jacksonville and the former Journal Broadcast Group at WTMJ, Milwaukee. Audacy regional president Rachel Williamson states, “I am excited to welcome Jason to lead our Milwaukee cluster. His experience across radio, video and digital combined with his deep knowledge and relationships throughout the Milwaukee market brings an increased expertise to our cluster and clients.” Bjorson comments, “I’m thrilled to join the Audacy Milwaukee team, with some of Milwaukee’s most iconic brands and an innovative broadcaster. I’ve competed with this team and tried to recruit them for years, so I know how much talent is here. I’m looking forward to working with them to win big here in Milwaukee!”
WEEI-FM, Boston. He’ll continue to lead his program that includes cast members Jermaine Wiggins, Courtney Cox and Chris Curtis. Audacy Boston SVP and market manager Mike Thomas states, “We are thrilled to extend Greg’s contract and keep the momentum going for his award-winning morning show. We look forward to having Greg, alongside Jermaine and Courtney, continue to set the tone for our weekday programming and deliver entertaining content for our listeners for the foreseeable future.”
among digital news brands, according to data from Comscore. FOX News Digital reached 3.4 billion multiplatform minutes, compared to 2.3 billion for CNN.com and 1.5 billion for NYTimes.com. FOX News Digital racked up 1.8 billion multiplatform views, compared to NYTimes.com’s 1.5 billion and CNN.com’s 1.4 billion. CNN.com leads the pack in multiplatform unique visitors with 129 billion compared to FOX News Digital’s 92 billion and NYTimes.com’s 75 billion.
in need in Southern California. The charity also helps families get back into stable home environments and teaches teens the skills they need to work in the hospitality industry. On ‘Giving Tuesday’ (11/28), the iHeartMedia station will host a live, all-day broadcast at the Anaheim White House featuring station personalities Bill Handel, Amy King, Gary & Shannon, John & Ken, Tim Conway Jr and Mo Kelly during which they’ll ask listeners to collect money and pasta and sauce donations for Caterina’s Club. 100% of donations collected go directly to Caterina’s Club. Also, from November 15 through December 3, Smart & Final locations in California, Arizona and Nevada and Wendy’s restaurants in Southern California will offer customers an option to donate to the “KFI PastaThon.”
CBS Television Network and later with TBS. MRN says that NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. encouraged Squier to build a nationwide network of radio stations to cover the growing sport. He began with his family-owned WDEV-AM/FM in Waterbury, Vermont and Daytona Beach’s WNDB-AM – both of which still air MRN programming today. He added hundreds more stations to air the very first MRN broadcast of the Daytona 500 in 1970.
financial struggles and looks more broadly at how radio as a legacy medium is facing “the same headwinds as other traditional media.” Carman adds, “Stations are losing their grip on younger audiences, and advertisers are tuning out. Fresh sources of revenue, like podcasts and streaming audio, are going to new contenders such as Spotify Technology SA or just failing to make up for the lost radio ad dollars.” The U.S. radio business has always touted its reach, but according to Lauren Russo, EVP at ad buyer Horizon Media, broadcast radio faces real problems. “The broadcast marketplace is extremely soft for ’23 and similarly for ’24. The overall audio ecosystem continues to grow from a streaming and podcasting perspective, but at the expense of broadcasts.” 
related to Urban One’s failure to timely deliver quarterly reports for the first and second quarters of 2023 and sets a due date of November 30, 2023 for those and a December 31, 2023 due date for the third quarter financial report. Urban One also reports that it has received an Additional Staff Delisting Determination from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC due to the delinquent Q3 2023 report. Urban One has a hearing set for November 30 and anticipates filing the delinquent Q1 and Q2 reports prior to the hearing. It also expects to file the Q3 report on or about December 31, 2023 and will present its plan to evidence full compliance with the Nasdaq listing criteria at the hearing.
