Gunhill Road Attacks Fraudsters with a Powerful New Rocker, “Damn Scammers (Get Off My Phone)”
Gunhill Road, the timeless band that has been creating multi-genre rock and pop music spanning more than five decades, has released a stunning new song and video titled, “Damn Scammers (Get Off My Phone).” The piece – which is a no-holds-barred attack on the rise of scams and fraud in our society – is an advance release from the band’s forthcoming fifth album. Gunhill Road has developed a unique niche in recent years attracting tens of thousands of internet followers powered, in large part, by the attention and airplay given it on talk radio. New songs by the group typically debut on hundreds of radio talk shows sparking conversation about today’s pressing topics of news and social concern. The compositions feature clever, candid lyrics delivered in a highly musical and original way. The band consists of co-founding member/pianist/vocalist Steve Goldrich, longtime guitarist/vocalist Paul Reisch, noted Broadway theater instrumentalist/guitarist/vocalist Brian Koonin, and TALKERS publisher/vocalist Michael Harrison. The provocative video for “Damn Scammers (Get Off My Phone)” was produced by Matthew B. Harrison. The song, a powerful rocker marked by driving guitars, riveting keyboards, an exuberant group chorus and a compelling lead vocal by Brian Koonin, expresses the frustration we all face in an increasingly dangerous environment marked by the rising corruption of identity theft, charity scams, grandparent scams, imposter scams, mail fraud, romance scams, lottery scams, crypto scams, blackmail, phishing, and disingenuous institutions. Click here scammersvideo.com to see the video. To arrange an interview with Michael Harrison to discuss the scam crisis, please email info@talkers.com.
Will video save the radio star? I hope so.
Before the bound copy arrived – at which point all work stopped – Arbitron would send “Advances.” Even those topline numbers ground things to a halt, and had some PDs doing cartwheels, others out on the ledge. ‘Seems quaint now.
reporting is operating results for 2023 it reveals net revenue of $1.16 billion, a decrease of 6.75% from the full year 2022. The company was hampered by an impairment loss of $1.3 billion in 2023, compared to the impairment loss of $180 million reported in 2022. That and other factors led to total operating expense soaring to $2.5 billion, compared to the total operating expense of $1.32 billion in 2022. The company posted a net loss of $1.13 billion in 2023, compared to the net loss of $140 million reported for 2022. 
Hannity Show” and the “Sports Nightly” program. KLIN general manager Ami Graham tells the paper that Parsons was not terminated for cause, “We’ve just chosen to go in a different direction.” For his part, Parsons tells the Journal Star that “he tried cutting against the grain by hosting a talk radio show that stressed ‘lifting up instead of tearing down — and truth over tribalism. I thought we were taking radio in a different direction.’” 
producers.” All Entries in the 2024 competition were screened online by NYF’s Radio Awards international Grand Jury of 200-plus producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe and judged on the following set of criteria: production values, creativity, content presentation, direction, writing, achievement of purpose and audience suitability. Award-winning entries will be announced during the New York Festivals 2024 Storytellers Gala virtual event on April 16 at 6:00 pm ET. The virtual event will include featured global audio and video highlights, award winners’ acceptance speeches from around the world, and up-close and personal spotlights featuring some of radio and television’s most respected storytellers. All winners will be showcased on the Radio Awards winners gallery. 
Station senior political director Eric Scott will moderate the town hall and he says, “Participating in youth sports can benefit our kids in so many ways. Unfortunately, the actions of just a few parents can spoil the experience for everyone.” The program’s on-air panel will feature Dr. Jason Krystofiak, division chief of sports medicine at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center; Colleen Maguire, executive director of New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association; Dr. Mike Gross, a clinical and sport psychologist and head of sport psychology at Princeton University; and Robert Everett, a former president of Berkeley Little League.
The headlines haven’t been kind to journalism lately. That recent
Nashville-based Today’s Christian Music network (TCM) is not affected by these transactions. Salem Media Group CEO David Santrella comments, “Salem remains steadfast in our commitment to paying down debt and reducing our overall leverage. The sale of these radio stations helps achieve those goals. At the same time, we are focused on the stations staying in mission format. We are happy to be working with our good friends at EMF to continue impacting lives through music. We are grateful for our staff at these stations that have worked tirelessly over the years. With this change, Mike Blakemore, Salem’s VP of CCM programming, will provide focus and leadership to programming TCM, which remains an important part of Salem’s content offerings.”
important sports moments and “105.7 The Fan” personalities’ favorite memories. Celebratory programming includes two live broadcasts of the “Big Bad Morning Show” hosted by 
with Michael Barbaro and Sabrina Tavernise (#4), “Call Her Daddy” with Alex Cooper (#5), “Morbid” with Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley (#7), and “My Favorite Murder” with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark (#8). And Dateline NBC’s (#3) 20-year veteran Andrea Canning is part of the team of correspondents on the true crime pod.” However, women to listen to male-hosted shows as the study reveals “The Joe Rogan Experience” was #2 on the most recent chart. “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce” was #6 on the chart and was lifted to this “new height” by the obvious Taylor Swift connection.
senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will serve as a spokesperson for the association and will help develop and execute messaging strategies to advance broadcasters’ policy agenda before Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. NAB EVP, public affairs and chief of staff Michelle Lehman says, “Gaby is a seasoned policy communicator whose years of government service have equipped her with a profound understanding of effective and strategic communications. Broadcasters will benefit from Gaby’s deep expertise in shaping messaging on the most important issues facing our industry, and we are thrilled to have her on the team.”
