WGN, Chicago Wins Five Silver Dome Awards
Nexstar Media Group’s WGN, Chicago was honored with 2023 Silver Dome Awards in five categories from the Illinois Broadcasters Association at the organization’s reception on Tuesday (10/24) in Bloomington-Normal. The awards were: Best Continuing Coverage – “Highland Park Fourth of July
shooting”; Best Hard News Story – “The latest from Highland Park following the Fourth of July parade shooting” for news director Ryan Burrow (pictured holding two of the awards) and talk host John Williams; Best Radio Personality – John Williams; Best Radio Series or Documentary – “Ukraine-Russia War: Russia launches an attack on Lviv” (11/15/2022) for Bob Sirott, Joseph Lindsley, Joe Romano, Hayley Boyd; and Best Sportscaster – Dave Eanet. WGN Radio VP and general manager Mary Sandberg Boyle says, “These awards from the IBA serve as a compelling testament to our station’s ability to provide vital information to our local community during critical times. The collaboration between Channel 9, NewsNation, and our own newsroom proves the strength of our combined resources, ensuring that we remain a trusted source of news for Chicagoland.”
the Philadelphia Phillies to make the World Series – which they did – SiriusXM sports talk personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo said on Wednesday’s “Howard Stern Show” that the retirement statement was a “throwaway line” and he would not retire. Stern then urged him to accept “punishment” in the form of a stunt: Russo would wear a Diamondbacks-themed bikini and walk down the street in Manhattan carrying a sign saying, “I am a liar and a dope.” 
MultiMedia’s weekend programs, are migrating to new satellite distribution as the programming shifts from GCN Channels 1, 3, 4 & 6 to Wegener/Westwood One Satellite Channel A-1DBV165. GCN will continue to offer audio access via Echo Box.
McBride most recently served with CBS affiliate WUSA-TV, Washington DC where she served as a news and sports anchor. McBride says, “I am excited to join an incredibly talented team at Newsmax and look forward to bringing Americans the stories that matter each morning. It has been my dream to work for network news, and I feel my 17 years of anchoring experience have prepared me for this new role of co-hosting ‘Wake Up America.’ It’s an absolute honor!”
Segment” every Friday at 11:45 am. Salem New York VP and general manager Jerry Crowley says, “At a time when politics and legal matters are inextricably linked, like at no time in America’s glorious past, AM970 has brought Mike Gallagher and Arthur Aidala together to make sense of it all.” Aidala adds, “Mike Gallagher consistently delivers informed and intelligent conversation to a vast national audience. I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit with him each Friday and provide context and insight to the legal issues of the day. I hope Mike and his listeners are as excited as I am.”
economy found on PublicSq.” The agreement includes collaborative content segments that will air on Tucker Carlson’s show on both X and Last Country’s own platform. Last Country CEO Neil Patel comments, “We are proud to announce that our new media venture will be partnering with PublicSq. as our first advertiser. PublicSq. is a key company in the parallel economy, specifically countering the Chamber of Commerce and Amazon. There is a wave of disruption coming to the media and economic establishment, and our companies will help accelerate this overdue shift.”
-platform audio with media plans that utilize radio, digital audio and podcasts, working together to reach audiences with unprecedented precision and drive quantifiable outcomes for their brands.” Some of the findings within the guide include: 1) Audio advertising works harder – driving more than two times the attention of TV and social media at more desirable CPMs; 2) Radio and digital audio are stronger together. A multi-platform audio strategy is so powerful that advertisers see 1.5 times the return on ad spend compared to digital-only campaigns; 3) Advertisers are leaving upwards of $6 billion in revenue on the table by not including total audio – a balanced mix of traditional broadcast radio and digital audio – in their media mix, according to a study conducted by Audacy and Neustar. The report also offers actionable tips for producing effective ads under the section titled, “5 Ways the Best Audio Ads Crush the Status Quo.” Here, Audacy says, “Advertising on the #1 reach media — Audio — will get you the most ears. But to keep them, your creative can’t just be good — it needs to be really freaking great.” 
continue carrying FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network and FOX News Headlines 24/7 exclusively across SiriusXM’s platforms. Additionally, FOX News On-Demand Audio will remain available on the SiriusXM app. FOX News Media president and executive editor Jay Wallace says, “We value our relationship with SiriusXM and are pleased to extend our broadcast agreement, ensuring their audience continued access to their favorite FOX News personalities and powerful primetime lineup.”