MacKenzie’s complaint paints a picture of her being consistently paid less than male and younger staffers that goes back to when she first joined the station when it was owned by CBS Radio. It says that from the beginning she was paid “about $20,000-$30,000 per year less than” her co-workers in comparable positions. MacKenzie says that the SAG-AFRTRA investigation into KYW’s compensation practices in 2021 confirmed her belief the company was engaged in gender-based pay inequity. In 2022 MacKenzie did agree to a deal with the company that paid her $150,000 per year for 2022, $152,500 for this year and $155,000 per year for 2024. But she says she has suffered “significant harms and losses” over the years and is seeking back pay, liquidated damages, interest, costs, negative tax consequence damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and attorneys’ fees. 
Earlier this week, Michael Harrison published his top 10 list of suggestions for being a successful talker. Item number three really caught my eye:
NBC” at #1, audiochuck’s “Crime Junkie” at #2, Wondery’s “Morbid” at #3 and Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Dan Bongino Show” at #4. Radio-related podcasts of note in this ranker include Salem Podcast Network’s “The Charlie Kirk Show” rising four places to #12, Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Mark Levin Show” up two places to #13, and Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Shawn Ryan Show” rising five places to #24. 
including many Cumulus radio stations, with station jingles, commercial jingles, and production music. TM also acquires the additional assets of the Drake Chenault catalog and all intellectual property associated with TM’s former product lines HitDisc and GoldDisc. Westwood One originally purchased TM Studios in 2009 and subsequently sold the company to former TM executives Greg Clancy, Dave Bethell, and Chris “UK” Stevens in November 2020. WWO president Suzanne Grimes states, “Westwood One is committed to partnering with companies that provide unique products and outstanding service, and TM fits that description perfectly. By extending our relationship with TM, we are assured that radio stations around the country will be able to access the best-in-class offerings TM has been creating for more than 50 years.”
the study found that eliminating 10 words of audio copy increases the Creative Standout score by 1%. Creative Standout is achieved when consumers say, “this ad stands out” and rate an ad with an 8, 9, or 10 on a one-to-ten-standout scale. Further it found that eliminating 10 words of audio copy increases web traffic by 0.25%. Creative Standout in audio advertising is strongly linked to ad response via website visits. For each 1% rise in Creative Standout achieved by an audio ad, website response rate increases by 0.25%. Also, the more messages that are included in the ad, the poorer the recall. An ad with four messages will have message recall of only 24%, compared to 43% for ads with just one message. The more messages an ad attempts to communicate, the lower the likelihood of a single message being communicated. 
Newsradio staff and join other distinct Hall of Famers, including NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell and longtime suburban bureau chief Jay Lloyd. Lynne Adkins spent 34 years as an anchor, reporter and mentor at KYW Newsradio. Brandon Brooks was the voice of news in Philadelphia for more than 30 years. He first came to KYW Newsradio as a part-time anchor and reporter in 1989. Audacy Philadelphia SVP and market manager David Yadgaroff states, “This honor is long overdue for these two inductees who have devoted over three decades of their lives to being reliable news sources for the Philadelphia region. Not only has their professionalism set a high standard for our content, but their extensive backgrounds have taught the next generation of KYW Newsradio broadcasters to aspire to a new level.”
figures in the state of New Jersey and WPG, Atlantic City morning drive personality Harry Hurley is ranked #55 on the list. The caption alongside Hurley’s photo in the feature states: “No other radio host show in New Jersey covers politics as hyperactively as Hurley, who has earned the trust of key players in both parties while amplifying the concerns and troubles of regular voters. An asset to the state.”
Group’s general manager for Christian talk WAVA-FM, Washington, DC Chuck Olmstead. Olmstead tells TALKERS, “It was an amazing day to be at that at that gathering. I met some amazing people. One Jewish woman I interviewed has a home in Bethesda, MD as well as a home in Israel. She was at her home in Israel on 10/7 and continued to stay in Israel but came back for the rally. She was articulate and had a great story to tell. It is interviews like that, that are hard to distill down to sound bites.”