1. Financial solvency laws. Consolidation is not the problem; it actually saved the radio industry. The problem is the 1986 rule change that dropped financial solvency requirements for station ownership. Prior to 1986, stations could not be purchased with debt. A potential owner had to prove that they could meet the expenses of a station through the duration of its license. Once the financial efficacy rule was dropped and stations could be purchased with debt, the industry was financially decimated. Prediction: Financial solvency laws will be re-instated.
February 2024 PPM Data – Information for the February 2024 ratings period (February 1 – February 28) has been released for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, San Jose, and Middlesex-Somerset-Union (New Jersey).
For spring break this year, Sarah and I revisited Sandals Grand Bahamian all-inclusive resort – NOT inexpensive, and very worth it. We’ve already booked same-week-next-year, and we think we know who we’ll see there then.
weakness in the national and network marketplace, and first-time hurdles in our Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions segment. In total, Digital now represents 51% of Townsquare’s 2023 net revenue and 55% of our 2023 Adjusted Operating Income, and maintained a 30% Adjusted Operating Income margin, consistent with 2022’s margin. The strong cash generation characteristics of our assets allowed us to produce $68 million of cash flow from operations in 2023, an increase of $18 million, or +35%, as compared to the prior year. We could not be more pleased to share that given our strong cash position, we were able to repurchase and retire approximately $27 million of our Unsecured Senior Notes at a discount during the year. In addition, we repurchased $17 million of our common stock, and paid a high-yielding dividend while also investing in our business. We also ended the year with a strong cash balance of $61 million and net leverage of 4.43x, retaining financial flexibility moving forward. Despite the lack of tailwinds at our back in 2023, I am very pleased with how the Townsquare team navigated the progressively challenging economic landscape. We outperformed competitors and gained market share due to our local focus and our digital platform. I believe that our performance over the past several years has demonstrated the efficacy of our Digital First Local Media strategy and validated our focus on local markets outside of the Top 50 U.S. cities, reinvigorating my confidence in our business model and our path moving forward.”
NBCUniversal News Group’s “Dateline NBC” jumps two spots to #2, bumping audiochuck’s “Crime Junkie” to #4. NPR’s “Up First” remains in the #3 position. Other radio-related podcasts of note include Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Dan Bongino Show” rising one spot to #6, Salem Podcast Network’s “The Charlie Kirk Show” slipping two places to #17, and Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Mark Levin Show” falling three spots to #27. 
February 20.” Audacy awaits FCC approval to complete its restructuring and plans to file its 2023 10-K later this month. The company says it experienced revenue growth of 1% in January, led by a 1% increase in radio revenue and a 7% increase in digital revenue. Audacy chairman, president and CEO David Field comments, “Audacy is off to a strong start in 2024, driving accelerated financial and operating performance, including solid early growth in revenues, key digital metrics, and audience and revenue shares. We look forward to a bright future, capitalizing on our best-in-class balance sheet and our scaled leadership position in the dynamic audio market, distinguished by our exclusive premium content and top positions across the country’s largest markets.”
community at-large. The 2024 Leadership Awards honorees are: Don Bouloukos, CBS and ABC Radio executive; Frank Comerford, chief revenue office, president, commercial operations, NBCU Local; Traug Keller, president, ABC Radio Network/SVP, ESPN Radio; Kathleen Kirby, partner, Wiley; Mike McVay, president, McVay Media Consulting; and John Rouse, EVP, ABC Affiliate Relations, Disney Platform Distribution. The Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award is bestowed annually on an individual in broadcasting whose work exemplifies innovation, community service, advocacy, and entrepreneurship. The 2024 Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award recipient is Erica Farber, president & CEO, RAB. The Broadcasters Foundation Breakfast is complimentary to all in broadcasting. 
dramatically understate AM/FM radio’s shares; 2) AM/FM radio represents the dominant ad-supported audio platform with a 68% overall share and a massive 86% in-car share; 3) In a typical day in America, 95% of Americans never listen to ad-supported Spotify. 94% never listen to ad-supported Pandora; 4) Podcasts’ audience soars. At a 20% share of ad-supported audio, podcasts now represent one out of every five minutes of U.S. ad-supported audio; 5) Among registered voters, AM/FM radio leads in ad-supported audience share (68%) followed by podcasts (21%); 6) After a pandemic lull, the proportion of AM/FM radio listening occurring in-car roars back; and 7) Powered by podcasts, spoken word is on a tear: 40% of all time with ad-supported audio goes to spoken word, up from 27% pre-pandemic. 
director of sales with Cox Media Group. Audacy Houston VP of sales Alana Lujan comments, “Judy’s extensive experience in talent development, coupled with her recent involvement in business development, multi-media buying and digital innovation, makes her a powerhouse addition to Audacy’s sales leadership team. With her expertise, Judy is poised to make an immediate and substantial impact. Here’s to an exciting journey with someone who will bring so much to the table!” Lakin states, “I am thrilled to join the exceptional leadership team at Audacy. The Houston market’s wide variety of broadcast and digital products makes me eager for what will come. The local sales team’s incredible skills and high energy is a tremendous plus to this opportunity.”
Think about the concept for just a minute. Manhattan Island for $24? Peter Minuit knew value.