2018, Nielsen’s Total Audience Report reveals the 18-49 weekly reach of live and time-shifted TV has dropped -26%. Over the same period, TV’s daily time spent is down -59%; 2) cord-cutting is a major driver of TV’s audience collapse: The MRI Simmons January 2023 “How Americans Watch TV” report reveals 51% have cut the cord; 3) While a huge number of Americans have abandoned traditional TV for streaming, AM/FM radio remains the dominant audio platform: According to Edison Research’s Q2 2023 “Share of Ear,” AM/FM radio has a massive 69% share of U.S. ad-supported audio. AM/FM radio audience shares are over 17 times larger than ad-supported Pandora and ad-supported Spotify. 
Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Madison, Milwaukee and Minneapolis markets. He has been serving the company as director of digital sales and strategy. Audacy regional president Rachel Williamson states, “Over the past four years, Ryan has played a pivotal role in developing our critical sales support team, and his invaluable contributions have been instrumental in building strong relationships with clients. We look forward to continued growth and innovation under his leadership across the region.”
listener likelihood based on a description of Podcast Radio was measured among a panel of 500 18-64-year-old podcast consumers in the United States. Podcast Radio founder and CEO Gerry Edwards says, “Podcast Radio can help radio effectively play offense to the rise of podcasts as an in-vehicle, in-home and mobile entertainment choice. This new data reinforces that strong, engaging, spoken-word content continues to evolve in exciting ways to meet the needs of U.S. listeners. That can enable radio to remain competitive and provide an attractive alternative for radio stations and radio groups.”
the past two years. Prior to that she served as a reporter and anchor for KREM-TV, Spokane. McNicholl holds a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast and electronic journalism from Gonzaga University and is currently finishing her master’s degree in criminal justice and cybersecurity at Boston University. She is also a member of The Miss America Organization and was named Miss Washington in 2018.
Your crystal ball is still foggy, isn’t it?
After post-consolidation cutbacks have whacked local on-air content, there’s now angst that Artificial Intelligence can – literally – dehumanize radio (and other media – HUGE issue in the SAG-AFTRA strike). Voice cloning is child’s play; and several vendors are already peddling AI gimmicks to radio stations.
“Martinez & Company” (6:00 pm to 8:00 pm ET), with the early afternoon daypart to be announced. The press release states, TBSN will debut October 30th with LIVE programming every weekday with sports talk radio from 7am to 8pm to start. Additional time slots and weekend programming will be added over the following months. TBSN is available to listeners nationwide online via LIVE365.com and on the ‘Tony Bruno Sports Network’ app for Android and iPhone.” Bruno adds, “I want to thank all of my fans who have followed and supported me through the years. I am grateful to everyone who has encouraged me to return and who still want to hear my daily fun approach to sports and current affairs, which has been my forté for over five decades in broadcasting; this time, I’m bringing friends! I hear over and over again that fans are tired of X’s & O’s sports radio. I plan to bring back exciting, sports talk radio again, with a Florida flair. What better place to launch a new nationwide sports network than in Florida, a true melting pot of fans from all over the nation.”
billion in total local advertising, only a 2.2% increase in local advertising year-over-year.” BIA VP of forecasting & analysis Nicole Ovadia adds, “As expected, 2024 will be driven by political spending, and, even in markets that are not highly contested there will be a large amount of political advertising. Local political advertising will be fueled by the presidential and senate campaigns as well as issue-based advertising. When we look at the forecast without political, we expect only a slight increase in ad spending due to both global and local economic trends that may create more cautious spending.” 
organization. Remote News Service provides radio anchors and reporters for news and traffic content. McVay Media president Mike McVay says, “I was very familiar with RNS and the company 
that president Lesley Lotto has built. I like what they do and what they offer. Given the economic situation that media finds itself in today, the question has become how can we be cost effective without diminishing the quality of the content? Remote News Service is the answer to that question.”
multiplatform unique visitors, which is up 34% versus 3Q of 2022.” The platform also delivered 67 million total multiplatform minutes and 64 million total multiplatform views. Outkick founder Clay Travis says, “Once again OutKick finishes the quarter with strong numbers that highlight our consistent growth across the platform. Our in-depth and common-sense reporting continue to be the driving force and differentiate us from your standard sport sites.”
flagship Station of the Boston Celtics Radio Network since 2013. Under the terms of the pact, Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell will continue to be the voices of the team radio broadcast. In addition to the games, “98.5 The Sports Hub” will also air Celtics related programming throughout the season, including a weekly call-in from Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla on “The Zolak & Bertrand Show” each Wednesday during the season.
and satellite delivery of programming. It contracts for that XDS satellite delivery from Westwood One. GCN CEO Ted Anderson tells TALKERS, “We’ve been working with Westwood One for almost 30 years and it appears that we are at an impasse with them contractually going forward. It has been a very positive and productive relationship, but it is time to move on. C-Band is a legacy technology that developed in the earlier days of talk radio but it is no longer a fundamental choice. We intend to provide our hosts and clients with modern, real-time audio with less delays than C-Band.”
it has been an honor and a pleasure to host a daily radio talk show in my hometown for a quarter century. I am extremely grateful to Good Karma Brands, my teammates (past and present), our partners, and most importantly, our fans for all their support over the years. While I’m excited to see what comes next, I will truly miss the daily interaction with listeners about the issues of the day.” Wagner has been a long-standing member of the TALKERS magazine Heavy Hundred – the annual list of the 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America. Good Karma Milwaukee market manager Greg Scalzo comments, “Jeff is a broadcasting legend whose daily wisdom and dedication to the station was felt by our audience throughout his entire career. His retirement marks the end of an era, and we celebrate the legacy he leaves behind.” Before joining WTMJ, Wagner was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and later an attorney in private practice. 
West Virginia. Roten posted the following to social media: “For 22 years, my morning talk radio show was the #1 show in the Huntington, WV market. The most recent ratings period showed the station overall at #5 in the market, #1 for AM stations (highest ever ranking). Unfortunately, iHeart is going in a different direction and I was dismissed. While my future is uncertain, you can still access my podcasts from Spotify and other streaming services.”
2022, which ended on Oct. 1, 2022. The bulk of that revenue and profit came from its domestic business at $14.6 billion and $2.81 billion, respectively.” The filing also shows how important cable television is to ESPN’s bottom line. Canal writes, “The bulk of the sports segment revenue came from affiliate fees at $10.8 billion followed by advertising at $4.4 billion and subscription fees for ESPN+ at $1.1 billion. ESPN typically has the highest carriage fees, or fees pay-TV providers pay to network owners to carry their channels, of all basic cable networks. According to an estimate from SNL Kagan, ESPN charges pay-TV operators $8 to $9 per subscriber.” 
Shapiro Show,” which ranked #3 in the June 2023 ranker. This means that NBCUniversal News Group’s “Dateline NBC” rises to #1 with audiochuck’s “Crime Junkie” remaining in the #2 spot. Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Dan Bongino Show” moves up three spots to the #4 rank. Other noteworthy moves from radio-related companies includes Audacy Podcast Network’s “We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle” climbing 11 spots to the #14 rank and Salem Podcast Network’s “The Charlie Kirk Show” up six places to the #16 rank. There is more dramatic movement among shows in the 20 – 100 portion of the ranker, including NBCUniversal News Group’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” falling 26 spots to the #76 rank.